Technology.

Technology News and Tips

Who Needs A/C in the Winter? Your Servers! Dec. 2007

PC Recycling with Elemental, Inc. Sep. 2007

Small But Smart Business; Data Troop's SBSB plan Sep. 2007

Stop Working In “Foolishness”; Folder Structure – Best Practice Sep. 2007

"You've Got SPAM": eSoft's ThreatWall SPAM Filter Feb. 2007

The Three Magic Words: WORK FROM HOME Jan. 2007

Tapeless, Onsite/Offsite, Real-time Data Backup by SonicWall Jan. 2007

Data Troop vs In-house Computer Guy; “TKO in the first” Dec. 2006

Windows Vista Released Dec. 2006

Best Practice- Creating a New Password Nov. 2006

Marketing Tip- Advertising on the Web with Google AdWords Oct. 2006

Windows Internet Explorer Version 7 Released Oct. 2006

Who Needs A/C in the Winter? Your Servers!

A late night A/C unit failure almost proved disastrous to the Pinnacle ENT Alliance of Wayne, PA. Had it not been for Data Troop’s system checks and speedy response, almost 70 employees would have been without their computer systems during business hours. Check the Lost Productivity Calculator to see how much it could have affected their bottom line.

A/C units are one of the most important aspects of your server room. If your server room’s temperature rises too high, the servers (and other equipment) will overheat causing them to shutdown, or even worse, damage the hardware.

Budget limitations of small businesses sometimes prevent them from using back-up A/C units or generators, but there are other ways to ensure that your server room is staying cool. Products such as Temperature Guard constantly monitor your server room’s temperature. They send email and text alerts when your server room’s environment reaches an unsafe condition (temperature, humidity, or water). Keeping your server room’s temperature between 65F – 70F is essential for preserving the longevity of the equipment that runs your business.

PC Recycling with Elemental, Inc.

Studies estimate nearly 500 million computers will become obsolete by 2007 in the United States, almost 2 computers per person and billions of pounds of surplus computers.

Many businesses don’t know how to properly dispose of or donate their old IT equipment. Schools, churches and other local organizations are a good place to start, but even they have standards for the quality of equipment they’ll accept. Rather than throwing it away (illegally), contact the folks at Elemental, Inc.

As Philadelphia’s only full-service PA DEP permitted ecycling facility, Elemental is not just a safe bet, it’s a sure thing. Why go anywhere else. With over TEN years of experience, Elemental is the R-Ecycler of choice in the Tri-State area.

Small But Smart Business; Data Troop's SBSB plan

At Data Troop, we are all too familiar with the problems small business owners face while trying to run and market their business on a limited budget. Fortunately, with today’s technology advances, there are many products and services available that not only help you run your business efficiently, but allow you to compete with the big boys.

Our SBSB plan covers more than just computer and networking technologies, it also helps your company market and project an image that is satisfying to your (potential) clients. Our clients not only benefit from our unparalleled technical service; we believe knowledge sharing and getting integrated into their business workflows is the only way to maximize our relationships’ potential.

The SBSB plan has something for every company. From home operated businesses, to on-the-go consultants, to companies with 100 employees and multiple sites, we can help!

Some examples are: Multi-extension, professional voicemail systems for under $10/month; Local, national and global Internet advertising for as little as $5/month; 24/7 proactive computer and network monitoring, so you know what to expect– when you’re not expecting.

For more info contact: 800.828.3184

Stop Working In “Foolishness”; Folder Structure – Best Practice

Fans of the TV show “Clean House” will know the kind of foolishness I’m referencing.

Studies show that employees spend up to an hour each day searching for stored documents and email messages. Are you the type of person who saves documents on your desktop screen, to the point where the wallpaper picture is covered by MS Word icons? It’s time to clean up and get organized.

Consultant and productivity expert, Sally McGhee, wrote a great article on how to organize your stored documents and build an effective, efficient folder structure. Read the article here and stop working in Foolishness.

"You've Got SPAM": eSoft's ThreatWall SPAM Filter

Computer security firm Symantec estimates that between 65 and 70 per cent of email traffic is spam. While spam itself doesn't necessarily carry a computer virus, there is a connection, because many email virus programs involve a "mass-email" element.

Ever wonder how they get your email address?

The US Federal Trade Commission studied spam and found that spammers get email addresses these ways ...

86% of email addresses that are publicized on websites are 'harvested' by spammers, and receive unsolicited email
63% of 'remove me from your list' requests are not honored (though unadvised, it’s not the case with the Data Troop newsletter)
66% of spam messages have falsified information in the 'from' or 'subject' headings or in the text of the email

Want to know how to get rid of it?

Enter eSoft’s ThreatWall/ThreatPak bundle

Email ThreatPak contains everything needed for email security, content filtering, quarantine and user management, and spam mitigation. The latest Spam-fighting technology is combined with a powerful Anti-Virus and content scanning engine to provide affordable, comprehensive protection from both external and internal.

Email ThreatPak can be configured to automatically reject, redirect, quarantine or tag and deliver filtered e-mails. To prevent unintended filtering, SpamFilter allows you to create your own “white lists” of trusted senders, such as customers and business partners. eSoft's proprietary SpamFilter incorporates the latest Spam fighting technologies, including Bayesian Filtering, Historical Averaging, enhanced Heuristic Analysis, and SPF technology. With the Bayesian Teaching Tool, an email plug-in created by eSoft, you can help SpamFilter learn from its experience, so that it gets better at catching Spam on its own. For more information or to schedule a demo,contact Data Troop 856.269.9791

The Three Magic Words: WORK FROM HOME

Working from home is now a viable, affordable solution for every company and employee. With the advances in broadband Internet access and VPN (virtual private network) hardware and software, everyone from telecommuters to working moms to workaholics on vacation can now enjoy the flexibility of remote access.

There are different reasons for permitting remote access to employees. It’s a convenient way of accessing the work system after-hours or when traveling. It also provides employees the ability to stay on top of their work during sick days, snow days and vacation. Limited office space sometimes necessitates the need for full-time telecommuters (read our Third Party Associates case study for an example).

With a VPN solution properly installed, you will be able to access your work system in a secure manner just as you would at the office. The one requirement not provided by Data Troop is a broadband Internet connection (Cable, DSL or FiOS will do the trick).

There are a couple options when choosing the right remote access solution for your office:

Windows XP’s Remote Desktop. This option allows you to connect directly into your office PC. Once you establish a secure VPN connection to your office, you can take advantage of Windows XP’s RDP feature. It’s just like sitting at your office workstation.
Microsoft Terminal Services. Have a dedicated server, loaded with your company’s applications, available to remote users after they establish a remote connection. This option is geared toward telecommuters and employees without a dedicated office workstation.

From start to finish, Data Troop will design, implement and train you to use a remote access solution customized to fit your needs. Call 856.269.9791 to get started today.

Tapeless, Onsite/Offsite, Real-time Data Backup by SonicWall

We dare you to test your backup. “Data is one of two irreplaceable assets, second only to loss of life.”- Disaster Recovery Journal. 50% of companies that lose critical data for more than 10 days never reopen. Are you willing to roll the dice with your business?

SonicWall CDP (Continuous Data Protection) provides automatic, real-time data backup for servers, laptops and PCs. The solution backups up files first locally to ensure data can be recovered instantly from any point in time. It also includes hand-free, automatic offsite capabilities to protect businesses against disasters.

Tapeless

Tape backup systems are unreliable and prone to human error. Data recovery from backup tapes fail more than 50% of the time, and can be up to 400x slower than recovering data from a disk. Most taxing is the cost and effort it takes to administer tape backup systems - rotating tapes, checking them and transporting them offsite. Why use tape backup when there is CDP?

Real-time

The instant you save a file to your local hard drive or network server drive, SonicWall CDP will back up that copy using compressed, block level differences so your network is not impacted or compromised.

Off-site

A clear differentiator for CDP is its "no-touch" offsite backup feature, which uses SSL encryption, advanced compression, and backup of only binary differences. This offsite feature protects data against the risks of fire, theft, misplacement and other issues relating to tape or CD-based backup.

Instant Recovery and File Versions

From CDP's simple interface, users have access to point and click data recovery features. The intelligent CDP software saves and time-stamps file versions of each file so they are easy to locate.

For pricing information or to request a demo, please contact Data Troop at 856.269.9791

Data Troop vs In-house Computer Guy; “TKO in the first”

The bottom line when choosing to outsource your IT service is that you will be saving money, receiving superior support, and avoiding staffing issues such as turnover and being at the mercy of one or two employees. Managed IT Services from Data Troop provide you with unlimited IT support and consulting from an experienced team who are either on-site or available via remote support, 24x7, at an affordable hourly, monthly or yearly fee.

Improved Cost Management

IT costs become more visible as all billable hours must be accounted for
IT services are utilized as needed, and your company pays only for what services are actually used
A Data Troop ‘IT Department’ can reduce costs by utilizing our extensive knowledge base of various IT specialties, as opposed to an organization maintaining a comprehensive in-house staff

Improved Service Quality

You will gain the experience of a IT team rather than a single employee or two
Data Troop provides 24x7 support at a fraction of the cost
Data Troop make performance reports and measurements available to our clients
Communications between business functions improve at all levels and ensure that IT resources are not being misused
Data Troop drive IT planning and budgeting improvements

Staffing

Staffing levels can be adapted quickly to your requirements, thereby avoiding gaps due to attrition, business growth or economic downturns
Data Troop technicians are fully trained on the latest technologies
Retaining technically qualified in-house personnel is more difficult when external job opportunities are rapidly changing
Continuous IT support coverage without having to rely on only one or two key people

Client Can Focus on Core Business Compentencies

Client management can concentrate on core competencies and revenue generating activities, while leaving technology management to Data Troop

It’s very easy to see why any small or mid-sized organization should be outsourcing their IT services to Data Troop. Invest in your company’s future today and Enlist the Troop. Call 856.269.9791

Windows Vista Released

Microsoft is scheduled to release their new OS (operating system) “Vista” to consumers January 30th. The majority of improvements you will see with Vista over Windows XP will be security-related, features that are currently only available via third-party software. While this is definitely another step up the evolutionary process towards the ‘UberOS’ ( I just coined that phrase.. check that, Google proves otherwise again) it can wait.
The rule of thumb that I’ve always practiced and loudly preached is waiting for the first Service Pack before upgrading to Microsoft’s new OS, which can take six to twelve months. Microsoft has proved much better with waiting until software is ready before actually releasing it, and after XP’s Service Pack 2, there weren’t any major changes for quite some time. The best bet would be to get a new PC with Vista preloaded, test all your company’s applications for a few months before considering a network-wide upgrade.

Best Practice- Creating a New Password

In this case bigger is better. There are many ways unwanted intruders ‘crack’ passwords. The most obvious is reading that little sticky paper “hiding” under your keyboard with your password written on it. Or by typing in your child’s/pet’s/spouce’s name, which account for 50% of all passwords.
The other method these intruders will use is software cracking programs. These programs use advanced algorithms to figure out your password by using a dictionary or brute force method. The dictionary method will generally crack any password that is found in a dictionary within 30 seconds. Even if you add a few numbers at the end or even substitute numbers for letters (i.e. spring or spring06 or spr1ng06), it will only prolong the inevitable.
The brute force method will keep pounding and pounding away until it defeats the cryptographic scheme. This method takes much longer, but if your password is under 12 characters and your potential intruder has a lot of time on his hands, your password will be cracked. The best passwords to use are really a combination: Greater than 12 characters, using phrases rather than a single word, changing capitalization and substitute numbers/symbols for letters.

E becomes 3
g becomes 9
l becomes 1
B becomes 8
A becomes 4

So now:
Apple becomes 4pp13
Even better:
Appleofmyeye becomes 4pp130fmY3Y3

Crack that!

Marketing Tip- Advertising on the Web with Google AdWords

One of the web’s best kept secrets is Google AdWords.
Google AdWords are the little advertisements you see in the right hand column after you perform a search in a Google powered search engine. AdWords is one of the most effective and cheapest ways to promote your site to your target audience for a very minimal cost- since you are only charged when people actually click on your advertisement.
Getting started is simple.
First you will need to design your ad. Then select the key words which will trigger your ad and specify the locations (zip codes, cities and/or states, etc.) where you want your ad to appear. Finally you’ll set a monthly budget.
After you are finished, you’ll start to see the results almost immediately when performing searches using your selected key words.
You can also keep track of the number of “impressions” your ad(s) was advertised and the number of clicks it received using Google’s AdWords- My Ad Campaign page.
Now that’s a bang for your buck, or rather a buck for your click, or something along those lines.

Windows Internet Explorer Version 7 Released

In late October Microsoft released Internet Explorer 7. It promised to deliver security enhancements, improved user-interface, tabbed browsing and more; but before updating your IE please consider that there may be some major compatibility issues with programs installed on your PC. Data Troop has received numerous calls recently to combat issues that arose after the installation of IE7. While it may be worthwhile to give IE7 and test drive on your home PC, be wary before upgrading to IE7 at the workplace at least until Microsoft has time to correct the initial bugs and compatibility issues. Click here to download IE7.