Tips on using the SQL Server Security forum

Question

I am collecting here a few tips on using this forum. The tips are actually pretty general, they're not really specific to SQL Server or to this particular SQL Server Security forum.

1. Verify that you are posting to the right forum. Check the list from http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/default.aspx?SiteID=1 to see whether there is a more appropriate forum for your discussion topic. By posting to the appropriate forum, you will be able to get an answer to your questions faster.

2. Try to avoid crossposting or posting the same issue several times. Do a search to see if your question was already answered. If you receive an answer on another forum, please update or remove your other posts on the same subject.

3. Please mark the posts that answer your questions using the "Mark as Answer" button. This will allow other readers to quickly identify the useful information in a thread. There can be more posts marked as answers in a single thread!

4. If you have posted on this forum but cannot find the post in it anymore, then it might have been moved to another forum. Check using the "My Threads" link: http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/User/MyForums.aspx?SiteID=1; it will show all the posts you've made and it will allow you to track a post that was moved to another forum. Also, consider enabling email notifications when a response is made to the threads you initiate.

5. If you are having several problems that are not related, post each one in a separate thread. This will make your posts more usable to other readers by being focused on specific issues.

6. Provide detailed and relevant information on the errors that you see. Include the error number and state, not just the error text. Also check the SQL Server error log; for some errors, the errorlog will contain additional information that can be used to debug the issue.

7. Here are a couple of additional resources that you may find helpful:

   - If you think you have discovered a bug and you do not get an answer to your post about it, check http://lab.msdn.microsoft.com/productfeedback/Default.aspx. You can search there to see if a report was already filed, and if it wasn't, then you can file one.  I recommend to post on a forum first and only file a report on this site if you get no answer to your post.

   - If you think you have discovered a security vulnerability, you can file a report at: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/alertus.aspx.

Thank you

Laurentiu

Answer 1

I thought of also adding a set of links to blogs that are related to the topics often discussed in this forum:

Security:

http://blogs.msdn.com/lcris/
http://blogs.msdn.com/raulga/
http://blogs.msdn.com/yukondoit/ (this one is discontinued for now, but there's some useful info on it)

Protocols:

http://blogs.msdn.com/sql_protocols/

Online Documentation:

Books Online: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms130214.aspx

 

Answer 2

Just a note that questions related to SQL Server Agent are best directed to the SQL Server Tools General forum. If posted here, questions will be moved to this forum.

Thanks
Laurentiu