Recent Blog Posts

Earlier this year.  IT Services was tasked with assisting a local web development and hosting provider, with the planning and implementation of a hosted Exchange Server.

This would allow the company to offer hosted Exchange services to their existing clients under Microsoft's Service Provider Licensing Agreement along side their current hosting services.

Microsoft Exchange Server is a server based collaborative application product, offered by Microsoft providing hosted mail, calendaring, contacts and tasks to the client.   Unlike typical POP3/IMAP 1 server, 1 client connections, dealing only e-mail, clients are able to access a synchronised experience across multiple desktop operating systems, mobile devices and web-based access clients.  Enabling them to deal with the same resources wherever they are.

Exchange Server is found typically deployed for businesses on premises in products such as Microsoft Windows Small Business Server, or in larger client bases their own dedicated server appliances.

Typically, this can be an expensive solution to provide, with the upfront cost of hardware, licensing, consultancy.  There is also a requirement to maintain the ongoing solution.  Many businesses are looking at moving their existing systems to external providers to host these solutions under monthly ongoing fees, offsetting these costs and responsibilites under service level agreements.

IT Services, installed and tested the Microsoft Exchange 2010 based solution within their Lutterworth bases premises until the system was ready to deploy in a secure Telford based datacentre.

 

For anyone who has never stepped foot in a datacentre of any kind, it is best described simply with the words noise, heat, cold, not the sort of place any human being would want to spend long periods of their time with their senses being played with.

The point of such a centre is to provide a central location with secure 24/7 access with reliable, redundant power and communications.

The solution was installed in late January and has been performing strongly and reliably.  Many of our client's, existing clients have now switched from their existing POP3 or inhouse Exchange based e-mail services moving over to the externally provided solution. 

IT Services Support is experienced in the planning of long term projects.  From deployment of new services, migration of services, moving of site premises for busineses.

If you would like to discuss any such services with IT Services, please do not hesistate to contact us.

Security has always been an ongoing issue affecting businesses. The methods and technologies that individuals or groups will use to attempt to exploit businesses has continuously changed.

Among those changes has been the main goal of of security attacks. The first known virus to affect machines in the wild, opposed to in a controlled environment, was in 1981, named Elk Cloner, The first virus was created and spread across Apple II floppy disks which produced a message on screen.

There have been many well known viruses that in the past, have affected thousands of machines across the globe simultaneously. Although a disruption in business will inherently cost businesses, many of today modern infections are specifically designed to attempt defraud businesses. Money has become the main objective in security breaches.

The cost of a data breach has risen for the third consecutive year to an average of £1.9m in 2010 according to an annual study by the Ponemon Institute.  The average total cost of a data breach ranged from £84,000 to almost £3.8 million, with an average of £47 per record compromised.

There are several ways businesses should be ensuring that they have a complete and unified security strategy for protecting their business.  But one of the most overlooked is businesses not enforcing a password policy on employees.

Among the most popular passwords used by employees have been, Password, letmein, iloveyou,qwerty, 123456, 666666, 7777777, access, among other simple single word names.

IT Services recommends users base passwords of either 2 methods.

1 Complex Passwords - Minimum of seven characters, one capital letter and a Base 10 digit or an non-alphabetic character. For example O$car47.

2 Password phrases, using a sentence or a long phrase a password to increase the number of characters.

To check how secure your password is, try Microsoft's password checker.

Among the keen eye administrators providing ongoing maintencance to Small Business Servers that they are responsible for, they will have  noticed a new rollup update sneaking into automatic updates.

Officialy released 26/01/2011.  SBS 2008 Update Rollup 5 (KB2458094) is the latest in ongoing released of service packs and update rollups released by Microsoft for their SBS platform. 

An update rollup is a tested, cumulative set of hotfixes, security updates, critical updates, and updates that are packaged together for easy deployment.  They are generally released to target specific known problems that have been encounterd on the product.

Among the fixes, some may be familiar encountered problem to system administrators as described on the official SBS Blog.

Issue 1
Small Business Server 2008 shipped with Windows Live Sign-in Assistant version 5.0.
Update rollup 5 upgrades the Windows Live Sign-in Assistant to version 6.5

Issue 2
Log files for the Windows Update Services Website will continue to grow rapidly and will consume a large amount of disk space.
Update rollup 5 adds a scheduled task named WSUSLOGCLEANER that will remove all the log files in the WSUS Administration’s IIS directory (c:\inetpub\logs\logfiles\w3svc1372222313, by default) that are older than 30 days. The files should be removed within 48 hours of the update installation. The scheduled task will continue to run on a daily basis and remove any files older than 30 days.

Issue 3
IP version 6 is improperly disabled by unchecking IPv6 on the properties of the network card.
After installing update rollup 5, the fix my network wizard will enable IPv6 if it was improperly disabled. The fix my network wizard will not enable IPv6 if it was properly disabledby following the steps in KB article 929852.

Issue 4
Small Business Server update rollup 4 would fail to install if Windows Sharepoint Services 3.0 had been removed from the server.
Update rollup 5 will install successfully if Sharepoint 3.0 is uninstalled.

Issue 5
While trying to edit the properties of a user account, you may receive the following error message:
Invalid E-mail alias
This e-mail alias already exists. Type a different e-mail alias.
This issue will occur if you have a user account and a mail enabled contact with the same SMTP mailbox name. For example: If you have a user with the email address of test@contoso.com and a mail enabled with an email address of test@adventureworks.com, you will see this failure.
After installing update rollup 5, you will be able you successfully modify the user account and will no longer receive the error message about an invalid e-mail address.

Issue 6
After installing any of the previous SBS 2008 Update Rollups (4 or lower) you might see the following event in the application event log happening every 5 to 10 minutes:
Log Name: Application
Source: Windows SharePoint Services 3 Search
Date: 8/5/2009 10:10:02 AM
Event ID: 2424
Task Category: Gatherer
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: SBS01.wingtiptoys.local
Description:

The update cannot be started because the content sources cannot be accessed. Fix the errors and try the update again.
Context: Application 'Search', Catalog 'index file on the search server Search'

New content will not be added to the search index and in consequence it will not be found when doing a full text search within the CompanyWeb application.  Update rollup 5 automatically implements the solution documented in this blog post. The Windows SharePoint Services 3 search errors should no longer occur after applying this update rollup and search should work correctly.

Issue 7
Update rollup 5 fixes compatibility issues with Windows Internet Explorer 9. Windows Internet Explorer 9 will now work with all the default Small Business Server websites such as http://Companyweb, http://server/Remote, and http://Connect

SBS 2008 Update Rollup 5 includes all the fixes from the previous released and do not need to been installed in order.  Not all update rollups and service packs for SBS 2008 and it's associated products are released automatically.  For example, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007.  Some are a manual process and should deployment be planned accordingly.   

 

On the 5th November, Apple announced the retirement of their dedicated server platform, XServe, effective January 31st 2011, ending a product that has seen poor sales.

XServe is Apple's only designated server hardware design, anyone wishing to run the Mac OS X Server platform, will have to purchase a Mac Pro, or Mac Mini with Mac OS X Server Snow Leopard.

In a statement published on its own website, the company said it was "transitioning away from Xserve"

Macbook or Iphone users are not likely going to be shocked at this announcement, in fact many people do not know Apple make servers.  Close watchers will have noticed the hardware has not been updated since April 2009. 

Although the decision came some time ago, the full impact is still being absorbed by the industry, analysing Apple's long term ambitions for the enterprise.

There are real-world consequences to this decision for many, Dave Scrhroder, a systems engineer at the University of Wisconsin, posted an open letter to Steve Jobs asking if they have to cancel XServe, could they allow Mac OS X virtualisation on non Mac hardware. 

Without either option, Schroeder writes, it will negatively affect many of the programs on campus that Apple probably cares about, including iOS mobile development, campus-wide lecture capture with Podcast Producer, Itunes U presence, IP TV network and many other services that rely on apple server to support the user experience.

Apple says it will continue to support the hardware, including warranties and customer service.

IT Services Support were recently awarded a contract to design, supply and install a wifi network to cover a large area of the site of a historic manor house, to allow access to internal and external resources with optional public broadband access.


The requirements deemed that the solution was reliable, provided excellent coverage and that no electrical point distribution changes were necessary to provide power to access points.


10 business class POE (Power Over Ethernet) access points were strategically placed to allow the best coverage covering the estates office, stables, courtyard, public cafe, other room and the surrounding rear gardens.


The AP's required no separate power supply at the location of install, instead using a newly installed CAT6e network, power was sent down the data cabling from a central control point. The AP's were of high quality hardwearing metal cases ensuring they will survive in the challenging environment as any further building works changes are made as the ongoing needs of the building changes.


The work was completed and signed off the same week of the job acceptance. IT Services Support continues to provide on going support should any issue or failures arise.

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.