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"When was the last time you upgraded the OS on your carburetor?" - Scott McNealy, when asked about the role of computers 10 years from now.
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Bugbear is an Internet worm with a Trojan horse that attempts to steal passwords and credit card information. Also called Tanatos, it's exactly 50,688 bytes. Users of IE 5.0 and IE 5.1 are likely to be affected.
Installing patch MS01-020, careful sharing on the network and turning off file sharing within Windows are some of the preventive measures to be taken. Major anti-virus packages have included Bugbear in their updates.
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Security hole discovered in Symantec firewalls
A flaw discovered in a common component of Symantec Corp.'s firewall technology leaves a number of that company's products vulnerable to denial of service (DoS) attacks, according to a bulletin released by the company.
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The note below explains how Yukthi executed a Consulting & Implementation project for a globally focused BPO firm and resultant benefits that were brought about.
Background: The client is one of Indias foremost BPO firms, and services leading Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 companies. It processes over 90 million transactions per year and employs over 1000 agents at its state-of-the-art facilities in Bangalore and Mumbai. 100% uptime of its IT infrastructure is a foregone conclusion.
Scope: The vendor was expected to be responsible for the mail server admin, Windows 2000 server admin and to keep critical systems running smoothly. Since uptime is of extreme importance, a 24x7 helpdesk service was made available.
Yukthis role: Solutions included 1:1 NAT, mail servers and load balancing across multiple Internet links. The mail server implemented provides POP, SMTP & Web (browser) based access. The load balancing solution uses source based routing to utilize existing bandwidth efficiently.
Savings: Software license fees saved exceed Rs. 15 lakhs.
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We were pleasantly surprised to find a vendor who wasn't interested in pushing boxes, but instead implemented cost-effective solutions which actually met our requirements.
Yukthi's solutions have saved substantial amounts for us in licensing fees.
Ram Jakati
Managing Director,
ProactiveNet India Pvt. Ltd.
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Titan Industries Ltd.
Aspect Development
Bharati BT
Sony India (SARD)
Cambridge Technology Partners
Verifone
Iseva Systems
Stratify
CustomerAsset.com
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Dear [[-FullName-]],
Welcome to the inaugural issue of Yukthi Infoswitch, our proactive update on IT infrastructure, catering to the unique information needs of India-based CIOs. It's an unbiased and time-efficient guide to issues like technology paradigms, cost-benefit analyses, security precautions and others.
In this issue we discuss the challenges in outsourcing, security threats & remedial measures and other such pertinent issues.
Feedback is welcome. You may also forward this newsletter in the existing format to anyone you think may find it useful.
Regards - Ramakant Jawalkar
Unsubscribe info: Our relationship with you is very important. If you do not wish to receive this monthly newsletter, please indicate.
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When is consulting advice impartial?
Now that auditors have divested themselves of their consultancy arms, IT vendors want to become the
rightful guardians of IT services. But many IT directors are suspicious that vendors may use their service arms to sell solutions based on the vendors' own technology. From IT Week
Testing From the Inside Out
Vulnerability scanning and assessment from third parties, is a necessary part of doing business today. It's akin to having outside accountants check the validity of a company's balance sheet. It can be difficult for an internal IT group, primarily because of lack of qualified expertise. Getting outside help is part of good due diligence for a CIO. From CIO.
Outsourcing: Ensuring your bang for the buck
The concept of outsourcing is old hat. But the new worry is the continuously evolving business environment. Just how does one get the benefits of outsourcing without compromise? Below are some pointers:
* Response Time: How quickly will the outsourcing company respond? What is the procedure for identifying and resolving breakdowns in mission-critical systems?
* Disaster Recovery: Does the outsourcer provide a written plan detailing backup and switchover plans if natural disaster strikes?
* Confidentiality: Is data and information secure, and not vulnerable to outside intruders? Are explicit safeguards in place?
* Software Licenses: Ensure that all software licenses are in order.
* Termination: Clear conditions under which either party can terminate the relationship
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Managing Information Security
Protecting proprietary information is becoming ever more important. Attacks on corporate information systems by hackers, viruses, worms, and the occasional disgruntled employee are increasing dramatically
and costing companies a fortune. From the McKinsey Quarterly.
Also read related story The realities of risk where in the author discusses the broader view of security figuring out your actual risks, so that the security budget is more effective. From ZDNetIndia.
Managing security mayhem--time to outsource?
Innumerable intrusion alarms, rogue remote workers, untamed wireless access. It can all add up to a big, unmanageable mess. From ZDNetIndia.
SMEs adopt managed security services?
Managed security services (MSS) is a fairly new concept in the Indian security industry. SMEs have become a little less hesitant and have slowly started outsourcing security to infrastructure management companies. From Express Computer.
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Open source: arguments for and against
The argument about the pros and cons of open source vs. proprietary has been going on for a long time. If recent developments are an indication, the argument is tilting in favor of open source. How do they measure up? From VNU Net.
Open source - the viable alternative
Open source software has been garnering increased interest at an enterprise level. There are reports that the market for application development had matured to the point where organizations were now willing to consider open source instead of vendor-specific toolsets. From ZDNet.
MS leads lobby against open source!!!
A group called Initiative for Software Choice is ramping up a lobbying effort aimed at convincing governments to think again where it comes to adopting open-source software. And who is its biggest backer? Microsoft. But what exactly is its grouse? From SV Biz.
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Tips for PC Hygiene
PCs, like furniture, collect dust and grime--but unlike a chair or desk, your computer can malfunction if not cleaned periodically. Keep it clean and you'll avoid all kinds of potential problems; let it wallow in dust and grime, and it can overheat, corrode, and even die. Here's how.
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E-mail to Double by 2006: "Like water flowing out of a hose, e-mail has the potential to fill our inboxes and workdays, overwhelming our abilities to navigate through the growing currents of content". Full story from Internet News.
IT's buying "utility" computing: Tech visionaries have long imagined a future in which companies buy IT services as they would electricity. Their idea: Ditch the server racks and replace them with a wall jack connected to unlimited, on-demand computing horsepower. From ZDNet.
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The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element in Security
By: Kevin Mitnick, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2002.
No matter how strong a computer security system is, it is always vulnerable to the human element. A skilled criminal can pretend to be someone else and request sensitive information over the phone. Computer users can unwittingly downloading viruses and other rogue programs. Mitnick ought to know. He went to jail twice (in 1989 and in 1995) for cracking into corporate systems.
Read excerpts from Amazon. Surprisingly, Indian etailers do not have this book.
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Yukthi Infoswitch is brought to you by Yukthi Systems Pvt Ltd. 2002.
Disclaimer: Readers may note that contents are filtered from third party sources. All Brand Names & Trademarks are acknowledged. Newsletter consultants:
www.knowledgeworkz.com. Content related comments may be posted here.
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