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Don’t Get Caught in the Malnet!

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The prefix mal comes from the Latin for bad.  Anything with mal in it is bad news, malcontents, malnutrition, Mal Reynolds.  Now there are malnets.  Malnets are complex systems of servers and domains that are continuously on the attack.

It is estimated that this year, the majority of all spam will come from these malnet systems.  For example, Rubol a known malnet was found to have 476 unique domain names.  That’s a lot of vectors of attack.  A malnet was found to be the culprit in the MySQL.com attack.

So what do you do?  How can you protect your businesses infrastructure against such an organized malware ecosystem?

Most malnets are actually nets, malicious traps.  Don’t fall into the trap.  Rubol’s 476 domain names were fronts, mainly offering deals or quick cash.  You might be thinking only a fool would fall for a something that’s too good to be true.  However, some of these sites disguise themselves as legitimate businesses offering good deals.

The next step is to really isolate your sensitive data from the Internet as much as possible.  The easiest way to do that is move customer data onto a removable storage device.

Keeping your security software up-to-date is also a boon to the safety of your data.  And last of all, when in doubt, don’t click on it.

 

 

Is Google Going to be Everyone’s IT Department?

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Article first published as Is Google Going to be Everyone’s IT Department? on Technorati.

You know those computers from the 1950s you’ve seen pictures of? The ones that filled whole walls and ran on punch cards?

Well, to the 14-year-old who you’re going to be hiring in 10 years, that’s kind of how the computer setup in the standard modern office looks. From the Windows operating systems on the screens to the computer towers set awkwardly on the floor below the desks, the whole thing seems absurdly clunky.

Of course, right now, that 14-year-old’s use of technology centers on text messages and Xbox games, but when she joins the workforce in a few years, she’ll expect a work machine that exudes power while taking up almost no space.

Google is doing its best to make that vision a reality with the Chromebox and Chromebook, machines that are not so much computers as portals into Google-land.

After years of racing to give businesses and individuals bigger hard drives with more memory, Google and other technology companies have decided that’s not what we need at all. Instead, the expectation behind the Chrome devices is that we’re online all the time, so we can work and play in the cloud.

With the Chromebox or Chromebook, you have instant access to everything you’ve saved on Google Drive, which Google hopes will be all your documents. The company markets its Google Apps to small businesses as a way to replace their servers with effortless cloud storage, documents that offer access to multiple employees, and shared calendars. Of course, Gmail and Google Chat are also part of the package.

Aside from getting rid of all that old hardware, the attractiveness of this model lies partly in escaping the hassles of administering your own IT systems. Google archives your documents and email based on your retention settings and offers options to help keep you protected from audits and lawsuits. It also makes sure your data is backed up and that the roof above your server isn’t leaking.

It also makes your documents accessible from any device, which means that in 10 years that 14-year-old will be able to use whatever technology is current then (Computer watch? iNecklace?) to work from anywhere.

Meet Marcus Norman, Systems Engineer

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Marcus Norman

Marcus Norman

Marcus Norman prides himself on being a laid-back guy. It’s a characteristic that serves him well in sometimes stressful job of migrating clients to new servers.

Marcus said that, while no one likes dealing with transferring all their systems to upgraded equipment, it can be relatively painless with a little advance planning. He said he makes sure clients are well informed about the process and can schedule the work around their busy times.

“We just try to plan everything ahead of time,” he said. “We try to make it so they have a say.”

It helps, Marcus said, that he’s been “doing computer stuff forever.” As a high-school student, he found he could figure out work-arounds for problems he was having with his own machines. “I like to dissect how things work,” he said.

These days, Marcus is 25, and high tech is both his job and his hobby. At home, he has his own server set up so he can stream his music to his TV, and he’s even built a virtual private network connected to his mother’s and aunt’s houses so they can share media with each other.

“I only do it because it’s cool,” he said.

Marcus brings the same love of tinkering to auto repair and home improvement projects that he does in his spare time. “Anything where you can kind of get your hands dirty,” he said. “I’m always trying to keep myself busy.”

After two years at ComputerSupport.com, he finds he’s able to help out the newer staff, pointing them to solutions he’s found for various issues that come up. He likes the work environment because everyone works together and gets to be involved in multiple aspects of IT. Besides, he said, it’s a fun environment.

Even when he helps out stressed-out high-level clients, Marcus said he tries to keep calms so everything works as smoothly as possible. “I’m a pretty personable person,” he said. “So I try to work with them.”

Nearly Half In U.S. Use Smartphones

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If you’re starting to feel like everyone you know has an iPhone or a Droid within arm’s reach at all times, you’re not far off.  A new survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project finds that nearly half of American adults, 46 percent, use a smartphone.

The survey, conducted last month, shows smartphones are now more popular than traditional cell phones, which are used by 41 percent of Americans. Adoption of smartphones has surged 11 percent since the previous Pew survey in May 2011.

The new numbers make it clearer than ever that every business needs to have an Internet presence that’s accessible to mobile devices, whether that means a mobile-friendly website, an app or just a great presence on social media. An IT consulting provider can help optimize websites and other offerings to best reach the smartphone-carrying audience.

Popular stereotypes notwithstanding, mobile devices aren’t just for the wealthy or the young. The Pew survey found use of smartphones growing among all demographics. Across almost all income levels, age groups and other categories, there was significant growth in smartphone adoption over the past nine months.

For example, use of smartphones by people between 45 and 54 years old grew from 28 to 44 percent, and use by those with household income levels below $30,000 grew from 22 to 34 percent.

Still, there is significant variation in adoption by different groups. A full 71 percent of people between the ages of 25 and 34 use a smartphone, as do 68 percent of those with household incomes of $75,000 or more. Only 13 percent of those 65 or older have a smartphone, and only 25 percent of people with less than a high school education have one.

The smartphone market is divided almost evenly between Androids and iPhones. Twenty percent of all cell phone owners have an Android device, while 19 percent have an iPhone. Another 6 percent have a Blackberry, 2 percent use a Windows system and 1 percent use a Palm device. The absence of a single operating system points to the need for managed IT services in ensuring that web offerings are compatible with different sorts of phones.

As the smartphone market has grown, the percentage of Americans using traditional cell phones has declined from 48 percent to 41 percent. The percentage of Americans without any cell phone also continues to decline, dropping to just 12 percent in February compared with 17 percent last May.

It’s worth noting that the Pew survey is just about smartphones and doesn’t account for the growing adoption of iPads and other tablet devices, a trend that makes the importance of IT support for mobile devices even more apparent.

Spirinet Technology Services – partnership with Translation Services USA

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National, July 12th, 2010 – With the Internet binding the world closer and closer together, IT support and outsourcing company Spirinet Technology Services is proud to announce their partnership with Translation Services USA.  “The world gets smaller every day,” explains Spirinet co-founder Kirill Bensonoff, “and we want to make sure our clients have every tool at their disposal to compete on the world stage.  That’s why we felt our partnership with Translation Services USA was such a strong direction for our combined companies.”

Translation Services USA will primarily augment two areas of Spirinet’s service offerings.  First, they will provide website translation.  Secondly, they will provide software localization services, which is the process of adapting existing software platforms to fit the needs of specific language and cultural groups.  “Spirinet has always been international in scope, but our partnership with Translation Services USA will allow us to serve an even broader group of clients, and make sure that cutting edge technology is available to all, no matter what language they speak.” From words of Alex Buran, President and CEO of Translation Services USA: “Partnership with Spirinet will open up many possibilities never seen before. Sometimes, when we are serving the needs of our large companies, we have to scale up our IT solutions rather quickly in order to accommodate the most demanding needs. This is where Spirinet comes handy and we look forward to working with them”.

Spirinet Technology Services was founded in 2005, and is a premiere provider of IT outsourcing and consulting services for small and medium-sized businesses all over North America.  They are headquartered outside Boston, Massachusetts.  The partnership with Translation Services USA is just the latest in a long line of innovative technology solutions.  One such solution is AppsOnDemand, which leverages cloud computing to deliver applications to SMBs, anywhere, anytime, on a pay-per-user model.

Translation Services USA was founded in 2002 as LeoSam Translations.  They are based in New York City, New York, and count many Fortune 500 companies as their clients.  Like Spirinet, they are international in scope, and can translate to and from over 150 languages.

For more information, please visit Spirinet’s website at ComputerSupport.com.