“45 for 45″ Backup Trial
July 19, 2010
Your server just died. Can you recover your mission-critical data?
In today’s business environment, data lost is money lost. For most small businesses, it would actually be easier to recover from a loss of equipment or inventory than from a catastrophic data loss. Your business records – financial, inventory, clients, leads – are the lifeblood of your business. Knowing that your data is fully and securely backed up is vital.
SPINEN now offers CrashPlan for data backup services. Crashplan PRO protects your business by combining onsite, offsite and online backup in a single software solution. And now it is easy to discover the advantages of Crashplan: Call us today for a free 45-day trial of (up to 45 GB of data). We are offering this “45 for 45″ deal so that you can see for yourself the advantages of this robust software.
Don’t wake up in the middle of the night wondering “What if…?” about your data. Contact SPINEN today for peace of mind.
Mr. SANman, bring me some storage
July 16, 2010
What is a SAN, exactly – and why should you care?
A SAN, or Storage Area Network, is a high-performance network whose main purpose is to enable storage devices to communicate with computers in your network and with each other. SANs can help make sharing data among systems far more efficient.
If you have more than one server in your network, each server has its own hard drives, and therefore its own set of data – this is the traditional method of data storage in a network. In the traditional setting, if Server B needs data stored on Server A, it has to get a copy of that data by some method. Moving and managing this data not only requires computing resources, it can mean that some servers are working with outdated copies of data. These technical inefficiencies turn into cost inefficiencies for your business.
A SAN, on the other hand, changes the rules by allowing all computers access to all the data, because your data is all stored on the SAN, not on individual servers’ hard drives. This is the most important advantage of a SAN: universal connectivity of storage devices and computers. The best SANs are engineered for seamless growth, meaning that additional storage can be added as your needs grow, without interrupting your workflow.
Coupled with the power of virtual computing, SANs can also speed disaster recovery by enabling a business to replace a failed server in an hours rather than days, as can be the case with backup tapes and replacement equipment. SANs also employ several types of redundancy, so that failure of a single disk or controller does not prevent access to your data.
Not so long ago, SAN technology was only for the “big boys” – though a SAN can offer significant long-term savings, deploying a SAN was an expensive proposition.
The good news is that room for growth, high availability and disaster recovery are no longer out of reach. Costs for storage and for SANs have come down at the same time the data storage needs for small and medium businesses have risen dramatically. HP now offers smaller businesses competitive options for deploying SANs with their line of StorageWorks Generation 2 products.
As one of the first technology service providers in the region to offer virtualization and SAN technologies, SPINEN has extensive experience in assessing your network and helping you deploy a storage solution that meets current needs, and can grow with you. Contact us today to find out more about how we can put SAN technology to work for you.
Lions and tigers and domain name scams…
June 28, 2010
Your domain name — mycompany.com — is not only a critical part of your Web and email services, it is a part of your business identity. So any attempt to steal your domain name, or use the renewal process to con money from you, is a serious threat.
At SPINEN we have seen a variety of domain name trickery over the years, from misleading advertising that attempts to part you from your hard-earned dollars to outright scams.
How does domain name registration work? A registrar is an organization accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to manage the reservation of Internet domain names. Registrars allow you to register a domain name to verify ownership of it, somewhat similar to trademarking a business name. While the domain name registration system has reasonable safeguards, devious scammers and unscrupulous companies will try to use misleading tactics to get you to inadvertently transfer control of your domain name to them.
You may see such attempts via mail or email.
One common scam originates in China, and is sent via email. Here is a sample of that message:
Dear CEO,
We are the domain name registration organization in Asia, which mainly deal with international company’s in Asia. We have something important need to confirm with your company. On the Jan 5, 2010, we received an application formally. One company named “HengTong International Holdings Ltd” wanted to register following
Domain names:
MyCompany.cc
MyCompany.com.hk
MyCompany.com.tw
MyCompany.hk
MyCompany.mobi
MyCompany.net.cn
MyCompany.org.cn
MyCompany.tw
Internet brand keyword: MyCompany
through our body.
After our initial examination, we found that the keywords and domain names applied for registration are as same as your company’s name and trademark. These days we are dealing with it. If you do not know this company, we doubt that they have other aims to buy these domain names. Now we have not finished the registration of HengTong company yet, in order to deal with this issue better, Please contact us by telephone or email as soon as possible.
While it seems like this letter is from someone in China trying to do you a favor, what this scam is actually trying to do is get you to register several useless domain names. Notice that many of the names end in two letters: “cc”, “hk,” “tw”–these are country codes for the Cocos Islands, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. As such they are probably useless to you unless you run an international company that does business in these places, and even the the value is questionable. Furthermore, the idea of registering an “Internet brand keyword” is ludicrous.
Another common ploy comes from a company calling itself the “Domain Registry of America.” This company sends out solicitations for service that look like invoices (click on thumbnail at left to see a sample). The unwary domain name owner may pay this “invoice,” which will transfer your domain name to the Domain Registry of America. Their annual renewal fees are high (30% higher than SPINEN charges!), and getting your domain name transferred back to your registrar of choice can be a difficult.
So how do these scammers/shysters/con men (insert your favorite epithet here) obtain your contact information? Like a registered trademark, domain registration is a matter of public record. While you can use “private” registration to hide your contact information, it adds cost to domain name registration.
Misleading communication or outright scam attempts connected to your domain name can be time-consuming and aggravating. For this reason, many of our clients let SPINEN manage their domain names. That way, we can ensure your domain name is automatically renewed when it needs to be, and can filter out all the spam, scams and junk that can come along with owning a domain name.
Any time you have a question about any communication about your domain name, give us a call. After all, we are here to make “tech” easy for your business.
Google Analytics
April 1, 2010
Google Analytics is a powerful, free tool that can give you useful insights into how visitors are using and navigating your Web site. Analytics provides easy-to-use, flexible features that can help you write better-targeted ads, strengthen your marketing initiatives and even help convert more Web visits to sales.
If you are currently one of our clients, mention this article and we will install Analytics on your site and give you access to the data, as well as explaining the basics of this powerful tool at no cost to you. Give us a call today to find out how we can help make your Web site a stronger asset for your business.
Want to learn more about Google Analytics? View the video tour!
Earning Trust
March 31, 2010
At SPINEN, we don’t measure success by how many clients we serve; we measure success by how many stay with us year after year.
When a cardiac care center with locations throughout central Georgia moved its main office location in 2008, they turned to SPINEN for network design and deployment and assistance in relocating the computer and network equipment. When it was determined that the office would be relocated again this year, SPINEN was the client’s first choice based on its track record of expertise and diligence in anticipating and meeting the needs of a complex project.
There are many ways to attract new clients, but only one way to keep them. We strive to provide the best quality service in order to earn and keep your business.
Welcome Zack McKinney
March 30, 2010
After a long search for the best person to expand the capabilities of our Network/Tech Department, SPINEN welcomes Zack McKinney.
Hailing from Cordele with a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Zack brings experience in large networks to the array of talent SPINEN offers. Zack specializes in supporting Microsoft products and networking, holding the MCSE (Microsoft Certified System Engineer) and CompTIA Network+ certifications.
When he is not up to his elbows in technology, Zack enjoys golf, tennis, and playing guitar. We look forward to introducing Zack to you!
Award-Winning Web Design
March 30, 2010
This year SPINEN took home three Gold ADDY® Awards—two for Web site design and one for print design. These awards, made by the American Advertising Federation (AAF), represent creative excellence in all forms of advertising in all media, from print to Web to television and more. Our winners this year in Web design were the Macon Film Festival (www.maconfilmfestival.com) and the Fly South Festival (www.flysouthfest.org). In print design, our own marketing packet which we use to provide information about our services brought home the gold.
While we are happy to be recognized by the AAF Central Georgia, we are most proud of our commitment to excellence in every project we undertake. Come talk with our Design Department to see how we can help your corporate image shine!
