Happy New Year From the Architel Team!
Alexander Muse , December 29, 2006
Just wanted to wish everyone a happy new year! We like to think that we have a great team of people here at Architel. Last year our guys came up with the idea that we provide “Superhero Support” and to that end we did a little work coming up with marketing program around that idea. It never went anywhere, but we did have some cool drawings that I thought I would share. What do you think?
Architel PRI (phone lines) Down
Alexander Muse , December 29, 2006
If you have been trying to reach our help desk via telephone you may have noticed that our phone lines are down. We are working with Broadwing to get the PRI back up and running. You can continue to reach us via email or by using the ticketing system. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
Earthquake Reduces Spam?
Alexander Muse , December 28, 2006
Talk about unforeseen consequences, evidently the earthquake in Asia knocked the wind out of the spammers. Turns out, most of the prolific spammers are in Asia and the fiber cuts (a result of the earthquakes) are slowing their spam effort. Why does most spam come from Asia you ask? I figure it is because that is where most of the people in the world are… Thanks Terry for the heads up.
IronPort Maintenance Friday 10PM to Midnight
Alexander Muse , December 28, 2006
IronPort has a planned maintenance window on Friday, December 29th from 10PM to midnight. Your filters will still work; however, you may see a few timeouts to SBRS and AsyncOS. The box will reconnect frequenty so most systems will remain up-to-date throughout the window. There is no action required, just ignore the alerts during the window. If you have any specific questions contact IronPort directly:
Support Portal: http://www.ironport.com/support
Toll-Free Customer Support
United States: 1-877-641-4766
Pinoy Microsoft Engineers Wanted!
Alexander Muse , December 23, 2006
Architel® is seeking a highly skilled Microsoft engineer to support, manage and troubleshoot Microsoft servers, Microsoft Exchange and XP desktops. The position is home-based and pays between 200Php and 350Php per hour. Hiring bonuses for various certifications (see listing at end of job description).
DESCRIPTION
As a Microsoft engineer for Architel®, the candidate must:
- Have VERY strong spoken and written English skills.
- Have a quiet place to work from at home (this position is home based).
- Have a reliable Windows PC running Windows XP (if you are skilled in Linux or OSX we can make an exception).
- Have more than three years of experience support Microsoft systems.
- Have a college degree in computer science or equivalent.
- Be able to work from 8AM to 6PM U.S. Central Standard Time (GMT -6:00)
- Be a good troubleshooter!
Each day you will be responsible for various predetermined tasks. Each task must be documented in our ticketing system. You will also be responsible for taking support calls from our clients and helping to resolve their issues.
TECHNICAL EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
• Experience managing, troubleshooting and implementing Windows 2003 Active Directory Domains.
• Experience managing, supporting and troubleshooting Exchange 2003.
HIRING BONUSES
Are you a Microsoft Certified Professional? Architel® will pay hiring bonuses for engineers who have achieved the following certifications:
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) 2003 (four networking exams, one client operating system, one design exam and one elective exam for a total of seven). Bonus of 20,000Php after 90 days of employment with Architel.
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) 2000 (four operating system exams, one design exam and two electives for a total of five). Bonus of 15,000Php after 90 days of employment with Architel.
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) NT 4.0 (four exams including networking essentials, Windows NT Workstation, Windows NT Server and Windows NT Server). Bonus of 5,000Php after 90 days of employment with Architel.
Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA) 2003 (two networking systems exams, a client operating system exam and an elective exam). Bonus of 8,000Php after 90 days of employment with Architel.
Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician (MCDST) (50 hour course plus two core exams). Bonus of 5,000Php after 90 days of employment with Architel.
Only one bonus may be earned. Your MCP transcript must be shared before the 90th day of employment is reached. You will need your Transcript ID and Access Code.
https://mcp.microsoft.com/authenticate/validatemcp.aspx
ABOUT ARCHITEL®
Architel® provides IT support services small businesses (with between 20 and 100 employees) primarily located in the Dallas Fort Worth area. Our service provide turnkey support for businesses including day-to-day desktop support, server support, Exchange support and networking support. Our offshore employees work from home and enjoy the advantages of higher pay and reduced expenses associated with a daily commute. Learn more by visiting http://www.architel.com
New Architel Inventory System
Alexander Muse , December 22, 2006
Architel is implementing a new inventory management system for our clients (and prospective clients). In the past, we used tools such as Microsoft SMS, WinInstall or NetInstall. However, with Windows 2000, software distribution has been integrated into the operating system using group policies, and Windows XP includes a remote desktop solution as well. This leaves hardware and software inventory as a key feature that is needed by our administrators, but is not included in Windows.
Our new system lets us perform an inventory of your Windows network within a few minutes’ time - without having to install any additional software on your PCs. This provides you with an up-to-date overview of hardware and software used within your entire business - quickly and at any time. The system makes our job easier with these features:
- network scanning with planned schedules and address ranges;
- no installation or program execution necessary on client PCs;
- additional queries possible from the logon script (without local software installation);
- low network overhead allowing operation within WANs;
- MS-Jet, MS-SQL-Server or Oracle 8/9 database with a flexible structure;
- standardized user interface within the Microsoft Management Console;
- flexible evaluation functions based on XML;
- integrated history function showing configuration changes;
- scanning function: parallel querying of all client PCs running Windows NT, XP or 2000 (approximately 150 PCs per minute).
This new system will allow our team to:
Migration projects - Effortlessly analyze the current state of your network and determine any necessary hardware upgrades in advance.
Help desks - Support our support. Knowing which hardware and software components are installed on every workstation, our support employees can easily diagnose problems and provide custom assistance.
Licensing - Ensure that all installed software is licensed.
Digium Releases AsteriskNow Beta!
Alexander Muse , December 22, 2006
Alec Saunders is reporting that the AsteriskNow Beta is now available. Thanks Digium!
First Vista Vulnerabilty
Alexander Muse , December 22, 2006
The MSRC Blog is reporting the first Windows Vista vulnerability here. The details:
We are closely monitoring developments related to a public posting of proof of concept code targeting an issue with the Client Server Run-Time Subsystem. The PoC reportedly allows for local elevation of privilege on Windows 2000 SP4, Windows Server 2003 SP1, Windows XP SP1, Windows XP SP2 and Windows Vista operating systems. Initial indications are that in order for the attack to be successful, the attacker must already have authenticated access to the target system. Of course these are preliminary findings and we have activated our emergency response process involving a multitude of folks who are investigating the issue in depth to determine the full scope and potential impact to Microsoft’s customers. Currently we have not observed any public exploitation or attack activity regarding this issue. While I know this is a vulnerability that impacts Windows Vista I still have every confidence that Windows Vista is our most secure platform to date. As always, we here at the MSRC encourage everyone to enable a firewall, apply all security updates and install anti-virus and anti-spyware software.
Architel Holiday Schedule
Alexander Muse , December 18, 2006
Mark your calendars:
- Monday, December 25: Architel Closed (emergency support)
- Tuesday, December 26: Architel Closed (emergency support)
- Monday, January 1: Architel Closed (emergency support)
December 15th (Friday) Office Hours
Alexander Muse , December 15, 2006
This afternoon we are holding the annual holiday party for our employees and their families starting at noon. Starting at noon we will be providing emergency support only for the remainder of the day. We appreciate your understanding.
