BigDrum Web Site Hosting and Email Service from Technotribe Communications

Critical Microsoft Security Issue

admin — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 03:45:27 +0000

On Tuesday, August 2, Microsoft issued a Critical security bulletin for all supported editions of Microsoft Windows: XP, Vista, Server 2003, Server 2008, Windows 7. Microsoft describes this as a publicly disclosed vulnerability in WIndows Shell, that can allow remote code execution. For those users with Administrative User Rights, this could be a devastating exploit.

Please be sure that you have your Windows Update set for automatic updates for critical patches such as these. Contact your Help Desk or IT support manager if you have any questions related to this issue.

Adobe Fixes PDF Bug Used by Hackers

admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:30:52 +0000

Adobe this week released patches for Reader and Acrobat software to address 17 vulnerabilities that can threaten your PC. This release was rushed to public after it was revealed that hackers were using a corrupt PDF file to infiltrate users computers with a Trojan Horse virus. 16 of the 17 patches were labeled as “could lead to code execution” – legalese for saying it is a critical issue. Computerworld reports on the details of the patches in a June 30 post.

Please remember to regularly update your software with the latest updates, as well as your spyware and anti-virus subscriptions. Windows users cannot rely on the Update feature for individual software updates; visit your software Help files and check for auto-updates.

Shared Server Slowdown

admin — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 15:00:45 +0000

On Wednesday evening, June 23, one of the Linux shared servers experienced slow response time. This server was never “down,” but was unable to keep up with http requests for a 20 minute window. During this time the server experienced an unusually large number of requests to one of the sites hosted on this server. Our system admin has identified the source of the problem and the site owner has been contacted. We will continue to monitor this particular server and site closely, to ensure a similar problem does not happen in the future.

Packet Loss Impacts Performance

admin — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 19:30:41 +0000

This morning, June 21, we experienced some packet loss over one of our ISP connections to our Oregon data center. While this level of packet loss did not have a significant impact on most web connections, it was noticeable on dynamic connections such as streaming applications and VoIP connection. The sporadic nature of the issue resulted in partial underperformance for about four hours. Our network and system administrators ran tests, found the issue and resolved it.

AT&T Email Security Breach with iPad

admin — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 22:30:14 +0000

It was reported this week that a security breach in AT&T’s wireless network exposed the iPad identification numbers used to autheticate a wireless connection for more than 100,000 email addresses. The email addresses, as originally reported by the tech website Gawker, include government, media, entertainment and technology leaders. This information compromise did not expose any passwords, and AT&T immediately addressed the problem, but it raises questions about the security of the GSM cell phone technology and the potential for further harm to voice and data connectivity.

As your organization expands into new communication devises – typically driven by employees who want the latest, greatest technology – it is important to understand the risks inherent with leading edge implementation. The security policies and procedures you have in place need to be reviewed and updated to ensure both the infrastructure and training is up-to-date to address the latest advances in communication. While your employees and customers push to stay on the forefront, bet sure that you are ensuring safety and knowledge back to them as they utilize the new technologies in their daily business routines.

Server impact – site outage

admin — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:00:31 +0000

On Monday, October 5, the BigDrum network experienced a server failure at 4:35PM CDT. This impacted sites on one of our shared server clusters. At that time the automated detection system did not trigger the “fail over” to the back-up server. While we received the notification of the initial problem, we did not expect the failure of the failover, which has worked successfully in part tests. After a second notification, we discovered the problem and manually triggered the failover and rebooted the impacted server. The total outage last approximately 30 minutes, from original failure to the time the sites were back online.

We have tested the system and will be replacing the impacted hardware this week. After testing the new hardware for performance and failover routines, we will migrate all impacted sites to the new server environment.

We apologize for any negative impact this had on your business during this time.

Adobe Issues Security Updates

admin — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:30:00 +0000

Adobe has released updates for its popular run-time applications, including Flash Player, AIR, Reader and Acrobat (Windows and Macintosh). Release versions impacted include:

Adobe Flash Player 9.0.159.0 and 10.0.22.87 and earlier 9.x and 10.x versions
Adobe AIR 1.5.1 and earlier versions
Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.1.2 and earlier 9.x versions

The level of security was designated as “critical” by Adobe, indicating that the vulnerability could be harmful to your computer. Visit the Adobe web site for detailed information about these updates.

BigDrum encourages you to get these updates installed as soon as possible to protect your computer and your data.

Microsoft Announces Security Problem

admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:30:00 +0000

Microsoft announced a security problem this week for Windows XP and Server 2003 operating systems. The issue is related to how video is displayed when interacting with the Internet Explorer browser. This ActiveX video control can allow a hacker to gain control of any machine with this vulnerability. To note how important this issue is, Microsoft has released this information ahead of its normal second Tuesday of the month security update.

BigDrum recommends that you check out the recommended fix that Microsoft has issued, keep your Windows Update patches current, and continue to update your anti-virus and spyware software.

Email Slow Down

admin — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:30:00 +0000

On the afternoon of Monday, April 13, there was a brief period of email delivery delay that last about 90 minutes. This was due to an extremely large amount of undelivered spam email that was backing up the email server. As the backup grew, delivery of “good” mail was delayed. When this unwanted email was removed, the email serve returned to normal performance levels.

The fight against unwanted “spam” email continues, and BigDrum encourages you to continue to monitor your own spam activity using the Maia Mailguard available for each account for your domain.

2008 BigDrum Overview

admin — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:00:00 +0000

In 2008 the BigDrum network underwent a substantial upgrade. In June, we moved to a new hosting environment, allowing us the opportunity to implement server virtualization. This allows us to provide stable and redundant services, but with a greatly reduced carbon footprint. Our new hosting facility is serviced by multiple backbone providers, ensuring minimal service impact, should a problem occur. All of the service improvements we made in 2007 are still in place; we also added a fully configurable email security system, allowing each email account the ability to monitor and manage spam activity.

Highlights from the past year include:

99.98% network planned uptime
Updated server configurations with the latest in software updates
Improved failover capabilities
12 hours of planned maintenance downtime for migration to new hosting location
Under 2 hours of unexpected downtime, with no data lost

We are moving into our 12th year of providing hosting services in 2009, with many of the same clients who started with us in 1997. We have expanded our capabilities and our client list during this time, and will continue to provide the highest quality of service at a competitive price. Thank you for your trust!