QuikNews September 2002 E-Mail Newsletter




Quality Technology Solutions, Inc. QTS QuikNews – September 2002 – Issue 2002.9 September 30, 2002 ************************************************************************ Welcome to the September edition of QTS QuikNews, our Monthly E-Mail newsletter. In this monthly e-mail, you will receive an update of what's new at QTS - new products we support, new patches and upgrades, solution ideas and promotions to save you money, and information about our company and our clients. As a QTS client, a prospective client we have had discussions with, or a “friend of QTS,” you have been automatically added to our newsletter distribution list. To unsubscribe from this mailing please see the instructions at the bottom of this page, or call your QTS Account Manager. Please do not respond to this e-mail. This is an unmonitored account. ********************************************************************** IN THIS ISSUE ********************************************************************** 1. QTS News 2. Events 3. Patches & Upgrades 4. President’s Corner 5. Partner Spotlight: Law Office Systems 6. Special Offers & Featured Solutions ********************************************************************** QTS NEWS ********************************************************************** MICROSOFT PRODUCT SUPPORT LIFECYCLE Manufacturer support for software offerings typically runs a 3 year lifecycle from initial product release these days – sometimes sooner, sometimes later, depending on the frequency of interim updates. The following Microsoft products are coming up on their end-of-life date: 6/30/2003 – Microsoft Windows 98 and Windows NT Workstation 4.0 12/31/2003 – Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 See http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/ProductInfo/Availability/Retiring.asp and http://www.microsoft.com/windows/lifecycle.asp for more information. Note that support for Windows 95 was discontinued effective 12/31/01. +++ FROM THE WEB +++ QTS ANNOUNCES QUIKCHECKUP HEALTH CHECK SERVICE 9/30/2002: QTS today announced its new QuikCheckup™ Health Check Service, providing customers with a proactive service that brings best practices to bear within key QTS-supported products in order to prevent downtime. Read more at http://www.QTSnet.com/stayinformed/l3_stay_pr32.htm ********************************************************************** EVENTS ********************************************************************** Training, Inc.: Achieving Your Workforce Goals When The Piggy Bank Is Empty Friday, October 18th, 8 a.m. - 12 noon This conference will provide business executives, technology managers and human resource professionals with an outlook on productivity, training development and workforce legislation impacting IT jobs in NJ. Join keynote speaker Al Koeppe, President and COO of PSEG and a distinguished panel of NJ's most prominent business leaders and government officials for an informative and interactive session with trends and tips for creating advantages for your business with a focus on your IT professionals. Hosted by Training, Inc. at the Essex County College Campus in Newark. Fee includes parking and breakfast. Members of supporting organizations - $25. Non-members $35. Additional information available at www.traininginc.org/techevent2002.htm. ********************************************************************** PATCHES & UPGRADES ************************************************************************ Call the Customer Support Center to have us apply QTS-standard patches and keep your systems current. The following patches have been recently released and are generally recommended by QTS: * Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 1* * Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1 * Check Point NG Feature Pack 3 * Time Matters 4.0 Service Release 3 There have been many reported problems with this service pack that are specific to user systems. We recommend the service pack, but only after compatibility testing and having a full system backup. Also, please check http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/security/current.asp for applicability of Microsoft Security Bulletins to the products in use at your environment. Contact your QTS Account Manager if you would like our Customer Support Center to monitor these bulletins for you and advise with recommendations for your environment upon release of new bulletins. Norton Antivirus Corporate Edition signature files are currently at version 40927d (9/27/2002). CA InoculateIT 4.x signature files are currently at version 39.48 (9/26/2002) and 6.x signature files are currently at version 23.57.49 (9/27/2002). McAfee VirusScan/NetShield signature files are currently at version 4225 (9/25/2002). Please keep your antivirus signatures, and your scan engines, current! If you do not have your system set up to automatically distribute updates from your server to your PCs, please call your QTS Account Manager or the Customer Support Center. Some patches can cause problems, especially in combination with other software programs or patch levels. Please talk to us to verify whether we see any possible problems in your environment before patching your systems independently. We make best efforts to test patch combinations but cannot guarantee compatibility between software and hardware manufacturers’ products. *********************************************************************** PRESIDENT’S CORNER ********************************************************************** Having spent the better part of the last year on appointments with customers, old and new, I have come to the conclusion that although most businesses have the core security building blocks of a firewall and antivirus software, there is much that remains to be done. Although most of our customers don’t need high-end solutions such as biometrics, there is in most cases a shortage of emphasis on security management. Security is not about installing a product or two, walking away, and saying you are secure. The nature of threats changes on a weekly, if not daily, basis. And as I have noted before, you don’t get attacked anymore based on who you are – most attacks occur because a target is connected, regardless of whether the target is a Fortune 100 business, or a small local company. If you’re doubtful about this, take a look at your firewall logs and see how many times you’ve been port scanned over the last week. Security is, in fact, about a convergence of people, processes and technology. The people part is all about education and communication, and about clearly defined policies. Since the majority of security incidents still, unbelievably, occur from within the network, there is much to be done here. Looking at your password policies are a good starting point, but there are many elements here. The process part is about how you manage your security – which starts with an affirmative effort to do so. This includes patch and vulnerability management, which are processes that can have automation tools applied to them. Microsoft’s Software Update Service is an excellent starting point to automate the patch management process for Microsoft servers and desktops. Regular review of logs is another important element. Configuration management is an entire additive element – most Microsoft products, for example, are easily secured when properly configured, but the default settings are configured to minimize security and maximize ease of setup. The last piece is the technology. Firewalls and antivirus are the basics, but often we find their configuration needs to be refined to optimize the security environment. Email and web server security are separate disciplines that require unique attention. Other elements, such as VPNs, SSL, authentication tokens, intrusion detection, content filtering and malicious code management all fit together as potential elements of a security strategy, depending on your business needs and objectives. But without proper attention to the people and process elements, the technology is only slightly better than useless. We’ve put a lot of work into our security practice over the last year, far beyond just picking up product lines and vendor partners. If you haven’t already done so, I suggest you speak with your QTS account manager, or another trusted security consultant, to assess your security posture versus your businesses’ needs. And obviously, that’s more than just seeing if you have a firewall and antivirus. As always, feel free to email me your comments or thoughts at nrosenberg@QTSnet.com. Thank you. Neil Rosenberg President & CEO Quality Technology Solutions ********************************************************************** PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: LAW OFFICE SYSTEMS ********************************************************************** Law Office Systems, Inc. provides on-site training and consulting for law firms on products including Time Matters, Timeslips, Worldox, WordPerfect and Word. We can assist your firm in selecting, customizing and implementing these programs. Carol L. Schlein, Esq., President of Law Office Systems, Inc., is a former chair of the Computer and Technology Division of the Law Practice Management Section of the American Bar Association. Ms. Schlein is a frequent speaker and writes a monthly technology column for the New Jersey Lawyer. Law Office Systems sponsors a NY and NJ Time Matters User Group as well as training classes. We have also produced our own training materials. Please contact us or visit our web site at www.losinc.com for additional information. Ms. Schlein can be reached at (973) 746-6454 or carol@losinc.com. Or, contact your QTS Account Manager. ********************************************************************** SPECIAL OFFERS & FEATURED SOLUTIONS ********************************************************************** HP SURESTORE ULTRIUM DRIVES AND VS80 AUTOLOADERS Hewlett Packard is offering rebates on its high-capacity Ultrium drives and VS80 DLT Tape Autoloaders. Contact your QTS Account Manager if you are interested in upgrading your storage and/or backup capacity. SYMANTEC CLIENT SECURITY Symantec Client Security is a new offering to protect desktop PCs from viruses (using Norton Antivirus technology) as well as to provide personal firewall and intrusion detection capabilities. Through December 31^st, qualifying customers can purchase Symantec Client Security at competitive upgrade pricing. Contact your QTS Account Manager for more details. ********************************************************************** To Comment on this newsletter, send an email to QuikNews@QTSnet.com. ********************************************************************** To Remove yourself from this mailing list please send a reply to this message with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject field. Or call or email your QTS Account Manager. ********************************************************************** To Subscribe to this Newsletter, tell your friends and colleagues to go to http://www.QTSnet.com/QuikNews. ********************************************************************** To View an archive of all QTS QuikNews editions, please visit http://www.QTSnet.com/stayinformed/QuikNews/QuikNews_Index.htm. ************************************************************************ ^{ã2002 Quality Technology Solutions, Inc.} This site last updated 10/01/02 © 1999 Quality Technology Solutions, Inc. 76 South Orange Avenue Suite 302, South Orange, New Jersey 07079 telephone: 973.761.5400 fax: 973.761.1881 email: info@qtsnet.com