Computer and Network Security: Why It's Important

Any business, whether long standing or just starting out, needs an adequate view and understanding of network security. Any kind of business or corporation keeps lists of vendors, customers and their accounts, budget access and spending, and more within their secured networks. This is all vital information that is, essentially, the lifeblood of any company. When you have assets at risk, such as developmental research, it's important to have a network security system in place that you're entire company knows how to work and is informed on.

Security within a company goes way beyond the night watch guard in the parking lot. It also goes beyond one simple technology. It's a unique system that has to be appropriated piece by piece so that each branch of the company's security works in tandem with each other.

Computer security, albeit just one aspect of security as a whole, is arguably the biggest portion of company security and integrity. Think about it. All of the information within your company is stored on servers that employees access and have certain control over. That security can be taken advantage of through employees however. Whether an employee has malicious intent through his actions or not, it's still a concern that needs to be noted.

Firewalls, data encryption, controlled access, and more need to be added within a proper security network in order to maintain optimal online company security. Computer company Dell is now offering a network security suite program intended to cover all online security fronts. Many security companies on the market offer excellent security measures, but it's odd to see an actual computer company offering the same type of services.

The new Dell Endpoint Security Suite is utilizing interconnected programs and capabilities such as threat detection and protection, authentication services, and encryption on all employee computing devices. Dell is looking to offer services such as data encryption instead of complete hard drive encryption. Brett Hansen, the executive director of end user computing software and mobility at Dell, made a very valid point against full hard drive encryption. Hansen expressed that should a password be lost to the hard drive, the entire disk has basically lost its use. He also claimed that during full disk encryption, entire programs become encrypted. Thus when a program needs to be updated, the entire thing must be decrypted for it to update properly. This, of course, can take a lot of valuable time.

This is just a taste of what the security protocols on the new Dell Endpoint Security Suite can do and, by the looks if it, you may want to take advantage of it. Apple has had its share of certain people trying to gain access to the security of their devices. The CIA has actually been attempting to decrypt Apple's processors and Xcode in order to create back doors to different applications and programs within the Apple operating systems.

Between people like the CIA trying to hack into Apple device security so that they may have "lawful electronic surveillance" become more possible and  employees intentionally or unintentionally putting your company's information and data at risk, it's easy to see why your company's network security is so important. Your company's information is invaluable, so make sure you have all of your bases covered.

Sources located here, here and here.

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Summer Travel with Your Computer

Let's face it. With computers becoming more and more mobile, many people are traveling with their laptops, smartphones, tablet computers, and even desktops in some cases. Vacation doesn't necessarily mean a vacation from EVERYTHING in 2010. We still check in with the office, we still check our email, and we still surf the internet or play games. But what happens if you have a problem? How do you prevent a problem from occurring? If you're planning to take you computer on the road this summer, here are a few tips for you to keep in mind:

- Remember when you are on a public network, you are vulnerable than you would be at home on your own network. Unless you have a firewall, any data that can be shared on your home network can be shared with the other people using the same network you are, whether it be in a restaurant, hotel, or other spot.

- Purchase and take along a car adapter. My personal laptop battery only lasts about two-three hours. That was a bit disappointing when I recently found myself in the backseat of my grandfather's car for a five-hour drive to Florida. I was able to get a little work done and play a few computer games, but over half of the trip was spent wishing I'd charged my iPod. So, take your car adapter along for long rides, or don't use power-hungry applications.

- If you are going to have to rely on your battery more than usual, make sure your computer is running smoothly. Get yourself a tune-up, defrag your hard drive, run a few malware removal programs and delete or disable programs you no longer use for quicker boot-up and optimum performance.

- Be aware of thieves. Sure, we worry about people stealing our data but if someone has physically stolen our computers, data stolen over unsecure networks is the least of our worries. According to LoJack for Laptops, 600,000 laptops are stolen from cars and hotel rooms each year. Fortunately, there are laptop locks you can purchase that prevent this from happening. Also, use common sense. If your computer is in your car and you need to run into a store, don't leave it in plain view. Keep it in a suitcase or in your car's trunk.

- Power down. If you're done working with your computer, turn the power off completely. Wireless connections and even Bluetooth connections can leave you vulnerable to attacks.

- Find out where you can get reliable tech support and computer service. Many hotels offer tech support but many do not. If you find yourself with a problem, you don't want to be stuck, trying to find someone who can help get you up and running again. A quick call to a company like Computer Service Now (1-877-422-1907) can take care of any of your problems, no matter where you are located.

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