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Vantage Newsletter: April 2007 Welcome to Vantage Point for April, your newsletter from Vantage IT Solutions - providers of high quality IT support and products with security in mind. 
Vantage Point is one year old this month, so it's out with the cake and streamers!
During the past twelve months we have brought you various items of IT news, hints, tips and, we hope, a few laughs. We're sure you would have read it all (!) so we hope we managed to convey the information in a clear and interesting way. Please do let us know if there are any changes or anything extra you would like to see in these newsletters. And if you want to catch up on any previous issues, they can be found on our website at www.vantageit.co.uk/newsletter.php. It’s Never Ending One thing we frequently mention in our newsletters is computer security. This may get repetitive but it is so important because of the number of people producing malicious software aimed at either disrupting your systems or gaining information that could result in you being the subject of fraud. As a customer of Vantage IT, you'll benefit from a range of measures to help protect your systems, but there is always the possibility that users could get caught out by innocent-looking emails or attachments. The BBC carried out a test on its Inside Out programme where a six year old girl managed to gain access to an MP's computer in the Houses of Parliament and install a ‘keylogger’...in 15 seconds! This would have given the girl the ability to see everything the MP typed, including passwords. It's not true that the six year old did this because she thought she could do a better job of running the country! There have also been warnings this week of viruses that have been produced to attack VoIP applications, proving that as fast as new technology is introduced, there will always be someone wanting to abuse it. This all means we must be careful about what we do with our computers, what we install, what emails we open and what web sites we visit. 
Don’t Let Them Escape 
What would happen if someone broke in to your company’s premises and stole your computers? We’ve mentioned the need to keep your IT secure from malicious software, but physical security is just as important. The server is the heart of a computer network and if it went missing, it could take days to supply, set-up and install a new one, creating havoc for your business. Vantage IT supplies and installs security cages for servers and PCs, giving you the peace of mind that if someone did break in, although it would be incredibly frustrating, it should not be catastrophic. The cages are secured to the floor or other solid object and, although the server is housed firmly inside, access can still be gained to CD drives and data ports. These cages are to LPCB standard and are sometimes required by insurance companies as a condition of cover. Please contact us for more information on security cages.
Give Vista a Miss for Now? Several computer manufacturers are shipping computers with Vista installed, but for now we suggest avoiding it if you can. There have been a number of reports of various programs failing to work successfully with Vista, meaning the initial cost of the upgrade can be exceeded by the need to upgrade other software programs. Office 2007 has also been released this year and there are reports that it is slow to do even basic tasks. It may seem odd that an IT company suggests you don't spend money, but Vantage IT always does recommend what is best for you, not necessarily best for our profits. Worse than Watching Paint Dry Webcams can be used for many things, but how about watching a cheese maturing? A group of cheese makers in the West Country has set up a web site called Cheddar Vision and since January it has been focused on a big lump of cheese as it matures. So far it has attracted over 500,000 viewers and all it has done, apparently, is turn slightly grey. The message seems to be that if you want the maximum number of people to view your web site, make it boring. And if you want to have a look, click here. The Entertaining Bit It's understood that all husbands are this wonderful, isn't it? Please click here to view an entertaining clip. Please note that Vantage IT cannot be held responsible for content on third party web sites. |
Vantage IT Solutions Limited Unit 2 Airfield Park, Cheddington Lane Long Marston, Tring, Hertfordshire, HP23 4QR |
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