Sandra Gittlen

The hottest gadgets, including the popular Apple iPod, pose a big risk to enterprise networks, according to security experts. ”As innocent as MP3 players and digital cameras look, when you look under the hood, they could be risky,” says Jeff Falcon, a security engineer at CDW, Inc., a technology consultancy and retailer in Vernon Hills, […]

IT managers who are putting mobile voice over IP on their enterprise wish lists this holiday season might want to be more specific. The term ”mobile VoIP” has taken on a multitude of meanings with very different technology requirements. ”In its most straightforward, mobile VoIP is voice over IP over cellular and Wi-Fi networks, but […]

Would a router by any other name still be effective? That’s the question the IT industry is pondering as some vendors, including Cisco Systems, Inc., are clamoring to load the next generation of routers with functionality that now exists in stand-alone appliances. For instance, Cisco’s latest Integrated Services Routers (ISR) boast support for firewalls, virtual […]

In IT, there was an accepted rule of thumb that stated primary and secondary data storage facilities should be 25 kilometers apart. That was the rule until a few weeks ago, anyway. The multi-state path of destruction of hurricanes Rita and Katrina has turned that rule on its head, forcing many IT managers to rethink […]

Jim Linn, IT director at the American Gas Association in Washington, D.C., knows the benefits of smartphones that offer voice and data functionality. But he also knows the risks. Like many of his colleagues, Linn is worried about the liability of data loss or corruption if users send and receive corporate emails over their cell […]

For Corey Corrick, the allure of 10G Ethernet is great. Corrick is hoping to use powerhouse speeds to move files across his large enterprise network. ”Right now, we store everything in our SAN,” says Corrick, technology services manager at Guidestone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention in Dallas. ”We move some pretty big files […]

Companies are facing a tough challenge these days. Security risks, like the recent Zotob virus, are on the rise and security specialists are in high demand. This is forcing many companies to take on anyone calling themselves a security guru. But experts warn that organizations should look for a lot more than certifications before allowing […]

Microsoft executives are hoping that a host of security improvements in its long-awaited Vista (formerly Longhorn) operating system will have companies lining up to install the new product when it’s released in late 2006. But IT managers and experts alike say the software giant could be mistaken. ”I plan on using Windows XP until its […]

IT managers who allow their users to access personal email accounts via Web-based sites are putting their companies at risk, according to experts. ”If companies are allowing employees to use personal email tools, but not retaining those messages, they could be facing serious legal and regulatory trouble,” says Nancy Flynn, executive director of the ePolicy […]

Ask network manager Tom Gonzales about Firefox, an open-source browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation, and he openly gushes about its myriad benefits. Gonzales says he swears by Firefox at home, in the office and for most of his IT team. But ask him if he intends to roll it out to his users, and […]