Director's Brown Bag
In 90 on Wednesday

Director Charles Shank's quarterly Brown Bag discussions with lab employees will move to Building 90 on Wednesday, where he and Deputy Director Pier Oddone will entertain questions and share Laboratory updates beginning at noon in 90-3148. Previous lunchtime discussions have been held in Perseverance Hall, Building 84, and downtown Berkeley. All Lab employees are invited to participate in the one-hour conversation

Initiatives To Bolster Lab Security are Launched

Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announced a set of sweeping new initiatives Friday to improve security across the Energy Department's nationwide network of laboratories and defense facilities, particularly those housing weapons-grade nuclear material. Abraham noted that the Energy Department, which develops and maintains the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile, is responsible for protecting critical national defense assets that "simply put, must not be allowed to fall into the wrong hands." Full story.

Sharp

UC Berkeley Holds
Biotech Summit

A biotech conference at UC Berkeley today and tomorrow will explore innovative science in the context of its utility in the business world. The summit, produced by Connections Institute and hosted by the California Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Research (QB3), is aimed at business leaders who use cutting-edge science to create business opportunities, and pioneering academics whose work places them at the interface between science and entrepreneurship. Berkeley Lab speakers include Jay Keasling , Paul Alivisatos , and Adam Arkin . Former Lab scientist Peter Schultz will give the keynote address. Go here to see a complete agenda.

Thanks to quick action by the Lab's Computer Protection Program, Lab Windows systems have so far been spared from a major outbreak of the new Sasser worm. This worm exploits Windows systems vulnerability that allows unauthorized code to run on victim systems. In contrast, numerous organizations around the world, including banks, financial services institutions, and universities, have suffered massive Sasser infections that have brought computing activity to a standstill, requiring considerable effort and cost to restore.

Windows Accounts Need Password Protection

Windows systems running MS-SQL Server or the Microsoft Database Engine (MSDE) may have an account -- created when these applications were installed -- without a password, making it an easy target for hackers and worms. To determine if either or both of these applications are running, bring up a command prompt, enter the net start command, then check the output to see if these applications are listed. If so, go here for instructions on changing this password. Go here for guidelines on setting difficult-to-guess passwords.