7. January 2012 by admin.

At least that is the goal… Data redundancy.  When your data is in one place and one place only, it’s just a matter of time before you have no data at all. If your data is just at one location, regardless of how many copies there may be, you are flirting with disaster in the form of fire, theft, or natural disaster. There is a rule called the 3-2-1 Rule for Backups: Have 3 copies of your data, stored on 2 different media, and keep 1 off-site.

Here is my suggestion:

Have primary data on two mirrored drives. This is to avoid any data loss should a hard drive crash. With mirrored drives (RAID 1), if one drive crashes the other continues as if nothing ever happened.

Have that data backed up to a local backup drive. (Forget Tape… that’s yesterday’s technology. See our article at http://www.networkingdelaware.com/tape.html  ). This local backup is for several reasons…  hard drive controllers do go bad as do motherboards. If this causes the data on both mirrored drives to become corrupt, you will be ever so happy you had a local backup. Also, a local backup drive is the quickest, easiest and most convenient location from which to restore data… the more data you have to restore , the more important that you have it on a local backup source.

Finally, keep a copy somewhere else. If there is a fire, or flood, or tornado, or burglar, or vandal, or disgruntled employee or any of a hundred other reasons that everything just goes “poof”, your data is still available.  You can always buy a new computer but your data is always going to be many, many times more valuable then the equipment that houses it.

For these off-site backups I strongly suggest keeping your data in “The Cloud” using programs such as the very reasonably priced service called Backblaze (http://www.backblaze.com/partner/af2651 ).  Several reasons come to mind: In keeping with our redundancy concept, most”Cloud Backup” vendors save your data at geographically separated co-locations… this protects them from data loss and gives you additional protection as well.  Data can be restored from almost anywhere an Internet connection is available.  Your data is encrypted using military grade encryption; when the backup is created, as the backup is being transmitted and as your data is being stored, your data is always safe from prying eyes. Most will mail you a hard-drive populated with your data in case a bare-metal recovery is required.

So Backup your data… Don’t be a statistic… like the 70% of businesses that go out of business when data loss occurs.

From down in the trenches…  I’m Tom

Posted in Backup, Disaster Recovery, The Cloud, Malware, Administration, File Recovery, Computers | Print | No Comments »

4. January 2012 by admin.

The relatively new WLAN spec for 802.11n makes many promises… faster speeds, farther reach, stronger connections, more secure… well, maybe.

The new frequencies lie somewhere within the 5 GHz band.  Why do I say “somewhere”?  Because this new “standard” uses a technology called DFS which stands for Dynamic Frequency Selection. In essence the channel can be automatically changed to avoid interference.  Sounds good huh? … well, maybe.

Does 5 GHz sound familiar to some of you?  That may be because it is also where all 12 channels of the three “Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure” (UNII) 5 GHz bands live. That’s also where my cordless phone calls home.  The U.S. military sometimes runs in 5 GHz as does weather radar and others. Starting to sound a little crowded?

So it falls to the equipment vendors to develop their offerings in such a way as to avoid these problems… well, maybe.

The vendor must get its products that use DFS, certified by the FCC for use in 5.25 to 5.35 GHz and 5.47 to 5.725 GHz ( painfully close to my 5.8 GHz phone system). If not, they have to block those channels, which means you won’t have access to the whole available block of frequencies.

You probably won’t want to run important applications on the UNII-2 bands because these are the areas where DFS channel changing may be an ongoing problem for your location. This is going to result in a lot of delays and an unreliable wireless network.  Some systems actually have to reboot after traffic has been switched to a different location in the electromagnetic spectrum.

So yeah… it’s going to be cool…. maybe.  Check things out carefully before you toss a lot of cash into any particular deployment strategy.

Good Luck and Good Networking.

From down in the trenches,  I’m Tom

Posted in DFS, 802.11n, FCC, WLAN, Wireless, Networking, Troubleshooting, Computers | Print | No Comments »

4. January 2012 by admin.

I just read that Windows XP lost more than 11 percent of its market share from September to December 2011, dropping to an average of 46.5 percent in December.  It is estimated that Windows 7 will surpass XP installations sometime in April of 2012.  Is the reason for this because people honestly believe XP is old school? From my experience, I seriously doubt it. Most likely the driving force is Microsoft itself and their announcement that XP support will be ending soon.  ( April of 2014 qualifies as soon?) That should be enough to get corporate America looking at the next best OS, which without question is Windows 7, but assuming the Mayans are wrong and we are still here on the planet in 2014, I would wager there will still be a large group of XP users ( more than 10%)who would rather fight than switch.

Other driving forces (again Microsoft) is the dead end for XP users who prefer Internet Explorer. Since IE9 won’t run on XP its users are forced to use an alternate browser or upgrade to Win 7.

I do Like XP and always have, but in my personal opinion, Windows 7 is the best operating system Microsoft has developed to date.  From what I hear about Windows 8, it is trying to be all things to all people and that just won’t fly with serious users and corporate I.T. departments. Vista? Bah ! The modern incarnation of Windows ME!  A waste of electrons.

Stick with XP for as long as you want. Networking Delaware (http://www.networkingdelaware.com ) will support you for as long as possible.  When Microsoft stops releasing security updates it will behoove you and I to retire XP for good, but until that day… stand fast if you like XP… don’t be bullied!

Posted in Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows ME, Windows XP, OS's, Networking, Patches, Operating Systems, Computers | Print | No Comments »

12. June 2011 by admin.

On June 10th (Friday night) U.S. Airways employees and passengers found themselves helpless in the face of a system shutdown that put the kabosh on all flights.  Even their web-site was down so stranded passengers couldn’t even re-book a flight. Planes were sitting there, on the tarmac waiting for out-bond passengers while incoming flights arrived with their bellies full of unsuspecting people destined for disappointment and aggravation.

Glad I wasn’t there…

From down in the trenches, I am Tom from Networking Delaware

Posted in computer "bug", Commercial Systems, Glitch, Monitoring, Troubleshooting, Computers | Print | 1 Comment »

12. June 2011 by admin.

Starting on September 1st, 2011, GFI is going to drop their free ClearCloud DNS service, which saves countless people from surfing to web sites known to be infected or otherwise listed as a bad destination.  To me, this is an incredibly bad, self serving decision considering the number of infected web sites increases daily and has been estimated to number no less than 100,000 on any given day. 

To me, this lack of concern for public safety shows that GFI’s policy is, as always ”me first!”.  In true GFI fashion,  they somehow try to  rationalize their decision by saying mostcustomers do not want to receive this very valuable free service, but instead would prefer to purchase GFI’s (originally SunBelt Software’s) Vipre Premium product for their web filtering.

Well, it’s their product and we just need a “work-around”, so here are my suggestions:

1) Web of Trust (WOT) provides about the same function but in a different way. Go to http://www.mywot.com and download their plug-in(s) or your web browser(s).

2) Change your DNS server settings to OpenDNS:   208.67.220.220 and 208.67.222.222

These two changes will give you the same protection without relying on the commercial sector.

Below is the message that is displayed when you enter a non-existent website or an infected website while using ClearCloud DNS:

“Effective September 1, 2011, GFI’s ClearCloud DNS service will be discontinued and no longer available for consumer use. While we have many loyal ClearCloud DNS users, we have found that most customers prefer the more robust web filtering solution available as a feature in our VIPRE Premiumproduct. We would like to thank all of the beta testers for their valuable feedback throughout this last 12 month evaluation period. To discontinue using the ClearCloud DNS service, you will need to reconfigure your network connection. If this is not done prior to September 1, 2011, your Internet connectivity will be interrupted. Learn how to remove ClearCloud DNS from your computer by clicking here.”

Posted in Drive-by Infection, security, DNS, Malvertising, Beta Versions, Trojan, Virus, Worm, Malware | Print | No Comments »

19. January 2011 by admin.

I was recently having a discussion with a friend about the poor use of English these days.  When you see advertising campaigns that obviously cost thousands of dollars, where the spelling of certain words is incorrect, it makes you wonder what the universities are turning out these days.

I recently saw ” There Back !” in reference to some advertised deals on TV.  Also I have recently seen “…to good to pass up.”  These are not simple typos but a prime example of a lack of edumaction.

Posted in Uncategorized | Print | 1 Comment »

27. April 2010 by admin.

4/27/10

Last week McAfee released a buggy update that deleted a critical system file which caused computers to shut down.

McAfee recently sent out a press release saying that they will cover the repair bills for the machines effected:
For customers who have incurred costs to repair PCs as a result of the security update, McAfee will reimburse them for reasonable expenses, such as a visit by a tech support specialist (such as Networking Delaware).

Details of this program, including instructions on how to submit a reimbursement request, will be posted on McAfee’s Web site within a few days. Check back often.

The press release went on to say; “Additionally, because we value our loyal customers, home or home office users whose PCs were rendered inoperable or severely impaired as a result of the security update will receive a free two-year extension of their current McAfee subscription product at no charge” .

If you were effected by this, here are the steps you can take to get the machine back up and running:

Step 1 - Locate a local toll free support number for your country. A qualified technician will diagnose your computer’s current status and determine the fastest way to get you up and running again.

Step 2 - If the technician can’t get your system up and running over the phone, we’ll get you the software to get your system up and running again. We can get you the software in one of two methods. You can either download the software fix from a working PC, or we will express deliver a CD to you.

Posted in patch testing, Patches, Uncategorized | Print | 1 Comment »

18. April 2010 by admin.

A serious vulnerability exists in Java and Sun has known about this vulnerability since around April 9th. This exploit can occur because the Java Browser Plugin  is running “javaws.exe” without validating command-line parameters.  Last week, when confronted about the problem, Oracle said they did not consider this vulnerability to be of high enough priority to break their quarterly patch cycle.

A U.S.-based Web site, Songlyrices.com was compromised by attackers, and was redirecting visitors to a Russian server feeding the Java attack as well as other exploits.

Now that users have started reporting that they are being infected by the drive-by Java attacks, Oracle has changed its mind and issued a patch.  If you haven’t already patched this vulnerability you can download Java software at http://www.java.com/en/download/index.jsp

Posted in security, Drive-by Infection, Patches, Malware, Computers | Print | No Comments »

10. April 2010 by admin.

The coming “Patch Tuesday on April 13th, 2010 features 11 important security and functional patches.

Here are the patches Microsoft says will be released:

Bulletin 1: Critical (Remote Code Execution) – Affects Windows
Bulletin 2: Critical (Remote Code Execution) – Affects Windows
Bulletin 3: Critical (Remote Code Execution) – Affects Windows
Bulletin 4: Critical (Remote Code Execution) – Affects Windows
Bulletin 5: Critical (Remote Code Execution) – Affects Windows
Bulletin 6: Important (Elevation of Privilege) – Affects Windows
Bulletin 7: Important (Remote Code Execution) – Affects Windows
Bulletin 8: Important (Remote Code Execution) – Affects Office
Bulletin 9: Important (Denial of Service) – Affects Windows & Exchange
Bulletin 10: Important (Remote Code Execution) – Affects Office
Bulletin 11: Moderate (Spoofing) – Affects Windows

To learn more about these patches, visit the Microsoft Security Bulletin page.

Posted in security, patch testing, Patch Tuesday, Patches, Uncategorized | Print | 1 Comment »

24. March 2010 by admin.

Malware that exploits holes in popular applications is being delivered by big ad delivery platforms including those run by Yahoo, Fox, and Google, according to Prague-based antivirus firm Avast.

Malware has previously been found in ads running on normally trustworthy sites like The New York Times, the Drudge Report.com, TechCrunch and WhitePages.com. The practice has been dubbed “malvertising.”

Researchers at Avast say some large ad delivery systems including Yahoo’s Yield Manager and Fox Audience Network’s Fimserve.com (together they cover more than 50 percent of online ads), and to a much smaller degree Google’s DoubleClick, are delivering much of the Malvertising. In addition, some of the malicious ads ended up on Yahoo and Google sites, Avast claims.

“It’s not just the small players but the ad servers connected with Google and Yahoo have been infected and served up bad ads,” said Lyle Frink, public relations manager for Avast.

The most compromised ad delivery systems were Yield Manager and Fimserve, but a number of smaller ad systems, including Myspace, were also found to be delivering malware on a lesser scale, Avast Virus Labs said.

In these cases, JavaScript code that Avast dubbed “JS:Prontexi,” was found in ads delivered from those networks. Avast researcher Jiri Sejtko said this is a Trojan in script form that targets the Windows operating system.

It trys to find vulnerabilities in Adobe Reader and Acrobat, Java, QuickTime, and Flash and launches fake antivirus warnings when it does find them, Sejtko said. “The Google portion of JS:Prontexi is quite small and has gotten visibly even smaller as Google has taken steps to improve the situation,” Sejtko said. “That is not the case with Yahoo and Fox.”

Users don’t need to click on anything to get infected; a computer becomes infected immediately after the ad is loaded by the browser, Avast said.

Since the malware started spreading in late December, Avast has registered more than 2.6 million instances of it on customers’ computers.

This same post is available on my local blog at http://www.networkingdelaware.com/blogpage.html

Posted in Drive-by Infection, Malvertising, Malware | Print | 1 Comment »