How Important is an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)?

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That depends on how much you value your time, data and money.

You must realize that if someone in your company is using your company’s assets for personal use, or, if they are doing things that can cause your network to be compromised (things you would not approve of), you will find that a lot of time will be needed to resolve whatever issues arise, most likely resulting in significant downtime. Also, in most cases data is in jeopardy. Last, you will spend a lot of money resolving all of this.

Now, would you like to know more about an AUP?

You have built a company, or you oversee running a company, and realize how important IT is to it. You are very busy trying to maximize each minute of the day and you keep track of every dollar. Now you need to educate your users as to what they can do with your assets to reduce problems. An AUP tells users what they can do, what they can’t do and if they do what is prohibited, then what the repercussions will be. You want users to understand how important it is to be careful how they use the web, email and introducing media containing files to the environment. It is not easy because people tend to forget, get to busy to remember or assume a questionable email is safe. In fact, you need to constantly remind them, make sure they understand and be vigilant keeping your company’s security features up to date.

Users will say they want to take a few minutes on break to get some personal things done using the internet, like getting someone a present or finalizing vacation, or, just looking at some pictures taken at the reunion over the weekend, or, just trying to catch up on some unread emails that have piled up in the In Box. You might ask them to keep the pictures on their phones, surf the web on their own device using the company’s Guest WiFi only.

The AUP is not just to educate, or as some have said, warn your users. It is to help you protect your data, your time and your money. It explains that the systems they use are owned by the company, make it possible for them to work there and help the company be successful. Therefore, they need to apply caution and common sense. If there is a question, ask it before not after. You are trying to tell them that you need their help and that you are asking them to be responsible with the systems you provide them. The flip side of that is if there is a disregard for the company, and it is shown that they blatantly, carelessly caused a problem, then the company has the right to hold the user responsible in some way. They need to share some responsibility to work there. They are part of a team.

You are not trying to scare them with the idea that any problem is their fault. For example, one of our clients finds pictures to celebrate whatever there is a national day of. In this instance, it was national cupcake day. A user was to scan the web and find a good picture of cupcakes to add to their website. They were attacked with ransomware. It wasn’t that user’s fault as it was an innocent accident. The big positive side of this was that their backups proved to be the savior. It was a fast and up to date restore.

If you need some help creating an AUP, or, if you need an experienced partner to create one, please call ASE. Lawyers can word things in such as way that it may be difficult to understand. We can help you use language that is easy to read. Again, you don’t want to scare the user, you want them to understand that they are part of a team and if the company is successful then they will be.

Robert Lane
President/Owner
ASE, Inc.
Getting you ready for tomorrow today
(703) 273-8388 ext 111

ASE, Inc. is an IT technical support services and consulting firm in the Washington DC Metro area.  Since 2000 ASE has focused on providing full outsourced IT department services to small and medium businesses as well as providing senior level expertise designing, installing and managing complex networks as well as security consulting to very large entities in both commercial and federal markets.  Call ASE today – 703-273-8388.

Emails That Hurt

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Network security is a difficult subject to manage because it covers so many aspects of the network that a company runs on. Users need to understand that they play a very important role. Your emails are a big focus of the bad guys out there. Today, emails come from so many different sources, many of which are just being sent to cause problems for you and your network. Here is a simple step that can really help your company. Remember, if you initiate a problem you as well as your network might be down slowing, even stopping, your productivity for a period of time forcing you to miss deadlines and in most cases costing the company a lot of money.

I see emails that say, “IT Support Request” or “Need IT Support” from senders I don’t recognize. I really want to open them but because of what I see in the field I know that I need to investigate it a bit more. Without opening it, right click on the email and choose “Message Options”. In the bottom part of the window that opens you will see “Internet Headers”. To the right you can scroll down until you see the “From” line, in other words, who sent it. Notice the email address. If you don’t like it, delete the email. You can open your browser and type in the domain name to see if it is a legitimate company. (example: From: Robert@abc123.com. Type in www.abc123.com) You can call them to see if that person exists. You can even ask for that person. If you are in any way unsure who this is or why they sent it then don’t open the email, delete it and then go to the Deleted Files folder and delete it permanently.

IT support professional in many cases can determine which user initiated a network problem and how. It is not uncommon for companies to fire the user because that person broke an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). Don’t be that person!

Trust me; this little step helps a lot.

Robert Lane
President/Owner
ASE, Inc.
Getting you ready for tomorrow today
703-273-8388 ext 111

 
ASE, Inc. is an IT technical support services and consulting firm in the Washington DC Metro area.  Since 2000 ASE has focused on providing full outsourced IT department services to small and medium businesses as well as providing senior level expertise designing, installing and managing complex networks as well as security consulting to very large entities in both commercial and federal markets.  Call ASE today – 703-273-8388.

 

Backups for Small Business

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Every year ASE reviews some backup solutions to see if they would be a good fit for small businesses. This year 2 issues were kept in mind during the review: is an offsite solution inexpensive, and, how to better protect the data against malware like ransomware (Cryptolocker, etc…).

This year some more providers offer the ability to both store in the cloud, and, use a device, like a Network Attached Storage (NAS), in the small business office to also store backups. Some providers are implementing a solution that better protects the NAS against malware that encrypts data. Having a local backup makes restores much better and faster in the event of a disaster. Then, if that proves to not be an option, the cloud backup can be used.

I’m old fashion and prefer to call a company, as opposed to just reading the website, to discuss their services. Ask them about the onsite option in addition to the offsite service. If you don’t have any compliance requirements there are great inexpensive solutions out there providing online, offsite backup services. Your local solution (NAS) shouldn’t cost any extra. Get a quote for the amount of data you have.

Hope this helps.

Robert Lane
President/Owner
ASE, Inc.
Getting you ready for tomorrow today
703-273-8388 ext 111

ASE, Inc. is an IT technical support services and consulting firm in the Washington DC Metro area. Since 2000 ASE has focused on providing full outsourced IT department services to small and medium businesses as well as providing senior level expertise designing, installing and managing complex networks as well as security consulting to very large entities in both commercial and federal markets.  Call ASE today – 703-273-8388.

The Cost of the Cloud

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You have heard so much about “the cloud” and you probably don’t know exactly what that means but more importantly you have heard that it can save you time, which can equate to money, and money. Let me tell you what we see in the field.

As IT consultants to small & medium businesses we help them utilize what they have as well as discover what new technologies they can employ to save time and money. It is true that the cloud is an amazing thing. Here are some quick helpful facts:

  1. If you are thinking of starting a business you can get up and running much faster these days with a lot less capital expenditure. That is extremely helpful in this economy.
  2. The cloud can help you off load some very important services that your company must perform such as backups, email and, depending on what data you generate, database type services as well as financial.
  3. From a disaster recovery/business continuity perspective you can recover from a disaster and continue doing business quickly as your data is off site (like backups, email) and you can simply log in from a new location or system and get your data.

Now let’s talk about the cost. We have seen so many companies pull back out of the cloud mostly due to the cost. Many companies did the math up front and found that for their needs and based on what they had, the service they were looking to use in the cloud was too costly. Here is an example: a company of 10 people has 150 GBs of data that is critical (yes, there is a difference between important and critical data) and that data needs to have a SAS 70 Type II facility (for reasons that would take too long to explain in this article) – IF – they are to store off site. What’s more, they need snapshots of data at intervals of 6 months to be stored. Many cloud backup services don’t have SAS 70 Type II facilities nor do they do 6 month snapshots. They perform rolling 30 day backups meaning that on day 31 the data that was backed up over 30 days ago is gone or copied over. Just like many other companies in the U.S. right now, money is tight and watched like a hawk. Based on the above criteria the cost per GB averages a little over $3.00 so that means that the company would have to pay $450.00 per month for this cloud service. Many would just say, “no”.

Here is another downside. We have seen some small businesses completely outsource all of their software to the cloud (In this case the cloud is basically a company that has a datacenter who owns the software and lets the user “rent” the use of it). This means that the user owns nothing and has nothing on their server and personal systems. You may think it’s a great idea. You would until you encounter the time when you have to be or want to be productive and you have no internet connection. Remember, you need the connection to get to the server that has all of your software which is at the datacenter where all of your software is hosted – the cloud. To do this you have turn on your computer, log in, connect to the internet, log in to their server, open up the application and start working. (So much for quick productivity!) Since, in this instance, there is no internet connection AND since you have no applications on your personal system you cannot simply turn on your personal computer, log in, open the app and start typing.

What should you do? You want to take your time when making decisions about the cloud or any outsourced services. If you don’t have the time or the knowledge to research what you need find a consultant who can not only research the latest services out there but who also may be able to provide them to you. The reputable ones will research with you what you have, your needs, your budget and make the appropriate recommendations. For example, off site backups may be too expensive but hosted email – a perfect fit.

Hope this helps.

Robert Lane

President/Owner
ASE, Inc.
Getting you ready for tomorrow today
703-273-8388 ext 111

ASE, Inc. is an IT consulting, engineering, hosted and managed support services provider covering the Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC area.  Since 2000 ASE has focused on providing full outsourced IT department services to small and medium businesses as well as providing senior level expertise designing, installing and managing complex databases and network security consulting to very large entities in both commercial and federal markets.  Call ASE today – 703-273-8388.

Best Information Source When Buying IT Products & Services

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When the time comes to purchase IT products and services where do you get the best nonbiased info? Great question huh? Well, let me ask you this: when you decide to buy a car, and you have narrowed it down to 2 or 3, how do you make the final choice? Best answer: you go to a mechanic and ask, “Which one of these do you see the least?”

Let’s build the scenario. Your company needs to upgrade its network including the server and some end-user computers. Of course any reseller, VAR (Value Added Reseller), integrator, whatever, that is authorized in just one manufacturer is going to push that product. They will tell you why they chose to sell that brand, why it is the golden challis, and how it is the best in breed for some reason that is unclear. Is that unbiased? No! A mechanic in a gas station is a service provider. The gas station doesn’t sell cars (at least not the gas stations I know). Therefore, the mechanic is a great source since he/she just services cars – almost all cars, all day, every day. The mechanic will tell you what they see less of, what major problems they work on in reference to the choices you have, and, will offer their personal choice based on your needs.

In reference to IT, you want to find a technical services provider, one that provides the IT technical services that the product you will be buying would need. For product these services cover managing servers, switches, end user machines, firewalls, routers, et cetera. If the provider sells hardware then ask if they are authorized in more than one manufacturer for that type of product. The engineers will tell you what they work on less, what major problems they see the most of at other sites, and, based on your needs what they think would be the best choice.

By services I mean voice and data lines, (telephone & internet to your office) hosted and managed services; and any service that you buy directly from a major (Tier 1) provider. Our engineers tell our clients which services they see the least problems with when working on site, which provider gives the biggest bang for the buck and which one has the best support.

Price plays a big role, particularly in these economic times. In every industry there are always one or two brands that are substantially more expensive than the rest. This is where talking to an IT technical service provider is most valuable. They will help you decide whether the more expensive product is the best way to go or not.

Hope this helps.

Robert Lane
President/Owner
ASE, Inc.
Getting you ready for tomorrow today
703-273-8388 ext 111

ASE, Inc. is an IT technical support services and consulting firm in the Washington DC Metro area. Since 2000 ASE has focused on providing full outsourced IT department services to small and medium businesses as well as providing senior level expertise designing, installing and managing complex databases and network security consulting to very large entities in both commercial and federal markets. Call ASE today – 703-273-8388.

The ATI2DVAG Problem

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You’re working away on your computer and all of a sudden you get a blue screen telling you the problem is an ATI2DVAG infinite loop issue, could be hardware but most likely software. You freak out because you have always heard of the “blue screen of death”. NOT AS BAD AS YOU THINK. I went through this. Here is what happened and how you can fix it. One thing is for sure – you have an ATI video card and driver in your computer.

The issue could be that somehow your computer improperly loaded a driver (software) so that it has two versions of the same driver. Therefore, as the system sends a signal to display images it goes into an infinite loop from one driver to the other and back. The first time I got this was right after I bought a new HP 6830 notebook. Within 2 months I got the first blue screen. When I called HP support the tech in India told me to load the operating system disc and use the OS repair feature. Absolute mess. This futile attempt messed up my OS so badly that I had to wipe the drive and reload everything – again – from scratch. Two months later it happened again. This time I had my call elevated to a manager who told me that he was simply going to reinstall the driver. It only took about 30 minutes and everything seemed fine. Two months later it happened again. This time HP reloaded the driver AND had me set the Updates process to manual so that I could read each update before accepting. If any of the updates pertain to ATI or video then I was told to skip them. Things were fine for about 4 months. Then it happened again. By now I was not a happy camper.

Even though my company, ASE Inc., is an IT Network Support services provider (great plug, huh?) I didn’t want to bother my engineers as they need to stay billable and focus on the clients. By now I was so mad that I asked my team what they thought. Every one of them came back with, “it’s the motherboard, the chip on the motherboard.” I called HP and demanded that my motherboard be replaced. After looking at my history they agreed and dispatched a technician with a new motherboard early the next day. It took the tech about 30 minutes. The tech was great and the problem was solved.
A few things to think about. First: when I searched the web for ATI2DVAG I saw some postings describing the problem and stating that I could download a utility that would solve it. Don’t do that. The sources on the web can be worse than the problem you have. Second: in my opinion, stay away from the OS repair. As shown above, doing that caused me six more hours of problems and the real problem took only thirty minutes. Last, sometimes it can be the hardware even though you may think it has to be just software. As one person said, it could be as simple as one of the chips not acting the way it should.

Hope this helps someone.

Robert Lane
President/Owner
ASE, Inc.
Getting you ready for tomorrow today
703-273-8388 ext 111

ASE, Inc. is an IT consulting, engineering, hosted and managed support services provider covering the Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC area. Since 2000 ASE has focused on providing full outsourced IT department services to small and medium businesses as well as providing senior level expertise designing, installing and managing complex databases and network security consulting to very large entities in both commercial and federal markets. Call ASE today – 703-273-8388.

How to Buy a Computer When Buying Niche Software

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I’m sure you have heard this, “You have to buy the hardware from us because we tweek, or optimize, or customize the systems to work with our specialized software.”  Well, I’m going to tell you the truth.  That’s a bunch of bologna.

Software developers tell you this so they can sell the hardware for at or above retail pricing which is not the best pricing you can get.  The fact is, you can tell the developer or niche specific software vendor such as a medical software or a legal market software vendor, to give you the specifications for the optimal machine that the software would run on.   You then take this information, contact your product partner (or if you don’t have one try ASE, Inc. at 703-273-8388 – too tempting; I had to plug my company) give them the specs and they will order the machine you need with all of the right specs and probably for a lot cheaper than the pricing you are seeing from the software vendor.

The software vendor may say that the services will cost more because they didn’t get the machine.  Ask why.  There is no good reason for that.  They too are simply buying a machine and having it delivered to them.  They don’t stock the machines because technology changes so much that they can’t stock the latest machines, which is what you want.

Certainly don’t get a “white box”, a machine that is not a name brand and put together by this vendor.  You want products from well known manufacturers so you can get their top notch warranty and support.  Both HP and Dell offer Build to Order systems that can be built to the specs the software vendor needs.

Pros & Cons

The Pros are that you will most likely save money this way although some software vendors have caught on and are trying to be competitive with their hardware pricing because they know that end users have become savvy.  Another Pro: you can have the separately purchased system dropped shipped directly to the software vendor to install their software.

The Cons are that if you buy from two different companies some people would say there is a chance for finger pointing when a problem occurs.  This is easily overcome as good systems partners can quickly figure out if the problem is hardware or software related.  Be smart and buy the manufacturer’s Enhanced Support for the particular computer system you purchased which will give you a direct relationship with that manufacturer.  Both HP and Dell offer a 3 year, on site, Next Business Day or Same Day or 4 Hour response feature that compliments the warranty and support pack you get with the purchased system.  This is a no brainer since the first time there is a problem you get the manufacturer involved immediately at no extra cost since you paid a nominal fee up front for this support. Believe me- it is much cheaper this way.

Robert Lane

President/Owner

ASE, Inc.

Getting you ready for tomorrow today

703-273-8388 ext 111

ASE, Inc. is an IT consulting, engineering, hosted and managed support services provider in the Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC area.  Since 2000 ASE has focused on providing full outsourced IT department services to small and medium businesses as well as providing senior level expertise designing, installing and managing complex databases and network security consulting to very large entities in both commercial and federal markets.  Call ASE today – 703-273-8388.