Archive | Kansas City IT News
Guarding Against Cyberattacks on Your Business
In every business there is always the “Oh Crap”! moment when a PC get’s infected with something. And some more often than others. What to do?
Well, using a quality set of firewall/filters/anti-virus is part of the solution. And more than likely the only parts of the solution you’ve heard about. But, there’s a whole other area of expertise afoot. Who, Where, and What…. in RealTime. There are tools that enable individual networ
ks to monitor such things (really expensive tools) but sometimes it’s better to back up and get the 50,000ft overview. That’s where Realtime Threat Monitoring comes into play.
We use several realtime tools like this (and they’re so private I’m not even allowed to put up a pic of them). But there is a public realtime threat monitor out there that will give you the high level overview of what’s being targeted, by who, and where they are that has been released by Deutche Telkom (T-Mobile for my US customers). If you click on the picture of the tool in action it will pop up a window and you can see what’s happening in the world of cyber threats in realtime from monitoring stations spanning the globe.
And you’ll see why you don’t want your own tool, and will want to just have OPENRSM “handle it” when it comes to cyber security.
Microsoft Raises Prices, Dramatically
Microsoft is having a difficult time with Windows8 and WindowsRT… Companies and People arn’t buying it. And, from the testing we’ve done so far, for good reason.
But Microsoft is taking a decidedly interesting approach to slow sales of a product EVERYBODY has said they don’t need, don’t want, and they can’t really see any improvements over previous versions (including Windows XP). Their answer to the problems with their latest OS version are to raise prices, dramatically.
Microsoft has increased pricing on the following (non-complete) list of products:
- Lync Server 2013 400%
- Project 2013 Server CAL 21%
- SharePoint 2013 38%
- Windows8 License CALs 15%
So now, new PCs (which you have no choice which operating system is loaded on them) could start costing more under Enterprise Licensing policies from Microsoft. All because people don’t want their products. Pretty arrogant approach instead of giving customers what they truly want and need.
(information gleaned from an article located HERE)
AT&T Usage Billing and Refuses To Say How It’s Computed
It seems that AT&T is playing games with it’s new “Usage Billing” forumlas. And it’s not pretty.
We spotted this article on Slashdot today. One that our customers that utilize AT&T services should be very concerned with. You see, AT&T is now billing for how much data you consume. Which, on it’s face, sounds reasonable. But in reality it has no basis in reality. Slashdot user STOX‘ received his first AT&T bill that included usage billing and being a “high tech” guy, he went to check it out. So, he measured exactly how much data (transmit and receive) he used with a reputable tool that looked at his router’s statistics to tell him the true numbers. Comparing it to what AT&T was claiming he used there was a very large disparity. A 20-30% disparity. 
So, he called AT&T and was informed that the way that AT&T computes data usage was “Proprietary”. Which is a not so subtle way of telling us that they just plug in whatever number they want, tell us that we’ve used a certain amount of data, and bill for it. With no way to tell if the billing is in error, accurate, or totally bogus.
Businesses and individuals that utilize AT&T need to be very conscious about how they are being billed for data rate services. If the ability to double check what your being billed for is hidden, how would you ever be able to know if your being billed accurately, fairly, honestly?
It takes both technical experience and a deep understanding of what just is and is not allowed to properly interpret telcom billing. If your on AT&T it’s time to get ahold of OPENRSM to do a thorough review of the services you receive, and how your being billed for them so that you can know just what your getting and what the true costs are.
Windows8 – Now With In App Advertising!
Yes, you heard me right. And HotHardware.com is reporting it, and Microsoft is confirming it. Windows8 paid applications contain advertising. Right now ads f
Windows8 Metro (i.e. no Start Button) Interface
or Coca Cola, Ford, and Samsung have signed up (among others) that will show up in applications (like Finaance, Weather, News, etc.).
With a “normal” operating system and applications (that you pay for) you wouldn’t expect to have ads. Free apps, sure. Paid apps, no way.
And there are no notices or warnings, opt-in/out boxes, etc. The ads are there and you can’t remove them.
I wonder how many people would pay for a Windows8 App that kills the onboard advertising? It seems that Microsoft may have either created something to raise the ire of every business customer, or, created an opportunity for a clever programmer to join the millionaire ranks.
If You Are Using Sophos Anti-Virus You Need To Call
It has come to our attention that there are serious flaws that have been identified in Sophos Anti-Virus by security researchers at Google.
OPENRSM has never used, nor provided, Sophos Anti-Virus. And it seems that our own internal evaluation to not provide or support Sophos has been sustained (for additional reasons) by Google.
You can read the 30 page report by Google HERE:
You can read more about the findings that Sophos is insecure HERE.
And you can always call 816-200-2220, or email [email protected] and OPENRSM will help you with your IT questions.
Why Your PCs are Infected
Ever wonder why there seems to always be a PC that’s slow, infected, issuing pop-ups, redirecting your Google searches, etc?
It’s because they’re infected! “But we have anti-virus installed on all our machines” is the usual self-denial cycle that sets in. Usually followed with “why can’t you keep this from happening? Your the expert here?”. Which is a valid question. And now, what we’ve been telling our customers for years has been documented.
An article in Forbes (click HERE) tells the tale. The people who publish software are often unaware of their own security weaknesses for months on end. Ten months is the average. This means that your anti-virus/malware software won’t even know about the threat from a “Zero Day” exploit when you click that dubious link that causes your system to become infected.
Or, as the article in Forbes put it… “…the value of the benevolent hackers who find and report bugs in software before they’re exploited. Without someone to dig them up and demand they be fixed, those hackable flaws are far more common, and remain secret far longer, than anyone may have realized.”
Which is exactly why you have PCs in your business that get “infected” with malware, adware, etc. And it’s exactly why every business needs to have a company like OPENRSM taking care of your critical business network and systems. Having people that understand the cold hard realities of protecting networks and pc’s and more importantly, being able to get rid of malware and viruses without your anti-virus protection even knowing that something is wrong.
Celebrating Liberty
Many of our Friends and Customers know that OPENRSM is a proud supporter of Scouting and Scouts. And on this Independence Day we’d like to pause and think not only of our own Freedom’s and Liberty. But also how it is also celebrated by the “Good Turn” done daily by Scouts. A case in point…. The many replica Statue of Liberty installations across America.
Freedom Corner, Cape Girardeau, MO Photo by Ken Steinhoff (Troop 8 Cape Girardeau Alumnus) http://www.capecentralhigh.com
The Boy Scouts of America celebrated their fortieth anniversary in 1950 with the theme of “Strengthen the Arm of Liberty”. Between 1949 and 1952, approximately two hundred 100-inch replicas of the statue, made of stamped copper, were purchased by Boy Scout troops and donated in 39 states in the U.S. and several of its possessions and territories. The project was the brainchild of Kansas City businessman J.P. Whitaker, who was then Scout Commissioner of the Kansas City Area Council (now known as the Heart of America Council).
Over the years many cities and towns have benefitted from the gift from their local Scout Troops. Some of which have been expanded into a mini-pavillion celebrating America’s Freedom, and the sacrifices made to preserve our freedom. One of note is located in Cape Girardeau, MO. The local VFW and American Legion have generously added to the monument with a listing of those from the area that have sacrificed all for their country.
With the same local Scouts, Scout Troops, and others pitching in to both maintain and improve a local symbol of the Liberties and Freedom’s we enjoy. The Scouts continuing to “Do a Good Turn Daily” for all of us.
Happy 4th of July!
Did You Know Your Facebook Email Address Is Now Your Primary Email Address?
And you didn’t even realize you had a @facebook.com email address.. did you?
Oh, but you do! And it was changed to be your primary email address contact on your timeline by Facebook.
And no, they didn’t tell anybody… Until the press decided to start calling Facebook on it. And (in a change for Facebook), they said they did it. And there are more changes coming too.
Far be it for the humble data engineers at OPENRSM to tell Facebook what to do… But actually informing your customers that you are changing fundamental things in your platform AHEAD OF TIME would seem to be the thing to do.
More information (and how to change your email contact back to your own email address) is on “The Talking Points Memo“…
Thailand Floods Endanger Kansas City I.T. Budgets
Floods in Thailand have caused a significant portion of the world’s hard drive and other computer component manufacturing facilities to be temporarily shut down. ASUS Reports they are nearly out of Hard Disks, Lenovo, HP, Dell, and Others are expected to have similar announcements soon.
This will lead to shortages of computers and peripheral products over the next Quarter. Kansas City (being a very high adopter of advanced I.T. systems) will be affected negatively and short term implementation of systems, servers, and peripherals will cost more.
There are, however, creative ways to deal with short term market “blips” such as this that can actually help you increase your bottom line without affecting your business in radical ways. OPENRSM has long been known for it’s ability to effectively manage business IT investments for the maximum positive effect. Now that critical computer component parts are in short supply it is wise to assess your own I.T. Infrastructure and plan effectively to maximize the returns from your I.T. Investments.
More to the point, “I.T. is a Process, Not a Project”. And by employing OPENRSM to help you transform your own I.T. infrastructure to a process (rather than a number of disparate “black boxes” that cost money) you can weather this storm.
Here are a few articles that provide more detailed information about this situation:
Thai Floods Devastate Supply Chain
EBN: The Premier Online Community for Supply Chain Professionals
Ready for a Shortage of Hard Drives?
All Things Digital/Wall Street Journal
Steve Jobs Has Passed, Along With A Part of My Past
It was just announced that Steve Jobs has died. And with his passing, a part of my own personal past.
Steve Wozniac and Steve Jobs, 1976
It’s funny how when someone “Rich and Famous” dies affects you. A favorite actor, sports figure, etc. This is different. I havn’t told many people about my own personal encounters with Steven P Jobs. And now the “Kansas City IT Guy” is going to tell you “The Rest of the Story”.
When the Apple II was first rumored I had just purchased an Apple I. The funny computer board with no case, keyboard, or video output (you had to build all that yourself) was assembled and mounted inside a Heathkit Ascii Terminal kit. Pretty fancy stuff that stretched my own personal abilities in electronics assembly at the time. And shortly thereafter I purchased an Apple II right when they came out from a dealer in Columbia MO who happened to actually have one available. It was $1,380.00 (which was more than my Chevy Luv Pickup truck cost).
Which is how I had the opportunity to have some discussions with a young man only a couple years older than myself, in a garage, in California. All from my parents house in Cape Girardeau, MO.
The Apple I had issues. I called the number on the hand written invoice and a guy named “Steve” answered the phone. Elated that I was happy with the Apple I but thoroughly incapable of helping me with mine. He waxed poetic about the new Apple II coming out. Told me it was “insane” how great it was, etc. And then I was passed (literally, the phone was passed, no hold or anything) to another guy named Steve who was so technically beyond me that it took some effort to figure out just what he was talking about. Til it dawned on me he was discussing replacing an IC Chip that I could get from Radio Shack. A $5.00 fix.
And yes, that was Steve Wozniac that told me to go to Radio Shack for that $5.00 part.
But the phone was passed again to “The Real Steve”… I was drilled, pinned, unable to just let the call go. “You should become an Apple Dealer”, he said. “This is gonna change everything for everybody”, he said. The pure enthusiasm was not lost on me. I like it when people believe in what they’re doing and in what they’re selling. Which is the primary reason I bought the Apple II which served faithfully and well through four jobs and three moves over the course of time I had it.
And I wouldn’t have learned as much, as fast, if I hadn’t gotten it. All thanks to a young entreprenuer and his partner that took the time to talk with an even younger guy from Cape Girardeau Missouri.
Godspeed, Steve…Â As much as I didn’t care for some of the things Apple has done, I do appreciate the time we talked and the Apples I bought.