newsletter@quarkit.com.au | www.quarkit.com.au | issue 1 | October 2004

In This Issue... Welcome Welcome to the first Quark IT newsletter... Feature: Windows XP Service Pack 2 Microsoft has finally released their long awaited Service Pack 2 for Windows XP. Nod News: NOD32 wins Award NOD32 expands its record of being the only antivirus system in the world that has not missed a single 'In The Wild' virus. Classroom: What is a Firewall? You’ve probably heard the term firewall somewhere along the line, but what is a firewall, and what does it do? Well, look no further… Product spotlight: m0n0what? learn about this tough litte firewall. Next Month What to expect from next month's Quark IT newsletter. Special Offers Special offers for Quark IT clients. (This link redirects to the Quark IT website.)

Welcome to the first Quark IT Newsletter Welcome to the first issue of the Quark IT newsletter. These newsletters are designed with one purpose in mind: To help to maintain our relationship with you, our client, by keeping communication channels open. Poor communication causes many relationships to deteriorate, both personal and professional, and we want to ensure that this does not happen here. A healthy relationship can only benefit us both. Quark IT is not your usual IT provider. We don’t have a retail shop and tack on support as an afterthought - we are primarily a support-focused provider. Selling large numbers of hardware and software units is not our main aim, although should you need any hardware we’ll ensure you get you the best value for your dollar. We can custom write software to suit your needs. We can provide network design and configuration to suit your current and future business needs. Quark IT aims to provide “whole computer system” support – taking care of your hardware, software, patches, updates, installation, security, backup, communications and Internet connectivity requirements. We hope that the Quark IT newsletter proves to be beneficial in keeping you updated on what we’re up to, what you need to know, and other goings on in the IT world. If there’s a topic you’d like to see covered or even just want to say hello then drop us a line at newsletter@quarkit.com.au.

Microsoft Releases Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) The long awaited release of SP2 has finally arrived and with it are quite a number of important security features, updates and feature enhancements for Windows XP. (Not sure what a Service Pack is? See the What Is A Service Pack? section below.) Microsoft’s focus with SP2 is Security. In addition to all the security fixes and patches to date, SP2 includes a number of additional components to improve the security of your Windows XP computers such as the Windows Security Centre and the Windows Firewall update. Aside from the security improvements, SP2 adds a number of features to improve the Windows XP user experience such as improved support for wireless devices, updates to Windows Media Player and DirectX . A number of enhancements to Internet Explorer are also included such as pop-up blocking and download monitoring. Are you up to date? To ensure your systems are all up-to-date with the latest security fixes and to organize the installation of SP2 on your workstations, call us and we'll make sure you're protected.

What Is A Service Pack? Throughout the year, Microsoft releases updates, patches, and bug fixes for their products. These are generally released to the public as they become available and fix major vulnerabilities in Microsoft products that could allow malicious software or hackers to exploit the vulnerability. These critical patches are known as Hotfixes. About once a year, all these Hotfixes are bundled together into a single install file called a Service Pack. In addition to these Hotfixes, Service Packs often include other features that add functionality to the base operating system such as drivers, tools and customer-requested changes. Service packs are critical to ensure your systems are protected! Important Note! Quark IT clients who have a m0n0wall firewall installed will already have protection against many threats which the Windows Firewall update aims to prevent, but there are a number of patches and fixes SP2 provides that these customers will still need. Quark IT clients with Maintenance can also have SP2 installed on their workstations using maintenance time if they prefer.

NOD32 Wins Its 28th Virus Bulletin 100% Award NOD32 expands its record of being the only antivirus system in the world that has not missed a single "In The Wild" virus in the comprehensive testing conducted by the industry's leading authority, the Virus Bulletin. Of the ten products tested, NOD32 was only one of two with all samples detected on both on access and on demand scanning, with no false positives. In addition, NOD32's scanning rate of the executable files was almost twice as fast of the other product with 100% detection and up to six times faster than some of the other products tested. Microsoft itself is a four year customer of Eset and the software giant has just signed on for an additional two years of service. Microsoft places so much confidence in Eset's NOD32 antivirus product that it uses the software in its release labs. "Having a reliable and effective anti-virus software solution is necessary for enterprises, however with so many factors to consider such as performance, detection, speed, and cost, selecting the best product can be a difficult decision," said Eset CEO Anton Zajac. "We're pleased that Microsoft has once again recognized the value of NOD32's performance and has chosen to renew its corporate license for the fourth consecutive year. By using our advanced heuristics technology, Microsoft can be assured that they are utilizing the most advanced technology available to safeguard their customers from new, emerging threats." source: www.betanews.com/article/1092348349   www.nod32.com/about/press.htm links: www.nod32.com   www.virusbtn.com Major NOD32 Update NOD32 for Windows version 2.12.2 has been released as a PCU (Program Component Update). If you have NOD32 set to automatically update then your Anti-Virus system will be upgraded automatically within the next few days. This update allows the Windows XP SP2 Security Center and NOD32 to communicate with each other. Dial up users should be aware that the update is around 5 MB and may take several minutes to download. Top 5 Threats (September, 2004) Virus   Count 1. Win32/Netsky.Q worm 2 654 960 2. Win32/Zafi.B worm 1 202 410 3. Win32/Netsky.D worm 784 852 4. Win32/Bagle.AB worm 778 356 5. Win32/Netsky.B worm 562 769 source: http://www.virus-radar.com

What Is A Firewall? There’s so much jargon thrown about these days that it can be difficult to keep up with it all. Today’s 'classroom' looks at the firewall and makes sense of it for you. The term 'firewall' in computing really has nothing to do with fire but borrows an idea from the automotive and building industry. For a quick definition: Firewall: Fireproof (or fire-resistant) wall designed to prevent the spread of fire through a building or a vehicle http://www.cogsci.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/webwn A 'firewall' in computing borrows the idea of protecting one area from another more hazardous area. If you can imagine all the possible threats the Internet has to offer on one side of the wall (the external side of the firewall) and the area you'd like to keep safe on the other (internal side) then you've got the basics down pat. More specifically, firewalls protect networks by acting as border guards, controlling the data coming in and out of your network. They do this by following rules. Let's look at some very simple rules: One rule might say 'let everything out of my network'. Another might say, 'let nothing into my network'. Such simple statements though would make a mess as you do need to let some types of data back in, such as email. If we used the example rules, you could ask for things (like websites) but you would never get a reply, which isn't much use to you. Fortunately there's more than one gate for data traffic to move in and out of your network, so a firewall can let some types of data in or out and block other types depending on these rules. Unfortunately, a badly set up firewall can let data in that you don't want and block some data you want to go out which is probably worse than having no firewall at all. What firewall should I use? There are so many choices today that it can be overwhelming when looking for a firewall. There are two different types of firewall. A software firewall or a hardware firewall. A software firewall runs on your computer just like any other program. Examples of software firewalls are the Windows XP built in firewall or Norton Internet Security. A hardware firewall is a physical box that you plug your network into. There are many firewalls on the market now offering tons of features you mightn't even need, and possibly increase the risk of there being security problems. Quark IT use and recommend a firewall product called a m0n0wall to protect your network. (For more information on m0n0wall, see the m0n0what? feature in this issue.) If you need help choosing a firewall setup, give us a call and we'll make sure you're set up correctly and your network is safe.

m0n0what? Many Quark IT clients are running a 'm0n0wall'. What exactly is a m0n0wall I hear you say? Well, m0n0wall (pronounced monowall) is an industrial strength firewall that runs on commodity hardware. What makes m0n0wall the firewall of choice for our customers is its implementation of standards, the level of security it provides, its ability to be customized for our clients needs and its dedicated programmers that are constantly prodding and poking it to find any weaknesses they can fix. Another benefit is the fact that it can run on commodity hardware, meaning that if any part of it should fail, it can be fixed or replaced, and back up and running as soon as possible. No waiting for manufacturers to send your hardware overseas for repair, which means less downtime for our clients. And we think that’s a good thing. m0n0wall can be used not only to protect your computers at work, but it can also be used to protect your home computers. An extra benefit to doing this is that Quark IT can then extend their maintenance of your work computers to those staff members that also tellecommute, ensuring their computers are also secured, giving you peace of mind at the office.

Next Month Spam! No, we won't be sending you any spam - you probably already get your fair share. What we will be doing is defining spam, letting you know what you can do about it, explaining what blocklists are, and giving you some links to abbit more reading. One thing we all know - spam is something we can do without. Contact Quark IT to discuss ways we can help you combat spam. Maintenance Special Want to receive a discount on your monthly maintenance costs? Recommend Quark IT Maintenance to someone you know and if they join up, get them to tell us you sent them and we’ll apply a 10% discount to your next month's maintenance!