About Jon

Hi! Welcome to my website.

It isn’t my first site. I had one for some time and I hosted it myself back when I ran a web hosting firm. But when I sold the company, I lost access to it and it eventually went offline. So this page has been blank or 404ing for some time. Here’s my attempt to get it going again. Not the most attractive site ever, but then again, that could be said about me, too…

Anyway, welcome. If you’re interested in getting in touch, e-mail me at jon at jonathanhassell dot com.

I live just outside Charlotte, NC but travel often anywhere and everywhere. I love the Carolina Panthers, North Carolina State University, and folks with good senses of humor.

What I Do Today

My full-time job is as an acquisitions and development editor for Apress. We publish books on all sorts of things, though I acquire and edit books on Windows topics primarily, with a special emphasis on Office and SharePoint.

I also am a frequent contributor for Computerworld and TechTarget on the subject of enterprise networking, Windows administration, and general security matters.

I write whitepapers for Microsoft, IBM, and other technical companies in the same areas of technology.

I also occasionally do training, and a couple of times a year, I give a talk to a small- to medium-sized group on whatever they think I know something about.

Getting in Touch

You can see my LinkedIn profile here.

You can also see me on Twitter here. If we’re reasonable acquaintances, feel free to add me as a friend on Facebook (but I don’t use my Facebook account for business purposes).

If you’d like to get in touch, please leave a comment on this page and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

Books I’ve Written

For a while, I wrote books about computers and networks and the Internet.  It was a full time job for me during some of those years. I don’t really do that much anymore, partly because I spend all day editing books and partly because it takes so long to do, but a couple of them are still selling to this day.

• RADIUS (O’Reilly Media, 1st edition, October 2002; ISBN 978-0596003227)
• Hardening Windows (Apress, 1st edition, April 2004; ISBN 978-1590592663)
• Learning Windows Server 2003 (O’Reilly Media, 1st edition, December 2004, out of print)
• Using Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 (Apress, 1st edition, April 2005; ISBN 978-1590594650)
• Hardening Windows (Apress, 2nd edition, October 2005; ISBN 978-1590595398)
• Learning Windows Server 2003 (O’Reilly Media, 2nd edition, February 2006; ISBN 978-0596101237)
• Windows Vista: Beyond the Manual with my good friend Tony Campbell (Apress, 1st edition, February 2007; ISBN 978-1590597712)
• Outlook 2007: Beyond the Manual also with Tony Campbell (Apress, 1st edition, March 2007; ISBN 978-1590597965)
• Windows Server 2008: The Definitive Guide (O’Reilly Media, 1st edition, March 2008; ISBN 978-0596514112)

Articles and Short Pieces

I’ve been writing short articles and stories on computing (primarily Windows) topics since 1999. Obviously, even with the Internet’s long memory, some of those pieces are no longer available online. Some of them I’ve even forgotten about writing. But here’s a list, as best I can piece it together, of a large portion of my work covering these years.

• Choosing a Database for Your Publishing Operation (Publish Magazine, September 2000)
• BackOffice Server-What’s In It For Me? (Windows IT Pro, November 2000)
• Staying Sane When Your Computers Just Won’t Work (Windows IT Pro, November 2000)
• Implementing BackOffice Server 2000: Part 1 (Windows IT Pro, December 2000)
• Implementing BackOffice Server 2000: Part 2 (Windows IT Pro, December 2000)
• New Years Bring New Servers (Windows IT Pro, January 2001)
• Constructing a Homegrown Server (Windows IT Pro, January 2001)
• Housekeeping and Hodgepodge (Windows IT Pro, February 2001)
• Protecting Your Assets (Windows IT Pro, February 2001)
• Security Isn’t Just for the Corporate World (Windows IT Pro, February 2001)
• Managing Your Remote BackOffice Servers (Windows IT Pro, March 2001)
• Three Big Security Problems (Windows IT Pro, March 2001)
• Remote Access, Part II – VPNs and BackOffice Server (Windows IT Pro, March 2001)
• Email Security and You (Windows IT Pro, March 2001)
• Keeping Your Installation in Shape with Health Monitor (Windows IT Pro, March 2001)
• Using Network Access Translation to Secure Your SOHO’s Web Connection (Windows IT Pro, April 2001)
• Using PGP to Secure Your SOHO Email (Windows IT Pro, April 2001)
• How Firewalls Work (Windows IT Pro, May 2001)
• Good Things Come in Small Packages (Windows IT Pro, May 2001)
• Spyware, Part 1 (Windows IT Pro, June 2001)
• Stop the Email Invaders (Windows IT Pro, June 2001)
• Network Addressing and Your Web Connection (Windows IT Pro, June 2001)
• Handy Routers Link Computers (Windows IT Pro, June 2001)
• Spyware, Part 2 (Windows IT Pro, June 2001)
• Zombie Attackers (Windows IT Pro, June 2001)
• Zixit Makes Securing Your SOHO Email Easy (Windows IT Pro, July 2001)
• Encryption Basics (Windows IT Pro, July 2001)
• Customizing Apache for Maximum Performance (IBM developerWorks, June 2002)
• Automating Windows Patch Management, Part 1 (SecurityFocus, February 2004)
• Automating Windows Patch Management, Part 2 (SecurityFocus, February 2004)
• Automating Windows Patch Management, Part 3 (SecurityFocus, May 2004)
• Wireless Attacks and Penetration Testing, Part 1 (SecurityFocus, June 2004)
• Wireless Attacks and Penetration Testing, Part 2 (SecurityFocus, June 2004)
• Wireless Attacks and Penetration Testing, Part 3 (SecurityFocus, July 2004)
• Deploying Network Access Quarantine Control, Part 1 (SecurityFocus, August 2004)
• Deploying Network Access Quarantine Control, Part 2 (SecurityFocus, August 2004)
• Securing Exchange with ISA Server 2004 (SecurityFocus, October 2004)
• Six Steps for Deploying Network Access Quarantine Control (TechTarget, November 2004)
• How Network Access Quarantine Works (TechTarget, November 2004)
• The Three Most Overdue Windows Fixes (TechTarget, December 2004)
• Working with Roaming User Profiles (O’Reilly.com, February 2005)
• What Microsoft Should Do to Harden IIS (TechTarget, March 2005)
• Deploy Windows Server 2003 SP1 with Remote Installation Services (TechTarget, June 2005)
• Is Firefox Spyware’s Next Target? (TechTarget, July 2005)
• Single-Firewall DMZ or Dual-Firewall DMZ – What’s It Gonna Be? (TechTarget, September 2005)
• Windows Networking Mistakes: The Five Most Common (TechTarget, October 2005)
• Locking Down Services on XP Workstations (TechTarget, October 2005)
• Resources for Integrating Microsoft and Dell Patch Management (TechTarget, October 2005)
• Step-by-Step Guide: Network Access Quarantine Control (TechTarget, January 2006)
• What is Endpoint Security? (TechTarget, February 2006)
• QuickStudy: Network Access Quarantine Control (Computerworld, May 2006)
• The Top 5 Ways to Prevent IP Spoofing (Computerworld, June 2006)
• NAQC and NAP: A Comparison (TechTarget, June 2006)
• What You Need to Know about IPv6 (Computerworld, July 2006)
• What You Need to Know about IIS 7 (Computerworld, August 2006)
• Four Improvements to Windows Vista Deployment (Computerworld, September 2006)
• Exchange Server 2007: The Ten-Minute Guide (Computerworld, October 2006)
• Microsoft Longhorn Server Core: Security Implications (TechTarget, October 2006)
• The Devil’s Guide to Windows Vista Security (Computerworld, November 2006)
• Review: Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 (Computerworld, December 2006)
• FAQ: Microsoft’s Forefront Server Security Family (Computerworld, January 2007)
• Longhorn Server Revealed: Active Directory Enhancements (Computerworld, January 2007)
• Longhorn Server Revealed: Group Policy Enhancements (Computerworld, January 2007)
• Managing Windows Vista Networking Through Group Policy (Computerworld, March 2007)
• What You Need to Know about Microsoft’s Groove Server (Computerworld, April 2007)
• Real-World Advice about Office 2007 Deployment (Computerworld, April 2007)
• Are Tougher NACs Needed in Your Shop? (TechTarget, April 2007)
• Hands On: Windows Server Longhorn Beta 3 Review (Computerworld, May 2007)
• Five Tips for Getting Started with Server Virtualization (Computerworld, May 2007)
• Recover Encrypted Files in Windows Server 2003 (TechTarget, May 2007)
• Secure Network Folders Demand Secure Permissions (TechTarget, May 2007)
• Patch Management; Windows Update for Network Security (TechTarget, August 2007)
• Battle of the Free Server Virtualization Tools (Computerworld, September 2007)
• Server Security Software: A Shopper’s Guide (Computerworld, September 2007)
• Windows Server 2008: Looking Good on the Security Front (TechTarget, October 2007)
• Managing Windows Network Access on Additional Server (TechTarget, November 2007)
• Securely Manage Windows File Sharing and Folder Permissions (TechTarget, November 2007)
• Windows Server 2008 Revealed: Hyper-V Virtualization (Computerworld, December 2007)
• Preview of NAP in Windows Server 2008 (TechTarget, December 2007)
• Windows Server 2008 Security Aided by NAP and IPsec (TechTarget, February 2008)
• Review: Much to Like in Windows Server 2008 (Computerworld, February 2008)
• What’s New and Improved in IPsec in Windows Server 2008 (TechTarget, March 2008)
• PowerShell Tips and Tricks (Computerworld, March 2008)
• Review: Microsoft Intelligent Application Gateway and Celestix VPN Appliance (Computerworld, May 2008)
• Opinion: RTM edition of Microsoft Hyper-V Adds Speed (Computerworld, June 2008)
• Review: Windows Essential Business Server 2008 Release Candidate 1 (Computerworld, July 2008)
• Review: HP c3000 BladeSystem Enclosure (Computerworld, September 2008)
• Review: Microsoft’s System Center Virtual Machine Manager (Computerworld, October 2008)
• Opinion: 10 Best Features in Windows 7 for IT Professionals (Computerworld, October 2008)
• Preview: Windows Server 2008 R2 (Computerworld, November 2008)
• Hands On With Windows Server 2008 R2: DirectAccess (Computerworld, March 2009)
• Hands on with Windows Server 2008 R2: Admin Tools (Computerworld, May 2009)
• Hands On with Windows Server 2008 R2: The Windows File Classification Infrastructure (Computerworld, June 2009)
• Using Active Directory to Manage Macs in a Windows Environment (TechTarget, June 2009)
• Review: Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM (Computerworld, July 2009)
• New Windows Server 2008 R2 Features Reduce Power Consumption (TechTarget, July 2009)
• Group Policy Makes Strides in Windows Server 2008 (TechTarget, August 2009)
• Top 10 Things You Don’t Know about Windows Server 2008 R2 (TechTarget, September 2009)
• Top 25 Windows PowerShell Commands for Administrators (TechTarget, September 2009)
• Hands-on: Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 (Computerworld, March 2010)
• Can Windows Server 2008 R2 Save You Money? (TechTarget, March 2010)
• Customizing SharePoint: Integrating Tools, Data Flows, and More (TechTarget, March 2010)
• Is DirectAccess a Threat to Windows Security? (TechTarget, March 2010)
• Simple Project Management Software Options For When Excel Isn’t Enough (TechTarget, April 2010)
• What’s Next for Windows Server and Beyond? (TechTarget, May 2010)
• From A to Xen: Your Options for Virtual Desktops (TechTarget, May 2010)
• Microsoft System Center 2010: Hands On with Essentials and Data Protection Manager (Computerworld, May 2010)
• Windows Server Licensing Tips for Virtualization (TechTarget, June 2010)
• How to Optimize Your Microsoft Business Intelligence Strategy (TechTarget, June 2010)
• iPhone vs. Android: Which is Better for Smartphone App Developers? (Computerworld, July 2010)
• Choosing Your Enterprise Mobile Device Strategy (TechTarget, July 2010)
• The Business Intelligence Market: A Survey (Datamation, August 2010)
• On Education for Virtualization (TechTarget, August 2010)
• SMB Backup Options (TechTarget, August 2010)
• On Outsourcing E-Mail (TechTarget, October 2010)
• Latest Azure Developments Might Tempt More Developers (Computerworld, November 2010)

Multimedia

Occasionally, I’ll do a webinar, podcast, or something other than just the written word.

• Hardening Windows School: Network Access Quarantining (TechTarget, June 2005)
• Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 Training: 70-282 Exam (Train Signal, fall-ish 2007)
• Windows Server 2008 R2: Active Directory, Group Policy, and the NEW Terminal Services (for TechTarget, November 2009)
• Looking to 2010 – What The Future Holds (TechTarget, December 2009)
• Considerations for Moving to Windows Server 2008 R2 (TechTarget, August 2010)