In this
issue of Horse Sense:
-
DNS
Security Hole Exploited
-
August
Deal: Buy 4 get $10
-
(Federal
Clients Only) What Federal Buyers
Need to Know BEFORE Making a
Purchase
-
USB
Flash Drives Are NOT All the Same
-
Wet
Electronics--What to do!
-
Is
Someone You Know a Criminal?
-
Avoid
Toll Call Fraud
DNS Security Hole
Exploited
As discussed in the
last issue of Horse Sense, a hijacked
DNS server can send you to a web address
other than the one you typed. When you
type in www.mybank.com, DNS changes this
into a number that your computer "dials"
to reach a server. If a criminal can
poison a DNS cache, he can send you to
www.criminalsbank.com instead and
you might never know it. Please update
your systems and make sure your DNS
provider has updated theirs or you might
fall victim to this attack. To test to see if your DNS has been
updated, go to
https://www.dns-oarc.net/ and run
the test. If that test fails, call and
ask us what you should do. While you are
at it, ask us how we can make your DNS
more secure and how you can use it to
lower the amount of unwanted e mails you
receive.
August Deal: Buy 4
get $10
For every four Xerox
toners or ink stick packs you buy from
Iron Horse in August, we will take $10
off your invoice. See
http://www.ih-online.com/xeroxauthorized.html
and click on the “Buy 4 get $10 off”
graphic for your coupon.
What Federal
Buyers Need to Know BEFORE Making a
Purchase
Are you trying to
make the most of your dwindling 2008 IT
budget? Do you need advice and do not
know where to turn? Does the idea of
buying computer equipment, services,
software or supplies seem overwhelming?
Do you need to plan for 2009? Boy, are
you lucky to be reading this! Call Iron
Horse at 703-866-6413
today. We will help you figure out what
makes the most sense for you, how to fit
it into your present and future budgets,
and get you the products you need
quickly and painlessly. We have been
helping federal workers just like you do
that for over 18 years.
Blown all your money
but still need help? Call us anyway. We
can tell you how we have saved agency
money or got it reprogrammed to do what
they needed to do. We will even talk to
you if you are really and truly broke.
We can help you plan for better times.
USB Flash Drives
Are NOT All the Same
Solid state data
storage prices are dropping rapidly.
Some 8GB USB flash drives are less than
$35, and we have seen 32GB drives
available on the market for less than
$150. 32GB is bigger than many hard
disks I see in use! While these prices
are enticing, the features you usually
get at these price points are not.
If you are not
worried about keeping the information on
your USB flash drive secure, you should
be. I was sitting in front of a lady the
other day at a coffee shop when someone
walked off with her laptop and the keys
to her digital identity. She was
understandably upset. We have products
here at Iron Horse that prevent laptop
theft, aid in the recovery of stolen
laptops, and protect valuable data from
prying eyes. However, these same tools
do not apply to USB flash drives. Most
USB flash drives do nothing to protect
your data. They are also more likely to
be lost, stolen, or destroyed than
laptops.
What does an advanced
USB flash drive look like? It is
reliable: I have an IronKey 1G USB flash
drive that has some notable features.
You can read and write data to it many
more times than you can standard USB
flash drives. It will store data 10
times longer. Yes, USB flash drives DO
wear out. Cheaply built drives can wear
out quickly and could take your data
with them. The IronKey drive has a crush
and water resistant metal shell versus
leaky plastic found on low end USB flash
drives.
It is fast: The
IronKey drive can be read at 28MBps and
written to at 14MBps, four to ten times
faster than most flash drives on the
market and a significant fraction of the
60MBps USB 2.0 total bandwidth. For
comparison, the new Seagate Barracuda
7200.10 desktop drive can deliver about
80MBps and is considered exceptionally
fast. Flash memory is now getting to the
point where it can perform at least as
well as a hard drive. The time it takes
to find where to read or write your data
on traditional hard drives (latency) is
in the millisecond range. With USB flash
drives, the latency is essentially zero.
With large file transfers, hard drives
have an advantage because of their
generally higher transfer rates, but
with smaller files or small reads and
writes, flash memory wins.
It keeps your data
secure: The IronKey also comes with
military grade hardware encryption built
in. IronKey originally designed these
products to secure federal government
secrets. You do not have to copy or
install programs to your hard drive
first. You can even centrally administer
and enforce security policies on your
IronKey drives. Too many incorrect
password tries will result in the drive
erasing itself, while their backup
services allow you secure access to your
encrypted data. IronKey drives can even
be used as a security key for getting on
to secure networks.
It is flexible:
IronKey drives can run applications like
a secure web browser directly. Handy
software is already preloaded on the
drive.
You may not need all
of these features in your next USB flash
drive, but before you plunk down money
for a new USB flash drive, make sure it
meets your needs! Is it fast enough?
What happens if I lose it?... If you
want advice, we are only a phone call or
e mail away!
Wet
Electronics--What to do!
Tips for Handling
Water-Damaged Hard Drives and Other
Removable Media from Kroll OnTrack
Here is what to do if
your data ends up under water.
-- Never assume that
data is unrecoverable, no matter what it
has been through;
-- Do not attempt to
power up visibly damaged devices;
-- Do not shake or
disassemble any hard drive or server
that has been damaged - improper
handling can make recovery operations
more difficult which can lead to
valuable information being permanently
lost;
-- Do not attempt to
clean or dry water-logged drives or
other media;
-- Before storing or
shipping wet media, it should be placed
in a container that will keep it damp
and protect shipping material from
getting wet. Wet boxes can break apart
during transit causing further damage to
the drive;
-- Do not use common
software utility programs on broken or
water-damaged devices;
-- For mission
critical situations, contact Iron Horse
before any attempts are made to
reconfigure, reinstall or reformat;
-- When shipping hard
drives, tapes or other removable media,
package them in a box (we suggest a box
twice the size of your media) that has
enough room for both the media and some
type of packing material that allows for
NO movement. If the media can slide
around at all, it is not ready to ship.
The box should also have sufficient
barrier room around the inside edges to
absorb any impacts the box will take;
-- If you have
multiple drives, tapes or other
removable media that need recovery, ship
them in separate boxes or make sure they
are separated by enough packing material
so there will be no contact.
More Tips from
Iron Horse:
It is quite possible
to salvage electronics that have gotten
wet. Especially if they were not powered
on when it happened, you can dry them
out thoroughly (try putting them in a
bag with dry rice or use dryer pellets
and pill bottles). My brother-in-law
washed a USB flash drive he left in a
pants pocket. He is still using after
drying it thoroughly.
For tips on saving a
wet cell phone see:
I would also add the
following: Do not use heat on your
phone. Heat damages electronics.
Distilled water can help remove salt
water, salt, or other crud from your
phone before you start drying it.
Denatured alcohol can help remove crud
and dry out a phone, but it can also
unstick labels, so use it only if you
have to remove stubborn dirt and do not
use heat to dry an alcohol treated
phone. Beware a cell phone with a foggy
display. That probably means there is
still water in the phone.
When you first start
testing the phone, plug the phone into
the charger. Put the phone a distance
away from you and under a towel or a
box. THEN plug in the charger. If the
phone were to have a catastrophic
failure, you would have some protection.
If the phone works, you are ready to put
the battery back in. When you go to put
the battery back in, consider putting on
gloves to protect your hands. Consumer
electronics have numerous safeguards,
but it doesn’t hurt to be careful. If it
does not work with the old battery, try
a new battery for that phone. Most phone
stores will have replacement batteries
on hand.
Carriers usually will
not replace a phone that has water
damage. Most phones have a small, round
sticker behind the battery cover that is
used to check for moisture damage. The
sticker, which is usually white, will
turn pink or red if it has been exposed
to water.
Is Someone You
Know a Criminal?
Avoid Toll Call
Fraud