Web Hosting, Software Development, Information Technology Consulting
| 8/21/2008 | A word or two about anti-virus software |
| Anti-virus software has improved dramatically over the last decade. Severe disruptions from viruses and malware, affecting many thousands of computers, were frequent occurrences. Such things now seem to be a rarity. Newer versions of email programs, particularly Microsoft Outlook, once a primary carrier for viruses, are much safer and less likely to spread viruses. Infections still occur. Old viruses are out there, and new ones are created all the time. The consequences of getting one can be minor, usually just wasting time to clean it up. It can also be very costly, resulting in lost data, stolen passwords, sensitive files, or personal information like credit card or social security numbers. Many new PCs arrive with anti-virus software already installed. Norton Anti-Virus seems to be a favorite of the PC manufacturers. Unfortunately, in my experience, Norton, once one of the best programs for defending your PC against infections, is now one of the worst. McAfee is similarly quite poor. I routinely recommend AVG and AVG Free by Grisoft. I’ve been using them both for several years, and they have never failed to protect any machine I have installed them on. AVG (the subscription version) has more features, but for the average user, AVG Free is perfectly adequate. It is reliable, doesn’t tax your PC’s memory or CPU as much as many of the big name programs, and it is effective. In the last six months, I have helped clean-up three PCs that became infected with severe viruses. Two were running an up-to-date, paid subscription version of Norton. A third was running McAfee. Neither of these programs detected the problem. In one case, the infected PC could barely function because the infection was so widespread. And Norton still couldn’t detect a problem. In all three cases, AVG or AVG Free cleaned up the problem quickly and easily. Even if you have a current, paid subscription for Norton or McAfee, consider abandoning the subscription in favor of AVG Free. It seems illogical that a free program would outperform leading commercial software, but it does. AVG and AVG Free can be found here: AVG and AVG Free by Grisoft Let me end by saying that it’s not enough to install a good anti-virus program. The most common way to get a computer virus these days is to invite one in. For example: Someone you trust sends you an email with an attachment, you open it, and a virus in the attachment infects your PC. A good anti-virus program will catch this 99.9% of the time, but if it’s a new virus, it may not be recognized. Another example is downloading files from non-trusted sources. File sharing services and sites like Facebook and MySpace are notorious for serving up viruses for the unwary and the unprotected. You need to be cautious about what you download! If the source cannot be trusted, don’t download from it! |
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| 5/4/2008 | ZJS hosts IEAH.com: Go "Big Brown!" |
| ZJS Technology is proud to be host to IEAH.com. The name may be familiar to you: IEAH Stables is the owner of Kentucky Derby winner and Triple Crown hopeful, "Big Brown." IEAH came to ZJS Technology with requirements for high bandwidth hosting that another host had been unable to handle. ZJS has been able to provide a high performance, cost effective solution for IEAH's exciting web site.
In the week leading up to the Kentucky Derby, IEAH's traffic began to increase dramatically. To keep the site humming along, we dedicated a Dell dual Xeon server with a 100Mbps backbone connection in our favorite data center. The result? Despite a tenfold increase in traffic on Derby day, IEAH.com sailed along smoothly, handling hundreds of thousands of requests from visitors anxious to know more about Big Brown.
Go Big Brown! |
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| 1/1/2008 | Free backup disk space now included with all plans |
| Good backups are critical. I don't want customers to have to choose between making appropriate backups and expanding web content. Effective immediately, customers can maintain up to three backups images without impacting their hosting plan disk allotment. If you need assistance with your backup scheduling, contact me using the Contact Us. |
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| 12/15/2007 | Year end update |
| It's been a while since the last update. It's been a busy year! ZJS Technology has quietly been growing its hosting client list while maintaining a high level of personal and technical service. That will remain the approach. The new customers continue to be referrals from existing customers. Thank you for your continued confidence!
Linux server "Apollo" celebrates one year of uninterrupted uptime! Apollo was the first server ZJS Technology implemented in the new Ft. Lauderdale data center, shortly after the data center opened. It has now been running for over 370 days without an interruption in service, providing web, FTP, database, and email services to dozens of ZJS clients. The extended uptime is testimony to the quality of hardware, software and networking infrastructure implemented in the data center. Increased anti-spam measures: I've implemented tighter procedures to cut down on spam received by ZJS hosting clients, and to allow our anti-spam software to do a more thorough job of flagging spam so clients can easily parse and delete it when it comes to the inbox. This is an ongoing battle for everybody in the hosting business, and I will continue to refine and implement procedures that reduce the spam headaches we all have to deal with. Sharepoint hosting: Microsoft's Sharepoint has been available for our Windows hosting clients for a while, but a recent implementation of a dedicated Sharepoint server for one of our hosting clients has allowed me to develop some specific expertise in managing Sharepoint servers. If you are interested in Sharepoint hosting, please contact me. I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all of ZJS Technology's customers a happy holiday season and best wishes for success in 2008. |
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| 12/4/2006 | New data center |
| ZJS Technology is pleased to announce a co-location presence in a new data center. The facility, operated
by 1Vault Networks in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, is a state-of-the-art network operations environment featuring
top tier Internet connectivity by Qwest, NTT, and Level 3. The facility is rated to withstand Category 5
storms, features triple redundant UPS and generator systems, underground backup fuel storage, armed guards,
biometric and passive security systems, and sophisticated environmental control systems.
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| 4/9/2006 | Sunshop Shopping Cart now available |
| ZJS Technology is now a reseller and implementer for the Sunshop Shopping Cart
system. I've worked with and built quite a few shopping carts over the years. Sunshop has impressed me with it's excellent blend of functionality and ease of use. I've now impemented it with two of ZJS Technology's customers, and the results are outstanding. If you need
a shopping cart added to an existing web site, or want a new web site with a shopping cart, Sunshop is a powerful, elegantly simple, and reasonably priced.
Contact me to discuss your requirments. |
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| 11/1/2005 | Tools area of zjstech.com expanded. |
| The Tools page of the web site now includes helpful diagnostic utilities: WHOIS, Ping and a Host to IP address resolver. These tools can be used by ZJS clients and visitors to help troubleshoot connectivity, domain and server name resolution problems. |
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| 10/30/2005 | Reseller plans now available! |
| If you would like to be in the hosting business, but don't have the time, desire, or technical expertise to manage servers, ZJS Technology now has several reseller plans that can get you into hosting fast. The affordable reseller plans give you large blocks of server resources like bandwidth and disk space to repackage into your own web hosting plans. Click here to see reseller plan details. |
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| 10/28/2005 | New zjstech.com web site! |
| The new zjstech.com site is nearing completion. It will serve both as a marketing vehicle for prospective ZJS Technology customers, as well as a customer service resource for current customers. Check back for updates and progress! |
