Monday, January 25, 2010

Emerge Stronger with Microsoft Business Intelligence Webinar - Jan 26

Join rdq, Inc. for part four of the four-part Emerge Stronger series on how the total Microsoft Business Intelligence solution can enable you to maximize your technology during the economic downturn. This presentation builds on the overview in the first webcast by providing a detailed look into how you can strengthen your customer base while also finding new sources of revenue.

Click to Attend

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Internet Explorer vulnerability exploited in attacks on U.S. firms

New IE hole exploited in attacks on U.S. firms | InSecurity Complex - CNET News

A vulnerability in all popular versions of Internet Explorer running on Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7 is being exploited by a targeted attack, originating in China. The attack appears to be in response to the possibility of Google pulling out of China because of Internet censorship. This vulnerability will allow the attacker to take over the computer if the user is duped into clicking on a link in a web page, email or instant messenger chat.

Microsoft is working on a fix which they hope will be ready by next Tuesday.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

A World Class Franchisee

Franchise Research Institute ranks CMIT Solutions a World Class Franchise

YouTube - CMIT Solutions

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Email Archiving 101

In the past few years, we've seen tremendous advances that allow people to communicate more effectively -- from smartphones to collaborative workspaces to content management systems, it's easier than ever for people to record and share ideas. And yet still, if you ask someone what communication technology is absolutely essential to their business, chances are they'll say email.

Email not only serves as many companies' preferred communication tool, but also as an informal repository of institutional knowledge. And that in turn makes it vital not only to the regular flow of business, but also as a component in the legal discovery process.

Email serves as evidence in many business-related legal proceedings nowadays and can be subject to subpoena just like paper files. If your business ended up in a legal dispute, would you be able to easily access and search several years' worth of archives in order to produce evidence requested by a lawyer or judge?

That's the idea behind email archiving -- making sure that all the content contained in email communications is readily accessible and searchable. You don't need to be involved in a lawsuit to recognize what a benefit that can be. An email archive can help you track down years-old communications and documents. It can also help you start operating again, quickly, in the event of a disaster.

CMIT Solutions is holding a webinar on email archiving -- what it is, why it's important, and how it works -- Friday, January 22, at noon Central Time. Learn how your business can structure its email services so that you can locate, recover, and ensure continuous access to email from anywhere. Go to http://cmitsolutions.com/archiving to sign up.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Google Caffeine and What’s New in Page Ranking | NY Report

Google Caffeine and What’s New in Page Ranking | NY Report:

Google Caffeine and What’s New in Page Ranking

Google will be introducing its new search engine named Google Caffeine. It is going to be more like double espresso if they have things working the way it is intended. More than just an updated engine, Caffeine is really a spanking new search engine with all new formulas and calculations and factors that affect your site. In other words...

Read More here

Newest IRS Phishing Emails

  Stay Alert to the Newest Tax-Related Email Scams

Phishers and Internet scammers are always coming up with innovative new ways to separate victims from their money. One of their favorite tactics is to prey on victims' fears about taxes by posing as the IRS. It's natural to worry if you get an email from somebody purporting to be the IRS, particularly in the month of January when you're probably receiving a lot of legitimate communications from your employer and the IRS about filing. Here are a couple of tax scams that at first glance might seem official.

Don't be fooled!


The "underreported income" threat. This scam features an email accusing the recipient of having underreported their income. The sender attaches what they say is a copy of their relevant page of their tax return. The "attachment" is actually an executable file that downloads a malicious file to the user's machine.

The "Making Work Pay" scam. This phishing email uses the Making Work Pay provision of last year's stimulus package to entice people into giving up their personal information. The email asks the recipient to go to a website and fill out a form so that the IRS can deposit money into their bank account. In reality, the Making Work Pay provision does not directly provide funds to taxpayers; instead, it gives wage earners a tax credit in the form of reduced withholding. This is nothing but an attempt by identity thieves to get your personal information.

The "refund" scam. This oldie but goodie promises the recipient a quick and easy tax refund if they provide their personal information and details about their financial institution. Instead of getting a tax refund, the victim risks serious damage to their credit by identity thieves.

Note that all of these scams arrive by email. Many of them will direct the victim to a web page or form that looks official and credible. Don't fall for it! The IRS never discusses official tax matters over the Internet - they use the good old-fashioned US Postal Service if they want to reach you. If you get an email that purports to be from the IRS, do not open any attachments or click on any links. Forward it to phishing@irs.gov, then delete the email from your inbox. And if you have any doubt about an email's legitimacy, you can always send it on to us at estein@cmitsolutions.com to get our expert opinion.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

5 New Year's Resolutions

Five Easy Steps for a Safer, Happier Year in Technology
    

                                                                                                                                                                                                        
Get a good start on 2010 by embracing a few simple principles that can do wonders for your safety and productivity:
 
                   
Run your backups - Everybody says they’ll back up their machines, but how many of us actually do it? And even if your workplace is running automated backups, you should still get in the habit of backing up your own work to an external hard drive or to the corporate server. That way you won’t have to bother your IT guy if you’ve been working for several days on an important project that suddenly vanishes from your machine.

Update your virus definitions - This is another task that people promise to do periodically, rarely actually get to, and are generally safe anyway because the service runs automatically. However, if you have your antivirus software set to update and scan during the day, it can slow your machine down to the point where you’re constantly suspending or cancelling the update just so that you can get some work done. That leaves you vulnerable to new virus attacks. So to be on the safe side, make sure your antivirus software updates regularly at night or during hours when you’re usually not working.

Clean your keyboard - Have you ever dismantled your keyboard and seen what’s floating around in there? Enough said.

Empty your temporary files - Temporary files are backup versions of open files created automatically by many programs. In the event that the program unexpectedly crashes or quits before a user has a chance to save their most recent changes, the temporary file will offer the most up-to-date version of the file. They’re handy for that reason, but over time, temp files can take up a lot of space on your hard disk. Look for the Temporary Files folder on your hard drive. Verify that you don’t need any of the files, and simply move them from the recycle bin.

Change your passwords - Even the most foolproof, uncrackable passwords should be rotated out once in a while. Just make sure you remember the new ones!

Identity Theft: CMIT Solutions Offers Advice During National Awareness Campaign | Press Releases @ Your Story

Identity Theft: CMIT Solutions Offers Advice During National Awareness Campaign | Press Releases @ Your Story

AUSTIN, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Identity theft is a serious issue, no matter who the victim is, but the situation can be more complicated when somebody tries to impersonate someone’s business, says Jeff Connally, president and CEO of CMIT Solutions. That is why CMIT Solutions is offering tips and advice to small business owners for Identity Theft Prevention and Awareness Month this month."

Read More