Tips & Trends from Box Lake Networks
Summer 2005
Box LakeNews
Important Notice
If you are using Symantec’s Corporate Edition for Antivirus protection, here is some important information you need to know. Below are product versions and end-oflife dates for corporate editions. After the end-of-life, the product will no longer be supported by Symantec. Version 7.6x Version 8.0x Mar 31, 2005 Nov. 30, 2005
The Storm of the Year
Your trusty weather man has predicted the storm of the year. Board up your windows; tie down your lawn furniture. If you happen to own a trampoline, don’t expect it to be in the same spot tomorrow morning. This one’s going to be big. The weather man is right for a change, and the storm rages outside your window. Lightning, thunder, intense winds. As you wander into work the next morning, groggy and glad you remembered to bring in your hanging plants from the porch, you realize there was a precaution you forgot to take. The lightning that kept you up half the night has also wiped out your data. Have you ever stopped to consider the value of the data that is on your network? If your company suffered a catastrophic data loss due to hardware failure, fire, lightning or other natural disaster, how would you get your information back? Have you ever stopped to calculate the cost of employee downtime when your computers are down? There are some relatively new technologies available to help you avoid data loss and to aid in data recovery in order to help you find answers to these questions. Read on to find out more about these new technologies.
The latest version, Symantec Corporate Edition 10.0 is now available. If you have a current maintenance agreement, you are entitled to this software upgrade. Version 10 includes many new features including in-memory scanning and Spyware protection.
Spyware
Are your computers plagued by unwanted popups? Have icons or toolbars appeared on your computer for software you did not install? Has the startup page for Internet Explorer changed on its own? If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, you may likely have Spyware installed on your computer. Security flaws in Internet Explorer have given way to an entire new class of computer threats known as spyware. Spyware was principally designed to send you targeted advertisements and to cause your Internet browser to display certain sites. In recent months, spyware has proliferated and may also install keystroke loggers that transmit any information you type to a third party. Although not technically a virus, spyware is an increasing security risk for businesses and individuals alike. Spyware also costs money, and there are expenses involved with spyware besides technical fees and hardware purchases. Other things can be considered such as compromised security, overloaded networks and considerable user downtime. There are several tools to protect your computer from spyware. Ad-aware, Spybot, and Webroot’s Spysweeper are all tools that can clean your computer and prevent spyware installation. Another great option is Symantec’s Corporate Edition 10, which includes built-in spyware protection. If you have been using a combination of anti-virus software and anti-spyware software, Corporate Edition version 10 may help simplify your environment by providing spyware and anti-virus protection in one software package.
Where is your data?
With the growth in PC h a r d d r iv e s to r a g e a n d la p to p a n d P D A u s a g e , yo u r c o mp a n y ’ s d a t a c a n b e i n ma n y d i f f e r e n t p l a c e s . T a k e a n in v e n to r y o f w h e r e yo u r critical data is stored. Users n e e d to u n d e r s ta n d th e imp o r ta n c e o f s to r in g d a ta on a central server instead o f o n th e ir local hard drives. Mo b ile u s e r s p o s e a special challenge. They need access to their data w h i l e mo b i l e , b u t t h a t d a t a a l s o mu s t b e b a c k e d u p . D e t e r mi n e w h a t c r i t i c a l d a t a is b e in g s to r e d o n in d iv id u a l la p to p s . S yn c h r o n iz a tio n to o ls c a n b e e mp lo ye d to b a c k u p mo b ile d a ta .
This is Box Lake
Box Lake Networks offers a broad range of services for any networkrelated issue. Web Services – We design, build and host a wide range of Internet and Intranet sites. We focus on providing unique, creative web sites that are tailored to meet your specific needs. Technical Services – We provide complete office technology solutions that are reliable, efficient and are designed for your business Network Services – Our engineers and technicians have designed networks ranging from small peer-to-peer networks to multi-state corporate networks. NEC Phone Services – We can configure a phone system to match the needs of any business, large or small. A reliable and user friendly phone system can mean the difference in the success or failure of your business.
What do you do before disaster strikes?
Before something happens that might cause you to lose data, it is important to implement a plan for backing up your data. In the instance of a serious virus, hardware failure, or natural disaster, your data will be more easily recovered if you plan for it now. There are several different options available to help you create a data loss prevention plan.
Backups Data backups are an essential part of any network environment. Without a backup, most companies are 1 or 2 hardware malfunctions away from losing all of their critical business information. If you take a moment to consider the lost employee time, downtime, and other costs associated with recreating lost data, you will quickly see that reliable backups are a necessity. There are several ways to back up your data, including tape, DVD, and CD. The most critical component of backup, however, is the human component. Someone in your organization must be responsible to check that backups are running, data is being stored on backup media, media can be restored from backup tapes, and that media is also taken off site. Box Lake can help you develop a backup strategy that works for your company. Shadow Copies If your server is running Microsoft’s Windows Server 2003, then you already have the software you need to implement Shadow Copies. Shadow Copies are a new feature built into the Server 2003 Operating System. When enabled, a snapshot of your data is taken at scheduled intervals. Even if a file is deleted or changed, it can be recovered as it was when the last snapshot was taken. One limitation with Shadow Copies is that you can only store up to 64 shadow copies and you are limited by the total amount of disk space on your system. Another limitation is that in the instance that your hard drive fails causing data loss, you lose all of your shadow copies. However, Shadow Copies are a great safety net for files that are accidentally modified or deleted.
For more information, contact us at 859-737-4400 or visit our web site at www.boxlake.com
Links, Sources, and Information Resources
For Ontrack information: www.ontrack.com Technical product reviews: reviews.cnet.com/ Symantec information:
www.securityresponse.symantec.com
As soon as you delete a worthless file, you’ll need it.
—Author Unknown
Check your internet security: www.grc.com/default.htm and scroll down to Shields Up! Check your browser security:
www.verisign.com/advisor/check.html
Calculate how much Spyware is costing you: www.cmsconnect.com/Marketing/ CalcMain.htm
Real Time Data Replication Technologies are now available that replicate (copy) all data from one server to another in real time. Double Take is one software package that Box Lake uses to perform this task. With a copy of Double Take running on two servers, all data is replicated the moment it changes. Another feature of this software is that data is replicated at the bit level instead of the file level. This means that only the small pieces of data that change are replicated to the remote server, not the entire file. This dramatically reduces the amount of network capacity needed to transfer the data. Double Take can function well over a T1 connection. If you’re concerned about having up-to-the-second backups that are located off site, the combination of a T1 connection and Double Take can help you accomplish this goal.
What are your options when disaster strikes?
When disaster strikes, there are a few things you can do to help get things up and running quickly. Here are some tips on what to do if you fear the worst has happened. 1. Assess the situation. Determine if the problem is isolated or network wide. 2. What happened immediately before the failure? Was there a power outage? Were a few PCs acting strangely? Can you pinpoint anything out of the ordinary? 3. Try to determine the source of the problem. Does your server appear to be acting normally or is there an error message on the screen? Does all of your network equipment have power and are the lights functioning normally? Are you having trouble accessing only particular services like Printing or the Internet? Answering these questions can help locate the source of the problem. 4. Call Box Lake Networks to see if data can be recovered. If you suspect data loss or hardware failure, continued experimentation can be detrimental to the computer. Each time you reboot your computer, additional data may be lost. One option after data loss is Ontrack Data Recovery, which can be used as a last resort. Ontrack boasts of being the “largest and most experienced data recovery company in the world”. This company is your best bet if your hard drive has been physically damaged due to lightening or fire.
New Employees
Chuck Thompson, Account Manager – Chuck joined Box Lake Networks on April 4th. He earned his undergraduate degree in Finance and his Masters of Business Administration from Florida State University. Chuck and his family live in Lexington, KY. Amanda Borders , Administrative Assistant – Amanda joined the company on April 28th. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English at Eastern Kentucky University. Amanda lives with her husband, Robert, in Richmond, KY. Michael Finney, Network Engineer – Michael joined the tech team on May 12th. He has ten years of IT experience and has Cisco CCNA, Microsoft MCP, and CompTIA A+ certifications. Michael and his family live in Lexington, KY. Josh Ferguson, Intern – Josh joined the company on May 16th. He is currently studying Computer Information Systems at Morehead State University. Josh lives with his family in Means, KY. Greg Werner, Web Application Developer – Greg joined Box Lake Networks on June 2nd. He studied Software Engineering at the University of Kentucky. Greg and his wife, Becky, live in Richmond, KY.
Addison’s Tech Tips
1. Need to fight spam? Consider SpamFighter from www.spamfighter.com/. After the 30 day trial, it will continue to work but advertise itself on the bottom of every email you send, or you can purchase it for $29 which will stop the self promotion. Works with Outlook and Outlook Express. 2. What 3 steps can you take to keep your computer healthy? Keep Windows updated with patches and fixes from Microsoft. Install and keep current an anti-virus program. Do not open email attachments if you don’t know what they are or didn’t request them – instead, delete them. 3. Need to prevent pop-ups? While some web sites use legitimate pop-ups (like cnn.com), many don’t. Consider installing Google’s Toolbar (toolbar.google.com) with built in pop-up blocker, which works with Internet Explorer. Or use Netscape or Mozilla Firefox as your everyday browser (download.com). If you get pop-ups even when you're not browsing the Internet, your computer may be infected with Spyware. See article on page 1
Inside
Important Anti Virus Information from Symantec “The Storm of the Year” “Where is your data?” “What do you do before disaster strikes?” “What are your options when disaster strikes?”
Quiz: How safe is your data?
Many software and hardware technologies are available to help protect your data. File servers with RAID technology provide protection against hard drive failure. Backup software and tape drives allow you to back up data and take it off-site. These technologies are all important components of data protection, but don’t overlook the human component.
1. Is data getting stored on the server? 2. Who on your staff is responsible for changing backup tapes? 3. What is the tape rotation schedule? 4. Are the tapes taken off-site? 5. When was the last time someone tried to restore data from a tape?
Plus:
Information on Spyware “Addison’s Tech Tips” “Links, Sources, and Information Resources”
If you don’t know the answers to these questions, your data may be at serious risk.
Box Lake Networks, Inc.
P.O. Box 878 400 Shoppers Drive Winchester, KY 40391 Phone 859-737-4400 Toll Free 866-box-lake
PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
LEXINGTON, KY PERMIT NO 850
www.boxlake.com