Has your IT Provider locked down your company network and disappeared? Do you believe that your In-House IT Guy is talking over your head to direct your focus away from their incompetencies?
Orange County Computer receives frequent phone calls from frustrated business owners inquiring about our services and how they can phase-out their existing In-House IT Guy or Outsourced IT Vendor who is holding them hostage. Many times they are contacting us in secret so a member of our team can relinquish administrative rights to that company network and give the business owner the rightful access to their company that they deserve. The technology industry isn’t safeguarded against the unsavory professional that falls short of basic business ethics. It’s important to choose wisely who you entrust with your company data, financial information and intellectual property and client contacts
Here are a few tips when either transitioning or hiring a Technology Service Provider for the first time:
- Ask for both previous and current references – It is important to confirm how both current and past clients rate service and professionalism.
- Verify partnerships or certifications that you are hiring the vendor for. For example, if you are running or want to run in a Microsoft Server Operating System Environment, it would be wise to confirm that the company is qualified and certified to help you or obtain support services in mission critical situations.
- Confirm exactly how many employees the IT Vendor has on staff. Lack of staffing resources during mission critical times can cost clients thousands of dollars in lost revenue.
- Personally visit the location of the business you are hiring to work for you. It is important to know where your IT Vendor conducts business. This may help to confirm or rule out a possible candidate. A “one man show” working from home might not align with the needs of your organization.
The team at Orange County Computer hopes this information has been useful. If you have found this blog post and your network is currently being held hostage by your IT Vendor, we are here to help.
Contact our Tech Team at 949-699-6619 or reach us via email at support@orangecountycomputer.com
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If your Network Security is in question, this article might motivate you to take action. Orange County Computer is here to help.
Article written by USA Today’s Brian Acohido, October 13, 2010
Be nice to the tech folks who keep your company’s computers safe.
Microsoft Tuesday issued its largest ever batch of security patches — essential fixes for a record 49 security holes. What’s more, Oracle this week published its quarterly security update pushing out patches for 81 vulnerabilities in a wide array of Oracle and Sun Microsystems software. (Oracle recently acquired Sun.)
“It’s yet another record ‘Patch Tuesday’ for Microsoft, with updates spanning across products,” said James Walter, manager of the McAfee Threat Intelligence Service. “The volume is indicative of a trend where we’re seeing among various software vendors. As the awareness of vulnerabilities increases, the number of patches get bigger as well.”
But that’s not all. Apple also recently released a security patch for a file-sharing issue in OS X, which could allow a remote hacker to take control of your Mac. Adobe last week pushed out critical patches for 23 vulnerabilities in Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat for Windows, Mac and Linux.
“There’s no rest for the weary,” says Paul Henry, cybersecurity firm Lumension’s forensics and security analyst. “Patching this many total vulnerabilities is scary indeed and, if not managed correctly, they will certainly have a massive impact on corporate productivity.”
Security experts predict workday interruptions as these patches are tested and installed. “These updates will require a restart, shutting down computer systems for a period of time,” says Henry. “In some instances, this can take up to 20 minutes.”
Many of the Microsoft patches are for older versions of Office and Internet Explorer Web browser, including critical updates for Internet Explorer 6, 7 and 8, that are “relatively easy to exploit,” says Wolfgang Kandek, CTO of patch management firm Qualys.
Some 24 vulnerabilities are patched in older versions of Office, so “users should apply both updates as quickly as possible,” says Kandek. “Even the new Word 2010 is affected by two of the vulnerabilities. This shows that achieving a bug-free record is near-impossible.”
Why is Microsoft still finding and patching so many security holes?
Much of it has to do with the software giant’s continued aggressive approach to finding holes before cybercriminals do. “Microsoft is working closer than ever with security researchers,” says Jason Miller, data and security team leader at Shavlik Technologies. “By working with researchers, Microsoft is closing the gap on the time to release fixes for vulnerabilities found. This is a key factor that a lot of people have been asking for, so we shouldn’t be too surprised that we are seeing an uptick in security bulletins.”
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