Even though I agreed with Steve, I did not really think it was all the pertinent to me. After all I had already gotten a job so it was definitely too late for me not to get one. I’ve been working since I was fourteen and working on Hollace Carter’s farm in the afternoon. For the past eight years or so I’ve been employed in a state position and I’m safe, right? No wrong.

I’ve seen the current trend of outsourcing tech jobs to other countries, but this would never affect me because after all I work for the state and even bad employees get to keep their jobs in the state. I’m a good employee. I’m good at my job and I do everything that is asked. Well I’ve been living in a fantasy world, because I have not been safe either. This came home to me earlier this week when the Governor announced a new initiative to outsource all the tech positions within Georgia within ten months. This will mean approximately 1100 workers will lose their current position and either retire, move to the outsourcing company, or be eliminated. Guess what I’m one of those 1100. I could go into all the reasons why I think this would be a mistake, but to dispute the logic behind the move would be a futile exercise.

I’m not old enough to retire and I’m not crazy about working for an outsourcing company. If I move then I lose the retirement and seniority I have built up over the years. I have turned down many jobs over the years, just because I wanted to vest in the retirement plan. I turned down an interview one day before this announcement that could have meant a position with a hundred thousand yearly salary( I’m not making $100K currently), but I thought it may not be a good move. Hindsight would tell me that I probably should have taken the interview.

Steve Pavlina would say this is all a result of the manifestation of my desire to quit my day job. Thinking about it then Steve may be on to something. I do not really want to work for anyone any longer and I could view this announcement as a motivator to accomplish my goals. I have a few sites in my portfolio that have some potential for growth and higher earning power. I also have several domain names registered for ideas that I’ve never gotten off the ground. I can use the next ten months building up those sites to a point where they would allow me to support my family utilizing only the web. In my previous post I never posted a timeline, but I had a timeline of one year to realize my goals. Its Ironic that the Governor announced this would be in place by October of next year. If you read the date on my previous post then I made that post in November. Perhaps this is divine intervention setting the date for me.

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Well as time went along I lost interest in volunteering all my time on the project, plus my day job changed from one of developer to a manager, so my interests changed. As a result when I did update DynamicVB.net it was to provide some information on technology and the posts moved further and further from being related to anything DotNetNuke.

Since I had basically turned the site into a technology blog, it just makes sense for me to utilize a real blog platform for this task. Which is the reason you now see this site using Wordpress on Lamp, rather than Asp.Net on a Windows platform. I considered just selling the name ( I own all three of the main variants: DynamicVB.com, DynamicVB.Net, and DynamicVB.org), but I do like the name so  I’m not sure if I would want to do that.

I would just utilize DynamicVB.com for this endeavor, but since most of my web links and page rank are pointed towards DynamicVB.net then I decided to just keep  using it. I’ll probably build out the other two into something else. The .com variant would probably rank better in the SE’s, but then I would lose the PR on this domain. I’m not sure if Google will transfer PR if you do a 301 redirect or not, so that is something I will need to research.

As part of this move, I’ll be transferring some of the articles from the old DNN database here and hopefully I will have time in the next few weeks to make that happen. I’ll probably start to move this site away from DotNetNuke type information into other technology areas such as Silverlight. I still utilize DotNetNuke in quite a few sites I manage, but this will no longer be one of those sites.

I always have a decent amount of time off from the day job around Christmas so I’ll try to use some of that time for that task.

Anyway I’m not dead, just changing direction.

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• Securing and Scaling an ever increasing amount of content.
• Universal system access across a wide band of technology platforms.
• Interoperability of platforms across a range of technology.
• Users expect connected communication and collaboration between their peers.
• Personalized data access no matter what the method of access whether its mobile or the user is in their office environment.
• Integrated workflow and process management.

Now there may be unique needs in each vertical market, but mostly all information technology systems. Users are increasingly demanding access to this type of information and as IT managers and leaders it is our job to provide these resources. The problem comes in with effectively making all these disparate systems share information in an easy way. The preferred method is using XML technologies since XML is about data and the source of that data is not important as long as you can accurately describe the data.

Most users have problems learning many different user interfaces and ever interface the user uses reduces their productivity. This could be referred to as user pain. Its painful for users to have to switch between these various systems. In order to gain the most ROI on our technology investments we need to provide methods for users to do their work in a variety of systems and pull and push data to these systems. The method for doing this is XML and web services. There are many companies that are doing just this. They connect to Oracle Databases, PeopleSoft, or SAP backends all from the same interface. They companies that have created these types of interfaces receive much better ROI on their technology systems and as a result gain a more competitive advantage over their competitors.

I would suggest that companies who do not start to think in terms of trying to pull these systems together to allow better collaboration between the employees of their companies will have a difficult time competing in the coming years. This is one of the reasons you should be implementing systems that conform to standards for XML and web services. If the systems you are purchasing follow standards then you will have a easier time of integrating it with other systems when the time comes. In fact since the goal is to integrate systems should be your goal you should think in terms of how a particular system will interact in regards to the other systems you already have an investment at the onslaught of the purchasing process. This should not just be considered for shrink wrapped applications but also systems that you develop your self or have custom programmed for your business. These are some of the items you need to consider as you prepare your business for the evolution of business using technology.

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One of the key things in choosing the right software, is to know how the data was lost. Whether it was due to a virus, a mistake on your part, or even a hardware failure, so that you can decide which is the best data recovery method to use.

If you are quick enough, it is possible that you will not even need the data recovery software. When data is deleted it is not always trashed straight away. The operating system will change the file so that it won’t be displayed when you’re looking for it

If you can find this gap in the system before the computer uses it for something else, then it is possible to simply undelete it and the file will reappear with all your data. This way you can avoid the need for data recovery software and you should be back in business

The trick is to be very quick and find the gap in the system before doing too much other work, as this, especially if your hard drive has got very little unused space, may cause the computer to use the gap for something else. If you have not noticed the loss, and the computer has used it, then probably your best chance is in using some good quality data recovery software or service

Another problem can arise if you decide to repair the drive by defragging the computer, before you have a chance to try any data recovery. You probably will not lose all of it, but it is possible to lose some of it, as when you defrag it can cause some of the files to be overwritten

Of course even if you only lose one or two small files by doing this, chances are they will be the most important ones! So it is best to try to get to grips with your data recovery before doing any defragging. Even if you are not actively running this application, you should think whether you have preprogrammed to defrag the disc at specific intervals. So if you think you have lost any data, it is always best to try and recover it before doing anything else. That way you have a much better chance of success with your data recovery.

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The problem I have is its hard to decide. The hosting company I am currently on is very good, but I want to launch a new site for my wife so I want something that gives decent performance for DotNetNuke applications and I would also like to install a copy of community server in another site. So I definitely need a MSSQL server enabled account with the ability to host multiple domains. This is not always easy to find at an affordable price. I need to keep the cost cheap since these are pretty much hobby type sites and I only try to earn enough to pay the hosting fees with the advertising on the sites. I don’t think my wife is going to let me put any advertising on her site so I need something that won’t break the bank.

I’ve also found several cheap asp.net dedicated hosting plans that I may consider, but I will need to generate a lot more traffic before this is feasible. There are a lot of companies which offer various asp.net hosting web solutions using a dedicated hosting or virtual private server, but most of these only allow one MSSQL database per account. This does not really work if I want multiple applications running in the same asp.net hosting account. So I guess I’m stuck with a shared hosting solution until I can build up enough traffic to pay for my own dedicated host that offers multiple MSSQL databases. The problem here is most are not a cheap hosting solution and I really don’t want to get into paying a lot of money ever month for hosting these hobby sites. Well the search continues.

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Spyware is no longer being overlooked, but the Spyware writers have a huge lead over companies that are attempting to provide products to combat this increasing threat. The main method for combating this threat is to ensure the computers in your network have the latest patches for the operating system, but this is not always feasible in this environment of companies asking Technology Support departments to do more with less resources. Technology Support personal numbers ar eon the decline in a lot of companies while the threats to the infrastructure are increasing. Testing and deploying patches is a labor intensive operation even if you us some of the automated tools out there like Windows Update Service, you still must test each patch to ensure it does not interfere with custom applications used in support of the company’s business processes.

Another popular method is to limit the user’s access on their desktop, but this is not always feasible either, since a lot of applications require the logged on user to have elevated permissions on their computer to function properly. Couple this with the fact that many Technology Support departments do not have the political clout to force users to work in a manner that is best for the company as a whole.

So considering these situations how does a Network Admin control this threat in an effective manner. The Network Admin must go to the one area that no one else has access to the Network Edge. There are quite a few commercial products out there that will hunt down Spyware on the network and kill it on the user’s computer. You can also implement a Web filtering device which prevents user’s from visiting in-appropriate websites while they are connected to the company’s network. Many of these applications also have options to detect and eliminate Spyware type applications from ever entering the network.

This may be a difficult sell since these programs are usually kind of pricey, but if approached the correct way then you can usually get Management to sign off on the cost. The most efficient way to convince them of the need is to take an approach showing how much more productive employees will be with these protective measures in place. These edge appliances can potentially provide a method for Network Administrators to take back control of their network resources and eradicate these Spyware type resource draining applications from their network.

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There is a simple measure you can take to prevent these programs from being able to access your system in the first place. Many experts recommend that you keep your system updated and ensure you have the latest Virus and Protection software up to date. You can even utilize a firewall, like the one that comes default with Windows XP, to combat these threats. These are great ideas, but there is something simpler you can do that will prove to be more effective at combating Spyware than all of these methods combined. This method is described as Lowest User Access or LUA.

By default most home computers only ever have one user account created and that is the account that first came with the computer. This account known as Owner or Administrator or sometimes even your name probably has Administrator privileges. What most do not know is an account with Administrator privileges is not needed for the majority of tasks you perform on your computer. These privileges are needed when you are setting up software or installing additional hardware to your computer, but for simple surfing the net and working in office applications do not require near this level of access.

Why is this fact being mentioned, well it’s because this is the main cause of Spyware and Virus infections on the majority of computers. Most computer owners are not even aware of this fact since the default accounts shipped on computers are usually in the Administrator’s group. This is by design since this reduces the amount of support calls the computer companies receive because people can not perform a certain task and they call for support as a result. If anyone can perform any task then that reduces the chance they will need to call the support desk which saves the computer company money.

There is no valid reason for the majority of users to ever need Administrator privileges to perform 90% of all tasks you will ever need to use your computer for accomplishing. You could just as effectively accomplish your daily tasks with an account that only requires user permissions. If everyone would do this then Spyware can be eliminated and it would not be profitable for people to write these programs. The reason for this was alluded to earlier. Since only the Administrator or Power User Level accounts can install software then at least one of these types of accounts is required for Spyware to install itself. If you are not logged on under and account with these elevated privileges, then the spyware can not install. This is a very easy protective measure to take and you can implement it in just a few minutes. Just right click My Computer and select manage. Then open up the users section and add your self a new lowest access user to your system and use that account to surf the net. You can always log onto your computer with the Administrator account if you need to install something new.

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Spyware programs are usually not destructive, but there are some programs that attempt to steal your personably identifying information and could be used to steal your identity. This is one of the most troubling problems that the spyware proliferation on the Internet poses. Everyone needs to take proper measures through keeping their operating systems up to date and utilizing third party spyware scanning programs to prevent the infection.

The second big problem that spyware imposes is that is wastes your precious computer resources and slows down the performance of your computer. This is because the programs are usually not well coded and they contain numerous memory leaks and other non optimized code. The programs usually run in the background and are designed so that they are not easily detected.

There are many SpyWare detection programs on the Internet that are designed to stop these programs, but since there are many more Spyware writers than there are spyware detector writers, then most spyware is never detected. There are a few methods you can employ to determine if you have been infected.

If you watch your hard drive light, you may notice an excessive amount of activity when you are doing much on your computer. This could be a valid process such as a Virus Scan or valid operating system process running, but it could be a spyware program doing its work in the background.

Another method is to check the processes in your computer task manager for rogue programs. This is not hard to do, but it does take a little time to effectively perform. If you are running Windows XP then an easy way to check your task manager processes is to right click on the task bar and select Task Manager. You will receive a dialog box, where you can view the processes running. You do not want to look in the Applications section as many times that will not help your cause as these programs are hidden. You will then need to research each process running using a search engine such as Google to determine if the process may be a rogue process and possibly spyware. There will be many processes running in the Task Manager and most of those will be valid. If you notice one of the programs that is taking a lot more resources than the others such as CPU time or Memory consumption then that is a good candidate for a SpyWare program. Start with the high usage programs and research those first.

If you look for these two items then you will be able to detect the prescience of most types of spyware, but that is not to say you should not have a Spyware detection program installed. There are many of these programs both free and commercial versions. While the free type of detection program may seem most appealing, there is something to be said for the viability of commercial versions too. After all if you consider the danger Spyware poses to your security then do you not want version that has a commercial entity standing behind it and thus a company with the resources to research the various threats as they evolve and do the necessary research to effectively combat the threat this poses to your identity and safe web surfing experience.

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There are many applications designed to combat this growing threat, but they do not always work correctly. Sometimes it is necessary to take more stringent actions in riding your self of any infection than just running a scan from one of these applications. If you are not able to clean a spyware infection with your detector, then the next step is to try a restore operation. You can attempt to restore your computer to the state it was before the computer became infected. You can do this by Selecting the restore option from the Start Menu > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore. From this location you can select to restore your computer to an earlier time before it became infected. This is a fairly safe process and you should not lose any of your data, but this option is not always available.

The system restore option usually takes a system snapshot any time you install new software or during a predetermined schedule, but sometimes this does not happen. System Restore can be turned off either through configuration changes or through other software installation. In this case you pretty much only have a couple of choices to rid yourself of the infection. You could backup your data and perform a clean install. A clean install is where you reformat your hard drive and reinstall all your applications. This is not a pleasant experience and could require hours of your time depending on the type and number of applications you have installed.

The second option is to hack your registry. It should be noted that Hacking the Registry is not a task to be taken lightly and if done improperly you could still wind up doing a clean install as mentioned earlier. In order for you to hack the registry to effectively clean a spyware infection from your machine will require you knowing a little about the Spyware application you are attempting to remove. Before touching your registry make sure you make a backup and have a current windows boot disk. You may need it if you touch the registry and make a mistake. When touching the registry always have a backup plan. Once you open the registry by going to Start > Run > and typing in regedit the registry will be opened. The registry in Windows XP is quite large and if you go through every key then you will be there longer than if you had re-installed. You can search by pressing F3 and typing in the name of the spyware application that you are trying to destroy. When you find an occurrence then you can just delete that key, but be careful because if you delete the wrong key you can render the Operating System worthless.

If done properly you can effectively kill those spyware instances that just won’t seem to go away and you should only resort to this step if you have no other choice. The safest solution to eradicate spyware is to utilize one of the many tools out there such as Windows Defender, Adaware, or one of the many others you can find by searching on the Internet. There are also some commercial applications produced by well known virus companies such as McAffee or Norton that will help clean an infected system and help protect you from future infections. In this day of rampant Spyware infections you should not go online until you have one of these protection applications installed as protection is better than the cure, especially in the case of having to hack the registry.

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