Friday, September 10, 2010

Malware Attacks Hit Hard Yesterday

A slew of businesses and government agencies were hit hard yesterday by a new and rapidly spreading malware attack which is targeting unsuspecting email users. The malware message tempts the user to click on what appears to be an Adobe Acrobat .pdf file attachment. In reality, this .pdf file is a malicious program which takes control of your machine. We urge you to take extreme caution when clicking on any email attachments and confirm that you recognize the sender and attachment before opening it. More information on the latest virus is available from ABC News

Ciscom customers that subscribe to our SPAM filtering program, Reflexion, should be protected, but following basic security recommendations is a must! At a minimum, you should...
• keep your antivirus and security software up-to-date;
• eliminate non-business related internet traffic on your billing computers/network;
• consider upgrading all software to the newest version;
• check your banking and charge account balances frequently and review charges carefully;
• evaluate and mitigate any and all security holes in your network.

The time has never been better for a security audit of your system. If you need assistance implementing these recommendations, please contact CisCom's helpdesk at (502) 253-4525 x1.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

IT Pro Conference in the "Big Easy"

Last month Scott Walters, Director of IT Support at CisCom Solutions, attended Jeff Middleton’s IT PRO Conference in the “Big Easy”, New Orleans. The conference focused heavily on addressing the current state of the “IT World”, as well as where it may be heading in the future. The topics included such things as server virtualization methods, “zero downtime” server Swing Migrations, “Cloud” services, remote monitoring tools, remote backup ideas, and a preview of Windows Home Server. Not only was this trip a lot of fun, it provides our team the latest and greatest methods for server optimization and management. If you have any questions about any of these subjects, feel free to track us down! Call (502) 253-4525

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Spring Clean your IT

When most people think of Spring Cleaning, they think of clearing rooms of their house, scrubbing the baseboards, touching up paint on the walls, and cleaning everything top to bottom. Like your home, it is also good to Spring Clean your computer network and data on some regular basis. The following things can be done to protect your IT infrastructure. We will start with the hardware and work our way up to your data.

Clean out dust from your computers and servers
It amazes me that even in the cleanest offices, dust will still accumulate inside of the computer case. This is because the fans that pull air in to cool the system also pull dust from the air. Over time, the dust accumulates inside, preventing proper air flow and increasing the temperature. Heat can cause all sorts of problems. It can cause the system to "hard lock" with no keyboard or mouse movement. In addition to total failures, it can also slow down systems. When hard drives are too hot they slow down and can make the computer seem sluggish. We highly recommend blowing out the dust with compressed air to keep you computers running smoothly.

Archive you data
I hoard all of my data. I probably have every spreadsheet I've ever created. Once a year, I will go through a process of reorganizing and archiving the data I no longer need on a day-to-day basis. This keeps the "My Documents" directory slimmed down, reducing the time it takes to synchronize it to my laptop and making it easier to find things. Everyone organizes their data differently, but it is a good idea to go through this process at least once a year.

Review your backup processes
Are your backups working? Do you have enough space on your tape or backup drive for all of your data? Are your backups stored offsite to protect your information from catastrophic events? Have you tested your backups to make sure they are working? This is an IT function that is often overlooked. Once a backup process is in place, a lot of folks just let it run without monitoring and testing it. Even those who are very good about changing the backup media are guilty assuming that all is well. I cannot tell you the number of times we have been called in to restore data for someone only to find that the information was not backed up or that the backup has not worked for some time.

Data Management
Our C-Now Advantage and Premium plan customers have their backups monitored and tested regularly. CisCom also offers offsite backup services over the internet for your most critical data. Data storage costs have gone down significantly over the past few years. This makes it more economically viable to have multiple backup strategies to protect your information. Data storage is cheap - your data is NOT. Protect it well.

If you need any assistance at all with cleaning dust out of your computers, organizing your data, or reviewing and testing your backup strategies, please contact CisCom at (502) 253-4525 x1 for assistance.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Virus Alert

This week we have had two clients get infections after visiting WhitePages.com. This is part of a rapidly spreading threat which presents itself to the user as an anti-virus program. Users report seeing pop-ups that warn them that they are infected. The popup screen, however, is not the real antivirus software, it is a fraud. The malicious software is apparently being installed via banner advertisements from infected websites. It seems that no user interaction other than visiting the site is required to become compromised.

If you notice a virus software popup which says your machine is infected, shutdown the computer and call our helpdesk at 502-253-4525 x1.

To limit your risk, use extreme caution when browsing. Additionally, make sure your operating sytem, applications, and security software have the latest updates installed.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

CisCom Hosts Office 2010 Sneak Peak Event March 26 in Louisville, KY

What's holding your team back from even greater success? People in multiple locations? Inaccessible information? Come and see how the Microsoft® Office 2010 Beta can help you break through the barriers that are slowing your people and data down. Join CisCom Solutions at an exciting preview event. Office 2010 lets you and your team stay productive, and helps you securely access files from just about any computer, smartphone, or browser. So you can meet customer needs, whenever and wherever they happen.

Office 2010 connects your people and information wherever they are, enabling individuals to work better on their own or as part of a team. You can respond with the right information to the right people, no matter what the situation.

Join us at the FREE CisCom Solutions Office 2010 Sneak Peek event for a hands-on demonstration of all the ways Office 2010 breaks down barriers in your organization. Space is limited, so register today.

Note: For online registration use http://www.clicktoattend.com/ and event code 146284.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

CisCom Presents Windows7 Workshop March 9th

Are you curious about Microsoft's Windows7? David Ely will present a workshop to answer all your questions about the new operating system on Tuesday, March 9. Time is 7:30 am, at Republic Bank's Community Room at 9600 Brownsboro Road (across from the Summit Shopping Center). This workshop is presented through the Prospect Area Chamber of Commerce. There will discounts offered that day courtesy of Microsoft and also some fantastic door prizes! Butcher's Best Meats & Deli will be catering the meal. Please RSVP and pay online today at http://www.prospectareachamber.org/event_overview.htm?utm_source=IT&utm_campaign=8c7a92bb79-march2010enews&utm_medium=email or contact Patty Mason at 502-253-4525 x205 for more information.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Charity Bowl Results and Thanks

Here we are at the January 29, 2010 Charity Bowl! The event was held for the benefit of Kosair Charities and was hosted by the Prospect Area Chamber of Commerce and the Lyndon Area Business Association. We may have set the record for best team shirts and most gutter balls. It was a fun time, though. Again, we extend our sincere thanks to Liz Welsh, President of Executive Communications, who was the first one to respond to our charity donation request. Top row from left to right: Ken Higdon, Scott Walters, David Ely. Bottom row: Patty Mason and Dustin Riley