Archive for July, 2009

Attacks on Oracle Databases Get Even Simpler

Friday, July 24th, 2009

According to this article, an open source tool, Metasploit, is getting new functionality specifically created to infiltrate an Oracle DBMS environment. True, the database version being attacked in the upcoming demo is antiquated (10g rather than 10gR2 or even 11g) but this goes to show that it is critical for Oracle databases to be patched [...]

Microsoft SQL Server Upgrade Woes: 2005 to 2008

Monday, July 20th, 2009

Is your restore taking a long time?
A common upgrade methodology used in a MSSQL environment is backup/restore. If you choose to use this method and you are upgrading from MSSQL 2005 to MSSQL 2008 you should consider applying the most recent update (MSSQL Cumulative Update 4 for the base release or MSSQL Cumulative Update 1 [...]

Oracle Database Patching Just Got More Complicated

Friday, July 17th, 2009

It seems like a regular occurrence that a new species gets introduced into the Oracle DBMS patch ecosystem. Most recently the Critical Patch Update (CPU) was created to simplify security patch distribution. These CPUs brought with them a new patch application methodology (NApply) which allows for multiple patches (now known as molecules) to be applied [...]