Here you will find issues relating to the SMB Market, Running an IT Business, as well as SBS Specifically, The Triad SBS Group, and some handy How To Aricles as well as random thoughts I stumble across. -
June Triad SBS Group Meeting
Posted on May 28th, 2009 No commentsOur Next Meeting is
June 2, 2009 Regular Time 6:00pm
Last meeting was May 5, 2009We will have Terry Van Winkle of StorageCraft and Calyptix fame coming in to tell us about a brand new offering. Here is a small description in his words.
Doyenz Automated Virtual IT™ is sold exclusively through partners. The Doyenz service gives you the ability to provide no-touch off-site disaster recovery, failover and runs in the cloud.
With Doyenz Automated Virtual IT, partners can perform major migrations and upgrades safely, in the cloud, using our Virtual Test Lab, or ‘virtual sandbox’ that allows you to test key changes like a SBS2003 to SBS2008 migration, or a line of business application Upgrade. It is a flexible service that requires no expensive hardware or software licenses, Doyenz can be a monthly or annual subscription that provides your client’s true business continuity at price they can easily afford.
I stopped by the Doyenz booth at SMB Nation Spring and it is some really interesting technology, I can’t wait to see Terry’s demo.
Doyenz has offered to buy your Din Din so you are going to need to send me an e-mail no later than noon on Tuesday the 2nd letting me know you are going to be attending and what you would like to eat & drink (no alcohol) from THIS MENU. I will contact Milano’s and place the order to be delivered at 6:00pm
And then coming up on July 7, 2009 (tentatively) Daniel Horne from the Charlotte-Meck Police Dept. will be coming to speak with us on tech crime issues that we may run into as IT Professionals and how to handle them to protect ourselves. Are you aware that if we know about crimes being performed on a PC and don’t report them correctly we can be charged with a crime as well… Knowing how to handle a “questionable” situation becomes most important according to the crime. He will speak to us and take a Q&A to help us be better prepared for items we are subjected to.
ATTENTION WE HAVE MOVED OUR MEETINGS TO NEW HORIZONS
7019 Albert Pick Road Suite B Greensboro, NC 27409 -
Urgent News from GFI reguarding Mail Security 10
Posted on May 28th, 2009 No comments
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING ALL YOUR GFI MAILSECURITY 10 CUSTOMERS
Dear GFI Partner,
The purpose of this communication is to inform you of an issue that may affect GFI MailSecurity 10 customers. Please read it with care as this could affect your customers’ ability to receive emails!
The issue is related to the optional AVG anti-virus engine: If the AVG engine is not updated before June 16, 2009, this anti-virus engine will not initialize, with the result that ALL emails will end up in the GFI FailedEmail folder and will not be delivered to end-users. There will be no data loss. This issue can also affect customers who did not purchase AVG.
How customers should check if they are affected:To check whether this issue affects them, customers are to start by checking if the AVG engine is enabled: Go to the GFI MailSecurity configuration > Virus Scanning Engines > AVG Anti-Virus > General tab. If the ‘Enable Gateway Scanning (SMTP)’ option or the ‘Enable Information Store Scanning (VSAPI)’ option is checked then the AVG engine is enabled.
The next step is to confirm the ‘Virus database release date’: Go to the GFI MailSecurity configuration > Virus Scanning engines > AVG Anti-Virus > General tab.
If the AVG virus database release date is more recent than, or equal to ‘2009/05/18 06:28’ then they are not affected.
What should they do if they are affected?If their AVG engine is enabled and the ‘Virus database release date’ is prior to ‘2009/05/18 06:28’, they are to follow the important instructions outlined below as soon as possible:
If they have purchased AVG updates, and the AVG virus scanning engine is licensed, they should download the latest AVG update from the ‘GFI update’ servers. This can be initiated from the ‘Updates’ tab in the ‘AVG Anti-Virus’ node within the GFI MailSecurity configuration.
If they have not purchased AVG updates and/or are not on valid maintenance, the AVG engine must be disabled immediately; this can be done by following the instructions below:
Go to the GFI MailSecurity configuration > Virus Scanning Engines > AVG Anti-Virus > General tab.
Uncheck the ‘Enable Gateway Scanning (SMTP)’ option. If they are running GFI MailSecurity on a Microsoft Exchange server, they also need to uncheck the ‘Enable Information Store Scanning (VSAPI)’ option.
Alternatively they can upgrade to the GFI MailSecurity Service Release 9 Build 20090526, which includes updated files, and is therefore not affected by the problem described above. The latest version of GFI MailSecurity can be downloaded from http://www.gfi.com/mailsecurityx86/download or http://www.gfi.com/mailsecurityx64/download based on the need for 32bit or 64bit respectively.
A final option is for current GFI MailSecurity 10 customers who are not using AVG to purchase the AVG engine: as a special promotion to counter the inconvenience of having to check for this issue, we are offering 50% off the price of the AVG engine and updates; this offer runs till June 16, 2009. Contact your Channel Account Manager for more details. For further information on the value of using multiple virus engines, read the white paper here.
For more details about the issue affecting the optional AVG engine please refer to this knowledge base article.If you have any queries, please speak to GFI Technical Support using the live support chat on our website or contact Technical Support.
We apologize for any inconvenience caused and assure you that we have taken the necessary measures to ensure this does not happen again.
The GFI Software team
GFI Software
email: sales@gfi.com | url: www.gfi.com
© 2009. GFI Software. All rights reserved.Magna House, 18-32 London Road, Staines, Middlesex TW18 4BP, UK
tel: +44 (0) 870 770 5370 | fax: +44 (0) 870 770 5377 -
Win 7 Beta Reminder, update to RC now
Posted on May 26th, 2009 No commentsIMPORTANT REMINDER ABOUT BETA EXPIRATION DATE
Thanks again for your help in testing the Windows 7 Beta.
We’re sending this mail to remind you that Windows 7 Release candidate is available and to make sure you plan ahead for when the Beta expires on August 1, 2009. On June 1, 2009, the PC you’re using to test the Beta will begin shutting down every two hours. Windows will send you a notice a couple of weeks in advance, and that’d be the ideal time to rebuild your test PC with a non-expired version of Windows, such as the RC or Windows Vista. This will be a clean installation, so be ready to reinstall your programs and data. (Learn more about installing Windows.)
So, if you haven’t already done so, we highly recommend that you download and install the RC from one of the following sites today:
–
–
–
IMPORTANT: If you are running Windows 7 Beta you’ll need to back up your data (preferably on an external device) and then do a clean install of the Windows 7 Release Candidate. After installing Windows 7, you will need to reinstall applications and restore your files. If you need help with the installation process, please see the Installation Instructions.If you have questions or need help installing the RC, you can get help with your Windows 7 questions at http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/category/w7itpro/
There’s another expiration date you need to keep in mind: Windows 7 RC will expire on June 1, 2010, and you’ll need to either upgrade to the final release of Windows 7 or a prior version of Windows before then. (We‘ll send you another reminder as this date approaches.)
Thanks again for your interest in Windows 7 and for your help in finishing this product!
Resources•
•
•
•
•
You are receiving this important message about Windows 7 because you downloaded the Beta or RC from either TechNet, MSDN or the Windows web site.
Microsoft respects your privacy. Please read our online Privacy Statement.
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, Washington, USASign up for newsletters | Update your profile
© 2009 Microsoft Corporation Terms of Use | Trademarks | Privacy Statement
-
Free personal backup software from GFI
Posted on May 23rd, 2009 1 comment
Many people do not realize how important it is to keep an updated backup of all their important files on their computer and neither do they use appropriate tools to do so. As part of GFI’s We Care initiative, and to give home users a helping hand as well as encourage them to start backing up their files, GFI is giving away GFI Backup 2009 – Home Edition, a FREE backup and recovery software product for the home user. A version for SMBs will be available later this year.
More information and a link to download the FREE backup software can be found here. -
Free is Good, Thx Eric
Posted on May 14th, 2009 No commentsYes, this offer is true and available to Microsoft Small Business Specialists right now. Microsoft is offering a total of 1,000 free exam vouchers to our Microsoft Small Business Specialists and these vouchers are good for the following eligible exams:
- 70-653 TS: Windows Small Business Server 2008, Configuring
- 70-654 TS: Windows Essential Business Server 2008, Configuring
- 70-236: TS: Exchange Server 2007, Configuring
- 70-432: TS: Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Installation and Maintenance
- 70-630: TS: Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, Configuring
- 70-403 TS: System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008, Configuring
Requests for free vouchers must be received by May 30th, 2009, assuming the 1,000 quantity lasts that long, so be sure to request yours right away if you are planning to or want to take one of the exams listed above.
How do you request your free exam voucher? As a Microsoft Small Business Specialist, you recently received your Microsoft Small Business Specialist Action Pack Add-on kit. Inside that kit is all of the details, so take a look inside there and you will see the full details on how you can get your free exam voucher.
-
Aaron catches up with HA at SMB Nation Spring 2009
Posted on May 6th, 2009 No commentsAaron from VARvid had a good time gathering video clips of folks at the SMB Nation Spring 2009 conference. He even managed to grab a quick interview with yours truly :>)
You can see his ORIGINAL POST on his site
Ok before y’all jump on me, yes I know it was not called SBS back then. It was called “Microsoft Back Office Small Business Server” but I have to tell you, when that 120mm camera lens is starring ya in the face, your mind goes blank. This explains why guys standing infront of a firing squad, when asked if they have any last request always ask for something stupid like a cigarette or a blindfold. If they were thinking straight, they would ask for a 1/2 inch thick steel plate :>)
-
The Elevator Speech Perfected
Posted on May 5th, 2009 No commentsAt SMB Nation’s Spring conference this year, Aaron Booker from VARvid was trying to capture folks off guard to get some spontaneous comments. Watch as he tries to catch Patti of SMB Nation in the elevator and how she hits one over the wall with 3 short sentenances. Way to go Patti, a perfect close. Harry this gal deserves a raise! The rest of you go pratice your elevator speech, you never know when or where Aaron may pop up next :>)
-
Free 5-IP version of GFI LANguard available
Posted on May 5th, 2009 No commentsFree is right within your budget during these tought times isn’t it?
GFI has just released a freeware version of its award-winning vulnerability management software, GFI LANguard. This fully functional version for 5 IPs is available for free and the goal of this release is to give back something to GFI’s customers and to tangibly help SMBs maintain and improve their current levels of security, even more so when budgets are being cut and IT spending reduced. Partners are encouraged to offer the freeware version to their clients and use the opportunity to talk about security and educate customers that there is more to security than viruses and spam.Read more information about GFI LANguard and the FREE 5-IP version here.
-
SMB Nation East Breaks All Previous Records
Posted on May 4th, 2009 No commentsWell gang I just got back from attending SMB Nation East and I have to tell you, Harry belted one out of the park this year. In spite of the bad economy and the swine flu outbreak, official attendance was 310 beating every other year’s numbers. It was real obvious Harry was listening to the comments from the last couple of events where folks were calling the gatherings vendor fests, not this time! This was pure content, the speakers were not even allowed to make a small pitch or offer anything for sale during their presentations. Maybe the pendulum swung a little too far, but the audience was delighted. Pure academic content, and what better place to acquire it than in a college hall :>)
I spent a good deal of time scooting around the show floor and the halls and everyone was making positive comments. About the only negatives I heard were about the conference being split between floors and a minor mix up with lunch being a few minutes late one day.
I am betting after this showing that the Fall Conference in Las Vegas breaks records as well; I think he could see his first 1000+ conference between the word of mouth after this one and the venue for the next one, smart money is on Harry to break the 4 digit barrior.
Keep up the Great Work Harry and Kudos to the Staff they did an outstanding job.
-
Return of the HA’s Blog
Posted on May 2nd, 2009 No commentsWell it has been a lonely few weeks since the blog blew up and all the kings horses and all the kings men could not put it together again.
As you may have noticed I started pulling posts out of my newsreader’s cache and putting them up on http://handyandy2.wordpress.com before I realized I they do not allow redirects to it. Well the plumbing is finally repaired and I will re-post the important pages here, over the next few weeks.
Sorry all the old links will undoubtley be broken, but at least the important content will be back.
