Going, Going Gigabit

As the economy improves, we have been receiving many requests from businesses to updat their outdated computer networks to gigabit speed.  The good news for businesses is that the cost of a high-speed gigabit network has dropped dramatically in the last few years.  These are common questions I receive about upgrading to a gigabit network which will significantly speed up your network.

What is a gigabit network?
If your network is more than 4 years old, your networking equipment may be the slower 100 megabits per second (Mbps) speed.  New network equipment runs at gigabit speed, or 1,000 Mbps. That would be similar to upgrading the freeways and cars from running at 70 Mph to 700 Mph.  Imagine how much more you can get done at that faster speed!

Do I need a gigabit network?
A gigabit network allows your data to move 10 times faster on your local network.  It virtually removes all network bottlenecks.  Businesses will reap major benefits if they engage in any type of video conferencing, video streaming, voice over IP (VoIP), CAD design, graphic design, web development, video production, any type of database (i.e., inventory, accounting), virtualization, cloud computing, and other types of data intensive networking.

What do I need for a gigabit network?
Your desktop or laptop PC will need a gigabit network adapter.  Plus your network switches will need to be gigabit capable. Finally, your network cabling will be required to be Cat-5E or Cat-6.  This includes not only the premise wiring inside the wall but also the patch cables between the PC-to-wall jack and patch panel-to-gigabit switch.  Old Cat-5 cabling is unable to achieve 1000 Mbps (gigabit) speed.  Therefore upgrading to gigabit may require upgrading the network cabling inside the walls.  Your wiring/cabling vendor can test your existing cabling to determine if it is gigabit-capable.

I upgraded to a gigabit network but my Internet is still slow.  What gives?
Gigabit speed is limited to your local area network (i.e., LAN, inside your office).  The connection speed to the outside world is a separate network and limited by the speed provided by your Internet service provider.  Internet speeds will always be slower than the network speed inside your office.  For instance, your LAN speed may be gigabit (1,000 Mbps) but a T1 Internet connection is limited to 1.54 Mbps.  That means that your Internet will be 0.15% the speed of your LAN. High-speed Internet options include fiber optic/Verizon FiOS (25 Mbps) , Ethernet (20 Mbps), bonded T1 (6 Mbps), and DS3 (45Mbps).

Can I just use any gigabit switch?

The network switch is the core of a gigabit network and selection should be considered carefully. When selecting a switch, you need to know:

• how many ports you will need now and in the future?  Switches typically come in 8, 16, 24 and 48-port sizes.
• do you need power over Ethernet (PoE)?  PoE may be required if you have PoE devices like VoIP phones, wireless access points, IP cameras, etc.
• are managed switch features required for creating VLAN segments, quality of service managment, bandwidth shaping, and connection security?
• do you require redundant power supplies or high-availability fail-over?
• is a high level of technical support and expertise required from the manufacturer or your networking partner?
• if you have multiple switches then stackable switches make for ease of management.
• do you need a layer-2, layer-3 lite or layer-3 switch?
• is low power consumption and low heat important to reduce energy bills and be Earth-friendly?

Wikipedia Goes Offline to Protest Anti-Piracy Bill

This morning I went to look up something on Wikipedia and got a lump in my throat when I remembered that they were taking themselves offline to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).  But luckily for me Wikipedia's blackout protest is on Wednesday, January 18, not today.

SOPA's aim is to stop music and movie piracy by blocking website via the domain name server (DNS) system which controls how you get to every web server on the Internet.  The intent is to be block piracy web sites by removing their DNS entry to make it difficult, but hardly impossible, to access them. 

On the face this sounds like a very noble gesture to protect the art and creative content of artists and movie studios.  But by interfering with the DNS system, which allows free access to websites, we are going down a path which we would soon realize that don't want to go down. SOPA would set a precedent of allowing law makers to control of the DNS system to block ideas which some may find offensive or disagreeable. 

I strongly oppose people stealing music or movies.  Artists, actors, writers, musicians and film makers should be fairly compensated for their creative products.  Piracy is wrong and criminal.

But there are many other ways to fight piracy and protect artists.  Government censorship of the DNS system shouldn't be one of them.

How Cyber-Criminals Hack Your Password

Cyber-criminals all know that your password is the weakest link in your online, network and computer security.  Once they get your password, they can access your email, cloud services, online storage and bank accounts.  So like a intelligent warrior, they are going to try to exploit your password weakness.  Here's how they do it:

Guessing Your Password
The simplest way to hack a password is to guess common passwords like "1234" or "password" or names of friends/spouses/children/pets such as "Claire" or "Fluffers".  Defense: avoid using any names.  Read Strong Passwords That Are Easy to Remember, Hard to Crack for password security tips.

Dictionary Hack
Hackers can use common dictionary text files with an automated tool which tries each dictionary word. Dictionary hack tools now try adding numbers or special characters to the end of the word such as "kitten123". Defense: avoid dictionary words and use a passphrase (e.g, My-kitten-is-black).

Dictionary Plus Leet Hack
If you've ever used number for letters in your password, then you've used leet. Common leet substitutions are, 1 for i, 4 for a, etc.  So "Jim" with leet would be "J1m." A Dictionary Plus Leet hack uses a dictionary and employs leet substitutions so to hack the password "admin" it would try: admin, adm1n, 4dm1n. Defense: Use a complex passphrase (e.g., Optimus*Prime*rules)

Brute Force Hack
This is a more computationally intensive technique where random characters and numbers are used to crack a password.  This technique may take a long time because it will try every conceivable combination of letters, numbers and special characters.  Defense: use a long, complex password or passphrase of  12-characters or more.

Rainbow Tables
This is a newer and more sophisticated technique which requires a hacker to infiltrate your network and steal the password hashes generated by your operating system.  The technique requires a lot of memory, storage and CPU power but can crack any complex 14 character password in minutes.  Defense: high network security (firewall/VPN), physical security (locked doors/restricted access) and long 20+ character complex password or passphrase.

Keylogger 
A hacker can easily plant a keylogger on your PC if your antivirus expires and is not renewed, if you get a zero-day virus (a virus which is unknown to your antivirus program) or if you have a weak firewall.  Then they can easily steal your password no matter how long and complex it is.  Defense: gateway/firewall antivirus and intrusion prevention plus desktop antivirus/anti-spyware.

Password Reset
Don't think that hackers aren't interested in your email or that your inbox doesn't have anything interesting to a hacker.  If a hacker compromises your email (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail), then they can easily find messages from your bank which tells them which bank you use then they can request a password reset from your bank to gain access to your account.  Defense: make your email password as strong as your bank password and use a complex passphrase.

Phishing
You've most likely received email (spam) requesting that you click on a link to login to your bank account or else your account will be deactivated.  That is a cyber-criminal using a phishing technique to get you to give up your password and other information.  Defense: use a good anti-spam service or program; be suspicious of email asking for your personal information even if it comes from someone you know and trust.

Defensive Measures Summary
This sounds very scary but there are key actions you can take to protect yourself from a determined hacker:

• Use a complex passpharase (e.g., An*ounce*of*prevention*451).
• Use a good antivirus program and keep the subscription always active.  Never let it lapse.  Recommendations: AVG, Trend Micro, Eset, Avast!, or Symantec
• Run a virus and spyware scan each day: use a support service that offers  automated daily maintenance.
• Use a good firewall with intrusion prevention.  Recommendation: Sonicwall with Comprehensive Gateway Security Suite
• Configure security policies to lockout user accounts after 10 failed attempts.
• Keep servers and sensitive PCs and notebooks behind locked doors.
• Limit physical access to servers to only those personnel who require access.
• Consider encrypting hard drive especially in notebooks with sensitive data.  Use a complex passphrase for the encryption key for maximum security.
• Use a good anti-spam service or program to protect against phishing scams.

Strong Passwords That are Easy to Remember, Hard to Crack

Passwords are easily the weakest link your security. When you use cloud computing, passwords may be the ONLY security you have.  If you make your passwords too short and easy, then they are easy to guess and hack. If you make them too long and difficult, they will be hard to hack but hard for you to remember, too.

An easy way to make a strong password is to use a passphrase instead.

For example, the password "kitten" can be cracked almost instantly because it is a common dictionary word.  But the password "Kitten3921" will take about 10 days to hack which is better but feasible for a determined hacker with automated resources.

But the passphrase "My-black-kitten" will take 311 billion years to hack because it is hard to guess, is long (18-characters) and uses complex characters (capitals and special characters). But it has the advantage of being easy to remember. You can use your own custom variation like spaces, asterisks, ampersands, numbers, etc. as a spacers between words.

The key to an password protection is making your password so difficult that the hacker would have to expend extraordinary resources to crack it.  If the hacker needs to spend too much money, computing power he is most likely to move on to an easier target.

First Tech Support Visit

Technology is ever changing and so we must always be learning the new technology.  So tech support must have always existed, right?

Apple's iPad2 Fires a Shot in the Tablet Wars

Apple catapulted into tablet computing with the introduction of the iPad in April 2010.  The iPad has since been one of the faster selling devices in history and has positioned tablets as the future of computing.

Yesterday, Apple unveiled their 2nd generation tablet, the iPad2, in San Francisco.  Ailing Apple chief Steve Jobs was on-hand to unveil the new device which is lighter and thinner. Here's a run down on the iPad 2 features:

• iPad2 available from Apple, Verizon and AT&T on March 11, 2011.
• 15% lighter weighing only 1.35 lbs
• 33% thinner at 0.34 inches
• Same 10-hour battery life as the original iPad
• Includes a thin Smart Cover to protect the display - a variety colors are available
• Powered by the Apple 1GHz dual-core A5 processor - it's twice as fast but same low-power consumption
• Graphics is now 9 times faster
• Display: 1024x768 pixel, 9.7-inch display, fingerprint-resistant coating
• Front facing camera for Facetime video chat
• Rear camera records 720p HD  video; 5x digital zoom for still photos
• Two color choices: black and white
• Supports 3G on Verizon and AT&T networks
• Internal storage options: 16GB, 32GB and 64GB
• New apps bundled with the iPad2 include Photo Booth and Facetime
• From the App Store: GarageBand and iMovie HD movie editor
• Features AirPrint wireless printing and AirPlay video, music and photo streaming
• HDMI output to an HDTV or projector available with optional adapter cable

As for what the iPad2 lacks, there is no provision for 4G support, no Retina display like the iPhone4, no super durable Gorilla Glass on the display, no SD Card slot, and no ability for the iPad2 to be used as wi-fi hotspot.  But with the release of the new iOS 4.3 on March 11, 2011, which was also announced by Apple, the iPhone4 will have wi-fi hotspot capability.  And there is still no Flash support for the iPad2 as to be expected.

The new iPad2 has a lot of great new features and really raises the bar for other tablet computers. It makes a power contender against Motorola's Xoom, HP/Palm TouchPad or Blackberry Playbook.

Apple Readies iPad2 for Release

Apple is readying their 2nd generation iPad tablet, the iPad2, for production according to a report published by the Wall Street Journal. If Apple sticks to the tradition of releasing the updates on their one-year anniversary, we can expect the iPad2 to be launched in the first week of April 2011.

UPDATE: There is some speculation that the iPad2 release date may be announced towards the end of February.

Apple's first version of the iPad was released in April 2010 and is one of the best selling products in history.The iPad has revolutionized the way we use computing by unleashed us from the constraints of the desktop computer.  Here are some new features that are rumored to be on the iPad2.

New, Improved iPad2 Features

• Front-facing camera for Facetime video conferencing
• Rear-facing camera for taking digital photos
• CDMA version for Verizon's 3G network
• UMTS version for AT&T's 3G network
• Lighter and thinner
• Higher resolution Retina Display

Click here for a comprehensive list of rumored iPad2 features courtesy of Mashable.

Impact to your Business

The iPad has been readily embraced by the business world.  The iPad and other tablets, such as the Motorola Xoom, leverage the power of Cloud and rely on an Internet connection to access web applications, email, and storage.  Tablet computers are not direct replacements for desktop computers because tablets have limited computing and graphical power for applications such as video editing, CAD design, graphic design. 

But tablets can be the ideal device for executives and sales staff who need a portable computer to keep in touch with the corporate email and calendaring system and provide product presentations or video to customers.