What’s new
Swiftec IT and SK Technologies Merge
We want to share with you some exciting news! Swiftec IT, Inc of Northborough, MA and SK Technologies, Inc of Northborough and Worcester, MA have merged. This is Swiftec’s fourth merger in three years!
All IT support, remote monitoring and backup services will continue to be performed under the Swiftec IT, Inc name.
When “knock, knock” is no joke
We have been hearing a lot of banging lately, and unfortunately it is neither construction next door, nor someone trying to enter our office. It was the sound of the heads of a hard drive not working. Over these last few months we have seen more hard drives fail than in any equivalent period. Two of our laptops were affected and four client machines failed as well. Fortunately no data was lost because everything had been backed up (and our backup already meets the encryption standard of MA Bill 201 CMR 17 - see below).
Humor
A funny experience worth sharing:
One of our customers spends some time on facebook. Upon hearing the weather forecast for the coming weekend she was quite excited that the warm weather was returning - so she set her status to "Looking forward to 50!". Two days later, a birthday card arrived wishing her a "Happy 50th Birthday!". No kidding! So lesson learned - next time the status will be "Looking forward to 50 degrees".
News and Views
Internet Explorer 8.0 coming soon to a computer near you!
The browser wars continue leaving many innocent bystanders trying to figure out what to do next. Make sure you are not one of them by REFUSING to allow I.E. 8 to install itself on your computer. (when doing automatic updates, your system will ask if you want to upgrade to IE 8.0 - uncheck the box or press cancel.) As stated in our last issue, Firefox is a better alternative - much more stable, and less prone to attack. For help in downloading Firefox, call us (no charge).
Security
New security on web server02
With the increase in attacks against web servers in general, we have taken the proactive approach of enhancing our web server security.
Why does this matter to you?
If you are an existing customer then you should be aware that we are continually working to upgrade our hardware and software to best serve you.
If you are not a customer yet - know that we are diligent with security and our clients' best interest!
There are two common types of web site attacks: Hacking and Denial of Service (DoS).
Hacking is when someone replaces a page on your web site with something they created (usually undesirable content). DoS is when the third party tries to overload the server with requests - making it impossible for you to get your data from the server.
Our server has security to prevent both of these attacks as well as many more.
MA bill 201 cmr 17.00 - Hurry up and wait!
This is the bill requiring businesses with confidential information to encrypt their data. The original deadline was Jan 1, 2009, then it was moved to May 1, 2009, and recently it was moved to Jan 1, 2010.
If you are not sure if this bill affects you, answer this question:
Do you store any information about your clients besides their name, address and phone number i.e.: Social Security number, drivers license number, bank account, or credit card number.
If you answered yes or if you are not sure, then this bill applies to you. The reason for this bill is clear and it will beneficial to us in the long run. As one of our client's said to us - it is the ethical thing to do.
25 Security Scams To Watch In The Down Economy
The down economy offers cyber criminals new ways to take advantage of cash-strapped users. Here are a few examples of what to avoid at all costs. http://www.crn.com/security/214502200
Timely Tips
Tip of the month - Edit your pictures for free
Have you ever wanted to "PhotoShop" someone into a picture, or just remove red-eye (from the flash) from your pictures? An online graphics editor allows you to enhance your photos - go to http://www.pixlr.com/editor/ and edit away. This is a very powerful editor that works very much like higher end software applications, but without the cost.
Tip of the month - a different way to say thank you
The biggest expense of most businesses is usually labor. But without labor, there would be no business. So here is a thought - have a gourmet lunch brought in as a way to say thank you to the people who make what you do possible. Find a good reason, an appropriate occasion, or just label it as a “Thank you during these trying times” lunch.
One of our clients is Peppers Fine Foods Catering (http://www.pepperscatering.com/) and they can put together anything from gourmet box lunches to fully catered events. We can speak from experience that the food is savory and enjoyable (and has been more economical than traditional pizza or chinese food). Give John or Susan a call (508-393-6844 ) for suggestions of what they can do for you.
GMP: Good Maintenance Practices
The MA bill we continue to speak about has some components which are just good maintenance practices. Here are a few:
- Use unique passwords - require passwords that use a combination of numbers and letters, or characters
- Centralized anti-virus protection - managing different licenses and expiration dates on multiple machines becomes an administrative headache. Consolidate and simplify!
- Patch management -This refers to Windows Security Patches which should always be loaded ASAP. Microsoft releases these patches to fix areas of exploitation of their operating system - and you need to be protected as soon as possible.
- Wireless networks – you need to have encryption at a minimum
- Data MUST be encrypted - so that someone cannot easily retrieve confidential information
- Computer system inventory - you must track all your systems to make sure when one is decommissioned, the drive gets erased and no confidential information gets passed on to someone else.
- Backups need to be monitored - to make sure they are occurring regularly and that they are successful.
We will continue to keep you updated with changes in complying to this new law. Swiftec is planning on holding informational seminars later in the spring. If you would like to attend or just have a question, send Adam and email (Click here)
