Wolf Consulting, Inc. is excited to turn 24 years old this month! Lloyd Wolf started our firm in January 1989. The business originally focused on developing custom database programs — written in dBase, and running on DOS –based computers. A few years later, several clients wanted to be able to run their programs on several computers in their office at the same time, and Wolf Consulting branched out into networking technology. And as they say, the rest is history!

Today we’re a team of 20 dedicated professionals, working hard to help our clients become more efficient and more profitable through the use of computers and Information Technology. And, we plan to be around for quite a while longer!

We thank all of our clients for their business over the years. We appreciate it!

Wolf Consulting, Inc. announced today it has received the CompTIA MSP Partners Trustmark for its use of industry-accepted best practices for service delivery and client interaction.

The MSP Partners Trustmark was developed by CompTIA – the leading non-profit trade association for the computing and information technology industry. The CompTIA MSP Partners Trustmark signifies that Wolf Consulting, Inc. is committed to serving its clients in a manner that’s based on the industry’s best practices. For more information about the Trustmark, visit www.comptia.org/businesscred/msp.aspx.

“This credential identifies and differentiates Wolf Consulting, Inc. as an IT service provider that demonstrates a high level of competency through their use of prescribed industry best practices and processes.” said Todd Thibodeaux, president and CEO, CompTIA.

“It is an honor to be recognized by CompTIA and earn their MSP Partners Trustmark.” said Lloyd Wolf, president and CEO of Wolf Consulting, Inc. “It validates our team members, our management tools, our approach and the effort we have put in to providing the highest level of network management, service and support for our clients.”

There are approximately 1,800 solution providers across the country who are members of CompTIA, and only 75 of those companies have earned the MSP Partners Trustmark. To attain the Trustmark, Wolf Consulting, Inc. was evaluated on a number of aspects of their business operations, including organizational structure, technology tools and systems they utilize; standard operating procedures; client references; and IT service specific activities they’re engaged in, for networks, servers and end-user devices.

Wolf Consulting, Inc. also agreed to abide by an industry code of conduct that requires a commitment to conducting advertising, service delivery and overall business practices in an ethical manner.

About Wolf Consulting, Inc.
Wolf Consulting, Inc. provides computer networking, custom software development, and IT consulting services to small & mid-size businesses in the Greater Pittsburgh area. The firm has been in business for 23 years, and is headquartered in Murrysville, PA. For more information, visit www.WolfConsulting.com.

About CompTIA
CompTIA is the voice of the world’s information technology (IT) industry. As a non-profit trade association advancing the global interests of IT professionals and companies, CompTIA is the recognized authority for IT education and credentials and the primary advocate for IT businesses and workers.

We want to alert our clients to an issue that has arisen due to the flooding in Thailand – caused by a recent typhoon. The flooding covered about one-third of Thailand’s surface area. What does this have to do with technology for Pittsburgh area businesses you ask? The flooding has had serious impact on the Thailand’s manufacturing business, notably the manufacturing of computer components and hard drives.

Thailand accounts for a large percentage of the world’s hard drive production. Factories that produce components used in hard drives produced by Western Digital, Seagate, Hitachi, Toshiba, Samsung and others have all been damaged. This has also had a ripple effect in disrupting supply chains for hard drive manufacturing in other countries as well.

Industry analysts are noting that the reduced manufacturing capacity will cause problems throughout the rest of the year and into the first quarter of next year. Accordingly, businesses can expect to encounter fluctuations in both pricing and product availability. Please keep this under consideration as you plan any 2011 end-of-year computer purchases as well as your planning and budgeting for 2012 Q1.

If you have any questions, please call our office and speak with your vCIO/Account Manager or vCTO/Technical Services Manager.

To help service our clients better, Wolf Consulting, Inc. recently installed a transfer switch and a 20kW natural gas powered standby generator at our office. These systems provide dependable backup power to our entire office – lights, telephones, servers, desktops, firewall appliances, printers, heater, air conditioner, etc. This system allows us to continue to provide full service & support to our clients – even during an extended utility power outage.

We had a sizable UPS system in the past, which would provide battery power to our server room for up to 3 hours. But every now and then, a power outage would last longer than that time window. And during an extended power outage, like most businesses, the majority of our desktop PCs had UPS units that would only last for 5-15 minutes. With the new power system, we now only need the UPS units to provide 10 seconds of power during an outage. After that, the generator system automatically kicks in. It is natural gas powered, so it can run for days, or even weeks. If for some reason gas service is not available, we can also run the generator off of propane.

The “transfer switch” is the brain of the backup power system. It continuously monitors the utility power for an interruption. If utility power fails, the transfer switch automatically starts the generator, transfers the electrical loads and restores power to our office. When utility power resumes, the transfer switch automatically reverses the process.

Being in the Computer Networking and IT field, we selected a generator system that offered a network card and monitoring software. We can remotely view the current status of the generator, view log files, perform start and stop tests, and even receive email messages and text messages whenever the generator starts or stops.

If you have a concern about being able to run your business and service your customers during extended utility power outage, please contact us. We’d be happy to share our experiences with you, discuss the technology, demonstrate our system, and introduce you to the company who designed and installed our system.

In late October, Robin Taylor from Channel 11 News interviewed Lloyd Wolf (President of Wolf Consulting, Inc.) for a story that aired on November 3, 2011 on wireless network security and cyber crime.

As part of the story, Robin and Lloyd went for a drive in her car, and Lloyd used a special software program on his laptop to scan for wireless networks. They drove down a 2-mile stretch of a business district, as well as a 1-mile stretch in a small residential neighborhood. In total, they found more than 350 wireless networks in just those 3-miles! The software that Lloyd was using showed that about 30% of these wireless networks were configured with no security, and another 20% were configured with the weakest security settings possible. While Lloyd told Robin that he expected to find many wireless networks and he expected to find many of them lacking proper security, even he was surprised at the large number of wireless networks discovered in such a small area. And he was surprised as well at the large percentage that were lacking proper security.

Here is a link to the video and transcript of the story that appeared on the air.

Wireless Networks Could Leave You Vulnerable

As Lloyd told Robin…. Wireless networks are certainly convenient, but they are slower, less reliable, and less secure than wired network connections. Here are a few security points that Lloyd mentioned to Robin.

1. Change the default password on your Wireless Access Point, as default passwords for most major hardware vendor are easily found on the internet.
2. A business and a home-user should always configure their Wireless Access Points to be Secure, rather than unsecure/Open
3. When configuring wireless security, do NOT chose the “WEP” (Wired Equivalent Privacy) option, as WEP has been demonstrated to have numerous flaws and is the weakest security algorithm. “WPA” (Wi-Fi Protected Access) is a better selection as it provide better security. And WPA2 is the latest and strongest wireless security option.
4. For additional security, configure the Wireless Access Point so that the SSID (Service Set Identifier, a name that identifies a particular wireless network) is NOT broadcast, and instead, must be known by the user in advance in order to connect.
5. For additional security, configure the Wireless Access Point so that it only accepts connections from specific MAC address (identifiers for network adapters), instead of accepting connections from any network adapter.

If you have any questions about your Computer Network, Security or IT support, please contact us so we can discuss options for making sure your business network is secure.

As systems and market demands continue to require better productivity and efficiency, it only follows that the software that businesses use also needs to upgrade sooner or later. Such is the case with Windows XP, which Microsoft will stop issuing support for in 2014.

Part of using any sort of software is the inevitable need to upgrade. Most if not all software needs to either be replaced and upgraded as the demands of the market entail more efficient processing of the various data and information a business handles.

Such is the case with Windows XP. While many continue to use this proven straightforward operating system, Microsoft has decided to stop support by the year 2014. Microsoft further recommends upgrading to its latest OS, Windows 7, in order for users to continue to receive OS support.

While there are some lines of business applications that have not been upgraded to work with Windows 7, most have — and there are alternative approaches. Also, your business needs the security and protection that only a current, up-to-date operating system can provide.

We understand that changing your OS will entail some expense, including new licenses, hardware, and some training. Fortunately, these things are designed to help you operate more efficiently and increase your productivity in the long run. But such change will take time, and if you are interested in starting to plan for an upgrade now, we’ll be happy to sit down with you and develop an upgrade process that meets your specific needs.

HTG Peer Groups, a worldwide network organization of IT solution providers announced award winners at its annual Summit in Dallas Texas in May, 2011. Lloyd Wolf was awarded Member of the Year.

“This is a proud moment and I want to thank my peers for this generous award” said Lloyd Wolf, President and CEO of Wolf Consulting, Inc. His company is a 22+ year old IT consulting firm based in Murrysville. The company is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and specializes in providing Computer Networking and IT Consulting services to small and mid-size businesses in the Greater Pittsburgh area.

“HTG is a group of people who are committed to making a difference every day by contributing their professional and personal skills to the success of others,” said Arlin Sorensen, founder and CEO of HTG Peer Groups. “Congratulations to this year’s winners who lead their own companies to greatness while having a profound impact on the entire channel community.” HTG has more than 250 member companies. Each peer group consists of 10-12 IT company owners and executives who work together and share resources and information to formulate and meet business goals such as strategic planning, best practices, process improvement and tools, and work-life excellence.

The four-day summit attracted more than 500 attendees from the 250 HTG member companies, along with 60 vendors. It offered workshops, clinics and presentations covering business and technology issues that face IT solution providers, and opportunities to network and consult with other attendees to build relationships and solve common challenges.

For more information about Wolf Consulting, Inc., visit www.wolfconsulting.com

For more information about HTG Peer Groups, visit www.htgpeergroups.com

A recent attack by cyber-criminals has highlighted the need for many SMBs to re-evaluate the security protocols between themselves and their bank. Hackers exploit weaknesses in such systems, and when successful, can siphon tens of thousands of dollars from your accounts.

In a recent attack, cyber-thieves managed to get away with $63,000 after they exploited vulnerabilities in the online payroll system of a small business with its bank.

First, the crooks managed to infiltrate the company’s system through a piece of malware called the Zeus Trojan. This gave them access to the company’s data, including the password and username used in transacting with the company’s bank. The thieves then created several new ghost employees and created payroll accounts for them, which they sent to the bank and authenticated using the company controller’s username and password. And to cover their tracks, the hackers erased the confirmation emails regarding the transaction.

This incident highlights the need for better security systems in both the business and their bank – as security experts cite online banking transactions as one of the favorite targets of cyber-criminals. Cyber-attacks such as this one exploit weaknesses in many existing systems that rely on very simple and automated authentication procedures to confirm transactions.

A direct threat to your business finances is not something to be taken lightly. You not only need to review your current online banking system, but also the current security protocols you have installed, since hackers and cyber-criminals are constantly updating Trojans and other malware to adapt to changing IT protection systems.

We encourage you to have us take a look at the systems you have in place to determine if you are at risk for attacks like these. Please do not hesitate to contact us and we will be happy to draw up custom security solutions that address your specific needs.

References:
Sold a Lemon in Internet Banking
Cybercrooks Drive Away With $63,000 from Car Dealership

With hackers and electronic thieves constantly on the lookout for the latest exploits and security breaches they can take advantage of, it is comforting to know that there are also people behind bold initiatives to make our web experiences much safer.

If you think hackers are the only ones doing their research to release newer and scarier viruses and malware on the web, think again. It is comforting to know that there are also very capable people doing what they can to make the internet a safer place – like Professor Dawn Song, associate professor at the University of California at Berkeley and MacArthur Foundation fellow.

In a nutshell, Professor Song has been looking at different ways to make the internet experience more secure. Her two initiatives – WebBlaze and BitBlaze – are aimed toward developers who want to create better and much more secure programs and applications.

WebBlaze is a compilation of different strategies from Song and other like minds who tackle different problems and solutions in all sorts of platforms, and BitBlaze is an analysis tool for malicious software. While we won’t go into too much detail (it involves very complicated math), the gist is that Song and her colleagues are drawing up some very solid solutions to constantly evolving security issues on the web.

It’s exciting to see developments like these in the security industry. As threats continue to evolve, so does the means through which they are fought. The more we use the internet and the more the online experience becomes integral to the day-to-day operations of businesses big and small, the more important securing your data and information becomes. And because of efforts such as Professor Song’s, we can expect security programs to be much more effective and efficient as time passes.

Know more about BitBlaze and WebBlaze

Learn more about Dawn Song here

If you are looking to assess and beef up your security systems, we’d be happy to sit down with you and take a look at improvements that can make your business and your data much more secure.

With the growth of social networking, it is becoming increasingly difficult to separate business connections with personal connections.

November 17, 2010 was declared by Jimmy Kimmel during his television show as “National Unfriend Day”, the opportunity for all Facebook users to declutter their Facebook pages by “unfriending” people in their friends’ lists. He claims that Facebook has been “cheapening” the idea of friendship. To many the idea was hilarious, but others are seriously considering the wisdom of unfriending.

Is Kimmel on to something here? Can unfriending benefit your online business?

Research shows that as social media gets bigger, we’re getting smaller. Brian Wong, a network marketer says it simply: “With the growth of social networking, I am finding it increasingly difficult to separate business connections and personal connections.” He says that having almost 1,000 friends on Facebook has made it difficult for him to see the feeds and updates of his “real” friends and important business partners.

Lately there is a growing trend of de-scaling on the internet. People have started “pruning” their social lives online. For example, the popular Farmville app lost 30 million players this year, and people are beginning to realize that conversations and comments are more important than a huge number of blog hits.

So how can de-scaling and unfriending help your business? The drive to be more intimate can benefit your business by allowing you to form a tighter circle of customers, more successfully establishing you as a preferred channel for consumption.

Luckily, there are tools that can help you descale your social networks:

1. Path – Offers small-scale communities where people feel more comfortable sharing personal information. It controls who can view your information and does not include features that make your content viral.
2. Letter.ly – A subscription-based newsletter for bloggers who feel that public posts decrease the quality of conversations. This newsletter opens discussion only to people who pay, or who are privately invited to read a blog post.
3. GroupMe – A texting app which limits your group text participants to only 14, to ensure that meaningful dialogues take place.

What about the flip side of unfriending and descaling? While you’re considering who to eliminate from your social circles, your contacts are likely doing the same. Here are some tips to help you make their cuts:

1.       Be selective in your communications.
Of course, your product is important – to you. But not every little detail is as important to your audience. Be sure to focus on key features and benefits from your audience’s perspective.

2.       Stay on topic.
Always give relevant communications to your customers, and never rant or badmouth competitors. This is a sure way to lose customers.

3.       Provide value.
In addition to talking about your product or service, find ways to provide value to your circle of friends. Understand topics and pain points important to them, and provide valuable information and advice to help them succeed. You’ll soon come to be considered as a valuable resource to your contacts – one that they want to keep in their online social groups.

One thing is clear: quality is still more important than quantity, especially in the current economic downturn when people are downsizing everything. Start “pruning” your social network – and take steps to avoid being pruned – and you’ll reap the benefits of having a tight circle of loyal friends and customers.