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written, edited & produced by Brian Place, Katerie Prior
& Kelvin Scot
Issue #10: April, 2004
Contents:
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How to Buy a Computer
• First in a new series: selecting the right PC for your office
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Preventing Spam
• First in another new series
• Protect yourself from unwanted spam!
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Fun & Cool!
• Water flows uphill?
• Penguin baseball
• Mars rover home
• ZipDecode
• Apple iTunes for Windows
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Coming Attractions
• Microsoft struggles with virus protection
• Going for Open Source
• Apple ready for business?
Welcome Welcome back to
the BDP Networks newsletter! This issue has been many months in the making—and
I’d especially like to thank Katerie Prior & Kelvin Scot for their
time & effort in helping to really make this newsletter stand out.
Although it has been a while since we last published an issue of this
newsletter, the idea behind it remains the same: to provide easy-to-understand,
condensed information on current trends in technology. With each issue,
we want to show you how technology can make a positive difference in your
workplace while raising awareness about the services BDP Networks provides.
We’ve had numerous questions from our customers lately about e-mail
spam & security, so we’ll do our best to start answering them
as comprehensively as possible over the next few months. This month, we
present the first parts of two new series: the first in the How To Buy series
discusses purchasing desktop computers for your business. The first part
of the Spam series looks at ways you can minimize spam before it even gets
to your account. In addition to news and links, this issue also presents
information on the latest Internet scam – phishing.
In other company news, Le Huffaker & I have been very busy over the
past year with our Maintenance & Support plans. These plans set us up
as the network administrator for small companies—and we’re finding
that our customers really enjoy the peace of mind that comes with them.
If you’re interested in this or know of other companies who could
use this service, please drop me a line.
Additionally, we're working on a number of projects designed to enhance
our overall level of service. One new project that has just been implemented
is an automated incident tracking system that will increase our efficiency
at handling individual problems & questions. If you'd like to test it,
simply send a message to support@bdpnetworks.com. More projects are in the
works--and I'll write about them here as they near completion.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions or comments.
Thanks again for reading!
-Brian
How to Buy a Computer
We are often asked some of the same questions by many of our customers.
Of these, the most important that we answer is, "What kind of computer
should I buy?" There are thousands of different computer systems available
for purchase, so this seemingly simple question can have a myriad of right
answers. Unfortunately, much of the information about buying the right computer
is murky, driven by relentless marketing techniques and distorted by companies
more interested in making a quick buck than in producing a quality machine
that'll lead to a long-term relationship with their customer.
But luckily, through observing industry trends and tracking our customers
buying patterns, we've been able to come up with some basic guidelines that
we use to steer our customers in the right direction. Because we don't resell
hardware or software, you can feel confident in the knowledge that we really
believe that these recommendations (and the specific systems we'll discuss)
are the ones that you’ll have the most success with over the long
haul.
DETERMINING WHAT TYPE OF COMPUTER YOU NEED
Not all computers are created equal. So you should ask yourself these questions
before picking a system:
Does it need to be mobile?
Laptops are more expensive and more apt to be broken or stolen, but they
will let you work from anywhere. This is a very important question. Review
your needs carefully before proceeding with the other questions.
How much use will it get?
A light-duty computer would run web, e-mail, and word processing software
for a few hours per day. A heavy-duty computer could crunch spreadsheets
and perform database queries for ten hours per day without ever skipping
a beat.
Will it be located in a hot or dusty environment?
Ruggedized computers are available for these environments. They may cost
considerably more but they'll last considerably longer.
Does it need to have wireless capability?
Desktop computers should be hard-wired into a network if they're not going
to move around. But laptop computers should almost always be purchased
with a wireless option nowadays, almost without exception.
Does it need specific software loaded on it?
The manufacturer will often offer significant discounts for specific software
packages preloaded onto a new system, such as Microsoft Windows XP Professional
or Microsoft Office System 2003.
BUYING A DESKTOP COMPUTER FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Despite the rising popularity of laptop computers, desktop computers are
still more popular with business due to their versatility, reliability,
and inexpensive acquisition cost. But we find that many people don't understand
the difference between different grades of desktop computers. This often
leads to people inadvertently purchasing substandard systems that underperform
because the machines don't mesh with the day-to-day business demands placed
on them.
Business-grade desktops
If we remove clones and Apple Macintoshes from the equation (for various
reasons), we see a large number of seemingly similar PCs available from
major manufacturers. Most people don't realize that most manufacturers make
several different grades of computers for different markets. This is where
most of the confusion lies.
The little-known secret is that most computers available for purchase
from consumer outlets are not designed for heavy-duty business use.
Computers purchased directly from Best Buy, CostCo, CompUSA and other big-box
stores are designed specifically for the home. These computers are often
very inexpensive and come bundled with lots of extra software. Unfortunately,
this extra software usually carries a lot of advertising with it (which
helps subsidize the price of the computer) and often clogs the operating
system up, slowing the computer down to the point of being ineffective for
any real work.
A better solution for most companies is the business-grade desktop PC,
available from most manufacturers. We've been happiest with business-grade
computers from HP (Compaq) and DELL. These systems aren't as flashy as consumer-grade
desktop PCs, but they generally include less extra pre-loaded software and
have better-quality components in them. They're designed to run smoothly
and efficiently for at least four solid years--about two years longer than
the average consumer-grade desktop PC. They also include extra security
features & management systems for better problem reporting and resolution.
Finally, business-grade desktop PCs are built to a consistent standard:
if you purchase ten business-grade desktop PCs, then purchase ten more a
few months later, most of the components (and thus the software drivers)
will be identical.
We've had especially great success with the following business-grade desktop
PCs over the past several years:
• HP/Compaq: Deskpro, Evo, d200, d300, d500 series
• DELL: OptiPlex, Precision workstations
• IBM: Aptiva, some models of ThinkCentre, NetVista
We generally recommend you steer clear of these models for your business,
though they may be excellent for the home:
• HP/Compaq: Pavilion, Presario
• DELL: Dimension series
• IBM: ThinkCentre A
• Any computer produced by Gateway
• Any clone
If you're buying new computers, please ask us for specific recommendations.
We can connect you with a reseller who can find you great discounts on hardware/software
bundles.
In the next issue, we'll cover laptops!
THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW:
• Consumer-grade systems are widely available but unsuitable for
business use.
• Don't buy computers for your business from a retail store or
a TV ad.
• Stick to computer resellers who have access to the business-grade
PCs available from companies such as HP/Compaq, DELL & IBM, or order
them directly from those manufacturers through their websites.
• Though business-grade computers may be slightly more expensive
than the consumer-grade systems, they tend to last longer, run more smoothly
and require less maintenance than the consumer-grade systems.
Phishing: Email Scams Take People Hook, Line,
and Sinker
In recent weeks, many computer pundits have talked about phishing. No,
we’re not talking about the angling sport. This kind of phishing is
a scam in which con artists attempt to gain access to your important personal
information, such as credit card numbers, bank accounts, and other details,
through trickery.
Phishing (also known as spoofing) can take on many forms. The most common
method is to copy the look of a major website (such as Paypal.com or Citibank.com),
create a form asking for sensitive information, then post it elsewhere so
it looks like part of the original site. Phishers then send an official
looking urgent email with a link to the fake page asking recipients to update
their account information.
When someone receives the email, they have no reason to suspect anything
is wrong.
The link to the site may even start with www.paypal.com/... or www.citibank.com/...,
thanks to a bug in Internet Explorer 5.0, 5.1, or 6.0 that lets phishers
display a fake URL in the address and status bars (and Microsoft recently
released a patch to correct this). When the form is submitted, the information
is transmitted back to the con artists and that person is none the wiser.
The fake website may even link back to the real website so no one will suspect
that they are victims of identity theft.
Phishing is not a new phenomenon. Since 1997, con artists have been trying
to bilk the gullible out of information using the Internet. Last year, hundreds
of job hunters were tricked when they received an email asking them to log
into a job search site and create a user name and password. Many legitimate
websites, including those run by banks and credit card companies, ask for
this information as well—and most people use the same username and
password at each website. Because of this, the con artists behind the scam
were able to access hundreds of sensitive financial accounts before the
site was shut down.
Here are a few things your company can do to minimize the effects of phishing:
• While the issue is hot, send a message to your customer base
informing them about your company’s methods for contacting them.
E-mail should never be used to ask for sensitive information—and
you can remind your customers of this.
• Make sure your customers have your contact information and understand
how to access your website.
• If you need to send a link to a specific page on your website
via e-mail then send instructions for accessing that link through the
main page of your website as well.
You can minimize the effects of phishing by using the following guidelines
as a precaution:
• NEVER respond to email that asks you to provide sensitive information
by clicking on a link. If a company sends you a link, try to access the
site through the main page of the website.
• Use spam filters and establish a “junk e-mail” senders
list.
• Report suspicious e-mail via the FTC’s website (listed
below)
• Stay vigilant about computer security! Be wary of any e-mail
that looks even slightly suspicious.
Although the government is investigating the scam, don’t expect
phishing to go away soon. Like spammers, phishers will simply find more
stealthy tactics to get your information. In the meantime, the best method
of preventing phishing is to safeguard your company and your customers by
educating everyone involved.
THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW:
• Phishing is a scam in which con artists attempt to gain access
to your important personal information, such as credit card numbers, bank
accounts, and other details, through trickery.
• Phishing clogs email inboxes, takes up bandwidth and hinders
legitimate correspondence between companies and their customers.
• You can minimize the effects of phishing and gain your customer’s
confidence in email communications by educating them about the issue.
• As with all Internet security issues, being vigilant means never
trusting any e-mail or website at face value. Be wary of anything that
looks suspicious.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT:
Preventing Spam
Spam E-mail, known technically as Unsolicited Commercial E-mail (UCE),
has become a menace to Internet communication. Once just considered annoying,
spam now threatens to completely undermine the usefulness of e-mail altogether
as people start inadvertently deleting legitimate messages. Over the next
few issues, we'll talk about how the spam problem got to be so bad and discuss
techniques & effective programs used to filter incoming spam. To start
the series, we'll talk about prevention. PREVENTION
The best way to stop spam is to cut it off at the source. If you're not
yet receiving lots of spam, here are a few things you can do to help prevent
it from becoming a major problem:
Never open spam & read it
Don't open spam & read it! Don't click through links listed on a spam
e-mail message. Above all, don't EVER buy anything sold via spam.
This seems pretty simple, but it happens all the time. The act of just
opening a spam message (or even viewing the message in a browser pane) often
notifies the spammer that your e-mail address is alive and kicking. Many
people don’t realize that spammers use graphics and other items embedded
in the message to see what someone does with the email. If the spammer can
verify that a spam message hit a legitimate e-mail address, the address
is put on another list of “hot” addresses and resold to more
spammers.
Clicking through a spam message to read about the item or service for
sale will do the same thing, but this time, you'll be put on an even shorter
and more valuable list that contains people who actually read spam.
Never click "Please remove me from your list"
Legitimate organizations that have you on their e-mail lists are okay, but
spam you never requested will never, ever remove your e-mail address from
their internal lists when you click on this link. In fact, it's just another
way for them to determine if your e-mail address is active. Don't trust
the spammers. They'll use any tactic available to ensure they can send you
more spam in the future.
Never post e-mail addresses on web pages
Many web pages have e-mail addresses listed out in the open, in the clear.
Spammers have devised automated systems that crawl around the World Wide
Web, harvesting any e-mail addresses they come across. Even the biggest
companies with the most expert IT staff often fall victim to these systems.
E-mail Address Obfuscator programs can secure e-mail addresses listed
on web pages. These programs will scramble the e-mail address listed on
a web page in such a way that it becomes unreadable by a program, but still
looks normal to a human. From what we can tell, these work reasonably well
at thwarting automated address-gathering robots. Ask your web developer
if they can obfuscate the e-mail addresses listed on your corporate web
site to help prevent spam.
Never put your main e-mail address on any registration forms
Submitting your e-mail address to any website without first carefully reviewing
their privacy policy is a recipe for disaster. Potential pitfalls include
purchases, signing up for newsletters, entering contests, and joining up
with online communities. If you need to use an e-mail address consider opening
a disposable e-mail account with a free e-mail service such as Yahoo! or
Hotmail. Use the account for a while until it becomes saturated with spam,
then close it and open another one. Another service provided by Sneakemail
provides unlimited disposable e-mail addresses which may also be handy.
If you're already receiving dozens or hundreds of spam e-mails per day,
it might be too late to curb the amount of spam you receive. You can, however,
limit the quantity of spam you see by installing a software-based filtering
solution. This reorganizes incoming spam to your mailbox into different
folders. In the next few issues we'll discuss ways to stop spam after the
fact through this software, and what the future of spam might be.
THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW:
• Never open spam & read it
• Never click "please remove me from your list"
• Never post e-mail addresses on web pages
• Never put your main e-mail address on any registration forms
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Have your web designer obfuscate your e-mail address as listed on your
company’s website by using one of these free services:
Use a dispoable e-mail address for filling out forms from a service such
as Sneakemail:
(Special thanks to Armen Stein of J Street Technology for this tip!)
Also please note that a legitimate “National Do Not E-mail List”
(similar to the “National Do Not Call List” operated by the
FTC) does *not* currently exist though there are websites that claim the
contrary. The United States Federal Government does not currently maintain
such a list, therefore there isn’t one listed here.
Fun & Cool!
Water flows uphill?
This guy, who also invented a new type of vacuum you may have seen in stores,
figured it out.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3046791.stm
Penguin Baseball
Just in time for spring.
http://meph.eu.org/
Apple iTunes for Windows
Looking for an outstanding, free music organizer and player FOR
WINDOWS? It's here.
http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/
Information about BDP Networks
BDP Networks, LLC is operated by Brian Place. Since 2001, BDP Networks
has helped increase productivity of small businesses in Seattle, WA and
the surrounding areas by providing outsourced, managed network support and
other computer consulting services. With over 15 years of combined professional
experience in this field, we know how to keep your network running smoothly
so you can concentrate on your business.
Do you know of an organization that could benefit from the services of
BDP Networks?
Then ask about our referral program! New clients receive a free onsite consultation
at no risk by calling (206)329-6600 or emailing bdp@BDPNetworks.com to set
up an appointment.
Coming
Attractions
Here's a quick preview of some newsworthy items we'll be covering in more
detail over the next few months...
Windows security?
Microsoft Windows users have been rocked by a relentless series
of e-mail worms & viruses over the past few months, including SoBig,
MyDoom & Bagle. AntiVirus vendors & Microsoft have been struggling
to keep up with delivering updates--but Microsoft Windows users haven't
always kept pace with installing them. Why is Windows such a target--and
how can you keep your computers secure?
Open source
Some people have become frustrated with Microsoft's products
and are searching for alternatives. Open-sourced products, such as Linux,
are free to distribute & modify at will. And they're quickly gaining
steam as viable replacements for Microsoft-based servers. Are they ready
for the desktop--and are they worth the price?
SCO creates a big mess...
Microsoft isn't taking the open source revolution lying down, even going
so far to bankroll the SCO Group to help them attack open source software--specifically
Linux--as a violation of some intellectual property SCO claims to own.
This has lead to one of the most dramatic & bizarre legal disputes
this industry has ever seen--and it won't be resolved for some time. What
does this mean for open source software in general? Will it take the steam
out of Linux, or will it reinforce it as a stronger, more viable alternative
to anything proprietary?
Apple: ready for business?
Apple has done some amazing work with their entire product line over the
past few years--producing some of the best computers on the market. Their
operating system & software is years ahead of anything produced by
Microsoft. Apple is ready for the home--but is it ready for your business?
All will be revealed over the coming months. Stay tuned!
©2004 Brian Place for BDP Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Content composed and edited by Brian Place. Additional content & editing
by Katerie Prior of The Writer's Confidant, http://www.writers-confidant.com.
Layout & graphic design by Kelvin Scot of Kelvin Scot Design, http://www.kelvinscot.com.
Feel free to forward a copy of this to whomever you wish; please leave
the contents intact.
Questions, comments, or concerns may be directed to newsletter@BDPNetworks.com.
Thank you for reading!
INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT
WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED
TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
AND FREEDOM FROM INFRINGEMENT. |
