DNS... Not Just Another UTLA*

Have you ever wondered what DNS is? Probably not, but let me give you a quick education and then I want to share something, well, exciting with you.

DNS stands for Domain Name System. At a very simple level, DNS servers are servers that know how to translate a "friendly name" into an IP Address. Example: you type in http://www.jirehconsulting.com, your DNS server looks up www.jirehconsulting.com, returns 208.38.138.21 to your browser, and now you're on your way to my website (aren't you glad you don't have to remember IP Addresses!?). Of course, this all happens a lot faster than you might think, and some very smart people have come up with ways to make these transactions as fast as possible. It's all very interesting, and you can read more about it here.

Now for something truly exciting... OpenDNS is a provider of free security and infrastructure services that make the Internet safer through integrated Web content filtering, anti-phishing and DNS. Let me give you a brief detail on each of their services:

• Content Filtering: they have over 50 categories of web content that can be blocked. You can choose a pre-determined level, or you can pick and choose specific categories to block.
• Anti-Phishing: phishing, as you may know, "is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication." OpenDNS takes the guess-work out of trying to identify phishing scams and has blocked over a quarter million phishing websites to date.
• DNS: OpenDNS has a network of strategically located DNS servers across the country that provide fast, redundant lookups.
• Additionally: OpenDNS provides typo correction with "Did you mean?" spelling suggestions, the ability to create shortcuts to frequently visited/difficult to remember or spell URLs, and detailed charts and statistics that enable you to understand what's happening on your company's network.

As you can see, OpenDNS offers helpful, and for this day and age, necessary services all at a very compelling price... FREE!

*UTLA stands for Useless Three Letter Acronym

No Vista? No Problem!

Do you feel like your business is falling behind because you haven't made the move to Windows Vista? Well, you shouldn't. According to research, more than 58% of businesses that utilize Microsoft technologies are continuing to use Windows XP. While only 4% have adopted Vista! The reason, lack of business requirements to do so. Some line-of-business applications are still not compatible with Vista, leaving businesses feeling trapped with XP.

Many computer manufacturers, including Dell and Lenovo, are continuing to sell PCs with XP well past Microsoft's June 30th cutoff. Vendors are doing so by invoking a downgrade plan that lets them ship a system with XP installed as long as the customer is also paying for an upgrade to Vista Business or Vista Ultimate.

A word of caution though. Don't buy a new computer, invoke the downgrade plan, and then expect that computer to be capable of running the next version of Windows. It may work, but it might only work at a minimal level. There currently is a class-action lawsuit alleging that Microsoft unjustly enriched itself by promoting PCs as "Windows Vista Capable" even when they could only run a bare-bones version of the operating system, called "Vista Home Basic."

That said, if you find yourself in the position of needing a PC that runs Windows XP, the downgrade plan is a great short-term fix.

Microsoft itself seems to be moving on from Vista. Windows 7 is already in development and might be available as early as 2009. Some are even predicting that Microsoft is going to fast-track Windows 7 to get customers to skip over the unpopular Vista and go directly to the next version.

So if you're still using Windows XP, there's no need to feel like your being left behind or trapped. You, like the majority of other businesses, are simply waiting to see what Microsoft is going to do next.


References:
http://news.zdnet.com/2424-9595_22-238742.html
http://www.windowssecrets.com/2008/05/15/03-Keep-XP-fresh-until-Windows-7-arrives
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/352442_vista23.html

Patching. Today's Anti-Virus

I had a client ask me today "hey, what's with all the patches and updates lately?". Without even thinking, I replied "it's the Anti-Virus of the day".

I've been thinking about that some. If the current Anti-Virus products can't protect our computers (and it appears they can't), what can? Patches and updates. The "Bad Guys" are exploiting known vulnerabilities and the only way to stop them is to remove those vulnerabilities.

Is your "Anti-Virus" up-to-date? If not, maybe you should be thinking about creating a policy that defines what exactly should be on your computers, remove what shouldn't be and then develop a procedure for keeping everything up-to-date.

Where's The Risk?

Risk = Threat x Vulnerability

If there's no Threat then there's no Risk, right (zero x anything = zero)? I realize that this is rarely the case. Where there is a Vulnerability, most likely there is a Threat, and regardless of how small the Threat there is Risk. Question is what are we going to do with that Risk? Let's answer that in a moment.

I have to thank Andy IT Guy for his post on proof of risk. It really drove home the concept of the above formula. Too many times we hear of the latest exploit and start panicking before taking the time to figure out whether or not we're even susceptible.

So, back to our question. What are we going to do with that Risk? We're going to "Take a step back and do a quick risk assessment for your environment and then make a well informed decision."

Good stuff!