Author Topic: Tech Questions, bring them here  (Read 10227 times)

Fallenour

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 125
  • Location: Earth
  • RE/PM Investor, P2P lender, Business Owner
Tech Questions, bring them here
« on: December 11, 2014, 05:37:59 PM »
If you are interested in any tech based company, or tech products, bring your questions and I will answer them.

I specialize heavily in IT industries, including IT infrastructure, IT Enterprise Services, Cyber Security, and IT products. Just please, don't ask me to configure it. I do that enough at work already :(

(although I do do side consulting ;) )

wtjbatman

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1301
  • Age: 40
  • Location: Missouri
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #1 on: December 11, 2014, 06:17:08 PM »
Good thing we finally have a STEM type around here! All of us artistic/creative types were having trouble keeping our computers running.

Dodge

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 790
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #2 on: December 11, 2014, 09:06:08 PM »

Good thing we finally have a STEM type around here! All of us artistic/creative types were having trouble keeping our computers running.

Oh be nice. He/she thought about how they could help the community, and made a post where people can ask questions. Nothing wrong with that :)

NoraLenderbee

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1254
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #3 on: December 11, 2014, 09:37:06 PM »
Since this is the Investing forum--What network security company do you think is a good investment now?

wtjbatman

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1301
  • Age: 40
  • Location: Missouri
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #4 on: December 11, 2014, 09:43:41 PM »

Good thing we finally have a STEM type around here! All of us artistic/creative types were having trouble keeping our computers running.

Oh be nice. He/she thought about how they could help the community, and made a post where people can ask questions. Nothing wrong with that :)

Wrong subforum anyway. I suggest ask a mustachian.

Fallenour

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 125
  • Location: Earth
  • RE/PM Investor, P2P lender, Business Owner
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #5 on: December 12, 2014, 07:49:12 AM »
Wrong subforum anyway. I suggest ask a mustachian.
[/quote]

Right now Palo Alto, due to their strong firewall/VPN/malware Analysis system which is taking the industry by storm, and currently replacing many cisco ASA systems due to cheaper prices, higher performance, and easier licensing models.

Another good one is the SEIM products arena. Both HP with Arcsite, as well as RSA with Security Analytics are good bets. For research follow alien vault (they offer several solutions, OSSIM from them)

Also, key areas to watch are Ionic security, due to the industry move towards web application security, which Ionic holds IP on for automations of the process, and recently received over 40 million in venture from Google and KP.


Other Currently the cyber sec market is projected a CAGR of at least 5.8% year over year for the next 5 years, with extremely high potential of even further growth than that.

Current regions of major expansion are US, Canada, Brazil, Russia, India, China, UAE, and Japan.


Fallenour

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 125
  • Location: Earth
  • RE/PM Investor, P2P lender, Business Owner
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #6 on: December 12, 2014, 07:52:57 AM »
Wrong subforum anyway. I suggest ask a mustachian.

Actually no, its not.

This thread is specifically tailored to assisting people in understanding the companies that perform SaaS, IaaS, EaaS, and sell IT related products.

If you dont understand what the company does, how it does it, the markets its doing it in, and what the product(s) is/are they sell, you wont be able to make an informed decision on the company, and could buy or sell too early or too late.

Im attempting to help alleviate that, thus it is an investor alley related topic.

If I offered advice on cooking, that would be more tailored to ask a mustachian.

iamlindoro

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1520
    • The Earth Awaits
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #7 on: December 12, 2014, 02:08:52 PM »
I believe the reason you are not getting the reaction you were hoping for is that you haven't done anything to establish credibility.  There have been a number of polls done here on the forums, and those of us in tech are by far the largest career represented here, and many of us at senior levels (director and higher level posts).  Setting up shop and proclaiming that you "specialize" in tech after ~10 posts, and suggesting that others seek your advice, is probably the wrong way to go about it.

If you want others to defer to your opinion, and there's nothing wrong with that, you may want to start by contributing over a longer period so that others start to accept and seek out these opinions.  By doing so, you establish a concrete track record, and a reason to trust you other than your own marketing of yourself.  We do have a number of technical experts present already who have made themselves the go-to individuals on certain tech topics by doing just this, and the community benefits along the way.

The general community advice here is also not to take specific investment advice from strangers on the internet.  We tend more towards the "here are our preferred resources, educate and empower yourself" approach.  You may find this will also work against you if you want to represent yourself as an IT investing guru.
« Last Edit: December 12, 2014, 02:12:17 PM by iamlindoro »

h2ogal

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 235
  • Location: FingerLakes
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #8 on: December 12, 2014, 02:20:18 PM »
Hi OP!

Its nice to try to help!   Im a newbie here too....no cred yet at all...haha!

How about Reddit?

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/ ....submit credentials as proof of your position or expertise.  then post the link to that IAMA on this site?

(of course you likely already know this being an IT geek!) 

Fallenour

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 125
  • Location: Earth
  • RE/PM Investor, P2P lender, Business Owner
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #9 on: December 12, 2014, 02:22:38 PM »
I believe the reason you are not getting the reaction you were hoping for is that you haven't done anything to establish credibility.  There have been a number of polls done here on the forums, and those of us in tech are by far the largest career represented here, and many of us at advanced career levels (director and higher level posts).  Setting up shop and proclaiming that you "specialize" in tech after ~10 posts, and suggesting that others seek your advice, is probably the wrong way to go about it.

If you want others to defer to your opinion, and there's nothing wrong with that, you may want to start by contributing over a longer period so that others start to accept and seek out these opinions.  By doing so, you establish a concrete track record, and a reason to trust you other than your own marketing of yourself.  We do have a number of technical experts present already who have made themselves the go-to individuals on certain tech topics by doing just this, and the community benefits along the way.

The general community advice here is also not to take investment advice from strangers on the internet.  You may find this will also work against you if you want to represent yourself as an IT investing guru.

Ahh, I see. My koalafications.

Please then, feel free to see my LinkedIn.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=121532233&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile

Also, all due respect, being a director honestly doesn't mean squat.

Anyone with a good friend or a few hundred bucks can be a director. Climbing to the top of hands on industries, working at those companies, being asked to train Fortune 500s and Russell 1000s, being asked to be partners at startups, and being an industry forerunner, that's something, and that's what I am.

If you've taken courses at RSA in the past 2 years, I made most of the curriculum. If you took an EC-Council or Comptia certificaiton in the past 4, I sat on the panels to build those tests (and dear lord, did the sec+ suck, never again).

My network builds range from classified facilities to scada systems, major banks, and financial institutions. I've sat on panels to write STIGs for both 8570, and NIST standards.

I hope that helps.

I dont like running around holding a "look at me board" over my head. I let me open source projects, my previous network and security designs, and my consultations do that for me.


As for the response itself, whether people take it or not isnt too much of a burden on my mind. I'm just paying the public back for what I was given is all. Whether people drink from the water hole, or try to cut open a cactus, makes no difference to me.

Although I will say, I really do appreciate your input.

Cpa Cat

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1692
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #10 on: December 12, 2014, 02:27:46 PM »
I actually do have such a question that I've been mulling!

I plan on becoming self-employed, and I'd like to run a paperless office. I hear rumors that this is done via "the Cloud."

I will be storing sensitive client data (including information that could be used to commit fraud/steal identities), and it's important that it be accessible for several years. It would be nice if it was done automatically so that I didn't have to remember to initiate it and I wouldn't lose a lot of time/info if my computer crashed or something.

Where do I go? Where do I look? Is it even reasonable for me to be considering this?

iamlindoro

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1520
    • The Earth Awaits
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #11 on: December 12, 2014, 02:35:21 PM »
Please then, feel free to see my LinkedIn.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=121532233&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile

Also, all due respect, being a director honestly doesn't mean squat.

Just trying to give you constructive criticism here.  I have to say that it's a bit perplexing that you highlight career advancement as meaning nothing, but present a social media page as proof of credibility.  Seems like a bit of a contradiction.

The point is (and I'll belabor it no more after this), credibility is earned, not declared.  It's also something that is earned over time.  I commend your enthusiasm, but respectfully urge you to take it down a notch or two and participate in the community before aiming to lead it.

Fallenour

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 125
  • Location: Earth
  • RE/PM Investor, P2P lender, Business Owner
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #12 on: December 12, 2014, 02:41:34 PM »
I believe the reason you are not getting the reaction you were hoping for is that you haven't done anything to establish credibility.  There have been a number of polls done here on the forums, and those of us in tech are by far the largest career represented here, and many of us at advanced career levels (director and higher level posts).  Setting up shop and proclaiming that you "specialize" in tech after ~10 posts, and suggesting that others seek your advice, is probably the wrong way to go about it.

If you want others to defer to your opinion, and there's nothing wrong with that, you may want to start by contributing over a longer period so that others start to accept and seek out these opinions.  By doing so, you establish a concrete track record, and a reason to trust you other than your own marketing of yourself.  We do have a number of technical experts present already who have made themselves the go-to individuals on certain tech topics by doing just this, and the community benefits along the way.

The general community advice here is also not to take investment advice from strangers on the internet.  You may find this will also work against you if you want to represent yourself as an IT investing guru.

Ahh, I see. My koalafications.

Please then, feel free to see my LinkedIn.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=121532233&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile

Also, all due respect, being a director honestly doesn't mean squat.

Anyone with a good friend or a few hundred bucks can be a director. Climbing to the top of hands on industries, working at those companies, being asked to train Fortune 500s and Russell 1000s, being asked to be partners at startups, and being an industry forerunner, that's something, and that's what I am.

If you've taken courses at RSA in the past 2 years, I made most of the curriculum. If you took an EC-Council or Comptia certificaiton in the past 4, I sat on the panels to build those tests (and dear lord, did the sec+ suck, never again).

My network builds range from classified facilities to scada systems, major banks, and financial institutions. I've sat on panels to write STIGs for both 8570, and NIST standards.

I hope that helps.

I dont like running around holding a "look at me board" over my head. I let me open source projects, my previous network and security designs, and my consultations do that for me.


As for the response itself, whether people take it or not isnt too much of a burden on my mind. I'm just paying the public back for what I was given is all. Whether people drink from the water hole, or try to cut open a cactus, makes no difference to me.

Although I will say, I really do appreciate your input.

lol WUT!? Fellow redditor? HAIL COMRADE! BEHOLD! Obligatory emergency CAT!

Fallenour

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 125
  • Location: Earth
  • RE/PM Investor, P2P lender, Business Owner
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #13 on: December 12, 2014, 02:45:03 PM »
Please then, feel free to see my LinkedIn.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=121532233&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile

Also, all due respect, being a director honestly doesn't mean squat.

Just trying to give you constructive criticism here.  I have to say that it's a bit perplexing that you highlight career advancement as meaning nothing, but present a social media page as proof of credibility.  Seems like a bit of a contradiction.

The point is (and I'll belabor it no more after this), credibility is earned, not declared.  It's also something that is earned over time.  I commend your enthusiasm, but respectfully urge you to take it down a notch or two and participate in the community before aiming to lead it.

I never said "career advancement" I said being a director. People who are in upper management these days are either extremely young for the most part, having started their own companies, or are very old (50s+), and have been in management for DECADES.

The key point is management, as in never doing anything hands to keyboard. Theres a big difference in understanding the nuances of a network, and most high end management have no idea whats in most of their enterprise infrastructure these days.


skyrefuge

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1015
  • Location: Suburban Chicago, IL
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #14 on: December 12, 2014, 02:49:56 PM »
Setting up shop and proclaiming that you "specialize" in tech after ~10 posts, and suggesting that others seek your advice, is probably the wrong way to go about it.

ha, yeah, especially when those ~10 posts reveal an unfamiliarity with basic Web technology (misusing the quote function, reviving dead posts). Also, as much as I crave taking stock-picking advice from random Internet strangers, I do generally require them to be smart enough to know not to tell the OP to do what he already told you he did, to not answer questions entirely different than the ones asked, and, petty, I know, but to know the difference between "your" and "you're".

Fallenour

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 125
  • Location: Earth
  • RE/PM Investor, P2P lender, Business Owner
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #15 on: December 12, 2014, 02:50:53 PM »
Please then, feel free to see my LinkedIn.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=121532233&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile

Also, all due respect, being a director honestly doesn't mean squat.

Just trying to give you constructive criticism here.  I have to say that it's a bit perplexing that you highlight career advancement as meaning nothing, but present a social media page as proof of credibility.  Seems like a bit of a contradiction.

The point is (and I'll belabor it no more after this), credibility is earned, not declared.  It's also something that is earned over time.  I commend your enthusiasm, but respectfully urge you to take it down a notch or two and participate in the community before aiming to lead it.

Well first and foremost, very nice profile pic, love it.

Next Id have to say youve misinformed as to what it means to be "paperless". In all reality, no business is "purely paperless". What they mean is for the most part, they have removed most types of forms into electronic format, and utilize email, pdfs (and other electronic file types), and electronic forms for most means of conducting business.

I would also state that you might want to find out what the regulations are on your industry (sarb/ox, etc) to first figure out if cloud services are even an option. Most cloud providers these days dont offer specialized platforms that are required to remain in compliance.

Next, if you arent regulated by any forms of compliance, and can have a cloud service, I would then advice you to find out what services you will require, and to what extent youll need those services (phone systems, email, domain services, etc).

If the needs are relatively few in number, then sure, go for cloud.

If the numbers are relatively high, and approaching a medium sized business, Id say start looking to get your own infrastructure. Start by talking to dell and microsoft if thats the case. They can talk hardware, financing schedules, and service and solution providers (microsoft).

Update:

Oops, sorry. Forgot to add the backups.

There are several solutions depending on your pricing, data storage amounts, types of data, etc.

Solutions include removable media via USB 3.0 (local), theres iron mountain (not sure what storage capabilities you have, or your price range), and you can also use many online cloud services to store data as well. Rackspace is a good one.

Personally, for my own storage needs, I bought a few servers, built a few servers, and use them with raid 10 combined with USB backups, a NAS (OpenNAS), as well as tape backups (I got an ok deal on a refurbed tape library, and a sweetheart deal with iron mountain), but my needs are a bit "more elaborate" than most.

« Last Edit: December 12, 2014, 03:05:09 PM by Fallenour »

Fallenour

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 125
  • Location: Earth
  • RE/PM Investor, P2P lender, Business Owner
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #16 on: December 12, 2014, 02:55:34 PM »
Please then, feel free to see my LinkedIn.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=121532233&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile

Also, all due respect, being a director honestly doesn't mean squat.

Just trying to give you constructive criticism here.  I have to say that it's a bit perplexing that you highlight career advancement as meaning nothing, but present a social media page as proof of credibility.  Seems like a bit of a contradiction.

The point is (and I'll belabor it no more after this), credibility is earned, not declared.  It's also something that is earned over time.  I commend your enthusiasm, but respectfully urge you to take it down a notch or two and participate in the community before aiming to lead it.

Well first and foremost, very nice profile pic, love it.

Next Id have to say youve misinformed as to what it means to be "paperless". In all reality, no business is "purely paperless". What they mean is for the most part, they have removed most types of forms into electronic format, and utilize email, pdfs (and other electronic file types), and electronic forms for most means of conducting business.

I would also state that you might want to find out what the regulations are on your industry (sarb/ox, etc) to first figure out if cloud services are even an option. Most cloud providers these days dont offer specialized platforms that are required to remain in compliance.

Next, if you arent regulated by any forms of compliance, and can have a cloud service, I would then advice you to find out what services you will require, and to what extent youll need those services (phone systems, email, domain services, etc).

If the needs are relatively few in number, then sure, go for cloud.

If the numbers are relatively high, and approaching a medium sized business, Id say start looking to get your own infrastructure. Start by talking to dell and microsoft if thats the case. They can talk hardware, financing schedules, and service and solution providers (microsoft).

Oh boy, one of these.

Firstly, grammatical, financial, and digital arenas are separate institutions, and thus, should be properly labeled.  I never said I was an engrish mayor, I said I was an IT SME. If oyu need to see your and you're in order to validate my capabilities as an IT professional, youve obviously never workd with 1 of uz before.

Youd be lucky in a work env. if we gave you more than 40 words per email. or complete sentences. Or.used? properly placed. punctuations.

When we talk to customers we utilize proper etiquette, spell check, and spend countless hours pooling over our grammatically correct comprehensive statements with valid executive summaries with excessive sourcing and references.

When we talk to friends, we let the keys fly.

pzxc

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 196
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #17 on: December 12, 2014, 03:02:46 PM »
You realize you just quoted yourself and answered a different post than what you quoted?

The offer to help people is good, but your lack of attention to detail is belying your own credibility here.

J'onn J'onzz

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 62
  • Age: 46
  • Location: Dallas, TX
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #18 on: December 12, 2014, 03:06:11 PM »
You realize you just quoted yourself and answered a different post than what you quoted?

The offer to help people is good, but your lack of attention to detail is belying your own credibility here.

I am pretty sure that was done intentionally because a previous poster had called him out on misusing the quote function.

Cpa Cat

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1692
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #19 on: December 12, 2014, 03:11:24 PM »
Next Id have to say youve misinformed as to what it means to be "paperless". In all reality, no business is "purely paperless". What they mean is for the most part, they have removed most types of forms into electronic format, and utilize email, pdfs (and other electronic file types), and electronic forms for most means of conducting business.

I would also state that you might want to find out what the regulations are on your industry (sarb/ox, etc) to first figure out if cloud services are even an option. Most cloud providers these days dont offer specialized platforms that are required to remain in compliance.

Next, if you arent regulated by any forms of compliance, and can have a cloud service, I would then advice you to find out what services you will require, and to what extent youll need those services (phone systems, email, domain services, etc).

If the needs are relatively few in number, then sure, go for cloud.

If the numbers are relatively high, and approaching a medium sized business, Id say start looking to get your own infrastructure. Start by talking to dell and microsoft if thats the case. They can talk hardware, financing schedules, and service and solution providers (microsoft).

Oh no, I don't do publicly traded companies. I am a tax accountant. The compliance that I'm regulated by is the IRS. I am required to keep records for a certain number of years. This means, I need to do such things like protect them from fire and not give them to identity thieves. I need to take "reasonable precautions." I'm in a sole-prop situation, so we're talking PDFs/excel spreadsheets for maybe a few hundred small clients.

I would prefer not to have boxes of client data stored in paper form in a storage facility somewhere. This is the old way.

I can do, for example, an external harddrive with a backup each year that I store in a a safe deposit box. But I worry about the integrity of the data after several years, and obviously the backup procedure is a little cumbersome. So do I backup my backup with paper files (then I'm left with the same stacks of paper - just in my office, instead of a storage facility)? And of course, my office is probably the least secure place for client data storage, since someone intent on stealing it could break in, knowing that I'm an accountant.

Obviously, if I could engage in some kind of online backup/storage solution, this would be ideal. I just don't know if this is realistic? And also what kind of service? Obviously the place I store photos of my cats is not necessarily the same place I'd want to store a client's SSN and financial account information.

Fallenour

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 125
  • Location: Earth
  • RE/PM Investor, P2P lender, Business Owner
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #20 on: December 12, 2014, 03:18:47 PM »
You realize you just quoted yourself and answered a different post than what you quoted?

The offer to help people is good, but your lack of attention to detail is belying your own credibility here.

I am pretty sure that was done intentionally because a previous poster had called him out on misusing the quote function.

Ahh, good sir, so true.

Although I will say, I am used to forums with the quote button at the bottom right hand of most posts to threads. Having it at the top right is very odd. At least it is to me.

skyrefuge

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1015
  • Location: Suburban Chicago, IL
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #21 on: December 12, 2014, 03:22:20 PM »
I am pretty sure that was done intentionally because a previous poster had called him out on misusing the quote function.

Nah, since he also did it in a post completely unrelated to mine less than a minute after I called him out on it.

Fallenour

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 125
  • Location: Earth
  • RE/PM Investor, P2P lender, Business Owner
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #22 on: December 12, 2014, 03:43:10 PM »
Next Id have to say youve misinformed as to what it means to be "paperless". In all reality, no business is "purely paperless". What they mean is for the most part, they have removed most types of forms into electronic format, and utilize email, pdfs (and other electronic file types), and electronic forms for most means of conducting business.

I would also state that you might want to find out what the regulations are on your industry (sarb/ox, etc) to first figure out if cloud services are even an option. Most cloud providers these days dont offer specialized platforms that are required to remain in compliance.

Next, if you arent regulated by any forms of compliance, and can have a cloud service, I would then advice you to find out what services you will require, and to what extent youll need those services (phone systems, email, domain services, etc).

If the needs are relatively few in number, then sure, go for cloud.

If the numbers are relatively high, and approaching a medium sized business, Id say start looking to get your own infrastructure. Start by talking to dell and microsoft if thats the case. They can talk hardware, financing schedules, and service and solution providers (microsoft).

Oh no, I don't do publicly traded companies. I am a tax accountant. The compliance that I'm regulated by is the IRS. I am required to keep records for a certain number of years. This means, I need to do such things like protect them from fire and not give them to identity thieves. I need to take "reasonable precautions." I'm in a sole-prop situation, so we're talking PDFs/excel spreadsheets for maybe a few hundred small clients.

I would prefer not to have boxes of client data stored in paper form in a storage facility somewhere. This is the old way.

I can do, for example, an external harddrive with a backup each year that I store in a a safe deposit box. But I worry about the integrity of the data after several years, and obviously the backup procedure is a little cumbersome. So do I backup my backup with paper files (then I'm left with the same stacks of paper - just in my office, instead of a storage facility)? And of course, my office is probably the least secure place for client data storage, since someone intent on stealing it could break in, knowing that I'm an accountant.

Obviously, if I could engage in some kind of online backup/storage solution, this would be ideal. I just don't know if this is realistic? And also what kind of service? Obviously the place I store photos of my cats is not necessarily the same place I'd want to store a client's SSN and financial account information.

Alrighty, perplexing situation due to the PII, but I do have potential answers.

Obviously with your paper files, going digital is your best option, so scanner it is. I would suggest since you have a small office that you get yourself a scanner. If you don't happen to have a fax/printer/scanner, or would like to upgrade to an all in one solution (and get a decent tax writeoff), then I'd suggest an HP all-in-one. They have business class ones at places like microcenter, best buy, and office depot, and usually run 100-300 dollars. The one I currently use only cost me ~200.

Another alternative is Neat Receipt. It's an exceptional device that is highly mobile, easy to install and use, and is very cheap. I got mine for ~125. It will allow you to store full digital copies of all documents you scan into it, it gives you full previews of the documents once they are done scanning, and you can also build a full file architecture while scanning them in to allow you to fully manage them.

As for storage, it depends on your operating system, your level of technical knowledge, and just how much data you have.

I honestly always suggest to people who continually add data to set up a set schedule of full and incremental backups. This will take a while for the first back up, and then much less time for the next backups after that. I suggest that you have them run both in the early morning, and after work hours (for documents, emails, etc, that come in after hours). I would also suggest that after each quarter, you take the drive with the latest full backup to your safety deposit box,and lock it away, and have a seperate drive for your incremental backups. This way the majority of your PII information is stored as safely as possible, and your full backup is in a safe place. I would also suggest that it be stored on an encrypted harddrive that is password protected. I can send you a few examples if needed.

If all of the data is gone (worst case scenario) then you can pull the full backup and all the incremental backups, up to your latest full backup. This is known as a grandfather, father, son model, and is the most common model used in saving data.

For you, since your an accountant, I would suggest you do your full backups at least one per quarter, usually at the beginning of each quarter, so that your full backup is all your records of last tax season, and have your small pieces added here and there as your incremental (which will be far less data).

Cpa Cat

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1692
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #23 on: December 12, 2014, 05:49:42 PM »
I have a printer in mind and it is an all in one. Due to the high volume of scanning I tend to deal with, I'm opting for something with more torque. Actually, equipment has been easy - in part because I can just look around my current workplace and decide what I want to buy.

But I've always had an IT department. So data storage/backups are nothing I've ever had to deal with. Currently, I have very little stored physically on my computer - it's all on the network. I can access the network remotely. But if anyone ever stole my computer, there would be very little for them to access. When I'm on my own, there will be no network, no IT department, no corporate HQ to tell me the best practices for data security/storage.

I never want to be in a situation where I'm forced to write a letter to clients to tell them that their sensitive information may have been compromised because I was a moron and did something dumb with data storage. But I need to balance that with my own ability to easily access it, as well as physical space issues with paper.

Kriegsspiel

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 962
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #24 on: December 12, 2014, 08:35:45 PM »
Which company would you recommend investing in, if any, in order to become a corporate overlord when the robots enslave the underclass? Feel free to PM me.

Fallenour

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 125
  • Location: Earth
  • RE/PM Investor, P2P lender, Business Owner
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #25 on: December 12, 2014, 08:35:58 PM »
I have a printer in mind and it is an all in one. Due to the high volume of scanning I tend to deal with, I'm opting for something with more torque. Actually, equipment has been easy - in part because I can just look around my current workplace and decide what I want to buy.

But I've always had an IT department. So data storage/backups are nothing I've ever had to deal with. Currently, I have very little stored physically on my computer - it's all on the network. I can access the network remotely. But if anyone ever stole my computer, there would be very little for them to access. When I'm on my own, there will be no network, no IT department, no corporate HQ to tell me the best practices for data security/storage.

I never want to be in a situation where I'm forced to write a letter to clients to tell them that their sensitive information may have been compromised because I was a moron and did something dumb with data storage. But I need to balance that with my own ability to easily access it, as well as physical space issues with paper.

Ok, so heres my question.

Whats your budget?

As for a network, with a small enough company, infrastructure and equipment is easy to set up.

Single user direct to infrastructure is actually pretty cheap if there isnt a need for a lot of servers, or excessively crafty R&S design.

You could probably really easily get by with a simple netgear switch with a BYO server, with a BYO NAS solution, or just a "private cloud" solution from WD.

Now if you want to build your own private major practice, with lots of accountants working under you, thats a different story.

None of it would be complicated, and server patching, maintenance, etc would be easy since not enough users to work the systems hard enough, and i could help you negotiate a O&M by hour contract with a local yocal if needed, but honestly, it doesn't seem like you'd need a domain or your own email if its just going to be you from what I can see.

Id say a rackspace account, plus a neat receipt, a good all-in-one, combined with a regular backup scheme will do good by you, and help you stay highly mobile while secure. For protection though I would still suggest a firewall solution. maybe a low end enterprise fortinet or a palo alto firewall. Both get the job done right and allow you to have VPN access to your files and work related materials from anywhere.

As for your network shares, unless you're moving massive amounts of data once you go out on your own, theres no real need for you to worry about needing a network share. Although, again, if you absolutely felt the need to have one, WD can provide that for very little.

For all of that above, with a roughly 80/hr contract retainer for 40 hours annual package with rollover hours, Id say you're looking at roughly 5k-6k max to get completely off the ground, and all IT systems stood up, in place, configured, and you are turn key status.

Estimated costs would be as follows:

Rackspace (email): 120 (3 emails, 40 GB)
Go Daddy (web+hosting): 360
firewall: 800-1500 (depends on features and what vendor you go with)
WD Private cloud network storage: 280
2 removable USB Devices: ~150
Private contract: 3,200

Renewing costs: ~3,700

Total Costs: ~4900-5600.

WIthout the contractor its less than 1k. Depends on if you want that extra safety net or not. Its a very simple system you need, and very low risk for the most part.

Its not untouchable by any means, but it works, gives you what you need, and lets you put multiple security checks in place to access the data. Its no ISO 90001, but it works.

Unless someone gets your specific IP address at your work location, which since your web is hosted is extremely unlikely, there shouldnt be too many concerns. The security through obscurity concept applies heavily in your favor in this instance.

Fallenour

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 125
  • Location: Earth
  • RE/PM Investor, P2P lender, Business Owner

Dodge

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 790
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #27 on: December 12, 2014, 10:03:29 PM »
Right now Palo Alto, due to their strong firewall/VPN/malware Analysis system which is taking the industry by storm, and currently replacing many cisco ASA systems due to cheaper prices, higher performance, and easier licensing models.

This doesn't mean you should invest in their stock.  Being a strong company doesn't necessarily lead to a profitable stock investment.  Especially when the price has risen 2.5x since in the last year.  It's funny, I checked the stock price after writing the first two sentences, because I just KNEW it was going to be one of those situations!

You won't find many takers here for advice on a tech stock-picking strategy.  Individual stocks has been shown to be a fool's game, which is even better highlighted by:

Currently the cyber sec market is projected a CAGR of at least 5.8% year over year for the next 5 years, with extremely high potential of even further growth than that.

Projected = market timing.  Generally frowned upon on these forums.
CAGR less than that of the overall market return is in line with the data showing you won't beat the market.

But really, based on the way the thread is going, it should be in Ask a Mustachian.  You're giving long and details answers to questions about the cloud!  Doesn't belong here.

Fallenour

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 125
  • Location: Earth
  • RE/PM Investor, P2P lender, Business Owner
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #28 on: December 12, 2014, 10:12:39 PM »
Right now Palo Alto, due to their strong firewall/VPN/malware Analysis system which is taking the industry by storm, and currently replacing many cisco ASA systems due to cheaper prices, higher performance, and easier licensing models.

This doesn't mean you should invest in their stock.  Being a strong company doesn't necessarily lead to a profitable stock investment.  Especially when the price has risen 2.5x since in the last year.  It's funny, I checked the stock price after writing the first two sentences, because I just KNEW it was going to be one of those situations!

You won't find many takers here for advice on a tech stock-picking strategy.  Individual stocks has been shown to be a fool's game, which is even better highlighted by:

Currently the cyber sec market is projected a CAGR of at least 5.8% year over year for the next 5 years, with extremely high potential of even further growth than that.

Projected = market timing.  Generally frowned upon on these forums.
CAGR less than that of the overall market return is in line with the data showing you won't beat the market.

But really, based on the way the thread is going, it should be in Ask a Mustachian.  You're giving long and details answers to questions about the cloud!  Doesn't belong here.

Well seeing as in target just got nailed to the cross by Minnesota justice system to be held as a liable party to the banking industries as and I quote" Playing a vital role in the negligence that led up to the breach of data..."

That will be  precedence case, and has also led to massive insurance spikes, drastic lowering of insurance coverage of liabilities, and payout schedules by insurance companies, meaning companies can no longer lean on insurance to pick up the bills when they roll in.

Companies now have to actual make proactive attempts at fixing the issues at hand.

Additionally, with the new fiasco with Sony, who lost massive amounts of money, and is hemorrhaging every day, with more and more incriminating information and loss of IP, its spooking many other industries to take things seriously.

Also, the increase is supposed to be a year over year increas, its not a market timing, its going to happen.

The companies are going to continue to grow, especially with the new regulations put in place, and the ones that are coming that hold companies civily liable for breaches of PII and financial data, such as credit cards, or breaches that result in the vendors having to incur costs due to negligence on behalf of the companies who were too cheap to implement industry standard security measures.

Dodge

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 790
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #29 on: December 12, 2014, 10:23:03 PM »
Right now Palo Alto, due to their strong firewall/VPN/malware Analysis system which is taking the industry by storm, and currently replacing many cisco ASA systems due to cheaper prices, higher performance, and easier licensing models.

This doesn't mean you should invest in their stock.  Being a strong company doesn't necessarily lead to a profitable stock investment.  Especially when the price has risen 2.5x since in the last year.  It's funny, I checked the stock price after writing the first two sentences, because I just KNEW it was going to be one of those situations!

You won't find many takers here for advice on a tech stock-picking strategy.  Individual stocks has been shown to be a fool's game, which is even better highlighted by:

Currently the cyber sec market is projected a CAGR of at least 5.8% year over year for the next 5 years, with extremely high potential of even further growth than that.

Projected = market timing.  Generally frowned upon on these forums.
CAGR less than that of the overall market return is in line with the data showing you won't beat the market.

But really, based on the way the thread is going, it should be in Ask a Mustachian.  You're giving long and details answers to questions about the cloud!  Doesn't belong here.

Well seeing as in target just got nailed to the cross by Minnesota justice system to be held as a liable party to the banking industries as and I quote" Playing a vital role in the negligence that led up to the breach of data..."

That will be  precedence case, and has also led to massive insurance spikes, drastic lowering of insurance coverage of liabilities, and payout schedules by insurance companies, meaning companies can no longer lean on insurance to pick up the bills when they roll in.

Companies now have to actual make proactive attempts at fixing the issues at hand.

Additionally, with the new fiasco with Sony, who lost massive amounts of money, and is hemorrhaging every day, with more and more incriminating information and loss of IP, its spooking many other industries to take things seriously.

Also, the increase is supposed to be a year over year increas, its not a market timing, its going to happen.

The companies are going to continue to grow, especially with the new regulations put in place, and the ones that are coming that hold companies civily liable for breaches of PII and financial data, such as credit cards, or breaches that result in the vendors having to incur costs due to negligence on behalf of the companies who were too cheap to implement industry standard security measures.

You're missing the point.  It doesn't matter if the company continues to grow.  If that information already baked into the stock price, I won't be able to profit from it.

Fallenour

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 125
  • Location: Earth
  • RE/PM Investor, P2P lender, Business Owner
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #30 on: December 13, 2014, 07:12:57 AM »
Right now Palo Alto, due to their strong firewall/VPN/malware Analysis system which is taking the industry by storm, and currently replacing many cisco ASA systems due to cheaper prices, higher performance, and easier licensing models.

This doesn't mean you should invest in their stock.  Being a strong company doesn't necessarily lead to a profitable stock investment.  Especially when the price has risen 2.5x since in the last year.  It's funny, I checked the stock price after writing the first two sentences, because I just KNEW it was going to be one of those situations!

You won't find many takers here for advice on a tech stock-picking strategy.  Individual stocks has been shown to be a fool's game, which is even better highlighted by:

Currently the cyber sec market is projected a CAGR of at least 5.8% year over year for the next 5 years, with extremely high potential of even further growth than that.

Projected = market timing.  Generally frowned upon on these forums.
CAGR less than that of the overall market return is in line with the data showing you won't beat the market.

But really, based on the way the thread is going, it should be in Ask a Mustachian.  You're giving long and details answers to questions about the cloud!  Doesn't belong here.

Well seeing as in target just got nailed to the cross by Minnesota justice system to be held as a liable party to the banking industries as and I quote" Playing a vital role in the negligence that led up to the breach of data..."

That will be  precedence case, and has also led to massive insurance spikes, drastic lowering of insurance coverage of liabilities, and payout schedules by insurance companies, meaning companies can no longer lean on insurance to pick up the bills when they roll in.

Companies now have to actual make proactive attempts at fixing the issues at hand.

Additionally, with the new fiasco with Sony, who lost massive amounts of money, and is hemorrhaging every day, with more and more incriminating information and loss of IP, its spooking many other industries to take things seriously.

Also, the increase is supposed to be a year over year increas, its not a market timing, its going to happen.

The companies are going to continue to grow, especially with the new regulations put in place, and the ones that are coming that hold companies civily liable for breaches of PII and financial data, such as credit cards, or breaches that result in the vendors having to incur costs due to negligence on behalf of the companies who were too cheap to implement industry standard security measures.

You're missing the point.  It doesn't matter if the company continues to grow.  If that information already baked into the stock price, I won't be able to profit from it.

Thats the whole point though, the information isnt baked in yet.

Cisco is goign to lose the firewalls market primary share, and when they do, palo alto will gain still more ground. Thats just one example.

Dodge

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 790
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #31 on: December 13, 2014, 08:44:40 AM »

Right now Palo Alto, due to their strong firewall/VPN/malware Analysis system which is taking the industry by storm, and currently replacing many cisco ASA systems due to cheaper prices, higher performance, and easier licensing models.

This doesn't mean you should invest in their stock.  Being a strong company doesn't necessarily lead to a profitable stock investment.  Especially when the price has risen 2.5x since in the last year.  It's funny, I checked the stock price after writing the first two sentences, because I just KNEW it was going to be one of those situations!

You won't find many takers here for advice on a tech stock-picking strategy.  Individual stocks has been shown to be a fool's game, which is even better highlighted by:

Currently the cyber sec market is projected a CAGR of at least 5.8% year over year for the next 5 years, with extremely high potential of even further growth than that.

Projected = market timing.  Generally frowned upon on these forums.
CAGR less than that of the overall market return is in line with the data showing you won't beat the market.

But really, based on the way the thread is going, it should be in Ask a Mustachian.  You're giving long and details answers to questions about the cloud!  Doesn't belong here.

Well seeing as in target just got nailed to the cross by Minnesota justice system to be held as a liable party to the banking industries as and I quote" Playing a vital role in the negligence that led up to the breach of data..."

That will be  precedence case, and has also led to massive insurance spikes, drastic lowering of insurance coverage of liabilities, and payout schedules by insurance companies, meaning companies can no longer lean on insurance to pick up the bills when they roll in.

Companies now have to actual make proactive attempts at fixing the issues at hand.

Additionally, with the new fiasco with Sony, who lost massive amounts of money, and is hemorrhaging every day, with more and more incriminating information and loss of IP, its spooking many other industries to take things seriously.

Also, the increase is supposed to be a year over year increas, its not a market timing, its going to happen.

The companies are going to continue to grow, especially with the new regulations put in place, and the ones that are coming that hold companies civily liable for breaches of PII and financial data, such as credit cards, or breaches that result in the vendors having to incur costs due to negligence on behalf of the companies who were too cheap to implement industry standard security measures.

You're missing the point.  It doesn't matter if the company continues to grow.  If that information already baked into the stock price, I won't be able to profit from it.

Thats the whole point though, the information isnt baked in yet.

Cisco is goign to lose the firewalls market primary share, and when they do, palo alto will gain still more ground. Thats just one example.

The price has increased 2.5x in the last year. How do you know the information isn't baked in? Your entire premise is that:

1. You have information no one knows, and
2. You are better at predicting the future than everyone else

I've seen people lose their life savings making bets like that. Reminds me of this tweet from a few months back:


waltworks

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5653
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #32 on: December 13, 2014, 09:34:18 AM »
My rule of thumb is that anonymous people on the internet/shoe-shine boys have the information, so does everyone else.

-W

Kriegsspiel

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 962
Re: Tech Questions, bring them here
« Reply #33 on: December 13, 2014, 11:49:27 AM »
If I was at the helm of an army of robot warriors with shoulder-mounted machine gun turrets, and distributed intelligence-driven attack drone swarms, I'd like to see them try to legalize me.

Though, I don't think any of his links mentioned attack drones or machine guns... back to the drawing board I guess :(