New Technology Reviews!.: Switch

Switch From Managing Email Security to Managed Email Security

The days of riding horseback through the wilderness to deliver a message are over. But make no mistake; we're not out of the woods yet. The digital world exposes us all to a virtual wilderness. Email offers simplicity to both the messenger and the malevolent.   Email has grown in vitality, now becoming the most important communication tool in the corporate world. The perpetuation of emerging threats has transformed email from an asset to a liability. Gone are the days when organizations could manually cope with the occasional email-borne nuisance. Email security has become a necessity and organizations must know the best way to ensure the integrity of their email network.   Perhaps an even greater threat to your organization's effectiveness is an over-investment in an under-effective email security solution. Organizations must seek a comprehensive, future-proof solution on a platform that integrates flawlessly with their current infrastructure.   The email security market is not bound by in-house software or hardware solutions. Organizations can push the war against spam, viruses, and other email borne threats outside of their network using a managed service.   What is a managed service?   Unlike software and appliance solutions, a managed email security solution sits entirely outside of your network. With a quick change of your organization's Mail Exchange (MX) records, mail is routed through the managed service, effectively filtering your email and delivering only genuine messages to your network. Such an infrastructure offers a number of benefits over traditional appliance and software security measures.   Benefits Instant Deployment Zero Maintenance Failover / Redundancy Disaster Recovery Scalability Bandwidth Savings Complete Threat Protection Future-Proof Platform Independent Low TCO / Quick ROI Instant Deployment   Since a managed service introduces no hardware or software into your infrastructures, deployments typically consist of only a simple MX record change. Moreover, managed solutions come pre-configured to maximize effectiveness with minimal user intervention.   Zero Maintenance   Updates to hardware and software are a necessary evil that demands time and money. This is especially true with security technology in order to stay ahead of new threats. But a managed service introduces absolutely no hardware or software into your infrastructure. All updates are performed by the managed service transparently to the end-user.   Failover / Redundancy   Implementing a redundant infrastructure is rarely cost-effective, especially in small to medium businesses. Yet, downtime is never acceptable. Deploying a managed solution is your ticket to enterprise-class reliability, without expending financial resources to integrate a redundant network infrastructure.   Disaster Recovery   Internal network and hardware glitches that compromise the availability of your email are inevitable. During downtime, not only is productivity lost, but also data which can cost your organization countless dollars. With a managed service, your email is queued during downtime. After connectivity is re-established, your email is promptly delivered to you. Organizations which deploy managed email security are able to focus solely on regaining connectivity, without worrying about lost messages during downtime.   Scalability   A managed service allows organizations the flexibility to grow without investing in additional information technology. Organizations with multiple geographic locations must purchase, implement, and maintain a software or hardware solution in each location that has a mail server. However, geographically dispersed organizations can be wholly controlled through a managed service, without any additional investments, installation, or maintenance.   Bandwidth Savings   Quality hardware and software solutions can effectively halt the flow of junk messages into end-users' inboxes. However, these junk messages still reach the perimeter of your network. Bandwidth is required to analyze all messages, and messages that are quarantined must be downloaded and stored. With a managed solution, only genuine messages reach your network. Spam, viruses, fraud, and malicious email messages are stopped before they approach your organization's perimeter.   Complete Threat Protection   There's much more to email security than spam and virus protection. Directory harvesting, mail bombs, phishing, dictionary attacks, and many other threats assault vulnerable organizations each day, causing countless dollars in damage and lost productivity. Most appliances and software solutions are only a piece of the email security puzzle.   More importantly, with a managed service you have professionals maintaining your email's security. Spam, viruses, and other email nuisances are growing more sophisticated, and require more sophisticated technology and know-how to combat them. A managed service supplies organizations with access to comprehensive technology and wisdom.   Future-Proof   Anti-spam technology, like no other, has an uncanny ability to lose effectiveness after a year or two. This is because spam is constantly changing, while your software and hardware is staying the same.   Spam is also growing in volume. A few years ago, you may have been receiving an average of ten spam messages a day. A spam solution with a 90% capture rate would catch all but one. Today, however, many users are receiving tens, even hundreds of junk messages a day. More intelligent software is needed to stop these additional messages, without misclassifying genuine ones.   A managed solution's core competency is to stay ahead of email threats. Thus, organizations are always plugged in to a cutting edge solution.   Platform Independent   Regardless of your organization's preferred OS and Mail Transfer Agent (MTA), a managed service can integrate easily into your infrastructure. Even organizations that utilize several operating systems and MTAs can quickly fit under the umbrella of a managed solution.   Low TCO / Quick ROI   Software and hardware solutions can rope you in with a large, non-refundable, upfront investment, and annual recurring fees. On the other hand, a managed solution is typically subscription-based, which can be cancelled at any time for a pro-rated refund. With a lower upfront outlay and minimal maintenance, organizations can realize a return on their investment in much less time with respect to traditional email security platforms.   Take Control of Your Email Network   Managed email security takes the burden off your budget and overworked IT staff and places it on the spammers. A managed service makes email what it was meant to be - an effective, hassle-free, business communication tool.

Switch From Managing Email Security to Managed Email Security

The days of riding horseback through the wilderness to deliver a message are over. But make no mistake; we're not out of the woods yet...

Yahoo flicks kill switch on Delicious and AltaVista

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com///classifications/gadgets/phones/mobile-phones/images/yahoo-200-200.jpg"> Yahoo has decided to slim down its organisation and kill off some of its best-known web properties. Both Delicious, the bookmarking service, and AltaVista are set for the chop, after some internal slides were leaked. Delicious was bought back in 2005 by Yahoo and did have around 5 million users. Alta Vista is from the web of old – a search engine that was once the most popular, until Google arrived to dominate this area. Streamlining products The leaked slides were confirmed by Yahoo as being real. The company released a statement saying: "Part of our organisational streamlining involves cutting our investment in underperforming or off-strategy products to put better focus on our core strengths and fund new innovation in the next year and beyond." "We continuously evaluate and prioritise our portfolio of products and services, and do plan to shut down some products in the coming months."

Yahoo flicks kill switch on Delicious and AltaVista

Yahoo has decided to slim down its organisation and kill off some of its best-known web properties. Both Delicious, the bookmarking service,...

TimeCommand dock turns your iPad into a very pricey dimmer switch

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjugmrHK3nEqgCXrVmyV_EEAzAl2K6oVzWWobVTxZ5z7mmwA5MbGnc5i2aXCJLXjsAk4klE4-QIsIeX7W63ss_IenEYG_ydqKXNY38f1fVkYPG5VSlXpRSQO4LcQJL3M9Y1cl8ReWQA_gE/s1600/101210-tomecommand-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjugmrHK3nEqgCXrVmyV_EEAzAl2K6oVzWWobVTxZ5z7mmwA5MbGnc5i2aXCJLXjsAk4klE4-QIsIeX7W63ss_IenEYG_ydqKXNY38f1fVkYPG5VSlXpRSQO4LcQJL3M9Y1cl8ReWQA_gE/s320/101210-tomecommand-01.jpg" width="256"></a></div> 
<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=latesttecompu-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B003L1LPJU&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>XtremeMac has been crankin' out iPod docks for years, and now former CEO Gary Bart has launched Stem Innovation, a company dedicated exclusively to iOS accessories. For its first trick, Bart and company have introduced TimeCommand which (as its name implies) goes beyond the whole dock thing and comes across as a control station for the bedroom.

TimeCommand dock turns your iPad into a very pricey dimmer switch

XtremeMac has been crankin' out iPod docks for years, and now former CEO Gary Bart has launched Stem Innovation, a company dedicated ex...

20 reasons you should switch to Linux

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//classifications/computing/software/operating-systems/images/linux-penguin-200-200.jpg"> There are hundreds of compelling reasons why Linux is better than all the rival operating systems. Here are just 20. 1. Linux is free No matter how many computers you install it on, the cost of Linux remains the same: zero. In these days of multi-computer households, this can be a massive saving, especially when you consider the cost of all the programs you have to add to a standard Windows installation. 2. Software repositories Having all the software you need in one place saves you having to trawl the web to find the program you're missing. It also means the software has been independently checked and digitally signed by the distro's developers, making it almost impossible to pick up a root-kitted version. <img alt="Software repositories" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/Linux%20Format/LXF%20138/LXF138.preferlinux.repositories-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG> The same developers also keep track of updates and add them to the repository, providing you with automatic updates without every program needing a 'phone home' feature. 3. Live CDs Live CDs are one of the best innovations of the Linux world. To be able to load a complete desktop on any computer by booting it from a CD or USB stick is a great way of using your favourite distro away from home, demonstrating Linux to yet-to-be-converted friends, checking hardware compatibility or fixing a broken Windows system. 4. Rapid evolution Windows Vista took five years to appear, and was seen by many critics and users alike as a big step backwards, if not a complete flop. Since Windows 7 would take another three years to come along, that was virtually an eight-year wait for an operating system upgrade! In contrast, most Linux distributions have an updated release every six to nine months (with the obvious exception of Debian). If you don't like the upside-down menus or whatever features Ubuntu decides to add to its current release, you can skip it – the next version will be only months away. 5. Linux is free Didn't we already mention this? Yes, but this is a different free: it's the freedom to do whatever you want with the software. This isn't restricted to copying, but also hacking. Even if you don't have the skills to do so, you can take advantage of the efforts of others. In fact, you probably already do so, as most distros use a modified version of the standard Linux kernel. 6. Powerful shell While some criticise Linux for its use of the shell, this really is a powerful advantage. Easy GUIs are good, and we need to be able to carry out standard administration and configuration tasks using a GUI, but sometimes a shell can be so much faster and more flexible, unlike a DOS box. 7. Multiple desktops <img alt="Mulitple desktops" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/Linux%20Format/LXF%20138/LXF138.preferlinux.desktops-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG> Have you ever watched a Windows user trying to juggle several programs and windows on screen at once, assuming they have enough resources to run several programs? Multiple desktops makes it easy to have many programs and windows open all at once, but only have to deal with the ones you are using right now. For example, you could have your email and internet on one desktop, a game on another, and the work you're supposed to be doing on another. A flick of the mouse is all that's required to switch between them. 8. Independent distributions Distributors are responsible for selecting and packaging software. Even if the distributor employs some of the programmers of a particular program, it isn't obliged to use that program irrespective of any shortcomings, unlike the situation with a certain large, monolithic software company. Software evolves because the distros only include what they feel is the best or most appropriate. 9. Drivers included Some claim that Windows 7 supports more hardware than Linux. In fact, the reverse is true. Windows 7 supports very little hardware – most hardware requires you to install drivers from the manufacturer. On the other hand, the majority of hardware is supported directly by the Linux kernel, so you can just plug and play – this is one of the reasons live CDs work so well. 10. Runs on any platform Linux runs on just about any hardware you can name, from mobile phones to supercomputers. The open source nature of the kernel and software means it can be ported to another architecture by a third party if the existing developers see no need. The end user doesn't need to care about the underlying hardware. 11. No commercial deadlines The release of a commercial operating system requires much planning in terms of coordinating marketing and promotion, so release dates are adhered to, even if the software isn't ready. Linux distros have no such pressures, and tend to adopt a 'release it when ready' approach, which means there are fewer post-installation bugs to deal with. 12. Interoperability Linux plays well with other systems. It recognises that there's a place for Windows and Mac OS X and will install alongside them, share files with them, and generally be nice to them. This is very different from the Windows view that multibooting means choosing between Windows 7 and Vista. 13. Community support The community support of Linux is unparalleled, mainly because there is no clear demarcation between developers and the rest of the community. Web forums and mailing lists are frequented by the software developers themselves, giving prompt and authoritative help, as well as the opportunity for users to give direct feedback and discuss suggestions with the developers. 14. Any colour you like, except brown Everything on Linux has an alternative, from the desktop you use to the package manager and even the filesystem holding it all. You can pick what's best for your needs, whether you want impressive eye candy or fast and light for older hardware. 15. Pick and mix With Linux, there is no commercial vendor trying to lock you into certain products or protocols. Instead, you're free to mix and match and choose what works best for your business. If you want to run KDE programs on a Gnome desktop or even the other way round, you can. If you want to cherry pick the best bits from each distro, you can. There are even DIY distros, such as Gentoo, that enable you to build a custom environment. 16. Security Linux is inherently more secure than Windows, because security is a feature of the core system, not a boltedon afterthought. With a firewall at the heart of the kernel and the virtual impossibility of slipping malware into the software repositories, a Linux computer can devote all its resources to running your programs, rather than being bogged down with security programs running all the time. 17. Lack of malware Malware is virtually unheard of on Linux. This is mainly down to the open source nature of the software. If you install from your distro's repositories, you know the software has been checked by them. 18. Thousands of programs included A Linux distro is not just an operating system; it comes with thousands of free applications. While other systems consider a desktop, web browser and mailer to be all you need, a typical Linux distro includes everything you could possibly want: internet tools, office software, multimedia and games. If it's not on the installation disc, there are thousands more available for download. 19. No reinstallations When problems occur in Linux, they can be fixed directly. You don't even need to reinstall when you want to update to the latest version of your distro. 20. Pick a distro And if you don't like it, <a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/10-best-linux-distros-for-2010-704584">pick another, and another</A>. Most distros keep user data on a separate partition, so you can flit between distros like a hyperactive butterfly, and still keep all your settings, emails and so on intact.

20 reasons you should switch to Linux

There are hundreds of compelling reasons why Linux is better than all the rival operating systems. Here are just 20. 1. Linux is free No mat...

Philips USB 2.0 Autosharing Switch Instructions

Philips USB 2.0 Autosharing Switch Instructions

Place the Philips USB 2.0 Autosharing Switch in a central location to your computers and the USB device to be shared. Connect the printer, ...

How to Switch Drive C to E

How to Switch Drive C to E

Click your "Start" menu and click "Control Panel." Click "System and Security" ("System and Maintenance...