[GS Note] - Don't Just Delete Your Data -- Scrub It!

 

You always feel good when you can take old computers, external drives or other devices and donate them to Goodwill, a school, or a charitable organization. Someone is sure to benefit from these items, you say to yourself, and you're right. But if those devices still have your company's sensitive data on them, you may be giving away a lot more than you know. And you can't just delete that data, either -- you have to scrub it off of the drive.

Why can't you just delete the files? Because deleting them doesn't actually get rid of them, at least not right then and there. The files simply becomes invisible to the user, and their ones and zeroes are considered fair game for being overwritten by fresh data at some point in the future. If that point never arrives, you could have a ton of top-secret info still sitting on the computer drive, just waiting for someone with a little know-how to undelete it.

Fortunately, you can always call Gravity Systems to get those drives scrubbed clean. We perform a multi-pass wipe that conforms to Department of Defense standards, writing over the data so many times that no one's going to retrieve it. Our clients trust us to wipe the drives clean as soon as we take them into custody. As you can imagine, we end up with a huge stack of scrubbed drives before too long, and every so often we bundle up the latest pile and take it over to the local Goodwill. Goodwill takes all the components out and sells them to overseas manufacturers, which helps support the Goodwill cause. They also make sure that toxic or otherwise non-recyclable materials get disposed of safely. So you can feel good about donating those drives -- just give them to us first!

[GS Bulletin] WiFi Traffic Open to the World

 

According to the outcome of recent court cases, it may be legal for others to listen in on WiFi traffic over unsecured networks.  Check out this post on ZDNet. 

Since WiFi or wireless network traffic is broadcast over the air, your data is highly susceptible to intruders.  There are a few security protocols used over WiFi; however, they can all be hacked relatively easily and none provide the protection as a wired connection.  If your business has the need for a WiFi network, we recommend taking extra steps to ensure your critical proprietary, financial, and personal data are not left out in the open for thieves.

If you are concerned about the security of your wireless network or even your wired network, give us a shout.  Gravity Systems will examine your network setup and make sure everything is locked up tight.

Stay safe out there!

Ross

[GS Note] - Offsite Backup: Keeping Your Data out of the Danger Zone

 

Believe it or not, businesses can and do burn to the ground. And even if your comprehensive insurance policy enables you to replace all your damaged IT hardware, the greatest coverage in the world can't get you your data back once it's gone.

Now, we did have one client who got incredibly lucky. Their office burned down, taking the IT and the server room with it. The fire department was able to put out the flames, and we were miraculously able to extract data from the wreckage. But where were this client's backup files? Sitting on a bunch of tapes, in the office, melted into scrap along with everything else.

This is why we urge businesses to have an offline backup method for important stuff. The most obvious low-tech solution is to entrust the daily backup tapes or discs to a staff member who physically moves them to his or her home every night and brings a new tape back to the office the next day. But guess what – you have to monitor that the tapes are actually “leaving the building” each night. An automated system such as Gravity Backup, on the other hand, transfers the data at lightning speed to our secure, reliable server every night.

But it's not enough to simply transfer files -- you also have to check them every once in a while to make sure there's no loss of data integrity. Otherwise, you may realize too late that your backup tape isn't capable of performing that urgent emergency restoration. But if you have Gravity Systems handling your ongoing IT maintenance, we'll run a check of your backup files once a month to make sure they're going to be useful when you truly need them. But whatever you do, however you do -- take it offsite!

[GS Note] - Spring Cleaning for Your IT System

 

Spring is here, and with it comes the time-honored ritual of spring cleaning. There's something really satisfying about making everything all shiny, new and ready for action, whether it's your garage at home or your workplace IT center. It's the perfect time to think about your IT budget, what upgrades you may want to make, and what systems may need renovating or replacing. IT components aren't different from your average toaster in one sense -- eventually they will just reach the end of their life and stop working. Except with a toaster, all you're out of is toast. When an IT component fails, you're out of an IT system, at least until Gravity Systems rushes over with replacement parts.

That's why preventative maintenance should be a routine part of your IT agenda. Most hardware items should be evaluated once they reach about three years of age. If you've purchased our maintenance program, we can come out to your site, examine every part of your IT system in minute detail, and make recommendations that can help avoid that costly, frustrating failure.

It isn't just big-money components, such as servers, that get old and wear out, either. Your IT system resembles a chain, and one weak link can shut the whole thing down. We examine your whole system, piece by piece, as part of your maintenance program. We may have put a brand new server into your system recently, but if the switches connected to that server are four or five years old, that's a problem. When those switches burn out and go down, that server might as well be a museum relic for all the good it can do you. It's all equally important -- and we can keep it all running as it should. Let Gravity Systems get you ready for Spring!

[GS Bulletin] Check out our video!!!

 

Hey Everybody!  Our Austin office is featured on Yelp - Austin.

Check out our commercial.  

Gravity Systems offers expert technical service to support your business' computer and network needs.  Whether you have two desktops or full server/client network, Gravity Systems is ready take care of you.

While you are on the Yelp site, we would really appreciate your reviews on how we have helped you.

If you are looking for computer service today, please contact us.

Thanks and have a great day!

The Gravity Systems Team

[GS Bulletin] - Hard Drive Supply Alert

 

Flooding in Thailand and your computers

As many of you are aware, Thailand has had some severe flooding.  Unfortunately, Thailand is the second largest exporter of hard disks in the world.  Since almost all of the top-tier manufactures use a just-in-time manufacturing model, they don’t stock more than a few days of parts.  The end result is that systems ordered after the next few days will likely see a significant delay in ship time.  There are estimates that machines ordered in the next week or so will not ship until after the first of the year.  No one is really sure at this point, but that is what all the manufacturers are hearing from their suppliers.  I would suggest planning for at least a one-month shipping delay.

Please note that both server and desktop drives will be in short supply.  SSDs are not made in Thailand as much, but there will likely be a run on those as the supply of traditional hard drives dwindles.

Please adjust your year-end planning as necessary.  If you need us to try to push a machine through for you today or tomorrow, please e-mail us at support@gravityusa.com. 

Thank you,

The Gravity Systems Team

[GS Note] - Data Backup Solutions

 

Online versus tape back up -  which solution is best for my company?

We get this question a lot when discussing different backup solutions. People face many choices today when choosing a backup method.  The two main categories of backup solutions most used by small businesses are traditional tape-based backup and online backup solutions.

Tape backup systems have evolved a bit from the days when companies hired a staff person just to rotate tapes all day in order to get the day’s data archived.  However, the basic principals have remained the same.  You still have some sort of tape drive or chassis that accepts removable media ‘tapes’ onto which the backup copy of the data is written.  In the current environment, these “tapes” can be traditional tape cartridges resembling an 8 track or cassette tape, or they can be based on hard-drive technology where each “tape” holds either a functioning hard drive or the “platter” portions of a hard drive.

Online backups work much like they sound: the data from the protected computer is transmitted over an encrypted connection via the Internet to the service or server onto which the archive data will be stored.  A useful feature of current backup technology is incremental or “delta” backups that don’t retransmit the entire data set, or, in some cases, even the entire file that has changed.  Instead, the solution just uploads the actual changes in the data, resulting in a shorter backup window.  This is especially important on slower business class and consumer networks with asymmetrical bandwidth (the upload is slower than the download). 

What are the first things you need to think about when deciding whether to use online or a traditional backup? Size of the data to be backed up is of paramount importance.  If you have 900 GB, it may be prohibitively expensive to try to use online backup, whereas it may all fit on one tape each night.  The next thing to consider is how much data changes each day.  Even if you have a relatively small amount of data (20-50 GB or so), if you change a majority or even half of that data on a frequent basis, it is likely that your online backup will never complete!  Versioning is another issue to consider.  A good tape rotation might give you 5 to 10 previous versions of a file.  Online backup can give you even more, but you will be charged for the additional storage the extra copies use.

Gravity Systems is a registered partner and reseller of tape backup systems.  We also host Gravity Systems Online Backup Solution.

We would suggest giving us a call to discuss the options in more detail and to decide which method works for you.  Please CONTACT US for more information or to schedule a consultation.

What else is out there?  Other options for backup include CDP (continuous data protection), server imaging, server imaging with “restore anywhere” functionality, hot failover and more.  Please give us a shout to see if one of these newer or specialized technologies might be right for your business.

Thanks,

The Gravity Systems Team

[GS Notes] Don’t Get That Pain In The Neck!

 

At Gravity Systems, we care for more than just computers and equipment; we also care about the users!

Computers are designed to make our lives easier and us more productive., but many of us are adding stress to our lives as we use them.  Physical stress from sitting too close or far from the monitor, having the desktop too high, or other uncomfortable positions can cause serious injury.

Avoid neck, back, and wrist pain by following these tips for ergonomic computer use:

• Keep your hands, wrists, and forearms straight and parallel to the floor.

• Keep your head level or bent slightly forward, and face your monitor directly.

• Keep your shoulders relaxed and let your upper arms hang to your body’s sides.

• Your feet should be flat on the floor.

• Make sure you have proper lumbar support.

• Your chair should have adequate padding for your thighs and hips.

Don’t sit in the same position too long.  Even with following all of the rules, sitting for long periods of time in the same position can cause you problems.  Frequently stand up, stretch, and walk around throughout the day.  Regularly flex and relax your fingers, hands, arms, and torso.

For more information on ergonomic computer use, visit this link at OSHA.gov.

Thanks and have a great and comfortable day!

The Gravity Systems Team

[GS Bulletin] Power Outage Checklist

 

Power outages occur for a variety of reasons.  Often during heavy usage periods, electricity providers will organize rolling brown or black-outs.  More obviously, bad weather can spur blackouts.  

Don't let your expensive and sensitive computer equipment get caught in the dark. If the possibility of power outages is increased follow this checklist to help ensure the safety of your IT gear.

Thank you,

The Gravity Systems Team

[GS Bulletin] - Network Firewall White Paper

 

August 2, 2011

You have invested a lot of time, money, and effort in your business computer network.  Make sure you are safeguarded from Internet hackers and other intruders.  A network firewall serves as the first line of defense against Internet security threats.

Learn more about how firewalls protect your network from outside threats in our Gravity Systems White Paper.

Thanks for reading. 

The Gravity Systems Team