Staying Connected

Exchange 2010 Beta hits early critisim

Microsoft released the beta version of Exchange 2010 back in April, and the news was all abuzz when it was released. Now that things have started to settle down, a few points have been brought out by the beta testers.

One of the praise points that Microsoft is getting is that if they actually meet the expected release by the end of the year, they will have hit a three year release cycle. That might be Microsoft's goal, but most Small & Medium Businesses have yet to even migrate to Exchange 2007. More after the jump.

Urgent: Surf With Caution This week

I would like to warn our clients of the most recent (of many) Adobe security issues.  The excerpt below sums up an article from Computer World warning Adobe Flash users of a currently un-patched vulnerability affecting over 90% of all PC's.

 

We at ConnectWise would also like to remind our clients to use caution when browsing the web, trying to keep to known business-related sites whenever possible.  Even then, many PC's are being infected by legitimate, compromised websites that have had malicious code injected into their own.  IF you do have Adobe Flash installed, or other 3rd party software, you should regularly check and apply updates. ConnectWise Managed IT clients should contact their account manager to ensure that 3rd party software is being updated.  Adobe is scheduled to release a patch on Thursday, July 30th.

Microsoft circa 1978, would you have invested?

Yes, this picture is real; and yes this is proof that your average computer geek in the 70's had an indisputable sense of fashion.

The original Microsoft Team (currently the worlds largest software manufacturer) and Bill Gates (currently the worlds richest man), Dec 1978.

Tag...You're it !

A report was recently released on MSNBC.com that exposed unethical practices of tagged.com.  When signing up for tagged, it would ask for the user’s email address and password.  Keep in mind, this wasn’t for returning users, this was for people just signing up.  And it wasn’t asking them to set up a password, it was asking for the user’s password to log on to the email account.

Now, I understand that there are many different levels of tech-savvy, and that some users are more capable than others.  But this should be a basic rule for all users to follow.  Do not ever give anyONE, any COMPANY, or any SERVICE your password. 

It’s okay to create a password with an online service so you can log in, but your bank doesn’t need the password to your facebook account, and Tagged.com doesn’t need the password to your email account.

What Tagged.com would do is use the email address and password to gain access to the user’s address book and send invitation emails to the entire list of everyone in the address book and use the user’s email address as the return address so that it looked like it was coming from a friend.  If any of those people were duped and signed up with their email address and password, Tagged.com would raid their address book as well (without telling them) and continue the cycle unhindered until Tagged.com had sent out over 60 million deceptive messages.  The state of New York is currently pressing charges against Tagged.com.

Lesson learned:  Do not give out your password.

Adobe Reader, out "Fox" insecure software .

One thing I would like our clients to keep in mind is the relative insecure practices Adobe utilizes when distributing it's Adobe Reader software.  Adobe Reader is a free and commonplace application that many clients believe they must download to view .PDF files.  The problem lies with the relative amount of vulnerabilities in the software product, putting your computer at risk of Virus or Malware infection.

Who is the King of Technology ? ((Microsoft vs. Google)) - The Final Verdict

With battles occurring between Microsoft and Google on nearly every front, the clear winner will be consumers!  Competition from Google will force Microsoft out of decades of complacency.  Microsoft has already revamped its own online offerings (Hotmail, Microsoft Live Maps and Bing) to combat the last several years of beatings that Google has served up to the software giant.  As Microsoft advances on the Cloud Computing market with future Office 10 Live offerings and the Advertising/Search market with Bing, Google has countered with Chrome OS and Google Wave (communications).

The truth is neither company is truly invading the others market space (too much). The true value for both Microsoft and Google is not the product they are selling, or giving away; rather it's in name recognition.  Either competitor would like their brand to be synonymous with technology in your and your children's homes.

Final Verdict: Microsoft currently owns Google in the OS, Mobile, Web Browser, and Enterprise markets.  Google has Microsoft's number in the cloud (Gmail, Google Apps, Web Search) along with billions in advertising revenue (a market MS loses money in currently).  As both competitors venture into each other's markets, who will become the King of Technology will be determined by those who benefit most, the consumer.

Who is the King of Technology ? ((Microsoft vs. Google)) - Operating System

Microsoft has spent 28 years building operating systems built from MS-DOS and Windows NT technologies.  The company's operating system(s) are estimated to run on 90% of all PC's and laptops in the world.  MS's advantages in this market are too numerous to name, most computer users know nothing else besides Windows (and frankly have no interest in learning anything else).  The newest member of the Windows Family is due this fall; Windows 7 is a generational evolution for the software manufacturer. 7 is faster, easier and cleaner than the previous generation Vista OS. Early sales numbers show that Microsoft isn't going anywhere and its Windows OS will continue to dominate this market.

Google on the other hand, made its first endeavor in the OS market in 2007 with its mobile-based Android operating system. This was the first stone thrown at Microsoft, competing in the Windows Mobile market.  The second stone came earlier this week with Google's announcement of a new  desktop OS to compete directly with Windows, titled Chrome OS.  Though not expected to be finalized until 2010, Google hopes to gather developer interest in creating software that actually runs within a browser.

Verdict: "That's really cute kid" - Microsoft

Who is the King of Technology ? ((Microsoft vs. Google)) - Online Search

  

Microsoft recently replaced its Live Search with an updated search engine titled Bing.  With the hope of stealing some market share from Google, Bing offers several new innovations in search content delivery. Bing shows that MS is working hard to better the way a web search presents information to users, rather than simply retrieving it.  Despite these improvements, a face lift, and a $100 million ad campaign, Bing only gained MS 1% point of the market in June.

Google, the name synonymous with Web Search continues to beat down all competition in this market.  In June, Google delivered 78.5% of all web search results to the United States.  To Google, this means revenue. During Q1 2009, Google made in $5.2 billion in revenue (mostly from AdWords, a service which triggers ads based on your keyword searches).

Verdict: "It's good to be king" - Google

Who is the King of Technology ? ((Microsoft vs. Google)) - The Web Browser

 

Microsoft, with a 70%+ market share, Internet Explorer "X" remains the incumbent here even as competitors' offerings take strides ahead in technology, security and performance.  People are comfortable with IE, it is already installed with Windows OS and it works for them.  Not to mention that many developers of web applications only wrote their code for specific versions of Internet Explorer (and are often slow or unwilling to adapt their code for newer technologies).  Even with browser software that is continually playing catch up with the competition, Microsoft is clearly the champ here.

Google's Chrome Browser is a sleek and modern new offering in the browser market.  It offers a clean simple interface and great web performance.  Chrome is also a very secure browser, giving websites very little access to local files and settings.  It's sand boxing of browser tabs also prevents a single site from crashing your entire browser.  Chrome also is below 2% of the market share and incompatible with most web applications.

Verdict: Microsoft clearly is winning this battle in regards to market share and application development.  Google's Chrome is young and only now being ported to other operating systems besides Windows.  Truth is, Google is more concerned with WHAT you are browsing anyhow, then what you are using to browse it.

Who is the King of Technology ? ((Microsoft vs. Google)) - Introduction

During the course of this last week, Google has announced a PC operating system which will compete with Windows; Microsoft has fired back with the announcement of Office 10 Live, free online versions of Office applications to compete with Google Apps.  This skirmish began several years ago when Google burst on the scene, but the most recent shot was fired a month ago when Microsoft (re)launched it's Live Search replacement, Bing, with sights squarely set on Google.

The battle for King of Technology will undoubtedly be waged for years and on many fronts, what we are witnessing is the emergence of agile upstart Google and it's willingness to go head to head with the Northwestern behemoth, Microsoft.  The war is as likely to include as many government regulations and court cases as new technology innovations. 

This war is not about the genocide of the opposition fortunately, as Google and MS pull in their respective billions through completely different channels.  Rather both tech giant's have their pride at stake, and want to be the household name in technology.  Microsoft has a firm hold on your home (X-Box, Windows OS) and business (Exchange, Office, Windows OS, WinMo, etc.) but Google wants to profit from your habits using its Advertising and "cloud computing" infrastructure.

Corresponding blogs will detail several of the fronts in which this war will be fought.

Instant Messaging for the Workplace

Instant messaging is not just for personal use anymore.  More and more companies are adopting it as a vehicle for quick, productive communications. The key is standardizing it within a corporate environment. It would not be productive to have a mish-mosh of different instant messaging applications in the office. Plus, employees would not be sure of what other employees’ screen names would be unless they asked each individual.  Then you have the complication of everyone on their friends list being available during working hours.  So the question is, how do you get the best of both worlds?  The answer: by using Microsoft Office Communications Server.

OCS (Office Communications Server) 2007 is the latest release of Microsoft’s communications managing software.  OCS 2007 is capable of utilizing soft phone, video conferencing, and instant messaging.  The instant messaging is great because it automatically manages all the accounts inside your network due to the fact that it integrates with Active Directory.  So when you hire a new person, that new person will have everyone’s messaging ID added to their account (upon acceptance).  Also, each person in the company will know when a new person or new messaging ID shows up on the network and they will be able to add that contact to their list.  This is great because everyone’s messaging ID is at everyone’s fingertips with no effort on the user’s part.

This allows for easy, effortless, consistent intra-office communication with little administrative overhead.

File Dropper Drops the Ball on Privacy

 

It’s a new world record folks, in the same day File Dropper became my favorite and my most disliked file transfer site ever.  Let’s say you need to email someone a large file like 100 MB, and you know that isn’t going to work.  So you decide to use a file transfer site or FTP site.  This is a website that lets you upload your file to their site then email your contact with the link to the file.  Your contact is then able to click the link and download the file from that site.  This is a very convenient tool, many websites do this, and FileDropper.com provides such a service.

I will first talk about what made them my favorite.  I went to the site for the first time ever and I saw in bold instructions – 1. Upload your file and 2. Share the link.  Then there was a huge box where you can upload your file.  You can’t miss it.  And it says 5GB limit.  This was awesome!  Easy to understand, easy to do, it answers the biggest questions upfront, there are no layers of instructions to go through.  Just upload and share.  So I browsed for my file, I uploaded, and the site provided me with a link for me to share with whomever I wanted to download the file.  It was great.  It didn’t ask me to create an account, it didn’t need a UserID or PW, it didn’t ask for my email address, nothing.  Just upload and share.  It was simple, easy, and fast.  I loved it.  So I started exploring the site.

Now I will tell you what made them my most disliked.  As I’m exploring the site, I find a link that says Files.  That takes you to a page where you can browse through a directory of uploaded files – (sound of a screeching car accident) – WHAT !?!  I started reading the file names.  Oh my gosh!  These are files that people have uploaded so their contacts could have access to them, and now everyone in the world has access to them.  Keep in mind, this is not a funny videos or funny pictures site where users submit files for the world to view.  These are business documents, personal information, and sometimes pictures.  I was able to download any of them and some would just open up when clicked.  Immediately, I browsed for my file and found it.  Great, now my file is up there for anyone in the world to download, read, distribute, etc.  I am not a happy camper.

I emailed File Dropper regarding my concern.  Because I had read in their “About Us” page that files can stay on their server forever as long as it is being downloaded, I asked them in an email, “How long does a file have to go without being downloaded in order for it to be removed?”  I also asked if there was a way for the user to manually remove the file.  I haven’t heard back from them yet, but I will update you when I do.  Because File Dropper is so easy to use, it has the potential of becoming very popular very quickly.  And if the privacy and security issue gets fixed, I would love to use it. But in the meantime, if you hear people or see postings praising the streamlined process of File Dropper, do not be sucked in to using it unless you are prepared to share your file with the rest of the world.

Browse-And-Get-Owned

Monday, Microsoft issued a security advisory about a zero-day vulnerability in the Microsoft video Active-X control.  The flaw effects Windows XP PC's and 2003 servers potentially allowing an attacker to run malicious code.

Knowing Which Window to Look Through - Windows 7: Home Premium vs. Professional

This tale begins with a situation that on too many occasions our clients find themselves in...

"Client A" went to a local retail store or online distributor to purchase a new PC or laptop from one of the multitude of manufacturer brands available, the system came pre-loaded with Windows Vista/XP Home Premium.  The next day at work, they call us at ConnectWise and request we set the PC up on the network with all the bells and whistles they are accustomed to at work.  Sadly, we inform "Client A" that

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