Passwords are obsolete

Passwords are just far too easy to share, steal or guess. For the average person, you will find you are challenged for passwords in more than 20 different systems in your business and personal life. However, statistics show that chances are, you have far less unique passwords. In fact, most people have less than four!!

That is why identity assurance is vital to computer security. The most common method of identity assurance is two-factor authentication.

What is two-factor authentication?

The best example is to think about withdrawing money from a bank ATM machine for a moment. How does that work? You need your bank card plus a PIN code.

Your bank requires your card to be placed into the ATM machine, and that you enter in your matching PIN code on the pin pad. It doesn’t allow you to do a lot of guessing before locking out your account access. Based on the combination of you HAVING the card, and KNOWING the PIN, you can withdraw money from virtually any bank ATM machine in the world that can communicate with your financial institution. This is exactly how “two-factor” authentication works: you need to have a unique physical key plus know a private PIN code.

Hardware or software tokens are provided that generate one time use passcodes every 60 seconds and when combined with a personal pin becomes a secure way to prove identity. The industry standard is RSA (www.rsa.com). RSA provides hardware or software tokens plus their industry standard software to works on all major platforms. The software token is installed on a persons cell phone to generate the 1 time use passcodes.

Link High recommends RSA for our larger clients and AuthAnvil to our smaller clients.

Facebook Plans to Give Developers OK to Mine Personal Information

Facebook’s made such an impact on our lives, businesses and organizations. It really is a great way to reach out to new (and old) friends, prospect, clients, etc. perfect for social marketing campaigns and the like. But with any new technology, mass marketers, corporate and “bad guys” find ways to make more money with the help of your data.

Just this last week, Facebook released a statement noting that they’re considering to allow application developers to get access to private information, such as phone numbers and addresses. Though Facebook plans to revamp its privacy permissions screen to keep users aware of sharing criteria, it’s still very scary. And here’s why.

Teenagers and others who aren’t truly aware of the consequences of data exploitation are certainly in the high risk category. While there is some value in keeping information stored for identification, access or convenience, it’s most prudent to keep that information stored on on sites with security (https) and sites you can trust. With an unprecedented amount of apps that are developed, it’s difficult to know where that information’s being stored, what’s being stored, who has access, and ultimately, what the intentions are. 

What type of information are these app developers looking for? Your name, address, phone number, IP address, age, passwords, geo-targeting data and much more. Think you’ve got them fooled with using an alias? Think again. Just use your imagination to get an idea of what can go wrong in the event this data winds up in the wrong hands deliberately or through a security breach. 

The bottom line? Make sure your users are educated – adults and minors alike. At home and in the office. While it’s tough to discourage someone from using the newest, coolest app, make sure it’s thoroughly researched and you know who’s got their eyes on your personal information. At home and at the office, we strongly suggest having up-to-date anti-virus and spyware software installed. In the office, too, we recommend considering an internet policy to either block or limit the amount of time your users are permitted to access Facebook. 

The Killer Application

I just downloaded and started using Evernote (www.evernote) and it is the killer application for business. I was constantly taking notes in different notepads, my laptop, and my office computer but I could never access them when I wanted from the road or home. This application works on my laptop PC, my MacBook Pro,AT&T Ipad, and Verizon Iphone. All the data is in the Evernote cloud so I can access it anywhere and on any device. Once you install the Evernote app, you can send screenshots to your Evernote notebook. The premium paid version allows you to attach anything word documents, video & music clips.

Accessing your data anywhere and on any device is what I call Cloud Computing.

Keeping in touch while traveling abroad

I wanted to keep in touch with family and office while traveling in China so I made a list of what I needed. This is my chronicle of all the equipment and services I used.

1. Cell Phone- make sure your phone works internationally. Most of the world uses GSM technology which AT&T and T-Mobile uses. Verizon users (me) must make sure that their phones are “global phones” which means CDMA/GSM capable. I have a Blackberry Tour which works internationally. But beware the hefty charges- $1.99 per minute. If you don’t have a GSM capable phone, you can rent a phone from Verizon or my favorite, Planetfone.com.
2. E-mail on my blackberry- to receive e-mail internationally, I had to change my blackberry plan for the month of December to their $64.99 Unlimited Global Email plan.
3. Wifi is not widespread in China so I brought a portable wifi access point to access the Internet anywhere in the hotel room. My Linksys wireless access point is small and weighs less than 1 lb . China has their “great firewall” which blocks access to many popular sites so I will use the company VPN to bypass the firewall and access any site I want.
4. Electrical converter- don’t forget to bring one. Most countries are different from the US
5. Other Devices- I also brought my Kindle to read english newspapers each morning and my Ipad for quick Internet/Email access while at the airport.

Less expensive options to keep in touch

1. Use Skype to video conference with family and the office which is free. With a fast Internet connection, the video and sound quality is actually quite good. The limitation is that the recipient must have a computer, webcam, and skype installed.
2. Calling landlines and cell phones with skype. This is not free but much cheaper than using a cell phone. The cost is $.023 cents per minute. The quality ranges from excellent to barely understandable based on the speed of the Internet connection but for the price it can’t be beat.

Outsource Your Antivirus?

There are many advantages of having your antivirus solution hosted by a 3rd party. Businesses with more than a few PC’s to protect are confronted with products that require too much administration and updating and gives too much control with the desktop user. Here are some advantages:

1. No software to maintain or renew- your hosting company owns the software and licenses it to your business. No more outdated software or renewals!

2. Centrally Managed- your hosting company will manage and update the antivirus software automatically. No administration on your part or worries about updating your software against the latest threats.

3. Remote Users are protected- with a network-based antivirus solution it is hard to manage and protect remote users who do not connect via VPN. A hosted solution eliminates this security problem.

4. Lower Total Cost of Ownership- the average monthly cost of hosted antivirus is approx $2 per workstation and $2 per mail box (if your email is hosted on premise). That compares very favorable with purchasing the product outright … just without the administration hassles.

Get rid of your PC!

Imagine a computer replacement that has….
1. No client operating system
2. No CPU, memory or storage
3. No moving parts

The new buzz word in the computing world is True Zero Clients. These devices have no CPU, no OS, no storage, no memory, no security holes, no moving parts- nothing to manage management! Essentially they are devices that have usb keyboard/mouse and video connections that connect to a virtualized desktop in a Vmware or Microsoft Hyper-V environment.

Watch these videos for more information!

• Evolve to Zero
• What is Zero?
• Pano Customers

“Going green” and Technical Support easier with Intel vPro Technology

Unmanaged PC Desktops are known to waste significant amounts of energy. The NJ/NY/PA area has one of the highest electricity rates in the county, leaving your workstation on can cost up to $60 per desktop PC per year. Multiply the savings by the number of desktops in your company and the dollars can quickly add up. Simply asking your colleagues to power down PC’s each evening sounds easy but is challenging. With network security so important, PC’s need to be patched after-hours which wastes electricity since they must be left on overnight or over the weekend.

Link High has begun upgrading our management systems to take advantage of the new features Intel vPro technology has to offer. For clients under our managed services program, our technicians will be able to schedule & remotely power on vPro PC’s under our managed services program, applying security patches and then remotely power off your PC! Other features include the ability for our techs to remotely control workstations that are blue screened saving time and money. Our techs can also repair/reimage an operating system remotely without visiting your office- something not possible before.

This is the first upgrade in PC technology in a long time that is truly compelling. In the past each generation of PC was faster but technology has evolved that speed is no longer is the issue in many cases- the key is lowering costs and decreasing support costs.

The New Amazon Kindle- New & Improved?

I’ve been the owner of the original Kindle for over 2 years now and I love it. It is small, light, and easy to carry and has great battery life. With the wireless 3 G turned on, the battery life is over a week. With the wireless turned off, the Kindle operates fine for over 2 weeks. I had no complaints with the original Kindle at all. Best of all is the amount of books, magazines and blogs available for the Kindle which surpasses all other competitors. I have an Apple IPAD which I love for its surfing capabilities and apps, but it is very limited in book selection.

I thought the original Kindle was nearly the perfect E-reader …but the new Kindle is simply a winning combination of improvements- an improved screen, better battery life, lighter weight, and Wi-Fi! Amazon has improved on a good product and made it great. The new screen has better contrast and is easier to read. I had problems viewing the screen with the original Kindle outdoors but the new one works well in bright sunlight. The Kindle is smaller (21%) but with the same screen size. The pages turn much faster now and much more responsive.

The battery life is unbelievably better. Amazon says that the battery life is 1 month with the wireless turned off. I can’t vouch for this since I never shut off the wireless option due to the numerous magazine subscriptions delivered to my Kindle. The built-in Wi-Fi in the new model is great in case there is no 3G reception available. But in the last 2 years, there have been very few areas with poor reception. The original Kindle used Sprint for 3G and it was great across the country from California to Massachusetts. The new Kindle 3G + Wi-Fi uses AT&T as the carrier which works in 100 countries as well! There is no cost using the 3G to download to purchase books since it is built-in the price of the item. Pricing has dropped as well; I paid over $300 for the original Kindle but the new 3G model lists for $189. The new Amazon Kindle is simply the best ebook-reading device on the market bar none.

Lenovo Preparing for Windows XP End of Life

Yes it’s true, all things must come to an end (almost!) With the success of Windows 7, Lenovo is looking to phase out the option of having Windows XP downgrades available on their standard models. For those who aren’t able to make the migration, XP RDVD’s will be available at an additional cost; however the DVD will only have the OS, not drivers or apps. Lenovo will make special provisions for orders of 25 machines or more with an XP downgrade.

End of life? Well, almost …

Exchange 2010 SP1 is Now Available & Pushes Exchange Further Than Ever!

IT admins everywhere have been waiting for this like kids waiting for the last day of school. Lots of very cool features and improvements making deployment, administration and maintenance a lot more functional.

Some of the biggest improvments are in the Exchange Active Sync area. Now Administrators can manage mobile phones and devices including blocking, wiping and creating policies. Great for when disgruntled ex-employees take off with company devices. Another new feature is SMS Sync allowing the synchronization of text messages from mobile devices to an Exchange mailbox – excellent for archiving in the event of litigation. Outlook Web App has also seen improvements.

Another big improvment sits in the Message Management Functionality areas. Users can now have retention policies and access to user’s archived mailboxes. Great for controlling storage!

The list goes on and on, making for a great upgrade. I’m certain we’ll be upgrading our own fairly soon.