Rich Arden

Career Advice, Resumes, Interview, IT, and HR Secrets

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Our attitude is the crayon that colors our world.

Allen Klein 1931-2009, Businessman and Talent Agent

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Five Key Points for Data Migration

There is a lot at stake in a data migration. Business information is key to business operations so specific goals need to be established. Data must be migrated from the source location to the target location completely and accurately. The process needs to be done quickly with as short a downtime window as possible. And, finally, the cost must be manageable. Experienced teams approach data migration projects using best practices and industry proven methodologies. They design a data migration that takes into account the unique requirements of the organization and then develop and deploy the successful data migration step, by step, by step. Top 5 Key Points for Migration   1. Changing constituent needs require system and process changes with minimal service disruption. As systems and processes evolve to meet the changing needs of constituents, information is your vital operational asset. When it becomes necessary to migrate data and applications to meet those needs, it must happen as efficiently as possible, with reduced downtime, and with as little business disruption as possible. 2. Protecting your data during system changes is essential. Moving large amounts of data can be hazardous and time-consuming. Potential exists for data loss and reduced productivity. Protecting that data is the most significant thing you can do. 3. The migration process must be clearly defined. Availability, security, and reliability must be engineered into every process from start to finish. Proven methodologies are leveraged along with skills and expertise to ensure an effective, timely, and efficient data migration. 4. Efficient data migration strategy includes indentifying infrastructure vulnerabilities. Specific migration strategy accounts for unforeseen interruptions, applications that need to be ported, an application integration plan, resource needs, operational windows and associated risks. 5. Stability and availability for mission critical applications are key factors. Improved stability, availability, and greater storage management, along with rapid implementation and predictable costs, are key benefits in successful migration. A Well-Planned Migration is the Key to a Successful Migration.

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IT Consolidation - Not a Choice but a Must

Many IT consolidation projects go on, even in such a bad economy, that only because for many companies, consolidation is not an option, but a must-do task in order to survive.  IT workers, make sure you get a share of the big pie, - find the project, get to job, ask for more money...

Over the last decade companies have invested heavily in IT systems, adding and expanding as market needs required. The complexity of systems integration has increased and forced more investments in ongoing maintenance. Now is the time to revisit IT strategy and look for ways to consolidate your IT infrastructure to improve responsiveness, reduce costs, and increase performance. Through carefully planned consolidation, you can create a flexible, scalable IT environment that supports future growth and change. Top 5 Reasons for Consolidation   1. Streamline IT management and improve decision making. Centralized control and management of systems, greater access to information, and increased availability of cross agency information results in more effective decision making. 2. Save resources, money, and reinvest funds. Consolidating or sharing redundant systems and processes results in efficient and effective use of all resources, allowing for reinvestment of funds. It also allows for reallocation and reinvestment of assets. 3. Streamline provision of customer services. Customer expectations are driving the need to consolidate for a seamless customer experience. Services that are directly citizen-facing must ensure availability through central data repositories, portals, and email. 4. Launch new services faster and easier. The benefits of consolidation include improved ability to launch new services more quickly and with less effort. 5. Improve security. Security is likely to increase through consolidation because there are fewer endpoints for attack, repeatable practices, and you can make capital investments needed in critical security infrastructure. Any additional security concerns from having concentrated assets that can be compromised is mitigated through a disaster recovery and business continuity plan. Reap the benefits of consolidation…simplicity, agility, and value.

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What You Need to Know about Virtualization

Virtualization is a hot topic in IT.  If you work in systems/network/database field, make it into your resume and be prepared to address questions about Virtualization.

Virtualization dramatically improves the efficiency and availability of resources and applications in your organization. Instead of the old "one server, one application" model, virtualization lets you run multiple virtual machines on a single physical machine, sharing the resources of the single computer across multiple environments. Virtualizing your IT infrastructure lets you reduce IT costs while increasing the efficiency, utilization, and flexibility of your existing assets. Top 5 Reasons for Virtualization 1. Get more out of your existing resources. Pool common infrastructure resources and break the legacy "one application to one server" model with server consolidation. 2. Reduce datacenter costs by reducing your physical infrastructure and improving your server to admin ratio. Fewer servers and related IT hardware means reduced real estate and reduced power and cooling requirements. Better management tools let you improve your server to admin ratio so personnel can be more effectively utilized. 3. Increase availability of hardware and applications for improved business continuity. Securely backup and migrate entire virtual environments with no interruption in service. Eliminate planned downtime and recover immediately from unplanned issues. 4. Gain operational flexibility. Respond to change with dynamic resource management, faster server provisioning, and improved desktop and application deployment. 5. Improve desktop manageability and security. Deploy, manage, and monitor secure desktop environments that users can access locally or remotely, with or without a network connection, on almost any standard desktop, laptop, or tablet PC. Put the power of virtualization to work for you today.

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Men's Health - One Year Free Digital

Get 1 year free subscription of Men's Health magazine digital edition or other health magazines.

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Need to create account.  Sign-up on http://www.texterity.com/

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Delivered from http://www.menshealth-digital.com/ - Reading online or download PDF file.

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Free subscription - 4 paper issues mailed to you a year.  Learn about e-commerce, internet marketing, web design, etc.  A good resource for part-time online business.

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Dumb and Successful

Are other people really smarter than you are? I ask because I always felt so dumb as a kid and have learned that the most successful business owners are not smarter than the average person, yet they achieve much better results. Can it be that they are just doing different things that helps them achieve better results? For example - I learned that some of the most successful business owners take 15 to 30 minutes every morning to create a list of the three highest income and highest impact producing activities to accomplish that day. In doing this, they focus on the critical few things that will generate the most income instead of the trivial many things that most business owners focus on. Do you do this?

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The Key to Your Future is in IT Security - Free Certification Exam Practice

This is the hottest bundle you’ll see and it’s all free for a limited time.

http://www.examforce.com/offer/free-it-security-practice-exams

What’s in this bundle

Each Practice Exam includes 50 questions, answers, and detailed explanations:

CompTIA Security+ SY0-301

CASP CompTIA Advanced Security Professional

CISSP

Cisco 640-553 CCNA Security (IINS)

Certified Wireless Security Professional

Certified Information Security Manager

Why Should You trust ExamForce?

All our materials are brain dump free. We use only the best reference material and subject matter experts, recognized by the industry. Our partners include CompTIA and top publishers like Sybex and ExamCram.

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Debenu PDF Maximus for PC Free Limited Time Offer

BitsDuJour offers downloads of Debenu PDF Maximus for Windows for free. That's $249 off and the lowest price we could find for this software. It allows you to automate PDF workflows, split/merge PDFs, convert images to PDF, apply stamps and watermarks, extract text, and more. Deal ends July 10 at 3 am ET.

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Six Majors for Guaranteed Employment

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Mid-Career Crisis Musings

Try and figure out where are you headed, do you know yourself well enough. I find mid-career crisis to be a very common problem in companies today.  The super ambitious few who want to go all the way to the top will usually get the attention they need and get what they want.  Then you have ambitious employees that not always are aiming for top-management positions, but want to work in a demanding and meaningful job applicable to their education and experience. But too often, those persons don't get the attention of management and leaders, and they tend to find them self in a stagnant job and not getting any attention or getting involved in exciting projects in the company. Then looking at new employees arriving, and making progress in the company adds to the frustration.  It becomes a catch 22, where the employee becomes more and more de-motivated, and thus receiving less attention from managers.  .  The leaders sometimes focus only on the super ambitious and those who are climbing the ladder, while not paying attention to skilled employees in the level below.  By doing so, they can usually find invaluable knowledge and experience for the good of their corporation.

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The Importance of Vacations

Everyone knows it's good to take time off and relax. But many American workers act as if it's news to them. They don't take all the time off they have coming to them.

Employees who avoid rest and relaxation may be hurting themselves. A number of studies show leisure time – including vacation time from work – is good for your emotional and physical health, and for your work performance.

The Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial for the Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease followed 12,000 men with high risk for coronary heart disease over nine years. The findings? The men who failed to take annual vacations were at 21 percent higher risk of death from all causes and were 32 percent more likely to die from heart attack.

The Framingham Heart Study, which began in 1948, found that women who regularly skipped vacations (only indulging once every six years or less often) were almost eight times more likely to develop coronary heart disease than women who averaged two vacations a year.

Research by the Boston Consulting Group found that high-level professionals who were required to take time off were significantly more productive overall than those who spent more time working.

Of course, not everyone has a week or two of vacation time stored up, or the money for a cruise or resort vacation. How can you make your time off count?

Plan wisely. Be thoughtful about what kind of vacation you and your family will most enjoy. If flying makes you anxious, plan a road trip instead. If your toddler screams when trapped in a car seat more than twenty minutes, choose a child-friendly base at a nearby destination.

Mind your budget. A vacation you can’t really afford will increase your stress, not decrease it. Check out state and national parks or rent a cabin by the lake. If money's really tight, play tourist in your own backyard. Plan a scenic hike one day and visit a local art museum the next.

Disconnect. Working remotely is great, but it's not a vacation. If you know you'll be tempted to check your email five times a day, leave your phone and laptop at home. The American workforce lags behind those of other industrialized nations when it comes to taking their allotted time off. Do yourself a favor. Take the time off you have coming to you and enjoy yourself. Then come back to work rested and ready to go!

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LinkedIn Break-in

 An attacker with knowledge of the SHA-1 hashing algorithm could perform a brute force attack against the hashed records to retrieve the plain text information.  If the plain text information is retrieved, attackers could then attempt a mass phishing campaign using the email addresses they’ve deciphered. Attackers could also use the passwords obtained from this compromise to attempt to log into other services which may be using the same password. Examples include other social networking sites such as Facebook or possibly corporate resources such as web accessible e-mail. 

All LinkedIn users are urged to change their passwords immediately via the LinkedIn website.  If a LinkedIn password was used on other sites or accounts, that password should be changed immediately.  Users are reminded user different passwords for different accounts and to never use a work password on other other accounts. Due of the possibility of phishing, users should be wary of emails purporting to be from LinkedIn, especially emails regarding password changes or account information.  Emails from LinkedIn regarding password or account changes will not contain links.  (See LinkedIn¹s blog for further details).

 References

http://blog.linkedin.com/

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/646-million-linkedin-passwords-leaked-online/79290

http://erratasec.blogspot.com/2012/06/confirmed-linkedin-6mil-password-dump.html

[jakeryannnn-deactivated20110913]

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BELIEVE YOU CAN.

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Forget about stereotyping.  That explains why Germany makes the best machines, and be able to stay away from economic trouble.

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