St. Aubin Technologies

Are Your Passwords on the Naughty List?

By admin | January 4, 2012 - 11:49 am | Disaster Recovery, Security Comments Off

If you thought that cybercrimes weren’t a worldwide problem, we have some numbers that may quickly help you to change your mind.

Worldwide, Norton estimates that cybercrime costs the global economy $338 billion a year; ZDNet says that’s more lucrative than the underground drugs market.And when you consider that more than two-thirds of us, according to Norton, are victims of some sort of cybercrime, it should make you want to do more than just sit up and take notice.

There’s a continual cat-and-mouse game being played out every day, with criminals trying to find ways to access networks and the information on them. IT administrators are waging the battle to stop the hackers from penetrating the networks. In many cases, they succeed; you don’t see the news stories about attacks that have been prevented.

You can help protect you business with hardened firewalls, and intrusion detection devices. Windstream, for instance, offers managed network security, like managed firewalls, and managed intrusion detection and prevention from their secure Network Operations Center, staffed around the clock by certified expert security professionals.

Of course, even the best security infrastructure won’t prevent breaches if your users aren’t doing their part. It all starts with solid passwords; Time magazine recently ran a list of what it called “the most awesomely bad” passwords of all time. Number one on the list: “password.” “123456” was number two followed by “12345678.” If your password is on the list, change it. Now. Because we may not know what it is, but trust us…there’s a bad guy who does, and who’s out there just waiting to hack into your account and your network. That’s not just us saying this: researchers at Georgia Tech recently reported, “Human error, lack of user education and weak passwords are still major vulnerabilities.”

We continuously work with our clients to help improve their Internet security and lessen the chances that they’ll be the victims of cybercrimes. We do our part, and know that our customers are doing theirs. It’s that kind of constant, cooperative effort that serves, perhaps, as the best mouse repellent out there.

Tagged Network Security

Introducing the snom 7xx series of advanced SIP phones

By MBramblett | December 1, 2011 - 12:15 am | Telephony, VoIP Comments Off

snom, a leading provider of VoIP phones and PBXs, has released a new line of IP phones, adding to its existing line-up of executive SIP phones. The snom 7xx series of phones includes two new phones, the snom 720 and snom 760, both designed to offer small/medium businesses advanced, enterprise-class functionality at small-business friendly prices.

The snom 720 and snom 760 bring together the multiple programmable buttons and popular standard business functionality of the snom 3xx series with the advanced functionality, sleek styling and Gigabit Ethernet switch capabilities found in the snom 8xx series. Both will be available immediately for order to St. Aubin Technologies clients.

Both the snom 720 and snom 760 offer a Gigabit Ethernet switch, automatic provisioning, wireless LAN connectivity and snom’s superior wideband high definition voice quality. Both phones can transfer data at a speed of 1000Mbits/s without slowing down the network or a connected PC, and both models feature Bluetooth connectivity via optional USB stick, allowing users the freedom to use a compatible Bluetooth headset with their snom 7xx series phone.

The snom 760 features a high-resolution color display and two USB ports for a variety of connectivity options, as well as a newly designed handset grip that increases user friendliness by providing silent pickup and return of the handset. The snom 760 also includes a 16-key programmable busy lamp field and 4 context-sensitive keys complemented by the large, easy to read display.

snom 760

The snom 760 also offers the standard desktop feature set of any snom phone, and is ideal for business environments that require a greater level of visual functions, such as the use and delivery of XML-based data. The large display also supports caller images, uploaded by the caller or included in the user’s address book.

snom 720

The snom 720 also supports all standard VoIP calling features, including an address book with 1,000 possible entries, speed dialing, URL dialing, ringtone selection and LED call indication. In addition, the snom 720 and 760 also feature wireless LAN (WLAN) connectivity via optional USB stick.

Tagged snom, telephones, voip

Google beef’s up Mobile Device features in Google Apps

By MBramblett | November 17, 2011 - 12:22 am | Google Apps, Mobile Devices, The Google-plex Comments Off

Earlier this week, Google announced on their official enterprise blog a few new features being added to Google Apps, a “cloud” based web-service providing email, document sharing, instant messaging, and most recently, Google+.

Realizing the growing amount of employees who bring their own smart phones and mobile devices to work, Google’s enterprise team decided its time for their service to help administrators take control of their networks and the data within. The new service will provide managers with the power to enforce security policies on devices that connect with the Google Apps service managed by their employer, and also provide ways to enlist “after-the-fact of employment” policies.

Only paid Google Apps services will have access to the new tool set, of course, at no extra charge.

Phones that are supported are the iPhone/iPad (iOS), Windows Mobile devices, and Android powered devices.

In addition to existing mobile management capabilities, administrators now have the ability to see an overview of all mobile devices that are connecting and syncing with Google Apps, and revoke access for individual devices if needed.

Organizations can now define policies for mobile devices such as password requirements and roaming sync preferences on a granular basis by user groups.

Also available this week, administrators have the ability to gain insights into mobile productivity within their organizations, complete with trends and analytics.

The Blog Post can be found on Google's Official Enterprise Blog

The beginning of the end for Adobe’s Flash

By MBramblett | November 10, 2011 - 9:03 am | Apple, Mobile Devices Comments Off

Adobe will no longer develop its mobile Flash app, though it will continue to support it for Android users.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Adobe is abandoning its Flash software for mobile devices. Don’t panic: For consumers, this is a good move.

Adobe is moving away from its 15-year-old technology to instead embrace a universal standard for displaying rich media on the Web. Shifting to HTML5 — the new, broadly accepted Web standard — is a bold move for Adobe. Many smartphone and tablet owners, particularly those with iPhones and iPads, have not been able to view media coded for Flash on their mobile devices.

Flash is a type of software called “middleware,” an add-on extension to the browser that allows rich content like video and games to be viewed. HTML5, by contrast, allows developers to embed that content right into a website without the need for middleware. That means video and geolocation services can be baked in. HTML5 has the added benefit of allowing content to be viewed offline.

In April last year, Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500)’s then-CEO Steve Jobs ranted about Flash on Apple’s website, saying the software is “closed and proprietary, has major technical drawbacks, and doesn’t support touch-based devices.” He said iPhones and iPads would never support Flash because “new open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win on mobile devices (and PCs too).”

He suggested that Adobe (ADBE) focus on creating HTML5 tools instead of Flash. A year and a half later, Adobe appears to have admitted that Jobs was right.

“HTML5 is now universally supported on major mobile devices, in some cases exclusively,” wrote Danny Winokur, Adobe’s general manager of interactive development, in a blog post on Wednesday. “This makes HTML5 the best solution for creating and deploying content in the browser across mobile platforms.”

As a result, Adobe plans to stop developing its Flash app for Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) Android and Research In Motion (RIMM) BlackBerry Playbook devices — the two mobile platforms it developed for — though it will continue to support them and update them with bug fixes. As part of its move, Adobe said late Tuesday that it is laying off 750 members its staff.

Though many have portrayed Adobe’s move as a win for Steve Jobs and Apple, it’s a shift analysts say was inevitable. Flash was always destined to eventually be replaced by something better.

“Eating your own children is standard operating procedure for successful tech companies,” said Al Hilwa, analyst at IDC. “HTML5 is coming on strong as a standard. In this light, having a large cadre of staff working on putting Flash on every mobile device on the planet appears to be unnecessary and an unwise use of resources. Adobe is smart to let go.”

Websites have been gradually moving away from Flash as a rapidly growing number of users browse the Web on their smartphones and tablets. Adobe likes to point out that nearly 75% of online video is encoded in Flash. But many of those videos are also encoded in other video formats like H.264, which can be played right in an HTML5-enabled browser.

By 2013, IDC predicts that 90% of smartphones and tablets will have HTML5-capable browsers. Reading the handwriting on the wall, Adobe has been encouraging its developers to use its development tools like Adobe Air to make HTML5 websites and applications for mobile devices.

The move probably won’t hurt Adobe financially: Adobe doesn’t make money when Flash videos are viewed or when Flash games are played. Instead, the company monetizes Flash by selling its development apps, such as Air and Creative Suite. If Adobe can convince customers to use Air for HTML5 development, then it won’t lose a beat.

In fact, HTML5 is such a new standard that Adobe’s move on Wednesday gives the company an opportunity to become the industry leader in HTML5 development tools.

That’s not to say that Flash is completely dead. Adobe said that it will continue to develop Flash for the PC for “advanced gaming and premium video,” including 3D graphics.

Still, for consumers, we may finally be one step closer to viewing the same videos, games and apps on any device, on any software platform, in any browser.

Steve Jobs, 1955-2011

By MBramblett | October 6, 2011 - 12:25 am | Apple, Inspiring People Comments Off

“It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.”
- Steve Jobs, 1955 – 2011
Apple Computer CEO, IT Visionary, Creative Genius

After a long battle with cancer, Steve Jobs passed away at his Cupertino, CA home October 6, 2011. Known for pushing the boundaries of “Whats Possible?” he was sometimes viewed as a rock star of Silicon Valley.

CNN: Timeline: Steve Jobs’ Career

With the help of his friend Steve Wozniak, Jobs built the Apple 1 in his parents garage in Cupertino, CA in 1976, launching a new era of human innovation based on the Personal Computer (PC). It was priced at $666.66 and came with no keyboard, mouse, or display. Purchasers also had to put the machine together themselves.

CNN: Review Jobs’ top moments as a showman

From that primitive machine, Jobs helped build Apple Computer to one of the largest and most valuable companies in the world, briefly surpassing Exxon-Mobile as the world’s most valuable company, and generating more cash reserves than the US Treasury. His company re-engineered the way we use computers, cell phones, and even how we listen to music in ways we never imagined. Time after time, Jobs and Apple Computer sold people on a product they didn’t know they needed until after he invented it.

Fortune: 10 ways Steve Jobs changed the world

Steve Jobs will be missed in the tech world, and we hold dear the time he spent with us.

Tagged Apple Computer, Steve Jobs