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Small Business Computer Security, the Basics

Anyone in business today realizes both the natural dependency on computers in the workplace, and also the potential dangers associated with storing important data on them. Today's business owners are constantly being reminded that their company's data is at risk by the daily reports on various news stations, or even their favorite business-related website.   But what can a typical small business owner do to protect their network from these threats that are broadcasted in so many ways? Dangers lurk at every turn on the Internet. There are thousands of attacks or areas of security that could be discussed, but I am going to try and focus on three general nuisances associated with today's computers: viruses, spy-ware, and traditional "hackers" that will intentionally try to exploit your computer systems for various reasons. All of these attacks, although different, serve a specific purpose for the attacker, yet basically translate into three things for a business: lost productivity, lost data, and the end result... lost money.   Here is brief descriptions of what the aforementioned attacks are, consist of, and what a typical small business can do to protect their technology investments.   Virus: A computer virus shares some traits with an actual virus that gets people sick. A computer virus must piggyback on top of some other program or document in order to get executed. Once it is running, it is then able to infect other programs or documents. Obviously, the analogy between computer and biological viruses stretches things a bit, but there are enough similarities that the name sticks. A computer virus can have many intentions. One common goal is the virus's desire to infect as many machines as possible. Some are harmless and are no more then an attempt for a hacker to spread their name and get recognition amongst their peers. However, this can still lead to slow computer performance or programs acting up. On the other side of the coin, viruses can be extremely harmful and delete data, cause complete computer interruption, give someone unauthorized access to your company data, or even be used in conjunction with thousands of other infected computers to launch grand-scale attacks. Viruses are still mostly transferred via email; however newer attacks will entice you via an email to a malicious website that will exploit a flaw in your computer to install the virus.   Protection from Viruses: If you are reading this article, and you still do not have current (this is very important) anti-virus software running on EVERY single computer you own, then shame on you. With all of the marketing commotion that surrounds viruses, you should already have antivirus software on all of your computers. If you don't, then hurry to the store and purchase it. Popular software in the antivirus market is made by Symantec (www.symantec.com) and McAfee (www.mcafee.com). Larger companies may look into a system that will scan emails prior to the email getting to a user's inbox for viruses. Also, be wary of what you open in your email. Do not open emails from people you do not know, and even if you do know the sender, take extra caution, as most viruses today will trick you into believing that the virus is sent from someone that you know.   Spyware: You may know spyware by one of its many names, adware, malware, trackware, scumware, thiefware, snoopware, and sneakware. Because of its stealthy nature, most Internet users are more familiar with the symptoms of spyware infection: sluggish PC performance, increased pop-up ads, unexplained homepage change, and mysterious search results. For virtually everyone surfing the Internet, malware and adware are a nuisance, but if you do not detect spyware on your PC, it can lead to much more serious consequences such as identity theft. Many people wonder how they get spyware installed onto their computer in the first place. Typically, spyware is installed onto your PC without your knowledge because the programs are usually hidden within other software. For example, when you are browsing a website, and a pop-up appears to install the latest online Casino game, it probably will give you that game, but you've also just installed spyware along with that. Another avenue for Spyware to infect your machine is through popular Peer-to-Peer File Sharing software such as Kazaa. The financial impact on a business that is plagued by spyware can toll very high. Costs paid to computer consultants to remove spyware, and a user's overall lost of productivity from a slow-performing computer can add up very quickly.   Protection from Spyware: Spyware is a huge problem in today's computing environment. Fighting Spyware starts with smarter use of your computer. The best defense against spyware and other unwanted software is not to download it in the first place. Here are a few helpful tips that can protect you from downloading software you don't want. Only download programs from web sites you trust, read all security warnings, license agreements, and privacy statements associated with any software you download, and never click "agree" or "OK" to close a window. Instead, click the red "x" in the corner of the window or press the Alt + F4 buttons on your keyboard to close a window, and be wary of popular "free" music and movie file-sharing programs, and be sure you clearly understand all of the software packaged with those programs. If you do happen to install Spyware on your computer, there are some tools available to assist in the removal of spyware. Be careful however when downloading these "free" spyware removal softwares, as even some of the removal tools incorporate spyware into their software. A popular product that does a good job of removing spyware is Lavasoft's Adaware (www.lavasoft.com). Larger organizations can look to companies such as Computer Associates (www.ca.com) for enterprise protection. There are instances when there is simply just too much spyware installed on a machine where these tools cannot help, and you'll be forced to format your hard drive and reinstall your operating system.   Hackers: The term hacker has many different meanings to many different people. A dictionary might define the word hacker as follows, "A person who breaks into, or attempts to break into, or use, a computer network or system without authorization, often at random, for personal amusement or gratification, and not necessarily with malicious intent. 2. [An] unauthorized user who attempts to or gains access to an information system 3. A technically sophisticated computer expert who intentionally gains unauthorized access to targeted protected resources, loosely, a computer enthusiast. 4. A person who uses a computer resource in a manner for which it is not intended or which is in conflict with the terms of an acceptable-use policy, but is not necessarily malicious in intent." As you can see, a hacker is someone with a very high aptitude in computing. By studying the inherent design of computer systems, a hacker will then attempt to compromise those systems for a purpose. Typically, they use a collection of tools easily downloadable on the Internet to exploit a flaw in a program or hardware system. Hackers do what they do for various reasons. Some do it for simple prestige amongst their peers, others for financial gain, and others do it to make a political statement. The impact of your network's security being breached can lead to very serious financial losses. Imagine your customer database being sold to a competitor or even what public response would be if you had to tell your customers that their personal information was stolen?   Protection from Hackers: I was once told, that no matter how good a safe you buy, there will still always be a locksmith that can un-lock it. The same goes for protection against hackers. However the amount of people with the expertise to bypass most security defenses, available to companies, are few and far in between. To keep your network safe, the following three items are an absolute must. A quality firewall at your network's perimeter to filter what goes in and out of your internet connection, desktop level firewalls to keep internal company computers safe, and the importance of performing updates to your computer's operating system and applications. Firewalls simply stated, filter data passing through them. They are in essence, inspectors that allow and deny data to be passed through them based on certain rules. Most quality firewalls will protect your network by letting the good data through and keeping the bad out. Recommended firewalls for small businesses can be purchased from companies such as Cisco (www.cisco.com), Watchguard (www.watchguard.com) or Sonic Wall (www.sonicwall.com). Firewall vendors typically have many different models available, so consult with your network security professional on what to buy. The important thing is that you have one in place. Desktop level firewalls provide a true multi-layered approach to security. This added level of protection strengthens your computer systems defense, and is especially helpful to companies that have remote workers. Most companies today do have firewalls on their corporate network; however no one ever thinks about the company president's laptop that gets brought home everyday. The president brings his laptop home and sets up his trusty remote connection back into his office over his broadband home Internet connection. The once protected laptop is now completely unprotected and connected directly to the corporate office, which gives a direct avenue for virus and hackers onto your corporate network. The great thing about desktop firewalls is that you can get some great ones for free! If you use the Microsoft Windows XP operating system, simply upgrade to service pack 2 and it includes a free and easy to use desktop level firewall. If you do not have Windows XP or just do not want to use their firewall, Zone Alarm (www.zonealarm.com) offers a great desktop level firewall. The last level of defense is to keep your networked systems up to date with the latest patches and fixes from their respective manufacturers. I will assume that most companies use Microsoft Windows products for most of their computing needs, so to keep your system updated simply go to <a href="http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_new">http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com</A>. You should check for updates twice a month.   Even though this article simply brushes the surface of network security, I hope it gives you insight as to some potential dangers out there and real incentive to implement better security for your company. Just as you have an alarm system at your office, please take the necessary steps to protect your company's computer network and data. If not, the costs of recovery I guarantee you will far exceed the costs to implement a secure network.   Jarrett M. Pavao studied at the University of Miami, is a Microsoft Certified System Engineer, and Citrix Certified Administrator. Jarrett is the Director of Business Technologies for Docutek, a systems integrator in Boca Raton, FL. Jarrett can be contacted at <a href="mailto:jpavao@docuteksolutions.com">jpavao@docuteksolutions.com</A> with any network security related questions or concerns.

Small Business Computer Security, the Basics

Anyone in business today realizes both the natural dependency on computers in the workplace, and also the potential dangers associated wit...

Is Your Credit Card Information at Risk With Small Business and Retailers

Is your credit card information at risk when you visit your local retailer? We all would like to believe that our local retailer or favorite restaurant is keeping your personal and credit/debit card information secure and out of the hands of those who want to commit fraud against many honest people doing business today. This is what I thought once I received my Visa bill one month to see $1,500.00 of liquor purchases and pizzas on my monthly statement. I was a victim of Credit Card fraud.According to a number of industry experts, smaller business and retailers are not taking the required steps to ensure that the credit and debit card purchases made by their patrons are secure. Even today, credit card information is still being stored on local computer systems that are not protected or up to date. Many small businesses are failing to protect their networks with firewall solutions that can protect retailers from trojans and other malicious code from being installed on systems because of inappropriate web surfing being allowed in smaller retailers or attempts at stealing information via wireless connections or over the Internet.Until recently, the payment card industry's training was not up to par to educate small business merchants in what it took to ensure their transaction information was occurring in a secure manner. As of the end of July 2007, Visa USA has started to require that some 250 or so credit card processors begin to share their plans to ensure that all credit card transactions happen in a secure manner.In May of this year, the State of Minnesota passed the Plastic Card Security Act. The act clearly states that any business that wishes to do business in Minnesota must comply with the regulations around storing credit card information. The law took effect in August and holds the business owner and business liable for the costs associated with breaches or fraudulent transactions.Why does credit card still occur in today's world?oLack of knowledge - Many small business owners, retailers and restaurant owners are busy in their day to day businesses (working in their business and not on their business) and not up to speed with the current regulations to secure their patrons information from unauthorized use.oOut of date systems - Many smaller based businesses do not have the resources to keep their computer systems up to date to ensure that credit card numbers are not stored on systems or they run older versions of software that does not offer the encryption needed when processing credit or debit transactions.oLack of perimeter security - I have seen this many times in small business, they fail to secure their systems with a robust and scalable firewall solution. They usually plug their Internet connection right into the back of their computer and do not employ a proper firewall solution or they purchase a router from their local office supply store that has no unified threat management security built into these devices. Firewalls such as the SonicWALL TZ180 will ensure that restaurants, retailers and small business are secure from threats on the Internet today, protect from network intrusions, spyware and virus attacks and inappropriate Internet use.oOpen wireless - Hackers can easily get into your system through an open wireless connection in a matter of seconds, they can connect, get the information they need and disconnect before you even realize that something has happened. This information is then openly sold on the Internet. Is your Wireless network secured with the best security encryption and mechanisms to ensure your customers' information is secure?What can your business do?oInvest in a technology audit - An evaluation of your computer network by a certified professional will easily show you areas of vulnerabilities within your computer network and Internet/Wireless security. An audit when completed successfully will list all areas that require attention with recommendations to get you on the road towards compliance.oHire the best IT support - Once your evaluation is completed, having a trusted IT partner and advisor will ensure that your business systems stay up to date. This will ensure that you are protected from newly identified security threats that exist on the Internet and how these issues may affect your business systems. Hiring a Microsoft Small Business Specialist and SonicWALL Gold Partner will ensure that your network is properly cared for.oUpgrade systems and software - It may become necessary to update your computer systems and your software to the versions that address the requirements laid out by the credit card and financial institutions. The latest versions of Windows and Microsoft Office are available and offer update security systems to protect your business.oLearn more about PCI DSS - What is PCI DSS? PCI Data Security Standards ensure that your customer's information is stored securely and that transactions occur in a secured manner. It is critically important that you invest the time to learn how the rules and requirements detailed in Payment Card Infrastructure compliance. Ignorance of the upcoming and current changes may just be the beginning of your challenges. On top of the investments needed once a breach has occurred many businesses may also have fines related to due diligence not being done in your business.Many small business, restaurants and retail owners are not computer people, running out to the local computer or office supply store and investing in a low cost router is not enough to secure your business. It is a must to have a small business specialist and security professional that can recommend the right solution for you. Unified Threat Management firewalls can protect your business in the manner that will ensure your customer's payment card information is secured the threats on the Internet, secured from hacking attempts and other business threats that are introduced when an employee uses the Internet or your systems for inappropriate use.Also a computer support company that can take the hassle of technology off your plate with a structured maintenance plan that consists of monitoring your network, managing your systems and proactive support may just save your business from the loss of creditability associated with a breach or the hefty fines that may occur when a breach occurs on your network.Hackers are out there 24/7, Internet and network security is not just a local problem. Hackers can be on the other side of the world or parked outside your restaurant or business. What are you willing to lose by not taking steps today to secure your business from those trying to exploit it?

Is Your Credit Card Information at Risk With Small Business and Retailers

Is your credit card information at risk when you visit your local retailer? We all would like to believe that our local retailer or favo...

You Need a System Administrator - A Guide for Website and Small Business Owners

If you are reading this article, it's a good bet that you already have a website that matters to you, and you also aren't taking care of it the way you should. I know that sounds like a harsh way to start off an article I hope you will take the time to read through, but you are like hundreds of thousands of other website owners in this regard, so don't feel too bad about it. I am hoping to help you be in a better position and better protected. The average website owner, who plans to make some money through their website, needs help. They may already be making a living, either directly or indirectly, through the efforts they've put into their website. They also very likely to be a sitting duck, waiting to be shot by a passing automated or directed attacker. The internet, known in everyone's awareness to be a dangerous place, is like a back-alley in a dangerous part of town. Except on the internet you don't just have to worry about people who might target you specifically, you also have to worry about those who have set up automated methods to seek out your vulnerabilities and abuse you. The first thing you should worry about is not someone looking to get into your website and do bad things. It's improbable, but not impossible, that someone has put any mental effort into choosing you as a victim. Instead, your first priority should be the automated 'bots' that are constantly patrolling for weak websites and servers to exploit. In 2004, an experiment was ran by researchers who put a number of newly-installed, non-updated computers on the internet and started their stopwatch. In less than 4 minutes, the machines were infected with all sorts of nastiness and then used to seek out other machines for infection (1). A note on that number though...4 minutes was the average. Some Windows computers were hacked within 30 seconds...long before a computer operator could secure them with the latest patches from Microsoft. For what it's worth, Linux and Macintosh systems were never compromised in that experiment, though automated attacks for those operating systems do exist. There has been no sign of things getting better in the past couple years. Even before Windows Vista was released for public sale there were people able to attack it. For these reasons, no computer should be connected to the internet without being protected by a firewall. All I've stated in the previous paragraph is about personal workstations, but it all equally applies to the server for your website. In this case, a computer is a computer. If you are on a managed server at your webhosting provider, you'd better hope they have updated the server and put some firewalling in place before it goes live. It's very likely they have, but it's always worth a question to them about the state of their security and whether they have an automated patching process in place so that newly discovered exploits are taken care of before the automated bots come to you. Here's where things get sticky. If you've got even the slightest queasiness in the pit of your stomach right now about asking intelligent questions of your webhost provider, you need someone to ask those questions for you. I'll get back to who that is exactly in a second, though if you've read the title of this article you already know what I'll tell you. Things get even messier the more popular your site is and how much resources you need to run it. At a certain point, you may find yourself requiring a colocation (a server owned by you but sitting on the racks at a webhosting provider) or a rented/lease server solution. In these cases, unless you purchase a service contract to maintain it from the webhosting provider, you are going to be responsible for the security of the server. Are you ready for that, muddling through applying security patches, blocking access to certain ports, managing automated and verified backups, doing security audits of the website code and having what could very possibly be tens of thousands of lines of log files emailed to you for inspection every day? Hooray for you if you are capable if this! Double-hooray if you are not, because you've just made my point. You need a system administrator and a fresh cup of your favorite beverage. A system administrator is the person who watches out for your interests on the internet, like a security guard that also makes sure you aren't doing something silly like leaving your front door open or the keys in your car. Their responsibility is to verify that not only can the attackers not get in, but they aren't seeing enough information to know where your vulnerabilities lie. They are there to watch the reports of vulnerabilities and make sure your server is up-to-date to protect against automated and non-automated attacks. They've got the expertise to back up your important files and databases and keep them in a secured location, while verifying that the backups will actually restore properly to a new location if they attackers do find a way in (or the computer hardware fails, or any variety of other catastrophes). Not only that, but they can help you right from the start too...making sure the server you are planning on operating with has the required power to do the job you want it to do and is protected as much as possible against common but unexpected things like hard drive failure. So, if I haven't sent you running for the hills and abandoning all technology, consider your current status and what you could lose if everything you currently have on the internet disappears, never to be seen again. Your need for a system administrator can be satisfied and you'll sleep better at night, having a guardian angel watching over your digital availability. You need a system administrator and now all you have to do is find a good one. That, I'm afraid, is a topic for another article.

You Need a System Administrator - A Guide for Website and Small Business Owners

If you are reading this article, it's a good bet that you already have a website that matters to you, and you also aren't taking car...

New Regulations for Small Business

Time was, you could just hang up a shingle and call yourself a business. As long as you didn't shoot anyone, you were pretty much left alone. Not so any more. A glut of federal and state regulations have come into being, many just over the past few years, and many apply to small businesses. These regulations are meant to accomplish any one of several social goods, such as protecting an individual's privacy and preventing identity theft, preventing corporate financial scandals, or lastly, or so it would seem, just to annoy small businesspeople by increasing their paperwork burden. Fortunately, if you understand these regulations, complying doesn't have to be too difficult or expensive.If you have a publicly-held company, you'll have to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which sets technological standards and reporting requirements for how companies handle their financial reporting. Passed in response to the recent wave of corporate scandals, fiscal mismanagement and outright theft, Sarbanes-Oxley puts in place a set of requirements for establishing internal controls that ensure the integrity of a company's financial data. Although the requirements are generally the same for companies of all sizes, smaller companies have been granted some flexibility in terms of longer timeframes to become compliant. This Act calls for, among other things, security-related solutions to be put into place to regulate access to financial data, provide an audit trail, and generate detailed reports for the government. The good news is, if you already follow best practices in security, you're already more than halfway there.If you are in the healthcare industry, whether you are a healthcare provider, pharmacy, or a data processing agency serving the healthcare industry, you'll have to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). HIPAA calls for any company that handles private patient data to guarantee that it is secure and protected against unauthorized access. If your company handles healthcare information of any sort, for any reason, you will have to take technological steps to ensure that it is secure through measures such as encryption, strong two-factor authentication, and adequate firewalling.And if you're in California, or if any of your customers are in California, you'll have to comply with SB 1386 (the California Information Practice Act). This law requires that your company provide notice to customers whenever any technological hack, or other attack has occurred and caused personal information to be exposed and vulnerable to theft. Meant to safeguard against identity theft, this state law also applies to any subcontractors of companies that maintain information about California residents. This particular law is ground-breaking, since although it is on paper just a California law, it has, in reality, become a federal law. California is the largest state, population-wise, in the U.S., and any mid-size company and many smaller ones have at least a few customers in California, regardless of where the company is actually located. If, for example, your company is in Maine, but your mail order division sold some products to someone in California, you must comply. Compliance simply means that if your network is attacked, you must notify your customers.Although this can be done individually, most companies actually make notification on their Web sites, or through issuing a public press release. The Visa Cardholder Information Security Program (CISP) isn't a state or federal law, but a mandate from VISA USA created to protect cardholder data. It calls on all vendors who accept credit card payments to adhere to a higher standard of information security for the purpose of guarding against identity theft. CISP calls on vendors to implement standard security measures such as firewalls, anti-virus software, and strong authentication to regulate who has access to customer credit card data. Visa also has set forth a set of best practices. Compliance is easy, and involves adhering to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard which includes a call for implementing standard security technology, restricting access, and encrypting the transmission of any cardholder data.	 	 		 			 				 					 						Audrey Hoffman is a successful business woman who writes articles for entrepreneurs, in addition to writing for Speedy Incorporation, a site that helps people <a href="http://www.speedy-incorporation.com/stateinformation/arizona.shtml" target="_new">incorporate in Arizona</a> and offers <a href="http://www.speedy-incorporation.com/businessresources/" target="_new">business advice</a>. <a href="http://www.speedy-incorporation.com" target="_new">http://www.speedy-incorporation.com</a>

New Regulations for Small Business

Time was, you could just hang up a shingle and call yourself a business. As long as you didn't shoot anyone, you were pretty much lef...

Tips For Small Business Wi-Fi

As business progresses in today's world, so does the need for constant access to information, clients, and vendors. It is therefore of paramount importance to modern small businesses to have their own wireless internet in office, both for their own use, and the use of their customers. It is unacceptable to have a vendor have to connect to an Ethernet cable or have a customer not be able to browse the web while waiting for service.But before you run headlong into providing this great service for yourself, customers and vendors, there are a few very important questions to answer and things to keep in mind. The following guidelines are a good starting point to help guide you into a safe, secure and effective wireless network for your small business.1. One of the first things to do is find a service provider that is both dependable and safe. As an article in AllBusiness.com states, you don't want your customers to be hacked or receive a virus while surfing the web, any more than you want a slow, dial-up speed connection. There are many service providers, from AT&T to Verizon, who offer safe, affordable wireless internet, or wi-fi, to small businesses. These connections differ based on the region of your business and should be researched before settling on just one. Also, your cable provider can give you wi-fi through the use of a wireless router, most of which are relatively inexpensive to rent or own.2. Another thing to keep in mind is which sites you want blocked and which are approved. You don't want your customers or employees perusing sites which you do not find acceptable to the business place. This can be achieved by you as the administrator by encrypting certain websites and not allowing a connection to other outside networks that you have not approved, according to informit.com. This will ensure not only a safe place for your customers, but will also remove temptations from employees and vendors who want to browse time-wasting sites.3. As mentioned earlier, it also important to keep your internet software and virus protection constantly updated as this will eliminate pop-ups and offensive ads. A virus can cripple your entire internet networking system, allowing valuable files and secrets to be leaked to a hacker. It is therefore imperative to keep up with the very latest protection software. Your wi-fi provider will probably provide a basic protection against viruses and hacking, but additional protection should also be considered, depending on the confidentiality of files your computer may contain.4. Additionally, it is important to make sure that, should the need arise, your vendors can connect to a wired network. Many laptops are still not equipped with wireless technology, and it is imperative that your wi-fi connection is flexible and can be tapped into using a wired router. You don't want to be handicapped by your technological strides. They should be a help, not a hindrance.5. Finally, as your business grows, so will the need for a more advanced wi-fi system. According to Microsoft, an outside technology firm should be consulted if creating a network for more than six employees. As the number of computers that will be connecting to the network rises, so does the need for additional bandwidth and a stronger connection to the actual network. A larger business means more people demanding internet access, and a weak network will mean slow, weak connections for your customers and employees. It is therefore important to check up on the status and strength of your network from time to time in order to ensure a continuance of good performance.	 	 		 			 				 					 						Joshua Newby

Tips For Small Business Wi-Fi

As business progresses in today's world, so does the need for constant access to information, clients, and vendors. It is therefore o...

Is Your Credit Card Information at Risk With Small Business and Retailers

Is Your Credit Card Information at Risk With Small Business and Retailers

Is your credit card information at risk when you visit your local retailer? We all would like to believe that our local retailer or favo...

Chasing the Clouds - Distributed Computing and Small Business

As a young boy, I always wondered what it would be like to be a weatherman on TV. I'd sit with my mom and dad, watching the local news from San Francisco and marveling at the way Pete Giddings on Channel 7 always seemed to know exactly what was going to happen. I thought to myself that this would be a cool thing - to know the future ahead of time! More than two decades later, I actually did get the opportunity to be a TV weatherman, though just as a fill-in for the vacationing regular on a tiny station on Cape Cod, Massachusetts in my former life as a sports reporter. Of course, by then, I realized that there wasn't so much magic in the forecasting, but a lot of science. I still was fascinated by the science of weather, though, and especially found the variety and function of clouds to be most interesting.Now, about 25 years later, clouds have reached a whole new level of significance in my life as a technology advisor and consultant. Like the effect of the naturally-occurring namesakes in the sky, the emergence of the cloud in the computing world seems to have signaled a change in the climate of business computing. But just what is this notion? And what are the good and bad consequences of adopting this growing trend to your business, especially with the tenuous economy and the more pronounced effects on the small to midsized business.First of all, we need to understand exactly what is "cloud computing." Since the early days of ENIAC, man has thirsted for ways to get more and more processing power to perform increasingly complex tasks. Early machines relied on faster internal workings to do this, until the trend became combining many different machines in a cluster on one site to maximize the load sharing. But in the 1990's, Ian Foster and Carl Kesselman had a different take. They postulated that setting up a "grid" over many machines connected remotely to each other could be a better way to share the load over many more CPUs. Unfortunately, since the machines could be separated by huge distances, delays in accessing the data stores or latency kept the concept from gaining any major traction in the business world.So the acceleration of the Internet and its adoption allowed for a logical next step into "cloud" computing. It is thought that the phrase comes from the long-used symbol in flow charts and diagrams that used a cloud to designate the Internet. Thus, cloud computing takes the grid computing concept and adds a level of decentralization inherent in what the Internet is. Cloud computing can be both private and public. Private clouds are built, used and maintained by an individual organization for internal use or private resale. Public cloud computing is sells services to anyone on the Internet. At this time, the Amazon Web Services called S3 (Simple Storage Service) is the largest public cloud provider, though Microsoft's Azure platform is gaining rapidly, as well as EMC.The public cloud marketplace has been divided into three types by some - Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS). In the Software-as-a-Service cloud model, the vendor supplies the hardware infrastructure, the software product and interacts with the user through a front-end portal. SaaS is a very broad market. Services can be anything from Web-based email to inventory control and database processing. Infrastructure-as-a-Service, including Amazon's S3, provides virtual server instances with unique IP addresses and blocks of storage on demand. Customers use the provider's application program interface (API) to start, stop, access and configure their virtual servers and storage. The third menu item, Platform-as-a-service, is a set of software and product development tools hosted on the provider's infrastructure. This allows developers to create applications on the provider's platform over the Internet and not build and maintain costly testing environments. PaaS providers may use APIs, website portals or gateway software installed on the customer's computer. Force.com, developed by Salesforce.com, and GoogleApps are examples of PaaS. Potential developer customers should be aware that currently, there are no standards for interoperability or data portability in the cloud. Some of the providers will not allow software created by their customers to be moved off the provider's platform. Kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?Recently, enhancements to several key factors have accelerated the shared computing concept to what cloud computing is today. The ever-growing availability of higher-speed connectivity, along with advances in data storage and increased input/output efficiency has allowed this previous notion of grid computing to evolve. Today, cloud-based applications and storage are being touted as the next wave of business tools to leapfrog us well past where we are today. Many larger enterprises have already leveraged the concepts of the cloud to realize great savings, as describe in the applications in the previous paragraph.How does the cloud create these savings and improvements? There are several technologies and applications that come into play here. One is the ever-growing adoption of virtualization in the data center. Taking many, or even thousands, of servers out of service, replaced by "virtual" servers in a larger host environment is becoming more and more the standard by which data centers are being built or rebuilt. Do the math - fewer servers means less equipment and power to run it, and smaller rooms requiring less cooling. All of that costs money, so there are built-in savings. In addition, with less hardware come fewer points of failure and lower licensing purchases and renewals. Not to mention enhanced disaster recovery with more robust offsite storage options.While setting up an internal cloud structure is a preferred methodology for some, there are organizations large and small that have opted for an even more radical shift to the third party "cloud services" providers, like Amazon, etc. In many cases, why go through the expense of building your own if you can get all the benefits for a monthly fee? There are of course trade-offs in that using the Internet does expose the data and applications to the potential of breaches, but more secure tunneling methods are making those worries minimal. And with more powerful endpoints, computing power at the desktop can handle the load.Of course, it makes sense for the largest enterprises and government entities to be embracing these technologies in the tighter economic situation we live in. But the real question is, can the SMB marketplace ride their coattails? The answer is "definitely, maybe". Sure, also the title of a completely mediocre recent romantic comedy in the theaters, but also indicative about the split between expert opinions. A Forrester Research study in May of 2009 reported that an estimated 2% of small businesses (categorized as under 100 employees) were using cloud computing. But with the ever-growing selection of premier providers and regional options, it would appear that this number is poised to see dramatic growth.In our own practice in the Philadelphia area, we are leveraging cloud-based services in every area of what we do. For a small customer with limited budget or a new startup without huge amounts of seed capital, we can steer them into the Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite, or BPOS. This recent Microsoft offering provides anything from simple email hosting right up through hosted Instant Messaging and SharePoint site. And with mobility being paramount for many, these solutions can be integrated with the smartphone of choice to make it accessible from anywhere.In some cases, a more traditional server/client approach is needed, and this we provide either through an onsite implementation at the customer location, or completely cloud-oriented with virtual servers in our hardened data center. We have revolutionized this concept with our flagship Managed Environment program. Provided on a per-user basis is all the hardware, software and labor services necessary, based upon the custom solution. This allows the client to avoid a substantial capital expenditure, create a tax-benefitting operating expense, and cancel the need for expensive full-time IT staff. There are firms that have scrapped their aging network infrastructure and moved lock, stock and barrel to this model. In many cases, they've added services that didn't make sense with their old solutions, including internal instant messaging and presence, hosted VoIP telephony, multi-layered backups and disaster recovery. Essentially, the small business now has access to enterprise-class technology and security without the astronomical investment.Whether it be specific cloud services, or a full-blown all-encompassing solution, it is apparent that this revolution is just in its nascent stages. Despite recent failures in the marketplace, like Amazon's days-long outage, it would seem clear that the direction of both small and large organizations is clearly headed up in the cloud. The potential for cost savings, productivity enhancements, and increased employee mobility and satisfaction will drive the providers to even greater levels of reliability. And even though the Jetson's "air cars" are a long way from reality, it would seem in the short term that the future of IT network infrastructure lies clearly in the air above. Who knew? What's even more amazing is that I didn't even need Accu-Weather to predict it!	 	 		 			 				 					 						SecurElement delivers a comprehensive blend of essential hardware, software, technical personnel, support and maintenance through the innovative Managed Environment program. Offering unparalleled value at a controlled cost, businesses of any size are able to leverage leading-edge technologies and services that maximize productivity, drive bottom line success and solve critical business issues.For more information regarding SecurElement solutions, interested parties can contact the sales department at 484.323.1629 or via email at <a href="mailto:sales@securelement.com">sales@securelement.com</a>.

Chasing the Clouds - Distributed Computing and Small Business

As a young boy, I always wondered what it would be like to be a weatherman on TV. I'd sit with my mom and dad, watching the local new...