AVG Technologies N.V. Launches I.P.O. 2012

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Posted on 21st February 2012 by admin in Network Security |Network Security at Home |Network Security at Work |Network Security Software

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Many home and office computers count on AVG Anti Virus software, a well respected free anti virus software. A.V.G. Technologies N.V. launched their I.P.O. (initial public offering) of their stock on Thursday, February 2, 2012. The stock was priced at $16.00 a share and was traded with the ticker symbol “AVG.”

The price set per share was on the low side of what was hoped for the I.P.O.. But shares were offered for this popular computer protection software company in early February for their I.P.O..

4 million shares were offered by AVG Technologies N.V.. Another 4 million shares were offered by selling shareholders. The book running managers of the I.P.O. offering are Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Morgan Securities LLC and Goldman, Sachs & Co. Allen & Company LLC, Cowen and Company, LLC and JMP Securities LLC are Co-managers of the offering.

AVG Technologies N.V.’s mission is “to simplify, optimize and secure the Internet experience, providing peace of mind to a connected world.” By September 30th 2011, AVG’s variety of software have been used by 106 million users.

Facebook’s first public prospectus was announced on Wednesday, February 1st, and AVG Technologies N.V.’s I.P.O. was priced that very afternoon.

AVG users are pleased to discover they have products for both home and office computers. Their free anti virus software is very popular with many users.

For Home users there are other free products to try. AVG Technologies N.V. also offers a free version of their AVG LiveKive ™, which offers automatic cloud storage to back up your data and files. You can even access your files from other computers or from your cell phone. There is also AVG Mobilation ™, a free Anti-Virus just for mobile devices. It offers both theft protection and SMS spam protection. MultiMi™ is a free software program designed to “streamline your digital life.” Home computer users will also find other products for sale, including AVG PC Tuneup, to help restore your computer to its top performance, AVG Family Safety ™, to protect families from bullying, cyber predators and also block sites, AVG Tech Buddy, offering remote fixing of your PC by a team of skilled professionals.

Businesses can find office products at AVG Technologies N.V. such as AVG Internet Security Business Edition 2012, to protect your data. AVG Anti-Virus Business Edition 2012, protects your computer from viruses. AVG File Server Edition 2012, this program helps to keep your file servers speedy and clean. AVG Email Server Edition 2012 will keep your Windows email speedy and clean, to help protect all of your emails. AVG Linux Server Edition is ideal for Linux/Free BSD and helps your servers and emails. AVG Rescue CD is the ideal protection from system crashes.

It is easy to see that AVG Technologies N.V. offers top protection for both your home and office computer. Some of their helpful products are available for free for the home computer. Many who use the computer regularly recommend AVG Technologies N.V.’s products to help protect your home or office computer.

Article written by Lawrence Reaves, writing on behalf of http://www.galorath.com, providing software estimation tools for complex business projects.

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HP Moves Top-of-the-Line Features into Midrange Storage Offering

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Posted on 21st June 2011 by admin in Networking

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Hewlett-Packard is the global IT leader, but it is not doing anything particularly innovative unless you consider its revised business strategy. The bottom line: HP is simply acquiring the very best IT hardware and software technology it can find and packaging it for customers. Given HP’s customer base is extremely diversified, with hordes of small and midrange companies and a sizeable chunk of the enterprise market, HP is trying to be all things to all men.

Recently, HP unveiled a lengthy catalog of new storage and data-center products at the Discover conferences in Las Vegas at the start of June. “Converged” appears to be the new buzz word form HP’s marketing department, but in this instance the spin sticks. Data-center and storage products are converging in terms of faster performance and greater capacity combined with smaller dimensions and reductions in power consumption and heat dissipation.

The flagship Enterprise Virtual Array (EVA) has been revamped for the midrange offering, which has over 100,000 deployments in operation at the moment. In addition, as a result of acquisitions by HP over the last couple of years, two new lines have been introduced; the 3PAR and IBRIX systems. EVA has been a mainstay of HP for a long time, over 5 years, which demonstrates the demand and success of the strategy for HP so far. The latest EVA product is the P6000 with the ability to deliver thin-client provisioning and also include dynamic LUN software for migration utilizing 8bit fiber and Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FCoE). Thin-client provisioning is probably the most important aspect of the EVA evolution, however this should not be a surprise with the 3PAR acquisition (which Dell also sought to acquire but lost out on the bidding). With greater load and demands for speed, ICSI connectivity is also included; ICSI has been around for quite some time, however this is the first time EVA products have been available which are not solely fiber constrained.

This post is brought to you by www.PlanitTech.com

 

IPv6 Day Approaches – The Next Generation Internet

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Posted on 11th June 2011 by admin in Cloud Computing

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The Internet has been chugging along on a protocol known as IPv4 – Internet Protocol – however with increasing demands on the Internet backbone, greater demands from users and changes in how people are interacting and using the Internet, a new protocol was required. IPv4 has been in use since the 1980’s and technology has moved on at a pace too since then.

So, on June 8th 2011, 400 of the world’s major Internet companies flipped a switch and ran IPv6 simultaneously with IPv4.

The world did not stop spinning on its axis, and for the most part users did not notice anything different. Shades of Y2K have been heard; however the successful testing means the new protocol will move ahead to full deployment and replace IPv4.

What does this all mean?

So far, few companies have upgraded to IPv6 because of the complexity surrounding the new protocol, plus it is not widely adopted. However, with Google, Facebook and Yahoo! testing it, and liking it, we can expect to see upgrades needed in the next few years. This is not something which companies need to focus on in the short-term, but you will need to put it on the back-burner for consideration at some point in the next couple of years and keep an eye on developments.

In practical terms, companies will need to move to IPv6 and this is going to involve end-user OS, ISPs, firewalls, routers and servers and a whole host of applications.

Meanwhile, it is likely that IPv4 and IPv6 will simply operate in tandem for a substantial period of time into the future, which will preclude the need to migrate to the new protocol anytime soon. Companies are simply going to have to be aware that this is coming down the road and arrange their long-term planning accordingly.

This post is sponsored by www.PlanitTech.com

POS Malware Making an Impact for Small Retailers

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Posted on 20th April 2011 by admin in Data Recovery |IT Services |Network Security |Network Security at Work

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Point of Sale or POS devices are used across the country by almost every retailer. They collect the data stored on the magnetic strip on the back of a debit or credit card and transit this, along with the transaction data, to the card provider for approval of the transaction. The amount of data which is transmitted is “complete” in that it contains everything which is required to process further transactions or can be switched to a clone card for further use or extraction of cash via an ATM.

In 2010, the majority of security breaches involving retailers was found to be due to criminal exploiting vulnerabilities in the POS device. The major reasons for them being favored is because POS devices have well known vulnerabilities, however they also represent the jackpot in terms of holding and handling customer financial data. They are a prime target as a consequence.

There have been moves to improve POS security, such as requiring data transmitted to card providers is encrypted, or to ensure that customer and financial information is not stored locally on the POS device.

Unfortunately, many POS breaches occur because POS settings for remote access are left on factory default settings, or because third-party integrators who are used by many small businesses, do not understand or apply modern security protocols.

There is also a disturbing development in that malware is increasingly being reported, as part of the breach itself. Very disturbingly is the fact that malware has been discovered which was able to break the data encryption used to send cardholder information to the card provider.

Retailers are especially vulnerable, and very especially small retailers who are unable to command the resources or expertise required to ensure a high standard of security is adhered to. Unless retailers are prepared to focus on this exceptionally risky vulnerability in their IT system, the risk posed by cyber attack will not go away, but rather will continue to increase, leading to issues with their merchant account and their reputation amongst their customers.

Managing Call Quality Issues with a VOIP Installation

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Posted on 10th April 2011 by admin in IT Services |Networking

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Modern VOIP deployments do not have the traditional issues of poor call quality which was reminiscent of installations of say, five years ago. Nevertheless, call quality is the most sensitive aspect of a VOIP installation and one which users are extremely sensitive too. Fortunately, it is a relatively simple and easy issue to handle – one of the positive aspects of a VOIP installation is that management is greatly simplified and managers do not need extensive training or expertise to perform testing and deploy solutions.

A trace route diagnostic should always be the first test which is run when there are call quality issues being raised. Trace route tests reveal the true latency of the VOIP circuit – latency is the metric which measures the speed an audio data packet cycles around the circuit. Latency is a major problem for users who are exceptionally sensitive to call delay, but fortunately moden VOIP installations are, and should be, free of these problems or if they are affected, they are simply resolved.

A Brix Network Test should also be run to identify the Mean Opinion Score (MOS). The MOS is the perceived call quality at the end of the circuit, i.e. at the side of the call which is being listened to. The MOS is on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest call quality you can expect and 1 the lowest.

One tip with running VOIP tests and diagnostics is to run them through the same part of the network being used by the VOIP system itself.

Finally, testing the network connections should reveal if there are bottlenecks or packet drops occurring. Where data packets overload a router, for instance, it may drop packets and this can result in jitter or delayed packet arrival for meaningful playback of the data.

Cloud Computer Services Purchasing Tips

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Posted on 20th March 2011 by admin in Cloud Computing |Data Recovery |IT Services

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Cloud computing services are flexible in terms of how long you have to be locked into an agreement. The concept behind most cloud computing service providers follows Software as a Service (SaaS) concepts – you buy what you want and pay for what you use. Cloud computing service agreements and terms are a little more complicated than that, but you get the idea.

So what do you need to look out for when making a selection?

From a technical stand point, you need to make sure your Operating System (OS) and other basic features are compatible with the service provider’s offering.  That said, here are three things to consider:

  1. Self Managing Services

Cloud services you are required to manage yourself should all be hosted and run by the cloud provider. But look at the problem-handling aspect of the service; if there is a minor issue which requires you to initiate a support ticket, how long will it take to get that ticket dealt with and get on with work? If basic task problems require you to open a ticket, this is an indicator that the service offered is relatively immature with increased support risk. (more…)

IT Outsourcing Profiles

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Posted on 10th March 2011 by admin in IT Services

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IT outsourcing presents a set of challenges to businesses in terms of how they can better utilize IT resources, improve service and contribution of valuable IT assets to the bottom line, reduce risk to the business of failure or disaster, and simplify frequently complicated IT processes. There are four main IT Outsourcing (ITO) scenarios to consider and we’ll cover all them briefly here today.

Off Site

A business looking for an off-site ITO provider is usually looking for enhanced security in the event of a disaster or is sensitive to business continuity issues. They are also usually looking for increased security coupled with greater reliability and the potential to scale up easily, which makes it particularly attractive for fast-growing companies. (more…)

Web 2.0 Application Development with IBM’s EGL

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Posted on 15th November 2010 by admin in Application Development |IT Services

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Application development is typically fraught with issues: development takes time, development costs can spiral, different experts and resources are needed to create server and client-side aspects of the application, and by the time you have everything in place, the application may well be obsolete.

The challenge with application development is to generate agile applications that can be created quickly, and which can be tested and deployed fast enough to take advantage of the business opportunities which are presented.

IBM’s EGL is a language which allows for developers to code an application using just the one language – EGL.  EGL is coded in a similar way to COBOL, and it uses a very similar syntax and verb structure which may developers will be familiar with.  What EGL then does is to create the requisite code in whatever underlying language or utility is needed to make the application work on both client and server-side.  For instance, developers no longer need to know Ruby on Rails for the client-side presentation, and they don’t need to cross-train or bring in another developer who has the expertise to handle the server side coding, perhaps COBOL.

A major advantage of EGL is it cuts through the need for expensive, multi-disciplinary teams to be deployed to create a Web 2.0 application.  Instead, one developer can create and test the application, leading to much faster deployment times and at a greatly reduced cost.  This allows for robust and commercially viable Web 2.0 application development to meet the needs of the business.

EGL is also highly cost effective from the initial investment perspective.  IBM has made the solution open-source, which means the tools are free to download and use, as are many of the supporting utilities which are offered under the Eclipse banner.  IBM also is providing free training in the use of EGL, which further reduces the Capex for adopting the solution.

WAN Optimization to Unlock Bandwidth and Business Productivity

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Posted on 15th October 2010 by admin in IT Services |Network Management |Network Security |Network Security at Work |Network Security Tips |Networking

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You have a choice – invest millions in a network upgrade or struggle to cope with the bandwidth constraints you are currently operating under.

Which do you do?

The correct answer is neither.  Many businesses already have sufficient bandwidth provision; the real problem they have is they are not using it effectively.  This is where WAN optimization can deliver very significant business productivity and cost benefits without the need for high Capex.

WAN optimization primarily looks at how your existing network is transporting data around.  By reviewing what data is being transmitted, intelligent decisions can be made as to what data is really necessary on the network.  For instance, some protocols are very “chatty”: some applications are using protocols which frequently talk back and forth between the data center and the user.  This takes up unnecessary bandwidth and contributes to latency issues which remote and branch workers experience; “the network is slow today!” (more…)

Cloud Computing: Topical Security Threats

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Posted on 20th August 2010 by admin in Cloud Computing |IT Services |Network Security |Network Security at Work

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With the cloud comes a whole horde of marketing phrases, technical promises and the lure of costs driven down, productivity raised and exponential increases in profitability.  There are the occasional voices raised about security issues, but like all party-poopers, the focus is on what is possible and to heck with the negative consequences.

The party continues until “something” happens and the finger pointing starts in the search for a scapegoat.

The cloud is a undoubtedly the way of the future, and there is no reason why SMB’s should not be seriously considering the feasibility of cloud computing and its application to their business.  This said, cloud computing brings with it some age-old security issues as well as introducing some new ones, and customers should understand the implications of any new technology.

Cloud Computing Abuse

As long as there are human beings there will be “hanky-panky” and the cloud is no exception.  Already, there are “free trials” from service providers which is simply providing a mask to hide malicious individuals who are using the registration information provided – for “malicious individuals” read spammers, hackers, virus and malware coders and distributors.

Areas of concern include password hacking, DDOS (Distributed Denial of Service), acting as host to malicious code and many other issues.

Insecure Programming Interfaces

Cloud computing relies on API’s (software interfaces) to be uncovered so users can gain access to the cloud service and applications hosted thereon.  API security is therefore vital to the security of the entire cloud because everything is managed through the API’s.

The issue becomes even more complicated because third-party application developers will take the existing cloud API and build on that when creating their application solution.  This adds a layer of complexity to the API security issue, as if the API is compromised the entire application suite is too, but the reverse is true too – compromise the security of the application and this may then control the API itself.

Malicious Internal Threats

Many organizations fail to acknowledge the threat from within; disgruntled employees with a grudge, simple data theft, and accidental introduction of external devices such as USB stick or even a cell phone interacting with the network can all bring harm to the applications and data stored on the cloud.  The cloud is just as susceptible as a hard network to internally introduced threats, and in some instances even more so.

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