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News from LuxTech

March 2011

New Managing Director for The LuxTech group

http://www.luxtech.co.uk/content/about_us/team.php

January 2011

LuxTech at the BETT show in January 2011

The BETT show is the world’s largest educational technology event. LuxTech were in attendance demonstrating the latest ways to use ICT Support Services to enhance teaching and learning.

www.bettshow.com/ezoneversion

October 2009

Web mail scam propagates itself

The industry-wide phishing scam that has affected popular web mail services such as Hotmail and GMail, is spreading, according to experts. Security firm Websense says it has noticed a sharp rise in spam e-mails from Yahoo, Gmail and Hotmail accounts.

This is because infected accounts are sending personalised e-mails to contacts suggesting shopping sites, which are in fact fakes. Security expert Carl Leonard warned people to be on their guard. He advised people to check with friends that they had indeed sent the recommendation before visiting any new shopping sites. He also advised people to check web addresses: they should read https, with the 's' standing for secure.

The news reflects e-mails the BBC has received from victims. Peter Griffin found his Hotmail account had been compromised on Tuesday. He is currently unemployed and is worried that he has been sending spam to prospective employers. "I checked my account yesterday and found more than 10 e-mails with links [that] were sent from my Hotmail [account] to people from my contacts," he told the BBC. Despite changing his password, he "found an hour later they had sent another six e-mails".

One security expert thinks victims of the scam could have been part of a so-called key-logging attack. Amichai Shulman from security firm Imperva said the high numbers of victims suggested this type of attack. Unlike a traditional phishing scam, which lures people into revealing their details on fake websites, key-logging records individual key strokes. In some cases the malware could have been downloaded automatically. The scam was highlighted when several lists, detailing more than 30,000 names and passwords from Hotmail, Google and Yahoo web mail accounts were posted online.

BBC News has seen two lists that detail more than 30,000 names and passwords from e-mail providers, including Yahoo and AOL, which were posted online. Google is aware of a third list, although it is not clear how many names are on it. The size of the scam has led Mr Shulman to question whether it is a traditional phishing attack. "The vast majority of people do not fall prey to phishing attacks and the success rates are around one per 1,000. The fact that even one of these lists contained 10,000 names suggests to me that it was a key-logging scam," he said. Key-logging malware can be downloaded from infected websites, of which Mr Shulman estimates there are millions in existence. Once on a machine it can record every keystroke, including passwords or bank details.

The malware that installs a key-logger can be downloaded automatically although often it requires users to click a box, with common fakes promising system-enhancing or anti-virus software. The lists, which were posted online at Pastebin, a website where developers share code, are not unusual, according to Mr Shulman. "That's the nature of the world we live in and sometimes we get a glimpse inside it. These lists are constantly traded online," he said. "The fact that the lists became public is probably negligence on the part of the hackers," he added.

According to a report published by MarkMonitor last week, phishing is at a two-year high. It found that phishers were targeting payment websites and social networkers as well as traditional banking websites. Experts are advising anyone who thinks they might have been affected by the scam to update their anti-virus software and to immediately change their passwords. It has reopened the debate about how people manage the numerous passwords they have for various web accounts. It has led one security expert to offer some unusual advice."People should write down their web based passwords. That's one way of making sure that you can remember a "strong" password," said Sean Sullivan, security advisor at F-Secure."This tends to go against the conventional wisdom but it just makes more sense. People use weak passwords because they cannot remember the strong ones."

September 2009

Swine flu, Man flu or a cold?

Given recent media coverage of swine flu, pundits predictions of mass staff absence and resulting business disruption, now is as good a time as ever to ask the questions . . .

How effectively can I work when I'm not in the office?  What can’t I do out of the office, that I can in the office?  How would I maintain my business if a large number of my staff were in quarantine, but able to work still?

Most current and recent SME IT systems provide for a reasonable level of remote working, without a huge investment, for example what can I do with a standard Small Business 2003 or 2008 Server?
 
Well you can access your email through any internet connected browser; this is called Outlook Web Access.

You can also access your email through a PDA, smart phone, iphone or blackberry; there are various alternatives and benefits to these options, but most are straight forward and well rehearsed.

You can have a VPN connection from a remote PC to your network, allowing you to access files stored on the network, which is quite slow whilst opening and closing documents (dependant upon their size), but when working on them it is just like being in the office.

For regular and high numbers of remote users or for specific applications there is Terminal Services; slightly more long winded to explain, but in summary just like working in the office, except you are not!

These solutions can be configured from an hour of time upwards, and those friendly commercial consultants at LuxTechwould be more than happy to explain how.

 

Michael Garcia, LuxTech’s technical Director, was asked to make a contribution to a well known Professional Consultancy’s newsletter which has been copied below.

Outsourcing can provide long term benefits

Once thought to be a short term solution, outsourcing IT support is now much more likely to be a strategic decision. Michael  explained that using an experienced managed services partner helps keep skills and knowledge up to date within an organisation. 

Having an expensive internal IT department is common place in order to deploy and maintain those critical business applications which, not only perform the organisation’s administrative tasks but offers that all important ‘competitive advantage’.

Complex business applications, customer relationship management and various bespoke software needs round-the-clock monitoring and continual diagnostic attention by experienced professionals to ensure optimum performance.

It is a point of fact that software and hardware, which is chosen to perform critical tasks, is commercially available to all businesses and therefore lacks the ability to provide a significant ‘advantage’. The benefits which can be derived does not come from the technology but by the way in which the technology is used and applied.
The criticality of the IT support service should not be taken lightly and the introduction of a higher level of knowledge and skill into the organisation is necessary, in order to undertake the required services and identify areas which will drive the organisation forward.

In reality, IT has become a commodity, available to any organisation and having an expensive in-house IT department, only serves to deplete the bottom line margins of the organisation by increasing the commitment to provide IT support services and consuming valuable internal resources.

The perception of ‘Outsourcing’ by definition is one of misconception. In reality, outsourcing or Co-Sourcing enables the skills and knowledge of an individual or company to develop and stay within an organisation therefore, avoiding the necessity for the organisation to heavily invest in personnel, training and the usual liabilities associated with employment.

Furthermore, by embracing outsourced or co-sourced solutions, an organisation will benefit from the experiences, knowledge and expertise the chosen partner has acquired and across a broader spectrum of services. This expertise generally extends far beyond the experiences the organisation may acquire, therefore dramatically increasing the success of any project or implementation, resulting in a more focused and able support team.

Call it what you will, Outsourcing, Co-sourcing, Right-sourcing or Managed Service Provisioning, an intelligent relationship with an experienced IT service provider who has industry experience will enable an organisation to deliver a true return on investment more effectively and without liability. 

Outsourcing once was viewed simply as a short-term cost saving initiative ‘farming out’ the more menial IT tasks. True Managed Services should undoubtedly be seen as a strategic partnership combining experience with knowledge to deliver real competitive advantage.

For further information on IT Outsourcing and Co-Sourcing please email info@luxtech.co.uk

 

August 2009

SME spending on managed services set to grow

The interest among the SME sector in managed services will defy the recession with growth expected for the next couple of years.

According to US based analysts Techaisle, EMEA spending by small firms on remote managed services will grow by 9.2% this year and 8.1% next year.

The sweet-spot for resellers will be firms with between 10 to 50 staff but these can often be some of the hardest to reach.

An analyst at Techaisle, said that the recession had forced companies to scrutinise spending and managed services were seen as smart investments were “certainly in the radar”.

Drilling down into the types of managed services most in demand those that covered the network and server space are predicted as having the strongest growth.

July 2009

Expansion by acquisition

We have recently completed the purchase of the assets and goodwill of Langley based IT supplier Maypace Systems. The purchase has mutual benefits especially for Maypace clients who can now access a wide range of Managed Services and Telephony skills. Managing Director Russell Lux commented “this has taken longer than we all hoped but as the adage goes; the best things in life are worth waiting for. With a combined staffing level approaching 50 and nearly 20 engineers we are ideally placed to take advantage of new opportunities in our specialist areas.”

MS Gold Partner investment

LuxTech, has renewed its Gold Certified Partner status for 2009/2010 in the Microsoft Partner Program with competencies in Networking Infrastructure Solutions, Information Worker Solutions and Advanced Infrastructure Solutions, recognising LuxTech’s expertise and impact in the technology marketplace.

As a Gold Certified Partner, LuxTech has demonstrated expertise with Microsoft technologies and proven ability to meet customers' needs. Microsoft Gold Certified Partners receive a rich set of benefits, including access, training and support, giving them a competitive advantage in the channel.
Since July 2006, LuxTech has continued to maintain its Microsoft Gold Partner certification and compliances, providing a tightly integrated framework for its clients to run their operations faster and more profitably.

"We are pleased to continue attainment of our Gold Certified Partner status in the Microsoft Partner Program. This allows us to clearly promote our expertise and relationship with Microsoft to our clients," said Michael Garcia, LuxTech’s technical director. “The benefits provided through our Gold Certified Partner status strengthen our opportunities to enhance the solutions that we provide for our clients, and drive more value in the market.”

Telecoms accreditation

LuxTech, a leading integrator of customised telecommunications solutions, announced that it has been certified as a Silver Business Partner by Avaya, a leading global provider of communications networks and services for businesses.

The Silver certification is an industry-recognised designation that LuxTech has met Avaya's series of rigorous criteria to ensure superior technical competency and the ability to deliver best-in-class customer service and support as measured by an independent survey organisation.

LuxTech sells Avaya communications systems, and design and implementation services, to businesses across the UK. The Silver certification status helps assure LuxTech customers that they are working with a reseller dedicated to quality and service. For Avaya, the Silver certification indicates a reseller's commitment to technical expertise and service of Avaya's converged voice and data networks and applications.