Information Technology Blog

  Information and system security is essential for individuals and organizations using internet-connected computer systems because these computers are easily susceptible to a variety of security attacks. A security breach is “a case of unauthorized computer access”. These breaches come in a variety of forms including being attacked by a computer virus, having web server’s shutdown, being locked out of a compromised system, being hacked and having secret programs like keyloggers installed that track every key you press on your keyboard, having sensitive information like suggestive photos, credit card or contact information stolen and even possibly leaked. An example attack is a denial-of-service attack (DDoS attack), such as Ping Flood Attack or the Ping of Death attack. DDoS attacks overwhelm the computer system “with too many requests for resources, such that it cannot respond to legitimate requests. ( The University of Texas at El Paso, n.d. ).” Security software can protect ind...

Computers perform a variety of functions in the telecommunications industry. To begin, computers play a primary role in delivering services to our customers.  While the vast majority of our network is fiber and coax cabling, our head-end uses computers to process (encode and decode) and distribute TV signals across our network.  We also have routers, servers and computer systems that manage internet traffic. A previous post covered the tracert command. Depending on where you are and the web site you are trying to access, some of your internet traffic is routed through our data centers. Our company also uses computers to manage customer service and sales orders through our call centers, video conferencing for meetings like Microsoft Teams, and even file sharing using services like Microsoft SharePoint. Many of our employees work remote, which makes them dependent on computers to perform their job function. General upkeep of the network that is the backbone of our...

I work as a trainer in the telecommunications industry at a major internet service backbone provider in the US. Most of our new employees (and customers) have no idea how the internet works. That is why customers are quick to point fingers and blame their ISP when they encounter buffering or other internet related issues. I demonstrate ping and tracert for my training classes. My trainees and our customers generally have no idea that their data (packets) were traveling through so many hops to retrieve and send data in real time– and if one of those routers isn’t functioning properly, it could impact their online experience. That is largely happening outside of your internet service providers control each time you send a query online. Of course, there are other factors that are within the ISP and customers control, like ensuring the customer has the right internet speed to match the number of devices and utilization, and gateway placement in the home.   If you are havi...

Daily Tools and Tasks Used Here are twelve tasks that I engage with throughout the course of the day. 1.     Microsoft Windows: I use Microsoft Windows 11 operating system on my home computer and Windows 10 Enterprise at work to manage my personal and professional life.   Most of the software I use works on PC and not Mac and I appreciate the scalability and affordability that Windows provides.   I wish Windows 11 was stable, but that’s another story. 2.     Google Chrome – This is the web browser my company has us use by default, and most of our web-based tools are optimized to work in Chrome.   I like this browser because it is lightweight and loads quickly. 3.     Microsoft Edge – I have a couple of web tools that don’t load in Chrome, and I have to use Microsoft Edge in order for them to function properly.   For example, Microsoft Stream is missing features in Chrome that work in Edge, and a simulation too...