The TZ Blog

IT security experts have released alerts this week regarding several email attacks which occurred late Monday. The attacks, which were directed at financial institutions, contained mailware attachments (Trojans) which could take over a victim’s computer if opened. The e-mail based attacks differed from the usual SPAM in that they were targeted at specific individuals in the company and addressed them by name. While the information used in the attacks is easy to find online, many corporate professionals may be unaware of this tactic and mistakenly open email containing malicious attachments. A recent rise in these attacks has been observed, and Microsoft has even noted the trend in its Security Intelligence Report. With these attacks on the rise, a service which prevents malicious SPAM from ever reaching inboxes is the best way to avoid this security threat.

Tierzero SpamBlocker and Virus Protection

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has collected $13 million in penalties from businesses just last year, and the amount is growing. The BSA represents multiple companies including; Microsoft, Adobe, Symantec, Autodesk Inc., Apple Inc. and McAfee Inc. With the BSA offering rewards for employees to turn in their employers of up to $1 million, the risk for businesses is very real. Imagine this scenario, a disgruntled employee knows of software installed on systems or workstations in the businesses property unbeknownst to the businesses owners or managers, perhaps even placed there by the same disgruntled employee. By reporting the issue to the BSA the employee stands to earn up to a $1,000,000 reward. The company itself is then faced with the prospect of penalties that could reach into the millions of dollars, and possibly expensive and embarrassing litigation. Other simple mistakes, such as transferring expensive technical software from an employee’s old computer to a newer one (which is generally allowed), but not deleting the software from the old computer before it is sent to be used by the new intern somewhere else who never even uses the software.

The BSA has even gotten permission from courts to raid businesses without warning when it determines there may be a risk of companies deleting programs that are being used without a license before an audit can be done. A combination of a BSA raid due to unlicensed software interrupting businesses operations, the legal costs it would entail, and the bad publicity that would probably follow, could easily put a company out of business, and is something business owners and managers should definitely develop an effective plan to prevent.

Researchers at start-up D-Wave Systems hope that you will get a commercially viable quantum computer. Qubits are a little bit like the “classical” computer bits we are used to, only these bits can operate in multiple “parallel universes” at the same time which can increase computing power exponentially. Sound like science fiction? According to some, including Scott Aaronson of MIT who describes the project as “hucksterism”, that’s exactly what it is. Still, D-Wave has raised more than $44 million to develop it’s product, which has been demonstrated publicly by one of Google Inc.’s leading technology experts. One thing is certain, if D-Wave’s qubit computer really performs as advertised, it will change the face of the computing world forever.

Analysts at Nemertes Research have predicted that by the end of the decade the Internet will reach a state of gridlock so severe that it will slow down innovation, curb “telecommuting” and increase costs for any company doing business online. The blame for this Internet traffic jam will be very similar to the one usually assigned to traffic jams of the Los Angeles freeway system, lack of timely investment in infrastructure and of course increased traffic. The main cause of increased traffic is from consumer use including peer-to-peer activities, and multi-media downloads, however all business taking place involving the public Internet will be affected. The Nemertes study examined the current Internet infrastructure and polled IT executives about usage to arrive at it’s conclusions.

The need for high speed Internet connections is on the rise, yet the
US falls behind many other countries to rate 16th place in the world. In terms of average speeds of internet users, the U.S. is trailing behind countries like South Korea, Canada, and Japan. According to a comparative report on the average internet speeds by US states and International territories, the median download speed in the US is 1.9mbps as opposed to 61mbps in Japan.  

In today’s business environment speed plays a vital role in growth and development. The study showed that most U.S. Internet connections are not fast enough to permit interactive home based medical monitoring, multi-media distance learning, or to send and receive data to run a home business. If we are to develop networks to compete in the 21st century we must look to increasing average Internet Speed as a key business tool. 

Zeshan Madha Take the Tierzero Speed Test for yourself! 

A major E-security company has released its analysis of security trends for 2007 and more importantly the biggest risks for the coming year. Data breaches were number one on the list and with several high profile cases lately it is easy to understand why. A federal judge recently ruled a class action lawsuit against the Veterans Administration, by nearly 27 million veterans, for data on a laptop that went missing for a short time can go forward despite any actual breach of the data in question.

Windows Vista, for which Microsoft has already issued 16 security patches, is second on the list and is sure to continue to be a prime target of malware creators.

Third on the list was Spam, which can cost companies millions, and has even been linked to organized crime. Of course Spam has been around for a while, but today’s Spam is worse than ever, laden with MP3s and greeting cards, it is an even greater strain on resources. It is also more likely than ever to turn your machine(s) into ‘bots that will in turn send out even more zombie spawning Spam. Given how effective anti-Spam services are commonly available however, there is no longer any good excuse to become a Spam victim.

Tierzero Spam Blocker

PC World has just released their top 10 most annoying ads, and everything on the list from “mouse-over land mine ads” to ads infected with malware is bound to make you wish for the good old days when the worst thing to fear was a blinking banner ad. But does this cacophony of online pitches really lure customers, or simply annoy them? The Washington Post has reported that “studies found the larger, more intrusive ad formats were, on average, 40 percent more effective than the banner ad… ads that pop up between you and the page you’re trying to read are the most effective.” At least one company that sells “aggressive Internet marketing” seems to think the more annoying the better. With U.S. companies expected to spend as much as 42 billion dollars on online marketing by the next decade, the question of what form ads should take is a large one for many companies, and it may be that the more annoying, the greater the ROI. There is hope for those who can’t stand the onslaught of ads however, check out PC World’s Top 15 ways to block annoying ads.

In a large corporation with multiple layers of bureaucracy it can seem like change is impossible, but even the largest colossus has to adapt in order to survive. One of the changes that some large corporations seem slow to make is the switch to VoIP. As Capitol One recently discovered however, the switch can be made quickly and painlessly, and the sooner the better. Employees using VoIP can be productive wherever they are, even outside the building, city, state or country. Say goodbye to the days of being chained to a cubicle or office. Added mobility is not the only feature of VoIP, according to Infoworld, “it has also enabled the company to consolidate its data and voice networks to a single vendor, thereby easing Capital One’s ability to meter costs, determine voice-minute volumes for capacity planning, and ensure QoS for voice, video, and data.” Simplicity and mobility, combined with a satisfaction rate of 84% is sure to make even the most hardened office bureaucrat move a little faster.

‘It is a well known fact that IT equipment draws a much higher current called the “inrush current” at the initial startup which is significantly higher than the current drawn during normal operation. For example, based on the specifications of an HP DL380 G5 server, its nominal current draw during normal operation is 8.8A but the inrush current is rated at a maximum of 30A for a maximum duration of three milliseconds. Unless the electrical circuit is capable of handling the inrush current of all equipment (which is seldom the case and is very expensive), starting up all loads within a rack at once can easily lead to tripped upstream breakers and unavailable loads. Switched PDUs provide the capability to stagger the turning on of outlets such that the current limits of the circuit never get exceeded at the time of startup of all equipment within a rack. It is also important to note that applications running on several servers can be dependent on each other and so, need to be started up or shutdown in a particular order. Switched PDUs allow that to happen.’

With two men recently sentenced to more than five years in jail under the so called “CAN SPAM” act, It would seem that the US Justice Department is finally moving to prosecute Spammers. But can two convictions for a law that has been on the books for nearly 4 years really be considered a success? And more importantly, will it do anything to reduce Spam? Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely that the volume of Spam received by the average business or consumer E-Mail user is going to be reduced anytime soon. Even with what was likely a costly legal defense and the Federal Judge in the case ordering fines, restitution payments and cash forfeitures of over a million dollars, the pair will still leave jail wealthy men after making over 2 million dollars in their Spam operation. As long as the profit is there, Spam will continue to exist. Of course Spam can be more than an annoying waste of time and resources, it can pose a real threat to business operations. Many Spammers also send viruses with their unsolicited offers in order to commandeer PCs and send more Spam. One such virus “Storm Worm”, which can morph to avoid detection and even travel without using email attachments, is more advanced and more difficult to detect by anti-spyware programs. Storm Worm is estimated to have infected over one million PCs already. Of course, as always, the best defense against Spam is a quality Spamblocker solution.

Tierzero Spamblocker