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Data Security And Theft Top IT Concerns For 2006, Continuing Into 2007

The number of personal records exposed in data security breaches surpassed 100 million this year.

So says the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, which has been keeping count ever since a high-profile data leak at information broker ChoicePoint in early 2005. It keeps track of thefts and losses of gear such as laptops, storage tapes and drives, as well as of hacking incidents and insiders who leak data.

The count climbed throughout 2006: Boeing, the Department of Veterans Affairs, Hewlett-Packard, McAfee, the University of California, and many others made headlines as a result of breaches.

Most incidents come to light because of laws requiring public notification of data loss in cases where data is unencrypted. In response, security companies are increasingly pitching encryption products for secure storage–for example, Seagate Technology is building it into its drives. Microsoft is also getting into the game: business versions of Windows Vista have a full-disk encryption feature called BitLocker.

But encryption technology still lacks usability, a panel of industry experts said at an event celebrating the 30-year anniversary of cryptography.

Meanwhile, banks and credit agencies are hawking credit-monitoring services. In September, researchers named several banks as a consumer’s best bet in terms of offering protection against identity theft.

Breaches are only one way people’s identities can be compromised. Phishing scams are getting more widespread, and fraudsters are getting trickier in their attempts to con Internet users. People with high incomes attract more phishing e-mails and lose more money to them than other Internet users, according to a November Gartner report.

Scammers are helped by an apparent influx of cross-site-scripting bugs. These Web security flaws could let attackers craft a URL that looks like it points to a trusted site, but serves up content from a third, potentially malicious site. This year, this type of bug was found in many popular Web sites and in Google’s search appliances.

Phishing shields are now common. Microsoft has built one into its latest browser, IE 7, and Mozilla offers a similar feature in Firefox 2.

Alternative approaches to combat phishing include a new DNS service, OpenDNS, whose free address-lookup service blocks phishing sites and other threats.

Yahoo added an antiphishing feature to its site that displays a custom image on the log-in screen to verify that it is indeed a Yahoo page.

But if confidential data isn’t exposed through data breaches or pilfered through a phishing scam, there’s still malicious software. Criminals are crafting more-targeted Trojan horse attacks that seek to sneak onto PCs through zero-day flaws, experts have warned. In addition, some malicious software is now designed to let cybercrooks surf into online banks with you to steal your money.

You could also be exposed while on the go. Privacy watchers warn that people carrying passports equipped with radio chips could have the information in the document read from a distance. The solution: keep the passport closed and in a foil bag.
— from CNET News Service

Parents More Worried About TV Time Than Children’s Internet Use

About 80 percent of children responding to a recent survey said the Internet is important for schoolwork, although three-quarters of the parents said their kids’ grades hadn’t gone up or down since they got Internet access.

Forty-seven percent of the adults said they have withheld Internet use as a form of punishment. Banning television is still more popular, though.

One in five American parents believe their kids are spending too much time on the Internet, though most say the online activities haven’t affected grades either way. In a study by the University of Southern California’s (USC) Center for a Digital Future, 21 percent of adult Internet users with children believe the kids are online too long, compared with 11 percent in 2000. Still, that’s less than the 49 percent who complain their kids watch too much TV.

Internet Use Peaking
The study, meanwhile, found that although only 27 percent of cell phone owners use them for text messaging, photo transmitting and other non-voice functions, the figure grows to 54 percent among those 18- to 24 years old and 45 percent among those under 18.

The study has been conducted most years since 2000. Over that time, researchers have seen Internet use grow to 78 percent from 67 percent. Access at home increased to 68 percent from 47 percent.

Net Dropouts
In one of the few surveys to look at why people are offline, the study found the lack of a working computer most often to blame. Of the 22 percent of Americans who do not currently use the Internet, more than a quarter are former users who dropped out.

“Almost nobody drops out out of dissatisfaction,” said Jeffrey Cole, director of USC’s Center for the Digital Future. “The reason most people drop off is they change jobs or their computer breaks.”

However, more than half the former users have no intention of returning online — the most ever. Overall, 60 percent of nonusers have no plans to go online within the next year.

Cole said the numbers raise the prospect of a permanent subclass of nonusers. “Internet penetration has largely plateaued,” he said.

Elderly Are Least Connected
Americans 66 years old and over remain the most disconnected, with only 38 percent online. For all other age groups, at least 74 percent are online, with penetration hitting 99 percent for those 18 and under, likely because most U.S. schools now have some form of publicly-usable Internet access.

On average, users spend 14 hours a week online, compared with 9.4 hours in 2000.

Thirty-seven percent of home Internet users still have dial-up accounts, compared with 26 percent for high-speed cable modems and 24 percent for DSL. Eleven percent of Internet users go online through mobile devices – not necessarily exclusively – averaging two hours a week.

Internet vs. Television
The study revealed little change in the effect on television. Thirty-six percent of home Internet users say they have spent less time watching TV since they started using the Internet, roughly the same as the 33 percent who said that in a 2001 survey.

Cole said the increased use of high-speed connections has a lot to do with that.

When people were on dial-up, they were accessing the Internet 20 or 30 minutes at a time – “generally time not spent watching television,” Cole said. “Broadband changed all that. They are on 30, 40, 50 times a day for two or three minutes at a time. It’s not a big bucket of time displacing television.”

People may be paying less attention to television commercials, though, fitting in online use during program breaks, he said.

That said, 41 percent of veteran users – those online for more than nine years – say they have spent less time watching television, compared with only 23 percent among those who have joined the Internet within the year.

The study found nearly a quarter of online users – especially newcomers to the Internet – say they spend less time reading.

The telephone survey of 2,269 U.S. households was conducted in English and Spanish from February to April and included follow-up interviews with respondents to previous USC studies.

The study has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

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What You Need To Know When Considering Windows Vista Options

It’s official! Windows Vista will hit the shelves in early 2007.

You’ve probably already heard plenty of details about this new version of Windows. As with past Windows releases, the question for small- and medium-size businesses isn’t if they’ll upgrade, it’s when.

Here are some things to think about as you consider your upgrade options.

What You Get with Windows Vista
Windows Vista includes a multitude of new features, and this list isn’t meant to be exhaustive. These are some of the items that should be high on your business’s priority list:

Improved Security: Vista includes Microsoft Defender (antispyware) and Internet Explorer 7 (which includes a phishing filter and antispoofing technology), as well as Microsoft Windows Firewall technology—all essential for maintaining your technology infrastructure.

Improved Software Setup and Maintenance: Vista enables you to create and store “images,” which are system software configurations that can be easily replicated on new PCs. That means the average time to set up a new PC will be reduced, and upgrading software on existing PCs will be a snap. Add those together and you get a reduction in IT costs.

Instant Search: Search is the name of the game for document-heavy companies. This function should make it easier for you and your employees to find files and documents in a data-intensive environment.

Windows Aero: The new graphical user interface is fast and looks very slick.

Here’s a fair warning on Windows Aero: In order to use this feature, you will need to make sure that your computing hardware is “Vista Premium Ready,” as opposed to “Vista Capable.”

The difference between the two will be most striking in the graphical interface: Vista on a Vista Capable machine will look more like Windows 2000, but the hardware requirements for it will be significantly less than for Vista Premium Ready. Chances are that equipment you have purchased in the last two years will be Vista Capable. It’s also likely that very little of your current equipment is going to be Vista Premium Ready unless you’ve already been buying higher-end gear.

Microsoft will offer business-class versions of Vista, giving you the choice of which mode you want to operate in. Be sure to match the hardware, software version, and mode to the features you want in your Vista upgrade.

Different Windows Vista Versions
Microsoft will be marketing multiple versions of Windows Vista: two versions for home use, a business and an enterprise version, and an “ultimate” edition. Most small and medium businesses are likely to opt for the business version. It’s not clear yet whether the business version will come in Vista Capable or Vista Premium Ready packaging. This is important because Vista Capable hardware does not require a DVD drive, but Vista Premium Ready does.
When to Get Windows Vista

Don’t be confused by the fact that Office 2007 is going to be coming out at just about the same time as Vista. The two releases are unrelated: You can upgrade to Office 2007 in your current environment—you don’t need to move to Vista to use the newest version of Office.

Before you take the Vista plunge, think about these three issues:

First, if you’re running an older or unsupported version of Windows, we highly recommend that you think about upgrading as soon as possible.

Second, understand how your current software will operate in a Vista environment. Microsoft has tools available to assist you here, and it’s important to use them to test all your applications and ensure that they can run in Vista before you make your move.

This puts a real premium on not only knowing what applications your business runs on a “authorized” basis, but also what software some of your users may have loaded on their own in order to perform day-to-day tasks. Depending on the nature of your business, this practice may be more common than you think.

Third, and probably most important, you need to understand your hardware environment and your plans for upgrading your hardware infrastructure. We’ve already mentioned the issue regarding DVD drives, but you also need to examine processor speed, memory, hard drive space and graphics cards in light of any plans you have to move to Vista.

Most equipment purchased in the past couple years should be able to support Vista in the Vista Capable mode.

Your Bottom Line
While every small and medium business starts in a different place, here’s our recommendation as to how you approach the Vista-upgrade issue:

Don’t buy Vista the day it becomes available, but don’t wait more than a year to get started.

Time your decision to be in line with any hardware purchasing pattern you’ve already established.

Decide now how important Vista Premium Ready features are to your business, and make any incremental hardware purchase decisions consistent with either these or the Vista Capable requirements.

Analyze some of the new hardware/chip features that provide improved performance and reduce IT costs and match that plan up with whatever conclusion you’ve reached on Vista.

Give yourself a good six months to determine software compatibility with Vista before you begin the migration.

If this sounds confusing or you just plain need help, give us a call. As a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, our staff is trained to provide you with the guidance you need to evaluate Windows Vista in your organization.

You won’t believe what they’re doing at work!

Survey Of Over 400 IT Managers Reveals What Employees Are Really Doing During Work Hours… And You Won’t Believe What They Discovered!

According to a survey conducted by 8e6 Technologies (www.8e6.com), employees are using company computers, Internet access, email, and other resources to conduct hours of non-work related activities.

Some of these activities simply waste time, like day trading and monitoring eBay bids.

However, many of the activities are downright malicious and threaten their employers’ existence and security.

Just look at some of these outrageous real-life stories collected from IT Managers polled:

  • One employee was caught running a gambling website and acting as a bookie for his coworkers.
  • To bypass the company’s web filter, one employee was caught using his desktop computer as an FTP server for the other employees. He had downloaded and saved over 300 GB of material.
  • One employee was busted for giving away confidential information such as price lists, contracts, and software code for application development.
  • Another employee was busted for having a side business stealing and selling company inventory on eBay.
  • One woman was caught running an online outcall service from her desk.
  • One employee was caught renting the corporate IP address to hacker friends to generate DOS (denial of service hacker) attacks.

While these scenarios seem outrageous, they are not uncommon. According to a survey outlined in the Seattle Times, of 294 U.S. firms with 1,000 or more employees, almost one-third of companies have fired an employee in the last 12 months for violating email policies, and 52 percent of companies said they have disciplined an employee for violating email rules in the past year.

As an employer, educating your employees as to what they can and cannot do through an acceptable use policy is simply not enough.

If the requirements are not enforced, employees will accidentally (or intentionally) violate your rules. That’s why every company should look at investing in a good email and web filtering system.

Just having it in place will act as a deterrent for such activities, and if something really is going on — like an employee leaking confidential information to a competitor or sending racial or sexist jokes through your company’s email —you’ll be able to nip it in the bud before it comes back and bites you in the form of a lawsuit.

Additionally, a good web filter will prevent employees from accessing inappropriate material online, wasting time on non-work related activities, downloading viruses and spyware, and using up company bandwidth to download photos and music.

Software such as Spectorsoft monitor employee Internet usage, accumulating statistics about how much time is spent on certain web pages, logging sites visited, and can block sites based on keywords, addresses, or time of day.

If you would like our help in choosing and setting up an acceptable use policy and a web filtering system for your company, call us at: (734) 457-5000 or send an email message to at info@expertsmi.com.

Microsoft Offers Financing For Small and Medium Sized Companies

Keeping your business running at peak productivity and efficiency has a lot to do with keeping your software, services, and hardware current. Now there’s a way to get everything you need more affordably with Microsoft® Financing.

Microsoft’s approach is unique in that they offer financing for software-centric solutions as well as for more comprehensive solutions that include software, services, and hardware.

Microsoft Financing makes your IT needs more affordable through predictable payments that are spread over the life of your IT investment.

You can now get the benefits of new technology while matching payments to use. In addition, Microsoft Financing helps you:

  • Own the hardware purchased outright.
  • Acquire all your IT needs cost-effectively.
  • Plan your long-term IT investments.
  • Streamline the financing process.
  • Conserve capital.
  • Preserve your financing credit lines.

It is important to note that this is true financing, not a lease, so you own the equipment.

Microsoft will finance a minimum purchase of $3,000, up to $100,000 or more.

For example: A new server, with five new workstation computers, Microsoft Small Business Server software, Microsoft Office, installation, training, and ongoing support can be financed for as low as $235 per month for 60 months.

Give us a call if you’re considering an upgrade – we can run numbers for you.

WowWee Robots Hit The Big Time!

The nice thing about WowWee’s scary RoboRaptor is that it’s slow. Like most toy robots that walk, it can barely outrun a snail. But the new PEA Bot uses Segway self-balancing technology and can book along at a few miles per hour. Fortunately, it has no snapping teeth.

The bot is about 18 inches high, and it’s the first non-Segway product to use Segway technology. Unlike the full-size Segway, with the PEA Bot, you can dial in varying levels of imbalance, to give the toy a more animated, or drunken, look. There’s also a flip-down cup holder on the bot, so you can use it to send refreshments to a friend across the room. Be sure to turn up the stability first.

Like WowWee’s RoboSapien, the PEA Bot can run either in remote control mode or in programmed semiautonomous mode. It will avoid walls and obstacles and can pick itself up if it falls. However, it has no cliff sensors, so it will drive itself right off a table or a flight of stairs.

The new bot should sell for about $200 when it ships later this year. Check them out on the web at www.wowwee.com.

You’ve Heard of Local Area Networks…. How About Body Area Networks?

Like everything else, implantable medical devices are going wireless. A new in-body antenna chip from Zarlink Semiconductor is in preproduction, and should appear in pacemakers and hearing implants this year.

By transmitting data to and receiving instructions from nearby base stations, body area network (BAN) chips can reprogram your heartbeat at your doctor’s office or make a diagnosis from a bedside wireless monitor at home.

Not only will we be surrounded by intelligent objects in the streets, but we’ll wear clothes made of nano-engineered smart fabrics that will use wearable technology that runs on body heat such as intelligent electronic contact lenses functioning as TV screens when we are in the subway.

Local Tanning Salon Enhances Customer Service and Decreases Costs with Service From Tech Experts

Dennis Asmar is a busy guy. Between running his two Electrik Beach Tanning Studios, managing his family’s rental properties, and building a new tanning salon, spare time is in short supply for Dennis. That’s why he trusts his company’s computer systems to Tech Experts.

“You wouldn’t think our business is all that complex,” said Asmar recently. “But, we have very high quality and safety standards. Before we networked our salons, a customer could tan at one salon, and then go to another of our salons and tan again. That’s just not safe.”

Asmar wanted to implement a system where all Electrik Beach Tanning Studios would talk to one another, and in January, 2005, he chose Tech Experts to implement the wide area network for his salons and home office.

Tech Experts installed Windows 2003 Servers at each location with several workstation computers. There is also a server at Asmar’s home office, with several workstations for reporting, bookkeeping and general office use. The servers link to a central database provided by Electrik Beach’s specialty software company.

Now, any Electrik Beach customer can tan at any Electrik Beach location.

“The benefits of having our systems networked are tremendous,” continued Asmar. “I don’t have to go to each salon to retrieve sales and revenue reports. All of my data is centralized in one location, and I can do all of the work to run my business from my home office.”

Customer data is vital for Electrik Beach – without it, they’re out of business. That’s why Tech Experts implemented a redundant backup system. Backup is performed by the software vendor in Georgia, and also at the local home office server in Monroe. The tape backup in Monroe is rotated daily, ensuring a good backup every time.

As Electrik Beach expands, Asmar finds he is spending more time at his home office or in the field on new salon projects, and not as much time in the salons as he’d like. For his home office staff and himself to continue to provide the necessary oversight of the salons, Tech Experts installed remote IP cameras at each location. This allows Asmar to visually see if his clerks are having trouble in the salons, or perhaps need help with the computers or customer service.

The cameras connect through the high-speed wide area network to Asmar’s home office, where he has a high-end workstation with dual monitors displaying camera data in real time, all the time. Surveillance data is also stored on the home office server, in case it is needed at a future time.It is an efficient, cost-effective solution for store security and monitoring.

“Before hiring Tech Experts, our network would sometimes go down, run slow, and we’d sometimes run into just weird problems we couldn’t figure out,” said Asmar. “Since signing  up on their network maintenance plan, we haven’t had any network problems. We also upgraded our systems to a wide area network, linking up all of our salons — we couldn’t have done that without Tech Experts help. I’m VERY glad we hired these guys to support our systems.”

Think Twice Before Posting Any Information Online

Whether it’s a chat group, forum, or even an email, take caution when giving out personal information or expressing your opinion about someone or something online.

Internet information is growing larger and more impossible to control every day. It’s not uncommon for people to lose their jobs because of what they wrote about their boss or their company, not realizing that it would remain as a permanent online record for the entire world.

One 22-year-old answered an Internet inquiry about whether anyone had ever had a bad drug trip. His reply was so interesting and colorful that years later it still ranks number seven out of a total of 92,600 Google hits that come up when you type in his name!

That’s why you should be very careful about what you post. Your boss or your future boss and head hunters can research your name online and pull up more information than you want them to have. They can also do continuous background checks on you, no disclosure required.

They not only can see what you’ve posted, they might be able to see your age, marital status, the value of your house, things you wrote as a teenager, liens, bankruptcies, and political affiliations.

Without the full story, a post or a question could be misinterpreted. For example, let’s suppose you are doing research for a friend or relative with a drug problem. If you post a question asking how to help someone beat a drug habit, others may assume the person with the habit is you.

To protect yourself, Business Week magazine gave the following recommendations:

  • Register with an online profile manager such as Ziggs or LinkedIn. They’re free.
  • If you must use MySpace, refrain from posting the risqué. Consider cloaking or using an avatar.
  • Order a background check from Zabasearch or Argali. Contact vendors if you find incorrect information.
  • Think before you blog. Anything personal that you post may come back to haunt you for years in the future.
  • Don’t send anything in an e-mail you would not want the world, and especially your mother, to read

As always, use common sense with the Internet. It is a very public place with a very long memory. It is fair to assume, Google never forgets anything.