UniComData Blogs

With the new Microsoft Windows Multipoint Server, better and improved features are designed to make business operations much more productive and cost effective. With support for thin clients and older workstations as well as better connectivity with other Microsoft Server products, the new Multipoint Server is sure to be a much more versatile tool to help you do business better.

Cost efficiency and value are some of the major concerns many businesses – especially small ones – have these days. It is essential for small businesses to be able to minimize expenses while keeping productivity and quality up to standards.

Microsoft’s Windows Server systems have always been designed with this concern in mind. And with the new version of Windows Multipoint Server, better and improved features are designed to enable businesses to be more flexible in the way they use Windows products while keeping costs to a minimum.

What’s different this time around? For one, while we always recommend using the latest systems, Windows Multipoint Server 2011 accommodates older systems – so if you still have some older workstations you haven’t been able to upgrade just yet, you can still squeeze some more productivity from them until you can upgrade. Windows Multipoint Server 2011 also supports thin clients (computers that depend on a server for the majority of their calculations), laptops, and netbooks using the regular LAN network – among other methods.

Another new feature of the new Multipoint Server is that it can be backed up by Windows Small Business Server Essentials, and it also provides better connectivity with Windows Small Business Server 2011 and Windows Home Server 2011. Through Windows Multipoint Server 2011, administrators can also view and interact with station desktops connected to it.

If you want to know more about the new Windows Multipoint Server, please contact us or give us a call at (972) 993-8800 and we’ll be happy to sit down with you and discuss how it can improve the way you do business.

Did you know that on iOS5 on the iPad, you can actually split the keyboard into two? This can be useful for typing with your thumbs if you are holding the iPad with both hands.

To do so, press and hold the keyboard icon on the on-screen keyboard. An option will appear, allowing you to split the keyboard into two. Alternatively you can drag the keyboard icon up across the screen until the keyboard splits up. Still another way is to simply put two fingers around the center of the keyboard and simultaneously drag them apart in a splitting motion.

Electronic medical records (EMRs) are safer than their paper counterparts, according to a new survey of physicians—but a similar survey of patients didn’t get the same response. They think paper is still safer, which means some education is in order.

The survey, which was conducted by GfK Roper on behalf of Practice Fusion, asked patients and medical professionals how they view EMR safety versus paper chart safety.

Fifty-four percent of physicians answered that EMRs are safer, with just 18 percent selecting paper as the safer option. Patient views, however, differed: Forty-seven percent of them said paper is safer, with 39 percent selecting EMRs as the safer option.

Also interesting is why physicians and patient responded the way they did when choosing paper records. Of physicians who believe paper is the safer option, 36 percent said paper is more secure because it is less likely to be hacked or lost. Of patients who believe paper is the safer option, 59 percent said paper records are more private than EMRs, allowing for more control over who sees them.

Interestingly, of the patients who said EMRs are safer, 77 percent said the greatest benefit of EMRs over paper records is being able to access records when needed.

What does it mean? The medical community is rejecting paper charts and embracing technology, says Practice Fusion—and that’s easy to understand if you’re a practicing physician who has any experience with an EMR. But it’s also easy to understand patient concerns, which means more education about why EMRs are safer than paper charts is necessary.

Security experts are predicting a rise in the use of personal gadgets to access company data – which means that you will have less control over what kind of data goes in and out of your IT system. The best way to rectify this is by having a concrete and comprehensive IT policy that secures your data – without compromising the freedom of your employees to use their mobile devices.

As technology continues to become more affordable and accessible to consumers, it’s an inevitable fact that employers will see more and more of their employees using their own personal devices such as laptops and mobile phones to access the company’s IT system.

This can be a dangerous thing. Since these devices aren’t company owned and regulated, you have limited access and control over how they are used. Employees could download all sorts of malware and viruses on their devices and pass the infection along to your IT system when they access it.

The solution: a comprehensive IT security policy. It’s important that you find a compromise between the freedom of the employee to use the device as desired and your need to keep your IT system safe from viruses and other threats to your data’s security. Steps such as having employees run mobile device management (MDM) software on their devices is one of many actions you can take to lessen the risk of security breaches. You may also want to implement applications and software that check and screen for malware, both for laptops and mobile devices. And don’t forget that while Android seems to have a bigger problem with malicious software, Apple isn’t exactly virus-free, either.

Employees have a right to use their personal devices as they see fit, but not at the expense of important company information stored in your IT system. Running a tight ship in terms of security is an effective way to protect your business interests and your sensitive company data. If you are interested in knowing more about developing a concrete and effective IT security policy for personal device use as well as general system access, please don’t hesitate to contact us or give us a call at (972) 993-8800 so we can sit down with you and discuss a custom security blueprint that’s just right for you.

Do you prefer Bing over Google but like Google’s sparse but fast loading page better? With this tip you can get the best of both worlds.

As users of Bing know, when you visit the home page of Bing, a page with a featured photo as the background is displayed by default, which increases the load time of the page. This can be distracting or annoying—especially if you have a slow connection. Disable this photo from loading by simply bookmarking this URL (http://www.bing.com/?rb=0). The next time you visit Bing, the photo will not appear.

A survey by StaySafeOnline.org shows some disturbing results – that a large number of small business, while largely dependent on their computer systems, do not see themselves as threatened by hackers and online thieves. This results in a significant percentage of them having poor or mediocre security.

StaySafeOnline.org, a website of the National Cyber Security Alliance, has recently released a study that chronicles the cyber security practices and attitudes of small businesses. Conducted in partnership with Visa, the study shows some interesting, if not disturbing, results.

It turns out that many small businesses (about 65% of the respondents) are highly dependent on their computer / IT / data systems, where they store important information, from sensitive company financial records to personal client information such as credit card info, addresses and phone numbers, and more. However, as many as 85% believe that they will not be targeted by hackers and online thieves, and less than half have data security systems in which they are confident. In general, small businesses have, at best, a mediocre security system.

Few realize, though, that it only takes one breach to compromise a company’s finances and relationships with clients. And if you have less than stellar security, stealing from you is easier. You might not have as many online assets as big businesses, but hackers can make a hefty profit by victimizing several easy marks as opposed to bigger and riskier efforts with more secure systems of larger firms.

Don’t take a risk with important data, and don’t compromise the relationships and reputation you’ve built with your clients over the years. Good security is always worth it. If you’re interested in knowing more about beefing up your security through company policies, software, and user education, please don’t hesitate to contact us or give us a call at (972) 993-8800. We’d be happy to sit down with you and discuss a security blueprint that’s cost effective and custom built to meet your specific needs.

Reference: National Small Business Study

The 2012 Consumer Electronics Show is officially underway in Las Vegas!  For those of you that are not familiar with it, CES is the world’s largest technology tradeshow, where major tech companies unveil their newest products and innovations in both consumer products and information technology concepts.  If you’re into gadgets and keeping up with technology trends, this conference is definitely something to pay attention to.  In addition to consumer goods such as tablets, mobile devices and 4G integration products, I expect the show will debut a slew of new laptops, especially ones with 3D capabilities, and printers to accommodate them. 

In terms of networking and storage there is some huge news heading our way.  Broadcom, a major networking chipset manufacturer, is introducing a new Wi-Fi specification named 802.11ac. This new spec is set to pave the way for in-car ethernet.  Rumor has it that the 802.11ac will use only the 5GHz bands, but will be backwards compatible with 802.11n.  This is set to be a huge release in the telecom world, so heads up!

While a majority of the products to be debuted at CES are well-guarded secrets, a few of them have been leaked, including a Windows Phone from Nokia dubbed the Lumia 900. Lenovo is also set to make a big splash; intent on making faster, sleeker, chicer laptops, Lenovo has unveiled three new IdeaPad ultrabooks (models U310, U300 and U410), and will also debut the first TV to run Android 4.0, called the K91 Smart TV. 

As we sit (impatiently) awaiting more news from CES, you can check CNET and the CES website for more updates.

What do you think has been the most exciting product announcement to come out of CES so far?

Not every ad you are served by Google is good for you, warns Zscaler’s Julien Sobrier, after he spotted a suspicious looking ad for a free Flash Video player in his Google Reader.

By clicking on the link he was taken to the download page of the player, which repeats many times over that the offered player is free. But only at the bottom of the page does the disclosure statement reveal that the software is bundled with additional products that “may include advertisement.”

This particular piece of adware/spyware seems to install a toolbar along with the player, opens a number of ports in the system, attempts to connect with remote servers, and requests a number of URLs from them.

But the point that Sobrier wants to make is that users should always be careful what they download – even from trusted third-parties such as Google.

“The ad was found on the RSS feed of a security company specializing in cleaning up infected websites,” he said. “This highlights the fact that even reading content from otherwise legitimate resources can inadvertently lead users to unwanted applications, when sites include third-party elements (JavaScript driven ads in this case, but also IFRAMES, widgets, etc.) that they do not have control over.”

Article posted at: http://www.net-security.org/malware_news.php?id=1950

Many companies are choosing to migrate from BPOS or other hosted services to the cloud and Office 365. Beyond the steps in the final changeover, the planning and analysis stages leading up to the final migration are critical in ensuring a smooth transition. ChannelPro has posted an excellent article outlining the planning steps necessary for planning a seamless migration to Office 365. You can find the entire article here.

As the worldwide use of Facebook continues to grow, more and more scams are appearing on the popular social networking website. Using promos, “interesting” links and all other sorts of strategies to trap you, a grain of salt is always needed when dealing with things outside of what Facebook offers.

As more and more people continue to use Facebook – both for personal and business purposes – it seems to follow that all sorts of unscrupulous individuals and groups will find ways to exploit this popularity for their own illicit benefit.

In the same way people are phished through email, hackers and scammers use similar techniques to fool Facebook users into falling for their tricks. The combination of curiosity and trust is what hackers rely on to make users fill in contact details for non-existent promotions, visit suspicious websites, or download fake software, all through Facebook. While Facebook has instituted some additional security measures to counter this threat, the consensus is that it is a generally lukewarm, or even cursory response to the issue.

What makes it worse is that you aren’t usually the first victim – those links and whatnot appear on your News Feed courtesy of a contact who has fallen into the same trap. So always be wary of events or promos your contacts invite you to join.

The most important thing is to have both the right knowledge and software to prevent getting scammed not only on Facebook, but anywhere else on the Web. Facebook is just a new medium for scammers and hackers to steal information and data – and they’ll do the same thing once the next big thing on the Web comes along.

If you want to know more about Facebook scams and how you can better protect yourself – both through training and the right software solutions – please feel free to contact us or give us a call at (972) 993-8800 so we can help you set up a more secure system for your business that’s custom-built to meet your specific needs.