BUILT-IN\Administrators vs. Domain Admins

A question I've recieved from a colleague this week which a could not give a straight anwser to: What's the difference between BUITL-IN\Administrators and Domain Admins?

Ok... after some intense googling:

If you add a user to the Built-In Administrators group on a domain controller, that user becomes
an administrator on all domain controllers in your domain, and by extension a Domain Admininstrator.

The difference between making a user a member of Administrators on a Domain Controller vs making them member of the Domain Admins Security Group is an
implementation detail.

Let's take an example:
Domain Admins are members of the local Administrators group on each domain-joined workstation and member server, where BUILTIN\Administrators are not and BUILTIN\Administrators is a Domain Local group whereas
Domain Admins is a global group. So making a user a Domain Admin will automatically grant the user certain rights to domain-joined
workstations and servers where BUILTIN\Administrators does not...but at the end of the day a member of BUILTIN\Administrators on a DC still
has the effective rights of a Domain Admin, and so a determined user could figure out how to grant themselves
whatever rights they don't have by default on workstations/member servers. This is a security issue not to take for granted!

From a security perspective, BUILTIN\Administrators membership should be treated as the security equivalent of
Domain Admins, even though there are certain implementation details that may differ.

As writen before:
BUILTIN\Administrators on a Domain Controller still has the effective rights of a Domain Admin, and so a determined user could figure out how to grant themselves whatever rights they don't have by default on workstations/member servers.

So what's the point of Microsoft using BUILTIN\Administrators in Domain Controllers instead of just using the Domain Admins?
Backwards compatibility with pre-Active Directory NOS's, same as the rest of the BUILTIN objects. It's basicaly a legacy feature which Microsoft has not yet decided to remove...

Mere words can not describe...

I searched among the card displays,
To see if I could find,
A little something that would say
Just what was on my mind.

However there was not a one,
That captured it just right,
For no one else can understand
Just what I'd like to write.

I even find it difficult
To try to write it down,
For how do I portray to you,
The love that I have known?

I close my eyes and what I see,
Is someone I adore;
A person who is beautiful,
Right down into their soul.

Mere words cannot describe
The many qualities you show,
The love and caring nature that
You share with those who know.

Your kind and gentle temperament,
Your sweet angelic smile,
Your softly spoken sentiments,
That reach across the miles.

Your smile and laugh that sparkle with
The softness of your sighs,
The way your face lights up a room ...
That twinkle in your eye.

The loving gestures through the years,
That quickly come to mind,
For always you've a gentle word
To calm and soothe I find.

I struggle and I search to try
To find some words anew ...
And yet I cannot capture
All the things that make you you.

I shall therefore, be satisfied
That you must simply know,
Just how I feel about you,
For with words I cannot show.

Should you return to me

How to survive
How to calm my thirst
How can I continue without you
How can I jump without a net [to catch me]
With that farewell so wild and cruel
You hurt me to the core
I remain stuck in time
And my heart is a desert

Oh if you would come back to me
The sun moves through 1000 spring times
If you returned to me
It would be miracle with each kiss you give me
But today you’re gone
And there is no turning back

What is there after you?
More than these tears
Like the rain in a garden
Little music in end
I could try but I would fall
Today I say “goodbye” on bended knees
That by good of the two
I sense the emptiness in you
I’m crazy that I am dying of love

Oh if you could come back to me
The sun moves through 1000 spring times
If you returned to me
It would miracle each time you see me.
But today you are gone
And there is no return for us

And, I am an undone hurricane,
The fire and fury of a volcano
That doesn’t turn off
I was like a fine wine
Slave to you
I am no longer able

Oh if you come back to me,
If you returned to me,
I would be happy once again
But today you are gone
And there is no turning back.

I will not turn back anymore...

Windows 7 "XP Mode" RC Released !!!

The much talked about “secret feature” of Windows 7; XP Mode. Is in RC (Release Candidate) and available to download for all who want to try it out. “Windows XP Mode is specially designed for small and medium-sized businesses to help ease the migration process to Windows 7 by providing additional compatibility for their older productivity applications. Windows XP Mode provides what we like to call that “last mile” compatibility technology for those cases when a Windows XP productivity application isn’t compatible with Windows 7.” as quoted from The Windows Blog.

Based on feedback Microsoft got from the beta. They have added lots of features. Here are some of the new features included in the RC.

*) You can now attach USB devices to Windows XP Mode applications directly from the Windows 7 task-bar. This means your USB devices, such as printers and flash drives, are available to applications running in Windows XP Mode, without the need to go into full screen mode.
*) You can now access Windows XP Mode applications with a “jump-list”. Right click on the Windows XP Mode applications from the Windows 7 task bar to select and open most recently used files.
*) You now have the flexibility of customizing where Windows XP Mode differencing disk files are stored.
*) You can now disable drive sharing between Windows XP Mode and Windows 7 if you do not need that feature.
*) The initial setup now includes a new user tutorial about how to use Windows XP Mode.

In order to run the XP Mode RC properly. You must have either RC (7100) or RTM (7600) version of Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate or Enterprise. Also you must have 1 GB of RAM, 15 GB of available disk space, and processor capable of hardware virtualization with AMD-V or Intel VT turned on in the BIOS.

The download consists of a 5 MB Virtual PC file and a 450 MB copy of Windows XP Service Pack 3. Try it for yourself here.

To cloud or not to cloud?

I've read a blog from Alex de Jong called "To cloud or not to cloud".
Next I was part of a discussion about it... Note: It's in Dutch!
Some people saying that cloud computing is THE future of the IT business... others saying the exact opposite!
There I've found myself smack in the middle of that... 'cause I agree with both. Both ways have positive- but also negative points.

What to decide? Well... I think that's something everyone has to decide for themselves.

But then I started thinking, which is never a good sign for the rest of the world... What is cloud computing? the definition can be found here

So... let's take the internet... that's basically one big cloud!

So to all people that say "I will never cloud... no matter what you say, I will not do it!" I can only say: "You ignorant fool!" You use webbased mail? Twitter? Facebook? Google? Newsfeeds?.... Yes? Then your already cloud-computing!

Ignorance is bliss? Not when you're done reading this article :-P