IT Support, Managed Services, Cloud Computing

CSK is a Knoxville, TN Information Technology (IT) services provider specializing in Healthcare, primarily physicians. We provider Cloud Hosting, Managed Services, Support and Special Projects such as VoIP, Virtualization & Storage, Security and Consulting. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-8066387-3']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();

[cskblog-blog]

Is a Second Internet in the Future?

Check out this post from Inc.com

http://www.inc.com/articles/201108/what-a-second-internet-means-for-small-business.html

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The Facebook Video Scam, Beware

This is old news now, but worth reminding everyone about one more time. 

Facebook seems unable to stop scammers from circulating malicious Web links that install fake antivirus software on victims' computers.

The scam was spotted Tuesday by antivirus vendor Sophos. At that time the criminals behind it were luring victims into installing the software by offering links purportedly to a video of disgraced former International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn and a hotel maid. On Wednesday the scam switched and the link was supposed to be an X-rated video of celebrities Rihanna and Hayden Panettiere.

In both cases there is no such video. People who click on the link are sent to a website that tries to install the fake antivirus software. The scam is slightly different, depending on whether the victim is using a Mac or a PC. On the PC, the site tells victims that they need to install the latest version of Adobe Flash Player to watch the video. But the software they install is actually the fake antivirus program.

To read more click the link below:

[cskblog-blog]

Email Marketing, Make It Effective for You

Most business owners, marketers and sales people utilize E-mail Marketing frequently as a means of reaching a large number of prospects and clients cheaply, quickly and effectively.  Constant Contact, Mail Chimp and Vertical Response are very popular tools for managing email marketing programs.  If you are a small business it fits in your budget, it's the effective and you see results, so email marketing should never be overlooked, its a no brain-er. 

According to an industry expert, Ramon Ray and the Smallbiztechnology.com team, you should treat Email Marketing like a 6 course meal. In this post from the business insider blog they share practical tips and ideas on making email marketing effective. Here are some tips on creating an effective email campaign, the content keys and a link to the original post:

The subject line: Communicates benefit, reason to act and time required to realize the benefit

Headline/intro: Clarifies the intent of the communication

Act I: Honest and direct. Focused on driving action

Act 2: Here is where folks can talk about themselves if they must

Act 3: Quickly get back to talking about the recipient

The Ask: After 2 or more calls to action delivered in the context of the evidence/support section, there is room for a more transaction “ask”.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/treat-your-email-marketing-like-a-6-course-meal-and-see-more-clicks-2011-6#ixzz1ODc11rTH

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CSK Focus on Sustainability

Today we launched our corporate garden. Chad and I (Paul) talked about this a few weeks ago and talked about a loose plan for planting our garden at the CSK offices in West Knoxville. Chad scoped out the spot, and he and his wife put the garden together today. These are the specs:

640 lbs of topsoil

50 lbs of manure compost

3 cubic feet of peat moss compressed 

1 green bell

1 yellow bell

1 banana pepper

3 burp-less cucumbers with small trellis

5 beefsteak tomatoes

And a soaker hose for easy watering

Fertilized with seaweed concentrate. 

The natural question is why? We believe that sustainability of this earth is critical and take it seriously. Recently we implemented a corporate wellness program, contributing to our employees HSA for various activities such as annual physicals, gym memberships, trail, road and bike races and much more. Shortly after implemented our "snack" policy, eradicating our office of most processed foods,sugars, high-fructose corn syrup and any junk food and replacing them with granola, oatmeal, nuts, fresh fruit, dried fruit, water and vitamin water.

The next step was our garden and here it is. Come by and get some tomatoes, cucumbers or peppers!

[cskblog-blog]

Consumer vs. Commercial Online Backup

I am often asked about using consumer facing products like Mozy and Carbonite for businesses. There is a lot to discuss here, but I have re-posted a link to an industry blog for companies like CSK. While this is geared towards a situation that occurred and recommendations for positioning for selling MSP based solutions, it is very relevant. Check it out - one excerpt that is worth noting: Backup is important but restore times are even more important

Here is the full post: http://bit.ly/jg2Y0D

Learn more by visiting our website: http://www.csk-tech.com 

Follow-us online:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/csktechnologies

Twitter: http://twitter.com/csktechnologies

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Why Every Kid in America Needs an iPad

Interesting article, worth reading as the iPad proliferates society. Keep in mind that right here in Knoxville our most well known private school, Webb School of Knoxville, is requiring the all the kids in 4th grade and up use iPads starting in the 2011 - 2012 school year. That article is linked below as well.

"Letting kids use or own iPads is controversial. Parents, teachers and others aren’t so sure about letting kids get sucked into yet another electronic diversion. Pilot programs at a few schools around the country to experiment with iPad-based learning tools are often met with criticism by parents and teachers alike.

Everybody’s asking: Are iPads healthy for children?

I’m here to tell you: That’s the wrong question.

The right question is this: Is the iPad a healthy *replacement* for TV? And I believe the answer is a resounding yes.

The iPad is scary because it’s new. But most parents have already accepted a gigantic role for something truly in the lives of their children: television. The content kids see on their TV sets is mostly mind-numbing, soul-deadening, formulaic consumerist crap, punctuated by sophisticated ad campaigns designed to transform children into mindless consumers."

http://www.cultofmac.com/why-every-child-in-america-needs-an-ipad/93887

Article in the Knoxville News Sentinel regarding Webb School:

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/feb/06/turning-the-electronic-page/

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Highlighting our good friend Don Cook

This article was published in the East Tennessee Medical News this month on our good friend and client Don Cook of Baptist Eye Surgeons. Don is new at BES, but we have already enjoyed getting to know him. I can say personally that what Don says here is true. He is straight up, honest, trustworthy, detailed and does what he says. 

Thanks Don and great article!

http://www.easttnmedicalnews.com/news.php?viewStory=1978

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Is Your Head in the Cloud?

This is a re-post of an article written by our CEO, Paul Sponcia, and published in the East Tennessee Medical News this month. 

http://www.easttnmedicalnews.com/news.php?viewStory=1976

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Your Mac Isn't so Safe Anymore

Post By Chris Kennedy: Founder, President & CTO of CSK Technologies:

As I write this, know that I am a Mac user and love my MacBook Pro, but an interesting shift in the computing industry has been at play. For years, as a Mac user, I have enjoyed "Security by Obscurity".  What I mean by this is that for years Apple's Mac platform has only held 4-5% of the computer market and because of this low market penetration, hackers and other internet "bad-guys" have for the most part ignored it.  Why create Malware for Mac OS X when you can create it for Windows and reach 90%+ of the computer users in the world?

However, with the introduction of iOS (iPhone, iPad, etc.) and the renewed interest in Mac OS X and Mac computers that these have fostered, those days are fast coming to an end.  Recently ZDNet posted an interesting article about how today's current trend of social-engineered Malware attacks are coming to a Mac near you:

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/what-a-mac-malware-attack-looks-like/3269

After reading that article, I thought it pertinent to remind everyone that no matter what type of computer you use, security should be at the forefront of your mind.  Just because you use a Mac and have watched all the Apple commercial's with the two guys, one a Mac and the other a PC, discussing advantages of the Mac platform and its inherent security; don’t fall prey to complacency.  All Mac users should make sure they Anti-Virus/Malware software installed and up to date and more importantly,  know what Anti-Virus software you have and what it's prompts look like.  The movement of social-engineering & malware attacks attempt to cloak themselves in the guise of your friendly and helpful Anti-Virus software in order to dupe you into installing their malicious code.  If you receive such a prompt telling you that your computer is infected and it is not coming from the Anti-Virus software you know you have installed, then beware or you will be compromised. 

Happy Computing!

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At this point who doesn't think the Blackberry is dead?

I was an avid fan

I had a Blackberry in 1996

I loved the true QWERTY keyboard

It was fast

Email was easy

It worked

Now, I have used an iPhone since 2009 and haven't looked back. Most everyone I know has either an iPhone or a Droid based device - except for some of my older family members. More news about RIM seems to me like death spiral, gasping for breath, drowning in blunder after blunder. 

What phone do you have?

http://thisismynext.com/2011/05/05/blackberry-os7-bold9900-playbook-marketshare-confusion/

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Online Safety Refresher: Beware of Phishing Scams

This is an excerpt from an O'Reily article (NOT Bill O'Reily) on Phishing Scams and Online Safety. Before the excerpt we want to remind you that the best approach is an outside in approach:

Protect the Edge: Utilize Cloud based content filtering, Cloud based Spam and Antivirus Filtering and a Firewall to protect your internet connection

Protect the Inside: Ensure you have up to date Antivirus software on all computers and servers. Utilize network security policies such as complex passwords, force change passwords every 90-180 days, keep a password digest and limit people's ability to install software on their computers. 

Now, it's time for a really brief review of online safety, at least with respect to phishy email:

·         Never trust any email communication asking for your credit card number. If a vendor does business with you, they know your credit card number already. If they need to "confirm" it, they can find some other way to contact you.

·         Never click on a link in an email message; you don't know where that's taking you. If you receive email from Amazon asking you for information, and you think it might be legitimate, type the URL into the browser yourself. Even if it's long.

·         Since phishes tell you your credit card account has been put on hold, you might as well check. Again, don't click on the link in the email; type it in yourself. If your account has actually been suspended, the vendor will make it easy for you to find out.

·         Do check your vendor's policy on their use of email. Amazon's policy lists information they will not ask for (including credit card numbers), and states that they won't ask you to verify your account information by clicking on a link in an email, etc. Unfortunately, finding their policy page could be easier than it is. There are other sites like phishtank that purport to maintain a global database of phishing sites. Don't hesitate to use them.

·         To the extent that the vendor allows you to report phishing attempts, do so. I have not always found vendors to be proactive, and to be honest, it's so easy to set up a phishing site (you can find plenty of kits for doing so online), that it's really like playing Whac-A-Mole: shut one down and two more pop up. But hey, it makes you feel like you're accomplishing something. Amazon asks you to forward suspicious email to [email protected], and responds with an email message giving advice similar to what I've outlined above

Be careful online. For more info contact us at:

[email protected] or online at http://www.csk-tech.com

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Beware of Bin Laden Facebook Scam

Pay close attention and DO NOT open anything even remotely close to this. It is setup as video to see his death, but is not real obviously. Here is an excerpt and the link:

Multiple users are falling victims into a fast-spreading Facebook scam, using the “Osama EXECUTION video” theme.

Upon clicking on the tiny.cc shortened URL — described as Special Forces hit squad put a bullet in the head of Bin Laden! — users are asked to copy and paste a tiny javascript code into their browsers in order to reveal the video. By doing so, they will automatically post a link of the spreading instructions on the walls of their friends.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/osama-execution-video-scam-spreading-on-facebook/8607

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Knoxville's Mayoral Race, It's Important to Everyone

This years Mayoral race is one of the most pivotal in years, regardless of where you live. Knoxville is at a tipping point and the next mayor is going to tip the scale one way or another. Regardless of where you lean it's important to be:

Aware

Educated

Informed

Involved

Read a little about two of the candidates, Mark Padgett and Madeline Rogero:

Mark: http://bit.ly/lxxYyy

Madeline: http://bit.ly/lPKOsY

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Army readies apps for Android combat device

The U.S. Army is finalizing a software framework for Android-based devices that will let third-party software developers createinteroperable mobile apps for combat soldiers. It's already being tested by the 82nd Airborne Division on a prototype device, dubbed the Joint Battle Command-Platform, or JBC-P Handheld.

The software framework is called the Mobile/Handheld Computing Environment, or CE. It guides application developers so the resulting code is secure, and will mesh with apps for other tactical systems, such as air support, logistics and armor, according to a news story by the Army News Service.

Learn more about us @ http://www.csk-tech.com

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Not your daddy's business cards. There is a next generation business card coming.

Business cards are a reality, a need, an important tool in the life of a business owner, sales or marketing individual, executive, etc. When you meet someone and they want to get your info they still ask for a business card. Why is that? With all the technology shouldn't we just "bump" info, or email it, or something digital? Well maybe in the future, but right now business cards are necessary and not going anywhere. BUT, there is a tide swelling.....check this post out about what business cards might be like in the near future.

http://www.businessinsider.com/smart-business-cards--rehashing-hashable-2011-3

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A private social network?

There is a TON of work going on in the space of social networking for the enterprise, not just the consumer. It is the next frontier of communication, collaboration, team work and integration across the globe. Facebook I'm sure wants to be this overall engine, but it will be tough for them at some levels until people don't see it as a consumer tool. In the mean time there are a lot of companies working on this. This demo is long, but interesting. If you want to know what the future of this might look like then this is a good place to start:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHM8YzfDrTE

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Do you have a life plan?

A lot of us have business plans, if you don't you should, but do any of us have a life plan? Should you even have a life plan? Is this too "structured" for life?

Here are some great resources for a life plan:

http://michaelhyatt.com/creating-a-life-plan.html

http://michaelhyatt.com/are-you-ready-to-start-living-your-life-on-purpose.html

http://www.evotional.com/2005/06/deferred-life-plan.html

http://www.evotional.com/2008/01/life-goals.html

http://www.evotional.com/2008/01/ten-steps-to-setting-goals.html