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With the ever increasing numbers and complexity of computer threats, protecting your IT is a serious concern. That’s why we take our role in helping you protect your systems very seriously.

IT Services is an Authorised Partner of ESET UK, to which we sell, distribute, install and support their products to new and existing clients.  Direct comparisons tell the story better that we can, with ESET’s NOD32 antivirus system is the only solution worldwide that has never missed a single “In-the-Wild” worm or virus in this testing since May 1998 and holds the world record of VB100 Awards, which it has been submitting testing to since May 1998.

For a limited time only until 31st August 2010, IT Services as an Authorised Partner is offering any new ESET Antvirus or Smart Security License for 3 years at the price of 2, on 5 or more licenses, for new ESET customers.  This is an offer being sold exclusively by ESET Partners and cannot be obtained from ESET.co.uk

 

For further details for a no obligation quote, please contact IT Services. For the full offer, please see our ESET 3 for 2 brochure. 

All orders must be placed before midnight, 31st August 2010.

Product

• All ESET Business Edition Products qualify
• Includes Not-for-profit and educational licenses
• All Home user licenses are excluded
• The promition applies to sale of NEW licenses to NEW customers
• Renewals are excluded

What is a Microsoft Small Business Specialist? At IT Services Support Ltd, we had to demonstrate to Microsoft our technical knowledge and proven experience of dealing with SME's using Microsoft server and desktop products.

 IT Services has a wide array of clients in both size and industry. We understand the unique requirements and working methods of SME companies from our direct experience of working directly with our clients on a regular basis.

Microsoft's Small Business Specialist allows us to show our ability to cater not only for large businesses, but the small businesses that suffer the same problems and challenges, day in day out. As well as our experience with large server networks, we have the baseline skills, knowledge, and expertise required to effectively deploy and maintain the Small Business Server and Essential Business Server platform aimed as a solution to SME businesses.

So why use a Microsoft Small Business Specialist?  Here are five reasons.

You can trust your IT is in good hands, We are trained and supported by Microsoft. We are the experts in our field and we have the badge to prove it.

 We’ll save you from making costly and time consuming mistakes. We work quickly, efficiently and accurately. We can recommend and supply the latest and most appropriate Microsoft technology for your business, that’s what years of experience and training enable us to do.

We specialise in small business (and no business is too small). We work with small businesses day in, day out. We understand the issues you face, and enjoy helping you to solve them. We are specialists provided access to specific resources for small business.

We have a wide range of invaluable resources that are specific to small businesses needs. We do what we do best, so you can do what you do best. Our solutions can vastly improve your companies productivity.

We have extensive experience in delivering the right solutions at the right time. Our passion is helping you make the most out of your businesses potential.

Get in contact now with IT Services Support and let us focus on your IT, so you can focus on running your business.

In an era of E-mail, VOIP calls, blogs, video content among other communication technologies, it is sometimes surprising that certain types of information and communication will still come by post, especially one regarding your own company domain.

It would seem that the Domain Renewal Group scam is once again doing the rounds. The scam is well known in the domain/hosting industry. A professional letter will turn up on your desk 2 months before your renewal is due. So if you get a letter that looks similar to this, don't give it a moment of your attention.

 

 If you are not sure when your domain is due for renewal, speak to your hosting company. If in doubt there are free tools available to check the status and information associated with your domain records.

The only result in actioning this letter is a loss of money from your bank account and possible future illegal use of your card details that will be supplied.

 

ESET is an award winning security software company headquartered in Slovakia with UK regional offices in Bournemouth. Established in 1992 It's first product was released in for MS-DOS.

ESET's products are regularly tested by independent organizations such as AV-Comparatives, AV-Test and Virus Bulletin. It is the first security software company to achieve 60 Virus Bulletin 100 Awards. It was also the first company to achieve" Compatible with Windows 7" certification from Microsoft, being available on day one of Windows 7.

IT Services Support have been partnered with ESET for over a year with a strong relationship, their products have proven to be lightweight on system resources while taking no prisoners on effective Antivirus and Antispyware protection. IT has proven to be very popular with our client base and we continue to migrate our clients from other AV software that may not be providing adequate protection or making to large an impact on system resources, affecting the age of machines that can be kept running.

ESET has officially announced the expected ESET Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange Server. This product features major advancements over its predecessor, ESET NOD32 Antivirus for Microsoft Exchange Server.

ESET Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange Server is built on the award-winning fourth generation ThreatSense engine, which gives ESET Mail Security the industry’s most effective proactive technology for detecting viruses and other malware.

"We architected this product to be more effective, flexible and scalable than its predecessor. Messaging security is essential to the productivity of businesses everywhere, and ESET Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange Server enables businesses to implement fast and effective messaging security with minimal overhead," said Richard Marko, chief technical officer, ESET. "The product supports Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5, 2000, 2003, 2007 and 2010 to ensure compatibility in most business environments."

New features of ESET Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange Server include:

* Improved antivirus and antispyware protection against evolving threats
* New antispam protection integrates technologies such as RBL, DNSBL, fingerprinting, reputation checking, content analysis, Bayesian filtering, rules, manual whitelisting/blacklisting to ensure maximum detection of email threats
* Greylisting is available as an additional layer of antispam protection
* Transport layer protection increases scalability and performance
* Improved scanning of email database
* Flexible message quarantine rules allow many-to-one or one-to-one mapping between recipient email address and quarantine mailboxes
* New anti-stealth technology protects against emerging rootkits
* Self-defense prevents malicious software from degrading the effectiveness of protection
* Intuitive mail server performance monitoring and statistics simplify management
* ESET SysInspector and ESET SysRescue simplify system diagnosis and recovery

Key benefits include:

* Proactive protection against emerging threats, without waiting hours or days for signature updates
* Light system footprint with minimal impact on mail server performance
* Fast and effective messaging security that is easy to deploy and manage

IT Services will be advising clients with existing NOD32 Antivirus for Microsoft Exchange Server installations on upgrading as well as reselling and installing ESET products to new and existing clients.

Dell are well known for being a direct to customer approach company without the use of any middle man or retail shop selling their range of desktop computers, notebooks, netbooks, servers and other equipment.

A major shift in strategy developed Dell's Partner Direct program encouraging companies to resell  Dell products allowing companies to take advantage of partners knowledge and experience of dell products.

Despite Dell well being known for a direct business model, Dell currently has well over 30,000 partners world wide with 15,000 in the US, who resell Dell's products and services.

IT Services Support is pleased to announce that as of the 24th February 2010 we are officially a DellDirect Partner.

Being a Dell Direct Partner provides us access to the whole of the Dell product range at incredibly competitive prices, along with the expertise and full support of Dell.

Microsoft has produced a smart phone OS since 2000, but recently Windows Mobile has become somewhat stale with no major changes since the original release of Version 6 in February 2007.  The recent release of 6.5 being nothing more than an unwanted stopgap until the next version.

Since then the mobile market has changed dramatically for both the domestic market and business users.  All devices running innovative software that have upgraded the capabilities of mobile phones.

Two years of Apple iPhone, nearly a year-and-a-half since the launch of the first Google Android phone and a year since the unveiling of the Palm Pre, all looking to build market share and no response from Microsoft in what is a giant game of leapfrog.

Microsoft has finally come up with answer to bring itself a fresh approach into the mobile market. A fresh approach with a brand new operating system at the core and new name for a new time. Gone is the name Windows Mobile.

If you have a Zune music player, you should recognise the  Microsoft's phone platform immediately. The Zune software, although has struggled for market share, is known for working well and doing what it needs to do without a cluttered interface.

Microsoft has acknowledged that this is a crowded market, because of this they have been challenged to produce a new experience.

 

What really matters is when Microsoft decide to release this new Mobile OS.  At this point in time it is unlikely Iphone and Android users will consider a Microsoft powered phone, they may however take business from RIM.

ChangeWave Reseatch - Recently Documented Future Smart Phone Buying

There's a lot to be excited about with this new approach from Microsoft, but we all know how this story turns out.  Six companies come in, which four or three have the market share in 2 years time is anyone's guess.

On Wednesday 27th January, Apple CEO Steve Jobs revealed a new class of Apple product, apple's first tablet machine named the IPad.

 

 

The reaction to which has been of mixed review, both positive and quite cynical feedback, of which the one that has summed up our initial feelings towards the product are summed up with the following.

 

 

Looking at the product in depth the criticism has been quite just.  Apple have always been known for being a marketing machine showing unwavering passion for their products.  The apple Ipad is running a tweaked version of the same Mac OS X product that run's Apple's Iphone and IPod Touch. 

Among the limitations that have been well document in the Iphone and Ipod Touch products have been the ability to multitask applications.  A decision made by Apple on performance grounds.  The OS also does not support Adobe's Flash plugin, which makes it hard to understand how this can be the "best browsing experience" as Apple would claim where this will leave many rich content sites unbrowsable. 

Tablet PC's are not a new concept.  The idea was originally announced as a product by Microsoft  in 2001 of which over the years a number of keyboardless state PC's and convertible keyboard designs has emerged, typically working with a stylus. 

With the emergence of Windows 7 and it's improved touch input and apple's recent development of touch and gesture input the market of tablet pc's has been given a needed boost.

Whether the product will be successful is remains to be seen but initial reaction has shown to see the ipad as anything but ground breaking.  It is difficult to see who this product is for where on first glances, it is nothing more than a IPod Touch on your lap.  The product falls between not quite a laptop and not quite a smartphone.  The whole product is based on the idea of making our lives easier.  What applications that could be potentially be developed for the platform may very well determine it's success.

Among the more interesting announcements for the product is that it will be possible to run Windows 7 on the hardware using Citrix XenDesktop & Citrix XenApp application allowing you to remotely run an application and an Operating system.  With a combination of the Hardware and the open environment of Microsoft's Desktop software, or indeed potentially other operating systems or applications, the Ipad could become a very interesting business product. 

Will you be investing in an Ipad?  Give us your thoughts.

Welcome to the IT Services blog. 

Over the coming weeks we will be taking are more in depth and personal look at news and developments that we feel affect the IT Industry, issues that affect Businesses and our general thoughts and comments from the engineers at IT Services.

Product announcements, changes in software, known threats.  Issues that affect SME and large enterprise businesses alike.  We hope to take a more personal but objective view that we feel may be of interest to readers.

We feel that the aim of this blog may change over time, with a mixture of short and longer items while complimenting our regular news feed.

Any comments or suggestions will be more than welcome as we take a look at a range of news, issues and general thoughts.