October 2007
In this issue

> Security on our Minds
> Leveraging Technology
> Stop Threats
> Perfect Virus
> Welcome Jeff Tham
> Instant Search
 

Jeff Tham Joins
Databranch Team

ELMIRA HEIGHTS – Jeffrey Tham has joined the Databranch team as a Systems Engineer in the Elmira Heights office. Jeff has over five years of Information Technology experience and recently served as a Systems Administrator for Teen Challenge, Inc. in London, Ontario.

Currently, Jeff is a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), Microsoft Certified Security Administrator (MCSA) and Microsoft Certified Security Engineer (MCSE). He also holds his Comp TIA Security+ Certification.

As a Systems Engineer, Jeff will provide a high level of service and support to our valuable clients in the Elmira region.

We are extremely excited to have him as a part of our team!

Find Needles In A Haystack with Instant Search

If you're buried in e-mail (and who isn't?), Instant Search in Outlook 2007 can save the day for you every day.

The new Instant Search helps you quickly find e-mail messages, appointments, contacts, or any Outlook item. You don't even need to know which folder the item is in.

Watch the demo to see how to use this fast search feature, and start finding what you want instantly. 

Please forward this newsletter to anyone else in your organization who might be interested!

Security on our Minds

Security is always on the minds of the Databranch Engineering team, and October is no exception. We have been working with all of our customers for a long time now to make their systems more secure, and having secure user passwords is a part of that effort.

One of the most secure ways to gain access into a system is to use two factor authentication. That is a term used to describe access that requires you to know something and to have something. The best example is taking cash from an ATM which requires two factor authentication. You have to KNOW your PIN number, and you have to HAVE your ATM card. Databranch now offers a two factor authentication system to its customers through our new Managed Secure Access system. For many customers, however, two factor authentication and the security it brings is too much to bear. That leaves us with secure user passwords.

We have been practically forcing secure passwords on users at customer sites for several years now, but have received a lot of pushback as people complain the passwords are too hard to remember. To that end, we thought we’d offer some tips on how to make a secure password for yourself. As a reminder, a secure password consists of at least one of each of the following.

Leveraging Technology Mitigates Risks, Controls Costs and Helps Meets Demands of Growing Businesses

As a small business expands, the need to manage this growth with updated technology should rate high on a company’s list of priorities. Should an organization experience rapid growth in a short period of time and fail to advance its technology to meet these new demands, the business owner may face significant challenges in the future, including loss of revenues, waning market share and adverse customer perceptions. Incorporating the following tips into the company business plan will help ensure a smooth transition.

Stop Spam and Other Messaging Threats at the Gateway

When it comes down to it, businesses of all sizes face the same email and messaging challenges – and one of the most prevalent of those is spam. In the past, the major problem with spam was that it diminished user productivity because of the excessive time required to sift through it. Now, businesses are faced with more critical issues relating to spam, namely, the strain it puts on bandwidth and storage requirements for messaging.

According to the Symantec Internet Security Threat Report, spam made up 59% of all email traffic between July 1 and December 31, 2006, and the nature of spam continues to evolve, becoming harder to stop.   Challenges to messaging

A Perfect Virus for Imperfect Users
Getting back to the basics

Here's a little special something to brighten your day. That nice virus protection software you own isn't worth diddly squat – at least when it comes the new ecard attack that is currently sidestepping even the once adequate defenses of companies who are doing all the right things.

The ecard virus is just another example of why one mission of  Databranch is to provide you ongoing advice on protecting your network. The awful reality is the bad guys are always a step ahead and this little baby, which can take you out at the knees, is an example.

This latest e-mail attack is part of a recent increase in "greetings" that encourage users to click on a link in the body of the e-mail to view an apparently legitimate site but, instead, links to malicious code or malware. The latest version of this type of blended threat includes the subject line "Movie-quality ecard" and provides an e-mail address of the sender to trick the recipient into clicking on the harmful link.  The remedy? Simple.



When all is said and done,
more is said than done.

-Lou Holtz       

 

   Databranch, Inc.
132 North Union Street, Suite 108
Olean, New York 14760
(716) 373-4467		   213 Prescott Avenue, Suite B
  Elmira Heights, NY 14903
  (607) 733-8550 * (800) 488-4877
sales@databranch.com http://www.databranch.com/
 
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