• Mother’s Day is always the second Sunday in May.
• Mother’s Day is the third-largest card-sending holiday in the United States, with 141 million cards exchanged annually.
• Mother’s Day is the largest card-sending holiday for the Hispanic community. Depending on the country, Mother’s Day is celebrated on many different days throughout the year. In Mexico, it is always celebrated May 10.
• Mother’s Day is the second most popular holiday for gift-giving, following Christmas.
• Mother’s Day is observed across a wide range of relationships. In addition to mothers, grandmothers and wives, the celebration extends to daughters, sisters, aunts, mothers of loved ones, friends, and any others who play a mother-like role.

Many products are readily available from your local retail computer store. Cable modems, Routers, Wi-Fi devices and even basic firewalls. Open up the box and you find the product itself, a few cables and a step-by-step poster. In most cases you’re up and running rather quickly and that’s good.

What you don’t know is that the factory took many hours to develop the install wizards that allow you to get set-up quickly and easily. The factory has no idea where and how you intend to use these devices so they provide a ‘default’ configuration profile, which tends to work in most cases. The problem with the default profile is just that it’s a default and must serve as a starting point and not the final operating configuration.

Each device should be configured for a particular scenario and purpose. The default settings are published so everyone knows what they are. In case of a firewall, even a non-expert hacker can get past one which is running in the default configuration mode. This would be akin to leaving your walls with just a primer coat of paint. They won’t last long.

So what can you do? Why not hire an expert from Unicom Solutions who can help you decide on which product is best suited for your needs, install these devices beyond their default configuration profile and set them up with your exact requirements? We will also disable the features that you don’t need and apply a security policy that woks for you.

Contact us today.

Roman Sawycky, Unicom Solutions Group, Inc.

There is a famous quote from Mark Twain that goes like this: “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter – it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”
Twain was dead on. (No surprise there!) At the very least, using the wrong word in a report, proposal, paper or memo can be embarrassing. At its worst, misusing words can damage your credibility and even prove costly at times.
One big problem with language today is the way we speak and the way we write are often two different beasts. Why else would the phrase “for all intents and purposes” have metamorphosed into “for all intensive purposes”? The same is true for “could of” and “should of,” which don’t even make sense if you think about it. But because that’s the way we say it, that’s the way many of us end up writing it on paper, instead of proper “could have” and “should have.”

What follows is a list of words and phrases we commonly misuse. Hopefully, most of them won’t be eye-openers, but a few may surprise you:

Accept, Except

Accept- (verb) to agree with, take in, receive. Example: We accept your decision.

Except- (preposition) Apart from. Example: All committee members are present except for Ms. Brown.

Acute, Chronic

Acute- (adjective) Sharp, intense, critical. Example: The company has an acute shortage of skilled workers right now.

Chronic- (adjective) Constant, habitual, long-lasting. Example: She is unable to work because of chronic illness.

Adverse, Averse

Adverse - (adjective) Unfavorable, opposing one’s interest. Example: They found themselves in adverse circumstance.

Averse -(adjective) Antipathy, repugnance, having the feeling of being opposed. Example: She is not averse to increasing her workload.

Affect, Effect

Affect - (verb) to influence something. Example: How will that affect the bottom line?

Effect - (Noun) the result of (Verb) to cause something to be Example: Her speech had the effect of motivating the listeners.

Allusion, Illusion

Allusion - (noun) A casual reference of mentioning something. Example: Was that an allusion to Hemingway?

Illusion - (noun) something that gives a false picture of reality. Example: He believes democracy is an illusion.

All right, Alright

All Right – Fine, OK. Example: It’s all right to leave early.

Alright – Incorrect spelling.

Apprise, Appraise

Apprise - (verb) Give notice to. Example: Please apprise me of the situation.

Appraise - (verb) determine the worth of something. Example: The ring was appraised before we purchased it.

Assure, Ensure, Insure

Assure- (verb) To state with confidence, pledge or promise. Example: I assure you the check is in the mail.

Ensure - ( verb) To make certain. Example: Following the instructions ensures you won’t get hurt.

Insure - (verb) to purchase insurance. Example: Insure the package before you send it.

Beside, Besides

Beside - (preposition) at the side of, next to , near. Example: Take a seat beside me.

Besides – (adverb) Furthermore, in addition to. Example: Besides, several of us will be out of town next week.

Compliment, Complement

Compliment – (Verb) To give praise. Example: I complemented Steve on his speech.

Complement – (Verb) To complete something or match it well. Example: Her skills complement the needs of our department.

Continual, Continuous

Continual – (adjective) Often repeated, very frequent – but occasionally interrupted. Example: They’ve received continual complaints.

Continuous – (adjective) Uninterrupted. Example: We couldn’t hear over his continuous talking.

Disburse, Disperse

Disburse – (verb) To Pay, distribute, scatter. Example: They disbursed name tags to everyone attending the meeting.

Disperse – (Verb) To drive off, spread widely, cause to vanish. Example: The throng of fans dispersed into the stands.

Farther, Further

Farther – (adverb) At or to a greater distance. Example: We are located farther down the highway.

Further – (adverb) More or additional – but not related to distance. Example: We need to have a further discussion on that.

Fewer, Less

Fewer – (adjective) Of a small number, only used with countable items. Example: He made fewer mistakes than last time.

Less – (adjective or adverb) To a smaller extent, amount or degree – used with quantities that cannot be individually counted. Example: If they made less noise, we could concentrate.

Imply, Infer

Imply – (verb) To suggest. Example: What are you implying by that accusation?

Infer – (verb) To deduce from evidence. Example: From the look on your face, I can infer you’re not happy with the decision.

Its, It’s

Its – (pronoun) Possessive form if “it”. Example: The machine has lost its ability to scan documents.

It’s – Contraction of “it is.” Example: It’s not a question of right or wrong.

Lose, Loose

Lose – (verb) Fail to win, misplace. Example: Did you lose your file?

Loose – (adjective) Free from anything that restraints. Example: Since losing weight, his clothes seem loose.

Of, Have

Of – (preposition) Frequently confused with “have” since “could’ve” is pronounced “could of” but “of” cannot be used as a verb.

Have – (verb) Proper verb form for “could have,” “should have” and “would have”.

Principal, Principle

Principal –(noun) Person who has controlling authority. (adjective) Something essential or important. Example: Let’s talk about the principal reason we’re meeting today.

Principle – (noun) Basic truth, policy or action. Example: It’s important to stick to our principles.

Regardless, Irregardless

Regardless – (adjective or adverb) In spite of. Example: We are leaving regardless of whether you’re ready.

Irregardless – This is not a word. (Yes, you may find it in your dictionary, but you’re only embarrassing yourself if you use it.)

Than, Then

Than – (preposition) In contrast to. Example: I’d rather speak face-to-face than communicate by e-mail.

Then – (adverb) Next. Example: We met for dinner, then went to a movie.

Their, There, They’re

Their – (pronoun) Belonging to them. Example: Where is their car?

There – (adverb) In a place. Example: Let’s visit there.

They’re – contraction of “they are.” Example: They’re not leaving without saying good-bye, are they?

Whose, Who’s

Whose – (pronoun) Possessive case of “who” or “which.” Example: Whose keys are these?

Who’s – Contraction of “who is.” Example: Who’s going to the game after work?

Your, You’re

Your – (pronoun) Belonging to you. Example: Your briefcase is over there.

You’re – Contraction of “you are.” Example: You’re not going to believe this.

Source: Chartec

Source: NorthPoint Technology Group
Network refresh. . .I’ll give you a moment to stop cringing.
Better? Ok.
It’s something that most business leaders don’t want to think about, but needs to be considered when your network reaches the three year mark. A network refresh is an investment, there’s no doubt about that, but the cost of doing nothing and continuing to work on an aging network most likely has greater costs that you may not even realize.
Consider the fact that network components begin to deteriorate after 3 years. That means they require more maintenance than new equipment. Add in that the demands on today’s networks are much higher than ever (stop and think about how much more work do you do using technology than you did a few years ago!) and will only continue to go up, and that you’re asking equipment designed for a previous age to deliver on these increased demands, and you have a recipe for a network break down.

Let’s take a look at some of the underlying costs associated with an aging network:

Performance

If your network continually goes down or needs maintenance, your team is losing work time. This costs you money by decreasing staff productivity and results. Take a moment to calculate the money lost on just employee salary for an hour of down time…

Say your average employee hourly rate is $20 and you have 10 employees – that’s $200 for just one hour of downtime! And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. What about customer satisfaction when your business comes to a halt, without access to critical data? If a network crashes, it will usually be down for at least a few hours before a technician can be onsite to remediate any problems.

Operations

Aging networks are far more inefficient than modern technology and have much higher power consumption rates. (The new HP ProLiant Gen8 Servers boast a 6x performance increase for demanding workloads over older servers.) These older network components end up raising your operating expenses, which is an ongoing expense.

Service

Ongoing network problems are another common issue. With these issues comes more service calls to repair minor or major issues. Perhaps the newest version of your accounting software is no longer supported by your old hardware specs, causing error after error. Maybe your server is on its last legs and needs repeated emergency maintenance. Maybe you’ve embraced personal devices like smartphones and tablets on your network, but they aren’t compatible with older technology.

Nobody wants the extra expense of unscheduled maintenance or repairs for their network – the cost for these on-site trips or even remote service begins to add up quickly!

How do you fix the problem?

Business technology has matured to a point where a properly configured network should run stably with little to no unscheduled maintenance. If you find yourself consistently having issues or needing unscheduled service calls, it may be time to consider a partial or full Network Refresh. Your network and your IT infrastructure is like a car: at some point it gets enough miles on it that the cumulative costs to fix it after each breakdown exceed the cost of a new car. Do you need a network refresh? You can answer that question by assessing your network in detail. To learn more about or to schedule an assessment, contact us! We’ll be more than happy to help you get started!

The Unicom Client Communicator is a powerful tool that we deploy to every desktop. The UCC is a system tray icon that can be used for a wide array of self-help tools as well as easy access to system information, our service and support web site and more.

UCC offers the following features, with more to come.

Support Center – Direct link to all support services

Email our support team – Click here to start an email request to our team

Client Portal – A quick and easy way to the client portal.

Customer Satisfaction Survey – We value your feedback. Do take a moment and let us know how we are doing.

We continue to improve our management and support tools in order to offer the best proactive services and user experience possible.

Unicom Solutions Group
President, Roman Sawycky

Happy Holiday’s from everyone here at Unicom!

It’s hard to believe that another year has come and gone and 2013 is right around the corner. Our goal for next year is to maintain and grow the high level of customer service you’ve grown to expect from Unicom. While our staff and customer base continues to grow, we promise to stay focused on the most important part of our business – you.

When you’re enjoying the time with your family this season, just remember that we’re still working hard to make sure your computer needs are met in every way possible.

From the entire staff @ Unicom, Season’s Greetings!

Roman Sawycky
President
Unicom Solutions Group, Inc.
908.654.0900 x203

On December 1 st Microsoft has raised its software pricing an estimated 15% and on December 31 st , most likely your fiscal year will end and any incentives that you may have had available will most likely be gone! The Section 179 Deduction has been great to businesses for years. But did you also know that when it is combined with equipment financing, it can literally put thousands of dollars in your pocket? Unicom Solutions Group has also teamed with Microsoft in helping you receive a subsidy when you purchase qualifying Microsoft software with our BIG EASY offer. It’s smart to take a look at using the Section 179 Deduction for 2012. Find out more at www.section179.org .

In the beginning of time, we had tape backup. In the days before Terabyte hard drives, it was the only medium that would hold the large amount of data that constituted a backup. It did have some problems though…

• It was very slow
• It was, for the most part, a manual process. You had to change the tapes every day and establish a rotation by which you would take tapes off-site in case the building burned down.
• It had a nasty habit of letting you think you had a good backup, but when you went to use it, there was nothing on the tape.
• You had to replace the tapes every year.
• Since it was so slow, you had to wait until the end of the day to do the backup overnight, so if your server crashed at 4:59 p.m. you lost whole days worth of work.
• The software to run the tape backups was expensive and difficult to use because you had to make small changes each day, wait for a backup to run, and then see if the changes worked.
• The tape drives themselves were expensive and prone to failure
• Restoration of a failed server generally took 3-5 days to get the new server, load and configure the OS, install the apps, retrieve the data from tape, and restore it.
• Depending on how many tapes you had, restoring iterative files (getting something from 3 months ago) was not possible because that tape had been over-written 2 months ago.

A few years ago, we came up with multiple redundancy off-site backup with a mirrored hard drive enclosure using “the Cloud”. This brought us several improvements….

• Backup was now automated. You just told it what to do and it sent you an e-mail saying it’s done.
• Restores of individual files became much faster since you could now copy files directly from the local backup drives or the cloud to the server.
• No more tapes to switch out.
• You could now restore iterative data. Most Cloud backup providers keep 6 months worth of data.

There were still some problems though…

• Rebuild time for a catastrophically failed server was reduced to 2-4 days, but it was still 2-4 days to get the equipment, load and configure the OS, install the apps, and restore the data from the local enclosure or cloud storage. So nobody’s working for 2-4 days.
• You still had to wait until the end of the day to do your backup, so if your server died at 4:59 p.m. you still lost a whole days worth of work.

We are now in the age of Virtualization and BDRs (Backup and Disaster Recovery Servers). With these advancements we have resolved all of the problems of tape backup and MROSBWMHDE…

A virtualized server doesn’t care what hardware it is running on. If you have a virtualized backup of your server, you can copy it from an HP to Dell like a common data file and fire it up in minutes, assuming you have another server lying around.

The BDR is the final piece of the puzzle. There is a high speed connection between your main server and the BDR. The BDR is taking snapshots of your entire server as often as every 15 minutes without any perceptible performance effect on your main server. Instead of waiting until the end of the day, the BDR is sending its data off-site into the cloud continually and it is storing an entire virtualized copy of your server in the cloud along with the ability to get iterative copies of that server and its data.

So, let’s discuss failure and recovery scenarios and the options for handling them.

Your main server has a catastrophic hardware failure.

• As soon as a technical resource is available, we spin up the virtualized copy of your main server inside the BDR (it is a server after all).
• Your employees are pointed at that server, so now instead of them not working for 3-5 days, they are back to work in as little as a 1-3 hours using the BDR as a temporary server while we get the new hardware and put the main server back in order.
• Instead of losing 1 days worth of work/data, we’ve lost maybe 15 minutes to an hour of data.
• When your new server hardware comes in, instead of taking 1-3 days of labor to get it configured, setup, and data restored, we copy the latest version of the virtualized server onto it from the BDR, fire it up, and switch the users back to the main server in a day or less. The only choke point is waiting for the new hardware to arrive, but it doesn’t really matter because everyone is still working from the copy of your server running on the BDR while all of the repairs are going on.

You have a fire. The main server and BDR are destroyed.

• Since we have a virtualized copy of your server in the Cloud, we spin up a copy of your server in the cloud. Your users connect to it and are working again in a matter of hours. It will be slow because everything has to go through your broadband connections instead of your LAN and MPLS, but it will function.
• The cloud provider charges a good amount to implement this option, but everyone is working the same or next day, as opposed to days or weeks of down time.

The price to purchase and implement a BDR is a little more than the old tape drive and Backup Exec software used to cost, but not much more. And the benefits in “time to full recovery” and “user down time during recovery” are astounding.

Please contact me at romans@unicomisit.com Roman Sawycky, at Unicom, if you would like to know more.

Almost every day you find yourself registering for a new web site somewhere. If what you are doing is for personal use then using your email address and a password should work out fine. You may share this with your spouse or others and not a big deal. What about corporate registrations? Sure you can have your staff use YOUR email address and then YOU will be getting all the transactional correspondences. You can have your staff use THEIR email address and that’s fine until there’s a staff change. You find yourself missing emails and/or having to re-assign the accounts. We recommend setting up email address for your accounts or even a specific address for a specific service. For example you may want to have an account called “ Social_Media@{your company} .com ”. This would be used as the login for twitter, linked-in, facebook, etc. This email would be monitored by the appointed person. If you want to get more specific you can have ‘twitter@{your company} .com”. This too would be monitored by an oppointed person. Of course, you can see how much more control you can achieve with individual accounts. In summary, use generic emails specifically assigned to the role and refrain from using email addresses of employees or even business owners.

Computer Health

Use an Anti Virus Software And Regularly Update It
Antivirus software – better paid one than free, is designed to safeguard your PC from harm causing computer virus. Some virus infections can delete, modify your data secretly and lead to crash of your computer. So be sure to update your Antivirus software with the latest patch and signature files for maximum security.
Also, configure your antivirus to do regular scans of your computer drives at least once in a week when your computer is idle. Also, setup real time scanning so that virus are tracked via email and Internet etc.

Use A Good Quality UPS to Protect PC From Power Surges
An uninterruptible power supply protects your computer and data during a power surge or failure. A power surge (sudden high voltage) if allowed to enter a computer can cause storage devices and associated circuitry to malfunction leading to data loss.

The chargeable battery in the UPS gives you enough time to save your documents and shut down Windows properly so that you don’t lose any files or damage any hardware components of your computer due to sudden loss of electrical power.

Data Security

Lock It Down
It’s always a good idea to lock your PC if strangers are nearby and you step away for a few minutes. Just press Windows key+L to lock your PC. Alternatively, you can set your screensaver (via the Screensaver tab in Display Settings under Control Panel) to require a password if it’s deactivated by checking the box in “Settings” that says “On resume, password protect.”Use Encryption

Prevent Phishing Attacks
Protect yourself from identity theft and phishing attacks by using the the latest versions of Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Opera. These browsers include protection that double-checks URLs against a blacklist, and will notify you if you’re about to visit a known phishing site.

Keep Your Software Up to Date
Hackers and crackers love to take advantage of exploits found in software, which causes the developers to release a patch to plug up the holes. Therefore, it’s imperative you not only enable Windows Update but also download the latest version of any software on your system, especially your Web browser and antivirus program.

Verify Your Backups
Many people have a “set it and forget it” mindset when it comes to backups. Even after you establish a regimen, however, it’s critical that you check the target folders periodically to ensure the proper files are being backed up. If not, re-configure your backup routine to make sure it’s working properly. Back Up Everything!

Ergonomics

Care About the Chair
Proper posture is crucial to ergonomic success. To keep your feet on the floor, arms parallel with the desk, head up, and back straight, invest in a quality office chair. If you have short legs or a tall workstation, consider pairing your chair with a footrest.

Get Rid of Glare
When ambient light hits your monitor screen, it produces a ton of eye-straining glare. To cut down on the damage, dim the overhead lights and install a desk lamp. Also, avoid positioning your screen in front of an uncovered window; instead, place your monitor perpendicular to the window and use blinds or curtains to cut down on outside light.

Perfect Your Peripherals
The battle against carpal tunnel syndrome begins with an adjustable keyboard and an ergonomically friendly mouse. Also crucial is your peripheral positioning: Place your keyboard directly in front of you at a height that keeps your forearms parallel with the floor. Your mouse should be to the left or the right of the keyboard, but no more than a few inches away.

Take Stretch Breaks
No matter how ergonomically awesome your workstation may be, your body still needs regular breaks from all that sitting, typing, staring, and mousing.

Position Your Monitor
A correctly positioned monitor leads to better productivity. Make sure your display is directly in front of you, not off to one side. Raise the screen so the top edge is roughly at eye level, and then tilt the display upward so you’re not craning to see the bottom of the screen. Finally, position the monitor an arm’s length away from your head.