PDF Security: obfuscated code, hackers and other threats

Hackers are finding increasingly inventive ways of exploiting holes in Acrobat.
The same rich content that makes PDF so useful to businesses can also make it a security risk. Embedding links, images, tables and media uses JavaScript and that allows PDF files to be exploited as an attack vector for hackers.

SQL Server: diagnosing and fixing performance issues

Many SMEs have applications that run on SQL Server. In the more recent versions, SQL Server 2005 and 2008 is largely self tuning so it may well run for months unattended. However, performance issues can still raise their ugly head.

Encrypting backup tapes

Backup should be keeping your customer’s data secure as well as safe. Forget to encrypt data written to tapes and they run the risk of having to explain it to the auditor when a courier loses them.

Dealing with spam in Exchange 2007

Spam isn’t just annoying - it’s a security risk and a prime source of malware and phishing attacks. The new version of Exchange has more effective tools to keep it at bay.

Is Windows 7 Ready for Small Business

The Service Pack 1 rule is a good one for most operating systems, and not because a new version of Windows usually has as many bugs as benefits.

Failover, not fall over - how to keep running when the hardware fails

Failure is not an option in business and redundancy is the solution. You can offer customers systems that keep running when the hardware fails.

Server failure used to mean widespread panic and a scramble to find backup tapes and a spare server to restore onto. Inevitably this meant business interruption, user frustration and even data loss. Recovering from a backup can take hours; even planned maintenance can take the server down during business hours leaving users unable to work. Today there is no excuse for this situation.

Dirtection Inc: episode 3

In which a bit of fluff yields up its terrible secret!

Ethel works in Admin. I generally see her at 11 o’clock in the morning and half-past three in the afternoon. We meet by the drinks machine in the foyer of Building C. The machine dispenses a tasteless brown liquid

Automated sales tools

Marketing collateral, sales tools, and automated reports can save a lot of time in preparing quotations. But will they alienate your customers or win you business?

Application Whitelists

Endpoint security is about ensuring that PCs and laptops are secure at all times – so what better way to do it than by ensuring that everything running on them is completely trusted?

Protecting Networks

Security is changing: smart clients and remote working mean that the security perimeter is getting closer to the server. How will you protect your clients’ networks tomorrow?