• Guardian Digital Assists Entrepreneurs to Elevate Their Business with E-Commerce
  
  
• Guardian Digital Customers Consistently Protected from Eruption of Linux Security Flaws
  
  
• Guardian Digital Introduces Innovative Open Source Approach to Email Security
  

 In Every Issue

• In the News
• At A Glance
• Industry Note
• Mailbag
• Hints & Tips
• Partner Profile

Industry Note
Linux: A Better Option for User

As I am sure everyone is already aware, the much publicized Microsoft security initiative has taken some discouraging hits as of late. MyDoom, Nimda, MS Blast and other significant Microsoft exploits caused users millions of dollars in damages and shows that Microsoft's security plan still has a long way to go. As these incidents continue to impact Microsoft customers, the case for Linux as a more secure business solution continues to strengthen.

Even after the Trustworthy Computing initiative was announced by Microsoft more than a year ago to improve focus on security, Gartner Research advised its Microsoft customers that the Windows server platform is not ready for mission-critical applications due to significant security concerns. It is through this initiative that Microsoft executives made very strong statements committing all their efforts toward security, yet their users continue to fall victim to debilitating security flaws. Throughout 2003, the first year of this program, Microsoft had released an average of nearly one security patch every week for the duration of the year. What exactly is this initiative supposed to achieve?

Experts commenting on the recent leak of Microsoft's intellectual property concur that their convoluted security management systems and "bolted on" approach to improving security does nothing more then leave users confused and provide only questionable levels of protection. This complex combination of piecemeal security features and the effects of having only a limited staff with sufficient access to the source code makes it nearly impossible to discover and eradicate all potential vulnerabilities, leaving many remaining for exploitation. Due to their need to prioritize which vulnerabilities will be patched, customers subsequently only receive the updates Microsoft deems worthwhile.

The open source approach, however, affords users a substantial number of resources from developers in the community to ensure that even seemingly insignificant security flaws are properly fixed. The unfailing group effort and dedication of the open source community continuously results in vulnerabilities being identified and patches being released more rapidly, mitigating potential security risks before negatively affecting the end user.

Due to the consistent occurrence of security issues circling Microsoft, Linux has made its way into the mainstream and is becoming more widely accepted every day. Providing customers with a reliable, scalable platform, Linux offers a solid budget friendly alternative to those offered by proprietary vendors without sacrificing functionality and power.

Dave Wreski, CEO Guardian Digital, Inc.

Guardian Digital In the News

SSL vs. IPsec Which Is Right for Your VPN?

Dave Wreski, Guardian Digital CEO, compares the benefits of SSL and IPSEC corporate VPN technologies for Processor.com readers.

Read Full Article

Guardian Digital Mailbag

Q. My inbox gets inundated with spam and it takes me forever to manage. Can you help me get rid of it?

A. Although a combination of many different features is what makes an anti-spam product effective, the best way to eliminate spam from your inbox is through filtering. Most email clients will allow you to set up spam filters by creating rules. These rules are usually based on developing spammer patterns or through the use of blacklists, whitelists, trusted senders lists, etc. However, continually creating and updating these rules becomes a tedious and overbearing task.

Software solutions, like Guardian Digital's Secure Mail Suite, are designed to solve this problem by incorporating the most technologically advanced anti-spam features with little required end-user administration. In addition to basic filtering techniques, more advanced spam fighting methods should also be incorporated. These methods include heuristics systems to learn patterns of spammers, envelope and content analysis, file attachment management and next-generation Bayesian filtering which statistically analyzes whether an incoming message is spam and continuously learns the techniques of spammers so your inbox is always secure.

For an anti-spam solution to truly be effective, it should integrate all of these features and release frequent updates to consistently thwart the ever-changing techniques of spammers.

Furthermore, you can start eliminating spam immediately by following a few simple steps:

1. Do not freely give out your email address
2. Create separate accounts for eBay, online shopping and activities that require email registration.

The Behind the Shield editors encourage their readers to submit questions. The most frequently asked questions will appear in future issues. We look forward to answering all your inquiries! Email us at info@guardiandigital.com

Hints & Tips from Experts

Mandatory Access Control -- Guardian Digital is pleased to provide Behind the Shield readers with informative expert advice on what network security really means. Each month a new topic of interest will be chosen to supply you with useful tips and information not offered elsewhere. This month, we'll have a brief discussion on the importance of access controls to network security.

Mandatory Access Control is a unique security mechanism developed by Guardian Digital, and only available in EnGarde, to protect users from unauthorized access to information and enhances other safeguards, significantly minimizing the impact of a system attack.

Operating in the background, your EnGarde server is always free from many threats problematic for many environments.

Read More

Partner Profile
Intelligent Decisions

Through national and multi-national partners including Intelligent Decisions in Chantilly Virginia, Guardian Digital is able to provide their productivity and security solutions to customers worldwide.

Founded in 1988, Intelligent Decisions, Inc. (IDI) is a fully diversified, systems manufacturing, integration and IT solutions company. Through its vast array of offerings and technology partners, IDI is able to provide strategic solutions in areas such as: identity management; storage, security and disaster recovery; web services; system migration; and logistics support. IDI has distinguished itself as a responsive and reliable partner to the federal government and maintains a robust GSA schedule and other contract vehicles supporting civilian, defense and intelligence agencies.

Intelligent Decisions, Inc. selected Guardian Digital based on their high level of security and extra attention to usability. IDI uses Guardian Digital as the secure operating system for our network appliances in order to provide Linux security with Windows usability and remote management.

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