Dec 31 2007 5:13AM GMT
Posted by: Tony Bradley
WAN,
Networking,
Broadband,
Ethernet,
IP
If you have to connect multiple sites that are not physically in the same building or campus, it can be a little tricky establishing the kind of connectivity and throughput you need for remote sites to work effectively with the primary servers across the WAN connection. Dividing the file size by the projected network bandwidth can give you a theoretical data transfer speed, but factors such as packet loss or the protocol used can add significantly to that time. Take a look at networking expert David Hughes answer to How do I calculate the time taken for a file to be transferred over a WAN link? to learn more about the factors that may impact your rate of data transfer and some tips to help you optimize your WAN connection.
Dec 28 2007 8:39PM GMT
Posted by: Tony Bradley
Silvia Hagen,
IP,
IP communications,
IPv4,
IPv6
You are probably familiar with the fact that IPv4 is more or less the standard that the Internet and networks of the world rely on. IPv6 is the emerging standard developed to expand the available pool of addresses as well as addressing a variety of performance and security issues in IPv4. So, why did we never hear of any IPv5 equipment? Do they just count by 2’s when they are creating IP standards? Apparently not. Network expert Silvia Hagen addresses the issue of the missing IP standard in answering the question “Why wasn’t there an IPv5?”
Dec 28 2007 8:27PM GMT
Posted by: Tony Bradley
VoIP,
Unified Communications,
skype worm,
toll fraud,
vishing
I know I am a broken record, or kicking a dead horse, or some other analogy about stating the same obvious thing over and over, but as the world adopts VoIP for voice communications they need to be aware of the security risks and take the appropriate steps to protect their communications and their networks. Sipera Systems has published a list of the Top 5 VoIP Vulnerabilities. If you have implemented, or plan to implement a VoIP solution, be aware that eavesdropping, VoIP hopping, vishing, toll fraud, and the Skype worm are all issues you should be concerned with. Take a look at Sipera’s Top 5 VoIP Vulnerabilities in 2007 list for more details.
Dec 27 2007 1:26PM GMT
Posted by: Tony Bradley
Michael Gregg,
Social networking,
Facebook,
MySpace
Aside from the obvious waste of company time that could otherwise be put to some productive use, should organizations be concerned about employees using social networking sites? Maybe. In fact, company policy regarding social networking sites should possibly extend beyond working hours. An employee may not use company resources or time to access the site, but if an employee posts sensitive information or derogatory information about the company on their personal MySpace page, it can have an impact on the company. Check out what network security expert Michael Gregg has to say about the subject.
Dec 27 2007 1:17PM GMT
Posted by: Tony Bradley
Cisco,
Charles Giancarlo,
John Chambers
The odds on favorite being groomed to replace Cisco CEO John Chambers was Chief Development Officer Charles Giancarlo. However, Giancarlo apparently has other plans. He announced that effective December 31, 2007 he will be leaving Cisco to pursue other opportunities. Giancarlo was instrumental in creating a new collaborative leadership body, the Development Council, which will help to fill the void. Does Giancarlo’s abrupt departure signal anything deeper or more ominous going on at Cisco, or did he just get restless and decide to move on? It is hard to say, but so far it appears that he simply chose to move on. Read Key Cisco leader Giancarlo steps down for more details.
Dec 19 2007 10:04PM GMT
Posted by: Tony Bradley
Intrusion prevention,
Networking,
Internet,
Security,
Hackers,
Windows Security
I know that it is sort of a “sky is falling”, FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) sort of statement, but the threat from inside your network is significant. While you focus on keeping unauthorized users out, locking down your network perimeter, detecting and blocking incoming malware, etc., your authorized users may be busy at work pushing the boundaries of their access and poking your internal security measures for holes. Then there are those users who are authorized access and unwittingly expose sensitive data, such as placing it unprotected on a USB thumb drive which they subsequently misplace while stopping for a cup of coffee. There are a number of ways- both intentional, and accidental- that your users may pose a bigger threat to your network security than all of the bad, nasty external forces seeking to compromise your systems. Check out How dangerous user behavior puts networks at risk to read the whole article and hopefully pick up some tips you can use to protect your network from the inside as well.
Dec 17 2007 6:06PM GMT
Posted by: Tony Bradley
Microsoft Windows,
VoIP,
Unified Communications,
Office Communications Server 2007,
Office Communicator 2007,
UCC
VoIP has a number of benefits, but it can have its down sides as well. One downside is that the sound-quality of the phone calls can have issues. Normal telephones sometimes have sound issues as well though. The benefit of VoIP is that, because the communications are network-based, it can be monitored in real-time for easier troubleshooting than a normal phone. Microsoft has released a free tool for their Office Communications Server 2007. The module is called Quality of Experience Monitoring (QSM) Server. QSM can monitor voice quality by collecting information from the endpoints. It measures loss, jitter, delay, device quality and other parameters to assess quality. You can get more details on the scope and features of this new tool by reading Microsoft releases free tool to monitor voice quality from Computerworld.
Dec 11 2007 2:21PM GMT
Posted by: Tony Bradley
Hackers,
IP communications,
Cisco,
VoIP
VoIP is the new wireless (unfortunately, wireless is still the new wireless as well). By that, I mean it is the hot new technology that everyone is implementing even though they don’t really know how to properly deploy it and they have even less knowledge of how to secure it. Vendors are guilty too. They rush products to market to take advantage of the popularity, but the products are not designed securely and they are not adequately tested. The result is a bunch of flawed and vulnerable VoIP networks out there, built on essentially beta-version hardware, just waiting to be exploited. At HACK.LU 2007 in Luxembourg this past October, security researcher Joffrey Czarny described a technique to eavesdrop on remote conversations using Cisco VoIP phones. Check out Cisco confirms ability to spy on remote calls with VoIP to learn more about this, and other, VoIP exploits that may affect your cutting edge phone network.
Dec 5 2007 2:41PM GMT
Posted by: Tony Bradley
Intrusion prevention,
IPS,
Networking,
Cisco,
Gigabit ethernet
For organizations that have high-volume networks, such as networks that are used to stream audio or video, or networks that are used to process large quantities of transactions, monitoring can be a problem. The functionality of the network, and the security of the network, are in conflict. From a functionality standpoint, you want the fastest possible throughput, but from a security perspective, you want to monitor the traffic for suspicious or malicious behavior. The monitoring process is a bottleneck for many networks. Cisco hopes to relieve some of that bottleneck with their new IPS 4270 Intrusion Prevention appliance. With speeds up to 4Gbps, the IPS 4270 can monitor and protect your network while still allowing for exceptionally fast network speeds. Check out Cisco Unveils Next-Gen Intrusion Prevention System for more about Cisco’s new appliance.
