January 2009
In this issue:
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Top Resolutions for 2009 |
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Virus Writers: What to Know |
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Who Could Turn You In? |
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Is Your Data Protected |
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Make a Referral |
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Electronic Business Cards |
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Just for Laughs |
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Is My Data Protected?
Recent Southern California fires and earthquakes have prompted many of our customers to question, Is my data protected? Not sure email
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. We can do a quick audit of your current setup and make recommendations as needed. Want more info:
Backup & Disaster Recovery
We’re Thankful You’re A Customer And Hope You’ll Help Us Find More Just Like You
Know anyone struggling with their technology? We can help. To thank you for the trust you have put in us we will send you a special gift for each referral you make to us. This months free gift is a $100 gift card to South Coast Surf Shops.
Make a Referral Here
Microsoft Outlook
Share Contact Information the easy way with Electronic Business Cards
Traditional paper business cards are a time-honored and effective way to get business and contact information out to current and prospective clients.
But these days, a lot of business is done in e-mail. So how do you make sure that people know how to reach you?
Try an Electronic Business Card (or EBC), part of the Contacts feature in Microsoft Office Outlook 2007.
An EBC is simple to create and you can easily give it professional polish or personal style by adding your company logo or a picture of yourself. And when you use an EBC as part of your e-mail signature, customers and friends will see it in a format that looks good and is easy for them to save.
Watch the demo to see how easy it is to create, customize, and share an Electronic Business Card.
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 Top Resolutions for 2009
Written by Laura Steward
It's time for the annual list of things you must do this year to make sure your technology and business will run smoothly and successfully and have minimal unplanned downtime. For those of you who are regular readers of this column, you will see some familiar items on the list and hopefully you have already done them!
So without further ado! My top resolutions for 2009!
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I will run or hire someone to run routine maintenance on my desktops and server, including Windows Updates to make sure they are running properly. |
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I will eliminate internal only backup and switch to a system that becomes my server in the event of a failure and also takes my data offsite. |
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I will secure my network and computers with a good firewall that protects my data. |
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I will recognize that internet use for my employees is a benefit and not a right and that I can monitor and control the access to prevent security breaches and loss of revenue due to employee web surfing. |
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I will write an Acceptable Use Policy for all Technology in my office so employees know what is acceptable and what is not including Internet use. |
Read more
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7 Things to Know about Virus Writers
by Monte Embysk
 reprinted with permission from the Microsoft Small Business Center
I spend a growing percentage of my time getting rid of unwanted e-mails that contain viruses. If I open one of them, it potentially could overwrite files and disable my antivirus software.
What exactly is in the heads of these virus writers? Anything?
I took my inquiry to Sarah Gordon, an expert on the psychology of hackers and virus writers. She did her best to answer an overly broad question. Gordon is a senior research fellow at Symantec's security response unit, and previously was a researcher for the antivirus research and development team at IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center.
She meets face-to-face with hackers and virus writers on occasion, to understand why they do what they do, and conducts research at international hacker conferences such as DEF CON. To see Gordon's background and some of her research papers, visit her Web site at www.badguys.org.
Read more
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Guess Who Could Turn You In?
IT staffs gone bad
 How do the software police find out if you are running illegal copies of software? One of the more popular methods is notification from your former employees. Yesiree. If someone knows your hard drives better than you do, and they don’t have fond memories of the days on your payroll, you have the makings of a visit from a software compliance cop. Congratulations.
Software piracy is illegal and risky. There may be severe penalties to an organization that knowingly or unknowingly obtains, uses, or possesses software illegally. The penalty for civil copyright infringement is a fine up to $100,000 per title. Criminal violation carries fines up to $250,000 per title and up to five years imprisonment.
Got your attention, didn't we?
Software vendors and trade associations are aggressively auditing organizations with little advance warning. Technology research company, Gartner Inc. estimates that the probability of an audit for a midsize to large organization is 40% over the next two years and will increase by 20% each year.
Software giants, whose names you know well, have discovered a healthy revenue stream from people who aren’t following the rules. In the 1990s, for all intents and purposes, compliance enforcement didn’t exist. Today, it's a fundamental business issue with significant cost and regulatory implications.
How did this happen?
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Just for Laughs
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The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the inefficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.
--Bill Gates
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