Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category
Just what is cloud computing?
Executives frequently ask me: What does it mean to be computing in the cloud? While we techies have our own definitions for cloud computing, executives and owners tend to consider any programs that are not installed on the local computer to be “in the cloud.”
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Can you trust your IT professional’s answer?
I had the pleasure of performing an audit at a company recently where the lead IT professional was shocked to learn that his e-commerce system needed to be secure in order to keep credit card information secure as part of PCI-DSS compliance.
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Save money – protect your servers from heat
In a data center, the temperature should remain a constant temperature of 70-74 degrees Fahrenheit (21-23 degrees Centigrade) for the best system reliability and comfort levels. Many of the organizations I audit have servers running very hot—especially in the summer months.
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Is anti-virus obsolete?
The problem with anti-virus programs these days is that so many viruses come out every hour that anti-virus programs can hardly keep their list of virus signatures up to date. If your anti-virus program doesn’t know a virus is “bad” until hours after the virus arrived, you are still infected and it may be too late.
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Are vulnerability scans of your network helpful?
As part of the Foster Institute IT Security Assessments, we always offer to perform vulnerability assessments and they are indeed very helpful. Executives can help IT professionals overcome the negative effect to the results of a vulnerability scan…
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Executives, does your e-mail address end in AOL?
Three different highly respected business professionals communicated with me today and each of them made comments along the lines of, “Oh—that CEO is so far behind in technology that their e-mail address ends in AOL!”
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When will tech become truly user friendly?
I used a wonderful ATM in Santa Barbara recently. The main screen had a space for your PIN and the buttons for $20, $40, $100, etc. All the customer needs to do is touch 4 keys for the pin and 1 key for the amount requested and DONE! No “Enter” key. Out pops the cash! So easy.
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Executives-be sure your CPA saw this article
One of my best clients, a CPA firm, forwarded a quick article from the AICPA—American Institute of CPA’s—called “Four Fast and Easy Tech Fixes.” Be sure your CPA sees it.
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Banks suggest you dedicate one PC for online banking
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