Opt-in / crowd-sourcing bot-net Cyber attacks

Gregory Keyes — Tue, 25 May 2010 06:08:15 +0100

As if dumb and blind seizing of computers for nefarious purposes weren’t bad enough, we now have people intentionally choosing to be part of attacks. In our ITER discussions, we struggle with the amount of focus that IT has on human behavior (much more problematic than computer behavior); and that is within the corporate walls. Do we expect IT folks to modify and human behavior outside the corporate walls as well? Of course not. But how else can this be sloweRead More...

1.5 Million Facebook accounts for sale. Wow.

Gregory Keyes — Wed, 12 May 2010 03:22:37 +0100

Consider the possibilities of what these accounts may be used for? I have had “friend requests” from people that I do not know who are already linked with other mutual friends – sometimes dozens of them. After suspecting a couple of them – I couldn’t find any commonality in our supposed mutual friends and the new contact’s activities – I unfriended them. Now I wonder if they could be these sorts of accounts. I’m an “oRead More...

Hard to know who to trust when the ones you trust cause this damage.

Gregory Keyes — Wed, 05 May 2010 03:54:04 +0100

McAfee anti-virus debacle: poor QA allowed an anti-virus update to functionally wipe-out Windows XP-SP3 systems. They admitted the problem. And are paying for some of the computer repair. Hard to know who to trust when the ones you trust cause this damage. Also brings to question “patch early and often”; if we are to wait to roll out anti-virus updates, we risk zero-day attacks even further. Turns out security IS in your own hands and there is no panacea.

Can an organization be omniscient and still not be evil?

Gregory Keyes — Sat, 01 May 2010 03:19:08 +0100

From “don’t be evil” (Google’s original mantra) to “Google even knows what you’re thinking” (the title of this article). Can an organization be omniscient and still not be evil?

http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=6291&tag=nl.e550

Smart-Phones are great devices but big security & management risks

Gregory Keyes — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 03:31:48 +0100

This has been a topic of our ITER Dinners recently. All the new “smart-phones” are great devices – and big security and management risks.

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/190818/employeeliable_smartphones_on_corporate_networks_five_tips_to_boost_admin_control.html

Speeds and feeds; they just don't matter anymore?

Gregory Keyes — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 07:30:53 +0100

Decision making based on who supports the latest, fastest processor? I hope not.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/datacenter/?p=199&tag=content;col2

Well… maybe some are… hmm… http://blogs.zdnet.com/datacenter/?p=165

The cloud is coming! The cloud is coming!

Have you heard about the PWN2OWN contest? Sponsored by Tipping Point, it’s about geeks hacking software – and it’s got cash money prizes.

This year’s big news (so far) from PWN2OWN:

Hacker exploits IE8 on Windows 7 to win Pwn2Own

Pwn2Own hack topples Firefox on Windows

Pwn2Own MacBook attaRead More...

Apple / PC (and even Linux)

Gregory Keyes — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 03:11:14 +0100

This Apple / PC (and even Linux) thing has come up in our round-table discussions; but this angle has not been seriously discussed – let alone seriously considered by many of the execs I’ve met with. Is it just BS? Apple marketing hoo-ha? Or is there validity? If there’s any validity, why aren’t we ROI-driven IT Exec geniuses pushing this way? “It’s my one or two proprietary apps…” Is that it?

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=6294&tag=nl.Read More...

Surveys reveal CEOs’ biggest hopes, fears

Gregory Keyes — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 05:16:19 +0100

Love ‘em or hate ‘em (see related article on CEO popularity), the top dogs have a heavy influence on what happens in their organizations and thus on everyone else’s they affect – by employing, buying, selling, etc. Here’s an article with a few boil-up points on what CEOs say they’ll be doing in the next three years and what they’re still concerned about.

Cloud Computing

Gregory Keyes — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:55:13 +0100

In our ITER dinner in San Diego last week, we bounced this “Cloud Computing” thing around this way: “It’s three years from now, and like so many other past trends that we geniuses pooh-poohed, it is real. Everything is going that way and our beloved “servers” and so many other things are going away. What’s our job about then? What’s the top priority? How is that different than now? What do we need to do to be prepared?&rdquRead More...

IT Staff are supposed to experience an average increase in wages this year.

Gregory Keyes — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:16:04 +0100

Clearly, any specific pay increases will not be found by presenting the statistics to the powers-that-be. The "no excuses" article is a good "don't go there" reminder.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=31279&tag=nl.e539

IT Workers get 1.5% Pay Increase in 2010

Gregory Keyes — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:41:59 +0100

According to Computer Economics, IT workers are getting a 1.5% pay bump in 2010. I find this common in jobs that require education, talent, skill set and an overall good attitude and work ethic. While there certainly continue to be layoffs, the slight pay hike goes to show that morale is very important. An interesting read indeed. Click Here to check out the entire article.

IT Jobs still in demand while other job satisfaction rates drop

Gregory Keyes — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:00:37 +0100

I see this in my current staff, they're pretty excited about what they do at work. It's good to see in IT that job satisfaction remains strong.

http://www.channelinsider.com/c/a/Careers/Job-Satisfaction-Plummets-But-Some-IT-Jobs-Remain-in-High-Demand-655158/?kc=CITCIEMNL01062010STR1

Migrating 15,000 users from Microsoft Exchange to Google Apps

Gregory Keyes — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 06:22:27 +0100

Sounds interesting... and consistent with some discussions at our recent IT Executive Roundtable.

http://whitepapers.zdnet.com/abstract.aspx?docid=1203743&promo=539&tag=nl.e539&cval=wit2.zdnet&ctype=default

This topic continues to top many of our IT Execs discusssions.

Gregory Keyes — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 06:11:41 +0100

Virtualizaton continues to be on the top of the list:

http://www.channelinsider.com/c/a/Virtualization/Desktop-Virtualization-Ready-for-Prime-Time-or-Still-Hype-198408/?kc=CITCIEMNL12042009STR1

MPLS vs. Internet

Josh Linn — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:11:11 +0100

Local Access

Generally, the type of Internet or network access is irrelevant if the performance and repair commitments are up to needs. We’ve learned to be a little leery of wireless but fiber, cable, Ethernet or other hard-line stuff (T1s, T3s, DSL, etc) are all acceptable.

The choice typically comes down to business requirements being met and what priceRead More...

Eleven Qualities of Successful IT Managers

Gregory Keyes — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:39:44 +0100

To succeed as an IT manager, and to advance your career into the executive sphere, you need some very specific traits--11 to be exact. From needs assessment to team building, these are the skills you need to be at the top of your game.

Redundancy- many ways to do it...here was one

Ricky Monteilh — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:16:31 +0100

I have a client with multiple locations that wanted a new phone system and a network design that would fit a tight budget and have built in redundancy .

Using TelePacific's flex PRI we were able to to keep the cost down and give them voice and data on the same circuit and set up a VPN using Juniper firewalls and built tunnels to each location. In the event of a failure Covad's wireless internet access was used as a redundant link. Radware's loadbalancing appliance was uRead More...

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