September / October 2007
In this issue...

 ►Product Focus: DoubleCheck
 ►What's up with Vista?
 ►4 Battery Tips for Gadgets
 ►Endpoint Security
 ►Outlook Anywhere

Outlook Anywhere

Remote access of Exchange-based email is a requirement of most mobile workers. In the past, Outlook Web Access provided some, but not all, of the functionality of Outlook. Remote users who wanted to use their native Outlook software were forced to use a VPN connection to access the corporate network. VPN's, however, are more complex to configure and enable access to more network services than are required for simple e-mail access.

Outlook 2003 and 2007 now offers a simpler alternative to VPN connections — RPC over HTTP (which Microsoft has mercifully renamed "Outlook Anywhere"). With this feature, users can have security-enhanced access to their Exchange Server accounts from the Internet when they are working outside your organization's firewall. Users do not need any special connections or hardware, such as smart cards and security tokens, and they can still get to their Exchange accounts even if the Exchange server and client computer are behind firewalls on different networks. The user runs the same Outlook used inside the network and has all of Outlook's functionality enabled including shared calendars, contact lists and public folder access.

Outlook Anywhere runs on Windows XP and Vista and requires Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, 2007 or Microsoft Small Business Server 2003. Take advantage of Outlook's power and flexibility outside your office with Outlook Anywhere. Contact your account manager at SL Powers or the Helpdesk for more information.

Are your email servers clogged with SPAM and scams? Are those off-the-shelf SPAM filters being outsmarted by spammers every time you think you’ve got it under control? Do you ever wonder how the productivity in your company is being affected by SPAM, scams, and other email violations? If you answered yes, kinda, sorta, or maybe to any of these questions, you MUST check out DoubleCheck Email Manager.

DoubleCheck’s name speaks for itself! This slick email appliance will check incoming and outgoing emails for SPAM, Viruses, scams, and policy violations. DoubleCheck is extremely reliable, and can adapt to changing and increasing demands. The server spam identification is highly accurate and simple to use.

For companies with less than 50 users, SLPowers now offers Doublecheck on a per mailbox basis. Known within SLPowers as SPAZ (SLPowers Anti Spam), we have over two thousand users currently active on this monthly plan, and we’re stopping over 65,000 SPAMs each day from ever reaching their intended recipients!

For more information on DoubleCheck, call your Account Manager today or email us at info@slpowers.com and we’ll get back to you shortly.

Reprinted with permission from the Microsoft Small Business Center

Mention the words "battery life." The first gadget that comes to mind is probably the energy-consuming laptop computer — particularly if you're on the go a lot. If not, it should be. There never seems to be enough juice to run your portable PC, as I griped about in a previous article. Ah, but if laptop PCs were the extent of your battery blues, you might not feel so, well, powerless. But power problems plague other mobile devices. For example, a 2003 In-Stat/MDR survey found that long battery life ranked as the most important feature to business users when selecting a wireless handset. Users of personal digital assistants (PDAs) are just as concerned about a possible energy crisis. I know because I am one and I never seem to stop worrying about running dry.

So, what about mobile gadgets? How do you make sure your batteries last as long as possible? Here are four tips.

Small and mid-sized businesses are becoming keenly aware of the increasing need to protect their endpoints from exposure. Endpoint devices include servers, laptops, and desktops, and these devices are vital to a business’ operations. While threats are becoming more sophisticated and targeting endpoint devices, end users are demanding increased productivity and access into the network (remote, VPN, web-based, telecommuting, use of unmanaged devices). Throw regulatory compliance mandates into the mix, and businesses are finding themselves scrambling to implement, monitor and enforce controls that protect endpoint devices.

The reality
Each of the following business problems related to endpoint protection has different technology requirements and issues:

Read More