June  2007
In this issue...

 ►Product Focus: Cymphonix
     Network Composer
 ►Is VoIP Right for Your Business
 ►New Wave of SPAM
 ►RSS Feeds
 ►Outlook Anywhere

Outlook Anywhere

Remote access of Exchange-based email is a requirement of most mobile workers. In the past, Outlook Web Access provided some, but not all, of the functionality of Outlook. Remote users who wanted to use their native Outlook software were forced to use a VPN connection to access the corporate network. VPN's, however, are more complex to configure and enable access to more network services than are required for simple e-mail access.

Outlook 2003 and 2007 now offers a simpler alternative to VPN connections — RPC over HTTP (which Microsoft has mercifully renamed "Outlook Anywhere"). With this feature, users can have security-enhanced access to their Exchange Server accounts from the Internet when they are working outside your organization's firewall. Users do not need any special connections or hardware, such as smart cards and security tokens, and they can still get to their Exchange accounts even if the Exchange server and client computer are behind firewalls on different networks. The user runs the same Outlook used inside the network and has all of Outlook's functionality enabled including shared calendars, contact lists and public folder access.

Outlook Anywhere runs on Windows XP and Vista and requires Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, 2007 or Microsoft Small Business Server 2003. Take advantage of Outlook's power and flexibility outside your office with Outlook Anywhere. Contact your account manager at SL Powers or the Helpdesk for more information.

Did you ever wonder why your internet connection sometimes seems to drag? Our helpdesk deals with slow connection complaints on a regular basis and our findings have been interesting. Many of the speed issues we have diagnosed have been due to employees using their computers for things that may not have been work related, and in some cases are downright illegal. Users and their applications are fighting for limited internet resources, and where all that bandwidth on your DSL or T-1 is going may surprise you.

The Cymphonix Network Composer is a smart gateway appliance that scans, identifies, and controls applications, users, spyware, viruses, web content, instant messaging, and video and audio streaming. Many of these seemingly innocuous programs are slowing down your network and causing all of your employees to slow down too. Network Composer's correlated reporting is a tool which shows you in a very intuitive and clear way what people are spending their internet time on. Based on the reports it provides, it enables you to optimize the performance of your network by literally banning unproductive web traffic with one click. This enables you to free up bandwidth so that you will no longer need that extra T-1 or DSL line just to do business.

Many of our clients have noted that the Network Composer paid for itself in a matter of weeks! It's very low entry point makes it a necessity for any sized business. Find out right now why this is one tool you cannot afford to be without. For a demonstration, or for more information, contact your account manager or our sales department today.

More and more businesses tired of racking up high telecommunications bills are turning to the Internet for their phone service.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services enable businesses to conduct calls across the same network to access the Internet and get email – and at a fraction of the cost of traditional voice networks. However, VoIP developers have been focused on quality and reliability versus security. Therefore, if you choose to adopt VoIP, it is up to you to take the proper steps to secure it.

Background and benefits
The technology behind VoIP has been around for a few years; early incarnations of VoIP were plagued by spotty service, muddled and dropped calls. Only in the last few years has VoIP service improved enough to make it sufficiently reliable and stable for business use. In fact, businesses are finding that a well-planned and implemented VoIP system can provide call quality and reliability that rivals mobile phone or landline calls.

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Spam continues to be a pervasive problem that all small to mid-sized businesses must deal with. According to the most recent Symantec Internet Security Threat Report:

• Between July 1 and December 31, 2006, spam made up 59% of all monitored email traffic. This is an increase over the first six months of 2006 when 54% of email was classified as spam.
• 65% of all spam detected during this period was written in English.
• Spam related to financial services made up 30% of all spam during this period, the most of any category.
• During the last six months of 2006, 44% of all spam detected worldwide originated in the United States.

Dealing with spam is a waste of valuable employee time. According to a new study conducted by Nucleus Research, two out of every three email messages received by today's business users are spam. The study also says that users are spending 16 seconds identifying and deleting each spam email, at a cost of $712 per employee in lost productivity, which translates into an annual cost of $70 billion to all U.S. businesses.

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