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Computer security is a broad spectrum, and citing the emerging Internet threats it has become a must to do review work. As more and more digital information is getting online through e-mail client, instant messenger, social network, photo sharing websites, etc., your system is more vulnerable and can be an easy target of fraudsters and scammers. Along the installation of Windows, Microsoft Office, browser, e-mail clients, and more, the most essential job is to give your PC the protection of compatible antivirus or Internet security software. Sometimes, despite all protection the system acquires the infection. And, you may be perplexed with symptoms like slow performance, Windows Lockup, system crash, hard-drive failure, disk or drive inaccessibility, and more. At times, there can be silent errors, and before you awake it can be too late.
Avast is renowned brand while you are discussing the computer security aspect. There are home and business products both, and are powered with advanced antivirus and anti-spyware engines to check viruses, spyware, and other malicious agents. Real-time anti-rootkit protection will make sure that stealth factors, which can be a threat to your precious database stay away from your machine and specifically the Windows operating system files are safe. The brand has integrated some hi-tech features such as Boot-time scanner, avast! SafeZone and AutoSandbox. CommunityIQ network takes care of your system files against emerging Internet threats, as this is the portal empowered by the vast user-base. Avast products have received several acclamation from reputed software testing organizations, VB100, ICSA Labs, and West Coast Labs, are a few to name. Going through the avast reviews offered by these agencies can be a great advantage. These reports are based on practical performance of security software in terms of ease-to-use, intuitive features, effectiveness, update, upgrade and support. Thus, you can choose the best antivirus or Internet security protection for your system.
However, problems related to the installation, activation, update, and upgrade are not denied. There can be different reasons related to compatibility and conflict. So, before you install avast on your system affirm all requirement. Trace out and remove if there is any outdated security software already running on it. Do it either through Windows Control Panel or using an uninstaller tool as per your convenience. Uninstaller tool should be used with acute precision as it might delete important files or registry settings if taken for granted. Post installation problems related to e-mail send/receive, Internet access, sharing of files and peripherals, etc., can also be there, especially due to wrong settings and lack of update. Most of the times, you can fix the problem on your own, by updating or configuring the software application. Windows Firewall and Windows Update are other main supplementary aspects contributing in the PC performance, and must be reviewed regularly. You can uninstall avast and restore it back as well, if you are not satisfied with its performance.
No matter, you have done all to secure your data, but bad situations are enviable, and can slip anytime. So, you must follow safety measures. Regularly backup your data, and use encrypted system to encrypt sensitive files and folders. Download internet files from trusted sources only and stay away from rogue security software. Use password encryption to protect Office files.
The author is a technician at Techvedic technologies, a firm that delivers end to end Trend Support to clients. Online computer repair, Install Avast, Hp support, Remove Bitdefender are few services offered at this one platform along with many others.
Network administrators or network managers of all business sizes have critical tasks in protecting their networks against any types of external threats (aka Internet threats). Moreover, they also need to protect the organization's information assets against the threats from the inside. In protecting from the insiders, generally they develop the information security policies and enforce them to all the users.
Traditionally network administrators or network managers implement different types of protection systems for each types of the threat to secure the network. For example, you need to deploy a native firewall in each of the intersection between the internet and the private network. And you need to implement a management of antivirus server to provide virus protection for all the computer clients in the network. Or you need to deploy an intrusion detection system (or appliance) to stop the hackers infiltrating your private network.
Implementing many types of different systems or appliances to protect your business networks might raise the overhead cost and administration. Moreover, intruders today are evolving to get smarter and more harmful. Traditional firewalls cannot effectively block those threats anymore. It is therefore, you need a comprehensive network security - an all-in-one UTM appliance or UTM firewall for all the requirements you need to protect your network security.
Check Point UTM-1 Appliance is a single device for all you need to protect your network. The appliance can include flexible software blades you can add and extend as needed including the firewall, IPS (intrusion prevention system), anti-spyware, URL filtering, anti-virus, anti-spam, and web-security software blades.
Normally when you setup and install individual software system for example traditional web-filter or anti-virus systems into a server, you have to collect prerequisite information such as your server-name, how to reach the internet, what account to use in accessing the internet, and so on. But with Check-Point UTM-1 appliance, you can setup the appliance easily using the first-time installation wizard. Deployment process is as easy as plugging in and turning on the appliance; following the onscreen wizard; and launching the management interface.
To optimally use this UTM firewall appliance in protecting your internal network against any emerging threats, you require Check Point Update service. Appliance is just a hardware, but to keep your system updated you must subscribe the update services in a yearly basis. Mostly all the UTM network security appliances include the security update service you have to subscribe in a yearly basis. For example Cisco WRVS4400 for small businesses which supports the optional Cisco Protect Link services, the service to subscribe the dynamic content filtering.
Security is very expensive, but it is worth in protecting your valuable information assets against any emerging internet threats.
For SOHO (small office home office) businesses, spending lots of money for security protection is not sensible. Check Point UTM security appliance is not for SOHO, but it is for small to medium businesses where information security protection is a critical task to do. For SOHO, consider home wireless routers such as Belkin N600 wireless n dual band router. The router supports all the requirements you need to build your wireless network environment for sharing the internet, it includes two USB ports to allow you share the printer and storage at the same time. The router is ideal to start home businesses with standard networking but you still can enjoy the smooth online gaming and high-performance video streaming.
But if you are really serious in starting your small business with limited budget, consider Cisco RV 120W Wireless-N router. The router is an all-in-one device that offers high performance, business-class features, and a simple user interface and is designed for small office which includes the VPN and VLANs features.
By Ki Grinsing
Ki Grinsing was graduated from ITS with MCSE and CCNA certifications. He has prolonged years of working experiences in IT projects. Please visit the articles Checkpoint utm appliance and firewall VLAN router.
In the cyber world everything happens quickly. New technology, new threats, new regulations and new players are constantly emerging and in order for the United States to compete and remain secure, qualified people are required - and we don't have them.
In a recent article entitled Cyberwarrior Shortage Threatens U.S. Security (by Tom Gjeltin, the author makes the following points:
· The United States is the most vulnerable country for cyber attacks.
· United States cyber defenses are not up to the challenge.
· The protection of U.S. cyber assets requires an "army" of cyber warriors but recruitment of that force is suffering. Conservative estimates are that at least 1,000 "cyberwarriors"
Not only are new candidates hard to find but existing agency personnel are leaving. This problem is beginning to be recognized by the community at large. This is a serious problem and the solution needs to include the private contractor community as well as direct hiring by government agencies. As a recent study concluded:
The ability of government agencies to fulfill their missions is in peril, requiring immediate and thoughtful attention to the recruitment, hiring and retention of talented IT professionals. Without the right people in the right jobs, our government's ability to accomplish its mission will be hindered by failing projects and high attrition rates. By investing in IT talent, government will ensure mission success and maintain a safe and prosperous nation. (Source ISSUE BRIEF | BUILDING AN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY WORKFORCE; Partnership for Public Service)
The United States Federal Government is remarkable successful in certain limited areas (e.g. defense and transportation) but recruiting cyberwarriors is clearly not in their core capabilities for a number of very good reasons:
· Cyber warriors are in high demand and the search process requires agile, innovative approaches. Government agencies are burdened with a great number of rules that inhibit the process.
· Government Employee hiring is notoriously slow. Turn around averages about 200 days and if high level clearances are required add about six months or 180 days to the process. Total time to recruit and hire a technically qualified person with required high level clearances (required by most of Cyber Command) - over 1 year.
· It is hard to change government employee status if requirements change or the employee fails to perform.
· Generally speaking government agencies don't expend effort on research and development required to keep up with technology and cyber attack strategy and tactics.
The above reasons are a part of the reasons that Government Cyber Security agencies (DHS and Cyber Command) look to contractors to supply cyberwarriors. Contractors add the innovation and facileness required to reduce the shortage for cyberwarriors. In addition, contractors add specific value in the following ways:
· Many contractors include aggressive recruiting in their business model and effectively use social networking for maximum job requisition exposure.
· Often, contractors recruit from existing staff, prior employees or through the use of social networking sites. These techniques are especially valuable when searching for candidates with high level security clearances. The turnaround on job requisitions averages 30-60 days.
· Each contract issued by a government agency has termination for convenience/cause clauses. The net effect is that if the government decides that it no longer needs or wants the cyberwarrior(s) provided - the agency can terminate the contract and fire the contractor. This gives the respective agency tremendous flexibility.
· Contractors generally engage in internally funded research and development (IR&D) and pass this on to government agencies in the form of better skilled experts and cyberwarriors.
Are Contract Employees More Expensive?
The answer is no.
Recently, contractor compensation has come under administration and media criticism as a waste of taxpayer dollars. Contractors have been portrayed as having an incestuous relationship with key agencies like those in the Intelligence community (IC). This criticism is unfair and not based on facts:
When contracts respond to agency Request for Proposal they must supply forward pricing and identify three levels of cost in detail: direct labor, fringe benefits (health insurance, paid time off, matching social security, workers compensation, unemployment insurance etc.), General and Administrative (Rent, office staff, executive salaries etc.) To the total of all the costs is added a "fee" which represents profit for the contractor (6-8%). A "fully burdened" hourly rate is calculated.
During the RFP process a Basis of Estimate (BOE) is prepared showing the number of hours required for a particular task (defined by the agency). To this estimate is multiplied the fully burdened hourly rate to determine the cost. If the contractor produces rates that are too high, it may lose the contract or, if it wins and costs are less that estimated, it must return to the government the excess. An agency called DCAA (Defense Contract Audit Agency.
As regards the elements of the fully burdened hourly rate the following should be noted:
· Direct labor rates (the amount of salary actually paid to the employee) of federal employees have increased dramatically as compared to contractor employee salaries. Some estimates are the government employee salaries are 25% higher.
· Generally speaking contractor employees are more flexible for overtime if required.
· Federal employee benefits are more lucrative than contractor benefits including separate health care (richer than the recent public health care bill passed), pension (richer than social security), greater paid time off and other benefits.
· The cost per hour per employee for Federal workers does not include any burden for General and Administrative costs - these heavy burdens for office space, utilities, office equipment and other support expenses are paid by the tax payer.
· The only area that use of Federal employees avoids is the contractor profit fee but when one considers the higher pay, benefits and the tax payer subsidized G&A costs, this is a relatively small item at 6-8%.
The bottom line is that the Federal Government needs highly qualified cyberwarriors and it needs them now in order to protect the welfare of the nation. When one compares this specialized need, and the need to protect the success of its cyber missions, the best choice is contractor provided employees.
Jon M. Stout is Chief Executive Officer of Aspiration Software LLC. Aspiration Software LLC is an Information Technology/Cyber Security services provider focused on the Intelligence Community (IC). For more information about Cyber Security and Employment Opportunities in the Intelligence Community go to http://aspirationsoftware.com
