Marcell Foti – Budapest, Hungary
Most Valuable Professional – Windows® Security

Marcell Foti is the founder and CEO of NetAcademia, a Microsoft Gold Partner for Learning Solutions, where he continues to teach one Microsoft Official Curriculum course each month to maintain his form. Beyond that, Marcell is a well known writer and speaker, often participating at TechNet conferences, road shows and at academic events showing the IT Pros the value and importance of Microsoft software. Marcell is the founder of Microsoft Forums and started his first online community in 1997 using Microsoft Exchange 5.5 NNTP capabilities, then switched the infrastructure to a third-party mailing list software. Microsoft Hungary later bought his communities in 2003. Marcell has published more than 100 articles over the years, while he was the Editor in Chief of tech.net magazine. He also co-authored a book about Microsoft Small Business Server, and edited a book about cryptography and steganography in 2004.

What does being an MVP mean to you?

Being an MVP represents a huge opportunity for me to reach an ever-growing amount of people and show them the beauty of informatics and the challenges of being a top-level informatician. As an MVP, I have even more opportunities to learn the highest level of new technologies, synthesize the information and share my knowledge with anybody who is interested, regardless of their skill set.

If you could ask Steve Ballmer one question about Microsoft, what would it be?

I would ask Steve, “At what point do you think it will be inevitable for a baker to have PC in order to survive?”

What do you think the best software ever written was?

Frankly, I think that Tetris was the best software written. The idea that inspired it was surprisingly unique, since it had a "graphical" user interface back in the 1980s and was spread around the world on floppy discs in less than a year. Furthermore, it was completely bug-free! I think that it would have been a great financial success if it had been introduced ten years later. Tetris demonstrated that IBM PCs could be used for home-based applications and also supported Bill Gates’ belief that a computer should be on every desk.

If you were the manager of Windows - Security, what would you change?

From a security perspective, the main challenge for me is to know each function of every component. Today, this goal is unreachable. The operating system is full of mystical .exe files, drivers, services, permissions and user rights, and other hidden features. As an example, very few administrators know that they can un-expire expired passwords. Therefore, my first change would be to eliminate these mysterious components and settings from the operating system. Longhorn Server Core seems to be a good candidate for this exercise.

What do you think Microsoft can do to mitigate the security vulnerabilities implemented in human beings (OSI layer 8)?

As we all know, Windows Vista® is the first operating system that can be readily used without administrator privileges. I think elements such as User Account Control, Windows® Internet Explorer Protected Mode, Address Space Layout Randomization, and a dozen other features are a huge step forward toward this goal. I am not sure what else could be implemented since users are not always aware of their actions that make computers more hackable via social engineering.

What was the last book you read?

Most recently, I have read Kurt Vonnegut’s “The Sirens of Titan,” which was published in 1959. I have read nearly all of Vonnegut’s books since he has always been one of my favorite authors.

What music CD do you recommend?

I really enjoy “Play,” which was released by Moby in 1999.

What makes you a great MVP?

I have a special birth defect – I am good at lecturing, writing articles and books, communicating, and leading user groups. Furthermore, I am compelled to teach! I have taught since 1992, starting with Microsoft Word 5.5. I have a broad and historical view of every Microsoft product, which is why I have so much confidence when speaking about these products.

What's in your computer bag?

In my computer bag, you will find a four-year-old Compaq nx7010 installed with Windows Vista® Ultimate, a Microsoft Wireless Presenter Mouse (the best mouse on earth) and a headset..

What is the best thing that has happened since you have become an MVP?

My company NetAcademia won the best training project ever available in Hungary – training university students to become consultants at Microsoft Consulting. In a sense, we teach Microsoft to its own products!

What is your motto?

There is a hungarian poet, József Attila who has written this untranslatable play-on-words:"Én egész népemet fogom, Nem középiskolas fokon, taní-, tani!"

I have two unofficial translations that attempt to express his maxim:

First, “To all my folk I will teach the plumb truth, they in no curriculum, confined, can find.” The second translation is “Mine is a school for all the people, not a high school pap and nipple, each in, teach in!”

Who is your hero?

I admire every self-made man and woman.

What does success mean to you?

Everybody has visions and goals. Some people have plans that are nearly unfeasible, such as "I will have a Microsoft Gold Partner Training Company in ten years." When I share my thoughts with skeptics, I tell them that these are not only plans, rather I am stating the way things will happen. Unlike them, I can simply see the future. I consider success to be achieved when my long-term visions become a reality.