Bryley Basics: Working with Webroot

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Greg Livingstone (Engineer) and Gavin Livingstone (President), Bryley Systems Inc.

Webroot1 is a cybersecurity firm with “…leadership in developing next-generation approaches to prevent attacks, and a proven technology base that spans millions.”2

Webroot’s SecureAnywhere® Nex-Gen Endpoint Security (NGES) is a small-footprint (<1Mb) agent with Cloud-based threat intelligence designed to deliver advanced, next-generation, endpoint security. Webroot NGES offers these advantages:

  • Detection – Behavior-based, predictive/proactive detection
  • Management – Minimal impact with no signature updates
  • Protection – Collective protection among Secured EndPoints
  • Remediation – New threats are journaled to facilitate rollback
  • Threat Intelligence – Machine learning

With its innovative, predictive capabilities, it is becoming the standard end-point protection application of many IT-service providers, including Bryley Systems.

Webroot basics

When Webroot is deployed, this Webroot icon webroot-logo displays on the bottom-right taskbar. Right-clicking on the Webroot icon exposes these options:

  • Scan now – Perform a malware scan
  • Open – Open the SecureAnywhere console
  • Help and support – Show the online help site
  • About – Display the current Webroot version
  • Refresh configuration – Refresh Webroot version*
  • Save a Scan Log – Save scan results to a log file
  • Shutdown Protection – Disable Webroot

scan-now

 

*Refreshing the configuration uploads the current profile, resulting in this message:

secure-anywhere-prompt

Webroot SecureAnywhere console

Selecting Open displays the Webroot SecureAnywhere console, which may also appear in the bottom, right-hand corner during scans. The SecureAnywhere console displays current protection information.

secure-anywhere-icon

Webroot Browsing Security

Webroot SecureAnywhere includes BrightCloud® Threat Intelligence, an add-in for Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer to warn against unsafe browsing.

When enabled, BrightCloud shows the following Reputation icons prefixed to web sites. Hovering over the icon will display a risk statement:

trustworthy Reputation: TRUSTWORTHY – When visiting this website there is a very low probability that you will be exposed to malicious links or payloads.

low-risk Reputation: LOW RISK – When visiting this website there is a low probability that you will be exposed to malicious links or payloads.

moderate Reputation: MODERATE RISK – When visiting this website there is some probability that you will be exposed to malicious links or payloads.

suspicious Reputation: SUSPICIOUS – When visiting this website there is higher than average probability that you will be exposed to malicious links/payloads.

high-risk Reputation: HIGH RISK – This website is a “Malware Site”; there is a high probability that you will be exposed to malicious links or payloads.

These icons are displayed on your Internet browser pages and define the risk associated with clicking on a particular site.

webpage-image

By default, HIGH RISK sites are blocked with the following pop-up.

high-risk-icon

REFERENCES

1Wikipedia history of Webroot.

2Please see the 2015 Frost and Sullivan review WebRoot Smarter CyberSecurity.

Case Study – Transportation Company Relies on Bryley Systems to Stabilize Technology

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The Company: RTA Transit Services, Inc., a private company operating on behalf of the Worcester Regional Transit Authority

The Worcester Regional Transit Authority (WRTA) service area includes over half a million in population and is the second-largest regional transit authority in Massachusetts, serving 35 communities. WRTA maintains a fleet of 47 buses including four clean diesel-electric hybrid buses for 23 fixed routes in Worcester and 10 surrounding communities. WRTA also provides para-transit and special services for elderly and disabled passengers. The organization is a state-run agency, and as mandated by federal law, is operated by a private company—RTA Transit Services, Inc.

The Challenge: Build a Stable, Redundant and Scalable IT Infrastructure

To help manage WRTA daily operations, RTA Transit Services previously relied on a variety of software solutions that each functioned on separate hardware system in the data center—with each software vendor specifying its own needs. To address the issue, RTA and its previous IT solution provider deployed virtual machines to handle the application load. But the architecture did not account for future growth, and the two host virtual servers operated independently. A hardware failure on either one would have taken down half the operation.

“We wanted to transform our data center into a more robust platform that could scale easily and adapt to new technologies as our needs change over time,” said John Carney, RTA Transit Systems General Manager. “We also wanted to add a high level of redundancy since it’s critical that we maintain service to our customers in the event of a system failure or a power problem at one of our operation centers.”

At the time that RTA Transit Services considered these changes, the IT team also planned to deploy a new intelligent transit system from Clever Devices that helps manage bus maintenance and provides bus-schedule updates to customers via the Internet and digital signs at stations. In addition to ensuring Clever Devices would run properly, RTA also needed to migrate all of its operational software systems to the new platform.

This included CyberAudit by Videx for security; a PTM Brokerage Services system that interfaces with an SCM Elderbus system for handling transportation services for handicap passengers and requires virtual-private-network connections; and a HASTUS group-scheduling and planning solution from GIRO that helps with bus scheduling and operations.

“Finding a new technology partner with the expertise to help us build a platform that could handle all of these systems was critical since the level of service we received from our previous IT support vendor had reached its limit,” Carney said. “We also wanted to partner with a solutions provider that could work within our budget but still design and deploy an effective solution.”

The Solution: A Virtual Server Data Center Designed by Bryley Systems

RTA Transit Services appointed a committee to search for an IT solutions provider and considered multiple firms. Bryley Systems won the project based on its ability to offer a team with a wide breadth of experience across all the different technologies involved in the project. “Bryley also has the ability to provide remote support and fix problems behind the scenes, which is important for us going forward,” Carney said. “When we submit a request, Bryley assigns an appropriate-level resource with the right expertise to address the issue.”

Bryley first assessed the overall server infrastructure at WRTA and designed a new platform that could run all of the various software applications effectively and scale as needs emerge. Bryley also documented the components that required upgrades and provided a blueprint for how to add computing resources in the future.

“Bryley developed a comprehensive plan and recommended clear steps to advance to where we wanted to be,” Carney said. “They then broke it down for us into components to help us determine what we could reasonably do so within our budget.”

Because of the complexity, the WRTA hired a consultant to assist its internal resources with the project. The consultant’s recommendations confirmed the need to deploy the infrastructure that Bryley recommended. “The consultant’s viewpoint confirmed that Bryley had the expertise we would require over the long term and gave us confidence that the project would be handled effectively,” Carney said.

The Deployment: Project Moves Forward Even When Unplanned Roadblocks Occur

Based on the value of the Bryley assessment and design as well as the consultant’s recommendation, RTA then asked Bryley to deploy the new data center infrastructure. Bryley deployed a VMware-based virtual server environment with a P4500 series storage area network from HP. The design also included five HP DL360 servers running Microsoft Windows Server operating systems, and high-end Cisco firewall equipment. In addition, Bryley created a dual-location disaster recovery solution with completely-redundant systems and full failover capabilities between the WRTA operations and call-center locations.

As part of the project plan, Bryley assembled the virtual server rack and shipped it to Clever Devices in New York where Bryley experts worked side-by-side with the Clever Devices team to configure the servers. Clever Devices then installed their solution on the servers, which were then shipped back to WRTA.

When the rack arrived back at WRTA, it had sustained minor damage during the shipping process, and the ramps that allow the racks to be rolled into place were missing. But Bryley adjusted quickly and was able to move the rack into place without the ramps. Bryley also assessed the damage to help WRTA with the insurance claim.

“Bryley reacts to changes like this very well and can address project-schedule adjustments caused by circumstances outside of their control,” Carney said. “They helped keep the project moving forward and demonstrated solid project management skills in addition to their technical capabilities.”

Bryley also evaluated the connectivity circuits between the operations and call-center sites and established a virtual-private-network connection between the two buildings that can be accessed by key vendors such as Clever Devices and Elderbus. Bryley then updated the system security with a Cisco ASA appliance and set up 10 desktops from which RTA personnel manage the Clever Devices software.

The Benefits: New Infrastructure Platform Enables Improved Customer Service

WRTA now has 21 virtual Windows servers running on five physical servers at its Grove Street location and three physical servers at the Main Street location. The agency also now has a stable platform on which RTA can run the business as well as add on to in order to meet future needs. RTA will also continue to consult with Bryley when working with software vendors to ensure any new solutions are deployed correctly within the new infrastructure

“Bryley helped us greatly in organizing and stabilizing the environment,” Carney said. “They know how to utilize hardware effectively and prepare for the future by designing scalable systems. In addition to adding high-level redundancy, we also eliminated unnecessary hardware so that we have a data center that’s much easier to manage.”

The Clever Devices application, powered by the platform designed by Bryley, allows bus passengers to use smartphones to check on bus schedules. The software also processes next-stop announcements on buses and next-arrival announcements at stops. In addition, the application also counts passengers.

“With the new technology platform empowering Clever Devices, we are greatly enhancing the level of service we offer to our customers,” Carney said. “By using smartphones, the Web or viewing digital signs, passengers can now see the status of any bus at any moment. This not only helps customers avoid missing buses that are ahead of schedule but also eliminates the frustration of arriving too early for a bus that is running late.”

RTA also plans to rely on the Clever Devices solution to replace its radio system with a VoIP solution. The complexity of this project generated a lot of logistical challenges for which Bryley provided its expertise. “We were not sure if we should replace our radio system with a Verizon VoIP system,” Carney said. “But Bryley met with us and Verizon to help us understand how the solution works and confirm VoIP was the way to go.”

The server infrastructure that Bryley designed and deployed is now the backbone that keeps all IT systems running at WRTA. The overall system also helps improve services to disabled people since RTA has backup systems for monitoring customers that might need rides to medical care appointments. RTA can also move the phone system to a new location if it there’s a problem at the main phone center.

“Bryley has turned out to be the perfect IT partner for us,” Carney added. “They first helped us develop a plan for future technology investments that we can consider as our budget allows. They then built an IT infrastructure platform that supports technologies that allow us to improve the services we offer to customers and ensures we have sufficient redundancy in place should any of our systems experience a failure.”

Major Benefits—WRTA Technology Platform Designed and Deployed by Bryley: 

  • Stability: Enables applications that run the business to perform consistently
  • Sustainability: Supports future enhancements as business requirements change
  • Redundancy: If main location goes down, system automatically fails over to backup site
  • Improved Customer Service: Supports applications that enable efficient phone, texting and Web services to provide passengers with immediate access to bus information

 

For more information on how Bryley can assist your organization with IT goals, please contact us at 978.562.6077, or email us at ITExperts@Bryley.com.

Beware! Fake Update Request from Firefox Is a Virus!

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By Michelle Denio, Technical Support Supervisor, Bryley Systems

Thanks to a vigilant Bryley Systems client, we can now alert you to a new malware threat.
A Bryley client submitted a service ticket about a Firefox update on his home computer. I was immediately suspicious because the supposed update had come through as a java script file type (.JS), instead of an executable (.exe). Luckily Outlook had blocked the attachment and our client, who was cautious, did exactly what he was supposed to do. He brought it to our attention!

While it appeared to come from Firefox, our research easily determined that this update request is fake and is in fact a virus.

Here are the two links I found on Mozilla:
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/i-found-fake-firefox-update
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1137056

Below is what the fake request looks like. I’ve underlined and circled the source of the update request so you can see that it did not actually come from Firefox. Looking at the source is one of the first steps you should always take when you’re unsure about the validity of an email or a pop-up message. Had our client clicked on the Download, this hacker would have been able to install malware on our client’s computer.

Be Aware! How to Spot Phishing Emails

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Phishing emails are malicious emails sent by criminals attempting to compromise your personal information. They often appear to be legitimate. So beware!

Most phishing emails are disguised as messages from an authoritative entity asking you to visit a website and enter personal information. These websites are set up to gather personal details, which they can then use to hack into your accounts and commit fraud. Some links and attachments in these emails contain malicious software, known as malware, which will install itself on your computer. Malware then collects data such as usernames and passwords.

If you recognize these emails, delete them immediately. Even technically savvy individuals can fall prey to such malicious activity. Being able to recognize these emails will lessen your chances of being compromised. Here are a few tips:

  1. Email Address. This is the first thing you should look at. Criminals use two tricks when crafting email addresses. First, they’ll put a real company’s name before the “@“sign to make it look credible. Second, they’ll use a web address similar to the genuine one. Scammers will craft phishing email addresses almost (but not exactly) identical to the real addresses. Check these emails carefully to make sure they are exactly the same as the real web address.
  2. Generic Greetings. Being cautious of emails with generic greetings such as “Dear Valued Customer” or “Dear Valued Employee”. Look for poor spelling, punctuation or grammar. Scammers will go to great lengths to make their phishing emails look authentic. They’ll use an actual company logo and even the names of people who are employed at the company.
  3. Links. If a link appears within the email, hover your cursor over the link to view the underlying address. Check to see where it would take you if you were to click on the link.
  4. Sense of Urgency. Phishing emails may use phrases such as “act quickly” to create a sense of urgency in order to lure their targets in. These scammers may make you feel as if you’re missing out on something. They want to pique your curiosity or exploit your fear to push you into an instant response.
  5. Name. Look to see whose name is at the end of the email. If it’s from a person, is their name in the email address and does the email address appear valid?

These types of emails are just generic emails which are sent out to large groups of people, knowing that it only takes a few people to click to make the effort worthwhile to the scammers.

Spear Phishing. Criminals who target specific individuals use what is called “spear phishing.” Spear Phishing emails are even more sophisticated than your run-of-the-mill phishing emails, often using personal information obtained from social media pages to make the emails appear credible. These cyber criminals might use your name or tailor the email to reflect your hobbies, interests, where you live or events that are happening locally. They may even make the email look as if it came from the organization you work for. People are sometimes targeted because of their position within the company or because they have access to sensitive data.

We all face the grueling task of trying to manage our email. While email is a very convenient mode of communication and most of it is genuine, knowing the signs of phishing emails will prevent you from unleashing a disaster.

When in doubt, don’t click! Contact your IT administrator. And remember, legitimate organizations will never ask you to disclose personal data via email.

For more information, please see “Recommended Practices – Part 4: Email Use” in the November 2014 edition of Bryley Information and Tips (BITs).

Bryley Systems specializes in protecting you from malware. Contact us at 978.562.6077 or by email at ITExperts@Bryley.com. We’re here for you.

Read this case study about a particularly vicious attack that Bryley remediated.

Cybersecurity – How to Avoid Being the Next Headline

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Understanding cybersecurity is not simple. When we read about a security breach it’s typically caused by an action, or failed security practice of an employee within an organization. No matter the size of the breach, it’s bad press. Data breaches surface daily and these incidents are growing in frequency, size and cost.

It is often more difficult for smaller organizations to maintain security themselves due to lack of resources or even lack of awareness. Small businesses have increasingly become easy targets. In fact, most cyber-attacks occur at companies with fewer than 100 employees. The best way to prevent such breaches is to become better educated and to follow best practices.

  1. Understand the risks. Having a basic understanding of the most common threats is key; everything from phishing, malware, spoofing, systems hacking, social engineering. It’s all bad, and it’s all a threat.
  2. Have a security policy in place that employees understand. Employees are the gatekeepers of your organizations information, so they should be the first layer of defense. Educate all employees about safe practices. Be sure everyone uses complex passwords and make sure personal and confidential information is not easily exposed. Keeping such documentation under virtual lock and key can go a long way to protect confidential information from getting in the hands of the wrong person.
  3. Keep your anti-virus/anti-spam software or other security applications up-to-date. This will help guard against the latest threats and secure your infrastructure.
  4. Verify! Verifying financial requests and confirming details via phone is more secure than email. This practice should be applied to your vendors, clients, and employees.
  5. Practice an incident response plan. Having employees who know what to do in the event of a security breach is the best protection and preparedness you can have. Hackers are often one step ahead of you, but collective accountability is critical.

Having a baseline understanding of your current environment and vulnerabilities is the first step toward building a wall of defense to reduce risk.

Please see the June 2015 edition of Bryley Information and Tips (BITs) for our IT security cheat-sheet.

For more information about ways to defend your company against a cyber-attack, or to inquire about Bryley’s full array of Managed IT Services, please contact us at 978.562.6077 or by email at ITExperts@Bryley.com. We’re here for you.

Eric Rainville promoted to Senior Technician

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With substantial growth in his technical knowledge and responsibilities, as well as his consistent, can-do attitude, we are pleased to announce that Eric Rainville, a Bryley team member since 2014, is now a Senior Technician.

Donald Trump’s potential impact on technology

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Lawrence Strauss, Strauss and Strauss

Gavin Livingstone, Bryley Systems Inc.

People expect that President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory, combined with a Republican Congress, will mean big changes. Because organizations depend on technology, what can be foreseen concerning the tech fields, based on Donald Trump’s campaign statements and on the team he is gathering around him?

In the election’s immediate aftermath, some of the biggest tech-sector stocks’ lost value (which has since changed with the more-recent rise in US stock markets), possibly due to campaign rhetoric where Donald Trump threatened to look into Amazon for monopolistic behavior and tweeted that Americans should boycott Apple for its refusal to help the FBI unlock the iPhone used in the California terrorist attack. He also reminded us of the possibility of a Google election-bias in its search returns. (Google employees have become President Obama’s top tech officials and Google employees visit the Obama White House about once a week, 10x as often as employees from comparable businesses.)1

President-elect Trump appointed Jeff Eisenach and Mark Jamison to reshape the policies of the FCC, which just last year, in a 3 to 2 vote, passed the so-called Open Internet rules. (These rules are somewhat based on the concept of “net neutrality” where the Internet is considered a utility and all Internet traffic is treated equally.) Eisenbach, Jamison, and many others believe these rules were poorly constructed and oppose them on the grounds that they could lead to government overreach with greater consumer costs and reduced investment by business.

The Wall Street Journal, in an Op Ed page2, discussed President-elect Trump’s position in more than 500 companies, of which about 125 do business around the world. Most of these successful businesses are related to real-estate development, hotels and golf courses.3 So, how do such interests intersect with the tech sector?

One way may be gleaned from Peter Thiel, the founder of PayPal and the President-elect’s most vocal booster in the tech world, who told Forbes4 “it’s hard to overstate … Jared [Kushner]’s role in the campaign.” Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, with a family background in commercial real estate, brought to the campaign (per Forbes) advanced computer-based selling techniques like machine learning and micro-targeting. Forbes reports that Kushner learned about these methods through his interactions with Silicon Valley.

Jared founded a start-up, technology-oriented business, Cadre, with his brother, Joshua. Cadre makes buying and selling interests in commercial property akin to a blend of shopping on Amazon mixed with online stock trading. This NYC business has the kind of unique product with a vast upside that it is attracting top tech talent away from Google, Apple, Twitter and others.5

Cadre is a reinvention of that marketplace through technology. And what policies would a tech startup desire? Among the things it, and businesses in general, need are low interest rates to finance investment. And, Donald Trump has a unique opportunity to keep interest rates low with two vacancies on the Fed’s seven-member Board of Governors and the two chairs’ terms expiring in 2018. During the September debate, Donald Trump called out the Fed, saying “When they raise interest rates, you’re going to see some very bad things happen, because they’re not doing their job.”6 So, the president-elect’s vision is a Fed that keeps interest rates low, which could continue to spur business and technology investment.

Similarly, Donald Trump promised in May to dismantle the 2010 Federal financial regulations known as Dodd-Frank, which according to Donald Trump, “makes it very hard for bankers to loan money for people to create jobs, for people with businesses to create jobs.”7

Donald Trump wants to shrink the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent. And he has floated the idea of tax incentives to repatriate monies businesses currently have invested overseas.8

One of the issues that Donald Trump took up during his campaign, was the idea of US workers being replaced by foreign workers. And directly impacting the tech sector are H1B visas, as many Silicon Valley companies train non-US citizens that enter the US on H1B visas. Donald Trump suggested attaching fees to the H1B that would make it less appealing for businesses to seek non-US employees.

The H1B visa issue does not have any effect on outsourcing overseas, a major issue for businesses and their workers; Donald Trump has not yet directly addressed outsourcing.9 However he did spend a lot of time addressing the loss of US manufacturing and the imbalance of trade with China in particular. The solutions he’s proposed include changing the Trans-Pacific Partnership and a 45% tariff on Chinese goods.

These are complex issues, and China’s 1990 inclusion in the WTO has given us everything from cheap, dollar-store junk to computers and cell phones. Because small goods are no more expensive to consumers than they were in the eighties, economists Robert Lawrence and Lawrence Edwards estimate that trade with China returns $250 a year to every American.10 However, Mr. Lawrence also calculates that between 2000 and 2007, Chinese imports caused about a third of the 484,000 annual manufacturing job losses, with productivity increases due to technology making up the bulk of the remaining losses.11

Donald Trump’s road-blocks to free trade are opposed by many who depend on the cheap, foreign manufacturing and, to a lesser extent, foreign markets. Creating barriers to imports suggests our partners may respond in kind, so the methods proposed for doing this may not have the desired effect.

Conversely, it is interesting that his top Secretary of State pick (as of this writing), Mitt Romney, is seen as welcoming trade agreements during his 2012 campaign.12

One thing is evident; investors have responded to Trump’s campaign promises pushing the Dow past 19,000 for the first time and Small Cap stocks (generally understood to be the riskiest) are seeing their largest gains by percentage.11

Generally, the upcoming Trump Administration will likely favor business investment and development, which should enhance technology research and business overall. However, the effects may impact technology companies unevenly, with likely short-term winners and losers.

REFERENCES

1http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/08/how-google-could-rig-the-2016-election-121548

2http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-trump-family-political-business-1479426984

3https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/02/29/the-myth-and-the-reality-of-donald-trumps-business-empire/

4http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2016/11/22/exclusive-interview-how-jared-kushner-won-trump-the-white-house/#4d6e2de62f50

5http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-cadre-and-how-to-invest-in-its-real-estate-deals-2016-6

6http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-11-22/trump-looks-to-put-stamp-on-fed-in-first-months-of-presidency

7http://fortune.com/2016/05/18/trump-dodd-frank-wall-street/

8http://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/15/how-trumps-likely-tax-reforms-will-impact-tech-sector.html

9http://www.computerworld.com/article/3140166/it-outsourcing/trump-tapped-the-viral-anger-over-h-1b-use.html

10http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21695855-americas-economy-benefits-hugely-trade-its-costs-have-been-amplified-policy

11http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/11/22/americas-smallest-stocks-are-biggest-winners-post-trump.html

12http://foreignpolicy.com/2011/11/17/mitt-romneys-foreign-policy/

Bryley Basics: Troubleshooting

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Gavin Livingstone, Bryley Systems Inc.

Whether smartphone, tablet, PC, or notebook, troubleshooting a problem should follow these basic steps:

  • Research
  • Change one
  • Document all

Research – Why reinvent the wheel? Break the problem down into a keyword-rich statement and take advantage of your favorite search engine. Sometimes, reordering the keywords can provide a better search.

If this yields poor, inconsistent, or inconclusive results, ask a colleague, contact the manufacturer, or call Bryley Systems.

Change one – I’m always tempted to change five or 10 things at the same time, convinced that this will yield a quick solution; I’m hoping that by clicking everything in sight, something positive happen: I am frequently disappointed.

A better approach is to pick the most likely/obvious/basic solution, make this one change, test it thoroughly, and then verify the results before moving on.  In this fashion, you eliminate each possibility –preferably from greatest to lowest probability – to avoid muddling the solution and possibly breaking something else.

Document all – It’s not much use to change anything if you don’t remember your sequence; you can end-up in a death spiral of repeating the same steps, over and over, with the same, undesired, result.

Documenting can take the form of written, typed or recorded notes; whatever is easy and quick, but include enough information to ensure a successful conclusion and to assist if you run into the same situation in the future.

Many thanks to Karl Palachuk of Small Biz Thoughts for his inspiring October 2016 article “Troubleshooting – The Rules”.

Wi-Fi® is not Wireless Fidelity

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Garin Livingstone and Gavin Livingstone, Bryley Systems Inc.

Wi-Fi is not an abbreviation for wireless fidelity1; it is a trademarked phrase that refers to wireless communication between electronic devices and a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) based on the IEEE 802.11x standards.

Wi-Fi is brought to us by the Wi-Fi Alliance®, a worldwide network of companies with the mission to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi globally.  The Wi-Fi Alliance tests and certifies that WLAN equipment meets its stated standards.

Current standards include:

  • 11g
  • 11n
  • 11ag

Speeds have grown substantially, now rocketing up to a potential 1,300Mbps using the latest WiGig™, 802.11ac, standard (although actual performance is typically significantly less than its potential).

wifi-standard

At their core; wireless networks are less secure than wired networks (since a potential intruders does not need a physical connection), although encryption technologies (Wi-Fi Protected Access or WPA and WPA2) exist to secure WLANs.

Large-scale Wi-Fi implementations include:

  • City-wide Wi-Fi – Free Wi-Fi provided in St. Cloud, FL, Sunnyvale, CA, etc.
  • Campus-wide Wi-Fi – Wi-Fi throughout a campus environment

1See ‘Wireless Fidelity’ Debunked by Naomi Graychase of WiFi Planet.

2See WikipediA IEEE 802.11.

What Does a Virtual CTO Do for Your Company?

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By A. Baker, Inside Sales Specialist

Virtual CTO = Trusted Advisor = An Essential IT Service!

Technology advances are continually changing. Is your business leveraging these changes to deliver a true competitive advantage?

While the position of CTO (Chief Technology Officer) is a key role for any business, not every organization warrants a full-time person in this position. Many smaller businesses, from a cost perspective, may not employ a full-time CTO because the question they ask is “can our business afford this overhead?”

Small to midsized organizations compete with much larger , well financed companies. However, they may lack the internal resources, especially when it comes to technology management, required to be competitive.

At Bryley Systems, we believe that SMBs (Small and Midsized Businesses) are the backbone of our economy and our prosperity. And although it’s common for SMB employees to wear multiple hats, many wouldn’t be comfortable leading the technology operations. Bryley Systems has created a way for SMBs to adopt a CTO into their organization without the associated overhead cost and responsibilities normally associated with that role.

A Virtual CTO from Bryley will bridge the gap between the business vision and the more technical decisions needed to be made to support those goals. Bryley has a 30-year proven track record across many business sectors. We’re able to communicate in a language that is easily understandable to ensure that our clients can access the technology required for critical business initiatives.

Bryley’s services are at the forefront of technology and are backed by solid experience. Our tailored offerings are focused from client to client, depending upon their IT needs and business planning. Objectives are achieved, risks are managed appropriately, and the organization’s resources are used responsibly, particularly in the areas of computers, office networks, Cloud selections, software selection, and Wide Area Networks.

The cost effective solution to your CTO dilemma, one that addresses the importance of having a CTO without the overhead, is our virtual CTO ™. Our technology experts are available to you at all times, at an affordable cost, tailored to your specific environment.

Our Virtual CTO will:

  • Enable you to make informed technology decisions and efficiently manage technology within your organization.
  • Bring expert advice to bear on all your technology requirements and ensure proper documentation of all business processes.
  • Ensure a high return on investments (ROI) for all your technology investments.
  • Save on opportunity costs by managing all your technology issues and enabling you to focus on your business.
  • Audit all aspects of technology and ensure your peace of mind.
  • Manage all your IT vendor relationships and negotiate with vendors for all your technology purchases.
  • And much more.

Have the best of both worlds – strategic IT insight and tailored professional advice with an affordable financial commitment.

For more information about the Virtual CTO and Bryley’s full array of Managed IT Services, please contact us at 978-562-6077 or by email at ITExperts@Bryley.com. We’re here for you.