FWCS IT Support for Schools Information
Dear Frank.
Firstly, thank you for giving up your time to speak to Linda earlier this afternoon. Linda mentioned that she had a lovely conversation with you and that you would like some more information about what FWCS does so we might be able to hopefully help the schools in your database save money on their IT Spend per annum.
Thank you also for answering my call and allowing me to email you this information.
FWCS provide UK businesses and schools with pro active IT support Services. Our main aim, especially in today’s climate is to save companies and schools money on their annual IT Spend.
The best way to describe our services are as follows:
C.S.I.SConsultancy We will consult with perspective clients to understand their IT wants/needs and to appreciate what there “I.T pains” are in order for us to propose the correct, and most cost effective solution.
Supply We can supply hardware and software, including connectivity solutions to meet our customers and perspective customers needs
Installation We can install networks and solutions
Support We are I.T Support specialists focusing mainly on being able to support our customers remotely.
Our contracts are annual contracts and encompass remote support, telephone support and on-site support. We have in house technicians that remotely dial in to our clients servers on a daily basis to check that :
* Backups are completed properly
* There is sufficient disk space
* Virus checks are complete and up to date
* Microsoft update are completed and up to date
And generally that everything is running smoothly. Our monitoring software allows us to monitor 24/7/365 all applications on our clients servers to ensure 100% uptime. i.e. – If your email goes down, chances are we will know about it before our clients do which will enable us to get on the phone to the ISP to start resolving it.
A lot of private schools have in house technicians, or teams, some of them outsource to IT support companies. I would like to offer private schools a cost saving outsourcing service to drastically reduce their IT Expenses i.e. – Why employ one person at circa £30k per annum when you can employ a whole team for half the cost !
Please contact me to discuss this further as I strongly believe we can help schools save money on their IT support. The tricky part for us is getting to speak to them, and educating them. For example. Did you know that by turning off a PC at night is saves £100 per annum? If a school has 100 PC’s +, that is a major saving.
I won’t bombard you with any more information. Please click on this link to see our “IT Support for schools” leaflet http://www.agi.co.uk/FWCSnewsletter/index.html
I look forward to hopefully hearing from you soon.
Kindest Regards,
Adam
Labels: IT Support for Schools, IT Support Schools
New Twitter Address
Follow latest new, tips and IT tricks on http://twitter.com/francis_west
What are the latest top 2 invincible security challenges that Recruitment Companies face today?
NETWORKS AND SECURITY RISKS1) Internal Security2) Social Engineering, Spamming, Viruses, etc.
1) Internal SecurityInternally and externally, risk will always be there - but we can try to minimize it. Internal attack may be intentional or non-intentional in nature. In terms of intentional or malicious activity, the capability to cause damage from inside a company is far bigger than from hackers accessing externally. The biggest threat, however, comes from employees accidentally doing something wrong, non-intentionally, and being too scared to admit it.
USB, USB-Hard disk, Ipods, floppys, Cameras, cell phones, etc. all link into a pc and can pose a real threat to the company. Any employee can copy official data to external device, eg. a floppy, USB, etc. or can email it to himself via the Internet. This is really a big loss to company and, consequently, to every individual. If the company loses data, it loses applicants, loses commissions, and eventually the company is lost and jobs are lost. This will affect every individual.
Organizations expect that anyone stealing information by copying it from a computer will do so using floppy disks, CD-Rs, DVD-Rs, or by sending out e-mail attachments and they do take precautions to detect or prevent this from happening. Most companies use digital cameras as a part of their working day activity. But what can they do about the employees who use a camera or MP3 music player to the steal sensitive data while appearing to use his or her computer to download photos or music ?
In the past, organizations used to do physical checks to avoid data being copied onto floppies or cds but today miniature devices are available (the size of a key chain) which can easily be carried away without detection but which are more harmful since they can carry much larger amounts of data than a cd or floppy. Ipods, the latest craze for music lovers, might look like the person carrying it is enjoying music but he can carry 60GB of data which would be the equivalent of storing every business document in a medium-size firm. A compact flash card is a tiny device which is used in digital cameras, personal digital assistants, notebook computers, and MP3 music players. These devices can store up to 8GB of data. Similarly, key chain drives or USBs or Flash drives (whatever we call them) are capable of storing from 128KB up to 16GB of data. These devices are just plugged in to the USB port of the computer and BINGO! you can copy the data. In the same way, with the help of Bluetooth, we can transfer the data to our high mobiles or PDAs, or any electronic device which has the capacity to save data.
Research shows HR and payroll information to be the most popular target here. The biggest worry is technical personnel, as they have access to all the Unix, Linux and Windows servers and could potentially disrupt or delete the firm's whole operating system.
2) Social Engineering, Spamming, Viruses, etc.What is social engineering ? The term has been popularized in recent years by well known (reformed) computer criminal and security consultant Kevin Mitnick. He points out that it's much easier to trick someone into giving you his or her password for a system than to spend the effort hacking into it ! Social engineering is a collection of techniques used to manipulate people into performing actions or divulging confidential information. Whilst similar to a confidence trick or simple fraud, the term typically applies to trickery for information gathering or computer system access and in most (but not all) cases the attacker never comes face-to-face with the victim .To give you an idea of social engineering, it is like talking on the phone with someone and trying to gather important information about their prey, cleverly using flaws in human logic. The main methods include pretexting, phishing, Trojan Horses.
i) pretextingThere are times when we might receive an email from someone we know, but in reality it is coming from another source. For example, an email appearing to be from your System Administrator may ask you to change your password to the password he has sent you or the account will be terminated. Another may ask you to send your password, or some other important document, which is sensitive information
ii) phishingOne more practice is where you will receive mail from the bank claiming to be from the credit card department asking you to log on via a web page link you are given in the email and to enter your credit card number, account number, pin number or password, etc. This is "phishing" (with a PH) where a phisher tries to extract your credit card and account details from you. eg. Citybank example.
iii) Trojan HorsesUsing remote administration software a hacker can hack in to their prey's system without giving any password and can control their full system, install software, delete files, restart the system, eject the CD-ROM, switch webcam if present, etc.We should take precautions while installing any software. In the office, let the System Administrator install it for you. Do not install any software without their knowledge as it may be infected.
Viruses and WormsNormally we have a tendency to share some folders for the purpose of sharing data and this can also create a big vulnerability. Viruses and worms are always in search of shared folders, or those unprotected by a password on the network. For example, if a system is infected with a virus, first it will copy itself to some safe directory, and get registered into the windows registry, so that when every the pc is restarted it will be activated first. Secondly, it always searches for shared folders on the network. If found, it will copy itself to these shared folders and this is how it spreads to infect the whole network.
Please do not share folders, instead upload the information discretely to the internet using an ftp server with proper authentication every time.
===============================================================
RECOMMENDATIONS---------------------------------
Use virus protection software
Use a personal firewall
Regular IT auditing of systems can help firms to track activity by System Administrators.
Don't open unknown email attachments
Remove unnecessary shared folders
Don't run programs of unknown originUsers should select strong passwords (alpha numeric)Keep all applications, including your operating system, patched
Turn off your computer or disconnect from the network when not in useDisable Java, JavaScript, and ActiveX if possibleDisable scripting features in email programs
Make regular backups of critical data
Make a boot disk in case your computer is damaged or compromised
Educate employees about computer security for the benefit of the whole company
Consult FWCS Group Ltd for a security review or call Francis West on 01923 654 900 for more info/advice.
We can also be contacted on:
Francis.w@fwcs.co.uk or
www.fwcs.co.uk
The FWCS girls are doing the Moonwalk Edinburgh!
On the 14th June 2008, Martina, Sarah, Siobhan, Janine and Jo will be doing the Moonwalk Edinburgh.
This will be a night to remember when 12,000 men and women walk 26 miles round the streets of Edinburgh in their decorated bra's to raise money for breast cancer. The girls are very much looking forward to the walk, although they don't underestimate the hugh task ahead and everyone is right behind them!
For more information about the walk please visit www.walkthewalk.org.Any sponsorship will be greatly received, the girls really appreciate the support.
Sarah, Siobhan and Jo have set up their own just giving pages:
www.justgiving.com/sarahandsiobhanwww.justgiving.com/jolenehoneyor you can contact us on 0870 443 4401.
Labels: charity, FWCS, moonwalk, sponsership
FWCS and Bluestar Business Finance partner on IT Leasing
Blue Star Business Finance Limited are an independent privately owned IT finance specialist who have formed a successful partnership with FWCS Limited. Blue Star’s products have enabled FWCS to offer an alternative method of payment to their customers allowing them to spread the cost of a new IT solution typically over a 3-5 year period. Increasingly finance is a method of payment that a lot of corporate customers choose ahead of a straight cash purchase. Finance allows customers to spread their payments over an agreed period allowing for easy budgeting whilst also providing 100% tax deductions making for a sensible purchase.
Finance also removes the cash flow concern when investing in a new IT Solution and allows the customer to acquire the right system for their business rather than what their current bank balance dictates.
Information technology is an operating cost to your business, pay for the equipment as you use it and get an immediate return on your investment.
Do you need to refresh your network or replace outdated equipment but don’t have the budget to purchase today? Call FWCS today on 0800 008 7496 to find out how finance can help you buy your new equipment.
Labels: Finance, IT
Ability to keep on changing
There is one key skill or attribute that will get you far in life. That is the ability to change. If you are constantly willing to take yourself.
To read more thoughts provided by Mark Fritz please click here
Labels: attributes, change, skill
Software Licensing - Are you Legal?
Companies rely on computers but many are relying on illegal software, even though they may not be aware. It is essential to keep on the correct side of the law by keeping track of software licenses. A market research study by IDC reported that over 25% of software used in UK businesses is unlicensed and therefore illegal. This may not seem to be important to some, however, software companies are cracking down on copyright infringement and with the average fine for small businesses being £10,000.00 in 2006 this issue cannot be ignored.
As well as the financial impact most prosecutions also include injunctions preventing further use of the software resulting in a possible loss of valuable information. Also with illegal software you place your data in jeopardy by foregoing security, support and upgrades.
To find out how to check your licenses and see what action you can take call us on 0800 008 7496 or email support@fwcs.co.uk
Labels: legal, licensing, Microsoft, software
Refer a client to FWCS and Win
At FWCS, 60% of our new business comes from client referals. Due to this we would like to reward all successful client referals....
Who will you refer to us today to benefit from our years of experience helping clients to make IT work from them and not the other way round? We are offering a Red Letter Day to those who refer a new client to us. To make a referral or to learn more simply call us on 0870 443 4001 or email
trustedadvisor@fwcs.co.uk.
Labels: Red Letter Day, referral, Thin clients
10 Tips for better email etiquette
Email has over taken the telephone as the main means of business communication. As such there are certain professional expectations that make all the difference when receiving an email. Such as using a signature with contact information to ensure that people know who you are.
For more email etiquette tips by Laura Stack please click here
Is your end user password secure?
Is your password secure enough? Passwords for all end user systems must meet the following criteria to be safe:
• Passwords must be at least eight characters in length.
• Passwords must contain both letters and numerals.
• Passwords should include symbols: i.e. !, @, #, $, %, ^, &, and ( whenever possible.
• Passwords should include mixed cases (both capital and lowercase letters).
• Passwords must not include any portion of your name, address, date of birth, Social Security Number, username, nickname, family name, pet name, sports team name or word that appears in a dictionary or any such word spelled backward.
• Any of the above preceded or followed by a digit.
To learn the requirements for Financial or Administrator passwords please contact us on 0800 008 7496.
Labels: end user, password, secure
Outbound e-mails – are you compliant?
In January this year, several new pieces of legislation came into force ahead of a major change to UK company law. One of these is that the same company information that appears on company letterhead must now also appear on electronic communications. To learn more
click hereLabels: communications, company law, legislation
FWCS Microsoft Gold Partners
FWCS has achieved the highly coveted Gold Certified Partners status, which is the highest level Microsoft offer. This represents the utmost level of competence and expertise with Microsoft technologies, and reflects our close working relationship with Microsoft. At this level, we have access to the highest level of resources and support, which not only benefits fwcs but also all our clients. To learn more about the requirements to achieve this status please contact our office on 0870 443 4001.
Labels: expertise, level, Microsoft Gold Partners
Thin clients easier on the environment, study claims:
Using a thin client system instead of conventional desktop PCs could cut British businesses emissions by 485,000 tons and save £78 million in electricity bills.
Click here to read more
Labels: emissions, environment, Thin clients
FWCS Microsoft Gold Partners
FWCS has achieved the highly coveted Gold Certified Partners status, which is the highest level Microsoft offer. This represents the utmost level of competence and expertise with Microsoft technologies, and reflects our close working relationship with Microsoft. At this level, we have access to the highest level of resources and support, which not only benefits fwcs but also all our clients. To learn more about the requirements to achieve this status please contact our office on 0870 443 4001
Labels: expertise, Gold, highest, Microsoft, Partners
Softscan Updated Version Released
The Anti Spam system, Softscan, recommended by FWCS and used by many of our customers has released a new Spam Grabber.This Spam Grabber is for Outlook and enables users to improve SoftScan’s Spam filter by simply clicking their mouse.To learn more
click hereLabels: Softscan, Updated, Version
Handy Tips to help you monitor your company computer users
In the modern office a network administrator must keep an eye on how employees are using their company computers. Whether your company philosophy is to allow some personal use or not you will often need to know what is being sent in emails as well as what files and websites are being accessed.The reasons for this are to protect your company against the repercussions of employee actions which can be in the form of monetary loss, civil lawsuits, and even criminal charges if they involve deliberate or accidental disclosure of confidential company information, transmission of pornography, or exposure to malicious code.Here are 8 tips to bring you in line with an estimated 60% of employers who monitor their computer usage and to reduce the risks your company faces:
click hereLabels: computer users, monitor, protect
FWCS Online Backup System
FWCS Online Backup System is a secure, automated data backup and retrieval solution that intelligently and securely backups and stores critical data.FWCS Online Backup System is more cost effective than more basic backup solutions offered by other major providers, yet it can be used across a variety of platforms, is fully scaleable and gives users freedom to access and recover data from anywhere in the world. Furthermore, because only incremental data is backed up online, it’s up to 98% faster than traditional tape backup systems.To learn more and to get a free trial
click hereLabels: faster, Online Backup, retrieval
Do unwanted emails stretch your budget?
It’s well documented that unwanted emails can eat into user productivity and network administration resources, but even when you’ve implemented an effective solution finding a lump sum every two or three years to pay for protection can still place a strain on budgets. That’s why our FWCS Solution has teamed up with De Lage Landen, a leading international provider of asset financing, to offer you the opportunity to lease your FWCS Solution Email Security Service and use your budget more effectively. To learn more please
click hereLabels: budget, lease, unwanted emails
3G Fantastic deal, Work anywhere at Broadband speed
If you would like to work at broadband speed from anywhere look no further. FWCS are offering a fantastic deal with 3G Cards from £50.00. The Mobile Connect Data Card with 3G Broadband is a compact and easy to use device that provides the fastest wireless access to your office email, business applications and the internet from your laptop. Providing accurate and secure access to key applications, Data Cards can reduce downtime and allow users to work when travelling or in meetings. Simply call us on 0870 443 4001 or email
trustedadvisor@fwcs.co.ukLabels: 3G, Broadband, deal
Back Up is essential, but restoration is CRITICAL
In recent months we at FWCS have been dealing with more and more backup issues and we thought it prudent to notify you of the challenges we have overcome using new products which have been released. To learn more
click hereLabels: Back Up, restoration
FWCS 60 Minute Training Offer
FWCS would like to announce MCT as our new IT applications training partner.
To celebrate this partnership we are offering a 60 minute training session so why don’t you learn something new today and increase your productivity in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and many other applications? To get your free voucher
click hereLabels: free, Training, voucher
Refer a client to FWCS and Win
At FWCS to get most of our clients through referral we are asking your help.
Who will you refer to us today to benefit from our years of experience helping clients to make IT work from them and not the other way round? We are offering a Red Letter Day to those who refer a new client to us. To make a referral or to learn more simply call us on 0870 443 4001 or email
trustedadvisor@fwcs.co.uk.
Labels: Red Letter Day, referral, Win
FWCS has moved.
As always it has been a busy month for FWCS, in May we moved to larger offices which will enable FWCS to further expand and develop. Our new contact details are: Highfield House, 25 Highfield Road, Bushey, WD23 2HD, United Kingdom. Tel No 0870 443 4001. Fax 01923 397 343. To learn more about our move please click here www.fwcs.co.uk/newsletter-moving.html
Labels: move, new office, support
