Put Your SPAM on I.C.E.

Are you tired of sorting through dozens of emails each day, spending time trying to determine which ones are legitimate and which ones are not? Does it seem as if no matter what you do there are always emails waiting for you from senders you don’t know? Have you ever lost an email because it was incorrectly sent to your Junk Mailbox? If any of these scenarios sound familiar, SSD’s Icebox can help. The SSD Icebox is a stronger defense against spam than most filters on the market today. Although the Icebox requires additional work initially by you as well as the sender it ensures that the email you receive is authentic. Senders who have not been placed on the approved contact list will be required to verify they are in fact a legitimate person and not an automated program sending spam to thousands of addresses in an attempt to hijack email addresses. This verification keeps spammers out, reduces the amount of time you spend deciphering real email from junk email, and protects your inbox from potential threats to your entire system. 

How Icebox works
The Icebox is an automated spam filter working behind the scenes to stop spam before it can arrive in your inbox. When an email message is sent the Icebox immediately begins its job. First the senders address is checked against an approved contact list set up by you. Messages sent from approved contacts will immediately be delivered to your Outlook mailbox. Messages whose sender is not on the approved contact list will go through a process called silverlisting. This process is an automatic response to the unknown sender’s email server requesting the message be resent. The Icebox will then hold this message for Sender Address Verification (SAV). The unknown sender will receive a message stating that you have implemented a new spam filter and their response is required to identify them as a person sending a legitimate email message and not an automated program sending spam. During the SAV process the Icebox holds the email until either the sender responds appropriately to the message or you manually accept the message. This verification is a simple step for the legitimate sender and upon completion automatically allows the email to enter your Outlook Email box. Spammers are not typically able to respond to these automated messages therefore the message will remain in the Icebox for you to decide how to handle at your convenience. 

Messages the unidentified sender will receive might look something like the samples below:

Address Verification Message

Message from "John Doe"
________________________________________________________________

I recognize from your email address that this is the first message I have received from you since SSD, Inc. began using Sender Address Verification (SAV). Your message is very important to me. Like you, we are very concerned with stopping the proliferation of spam. We have implemented Sender Address Verification (SAV) to ensure that we do not receive unwanted email and to give you the assurance that your messages to me have no chance of being filtered into a bulk mail folder. By pressing REPLY and SEND to this message your original message will be delivered to the top of my Inbox. You need only do this once and all future emails will be recognized and delivered directly to me. When replying to this email, please make sure that the following email address appears in the To: field of the reply: John-verify-1196354570.3905.1.0.814d436e@ssdel.com If you are unable to respond to this authentication request within 3 weeks, or if your reply is not sent to the correct email address (as indicated above), your message may not be delivered. Thank you! John Doe

Thank You Message

That was easy! Thanks for your help. Your address verification has been completed and your original message has been delivered. In the future you may enjoy the confidence of knowing that all your messages will be promptly delivered to my Inbox. Your original message is attached.

Sender Address Verification stops 100% of email spam with zero false positives, and provides an easy way for recipients to control which legitimate messages they want to allow into their Inboxes. It also eliminates a significant amount of administrative overhead on IT and reduces the load on email servers and backup systems. By implementing SAV, companies regain productivity and IT resources once lost to fighting spam. Business communications are allowed to proceed “unimpaired”. As this simple and elegant approach gains widespread acceptance, spam as we know it will be entirely eradicated and true email integrity will be achieved.

Contact SSD Technology Partners at 302-652-3370 or sales@ssdel.com to implement this valuable tool that saves businesses time and money.

Microsoft Office 2007 - A Different Breed of Office Suite

At SSD Technology Partners, we recognize that our clients depend on us to stay abreast of trends in technology and to advise them when circumstances arise that may affect their day to day business activities. Recent developments related to the Microsoft Office Suite of products have led us to make several recommendations.

Microsoft’s latest edition of the Office product line is MS Office 2007. While there are several “flavors” of this product, the following circumstances are applicable to each. Past releases of the Office products offered little change in the way of format or functionality with previous editions. This is not the case with Office 2007. The new release has an entirely new look and feel that will require a significant learning curve for ends users. Microsoft had a somewhat liberal policy for licensing previous editions of Office but not so with 2007. Only users with a unique activation key or license will be able to install Office 2007 on their PC. It will be impossible to install the product on multiple PC’s without proper licensing. This will lead to increased costs to end users as retail versions of Office 2007 list for upwards of $500.

Clients who utilize any of the MS Office Suite of products (Word, Excel, Power Point) should take into account their reliance on any of these products before considering any changes or upgrades. Clients who have limited interaction with these programs, be it internally or externally will likely have little to concern themselves with. If these programs are used internally only with no need to have compatibility with external users, then upgrades are not necessary. SSD does however recommend clients have Office 2000 at a minimum installed in their environment. If clients have interaction with external users and frequently exchange documents where compatibility issues may arise, it may be wise to invest in at least one copy of MS Office 2007. Additionally, if clients foresee an increase in Office 2007 documents it would be wise to invest in a copy to begin familiarizing themselves with the product.

Fortunately, there are alternatives; however SSD strongly recommends that clients review their current (and future) needs before committing to any of these solutions. If a client falls into the category above as far as having limited reliance on the Office Suite or perhaps have only the occasional need to use Word or Excel, then changes or upgrades are not necessary. If a client expects to have some interaction with any of the Office products, and has an existing Office product installed (Office 2000 or higher) then it is recommended that they download the MS Office 2007 Compatibility Pack from Microsoft’s website. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=941b3470-3ae9-4aee-8f43-c6bb74cd1466&displaylang=en. Lastly a client may consider an Open Source alternative. If reliance on MS Office is minimal or restricted to using only the Word program, an Open Source program is a viable alternative. Any decision a client makes should only be implemented after a thorough evaluation of their current and future needs.

Peace of Mind Backup Service

Every day business owners purchase peace of mind through a myriad of insurance coverage plans; life, health, business, unemployment, auto, etc. Each provide comfort that if and when an unexpected event takes place the business will be protected and financial losses will be avoided or recovered. Business owners are keenly aware of the need for insurance coverage to protect their business and personal assets and understand their business cannot afford to be without it.  Besides this insurance, businesses must also ensure the safe storage of their business critical data. Can your company afford to lose this data? Consider the devastation to your business if an unexpected event caused you to lose data stored on your servers.

How confident are you that your daily backups are successful? When was the last time you tested your backup system? How would a fire or other property damage that denied you access to your office building for an extended period of time affect your ability to continue business.

Disaster planning has become a common buzz word among Fortune 500 companies since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and September 11, 2001. However it is much more common for businesses to experience interruptions through unexpected events such as systems failure, power outages, property damage and human error. These events can have a major negative financial impact on the unprepared small and mid-sized business.

According to Gartner, Inc. the world’s leading information technology research and advisory company most small and midsized businesses are not prepared for a crisis. Gartner research has indicated that 80 percent of mission-critical application service downtime is directly caused by people or processes failures. The other 20 percent is caused by technology failure, environmental failure or a disaster. Gartner also reports that 2 out of 5 businesses that suffer a disaster will be out of business within 5 years. According to Donna Scott of Gartner, “Small and mid-sized businesses must be aware that a simple virus, a single Internet connection outage, or a key supplier outage is enough to derail normal operations, which could mean lost business and lost customers, ultimately affecting business survival.” (Gartner, July 2003)

Having access to important data is crucial to any organization. Companies go to great lengths to ensure they have the most up to date information about themselves, their clients, their competitors and their prospects. The steps necessary to not only obtain that data but to keep it secure is a challenge that faces Fortune 500 companies as well as local small and mid-sized businesses. Most SMB’s believe they cannot afford a disaster recovery or business continuity plan. That is why SSD Technology Partners is excited about its new Remote Backup Service….

This Remote Backup Service will help provide peace of mind that your business critical data is safe and recoverable at the time of an unexpected event. In addition, it eliminates the hassles associated with tape drive backup systems. No longer will you need to worry about changing tapes or making sure you take a tape home with you to keep it safe.

SSD’s Remote Backup Service is an affordable data “insurance” plan for small and mid-sized businesses that protects business critical electronic data for as little as $10 per GB of storage per month. Not only is your business critical data stored, but server settings and business applications are as well. If you can’t afford to lose your data, you can’t afford to be without this service.

Remote backup services are geared toward businesses who wish to have a dependable Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity plan and eliminate the hassle of tape drives. In all cases data is initially backed up to a local storage device and then transited via the internet to a secure data center. This local storage allows for quick restores of critical files and systems. Depending on the size of your environment the local storage device can be as simple as a USB attached hard drive, or in the case of larger systems a dedicated appliance will be utilized.

If you’re looking for a better and safer way to back up your data, call SSD Technology Partners today and ask about Remote Backup Services.

Technology on the Move

When businesses find themselves in a position for office relocation or decide to open additional locations often times their technology is an afterthought.  Remembered only after commitment for space has been made and arrangements for the move are in process.  This oversight can lead to many additional hours of labor, interrupted business continuity, as well as unexpected costs both upfront and possibly in ongoing monthly expenses.  Proper planning and preparation will help avoid many of the common pitfalls during a office relocation and can save thousands of dollars as well as eliminate much unneeded stress.  

Before committing to a property, business owners should include either their in-house IT director or contract with an IT consultant such as SSD Technology Partners to evaluate the property and plan for business critical technology.  Some common facility issues that should be checked before deciding on the property include: 

1.      Investigating the type of internet connectivity service available.  In the event a T1 Line is required check with vendors in the area to get an expected monthly cost as this service can increase monthly expenses significantly.    

2.      Ensure that a separate and securable area is available to be designated as the server room and that the area is properly air conditioned to maintain the integrity of this valuable equipment.   If such an area does not exist one will need to be constructed. 

3.      Existing cabling should be evaluated for age and type; older cabling may not support newer technology.  Be sure to include time during the construction phase for any required cabling to be completed. Computer room electrical power should include a minimum of 2 individual 20 amp dedicated circuits.  Generator requirements for your business critical equipment during power outages should also be considered at this time.   

4.      Computer room fire suppression systems are a necessity for every business; however your computer room area may need to be addressed separately to avoid sprinkler heads being placed over your server hardware.  Physical security and access control should be evaluated.  Consider the property location and layout; are there any physical features such as a bank of windows that will leave expensive equipment and inventory vulnerable to theft? Now is the best time to determine the need for access control externally and internally.   

Besides the property and facility evaluation an IT professional should also participate in equipment evaluations.  Avoid the cost of moving equipment that must be upgraded by evaluating servers, PC’s, and telephones now.  Equipment older than 5 years by today’s standards should seriously be considered for upgrades.  Spec out cabling according to office floor plan and remember to plan for the conference room needs such as audio/visual and teleconference systems.  This is also a great time to reevaluate your telephone service provider and compare costs with other vendors.  Cubicle and office space cabling and electrical needs should be planned to avoid unnecessary and unattractive use of longer cords running around the room.   

One week prior to the move check to be sure daily backups are successful.  Once this step has been completed schedule a time to power down the entire network and all of the other supporting equipment.  This is a highly recommended process since some of your key network elements such as switches and routers may not have been powered down since their original  installation.  Taking this precaution will insure that equipment is in working order prior to moving and will remove many variables in the event a piece of hardware  will not power back up.  This will  allow time to order any necessary replacement equipment.  Be overcautious when transporting servers and backup tapes, have them delivered in different vehicles to insure that business critical data arrives regardless of any unfortunate mishaps in transportation. 

When contracting with a moving company you want to be sure they have experience with PC’s and other technical equipment as well as ensuring they have the proper means to protect and move equipment safely.  Most office moving companies own trucks that are equipped with racks for safe transport of this equipment.  It is well worth the additional expense to hire a company who is equipped to properly and safely deliver your equipment along with the experience to coordinate delivery and placement in an organized manner.   

Other precautions that should be taken include: 

Be sure furniture is installed leaving enough space for power cords to be placed in the electrical outlets; most modular furniture is not easily moved away from walls and may require disassembly to allow access to covered outlets. 

Avoid paying technicians for standing around waiting for the furniture installation to be complete, consider scheduling them to arrive toward the end of the furniture installation schedule.   

Have an IT Administrator on call during the entire move to handle any unexpected technical issues and to ensure business continuity is on schedule. 

Successful office relocations include proper planning and preparation of the technology to be used.  Relocating an entire office can be a stressful endeavor for any business owner and its employees; however much of this can be avoided by including IT consultants early on in the planning and preparation phase.  Taking this important step can also reduce the occurrence of many common but costly pitfalls as well as unexpected equipment failures and facility problems.  For additional help regarding your office move call SSD Technology Partners at 302-652-3370. 

Risky Laptops

Business owners appreciate the increased productivity and efficiency a mobile device such as a laptop provides and their employees appreciate the ability to work outside of the office.  However does the risk of having the device lost or stolen outweigh these benefits?  A lost or stolen laptop with unprotected sensitive data can be devastating to a business.

From January to May 2007 The Identity Theft Resource Center tracked 136 major identity thefts affecting 56 million people (Information Security Magazine, July of 2007) and the Poneman Institute, reports that 45 percent of such breaches result from missing laptops.  The average cost for each compromised record has been approximated at $182.00 per record.  When faced with a stolen laptop and external hard drive the Veterans Administration spent approximately 11 million dollars just to mail notification to the 28.6 million veterans whose personal information was compromised. 

These statistics show that the high cost of laptop loss or theft extends beyond that of equipment replacement and reduced work time.  One must also consider the negative public relations a business will experience when having to notify clients that the personal information they entrusted to that business has been “misplaced”. 

Allowing employees to carry laptops outside the office without data protection is risky business.  Even those industries that are not under any mandatory compliance regulation should consider every laptop to be holding some form of confidential information that should be protected.  Contact lists that include email addresses certainly are valuable to your business and should be kept confidential.  Business owners and administrators can’t know what every user is saving to their laptop and the cost to the business if lost or stolen can be catastrophic. 

What can businesses do to protect the sensitive data stored on a laptop and still allow employees the flexibility to be productive and efficient outside of the office?  SSD Technology Partners recommends implementing a product that is capable of encrypting your entire hard drive, including the operating system.  In simplest terms, encryption turns data into unreadable garble that has no value to anyone. Implementing Whole disc encryption ensures that the entire system is protected.

Encryption can be performed in many ways and at many levels.  Before making the decision as to which product to use, one must decide what level of encryption is best.  Options run the gamut from trusting the end user to be responsible for encrypting individual files and folders on an as needed basis through encrypting the entire laptop including the operating system.   

SSD Technology Partners recommends a software product developed by PGP.  PGP Whole Disk Encryption protects all data on an entire desktop, laptop, or removable disk drive.  PGP Whole Disk Encryption does not require the end user to make any decisions regarding what data to secure.  It works transparently behind the scenes to secure disk contents, including system and temporary files, automatically safeguarding sensitive data from unauthorized access. PGP Full Disk Encryption provides worry-free protection against unauthorized access of private and confidential data.

Once installed on the laptop a pass phrase must be chosen each time the user boots up the laptop they are prompted to enter the pass phrase which then unlocks the key code to decrypt the data.  Without the pass phrase the entire computer including the operating system remains encrypted and unreadable.  Because the entire computer is rendered useless without the pass phrase it is imperative that you work with your IT service provider in implementing to ensure that data is protected in the event a pass phrase is lost. 

PGP Whole Disk Encryption enables businesses to secure sensitive data stored on systems or removable media, thereby meeting federal security mandates, partner requirements, and industry best practices for data protection.  The cost of this software is approximately $200.00 per license; a small fee to ensure data is secure and the business is protected.   

SSD Technology Partners believes firmly that the PGP product is the answer to data protection and in 2008 will begin recommending this software for every new laptop purchase.  In the mean time any business mandated by federal regulations to protect data should consider purchasing this product sooner than later.  To discuss data protection for your laptop users in further detail, contact us at sales@ssdel.comm, we want to help you protect your data and your business.

Before you Upgrade to Vista

Microsoft has announced that the operating system, Microsoft XP, will eventually be phased out and replaced with Windows Vista. The mainstream support for XP will conclude April 2009. Integrating upgrades into an existing environment; especially if using customized software, there is risk for compatibility issues that may result in interruption of operation and functionality.

Reduce the time, cost, and complexity of addressing compatibility problems by being proactive in your preparation for this inevitable upgrade. SSD is recommending that your current environment be tested for compatibility issues sooner rather than later. Testing your software in a controlled environment now will help to ensure that deployment of Windows Vista is successful with reduced downtime and increased efficiency, saving you both time and money. Don’t wait until you are forced to upgrade your operating system, get prepared now.

SSD technicians have been training and preparing for the release of all Microsoft 2007 products and are ready to collect and analyze your application and hardware inventory, test migration strategies and resolve any foreseen compatibility issues. To schedule your Windows Vista Compatibility Analysis please contact SSD Technology Partners at (302) 652-3370.

Please Note* If your custom software program is written in Visual Basic 6.0 Enterprise Edition, Microsoft has already discontinued mainstream support for that product in 2005 and the extended support will be discontinued April 2008. Our recommendation for this product is to upgrade your program to Microsoft .NET as soon as possible. Please contact us for an estimate on these services.

Windows & Exchange Server 2000 News

As Microsoft moves forward with new versions of their products, (Exchange 2007, Vista 2007, and Office 2007 etc.), their support of older versions will be phased out. Microsoft Corporation is no longer providing full support for: Microsoft Exchange Server 2000 Microsoft Windows Server 2000. Such things as upgrade patches and non-security bug fixes will no longer be available and critical issues that require in depth and personal attention by Microsoft Support Personnel will become too costly for the small and mid-sized business. We saw the unfortunate consequence of this lack of support this past March. Microsoft did not provide a free of charge patch for Exchange 2000 to coincide with the calendar change for daylight savings time. The patch that was provided for this issue cost upwards of $4,000.00. Without this costly patch those Exchange 2000 clients using the Outlook calendar for scheduling were required to manually change each appointment on their calendars.

All Exchange Server 2000 users will face this same problem again in November 2007 and each time daylight savings time changes thereafter. We at SSD, Technology Partners, know this is just the beginning of problems our clients who are still using Exchange 2000 will experience. Due to this issue combined with the Microsoft support phase out for these older systems, we are strongly recommending all clients still using Exchange 2000 or Windows 2000 servers to upgrade. Ideally these upgrades should be completed prior to November 1, 2007 in order to avoid additional ramifications from day light savings time.

Please contact your Project Manager, Chuck McCuen cmccuen@ssdel.com or Mike O'Brien mobrien@ssdel.com at SSD Technology Partners to begin formulating a plan to upgrade your system while addressing budget concerns. In the event you are having difficulty reaching him, you can also contact Jim Whalen at jwhalen@ssdel.com or extension 302-652-3370 ext. 212.

Affordable High Quality Surveillance for Small Businesses

Turn on the news any night this week and you are sure to see a story of a robbery or other crime, some will offer a video of the crime captured by a surveillance system. Thank goodness for the video right? Not necessarily, depending on the system the recording may be of little or no help in solving the crime or bringing the offender to justice.

Among the many reasons businesses choose to implement surveillance systems besides to thwart robbery, theft, or vandalism, include to monitor premise access by employees, visitors, and students as well as to protect both physical and intellectual property. No matter what the reason for implementing a surveillance system, it must offer clear images with good storage and recall capabilities in order for the investment to make good businesses sense. Advances in digital technology have resulted in affordable high quality surveillance solutions that are affordable for small business owners. Using your existing network and technology you are able to implement an IP Surveillance system that offers real time viewing of full motion and still images from remote locations as well as secure storage capabilities that were lacking in the previous analog and CCTV systems.

IP Surveillance is installed far less intrusively than the older CCTV systems that required separate and complicated cabling and power resources. For those with an analog system already in place there is good news. It is possible to integrate your exiting analog cameras and can be easily expanded adding IP cameras as additional locations need to be monitored. Additional features of the IP Surveillance system include alarming capabilities and flagging for video recall. Installation should be performed by your Information Technology service provider rather than a traditional security service company because your business network is involved. SSD Technology Partners are certified by Axis Communications a provider of IP Surveillance systems.

Spam Battles

Is your electronic mailbox gathering more junk-mail than your home mailbox? Have you purchased the weapons you need in the battle against Spam but you’re thinking it wasn’t worth the investment; don’t give up! Fighting the good fight isn’t done with a purchase and a few initial settings. It is an ongoing battle that takes time and diligence. Did you notice a decrease in the amount of spam you received when you first implemented your new filter so you thought you were winning the battle and then…they came back with new tactics?

Spammers are savvy and tenacious in finding new ways to break through the gates setup to keep them out. Spammers use pieces of software to extract email addresses from newsgroups and chat rooms where visitors often use their email address as their screen name, they create search engines that spider the Web specifically looking for the “@” sign identifying email addresses. Websites are also created by spammers that ask the visitor to enter their email address to win some incredible offer or obtain more information on a product. Besides these tactics, the most common is probably the “dictionary” search using software that opens the email servers of large email hosting companies like AOL, MSN, and then rapidly searches variations of random email addresses recording the active email addresses it locates. As you can see besides being vigilant in protecting your email address your internet browsing behavior is also a tool used to collect your email address. Even the most cautious internet browser can be duped into providing the spammer with the information they seek. We’ve compiled a list of preventative steps that users can take to frustrate spammer’s efforts. You can download this information from our website at 10 Steps to Prevent Spam. 

These tireless activities of spammers have caused Spam filters to become standard necessary equipment. However this valuable tool in the fight against spam cannot be approached with a “set-it-and-forget-it” mentality. Either on server side (stops spam before it gets in you mailbox) or client side (checks email already in your inbox) filters must be constantly updated with the latest spam to ensure that the filter is aware of the spammers latest tricks. Bayesian filters or those based on probability require patience while it learns what email specifically to you is acceptable and what is not. A good rule of thumb to use to determine when your filter requires updating is to consider the number of spam emails you receive each morning. After giving your filter the appropriate time to learn your email behavior (about 2 weeks), you can assume that 10-15 spam emails received by one individual’s inbox each morning indicates spammers have found a way through the filter and it is time to update your settings.

Spammers find the result of their activities a lucrative business, selling email address lists to legitimate corporations, or setting up a “marketing” firm that guarantee’s the email addresses they use are of individuals who have signed up to receive sales offers. United States legislature to control these annoying activities might confound those spammers within the US boundaries but has little effect on international activities. We may never be able to declare victory over the spammers, but we should never throw up the white flag in defeat.