Leap into the future with the most interesting gadget so far this year

What would you say if you knew there was an interface that was about to be made available for your computer (any computer,  not just a Microsoft Windows PC or a Mac) that would let you interact with your computer in a way that up until now was only possible in science fiction movies (or in high tech labs, medical research facilities, CAD/CAM setups).

This interface is called “The Leap” and it offers three dimensional manipulation of data on your computer. You use your hands, as if you were grabbing, touching, squeezing something, in front of your computer.

Watch this:

It’s available for pre-order, and it is affordable… Yeah, amazingly affordable, as in, 70 dollars!  Maybe this could be a giveaway item for our blog readers!

This could revolutionize how we interact with our computers! No, it *will* revolutionize how we interact with our computers.

The only bad thing about it is that I didn’t obtain exclusive rights to sell it!

Apple Mac users should be aware of “super dangerous” drive-by Java exploit

Microsoft Windows users are well versed in malware and are armed with a plethora of ways to help protect themselves and their computer from becoming infected, such as:

  • Computer operating system updates downloaded and installed (Microsoft Windows)
  • Support application updates updated regularly (Java, Adobe, Microsoft Office)
  • Robust anti-virus and anti-malware installed and up to date
  • Backups of systems in place
  • Overall more refined browsing habits (awareness of dangers)

But their Apple Macintosh brothers and sisters in generally browse aimlessly, without seeming to care what may lay waiting for them at the next link.

This is exactly the type of behavior that hackers are hoping to exploit.

By taking advantage of the laid-back browsing habits, lack of urgency to install updates, and lack of awareness to the dangers, many Mac machines and their owners have already fallen victim to hackers pushing Flashback and other malware packages…

Here’s some more information over on Computer World

UPDATE YOUR MACHINES!

If you need assistance keeping your computer, notebook, server or a whole fleet of them up to date, we can help with that! Please call us in the Greenville, Anderson and Spartanburg area at 864-990-4748 or use our contact form.

 

Are you planning an IT expansion and worried about cash flow during the migration and acclimation time?

A client recently confided in me that the major IT infrastructure upgrade they are wanting to do, which includes new servers, new switches, new firewall, some new computers, and more importantly, new software, will probably cause them major headaches due to many factors, such as:

  • Initial outlay of cash
  • Downtime during installation & migration
  • Learning new software, time to train
  • Double entry on two systems working simultaneously for a period of time
  • Final migration to the new system after they see the new software working
  • Lost revenue during this change-over

The list was actually longer than that, but I made it a little more concise in the interest of not boring you with details.

I then remembered a recent letter I received from one of our lending partners which says they offer Flex Plans, designed specifically to help out during times like this!

They can offer a 60 or 90 day “delay plan”, to keep cash flow at current levels until after the installation is complete.

That sounds like a winner to me! Maybe it can work for the client in question, and potentially someone reading this may have a similar concern and the knowledge that this is available could help.

Should your business be considering an upgrade of computers, servers or network equipment, please give us a call at 864-990-4748 or use the CONTACT link in the menu and let’s talk about what we can do for you!

Symantec Partner Specializing in Backup Exec 2012 Sales and Support in Greenville SC

Symantec Backup Exec 2012 sales specialist in Greenville, SC

It was time to renew our training with Symantec so we can continue to offer Symantec Backup Exec 2012 sales and support as a partner, so we did it up right. Everyone here at Homeland Secure IT took the training and the assessments required.   Greg, Wes and I (John) are all up to date on these product offerings.

If you are still using an older version of Backup Exec, let’s talk about how Backup Exec 2012 can help provide the ultimate in onsite backup, recovery and disaster recovery for your Microsoft Server, Microsoft Small Business Server, Microsoft Exchange, MS SQL, Linux and even Mac business environment.

There are so many new features in BE 2012 that an entire blog post could be devoted to that, and probably will be.

Homeland Secure IT offers sales, installation, configuration and support Symantec Backup Exec 2012 in the Greenville, Anderson and Spartanburg South Carolina area. Use the contact link in the menu bar above or call us at 864.990.4748 for more information.

Hosted Microsoft Exchange mail can fail too – pick a reliable cloud provider! #99.999

99.999 percent uptime

With all the talk about hosted storage, hosted applications, hosted backup, hosted mail, and “the cloud” terms such as “cloud computing”, “cloud storage”, “cloud solutions”, people tend to think that these servers never go down, that they are impervious to the issues that a physical server might have at your physical location.

For all the advancements made in this arena, the underlying components are still based on the same technology that you might find in your own business system now. Primarily, a server, uninterruptable power supply, network infrastructure, and internet connectivity.

The servers are very robust in comparison to what a small business may use. Potentially comprised of multiple computers on cards in a chassis that has cold air forced through it to keep it cold. Then they are attached to banks of hard drives in a redundant array (RAID) so if one fails, the data is safe, and a new drive can be placed in the unit without so much as powering it down (hot swapable). Even an entire computer with processor/s and memory can be swapped out without powering down. Backups are handled automatically and usually entail copying entire images to multiple places for retention.

The forced air cooling is from air conditioners with filters on them to keep machines cool. Much cooler than in your office environment.

The power protection comes in the form of an Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS), which may be ONLINE (power is always filtered through that bank of batteries), and in the event of a power failure, a generator powered by natural gas will automatically start providing the energy required to keep the UPS and systems online,  sometimes there is a backup generator waiting in the wings in case of failure.

Network infrastructure is handled by enterprise grade switches, routers, and firewalls (Cisco is a major player here, and their logo is all over your typical data center and server room). In a lot of cases, the internal network is connected via fiber and at least gigabit copper. Even the firewalls are redundant in the larger data centers, and switched networks can auto heal.

Internet connectivity at a data center is handled by multiple backbones. So if one is down, you’re not cut off from the world.

Then there is the plethora of monitoring going on. Where your server room may be monitored simply for temperature or power spikes, a data center is likely watching for intrusive behavior by hackers (port scanning, brute force password hacks), denial of service (DoS and dDoS), strange outgoing traffic from your machine (sign of an exploited machine), in addition to all the environmental monitoring. They also secure their facility with access control systems, preventing unauthorized personnel from gaining access to your server. Monitoring of individual servers is possible, where they know if a fan stops working, or a hard drive is faulting.

With all those layers, and more, in place, you would think a data center would remain online through just about anything, and therefore your data and applications should be usable 24/7/365.

That’s not the case at all.  Yes, the SaaS cloud providers are striving for five nines (99.999%) in the uptime category, and it IS possible.  They do a fantastic job of it.  But that number is generally obtained from an aggregate of all accounts and services, over a period of time. So, if a data center loses YOUR data, one virtual server, out of thousands, it doesn’t affect the uptime of the data center, but it certainly affects your productivity.

Here’s an example…  On Monday, one of our client’s was down, due to a Microsoft Exchange mail server crash. The cloud service provider did not give much in the way of details, however, the Exchange mail server was down until last night (Wednesday night). There’s no way of knowing how many accounts the cloud provider hosts, but if only one server was down, this did not affect the overall uptime of that data center by very much. If it was an entire physical server with multiple virtual servers, just like our client, that could be another store entirely. We simply don’t know the details, as they are not telling.

When selecting your cloud provider, if they claim five nines, be sure to do your research, and read their SLA. Determine if 99.999% is averaged out across all clients, or on a per-client basis. Attempt to find out how long it takes the provider to restore your virtual machine in the event of a total crash, and if it is restored from an image, so it is working just like it was at the time of the hardware failure.  And, how far back those images go for retention.

Is 99.999% good enough for you? It is for my business, depending on how that is measured.

If you would like information about hosted solutions, maybe Microsoft Office 365 for email and collaboration, or Servosity for online backup, Google Apps, or online storage, contact us using the contact link in our menu bar, or call 864-990-4748. We will evaluate your needs and help you decide if the cloud is right for your business.

Tablet computers such as Apple iPad being used to control live audio for band performances

A common scene at any live music event is to see the band on a stage, and somewhere in the middle of the listening area a table setup with a mixing console eating up precious landscape. In a concert setting, you would hardly notice the loss of space, but in a more intimate setting like a club, bar or restaurant, it could cut down on seating, and create a trip hazard with all the wiring.

It appears the days of that are drawing to a close!

Two companies, Presonus and Mackie, are making mixing consoles that can be left on the stage, eliminating the need for a long cable (snake) run through the middle of the venue, and a table setup with that audio console on it.

Both companies have 16 channel mixers of a compact variety, but how they are controlled are distinctly different.

The Presonus offering allows you to connect a notebook or desktop computer, either Apple Mac or Microsoft Windows to it via firewire, then wirelessly control the console through an iPad, while the Mackie was built without a control surface at all, and instead has a place for you to lock an iPad in on the console.

Both mixers allow you to roam around with the iPad and adjust the audio from anywhere in the venue.

Both mixers allow you to record the main outputs direct to a computer.  However, the Mackie allows you to record the gig to the iPad and play audio tracks direct from the iPad.

Presonus offers a big brother 24 channel mixer, which can record 24 channels simultaneously to your computer.

Yes, the days of wired mixers with lots of knobs are growing to a close!   Eventually, we may see a box that accepts the inputs from mics and direct boxes, and has outputs to amplifiers and powered speakers, with no physical buttons on it, controlled only from an iPad or Android device.  The Mackie DL 1608 is pretty close to that now.

My band, Hot As A Pepper is currently using an analog / digital hybrid mixer from Allen & Heath, with built-in effects, but it is not controllable by a tablet computer. So we are looking into how to better serve the clubs, bars, parties and events we play through technology. I’ll try to post more information as we move in that direction.

In the mean-time, please come catch a Hot As A Pepper show if you are in the Greenville, Spartanburg or Anderson area! We provide fun, professional, live music to the Upstate for your corporate event, party, festival or venue at reasonable rates… For a good time, call 864-979-1224 (I bet you thought I was going to say 867-5309 didn’t you?)…

Like us on Facebook at http://facebook.com/HotAsAPepper

Find us on the web at http://www.HotAsAPepper.com

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Laptop LCD screen replacement for your broken notebook

Broken notebook laptop screen display LCD panel repair in Greenville, SC

Whoops… A broken notebook display can ruin your whole day, but don’t worry, we can repair it!

A frequent call we get here at Homeland Secure IT is the person who has a broken notebook in need of repair. The majority of the calls involve a the laptop LCD screen having been damaged or simply failing to operate correctly. Issues might include the backlight not illuminating the screen (IE: black screen), scrambled text and graphics, blank areas of the display, lines on the display, etc.

If you have had the misfortune of dropping your notebook, or like I once did, picking one up by the screen without thinking and damaging the display, don’t panic. Everything is going to be okay.

In many cases, the computer will have a blank display but it is still functioning normally, so you COULD connect the notebook to a monitor and use it that way, or at least use it to copy your files to an external hard drive or another computer.

Should you want to get your broken notebook fixed, we can do that. Most often, the labor is 75 dollars, though we do not charge anything to look at it and determine the extent of the damage. The LCD screen / panel can run anywhere from 75 to as high as 300 dollars. We stock only a couple panels, so everything is ordered in from our suppliers, however, we will gladly let you purchase the parts and bring the computer to us to do the service.

We don’t ONLY repair notebook screens, we fix other mobile computer issues too, such as broken lid hinges, damaged keyboards with missing keys or liquids spilled in them, broken power ports, replacement power supplies, broken cases. AND we work on all brands, including HP, Lenovo, Dell, Toshiba, Acer, Asus, Samsung, MSI, Nexlink, Apple Macbook.

In the event a laptop computer is beyond repair, we also offer sales of most brands, and we are able to get them to you the next business day!

Bring your notebook to us at our Greenville South Carolina computer repair shop for a free estimate and quick turnaround. Call us at 864.990.4748 for more information!

Adobe and Microsoft Windows Updates Galore!

UPDATE YOUR COMPUTERS!  Mac owners too!  And don’t delay!

The updates released this week are serious, people.

If you do not patch up your computers and servers, or call us in to do it for you, the chances of being exploited are incredibly high….  Especially for the Microsoft Exchange and Remote Desktop vulnerabilities.

Sorry to harp on it, but this is important….  Too many gaping holes to ignore this time.

Should you need help with this or any other IT service in Greenville, Spartanburg or Anderson, please call us at 864.990.4748.

Furman University in Greenville SC has almost completed their move to Microsoft Office 365 #CloudSolutions

Microsoft Office 365 hosted cloud email collaboration app solution

Furman University in Greenville South Carolina began moving to Microsoft Office 365, a hosted Microsoft Exchange solution in March. The move has been slow and methodical according to information given out to students, faculty, staff and posted on the Furman website.

The move has not been without pain I am sure, as right off the bat, in March, over 2100 student email accounts were transitioned and all through this summer break, more accounts were moved.

Furman’s website gives a timeline for completion which looks like this:

September 28, 2012 – last day for new email to be sent or received by their former mail solution (FirstClass). They will be disabling the web access to that old system, though their FirstClass mail client will still be able to get to the old resources.

October 15, 2012 – Last day for faculty and staff to request that email be exported from old mail system

December 12, 2012 – Old mail system will be turned off completely.

In addition, Furman’s website also states that, “Moving to Office365 is a large, complicated project, and it is the major focus for ITS service improvements in 2012. Microsoft Office365 and MyFurman will help provide Furman with a virtual environment that reflects and advances the high quality of our academic program and physical campus. Our thanks to all who are helping with the transition. Thanks also for your patience and support as we work to improve Furman’s information technology services.”

What is Microsoft Office 365? Office 365 is an online subscription service that provides email, shared calendars, the ability to create and edit documents online, along with instant messaging, web conferencing and a public website for your business and internal team sites — all accessible anywhere from nearly any device!

Considering a switch to a cloud based email solution? Give us a call at 864.990.4748 or use the CONTACT link in our navigation menu above to arrange for a free consultation. As your Upstate (Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson) SC Microsoft partner, we can help you move 1 user or 50,000 to a hosted Microsoft Office 365 solution! How about a free trial for your company? We can make that happen too…

Kaspersky Lab could use your help decrypting Gauss malware

I can’t recall another time when an anti-virus company did this, but Kaspersky Lab has reached out to the world at large to see if someone has what it takes to decrypt a portion of the Gauss malware that is designed to steal information from the infected computers.

If you want to get in on the action, email theflame@kaspersky.com and they will provide you with the first 32 bytes of encrypted data in hopes you are the one who can break it.

Worried that you could be a victim of Gauss, just visit this site to find out: http://gauss.crysys.hu/

Gauss can infect USB thumb drives via the same vulnerability that Stuxnet and Flame exploit.

Homeland Secure IT can provide computer and network security analysis for your Greenville, Spartanburg and Anderson (Upstate) business. Give us a call at 864.990.4748 or use the contact link in the menu bar for more information.