AV-company Kaspersky Lab has just released its forecast for the IT threat landscape for the years 2011 – 2020.
During the last decade, the report notes the following well-known trends:
Mobility and Miniaturization
Since devices have become small in size, and the Internet can now be accessed from almost any location on Earth. Wireless networks have become the method-of-choice for Internet connection, making their Outlook files and folders vulnerable for data loss/theft.
Virus writing has evolved into Cybercrime
Hackers use computers and the Internet for identity theft, selling contraband, stalking or attacking organizations with malevolent programs such as Trojans. The hacker-for-fame is gone and replaced by sophisticated cybercriminals.
Windows keeps on maintaining its leading position
The majority of organizations and individuals keep on using Microsoft products, including Outlook.
Also during the coming decade, Microsoft (and Outlook) will remain a dominant force, especially in business. To limit the damage of email loss or breach, enterprises need to have a top-notch Outlook backup solution in place. Especially if a company is traded on the stock exchange and/or has to comply with e.g., SOX, HIPAA, GLB Act, DCI DSS, and FISMA, the PST files and folders must be properly backed up and available.
By 2020, the majority of the organizations and individuals will conduct their transactions online, with transaction statements and confirmations sent via email. Until biometric user identification and payment protection systems are in fully in place, emails must be backed up in case of cybercrime or data leaks.
Cybercrime in 2020 will see a continuing face-off between hackers/cybercriminals and corporate IT specialists. Since email files and folders contain valuable data, it will remain an attractive target. EdgeSafe PST2PST backup solution incrementally backs up and restores these valuable PST files and folders.
The old adage “Forewarned is forearmed” is more relevant than ever – and EdgeSafe PST2PST is a valuable addition to the IT resources of enterprises.
Want to learn more? Contact us for a free trial at sales@datamills.com or click here for the contact form.
(Image courtesy of © Jim Nuttle for Forbes.com)
Corporate users as well as home users prefer Microsoft Outlook as their default email client for sending and receiving mails. As we all know, Outlook has been around for a long time - even before the advance of web based email applications.
Microsoft Outlook is a local data store where the user emails/messages are stored. It is know as Personal Storage Table (PST). Backing up emails and folders in Outlook could comprise backing up the PST files. For enterprises, proper backup normally requires a magnitude of man hours as well as technical resources.
With this in mind, more and more enterprises opt for using DataMills’ EdgeSafe PST2PST backup solution. EdgeSafe PST2PST solution works is in a multi-tier way:
- The control station software (the core program that resides on server side)
- The PST2PST backup agent (this resides on individual user desktops)
- The central backup storage (this is where the files are backed up and it can be as small as a USB flash drive or as large as a SAN)
All backups are done in an incremental fashion with only the newer changes to files being backed up. This also translates in less bandwidth use and efficient use of network resources.
The role of each of the components is as follows:
- The Control Station - the central monitoring and management application.
It generates reports of the backups taken and sets up and displays alerts. It auto-creates a secure backup folder for each user managed and pushes different configurations for each of the PST2PST client (based on the groups they belong to). - The PST2PST Backup Agent - responsible for actual user- PSTs as per settings.
It can backup these files even while users are using Outlook. Therefore there is no need to close Outlook for backing up. It can split large-sized PST files (over 2 GB ) as well as backing up without taking too much of bandwidth. It then finally backs up various Outlook item types (calendars, contacts, emails etc) based on how the configuration is pushed from the control station. - The Central Backup Storage - depends on the environment where PST2PST is deployed.
For very small networks this can be a single desktop with large storage space. For large networks, this can be a full-fledged SAN. However, it is advisable that the server/system on which the Control Station is installed is not used as a central backup storage The reason for this is to eliminate single point of failure and to keep the load to a minimum.
In short, EdgeSafe PST2PST is a centrally managed enterprise solution that enables easy backup of individual user’s PST files without disrupting the daily work schedule of users. EdgeSafe PST2PST keeps the backups, monitors for changes and auto- updates backups in a secure and reliable way.
For a free trial or more information, contact DataMills at info@datamillis.com
Sheridan County was looking for a solution to back up its local Outlook data files (PST files) on its Exchange Server, as well as PST files connected to hosted email servers over POP3 connection. After looking at several solutions, Sheridan Country, MT selected DataMills’ EdgeSafe PST2PST Backup.
“EdgeSafe PST2PST Backup not only prevents our data from being compromised, but also allows us to use Microsoft Outlook® the way it was meant to be used. We especially like the transparent and consistent backup onto our central network location” said Scott Chandler, IT Specialist at Sheridan County. “For me as a system manager, EdgeSafe PST2PST Backup saves me time and effort, since the backup runs transparently without any user intervention. Since it is centrally deployed and configured it is easy to manage, also due to detailed backup reports that I can access easily.”
Yoram Barzilai, CEO of DataMills, added: “Another unique feature of our EdgeSafe is that it also saves time for Outlook users, since they do not have to close Outlook while the backup is running. Our solution only synchronizes the new Outlook items to the backup file instead of copying the entire file over and over again, which enables savings of network bandwidth.”
“Since EdgeSafe PST Backup can backup to a network share, it creates a secure backup folder for each user in a way that no other user, except for the system administrator, can access,” he added. “As for restore, this can easily be done by either the system administrator or as a “self service restore” by the user if thus allowed by the enterprise.”
EdgeSafe has control station software, EdgeSafe Control Station, which is compatible with windows XP, Windows 2000/3/8 servers, and a backup agent, EdgeSafe PST2PST Backup, which is compatible with Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and Windows 7 workstations supporting Outlook 2000/2003/2007/10.
About Sheridan County
Sheridan County is located in the northeastern most corner of Montana. Plentywood, the county seat, is located approximately 18 miles south of the Montana/Canada border and 24 miles west of the Montana/North Dakota border. The County is mostly prairie and the land is three-fourths tillable. The soil is of glacier origin which provides a rich base for small grain production.
For more information, please visit Sheridan County’s website at: www.co.sheridan.mt.us
About DataMills Ltd.
DataMills develops and sells EdgeSafe PST2PST Backup, its patented state-of-the-art PST database backup for Outlook installations regardless of topology, product and interface variations. EdgeSafe File Backup Agent complements EdgeSafe PST2PST Backup solution to provide the most advanced backup solution for notebooks and desktops in organizations, providing enterprises with a complete solution to backup precious user data. With EdgeSafe PST2PST Backup solution, system administrators of SME as well as large corporations can backup files and folders incrementally, including PST files on item level incremental resolution.
For more information, please visit the company’s website at: http://www.datamills.com/
Microsoft Outlook dominiert den Markt der E-Mail Clients, besonders im geschäftlichen Bereich. Trotzdem überzeugt die Software nicht in allen Bereichen, so fehlt etwa die Möglichkeit, Outlook-Daten zentral zu sichern und somit dem Datenverlust vorzubeugen.
Genau diese fehlende Komponente bietet EdgeSafe PST2PST Backup. Die Software ermöglicht die Sicherung der Outlook-Daten von mehreren Rechnern. Dabei werden die Daten im nativen Dateiformat .pst (Personal STore) gesichert. Dies garantiert eine reibungslose Wiederherstellung. Obwohl keine Komprimierung in ein anderes Dateiformat angewendet wird, wird die Datendatei trotzdem komprimiert – dazu können vordefinierte Ordner aus der Sicherung ausgeschlossen werden (Beispielsweise der Papierkorb oder ein Junk/Spam Ordner).
Ein weiterer Vorteil wird vom Hersteller Datamills in der Funktion des inkrementellen Backups vorgestellt. Dadurch wird weniger Speicherplatz benötigt, gleichzeitig aber für eine möglichst enge Backupdichte gesorgt. Die Backups werden von zentraler Stelle verwaltet und gespeichert, eine Berichtsansicht ist möglich.
Allerdings soll nicht nur eine Oberfläche zur Verwaltung zur Verfügung stehen, sondern auch eine Bedienmöglichkeit für Endbenutzer zur Wiederherstellung im Falle eines Datenverlusts. Dabei bleibt EdgeSafe PST2PST Backup jedoch im normalen Betrieb für den Endbenutzer kaum spürbar. Eine Beeinträchtigung des täglichen Arbeitens finde laut Hersteller durch den Backup-Prozess nicht statt.
Die Software ist in Lizenzpaketen ab 5 Endbenutzern verfügbar und kann mit allen Versionen von Microsoft Outlook ab Version 2000 benutzt werden, ausgeschlossen sind 64-bit Versionen.
(Ref: Mailhilfe.de)
Security Tip #1 – Secure Your Employees’ Mobile Phones and Devices
Your employees SmartPhones or mobile devices help them to be more productive, but they also pose a security risk. Once they are set up with an email account, a Wi-Fi network, or used to store important data, they become vulnerable in case of loss or theft.
System administrators in organizations must make sure that employees use all the security features of the mobile operating system (OS) of their company phone or device. The three main features are: PIN or password protection, data encryption, and remote wiping of all data.
The current iPhone 4 and BlackBerry 5 provide entire device encryption.
Security Tip#2 – Encrypt Your Employees’ Laptops and Flash Drives
Every employee, regardless of their job or the sort of data they store on their laptops, should encrypt them. This prevents that once lost or stolen, the employee’s documents, system files, passwords and Internet history can be accessed.
Almost all employees use Flash drives for storing and transferring data. Since most corporate data is sensitive, the Flash drive must be encrypted to prevent others having access to the stored information.
Security Tip #3 – Properly Secure and Use Wi-Fi Networks
Many organizations use Wi-Wi networks as do remote workers. Especially employees working from home and small offices need to make sure that their wireless router is WPA or WPA2 encrypted.
System administrators should pay attention that the WPA or WPA2 encryption should always be in the Enterprise mode, and not in the simple Personal (PSK) mode. The Enterprise mode allows for setting up unique usernames and passwords for employees to login.
Mobile employees often need to access a public Wi-Fi Hotspots, mainly for checking email. For email clients like Outlook, it is advised to use SSL encryption to the mail server.
Security Tip #4 – Backup Your Organization’s PST Files and Folders
Enterprises want 2011 to be a year without data loss. But a drive or computer can die, be stolen or lost, or destroyed in a fire. Data can be stolen, lost or destroyed. To prevent loss of valuable information, it should be backed up.
Most corporate data are Outlook data files stored in Outlook folders. These PST files and folders need to be backed up, including those that are connected to hosted email servers over POP3 connection. System administrators opt for a backup solution that runs transparently without any user intervention. They save significant time if backup solution can be centrally deployed and configured. They also need easy access to detailed backup reports.
EdgeSafe PST2PST Backup is patented state-of-the-art PST database backup for Outlook installations regardless of topology, product and interface variations. EdgeSafe File Backup Agent complements EdgeSafe PST2PST Backup solution to provide the most advanced backup solution for notebooks and desktops in organizations.
System administrators of SME as well as large corporations opt for EdgeSafe PST2PST Backup solution to backup their corporate files and folders incrementally, including PST files on item level.
For more information, please contact DataMills Ltd at: http://www.datamills.com/form/contact-us
