January 2009
In this issue...

 ►SLP Corporate Sales Team
 ►Virus Writers
 ►Network Gatekeeping
 ►Get a Second Chance
 ►Tips for Effective Emails
 ►Just for Laughs
 

The 7 do's and don'ts of Network Gatekeeping
reprinted with permission from the HP Small Business Center

There's little doubt that the Internet has been a real benefit to organizations – providing instant communication capabilities and an almost bottomless source of valuable, up-to-date information on just about any topic.

However, many employees won't think twice about accessing the network for personal use, perhaps to download music or to shop online. Not only does this put a strain on the network by reducing the bandwidth available for legitimate use, but it also makes it easier for criminals to access sensitive company information and for viruses to enter the network.

From an IT standpoint, it's a hassle to deal with employees downloading unsafe material on the one hand, and complaints about how slow the network is on the other.

Here's a list of do's and don'ts to help you put together a network usage policy.

8 Tips for More Effective E-Mails
reprinted with permission from the HP Small Business Center

Most business people receive dozens, even hundreds, of e-mails each day. Without question, e-mail is now the primary means of communication in the professional world. That’s why it’s very important to create messages that effectively communicate your point while presenting a professional image. Here are eight helpful tips for writing e-mails that achieve both goals.

Just for Laughs

Introducing the SLP Corporate Sales Team

These days most manufacturers outsource their pre-sales call centers overseas. A lot of times it is difficult to find someone who can intelligently answer a question or to help you understand the various options associated with a solution. SLPowers is a South Florida and Atlanta based business with clients all over the country and several overseas. We have excellent relationships with major vendors such as HP, Cisco, Citrix, IBM, Watchguard and many others. We also have access to regional manufacturer representatives and can arrange onsite meetings to discuss solutions.

We have many resources through our distribution partners; we can arrange conference calls with engineers across 60 major manufacturers at any given time. We can be a tremendous resource to help you decide on the best solution(s) for your business.

In today's cost sensitive environment, it is important to partner with an IT vendor who understands how to negotiate with manufacturers in order to reduce your costs. This is one our team’s core competencies. We specialize in setting up negotiated bid pricing with vendors to ensure that you are getting the highest quality technology at the lowest price point. All of our Corporate Sales team members have been in IT sales and consulting for over 15 years.  Here are some examples of our value add:

► Imaging
► Asset tagging
► Expedited delivery/holding inventory
► Warehouses nationwide; deliveries can be next day via ground shipment
► Rollouts, managing roadmaps & arranging manufacturer meetings onsite to discuss
     transitions
► Full portfolio of managed services
► Emergency same day deliveries
 

7 Things to Know about Virus Writers
by Monte Embysk
reprinted with permission from the Microsoft Small Business Center

I spend a growing percentage of my time getting rid of unwanted e-mails that contain viruses. If I open one of them, it potentially could overwrite files and disable my antivirus software.

What exactly is in the heads of these virus writers? Anything? I took my inquiry to Sarah Gordon, an expert on the psychology of hackers and virus writers. She did her best to answer an overly broad question. Gordon is a senior research fellow at Symantec's security response unit, and previously was a researcher for the antivirus research and development team at IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center.

She meets face-to-face with hackers and virus writers on occasion, to understand why they do what they do, and conducts research at international hacker conferences such as DEF CON. She'll tell you right away that hackers -- people who devise ways to break into networks -- are a different animal than virus writers, and in most cases, more advanced. Virus writers are generally younger (some as young as 10 or 11 years old), on a lower rung of the underground tech strata and not always aware of the damage that could incur. Also, she stresses, except in a few states, writing damaging viruses isn't against the law.

All that is Gordon's way of suggesting there truly is a low barrier to entry. She says parents and teachers need to be more assertive in teaching kids in the Internet Age that morality is as important in the virtual world as it is in the real world. In general, parents need to pay more attention to what their children are doing on the computer. She also chastises journalists for frequently overestimating the damage virus writers do, thereby glorifying their acts and power.

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