As computer security threats continue to rise, the need for qualified computer security professionals also increases. In an effort to prove their competency, many IT professionals choose to obtain the internationally accepted CompTIA Security+ Certification. In order to become certified, CompTIA Security+ candidates must first pass a certification exam. With proper preparation and the use of several training techniques, passing the CompTIA Security+ exam is easily attainable. By completing the following steps, you should be able to combat the emergence of increased computer security threats by passing the CompTIA Security+ exam with confidence.
Instructions
Step 1
Enroll in a CompTIA Learning Alliance training center. There are numerous CompTIA Learning Alliance training centers across the United States. Go to the CompTIA website for a list of approved training centers in your area. Such training centers provide the best Security+ certification exam preparation available.
Step 2
Download Security+ exam objectives from the CompTIA website. Under the Certifications & Exams section of the CompTIA website, you will find a section devoted to exam preparation. There you can download the
free CompTIA practice questions for any CompTIA exam, including the Security+ exam.
Step 3
Answer sample questions. The CompTIA website also provides a number of sample questions for each certification exam it offers. After filling out a form on the CompTIA website, you will have access to a list of sample free test questions
for the Security+ exam.
Step 4
Purchase access to CompTIA's eLearning Center. By purchasing access to this CompTIA learning tool, you will have 24/7 access to unique learning tools designed to help you prepare for the Security+ exam for a period of six months. Features include in-depth lessons, virtual labs and audio help, as well as ac.
CompTIA A+ certification validates the latest skills needed by today's computer support professionals. It is an international, vendor-neutral certification recognized by major hardware and software vendors, distributors
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
How To Pass The Comptia Security+ With Ease
How To Pass The Comptia Security+ With Ease
As computer security threats continue to rise, the need for qualified computer security professionals also increases. In an effort to prove their competency, many IT professionals choose to obtain the internationally accepted CompTIA Security+ Certification(http://www.certkingdom.com) In order to become certified, CompTIA Security+ candidates must first pass a certification exam. With proper preparation and the use of several training techniques, passing the CompTIA Security+ exam is easily attainable. By completing the following steps, you should be able to combat the emergence of increased computer security threats by passing the CompTIA Security+ exam with confidence.
Instructions
Step 1
Enroll in a CompTIA Learning Alliance training center. There are numerous CompTIA Learning Alliance training centers across the United States. Go to the CompTIA website for a list of approved training centers in your area. Such training centers provide the best Security+ certification exam preparation available.
Step 2
Download Security+ exam objectives from the CompTIA website. Under the Certifications & Exams section of the CompTIA website, you will find a section devoted to exam preparation. There you can download the free CompTIA practice questions(http://www.actualkey.com/vendor/CompTIA-4.html) for any CompTIA exam, including the Security+ exam.
Step 3
Answer sample questions. The CompTIA website also provides a number of sample questions for each certification exam it offers. After filling out a form on the CompTIA website, you will have access to a list of sample free test questions(http://www.actualkey.com) for the Security+ exam.
Step 4
Purchase access to CompTIA's eLearning Center. By purchasing access to this CompTIA learning tool, you will have 24/7 access to unique learning tools designed to help you prepare for the Security+ exam for a period of six months. Features include in-depth lessons, virtual labs and audio help, as well as ac.
As computer security threats continue to rise, the need for qualified computer security professionals also increases. In an effort to prove their competency, many IT professionals choose to obtain the internationally accepted CompTIA Security+ Certification(http://www.certkingdom.com) In order to become certified, CompTIA Security+ candidates must first pass a certification exam. With proper preparation and the use of several training techniques, passing the CompTIA Security+ exam is easily attainable. By completing the following steps, you should be able to combat the emergence of increased computer security threats by passing the CompTIA Security+ exam with con
fidence.
Instructions
Step 1
Enroll in a CompTIA Learning Alliance training center. There are numerous CompTIA Learning Alliance training centers across the United States. Go to the CompTIA website for a list of approved training centers in your area. Such training centers provide the best Security+ certification exam preparation available.
Step 2
Download Security+ exam objectives from the CompTIA website. Under the Certifications & Exams section of the CompTIA website, you will find a section devoted to exam preparation. There you can download the free CompTIA practice questions(http://www.actualkey.com/vendor/CompTIA-4.html) for any CompTIA exam, including the Security+ exam.
Step 3
Answer sample questions. The CompTIA website also provides a number of sample questions for each certification exam it offers. After filling out a form on the CompTIA website, you will have access to a list of sample free test questions(http://www.actualkey.com) for the Security+ exam.
Step 4
Purchase access to CompTIA's eLearning Center. By purchasing access to this CompTIA learning tool, you will have 24/7 access to unique learning tools designed to help you prepare for the Security+ exam for a period of six months. Features include in-depth lessons, virtual labs and audio help, as well as actual learning.
As computer security threats continue to rise, the need for qualified computer security professionals also increases. In an effort to prove their competency, many IT professionals choose to obtain the internationally accepted CompTIA Security+ Certification(http://www.certkingdom.com) In order to become certified, CompTIA Security+ candidates must first pass a certification exam. With proper preparation and the use of several training techniques, passing the CompTIA Security+ exam is easily attainable. By completing the following steps, you should be able to combat the emergence of increased computer security threats by passing the CompTIA Security+ exam with confidence.
Instructions
Step 1
Enroll in a CompTIA Learning Alliance training center. There are numerous CompTIA Learning Alliance training centers across the United States. Go to the CompTIA website for a list of approved training centers in your area. Such training centers provide the best Security+ certification exam preparation available.
Step 2
Download Security+ exam objectives from the CompTIA website. Under the Certifications & Exams section of the CompTIA website, you will find a section devoted to exam preparation. There you can download the free CompTIA practice questions(http://www.actualkey.com/vendor/CompTIA-4.html) for any CompTIA exam, including the Security+ exam.
Step 3
Answer sample questions. The CompTIA website also provides a number of sample questions for each certification exam it offers. After filling out a form on the CompTIA website, you will have access to a list of sample free test questions(http://www.actualkey.com) for the Security+ exam.
Step 4
Purchase access to CompTIA's eLearning Center. By purchasing access to this CompTIA learning tool, you will have 24/7 access to unique learning tools designed to help you prepare for the Security+ exam for a period of six months. Features include in-depth lessons, virtual labs and audio help, as well as ac.
As computer security threats continue to rise, the need for qualified computer security professionals also increases. In an effort to prove their competency, many IT professionals choose to obtain the internationally accepted CompTIA Security+ Certification(http://www.certkingdom.com) In order to become certified, CompTIA Security+ candidates must first pass a certification exam. With proper preparation and the use of several training techniques, passing the CompTIA Security+ exam is easily attainable. By completing the following steps, you should be able to combat the emergence of increased computer security threats by passing the CompTIA Security+ exam with con
fidence.
Instructions
Step 1
Enroll in a CompTIA Learning Alliance training center. There are numerous CompTIA Learning Alliance training centers across the United States. Go to the CompTIA website for a list of approved training centers in your area. Such training centers provide the best Security+ certification exam preparation available.
Step 2
Download Security+ exam objectives from the CompTIA website. Under the Certifications & Exams section of the CompTIA website, you will find a section devoted to exam preparation. There you can download the free CompTIA practice questions(http://www.actualkey.com/vendor/CompTIA-4.html) for any CompTIA exam, including the Security+ exam.
Step 3
Answer sample questions. The CompTIA website also provides a number of sample questions for each certification exam it offers. After filling out a form on the CompTIA website, you will have access to a list of sample free test questions(http://www.actualkey.com) for the Security+ exam.
Step 4
Purchase access to CompTIA's eLearning Center. By purchasing access to this CompTIA learning tool, you will have 24/7 access to unique learning tools designed to help you prepare for the Security+ exam for a period of six months. Features include in-depth lessons, virtual labs and audio help, as well as actual learning.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) by Google webmaster central
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) by Google webmaster central
SEO is an acronym for “search engine optimization” or “search engine optimizer.” Deciding to hire an SEO is a big decision that can potentially improve your site and save time, but you can also risk damage to your site and reputation. Make sure to research the potential advantages as well as the damage that an irresponsible SEO can do to your site. Many SEOs and other agencies and consultants provide useful services for website owners, including:
* Review of your site content or structure
* Technical advice on website development: for example, hosting, redirects, error pages, use of JavaScript
* Content development
* Management of online business development campaigns
* Keyword research
* SEO training
* Expertise in specific markets and geographies.
Keep in mind that the Google search results page includes organic search results and often paid advertisement (denoted by the heading “Sponsored Links”) as well. Advertising with Google won’t have any effect on your site’s presence in our search results. Google never accepts money to include or rank sites in our search results, and it costs nothing to appear in our organic search results. Free resources such as Webmaster Tools, the official Webmaster Central blog, and our discussion forum can provide you with a great deal of information about how to optimize your site for organic search. Many of these free sources, as well as information on paid search, can be found on Google Webmaster Central.
Before beginning your search for an SEO, it’s a great idea to become an educated consumer and get familiar with how search engines work. We recommend starting here:
* Google Webmaster Guidelines
* Google 101: How Google crawls, indexes and serves the web.
If you’re thinking about hiring an SEO, the earlier the better. A great time to hire is when you’re considering a site redesign, or planning to launch a new site. That way, you and your SEO can ensure that your site is designed to be search engine-friendly from the bottom up. However, a good SEO can also help improve an existing site.
Some useful questions to ask an SEO include:
* Can you show me examples of your previous work and share some success stories?
* Do you follow the Google Webmaster Guidelines?
* Do you offer any online marketing services or advice to complement your organic search business?
* What kind of results do you expect to see, and in what timeframe? How do you measure your success?
* What’s your experience in my industry?
* What’s your experience in my country/city?
* What’s your experience developing international sites?
* What are your most important SEO techniques?
* How long have you been in business?
* How can I expect to communicate with you? Will you share with me all the changes you make to my site, and provide detailed information about your recommendations and the reasoning behind them?
While SEOs can provide clients with valuable services, some unethical SEOs have given the industry a black eye through their overly aggressive marketing efforts and their attempts to manipulate search engine results in unfair ways. Practices that violate our guidelines may result in a negative adjustment of your site’s presence in Google, or even the removal of your site from our index. Here are some things to consider:
* Be wary of SEO firms and web consultants or agencies that send you email out of the blue.
Amazingly, we get these spam emails too:
“Dear google.com,
I visited your website and noticed that you are not listed in most of the major search engines and directories…”
Reserve the same skepticism for unsolicited email about search engines as you do for “burn fat at night” diet pills or requests to help transfer funds from deposed dictators.
* No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.
Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a “special relationship” with Google, or advertise a “priority submit” to Google. There is no priority submit for Google. In fact, the only way to submit a site to Google directly is through our Add URL page or by submitting a Sitemap and you can do this yourself at no cost whatsoever.
* Be careful if a company is secretive or won’t clearly explain what they intend to do.
Ask for explanations if something is unclear. If an SEO creates deceptive or misleading content on your behalf, such as doorway pages or “throwaway” domains, your site could be removed entirely from Google’s index. Ultimately, you are responsible for the actions of any companies you hire, so it’s best to be sure you know exactly how they intend to “help” you. If an SEO has FTP access to your server, they should be willing to explain all the changes they are making to your site.
* You should never have to link to an SEO.
Avoid SEOs that talk about the power of “free-for-all” links, link popularity schemes, or submitting your site to thousands of search engines. These are typically useless exercises that don’t affect your ranking in the results of the major search engines — at least, not in a way you would likely consider to be positive.
* Choose wisely.
While you consider whether to go with an SEO, you may want to do some research on the industry. Google is one way to do that, of course. You might also seek out a few of the cautionary tales that have appeared in the press, including this article on one particularly aggressive SEO: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002002970_nwbizbriefs12.html. While Google doesn’t comment on specific companies, we’ve encountered firms calling themselves SEOs who follow practices that are clearly beyond the pale of accepted business behavior. Be careful.
* Be sure to understand where the money goes.
While Google never sells better ranking in our search results, several other search engines combine pay-per-click or pay-for-inclusion results with their regular web search results. Some SEOs will promise to rank you highly in search engines, but place you in the advertising section rather than in the search results. A few SEOs will even change their bid prices in real time to create the illusion that they “control” other search engines and can place themselves in the slot of their choice. This scam doesn’t work with Google because our advertising is clearly labeled and separated from our search results, but be sure to ask any SEO you’re considering which fees go toward permanent inclusion and which apply toward temporary advertising.
* What are the most common abuses a website owner is likely to encounter?
One common scam is the creation of “shadow” domains that funnel users to a site by using deceptive redirects. These shadow domains often will be owned by the SEO who claims to be working on a client’s behalf. However, if the relationship sours, the SEO may point the domain to a different site, or even to a competitor’s domain. If that happens, the client has paid to develop a competing site owned entirely by the SEO.
Another illicit practice is to place “doorway” pages loaded with keywords on the client’s site somewhere. The SEO promises this will make the page more relevant for more queries. This is inherently false since individual pages are rarely relevant for a wide range of keywords. More insidious, however, is that these doorway pages often contain hidden links to the SEO’s other clients as well. Such doorway pages drain away the link popularity of a site and route it to the SEO and its other clients, which may include sites with unsavory or illegal content.
* What are some other things to look out for?
There are a few warning signs that you may be dealing with a rogue SEO. It’s far from a comprehensive list, so if you have any doubts, you should trust your instincts. By all means, feel free to walk away if the SEO:
owns shadow domains
puts links to their other clients on doorway pages
offers to sell keywords in the address bar
doesn’t distinguish between actual search results and ads that appear on search results pages
guarantees ranking, but only on obscure, long keyword phrases you would get anyway
operates with multiple aliases or falsified WHOIS info
gets traffic from “fake” search engines, spyware, or scumware
has had domains removed from Google’s index or is not itself listed in Google
If you feel that you were deceived by an SEO in some way, you may want to report it.
SEO is an acronym for “search engine optimization” or “search engine optimizer.” Deciding to hire an SEO is a big decision that can potentially improve your site and save time, but you can also risk damage to your site and reputation. Make sure to research the potential advantages as well as the damage that an irresponsible SEO can do to your site. Many SEOs and other agencies and consultants provide useful services for website owners, including:
* Review of your site content or structure
* Technical advice on website development: for example, hosting, redirects, error pages, use of JavaScript
* Content development
* Management of online business development campaigns
* Keyword research
* SEO training
* Expertise in specific markets and geographies.
Keep in mind that the Google search results page includes organic search results and often paid advertisement (denoted by the heading “Sponsored Links”) as well. Advertising with Google won’t have any effect on your site’s presence in our search results. Google never accepts money to include or rank sites in our search results, and it costs nothing to appear in our organic search results. Free resources such as Webmaster Tools, the official Webmaster Central blog, and our discussion forum can provide you with a great deal of information about how to optimize your site for organic search. Many of these free sources, as well as information on paid search, can be found on Google Webmaster Central.
Before beginning your search for an SEO, it’s a great idea to become an educated consumer and get familiar with how search engines work. We recommend starting here:
* Google Webmaster Guidelines
* Google 101: How Google crawls, indexes and serves the web.
If you’re thinking about hiring an SEO, the earlier the better. A great time to hire is when you’re considering a site redesign, or planning to launch a new site. That way, you and your SEO can ensure that your site is designed to be search engine-friendly from the bottom up. However, a good SEO can also help improve an existing site.
Some useful questions to ask an SEO include:
* Can you show me examples of your previous work and share some success stories?
* Do you follow the Google Webmaster Guidelines?
* Do you offer any online marketing services or advice to complement your organic search business?
* What kind of results do you expect to see, and in what timeframe? How do you measure your success?
* What’s your experience in my industry?
* What’s your experience in my country/city?
* What’s your experience developing international sites?
* What are your most important SEO techniques?
* How long have you been in business?
* How can I expect to communicate with you? Will you share with me all the changes you make to my site, and provide detailed information about your recommendations and the reasoning behind them?
While SEOs can provide clients with valuable services, some unethical SEOs have given the industry a black eye through their overly aggressive marketing efforts and their attempts to manipulate search engine results in unfair ways. Practices that violate our guidelines may result in a negative adjustment of your site’s presence in Google, or even the removal of your site from our index. Here are some things to consider:
* Be wary of SEO firms and web consultants or agencies that send you email out of the blue.
Amazingly, we get these spam emails too:
“Dear google.com,
I visited your website and noticed that you are not listed in most of the major search engines and directories…”
Reserve the same skepticism for unsolicited email about search engines as you do for “burn fat at night” diet pills or requests to help transfer funds from deposed dictators.
* No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.
Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a “special relationship” with Google, or advertise a “priority submit” to Google. There is no priority submit for Google. In fact, the only way to submit a site to Google directly is through our Add URL page or by submitting a Sitemap and you can do this yourself at no cost whatsoever.
* Be careful if a company is secretive or won’t clearly explain what they intend to do.
Ask for explanations if something is unclear. If an SEO creates deceptive or misleading content on your behalf, such as doorway pages or “throwaway” domains, your site could be removed entirely from Google’s index. Ultimately, you are responsible for the actions of any companies you hire, so it’s best to be sure you know exactly how they intend to “help” you. If an SEO has FTP access to your server, they should be willing to explain all the changes they are making to your site.
* You should never have to link to an SEO.
Avoid SEOs that talk about the power of “free-for-all” links, link popularity schemes, or submitting your site to thousands of search engines. These are typically useless exercises that don’t affect your ranking in the results of the major search engines — at least, not in a way you would likely consider to be positive.
* Choose wisely.
While you consider whether to go with an SEO, you may want to do some research on the industry. Google is one way to do that, of course. You might also seek out a few of the cautionary tales that have appeared in the press, including this article on one particularly aggressive SEO: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002002970_nwbizbriefs12.html. While Google doesn’t comment on specific companies, we’ve encountered firms calling themselves SEOs who follow practices that are clearly beyond the pale of accepted business behavior. Be careful.
* Be sure to understand where the money goes.
While Google never sells better ranking in our search results, several other search engines combine pay-per-click or pay-for-inclusion results with their regular web search results. Some SEOs will promise to rank you highly in search engines, but place you in the advertising section rather than in the search results. A few SEOs will even change their bid prices in real time to create the illusion that they “control” other search engines and can place themselves in the slot of their choice. This scam doesn’t work with Google because our advertising is clearly labeled and separated from our search results, but be sure to ask any SEO you’re considering which fees go toward permanent inclusion and which apply toward temporary advertising.
* What are the most common abuses a website owner is likely to encounter?
One common scam is the creation of “shadow” domains that funnel users to a site by using deceptive redirects. These shadow domains often will be owned by the SEO who claims to be working on a client’s behalf. However, if the relationship sours, the SEO may point the domain to a different site, or even to a competitor’s domain. If that happens, the client has paid to develop a competing site owned entirely by the SEO.
Another illicit practice is to place “doorway” pages loaded with keywords on the client’s site somewhere. The SEO promises this will make the page more relevant for more queries. This is inherently false since individual pages are rarely relevant for a wide range of keywords. More insidious, however, is that these doorway pages often contain hidden links to the SEO’s other clients as well. Such doorway pages drain away the link popularity of a site and route it to the SEO and its other clients, which may include sites with unsavory or illegal content.
* What are some other things to look out for?
There are a few warning signs that you may be dealing with a rogue SEO. It’s far from a comprehensive list, so if you have any doubts, you should trust your instincts. By all means, feel free to walk away if the SEO:
owns shadow domains
puts links to their other clients on doorway pages
offers to sell keywords in the address bar
doesn’t distinguish between actual search results and ads that appear on search results pages
guarantees ranking, but only on obscure, long keyword phrases you would get anyway
operates with multiple aliases or falsified WHOIS info
gets traffic from “fake” search engines, spyware, or scumware
has had domains removed from Google’s index or is not itself listed in Google
If you feel that you were deceived by an SEO in some way, you may want to report it.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Google re-jiggering Android as tablet
Google re-jiggering Android as tablet
While the latest version of the Android operating system runs on Samsung's Galaxy Tab, it isn't configured to run on tablets in general, according to Google's director of mobile products.
The 22 Best Android Apps
Cloud Controlled 802.11n - Faster, Easier, and Cheaper than Ethernet?: View now
In an interview with TechRadar, Google's Hugo Berra said current versions of the mobile operating system may be running on tablets and similar devices but that they aren't tailored for tablets and thus might not be the ideal operating systems to run on tablets.
"The way Android Market works is it's not going to be available on devices that don't allow applications to run correctly," Berra explained to TechRadar. "If you want Android Market on that platform, the apps just won't run. [Froyo, the latest version of the Android operating system] is just not designed for that form factor."
Google and Verizon are reportedly teaming up to create an Android-based tablet that will be specifically tailored for Verizon's network. Presumably, the Google-Verizon tablet will have a new version of Android if and when it is finally released.
TechRadar speculates that Berra's comments mean that Google will have such a tablet-based mobile operating system up and ready to go in the near future.
Google added several key enterprise features to the Froyo edition of its Android platform in June. Among other things, Froyo gives administrators the ability to enforce password policies across Android devices and to remotely wipe any Android devices that become lost or compromised. The latest version of the platform also supports Exchange Calendars and auto-discovery to make it easier for users to set up and sync Exchange accounts.
These enterprise upgrades give Android-based phones and tablets the bare minimum that most analysts recommend for letting a device link to the corporate network. This doesn't mean, however, that IT departments should let down their guard on Android devices overall, since the Android application market does not filter out applications posted for sale. This means that there are significant dangers for users who don't carefully watch what permissions they grant applications they download onto their devices.
Read more about wireless & mobile in Network World's Wireless & Mobile section.
While the latest version of the Android operating system runs on Samsung's Galaxy Tab, it isn't configured to run on tablets in general, according to Google's director of mobile products.
The 22 Best Android Apps
Cloud Controlled 802.11n - Faster, Easier, and Cheaper than Ethernet?: View now
In an interview with TechRadar, Google's Hugo Berra said current versions of the mobile operating system may be running on tablets and similar devices but that they aren't tailored for tablets and thus might not be the ideal operating systems to run on tablets.
"The way Android Market works is it's not going to be available on devices that don't allow applications to run correctly," Berra explained to TechRadar. "If you want Android Market on that platform, the apps just won't run. [Froyo, the latest version of the Android operating system] is just not designed for that form factor."
Google and Verizon are reportedly teaming up to create an Android-based tablet that will be specifically tailored for Verizon's network. Presumably, the Google-Verizon tablet will have a new version of Android if and when it is finally released.
TechRadar speculates that Berra's comments mean that Google will have such a tablet-based mobile operating system up and ready to go in the near future.
Google added several key enterprise features to the Froyo edition of its Android platform in June. Among other things, Froyo gives administrators the ability to enforce password policies across Android devices and to remotely wipe any Android devices that become lost or compromised. The latest version of the platform also supports Exchange Calendars and auto-discovery to make it easier for users to set up and sync Exchange accounts.
These enterprise upgrades give Android-based phones and tablets the bare minimum that most analysts recommend for letting a device link to the corporate network. This doesn't mean, however, that IT departments should let down their guard on Android devices overall, since the Android application market does not filter out applications posted for sale. This means that there are significant dangers for users who don't carefully watch what permissions they grant applications they download onto their devices.
Read more about wireless & mobile in Network World's Wireless & Mobile section.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Microsoft goes through another small round of layoffs
Microsoft goes through another small round of layoffs
Microsoft has quietly laid off "hundreds" of workers this week, although the company has not yet made a formal announcement to the SEC or on its Investor Relations website. I heard from a friend of mine who got the pink slip (and a nice package).
Rumors have been building for weeks that Microsoft was poised for another round of good-byes, but the total headcount this time seems relatively small.
In 2009, Microsoft laid off about 5,800 employees, but then turned around and hired about 2,000. Some media reports are trying to connect the Microsoft layoffs with the company's botched mobile strategy resulting in the embarrassing Kin phone and it's even more embarrassing fast failure. But I'm not buying that. The Softie I talked to this morning had nothing to do with Kin. Others say that most of these layoffs are from the sales and marketing organizations, which jives with the first-hand account I heard.
Microsoft is set to announce its fiscal year-end earnings results on July 22. The reduced headcount is a bit of a surprise because Microsoft had a record-breaking second quarter that ended Dec. 31, 2009 and another record-breaking third quarter that ended Mar. 31, 2010, thanks mostly to the popularity of Windows 7 and an increase in mojo for Xbox and Xbox Live. (Recent news reports suggests that Xbox Live will make $1 billion in revenue this year.)
The best reasoning I've heard is that the layoffs are part of a routine restructuring, some kind of end-of-fiscal-year housecleaning. Some say if Microsoft really wanted to be lean and mean, it would cut its workforce by 30,000 or more. I personally don't advocate cleaving the company so harshly, but I can see the rationale for it. Microsoft has over 88,180 employees today, up from about 32,000 at the start of the decade. 53,363 are in the U.S., with 39,738 in the Puget Sound area. Half of the employees are in a "business" group making Microsoft's products, most of the rest are in a group that sell its products, with about 10,000 in overhead-ish operations positions. Do you really need one salesperson for every product person?
Some Microsoft employees are none-too-pleased with this idea that layoffs are an automatic part of the fiscal year. They say that the current system creates an atmosphere where even high achievers can be punished. If an employee has been meeting expectations, but has been in a role for a long time, and the hiring manager doesn't see further advancement potential within the group, that is reflected on the employees twice-a-year performance review, and is akin to branding the person with a scarlet layoff letter.
Will Microsoft report another great quarter, or are the layoffs a sign that the peak results of 2010 have headed toward the valley?
Microsoft has quietly laid off "hundreds" of workers this week, although the company has not yet made a formal announcement to the SEC or on its Investor Relations website. I heard from a friend of mine who got the pink slip (and a nice package).
Rumors have been building for weeks that Microsoft was poised for another round of good-byes, but the total headcount this time seems relatively small.
In 2009, Microsoft laid off about 5,800 employees, but then turned around and hired about 2,000. Some media reports are trying to connect the Microsoft layoffs with the company's botched mobile strategy resulting in the embarrassing Kin phone and it's even more embarrassing fast failure. But I'm not buying that. The Softie I talked to this morning had nothing to do with Kin. Others say that most of these layoffs are from the sales and marketing organizations, which jives with the first-hand account I heard.
Microsoft is set to announce its fiscal year-end earnings results on July 22. The reduced headcount is a bit of a surprise because Microsoft had a record-breaking second quarter that ended Dec. 31, 2009 and another record-breaking third quarter that ended Mar. 31, 2010, thanks mostly to the popularity of Windows 7 and an increase in mojo for Xbox and Xbox Live. (Recent news reports suggests that Xbox Live will make $1 billion in revenue this year.)
The best reasoning I've heard is that the layoffs are part of a routine restructuring, some kind of end-of-fiscal-year housecleaning. Some say if Microsoft really wanted to be lean and mean, it would cut its workforce by 30,000 or more. I personally don't advocate cleaving the company so harshly, but I can see the rationale for it. Microsoft has over 88,180 employees today, up from about 32,000 at the start of the decade. 53,363 are in the U.S., with 39,738 in the Puget Sound area. Half of the employees are in a "business" group making Microsoft's products, most of the rest are in a group that sell its products, with about 10,000 in overhead-ish operations positions. Do you really need one salesperson for every product person?
Some Microsoft employees are none-too-pleased with this idea that layoffs are an automatic part of the fiscal year. They say that the current system creates an atmosphere where even high achievers can be punished. If an employee has been meeting expectations, but has been in a role for a long time, and the hiring manager doesn't see further advancement potential within the group, that is reflected on the employees twice-a-year performance review, and is akin to branding the person with a scarlet layoff letter.
Will Microsoft report another great quarter, or are the layoffs a sign that the peak results of 2010 have headed toward the valley?
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Portfast and the Comptia A+ Training
Portfast and the CCNA
As a Comptia A+ Training candidate you are expected to understand the purpose and function of Spanning-tree Portfast. The Comptia A+ Training’s exam will ask of you to determine the purpose of the Portfast within the spanning-tree protocol.
Before we go into the detail for the purpose and operation of the Portfast feature we need to understand the switched network environment behaviour before the introduction of portfast as a command.
From the “BPDU Guard” article you will recall that the stability of the Root Bridge is of paramount importance in the operation and continual uninterrupted service of spanning-tree and that a change in the position of the Root Bridge will cause service disruption on the network; another important factor to bear in mind is that is it not just the changing of the position of the Root Bridge that can cause network disruption but events such as access switchports transitioning on/off line can create an unstable network.
When a port first goes on-line spanning-tree will treat it like it treats any other port and will cycle through the normal spanning-tree port roles, i.e. blocking, listening. Learning, forwarding. The port will transition to the forwarding state after 30secs. In which no user traffic is allowed to pass.
At the point that the port went on-line the switch would have generated a new type of Bridge Protocol data unit called a “Topology Change Notification” BPDU, this TCN is relayed up out of the Root port towards the Root Bridge, the Root Bridge will register this TCN as a “Topology Change” and reset the TCN timer. These timers can be viewed by issuing the “show spanning-tree vlan # detail”. These false readings will cause no end of confusion in your fault finding and network disruption as you chase false positives.
The major benefit of Portfast on the access port, (since this command can only an should only be configured in access ports) is that it causes spanning-tree to bypass the lengthy forward delay timers on that port.
Port fast is enabled on an access port:
Swith(config-if)#spanning-tree portfast
Once PortFast is enabled it place the port directly into the forwarding state, bypassing the spanning-tree forward delay timers, but at the same time the PortFast feature will keep an eye open for any BPDU’s entering the access ports. If at any time the port received a BPDU it will default back to normal operation Comptia A+ Certification.
With the Portfast feature on the port the switch does not generate any more TCN’s when the port transitions on/off line, this means that any “Topology Changes” that you view from the output of the “show spanning-tree detail” you will see valid TCN’s along with the port that the TCN was received on.
As a Comptia A+ Training candidate you are expected to understand the purpose and function of Spanning-tree Portfast. The Comptia A+ Training’s exam will ask of you to determine the purpose of the Portfast within the spanning-tree protocol.
Before we go into the detail for the purpose and operation of the Portfast feature we need to understand the switched network environment behaviour before the introduction of portfast as a command.
From the “BPDU Guard” article you will recall that the stability of the Root Bridge is of paramount importance in the operation and continual uninterrupted service of spanning-tree and that a change in the position of the Root Bridge will cause service disruption on the network; another important factor to bear in mind is that is it not just the changing of the position of the Root Bridge that can cause network disruption but events such as access switchports transitioning on/off line can create an unstable network.
When a port first goes on-line spanning-tree will treat it like it treats any other port and will cycle through the normal spanning-tree port roles, i.e. blocking, listening. Learning, forwarding. The port will transition to the forwarding state after 30secs. In which no user traffic is allowed to pass.
At the point that the port went on-line the switch would have generated a new type of Bridge Protocol data unit called a “Topology Change Notification” BPDU, this TCN is relayed up out of the Root port towards the Root Bridge, the Root Bridge will register this TCN as a “Topology Change” and reset the TCN timer. These timers can be viewed by issuing the “show spanning-tree vlan # detail”. These false readings will cause no end of confusion in your fault finding and network disruption as you chase false positives.
The major benefit of Portfast on the access port, (since this command can only an should only be configured in access ports) is that it causes spanning-tree to bypass the lengthy forward delay timers on that port.
Port fast is enabled on an access port:
Swith(config-if)#spanning-tree portfast
Once PortFast is enabled it place the port directly into the forwarding state, bypassing the spanning-tree forward delay timers, but at the same time the PortFast feature will keep an eye open for any BPDU’s entering the access ports. If at any time the port received a BPDU it will default back to normal operation Comptia A+ Certification.
With the Portfast feature on the port the switch does not generate any more TCN’s when the port transitions on/off line, this means that any “Topology Changes” that you view from the output of the “show spanning-tree detail” you will see valid TCN’s along with the port that the TCN was received on.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Security pros seek hacking, forensics skills
Security pros seek hacking, forensics skills
IT professionals looking to boost their high-tech careers in the coming five years are betting on security certifications and skills to help them stand out to potential employees, according to a new survey.
Five ways to get affordable certification skills
Some IT skills see pay hikes during the downturn
CompTIA, an IT industry trade association, polled some 1,537 high-tech workers and found 37% intend to pursue a security certification over the next five years. Separately, nearly 20% indicated they would seek ethical hacking certification over the same time period. And another 13% pinpointed forensics as the next certification goal in their career development.
"When you add the results, you will see that about two-thirds of IT workers intend to add some type of security certification to their portfolio," says Terry Erdle, senior vice president of skills certifications. "This trend is driven by two factors: one, security issues are pervasive, and two, more and more people are moving to managed services and software-as-a-service models, which involves more complex networking. That level of non-enterprise data center computing has people look more closely at their security infrastructure."
High-tech workers surveyed cited economic advancement and personal growth as the motivation to seek further certifications. Nearly 90% said they want to spruce up their resumes and another 88% said they hope to grow personally with new certifications. Emerging technologies and vertical industry trends also drive certifications seekers. For instance, SaaS ranked among the technologies in which IT workers intend to seek certifications in the coming years. Green IT, mobile and healthcare IT also placed among high-tech career development plans.
"We are going to see upwards of 70,000 IT jobs in healthcare and the related network and storage skills that come with electronic records, such as e-reporting and e-charting," Erdle adds. "We are working now to determine what kind of IT roles should be supported in certifications from CompTIA."
Do you Tweet? Follow Denise Dubie on Twitter here.
IT professionals looking to boost their high-tech careers in the coming five years are betting on security certifications and skills to help them stand out to potential employees, according to a new survey.
Five ways to get affordable certification skills
Some IT skills see pay hikes during the downturn
CompTIA, an IT industry trade association, polled some 1,537 high-tech workers and found 37% intend to pursue a security certification over the next five years. Separately, nearly 20% indicated they would seek ethical hacking certification over the same time period. And another 13% pinpointed forensics as the next certification goal in their career development.
"When you add the results, you will see that about two-thirds of IT workers intend to add some type of security certification to their portfolio," says Terry Erdle, senior vice president of skills certifications. "This trend is driven by two factors: one, security issues are pervasive, and two, more and more people are moving to managed services and software-as-a-service models, which involves more complex networking. That level of non-enterprise data center computing has people look more closely at their security infrastructure."
High-tech workers surveyed cited economic advancement and personal growth as the motivation to seek further certifications. Nearly 90% said they want to spruce up their resumes and another 88% said they hope to grow personally with new certifications. Emerging technologies and vertical industry trends also drive certifications seekers. For instance, SaaS ranked among the technologies in which IT workers intend to seek certifications in the coming years. Green IT, mobile and healthcare IT also placed among high-tech career development plans.
"We are going to see upwards of 70,000 IT jobs in healthcare and the related network and storage skills that come with electronic records, such as e-reporting and e-charting," Erdle adds. "We are working now to determine what kind of IT roles should be supported in certifications from CompTIA."
Do you Tweet? Follow Denise Dubie on Twitter here.
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