September 2009

 

Greetings from “Your IT Department”!

 

With today’s technology, it is easy for a business to setup their own wireless network for uses such as a visiting client, internal laptop use in a conference room, etc. The latest and current authentication method is Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA). WPA is so secure that it is the accepted standard for achieving HIPAA compliance.

Windows 7 is here. Should you consider upgrading your desktop operating system to the latest and greatest? Nick Troyer, one of OurTech’s Systems Engineers, has been using Windows 7 and highlights some of the pluses and minuses in his featured article below. You might want to read the full review to see if your interest could be better served by the Windows 7 desktop operating system.

Heavily invested in the current Vista operating system, why not make the most of your current investment by using some of the cool tools Vista’s makes available to you like the Snipping Tools, the Backup Application and System Health reporting capabilities. Our Tips and Tricks section will gives you some great ideas for using the many features available in Vista.
 

  

 

 

Tips and Tricks
Get More Out of Vista
 Cindy Troyer, Vice President, OurTech Solutions™

 

Vista Backup
The Business, Home Premium and Ultimate editions of Vista include one of the most critical programs you can find on any computer, an easy-to-use backup for your data. From the Start menu, go to Accessories, then System Tools, then Backup Status and Configuration. The application is very straightforward, with options to back up or restore your PC or even individual files. You can also set up an automated backup system to backup daily, weekly or monthly, or you can choose to back up immediately. You can save to an external hard drive, a NAS or to another network device. The process is so simple that setting it up should be one of the very first things you do—if a disaster happens, you'll be glad you did.

Snipping Tool
Your keyboard's Prt Scrn key has now become obsolete. Vista's Snipping Tool (found in the Accessories folder on the Start menu) allows you to capture a selection of the screen. Just start up the tool, click and drag the mouse until you've outlined the area you want to use, then release the mouse button. Once you've gotten your snip, you can draw on it with a pen tool, copy and paste it into another document, and save it as a graphics file.

System Health Report
Do you want to make sure that your computer is operating efficiently? Use the Reliability and Performance Monitor, which you'll find in the Control Panel. Once in the Control Panel, go to System and Maintenance > Performance Information and Tools > Advanced Tools > Generate a system health report. Windows will check disk drives, drivers, software and hardware configuration, and many other things to give you a complete view of the condition of your workstation. If the Reliability and Performance Monitor finds a problem, a detailed explanation will help you to find out how to resolve it. This method works great for very small office users or home workstations, but it can be time consuming to run on even a small 10-user network. OurTech automatically generates an entire network health report as part of our monthly maintenance service and provides management with a monthly summary report. Does your IT department provide you with a concise monthly network health summary report? If not, consider switching your IT service support to OurTech Solutions, Inc. and let us become “Your IT Department”. Call us at 402.778.7999.
 


 What's New in Windows 7?

Are You Ready to Migrate?
 Nick Troyer, Systems Engineer, OurTech Solutions™

 

Microsoft has a reputation of releasing unreliable operating systems and people are constantly wondering if the next operating system will be worth purchasing. Microsoft did not want to make the same mistake it made with Windows ME or Windows Vista by releasing another unreliable operating system and personally I think they released a really good product. At first glance you might think you’re working on a Vista machine, but there are a few differences that set these two operating systems apart:


One difference is the “Show Desktop” feature. In Windows XP and Windows Vista this was an icon placed in the Quick Launch toolbar; if you didn’t have this feature enabled you might not have even been aware of its existence. Windows 7 has moved the feature to the far right-hand side of the taskbar so that it is always accessible. I personally find this feature extremely handy and recommend it for everyone. (To enable this on XP and Vista, right click on the Task Bar, scroll over “Toolbars” and select “Quick Launch”.)

Another difference with Windows 7 is its ability to make User Account Control less intrusive. This is the feature in Windows Vista that makes you click “Continue” several times to complete normally simple tasks. In Windows 7 they have included a slider bar that lets you select what level of security alerts you want to be alerted on. (To turn this feature off in Windows Vista, go to Control Panel >> User Accounts>>Turn User Account Control on or off, uncheck the box and reboot.)

I have been running Windows Vista for over two years and I personally think it’s a great operating system but Microsoft’s Windows 7 is a much better product in my opinion. Two months ago I upgraded to Windows 7 for personal use and have found the experience to be quite enjoyable; it looks fantastic and all of my applications run flawlessly. It has also been very stable as I haven’t had an application freeze, nor had the nasty “Blue Screen of Death” which is very common problem with new operating systems.

 

Wireless Security
Will a Wireless Access Point Create Risks for My Company?
 Nick Donner, Senior Engineer, OurTech Solutions™


In the Spring of 1997 the first hotel adopted the first public wireless access point. This access point was not secured at all and anyone could get online and access anything on the network. Later that same year, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) finalized their first standard for Wireless and it took off across the world. Today there is hardly one city block in a populated area that does not have some sort wireless network available.


Wireless access points, by default, broadcast themselves so that devices know that they are there. Once they are discovered, a device can connect to them and go through the authentication process. Once authenticated, the security policies for the wireless network are applied. The methods and security measures for these steps is what has been improving over the years as wireless becomes more and more popular. Before the technology could be created to stop the wireless hackers, the vulnerabilities had to be assessed and stopped.

 

There are numerous security measures which include not broadcasting the Wireless Network, allowing only certain devices to connect based on hardware, and security keys. The main one is the authentication with the wireless. The first method for this was Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP). This authenticated based on an 8-63 character authentication key. If the user did not have this key, then they could not connect. The issue here is that this key soon became easy to get. Even changing it on a regular basis no longer worked.

 

The latest and current authentication method is Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA). This method is essentially a stronger version of WEP with key tamper protection and integrity. The key used is also different for each device as opposed to them all sharing it. WPA is so secure that it is the accepted standard for HIPAA.

 

With today’s technology, it is easy for a business to set up their own wireless network for uses such as a visiting client, internal laptop use in a conference room, etc. Today using a public wireless access point is as safe as ever, as long as all the current security technology is put into use. By default, OurTech Solutions enables any and all security necessary to ensure privacy and reliability.
 

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