Tag: Point-of-Sale-Merchandising-Supplier-Pune

Firewall: Stopping the Internet Barbarians at the Gateway!

Movies and TV are to have us believe that a “firewall” is some form of ultra high-tech obstacle that protects sensitive information. In this world of fiction, savvy hackers are also able to type away – seemingly at random – to gain access to a computer. But in reality a firewall is just a basic program or simple piece of hardware that any computer user, especially those with a broadband connection should have running at all times.

If your computer is connected to the Internet via a broadband connection then it has an Internet Protocol signature, or IP address. Other online users can access that IP address, and this is why a firewall becomes so important. A firewall can provide secure access to the Internet, allowing safe traffic into and out of your computer or private network, while at the same time automatically blocking intruders and hackers. Additionally, the firewall gives you the power to decide which programs should be able to connect to the Internet, while also shielding you from being attacked through security holes in unpatched software.

And while movies make us believe that firewalls are some advanced technology, these are actually very simple products that come in a variety of forms. The first type is the hardware firewall, which is an application built into your DSL, cable or wireless router. In this case, the firewall is the first line of defense and works by a technique called packet filter, examining the header of a packet and thus determining its source and destination address. This information is then compared to a set of predefined or user-created rules that determine whether the packet is to be forwarded or dropped. An advanced system called Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) even looks for other characteristics, including the origin and whether incoming traffic is actually a response to outgoing connections, such as a Web page request. The downside of hardware firewalls is that they can inadvertently treat any local network traffic as safe, which certainly won’t halt the spread of viruses or other threats if even one computer on the network is contaminated.

The alternative is a software firewall, which is essentially a program that screens the data as it arrives on the network. But no matter which version is in place, all information passes through the firewall, and those that do not meet a specified security criteria are blocked. There are several types of methods that software firewalls use to block unauthorized connections to the computer. These include a packet filter – similar to the hardware firewall technique – that looks at each packet of data that enters or leaves the network, accepting or rejecting it based on the user-defined rules. It is effective, but susceptible to spoof IP addresses – that is where the sender’s IP address has been changed to appear as an authorized address. A proxy server can intercept all data entering and leaving the network and it effectively hides the true IP addresses, but this adds difficultly in allowing an authorized outside computer to access the protected computer. Additionally, gateways can be set up to allow specific connections with approved access for specific programs – such as games – or from authorized outside IP addresses. Users should also determine their firewall needs, based on how they use their computers.

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Have you written a letter home to your employees?

In our world of information overload it’s easy to forget
about the value of simple written communication.  A letter home from an owner, president, CEO
or boss can be a powerful communications tool that reaches employees and their
families.

Letters home can be written to sum up business goals, report
on results or reinforce forecasts. A good letter does not have to be more than
a page and a half long.  It should
include a welcome greeting, content and basic message and thanks to employees.

The beginning of the year is a great time to write a letter
home.  It’s not too late to write a thank
you for the results of 2007 and an overview of 2008.  If the forecast looks murky or negative you
can encourage employees to take steps to save money, increase profits, improve
customer service or boost sales.

Sending the message by email or only in the workplace does
not have the same potential impact.  A
letter home is often read by a spouse, parent or even a child. This can
stimulate discussion about work that gives the employee a chance to report on
successes and plans for the future.  Even
when the forecast is not rosy family members may have ideas or input to
encourage the employee to support company efforts.

Corny as it sounds letters home reinforce the feeling of
being on a team. After the letter is written have someone outside of the
executive office read it to make certain that the message is clearly conveyed.
If you are small enough personalized, handwritten notes on the letter will add
to the impact.

For the cost of postage you can spread a consistent
message.  Whether you send letters once a
year, twice or quarterly it’s a low cost way to keep employees informed.