Watching Your Back
IP Surveillance Offers Convenient, High-Quality Security
In today's uncertain times, even the smallest companies need video surveillance solutions. Until recently, basic closed-circuit television (CCTV) technology -- video cameras hardwired to a monitoring station -- offered the best, and only option. Now, surveillance has evolved to the digital realm.
The result is “IP” or “networked” surveillance, which relays camera images through the network to a PC monitor for observation. In addition to potentially lowering the cost of system ownership, IP surveillance offers higher quality, more convenience and flexibility:
Off-site monitoring | Standard CCTV technology allows remote monitoring of offices or areas thousands of miles away -- say at a branch office. However, observing those sites from afar requires sending video data from the camera hookup through ISDN or T1 lines. In contrast, IP cameras let users observe from any PC within a network, eliminating the expense of high-end dedicated phone lines.
Image capture | Digital images and the related ability to control the viewing experience through software configuration greatly enhance visual quality. For instance, the camera can be set to roll only when it detects motion -- saving on playback time and logging. Additionally, when incidents occur, individual snapshots of a suspect can easily be pulled out and given to police.
Traditional closed-circuit setups require the purchase of higher-end, time-lapse photography cameras to retrieve single video frames.
Storage | Most companies desire the ability to play back the tape when conducting video surveillance, to view incidents in greater detail or discern patterns. With traditional technology, this means saving the video to a VHS tape, then logging the tape, cataloging it and playing it back on a VCR. With IP-based video surveillance, media is saved on hard disk and easily searched from the desktop. The solution saves time and the expense of tapes and related logging. Users may then burn the material to a CD-ROM or DVD.
IP surveillance solutions involve wired or wireless cameras that connect with your Ethernet. All-in-one packages typically include digital cameras, viewing configuration software, and a 40- to 60-MB hard disk.
These days, security is no longer an option. When planning a surveillance system, consider both quality and efficiency. Contact us and we’ll help you assemble a custom system that fits your needs.
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Fed Up With Spam? Feast On New Solutions
Most everyone using e-mail has encountered spam -- unsolicited junk mail that clogs e-mail systems, eats up network bandwidth and wastes valuable time. But you don't have to go through the day unprotected from this nuisance. Here's an overview of solutions that can help.
Desktop Software
The first line of defense for small-office and home-office users is typically anti-spam software, which blocks e-mail on the desktop using a variety of filtering methods.
Rules-based filtering, for example, checks incoming e-mail against characteristics frequently used by spam authors (e.g., words, catch phrases or “ADV” labels denoting advertisements). Blacklist filtering compares e-mail messages with directories of spam senders' ISP addresses. Once a message is identified as spam, the software will either delete it, or quarantine it temporarily in a junk-mail folder.
These software products are easy to install, simple to configure and inexpensive (usually less than $100).
Server-Based Software
For small to midsize businesses with e-mail servers -- and a higher volume of spam -- server-based solutions may be more effective.
Unlike desktop solutions, server-based software provides rules-based, content and blacklist filtering directly on the server. Before purchasing this type of solution, make sure your existing hardware is robust enough to handle both an e-mail server and a secondary application. If processing power presents a concern, consider a server-based hardware appliance instead.
Server-Based Hardware
These solutions bypass the e-mail server and stop spam right at the network gateway. While more costly (starting around $3,000), these appliances automatically download real-time black lists, so spam filters are always up-to-date.
Server-based hardware appliances also offer easy management via a Web browser, and increased network security by blocking hackers before they reach the network.
The Newest Anti-Spam Feature: Heuristics
Some software and hardware solutions are beginning to take filtering one step further -- with an intelligence technology called heuristics.
Previously used in anti-virus solutions, heuristics detects spam by examining not only e-mail content, but other characteristics as well, such as the method of message distribution (e.g., mass mailing to all network members). This rapidly advancing technology adapts to spammers' ever-evolving tricks.
Despite the high occurrence of spam, there are plenty of spam-blocking solutions that can help you get the upper hand. Find out more by calling us today.
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