For some time now we've been fans of 4sysops blogger Michael Pietroforte, a system administrator who heads the IT department at a Munich university library.

The 4sysops blog is a treasure trove of useful information and insightful commentary. So we figured it was high time we invited Pietroforte to answer some of our burning questions about Windows, Internet Explorer, and the tools that make admins' lives easier:

MEZ: While Windows 7 is enjoying faster adoption than Windows Vista did, many CIOs and IT managers believe there's no reason to give up XP. Your thoughts?

MP: I think that many IT managers underestimate the productivity gains of new Windows versions. The reason probably is that they often rely only on their intuition, instead of evaluating the new OS with end users. Windows has become a very complex tool; thus, it is no longer possible to read a couple of reviews, let administrators play with the new OS a little, and then make a decision. I recommend testing Windows 7 in a productive environment for a couple of months. I am sure that after that, neither end users nor administrators would want to go back to using Windows XP.

Another point that IT managers often neglect when it comes to answering the question of whether an upgrade is worthwhile is security. The news in recent weeks has demonstrated impressively how dangerous it is to continue running Windows XP. This operating system is almost nine years old and hopelessly outdated. Using it is like defending your territory with an archaic air defense against an enemy who attacks with the latest high-tech warplanes. Because "invaded" systems are often the base for new targets, it is also irresponsible to use outdated software because doing so endangers other computers on the internet. And you can't blame the vendor because it simply is not economical to update an archaic system with the latest defensive technology.

MEZ: You've called out journalists for "bashing" Internet Explorer while giving browsers like Firefox a free pass. But what about organizations that insist on sticking with IE6 rather than upgrading to IE8? Do they play a part in the overall "insecurity" of the Web?

MP: In my opinion, using Internet Explorer 6 for the public Internet is grossly negligent. The argument that some intranet applications don't work with Internet Explorer 8 is no excuse because Microsoft released Internet Explorer 7 more than four years ago. IT managers have had plenty of time to update their web applications. And thanks to Internet Explorer 8's compatibility mode, everything that works in Internet Explorer 7 also works in Microsoft's latest browser. Organizations that still need to use Internet Explorer 6 should at least ensure that users access only the intranet with this browser, and that they use another one to access the internet.

In your years as an IT manager, you've no doubt collected various software tools/utilities you find indispensable. Name a few, and tell us why you couldn't live without them.

MP: So many great administrative tools are out there that I find it quite difficult to choose. I have a special tie to Microsoft's Configuration Manager, formerly Systems Management Server (SMS). When I first tried SMS 1.0, I was greatly disappointed because I found everything much too complicated and unreliable. SMS 2003 was the first version that convinced me and, for me, Configuration Manager has become an indispensable tool for mid-sized and large networks. But many great free utilities also are available. Over the years Sysinternals Process Monitor has become an indispensable tool for troubleshooting applications. Another tool, I discovered only recently, is Yet Another Process Monitor (YAMP), which has replaced Syinsinternals Process Explorer, my once-favorite utility, in my tool collection.

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