Subject Matter Experts -- we want to hear from you!
It’s the time of the year when we run our annual SME Profile Satisfaction Survey! The survey has been available since February 14th, 2012 and will now remain open until March 14th, 2012. If you have not yet taken the survey you still have time to provide us with your valuable feedback.
The SME Profile Database program is our online registry of Subject Matter Experts. In this program, we get to know more about the people who are industry professionals and passionate about Microsoft Learning products. We coordinate beta exam invitations, feedback activities, and content development opportunities through this program.
So… if you are currently a member, we’d like to hear about your experiences over the last year! Your feedback will help us continue to make improvements to the program. You may have already received an email from us, but if for some cosmic reason the message didn’t come through please complete the SME Profile Satisfaction Survey by going to the MSL Subject Matter Experts site on Microsoft Connect (http://connect.microsoft.com/site862), log in with your Windows Live ID, and click on the SME Profile Satisfaction Survey link in the front page in the "Survey" section.
And if you’re a SME who would like to join… come to our site and tell us about your experiences with Microsoft technologies by completing the SME Profile Survey on the MSL SME site on Microsoft Connect (http://connect.microsoft.com/site862).
The 2012 Microsoft Certified Career Conference is coming up soon on March 14-15. This year, we are very excited to feature Stephen Rose as our keynote speaker, who will share his expertise on the topic of Building the Brand of You!
Each one of us is a brand. It is up to you how to grow, manage and maintain that brand. Stephen's keynote address will help you to understand the importance of social media, networking, blogging, and leveraging key tools to help set you up for success in your field. From just getting started to career changers, this is a must-attend session for anyone who is looking to launch, secure, socialize, or understand how individual and companies perceive their personal image and brand.
Don't miss out on this and all the other great sessions we have lined up. Register NOW!
On Twitter? Use/follow hashtag #MCCC2012. See you there!
WHAT IS A COMPUTER VIRUS?
Computer virus is a computer program which is not designed to help or make your life easy. PC Viruses can replicate itself and spread from one computer to another. Some viruses affect computers as soon as their code is executed, where some other viruses stay still until a preconfigured condition is met.
Viruses can be disguised as attachments of funny images, greeting cards, or audio and video files. Computer viruses also spread through downloads on the Internet. They can be hidden in illicit software or other files or programs you might download.They can exist in numerous forms like backdoors, worms , Trojans ,rootkits etc.
What are the Characteristics of the PC Viruses ?
How Computer Viruses Work?
Once the virus arrives the system ( from one of many possible ways) Computer Viruses will replicate itself and will attach to any .EXE file ( randomly garnered name) Each virus has different characteristic and may work different in each variation.
How does the Virus effect your Computers ?
The computer viruses will not be able to infect your computers without its permitted to execute its code to the memory. And to get your permission , the Computer viruses will be attached with a Software Wrapping Program ( more info about Wrapper here)in to most “FREE” wanted “commercial” programs In the infection phase, the virus will replicate itself and attaches to an .EXE file in the system. This can change every time when the virus executed or triggered.
As you can see in the below figure, in a clean Computer (left ) the .EXE IP will start the Program , where in a infected system, the Virus will start before the infected program starts.
How does a Computer get Infected by Viruses ?
How can you protect your Computers from Viruses ?
Virus Analysis
As viruses are difference from each other and there are many virus types, I will just deep dive in few of them, and give you some info about them, so you can understand how they are designed and worked.
KLEZ
The Klez virus appeared in late 2001 and infected a victim’s computer through an e-mail message. The virus replicated itself and was sent itself to all the contacts in the victim’s address book.
The virus could disable virus-scanning software and could falsely act as a virus-removal tool. The modified version of this virus could take any name from the contact list of the victim and can place that address in the “From” field. This technique is called spoofing.
By spoofing the e-mail appears to come from a source when it’s actually coming from somewhere else. Spoofing will prevent the user’ s chance to block email from a suspected recipient.
Melissa
Melissa showed up in mid-1999 and was one of the first viruses designed to spread from computer to computer without relying on action on the user’s part.
The virus prompts the recipient to open a document and by doing so the virus gets activated. The activated virus replicates itself and will be transferred to 50 persons whose address is present in the recipient’s e-mail address book.
MyDoom
The MyDoom creates a backdoor in the OS of the victim’s computer. The MyDoom virus had two triggers. One of them began a denial of service (DoS) attack on Feb. 1, 2004. In Feb. 12, 2004 the second trigger was initiated which stopped the virus distributing itself.
Later that year, MyDoom virus outbreak occurred for a second time, which targeted several search engine companies. The virus would send a search request to a search engine and will use e-mail addresses obtained in the search results. Such a type of attack slowed down search engine services and caused some website crash.
W32/Virut
Virut virus, writes its initial code into a GAP in the end of the original file’s code section and redirects the entry point address to that “malicious code” .
Types of Viruses
For more info about Virus types please visit my blog.
Virus Detection Methods :
1) Scanning : This will make a virus detected. A scanning program will look for virus signatures compare it with its database and can take the necessary action.
2) Integrity Checking : It works by reading the entire disk & recording integrity and recording data that acts as signature for the files and system sectors.
3) Interception: It monitors the operating system requests that are written to the disk.
What is a Computer Worm ?
Computer worms are malicious programs that replicate, execute and spread across the network connections independently without human interaction.
A worm is a special type of a computer virus, that can replicate itself and use memory, but cannot attach itself to other programs.
A worm spreads itself through network automatically.
Conficker Worm
The Conficker worm is a computer worm that can infect your computer and spread itself to other computers across a network automatically, without human interaction.
What does the Conficker worm do?
It might spread through file sharing and via removable drives, such as USB drives (also known as thumb drives). The worm adds a file to the removable drive so that when the drive is used, the AutoPlay dialog box will show one additional option.
The Conficker worm can also disable important services on your computer.
Virus & Worm Countermeasures:
Online Malware Analysis Services:
Microsoft Malware Protection Center
The Microsoft Malware Protection Center (MMPC) provides world class antimalware research and response capabilities that support the Microsoft range of security products and services.
http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/
Virus Total
VirusTotal is a free service that analyzes suspicious files and URLs and facilitates the quick detection of viruses, worms, trojans, and all kinds of malware.
https://www.virustotal.com/
Threat Expert
ThreatExpert is an advanced automated threat analysis system designed to analyze and report the behavior of computer viruses, worms, trojans, adware, spyware, and other security-related risks in a fully automated mode.
http://threatexpert.com/
More Computer Virus and related Terminologies :
Anti Virus Tools :
Windows Sysinternals Utilities : http://download.sysinternals.com/Files/SysinternalsSuite.zip
Microsoft Security Essentials : http://www.microsoft.com/en-au/security/pc-security/mse.aspx
How can I tell if my computer has a virus?
You have to be suspicions of some activates in your computer, such as
How do I remove a computer virus? (source Microsoft.com)
If you can reach a website using your web browser, run an online scan.
Go to the Microsoft Safety Scannerwebpage to download the scanner.
Click Download Now, and then follow the instructions on the screen.
If you can't get to the Microsoft Safety Scanner online, try restarting your computer in safe mode with networking enabled.
Restart your computer.
When you see the computer manufacturer's logo, press and hold the F8 key.
On the Advanced Boot Options screen, use the arrow keys to highlight Safe Mode with Networking, and then press Enter.
Log on to your computer with a user account that has administrator rights.
Follow the steps above to run the Microsoft Safety Scanner.
For more information about different startup modes, see Start your computer in safe mode.
If you still can't access the Internet after restarting in safe mode, try resetting your Internet Explorer proxy settings. The following steps reset the proxy settings in the Windows registry so that you can access the Internet again.
In Windows 7, click the Start button . In the search box, type run, and then, in the list of results, click Run.
-or-
In Windows Vista, click the Start button , and then click Run.
In Windows XP, click Start, and then click Run.
Copy and paste or type the following text in the Open box in the Run dialog box:
reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings" /v ProxyEnable /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
Click OK.
reg delete "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings" /v ProxyServer /f
Restart Internet Explorer and then follow the steps listed previously to run the scanner.
Source for the above section: Microsoft.com
Remove a virus manually
This might be challenging. Please follow my blog to read the article about how to remove a virus manually.
Sample Flowchart on how to fight with a Virus
The first summit of the year 2012 did run in "down under", Sydney Australia. I (Erdal Ozkaya) did interview many MCT's in the Summit and asked them "The Benefits of being a MCT and their recommendations"
I would like to thank MCT’s for attending the summit and special thanks for the speakers & all attendees who make this summit a successful event .
MCT Summit Australia 2012, hosted more than 13 session with 10 speakers in 2 days
We had Ken Rosen from Microsoft Learning , Dr. Greg Low (SQL Down Under), Steve Herzberg (NRG Solutions), Mick Badran (Breeze Consulting) , Dan Pracny-Strass , Lawrence Crumpton, Jason Clarke & Roland Leggat from Microsoft and of course myself (Erdal Ozkaya) from Fastlane - AP Training as speakers .
Let’s keep the talk short and watch the interviews: From the Microsoft Learning (MSL) channel on You Tube
Edward Javier, Bill Chestnut, Sue Webb, Pete Calvert, Grant Paisley, Wayne McGill, Glen Morris , John Bramley, John Bramley, David Harris ,Vihal Rustagi, Ivan A., Wes Jin ,David Zemdecks , Amit Bhatia & MCT ? for accepting answering my questions and being our guest in Microsoft Born to Learn as well as Your MCT.com web site.
Erdal interviews Wayne
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=7YQRW8XnDD0
Erdal interviews John
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=B6T1p708J4g
Erdal interviews Grant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=PQXfeS9HVpA
Erdal interviews Edward
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=GuOD_6w9sVk
Erdal interviews Glen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=cYFiX8cU0Eg
Erdal interviews Ivan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=tlgPTKB8bFc
Erdal interviews David
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=AOYhRS4kH5s
Erdal Interviews Amit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=9aVOWgAWmgc
Erdal Interviews Vihal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=VzlMenxqmBc
Erdal Ozkaya interviews MCTs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBRWCxe9mx8
Erdal Ozkaya interviews Sue Webb
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=6-FygpzwJi8
Erdal interviews David Harris
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=GqNIQJKOQNc
Erdal intervies Wes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69ot707aZ-E&feature=related
As part of Microsoft Learning's year-long 20 Years | 20 Ways campaign to recognize the history of the Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) certification, we now have the opportunity to support NetHope. This NGO is all about geeks like us! For a long time, I was impressed by and envious of the doctors donating their time to Médecins sans Frontières. (Doctors without Borders). However, how could my computer skills help those truly in need? I could not save a life or change someone's future like those doctors could...
Then, in 2007, in the first MCT Summit in Zurich, Ken Rosen brought Sandra Wright to present about NetHope. I invite you to read the NetHope website, but to make a long story short, this NGO was started on the idea of pooling the IT resources and needs of multiple NGOs together (outsourcing IT? I am sure you have heard of that...). Microsoft gave a lot of products and help, and now, they were looking for MCTs to train NetHope members' staff on those products. While this was being presented, I distinctly remember sliding forward on my chair so that I could jump out of it at the end and be the first one at their desk to register (Surprise to me, the entire room did not try to beat me to it...). A few months later, I was in Kenya for three weeks, training CRS staffers on ISA Server and Exchange.
In 2010, NetHope came back to ask if I was interested to help out again: They were expanding beyond the IT needs of their members and putting in place a program to get young motivated individuals in disaster areas or developing countries trained, certified and experienced on IT skills. Not only those countries desperately need those skills and are short on venues to acquire them, but they could provide a good earning in areas ravaged by unemployment. Simply put, the idea was to train young students on Windows client support skills, get them certified (MCDST in my case, later on, MCTS on Windows 7) and then have them complete a six-month internship with one of the NetHope member NGOs under the supervision of a mentor.
So in September 2010, I was landing in Haiti to deliver two weeks of MCDST training following on the footsteps of MSL's legend Ken Rosen, who had gone there a few months earlier to define the program and had gotten the food poisoning to prove it . In the same vein, I was informed that Lisa Obradovich who was supposed to orient me down in Port-au-Prince had been urgently shipped back to the States with an acute case of dengue fever: I started to wonder what vaccination I needed for Haiti... having just landed there . The remarkable Frank Schott (a 2010 Microsoft Alumni Fellow), whose project this was, ended up setting me up (and, yes, he too caught a bug to prove it...).
This video shows the state of ESIH, the school were I taught, after the earthquake. My fantastic students (Jude, whom the video follows, made it his mission to teach me some Créole: Sak pasé, Jude ) surpassed great difficulties to come there every day, walking from wherever they were staying to arrive very early and be actively engaged during the day. The conditions were...er...spartan, but they always beamed a smile and had a good question (or a joke, or a tease...).
This is all the more impressive when you think that for a lot of us, Haiti is a country that suffered a disaster on January 12th, 2010. That is not the case: This has been a land of tears nearly since its beginnings and it suffices to read on a place like Cité Soleil (Sun City, if you can believe the cruelty of such a name...) to understand the challenges that Haitians have been facing all their lives...to then be hit by a terrible earthquake. You also have to understand that I was there nine months after the earthquake and do not remember seeing more than a couple of cranes, but plenty of destroyed houses, with thousands living under tarps (you can't call them tents) and queueing for water (Yet, Ken told me it was much better already then when he was there!)
Those of you who have talked to me after my trip know how much this was an experience for me and how grateful I am for the opportunity. Let me be honest: Within a few days of landing, the thing I wanted most was to be back home, enjoying a hot bath (as there was no hot water in the place we stayed) and enjoying the benefits of electricity without a generator waking me in the middle of the night! Computing was also "interesting" with my USB drive (with the class VMs) coming back to me with half a dozen viruses after passing it around my students, Unix laptops to run the VMs on, an Internet connection that never really materialized (nor did the course manuals, as a matter of fact...) and having to rely on a generator (and a spider web of electrical cables) to run our class. Still, on the third day, as Frank and I were try to solve yet another problem, I looked at him and said: "This is fun!": He gave me a very worried look...
As far as I am concerned, more than the class, certifications, etc... the measure of the success of the NetHope Academy is explained in Frank's post, stating that the average salary of a NetHope Academy graduate is $14,000.- when the average GDP average salary of Haitians is just $1,900.-! That means that they earn enough money not only to assure their own livelihood, but also that of their families! This is the kind of results that can help a country put itself back on its feet. I could not be prouder of my students.
Still the program did not stop with my students. Andrew Bettany took the initiative to convince NetHope and Microsoft Learning to run a Train-the-Trainer in Haiti so that the NetHope Academy will one day be delivered by local Haitian trainers. This is typical of my fellow MCT Advisory Council member and initiator of so many MCT events. In 2011, I was unable to go to Haiti to deliver the NetHope Academy courses, so Mark Wheatley delivered a brand new program, now covering Windows 7. And guess what? Some of Andrew's students were there to assist as guest trainers and lab help! Andrew, Mark and I have been helping NetHope to adapt the Academy program as it is expanded to other parts of the world!
So now it is your turn. As we are moving to employing local talent as much as possible, there will not be opportunities to help directly in the field as the three of us had the chance to do (you should have jumped out of your chair sooner in Zurich ). We have suggested to NetHope that some experienced trainers might act as eMentors to some of the local trainers, but in the meantime you can support NetHope and donate (generously!) to a cause that is OUR cause. This one is for us: We are convinced IT can help the world, this can prove it. Let us support it!
As a final world, I would like to invite you to view a video about Emmanuella Stimphat, a student of both Andrew and myself, and see what your help can achieve. Please notice also in the video Marlene Sam who was incredible during my stay in organizing the program and also Rohan Mahy, my roommate, whom Emmanuella now works with at Inveneo: A real NGO junkie and true McGyver, at home in the most forsaken places in this planet!
Are you still not sure what Windows Intune is ? Here is an easy way for you to understand what Windows Intune is. I recently presented an online web cast at the MCT & Readiness Virtual Summit and the presentation was also about Windows Intune. The feedback i received from the summit community prompted me to write this article , which will explain WIndows Intune in a serious of questions and answers.
1) What is Windows Intune ?
With Windows Intune you can :
1 . Help Protect PCs from malware with centralized protection built on the Microsoft Malware Protection Engine. This leverages the same trusted technologies as Forefront Endpoint Protection and Microsoft Security Essentials.
2. Centrally manage the deployment of Microsoft updates and service packs to all your PCs.
3. Proactively monitor PCs with alerts on updates and threats so that they can identify and resolve issues before they significantly impact productivity
4. With remote assistance included, IT can deliver remote management and protection to keep both IT and end-users productive from virtually anywhere.
5. Track hardware and software inventory to help customers in IT planning and asset management purposes.
6. Set security policies. Centrally manage update, firewall, and malware protection settings across all PCs, even on remote machines outside the corporate network.
3. What is Windows Intune 2.0 , what are the changes ?
This is an upgraded version of the first edition of Windows Intune. The core features remains unchanged, but Microsoft made significant usability improvements. Each new update builds upon the prior version, so regardless of when Windows Intune customers purchase the service, they will automatically get the latest and greatest features available.
•Software Distribution: Now beside Microsoft software, we can even distribute 3rd party, or line of business applications and updates to Windows Intune managed clients anywhere, through the cloud.
•Remote Tasks: Remotely perform “ Full scan, Quick scan, Restart, Update Malware Definitions “ tasks, from the Admin Console. For instance, if there is an alert for a malware threat that has been blocked, you can run a scan remotely from the administration console on the affected PC. Which is giving us the chance to run a scan whenever YOU think, its necessary . This way we don't have to wait the Remote user to send us a Remote Assistance Request as well.
•Read-only Access: These service administrators have read-only rights and cannot modify data in the console; they can only view data in the console and run reports.
•Robust license management: Licencing , can be a nightmare. Specially if you don’t have a central place to manage them. This section is designed to track and monitor licenses for Microsoft Retail Licenses, Microsoft OEM Licenses, and third-party software licenses in addition to Microsoft VL Agreements.
•Enhanced Reporting: Create your own way to select which reports to run. Windows Intune has many inbuilt filters to give you the option to run any report that you need
•Alerts & Monitoring: Configure alert types to be reported according to a specified threshold, frequency, or number or percent of computers affected. This helps IT pros be as proactive as they would like about potential issues and provides them insight into the magnitude of the issue.
•Numerous usability and UI enhancements: Windows Intune 2.0 has read-only access and new context menus, copy and paste, drag and drop, search, filter, and improved organization capabilities throughout the product and Microsoft continues to evolve Windows Intune…
4. How is the Windows Intune Architecture build ?
There are three main technology components to the Windows Intune solution :
1) The first component is the Windows Intune service itself, which has been designed from the ground up as a highly scalable and reliable cloud-based service. The design of the Windows Intune service was based on the work that was done for the Microsoft® Update Service (the world’s largest cloud-based service). The geographically dispersed data centers that support this service are enterprise-class, redundant systems that support millions of customers every day.
2. Windows Intune client agents, which handle the communications from the PC to the Windows Intune service. All of these communications are secured and encrypted by using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). These communications are initiated from the client over Port 80 or Port 443, both of which tend to work with most organizations’ firewalls without additional configuration.
3. Windows Intune administrator console, which accesses this data from the managed computers. This console is also secured and encrypted by using SSL. Only a Windows Live™ ID that has specifically been granted administrative rights to the account may access the Windows Intune administrator console.
PS: This article is published by Erdal Ozkaya www.erdalozkaya.comwww.yourmct.com
5.) Where are the Windows Intune Datacentre's located ( The Windows Intune Cloud)
The service status option will show the Datacentres current status and if any the scheduled maintenance date & time.
6.) How can you subscribe to Windows Intune ?
6. ) What are the benefits of Windows Intune ?
Manage and Secure Windows PCs Anywhere
The Windows Intune cloud service helps you manage and secure your customers’ PCs through a simple Web-based console, whether your IT staff or end users are in the main office, at a customer branch office, or on the road.
The Best Windows Experience
The Windows Intune solution includes license rights to upgrade any business edition of a Windows® operating system to Windows 7 Enterprise. This enables you to provide a better experience for your customers that is easier to manage by standardizing your PC environment.
The Key benefits of Windows Intune are :
Windows Intune combines cloud services for update management, protection against malicious software, reporting, and asset inventory—all in a single license.
Microsoft Forefront® Endpoint Protection 2010 is the security-specific product that unifies protection against malicious software for business desktops and portable computers, but also protects server operating systems.
Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 is the solution to comprehensively assess, deploy, and update your servers, clients, and devices—across physical, virtual, distributed, and mobile environments. Optimized for Windows and extensible beyond, it is a great choice for gaining enhanced insight into, and control over, your IT systems.
Microsoft System Center Essentials combines both physical and virtual solutions for IT management for organizations that have up to 500 PCs.
Update Management
Windows Intune manages Microsoft updates and service packs without the need for—and cost of—added infrastructure. Comparatively, enterprise-class solutions such as System Center Configuration Manager 2007 have premium software update capabilities, but also require additional server investment. Using Windows Intune,
7.) What about Windows 8, should I wait before I subscribe to Windows Intune ?
Windows Intune comes with Software Assurance, which means you will keep up to date with all next versions of your Windows. And there is no minimum seat subscription requirements for you to be Software Assurance eligible.
PS: This article is published by Erdal Ozkaya www.erdalozkaya.comwww.yourmct.com PS: This article is published by Erdal Ozkaya www.erdalozkaya.comwww.yourmct.com
8. ) Which O/S ‘s are supported by Windows Intune?
The Windows Intune service will work on any business edition of Windows from Windows XP Service Pack 2 or later. Yes, this means no Windows Server support :(
9.) What do I need to buy & run Windows Intune ?
A Microsoft live ID to be able to subscribe to the Windows Intune Service. And a Internet browser which supports Microsoft Silverlight v3 and up.
System Requirements for Windows Intune are:
The computer must be able to connect to the Internet and have a minimum of 500 megahertz of CPU clock speed, 256 megabytes of RAM, and 200 megabytes of disk space. Most modern computers will easily meet these standards.
10.) What is the Windows Intune Work Space?
www.erdalozkaya.com erdal ozkaya what is windows intune stepby step windows intune
11.) How can Windows Intune help IT Pro’s and End Users to be more productive ?
12.) How can Windows Intune help IT Pro’s to secure PC’s? windows intune step by step
13.) How can Windows Intune serve your mobile workface better ? "windows intune expored by erdal ozkaya"
Windows Intune, all in one: windows intune expored by erdal ozkaya"
windows intune expored by erdal ozkaya"
There’s no shortage of buzz around “the Cloud.” Everybody’s talking about it. But, really, what is it? Do you understand the jargon? Can you clearly articulate why and how these technologies drive your customers’ businesses? How can business leaders provide employees with cloud skills and why is it important to start that process now? You have told us you’re not fully prepared to lead Cloud conversations with your customers and could use a little “kick-start.” Well the Cloud 101 Jump Start is it. This will help you and your organization understand the Cloud and Microsoft’s uniquely complete approach to helping companies embrace cloud solutions. Check out the details:
REGISTER NOW
09:00am: Understanding the Cloud Movement
What’s a “Jump Start” Course? Training specifically designed for experienced technologists whose jobs demand they know how to best leverage new, emerging Microsoft technologies. These advanced courses assume a certain level of expertise and domain knowledge, so they move quickly and cover topics in a fashion that enables teams to effectively map new skills to real-world situations.
Each year, Valentine's Day reminds us of how much we love our Subject Matter Experts! It’s also the time of the year for our annual SME Profile Satisfaction Survey!
So… if you are currently a member, we’d like to hear about your experiences over the last year. Your feedback will help us continue to make improvements to the program. You may have already received an email from us, but if for some cosmic reason the message didn’t come through please complete the SME Profile Program Satisfaction Survey by going to the MSL Subject Matter Experts site on Microsoft Connect (http://connect.microsoft.com/site862), log in with your Windows Live ID, and click on the SME Profile Program Satisfaction Survey link on the front page under the "Survey" section.
You’ve probably heard—Microsoft Certification is twenty years old this year! That’s a lot of exams developed, a lot of exams taken, a lot of certifications earned. And time for a lot of improvements made to the exam development process.
The fundamental process is based on industry-recognized best practices, so its basic flow has remained pretty much the same from the beginning: define the content domain, develop the blueprint, write the items, review the items, run the beta test, finalize the item pool, set the cut score, and then publish and sustain for the life of the exam.
But, over these past two decades, we’ve made some big improvements in our item types and who is involved in the process:
Today
Back Then
External subject matter experts write items
Product groups wrote items or hired contractors to write items
More interactive item types are being added to exams; in fact, most new exams will contain a minimum of 3 different item types
We used mostly multiple choice items
You will not see true/false items on our exams (good T/F items are very difficult to write well and easy to guess)
A few true/false questions were sprinkled through our first exams
We’re pilot testing a short answer “fill in the blank” code snippet item type on our code based exams
Our very first exams had a few short answer “fill in the blank” types of questions but these were removed because of scoring was extremely complex
External subject matter experts review items
Items were reviewed by internal Microsoft employees
Beta exams are free
Beta exams cost $50
External subject matter experts set the cut score
The cut score was set by internal Microsoft employees
You can see there’s been a big shift from relying on internal Microsoft employees to working with external subject matter experts to develop exam content. In fact, today, the product group is rarely involved in exam content development. This means we’re testing the real world use of Microsoft technologies and not the “Microsoft way.” Our process today is aimed at developing exam content that tests relevant, practical usage, not how the product group hopes the technology will be used.
And another change that you may have noticed is that we’ve become more transparent about these processes. We’re proud of our exam development process—and when you’re doing something so well, why not tell the world?
So, we’re always looking for ways to shed some light into what has been a black box in the past. What parts of the box remain dark for you? What do you want to know about our exam development and sustainment processes today? Tell us what you think.
Over 4,000 global IT Professionals registered for the February 21-22, 2012 offering! To accommodate demand, we're running this course again on April 3-4, 2012. You don't want to miss it, so register now!
Microsoft Learning and the Microsoft System Center 2012 team are partnering to bring provide IT Professionals an exciting opportunity to learn what they need to know to deploy, manage and maintain Microsoft’s private cloud solution. Leveraging the popular Jump Start virtual classroom approach, the industry’s most gifted cloud experts will show attendees why this new private cloud solution, based on System Center 2012 and Windows Server, has garnered so much attention. Here are the details:
COURSE OUTLINE
Day 1: Deployment & ConfigurationPart 1: Understanding the Microsoft Private Cloud Part 2: Deploying the Infrastructure Components Part 3: Deploying the Private Cloud Infrastructure Part 4: Deploying the Service Layer Part 5: Deploying the Applications & VMs
Day 2: Management & OperationsPart 6: Managing the Infrastructure ComponentsPart 7: Managing the Private Cloud InfrastructurePart 8: Managing the Service LayerPart 9: Managing the Applications & VMs
INSTRUCTOR TEAMStudents have the opportunity to learn from and interact with the industry’s best cloud technologists! This high-energy, demo-rich learning experience will help IT Professionals understand why Microsoft private cloud solutions are making a splash in the industry. Here are the instructors for this two-day event!
What’s a “Jump Start” Course? Training specifically designed for experienced technologists whose jobs demand they know how to best leverage new, emerging Microsoft technologies. These advanced courses assume a certain level of expertise and domain knowledge, so they move quickly and cover topics in a fashion that enables teams to effectively map new skills to real-world situations. Check out recordings of the Office 365 Jump Start and the Microsoft Virtualization for VMware Professionals, too!
Register now for the Private Cloud Jump Start