Let me start off by apologizing to all of our wonderful clients…
I am sorry, from the bottom of my heart that I will not be reachable today via phone. I am one of the most reachable people on the planet normally, just about 24 hours a day, but…
Today is TEDxGreenville and I just can’t miss it again. (Click on the link for more information about what TEDx is)… Last year, I worked through it and missed out, but this year, I made a promise to myself to attend!
The line up look amazing:
The Schedule
| 8:33 a.m. | Russell Stall & Co. Kickoff |
| 8:46 | Christian Long Kids redesigning the classroom |
| 9:04 | Fine Arts Center Classical Quintet String quartet & piano |
| 9:32 | Derrick Goodwin Don’t wait to die to consider your purpose |
| 9:45 | Ian Curcio The technology and craft of photography |
| 9:56 | Jose de Guadalupe Flamenco guitar and dancer |
| 11:06 | Max Strom There is no app for happiness |
| 11:22 | Bob Kilgore Guitar solo |
| 11:44 | Brett Sims (Upstate Parkour) Parkour |
| 11:55 | Jim De Piante Watson – A bold party trick, or technological leap? |
| 1:43 p.m. | Moody Black & Co. Poetry slam (12 poets) |
| 2:00 | Prasanna Eswara Socially responsible sourcing |
| 2:06 | Discordia Arts Belly dancer with musical accompaniment |
| 2:12 | Shannon Pierce Innovation through pain |
| 2:18 | Niel Brooks Singer songwriter |
| 2:24 | Qiana Martin Soccer: the power to speak a global language |
| 2:36 | Note Ropers Honkabilly |
| 3:47 | Tucker Freeland & Co. Inline skate |
| 3:58 | Jeremy Make and Andy Raney kART Across America: What is your art? |
| 4:34 | Marsha Wallace Democratizing philanthropy through collective giving |
| 4:47 | Angie Aparo Singer songwriter |
| 4:56 | John Bielenberg A new collaborative capitalism: COMMON brand |
| 5:14 | Slideshow & FAC Jazz Quintet Jazz quintet, portraits, and graphic talks |
| 5:22 | Closing |
After TEDxGreenville concludes, we will be heading over to XperienceGreenville, another simply amazing event that is going to help put Greenville on the map. We’re talking DJs, lasers, glow sticks, a few thousand people, aliens, ninjas. Consider it a family-friend rave!
If you want to follow the action on Twitter, follow #TEDxGreenville and #XperienceGVL
If you REALLY need me, call my office number, leave a voice mail, it will go to my cell phone and I will get back to you quickly. Or, send email, text message, etc. I’m taking a notebook and can provide the computer service you require if it is an emergency. Scott should be around the office most of the day, and Greg is out there somewhere too…
Enjoy YOUR weekend, hope you get to do something as enlightening and entertaining as us!
Those of us who have been through a hard drive failure know what real pain is! As a computer technician, it is no less devastating for us, all the same things have to take place after a failure, the routine is something like this:
- Determine the drive is indeed dead, have last rites, it was a good drive.
- Replace the drive in the computer.
- Format and load our operating system. (We do have the install disks, right?)
- Configure all the networking, ownership, accounts, etc. (What? No net access? Of course not, you don’t have the right driver)
- Load drivers for network interface, audio, video and other hardware. (They are long out of date if you are using the original install media)
- Load all the updates, patches and driver updates. Windows XP systems may require 100 updates or more!
- Load your applications… Of course you know where the disks and license keys are.
- Find some applications online because they were downloaded. Guess what? Your key no longer works with the current version, your version is no longer available for download…
- Restore your files from the last backup you made. YOU DID MAKE A BACKUP, RIGHT?
- Spend the next week realizing you missed various things and fix those as you go.
Even for a seasoned techy type person, the time spent could literally be hours. New curse words will be invented. You may miss an important event like your son’s wedding, because this is far too important to put off.
There are many things that can shorten the time it takes to return your machine from a brick to a working system. You can ensure you have all your install media for the operating system and applications in one place, and that your product keys/licenses are tucked away safe and secure. Any hardware driver disks should be kept, and without question, you should always backup your system!
What if I told you that all of that can be avoided, and in the event of a hard drive crash or even a complete computer failure, that you could replace the drive, or failed system with another identical system, then have it running as if it never happened in about 20 minutes?
Through the magic of a “Bare-Metal Restore”, that is entirely possible! It is as if you went back in time, to happier days when the system was working correctly!
Many products are on the market that can accomplish this, but if you are using our Servosity Online On-Demand backup solution, you already have all the software you need! You will require an extra hard drive to make the image to, a few minutes to configure it, and then let it run!
Watch it in action here as Damien Stevens, CEO of Servosity talks with Jon Evans, and George Law performs an actual restore:
We are so sold on Servosity that we use it for our own servers, recommend it to our clients and have partnered with them to offer it to you!
Convinced this may be right for you? Call us at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com. Want a free trial? Sure you do! Click this link:
FREE Servosity Online Backup Trial! Click Here...
Homeland Secure IT Alert
Homeland Secure IT Alert for Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Adobe has warned of a new zero day vulnerability the other day that is being used to exploit users of Adobe Flash Player, Adobe Reader and Acrobat across all platforms, including Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac OS X and Linux. It also covers Flash player for Chrome and Android users, as well as the Authplay.dll component from Adobe Reader and Acrobat X for Windows and Macintosh.
This is a critical vulnerability and at this moment in time, there is no fix for it.
Attackers are exploiting it by attaching malicious Excel (.xls) documents to emails. The Excel document will contain a specially crafted Flash (.swf) file, and if you open the malicious Excel attachment, the embedded .swf file executes and leverages the vulnerability to install persistent malware on your system, such as a bot client giving the attacker a stepping stone to install even more malware.
Since no patch exists, yet, it is advised that you use extreme caution when opening Excel documents attached in email unless you are expecting them.
If you feel you have done so in the last few days, please run a virus scan, or consult with your computer service or repair technicians. Those in Greenville / Upstate SC can call Homeland Secure IT at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com for assistance.
Homeland Secure IT Alert
In a conversation today, I heard how much someone had just paid for 18 full retail versions of Microsoft Office 2010 Professional which they purchased online because they were not aware of other ways in which you can obtain the product.
If you are in Greenville / Upstate, SC and need to buy Microsoft Office 2010, please consider giving us a call! We may be able to save you or your business some money on Microsoft products, such as Microsoft Office Home & Student, Home & Business, Standard Professional, Professional Plus and Office for Office for Mac in addition to making administration of larger quantities much easier.
Different ways Microsoft Office 2010 can be purchased include:
- Microsoft FPP (Full Product Package) – This is the full retail package, includes media and product license and ability to load on a desktop AND a notebook (restrictions apply). Versions available are Microsoft Office 2010 Home & Student, Home & Business and Professional.
- Microsoft PKC (Product Key Card) – If you buy a new PC with the Office Trial loaded on it you can purchase the PKC for Microsoft Office 2010 Home & Student, Home & Business and Professional (cheaper than buying the Full Product Package)
- Microsoft Volume Licensing – If you have a business or organization and need to purchase 5 or more copies at a time, this is the way to go! Open licensing is a downloadable product which saves on packaging and thus is better for our environment, and in turn, saves you money! You have only one product key to keep up with and can place the same installation package on a file server to install across machines on your domain. Microsoft Office 2010 Standard and Professional Plus are available via this method. We can help determine which is best for you!
In addition to those methods, non-profit organizations which we work with can obtain almost unreal pricing through some programs we have available!
If you would like more information on which version may be right for you or your business, click the more info banner to the left, or feel free to call 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com
We are a Microsoft Partner & Small Business Specialist and would love the opportunity to help you with any Microsoft purchase or support, whether it is Microsoft Office 2010, Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Server 2008 R2, Microsoft Small Business Server 2011, Microsoft Exchange 2010, Microsoft Link Server, Microsoft BPOS / Business Productivity Online Suite, Office 365, and more… One seat or one thousand!
Something that many people don’t know is that there are actually expiration dates on hardware and software.
Let’s say you buy a Cisco ASA 5505 security appliance (firewall) for your business, and you keep it up to date. When do you expect to replace it? Chances are, you feel that the firewall should be left in place until it dies of old age or fails due to some other event like a power surge or lightning strike, etc.
That is exactly what an attacker hopes for, that you will “set it and forget it”. See, each security product receives many updates over the course of its life. The manufacturer finds security holes and produces patches to those vulnerabilities that must be installed, just like on your Microsoft Windows or Apple Mac OS. If you do not apply those patches, you run the risk of a security breach due to an attacker exploiting a known “hole” in a device.
So back to this “expiration date”. Each product actually has an “end of life”, and that is the date that the manufacturer will no longer support it. That comes in many flavors. It may be an end of sales cycle, or a complete end of support. Products that reach the end of life and are no longer updated are the prime targets of attackers.
Manufacturers have to leave behind old hardware because of changes in the firmware technology which could require additional processor or RAM capabilities, far beyond what your 5 year old firewall may have.
If you have an older piece of hardware, you may want to see if it is at its end of life, and at the very least ensure that the latest patches / updates from the manufacturer are installed.
Should you require assistance with this in Greenville or Upstate SC, please call us! We support all common brands of security firewall appliances and we are partners and dealers for Cisco, WatchGuard, SonicWALL and more!
864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com
Totally off the IT theme here or even Greenville / Upstate related stuff, I just wanted to say that our heart goes out to those affected by today’s earthquake and tsunami disaster.
The actual events and resulting damage are horrible of course, but honestly, it will be weeks before the long term effects are known. Water supplies destroyed, sewage systems, communications, power, food supplies, in addition to the highway and shipping infrastructure and the insurmountable monetary issues.
We will be making what small contributions we can to assist the affected areas, but more so, these families and businesses will be in our prayers.
Homeland Secure IT Alert
Homeland Secure IT Alert for Thursday, March 10, 2011
It has been patch city this past week…
Let’s start off with the Mac stuff for a change… Apple Mac OS X 10.5.x (Leopard) and 10.6.x (Snow Leopard) are the subject of two Apple security advisories which warn of 16 vulnerabilities in OS X’s Java components. Apple simply states the worst case scenario, that by luring a person using a vulnerable computer to a website containing a malicious Java applet, an attacker can exploit some of these Java flaws to either execute code or even elevate privileges on your OS X computer. In MOST cases an attacker would gain privileges given to the currently logged on user, which doesn’t include root/administrator access in OS X. Still, the threat is real enough that you should not hesitate to update as quickly as possible…..
You can let the OS X automatic Software Update utility install the updates for you, or download direct from: Java for OS X 10.5 Update 9 [dmg file] and Java for OS X 10.6 Update 4 [dmg file]
Don’t worry Microsoft Windows users, there’s something for you too! Sure don’t want you feeling left out.
Patch Tuesday addressed code execution and “insecure library loading” vulnerabilities on ALL CURRENT versions of the Windows operating system.The critical update is MS11-015 an important update is available that addresses Remote Desktop: MS11-017 It is recommended that you apply these patches ASAP…
Groovy! Okay, not so groovy… If you are using Microsoft Groove 2007, there is a service update available for you that you should deploy. Not deploying said patch could expose you to nastiness if you are enticed to open a malicious document. Don’t know what Groove is? Don’t worry, many people don’t. Microsoft Groove 2007 (now called Microsoft SharePoint Workspace) is a document collaboration system that allows you to share a workspace with a team of online and offline members. When you make changes to documents, the changes synchronize over the shared workspace. Groove ships with Microsoft Office 2007 Enterprise and Ultimate editions. Install the update
As always, it is best to insure your anti-virus is current… Trend Micro is our favorite!
If you require assistance in the Greenville / Upstate area with your computer or network security, please call us at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com
Homeland Secure IT Alert
If you are in the market for a new business computer, where do you go in the Greenville / Upstate area?
Do you go to a “big box store”? A warehouse? An office supply?
You should be aware that the “business computer” you purchase from some dealers may actually be a computer designed for home use, and not actually a business environment.
Here are a few differences between a home computer and a business computer:
- Home computers generally are designed for faster graphics (aka games) and not processes, such as multi-tasking with business applications, where you have QuickBooks, Microsoft Office and other business applications open simultaneously.
- Home computers are likely to have small power supplies, or power supplies that claim higher wattage output, when in reality, that is maximum power output, not average power output.
- Home computers may have inferior cooling systems, such as fans with bushings instead of ball bearings, possibly causing damage to the computer itself if failure should occur.
- Home computers do not have the hard drives designed for long duty cycles (being left on long periods of time), and tend to fail much quicker than their business spec counterparts.
- Home computers generally have Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium loaded by default and cannot join a corporate domain without an upgrade to Windows 7 Professional or Windows 7 Ultimate.
- Home computers have cases and motherboards that may not lend themselves to expansion (IE, adding drives, or additional cards).
- Home computers in most cases do not have long warranties (Our business class computers are sold with a 3 year warranty!).
- Support for your home computer is rarely easy to obtain. You may have to call a call center, stay on hold, then speak to someone who may not speak your language as their own primary language. Returns and replacement parts are hard to obtain sometimes. Our business computers are supported by *US* as well as the manufacturer who is reachable, speaks English, and will ship parts next business day at no additional charge.
Before you purchase your next business computer in Greenville / Upstate SC, consider comparing specifications with a computer designed from the ground up for use in a business! Will it cost more? Absolutely. Is it worth it? Absolutely!
Call us at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com for more information. We are partners with the best computer manufacturers in the world: Seneca Data / Nexlink, HP, Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba, and more! Not only are we a computer dealer, we also service / repair business computers.
Those of you who are using a notebook computer or mobile device such as an iPad, iPhone, Android or Android tablet and connecting to those public free wifi access hotspots may want to just ditch the WiFi after what I heard about today…
In spite of what I said about safe browsing from public wi-fi hotspots using a VPN a while back, it sounds like a “proof of concept” is about to be published which states that the mere action of connecting to a public WiFi hotspot, then establishing the VPN can potentially give away the VPN credentials. This could potentially happen whether it is an open (unsecured) access point, or a rogue (man-in-the-middle) AP.
If this is true, which we should know in a few weeks, then it sounds to me like ditching WiFi all together is not a bad idea if your data is valuable. 3g and 4g connectivity through your wireless provider may well be the best bet.
Obviously, this is not platform specific (Mac would be just as vulnerable as a Windows PC), and it is not a bug in the operating systems or VPN software.
I will be posting more information should it be proven to be a legitimate threat. Until then, stay safe….
About a week ago (03-02-2011), Mozilla released Firefox update 3.6.14 designed to patch a number of security issues, then they turned around and released Mozilla Firefox 3.6.15 designed to correct a Java bug that presumably introduced in the 3.6.14 update.
The Java applet loading bug does not appear to create new security vulnerabilities, so you should be secure if you updated to 3.6.14, but I do not believe I would hesitate to update to the latest, just in case. Just to be clear, this does affect both Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac users.
This information comes courtesy of the WatchGuard security forum… Here’s a quote from that posting about upgraded to Firefox 4 BETA:
On the subject of Firefox, if you’re an adventurous user who likes to adopt the latest and greatest as early as possibly, you might want to give Firefox 4 BETA a whirl. I’ve downloaded it myself, and it seems to have sped up my browsing experience a bit. Mozilla also ensures that the latest BETA contain the same security fixes as 3.6.15. - Corey Nachreiner, CISSP
Homeland Secure IT is your Greenville / Upstate, SC WatchGuard Partner, offering sales, service & support! Please call 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com if you require assistance with network or computer service or security…
