ChannelWeb came out with a list of the 10 most dangerous legitimate websites to date. As discussed in the previous articles of this month’s newsletter, legitimate sites are now the preferred targets of today’s hackers as they are far more lucrative than the commonly acknowledged dubious sites.

So, without further adieu, here are the 10 sites to be weary of:

1.       Facebook             

With almost 500 million users, Facebook is the ultimate target for cybercriminals. Ever since the Koobface of 2008 (an anagram for Facebook and a virus that is very much alive and thriving today), Facebook has experienced an escalation of attacks. Beware of fraudulent profiles and Facebook log-in pages as they are phishing Malware attacks.

2.       Twitter

Coming in behind Facebook in social networking popularity, Twitter is another favored target for hackers. The most common of Twitter attacks is an infected URL which will download Malware onto the unsuspecting user’s computer. And just like Facebook, Twitter has also been the victim of phishing attacks, prompting users to sign in on a counterfeit log-in page or to click a malicious link in a phony profile.  

3.       Google

As the most popular site on the Internet, Google is constantly under attack. The most popular of these assaults are search engine poisoning techniques to get malicious sites to appear at the top of the search rankings as traditionally users will trust and click on those sites listed first. Gmail is also a victim of phishing scams.

4.       URL Shortening Sites

Thanks to Twitter and its 140 character limit per Tweet URL shortening sites such as TinyURL and Bit.ly have been increasing in popularity, both with legitimate users and hackers. Not only are these sites being targeted by Malware attackers, but the shortened URLs are also a new vehicle for infection as well.

5.       YouTube

For a long time now hackers have been enticing users of YouTube to download malicious content. The most popular way to do this is to hijack an email or social networking account and to then send the infected video codec to all of the victim’s contacts, creating a sense of legitimacy.

Tune in next month for Part 2 of this list!

So you need a managed service provider? Nowadays, MSPs seem to be popping up all over the place. Unfortunately, a true MSP is as evasive as the new “social media expert:” many will claim these titles but few are actually seasoned authorities in their respective fields.  That is why you should take both the time and consideration while following this 8 step guide on selecting the best fit your company. 

Step 1: Learn  

If you are considering an MSP, you must first learn what that concept/what outsourcing your IT entails, and what the latest industry trends are. This sort of research will provide you with the basic foundational knowledge you will require in order to make an informed decision later.    

Step 2: Identify

Identify the MSPs in your area, their service offerings, your specific business objectives, what business technology solutions you require to meet said objectives, and whether or not these local MSPs provide the solutions that you will require.  

Step 3: Seek

Seek out more information on the local and relevant MSPs you have detected: their clientele, their relevant experience, their references, the scalability of their solutions, their infrastructure, their technical competence, certifications they may possess, number of years in the field, their areas of expertise, et cetera.

Step 4: Evaluate

Now that you have all of this information at your disposal, you need to proceed to evaluations.  Which company or companies seem to be the best fit, seem able to provide you with exactly the solutions, pricing, scalability and client service that you require?

Step 5: References

Always check references! You want to be certain that the company and their employees are only making the best of impressions: that all client testimonials are nothing but 100 percent positive. Ask management for a list of relevant references (where the service provided best matches what you are looking for) and be sure to follow up and call.    

Step 6: Select

It is now time to make your selection.  Be sure that you pick the MSP that best provides the solutions you require and that had the best references.  Ideally you want an MSP who will become your trusted business partner, ready to embark upon a long-term, reliable, quality relationship.

Step 7: Try

Your best way to test out a new MSP is to start small, with only one or a few solutions, and then expand if all goes well. This pilot is meant to help you determine whether or not the MSP you have selected is the best fit regarding suitability, commitment, and competence.  

Step 8: Scale-up  

Once you are certain that this is the MSP for you, then scale-up and integrate all of the available solutions that you require.

Resources

This list brought to you by Innominds Software: www.innominds.com   

Want to learn more?

Contact Bryley Systems today. Call us at 888.280.5799 or email us at Sales@Bryley.com

Today businesses small and large alike rely heavily upon the Internet to conduct, well, business. It is very important for the productivity and security of your organization that you safeguard yourself while surfing the net. Malware is a real threat today, designed to steal your personal information and use your machine to spread spam and malware without your knowledge.  You might think you know how to do this, that web safety is nothing but commonsense but the truth is malware is a lot more sophisticated today and harder to detect. Here are 5 tips to help you safely surf the net for business.

(non) FACT # 1: My business is safe because we have never been infected by malware

The problem with malware is that you could be infected and be completely unaware. Today’s more sophisticated malware may now be downloaded onto your computer through the web without your consent: either by simply downloading without any required user action or by disguising itself as something else.  

(non) FACT # 2: I have complete control over business web usage

If you do not have a web filtering device for your business, then you cannot possibly have any idea what your employees are doing on the internet.  More than 40% of business internet use is unchecked and focused upon inappropriate sites, 1 to 2 hours per day per user. You might think you have blocked inappropriate sites at work, but the truth is anonymous proxies make it very easy for employees to bypass policy; in fact there are over 1.8 million ways to do this.

(non) FACT # 3: Only inexperienced users are at risk  

You might be a very experienced computer and Internet user. You are aware of what sites are harmful and should be avoided. You are aware not to download anything. You are safe. Wrong. Unfortunately more than 83% of malware hosting sites are in fact legitimate and trusted sites that have been hijacked. Not only that by “drive-by downloads” (see above article) occur simply by visiting an infected site: no user action is required.

(non)FACT # 4: Firefox is more secure than Explorer

You might have heard about the Internet Explorer vulnerability Microsoft addressed in December of 2009.  You might now believe that Explorer is not as safe as other browser options. The truth, however, is that since all browsers are an execution environment for JavaScript, the programming language of the web, all cybercriminals use them for malware execution and therefore they are all equally at risk. Malware engineers also utilize plug-ins such as Adobe Acrobat reader that run across all browsers. Regarding Firefox in particular, 2008 study findings from security research firm Secunia discovered the number of browser exploits for Firefox to be 115: Explorer came in last with only 31 and Safari with 32.   

(non)FACT # 5: A lock icon ensures site security

Many are familiar with the lock icon located in the left corner of the URL bar of the browser. This icon indicates that there is an SSL encrypted connection between the browser and the server to protect the interception of sensitive business data. It does not protect one from malware. In fact it is actually the perfect opportunity for malware to infect a computer as a data security device like SSL renders a machine completely blind to all encrypted connections.  Malware also has the ability to parade as an SSL certificate by exploiting a vulnerability in the site, making users feel secure while visiting an infected or phishing site.    

Conclusion

Now that you know all of the hidden risks lurking about on the web, how do you go about protecting yourself and your company? That is simple. Visit www.Bryley.com/Solutions to see all of our options for securing your entire business network, end-to-end, gateway to endpoints, from malware attacks.

Want to learn more?

Contact Bryley Systems today.

Call 888.280.5799 or email Sales@Bryley.com 

Last year, the proliferation of Malware attacks increased a whopping 508%. Short for malicious software, Malware includes worms, Trojans, spyware, and viruses, all designed to infiltrate one’s system and perform actions without a user’s informed consent. So why, in 2010, are these threats on the rise? The epidemiology behind this tremendous jump pinpoints two simultaneous positive correlations: the continuous sophistication of the Malware and the rise in social media sites.

Don't let Malware get you down! Read on to discover the latest changes to Malware and how to protect yourself.   

The new cybercriminal

The cybercriminal of 2010 is no longer your amateur anarchist hacker; they are now highly skilled developers and engineers hired by criminal organizations to steal data or engage in spamming operations for profit. This means that more and more businesses are being targeted for and attacked by Malware as the aim is no longer chaos but capital gain.

The new Malware

Not only are the new cybercriminals professional engineers, targeting more and more businesses for profit, but now their latest worms, viruses, and Trojans are matured - able to outsmart traditional defense tools, embedded within websites as opposed to traditional email embeddings that one could easily avoid via spam filtering, and are now designed to infiltrate without informed consent in one of three ways: “drive-by downloads,” “social engineering,” and “iframes.”

• In a drive-by download, a user simply visits an infected site and the Malware is downloaded without one’s consent or even one’s knowledge.
• With social engineering, a user is tricked into performing an action, such as downloading a file or accepting a prompt, and instead downloads the malicious software. A specific type of social engineering is “scareware,” where the prompt (typically a pop-up) is extremely alarming. A perfect example is a pop-up designed to look like an actual antivirus alert, typically reading, “A virus has been detected on your system.” The scareware then encourages you to download a cleanup utility which in actuality is the Malware, typically a Trojan horse.     
• A site may be hosting Malware as is the case with drive-by downloads or scareware, or it could link to the malicious content via an iframe (think ads or web banners begging for your click-through).         

Legitimate sites under attack

We have all been familiar with Malware for quite some time, and common knowledge holds that if we steer clear of suspect sites (illegal downloading sites or adult content sites) we will keep ourselves safe from attack.  Although this was a very safe assumption in years past, the same does not hold true today as more and more legitimate websites now host or link to Malware, especially the new and popular social networking sites that make it all the easier for cybercriminals to spread Malware through their data sharing channels. The result: network gateways can no longer rely upon blacklists of dangerous sites nor can a user rely on their better judgement to avoid attacks.  

What makes the situation even worse is the fact that most site owners are completely unaware that their site is infected as it is happening in ways imperceptible. Exploitation of 0-day vulnerabilities in the software running the site or vulnerabilities in the application-specific code, uploadings on Web 2.0 user-driven sites, internal attacks from disgruntled employees, or third-party web content such as unvetted banners and ads using Flash applications: all of these furtive methods of attack may go unnoticed for quite some time.       

What can you do?

Here are the cold hard facts:

• Malware has grown significantly in sophistication  
• Traditional prevention tools are no longer enough
• Legitimate sites are now being targeted
• Site owners are often unaware of infection, leaving you to fend for yourself

In the face of all these changes to Malware, you must safeguard your entire system, end-to-end, gateway to endpoints. Fortunately, this can be done and done effectively. As traditional methods are no longer enough, it is best to consult a seasoned managed service provider on all the potential defense mechanisms currently on the market.  

Conclusion

Malware is very harmful and nothing to be considered lightly. One must take every precaution available to protect one’s system. We at Bryley have been in the computer network business for 23 years, and are fully prepared as a managed service provider to secure your network, end-to-end, against all potential attacks. We have several solutions to choose from:

• Bryley's Secure Network (SN) solution provides managed protection against all external threats and includes such features as intrusion prevention, malware blocking, web-content filtering, and spam filtering
• Bryley's Kaseya Endpoint Security (KES) is an antivirus/antispyware solution centrally managed and maintained by Bryley
• Bryley's Comprehensive Support Program (CSP), by far our most popular and most all inclusive managed solution, provides you with proactive, end-to-end network security and maintenance
• Bryley's Multi-Point Security Hardening solution provides you with workstation, server, and network verification as well as the implementation of improved security settings
• Bryley's unmanaged projects, including the deployment of firewalls, antivirus tools, and antispyware tools

Contact us today with any questions or concerns you may have regarding Malware or for a free network security consultation. 

Want to learn more?

Contact Bryley Systems today. Call 888.280.5799 or email Sales@Bryley.com

Learn more about the managed services we offer on our website. Visit http://www.bryley.com/solutions.html

How to Defend Your Organization against Botnet Attacks

The botnet: perhaps the most epidemiological of threats facing organizations today. A botnet takes over the resources of millions of computers, launches targeted attacks, steals information, and all around wreaks havoc on individual desktops as well as on entire networks.    

What is a botnet?

A botnet is a collection of software agents or robots that run autonomously and automatically. When discussing a botnet of the malicious variety, it is typically a collection of compromised computers called zombie computers running malicious software.  Your computer could either become another bot in the botnet -a zombie computer- or it could simply be attacked by the botnet.   

A computer becomes part of a botnet when the user installs the software created by the bot herder (the bot creator) which turns your computer into a bot or zombie. If your computer becomes part of the botnet, it is typically first instructed by the bot herder to search for and recruit other vulnerable hosts which spells disaster for your company’s network.

What are the biggest botnet threats?

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks

A botnet may launch what is called a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack which is a grand-scale, coordinated attack with the aim of bringing down a high-profile site or service (think Google or a bank site) by flooding the connection bandwidth or resources of the targeted system.  

A very famous and recent example of a DDoS attack is Operation Aurora. This DDoS attack targeted Google and at least 20 other companies through a vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer and was detected by McAfee on January 14, 2010. Microsoft has since issued a security bulletin and patch.

Spyware and Malware

Bots monitor and report one’s Internet activity for profit, without the knowledge or consent of the user. They may also install additional software to gather keystroke data and harvest system vulnerability information for sale to third parties.

Identity Theft

Botnets are often deployed to steal personal information such as financial data or passwords.

Adware

Bots can automatically download, install, and display popup ads based on previous surfing habits, or they can force the user's browser to periodically visit particular sites.

E-Mail Spam

Most spam is sent by bots; roughly 80 percent of all spam comes from zombies.

Phishing

Botnets hijack vulnerable servers to host phishing sites, sites that impersonate legitimate sites such as PayPal or a banking site in a ploy to steal passwords and personal information

How do I protect myself?

Traditional packet filtering, port-based and signature-based techniques will not actually alleviate your organization from botnet attacks, as botnets all too quickly can change the exploit code and control channel, port-hop, or shift over to a new zombie host.

There are many tools on the market today for botnet detection. Many of these tools analyze traffic flow data reported by routers such as the NetFlow by Cisco. Others use behavioral techniques or anomaly monitoring techniques where they build a baseline of a network under "normal" conditions and use it to flag abnormal traffic patterns that might indicate a botnet. DNS log analysis is another technique used to detect botnets, as botnets often rely on free DNS hosting services and botnet code often contains hard-coded references to a DNS server. These DNS log analysis tools can spot this code and alert you and the DNS server administrator to the presence of a botnet. One final tool to use in the fight against botnet attacks is the honeypot, a trap that imitates a legitimate network or service so as to lure in and detect malicious attacks and intrusions.     

Conclusion

Your organization needs to protect its network from these targeted botnet attacks; that means everything from server to endpoint.  Botnets try to locate vulnerable servers to turn them into malware servers and vulnerable desktops to turn them into zombie computers. What you really want to do is take preventative measures to avoid infection.   Firewalls, intrusion prevention systems (IPSes), intrusion detection systems (IDSes), and threat detection technologies are all recommended. Another preventative measure is to ensure that no unauthorized changes can be made to applications on desktops or servers in your network.  Also, be on the watch for any suspicious device behavior. Track network user behavior as well.   If your network does indeed become infected, you must isolate and clean infected machines so as to avoid the spread of the botnet.

Another thing to truly lock down is all of your personal information. Bot herders are looking to steal data that will aid them in identity theft. If you need any help with protecting your electronic files, give Bryley a call today. Our Three-Part Program guarantees the complete safety of your online data. Remember that to truly protect your organization from botnet attacks you must develop and deploy a solution consisting of a suite of appropriate products and services geared towards protecting both the servers and endpoints of your business network.  No single solution will secure your organization from the threat of botnet attacks as botnets use multiple attack vectors.    

Want to Learn More?

Contact Bryley today for a complete understanding of the products and services we offer that will help your organization treat and prevent botnet attacks.

Call us at 888.280.5799

Email us at Sales@Bryley.com  

 References

1.      Cisco – www.cisco.com

2.      Symantec – www.symantec.com

Virtualization, concisely phrased, is the ability to create and run multiple, separate “virtual machines” or VMs on a single physical machine simultaneously. These VMs share the resources of that one physical machine across multiple environments. Virtualization technology can be deployed to servers, network storage, and desktop computers and is available either as on-premise software or as a hosted managed service.

Virtualization technology first emerged in the 1960s in the labs of IBM and has only recently returned to popularity as it undeniably reduces computing costs, assists in server consolidation, upgrades data storage and recovery abilities, and maximizes business continuity and existing systems infrastructure.

Below are 4 facts on virtualization geared towards shedding some light on one of the latest technological questions cropping up in business today: is virtualization the right move?           

1.    Virtualization Maximizes the Utilization of a System   

Virtualization improves the utilization of your entire computer network infrastructure through the simultaneous running of multiple VMs. As these VMs share the resources of a single physical machine, the result is the ability to run multiple applications, operating systems, and services from a single source. Forget the old notion of “one server, one application:” consolidate technology through virtualization and fully utilize existing infrastructure.        

2.    It’s Green

Virtualization can make your organization environmentally friendly through the consolidation of applications and services onto one or a few modern, energy-efficient servers running at higher utilization rates not only shrinking your energy expenditure, but also minimizing the size of your organization.

3.    Virtualization Reduces Operating Costs

Virtualization requires fewer physical computers and storage servers; that means extreme cuts in operating expenses as there are fewer items to purchase, maintain, and manage combined with reduced energy and space requirements. Here’s something to chew over; according to IDC, virtualization can lower your yearly per-user server expenses by 35 to 52 percent.

4.    Increased Scalability, Availability and Business Continuity  

Virtualization allows an organization to quickly and easily scale applications and services to meet the changing demands of employees and clients as one can quickly and easily produce, develop, test and deploy VMs and services.

Virtualization also maximizes business information availability as the data is easily accessible to all within the virtualized, shared space. Business continuity as a result of increased availability is also maximized and further guaranteed through the improvements made in virtualized backup/disaster recovery plans.

Conclusion

If the aforementioned tantalized, then perhaps virtualization migration is worth the consideration.

Want to Learn More?

To learn more about the virtualization solutions offered by Bryley Systems contact us today.  

Call 888.280.5799

Email Sales@Bryley.com

Visit www.bryley.com/managed_services  for a complete list of our virtualization solutions

References

1.       Focus Research; “Virtualization Market Guide;” www.focus.com

2.       VMware; www.vmware.com/virtualization

3.       Microsoft; www.microsoft.com/virtualization

The year 2010 marks the end of certain lifecycles for several Microsoft servers and operating systems. We wanted to draw our clients’ attention to these specific dates and products so as to generate awareness on the proper upgrades needed in order to maintain Microsoft support and updates.

Operating Systems

Regarding operating systems (OS), Windows Vista Release to Manufacturing (RTM) no longer receives mainstream support as of April 13, 2010.  Anyone still running this OS should migrate to Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) or consider upgrading to Windows 7.  The other important and pending date is July 13, 2010.  On that day, businesses running Windows XP SP2 or Windows 2000 Professional SP4 will lose their Microsoft extended support and should migrate to Windows XP SP3 or upgrade to Windows 7. Microsoft’s suggestion is to take this deadline as an opportunity to upgrade to the new Windows 7 as the cost in time and resources will be practically indistinguishable between an upgrade to the latest Windows OS and a new service pack. Please note that anyone still running Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) must now upgrade to Windows 7 RTM as the license expired on June 1st. 

A final note on Windows XP SP2: if you are running the 64-bit version then SP2 is the latest service pack and you will be eligible for Microsoft support and updates until April 8, 2014.  Only those running the 32-bit version of XP require an upgrade. Find out which version you are running by right-clicking My Computer and then click Properties. If you do not see a “64-bit” listed then you are running the 32-bit version.     

Servers

July 13^th also marks the end of extended support for Windows 2000 Server SP4.  Microsoft’s suggestion is a migration to the Windows Server 2008.

The decision to purchase a new business server is not a light one; much time and consideration should pass before a decision is made. We at Bryley do not suggest a rash upgrade, but if you have already been giving the matter careful thought, keep in mind that Microsoft is currently running The Big Easy 4.1 through July 2, 2010, and that the Windows Server 2008 as well as many other servers are on the list of qualifying products. Compared to previous versions, the latest Big Easy offer has increased payout rates for Windows Servers in the form of partner subsidies.  All the more incentive to upgrade now, but again only if you have already sunk enough thought into the matter.

Conclusion

It is not advisable to continue to run a desktop operating system or server that is no longer supported.  You can no longer receive service from Microsoft if you have any troubles and you will no longer receive any updates.  It is best to begin your decision making processes with regards to the appropriate upgrades.

To quote directly from the Microsoft Partner Network, “After this date [July 13, 2010], customers still relying on these products won’t be able to benefit from security hotfixes, patches and service packs, presenting serious concerns around data security, reliability for mission-critical workloads and regulatory compliance.”

Want to learn more?

Contact Bryley today. We are a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and can field all of your questions.  

Call 888.280.5799

Email Sales@Bryley.com

To learn more about the end of Microsoft support, please visit the following sites:

https://partner.microsoft.com/US/40131469

https://partner.microsoft.com/US/40129890

To learn more about Microsoft’s Big Easy 4.1, please visit the following site:

www.microsoftincentives.com/bigeasy  

Hey everyone! Just a quick blog to let you all know that Bryley Systems is now on AmericanTowns.com. 

One more way to stay connected with us.

Microsoft Office 2010: The Future of Business Today

As of today, you can now download a free trial of Microsoft Office 2010 at Microsoft’s TechNet (www.technet.com), purchase yours to own from a reseller, or wait until June when the boxed version will be available in stores.

Microsoft Business Division President Steve Elop presided over the launch on May 12^th, beginning his introduction to the new suites with an exploration of the present business climate that inspired many of the alterations and new features found in Office 2010: the recession, the challenge of incorporating the new millennial generation into the workforce, the new and ever growing population of mobile workers, the increasing emphasis on social networking as a valid business tool, and the growing dominance and importance of cloud computing. Microsoft’s specific initiative while developing Office 2010 was to create a platform on which businesses could transform these current challenges into new opportunities.  One new feature, the heavily hyped Web Applications, were designed to assist the growing mobile workforce (projected to surpass the 1 billion mark this year), keeping them connected to the office from more places and through more devices via a web browser.

But Web Applications are only the tip of the iceberg; the new Office 2010 has amassed a multitude of new features making it “the best and most powerful application suite on the planet” (Edward Mendelson, PCMag.com).       

The Ribbon

First introduced in Office 2007, the Ribbon revolutionized suite interface. With all toolbar tabs located on a single menu and iconic commands, the Ribbon is far more organized and visual, making it far easier to maneuver than the traditional clustering of menu options. In Office 2010 the Ribbon is now the interface of every tool including Outlook and the experience has become far more personal with customizable tabs.

The Backstage View  

The Backstage view is a new feature replacing the traditional File menu across core Office tools. Backstage gives you a great behind the scenes view of your document, as well as easy access to the commands you use most often, allowing you to share, print, and publish your documents with a few clicks.    

Web Applications

The new Web Applications in Office 2010 allow you to access any of your files – Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote – via a web browser (Internet Explorer, Safari, or Firefox), allowing you to access, share, and even edit your documents from virtually anywhere and from several devices such as smartphones, notebooks, and PCs. The new Web Applications also allow for co-authoring, the capability of multiple individuals to simultaneously work on the same document from different locations. Keep in mind that you will need the new SharePoint 2010 Server or Windows Live to use Web Applications and that they only come in the Office 2010 Suites Professional Plus and Standard.   

Outlook

Email correspondence just got easier with Outlook 2010. An advanced conversation view lists all message threads in a tree-style format so one may quickly hone in on the threads of importance, a new cleanup button deletes all redundant back and forth emails leaving the basic message intact, and a new ignore button quickly removes one from undesired email lists. The new feature Quick Steps further simplifies the email experience with its ability to perform multiple, customizable operations. With Quick Steps, one can now respond to an email while simultaneously deleting or moving the message to a storage file with a single click.

One can now search through their LinkedIn contacts via Outlook: a feature that will soon expand to incorporate other relevant social media sites. On top of this new LinkedIn capability, Outlook now also boasts its own social network called My Site.  With a Yearbook View that displays contacts by picture ID, My Site visually categorizes and hierarchically displays all employees and employee relationships. If you have SharePoint 2010, it will, with your permission, comb through all of your emails and documents, find your interests and expertise and automatically send you an email a week suggesting people for you to connect with and areas of expertise for you to add to your my Site profile.

There have also been great leaps and bounds made regarding “Search” for Outlook via the new SharePoint 2010 Server. Now when you search by keyword, experts in that subject will automatically appear to the right hand side of the browser, and all content will automatically be filtered on the left hand side by author and document type; you may also pull up a preview or the actual document itself in the web browser. You can also tag which documents you find relevant or interesting and that will automatically be updated on your My Site for all to see. 

Word

Word 2010 boasts new powerful safety features.  One example, when you now download a document from the web a colored banner will appear at the top and inform you of the potential hazards of opening a document from the web and you must click your permission to open the document. The Find feature in word now has the dialogue appear in a separate navigation pane showing you all the instances of the searched for string (the original Find feature you are used to is still there, just simply called Advanced Find). There is also a new high detail document navigation map allowing you to move content around by dragging items around on the map and providing you with a thumbnail preview. Word now also boasts new and improved picture formatting tools such as color saturation and artistic effects and SmartArt graphic layouts    

Excel

The real new advancement in Excel 2010 is the new feature Sparklines which really helps you to visualize your data. All you do is select the data you want by highlighting the appropriate cells and you will create a line graph representation of that data in a single cell. Power Pivot is the other feature to get excited about in Excel 2010. It allows you to work quickly with vast amounts of data thanks to Office 2010 now working with 64 bits as opposed to the 2007 version that only had 32 bits at its disposal. The example given at the Launch seminar on May 12, 2010 was for 1.5 million rows of data that was sorted and filtered in a half second. Power Pivot also allows you to build dashboards and to the right hand side of your dashboard, you have a new feature Slicer appropriately named as you can slice out a section of data that you want to focus on.

PowerPoint

Like Word, PowerPoint 2010 boasts the new and improved image formatting tools such as new artistic tools like “Bevel” and “3-D Rotation” and a new equation editor that gives you elegant mathematical typography. On top of that, there are now also improved video formatting tools: you are now able to edit your videos - compress them, trim them in length to your specifications, bookmark specific parts, resize and move them about the slide even as they play, and you can even format them for a greater aesthetic with such features as Reflection and Rotation – without a third party tool.  When you add a video in PowerPoint, it is automatically embedded within your presentation. You can now broadcast your presentations live, in real time, to a remote audience over the web with the new feature Broadcast Slideshow.    

Publisher

Publisher sports the new Ribbon interface and the new Backstage view that all the rest of the Office tools partake in as well as all the new advances in graphic design and editing and OpenType, an extension of the TrueType font format, gives you advanced typographic control.  OpenType is also found in the new Word 2010. Other new advanced graphic design features included in Publisher 2010 include a new background removal tool that allows you to save the foreground object while removing everything else with your ability to control what gets saved and what gets discarded.      

OneNote

According to Elop, the average American worker spends 40% of their workday simply accumulating and wading through their data without adding any value to it.  This is truly a waste of time and money. OneNote 2010 now makes accessing, organizing, and sharing data faster, easier, and more efficient than ever whether it be text, audio, video, or image; the notebook now allows you to take notes while you work in other Office tools as well and you can keep the notebook open on your desktop always for easy access with the new doc to desktop feature. If you utilize SharePoint 2010, any update made by anyone will be automatically updated for everyone. New features include Linked Notes - resembling wiki-linking, this feature links all relevant notebook pages together -, automatic highlighting that highlights all changes made by others since the last time you opened OneNote, and version tracking which records all alterations made to the notebook chronologically and by author so that if you dislike the latest updates to the notebook, you can go back to an earlier version. OneNote now also has a more advanced search that will, based on your previous preferences to documents, rank the findings in order of personal interest. You can also hover over a word with your mouse and it will automatically translate it for you. The new quick filing feature allows you to quickly file your notes to the appropriate notebook.

Office 2010 and SharePoint: Co-Authoring, Web Applications, and SharePoint Workspace (Groove 2007)

If you invest in the SharePoint 2010 Server, you are privy to several extra goodies such as the ability to share your documents via Backstage view to the SharePoint and the co-authoring abilities of the Office tools: where several individuals can work on the same Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. You can also use SharePoint to access your Microsoft Web Applications. Note: if you do not wish to invest in SharePoint, you may also access Microsoft Web Apps via Windows Live, allowing you to access, store, and share your documents from virtually anywhere through the web.  You can also use your SharePoint Workspace (formerly known as Groove) to work on files from your SharePoint server on your PC and you can even take those files and save them to your desktop so that you may work offline, simply by clicking on “Sync to SharePoint Workspace” and you can take your work with you and then add it back to the SharePoint server when you are back online.   

Office 2010 and Exchange Server 2010: Advanced Messaging Infrastructure

If you have Exchange Server 2010, you are also privy many wonderful new features including Mail Tips that “warn[s] users before they commit an email faux pas such as sending mail to large distribution groups, to recipients who are out of the office or to recipients outside the organization, helping protect against information leaks and reduce unnecessary email messages” and Voice Mail Preview which allows one to “see text previews of voicemail directly in Outlook” (Microsoft).  

Conclusion

The new Office 2010 will definitely usher you into the new millennial business style of instant information access and ease of business mobility via cloud computing. In this current economic recession, business owners and decision makers need proof of a return on investment before they purchase anything. Elop promises that with Office 2010 businesses will see significant gains in productivity, reduced costs, and a demonstrable ROI. According to Elop, a representative company that deploys Office 2010 will see an improvement in productivity accumulating to more than two work weeks per person per year, will save roughly 13.8 million dollars over a 3 year period, and will receive a 300% ROI over the same 3 year period, translating into a turnaround after 7.5 months. Office 2010, especially when paired with SharePoint Server 2010 or Exchange Server 2010, truly delivers the future of business functionality today.           

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References

1.      Microsoft; www.microsoft.com

2.      “Microsoft Office 2010” by Edward Mendelson for PCMag.com http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2362923,00.asp  

3.      “Top Ten Benefits of Office 2010 Beta” http://www.microsoft.com/office/2010/en/whats-new/default.aspx

Full compliance with 201 CMR 17.00 is difficult, not to mention costly especially for a SMB in this economy.  Fortunately, LeapFile has a solution.

What is LeapFile?

Founded in 2004, LeapFile is the industry leader in secure managed file transfer solutions for businesses.  It is an on-demand scalable SaaS, meaning no costly investments in hardware. Not only is LeapFile cost-effective but it is also a lot faster to implement with no IT infrastructure requirements, extremely easy to use (it works just like an email service or you can hook it up to your Microsoft Outlook), extremely reliable and extremely secure. 

How it Works

 Original methods of electronic file transfer include email attachments, file transfer protocol (FTP) sites, and courier delivery. However, in 2010, when speed, efficiency, and security are of the upmost importance (and with the rise in security breaches in particular and the resultant laws and statutes that have recently gone into effect to secure against such problems) traditional transfer methods are now decidedly antiquated.  Email is never a fully secure option and large files cannot be accommodated.  Couriers are slower and costly. FTP sites are far too complicated and not worth the bother.  So here comes LeapFile. 

If you know how to use email, you already know how to use LeapFile.  The process is that simple. You also have the option of tethering your LeapFile account to Outlook.  Step 1: after you log into LeapFile, click on New Transfer and enter in the recipient’s email address, the subject line, and a brief message.  Step 2: upload the files you want to send and then send the message with the attached files.  And your work is done.  An email from LeapFile will be sent to the recipient, informing them that there are files to pick up. They are provided with a unique link in the email which will take them to an encrypted web-page to view and download the files. Note: they will be prompted to enter a password for authentication. After the files are downloaded, they will be deleted from the LeapFile server and you will receive an email notification that the transfer has been completed. All LeapFile activity is logged within your user account for tracking and reporting purposes so you know exactly when a file was downloaded and who downloaded it.   It is that easy and that secure.              

201 Compliance

LeapFile will assist you in the technical aspects of compliance as all data is SSL encrypted and sent to an SAS70 Type II Certified Data Center.  And with its best-in-class SLA with a reported 100% network uptime and 99.9% application uptime, it can be completely relied upon to protect your organization’s personal information.

Conclusion

If your organization lacks the funding to sink larger investments into 201 compliance LeapFile is a wonderful alternative to the more expensive solution of implementing additional IT infrastructure.

References

www.leapfile.com

Staffing Firm Chooses LeapFile for Massachusetts 201 CMR 17.00 Data Compliance; Aaron Henretty www.leapfile.com/blog    

Want to Learn More? Want to Purchase LeapFile?  

Contact Bryley today!

Call 888.280.5799

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Visit www.Bryley.com/managed_services-leapfile.html