Business Checklist

We’ve created this checklist for you and your company to analyze your current IT support and to determine if you are getting the best possible support.  These are basic items that you should have at your business to keep your server safe, up to date, and give you the access you need.

Œ       Corporate Antivirus software: to protect the server and all pc on your network. This should automatically update with new definitions each day and push these updates to all PCs on the network. It should also run daily virus scan on all PCs on the network.

Œ       Security updates to protect all PCs on the network. These keep all PCs up to date with the latest software and protects from outside attacks.

Œ       System Back Ups that run every day with a tape that is taken offsite and stored in a safety deposit box each week. All employee documents should be saved to the network server (not locally on their PCs) so that all documents are backed up each day and are recoverable should a file be lost.

Œ       Hardware Firewall and VPN to protect your network from outside attacks, and give all employees access to their work desktops and network recourse from anywhere in the world.

Œ       Exchange Email Sever, if you want to host your own email, use public calendars, be able to retain all communications within your organization.

Œ       Server Maintenance performed daily to ensure the daily backups are successful and verified, review critical logs, hardware review, network security review, security updates, and virus definitions, and much more.

If you do not have at least these actions being performed you need to contact your IT provider and request a list of services to find out what they are doing or contact us at ITsolutions@intertechpro.com or 1-800-376-9174 to ensure that your IT system is properly designed and supported. 

Phishing scams are one of the most successful ways to invade your computer, get your information, and steal your funds.  Since Phishing attempts are done so creatively and with such attention to detail you might have a hard time identifying if your email from a phishing scammer or if your social network connections are from a real person or a phisher, I have some very easy tips to avoid being Phished after the definition.

As defined by Wikipedia:

In the field of computer security, phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT administrators are commonly used to lure the unsuspecting public. Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail or instant messaging,^[1] and it often directs users to enter details at a fake website whose look and feel are almost identical to the legitimate one. Even when using server authentication, it may require tremendous skill to detect that the website is fake. Phishing is an example of social engineering techniques used to fool users,^[2] and exploits the poor usability of current web security technologies.^[3] Attempts to deal with the growing number of reported phishing incidents include legislation, user training, public awareness, and technical security measures.

For more info you can go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing to read the entire Wiki entry, which is quite interesting.

To avoid being phished there are several key factors to look for.  (For an extensive list go here, http://www.antiphishing.org/consumer_recs.html)

• For Emails:  Is someone requesting personal info?  Is it urgent?  Is there a link in the email?  If there is a link don't use it.  Go directly to the website (google, facebook, bank...) and login there.  If there is no message there for you repeating the same info, it's a phishing scam.
• Online:  Avoid giving personal info unless it's through a secure connection.  You can tell by the lock in the address bar when you go to the website, clicking on it, and having it display the security certification. 
• Update your computer for security reasons.  Yes, updates can be annoying, but a large percentage of updates are to fight the ever evolving scammer community, and to keep your data secure.  These updates help automatically protect you from Phishers.
• Always report phishing emails.  You can send them to reportphishing@antiphishing.org and they database them to help fight future scams.

I hope this helps you keep your information safe and secure.  If you would like more help on how we can protect your entire workplace send us an email at ITsolutions@intertechpro.com and we'll analyze your organization's IT needs for no cost.

Well the magic of saving money isn't all that magical after all.  And I gave away one of my favorite ways to save money in the title of today's blog.

It's true, you're probably still paying for you, or your employees, to renew software they don't need or use.  I had an experience, from a previous employer, where they called me up after I had been away from the company for several months, and they asked me if I was renewing their antivirus software on their computers while I was away.  Really?  While I am very concerned with people's computers being protected I'm not going to charge anyone anything without them knowing about it.  The moral of the story is that a lot of the programs you use come with auto-renewing subscriptions that will charge you annually/quarterly/monthly/whenever they want, and they'll send you an email saying they're going to do it, but it often ends up in the junk mail so you don't see it.  In fact, several antivirus software providers were just fined for their auto-renewal services not being stated clearly enough (http://antivirus.about.com/b/2009/06/11/auto-renewal-of-antivirus-software.htm).

To cut costs I would look through your current list of installed software and inventory what you do and don't use.  This can be done very easily by going to the computer's control panel, selecting programs then selecting programs and features.  This will give you a list of installed programs.  Check to ensure that there isn't any junk.  Simply uninstall any unused software and check to see if you are running any software that is on auto-renewal that doesn't need to be. 

There's the magic.  You can easily cut a couple dollars per Computer just by combing through the excess. 

Everyone has probably had a less than perfect experience with IT support, or at least heard of one.  A lot of you have probably seen the Saturday Night Live skit for "Nick Burns, Computer Guy" (http://www.hulu.com/watch/19050/saturday-night-live-nick-burns) This is the stereotype that most people put together with you IT support.  We are working hard to make Nick Burns be a joke to the past, and no longer a reinforcement of a negative experience.

Here's what most people think of when they think IT support:

·     Geeks.  By Wiki definition:  "A peculiar or otherwise odd person, especially one who is perceived to be overly obsessed with one or more things including those of intellectuality, electronics, etc."

·     They don't have much real world experience, so they can't relate what they are doing to you, because they only know computer talk.

·     Not concerned with the wellbeing of others, but only getting the task at hand taken care of.

·     Uncompromising with the way to get things done, extremely structured.  Even if it seems like there is an easier way to get things done, they do it a certain way, every time.

The truth is most IT support personnel aren't like that at all.  When you call Tech Support for a lot of companies people are just tired of dealing with the same problem over and over again, also they have to go through a certain series of reporting in order to track what has been done, even though it doesn't make sense to the person receiving the help.

We pride ourselves here on doing things a bit differently, and hopefully IT support people will start to notice how we help our customers out, and we'll eventually change the stereotype.  Yes, we are "geeks" but not by the definition of the word.  We do have a large interest in IT related items because that's where we make our living, but we make sure it's not the only part of our lives.  By having real world experiences we can relate to our customers and explain what we are doing, and what needs to be done, in a way that doesn't alienate our customers.  It's much better for someone to know what they are paying for than to just trust us that we're going to fix everything and it won't happen again.  Our number one concern is the wellbeing of others, especially in the business world.  We understand that time is money, and for that reason we want to make sure we eliminate any problems that come up, and minimize any that potentially could arise in the future.  This might take an extra minute to walk through the problem with the customer, but in the end they will know how to eliminate the issue if it comes back, or how to prevent it from re-occurring.  Being a small company we have the freedom to directly asses an issue, we don't have to go through a long corporate structured process.  By doing this you know we're working in the most efficient way, and you're only paying for the problem to be fixed, not for getting a run-around.

IT Support Personnel have a long way to go to improve their public image, but we're making sure we can put a dent in it one customer at a time.

Everyone is working on running their organization as efficiently as possible, but often times the small things are overlooked.  IT support is a necessity for most organizations, but it's a costly expense to have someone on, full time, to address any conflicts that may arise, and to run your regularly scheduled maintenance, security and updates.  The solution comes from the advancements in Remote Help Desk Support.

Remote control tools enable IT help desk personnel to better serve their end users, and benefits the organization by saving them time and money.  Because the help desk can remotely diagnose and solve problems you save time, by having them directly interact with the end users' PC instead of directing the user through a potentially complicated series of actions, and you save money because the conflict can be resolved in a shorter amount of time, reducing the amount billed.  The remote services also eliminate having to go to the office to work on any conflicts, saving money and time for both parties.

Your IT support company should provide remote services as an option.  The phone is still the preferred method of contact for the majority of end users, but remote services are rapidly being accepted and employers are noticing the financial benefits as the need to stretch the dollar increases.

I've had several meetings around the area with mid sized companies and I've found that a lot of people have no idea what they are paying for with their Network Administrators.  Because of this I've simply copied the Wiki for "Network Administrator" here for you to see the basic overview of the job.  If your Network Administrator isn't doing the majority of the things mentioned it's time for you to start looking elsewhere.  Our Network Admin crew does a fantastic job fulfilling all the job descriptions here as well as providing it at a price that can't be beaten.  Give me a call or send me an email to find out more on the pricing.

From Wikipedia:

Network administrator is a modern profession responsible for the maintenance of computer hardware and software that comprises a computer network. This normally includes the deployment, configuration, maintenance and monitoring of active network equipment. A related role is that of the network specialist, or network analyst, who concentrates on network design and security.

The Network Administrator is usually the highest level of technical/network staff in an organization and will rarely be involved with direct user support. The Network Administrator will concentrate on the overall health of the network, server deployment, security, and ensuring that the network connectivity throughout a company's LAN/WAN infrastructure is on par with technical considerations at the network level of an organization's hierarchy. Network Administrators are considered Tier 3 support personnel that only work on break/fix issues that could not be resolved at the Tier1 (helpdesk) or Tier 2 (desktop/network technician) levels.

Depending on the company, the Network Administrator may also design and deploy networks. However, these tasks may be assigned to a Network Engineer should one be available to the company.

The actual role of the Network Administrator will vary from company to company, but will commonly include activities and tasks such as network address assignment, assignment of routing protocols and routing table configuration as well as configuration of authentication and authorization – directory services. It often includes maintenance of network facilities in individual machines, such as drivers and settings of personal computers as well as printers and such. It sometimes also includes maintenance of certain network servers: file servers, VPN gateways, intrusion detection systems, etc.

Network specialists and analysts concentrate on the network design and security, particularly troubleshooting and/or debugging network-related problems. Their work can also include the maintenance of the network's authorization infrastructure, as well as network backup systems.

The administrator is responsible for the security of the network and for assigning IP addresses to the devices connected to the networks. Assigning IP addresses gives the subnet administrator some control over the professional who connects to the subnet. It also helps to ensure that the administrator knows each system that is connected and who personally is responsible for the system.

So there you have it.  Double check to make sure you have a Network Administrator that is doing what they should be, and if you feel you need improvement in that area, or you just want to save money give us a call.

If you have an IT person on staff at your office it's very possible that they are getting bogged down with requests.  Does their office look like there's a nonstop flow of people asking for help, needing IT questions answered, or just looking for an easier way to navigate their computer?  The solution could very easily be a centralized support ticket system to handle incoming requests.

"The beauty of this is that the support ticket system can be hosted on the Internet and every time someone needs something IT related done in the church, whether its an email problem, printer not working, need something on the website, etc., they can go and open a ticket for this."  (Churchtechnologytidbits.com)

There are numerous benefits for having this system for your office, but the major ones are:

• It documents what the IT person does, so you can understand what went wrong and how it was fixed.
• Items can be prioritized by the staff or IT personnel, keeping your company running efficiently, not bogging you down with non-critical issues.
• IT person can update the status or the request, no more trips in the office to find out what's going on.
• The IT requests are centralized, no more searching inbox, calling or wondering if the problem was resolved.
• The IT personnel is held accountable.
• The overall management of the IT requests are improved.

"When a person opens a new ticket request, they get an automated response acknowledging their request, also the IT person is notified and can log in to the ticket system and update the status. Also when a request is completed the IT person can ‘close’ the ticket and move on. The staff person who created the request will be notified when the request has been completed automatically by email."  (Churchtechnologytidbits.com)

Efficiency is a beautiful thing.  Contact us if you need help setting this up for your company's IT department and we'll get you started toward a more efficient workplace.

A major component to your organizations success is work flow and efficiency, and a major part of that is having the right computer support.  A technical partner that fits your needs is an obvious choice, but how do you sift through the seemingly endless amount of providers? 

What is valuable about your company's IT?  What isn't working for you and what is?  Finding out what you need should eliminate a large majority of who you are looking for.  If a company just provides web design and hosting it could be a great fit for you, but don't expect it to cover your programming needs as well as network administration tasks.  On the other hand if you're looking for back end support a hard core programmer could be lacking in the design end. 

What's the support company's history?  You can find out a lot about a company by its history.  If they have shining reviews from their entire client list you can trust that they're going to continue to deliver as they have in the past.  If they have a very large client base it can be good for your company because of their capabilities to service multiple customers, but will you get the same service as a small company, probably not.  Also ask if they will be able to handle your business's growth, or if their intentions are to help facilitate growth or just to maintain a certain level.

The most important thing is do you connect?  Businesses are built on successful relationships where both parties have the same goal.  Whether your company is looking to grow, maintain, re-work its image, or even possibly shrink, there is a company out there that will fit your needs.

For a free consult send iTP an email here to see if we are the right fit for you.

Every organization is aware of the importance of security – security of the building, security for employees and financial security are all a priority; however, an organization comprises many other assets that require security, most notably its IT infrastructure. An organization’s network is the lifeline that employees rely on to do their jobs and subsequently make money for the organization. Therefore it’s important to recognize that your IT infrastructure is an asset that requires top security. The question is, what should one secure against?

Spam

The No.1 enemy to all email users has got to be spam. Having your inbox fill up with useless messages that promote fake designer goods, bogus get-rich quick schemes and insinuate that you need to improve your love skills is not fun and is definitely not the reason for which you signed up for an email account. Unfortunately spam is a growing problem with research claiming that up to 94% of all emails that are sent are actually spam! That is a huge number when you consider just how prevalent email usage is nowadays. Spam presents an even bigger problem than just being irritating; it can also be harmful. Whilst some spammers do nothing more than direct you to websites to try and sell you things that you don’t need, there are spammers of the more spiteful variety who will include malicious links in their emails that when clicked on will download spyware, malware or other harmful files onto your machine. Therefore one of the first security solutions that you want to have on your server or workstation is anti-spam software.

Viruses

If a virus hits it’s always bad news. A virus can copy itself and infect other machines without the user even knowing that the machine has been infected until disaster strikes. If a virus hits the network then it’s likely to propagate to files on other machines that are connected to the network. Viruses can also spread via email, instant messaging, an intranet and other shared networks causing networks and machines to overload or crash. They can also capture keystrokes which is where the problem of security lies because passwords and banking details can be revealed in this manner. Viruses can cause major security risks and start a cycle of problems for an organization. Implementing an anti-virus solution can save your network and all your files and emails that could easily be lost and corrupted.

Malware

Malware comprises a variety of malicious software types such as Trojans, worms and spyware which will infiltrate your machine without you even realizing. Once your machine is infected it could easily spread to executable files on other machines that are connected to the network thus causing an IT epidemic. Whilst some malware is created simply to disrupt a system, other malware is used for financial gain. Spyware, botnets and keystroke loggers all have malicious intentions as they take control of infected machines and use them to continue proliferating the attack; they also track user’s login details for the sites that they use thus violating their privacy, as well as taking note of credit card details if the user buys something over the Internet. Furthermore if the user has an online banking account, those login details are also tracked and reported back to the host of the malware. Malware encompasses more than just viruses; however, an anti-virus solution is the solution to this ever-growing problem. Keeping your anti-virus up-to-date is key to keeping your machine clean and malware-free; failure to do so will leave you open to attack.

Network monitoring

Networks, servers, workstations – they all need to work seamlessly together for an organization to run its day-to-day tasks. If a server crashes, then the workstations are affected and people can’t carry on with their work. If the network fails the repercussions will affect the entire organization, and in turn affect production levels. So monitoring the network and servers regularly is a main task for any IT administrator; using network and server monitoring software this task can be automated with reports being generated on a regular basis. Server downtime equals business downtime which leads to a loss of profits – which all organizations want to avoid.

Vulnerability scanning and patch management

Vulnerability issues, patch management and network auditing are all security features that need to be addressed when dealing with networks. Leaving ports open is one of the most common security liabilities and attackers are aware of this. Scanning your network for open ports, machines that are vulnerable to infection is the first step to security. Once the scan is complete, patches must be deployed on all machines that are at risk of infection. By assessing your network and keeping up-to-date with all patches you greatly reduce the risk of security attacks occurring.

Written by Giselle Borg Oliver, August 3, 2009, care of www.gfi.com

Internet Explorer has certainly come a long way since version 6.  IE8 is a big improvement and sport a number of very useful features.

One of those is the ability to access more than one CM account (or any other account that utilizes sessions). Head to the file menu and click New Session and IE8 will spawn a new window that doesn't share session information with the original window.

To launch a new window from a shortcut, just add the -nomerge parameter to the end of the target on its properties page. Double click it, and the new window will open free of any baggage from previously launched instances of IE.