Cody, I didn't write it (deliberately) but it wasn't a matter at all of fearing repurcussions. Proving something maybe, but that was it.

Micky, thanks for that. I'll work on better stories, not the easiest thing for me so far.

Eric, I'll have to work on a better way to pose the question than "I get to see the error message and you don't". Question From Error Message is a...

Chris, I'm not trying for absurb, though maybe it seems that way (or is that way) at times. I'm trying to write challenging questions about fairly common topics and what...

Cody, that's a great point. I'll think on that. Just confirms for me that having a plan in place for making the decision is just as important as the rollback...

Hugo, thanks for taking the time to write that up. Can't say I disagree with your conclusions! I'm definitely learning a lot, the trick is whether I can successfully apply...

Nakul, I like the bit "all recommendations from Microsoft have been followed". I'll keep that in mind.

I tried to give all the clues I could without giving it away - tough to do that. Putting the easy answers in was designed to make it look like...

I'm using SQL 2012 Developer Edition for testing. Run this from the question text:

CREATE TABLE Questions

(

QuestionID INT

...

Lyn, I've always pointed them there because I want to force the dev's to put the catalog in the connection string. The minor gotcha with setting the default is when...

Free, agree the answers are contradictory...yet correct! I probably pushed the boundaries of fairness there.

Paul, I do agree hardened is nebulous at the detail level, I was just hoping to get you thinking about a production/secure environment and general steps you would take.

Paul, I'd argue it does increase the attack surface. Not a lot, but why do it at all? Most auditors flag it right away as 'extra'. Not just for code...

Tim, that's a good suggestion/point, that was un-intentional. I try to remember every word (or lack of) matters but its easy to miss something!

Jason, thanks for that. I'm experimenting a little, trying to see what works.