Author Archives: thrivewpengine

The increased use of the Internet as a primary means of communication has changed the way we live and work.  More companies are harnessing the power of the Internet to streamline communication processes and other business tasks.  This means that there is a massive amount of confidential and sensitive information being transmitted electronically which causes security concerns.

When your company staff sends messages to maintain communications with customers, shareholders, supply chain sources, and other important clients it is necessary to ensure that the information is being (more…)

IT consulting is a fast growing sector. this is so because a great number of organizations have been utilizing IT consulting services to give them an edge over their competitors. These companies offer a wide range of IT services which allow all sorts of processes to be managed and developed with  greater efficiency. IT consulting companies usually carry out the needs of businesses, of any volume. They are operating at almost every industry in the field of software infrastructure and applications.

An IT consulting company makes organizations aware of (more…)

As one of Thrive’s primary Macintosh resources, I’m beginning to see an increasing trend in companies moving to Mac.  Maybe it’s the allure of the “Macintosh Experience”, or the life expectancy of the hardware or even – and this is a stretch – that the average utilization time with a Mac running on batteries is close to four hours at full processor potential.

But moving your users to Mac, and maintaining a Windows Server infrastructure, isn’t without its caveats.  Let’s face it, the two are (and always will be) competitors.  Sure, Microsoft makes software to run on the  (more…)

Backdoors are a method that hackers use to establish unauthorized access to a network from a remote location.  Hackers use backdoors as a means of gaining repeated access to a network without being logged by the systems administrator.  This type of network intrusion hides its presence while the hacker is actually using the network without the knowledge of others.

How Backdoors Work

Hackers gain access to a network by (more…)

You have probably noticed that there are domain names that end in “.com” and other domain URLs that end with “.mobi.” If you haven’t this is not unusual since mobile commerce is just getting started.  The .com domains refer to conventional ecommerce websites that are viewable on a PC screen. The .mobi domains are specifically designed for viewing on a mobile device.

Because of the increased use of mobile devices many website owners are creating a mobile friendly version of their website.  The reason behind creating a mobile friendly website is (more…)

Can you define ‘Cloud Computing’? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. According to the “Digital Software and the Cloud Report” from the market research firm NPD, just 22% of U.S. consumers could explain it.  To add to the confusion, when you attempt to find the true definition on the Internet you get a wide variety of answers, but which is the right one?

Thrive Networks took to the streets of Boston to ask people what ‘The Cloud’ means to them. As expected, we got a variety of responses. Some were more accurate than others.  Watch the video below to see what we mean.

[hana-flv-player video=”http://thrivenetworks.com/assets/movies/whatisthecloud.flv”
width=”640″
height=”360″
description=””
player=”4″
autoload=”true” autoplay=”true”
loop=”false” autorewind=”false”
clickurl=”http://www.thrivenetworks.com/it-services/hosted-cloud-services.html”
clicktarget=”_blank”
splashimage=”http://www.thrivenetworks.com/assets/movies/video-grab/what-is-the-cloud_640_380.jpg”
/]
(more…)

With the increased use of the Internet the FBI has become a very busy national security organization.  This is due to a new digital age of sophisticated criminals that are well versed in computer programming.  They use their skills to extort money from unsuspecting users and in other cases commit identity theft.  One of the primary ways they do this is by creating ‘scareware’

How Scareware Works

If you understand how cyber criminals operate then there is no need to be afraid of scareware.  First, let’s explain what scareware is and how it is used to scare you (more…)

Proper enterprise network security is of vital importance to data protection and the ongoing productivity of an organization.  With the increased use of technology that helps enterprises to maintain the competitive edge, most businesses are required to employ IT security personnel full-time to ensure networks are protected from the rapidly growing industry of cyber crime.

IT security professionals are responsible for monitoring the network for security vulnerabilities on a daily basis.  Vulnerabilities are holes in the network that hackers can use to perform exploits.  An exploit can potentially cripple a network and bring down an organization for an indefinite period of time.  To protect a network against unauthorized access you must use (more…)

ITIL can be challenging when you implement it within an organization but once you are successful instituting ITIL how much is enough?  Some senior management officials feel ITIL is too complex and some IT professionals tend to feel ITIL is unnecessary since they possess the skills to employ an ITIL infrastructure on their own.

ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) is (more…)

There are many advantages to storing your data in the cloud.  This is the primary reason that cloud storage has increased in popularity during recent years.  Many businesses are realizing the benefits of cloud storage in terms of cost savings, convenience, and accessibility.

Like anything else, when it comes to protecting important data there are things you should consider (more…)