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January 28, 2011

InfinIT hosting special event in Bellevue: Get a sneak peek at Office 365 & Windows Intune

Blog-post

2011 is really shaping up to be a great year for Microsoft, InfinIT, and the cloud. Microsoft is getting ready to debut two great new cloud products, Office 365 and Windows Intune, and we're really excited to be giving them a sneak peek at a special event! 

The event takes place Tuesday, March 1st, from 2-3:30pm at the Microsoft Store in Bellevue, WA. Have you been to the new Microsoft Store? It's really something else. We've got the back theater (with a 100" touchscreen) reserved for the event, which will be great to show all the amazing new features in Office 365 and Windows Intune. Here's what the space looks like:

MicrosoftStoreFieldTrip1resized 

As if that wasn't enough, we'll also be raffling off some great prizes, like an XBOX 360 with Kinect, Microsoft Office, and many others.

We'd love to see you there. Let us know if you can make it by signing up at http://sneakpeekoffice365.eventbrite.com.

January 20, 2011

How to gain access to your networks devices and how to keep your passwords secure

Are you trying to gain access to your network device and can't find the default password to login?

You're in luck! We came across an extensive list of default usernames and passwords for many different devices (like routers, switches, firewalls, and other network devices) and we want to share it with you!

Many network devices arrive with factory settings and a default username and password.  Most, if not all, of this information can be found on the web with a quick search. This is why you should always, always, always change the factory settings, especially if you want to keep yourself protected from malicious attacks.  Attacks can range from key loggers to steal your credit card information to viruses that eventually make your computer completely not useable.

I remember an article I read a few years back where a man asked and received permission from a lady to try to gain access to her bank account.  He started out searching for her name on the web and found her email address among other information like her birthday.  He used this to attempt to get into her bank.  Usually, if you forget your password, there is an option to send yourself a password reset email.  He attempted to log into the email too many times and it eventually asked for a security question, which he found the answer to online.  Now that he had access to her email he could change her password. Voila, he now had access to her bank account, much to her shock.

We don't want that to happen to you, so we want to share with you some tips on how to keep your account secure.  This won't just apply to network devices, but to every other thing on the web that requires you to create a password. 

  • Keep it as random as possible. Don't use words.
  • If you're using words, throw in some numbers, capital letters, and symbols. (for example, '4' in place of 'A' and and '!' instead of 'I')
  • The longer it is, the better.
  • For security questions, don't answer with information that can be found just by looking up your name on Google. For example, "In what year did I graduate high school?" Don't answer the year posted on your FaceBook page. It's easy for others to find this information. Instead, type in something different, like the year your partner or your parents graduated. Change some random characters while you're at it.
  • If you can, use different passwords for different accounts.
  • If you have multiple email accounts and the email settings allow this option, try to send hackers in a cycle. For example, A sends password reset/confirmation to B, which sends it to C, which sends it back to A, and so on, never allowing them to log in.

Here's a really good article that goes more in depth on how to keep yourself secure.