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servers Tag

10 Jul

Posted at 09:00h in Blog Post
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What is the Cloud? Where is it? What is the cloud? There has been a ton of talk about the cloud. Cloud this, cloud that. It’s okay if you don’t know, most people don’t understand it and even some tech people tend to wave their hands towards the sky when trying to explain it! Since it actually has nothing to do with the white fluffy things in the sky, let’s lay it all out: Cloud computing is about storing and retrieving your data (personal or business) within your own piece of the internet. Access it from anywhere. Colleagues in different locations can even collaborate on documents in real time. If that all sounds a bit futuristic, think about how an email service like Gmail works. Emails are stored on the Gmail server, not on your hard drive or device. Your read/send/receive changes are applied instantly, remembered for next login. This is a form of cloud computing. So is Netflix, where you can stream movies and TV shows on demand. Video is stored on a computer somewhere else in the world, and sent to your device in tiny packages. Netflix remembers what you watched, where you got up to, and if you’re hopping from one device to another, it still has it all ready to go. Where is ‘cloud’ data stored? Good question. And it’s why the term ‘cloud’ causes so much confusion. Companies who offer cloud storage have huge warehouses dedicated to holding servers. By huge, we mean HUGE. In terms of location, the US and UK are popular server farm locations, but the company could also have copies of your data stored elsewhere in the world. This is so they can fulfill their redundancy guarantees – if disaster hits one location, the other still has a copy. Having additional locations and copies also increases the speed of access. With some companies, you can choose your preferred location. Data doesn’t have to travel quite as far across the world, increasing speed even further, which of course, saves time and money. Collaboration, security, redundancy, AND savings? We’d call that a win. Ready to take advantage of cloud computing? Give us a call at 570.235.1946 or visit our Contact Page...

24 Oct

Posted at 16:50h in Blog Post
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More and more businesses and organizations are getting stung by ransomware attacks. Hospitals, schools, social networks…some days it seems like an epidemic that leaps around arbitrarily, and hackers are raking in millions. Losses in the Billions Ransomware attacks are devious in their simplicity. A user in the target business is tricked into opening a file, usually through a phishing email or download. The file contains malware which instantly encrypts your data and demands money in exchange for the password. Cost of Not Backing Up All of the target businesses should have backups, which they could simply revert to without paying any money. However, the FBI reports more than $209 million was sent to hackers in the first quarter of this year alone. Keep in mind, this was just payments within the US, and only counts those who came forward. Last year it was only $25million. Do Backups Help? Sometimes the backup solution fails and the data can’t be retrieved. This is particularly true in cases where the solution has been in use for years and something failed along the way. In other instances, the target business has a backup that can be restored, but it doesn’t include everything they need for full recovery. Finally, and the most common reason so many businesses are forced to pay the ransom: the ransomware attack affects the entire system. If the backup is also caught in the ransomware encryption, it becomes useless as a recovery method and the only options are to pay or lose the data forever. Each day spent trying to recover the data drains valuable business resources and in many cases, results in massive revenue loss. The only defense is to block the malware before it can infect the first workstation. Then, continue the protection with a comprehensive backup strategy for all workstations and servers. Want protection from ransomware attacks? Call us at 570-235-1946 or visit our Contact Page...