Firbanks IT tech talk

Email on the move

2011-05-19T14:30:00.000+01:00

Something that we take for granted. Most modern phones support mobile email so let's just go ahead, enter our user details and off we go! It's that easy for anyone.

Email has changed the way that we communicate. The usage of email can vary greatly between a business user and an individual. This is why before setting your phone up for email - especially if you're a business you need to think of the following basic questions.

Will this cost extra on my data usage?
Will I roam?
How often will the email update?
Do I need to syncronise my contacts and calendar too?
Is the connection secure between the phone and email server?
What happens if I lose my phone?

Depending on your phone make and model and mail server configuration there are various methods of communicating.

The Blackberry platform can be secure as long as it is configured properly. You see, the connection form the phone to the blackberry network is but then if you activated basic email on your phone then there is a good chance that the connection between Blackberry's servers and your email servers are insecure. This occurs when using technology that is unencrypted such as pop3, imap or outlook web access using the non-secure HTTP connection. There are however ways to secure this. But if you are using Microsoft Exchange in your organisation or Google Apps then with a little help, you can benefit from the Blackberry Enterprise Server Express at no extra cost on your service plan. This then offers truely secure and encrypted push email from your company network and without requiring any holes to be opened up on your company firewall. You can also have the choice of remotely locking and wiping your phone, enforcing certain features of the phone only to be allowed or disallowed use.

The next best thing is Exchange Activesync. This requires your company server to be running Microsoft Exchange or Small Business Server. You simply enter your username and password details in to the section of your phone and enter a secure push of email this way. This does however mean that certain security is in place such as your Exchange server using SSL encryption and that you have a strong username and password in place. If you do not, anyone could enter your user details and then view your emails, contacts and calendar details. Not ideal, the security relies heavily on your infrastructure being planned with security in mind and if you change your user password on the network then you need to remember to also change the details on your phone. Phones that use this technology are iphones, microsoft windows mobiles, google android and some sony and nokia handsets.

The more basic form of mobile email is pop3 and imap access. If you use these then often email is pulled at certain intervals and does not arrive immediately. If you use these methods and worry about security, look in to your provider providing imaps and pop3. These encrypt data from the phone to email server using SSL to stop any possibility of the messages or usernames and passwords being read.

Should you business wish to use any mobile email technology or wish to health check your existing system then please do not hesitate to contact us on our main website. http://www.firbanks.com

Why encrypt your data

2010-10-29T12:40:00.000+01:00

You wouldn't give a stranger your bank details would you? How about your email login and password? Of course not! If you lose your laptop, USB memory stick, mobile phone or blackberry how safe would you feel? Not only the loss of your work, contacts and emails (which of course you can retrieve from your most recent backup) and the wasted time getting back up and running caused. What happens to your machine in someone elses hands? It could be a competitor,,,

In this age of increasing cybercrime. More people are online than ever before and make use of computers from everything to writing correspondence and letters, keeping a database of your contacts, managing your finances whether commercial or private - you would think that people would be more aware of computer security but it seems that there are many patches in people's knowledge.

The majority of online banks issue card readers requiring the user to have a username, a password and a device accompanied by something that only the authorised user possesses - their debit card and their pin number. An excellence way to secure online transactions - you see, an attacker may guess a username and password but they also require access to the debit card and pin making it even harder to access unauthorised information.

Google apps have also recently deployed two factor authentication. Making use of the Android, iphone or blackberry by running an app providing an up-to-the minute key required to access your online account - thus safeguarding your work even further than just a username and password.

But it's great having online security but what about all of those documents that you carry on your computer or laptop? Securing an entire drive can be done in a matter of a few hours and does not cost much at all. Also causing hardly any disruption at all you can ensure that your data is for your eyes only and no one else. The data on the physical hard drive appears in no readable form whatsoever and you just need to enter the correct password upon bootup to access the data - simple!

Why didn't I do this before? I hear you ask.

Because you probably didn't know if was possible, easy, quick, seamless and transparent. No you know that it is, contact us at www.firbanks.com NOW to secure your data.

Have you PIN protected your mobile phone? Why not? If someone else possesses your phone your text messages, contacts, emails and any other data stored on the device is immediately accessible. Set a pin, it's simple! If you're not sure how to do it then contact us and we'll show you.

Your data is safe with us. Firbanks IT employ data encryption on all of our fixed office and portable laptops. We work with many customer's data during times of data recovery and you can feel safe that any data that passes our systems is entirely secure. Our email systems support two-step authentication - ensuring that only our staff have access to their email and no one else. All portable phones are protected each with their own unique key with remote wipe functions to completely wipe and disable the device should it fall in to the wrong hands.

Our office telephony systems are fully digital ensuring complete security and prevention of eaves droppers easily being able to listen in on the conversations.

Ask us on how you can work more securely. Don't leave your data to chance.

Understanding SMTP and mail delivery

2010-10-01T22:11:00.000+01:00

A couple of IT guys new to the business have recently enquired to the workings of SMTP. Below I attempt to explain the basics of how mail is delivered and accepted.

SMTP stands for 'Simple Message Transfer Protocol' and in itself is a very basic text form of message transfer. A straight forward set up would comprise of a server running mail software listening on port 25 for connections waiting for a sending mail server to connect to it. A listening mail server will be configured with a list of domain names in which it can accept email delivery. So for this example we'll use xyz.com.

When a sending server connects to the 'listener' on port 25 a few text based transactions take place. Mainly, the identity of the sending mail server - i.e. abc.com and the intended recipient of the email - for example fred@xyz.com. As long as the domain matches an approved list, the receiving server will accept delivery of the email, match the message to a user list and then either pass on the message or bounce it back to the sender (usually be making an outbound SMTP connection back to the sending server and generating a bounce message).

In order to receive an email the sending server must know how to reach it so here goes a basic explanation of DNS and MX records..

DNS servers are like an index which is searched upon to tell the requester the location of a server/service. We'll just focus on A and MX records for now.

Firstly, a server needs a name - mail.xyz.com will do for now. So, say the server listening for xyz.com's email has an internet IP address of 111.111.111.111 there would be an A record pointing to this.

It would look like

mail.xyz.com. A 111.111.111.111

It's as simple as that. But for mail transfer to work there also needs to be a 'mail exchange' record for xyz.com to explain where to send the email. We know it needs to go to mail.xyz.com so...

MX 5 mail.xyz.com.

Would be a typical entry that you would need. This tells the sending server that any mail for xyz.com is sent to mail.xyz.com which is based at the IP address of 111.111.111.111. The sending server than creates a connection on port 25 to 111.111.111.111 then transacts the email across.

All in all, this is a very basic, plain email system. There are many variables and security aspects and spam implications. As you can see, an SMTP receiver by itself just 'listens' for email. A bit like a postbox is ready to receive a letter from ANY sender. Without more advanced configuration a high risk of spam and the possibility of configuring an open relay is always a risk. We'll explain this in more detail soon.

A Mobile landline

2010-09-23T16:01:00.000+01:00

During the past few days, we have been getting exiting over our Mobile SIM cards. We are now able to provide mobile phone related services as well as our VOIP based switchboards. Or should I say a mobile phone service with a difference...

Our phone package is very unique. The phone can tag on as an internal extension to your switchboard, have the ability to transfer calls to and from the mobile phone, you can choose a landline direct number as well as make calls from your main office number.

During our testing I tagged our handset on to the Firbanks switchboard. I initially had to purchase a basic unlocked handset for testing purposes. The Nokia 2730 was perfect for the job as it has 3G capabilities (3G is required for our SIMS). I provisions our handset in a similar way to that of a traditional mobile phone operater, assigned it a phone number and tariff.

I had to say that initially I was anxious over the coverage. You see, our phones use the 3G part of the three and t-mobile networks. The coverage checkers explained that our office post-code did not have coverage. From field testing the phone, all locations have had superb coverage and the system has functioned every time. I am able to send and receive text messages, add the mobile to our office hunt group with the ability to answer remotely and then transfer the call to a colleague's extension. Call quality has been top-notch too. The mobile data can function at speeds of up to 14.4mbs and the cost of the service is also very reasonable.

If you are interested in this type of service or require a demonstration then please contact us at http://www.firbanks.com to arrange a visit. I'm sure that this product can assist a lot of users and fills a huge gap in the market. I am exited that Firbanks IT are able to provide such a product and training directly and for such a reasonable price.

VOIP explanation and Case Study

2010-09-20T14:31:00.000+01:00

Voice over IP is often mis-interpreted as requiring computer equipment to function in a way similar to that of Skype. This is wrong. VOIP is a method of utilising the Internet to carry telephone calls rather than the standard telephone network. Calls can be VOIP to VOIP number (free) or VOIP to landline, mobile, international which means the Internet carries your voice data and then the call simply terminates at the standard telephone network and then routed to the destination.

Recently a recruitment company downsized from a staffed office to a home office. Firbanks were approached to handle the IT move. When BT were called to explain the situation the customer was told by BT that the customer would need a new phone number when moving to the home office as the Exchanges were in different locations.

Mark Banks of Firbanks IT explained an alternative to the customer. You do not need to process this through BT but you could move your number in to our online telephone system and then practically use the telephone anywhere with an internet connection. Mark Banks signed the customer up to a single number telephone system at a cost of £5 per month, for this the customer received the usual call divert, caller display, call waiting at no additional cost and all that was required to keep the phone number was to fill out a number porting form. This gives us permission to approach BT and gain control of the telephone number. During the transfer process it was possible to set the outbound caller ID to that of the customer's main number, use call diversion until the number had fully ported to our IP telephone system.

The customer now owns a Siemens DECT handset very similar to that of a standard cordless handset with a base that plugs in to his home broadband router. The customer now has a 2nd phone line that he can use for work at home without making an impact on his home phone line and no high installation fees or long wait times and all provided for £5 per month!

As a comparison, previously the customer used an ISDN based switchboard with average quarterly phone bills averaging £500.

Is there such thing as a mobile landline?

2010-09-20T13:26:00.000+01:00

Yes there is! Today, we received our first batch of SIM cards that compliment our IP telephone systems. Now, not only can you have extensions at home or office but now the extension can be carried in your back pocket in the form of a mobile phone! You can also benefit from mobile data and text messages in the same way as a mobile phone except they can orginate from your landline number.

This is a huge milestone for Firbanks and our communications. Have you ever encountered a problem whereby you leave the office but feel that you should divert your desk phone only to find that where you are visiting is in a basement and has lousy mobile coverage? This can have an impact on your main number if your main line includes your desk phone within your hunt group as your mobile voicemail will be sucking in those messages and not allowing your colleagues to attend the calls.

Now that the switchboard integrates directly with a mobile SIM, there is also an element of intelligence that can route calls correctly and prevent things such as this from occuring. We will keep you updated with our testing and we hope to be able to provide our VOIP customers with the service very shortly.

Paul Cooper leaves Firbanks

2010-05-31T18:52:00.001+01:00

Friday, 28th May was Paul's last day at Firbanks IT. Paul has been with the company for 1 1/2 years as part of the helpdesk support team. Paul, you will be missed and we wish you every success with your future endeavours.

The truth about changing DNS entries

2010-03-16T10:47:00.004Z

Whenever I come across a customer wishing to change where their website is hosted, make changes to their email delivery or even transfer their domain name to another provider I hear gulps and gasps followed by 'they say my site will be down for 24-72 hours' or 'my emails will get lost in a big black hole somewhere.'

This does not have to be the case..

What is DNS? DNS is like a big online directory of all internet domain names. This directory holds all of the necessary details that 'the audience/viewing public' need to know to find your web page. All web pages are stored on a server somewhere connected to the Internet. Whether it is in a datacentre or someone's home or office. Each server will have its own Internet Address (IP Address) - a little like you have a home telephone number unique to you.

When you make a change to a DNS entry a record is being updated with a new Internet address - usually when you have changed over to another server. When the update is made people will either see the old address or the new address presented over the next 24-72 hours. Think of this similar to mail redirection. When you move house you go to the post office and redirect mail to a new address - your post will either arrive to your old or new address - not disappear in to a black hole!

So as long as you do not cancel your account or delete files from your old server, some traffic will go there and new traffic will arrive at the new server and voila - no server downtime!

The same applies with email delivery. An MX record can point to any destination and you can specify more than one MX record. An MX record points somewhere so as long as the old system is kept running during the transition then it can be logged in to and mail received.

Why is there a delay after DNS entries are updated?

The DNS servers do present the correct and current IP address when queried but often to improve performance the IP address returned by this request is remembered often by your Internet Provider and possibly again by your in house company server and often for a 24 hour period. This means that you visit the site 23 hours later and your Internet provider still remembers the old IP address and then your office server then decides to remember that DNS entry for a further 24 hours. Because your office server knows the results and although the Internet provider obtains the correct information an hour later you will continue to point towards the older system for a further 23 hours.

More advanced DNS entries can be preset with TTL (time to live) information and this information is passed on to DNS caches. For example, a large site may have multiple web servers and wish to rotate traffic between them (load balance). A shorter TTL value allows the DNS information to be requested more frequently but allows rotation of addresses presented. This creates a bigger load on the DNS servers as data is requested more frequently. Most businesses usually opt for more basic DNS settings and the 24 hour defaults are used as standard.

Online or in-house servers?

2010-01-21T12:20:00.003Z

Technology is changing at a growing rate. For many years companies have been deploying in-house servers that take care of their file storage, email delivery and to control the users that log in to their machines.

With the growth of the Internet and the fact that most of the population have a form of 'always on' access. Whether it be on their mobile phone, home computer, hotel, office - pretty much anywhere gives a much wider range of options.

Cloud-based organisations are inventing online versions such as Software as a Service which involve a subcription paid per user. The great thing about this that compared to a typical office where only one server controls most of their daily items we have an internet based cluster of many servers controlling everyday items. Whether a company has 1 user of 1,000s it means that the system can scale and grow with them. No more updates, IT technical training, just a simple, standard per user fee.

This also opens up avenues from working pretty much anywhere. Having all of your office documents online means that as long as you have access to any computer with a live internet connection, those documents can be accessed immediately.

Another strong pro for 'going cloud' is that collaboration becomes very simple. Instead playing 'email ping pong' with your all important documents to send to others for review and comment you simply email your collaborators an online link whereby they can view (and edit if required) the one online document. No more confusion over file versions and say hello to be able to the ability of tracking changes by the user and reverting back to previous editions if required.

Firbanks IT recently became Google Apps authorised resellers and can talk through the pros and cons of 'going cloud' and can manage any transfer process required by importing the necessary emails, calendar, contacts, files and more. If you require any further information on either server set up then please do not hesitate to contact us by visiting our website http://www.firbanks.com

Follow us on Twitter

2010-01-21T12:13:00.002Z

Firbanks IT now have a twitter feed. You can follow us on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/firbanks. Any up to date news alerts will appear on our twitter feed.

Firbanks IT are now official google apps resellers

2009-12-15T22:07:00.002Z

December 2009 marks another milestone for Firbanks IT. We have been experimenting with the onling google apps services for a good few months. Reliable email delivery, online apps and calendar managment, video and web building sevices ideal for company intranets. As of today, Firbanks IT have officially been accepted as a Google Apps authorised reseller.

This is a big step forward for us. We can now provide reliable email services with a fair deal of redundancy and backup to customers of all sizes. One man bands or thousands of users, this service is so flexible that it will cope with the needs at both end of the scale.

Turn it off and on again!

2009-06-15T12:19:00.002+01:00

You often hear an IT helpdesk ask 'have you tried turning it off an on again?' A comedy show named 'The IT Crowd' use this line many times and always get a giggle but never has this been so true! I attend a breakfast meeting on a Monday morning and one of our members had brought along with him a projector to assist him with his presentation. Only to find in panic the the projector was not switching on. No noise, it was dead! So the basic things come to mind. Initially switch the thing off and on - no difference. Next, check it's plugged in - yes it is. Ok so let's unplug the thing and then reconnect it and voila - the projector kicked in to action! The mains cable was not attached fully to the projector so it made a crackle and everything appeared on the wall. Much to our relief everyone sat down and watched the presentation.

Some times things are this easy. It could have been a blown bulb, dodgy switch, dead extension lead or many other reasons that could have caused this fault but never forget to check the obvious things first! It can save time and a lot of money!

Working in the cloud

2009-06-03T16:56:00.004+01:00

The term 'the cloud' has been popping up every now and again but what does it actually mean? The cloud is like a virtual environment where you can store your emails, documents, videos and web sites. The cloud is a huge cluster of servers all linked together with your documents stored on. It's a great concept and ideal for the small business that wishes to utilise the features of an office server but without the upfront cost. Google Apps have a service that allows such a thing and they offer enterprise level of support with Google Apps Premier. Just imaging, working from anywhere, no office costs, email always available whereever you are without being subjected to power cuts. Ideal for people collaborating and many remote places. Many of the Firbanks features also run on the cloud so drop us a line if you wish to know more!

The use of a Netbook and how they can go wrong!

2009-01-29T11:27:00.004Z

Over the previous 2 months Netbooks have been making their way in to the computer scene. They are small, lightweight (often < 1.4Kg) and powerful enough to run Windows XP, built-in wireless, bluetooth and the one I purchased especially has a built-in 3G card.

As a new gadget on the scene I want to evaluate one to see what it could do. I visited the local PC World store and found a Netbook with a built-in 3G modem so that I could simply plug in the Vodafone sim and be online. I purchased 2 of them. Unfortunately I couldn't obtain discount on the product but only for the (highly marked up) 'extras' that they try to bundle with it such as carry bases, USB keys, extended warranties, etc.

I'm very impressed with the unit. The screens are small giving a display of 1024 wide by 800 high. It's great for email on the move and general web surfing. It'll run BBC's iplayer with no problems. The built-in processor consumes such little power that the battery life is superb. Given the size of the laptop, a 3 hr standard battery life is brilliant for being out and about. They are great however until things go wrong!

Unfortunately for me, after 7 days of use, the built-in 3G modem developed fault whereby it was constantly being detected/undetected making the noises similar to that of plugging in a USB device and then unplugging it again. As I had already customised the Netbook I choose to call the 0844 support number to get it repaired rather than swapping the laptop over as everything had just been customized to my taste - Big mistake!

The support rep on the phone, after 34 minutes of turning off and on, removing the battery, etc decided to book it in for a courier collection the following day. All looking good so far...

A week later it is received back at my home address. After collecting it I noticed scratches to the glossy screen cover that were not there before (remember, it's new!). I switch it on when arriving at work and within 10 minutes, the same problem arises. After this, I check out the notes on the service sheet with big letters N F F (no fault found).

I immediately ring the tech support again to be told that the laptop must be wiped to basics and reinstalled before they will re-look at this. (You must remember that the laptop was new, had Microsoft Office installed and Skype). I explained that the fault was occuring on one of the two purchased laptops that had been installed identically. I also mentioned the scratches on the screen. What was my reply? 'I can't help you further until you wipe your machine and restore from the disks'. I re-enphasised that it was a 7 day old laptop that has come back from repair in worse cosmetic condition than before it was collected to only receive a reply, 'we don't do cosmetic damage would you like me to talk you through the wipe and reinstall?' At this point I closed the conversation with the frustrated conclusion of taking the laptop back to the local PC World store!

Good work!

2008-10-31T20:58:00.003Z

The end of another absolutely manic week. I had a brilliant day today. We had to move IT equipment from one building to another and I was amazed at the speed in which the transition occured. Even if there was some little confusion and hurdles with the removal people thinking that the IT equipment didn't need to be moved? Now seriously?! Who would move offices and leave their old equipment across the road!

I had a phone conversation on the way back from working in Yeovil this evening with another customer. He mentioned that a customer had a computer system fault and that he had recommended us for the work. But bizarrely the person replied and said 'did you know that you were the second person to recommend these people for the work?' and that surprised him as the other person who had recommended us he didn't even know! Now that's networking and keeping our customers smiling!

Another thing that chuffed me on the way home from Yeovil is that during this 100 mile journey, I had an urgent call from a customer who's server had gone down. Being a Friday evening I found it difficult to locate a technician that was still answering their phone in Southampton. I pulled over in a layby, turned on my laptop, plugged in the datacard and from the middle of no where - logged in to their machine and set up a temporary method to get the customer on their way to print some important documents. Unfortunately this means an early Saturday morning visit for me tomorrow but the plus side is that the customer completed the urgent task before their deadline this evening and that I can resolve things properly tomorrow.

If you look after the customer, they will recommend you to others and continue to use your services.

All for recommendations

2008-10-06T17:36:00.003+01:00

Just again today have we received more work through word of mouth. We had a recommendation from a recommended customer last week bringing another 2 customers to our services and yet another 2 today!

What is it with IT people? Some want to charge a rediculously horrendous monthly fee but then do not want to respond when help is needed? This is the 21st century! People rely on computers just as much as cars, phones and any other technology. If we keep this up I'll have to look for another staff member to add to our team to make sure our service commitment stays up to scratch.

Keep the recommendations coming, it shows that we're doing a good job and keeping people happy!

Firbanks IT - What do we do?

2008-10-03T18:40:00.002+01:00

How silly of me. Trying to work out this new website I nearly forgot to mention what we actually do!

We're a computer support company now based in Droxford (since September 2008) Beforehand we worked out of a site in Hedge End, Southampton. Due to taking on another member of staff meant that we outgrew our previous office so therefore we relocated to the pieceful village of Droxford. We still support the same area along the corridor of the M27, M3 and stretching as far west as Yeovil, East to Waterlooville and north to West Sussex!

Why? Because we can. The tools and technology that we have invested in means that we can reliably remotely support any PC, Apple Mac, mobile phone, linux desktop securely. Therefore nearly all computer desktop faults can be either remotely fixed or at least diagnosed pending a site visit. This guarantees much fast response times.

One thing that I like to boast is the fact the the phones are always manned. So many times have I visited new customers to hear feedback that they had left a message on their 'IT guy's' mobile phone and not heard back for several days. Because of the modern world, functional IT equipment is now more important than ever. We therefore advertise one phone number. A normal, low cost landine number for people to call with their IT issues in order to receive a very prompt response within minutes.

What else can we do? We've been responsible for designing a network for hundreds of users spread across many sites, multiple servers to deal with the necessary multiple requests at each local site.

We offer an online backup service called 'Databanks' that is now in its 4th successful year. We have just over 45 users on this and it is going strong. The service encrypts data before it leaves your network with only an encryption key that you know. So don't forget it as we cannot access your data without this encryption key!

Our pricing is very reasonable with telephone support being charged in 15 minute intervals.

The team currently consists of myself, Rob and Paul. We're looking to recruit at the end of October to further advance our offering.

All in all, we have now over 200 happy customers on our books and over 1000 users benefiting from our services.

For down to earth, professional but sensible IT support, give us a call! (or email)

Links to our networking

2008-10-03T18:38:00.003+01:00

A great thanks to Adam Manning to introduce me to the world of blogging. Adam regularly updates our network marketing group's blog. The blog can be found at http://fbgfareham.blogspot.com .

Our network group site can be found at http://www.fbguk.co.uk

Another way of working

2008-10-03T18:33:00.003+01:00

I have now successfully (and finally) completed our telephone system upgrade. A very modern way of comunicating is by using voice over IP technology. Something that us Firbanks staff have been doing since the early days. Of course, recording all of those 'welcome messages' and greatings in my own voice means that I'm everywhere! ON a serious side it is a relief to complete the update in time for the weekend. Now with work colleagues being able to work remotely, collect voicemails by email using our Blackberries wherever we are is really going to help us collaborate and communicate our work in progress with one another. On to the weekend!

The birth of the blogg

2008-10-03T16:05:00.000+01:00

I had to get the first post on here. Really, I did! As you know I'm in to planes so here's a link to a video of me taking a drop up over the office and over across the solent!http://www.firbanks.com/random/Mark_Banks_flying_video.wmv