Office 2010 and Sharepoint 2010 - 1

Dear Readers,

It has been quite long I did not blog. I would like to thank all the readers who keep reading my blog. And I try to fulfil your needs this year.

I am currently exploring Outlook 2010 Beta & Sharepoint 2010 and I found this interesting feature on Outlook & Share Point. I believe you all know Microsoft has invested a lot in SPS over few years. I hope this is the time for the corporates to look seriously into the SPS.

Here is one of the interesting features I found, People Pane on outlook and how we can hook up into the social network provider. Though the Microsoft says that it is “Connectors” to different social networking, we have to wait and see. But I am quite positive that it is not so far…

Thank you, Readers.

Tips for securing your wireless connection

Article from Sophos.
Dear Readers,

With over 50% of people admitting to having used someone else's wireless internet without permission, how can you stop your neighbours from stealing your Wi-Fi connection? Securing your wireless network is just a matter of following a few simple tips:

Use encryption
Wireless routers give you the option of encrypting your data, so bank details and passwords can't be intercepted. Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA and WPA2) is a much stronger encryption system for securing your communications than WEP, which can be easily cracked by hackers.

Use a passwordSet up a password for your wireless internet connection. Choose a strong password for securing your network - don't use the one that came with your Wi-Fi router or a dictionary word that is easy to guess or crack.

Don't broadcast the name of your wireless network
The name of your wireless network, known as the SSID, should not be broadcast to passers by. In addition, choose an obscure hard-to-guess SSID name to make life harder for Wi-Fi hackers. SSIDs such as 'home', 'wireless' or 'internet' are not good choices.

Use MAC address filtering
Wi-Fi routers and access points normally have the ability to prevent unknown wireless devices from connecting to the network. This works by comparing the MAC address of the device trying to connect to the Wi-Fi router with a list held by the router. Unfortunately, this feature is normally turned off when the router is shipped because it requires some effort to set up properly. By enabling this feature, and only telling the router the MAC address of wireless devices in your household, you'll be securing your wireless network against neighbors stealing your internet connection.

Securing your wireless network using MAC address filtering is not a total solution as it is possible for a determined hacker to clone MAC addresses and connect to your Wi-Fi network, but this measure should still be taken to reduce the risks.

Restrict internet access to certain hours
Some wireless routers allow you to restrict internet access to certain times of the day. For instance, if you know you will not need to access the internet from home between 9-5, Monday to Friday, then schedule your router to disable access between those hours.

Make sure your computers are properly secured
Check you have up-to-date anti-virus, security patches, and client firewall software, this will help to protect your wireless network by stopping malware-based connection to your Wi-Fi.

Thanks,
JS

General safety tips for Facebook

Adjust Facebook privacy settings to help protect your identity
Unlike some other social networking sites, Facebook has provided some powerful options to protect you online - but it's up to you to use them!

Think carefully about who you allow to become your friend
Once you have accepted someone as your friend they will be able to access any information about you (including photographs) that you have marked as viewable by your friends. You can remove friends at any time should you change your mind about someone.

Show "limited friends" a cut-down version of your profile
You can choose to make people 'limited friends' who only have access to a cut-down version of your profile if you wish. This can be useful if you have associates who you do not wish to give full friend status to, or feel uncomfortable sharing personal information with.

Disable options, then open them one by one
Think about how you want to use Facebook. If it's only to keep in touch with people and be able to contact them then maybe it's better to turn off the bells and whistles. It makes a lot of sense to disable an option until you have decided you do want and need it, rather than start with everything accessible.


source:Sophos

IT Quality

Dear Readers,
Here is the Paul’s list of great IT qualities (which I have edited) addresses both considerations.

1.The CIO reports to the CEO or, at least, the chief operating officer, giving the CIO clout and ensuring IT’s independence.

2.An IT steering committee, composed of C-level executives from the business units, makes allocation decisions based on a defined set of priorities and criteria such as ROI. The committee is necessary to ensure that investment decisions are made in the interests of the entire company and not just an individual department.

3.The organization spends an appropriate percentage of corporate revenue on IT, indicating the company’s level of commitment to IT.

4.A well-managed, highly visible security team is in place, since this is one of the most vulnerable areas of IT.

5.Disaster recovery plans and processes, involving users and a documented recovery plan, are well-established and tested regularly.

6.An ongoing commitment to training keeps IT staffers up to date. Organizations that don’t train IT folks and use lots of consultants are not sufficiently focused on in-house staff.

7.Rigid adherence to an appropriate system development life cycle, that both IT and the user community understand, is a priority. Documenting the selection process offers insight into the professionalism of the IT organization.

8.Well defined technical and managerial career paths let all workers achieve higher pay and status. This is the only way to retain top technical people who don’t want to manage others.

9.A monthly major IT project status report is widely distributed throughout the company.

10.The CIO participates in long-range, organizational strategic planning. If not, it’s clear the business views IT as an implementer and not a strategic enabler.

Thank you, Readers
JS