CTO Tech Blog

Last Thursday we saw the release of Windows 7 and along with it a new Mac commercial on television.  Apple is attacking Microsoft’s promises of a more stable feature rich operating system as expected, but this time I think they’ve missed the mark.  I have to admit that I love Apple’s commercials even though I believe PC’s are still the better choice for business even with XP or Vista.  Everyone knows about programming flaws and vulnerabilities in the Microsoft family so what makes it a better platform?  The entrenchment that XP has in business makes it the defacto standard.  Because of this most applications are written for Windows even though many are reworked to support Macs as well.  While some aspects of configuring and securing Windows are beyond many users abilities, they are more flexible and granular so that IT departments can employ more business aligned configurations.  In addition, a large part of the lack of known flaws in the Mac operating system is simple obscurity.  Hackers don’t spend as much time trying to break the code of systems that are not used as widely in business.  There have been viruses and security flaws in many versions of Mac OS but they are not as widely discussed as those in Windows.

I have been running Windows 7 at home and in my office for a number of months and my experience has been that it is living up to Microsoft’s claims of better speed and reliability.  At home I transitioned from Windows XP where I would experience unexplained slowdowns and a very slow boot process.  At work, speed was an issue as well as having a very cluttered start menu and desktop from all f the third party applications I needed to support all of the features I require.  In both cases Windows 7 has made a noticeable difference.  Boot time on both systems is short enough that I don’t have to go find something else to do while waiting and the systems are very responsive when opening new applications.  The user interface at first appears very different with an unlabeled circle instead of a start button and the way that windows fade in and out of view as I run my mouse over them on the taskbar.  The reality is that there was virtually no learning curve and I find the new nested task bar makes it much easier for me to find a certain window in the rash of applications that I tend to run concurrently.  There are a couple of security features that I’ve had to get used to.  The two main ones are; being prompted to do some things as an administrator even though my account has full privileges and not being able to download files to certain locations on my hard disk.  In both cases these new features force me to be aware of the security of my system, one by prompting me to accept that administrative privileges will be used and the other by only allowing files to be saved in certain folders, but the reality is that I used to do those things myself… most of the time.

Would I recommend running out and upgrading your computers all to Windows 7?  No.  The reality is that XP is still viable in most situations and it isn’t worth the expense of upgrading unless you have a specific need for some of the new features.  I would, however, say not to shy away from Windows 7 when purchasing a new system or when considering a major upgrade or reinstallation.

When I first started hearing about virtualization in the computer industry, it seemed about as tangible as the multi-headed monsters of Greek mythology.  Fortunately I’m surrounded by talented young technical staff who aren’t afraid of diving into new technologies head first.  Like many things, once I made a small leap in thinking, the technology wasn’t as daunting as it appeared.

Although server virtualization is typically marketed as an “enterprise solution”, I have come to see value for businesses of any size.  Before I dig into the value, I guess I’d better see if I can help all of you make that same leap in thinking.

Traditionally computer and network server operating systems each require dedicated hardware to run on.    In large enterprises there are often many servers each running a single purpose application.  This approach presents many challenges, but I will only discuss two that are mitigated by virtualization here.  The first issue is that each of these servers are typically running at less than 10% of their potential computing power, yet still draw almost as much electrical power, generate almost as much heat, and occupy exactly as much space as a server that is 100% utilized.  The second issue focuses on the Microsoft Windows operating system.  Windows based servers are prolific in businesses.  Probably the biggest drawback to Windows from a reliability perspective is a tendency to crash for seemingly unknown reasons.  Microsoft has collected data on many crashes and has determined that approximately 70% of crashes can be directly attributed to 3^rd party driver issues.

Virtualization could simply be defined as allowing a single physical server, or "host", to run multiple independent server operating systems at the same time.  This allows the combined utilization of the virtual servers, or "guests", to more optimally utilize the available resources of the physical hardware.  This approach saves power, cooling costs and physical space.

Another benefit of virtualization is that the virtualization software presents a common set of computing resources (ie: CPU, RAM, video card, etc) to the virtual server regardless of the physical differences of server hardware.  This means that virtualized servers run a common set of drivers instead of the 3^rd party drivers that cause 70% of server crashes, essentially eliminating that risk.  In addition, because of the use of a common driver set, a virtual server can be moved to any supported server without the need to rebuild operating systems or load new drivers.

Microsoft and VMware both offer free versions of their virtualization platforms that can help provide any business with more secure and stable computing environments.

The best investment that anyone can make in malware defence is education.  In fact, I would go as far as saying that any investment made in education on this subject will be repaid in software cost savings and productivity increases.  Let me step back and clarify what I mean by malware and the potential costs to individuals and companies.

Malware is defined by Merriam-Webster Online as simply "software designed to interfere with a computer's normal functioning".  While most people would immediately put a computer virus in this category, they may be unaware of other types of malware such as spyware, trojans, root kits, and even adware to name a few.  Each of these types of software share the common trait of performing functions that the user of the computer does not benefit from and often does not know about.  In some cases they are installed on purpose, but perform functions other than or beyond what the installer believes they do.  In others they will be installed by deceiving the user or in some cases even without their knowledge.  The effect of malware on a computer user or company can range from disruptive popup windows and web surfing habit collecting at the low end to theft of personal information and data or destruction of data at the high end.  The cost of these events is difficult to estimate and would differ for each user and the severity of the infection.  In most cases users have antivirus software and firewalls at a minimum and the value of these items are abolished with a single infection of any severity.  The final cost is attributed to remediation.  Stolen data and personal information can be very difficult to retrieve and typically involves changing bank accounts and credit cards.  Lost data and corrupted operating systems can be retrieved and repaired in most cases by people with the right skills, but this is rarely an inexpensive endeavour.

So how can education help defend against this type of incursion?  Developing safer computing habits and knowing the tricks that malware creators use to attack systems can help avoid exposure.  Safe computing habits include not opening email from people you don't know and from whom you are not expecting mail.  If you do open an email, but are not 100 percent sure of why you received it, don't click on any links in the email.  Never send or post personal information of any kind in an email or on a web site.  Remember that your bank will never phone or email to ask you for personal or account information.  Don't visit web sites that you don't know or don't know to be legitimate.  Try to stick to big brand name sites such as Microsoft, Google, Walmart, etc.  Download and install all security related updates for your operating systems, firewalls and antivirus software.  Install and regularly update a reputable antivirus software package. 

Today I have listed some basic strategies that everyone should practice and in future posts I will drill deeper into different types of malware, explain how they attack computers and suggest strategies for defence.  If you'd like to jump ahead and learn more there are some well produced videos available at Watchguard's web site: http://www.watchguard.com/education/videos.asp  I would suggest starting with the security for beginners videos at the bottom of the page.  Watchguard is a manufacturer of security products for computer networks. 

As the Chief Technical Officer at Basic Business Systems, one of my responsibilities is to share my knowledge and experience with our technical staff.  It was a short leap of imagination that led me to starting this blog as a means to do so as well as adding the ability to share with clients, partners, friends, and other interested parties.  For the benefit anyone who doesn't know me (or any who know me, but don't really know my background), I currently have over 25 years experience designing, maintaining, and deploying computer systems and computer networks.  Like many in this industry I am somewhat of a generalist but of late I have focused on networking (the transfer of data between systems) and virtualization (more to come on that in a later post). I am proud to say that I have been employed at Basic Business Systems for just over 20 years and have been a partner for the past 13.  Basic is celebrating 30 years in business this year and continues to evolve with our many long term clients.  We have a strong and responsive technical team and our focus as a company is to provide IT services that help our clients succeed in business.

My main goal for this blog is to incite thought among my readers regarding safe computing, data security, cost saving strategies for businesses, and introduce new technologies.  I hope to do all of this in a somewhat non-technical mannor and encourage comments and feedback.  If there is a new technology or trend you'd like to see discussed, or if you'd like to share your opinion about any of my posts you are encouraged to click the comments link or email me directly at gsiverns@basicbusiness.com.  I am not here to sell you products and offer my experience without any expectations in return.  That said, I am in business to provide technical services and welcome any opportunity to engage with potential clients.

Look for posts weekly on this site and please share the link with friends and collegues so that they can subscribe.  Next week I will be launching my first technical post with an introduction to virus and malware defence strategies.