1. Be Very Careful With Your Email Address

First, I think it’s important to recognize the tactics spammers use to harvest your email address. If you know how they’re going to attack, then you should be able to avoid falling prey. One thing to remember is that spammers have programs that constantly search forums, and other publically available sites, for email addresses that people have posted. Thus it’s a good idea to never post your email address anywhere it can be viewed by the general public.

Also, if you decide to set a vacation autoresponder, or an autoresponder of any kind, make sure that you set it to only respond to people who are already in your contacts list. Most major email services provide this option. Also, if your email provider does not provide this option I would strongly advise that you do not autorespond to emails. If you reply to a spam then the spammers know that your email address is active and they will send you even more spam.

Also, it’s a good idea to refrain from signing up for any offers that require an email address, unless you trust the website.

There are also websites which will intentionally try to impersonate a safe site in order to trick you into giving them information. This information can include passwords, your email address, credit card information, or many other types of sensitive information. These are known as phishing sites.

 2. Use a Secondary Email Address

Sometimes you will find yourself in a position where you have to break some of these rules. For those times it’s a good idea to have two separate email addresses. Use one only for communicating with friends and people you trust. The other should be reserved for interacting with sites you don’t have complete confidence in. The benefit of this is that only your secondary email should get any spam. If the spam becomes unreasonable you can just delete the account and start another.

3. What To Do With Received Spam

The sad truth is that even if you open a fresh email address, and follow all the advice provided above, you may still receive some spam periodically. One of the things spammers do is send spam out to a very large number of email addresses which they think may exist. Thus, if this is where the spam in your inbox came from, the spammers may not even know your email address is even active. Below I have explained what steps to follow to both make sure the spam problem does not get worse and to help solve the problem once and for all. Note that these steps are also helpful if you are receiving a large quantity of spam.

A) Don’t Buy Anything From Spam Advertised Sites

Although this should be obvious I will quickly mention it. Please do your part to stop spam by refraining from purchasing anything from a site that you were directed to via spam. For one thing, you have no reason to trust the company with your credit card information, or really with any information at all. Also, giving your money to companies that advertise in this way only continues to make it profitable for people to send spam. You will be hurting not just yourself, but everyone else as well. Please don’t fund spam.

B) How To Protect Yourself From Received Spam

One of the most potent defenses against spam is your own common sense. Never respond to an email unless you know, and trust, the sender. This includes unsubscribing from emails. If you don’t remember doing business with the company then I’d advise against trying to unsubscribe from the email. If you try to unsubscribe from something that turns out to be spam, they will know your email is active. In the same line of reasoning you should never click on any links, or pictures, in spam. Many of these will have code in them that alerts the spammers that the email has been opened. Even clicking on the website URL could have this effect.

Following this same line of reasoning you also want to make sure that your webmail client is not configured to load external images automatically. Luckily, most webmail clients do have this disabled by default. Also make sure that you do not click to load external images yourself. Loading these images may have exactly the same effect as actually clicking on a link, or a picture. It may alert the spammers that the email has arrived and has been opened. Then they will know that your email address is active and will add you to their lists of people to spam. After this happens the amount of spam you receive will likely increase drastically.

It’s also possible that the spam could contain malware.

C) Report Spam

In general, the best course of action is to report the spam and delete it without opening it. However, if you aren’t absolutely certain that an email is spam you may need to open it to make sure. If that is the case then make sure all of the above advice has been followed before you open any suspect emails.

Article Source: http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-avoid-getting-spammed.htm

Examples From Access US

In order to provide real world examples of spam, we would like to share two instances that we have found to be a problem recently.

1. We have received emails from “UPS” claiming that an expected package has been delayed. It provides a false “tracking number” along with a link to “check the status” of our delivery. Obviously we know when we are expecting packages and from whom they are being delivered from so we knew right away it wasn’t legitimate. Frequently, spammers will send out mass emails such as the one described in an attempt to catch somebody who is waiting for a package and might assume the email is from the trusted source it states. Sadly, many people fall prey to spam emails of the like. We recommend that our customers be vigilant in protecting their internet safety and take all necessary precautions to avoid such scams.
2. For business owners, this next example is especially troubling because it exploits our desire to provide the best customer experience possible at all times. We have received emails from the “Better Business Bureau” prompting us to follow a link to “check a recent claim” against our business. While we knew this to be false, many business owners aren’t aware of the process the actual Better Business Bureau uses to inform businesses of complaints and other grievances. We recommend contacting the BBB if you are not familiar with the process.

In summary, DO NOT open ANY emails that seem suspicious to you or that are not from trusted sources. However, if you are not positive whether a piece of mail is spam and you open it, DO NOT click on any links provided within the email until you can determine whether it is legitimate.

Contact Access US For More Information:

Please call us today with questions, or to get Access US working for you.
Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM CST | 314.655.7700 | Toll Free: 800.638.6373 Or email us at info@accessus.net | Online Contact Form

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4751268

Contact Access US For More Information:

Please call us today with questions, or to get Access US working for you.
Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM CST | 314.655.7700 | Toll Free: 800.638.6373 Or email us at info@accessus.net | Online Contact Form

Most companies never experience an event that threatens to put them out of business.  But those that do, know the value of having a disaster recovery plan in place.  Disaster recovery planning involves anticipating what a company needs to survive an event that makes its location uninhabitable, and/or destroys important data that is stored there. In most cases, a plan involves at least four elements: 

• Establishing an alternative business location
• Arranging for the delivery and setup of emergency hardware
• Developing an offsite data storage arrangement
• Establishing how the plan would be executed

Although the elements of such a strategy sound simple, selecting the right disaster recovery services provider, gaining support for the initiative, and then passing the initiative can be challenging.  With that said, there are several reasons why companies are likely to pass such an initiative, particularly the ones below:

Simplifies decision making when an event occurs

When companies lack an effective recovery plan, they are not prepared to handle the effects that a catastrophic event has on their business. Instead of developing a workable plan on short notice, they are confronted with numerous options that they have not researched. As they decide which options are best, their chances of going out of business quickly increase. According to Bernstein Crisis Management, 80 percent of companies that do not rebound from a major data loss within a month are likely to close permanently.

Prevents data from being destroyed

Data storage is the most valuable aspect of disaster recovery planning. By storing its data on the servers of a disaster recovery services provider, a company ensures the data is safe from events that happen at its location. Because the provider also supplies emergency hardware, using the provider for both data storage and emergency hardware procurement makes the most sense.

Reduces the risk of casualties

When a catastrophic event makes the location of a company uninhabitable, the owners of the company may attempt to salvage storage hardware or paper files before departing from the location. When a fire or an earthquake has damaged a building, reentering the structure can be extremely dangerous. When business data is stored offsite, a company will migrate the information onto new storage hardware and in a new location, and therefore has no reason to return to the site of the catastrophe.

Helps companies stay in business

By developing an effective plan, a company increases its chances of staying business in the wake of a catastrophic event. According to DTI/PricewaterhouseCoopers, forty-three percent of companies that experience a major data loss will go out of business. According to the University of Texas Center for Research on Information Systems, over fifty percent of those that experience a major data loss close their doors within two years. These statistics are a sobering reminder of how a plan helps companies stay in business by protecting their data.

Conclusion

Disaster recovery planning is essential for a company to stay in business following a catastrophic event. To learn more about developing and implementing a recovery plan, contact a provider of disaster recovery services today.

Contact Access US For More Information:

Please call us today with questions, or to get Access US working for you.
Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM CST | 314.655.7700 | Toll Free: 800.638.6373 Or email us at info@accessus.net | Online Contact Form

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7199993

Colocation can help reduce operational costs while providing access to future power, cooling, networking, and other growth needs.

The basic concept of data center colocation – housing a copy of your organization’s files, applications, and other data in a second data center for safekeeping – isn’t too complex.  There are many benefits for business that can be gained from quality colocation services.  Due to these benefits, most every web site on the entire Internet (over 99.99%) are hosted on servers in a colocation data center.  In addition to this, every Internet radio station, Internet TV station, and almost every single Internet related service are all centered in a colocation facility somewhere today.  Whether it is your refrigerator connecting to the Internet to reorder groceries, or your fax machine automatically reordering its ink cartridge to be shipped to you, or something as simple as sending and receiving email, all of these services reside in a colocation Internet data center.

Colocation Provides Reliable Uptime

There are so many ways that colocation provides redundant services to guarantee truly reliable uptime when you choose a quality colocation facility.  Within a “Class A” colocation facility everything is redundant so that if anything goes down the colocation customers server and network equipment will not even notice it as there are redundant systems in place that automatically replace those that went down.  This includes; the air conditioning systems, UPS (uninterruptible power systems), power generators, utility power, network routers, redundant Internet backbones with plenty of extra capacity, and redundant onsite network engineering staff.  Not every colocation provider and colocation facility includes all of these important services, but those that meet the Class A certification requirements.  For a list of these companies and their ratings see the colocation services section.  Because a “Class A” colocation facility has all of the services setup as redundant it guarantees the highest possible reliable uptime for your collocated server and network equipment.

Better Network Speed and Reliability

Most colocation facilities run BGP and have redundant Internet networks and different Internet backbones coming into their facility.  When a company sets up a network at an office they usually just get the Internet bandwidth capacity that they need such as a single T3, which is 45 Megabits, or an OC3, which is 155 Megabits without the redundancy.  Premium Class A Colocation facilities go to a much greater extent to provide a fast and always reliable Internet network, for example Hurricane Electric’s colocation facilities network connects to over 500 major national and International Internet backbone networks.  Also the Hurricane Electric Network connections are all OC192′s which are 10,000Mbps each and as of the time of this writing are the fastest network connection possible to have for any network.  This kind of redundancy and size and availability of Internet networks within their colocation facilities makes for much more reliable Internet bandwidth than what is available or feasible at an office location.  A few other colocation facilities have this kind of network redundancy and they are Switch and Data and Equinix, though there are several differences between these three providers colocation facilities.      

Better Power Redundancy

At and office a company will have the primary utility supplied power and may also use a small UPS to backup the servers or computers on their network.  Few offices have automatic emergency generators unless it is for a data center, hospital or other important office building.  Even with the office buildings that do have an emergency backup generator it is usually the type of backup generator that has the ability to run for 2 or 4 hours and is rated for “backup”.  In the best “Class A” colocation facilities the generator is a “Prime Source” type of power generator and the UPS system is a whole facility UPS system.  This type of system can take up a whole room with the electrical breaker panels, automatic generator switch gear, and large UPS systems.  If an office wanted to install these type of power systems they would need to upgrade the power grid to the facility and get permits from the land owner and the City for the pad mounted large UPS systems to be installed.  In addition to this they would have to get permits from the fire department to store the additional fuel for the Prime Source Generator.  All of this equipment can cost as much as $12,000,000 to procure, build the special rooms and safety structures and install.  This is often not an option for a company to do at their office. 

At a “Class A” colocation facility such as Hurricane Electric, Equinix or Switch and Data, the generated power is backed up with extensive power systems so that the power will stay up even in the even of a utility power outrage, and in the case of Hurricane Electric, the Prime Source power generators can run indefinitely to make sure that there is quality power in the face of an extended power outage. 

Redundant and Improved Cooling

Many office environments have AC systems that can handle a set amount of cooling for the environment and are set to run during business hours.  When you introduce a large amount of servers or network gear, the power used is converted to heat that must be cooled.  Office AC systems just aren’t made to handle the additional cooling required for a large amount of server and network gear used for Internet applications.  In addition to this, should the AC system at an office fail, or just need to be turned off for routine maintenance then the heat would rise.  Hot computer equipment is prone to fail and has a much shorter life span. 

This is why in the best Class A colocation facilities you will find that they have setup redundant AC systems. Should an AC system have to be taken offline for repairs or standard maintenance there is another system already working in place to keep the facility cool and at the best environment for computers and other network routers and gear.  

Significantly Lower Setup and Monthly Cost

High bandwidth deals at a True Class A colocation facility can cost as little as $100/month for space for a server and Internet bandwidth on a dedicated 100Mbps Internet port or as little as $1080 for the whole 100Mbps within a colocation facility.  This includes all the special redundancies and services that a colocation facility includes.  Yet, if and office were to try to set up the same 100Mbps Internet bandwidth with just a limited redundancy to cut costs it would still cost more than 30 times the cost per month ($30,000) for a lesser service.  Below is a detailed item by item explanation of what this would cost.

Setting up a Class A colocation facility with all the above and below services can cost as much as $80,000,000.  In addition to this the monthly operating costs for redundancy and reliability are quite high.  If an office was to attempt to set up some very basic redundancy it could easily cost much more per month to operate than the same service would cost at a colocation facility.  

Office Network monthly costs; Redundant OC3 Internet connections $10,000/month to $50,000/month depending on the provider, 1 person working at all hours onsite to be available to help with the server would be 5 people working 40hr shifts (just to have one available 24/7) X $4,000/month each = $20,000/month.  This alone equals $30,000 to $70,000/month just for these two aspects of getting the 100Mbps Internet bandwidth to an office and having one staff person onsite 24/7/

In addition to this there are many other costs such as increased office power costs for servers and cooling, etc.  Thus it is easy to cost justify using colocation services for an Internet application verses trying to do it at an office, but there are many other quality and service benefits that are even stronger reasons of why colocation is the only way to go for Internet services.

Network and Server Specialists

At the best Class A colocation facilities the facility has the best Network and Server Specialists who do nothing other than help with colocation customers network gear and servers 24/7 and thus these are the very best trained personnel to be found.  This is a tremendous benefit as experience can help you solve a problem that may take 8 hours in as little as 5 minutes when an experienced network or server specialist helps.  This can make all the difference.

On-site Remote Hands 24/7

Not all colocation facilities are staffed 24/7, let alone most will charge an hourly fee for simple tasks such as swapping out a hot swappable hard drive or configuring a base ip address, or urgent help such as typing a few commands to help you recover a server, but premium colocation companies will include On-Site 24/7 Remote Hands service with their colocation plans at no additional charge.  It comes in handy and is very helpful.  This is the only way to go.  It allows you to manage your servers as though they were under your desk, even if they are half way around the world they will seem close.

High Internet Bandwidth Availability

Another very important benefit of a colocation facility is the high availability of Internet bandwidth.  If you need to upgrade from 10 Megabits to 100 Megabits to 1000 Megabits to 10,000 Megabits you can do it within days and sometimes as little as minutes.  At an office to upgrade from 100Mbps to 1000Mbps Internet bandwidth can take 3 to 6 months, if it is even possible.  This is a very strategic benefit of colocation facilities.

Contact Access US For More Information:

Please call us today with questions, or to get Access US working for you.
Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM CST | 314.655.7700 | Toll Free: 800.638.6373 Or email us at info@accessus.net | Online Contact Form