[NWP] Networking Pipeline - 08.02.2005 - Back To School? Certification Is Calling...

Networking Pipeline Newsletter www.NetworkingPipeline.com Tuesday, August 2, 2005 In This Issue: Editor's Note: Back To School? Certification Is Calling... Top Networking News     - Spanish Authorities Say Internet Phishing Ring Disbanded     - Pandora Lets SMB Solution Out Of The Box     - New Citrix Certifications     - More News... Editor's Picks     - A New Vista: Microsoft Releases Vista Beta 1     - Review: Skype 1.3 VoIP     - The Changing Threats Facing Today's Networks     - More Picks... Voting Booth: Should the Feds Should Stop Telecom Mergers? Get More Out Of Networking Pipeline Manage Your Newsletter Subscription ------- Advertisement ------------------- Join CSI and Secure Enterprise for a FREE, live TechWebCast on Penetration Testing: Taking the Guess Work out of Vulnerability Management. Learn how penetration testing software can efficiently and easily help you address the challenges associated with keeping your network secure. Thursday, September 8, 2005 at 11:00-2:00 PM PT / 4:00-5:00 PM ET http://www.techweb.com/webcasts/penetrationtesting090805 ----------------------------------------- Editor's Note: Back To School? Certification Is Calling... TechWeb editor Jennifer Bosavage is sitting in for a vacationing Preston Gralla this week. OK, so it's a bit early to be talking about going back to school for the younger set, but how about for those of us already in the workplace? Just because you're an established IT professional doesn't mean you have to pack away your slide rule. So, come on, sharpen some pencils and start investigating. Let's be clear: You don't need to be going back for your master's degree to increase your knowledge base. In fact, that might not be the most effective use of your time and money. You might just consider going back for a certification or two. This week, Citrix Systems announced updated certification programs for users of its products. What is notable is that the company has publicly noted that such certification programs have often seemed overwrought; a waste of the IT professionals' time and money (or their companies' money). The new training seeks to position itself as a smarter alternative. A lean, mean training machine, if you will. That's a great idea, and Citrix should be commended. Still, let's be careful going forward not to confuse a streamlined certification system with a haphazard one. The training needs to be meaningful, and the certifications have to carry some weight. Many IT professionals know that the value of having Microsoft and Cisco certifications often boils down to the fact that holding those certifications often results in better salary compensation. Vendor-neutral training and certifications are becoming increasingly popular; it remains to be seen if a similar corollary between those certifications and salary can be made. Training and certifications are valuable, and it makes sense to reevaluate them and make sure that they are offering value for the time and trouble you are taking to invest in them. Do you have certifications? If so, has it helped your career? If not, why have you resisted? Let me know. Jennifer Bosavage Editor, Networking Pipeline jbosavage@yahoo.com www.NetworkingPipeline.com Keep Getting This Newsletter Don't let future editions of Networking Pipeline Newsletter go missing. Take a moment to add the newsletter's address to your anti-spam whitelist: networed@techwire.com If you're not sure how to do that, ask your administrator or ISP. Or check your anti-spam utility's documentation. Thanks. Top Networking News Spanish Authorities Say Internet Phishing Ring Disbanded Spanish authorities said Saturday they had disbanded an Internet fraud network in an operation that resulted in 15 arrests. Pandora Lets SMB Solution Out Of The Box Worksmart helps SMB IT Managers provision departments. New Citrix Certifications In an effort to deliver more targeted training to IT professionals, Citrix Systems has updated its certification programs for users of its access management products. Investors Warned About Accessing Accounts Via Wi-Fi The National Association of Securities Dealers on Thursday warned investors against using public Wi-Fi connections for accessing online accounts, saying that they pose additional risks of confidential information being stolen by cyber criminals. Level 3 Inks Deal To Aid Comcast VoIP Service Level 3 Communications, Inc. has begun providing cable operator Comcast Corp. with backbone support for its new Digital Voice VoIP service. Broadband Bill Would Deregulate Video Services, Spur VoIP Telecommunications overhaul legislation would roll back current restrictions on providing video services and assure consumer access to Internet-based phone service. Cisco 'Cover Up' Ignites Black Hat Controversy A deal between Cisco and Internet Security Systems to pull a talk about Cisco vulnerabilities at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas Wednesday has attendees crying cover up and led to the resignation of a prominent researcher. Vonage Partners With Motorola On VoIP Gateway Vonage has announced that it will begin offering the Motorola VT2442 Voice over IP (VoIP) gateway to subscribers this fall. AOL In Tests Of Mobile Search Engine Service automatically adapts Web search results pages for viewing on small-screened smartphones and PDAs. Motorola, Cisco Team On Cellular Wi-Fi Motorola Inc. has teamed with Cisco Systems to deliver a seamless enterprise mobility solution that will include wireless local area networking (WLAN) Internet protocol (IP) telephony and cellular phone technologies. Editor's Picks A New Vista: Microsoft Releases Vista Beta 1 Beta 1 of Microsoft's new OS Windows Vista (formerly called Longhorn) has entered widespread testing with some interesting new features. Review: Skype 1.3 VoIP The increasingly popular service from Skype offers free Internet calling to individuals, along with some interesting for-pay add-ons. The Changing Threats Facing Today's Networks The days when distributed computing just meant users on different floors sharing the same server are long gone. The Five Biggest VoIP 'Gotchas' Deploying VoIP on your network can be a tricky business. Take into account these big five dangers, though, and it should be smooth sailing. Intelligent Storage Fabrics: Switches Get Smart Moving SAN services from hosts and arrays to switches is a concept whose time has come. We examine what makes a Fibre Channel fabric intelligent, what benefits you can expect from it, and why some storage pros are still skeptical. Voting Booth: Should the Feds Should Stop Telecom Mergers? Cast Your Vote Now! The telecom landscape is about to change, with SBC set to acquire AT&T, and Verizon about to swallow MCI. Is this a good thing --- and should the government get involved? Should the feds step in to stop the buyouts on anti-competitive grounds, or should the market decide? Get More Out Of Networking Pipeline Try Networking Pipeline's RSS Feed Networking Pipeline's content is available via RSS feed: Get RSS link. The feed is also auto-discoverable to many RSS readers from the Networking Pipeline home page. Note: RSS feeds are not viewable in most Web browsers. You need an RSS reader, Web-based service, or plug-in to view RSS. Find out which RSS readers the Pipeline editors recommend. Discover All The Pipelines Networking Pipeline is part of a large series of specialized IT sites from the TechWeb Network. Find out more about the Pipelines on the TechWeb Network Pipeline Publications page. Every Pipeline site has its own newsletter. Give them a try! Recommend This Newsletter To A Friend Do you have a friend or colleague who might enjoy this newsletter? Please forward it to him or her and point out the subscription page. ------- Advertisement ------------------- Join CSI and Secure Enterprise for a FREE, live TechWebCast on Penetration Testing: Taking the Guess Work out of Vulnerability Management. Learn how penetration testing software can efficiently and easily help you address the challenges associated with keeping your network secure. Thursday, September 8, 2005 at 11:00-2:00 PM PT / 4:00-5:00 PM ET http://www.techweb.com/webcasts/penetrationtesting090805 ----------------------------------------- Manage Your Newsletter Subscription To unsubscribe from, subscribe to, or change your e-mail address for this newsletter, please visit the Networking Pipeline Subscription Center. 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