In the battle royale that is PC versus Macintosh, the latter has traditionally held the lead on the question of system integrity and security from hackers. Mac's argument is essentially that almost no malware exists that targets the Macintosh line of computers. By contrast PC owners must be constantly vigilant against over one-hundred-thousand malware programs. Malware is a portmanteau of malicious software, and the term itself is a general label given to everything from viruses, to ad-ware and spyware, to phishing programs. Anything that can attack your computer in any way can be considered malware.
While valid, Macintosh's argument "malware doesn't exist for the Mac" needs to be taken with a grain of reality. PCs are used throughout the world in every business, agency, and occupation imaginable. By comparison, Macs occupy only a tiny fraction of this marketplace. PCs just make a much bigger and more attractive target than Macintosh.
This may be changing. In a recent story on NPR it was revealed that an increase has been observed by security firm F-Secure in the number of new malware programs for the Mac. This is being attributed to the run-away success of Mac's products in recent years. The Macbook (now running on traditionally PC components), the iPod, and the iPhone are top-selling technology items, and are contributing to Mac making itself a bigger target.
What this means for the consumer is that you cannot blithely dismiss virus threats anymore just because you have a Mac. Even a minor increase in the number of malicious software attacks on the Mac operating system indicates an increased level of interest in that platform on the part of malicious hackers. The number of attacks, and the number of software threats, will just continue to increase as more and more people turn to Macintosh, or adopt other Apple technologies like the iPod or iPhone. Much like PC users you can reduce the possibility of an infected OS by implementing some common sense computing practices:
Practice cautious web browsing.
Install anti-virus software and keep it up to date.
Don't open attachments of any type if you don't know the sender.
Don't install software if you don't know and trust the vendor.
Run periodic virus scans (this is still less of a burden for Mac users than those clinging to the PC)
These are just five simple things that will either prevent your system being attacked all together, or catch an attack before it can do any damage. Doing just these five things will ensure you are able to enjoy your Mac for years to come.
Here is a great story from a specialty publication. Really tells the story of ‘working in the cloud’ using Google Apps.
Saying goodbye to software More firms find advantage in Web-based applications
By DANIEL KURT - GM Today Staff
January 29, 2008
TOWN OF SUMMIT – Dale Olson of WaterFilters.net usually works out of his town of Summit home, but as an employee of a Minnesota-based Web site, he often has to collaborate with colleagues hundreds of miles away.
His company, which sells water treatment products on both a retail and wholesale level, had until last year worked on documents the way most modern companies do – one employee would make revisions to a document, then save the changes and e-mail it to the next person.
But in 2007, the 20-person firm started using a Web-based suite of products – Google Apps – that Olson said made life a lot easier.
Unlike traditional software such as Microsoft Office, Web services are not loaded onto one’s computer, but rather kept on the provider’s server. Employees log into their account and can make changes in real time.
"All you need is a Web-based browser," Olson said.
With the word processing and spreadsheet programs used by WaterFilters.net, each staff member can look at the same document and see who made each change.
A chat box that pops up to the side of the screen even lets employees discuss what moves they plan to make next.
In addition to working on documents, the company uses Google services for its e-mail and calendar functions as well.
True to his form, Jeremy has taken the lead in the never ending pursuit of personal & professional development. Having Passed test 642-511, he is officially a Cisco Certified VPN Specialist, and one step closer to the coveted CCSP Certification!! Jeremy is so hard-core in fact, that he crashed the test center’s system, took the test twice, and passed like flying Aces. Amazing!! More details here: http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/current_exams/642-511.html
To rest of the team; pursuing a goal, taking action and getting certified is an outstanding way to achieve bigger and better things in 2008!!
ITS gives students e-mail options Daily Trojan Online - Los Angeles,CA,USA Google Apps offers other editions, like the premium business version of Google Apps, for up to $50 per account per year. "It is free, but we've had a lot of ... See all stories on this topic
January 16, 2008 (IDG News Service) -- Sun Microsystems Inc. will pay $1 billion for Swedish software company MySQL AB, whose open-source database is used for some of the most widely visited Web sites in the world, the company announced today.
Sun said the deal will augment its position in the enterprise IT market, including the $15 billion database market.
MySQL's product line will help Sun give further support to the open-source Web application platform known as LAMP, the acronym for Linux, the Apache Web server, MySQL database and the PHP/Perl programming languages.
MySQL's strength in software-as-a-service offerings -- where applications are delivered over the Internet through a Web browser -- are also a plus, Sun said.
Databases are crucial for Internet-based applications in sites offering a range of services, from e-commerce to social networking.
Sun will pay $800 million in cash and $200 million in options.
Sun's acquisition ends speculation that MySQL might become a public company.
MySQL has become a formidable competitor to other relational database management systems from companies such as Oracle and IBM. The database itself is free for people to download, and MySQL makes money by offering subscription support packages.
Instant large file delivery saves the day for one SADA client.
What do you do when you're about to walk into a presentation 1000's of miles away from home, and your video DVD won't play? The following precludes you already being a SADA client, and SADA having designed your website, which contains the same video you're trying to play...
Well, first of all, if it's 6:30am PST you call the SADA emergency line. When our expert team responds - they have a task at hand... how do they get a 30MB file over to you in minutes? It's too large to email, and needless to say, overnight delivery is simply not an option.
Once the team grabs your video from the site, they use - what else? SendITGlobal - the free, web-based system developed by SADA, designed to send large files from/to anywhere in the world. It's cheaper and faster than overnighting a CD or DVD - and in this case, a true life saver!
So - haven't used SIG yet, give it a shot! Not only to be used in a bind - it's actually a really good way to send any large files from one place to another. And with a great feature set, it's truly business-ready!
Download a new White Paper: Increase Business Efficiency and Productivity Through Managed IT Services
In support of one of SADA's core offerings, we present a white-paper developed by one of our key partners, Kaseya.
A cost-efficient service delivery model can ensure IT support for your business strategy and focus your company on core business goals. Information Technology – It’s the mission-critical component of the operations of your company, and maintaining a healthy computing environment is closely tied to the overall health of your business.
Many companies are turning to IT managed service providers to manage of the daily maintenance of their IT infrastructure. These MSPs can often manage your corporate computer network more effectively than an internal team.
With the right tools, an IT managed service provider can maintain the health of all business systems on your corporate network for an inexpensive fixed fee. By relying on proactive maintenance, remote access and IT automation, MSPs can reduce the complexity of IT management and avoid costly IT disasters, passing the savings to you. MSPs are able to provide this managed service by simplifying IT management through remote management and by automating key IT tasks such as:
“We estimate that it is 80% cheaper to run Google Apps Premium than the all-in cost of Microsoft Outlook (license fees, exchange servers, IT labor). If the economy continues to slow, IT solutions that save money and improve productivity are more likely to be considered by management.
We have been testing Google Apps Premium and have found that it generally matches the functionality of Outlook’s email, calendar, and contacts features. In addition, Google Apps Premium provides 25 GB of storage per user (100 times greater than the 250 MB average for corporate Outlook users), much better search, and much better web access features. In addition, Google Apps Premium provides compliance and security features required by most companies via its acquisition of Postini in September 2007.
At present, Google Apps Premium cannot be used offline, which is a major hurdle to corporate acceptance. However, we expect Google to launch offline capability by mid-2008. The free version of Google Apps is already being used by 100,000 small businesses. Increased awareness and a drive to cut costs could accelerate adoption by medium and large businesses. Expected timing of event: Late 2008 with the expected launch of offline functionality for Google Apps Premium in mid-2008 spurring adoption.”
For more information and analysis by ZDNet, click here.
Northwestern University and Arizona State University are both part of a trend in educational institutions, particularly colleges and universities. Higher education institutions have begun examining their email services with an eye toward saving money on licensing and maintenance. According to this article on the Michigan Daily Wire Arizona State University Saved $500,000 by dropping it's locally managed email system in favor of a hosted solution. In this case the decision was made to switch to Google Apps.
Some of the advantages of making the switch that are cited in the article include:
The university saved money by dropping their internal email service in favor of hosted email.
Many hosted email services provide larger storage than universities are capable of offering with a local solution.
Reduced management of email by internal IT departments
For Northwestern University's perspective on Google Apps, click on the video below.
SADA is not yet sure if this new model will save money for our SMB clients, or if it’s something that will be compelling – but as soon as we learn more, you will certainly hear about it!
And of course, we agree with most of the article - but one thing that really hits home with some of our larger clients who have internal IT resources already:
Just because you have internal IT resources, does not mean their best time spent is on the remedial tasks of basic preventative maintenance, backup management, patching, etc... - that should be left to specialists who can do it cheaper and more efficiently!
Instead, internal IT resources should be spent on activities which add actual business value, and are very specific to your operation.
