Editor's Note
Vote Early and Often for MSDN Magazine
As this issue of MSDN Magazine goes to press, Election Day is drawing near. Like many candidates for office, this magazine sports some bold cover lines and bright, appealing pictures. Unlike those same politicians, however, we will keep working for you month after month, year after year, even after you elect to purchase the magazine. Why should you vote for MSDN Magazine and security?
Our platform Each month, we bring you the finest articles relating to tools and technologies for the Windows operating system.
Foreign relationsMSDN Magazine is leading the way in promoting international harmony, with native-language editions now available in Brazil, China, Russia, and brand new English language versions that specifically serve India, Australia, and Southeast Asia. Although we are based in the U.S., we believe it is important to reach developers globally.
If you live outside the United States and would like to get a local version of MSDN Magazine, you can go to the appropriate URL to find out more information.
Russia: https://msdn.microsoft.com/ru-ru/magazine
Brazil: https://msdn.microsoft.com/pt-br/magazine/
China: https://msdn.microsoft.com/ch-cn/magazine
MSDN Magazine is expansionist, yet pro-business. If you are located in one of the over 250 countries that is not currently served by a local edition, and you're interested in finding out why not, please drop us a line at mmeditor@microsoft.com.
Security Never before has our nation of developers faced such a stark choice as they do this fall. You can go back down the old road—the road of Blaster, of Sasser, of all those other worms and viruses that sound like Santa's reindeer—or you can choose a new path. A path that helps you reduce your code's attack surface. A path that lets you use ACLs from the .NET Framework. A path that uses cryptography and XML signatures and ISA Server 2004 to keep your code more secure.
But we're not just talking about security for short-term gain here. We've published over 70 articles on security for developers, and you can access them all on our Web site. Visit the MSDN Magazinevirtual security center to experience our long-term commitment to making your code safer.
Color-coded alert system When you see a red cover, you know that we're running a special security issue. When we return to cover-level green, you'll know that it is safe to leave your terminal to grab some Red Bull and chips.
No desktop left behind If you've signed up for automatic updates, you should have received Windows XP SP2 recently. SP2 is, as service packs go, a pretty big deal—not just for end users but for developers as well. Changes in how security is handled will affect the way you'll need to code in the future, so you should be prepared now. We've included some late-breaking news on SP2 for the developer on page 58 of this issue.
The economy It costs less for a year's subscription to MSDN Magazine than it does for most programming books. That leaves you with more money to buy durable goods like refrigerators and boats. If you're an MSDN Universal subscriber, you are also eligible to receive the magazine at no charge or at a reduced cost. For more details, go to the MSDN subscriber download page.
Harmony When was the last time you saw a sea of protestors at a conference that we cosponsored? Think about it.
Voting for security won't change the course of the country, but it could very well determine the future path of your business. And even though the tens of millions of adult non-voters might not make a difference in November (although we do wish they would vote), it only takes one script kiddie with broadband to have a huge effect on your life if you're not careful.
We are the editorial staff members of MSDN Magazine, and we heartily approve this message.
Thanks to the following Microsoft technical experts for their help with this issue: Chris Brumme, Susan Chory, Jamie Cool, Robert Green, Cindy Gross, Martin Gudgin, Shawn Hernan, Chris Hollander, Michael Howard, Charlie Kaufman, Raja Krishnaswamy, Ronald Laeremans, John Lambert, Gerrard Lindsay, Steve Lipner, Arun Moorthy, Satyajit Nath, Matt Powell, Matt Thomlinson, Anson Tsao, Dan Vallejo, Maura Van Der Linden, and Ting-Hao Yang.
Active Directory, ActiveX, Microsoft, Microsoft Press, MSDN, MS-DOS, Outlook, OneNote, Visual Basic, Visual C++, Visual SourceSafe, Visual Studio, Windows, Windows NT, and Win32 are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. InfoPath and Windows Server are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Other trademarks or tradenames mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
MSDN Magazine does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied with respect to any code or other information herein. MSDN Magazine disclaims any liability whatsoever for any use of such code or other information.