Is your home wireless network secure?

As more and more people look at wireless technologies for the ease and convenience of setting up their home or office network, they don’t always remember or know that there are steps they need to take to make certain that their network is secure from outside intrusion. Practices like piggybacking (connecting to a wireless network, such as your neighbors, and using that Internet connection without the owner’s knowledge) and war driving (the act of searching for a wireless network from a vehicle) are becoming increasingly more popular.

Today there are numerous wireless routers currently available on the market. With that being said, you should choose to make several changes per your user manual that came with your wireless router. Don’t have the user manual? No problem, just Google your wireless router and there is a good chance you will find it online.

The following are a few things to consider:

• Change your router’s password – By default, many wireless routers come pre-configured with a default Admin username and password for ease of setup. Because these defaults are widely known it is easy for an individual to log into your router without your knowledge.
• Disable Identifier Broadcasting – In an open wireless area, such as a local coffee shop, it is necessary to have your wireless router broadcast its presence so users can easily connect to it. In a home or office environment, you are the only one that needs to know you have a wireless network setup. Disabling this feature will make it harder for someone to “discover” your wireless network.
• Enable MAC Authentication – Every device you attempt to connect to your wireless network has its own unique MAC (Media Access Control) address. Using Mac Authentication allows you to control who can access your wireless network.
• Use WEP or WPA Encryption - WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) and WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) allow you to encrypt information sent between wireless devices. If your equipment supports both standards, it is preferable to use the more secure WPA feature.
• Rename your SSID - By default, many wireless routers come pre-configured with a default SSID/ESSID. If possible, change your default SSID/ESSID to make it more difficult for someone to guess and gain access to your network.
• Firewalls and Anti-virus - Even if you do not have a wireless network, it is always a good idea to have an up-to-date Firewall (software and/or hardware based) and anti-virus software running on your computers and network.
• File Sharing - If you do not need to share files over your network, you should consider disabling file sharing on your computer. If you need to share files over your network, look at creating a dedicated folder for storing those files and share out only that folder, not your entire hard drive. If possible, passwords protect your shared folders/files for added protection.

More SAN or a higher level server?

Rather than spending more money on a higher level server with loads of internal disk space, would adding more SAN possibly make more sense for your company?

The number one benefit for installing SAN is that it simplifies the network infrastructure and makes it easier to manage.

Other SAN advantages include:

High Availability

Highly Scalable

Express Transfer Rates

Expandable

More Effective DR

What exactly is SAN? It is a dedicated network of shared storage devices, such as disk storage arrays and tape automation. It is a high-speed sub network of share storage devices that are like machines that contain nothing but disk(s) for storing data. The main objective of SAN is to facilitate the exchange of data between operating systems and storage elements.

SAN is made up of a quantity of fabric switches connected in a network. Most commonly used is Fibre Channel. On the other hand ISCSI could be used with IP switches.

All of our SAN options provide virtually unlimited storage capacities. Fibre Channel storage options are typically used for systems that demand high performance, such as databases and other I/O intensive applications. SATA storage options are more cost-conscious, suited for situations where total storage cost is more critical than performance, such as data and media archiving.

Here is a sample configuration. For more information please contact BTInet.

Basin Babies team assists in offering hope for others

BTInet and Basin Electric’s March for Babies Team, Basin Babies, are at it again this year! Numerous fundraising events are already scheduled to help raise money for prematurity awareness.

Upcoming Fundraising Events:

March 2^nd – Diva Night @ Lillians

April 25^th – Aliens Helping Earthlings

In 2010, the Basin Babies Team raised more than $6,000. With hopes of raising the same amount or even more for 2011! To help out their team, or better yet join the team, see their website for more details.

Why walk? When you walk for the March for Babies you give hope to the more than half a million babies born too soon each year. The money you raise supports programs in your community that help moms have healthy, full-term pregnancies. It also funds research to find answers to the problems that threaten our babies.

The walk will be held at The Bowl on May 14, 2011 starting at 9am.

Do you want to…

Improve IT availability? Improve utilization of server resources? Improve power and cooling demands? Or simplify system management cost?

The new PowerEdge M610x is here!

The PCIe expansion module includes two full-length slots and two standard blade IO cards. The supplemental power connectors enable maximum wattage for either one or both of the slot cards. The 2-socket blade allows users to leverage technologies such as graphic cards, 10 acceleration cards, as well as RAID cards for DAS connectivity.

Spend more time on your business and less on maintaining your IT. The Chassis Management Controller (CMC) and embedded-system management will allow you do to so.

The platinum rated power supplies and the new high efficiency fans allows for better data center utilization all while lowers power and cooling costs.

The new systems management updates to Lifecycle controllers, chassis management controller and the iDRAC helps customers streamline ongoing maintenance task which then reduces costs and improve efficiency.

Why not Bismarck?

Why Bismarck?

The City of Bismarck is the capital of North Dakota, county seat of Burleigh County and is the 2^nd most populous city with a current estimated population of 60,000+.

The North Dakota State Capitol is the tallest building in the state. The state government employs more than 4,000 in the city. Bismarck is the economic center of a large portion of south-central & north-central North Dakota. Bismarck was ranked #5 of 179 metros with populations under 235,000 by Forbes Magazine.

History

Would you like to see some history of Bismarck, ND? Check out The Complete Story of Bismarck by Randy Hoffman

Things to Do

Bismarck is located on the east bank of the Missouri River. This river provides endless hours of summer recreation: swimming, boating, jet skiing, fishing, etc. Boating enthusiasts find the Missouri River’s sandy bottom and multiple sandbars particularly inviting. The river also provides a scenic three mile exercise trail, replica of 1800′s Keelboat, Giant Lew & Clark Figures. Don’t forget to take a scenic tour on the Lewis & Clark Riverboat down the Missouri River!

The Bismarck Parks and Recreation District operates many parks, swimming pools, and golf courses within the city. The Dakota Zoo & Super Slide Amusement park resides with in Sertoma Park, which stretches over three miles along the banks of the Missouri River.

Education

We have the largest school district in the state, a total of 22 schools with a student population of over 10,000. With one of the best education systems in the country we have the highest graduation rates and testing results around. With the highest national honor our schools have been recognized as “Blue Ribbon” award recipients.

We are the home to a five colleges and a university which includes a four-year university, a two-year public college, a member of the North Dakota University System, a two-year tribal college and a two to four-year private college.

Of course like anywhere, there is much more to Bismarck then a person can mention in one blog post. Stay tuned for more information Bismarck in future posts.