Setting up a “gatekeeper” account in Microsoft Exchange & Outlook

Tip Of The Day – Gatekeeper Email Setup:

Here’s the scenario… Assume you are an executive and you are lucky enough to have a personal assistant. Now, let’s also assume you are sick of getting email from just any Tom, Dick or Harry. What do you do? You make your PA your “Gatekeeper”.

There are lots of ways to handle this, but let’s throw some other items into the mix just to make the possible solution below the best one…   You want to get your “filtered” mail on your desktop, your iPad, Outlook Web Access, your Android phone, and still have your contacts and calendars shared where your PA can drop those items right into your box.

My suggestion would be to create three accounts:

Mary Jane (maryj@yourcompany.com) for your PA

Joe Blow (joeb@yourcompany.com) for your external email, that the world mails to.

Joe Blow Personal (joeblowpersonal@yourcompany.com)

Associate your Outlook account, iPhone, iPad, Android and other devices with Joe Blow Personal. If you use Outlook Web Access, you will login to OWA using Joe Blow Personal’s credentials.

Share the Joe Blow Personal account’s Calendar and Contacts (If you want the PA to make direct entries to those folders).

Set Mary Jane as a full owner of the Joe Blow account.

Now, on Mary Jane’s computer, set her Outlook to open the Mary Jane email account and an additional email account of Joe Blow (joeb@yourcompany.com).   Also, go to File/Open and open Joe Blow Personal’s Calendar and Contacts.

Mary Jane now can open the inbox of Joe Blow, where all the junk comes from, and sort it as they see fit, then forward the mail to you for reading (Or if you allow her to open your inbox, she could drag and drop the good stuff to your mailbox). Mary Jane can also directly enter calendar entries and contacts for your account.

You can set your reply-to address to be joeb@yourcompany.com if you do not want people replying directly to you, so any emails you send out will be replied to and go direct to your gatekeeper.

Outlook and Exchange allow many wonderful configuration options… If you desire more information about this or anything related to Microsoft Exchange / Outlook, please call us at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com – we offer free consultations in the Greenville / Upstate, SC area!

RDX Backup Solutions Becoming More Mainstream AND More Affordable

HP StorageWorks RDX Removable Disk Backup System - Removable Disk Backup

HP StorageWorks RDX Technology

When selecting a backup solution, you may be considering one of the following:

LTO, DLT, DAT Tape – The de facto standard in backup media for business and enterprise. Though it is growing a little long in the tooth, the format has proven itself to be reliable and affordable when you consider the lifetime of the drive and the media. These are available in a variety of flavors, from SCSI, to SATA, internal and external. And for those needing massive storage and speed, there are enormous auto-loaders such as 96 slot HP LTO 5 fiber channel systems.

Iomega REV removable cartridge systems – Outdated, no longer sold or supported by Iomega. (You can still buy media)

Portable hard drives – While these seem attractive because they are cheap and available at every office supply house in town, the reliability of these devices is not idea for mission critical solutions. The constant plugging and unplugging of USB cables can wear connectors out prematurely and there is the slight possibility that a server can be damaged by static when plugging in a drive. Most IT people feel this is a better solution than no solution at all.

Remote Backup or In-The-Cloud backup – We offer Servosity Online Backup and feel it is a great addition to any existing hardware backup system you may have, and could serve as your primary backup if so desired. These are affordable solutions that require very little hands-on time.

Network based disk storage – These are awesome for speed, and convenience, but they generally remain on site and in the event of a catastrophic disaster such as fire, flood, or even theft, you could be left with no backup. This falls under the “much better than nothing” category.

Flash drives and other non-volatile storage media, including CD & DVD – Again, this better than nothing and surely works for small amounts of data, but longevity may be in question. CDs and DVDs have a lifespan after written to, usually of only a few years, making long term archival use impossible. Flash drives are great to make a quick backup, but there are occurrences of people losing data on one from high powered RF devices erasing them. Probably not a solution for most businesses.

A plethora of other technologies exist, but one that has been gaining momentum in the business and enterprise market is RDX.

RDX, or Removable Disk Technology is based around a docking station that accepts an RDX cartridge. The cartridge encases and protects a hard drive. RDX cartridges come in many sizes, whether you need 160GB or 1.5TB, there is bound to be one that fits your data needs.

What makes RDX different from a typical portable or removable drives? It is a “hardened” solution that encloses the hard drive and enables it to take a drop of up to 1 meter. These systems also offer protection from static discharge. A typical RDX can move upwards of a 100GB an hour. If you outgrow the the original size cartridge, you can begin replacing them with larger capacity as the dock is backwards and forwards compatible with any other RDX cartridge.

RDX is a standard that allows you to purchase cartridges from any manufacture to use in your system. It also offers a shelf life of up to 30 years, allowing you to archive your data and know that if the IRS audits you, you can access it.

No need to upgrade your current backup software in most cases when switching to RDX as the technology is already supported in most backup applications such as Symantec Backup Exec!

If you are looking for a backup solution, whether it is your first, or an upgrade of a current system, then you may wish to give RDX a close look. Call us at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com. We offer RDX products from HP, Imation, Lenovo, and Quantum to name a few. We offer a free evaluation in Greenville and the Upstate of South Carolina.

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Are you overlooking a notebook computer backup plan?

I hate to keep beating this dead horse, but a dear friend called this morning as I was on my way in to the office, telling how his notebook computer had experienced a totally depleted battery over the weekend and that when he tried to bring it back up, he got the dreaded blue screen of death… This was followed by lots of time attempting to get the machine to run, and then a restless / sleepless night worrying about lost productivity, unrecoverable data, and expense involved.

I told him not to worry because somehow, some way, we will recover his data and get him back online. Of course, he didn’t mention that no backup existed until near the end of the conversation… Hopefully this story will have a happy ending…

What are you doing for a disaster recovery plan? Sure you are backing up your desktops and servers, but what about those notebooks? We offer a free trial of Servosity Online Backup…

Free Servosity Online Backup Trial! Click Here...

Free Servosity Online Backup Trial! Click Here...

With Servosity Online Backup you will be able to sleep at night knowing your data is protected, even on mobile computers which may never see the main office. Your data is encrypted and uploaded to the Servosity secure remote storage server. In the event of a disaster, individual files, folders, or an entire system drive can be restored.

Have important files that change throughout the day? Servosity also offers CONTINUOUS backup protection – important files are backed up as they are changed on your system. All of this takes place automatically.

Servosity works with Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OSX, Linux and other *nix based operating systems. Don’t take a chance, try out Servosity TODAY! For FREE!

Homeland Secure IT offers many backup solutions and one is just right for your application! Tape, Backup-2-Disk, NAS/SANs, Autoloaders and Jukeboxes… Email info@homelandsecureit.com or call 864.990.4748 for more information.

Fo Shizzle! Snoop D Oh Double G is Hatin’ on Cyber Crime

It is a holiday, I’m not going to blog today!  Instead, let me point you towards something Coolio (Sorry, that’s another hip-hop artist all together)…

Snoop Dogg has is now joining forces to fight cyber crime: HACK IS WACK 

If you upload your own video, please let me know! I want to see it!

Hope everyone is enjoying their Labor Day off!

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Thinking of buying computer hardware or software “Dirt Cheap?” Read this first…

Dirt Cheap Computers

Dirt Cheap Computers - are they worth what you pay for them?

I’m sure you have heard the old adage “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is…”

In the case of computers, servers, firewalls, VoIP equipment, Microsoft, Adobe and other hardware / software, that has always been true.

For example: We have one client who purchased Microsoft Office Professional 2003 a number of years ago on the cheap. I believe they purchased about 20 seats and were presented with an authentic looking disk and the product key from the dealer. They saved a significant amount over purchasing from CDW, Homeland Secure IT, or some other reputable Microsoft dealer. However, flash forward to present day and they are unable to receive support from Microsoft, they are being told the software is counterfeit, and will have to purchase new licensing at a very hefty price.

This is a common story these days. In fact, a quick Google search turned up Microsoft Windows 7 Professional for ~50 dollars. Come on, the cost to any reputable dealer is more than that, how can they SELL it for that? hrmmmmm

To make matters worse, this is happening with hardware all too often. A few months ago, Cisco was experiencing a shortage of ASA 5505 and other products. It was a horrible time for companies who relied on that hardware, so they began looking outside their regular suppliers. What they found were some deals on ASA 5500 products that were not really a “deal”, but they WERE in stock, so they ordered them. These were actually grey market dealers. They had no association with Cisco, and they were not selling new product. Some of the items sold were “new – old” stock (where it had been sitting on the shelves for a while, with older software loaded), some had been obtained from legitimate dealers who went under (at actual dirt cheap prices) by a company that bought all their stock, but the worst of them were actually STOLEN devices and then there were some reports of used or refurbished devices being sold as new.

All of these scenarios had one thing in common – the customer was paying for something they were not getting. Whether it was an actual new product, or a product that could be supported by Cisco SMARTnet support contract. Some customers received “bricks”, ASA firewalls that simply did not work, and the dealer was nowhere to be found when they sought support, and of course, Cisco will not support items which are not legit.

The inspiration for this blog post is that I read an article in a trade journal recently that warned of this type of unscrupulous behavior, and today at a lunch meeting, I was told of something similar happening to someone I know so I thought I would share that with you and maybe save one person from a bad experience.

The moral to the story is – buy quality product from quality vendors. Homeland Secure IT is such a vendor. We offer many products, including Cisco, WatchGuard, SonicWall, Microsoft, Trend Micro, Symantec and others through our partnerships with those manufacturers and though the cost is going to be higher than the “discount” internet price, you can find us, and we stand behind that product and sale 100%! You will never get a black market, gray market, used or refurbished item in place of what you pay for!

Call us today for more information at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com – We offer computer service, support and sales in the Greenville  / Upstate SC area, and national sales.

Are you spending too much on your Cisco SMARTnet, Trend Micro, Symantec or Microsoft Licensing?

If you own or maintain your own business phone or computer network, you are probably renewing your licensing yearly for everything from your Cisco VoIP phone system & ASA 5500 network security appliances to Trend Micro Worry Free Business Security, Trend Office Scan, to Microsoft Software Assurance or purchases of new seats.

Chances are also good you are buying your licensing from a vendor who may have originally installed the equipment and they could be charging you for the licensing plus a fee to administer those licenses for you. The licensing is generally sold at the manufacturer’s suggested retail price.

If you would like another quote on your license renewals and sales, please contact us at 864.990.4748 x 201, or email info@homelandsecureit.com

We offer sales of products and licensing, as well as licensing renewals for Trend Micro, Cisco, Symantec, Microsoft and more! We never charge an administration fee.

One word of warning regarding “deep discount” licensing providers – if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The markup on licensing is not very much, so if you find Microsoft Office Professional for 20% less than the retail, odds are, it is counterfeit product and will allow you no ability to upgrade or receive support.

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Congratulations to our Trend Micro Internet Security 2010 winners!

Lee Brookshire of Hitachi/HEDUS corporation in Greenville and Allen Vailliencourt of Find Great People, also in Greenville are our winners!

Congratulations to both of them, as they have won Trend Micro Internet Security 2010 anti-virus in our little giveaway…

Trend Micro Internet Security 2010 is designed for home and small business users and offers protection against viruses, spyware, unauthorized changes to applications, as well as offering outstanding email protection from spam and malicious emails and Web monitoring too!

The $49.99 retail package will cover up to 3 computers.

If you would like to purchase Trend Micro products, including Internet Security 2010, Internet Security Pro, Worry-Free Business Security or Enterprise packages like the Enterprise Security Suite, etc, or would like additional information, please email info@homelandsecureit.com or call 864.990.4748 – We offer computer security service and support in Greenville / Upstate SC and national sales!

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SECURE IT ALERT: Protect your data with DATA DESTRUCTION from ShredDisk #Greenville

ShredDisk Data Mobile Destruction

Protect your data - by destroying it!

Protect your data – by destroying it!

Boy that sounds interesting doesn’t it? But what does that mean?

As computers age and are replaced, they might find their way to a dumpster, or given to a non-profit organization who refurbishes them and resells them, or they may be given to a computer recycler who is supposed to dispose of the computer in an environmentally friendly manner.

The problem with all of these scenarios is that you don’t actually know what will become of your data.

Let’s assume for a moment that you are an attorney and you replace your computer. You toss the old computer, but you took measures to protect the data on your hard drive first, such as, maybe reinstalling a fresh OS on it, ore deleting all your personal files, or even performing a format operation on the hard drive. Someone who targets people in your line of work may be watching the dumpsters and upon finding the discarded PC, could pull the drive out and use recovery software that is available to restore some, if not all of your previous data! That’s right, even if you DELETE IT, reinstall the operating system, or format it, the chances are very good that data can be retrieved off of your drive. EVEN IF THE DRIVE HAS CRASHED, chances are, some data can be recovered by a professional or anyone serious enough to attempt it.

The same holds true for PC recyclers…  See a previous blog entry here with a video that outlines what becomes of many computers.

So what is a person or business to do in order to protect themselves, their data and the data of their customers that may be on an old PC? Your options are to trust your computer service / network support technicians to do the job for you, which we will often do here at Homeland Secure IT, where we take your old PC and perform a “DOD wipe” that writes zeros and ones to every sector on the drive multiple times over, rendering it virtually unrecoverable, or sometimes we damage a hard drive beyond recovery using physical means.  Another option is to simply remove the hard drive and shelve it, while discarding the rest of the computer.

There is an alternative though. There are professional data destruction service providers who will go to your location, remove your hard drive for you, and SHRED the drive, turning it into data confetti! This is the widely accepted standard for protecting data on old drives. You cannot recover bits of data from bits of shredded metal.

A benefit of using data destruction professionals is that they can provide you with the proper documentation that relieves you from all liability, as you have done everything in your power to protect important data. You can also witness the destruction first-hand if you do desire.

ShredDesk Inc. of Greenville is one such business that can provide this service and I highly recommend them!  Brent offers fast response and reasonable rates! He will personally visit your location, remove the hard drive for you, grind it to shreds and provide you with a Certificate of Destruction! Brent covers the entire Upstate and even has clients outside this area that he travels to.

If you are an IT worker, you can stockpile drives as you upgrade machines and call Brent when you have a stack of them to make it very cost affective and simple!

For more information about data destruction, data protection using hard drive backups, and network protection / security using firewalls, anti-virus and more, please call 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com

Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac to be Released in October

Microsoft Office 2011

Microsoft Office 2011

Microsoft’s latest version of Office 2011 is due out in October of 2011. It features many improvements over previous versions and comes in the following flavors:

Microsoft Office for Mac Home and Student 2011 includes Word for Mac, PowerPoint for Mac, Excel for Mac and Messenger for Mac. It will retail for $119  for a single install and $149 for the “Family Pack” giving you up to 3 installs. The Home and Student edition includes the core productivity applications that Mac users want and need.

Microsoft Office for Mac Home and Business 2011 includes Word for Mac, PowerPoint for Mac, Excel for Mac, Outlook for Mac and Messenger for Mac. It will retail for $199 for a single install and $249 for the “Multi-Pack” which allows two installs. This version sports all features of the Home and Student version with the addition of Microsoft Outlook for Mac.

Microsoft Office for Mac Academic 2010 includes Word for Mac, PowerPoint for Mac, Excel for Mac, Outlook for Mac and Messenger for Mac. It will retail for $99 and be available direct from Microsoft and authorized academic stores.

Buy  Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac today and upgrade to Office 2011 at no additional cost!

If you require additional information about Microsoft Office for Mac or Windows, please email info@homelandsecureit.com or call 864.990-4748. Homeland Secure IT offers computer and network support in the Greenville / Upstate area, as well as national sales of Microsoft products!

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Warehouse Theatre’s Production of “The Clean House” #Greenville

TheCleanHouse

The Clean House - Sarah Ruhl

Let me preface this post with the fact that I had never heard of The Warehouse Theatre until my family participated in the “Google on Main” event earlier this year. After that event, there was a follow-up which took place at The Warehouse and that was the first time I set foot in the facility.

Since then, we have been seeing lots of discussions on various social media sources about plays and events at that venue and decided we just had to check it out, so I purchased tickets on the phone last week for “The Clean House”… To make this even more interesting, I scored a “Social Media Press Pass” which let me in for free…  What on earth was The Warehouse Theatre thinking when they gave MEa press pass? haha  I think it must be because I quickly jumped on the band wagon when Aaron Von Frank (@AaronVonFrank) said he and Paul would dress up as French Maids and clean the home of one lucky attendee if all the shows sold out!  

All that aside, I took my wife Pamela, 17 year old daughter Megan and 15 year old son Brett this afternoon’s performance of “The Clean House”.

Having little exposure to community theatre, I must admit that when I walked in the doors today I was not exactly sure what to expect. I’ve been to many plays and musical productions, paying lots of money for great seats in world reknown theatres, and to be honest, I had braced myself for disappointment. I assumed that I would be watching a production similar to a high school play, with lousy lighting, poor audio, a spartan set and worse, actors straight out of the high school drama department.

Boy was I wrong! The audio was perfect, excellent sound quality, not a missed cue. The lighting was outstanding, including a video backdrop with colored background and text/graphics that were perfectly synchronized with the actors – if there was a mistake made, I sure didn’t witness it!

The set itself was a work of art and fit perfectly with the lifestyle of Lane (Stark white, sterile, with modern furnishings), however, the biggest thing I was wrong about was the quality of these actors!

I am not familiar with the work of the playwright, Sarah Ruhl, but these actors managed to portray characters that I believe we all can relate to and managed to capture our hearts in doing so. Many Broadway productions I’ve seen could have benefited from the expertise of this cast! I saw nothing but true seasoned professionals!

Without giving away too much, this play is funny…  And the timing of the cast was impeccable.  The lead character, Matilda (played by Lynne Junker) is a hired on by Lane (Debra Capps) as a house keeper, but she hates cleaning… Matilda has us laughing from the start. Virginia (played by Elizabeth Finley) the OCD sister of Lane feels moved to help the “depressed” Matilda by cleaning for her.

While cleaning, Virginia discovers the undergarments of someone other than Lane and that leads to the assumption that Lane’s husband Charles is having an affair. As it turns out, it is more than an affair, and we are taken on an interesting ride through what could be considered unbelievable if you have never been involved in something so ludacris in real life. My wife says she can totally relate with every character as the twist and turns unfold.

The play takes you full circle through relationships and the drama that goes with them sometimes. As I mentioned, it is very lighthearted, so do go prepared to laugh at the tragic story. (It is really a love story, but I’ll let you discover this for yourself)…

I feel I must appologize to these wonderful actors and The Warehouse Theatre for being so cynical about what Greenville had to offer in The Arts. I have been missing out on a lot and I am glad to have discovered this source of entertainment and enlightenment for our family.  For a fraction of the cost of an evening at The Peace Center, you can rest assured we will be visiting this venue frequently! 

The next show at The Warehouse Theatre is “The Rocky Horror Show”, a personal favorite that is coming up in October!!!! Hope to see you there!