by David Moorman, President

This isn't another lecture about minding your e-mail manners. This is a story about a new subset of e-mail etiquette. Call it wireless politeness.

An increasing number of e-mail messages are being received on small, wireless devices with limited screen space — devices such as Windows Mobile-based Smartphones. Being polite is still important. But so are a number of other considerations, including brevity, diction and consideration for bandwidth.

Don't you hate checking your e-mail and having the subject line be so long that it scrolls forever until I can figure out what the topic is, or whether it's important? Worse is the one-word subject line that says nothing and you have to open it to find out what it is and discover it's 30 lines of nothing.

So what is the etiquette for sending e-mail messages to and from wireless devices? Here are seven tips.

1. First, determine if you're sending to a wireless device.
How do you do that? Easy. Look for telltale signs, such as abbreviated words, emoticons, or the ever-helpful "Sent from my BlackBerry Handheld." When you see that, you can be relatively sure that when you reply, you're shooting a message through the air to a device that doesn't have a lot of room, both in terms of the display screen space and in terms of bandwidth. That's when you have to watch your wireless manners.

2. Don't overabrvt.
Getting to the point quickly is good, but don't over-abbreviate your words and sentences until your recipient doesn't understand what you're saying. I mean, what's the harm in writing, "I sent the files you requested yesterday," rather than, "Sent fls u rqd ystrdy." Think I'm exaggerating? I have dozens of e-mails sent to me from wireless devices that were almost incomprehensible. Why return the favor? Be brief, but also be clear. It sure beats having to resend the message in order to clarify.

3. The subject line isn't everything, but it should often be the only thing.
Want to make a wireless e-mail recipient really happy? Then keep your message so short and to the point that opening the actual message is unnecessary. For example, instead of a message header "call me, please," you should say "problem: pls call (your number)." This makes it far easier to process the information, and far less taxing on valuable air time. If your message is longer, be sure to give and appropriate header that's concise and can't be confused for spam. Otherwise, it could be ignored.

4. Put yourself in the receiver's shoes.
If you violate any of these rules, be prepared to have your message ignored.  And then, of course, there are spam guards that can be set so that e-mail that is legitimate but too wordy or containing too much HTML code can be summarily discarded. Do you really want that happening to your important messages?

5. Ask before you tell your life story.
Graduates of the e-mail etiquette school already know this one. Before you send a big attachment, find out if the receiver can handle the file. With wireless e-mail, take that a step further. If you're thinking of sending more than a paragraph, check first to make sure the recipient can deal with the information. I once got chewed out by a client for sending a brief e-mail to an account that was being checked wirelessly through a satellite phone (he was at sea). I won't make that mistake again.

6. Cut the funny stuff.
E-mails that contain animation, graphics, or anything else that might challenge the bandwidth-starved should be avoided at all costs.

7. Skip your John Hancock.
Signatures tend to get so big and lofty that they clog up the pipeline. It isn't just the name, phone number, address and several e-mail addresses. Now it seems as if every signature is also followed by lengthy legal disclaimers "This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information." Puh-leeze. No one needs to see that disclaimer when space is at a premium. And there's no easier way to strain a business relationship than to bog a wireless message down with that kind of gobbledygook.

Bottom line: keep it short and sweet — and remember that if you don't, you'll get ignored or worse, incur the wrath of a customer.

But relax. There's a way to at least heighten your awareness of the fact that you're dealing with wireless recipients. In Outlook 2003, scroll over to the Navigation Pane, click Mail. Then on the Tools menu, click Rules and Alerts. You can create a rule to move messages from a user who you know is on a wireless account, or based on keywords such as "Blackberry," to a designated folder.

That way, at least you know when you have to be on your best behavior.

Reprinted from Microsoft Small Business Center (link no longer available)

by David Moorman, President

Dear Business Professionals,

Economic reality has undergone a fundamental shift over the course of the past 12 months. After years of economic expansion fueled by unrealistic rates of consumption and unsustainable levels of private debt, the global economy has reset at a lower baseline level of activity. Today, people borrow less, save more, and spend with much greater caution.

This is the “new normal” and it will be with us for some time to come. The issue now is how to respond. I believe the new normal requires a new kind of efficiency built on technology innovations that enable businesses and organizations to simultaneously drive cost savings, improve productivity, and speed innovation.

The New Efficiency: With Less, Do More
In the new normal, one thing is clear: cutting costs is extremely important. But cost cutting by itself is not a long-term winning strategy. To build a sustainable competitive advantage, companies must ultimately do two things- increase productivity and find ways to deliver new value to customers. The issue, then, is how can businesses take costs out of their operations, increase productivity, and expand their capacity for innovation all at the same time?

At DynaSis, we react to the new normal with a solution called “ITility by DynaSis”. ITility by DynaSis is Software as a Service (SaaS), and delivers all your IT over the Internet, providing your email, applications, and files from one central location to your employee desktops. ITility by DynaSis achieves new efficiency with less by:

• Cutting Expenses: Instead of investing in hardware, software and regular maintenance for your computer network, ITility by DynaSis delivers everything to you for one monthly price for predictable spending and decreased total cost of ownership.
• Increasing Productivity: ITility by DynaSis is built on the state-of-the-art equipment that adheres to best practice standards to minimize unplanned outages and downtime. With ITility by DynaSis workers simply use any device to connect to the Internet to retrieve files and work just as they do at the office, increasing productivity.
• Expanding Innovation: With daily IT maintenance tasks covered on your ITility by DynaSis plan, you are free to focus on your businesses core strengths and explore advanced technologies that deliver new value to your clients.

Ideal Conditions for an Era of Innovation and Growth

Despite the challenges posed by the global economic reset, I’m optimistic about the long-term opportunities that lie ahead. Achieving the benefits of the New Efficiency is possible with ITility by DynaSis TODAY. This powerful combination of greater productivity and improved capacity for innovation is how IT enables businesses to do more.

I believe we are entering a period of technology-driven transformation that will see a surge in productivity and a flowering of innovation. The result will be a wave of innovative products and services that will jumpstart economic growth as companies deliver breakthroughs that solve old problems and serve as the catalyst for new businesses and even new industries. Information technology will play an important role. I look forward to seeing the progress that results.

Roswell, GA February 19, 2010 -- DynaSis, an IT services company serving small and midsized businesses in Atlanta, is warning its clients of an increase in the use of fake anti-virus software as a form of malware attack. In response to this growing trend, DynaSis today released a list of prevention tips and methods of spotting a rogue antivirus program.

Use of fake anti-virus, anti-spyware software is a fast-growing scam, especially as more people become aware of the dangers of spyware, adware and malware. Fake antivirus programs, or scareware, are very common and provide a way for scammers to make easy money. The scammers prey on the fears of Web surfers who are misled into believing their systems are infected and then pay, typically, $50 for a program that not only doesn't protect their computers, but often turns out to be malicious. By following the tips DynaSis provides, however, users will be better protected from becoming the victim of scammers, identity thieves and hackers.

Brad Bromelow, Vice President of Operations for DynaSis said, “We need to tell users how to avoid being socially engineered into installing malware. This type of attack is very prevalent, as we’ve seen more attacks than ever over the past 3-6 months. Educating our client base is the best defense. These prevention tips will help alleviate the headaches associated with fake-antivirus attacks.”

Some of the major antivirus companies have even seen their websites spoofed over the last couple of months. In many respects, this is as much an attack on the security community as it is on end users.

Some general security practices to avoid malware attacks include not opening attachments from unknown senders, changing passwords regularly, and using additional measures such as firewalls or anti-spam software. The complete list of prevention tips for fake antivirus attacks along with a common list of fake software can be found online by visiting https://dynasis.com/managed-it-services/managed-security/

DynaSis is a managed IT service provider servicing small and medium sized businesses in the Atlanta area since 1992. DynaSis specializes in managed IT service plans, managed hosting and professional equipment installation. For more information about DynaSis visit www.dynasis.com

By Brad Bromelow, VP Operations

Use of fake anti-virus, anti-spyware software is a fast-growing scam, especially as more people become aware of the dangers of spyware, adware and malware. Fake antivirus programs, or scareware, are very common and provide a way for scammers to make easy money. The scammers prey on the fears of Web surfers who are misled into believing their systems are infected and then pay, typically, $50 for a program that not only doesn't protect their computers, but often turns out to be malicious. By following the tips below, however, users will be better protected from becoming the victim of scammers, identity thieves and hackers.

Some general security practices to avoid malware attacks include not opening attachments from unknown senders, changing passwords regularly, and using additional measures such as firewalls or anti-spam software. The complete list of prevention tips for fake antivirus attacks along with a common list of fake software can be found below.

1. Never open an email attachment unless you are POSITIVE about the source.  Don't trust unsolicited files or embedded links, even from friends. It's easy to spoof email addresses, for instance, or to disguise a harmful link so that it looks like something quite different, whether it's in email, chat or whatever.
2. Do NOT click on any pop-up that advertises anti-virus or anti-spyware software, especially a program promising to provide every feature known to mankind. (Also remember: the fakes often mimic well-known brands such as Grisoft AVG, Norton and McAfee.)
3. If a virus alert appears on your screen, do NOT touch it. Don't use your mouse to eliminate or scan for viruses, and DON'T use your mouse to close the window. Instead, use alt+F4 to close the window.  Call your computer maker's phone or online tech support service to learn if you can safely use your computer.
4. Do not download freeware or shareware unless you know it's from a reputable source. Unfortunately, freeware and shareware programs often come bundled with spyware, adware or fake anti-virus programs.
5. Avoid questionable websites. Some sites may automatically download malicious software onto your computer.
6. Although fake software may closely resemble the real thing, it's rarely an exact match. Look for suspicious discrepancies, or contact support for verification.
7. Don't disclose sensitive information on public websites like FaceBook or LinkedIn. Even information that in itself is innocuous can be combined with other harmless information and used in social engineering attacks.
8. If sensitive information is stored on your hard drive, protect it with encryption and by regularly backing up your data to a separate disk and, where possible, a remote site or facility.
9. Don't use cracked/pirated software! These are easy avenues for introducing malware into, or exploiting weaknesses in, a system. This also includes the illegal P2P (peer-to-peer) distribution of copyrighted audio and video files: some of these are counterfeited or modified so that they can be used directly in the malware distribution process.
10. Don't connect to just any "free Wi-Fi" access point: it might alter your DNS queries or be the "evil twin" of a legitimate access point, set up to intercept your logins and online transactions.
11. Check out this list of rogue/fake anti-virus and anti-spyware products.

Atlanta, GA  January 15, 2010 -- Today, DynaSis, a managed IT solutions provider announced they are working with Citrix Systems, Inc. to offer a lunch and learn seminar entitled “Citrix XenDesktop 4: The Clear Choice for Desktop Virtualization”. The series on desktop virtualization will be offered to IT managers and C-level IT professionals managing 50-500 desktops and will explore how virtualization can dramatically save on IT costs.

Unlike first-generation solutions that were applicable only to a narrow set of users, the latest version of Citrix®XenDesktop™ with its new FlexCast™ delivery technology is the first product in the industry to support every major desktop virtualization model in a single, integrated solution – a breakthrough that enables improved ROI, simplified management and extends the benefits of virtualization to every employee in the enterprise. Virtualization dramatically reduces the time IT managers spend on administering PC updates and patches, and by delivering desktops on-demand to any device employees are no longer restricted to an “office computer”—increasing end-user productivity.

In addition to educating IT managers on the benefits of virtualization, the seminar will also dispel myths about desktop and application virtualization. DynaSis President David Moorman commented, “Many IT managers don’t yet know how to maximize the potential of virtualization within their organization. The seminar will educate IT personnel on how they can drastically cut maintenance and hardware costs using technology from a company on the cutting edge of virtualization. During a time of economic uncertainty, IT managers have the power to drive cost savings.”

DynaSis will present “Citrix XenDesktop 4: The Clear Choice for Desktop Virtualization” on February 3, 2009 at the Citrix offices in Alpharetta, Georgia. There is no cost to attend; attendees may register online at www.regonline.com/xendesktopseminar.

About DynaSis
DynaSis is a managed IT service provider servicing small and medium sized businesses in the Atlanta area for over 17 years. DynaSis specializes in managed IT service plans, managed hosting and professional equipment installation. For more information about DynaSis visit www.dynasis.com.

by David Moorman, President

Virtualization is a proven software technology that is rapidly transforming the IT landscape and fundamentally changing the way that people compute. Virtualization lets you run multiple virtual servers or desktops on a single physical machine (host), sharing the resources of that single computer across multiple environments. Virtualization works by inserting a thin layer of software directly on the computer hardware or host and then loading multiple versions of the operating systems on top of it. Multiple operating systems run concurrently on a single physical computer and share hardware resources with each other. You can safely run several operating systems and applications at the same time on a single computer, with each having access to the resources it needs when it needs them. So what are some other benefits of virtualization?

Increase Infrastructure Utilization
Typical server deployments achieve an average utilization of only 10% to 15% of total capacity, according to International Data Corporation (IDC), a market research firm. Organizations typically run one application per server to avoid the risk of vulnerabilities in one application affecting the availability of another application on the same server. With virtualization, physical machines can run many separate virtual machines, maximizing capacity of existing resources while still maintaining high availability.

Decrease Physical Infrastructure Costs
The operational costs to support growing physical infrastructure have steadily increased. Most computing infrastructure must remain operational at all times, resulting in power consumption, cooling and facilities costs that do not vary with utilization levels. Virtualization allows a business to make the most of the physical equipment they do have and put off purchases.

Decrease IT Management Costs
As computing environments become more complex, the level of specialized education and experience required for infrastructure management personnel and the associated costs of such personnel have increased. Organizations spend disproportionate time and resources on manual tasks associated with server and desktop maintenance, and thus require more personnel to complete these tasks. Controlling a distributed desktop environment and enforcing management, access and security policies without impairing users' ability to work effectively is complex and expensive. Virtualization minimizes the time spent on everyday maintenance of desktops and servers by centrally controlling security settings, updates, and patches.

Failover and Disaster Protection
Organizations are increasingly affected by the downtime of critical server applications and inaccessibility of critical end user desktops. The threat of security attacks, natural disasters, health pandemics and terrorism has elevated the importance of business continuity planning for both desktops and servers. Virtualization allows for redundancy, meaning if a server fails, the data and applications on that machine are easily offloaded to a functioning server.

December 28, 2009, Atlanta, GA—DynaSis today announced the release of their “Technology Toolkit”, a set of informational documents for businesses to assess their current IT versus their existing infrastructure. The toolkit will help small to medium sized businesses make a solid decision when considering an IT purchase.

The Technology Toolkit contains a technology self-assessment that allows businesses to score their IT in relation to best practice standards as well as an IT checklist of services an IT provider should offer. A total cost of IT calculator is also included so businesses can calculate the overall expenditure of their IT network over a three year period when compared to managing IT in-house or outsourcing daily IT functions to a managed service provider. Lastly, the toolkit provides SMBs a whitepaper on software as a service (SaaS) technology which details how businesses can leverage SaaS to decrease technology costs.

DynaSis Vice President Chas Arnold commented, “The Technology Toolkit gives businesses a chance to read all the information for themselves and make an informed decision about their technology. Making an IT purchase is an involved process, and many business owners or professionals don’t know what to look for when searching for a new solution. The Technology Tool Kit will give them a good starting point to evaluate a solution that is right for them.”

The documents in the kit have been compiled after years of working with professionals in the Atlanta metro area and contains answers to commonly asked questions regarding IT providers and IT purchases.

DynaSis President David Moorman said, “After 18 years in the SMB IT market we are confident the Tool Kit will be a value add to any company struggling with questions like: Should we host our IT? What should my provider be doing for me? Will managing my IT in-house or outsourcing be more cost effective? DynaSis will continue to work with professionals in the decision process, but now businesses will have answers to the basics at their fingertips.”

The Technology Toolkit is free to small and medium sized businesses and can be found by visiting www.dynasis.com.

DynaSis is a managed IT service provider servicing small and medium sized businesses in the Atlanta area for over 17 years. DynaSis specializes in managed IT service plans, managed hosting and professional equipment installation. For more information about DynaSis visit www.dynasis.com.

by Chas Arnold, VP Sales and Marketing

Where is the personal computer headed? With the advances in cloud computing and software as a service (see previous blogs), the need for a traditional personal computer is decreasing. Personal computers with local software files and high capacity are being traded down for smaller computers with less power that retrieve data from a centralized server or datacenter- often called thin clients or “smart terminals”. Scaled down computers or thin clients are not as costly and can still provide the same user experience of a personal computer, just delivered a little differently. So what exactly are these smart terminals and should you jump on the downsizing bandwagon? What benefits are there and why trade up your flashy PC for a simpler version?

First things first…What is a thin client or smart terminal? It is a computer that relies on some other computer (like a server) to fulfill traditional computing roles. A thin client can be a stripped down PC with little to no software that talks to a server to get its files, email and applications. A thin client can also be a small box attached to the back of your monitor or a device you plug into a USB port on your computer. They need only have the bare bones to get you online, while the true computer is in a datacenter down the hall or in the next state.

So the important question, why use a thin client?

• Decreased cost
A traditional personal computer can cost upwards of $1000 before you even get to security, upgrades, and maintenance costs, while a thin client can be purchased for less than $200. Applications, security, upgrades and more can be purchased monthly using a cloud service or SaaS provider.

• Decreased maintenance
Instead of working on each personal computer separately, thin clients give IT personal the ability to globally maintain workstations, meaning they only have to perform upgrades and system maintenance once for all computers on the network.

• Reduced Consumption
Thin clients are a smaller footprint where the environment is concerned. They use less energy and take up less space on a desktop than a personal computer.

• Seamless User Experience
Thin clients are capable of delivering the same user experience as traditional PC’s. Depending on what your business is, there are varying levels of thin clients that can offer the same functionality including video, 3D graphics, and audio.

So if you just purchased a fleet of new desktops, thin client computing may not be your best bet. But for those who are looking to upgrade in the near future, tossing out the personal computer model may make a lot of sense.

by David Moorman, President

You already know allowing employees to telecommute can help the environment, reduce traffic congestion, increase your talent pool, and even increase employee satisfaction. So with all these benefits, why isn’t it more widely adopted? Common concerns include loss of control over employees, decreased productivity, or security risks. The good news is advances in technology are calming these fears in addition to making working remotely as seamless as working at the office.

Employers Fear Loss of Control
The word telecommuting can strike fear in the hearts of many managers. How will I keep tabs on my people? How will we stay connected? While telecommuting does require a certain amount of trust and a results oriented management approach rather than an observation based management approach, there are ways to monitor employees that work remotely. Many companies use live chat applications that denote idle versus active status allowing them to peek in on employee activity as well as chat in real time. Other companies may use a web portal to access applications needed for work and monitor employee login and log off records. And for the ultra conscious manager, company computers can be equipped with spyware-like agents for monitoring employee activity. Spyware isn’t just a hacker tool you know. And don’t forget about phone records; many voice over IP phone systems provide detailed call reporting so you know if your team is reaching out to prospects or just hitting the snooze alarm. While you may not be able to pop your head over the cube wall anymore, you can still check up on employees with simple monitoring tools.

Decrease in Productivity
Won’t my employees productivity suffer with extra distractions or inability to access work files as easily? You could make the argument that employees that work at home can easily find other things to do besides work, but isn’t it the same scenario at the office? Employees at the office can waste time just as easily between trading gossip at the water cooler, yacking at the photocopier or changing up their fantasy football players for Sunday night’s game.
On the point of access, advanced software as a service (SaaS) delivery methods deliver the same experience no matter where you are or which device you use. Easy access can even mean employees log on after-hours to finish emails after the kids go to bed, actually increasing productivity. Plus employees that telecommute can work during hours that would otherwise be spent in 400 traffic.

Telecommuting Introduces Security Risks
Some make a valid point when it comes to telecommuting introducing security threats. Wireless Internet cafes can breed wild virus and spyware issues, which is why employee education and security policy is a must. Teaching employees about such threats can mitigate risks while providing secure Internet access through personal air cards or Clear technology can close the gap. Creating web based portals and using cloud technology alleviates the risk of data falling into the wrong hands if a laptop is stolen. These technologies allow data to be saved centrally to the datacenter instead of having copies of sensitive data on local machines, making a stolen laptop a few hundred dollar loss instead of a few hundred thousand dollar loss.

Technologies like cloud computing, SaaS, VoIP, and more are giving employees freedom and management peace of mind. Work no longer has to be somewhere you go but something you do no matter where you happen to be. So what are you waiting for? Your fuzzy slippers are calling your name.

by David Moorman, President

Change can be a source of apprehension for a lot of businesses, especially when it comes to critical data you use to run your operations. New technology definitely meets resistance because it is unknown and not yet understood widely. Cloud computing is one of those technologies that business professionals fear, so I thought I’d dispel some of the myths associated with it.

My data won’t be as accessible in the cloud.
Some business professionals are uncomfortable with their servers and data being stored in the cloud. Without equipment physically at their office, they fear they won’t be able to get to their data when they need it. In reality, cloud computing is meant to maximize access to your data. Since your data is delivered over the Internet, you are no longer tied to any one physical machine. Any device that connects to the Internet is now your information highway. So whether you are at the office, home, or on the road you can still get to necessary files and applications.

My provider will be able to hold my data hostage.
Cloud computing is not a way that respectable providers are going to some how lock you into using their services. A reputable managed IT company is not going to deny you access to your information and should in fact have processes in place to transfer your data should you ever want to switch. Reputation is more important in the business of IT than wielding power over clients. Additionally, since the premise of cloud computing is to make your data more accessible, you can get to it whenever you want. Your data is literally at your fingertips, available from anywhere.

My data won’t be as secure in the cloud.
Having direct physical access to your equipment and data is what most companies are used to, but just because you can reach out and touch it doesn’t mean its safe. Having your data stored at your office can create a false sense of security. What if someone breaks in and steals your equipment or an employee tampers with it after hours? The cloud offers both physical and virtual security measures that may not be available to the typical SMB. Temperature control, fire suppression systems, around the clock monitoring, controlled access, enterprise firewall security, and virus protections are just a few of the features that come included with hosting your data in the cloud. Still unsure? Ask your provider for a tour of their data center facility to see exactly how they will treat your information.

Sharing physical resources in the cloud creates security issues.
The cloud often uses virtualization to accomplish high rates of uptime and to minimize the amount of physical equipment needed. Virtualizing means that many computers can be located on one physical machine. For example, instead of running one copy of Windows on your PC, with virtualization you could run two or three copies that all act as different PC’s on one physical machine. In the cloud, many companies share the same physical server but each company’s data is run on separate virtual servers. So what if that one server gets infected, won’t it spread to all virtual servers? Each virtual server has its own licensing, its own firewall, its own anti-virus software and so on. Just like two ships passing in the night, virtual servers run parallel but never touch.

Sharing physical resources in the cloud increases my risk of downtime.
With many companies running on one machine, you may be tempted to think the cloud is unstable. In a virtualized environment, if any one physical server crashes, all the virtual instances are easily moved to another resource so no downtime is experienced. Providers offering cloud computing should be able to give you the percentage of guaranteed uptime they offer. Additionally, if your business experiences a spike in credit card transactions, or an increase in the number of users accessing the network during certain times of the day or week, any available resources within the server farm are temporarily given to you and when you no longer need it, that bandwidth is reallocated somewhere else.

While converting your traditional network to one that utilizes the cloud can be daunting, it’s like any other new technology. You must evaluate the risks and benefits separating truth from irrational fears that may be based on the way you’ve always done things. The cloud is your friend--exploring its possibilities can offer huge time and cost savings.