Many of the advantages of blade server usage deals with the simplicity of managing the physical components of a server configuration, such as the need to have all the right cables connected at the right places. The chassis design minimizes the confusion of having a jungle of cables connecting several stand-alone servers by centralizing all of the power output cables and other necessary connectivity cables in the chassis infrastructure. This allows for easier maintenance of the network and will help employees avoid having to swim through wires and cables to find out what’s wrong with the servers.

Blade servers also allow for growth in the IT department of a company because they are a more cost-effective way of meeting computing needs within the firm. Although the initial investment needed for purchasing a blade server chassis may be quite substantial, after making that initial investment it is relatively cheap to buy additional blades, which can then be easily incorporated into the server structure. This is much more efficient than having to buy an entire stand-alone server in order to increase the network capacity; if a company only needs to increase network capacity by a small amount then the company can purchase a smaller unit of storage by buying a single blade instead of having to purchase a large unit that will go mostly unused. The development of blade servers follows the concept of increased flexibility and efficient use of resources that has been the guiding principle behind many of the technological advancements in the computing world in the past few years.

Using Dell cloud storage is another great way to help your IT department. By using a virtual desktop along with cloud storage no longer will an employee need to bring a copy of their presentation or documents to another station. They can login using any computer and retrieve their important documents. Using cloud storage also provides a way to have a back up of important information for the company.

For those who are environmentally conscious, reducing costs by powering fewer servers is accompanied by the secondary benefit of using fewer resources to power blade servers which are more likely to be used to full capacity than several stand-alone servers which will be sucking up electricity and other resources in order to stay powered up despite the fact that each server probably has a significant portion of unused, wasted space.

All around, using a blade server system can allow a company’s IT department to grow because it will free up more resources and make more efficient use of the resources being consumed. Blade servers allow companies to purchase what they need instead of having to buy more server capacity than they will ever use, and the easier maintenance of the server chassis in comparison to a series of stand-alone servers will make it easier to prevent computing disasters and other hang-ups from crippling the company’s information chain and causing unnecessary problems. Firms interested in increasing effectiveness will be pleased with the advantages of blade server technology.

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People who wish to achieve adequate security and privacy protection are increasingly aware of the benefits of security and privacy software which, when it is painstakingly and expertly developed, provides high level security, antivirus protection, privacy tools, as well as techniques for the safe use of computers and mobile devices. People who wish to choose appropriate security and privacy software should know that they can reach the most appropriate decisions in terms of best software when they choose the level of security, and they can also select the computer use easiness they deem appropriate. Thanks to well chosen solutions of security and privacy software, the backing up of data is easy, seamlessly achievable, to protect business data from threats.

Furthermore, the security of all people’s emails, forum posts, all their browsing can be achieved with high level security and privacy software. With all in one plugins everything done online is protected by security and from viruses. Software for privacy protection is effective even when people use open Wi-Fi points of access. Nowadays software takes care of online security for numerous individuals and business entities.

The above article is a guest post specially written by Secure Web Point to inform of the benefits of security and privacy software.

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“Threats continue to advance, and network security defences must evolve to become effective against advanced targeted threats. Enterprises should require vendors to add next-generation intrusion prevention features to network security products,” said Greg Young, Research Vice President, Gartner1. “Mainstream enterprises over time will refresh existing next-generation firewall deployments with future versions with next-generation network IPS capabilities.”

Applying its Agile Security™ vision to the emerging NGFW market, Sourcefire is delivering a context-aware and adaptive NGFW solution to offer its customers superior network protection and control without compromise. The Sourcefire Next-Generation Firewall provides this increased protection by combining the ability to identify and provide granular control for more than 1,000 applications with unprecedented visibility, intelligent automation and industry-best threat prevention effectiveness. These capabilities are all backed by the elite Sourcefire Vulnerability Research Team (VRT™) and the company’s collective security intelligence.

Universal Network Security Platform

Sourcefire leverages a single-pass engine that delivers deep inspection while maintaining peak performance. The FirePOWER platform can be configured at the customer’s discretion as an NGIPS, an NGIPS with application control or an NGFW, providing the customer ultimate flexibility to deploy appliances to match their infrastructure needs and scale over time.

Total Visibility

Using its patented FireSIGHT™ technology, Sourcefire delivers increased visibility into applications, users, content, hosts, attacks, vulnerabilities, behaviour and changes in a user’s environment. It then correlates this information with user identity and reputation intelligence to assess risks and threat impact to make more precise enforcement decisions.

Intelligent Automation

Unlike existing solutions, the Sourcefire Next-Generation Firewall employs intelligent security automation to increase the agility of protection efforts that can keep pace with constantly changing environments. This is accomplished by the Sourcefire NGFW through comprehensive contextual awareness and collective threat intelligence that result in more meaningful policy recommendations and automated adjustments to a customer’s defence in real time. It also allows security teams to optimize remediation efforts by reducing actionable alerts and filtering out events that do not affect the particular user’s environment.

Control Without Compromise

Sourcefire NGFW provides control without compromising threat prevention. Based on independent testing, the solution delivers best-of-class throughput performance and advanced threat detection with unsurpassed blocking effectiveness. As with other Sourcefire solutions, the NGFW allows users to tailor and customize defences and policies to their specific environment.

“As enterprises seek to increase their protection efforts they are looking for solutions that offer the agility to be effective in the face of modern threats,” said Martin Roesch, Chief Technology Officer at Sourcefire. “Other NGFW solutions force customers to make tradeoffs between control, prevention, performance and manageability. The Sourcefire Next-Generation Firewall includes our industry-leading NGIPS and provides the user the power and confidence to prevent and respond to complex threats with the granular control required today.”

For more information on the Sourcefire Next-Generation Firewall, register for one of three webinars:

• Tuesday, December 13 at 9 a.m. EST / 2 p.m. GMT
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/333138022
• Tuesday, December 13 at 2 p.m. EST / 11a.m. PST
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/836015638
• Wednesday, December 14 at 10 a.m. Singapore / 11 a.m. Tokyo / 1 p.m. Sydney
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/544870262

Product information is also available at http://sourcefire.com/ngfw.

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For any business, deciding on what communication services you need is difficult. With so many different options available it is important that you invest in services which are targeted to the specific needs and size of your business. Business phone lines are an integral part of any company but how do you know what sort of phone line you need?

The most important thing to remember about business phone lines is that they are responsible for far more than phone calls. Whilst this will be one of their primary functions this service is also needed to enable a broadband connection to be established. As a large proportion of business operations and communication services are now conducted online it is therefore a vital consideration.

Business phone lines can be provided by a number of different companies and will be designed to support larger quantities and frequencies of use. A Daisy business phone line is one example of this and will offer companies a quick and easy transfer service along with competitive line rentals and call packages.

When selecting a business phone line for your company you should therefore ask yourself the following questions to make sure you select the right one:

• Do you need a phone package as well?

This is the first question you should ask yourself as it will determine the type of business phone line you select. If you only require the service to support a broadband connection then you will only need to pay for the line rental and will not need a call package as well – although this should always be considered.

• What level of performance is offered?

Phone lines, like other business components, will vary by the levels of performance which they offer. It is therefore important that you consider the type of use your business phone line is likely to receive before making your decision. Look at the different types of phone line which are available and compare the quality which is offered for both data transfer and sound clarity. This will determine how effective the service is within your business – helping you to make the best decision.

You should also consider the number of channels and DDI numbers which are provided. A number of business phones will have multiple channels designed to support a larger volume of calls and transfers. You should always make sure that the service you select matches the needs and size of your business and should invest in a service which allows you to expand over time. Some provides will offer individual DDI (Direct Dialling Inwards) numbers for all of your staff, allowing the service to be targeted to your specific needs.

• How do you want to receive your bills?

A number of people prefer to handle their accounts and bills online now so always look at how your bills will be received. Also investigate how often they are sent and what the payment requirements are.

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There are a number of myths surrounding netbooks and how they differ from other computing devices. The first myth is that netbooks can’t multi-task. This is completely untrue and a good netbook can run multiple applications at the same time with no problems at all.

The second myth is that software like Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint can’t be run on a netbook. While it’s true that some netbook devices have relatively low processing capacity and will struggle, there are plenty out there that run intensive Office applications perfectly well. They are, however, less likely to come packaged with Office than the average laptop or desktop computer.

The third myth about netbooks is that they are all cheap. This is not the case either. As with laptops, buyers get what they pay for and a high-quality, fully up-to-date netbook may cost several hundred pounds.

Essentially a netbook is nothing more or less than a highly portable laptop. They are not designed for long term working (huddling over a 10″ screen for eight hours a day is far from ideal from a health and safety perspective) but can allow users access to all their usual business, leisure, and study options when travelling or away from their desks. As the name implies they are perfect for email, social media, and browsing the internet, but can also do a lot more than that.

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Easynet Connect Managed Firewalls is part of the award-winning FortiGate product series and is available as an added value service to fully manage a business’s network security. Easynet Connect’s Managed Firewalls start at the very competitive price of £350 for set-up and £500 per year. By acting as a filtering service, the new firewalls help protect against day-to-day threats like spam, but also defend against serious attacks like viruses and Trojans.

Easynet Connect’s Managed Firewalls are monitored and supported by Easynet Connect’s own dedicated 24/7 support team. By offering a fully managed service, Easynet Connect lets businesses bypass the hassle and cost of monitoring their own in-house equipment, giving them extra capacity to focus on their core activities as well as ensuring equipment and settings are up to date.

Unlike most other ISPs, Easynet Connect’s Managed Firewalls are available to customers at a flat rate, so there is no extra charge for each user added to the service. They are also flexible, with a wide range of options to suit individual bandwidth requirements, making it even easier for businesses to adapt the service to suit their needs.

Easynet Connect’s managing director, Chris Stening, explains, “Over 73% of SMEs were victims of cyber attacks last year1 and on average spam makes up around 89% of all emails passing through business networks2. We recognise that businesses have to protect themselves against constant web threats but don’t necessarily have the time to do so. By offering managed firewalls, firms can be safe in the knowledge that web-filtering, spam and viruses are all taken care of and that the security is robust enough to prevent costly network downtime – the ultimate business nightmare.”

“Businesses need to be proactive and not just reactive with regards to their network security and because Managed Firewalls are available to any small to medium sized company, businesses don’t even need to be an Easynet customer to reap the benefits. Firewalls can be a key element in providing business continuity and reliable connectivity and companies shouldn’t wait for web based attacks to devastate their systems before they act.”

For more information visit http://www.easynetconnect.net/products/managed-firewall.aspx

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Every time Apple releases a new product it is a big deal. Gumtree.com was paying attention during the recent release of the iPad 2 and they managed to scoop some interesting data which reflects on the use of tablet computers and the way older products cycle through the market; as Apple releases products on a yearly basis they are often quite similar, so there is always the chance to snap up iPhones and iPads on the cheap if you are willing to settle for an older model.

The Gumtree.com infographic (below) shows that the release of the iPad 2 was followed by a surge of listings of the original. There were over 11,000 to be had and the asking price understandably dipped with all this supply to well under the original asking price. There is clearly any opportunity for savvy shoppers to pick up this great device on the cheap. iPads were spread out through the country, but iPads for sale in London far outweighed those in other part of the country.

The iPad 2 was listed on Gumtree.com for over £100 more than its predecessor –this begs the question, is it worth the cost? The new device has come flush with a new processer, cameras and a better screen yet it still provides the same fun, easy to use tablet experience which was behind the iPad’s success. Some of us will have to opt for the cheapest iPads, though many more are likely to be drawn in by the new one.

Via: iPad Deals

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Our computers have become essential to our daily lives. Many of us work and play on them, using our machines for hours a day as they become more and more important to us. As a result, something that has always been vital is the protection of your PC from viruses and to do this effectively you need the latest antivirus software available. With this installed on your computer, you can rest assured that it’s safe to browse the web, download email attachments for work and play online games and you won’t have to worry about your computer facing attack again.

The technology used in computers has become more and more advanced in recent years. Machines we used just a couple of years ago now look outdated and underpowered for the everyday tasks that we perform on our desktops and laptops. Just as computers have improved immeasurably, the programs used by illicit individuals to try and infect our PCs have also become much more advanced.

However, this has been matched by a continual improvement in antivirus software as several companies battle to provide protection that is one step ahead all of the time. The result of this is that we can now get our hands on software that is much more advanced than it was previously and provides more comprehensive protection than any software has in the past.

Antivirus software that is only a couple of years old wouldn’t be able to stand up to the threats posed by computer viruses today and therefore it has never been more important to ensure you’re up to date and have the latest protection.

It’s not worth thinking about what could happen if you weren’t protected and your computer was hit by a virus. You could lose days, if not weeks or even months, of hard work, that could considerably set you and your business back, and the trouble that it would cause would be huge. This could happen simply by you accidently opening an email attachment when you were actually trying to delete it and thus just a couple of clicks of your mouse could be disastrous.

PC virus protection is so easy to get hold of that there really isn’t any excuse not to have your computer fully protected, even if you have a Mac as Mac antivirus is readily available. As an Apple user you can be safe in the knowledge that the same development has been put into antivirus software for Macs as it has for PCs and the result is a comprehensive system of protection.

As part of the Mac-specific antivirus software that’s available, you can ensure that threats are not passed on between different computers. It’s likely that you either use a PC for work, or have friends that use PCs, and computers are most vulnerable when you’re passing documents between machines. With 30,000 new malware threats emerging every day, you can have peace of mind that protection is provided against them all so that threats aren’t passed on.

Whether you’re a Mac user or own a PC, the choice of antivirus software can be an overwhelming one, but there are a few things worth bearing in mind and there are essential components of any software you go for. The development of software might mean that you may not have kept up to date with everything that’s now offered by antivirus packages, which offer much more than just a firewall and email scanning.

Real-time protection against viruses and a spyware is a given with the top antivirus packages, ensuring that your computer is kept safe at all times. The scanning of emails and websites for malicious code has also markedly improved, meaning that if you were to click on a pop-up by mistake, any attempts to infect your computer would be thwarted.

When you first install your antivirus software you can run a vulnerability scan to see where your machine could be open to threats. Consequently you will also be given treatment advice to ensure that your PC or Mac is protected against threats as well as it could be. It’s worth doing this regularly and having it set up to run on a monthly basis for instance, so that you never let your computer’s guard slip.

One concern that many computer users may have about running comprehensive antivirus protection is that it will severely slow down their machine. There is software available, though, that is non-intrusive and has as little as a one per cent impact on your CPU, meaning that you’ll hardly notice it running in the background as you write text documents, create presentations or surf the Internet.

Another concern may be that the top level of antivirus protection can be quite costly, but you can access free antivirus software that won’t cost you a penny. You can trial the latest software and evaluate the products for yourself, seeing whether or not they’re ideal for you. The 30-day free trial will give you a taster of what you’ll get for your money and the many ways in which your computer will be protected.

One aspect of antivirus software that has become more important recently is the protection of your digital identity. Identity theft is becoming more and more common and attempts may be made to steal your identity by accessing data on your computer or that which is stored online. By protecting yourself against this, you won’t have to think twice about having your identity stolen online.

As a regular computer user, there really is nothing worse than being infected by a trojan or worm. The damage can be irreversible at the worst or frankly annoying and time consuming to reverse at the very least.

By investing in comprehensive antivirus protection, you can ensure that your computer is safe from the risks that are posed by viruses right now and in the immediate future as your protection will be kept right up to date. This will allow you to get on with using your computer without having to think twice about viruses.

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According to the IDC report, which ranked vendor market share based on revenue, the Web security market consists of three distinct segments: software, appliances and SaaS. The SaaS sector of the market is forecast to reach $513 million by 2013, with a compound annual growth rate of 46.5% for the next five years. The growth in SaaS Web security is set to exceed the growth in software and appliances by a large margin.

“We are honored to be recognized by IDC as the leader in SaaS Web security,” said Eldar Tuvey, CEO at ScanSafe. “Our dominant position and market share allow us to take advantage of powerful network effects to offer our customers lower costs, enhanced security through greater threat visibility and a proven scalable platform for security of their Internet traffic. As more and more customers join our network, these benefits become even more pronounced.”

“ScanSafe, the worldwide leader for SaaS Web Security, has been a pioneer in helping organizations defend against the Web 2.0 threat environment,” said Brian Burke, Program Director for IDC’s security program. “Web 2.0 environments have become a major source of malware distribution, identity fraud, privacy violations and corporate data loss. ScanSafe helps organizations leverage the value of Web 2.0 tools responsibly without sacrificing security and regulatory compliance requirements. A recent report published by IDC entitled, “Worldwide Web Security 2009–2013 Forecast and 2008 Vendor Shares”, found ScanSafe as the overall worldwide market share leader with over 30% of the global market.”

ScanSafe’s suite of services includes Web Malware Scanning, Web Filtering and Anywhere+. All of ScanSafe’s solutions are powered by Outbreak Intelligence™, a unique, multi-layered combination of threat detection technology that includes leading third party anti-virus engines and proprietary heuristics. Unlike other solutions, which rely on URL databases to identify malicious sites, ScanSafe scans all Web requests in real time, so customers receive comprehensive protection from all threats, including threats that appear before an anti-virus signature is available.

www.scansafe.com were awarded in 2009  “Best Content Security” solution by SC Magazine Europe for the third consecutive year.

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Organisations are using a wider array of Internet-based, consumer-oriented applications for cultural reasons, or to improve efficiency, foster customer intimacy, or speed up business processes. Security technologies, unfortunately, have retained an outmoded “block or allow” model, lacking the granularity and intelligence to recognise and appropriately control these new applications. According to Gartner, Inc., “Through 2012, enterprises that take a ‘block or ignore’ stance toward employee use of consumer IT will incur security incident costs two to four times those of enterprises that use ‘embrace or contain’ strategies…Security companies selling products that take simple block-all approaches will need to develop capabilities that support more-granular security controls.”

PAN-OS 3.0 introduces traffic shaping in the firewall, enabling enterprises to ensure that priority is given to business critical functions. Palo Alto Networks’ application visibility and fine-grained control capabilities are unique in the industry in offering organisations the widest array of flexible policy responses to applications – including allow, deny, allow for certain users or functions, threat scanning, and now – shape. Administrators are able to manage the bandwidth consumed by applications, as well as their priority – all in firewall policy, instead of simply killing applications or having no visibility or control over them. According to the latest Application Usage and Risk Report (April, 2009), in the sample of actual application traffic from more than 900,000 users, more than half of the bandwidth was being consumed by 28 percent of the applications, most of which were consumer oriented.

Tony Whelton, director of IT development and services at Wellington College, which recently installed Palo Alto Networks’ next generation firewalls, welcomes the introduction of PAN OS 3.0. “Our decision to choose Palo Alto Networks was based upon a number of criteria, primarily its proven ability to address the challenges of identifying and controlling a new breed of social-centric, evasive and encrypted applications. The new features included in its latest software release will enable much more granular application delivery and control options as well as the ability to extend full visibility and control to encompass distributed users. These are key business challenges that Palo Alto Networks are addressing here. ”

Rapidly responding to customer requirements, PAN-OS 3.0 also adds SSL VPN functionality, which employs the easy-to-use secure network extension model but extends the company’s full complement of industry-leading visibility and control over users, applications, and content. Previously, enterprises have had to choose between an open VPN approach that was simple and cost-effective, or a high-control extranet portal approach that was expensive and complex.

Adding these computing-intensive features while retaining enterprise-grade performance is made possible only through Palo Alto Networks’ single pass parallel processing (SP3) architecture – which couples a single-pass packet path with specialised, function-specific hardware processing. The QoS features in PAN-OS 3.0 enable organisations to shape and prioritise traffic based on application with multi-gigabit throughput, due to the single pass software married to hardware accelerated queuing. Similarly, the new SSL VPN capabilities in PAN-OS 3.0 enjoy the benefits of application visibility and control, coupled with specific SSL hardware acceleration.

“Applications aren’t threats, but they do carry risk,” said Chris King, Palo Alto Networks director of product marketing. “As a firewall, Palo Alto Networks uses a positive security model which offers organisations the flexibility they need to embrace new applications, and yet still manage risk – going beyond the outdated ‘find it and kill it’ model that many other security technologies are based on.”

For more information, please visit www.paloaltonetworks.com.

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