The tough economy is taking its toll on small businesses and organizations and many are still using old hardware and operating systems simply because they cannot keep up with the high cost of licensing, or the perpetual upgrade fees.
Believe it or not, some organizations are still using Windows NT 4 Servers and Windows 98 desktops. A few are still on Exchange Server 5.5 and a lot of print shops are tied to the Novell Netware and Solaris systems their vendors installed decades ago.
For the cash-strapped small organization, there are a few options provided by the open source community that they may not be aware of. What makes these options even better is that unlike the scary days of command-line only access for system management, most of these systems can be managed via a web browser.
As more companies with national security interests come forward with admission of breaches related to the hacking of RSA’s SecurID technology, one wonders if it is time for RSA to break its stubborn refusal to tell the public what exactly was stolen or when the breach actually occurred. At this stage, it is not just enough to tell the public that it had been hit by a phishing email exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in Adobe Reader.
Have you ever tried to sign up for a “free” webinar only to be bombarded with a five-page interrogation sheet that asks you for all kinds of information that you find yourself saying “I just wanted to watch a presentation”? Did you come across a report or whitepaper you wanted to look at only to end up spending two to three minutes taking an exam and then the “report” turns out to be a two-page sales sheet? How about that eBook you saw and thought would be a good read until you were made to fill out a police report on why you are trying to get educated?
This is truly the age of information at your fingertips and most users may not even be aware of the vast array of tools available on the Internet – from tutorials on paper and video to easy to use applications that can do everything, even make coffee.
“Today, we’re announcing our newest opt-in security feature that I’ve worked to build over the past few months: Login Approvals.”
It is amazing how much the world of IT support has changed. Just a few years ago, the tech support folks were the reservoir of knowledge and users always took their advise, suggestions or diagnosis as the words of the wise. That, thankfully, has changed. We have computer users who are so savvy and tuned in to technology now that it will be foolish for an IT support technician to attempt pulling a fast one on them.