Friday, May 2, 2008

Solutions for Managed Security Services

A secure network is an important component of your successful business. The task of constantly protecting the network against malicious attacks and unexpected threats is burdensome and distracts you from your core business. How do you ensure your networks are protected and self-defended?

InfraScape provides the solution to assure network security and maintain business continuity. We provide the strategy, services and our proprietary monitoring technology to help companies overcome fear and combat threat proactively. Our round the clock technical support further enhances the confidence of our customers. We are your preferred managed security services partner.

More and more organizations are turning to managed security providers for a range of security services to reduce costs and to access skilled staff whose full-time job is security. Security solutions and technologies such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDSs), virtual private networks (VPNs), and vulnerability assessment tools are weapons that far more effective when they are managed by skilled professionals.


Our Security and Technology Services include:

• Network boundary protection, including managed services for firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDSs), and virtual private networks (VPNs)
Security monitoring
• Incident management, including emergency response and forensic analysis
• Vulnerability assessment and penetration testing
• Anti-virus and content filtering services
• Information security risk assessments
• Data archiving and restoration
• On-site consulting


Benefits of engaging InfraScape as your MSS Partner


Skills

We have insight into security situations based on our extensive experience, dealing with hundreds of potentially threatening situations every day.


Cost

The cost of a managed security service is typically less than hiring in-house, full-time security experts.


Staffing

You can outsource repetitive security monitoring and protection functions, and focus internal resources on more critical business initiatives.


Facilities

We can enhance security by using our physically hardened sites with state-of-the-art infrastructure that are managed by our trained personnel.


Security expertise

We are often able to obtain advance warning of new vulnerabilities and gain early access to information on countermeasures.


Service Performance

When you contract us for security monitoring services, our service can report near real-time results, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year.




infrascape is the best solutions company for Network Monitoring and Managed Services Visit Us For More information at http://www.infrascape.com

Computer Issues, Using It Consultants And Appropriate Architecture

Few things are more frustrating than dealing with computer issues in your home. Many times the fix is very simple if you just knew what to do or who to call. It is estimated that 300 million computers will become obsolete within the next three years. The toxic nature of cadmium, lead and other chemicals used in the components of computers and related peripherals presents a major environmental hazard when it comes to disposal.

For many small businesses, the computer is an essential tool, but the owner doesn't have the time or expertise to install and maintain a business computer system. It is often worth speaking to an IT consultancy to give you an idea on, how to make them more efficient, and maintain hardware .

This can mean many different things, starting with the design of computer software and ending with the transmission of information over the Internet or via specialized networks. A consulting business can cover several aspects of the industry or focus on just one, depending on your areas of expertise. If you are looking for multiple copies of a product it is possible to reduce your costs by buying a single set of media, and then purchasing licenses to install the software on as many computers as you need to license. While licensing programs vary from one vendor to another, discounts can start with as few as 2 license units.

Architecture is all too frequently seen as a detailed technical activity and is consequently driven by technical issues, IT suppliers or short-term project considerations. This can result in delivery problems or failure to realize the full benefits from the delivered systems.

But getting from standalone PCs to a fully networked system with Internet access and Email for all those that need it is relatively difficult. It needs the skills of an IT professional to both setup and configure and manage.

Information assurance and Event organizers

IBM Takes Its Chances with EnterpriseDB

Question: Not long ago, you announced that IBM joined existing investors for EnterpriseDB's third round of venture funding. Why did IBM get involved this time?

Astor: IBM does not typically invest in companies. They do invest in open source projects from time to time, but I think they saw an opportunity with us. They've got their Linux bet made. They've got their Apache bet made. They've got their Geronimo bet and their Eclipse bet, all the way up the stack, but they haven't really made a statement about the database yet.

With Sun's recent acquisition of MySQL and the fact that IBM is a big fan of truly enterprise-class open source technology - particularly when it's mature and there's relatively little differentiation among vendors, I think it just made a whole lot of sense for IBM to place a bet and take a small stake in EnterpriseDB to get involved and impact the Postgres community. EnterpriseDB has emerged over the last couple of years as the leading Postgres company. I say that because we have more core team members and committers and thought leaders, and we are developing more features for the community than any other company. Looking for a way to invest in Postgres, I think it just made sense for IBM to come and chat with us.

Question: If I may ask, did EnterpriseDB approach IBM, or did IBM approach EnterpriseDB?

Astor: I think it's fair to say that IBM contacted us to engage in partnership conversations, which we engaged in happily, and when we let them know that we were raising a Series C, they had some interest in participating in that. That is pretty rare, by the way. They don't generally invest in companies.

But we were very interested, frankly, in having their brand behind us. I think it helps tremendously for a young company to be endorsed, if you will, by IBM, and they get to participate in a very rapidly growing commercial open source company at a bargain price.

Question: What does having IBM's brand behind it do for EnterpriseDB? What doors does it open?

Astor: Recently, MySQL, which is also a very small company but somewhat bigger than EnterpriseDB, was acquired by a Fortune 500 company. That, I think, changes the way the market looks at MySQL. Similarly, I think having IBM invest in EnterpriseDB changes the way the market looks at us. I think it's fair to say that the open source database space is really now a two-horse race. The press that we've gotten and the interest that we've gotten since we made the announcement is indicative of a different place in the market.

How Computers Benefit Society

Computers are wonderful machines. They are everywhere and society depends on them to manage our world. It is no wonder that computers have almost unlimited applications, and that they are multiplying at a steady rate. Many of these applications are benefiting society directly or indirectly. The three most important ways computers are benefiting society, is by, creating more information technology professions, creating new automobile safety features, and opening ground-breaking communication methods. There currently exist many other beneficial functions of these machines, such as their use for diagnosing patients, running weather simulations to predict future weather patterns, and calculating large, complex data sets. As new applications emerge for computer systems, so will the benefits society will derive from them.

Creating more information technology (IT) professions is proportionally related to how many new computer systems are put into use. As new computers are sold to consumers, the demand for more IT professions will rise because consumers will need these professionals to maintain, upgrade and repair their new computer systems. <>. More employment is also made available when new computer applications are discovered. This makes sense because new applications require new professionals that are trained to deal with that specific application. For example, when the World Wide Web was introduced, many new professions arose. Some of these professions range from website designers and server administrators to online marketers. These factors show that computers are benefiting society directly by creating new information technology professions, which is vitally important to the development of any countries labor force.

Computers were introduced into cars in the late nineteenth century, for such effects as controlling engine functions, fuel injection, and signal light timing. It is not until recently, that computers have started to play a role in helping to save peoples lives by enabling car manufacturers to create new automobile safety features. Air bags are an extremely important safety feature in an automobile. A computer is located in the steering wheel of an automobile, which is equipped with airbags and is the only device capable of signaling the airbags to deploy in the case of an accident. According to McCormick (1999), it is an estimation that "between 1990 and 1997, air bags saved about 150 lives in Canada. In the United States, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that airbags, as of September 1, 1999, have saved the lives of over 4,600 Americans involved in car crashes." This would not be possible without computer systems. Another popular safety feature is the anti-lock braking system, or ABS. The purpose of the anti-lock braking system is to stop a vehicle from locking its tires, which has been shown to dramatically increase a drivers control in a potential crash. These safety features have proven to be beneficial to society thanks to computers, by decreasing the number of automobile accidents, and the number of fatalities involved in such accidents.

Society is dependent on rapid and reliable communications. Computers have allowed us to open ground-breaking communication methods that satisfy those dependencies. One communication method is known as electronic mail (e-mail). E-mail has become a common form of communication because it is free, reliable, and most importantly, incredibly fast. Due to the nature of e-mail, being electronic data, it relies on computers to deliver and receive messages. Another popular method of communication making rapid headway is instant messaging, or IM. According to a survey (Shiu & Lenhart, 2004) "53 million American adults use instant messaging and its appeal is especially apparent among young adults and technology enthusiasts." Similar to e-mail, instant messaging allows many people to send textual information to each other simultaneously. This form of communication is similar to a telephone conversation, but using electronic text as a medium instead of a person's voice. As instant messaging is based on electronic text, it is dependent on computer systems to operate because they are the only devices capable of transmitting and manipulating electronic data. Both of these new communication methods are bringing people closer together, in a global sense, and this is benefiting society.

New problems for society will continually emerge, and as a result, computers will be applied to such problems. These machines are the work horses of the future and as such, society will greatly depend on them. As stated, the three most important ways computers are benefiting society now is by creating more information technology professions, developing new automobile safety features, and opening ground-breaking communication methods. Therefore, computer systems have been shown to be a great benefit to society through these three examples and society will continue to depend on the benefits these systems provide in the future.

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Information Technology - Just What Is IT?

You may know someone that works in it, and you may have seen it advertised on television, but what is IT? This article will help to clear up the somewhat shady world of IT.

To start, let's break down the term "IT" into two parts: information and technology (the secret is revealed!). Information technology, or IT, exists throughout the world and it is define by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) as "the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware." So, what is IT? In short, it is nearly anything to do with computer or computer programs and applications.

Though the aforementioned definition is the purest one, the term IT has been used in many different ways recently. It seems as though every time you turn on a television, some infomercial is blaring about gaining a degree in information technology. Perhaps this is why this term now encompasses various aspects of the computer world. Today's professionals that work in this field deal with data management, networking, engineering, database design, software design, and various administrative tasks.

Still wondering about that earlier question (what is IT?). Well, don't worry, this term confuses a lot of people. The term is mostly confusing because it means everything to do with computers, though it can also mean nothing at all. The next time that someone tells you that they work in the information technology field, you can easily assume that they do something with computer communication and technology, though their specific job may be somewhat unclear.

The basic problem with a term such as IT is that when this term was coined, there really weren't a lot of people involved with this type of work. As the years progressed, information technology really began to expand, causing various organizations within the field to spring up (if for nothing else, to differentiate between the numerous branches). Currently, there are many different groups and organizations that all have something to do with this type of work, though the many different groups can become confusing.

Hopefully, you will have a better grasp on the earlier question (what is IT?) now that is has been, partially, explained. Although this field is somewhat confusing, those that work within the field are important to the current computer world. Can the term be summed up in one article? No, it cannot - this line of work is one of the vaguest out there, yet it is still vital to technology.

Aazdak Alisimo writes IT articles for ITServiceCompanies.com - a directory of IT service companies across the country.

Information Technology Has Come A Very Long Way

Where does the history of IT begin? Well, in order to answer this question, one must first understand the basic concept of information technology as a whole.

In its most basic form, information technology aims to help communication between computers. This form of technology can be completed via input, processing, output, and various other communication types. Essentially, the history of IT can be split into four periods: premechanical, mechanical, electromechanical, and electronic. Before we delve into each category, remember that the key word here is "communication."

Prior to any form of mechanics, the very first humans sought to communicate through very simplistic sketches that we now call "petroglyths." For the most part, these drawings were in the form of pictures, and often they depicted daily life. Around the year 3100 B.C. the Sumerians came up with the cuneiform language, and this became the very first type of written language. After the Sumerians, along came the Egyptians with their papyrus plants, and they took communication to a whole new level when they began to use a form of the modern pen with papyrus as a type of paper.

Now, let's skip ahead to the Mechanical Age (1450-1840). Johann Gutenberg invented the first sort of movable metal-type in 1450. After this machine was invented, books began to pop up and the concept of a computer was born. Once this was conceived, there was no stopping civilization and around the end of the 18th century, telecommunication really began to grow stronger. Beginning with the Voltaic Battery and ending with the telephone and the radio, communication was really on a role. Once the computer was invented (many years later), the history of IT took an entirely different sort of path.

Today, almost everyone has some sort of involvement with a computer, though those people that work in the information technology field can often work many different jobs. Humans have always found a way to effectively communicate (as we have seen), which makes this type of technology one of the oldest trades on the face of the earth.

From the time of the cavemen drawing crude pictures on the sides of walls, to our modern computer obsessed world, the history of IT has come a long way. Even though some believe that the Internet has really outdone all other forms of communication that the world has ever seen, just remember that the Internet was a mere though once upon a time.

Aazdak Alisimo writes IT articles for ITServiceCompanies.com - a directory of IT service companies across the country.

How To Find The Best Computer Repair Service

If you're reading this article, you have had or currently are in the need of computer repair service. With the prevalence of computers and our dependency to them, chances are most of you have had the unfortunate computer repair issues that required a professional computer repair technician's experience to fix.

Whether you are a end-consumer trying to get on the internet or having trouble receiving emails or a small business sorting your way out of an accounting software nightmare or needing to acquire a Microsoft small business server, professional help is only a few clicks away.

The biggest hurdle when sorting through the multitude of computer repair technicians who advertise through their website online or in your local yellow pages is to find a firm staffed with certified computer technicians. In addition, you want to make sure that the firm is staffed with professionals that have a few years of troubleshooting computer and networking issues under their belt. Often, the desire to cut in on experience and get "Joe from next door" to fix your personal computer can backfire and your recourses are limited, unless you're dealing with a certified, trained and established firm.

According to a recent article "the unfortunate situation that is prevalent in the computer repair industry is that the good service firms end up fixing the other firms bad work". It is really important to select a firm specializing in a broad range of small business computer networking services to make sure that you issues are adequately covered. And once the customer understands that she is dealing with a heavily certified, personal and reliable business, most customers will become happy.

Top notch businesses services such as described above are not unique yet it is the personal touch that becomes a critical factor in the customer's loaded list of requirements. Since every computer configuration is unique, customers are looking to someone that is going to dig beyond the surface and ensure long term results. Right there at the same level in that list and no less significant is cost.

Customers are jaded with spending hundreds of dollars and weeks of downtime with big box store computer repair support inexperienced geeks. If the Computer repair technician you are speaking to cannot give you an estimate of the costs, a reasonable hourly rate and more importantly, assurance that your system will be repaired promptly, run away. In addition, if your request embodies several computer or networking services which will last more than three or four hours, ask for a "project" discounted price. After all, everything is negotiable, even computer repair services.

The computer repair service market is primed for companies that put the customer first and techno-gobbledygook second.

Finding a reputable and affordable computer service is not brain surgery. You can go to Google and type: "computer repair services" with your town name and state. Check the website results and look for companies that provide certified (check for: Computer Technology Industry Industry A+, Microsoft Certified Professional or even better Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and Microsoft Certified Trainer)online computer repair services, fair hourly market rates and give them a call. Often, a personal conversation can tell you much about who you will want to deal with.

Cowbell Systems is a computer service provider in the Research Triangle Area of North Carolina. You can contact them at (919) 760-5003 or visit http://www.CowbellSystems.com for reliable computer repair Raleigh, North Carolina. Microsoft Certified - Raleigh Computer Networking - Raleigh Computer Services - Raleigh Computer Repair - Cary NC IT Consultants.