Tech Tidbits

Weekly Tech Tidbit - Malware Defenses

This week, I would like to talk to you about Malware Defenses. This topic is in the NIST Detect and Protect categories.

Antivirus has been around for ...

Tech Tidbit - Are You Caught in Groundhog's Day?

'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it'
-George Santayana From his work; Life of Reason, Reason in Common Sense 1905
You have ...

Using CPGs in Real Life - Perform and Test Backups

What would you do if you came into school tomorrow and were told that all your District’s data had been corrupted? Your next step would be to check ...

Tech Tidbit - Happy Thanksgiving!

From all of us at CSI we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.

We are thankful for all of you. We are proud that we first started working with K-12 school ...

Can You Afford NOT to Protect Your Network?

When it comes to improving network security, the question asked is usually “Can we afford it?” But with Cyber Crime evolving every day, the question ...

Critical VMware Vulnerability - Patch Immediately

VMware has published a security advisory regarding a critical out-of-bounds write vulnerability (CVE-2023-34048) that has been fixed in the latest updates ...

Do You Know Four of the Most Common Cyber-Attacks?

The rate of cyber-attacks has significantly increased over the past few years. Districts of all sizes are at risk of becoming victims of them, which is ...

Tech Tidbit - Making Passwords Simpler and Harder

Last week I discussed the need to have all passwords minimally 12-18 characters to remain safe. While that is an absolute security requirement, we all ...

CISA Step 4 – Minimize Exposure to Common Attacks

Today we continue with our series discussing the highest priority cybersecurity steps as identified in the January 2023 CISA published report “Partnering ...

CISA Step 3 – Perform and Test Backups

Today we continue with our series discussing the highest priority cybersecurity steps as identified in the January 2023 CISA published report “Partnering ...

Boots on the Ground

On any team, there is someone who has the vision and sets goals, and there is someone on the ground who makes sure those things happen. No team can be ...

Tech Tidbit - Ransomware Presentation Tidbits

I watch a lot of Cybersecurity presentations. Ransomware is on everyone's lips as a major concern. Here are two interesting tidbits of information.

...

Chaos or Teamwork?

Have you ever been part of a group where a leader has not been clearly identified? It takes twice as long to get anything done and arguing and conflict ...

Your Weekly Tech Tidbit...Risky Business

In August of 2021, CISA added "Single Factor Authentication" to its list of practices it considers "exceptionally risky" as it exposes you to an "unnecessary ...

Does Cyber Insurance Justify Risky Behavior?

Far too often we hear people say “I don’t need to worry about security tools and training, I have Cyber Insurance”. While this doesn’t apply to ...

Teamwork is the Best Defense Against Cyber Crime

Whether you are a sports enthusiast, a volunteer, or part of a work team, you have experienced first-hand the importance of good teamwork. We have all ...

Business Email Compromise - Be Very Afraid

Business Email Compromise (BEC) has become a security buzzword. It simply means using email to attack and gain access to your network. *Phishing* or *Spearphishing* ...

Welcome Back! We Have Work To Do

Welcome back!

It was a very busy summer for all of us. Summer and the start of the school year felt much more "normal" to us.

Putting my parent ...

NIST Cybersecurity Framework - Malware Defenses

 

This week I would like to talk to you about Malware Defenses. This topic is in the NIST Detect and Protect categories.

Antivirus ...

NIST Cybersecurity Framework - Recover

 

This week I’d like to talk a little bit about the NIST Category - Recover. According to NIST, the Recover Category “identifies ...

NIST Cybersecurity Framework - Respond

In last week’s email, we talked about the third NIST Cybersecurity Framework category – Detect. ...

NIST Cybersecurity Framework - Detect

In last week’s email, we talked about the second NIST Cybersecurity Framework category – Protect. ...

NIST Cybersecurity Framework - Protect

In last week’s email, we talked about the first NIST Cybersecurity Framework category – Identify. This ...

NIST Cybersecurity Framework and You

 

Your district is faced with ever-increasing threats, pressures, and regulations. The list is endless. K-12 Cyberattacks continue ...

Tech Tidbit - I am proud of you

Late in the afternoon on a Friday, I created a bit of a scare for those of you who are part of our Paladin Sentinel monitoring system.  I was doing my ...

Tech Tidbit - Our Hours Are Your Hours

If you subscribe to our Paladin Sentinel monitoring service, hopefully, you know that either myself or one of our technical staff actively sweeps through ...

Tech Tidbit - Online Credential Theft

I was watching a panelist discussion post-mortem discussing firsthand knowledge of 25 major ransomware-style breaches. One of the panelists was an award-winning, ...

Tech Tidbit...Risky Business

 

In August of 2021, CISA added "Single Factor Authentication" to its list of practices it considers "exceptionally risky" as it exposes ...

Tech Tidbits - Happy New Year - Calibrate Your UPSes

"I am watching you...Always watching"
-Roz Monsters Inc.
For New Year's we once again had a holiday crisis. Fortunately, this wasn't an attack. Microsoft ...

Protect Your District from Business Email Compromise

Please join us *tomorrow - Wednesday, October 12th* for an upcoming webinar focusing on Business Email Compromise. Jason Whitehurst, a cybersecurity professional, ...

Weekly Tech Tidbit – Paper's Please

 

The first line of email defense is a properly formed SPF record

"Paper's Please"

Those words ...

Tech Tidbit - The pain of changing passwords

"Treat your password like your toothbrush. Don't let anyone else use it and change it every six months"

-Clifford Stoll

Password security ...

Vulnerability Disclosed in HPE BIOS

Recently I wrote about the increasing vulnerabilities in BIOS/UEFI underneath the operating system and encouraging you to update your devices ...

Tech Tidbit: No More Local Admins!

Your techs *should not* be local admins anymore. It is simply too dangerous.

 

I have personally been a limited user on all ...

Tech Tidbit: Scott' Secret Sauce

How I manage the storm of information and how you can quickly know what I think is important.

 

A few thoughts on how I manage ...

Tech Tidbit: Mind The Gap

 

"Mind the Gap"

As the war unfolds and these "Hacktivist" Guerillas take their shots at both sides of the fight, the details ...

Tech Tidbit - UPS + Surge Protector = Disaster

Surge protectors need to be banned from your wiring closets

Hi Lisa,

A few thoughts on UPSes and Surge Protectors.

If you need ...

Tech Tidbit: Rejection is hard

 

"Everyone fears rejection"

-Derek Jeter

It finally happened. I got kicked in the head and rejected.

Here ...

Tech Tidbits - Happy New Year!

 

"I am watching you...Always watching"

-Roz Monsters Inc.

For New Year's we once again had a holiday crisis. ...

Your Weekly Tech Tidbit...Boring is good

 

Boring Email Formatting = Improved Reliability

We love to use graphics and links in our emails. There are lot ...

Tech Tidbit: Patching your Holy of Holies

Your technical staff's equipment needs to be the best maintained in the district

 

Some thoughts on patching your holy of holies.

If ...

Your Weekly Tech Tidbit...It is probably DNS

 

I have something hard that I really need you to do - audit your DNS. It takes a lot of time. It is boring to do. However, it ...

Tech Tidbit - What I am afraid of

 

As I have gotten older I have developed claustrophobia. MRI machines are now my nemesis. Fortunately, I have not needed one ...

Tech Tidbit - Back to School to Basics

 

I think by now everyone is officially open. I know some districts locally and in the Northeast had horrific transportation issues. ...

Bob's Top 5 for Cybersecurity

 

 

Back in April, I had sent Bob and Scott's top 3 solutions you should have in place NOW to best protect against ...

Your Weekly Tech Tidbit...Beware of "Zombies"

 

"A chain is only as strong as its weakest link"

-Thomas Reid, "Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man" - 1786

The SolarWinds ...

Your Weekly Tech Tidbit... NIST Data Recovery

 

Today's NIST topic is data recovery. The most obvious example of meeting this NIST standard is maintaining good backups. This ...

Weekly Tech Tidbit - Secure Remote Access

As I write this on Tuesday, March 24, 2020, I do hope that this message finds you well and staying safe as we all adapt to our new normal under the COVID-19 ...

Weekly Tech Tidbit Extra - VPN Best Practices

As part of our client school district's response for Corona virus preparedness, we see an uptick in requests for VPN access into the school district's ...

Weekly Tech Tidbit - Thank You!

As 2019 comes to a close, on behalf of everyone here at CSI, I would like to say thank you for entrusting us with your technology needs.  We appreciate ...

Are Printers The Trojan Horse In Your Network?

We have all heard the story of the Trojan Horse.  The Greeks built it and left it in front of Troy.  The Greek army left.  The Trojans went outside ...

Weekly Tech Tidbit - Implementing DNS Security

Most of can easily agree that our IT universe has been dominated over the past several months by cybersecurity discussions as we daily (sometimes it feels ...

Weekly Tech Tidbit - Ransomware and Backups

We have been having a lot of discussions about how to better protect against ransomware and other threats with the recent attacks that have happened in ...

Weekly Tech Tidbit - Cyber Safety for Students

This week’s Tech Tidbit is shorter on my thoughts and words since the attached link below contains lots of reading on its own.

For the start of the ...

Weekly Tech Tidbit - Managing Switch Stacks

Over the past few years, we have been recommending the use of switch stacks in all your MDF and IDF locations.   This has been done to aid in simplifying ...

Weekly Tech Tidbit - Preventing Data Leaks

In my 20s I went to Tahiti and went on a sunset cruise on the famed "Liki Tiki".   It was an amazing sunset.  Hula girls, and music.   Along the ...

Weekly Tech Tidbit - Do you know your SA Password?

A constant frustration of ours is ensuring "clean" backups.   If you corrupt your data or have a server failure, we need to reliably get that data back.  ...

Weekly Tech Tidbit - Rethinking SSLs

We harp on the fact that if you have *ANY* VPN, or remote access capabilities into your district, you *MUST* use a commercial SSL certificate and not ...

Weekly Tech Tidbit - Patch 3rd Party Applications

I was recently reading a security study that said that 25% of applications are unpatched for an entire year!  As you approach the summer remember that ...

Weekly Tech Tidbit - Network Time Matters - Fix It!

One of the most important principles of a good network design is accurate time.   Windows time is a whole lot like the 1960s car clock - always drifting ...

Weekly Tech Tidbit - External Vulnerability Scans

Do you know how secure you are from the outside world?  Maybe you're new and inherited a network, or there has been so much churn over the years with ...

Weekly Tech Tidbit -Reboot before Updates

Another short and sweet tidbit.

When you are installing software, updates, patches, etc., reboot your server.   I can't tell you the number of times ...

Weekly Tech Tidbit - Vendor Support Contracts

This one is short and sweet.

Once in a while we encounter equipment or software that you have purchased elsewhere, but you want CSI to actively support ...

Weekly Tech Tidbit - 4 Hour On-Site?

Often we all don't get true clarity on the importance of certain issues until you are living them.  That is why for instance Dutchess County BOCES attempts ...

Weekly Tech Tidbit - Secure your DNS

Keeping up with my theme on DNS related posts, this week I will again reprise a post from over a year ago on the importance of implementing proper control ...

Weekly Tech Tidbit - Thanks!

As 2018 comes to a close, on behalf of everyone at CSI I would like to say thank you for entrusting us with your technology needs.  Unlike most of our ...

Weekly Tech Tidbit - The FBI Came To Visit...

The FBI came to visit us last week.  No it wasn't an investigation.  It was for CSI's 3rd annual Security Event.  I have talked about the topic of ...

Weekly Tech Tidbit - 2020 Is Coming

As you go through your normal yearly planning cycles remember that in January 2020 Microsoft will be retiring Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 7, and Microsoft ...

Weekly Tech Tidbit - FRS vs. DFS-R - Time To Convert

In an Active Directory domain, we generally rely heavily on group policies.   Microsoft best practices say that you should have at least two domain ...

Weekly Tech Tidbit - Air Gap Backups

When all else fails we reach for the backups.   However, increasingly the bad guys are consciously seeking out your backups and deleting them as part ...

Macs Need Advanced Endpoint Protection Too

I can't tell how many times I have heard from non-technical Mac people that, "they don't need anti-virus." The Apple person that sold them their Mac told ...

Weekly Tech Tidbit - Data Leaks

We have to be constantly vigilant to prevent malware, trojans, and other bad actors from taking root in our school networks to steal personally identifiable ...

CSI Fall / Winter Event Schedule

The school year has started and we're anxious to update you on what our webinar, seminar, and Tech Talk schedule for the Fall and Winter.

Wednesday, ...

Weekly Tech Tidbits - Kill the Zombies

During our May Tech Talk meetings one of my summertime recommended tasks was for everyone to find and eliminate “zombie” servers.   Zombie servers ...

Weekly Tech Tidbits - Baby steps to better security

We have been discussing a whole lot of security issues over this past year.  Many of you are already moving forward to address many of our recommendations.  ...

Your Weekly Tech Tidbit - Are your printers secure?

We spend huge amounts of time thinking about server and workstation patches, firewall and switch patches and software patches, but when was the last time ...

Microsoft Licensing Webinar - Wednesday April 25th

 One of the most confusing things we all encounter is Microsoft software licensing.   You hear one explanation and then another.  We are left mystified ...

Your Weekly Tech Tidbit - Spectre and Meltdown

I wanted this week to take a few minutes to share with you our latest thinking on the Intel Spectre and Meltdown fiasco. In a nutshell, ...

Your Weekly Tech Tidbit - Group Policy and Security

You will find on our web site under Webinar recordings, Hardening Active Directory Part I and also Part II. If you haven't watched those presentations, ...

Your Weekly Tech Tidbit - Proper DNS Control

In this week’s Tech Tidbit I want to talk a bit about the importance of implementing proper control of DNS as part of your malware protection program.
DNS ...

Why You Have to Eliminate Local Administrator Rights

Welcome to the second installment of, "Weekly Tech Tidbits".    This week I am going to answer a very common question, "Why do we have to remove local ...

Scott's Tech Tidbits - November Edition

The October Tech Talk meeting was jammed packed with information.   There was more information than time allowed us to present.

Therefore, Scott ...

CSI Tech Talk Dates for the 2017-2018 School Year

We wanted to let you know the CSI Tech Talk meeting and webinar dates for the 2017-2018 school year.

Our Tech Talk free knowledge transfer sessions ...

Apple Releases Security Updates

Apple has released security updates to address vulnerabilities in multiple products. A remote attacker may exploit some of these vulnerabilities to take ...

Microsoft's Education Presentation

Today Microsoft made some announcements regarding education.  At the core of the announcements was the announcement of Windows 10 S on $189 laptops that ...

CSI Tech Talk meeting Tuesday May 9th - Sign Up Now!

**NOTE: Due to ALL THE WINTER SNOW cancellations we pushed this final tech talk of the school year back one week**

Our Tech Talk quarterly, free knowledge ...

CSI is now an authorized Nimble Storage partner

CSI is pleased to announce we are now a Nimble storage partner.  There is a critical need for low cost, high speed, expandable, reliable storage.  Nimble ...

CSI is now an authorized Veeam partner

CSI is pleased to announce that we are a Veeam authorized partner.   CSI believes that Veeam Backup and Replication is the ideal way to backup and restore ...

CSI Tech Talk Webinar - Tuesday April 19th 10:30am

CSI is pleased to announce the second of our Tech Talk webinar series on Tuesday April 19th at 10:30m.  This is in addition to our quarterly Tech Talk ...

Cisco Next Generation Cloud Networking Seminar

CSI cordially invites you to join us for a Cisco Next Generation Cloud Networking Seminar.  If you're considering an upgrade of your wireless infrastructure, ...

Small Business Saturday November 29th

For the third consecutive year, the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce is proud to partner with American Express to bring Small Business ...

Tech Talk Quick Hits Presentation Now On-line

Tech Talk is a quarterly, free knowledge transfer session that CSI offers four times a year.  This session is designed for technical staff responsible ...

CSI and internal IT departments - perfect together

One of the questions we often get from in-house IT staff is, "aren't you trying to replace me?".    The answer to that question is NO.  While CSI's ...

Leveraging technology to balance work and family

If you have a family with children in sports,  you probably occasionally struggle balance your personal and business responsibilities.  In my case my ...

Why CSI is different

At CSI we are constantly reading, learning, evaluating, and training on the latest technologies and best practices.  I personally read at least 1,000 ...

Small Business Saturday

For the second consecutive year, the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce is proud to partner with American Express to bring Small Business Saturday ...

Web & Video 101 Seminar - Tuesday May 14th 8:30am

The Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce IT Committee is presenting a seminar entitled "IT Security 101" on Tuesday May 14th from 8:30am-12pm ...

IT Security 101 Seminar - Tuesday May 7th 8:30am

The Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce IT Committee is presenting a seminar entitled "IT Security 101" on Tuesday May 7th from 8:30am-12pm at ...

Great Tech Talk Meeting Today

Thankfully the re-scheduled CSI Tech Talk meeting happened on probably the nicest day of the Spring.   The weather was great and the turn out was great ...

Dropbox for Teams

https://bit.ly/13M66YE

 

ESX 5.1 SNMP Issue

https://bit.ly/13YrQ3p

 

 

Exchange Server 2010 SP3

Exchange 2010 SP3:

Co-exists with Exchange 2013 CU1
Exchange 2010 can now be installed on Windows Server 2012
Exchange 2010 now supports Internet ...

IPv6

https://bit.ly/WArmOw

 

vSphere Alarms

https://bit.ly/XQpLC2

 

One to One Laptop Academic Pilot

In 1978 I brought the first Apple II computer into John Jay High School in the Wappingers Central School District.   It was the first PC ever in school. ...

Security updates available for Adobe Flash Player

It seems like it has been just days since the last critical Adobe patches.  Here's the latest Adobe Flash Security Update Advisory: https://adobe.ly/WjMclm

 

  ...

March 2013 Tech Talk - Save The Date March 19th

 

It is three weeks until CSI's March 2013 Tech Talk quarterly, free knowledge transfer session on Tuesday, March 19th at 8:00AM.  This ...

DNS Root Servers

https://bit.ly/Us7kDU

 

 

 

More on the Apple iOS 6.1 Exchange Calendar Issue

The issue between Apple iPhones and iPads running IOS 6.1 and Microsoft Exchange 2010 has been narrowed down even further.  It apparently specifically ...

Microsoft Group Policy Reference Site

This is an awesome Microsoft site which allows you to examine what Group Policies: https://bit.ly/UkY7M4

 

 

IBM kills Lotus brand

VisiCalc was the "killer app" that launched Apple.   It was strategically huge for IBM to get it converted to the original IBM PC.   Long ago on a Saturday ...

Windows 8 Is Great!

One opinion on the new operation system from Microsoft: https://bit.ly/10Mjck5

 

 

You Can Be A Free Optimum WiFi Hotspot

On Wednesday I was a guest panelist at the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce Business Expo 2012 in their "Ask a Geek" forum.   One of the ...

My strange iPad incident

I had a very strange iPad incident today.  I was using my iPad to take notes while building some servers.   I have the magnetic cover for my iPad2. ...

Exchange ActiveSync Logo Compatibility

I find it interesting that not a single Google Droid based device is on the ActiveSync list.  I guess that is why we see Corporate Sync instead of ActiveSync ...

How Real People Will Use Windows 8

This is a  first user experience with Windows 8 for a non-technical user.   Was the "Start" button a bad thing?   It seemed pretty obvious to me.  Here's ...

The new iPad has CIOs quaking in their cubicles

A well designed wireless infrastructure is vital as the number of mobile workers and mobile devices increase in your environment.  CSIwill help you design ...

The new iPad has CIOs quaking in their cubicles

A well designed wireless infrastructure is vital as the number of mobile workers and mobile devices increase in your environment.  CSIwill help you design ...

CalCheck - The Outlook Calendar Checking Tool

The Calendar Checking Tool for Outlook (CalCheck) is a command-line program that checks Microsoft Outlook Calendars for problems. The tool opens an Outlook ...

Free Microsoft Office Apps on Your iPad

There is an on-line version of Microsoft Office with your iPad.  Read about it here: https://bit.ly/AgBGwC

 

 

What is really your IP address on the internet?

I would venture to guess that most folks don’t know their external, public “hide” IP address.  The way the internet works for every site you visit ...

Free, Basic Web Security with OpenDNS

If you are a parent, you probably want to implement some basic web controls at home.   OpenDNS is my first stop for this basic functionality.  The basic ...

Should You Leave Your Computers on at Night?

Should you leave your computers on at night or shut them off when you go home?

The answer is "it depends".

There are many factors that go into this ...

Yousendit.com

One of the questions I get a lot is how to send large files around.  Previously I posted an article called "Share Files Via Dropbox Public Folder" that ...

SQL Databases, Backup, and Free Space

Microsoft SQL databases have two components: Transaction Logs (.LDF) and Databases (.MDF).    Transaction Logs are designed to keep track of each transaction ...

AdminSDHolder, Protected Groups and SDPROP

Active Directory Domain Services uses AdminSDHolder, protected groups and Security Descriptor propagator (SD propagator or SDPROP for short) to secure ...

Share Files Via Dropbox Public Folder

I love Dropbox.  I use this cloud service to connect my iPad2, iPhone, laptop, desktop, netbook, another desktop, Windows Home server, and my family's ...

Blogging Tips

https://bit.ly/uFYP0i

 

 

5MB HARD DISK DRIVE, 1956

Looking at this photo from 1956 I am reminded of the first Davong hard drive I saw for the IBM PC which was also 5MB and the size of a shoebox.   Now ...

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 increases the free SQL Server Express database size from 4GB to 10GB.  This means that theoretically the free version of ...

Cloud Backup Bandwidth Requirements

Cloud data backup is a growing option for many users.   The question that often comes up is how much bandwidth is considered adequate for cloud backup ...

Data Center Rack Design Best Practice

A well designed rack environment would include cold aisles (in front of the equipment with the AC vents) and hot aisles (behind the equipment with the ...

Shadow Copy issue

https://tiny.cc/hneje

 

Introducing Outlook Templates

If you are a Microsoft Outlook user and are sending the same emails out with the same information over and over again, then you need to learn about Microsoft ...

DNS Islanding

DNS Islanding - I have been reading a series of technical threads on Microsoft DNS best practices. While we do follow DNS best practices for clients with ...

Create Additional Calendars in Outlook

My wife is a heavy Outlook user.  One of the problems I have is that we have a busy and complicate personal schedule around the kids.   Who is doing ...

Integrate Your Social Media With Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Outlook is quite versatile.   It handles multiple email accounts.   It is a reader for RSS subscriptions.   It can be integrated with ...

Add Or Remove An Email Account To Outlook

If you are like me,  you have multiple email accounts.   Microsoft Outlook can easily integrate multiple email accounts into your Outlook.   You ...

Advice on what to do if you have been hacked

For serious breaches you should always seek guidance from law enforcement and computer professionals and perhaps your legal counsel on what your next ...

Let’s make Google Docs Better

Google Apps comes up a lot when "cloud" applications are discussed.  This article points out Google's weaknesses in designing Office productivity software ...

iPad in Healthcare: Not So Fast

This is the first contrarian article I have read about iPads not working out as an information gathering device in healthcare - https://tiny.cc/pz1vt ...

Dropbox: much more than storage and sync

Dropbox is one of my favorite cloud based storage tools.  I use it to connect my desktop, laptop, iPad2 and iPhone and share documents.   I also use ...

Google+ Is Dead

https://tiny.cc/91pal

Java Critical Patch Available

Java has a critical Java 6 update 29 patch.  I have been reading some commentary about issues with 6 update 29.   Since Oracle has released Java 7, ...

New virus threatens Iran's nuclear program

Rumors were the Israeli's created the first virus that sought out and decimated the Iranian nuclear plant.   Is this their second computer attack?   ...

Small business owners. Do you have an IT plan?

In speaking with small business owners on a daily basis I have found that many of them have not put together either a short or long term plan for their company's ...

Is Google Plus A Social Media Failure?

The trade press is awash in negative Google articles.   Here is one of them.   I think the author's comments about "jeopardizing Google itself" are ...

What Is VMware Thin App Factory?

VMware Thin App Factory sounds like a major step forward for VMware in the area of application virtualization.  It is a new tool set that dramatically ...

Cybercommand chief opposes U.N. net control

The commander of the U.S. Cyber Command said Thursday that he does not favor giving the United Nations the power to regulate the Internet.  You can read ...

Adobe Reader 8.x End of Life 11/3/11

Here is Adobe's official life cycle page listing what their support commitment is to their various products.  Notice that Adobe 8 Reader went end of ...

Fixing a corrupt Recycle Bin

If you have a corrupt recycle bin on your Windows 7 desktop, here is how you can fix it:
 

 Click on the Start button
In the search box type: ...

Adobe to fix Flash flaw that allows webcam spying

A flaw was found in Adobe Flash that can allow a "clickjacking" exploit to turn on your webcam and microphone.  Adobe is working on a fix.  Networkworld ...

Office 2010 Customize Setup

Microsoft TechNet discusses how to customize Office 2010 setup : https://tiny.cc/lks5i

 

Impending Hard Drive Shortage

This could really mess things up in the coming months.   We are already seeing this hit the distributors and limit what options we can offer.  Read ...

Outlook Web App 2010 crashes Internet Explorer 9

Microsoft had a problem with Internet Explorer 9 and Outlook Web App 2010. It appears that Microsoft has resolved the issue in a recent Internet Explorer ...

Hackers Shift Attacks to Small Firms

The other day my credit card company's fraud unit called the house.  They asked if I had made purchases at a Wal-Mart in Houston, Texas.   I had not.    ...

Office 2010 Silent Install

If you are looking to automate your Microsoft Office 2010 installs, check out this resource.

Internet Explorer Cookie Change

There has been an interesting security change to Internet Explorer with cookies.  A recent Internet Explorer 9 update improves security, but can confuse the ...

Internet Explorer 9.02 File:// URL Change

A recent Microsoft update to Internet Explorer 9 has disabled the ability to do FILE:// inside Internet Explorer.   You can read about the change here. ...

Advice on what to do if you have been hacked

For serious breaches you should always seek guidance from law enforcement and computer professionals and perhaps your legal counsel on what your next ...

Meeting Rooms with Exchange 2010

https://www.msexchange.org/articles_tutorials/exchange-server-2010/management-administration/resource-mailboxes-exchange-2010-part1.html

https://blogs.technet.com/b/exchange/archive/2009/02/26/3407028.aspx

https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/exchangesvrclients/thread/4bf5040b-b572-4aba-962d-78135593f44c

https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Exchange-2010-SP1-ExFolders-e6bfd405 ...

Microsoft Office 2007 Service Pack 3 Announced

Microsoft announced plans to release Service Pack 3 for Office 2007 and SharePoint Server 2007; it is expected to become available in Q4 2011.

https://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_mod_news_bites_blog/archive/2011/10/06/microsoft-office-2007-service-pack-3-announced.aspx ...

ZENworks 11 SP2 is the last 32-bit OS version

It is a 64-bit world.  Novell won't offer updates beyond ZENworks 11 SP2 on any 32-bit OS platform.

https://www.novell.com/communities/node/13313/zenworks-and-32-bit-primary-server-support ...

How Volume Shadow Copy Service Works

Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) is the underpinning of most Windows backup programs.  It is also what is underneath Volume Shadow Copy which ...

Coming in GroupWise 2012

New features are coming to GroupWise 2012:

iPad support
Web access enhancements
Calendaring enhancements
Novell Vibe and Skype integrations
Information ...

Siri and iPhone Security

It is reported that the iPhone's Siri interface can bypass your phone's security.  There is apparently a fix for this.   You can read the article here. ...

Data Center Humidity Recommendations

"ASHRAE’s Design Considerations for Data and Communications Equipment Centers recommends relative humidity conditions between 40% and 55%, with an allowable ...

Top 10 Reasons SMBs Fail to Back Up Their Data

Backing up your data is such a critical issue.  Your data is the life of your business.   FEMA estimates that 40-60% of businesses never re-open after ...

Federal Cloud Security Concerns

An interesting article on federal concerns about migrating their data to the cloud due to cyber attacks:  https://tiny.cc/ghnt8

Public cloud security remains an issue

In my 33 years of working with various technologies we go through this phase a lot.  We see the promise of a new technology.  We see the marketing hype ...

Healthcare security needs a booster shot

With the push for electronic medical records (EMR), one of the concerns is whether patient's medical records confidentiality will appear on-line like ...

Facebook Privacy Settings

Here is a nice review of all the changes in Facebook as they relate to your privacy settings.  If you use Facebook, it is worth reviewing this quick ...

Impressions of Apple's Siri

Not exactly a kind review of Siri.   I've read a lot of similar commentary over the last few days.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/testing-siri-your-iphone-assistant-2011-10-14?siteid=nbch ...

Problems plague Apple iCloud, iOS launch

I have seen a bunch of articles on this in the last few days as well.  My personal experience was that my iPhone4 and my iPad2 both updated fine on the ...

1-year-old thinks a magazine is a broken iPad

This very humorous video illustrates that the world is now different.  

https://www.linkedin.com/news?actionBar=&articleID=840203633&ids=0RejkQe38Md3wIe3gUd3APcjgUb3cPdzcMcz0Qe2MVd3oRdPcMd3wIe3gVe3APcjgU&aag=true&freq=daily&trk=eml-tod-b-all-96&ut=1OeXnDBUqXm4Y1 ...

Apple I Video

In March 1980 I was 18 years old.  I went with my dad to the West Coast Computer Faire at Moscone Center in San Francisco.   There I was sitting at ...

iPad Keyboard Reviews

I love my iPad2. Since I am such a proficient touch typist, I absolutely hate typing on my iPad. I have the luxury of having a small Netbook laptop that ...

iPad Browser Use Soars

Interesting commentary from InfoWorld on iPad (aka Safari) browser use dramatically increasing despite Android devices having dramatically outsold iPads.   ...

Apple Releases Micro USB Plug In Europe

Finally an attempt to cut down on the charger plug clutter.

https://www.gizmag.com/apple-iphone-micro-usb-adapter/20094/picture/144394/

Facebook Adopts Websense for Content Filtering

We have always loved Websense for content filtering of malicious web content. Now apparently Facebook does too for the same reasons.

https://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9220457/Facebook_turns_to_Websense_for_malicious_URL_detection?source=CTWNLE_nlt_pm_2011-10-03 ...

Firefox v7.01 Out Now

Firefox continues to release updates at a dizzying pace. I read one article that they said they were going to continue to use numbers for their versions. ...

US Libraries Now Lending eBooks for Kindle

I love my Kindle.  I actually read books again.  Its battery life is amazing.  The fact that I can go outside and read in bright sunlight is awesome.  ...

Include Volunteer Work On Your Resume

A brief article on the importance of listing your volunteer work on your resume or on-line profiles in addition to your work experience.

Microsoft Discontinuing Windows Desktop Gadgets

Microsoft made a big deal about desktop gadgets when Microsoft Vista came out. I never really liked them because they took up too much space on the desktop ...

What IT should know about Windows 8

Microsoft has been introducing the world to what is coming next in Windows 8. This is a good article introducing what comes after Windows 7:

https://www.infoworld.com/d/microsoft-windows/what-it-should-know-about-windows-8-173881?page=0,0&source=IFWNLE_nlt_daily_2011-10-01 ...

Microsoft kills Google Chrome with bad malware signature

While I'm sure this was accidental, it is one way to protect Internet Explorer's market share:

https://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9220435/Microsoft_kills_Google_Chrome_with_bad_malware_signature?source=CTWNLE_nlt_pm_2011-09-30 ...

Windows 8 - BSOD Sad Face

Dead is still dead, but in Windows 8 the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) will be friendlier "sad" face!

https://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/blue-screen-death-gets-new-life-windows-8 ...

QR Codes

QR Codes are those square bar codes you see popping up on billboards and advertising.   If you have a smart phone and download a QR reader application, ...

Controversal Facebook Change

With Google trying to break into the mainstream social networking market with Google Plus, Facebook has been busy with a number of changes of their own.    ...

Novell GroupWise Upgrade - Coming Soon

Here's an article from Novell on the features added to the new version of GroupWise coming in the fourth quarter. It sounds like there are some nice features ...

The Impact of FSMO Roles Being Unavailable

This is an excellent discussion of the impact Microsoft FSMO roles not being available on your Windows network:

https://jorgequestforknowledge.wordpress.com/2011/07/11/the-impact-of-fsmo-roles-not-being-available/ ...

Google Discontinues Google Desktop

I always liked Google Desktop and used it a lot. However, since Microsoft put a more robust desktop search function in Windows Vista and Windows 7, Google ...

Small business owners. Do you have an IT plan?

In speaking with small business owners on a daily basis I have found that many of them have not put together either a short or long term plan for their company's ...

Why do people work in Panera Bread?

Since we have moved our office, I occassionally drive around the block for lunch at the local Panera Bread.  There is always table after table of big ...

Novell Discusses The Future of Directions of GroupWise

For our Novell GroupWise users here is an article from Novell talking about what is coming next (and not coming) for GroupWise.

https://www.novell.com/communities/node/13263/groupwise-retiring-technologies%E2%80%A6 ...

Future Directions of Adobe and Flash

All of us who have an iPad or an iPhone or even PCs have struggled with the love/hate relationship between Adobe Flash and surfing the web. Flash has ...

Emergency Flash Update 9/21

From Adobe - "A Flash Player update is scheduled for release tomorrow, September 21, 2011. This update will address critical security issues in the product ...

What Makes A Team Smarter? More Women

An interesting article from Harvard Business Review on a research study that suggests having women in a group raises the team's collective intelligence ...

On-Line Gamers Solve AIDS Retroviral Puzzle

This is a pretty interesting article on how making scientific research into a computer game allowed on-line gamers to solve a scientific mystery that ...

Server and Workstation Clean Up Tips

Server and Workstation Clean Up Tips
Updates
Whether you are manually updating or refreshing your golden images, here are some things to consider:

Make ...