Avast for Business goes free...

Following on from my previous post about Cryptowall, Avast recently launched a free business version of their proven antivirus software.

Avast! (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

While the personal version of Avast Antivirus has always been free, the huge difference here is twofold:

• The free business version runs on PC desktop and server platforms (Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10, SBS, Server), as well as Apple Macs (that old saying "Macs don't get viruses" no longer applies, folks);
  
  
• The solution is cloud-based.
  This is a big plus, since it can then be managed, monitored and administered from virtually anywhere.
  

Traditional business antivirus solutions, which are designed to protect servers as well as workstations, can set you back a fair deal.

Startups and smaller businesses however, may not have the capital to put down on commercial antivirus solutions, and this is where Avast comes in.

I am currently testing the free business solution to get a feel for it, and interestingly, there are no limitations in terms of installs or licences, so you can install it on as many devices as you need to:

The cloud-based control panel is also well laid out, and provides a tidy overview of your protected devices, as well as a real-time threat status.

I have to say that it all looks rather appealing, especially since it costs the same as a breath of fresh air...

The only real "gotcha" is that you can upgrade to a premium paid version.

This obviously offers a more formidable arsenal of antivirus wizardry, however I expect that most users will find the free version more than adequate.

I recommend that you sign up now and get it while it's free!

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If you are reading this, then you need to watch this video - You are a part of the Hyper Revolution, whether or not you are aware of it...

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What is up with the internet at the moment?

So all hell broke loose yesterday as regards internet connectivity in our country - officially, a repeater on the SEACOM cable that runs up the East African coastline went down.

In short, this sent a number of ISP's down as ADSL connections coutrywide started dropping like flies...
Well, they didn't actually drop - they remained connected but sporadically so.
In some cases, browsing was a no-no but mail was working fine - so it would seem to be affecting specific ports on ADSL connections.

Last I heard, we can expect to wait from 6-8 days until the fault is fully repaired.
Much customer grumbling can be heard when a 6-8 day repair time is offered by a provider, however it must be noted that such a repair involves locating the fault physically, bringing the faulty portion up to the surface, repairing it and then re-laying it on the seabed.
Not an easy fix by any means.

SEACOM - I wish you loads of luck!

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Who is using up all of my bandwidth...?

If this were the UK or the USA, we would have no need to worry about internet usage in the workplace - an extra gig here and there would be no big deal.
This is South Africa, though, which means that (until recently, at least) we have had to deal with the very real dilemma of data capping on our broadband internet usage. That said, only time will tell how good the latest uncapped ADSL offerings really are... (holding thumbs!!)

So what do you do if you are a small business and you find that you are frequently hitting your cap?
Or maybe you just want to know what your staff are up to when you are out... what websites they are visiting and what they are downloading...

Well there are several "packet-sniffer" utilities that will do the job for you, for the most part at least.
Over the years I have worked my way through a lot of them, on a quest to find out which one does the best job.
One that stood out for me was Network Probe - even their free version offers decent features, but the results need a bit of deciphering to understand them properly.
That's pretty much the biggest problem I found with a lot of the software I tried out - it was a mission to get it running correctly, and the results resembled ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics...

What you really need is a simple, foolproof program that can present reliable and accurate stats in a format that the layperson can easily understand.

Enter TupSight.
TupSight is just that - it installs on an XP / Vista / 7 / SBS / Server PC, and acts as a network gateway for  internet traffic. It is not a packet sniffer - rather, all internet traffic passes directly through it.

To quote the manufacturer's website:

"Unlike many other packet sniffing programs that use WinPcap library (www.winpcap.org) as the driver to capture live network data, TupSight is an NAT router technology-based EIM (Employee Internet Management) product realizing direct and reliable web monitoring and control at the Internet gateway.
TupSight can be installed on one of the computer hosts on any LAN infrastructures (i.e., no matter whether they are switched or wireless); and is NIC (network interface card)-independent"

For most configurations, there is a 3-step process to set it up:

- install TupSight on the gateway PC;
- change the Default Gateway setting on the PC's to be monitored, to point to the PC that TupSight is installed on;
- open TupSight, scan the LAN and select the PC's you want to monitor.
- Voila - you are good to go (unless your configuration requires some additional tweaking or special setup).

Personally, I have found that TupSight produces the most useful and easy to read results, out of all the monitoring software that I have ever used.
It reports total traffic by user, and then breaks it down into which sites were visted, and how much data was used at each site. It can produce reports for a specific day, or for a customizable period of time (e.g. 01 April - 15 April, by a single user or for all users).

You can also track activity produced by chat software and FTP, as well as request mail logs - the program is able to track all activity on Ports 110 (incoming mail) and 25 (outgoing mail), thus keeping a complete record of all mail activity (including mail content) for the hosts being monitored.
TupSight is a seriously powerful tool, and I have found it to be a hugely useful in tracking down areas of unacceptably high internet usage in a LAN environment.

Don't take my word for it though - rather head on over to http://www.tupsoft.com/ to find out more.

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Who or what is Global Verge? Are we on the VERGE of one huge scam?

This kind of subject always strikes a certain chord with me - I suppose my scam radar is just super-sensitive!

I received an email a few days ago, which made claims about what sounds like a fantastic new Internet / Voice / Telephony product, soon to be launched in South Africa and at a fantastic price to boot.

It casually made mention of some big industry names, e.g. MTN and Neotel, and proceeded to drop hooks and keywords such as "High Speed", "Free calls Worldwide", and the biggie... wait for it.... "Business opportunity" (this one set off my alarm bells...!).

Anyone who has been ripped by certain unnamed "network marketing" companies in the past, will tell you that they were approached with a "business opportunity" and that the seller was "extremely excited" about it.
What really gets my suspicions up is the totally blind enthusiasm that is put forward to potential buyers (or victims if you prefer) - no matter what you throw at them, they have some vague, unclear yet totally enthusiastic answer for you.

I won't say too much more on this subject - rather check out this link, and then check out the Global Verge homepage - then decide for yourself.

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