Think Your Anti-Virus Is Working? Think Again

Below is link to a blog at Information Week that looks at testing by NSS Labs on leading anti-virus programs. Their results were NOT encouraging. George Hulme, the blog author, interviewed the principles at NSS. He notes the "vast difference" in the ability of the software to both stop a virus from infecting a computer and cleaning up malware once the computer has been infected. The tests included both home and enterprise versions of the software.

Think Your Anti-Virus Is Working? Think Again

The best defense remains staying away from the malware in the first place, especially through email attachments and malware-distributing websites.

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Time to Start Seriously Thinking About Windows 7

Here at On-Site Technical Solutions we're still selling PCs with Windows XP Pro as the operating system. It looks like we're going to be able to bypass Windows Vista for our customers.

But ready or not, now that the Windows 7 launch is next month businesses will have to start thinking about migrating from Windows XP Pro to Windows 7. We really don't have another operating system ready to run on a business desktop yet.

Here is the Microsoft Windows 7 comparison page for pre-orders Compare Editions and here is the page listing options for Licensing Enterprise Desktop Solutions for your organization

Here is the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor for you brave souls that will be upgrading to Windows 7 on your own. That page also includes a link for System Requirements.

Here are a couple of other links, the first at InformationWeek on the upgrade process; How To Upgrade To Windows 7 From Windows XP. But Randall Kennedy at InfoWorld is not happy at all with the Windows upgrade process at Windows 7 upgrades: Why so slow?

We'll definitely be posting more on this as the Microsoft world turns!

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Google Chrome's First Year

Below is a link to a nice piece from InformationWeek's Mitch Wagner on Google Chrome, which has yet to set the world on fire. I would expect to see Chrome's market share grow as more people adopt Google Apps, but only time will tell.

I've had trouble using IE 8 and have pretty much abandoned it for my own use after using it exclusively for years. Now I use Chrome as my primary browser and Firefox for the apps and sites that are not yet Chrome compatible. IE 8 is pretty much reserved for the Microsoft sites.

Being the technological mercenary that I am, I'll have no problem sticking with Microsoft if their products work for the right price. But as of now Chrome and Firefox are working out better.

On-Site Technical Solutions does not have a formal policy on browsers, but we do recommend Chrome for use with Google Apps. It's noticeably quicker than the other browsers.

Microsoft's strategy with Office 2010 and it's web components may also have an impact on Chrome's popularity - we'll see if that's true soon enough.

Here's the Mitch Wagner piece, Google Chrome's First Year.

Of course, market share ins't written in stone, either, as noted in this July entry from Matt Asay at CNET, IE market share plummeting! (Or is it?).

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Google App Sync Guns For Microsoft Exchange

In response to challenges on many fronts Microsoft is changing its business model. We won't recognize the software giant we've learned to love or hate (or both) the last 20 years three years from now. It's going to look much more like the competition - Google, Amazon, salesorce.com and the list keeps growing.

On-Site Technical Solutions is working with some of our customers to migrate to Google Apps as a more affordable option for smaller enterprises. Here is InformationWeek discussing the Google Apps challenge to Microsoft.

Google App Sync Guns For Microsoft Exchange

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Drive-By 'War Cloning' Attack Hacks Electronic Passports, Driver's Licenses

Security is an issue with much of the technology we use. As technology becomes more entangled with our personal and professional lives we get to deal with new risks to our identify and information. Here are a couple of the latest.

From InformationWeek

Drive-By 'War Cloning' Attack Hacks Electronic Passports, Driver's Licenses

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Microsoft Releases Internet Explorer 8

Here is the Internet Explorer 8 Homepage

From InformationWeek: Microsoft Releases Internet Explorer 8

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Windows 7 Vs. Linux: The Battle For Your Desktop

From InformationWeek

For those of you interested in open source and Linux and how it may compare to Microsoft's attempt at recovering trust after Vista.

Early reaction to Windows 7 is that it's a winner. Could the successor to Vista be Microsoft's last gasp, or does open source have a formidable new rival to Linux?

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iPhone Software Update May Fix Frustrating Bugs

Apple is distributing iPhone software update 2.1 to developers that Apple says will fix bugs as well as add features to the phone. We posted earlier about the frustration some userw were having with the new iPhone:

iPhone Security Flaw and Poor Reception Issues

iPhone users hope that the updates will improve the 3G signal strenth and help reduce the number of dropped calls, as Apple expects.

Here are a couple of links to articles on the iPhone updates:

Apple Releases iPhone Update 2.1 To Fix Bugs

iPhone Software Update May Fix Frustrating Bugs

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In the DVD War Over High Definition, Most Buyers Are Sitting It Out

In the DVD War Over High Definition, Most Buyers Are Sitting It Out From The NY Times

Ultra-Thin Blu-ray Drive Released From InformationWeek

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