Archive for March 26, 2014

A Countdown Clock To XP’s Demise

Posted in Commentary with tags on March 26, 2014 by itnerd

I got an e-mail yesterday from 10ZiG Technology who bills themselves as the emerging market leader in development of Thin Client Technology, with a primary focus in the Desktop Virtualisation market space. They pointed out that Windows XP is about to sail off into the sunset on April 8th, and to celebrate that, they have created a countdown clock along with  a list of 10 things we think nobody will honestly miss about Windows XP.

So, will you miss Windows XP?

Telus Acquiring Groupe Enode Inc.

Posted in Commentary with tags on March 26, 2014 by itnerd

Telus announced yesterday that they were acquiring Enode, a Quebec City-based security IT firm specializing in providing businesses and government agencies with cutting-edge technologies and services for security and risk management. This acquisition will enhance Telus Security Solution’s end-to-end provision of IT security for businesses in Quebec and across Canada while also protecting its customers’ digital data from security threats. This adds to Telus sizeable data centre infrastructure and investments in IT and makes Telus a major end to end provider.

Enode employees will be integrated into Telus starting April 1st.

BlackBerry Secure Work Space Gets FIPS 140-2 Certification

Posted in Commentary with tags on March 26, 2014 by itnerd

BlackBerry today announced that Secure Work Space for iOS and Android hit a new security standard.

With Secure Work Space, BES10 protocols for data-at-rest and data-in-transit are extended to iOS and Android devices, including smartphones and tablets. This means data is protected while traversing networks as well as within the walls of the enterprise. Administrators can configure, secure, wipe and interact within the Secure Work Space on a device, while employees can enjoy the device for personal use. The features make Secure Work Space an ideal solution for organizations that desire the flexibility of a BYOD program with the control they require for mobile communications.

This solution received the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 certified. The FIPS certification will allow security-conscious organizations, including U.S. and Canadian government agencies, to confidently deploy Secure Work Space and provide many administrators with a stronger sense of confidence as they keep up with demand to manage an array of devices.

For more information about Secure Work Space and other BlackBerry security related matters, check out this blog entry from BlackBerry.

Review: AVG Antivirus For Mac

Posted in Products with tags on March 26, 2014 by itnerd

AVG has been around the antivirus game for a very long time. So when they quietly released a Mac focused antivirus product, it got my attention. I just had to try it.

Installation was simple. A few clicks, enter your password, done. It doesn’t get any simpler. Once you install it I recommend that you scan your Mac. It will take a while, but it will make sure that you’re threat free. Now once you know that you’re threat free, AVG Antivirus For Mac will work in the background to make sure you stay threat free. Now if you’re suspicious about something, you can open up AVG Antivirus For Mac from the menu bar and drop the suspect item onto it to get an instant answer as to how safe it is or isn’t. All the controls are simple. Perhaps a bit too simple. There’s not a whole lot of options here other than on and off for the real time scanning and drag and drop scanning. More advanced users may be disappointed, though I will not that it doesn’t make the product any less effective. Another thing to note is that it apparently does updates in the background, but you cannot force it to update on demand. The most that you get in terms of knowing that are up to date is a notification saying that “protection is up to date.” In terms of speed, the first scan is slow. But first scans of your entire computer regardless of antivirus product or platform are always slow. I did note that in everyday use with the real time scanning enabled, I noted that my Mac was a touch faster when compared with having another antivirus application installed. That’s a good thing as an antivirus application that slows down your computer is a #fail. The most important thing is how it protects your computer. Using the European Institute for Computer Anti-Virus Research (EICAR) test file, I found that AVG Antivirus For Mac instantly blocked it. That’s good as if it will stop the test file instantly, it will stop any other threat that could harm you.

Would I recommend it? Yes I would for users who need a simple but effective antivirus product for their Mac at home. Check out AVG Antivirus For Mac if you need to put an antivirus product on your Mac. Which you should if you want to be safe.