New Computer Worm Silently Affecting Millions!

Hi all, Take a look at the video of my CMIT counterpart in Salt Lake City, Thomas Olsen, talk about the newest nasty computer worm. This one is not as obvious to get rid of as most... worth watching.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=5404507

How To Pick A Good Password

Happy MLK JR. Day! Here's a quick tip for you to use in everyday life...

What’s the most common password? You guessed it…”password.” Obviously this is not the best way to protect yourself against hackers and online thieves. But even if you don’t use the word “password,” you might be using an equally easy password to decipher.

We suggest you DON’T use the following passwords for really important web sites, such as your online banking web site or other financially related sites.

* Your name or your spouse’s name.
* Your children’s names.
* Your pet’s name.
* Your birth date.
* The last four digits of your Social Security number.
* Your phone number.
* Your address.
* A series of consecutive numbers, such as “1, 2, 3, 4.”
* A single word that would appear in a dictionary.

Your best bet for creating a strong password: Use combinations of letters, numbers and special characters.

What makes CMIT different than most computer consultants?

We just recorded this video for our AboutUs page on the new website (www.cmitsolutions.com/SacCentral). Check out the video here...

New CMIT website unveiled this week

Take a look at our new & updated website. We haven't finalized everything, but it's live on the web now! :-) www.cmitsolutions.com/SacCentral

Look for CMIT soon in the Sacramento Bee...

Just got word that a good sized article about CMIT Solutions of Sacramento is supposed to be in the Sacramento Bee (http://www.sacbee.com/) before the end of the year. Updated 1/2/09... look for the article this weekend... we have inside knowledge that it's supposed to be there. I'll post a link to the article once it's up.

Processor Magazine article with quotes from Jeff Johnson

Check out this article from Processor Magazine (http://budurl.com/uvx9) that Jeff was just quoted in.

To sum up Jeff's points in the article, the trend that we're seeing recently is that many mid sized small businesses (20-100 employees) that recently had the LUXURY of having an IT Manager or IT Staff in house are now looking to outsource to IT Service providers such as CMIT Solutions that can do the same work, and do it better & more efficiently than a staff employee at significant discounts (50%+) than what it would cost to pay an internal IT employee to do the work. That's a savings of nearly $50K for most companies that can go straight to the bottom line profits of the business. In this current economy, that much money could mean the difference between profits & losses for many companies...

If Disaster Strikes, How Fast Could Your Company Be Back Up & Running?

You hear it all the time from us—back up your data, keep your virus protection current, and install and maintain a firewall to protect yourself from hackers and other online threats.
However, while these precautions will certainly help you avoid problems, they CAN’T do anything if you don’t have a good backup and disaster recovery plan in place.

Are You A Sitting Duck?

We all know that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure; yet, disaster recovery planning often takes a distant second to the daily deadlines and pressures of running a business.
That means that most businesses, including your own, may end up offline and without your data after a simple lightening storm.
Don’t think that could ever happen to you? Consider this: “data-erasing disasters” can also take the form of office fires and broken water pipes, not just earthquakes, floods and tornadoes. If a fire started in your building, the parts that weren’t burned beyond recovery would probably be destroyed by the firemen’s efforts. But even more common is software corruption, hardware failures and human error!

Disaster Recovery Questions You Need To Answer

A disaster recovery plan doesn’t have to be complicated, time-consuming or expensive. Start by asking yourself the following questions...

1.) Do you back up your company’s data daily to both an onsite and offsite location?
2.) Are you absolutely certain that your backup copy is valid, complete and not corrupt? How do you know for sure?
3.) If disaster strikes, HOW would you get your data back, and how long would it take? In many cases it takes days and often weeks; what would you do during that
period of time?
4.) Do you have copies of all the software licenses and discs in a safe location that could be accessed in the event of having to rebuild your server?
5.) Would you and your employees have a way to access your network remotely if you couldn't get to the office?
6.) Do you store important passwords in a secure place that company officers can access if you are unavailable?
7.) Do you have a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) device in place to keep your network and other critical data operations running during a power outage?

This is NOT a complete list, but it is a good start to get you thinking in the right direction.

Our FREE Disaster Recovery Plan Helps You Prepare

Since it’s almost the New Year, we’ve decided to help our clients get their “IT house” in order by giving away a FREE Backup and Disaster Recovery Audit. At no charge or obligation, we’ll come to your office, review your current plan (or lack of one!) and provide a simple action plan on what you need to do to make sure your business can always be up and running.
But take note! We can only make this available to our clients and friends during the months of December and January; after that, the fee for this consultation will be $395. For more information, please contact our office at 916-984-6243 and ask for Thor, or e-mail us at SacCentral@cmitsolutions.com.