Microsoft leads seizure of Zeus-related cybercrime servers

The company said it has shutdown several botnets that stole an estimated US$100 million over five years

IDG News Service - Microsoft said on Monday it and several partners had disrupted several cybercrime rings that used a notorious piece of malicious software called Zeus to steal US$100 million over the last five years.

The company said a consolidated legal case has been filed against those allegedly responsible that for the first time applies the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

Zeus has been a thorn in the side for financial institutions due to its stealthy nature and advanced spying capabilities that center around stealing online banking and e-commerce credentials for fraud.

Best Microsoft MCTS Certification, Microsoft MCITP Training at certkingdom.com

According to a complaint filed under seal on March 19 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Microsoft accused the defendants of infecting more than 13 million computers and stealing more than US$100 million over the last five years.

The civil complaint lists 39 "John Doe" defendants, many of whom are identified only by online nicknames, such as "Gribodemon" and "Harderman."

It marks the latest action led by Microsoft against botnet operators. The company has gone to court before to gain permission to take control over domain names associated with the command-and-control infrastructure of botnets such as Kelihos, Rustock and Waledac.

The company has also initiated civil proceedings against unnamed operators but has had little success due to jurisdiction issues.

Mark Debenham, senior manager of investigations for Microsoft's Digital Crimes Unit, said the creators of Zeus -- as well as related malware such as SpyEye and Ice-IX -- sold "builder kits" to other would-be cybercriminals. Simple versions sold for as little as $700, while more advanced versions could cost $15,000 or more, according to Debenham's affidavit.

Microsoft also said this is the first time other parties have joined it as a plaintiff in a botnet case. The other plaintiffs are the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center, a nonprofit security organization, and the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA).

NACHA oversees the Automated Clearing House system (ACH), a widely-used but aging system used by financial institutions for exchanging details of direct deposits, checks and cash transfers made by businesses and individuals. It has been heavily targeted by Zeus.

In a single day in August 2011, 167 million phishing emails purported to be from NACHA were sent, according to a sworn affidavit included in the court documents from Pamela Moore, senior vice president of administrative services and NACHA's CFO. Those emails tried to entice victims into clicking links that led to malicious servers which would then install Zeus, she testified.

On a normal day, NACHA would only send out about 1,500 legitimate messages.

"The Zeus botnets have caused, and continue to cause, extreme damage to NACHA and its members, which, if allowed to continue, will be compounded as the case proceeds," Moore testified.

The court granted Microsoft and its partners permission to seize servers located in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Lombard, Illinois, on Friday. Microsoft has also taken control of 800 domains that are part of Zeus' infrastructure in an attempt to completely wrest control of the networks from their operators.

Microsoft said the action resulted in the disruption of several of Zeus botnets, and it would now work to identify and notify people whose computers are infected with the malicious software. Also contributing to the action was Finnish security vendor F-Secure and Kyrus Tech, a security company.

Best Microsoft MCTS Certification, Microsoft MCITP Training at certkingdom.com

HP to combine its PC and printer divisions, report says

HP will make its Printing and Imaging Group a part of its Personal Systems Group, sources told the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday

Hewlett-Packard Co. is to combine its PC and printer divisions into a single business unit, a move that will see Vyomesh "VJ" Joshi, the longtime head of HP's printer division, leave the company, according to a report published Tuesday.

HP plans to announce the move later today, according to a story in the Wall Street Journal's All Things D blog, which cited unnamed sources. An HP spokesman said the company declined to comment on the report.

BACKGROUND: Whitman gives HP harsh report card, outlines recovery plan

It would be the first sweeping change at HP since former eBay chief Meg Whitman took over as CEO last September. Whitman was brought in to right HP's ship after the company replaced two CEOs in a little over a year and appeared to lose its direction.

HP's Personal Systems Group, which makes its PCs and laptops, is the biggest division at the company, puling in $8.9 billion in revenue last quarter. The Imaging and Printing Group, traditionally one of its most profitable groups, brought in $6.3 billion last quarter. Together, the two groups account for about half of HP's total sales.

Under Tuesday's reorganization, HP's Imaging and Printing Group will be subsumed by its Personal Systems Group, and the combined division will be led by Todd Bradley, the executive vice president who today runs the Personal Systems Group, All Things D reported.

Joshi, who has been at HP since 1980, will leave the company, the paper reported.

Former CEO Leo Apotheker announced a plan last August under which HP might sell or spin off its PC division. It was a controversial move in part because of the uncertainty it created for HP customers, and Whitman was quick to announce after she came on board that HP would keep the PC group after all.

Microsoft HP Exam Training , HP Certification and over 2000+
Exams with Life Time Access Membership at http://www.actualkey.com

Windows 8 wants developers to fall into Metro lockstep

A unified approach to applications will make things easier on users

microsoft message to apps developers: Fit into the Metro style of Windows 8 to make things easier on end users, according to two developers.

Microsoft is trying to change users' expectations about applications in general by creating an environment that remains similar app to app, according to the developers, and that means complying with Metro style and tapping into features grounded in the operating system itself.

Best Microsoft MCTS Certification, Microsoft MCITP Training at certkingdom.com

Dictionary.com, which has written a Windows 8 application for its search service, uses the Windows 8 Search charm -- an icon -- that appears on the right side of the screen. That way users who want to make a search of the machine don't have to call up the application and execute a separate search command, says David Wygant, vice president of product and general manager of mobile at Dictionary.com.

Similarly, salespeople go to the same Search charm when they want to look for a given customer's data in a custom CRM application that has been written by Sonoma Partners for one of its clients.

Over time users will learn that the search charm is where to look for the search function when they are on a Windows 8 machine, regardless of what application they want to search with so long as all developers follow Microsoft's suggestions, Wygant says. He calls this overarching search feature "persistent search."

Dictionary.com wrote its application at Microsoft's request and it is one of the apps available for free download when users download Windows 8 Consumer Preview. It was written with input from Microsoft on how the application should look and be navigated to fit in with the overall Windows 8 user interface, Wygant says.

Microsoft is promoting a global design standard for Metro-style apps so users will feel comfortable on Windows 8 machines regardless of what application they are using and no matter whether they have used it before. Functions specific to applications should reside in an application bar across the bottom of the screen that remains hidden until a finger swipe calls it up. In the Dictionary.com application that includes a verbal pronunciation of words, favorites and pinning.

Having such features located in the same place application to application makes learning new ones faster, Wygant says.

His company's application also makes use of Live Tiles, a Windows 8 feature that places a tile -- a colored square or rectangle -- on the computer's Start screen. It is said to be live because it displays dynamic content, such as Dictionary.com's word of the day. Users touch the tile to access the full application. "Live tiles let you consume part of the application without opening up the application," he says.

The Metro style strips away the chrome from applications, chrome being a term for the graphic decorations that can clutter a screen. "Dictionary is about words, content," Wygant says. "That's appealing for us. The user double-taps on a word within a definition, and it will look up the definition of that word without additional navigation."

Microsoft approached Dictionary.com in December 2011 to produce an application for Windows 8, and the company delivered it in January, a rapid turnaround time for one of its apps, Wygant says. Microsoft loaned Dictionary.com a Windows 8 touchscreen tablet to help in the process, but the company has been using the application on an iPad via Parallels and on PCs with a mouse and keyboard.

Wyant recommends picking the right programming language for the application being written. He says a graphics-heavy or processor-intensive app would better be written in C# than Java Script. Java Script works great for apps like Dictionary.com, but he would use C3 if he were writing a game.

As for the other application developer, Sonoma Partners, its application was written for a beer maker that has decided already to turn its mobile CRM application over to Windows 8 tablets. New Belgium Brewing of Fort Collins, Colo., is a Microsoft shop and sticking with Windows for its mobile devices fits with the IT department's expertise.

The brewers had tried a generic CRM mobile app for cellphones, but the app was so unwieldy that the 100-person salesforce -- called beer rangers -- didn't use it, says Jim Steger, a principal with Sonoma Partners. A slate proved too big, but a tablet the size of an iPad is about right, he says.

After riding around with beer rangers, his team got a good idea of what they wanted the application to do and wrote it up. The rangers need to tap into sales databases, check call schedules, enter survey information and drop orders into the backend workflow system.

The application is also hooked into the device's GPS so it can advise when a beer ranger is within driving distance of a prospective customer.

New Belgium's application, called Ultimate Beer Ranger, uses the Windows 8 Share charm to post entries to Facebook accounts the rangers have set up. They don't have to actually access Facebook, just enter the post and press a tile, Steger says. The app uses the Search charm as well to search CRM data.

It's still up in the air whether custom applications like Ultimate Beer Ranger will be allowed on Windows on ARM (WOA) devices, Steger says. Microsoft has said WOA machines will be maintained via Windows Update and will support applications only from Windows Store.

But having to put custom proprietary apps in the store would stymie development, he says. He wouldn't want to post such applications where they could be reviewed by competitors. He's told Microsoft about his concerns and he expects the company to address them by the time Windows 8 and WOA tablets are available, possibly sometime early next year.

Best Microsoft MCTS Certification, Microsoft MCITP Training at certkingdom.com

Essential browser tools for Web developers

Essential browser tools for Web developers
What the professionals use and recommend to their colleagues

Computerworld - Out of the thousands of cool add-ons out there for Firefox, Chrome and other popular Web browsers, only a select few make it onto the desktops of professional Web developers and designers. Which are the most useful for the day-to-day work of designing and developing websites?

Browser tools for Web devs

Code inspection, editing and debugging
Design assistance
Enhancing performance
Handy utilities
Boosting SEO
Collaboration

Best Microsoft MCTS Certification, Microsoft MCITP Training at certkingdom.com

Computerworld asked more than 20 professionals from across the country what they recommend to their colleagues and why. While they stuck mostly with free browser extensions, they couldn't resist throwing in a few highly useful tools and services that are accessed via a browser rather than being true add-ons.

Here's their hot list, where you'll find some old favorites and, we hope, discover some new tools for your arsenal.
Code inspection, editing and debugging

These three tools make the job of viewing website code and prototyping page changes fast and easy. No need to touch the live code until you're ready to commit to changes.

What it does: Inspects, edits and debugs website code within your browser.

Who recommends it:
• Matt Mayernick, vice president of Web development, Hudson Horizons in Saddle Brook, N.J.
• Josh Singer, president, Web312 in Chicago
• Richard Kesey, president and founder, Razor IT in Syracuse, N.Y.
• Ryan Burney, lead Web developer, 3 Roads Media in Greenwood Village, Col.

Why it's cool: Probably the best known of all the tools listed here, "Firebug is the greatest add-on ever created," Mayernick says. It's not just the fact that Firebug lets developers inspect website code and elements, but how it helps with debugging that makes the tool great. "If I am writing JavaScript that's changing the background color in a row, Firebug will show what's happening to the CSS code in real time," he says.
Firebug
Firebug displays the page's HTML code in the lower left window and its CSS data in the lower right. Click to view larger image.

Firebug inspects the code by presenting the HTML and the CSS code in two side-by-side windows. "Firebug is indispensable. What's cool is you can turn styles on or off or add styles on the fly. It lets me make changes live on the page without having to save or reload the files," says Burney.

"It's great for finding JavaScript errors," adds Kesey. "When you click on an Ajax link, it reads out what the action is and gives you the response in an HTTP format so you can see what the headers were and what's happening behind the scenes."
Web Developer
Author: Chris Pederick
Browsers supported: Chrome, Firefox
Price: Free
Where to get it: Install Web Developer for Chrome or Web Developer for Firefox

What it does: Provides a toolkit for viewing, editing and debugging websites.

Who recommends it:
• Darrell Armstead, mobile developer, DeepBlue in Atlanta
• Jen Kramer, senior interface developer, 4Web in Keene, N.H.

Why it's cool: "I love Web Developer because of the control it gives me over any site. It gives me the ability to strip a site down to its core, and lets me modify and tweak things to get it looking and working the way I want it to," Armstead says. But that's not all he likes: "I love the Outline Block Level Elements feature because it gives me a visual representation of how a site is built on the front end."
Web Developer add-on
Web Developer displays the style sheets associated with a page and lets you edit them to quickly see how changes will look before actually making any changes to the website's code. (Credit: Jen Kramer)
Click to view larger image.

Kramer chimes in: "What I like about it is the ability to look at CSS. It shows all of the style sheets available on the page, and I can edit those on the fly and see how it looks in the browser," she says. "That's particularly helpful to me because I work with content management systems. It allows me to style what's being sent to the browser.

"Firebug has something similar, but I find it more difficult to use. It's much harder to get a style sheet out of Firebug and into Joomla," Kramer adds. For me, Web Developer works better."
Google Chrome Developer Tools
Author: Google
Browser supported: Chrome
Price: Free
Where to get it: Included with the Chrome browser. Right-click on any Web page in Chrome and choose "Inspect Element," or choose View --> Developer --> Developer Tools from the menu.

What it does: Provides tools for inspecting, editing and debugging website code.

Who recommends it:
• Jason Hipwell, managing director, Clikzy Creative in Alexandria, Va.
• Shaun Rajewski, lead developer at Web Studios in Erie, Pa.
• Ryan Burney, 3 Roads Media

Why it's cool: Developer Tools is Google's answer to Firebug for Firefox, but there's no add-on to download: Google built it right into the Chrome browser.

"It is my favorite 'extension' because of its intuitive design, with HTML on the left, CSS on the right," says Hipwell. "Inspect Element will highlight elements on a page as you hover over them, which makes it easy to find the div tag I am looking for. It gives me the ability to see changes on a live site, but those changes exist only on my local computer, making it a perfect testing environment. Its simplicity is really what makes the tool so effective."
Chrome Developer Tools
Using Chrome Developer Tools, Clikzy's Jason Hipwell has replaced the Computerworld logo with his own in just a few clicks. (Credit: Clikzy Creative) Click to view larger image.

Rajewski is also a big fan. "Developer Tools allows you to see the final output of what is rendered to [the] screen, and has the ability to highlight individual elements, view the elements' CSS tags and inherited tags, and make 'live' changes to the code to see what it looks like in the browser without making file changes," he says.

"One nice thing about Chrome's Developer Tools is that it will give you the dimensions of things," says Burney. Click on the image URL and up pops the image with the associated link, image dimensions and file type displayed. That's something Firebug doesn't do, he says. "Being able to know at a glance the dimensions of an object, that's a big time saver."

Best Microsoft MCTS Certification, Microsoft MCITP Training at certkingdom.com

Best Microsoft MCTS Certification, Microsoft MCITP Training
at certkingdom.com

---

QUESTION 1
Certkingdom.com has employed you as a Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 administrator. The Certkingdom.com
network consists of a single Active Directory domain named Certkingdom.com.
The Certkingdom.com management has requested that you draw up a list of facts regarding knowledge
base articles.
Which of the following options would be part of your list?

A. Knowledge base articles can only be viewed by permitted users.
B. A knowledge base article selects the Work Offline option.
C. A knowledge base article displays the data in the Resources Earned Value view.
D. A knowledge base article edits the layout of each page.

Answer: A

Explanation: You should inform management that it can be viewed only by permitted users. If you
are permitted to use Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0, you can view the Knowledge Base Articles.
Reference: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/950100

---

QUESTION 2
Certkingdom.com has employed you as a Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 administrator. Certkingdom.com consists
of a Sales division and a Marketing division. Certkingdom.com is currently promoting the third edition of a
Finance software package. When a fourth edition is released, it is regarded as a major uCertkingdomrade.
The manual for the fourth edition requires a supplementary segment.
You have received instructions from the CIO to retain Third Edition documentation for clients that
continues using that edition of the software. The CIO has also informed you that new
documentation should only be produced for the Fourth Edition of the Finance package.
Which of the following actions should you take?

A. You should bring down the article template for edition 3.0 documents and assimilate a new
article template for edition 3.8 documents.
B. You should configure the content deployment settings to 3.0 documents.
C. You should bring down the article template for edition 3.0 documents and remove the
accounted attribute for edition 3.8 documents.
D. You should delete the projected attribute for edition 3.8 documents.

Answer: A

Explanation: You need to bring down the article template for edition 3.0 documents. You can also
assimilate a new article template for edition 3.8 documents. Article Templates are used when
working with the Knowledge Base (found in the Service section of Microsoft Dynamics CRM).
Reference: Working with Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM 4.0, Second Edition

---

QUESTION 3
Certkingdom.com has employed you as a Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 administrator.
You receive an instruction from the CIO to inform the new interns in your division of the records
that will be linked to the sales literature.
Which two of the following options should you take?

A. You should inform the interns that the Products will be linked.
B. You should inform the interns that the Attention grabbing headlines will be linked.
C. You should inform the interns that the Strong offers will be linked.
D. You should inform the interns that the Half-truths will be linked.

Answer: A

Explanation: You need to inform the interns that the Competitors and the Products are
associated. The Sales Literature consists of documentation about your products designed to be
used by your sales persons. Furthermore, with Sales Literature you can add Products and identify
Competitors.
Reference: Working with Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM 4.0, Second Edition

---

QUESTION 4
You are the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 administrator at Certkingdom.com. Certkingdom.com consists of a Sales
division and a Marketing division. For service management, Certkingdom.com makes use of contracts and
contract lines.
A new Certkingdom.com policy states that all cases must be associated with a contract line because this
information is necessary for analysis and reports. Historically, subject hierarchy was only created
for cases at Certkingdom.com. While analyzing the subject hierarchy, you notice a few previously used
ones that are not required any more.
You have been instructed to update the subject hierarchy.
Which of the following actions should you take?

A. You should navigate to the Views area of the Account Customization window and edit the
Lookup View.
B. The best option is to edit pick list options and current cases under their respective subjects.
C. The best option is to change all messages associated with the hierarchy and put the subjects
with the cases in it.
D. The best option is to reorganize the subject hierarchy.
Thereafter archive parent subject area should be created in the hierarchy and move the redundant
subjects under it.

Answer: D

Explanation: You need to reorganize the subject hierarchy and create an archive parent subject
area in the hierarchy and move the not needed subjects under it.
Reference: Working with Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM 4.0, Second Edition

---

QUESTION 5
You work as a Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 administrator at Certkingdom.com. The Certkingdom.com network
consists of a single Active Directory domain named Certkingdom.com.
Certkingdom.com consists of a Sales division. Certkingdom.com is using schedules for their Sales division. Some
of the users in the Sales division have permanent contracts, while others are hired on short-term
basis. The short-term users are normally employed for a minimum of two weeks at a time. You
then implement schedules for the users in the Sales division; however, the Sales staff does not
view the schedules. You need to keep the record of the short-term users.
Which of the following actions should you take?

A. You should create new format of the Contact records.
You should then have the short-term users disabled.
B. You should set up a Facility/Equipment record for every short-term user.
You should then remove the record when the short-term user’s contract expires and they depart.
C. You should create Contact entity.
You should then delegate the estimated time of job accomplishment.
D. You should delete the short-term user field from the record.

Answer: B

Explanation: You need to set up a Facility/Equipment record for each short-term user. You should
also delete the record when the short-term user’s contract expires and they depart.
Facilities/Equipment is needed when performing scheduling. It makes up the Resources
component. Delete Entity enables you to completely delete the record.
Reference: Working with Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM 4.0, Second Edition

---

Best Microsoft MCTS Certification, Microsoft MCITP Training
at certkingdom.com

7003-1 Q&A / Study Guide / Testing Engine

Best Avaya Certification Training and Avaya Exams Training and more Cisco exams log in to Certkingdom.com

---

QUESTION 1
A technician deployed a Communication Server 1000E with dual homing feature configured. Both
the T and 2T ports are connected on the media Gateway Controller (MGC) one connection is
active to avoid network loops.
Which two statements are true, if the connection to the active port on the MGC is host?
(Choose two)

A. The MGC will issue a link down error.
B. The MGC will switch to the active pert.
C. The MGC and CPPM will have no loss of service.
D. The MGC will switch to the active port after 12 seconds.

Answer: B,C

Explanation:

---

QUESTION 2
A customer has deployed a Communication Server 100 Rls. 7x system at their site. The technician
has been asked to add the Call pickup feature to the 100 IP telephone in the sales department.
The customer wants to be sure active calls not lost when the changes are made.
Which Phones Configuration feature can be enabled that will ensure changes to the telephone are
not transmitted to the call server until the telephone are busy?

A. Bulk change
B. Courtesy change
C. Group change
D. Template change

Answer: B

Explanation:

---

QUESTION 3
A customer wants to build a new Ip node on their Communication Server (CS) 1000E system with
three Signaling Servers. This node will support virtual trunks, IP media services, TPS and
personnel directories. A technician logs into Elements manager to complete the configuration,
after creating and saving the node configuration, the transfer now option chosen, then the servers
are selected, the start sync is selected followed by restart application.
What is expected outcome from the system?

A. The node file will be transferred from Signaling Servers to the call servers, and INI files will be
transferred from the call server to the selected servers.
B. The node file will be transferred from Call Servers to the Signaling servers, and the INI files will
be transferred from the Call Servers to the selected servers.
C. The node file will be transferred from Signaling Servers to the Call Server, and the INI files will
be transferred from Call Servers to the Signaling servers.
D. The node will be transferred from Element manager to the call server, and INI files will be
transferred from Element manager to CallServer.

Answer: B

Explanation:

---

QUESTION 4
A customer wants to deploy an Avaya Server (CS) 1000 Rls. 7x system in Avaya Aura solution.
They plan to have the system support 50,000 users.
Which system type will meet the customer’s needs?

A. CS 1000E Co-Resident Call Server and Signaling Server
B. CS 1000E Standard Availability (SA)
C. CS 1000E High Availability (HA)
D. CS 1000E High Scalability (HS)

Answer: D

Explanation:

---

QUESTION 5
You are installing a new Communication Server 1000E (CS 1000E) SA release 7x system for your
customer. They have asked you to implement the corporate Directory Feature during the
installation.

A. SFTP must be disabled in LD 117.
B. Valid telephony accounts must already exist in Subscriber Manager.
C. The CS 1000E Call Server must be joined to security domain.
D. Centralized authentication must be disabled.

Answer: C

Explanation:

---

Best Avaya Certification Training and Avaya Exams Training and more Cisco exams log in to Certkingdom.com

MCA - Microsoft Certified Architect Program

MCA - Microsoft Certified Architect Program
The Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA) program helps enable the highest-achieving professionals in IT architecture to distinguish their expertise. If you have proven experience as a technology architect who designs and delivers IT solutions for enterprise customers, and technical and leadership skills that surpass those of your peers, consider earning the MCA certification. By doing so, you can validate your advanced proficiency and join an exclusive, world-class community of experts.

Best Microsoft MCTS Certification, Microsoft MCITP Training at certkingdom.com

Level: Successful candidates generally have ten or more years of IT experience, and five or more years of specific architectural experience. Microsoft Certified Master certification is a prerequisite for all MCA Technology certifications.

Audience: Practicing IT Architect, Microsoft Certified Master

Type: Microsoft Certification

Microsoft Certified Architect Program Overview

Why get certified?
Earning a Microsoft Certification validates your proven experience and knowledge using Microsoft products. Designed to be relevant in today's rapidly changing IT marketplace, Microsoft Certifications help you utilize evolving technologies, fine-tune your troubleshooting skills, and improve your job satisfaction.

Whether you are new to technology, changing jobs, or a seasoned IT professional, earning a Microsoft Certification demonstrates to customers, peers, and employers that you are committed to advancing your skills and taking on greater challenges. In addition, certification provides you with access to exclusive Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) resources and benefits, including opportunities to connect with a vast, global network of MCPs.

Why get an MCA certification?
Individuals who earn an MCA have achieved the capstone certification from Microsoft, proving their ability to architect large-scale complex solutions with Microsoft technologies. As such, they are recognized by Microsoft and the IT industry worldwide for having achieved the highest level of professional certification on Microsoft server products. MCAs report that their certification has brought them:

More market credibility
More effective deployment services
Increased number of requests for advice or participation in projects
In addition to providing opportunities for career advancement and higher earning potential, an MCA offers these benefits:
Recognition for achieving the capstone certification from Microsoft, proving your ability to architect large-scale complex solutions with Microsoft technologies
Membership on the MCA distribution list in your specific solution area
Promotion of your name and technical services on the Microsoft website
MCA certificate and plaque
Potential to participate on future MCA Review Board panels and in beta exam development

The MCA certification is granted after the candidate successfully passes the MCA Board exam, which includes a portfolio submission, multiple presentations, and an intensive Q&A with a panel of Microsoft Certified Architects on the MCA Review Board. During the MCA Board exam, the candidate must definitively display the six competencies of business acumen and technological proficiency.

MCA certifications
Microsoft currently offers four MCA certifications:
MCA: Microsoft Exchange Server
MCA: Microsoft SharePoint Server
MCA: Microsoft SQL Server
MCA: Windows Server: Directory

These certifications are designed for architects who specialize in using Microsoft technologies to provide solutions for enterprise customers. Professionals who hold an MCA certification are generally recognized by Microsoft and the IT industry worldwide as individuals who hold the highest level of professional certification on Microsoft server products.

Steps to Becoming a Microsoft Certified Architect
Earn a current Microsoft Certified Master (MCM) certification for the technology for which you wish to pursue an MCA technology certification. MCM certification is a prerequisite for all MCA technology programs.

Register for the Microsoft Certified Architect program.
The registration team will review the application to ensure that you have met all of the application requirements.
Note The application fee for the MCA program is US$125. If you are accepted into the program, the fee to take the MCA Board Exam is US$7,500.
Review the program resources.
After you successfully register for the MCA program, you will be granted access to portfolio documentation and resources to help you prepare for your MCA Board exam.

Prepare the required program documentation.
Prepare a portfolio that includes your work history, a project case study, and a project presentation, all of which should show how your skills and work experience directly apply to each of the six MCA competencies.
Review the program competencies

Submit your documentation and schedule your Board Exam.
When your portfolio is complete, submit the documentation for review by the program manager for your technology track. If your portfolio addresses the objective content requirements for an effective Review Board review, the program manager will approve you to schedule an MCA Board Exam. Once the portfolio documentation is approved, you may pay the program fee and schedule your appearance before the Review Board.

The following MCA Review Board dates are currently scheduled for the Microsoft Certified Architect program. All MCA Board Exams will be held in Redmond unless otherwise noted.

Important: Registration deadline for an MCA Board Exam is two months prior to the indicated Review Board date.
Microsoft Certified Architect: Microsoft Exchange Server 2010
Microsoft Certified Architect: Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010
Closed Beta at SharePoint Conference
Microsoft Certified Architect: Microsoft SQL Server 2008
Microsoft Certified Architect: Windows Server 2008 R2: Directory
Note MCA Board Exam dates are subject to change at the sole discretion of Microsoft.
Learn more about the MCA Board Exam
Successfully complete your MCA Board Exam.

You will appear before an MCA Review Board of peers, which consists of Microsoft Certified Architects (MCAs). Your MCA Board Exam will last up to four hours and will include presentations you deliver based on your portfolio and a technology-specific case study, each of which will be followed by intensive Q&A sessions with Review Board members. You will receive performance results by email within two weeks.

Best Microsoft MCTS Certification, Microsoft MCITP Training at certkingdom.com