Computer Direct Outlet in Greenville SC for computer parts

Sure, we sell computers, servers and all the components that comprise them, but we don’t always stock every part.

Yes, we can get any part the next business morning at no additional charge, but sometimes, you need something TODAY and therefore, I am making a plug for our friends over at Computer Direct Outlet here in Greenville, SC.

CDO stocks hard drives, RAM, power supplies, various input output (I/O) cards, cables, cases, motherboards, processors and just about everything you could want or need, and they sell to the public. They’ve been around for years and seem to have a very happy following. We have made purchases from them ourselves! Sure beats the big places that charge too much and have a limited selection.

Computer Direct Outlet / CDO can be found here:

2382-A Laurens Rd – Greenville, SC 29607

864-288-8680

Tell them that Homeland Secure IT sent you. No, they won’t give you a discount, but it will let them know that we’ve go their back!

Microsoft and Adobe to tag team you with patches this month – August 2012

A plethora of patches are just around the corner. Not just from Microsoft, but from Adobe also, as they team up for an onslaught on your computer in August.

I don’t think anyone using Microsoft Windows will escape the patchy update goodness on Tuesday!

Microsoft will be unleashing nine bulletins, of which, five are rated as critical. These updates will address vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows itself, Microsoft Explorer, Microsoft Office, Microsoft SQL Server, and Microsoft Exchange Server, and a few bonuses too!  Our friends at the WatchGuard Security blog believe one patch will address the vulnerability in Microsoft Exchange.

But wait, that’s not all! You also get Adobe updates as an added bonus.

One thing for sure is… Tuesday will bring some updates for you!

If you require assistance with these security issues, or have any security or computer support questions here in Greenville or the Upstate of SC, please give us a call at 864.990.4748 or use the CONTACT link in the menu.

I invented the world’s first internally programmable computer

I just read the most awesome story that involved an older man approaching a much younger guy at a coffee shop and striking up a conversation. In the conversation, the older gentleman made some pretty tall claims, such as “I invented the first computer”, and how he created the world’s first digital image.

You should go read this story here.

It brings to mind how we are surrounded by those who have done so much more than we have. Case in point, 20 years ago, my brother decided he would have a party for my dad, who was 75 I believe at the time. For this party, he laid out things that meant something to my dad, from different points in his life, and believe me, it was a LOT.  My dad did not let moss grow under his feet.

Dad had served in several branches of the military (including being a glider pilot and a paratrooper) and finally retired from the military after serving 30 years or something crazy, married 3 times, with children from each marriage, raced cars, retired as a police officer(20 years), retired from running a restaurant (23 years), ran a private investigation business, was a Shrine clown, drove his RV all over the country, had been an amateur radio operator and contacted every county in the United States (3077 of them), had traced our family roots way back and helped others, became a webmaster and was very computer savvy, started an organization with thousands of members (11th Airborne Reunion Organization), been the editor of his own newspaper, and the list goes on and on.

The thing I am trying to say here is…. At that point in his life, he had accomplished so much more than I have or likely ever will.  And he’s not the only person like that. We encounter them every day and we overlook them.

What is it that we are going to accomplish in the next 20 years? 30 years? Are we going to continue to “consume”, or are we going to invent or create something?

The author of the story mentioned that Mr. Kirsch feels that iPad users don’t CREATE… They USE… or CONSUME. Is that true? Maybe he’s right. I’ve had an iPad for a while now, and the only thing I have created with it was ways to waste more time, or maybe waste time more efficiently I should say!

Let’s go create something…

How to stay safe in the cloud

Here’s an article that I thought I would share about how to stay safe in the cloud…

While I would not say it is the end all, be all post for cloud security, it does point out some great ways to protect yourself.

As businesses move to hosted solutions such as SaaS (Software As A Service), cloud storage, and get away from their local servers, they often forget two things… One is that bandwidth is not as cheap and available as you would like for it to be (cloud solutions require gobs of bandwidth goodness), and the other is security.

I recently encountered a small company who had switched from a local Microsoft Exchange server to a hosted Microsoft Office 365 solution, and to simplify things, the system administrator had created the 40 accounts, and forced them all to be the same password and did not require anyone to change them.

Turns out, there was malicious software running on one of the computers in their organization (they were lacking a dependable anti-virus package, but that’s another story) and the person or group that was watching that machine, obtained the account names from the exploited computer, and tried the same password, only to find each mail account was the same.

The person, or persons were able to watch every single incoming and outgoing email, as well as have full access to previous email and contacts.

It took a week or more before their IT staff determined what was going on.  By then, the damage was done. Lots of data was potentially harvested. How much, nobody will ever know.

Before you contemplate a move to hosted services (the cloud), consult with your IT service provider, or enlist the help of an IT consultant that can give you the whole story, not just tell you how much money you are going to save. Homeland Secure IT offers full IT consulting, service, support and sales of cloud services in the Greenville and Upstate area and we work with businesses every day who want to save money and be safe.  Call us at 864.990.4748 or use that handy CONTACT link in the menu bar above.

We’re going to give away a micro computer to some cool kid in Greenville / Upstate SC #RaspberryPi

It’s been a long time now since we gave away something as I couldn’t find the perfect thing to represent our business and still be fun and interesting….  After all, who wants a bag of CAT 5 patch cables?

The hottest thing since my band (Hot As A Pepper) is the ultra-cool Raspberry Pi, a computer that is smaller than my wallet (but just as thin) that runs a full operating system and offers a multitude of input/output options. They are so hot in fact that there is a waiting list.   We’re on it for another one, and we’ll be giving it away.

It features:

  • Subcompact size
  • HDMI Digital Audio/Video Out – 720p
  • Analog Audio Out
  • Analog Composite Video Out
  • 10/100 Network Interface
  • SD memory card
  • A pair of USB ports
  • GPIO

You can fire up a Linux distribution on it and even Android OS is on the horizon…  What’s not to like?

Thing is, I have to determine just how to give this away. Our last giveaway was out of hand, with thousands of entries that were difficult to manage. That can’t happen again.  Rafflecopter is not great either. So I am in search of the perfect giveaway / contest method.  We’re also going to limit the computer giveaway to the Greenville / Upstate SC area.

Thoughts?  Let me know by replying here or clicking on the CONTACT link in the navigation bar.

Rogue network devices could be more common than one might think #RaspberryPi #PwnPlug

A while back, I wrote about devices that could be used on a network to gain access, be deployed by just about anyone, and potentially be undetected by IT staff or employees of a business. Here’s a follow-up.

Recently I have been playing around with a 35 dollar micro computer called the Raspberry Pi.  This lil’ pup of a computer is tiny, though too big to fit in an Altoids tin, it’s still small.  It features an ethernet port, composite video, HDMI digital video/audio, analog audio, a pair of USB ports, SD card slot and I/O. It also consumes very little power, so it could be battery powered if so desired (but unfortunately, not PoE/power over ethernet, yet)

At first I just loaded a linux build and oooohed and ahhhed, next I loaded a few different tools, turning it into the typical things others have, such as a media player that could play HD video (720p) on a TV, streaming just about anything you could want, and even offering you the ability to browse the web from your couch.  Okay, yippie…  I started looking at other people’s projects online for ideas of what to do next, because, like Hollywood, I was fresh out of new ideas.

I turned it into a ham radio interface to decode PSK, SSTV, CW and other digital modes, and then grew bored with that since I didn’t have a radio to play with in our office.

Oh, and I made it a video test pattern generator for composite and HDMI.  Yippie…

Somewhere in there, I said to one of the guys who work with me that it would be a cool network tool.   So in a matter of minutes, it became something akin to a Pwn Plug (mentioned in the link above).

It was at that moment that I realized the true vulnerability of just about any network you might come across.  If the IT administrator has not locked down their network well, this device will indeed be their worst nightmare.

Here’s the basic functionality of the thing, let’s call it the “HackPack” for lack of a better term….     You plug it into power and then plug in a network cable to an available network jack (or to the pass-thru on an IP phone, etc) or optionally use a USB Wi-Fi adapter if they have an open wireless network.   Once it is booted up, it grabs an IP address through DHCP and is now an active device on the network.

The next action is that it will “phone home” and connect to my server, via an encrypted VPN tunnel.   Once it has tunneled in, I have full control over it.  I can run any linux tool that I can load on it, from strobe (port and ip address scanner), to flooding tools used in denial of service attacks.

In essence, I have a machine on the remote network, allowing me to act as if I am there.  I can browse the web (yes, via a proxy, using MY desktop browser), download from sites, send email, all from the remote site’s IP address.  Or, something much more sinister could be done, using it to brute force a password of a server on the network, or through common exploits, gain access to a server, and pull information from it to be piped back home.

The raw board of the Raspberry Pi would look suspicious if spotted, but what if it were put in a case that was labeled “Network Surge Protector”, and plugged into 120VAC for power, had one cable going into it, and a common network switch, which would allow our imaginary hacker to walk in wearing service type clothing, unplug the connection to ANY network device (computer, copier, printer), then plug that device back into the switch and connect power.  Total downtime, mere seconds.

I tell you that to tell you this:   Businesses that run on auto-pilot, without so much as a professional IT service tech setting foot on the premises or using remote / managed network service monitoring tools run little to no chance of ever finding it.

For companies that have a larger infrastructure, we often deploy tools that will alert us to new devices plugged into the network. We can do that for your business or company as well. Even if you have full-time IT staff, a second set of eyes or implementing managed services and remote monitoring could potentially help catch the “HackPack” before it did any damage.

If you would like to talk about network or computer security for your Greenville / Upstate business, please call us at 864.990.4748 or use the CONTACT form above!

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Considering a new business computer or server? Check out the Seneca Data’s Nexlink offerings with a 5 year warranty!

Nexlink has a new look!

Nexlink – Made in America FOR America

Sure, we offer all the big names in workstation, desktop, notebook and netbook computers and server such as HP, Lenovo, Toshiba, Acer, Asus, Dell and the like, but there’s one brand that sticks out when we review the service calls and warranty repairs.  Seneca Data and their Nexlink desktops have proven to be an outstanding value for our customers.

The Nexlink computers are well made, with quality parts, and we generally sell them with a 3 year warranty.  These machines mean business! We get very few service calls on them, and in the event that we do, what parts we do not stock are shipped to us and generally arrive the next business day. Furthermore, their tech support department speaks English and are based right here in America, so it is always a pleasure to talk with them in the rare event we actually have to. Their help desk does not put us through unnecessary steps to diagnose a problem and reducing the time on the phone considerably.

I really can’t say enough good things about these machines!

Seneca Data realized just how high the quality of the machines are recently from their own data regarding repair and warranty claims and decided that going forward, the same machine that we have been selling with a 3 year warranty will be upgraded to a FIVE YEAR warranty at no additional charge to us, and we pass that savings on to you.

Desktops are generally replaced every 3 to 5 years, so essentially, the five year warranty could be considered a lifetime warranty for most businesses and individuals.

In all the years I have worked with computers, I have not seen computer manufacturers up their warranty!  This says that Seneca Data is willing to put their money where their mouth is with Nexlink computers!

If your business is looking to purchase new computers or servers, whether it is one or one thousand, please call us at 864.990.4748 or use the CONTACT link in the navigation bar and let’s see if we can provide you with what I think is the best computer for the money! If you want to try out just one computer before upgrading your entire company, we can arrange that. Likewise, if you would like to use a true business class computer at your home or in your home office, we have just the computer for you!

We provide Greenville & the Upstate of SC with complete computer, server & network sales, service and support…

Stolen health care laptop computer contained thousands of patient records… Another case for encryption!

Notebook computer thiefAnother day, another stolen computer in the news. This time the laptop computer stolen contained close to 10,000 Hartford Hospital and VNA HealthCare patient records.

A spokesperson for the Hartford, CT group has confirmed that the data included “names, Social Security numbers, Medicade and Medicare numbers, diagnosis and treatment records and other information.” and that the data was not encrypted, though there has been no indication that the information has been misused at this point. You can read the story here.

No matter what your computer contains, with theft on the rise, you may wish to consider encryption of files, folders or the entire hard drive and any removable media (USB external drives, flash drives).

Encryption is affordable, easy to use and will help secure sensitive data, in addition to keeping your business compliant with regulations and laws that cover your industry.

If you would like more information about how encryption can work for your business, corporation or even your personal computer, netbook, laptop, notebook, tablet or server, please call us at 864.990.4748 or use the handy CONTACT link in the navigation bar.

 

 

 

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Save big on a new computer for your student thanks to the 2012 SC Tax Holiday!

Sales of new computers ramps up quickly this time of year due to students returning to school. And this coming weekend will likely bring the most sales of computers that we have seen this year thanks in part to the South Carolina 2012 Sales Tax Holiday which starts August 3, 2012 and continues through August 5, 2012.

That’s right….   NO SALES TAX on any computer (workstation, netbook, laptop, notebook, tablet) or computer equipment that is to be used by a student!

Homeland Secure IT in Greenville, SC wants to help you make the most of the weekend even though our doors are closed on Saturday and Sunday. In order to do so, you can call or email us, or use the contact form from our navigation bar and we will happily help determine the perfect computer for your student. Or, you can contact us with an exact model number.

We will then give you a quote and prepare an invoice for you over the weekend, during the sales tax holiday, and you can pay us with a credit card. So the sale will take place on the weekend, but we can order the computer for you on Friday and have it here bright and early on Monday morning.

We are authorized partners with and resellers of the biggest names in computers, including HP, Dell, Lenovo, Seneca Data / Nexlink, Toshiba, Asus, Acer, Samsung, Sony and others.

In most cases, we can match the price from local and national stores, and sometimes even beat them, all the while providing you with complete service and free consultation.

Let us know how we can serve you!

Microsoft Security Advisory related to Microsoft Exchange and Fast Search Server 2010 for SharePoint

The following update was released today regarding a previous security advisory. This update is v1.1 in which they revised the workaround titles – otherwise, it is the same as it was.

Please insure your Microsoft products are updated at all times.

—

********************************************************************
Title: Microsoft Security Advisory Notification
Issued: July 25, 2012
********************************************************************

Security Advisories Updated or Released Today ==============================================

 

* Microsoft Security Advisory (2737111)
– Title: Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange and FAST Search
Server 2010 for SharePoint Parsing Could Allow Remote Code
Execution
– http://technet.microsoft.com/security/advisory/2737111
  – Revision Note: V1.1 (July 25, 2012): Revised the workaround
titles for clarity. There were no changes to the workaround
steps.

If you have questions about this particular Microsoft Security Advisory or any network or computer security concerns, please call upon us in the Greenville or Upstate SC area at 864.990.4748 or use the CONTACT link in the navigation bar.