– News

MCS Moves to New Location

2008-06-26T00:00:00Z

MCS Moves to New Location

We have completed our move from our Iles location to our own building at 2657 West Lawrence, Springfield, IL 62704. We have nearly 5000 square feet of space to accommodate our growing need for office space, storage, and our newly constructed data center.

MCS joins CWLP fiber ring

2008-07-02T00:00:00Z

MCS joins CWLP fiber ring

CWLP has completed their installation and we are now a member of the local Springfield Metropolitan area network. This will allow us to provide high speed services such as Internet access, data backup, and remote site interconnect. This is another important step that will allow us to offer enterprise class service to our clients.

Data Center Triples Bandwidth with More Upgrades Planned

2008-08-06T00:00:00Z

Data Center Triples Bandwidth with More Upgrades Planned

After a smooth transition, the MCS data center bandwidth capacity has more than tripled thanks to a brand new low latency fiber connection. This means that current clients have access to a faster connection for their hosted services and MCS will have room to expand offerings. MCS hosting services are growing at a fantastic rate as more organizations realize the cost benefits and mobility of hosted services. With this in mind, MCS is already building more infrastructure and plans to triple bandwidth again within 6 months.

New Job Opening

2008-11-17T00:00:00Z

New Job Opening

We have a new job opening available on our employment page. MCS is looking for a sales manager that can help to expand our client base. Please visit our employment page for more information or to submit your resume.

K12 Signup for Free Netbook Evaluation

2009-03-09T00:00:00Z

K12 Signup for Free Netbook Evaluation

Acer has a great evaluation program and they are offering an Aspire One AOD150-1165 Netbook to try our free for 30 days. These small netbooks are great for schools because they have exceptional battery life and are very affordable. Thanks to the new Intel Atom processor, the performance to power consumption ratio looks better than ever before.

After the 30-day demo is over, the school can buy the netbook for just $199 or send it back on Acer’s dime. If a school decides to buy more, they are available for just $349 through MCS.

This program is a great way for schools to test drive a product before they buy. These netbooks seem to have exploded on the market in the past year or so. Like everything in technology, they have their pros and cons and they are not right for everyone. You loose a little in performance and features (like, no optical drive and a smaller keyboard) but they are wonderful for web browsing and other network enabled tasks.

If you are with a K12 school, click here for more details and to signup for the program.

Another Data Center Upgrade

2009-04-21T00:00:00Z

Another Data Center Upgrade

As our clients’ needs for hosted solutions increase, so does our data center capacity. We have added a redundant provider and increased our total available bandwidth 3-fold. What this means for the end user is a more stable connection with even greater availability. If one of our providers has a problem, we are now able to maintain service through a redundant link. We would like to thank our clients for helping us grow the past few years and we look forward to many more!

June Newsletter

2009-06-23T00:00:00Z

MCS offering one year of FREE web/email hosting

If you are currently hosting your web site with another company, MCS is offering one year free hosting if you switch to us. With our hosting service, you can depend on personal support, up to date servers, and great reliability. Our hosting package comeS with 15 email accounts and free tech support. We will even take care of moving you from you current host. All you need to do is say the word and we will take care of the work. There is no obligation to continue to host with us after your free year is up. You are getting the ultimate evaluation period!

Over 99.9% Uptime
Free tech support from web professionals
15 Zimbra corporate email accounts with calendar sharing
10GB disk space
25GB transfer / month
Up to 3 MySQL databases
Just $249 / year after your free year
Offer good through 07/31/2009

Programming Services Better than Ever

Programming has always been a staple here at MCS. Over the past 6 years we have grown our programming services and we are able to handle almost any project out there. As much as possible, we try to program applications delivered through the web. This method has proved more cost efficient and expands user base.

Custom programming can be anything from a company database to a complete custom app engineered from the ground up. Even in this economy, demand has grown for this type of service and we have been expanding. Our new office building is getting good use, filling up with programmers fast. From the MCS staff, we would like to say thank you to our clients who have helped us grow so much!

Our CEO accepts 40 under 40 award

2009-07-16T00:00:00Z

Our CEO accepts 40 under 40 award

On Tuesday, July 14th, 2009, at the Illinois State Library, Jesse Coultas accepted his 40 under 40 award given by the Springfield Business Journal. This award is meant to recognize business and community leaders in central Illinois.

Jesse was among those selected from a pool of 139. Illinois Secretary of State, Jesse White, was the keynote speaker and presented the awards. More about the 40 under 40 awards below: (from the Springfield Business Journal website)

Forty Under 40

The Springfield Business Journal proudly features 40 leaders who are under the age of 40 in the Springfield and neighboring business communities. These individuals are selected based on their contributions to our local business community and the community in which they have chosen to reside. They represent, in part, the future of business in our community and in central Illinois. They have the ability and dedication to change and to preserve the face of our community landscape.

The selectees’ career paths, educational background and community affiliations are varied. They represent the best and brightest from a wide range of occupations. You can expect to hear more from and about these leaders in the years ahead. The program was established and is able to continue due to the commitment of local businesses that realize the importance of acknowledging these 40 individuals and supporting community business programs.

August Newsletter

2009-08-21T00:00:00Z

August Newsletter

We now offer reliable Internet through T1 and Fiber connections

Internet access is a vital service for business. We used to make the case that Internet service should be as reliable as a phone line. Now, with Voice-over-IP it has to be more reliable than ever. MCS can offer your business an Internet connection with dedicated bandwidth and rock solid stability. Benefits include:

Dedicated bandwidth to our data center
Reliable enough to depend on it for critical applications such as VoIP.
Our fiber multi-homed network increases speed and reliability
Your Internet connection is handled by a local company with one-on-one support
Connection speeds from 1.5 – 100 Mbps

Call us today for a quote!

Ryan Coultas
MCS
(217) 698-9900 x212
rcoultas@microcomps.com

Windows 7 is just around the corner.

Before you know it, Microsoft will be shipping Windows 7 to the public. The “current” release date is October 22nd 2009. I like to think of Windows 7 as Windows Vista – part 2. 7 is obviously based from Vista but has several minor changes. For instance, Windows Calendar, Windows Mail, Windows Movie Maker, and Windows Photo Gallery, will not be included in Windows 7 but will be available as add-ons. On the upside though, the new OS will boot faster, recognize handwriting, and may actually run faster due to improved multi core processing.

The release candidate looks to be an improved version of Vista, and I for the most part like Vista. When Vista was released, it was buggy and not widely supported and that caused a major stigma that has not gone away. Windows 7 should be able to hit the ground running since it is based off the now established Vista. There are still many organizations that will only use XP, but I think around early 2010 that will go away.

Citrix Solution Provider

2009-09-24T00:00:00Z

Citrix Solution Provider

We now offer hosted Citrix solutions. Citrix rounds out our already wide array of hosted solutions. As a Citrix Solution Provider, MCS will be able to offer products like XenDesktop, XenApp, and XenServer. Citrix software allows us to offer hosted applications with greater speed, reliability, and features. This new software platform allows us tovirtualize and deliver a hosted application to any user, anywhere. Clients that need access to a single app from multiple locations will be able to work for efficiently than ever.

Lowering costs with consulting services.

2009-11-11T00:00:00Z

Lowering costs with consulting services.

MCS has been saving companies money for years. Now that we are offering IT cost consulting, efficiency is a major priority. For the most part, companies come to us with a specific need and we come up with a solution that works well and often saves a lot of money. This process will never go away for us, but it is very reactive as opposed to proactive. Because of some trigger like a client need or internal project, a company will work with us to implement an IT project. In the end, they walk away with a better product that often pays for itself with reduced costs or increased efficiency, and that’s great.

However, we thought, why would a company only want to save money when they are doing something new? Wouldn’t it be a great idea to have someone take a look at the big picture and find several ways to save money on their IT? Information technology can account for a very substantial chunk of a company’s overall budget so getting the most out is it for the best price is well worth the investment.

Now, MCS is offering IT cost efficiency consulting. Basically, that means that we will look at your IT costs and figure out how to get the same results with different, less expensive technologies. While working with companies large and small we have seen an unsettling trend. There are too many IT product and service providers that rob their clients blind just because they can sell them on something. After the fact, clients many even realize they are overpaying for services but stay with it because of time and resources involved with switching to a better solution. We can help with that process.

Our consulting services cover almost every aspect of IT though. We analyze phones, Internet, computers, servers, IT services, hosting, software, copiers, toner and more. There are a lot of companies in IT that think up new ways to charge for services that are cheaper or even free else ware.

Please check out our consulting page for more information on this service.

Java / J2EE Job Opening

2010-03-10T00:00:00Z

Java / J2EE Job Opening

We have a new job opening available on our employment page. MCS is looking for a J2EE / Java Programmer. Please visit our employmentpage for more information or to submit your resume.

Joining social media

2010-03-25T00:00:00Z

Joining social media

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn now reflect MCS. We have joined these social media sites to better keep our clients informed about the latest news and announcements form our company. MCS hopes to also spark discussion about technology resources and best practices. Please feel free to connect with us via the newly added links at the top right of every page of our site. With all of the different technologies we work with, our clients often don’t really know how much we are able to offer them. Expect tweets about what MCS is working on, new technologies used and updates about how to get the most from your IT investment.

Business Connections 2010

2010-04-01T00:00:00Z

Business Connections 2010

Look for MCS at Business Connections 2010, April 13^th at the PCCC. We will be in booth 301. This is always a great show and gives us the perfect chance to talk with people about the wide range of services we offer. Check out their site for more information:

Business Connections 2010

PAETEC Partner

2010-04-28T00:00:00Z

PAETEC Partner

We are proud to announce that MCS is now a PAETEC Partner. This means that we can now offer more services to more clients. PAETEC’s core offerings portfolio spans data, voice, and Internet communications services. PAETEC owns 19,685 fiber route miles and serves 83 of the top 100 metropolitan areas. As a competitive carrier, they are able to price better than the competition with the same or better service level.

Some of the products we are able to provide through PAETEC as an authorized agent:

MPLS VPN
Dedicated Internet Access (T1, DS-3, Ethernet)
Private Lines
Fixed Wireless
Network Security
Voice Services (Local, Long Distance, Toll-Free, Direct Trunk Overflow, Managed Fraud Protection, Dynamic IP VoIP, Hosted IP Telephony)
Conferencing (Audio and Web)
Network Diversity Engineering

When you call PAETEC Customer Care, you will speak directly to their representatives – not to automated prompts or recordings. Highly trained professionals provide exceptional customer support and deliver one of the highest levels of first-call resolution in the industry.

PAETEC’s knowledgeable representatives:

Strive to answer your calls within 20 seconds
Aim to resolve your issues in a single call
Answer billing inquiries, perform invoice reviews, and process service order requests

PAETEC allows MCS to branch out to serve clients outside of Central Illinois. This partnership will further help MCS to be a complete IT solution provider to our clients.

Sales Representative Opening

2010-07-26T00:00:00Z

Sales Representative Opening

MCS needs a qualified sales representative to build, maintain and manage client relationships with mid to large organizations in Illinois and beyond. Representative will be selling higher end services such as computer programming to major accounts. These services are high dollar investments with large opportunity for high commission.

We do not currently employ any dedicated sales staff so representative must be self motivated and able to take charge of how we sell our services. A high energy individual with an apatite for constantly increasing commissions is required. Long sales cycles are expected for large projects.

This position includes the following duties and responsibilities:

Cold calling in person and over the phone
Identifying and documenting leads in our CRM
Creating ideas for marketing materials and campaigns
Interacting with prospects and keeping detailed notes about the sales stage
Travel to a client’s location including overnight stays if needed
Carefully listening to client’s technology staff and intelligently relaying information
Meet sales quotas on a consistent basis
Other tasks and duties as assigned by executive staff

Requirements:

2+ Years experience selling business-to-business
4 year degree or equivalent work experience
Authorization to work in the US without sponsorship

This position will be primarily commission based with draw salary to start and your earning potential will not be limited. Your earnings will be directly related to your success in the field.

Benefits

PPO Health Insurance
Mileage reimbursement or company car depending on travel required
Monthly draw salary to start
Company cell phone and laptop

Zimbra Upgrade Complete

2010-09-13T00:00:00Z

Zimbra Upgrade Complete

We have upgraded our Zimbra email server to the latest version. Our email clients using this service now have access to more features including a better mobile interface. User’s can still check their email using their phones built in email client, but can also view email, contacts, and calendar via a smart phone web browser. Enjoy the new software!

Computer Technician Opening

2010-11-08T00:00:00Z

Computer Technician Opening

We have posted an job opening for a Computer Technician to help us meet client need. Our IT services have been growing and we need the best and brightest to apply to join our team. We are looking for somone with a genuine passion for working with computers and networks. If you are that person, apply now.

New Domain Name

2010-11-09T00:00:00Z

New Domain Name

Microcomps.com is now thinkMCS.com. For over 10 years the microcomps.com domain name has been our name on the web. Unfortunately, since the company goes by either MCS or the longer, Microchip Computer Solutions, microcomps was just confusing and didn’t do a good job telling who we are. From now on, our new domain is thinkMCS.com but the old domain will remain functional as well. Remember, when you need anything in tech, Think MCS!

Thanks for a great year!

2010-12-27T00:00:00Z

Thanks for a great year!

I would like to thank all of our clients for a wonderful 2010. We have completed many interesting projects and accomplished a lot of our goals; and for that we are very appreciative. We have hired new employees and taken on new projects to further expand our service offerings. Keep an eye out for more cloud based services specifically designed for businesses to lower IT costs and improve service.

Snow Closing Today

2011-02-01T00:00:00Z

Snow Closing Today

Due to the blizzard, MCS will be closed from 12pm today, February 1st 2011. If you need service, please call our main number, 217.698.9900, and leave a message if someone is not able to answer your call. We will have technicians working remotely and our data center will continue to be staffed through the weather. Please check back to this site for more information on further closings.

Open Wednesday Feb 2

2011-02-01T00:00:00Z

Open Wednesday Feb 2

MCS will be open Wednesday February 2nd 2011 with limited capacity as some of our employees may be snowed in. Service will be delayed due to hazardous road conditions.

IT Systems Engineer Wanted

2011-03-30T00:00:00Z

IT Systems Engineer Wanted

MCS is growing and we need more talented individuals to help us. We are looking for an IT Systems Engineer to help maintain our clients’ networks. For more information and to apply, please visit our employment page.

Welcome Brad

2011-04-27T00:00:00Z

Welcome Brad

I would like to welcome Brad Smith to MCS as our new Senior Account Executive. Brad brings a wealth of experience to our team and we are very excited to have him.

Clients may hear from Brad from time to time to make sure things are going smoothly with our service. Please feel free to use him as a resource as he is an expert in getting solutions created and problems solved.

Now Offering Microsoft Cloud Services

2011-07-26T00:00:00Z

Now Offering Microsoft Cloud Services

Microsoft has been gearing up their cloud service offerings latley and we are able to provide them. Although we still provide hosted Microsoft services from our own data center, Microsoft Cloud Services are managed by Microsoft and offer different options. Microsoft Cloud Services include:

Office Web Apps
Microsoft Lync Online
Microsoft Exchange Online
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online
Windows Live ID
Windows Server Active Directory
SQL Azure
Windows Azure Platform Appliance
Windows Azure
Windows Azure Platform Appliance
SharePoint Online
Office Live Meeting
Windows Intune

Now Offering Microsoft Cloud Services

2011-12-07T00:00:00Z

Now Offering Microsoft Cloud Services

Office Web Apps
Microsoft Lync Online
Microsoft Exchange Online
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online
Windows Live ID
Windows Server Active Directory
SQL Azure
Windows Azure Platform Appliance
Windows Azure
Windows Azure Platform Appliance
SharePoint Online
Office Live Meeting
Windows Intune

Follow MCS on Twitter for Timely Updates

2011-12-07T00:00:00Z

Follow MCS on Twitter for Timely Updates

Get the latest news and information by subscribing to our twitter feed. Our hosting customers should follow us to get the most up to date service information. In the event of a network outage, information will be relayed via twitter. In addition, you can keep up to date on the latest business technology trends. As we add service offerings, we will tweet about them to keep you informed as to what is on the horizon from MCS.

Paetec is now a part of Windstream

2011-12-09T00:00:00Z

Paetec is now a part of Windstream

Windstream has completed its acquisition of Paetec. As a Paetec master agent, MCS will still be able to provide the same Paetec services with little immediate change. As of right now, the biggest change is that of branding. The Paetec name is now Windstream. MCS will continue to provide telecommunications services from Windstream as well as AT&T, Comcast, Mediacom, Sprint, Global Crossing, Level 3, and others.

Windstream Corp is headquartered in Little Rock, Ark. and is an S&P 500 communications and technology solutions provider. Windstream provides IP-based voice, data services, MPLS networking, data center, cloud computing, managed hosting services and communication systems to businesses and government agencies nationwide. The company also delivers broadband, digital phone and high-definition TV services to residential customers primarily located in rural areas and operates a local and long-haul fiber network spanning approximately 100,000 route miles.

Here at MCS, we see the acquisition as a positive move that we are excited to seeing what is to come.

Welcome

2011-12-11T00:00:00Z

Welcome

IT Service, Hosting, Web Design, & Software Development

We offer complete IT solutions to meet the needs of our clients throughout Central Illinois and beyond. Our offices are located in Springfield, IL where we focus on providing the best available solution to each customer. Pride is taken in each project we begin.

Complete IT Solutions

As IT specialists, we offer a full range of professional services. We’ve earned a reputation for building high-quality, efficient computer solutions. As a small, specialized development company, we offer an unmatched level of personalized service. We are able to adapt to any need with ease. Our goal is to be the best resource we can for many aspects of technology for businesses.

Your business needs various technologies to operate smoothly. Shouldn’t you work with a company that understands how it all works together?

Custom Work for Unique Clients

Most of our services, from programming to hosting, are custom. We work with clients to find specific requirements and often come up with a solution that is less expensive than something off the shelf. Services range from onsite computer repair services to advanced computer programming. MCS has expertise in several areas to serve you as a complete IT solution provider.

Testimonials Section Added

2011-12-27T00:00:00Z

Testimonials Section Added

We have added a new section to the site for client testimonials. Take a look and see what our customers have to say about us. If you are a current client and would like to submit a testimonial, please contact us.

Computer Programmer Opening

2011-12-27T00:00:00Z

Computer Programmer Opening

We have posted an job opening for a Computer Programmer to help us meet client need. Our programming services have been growing and we need the best and brightest to apply to join our team. We are looking for somone with a genuine passion in their field. If you are that person, apply now.

IBM Announces PureSystems

2012-04-24T00:00:00Z

IBM Announces PureSystems

Last week IBM made a once in a decade announcement. They unveiled their PureSystems platform that simplifies enterprise cloud infrastructure. Expert integrated systems fundamentally change the experience and economics of IT with built-in expertise, integration by design and a simplified experience. This means that new deployments are up in a matter of hours instead of months and overburdened IT staff can get out of the weeds and become more productive. Checkout thinkMCS.com cloud services for more information.

HP to Release Thin Client Game Changer

2012-06-13T00:00:00Z

HP to Release Thin Client Game Changer

HP is about to release a new all-in-one thin client, the t410. It works off of a single network wire at 13 Watts. This also requires no configuration. Just plug it in and it finds the correct server. It is compact, saves a ton on energy, powerful, and will save time for IT professionals. We feel this is a game changer in the thin client space and are very excited to get our hands on one. It is rumored to be released sometime this summer in the $429 price range. Considering the money a company will save on energy, IT services, and security, this has the potential to save a lot of money over its lifespan.

Nagios XI keeps you in the know

2012-06-20T00:00:00Z

Nagios XI keeps you in the know

As technology expands, the need to monitor it all increases as well. They say that knowing is half the battle, but we say, “Why should knowing be a battle?” Nagios Enterprises offers Nagios Core and Nagios XI as their main products. The Core version is free and open source while XI comes with support, updates, more features, and a much simpler interface for adding and maintaining your monitored services. We have recently transitioned from Nagios Core to XI for our own data center and assisted other enterprises do the same.

When something important on your network is acting up, knowing about it as soon as possible is the only way to a speedy fix. Let’s say your company email goes down on a Saturday afternoon. A few employees might check their email and get an error but assume the IT department is aware of the issue. When Monday morning rolls around the service has already been down for more than a day and a crisis sets in. The email partition has run out of space. Now the IT admin has to reactively scramble to free up more space. Feeling pressure from all sides, the admin applies short term bandages to bring services back to life but will then have to some up with another long term fix at a later date. The company has lost money in productivity, the admin looks bad, and the management is upset.

If the company had a monitoring solution, the admins would have known weeks before that the server was running low on storage. The on-call tech could have been alerted of any issues with the server via a text message and taken care of them before most of the company knew there was ever a problem. How many IT problems could have been prevented with a little advance warning?

Nagios is our preferred monitoring solution for several reasons. The biggest being it is the most adaptable solution we have seen. Monitoring software has massive compatibility requirements for any enterprise. It must be able to communicate with routers, switches, servers, PCs, Internet connections, wireless equipment, printers, power infrastructure, environmental conditions, and more. All of these devices may also be running different versions and operating systems. This is where the real power of Nagios kicks into top gear. There are tons of modules available for Nagios that let it talk to a wide array of devices. Given the open nature of the software, programmers from around the globe are constantly contributing to the project.

MCS is a Premier Nagios Reseller, and the only Nagios partner in the United States with that distinction. Not only can we provide the licenses, but also specialize helping companies plan, setup, and migrate to this solution. Please let us know how we can help your organization move forward with a complete monitoring solution with Nagios.

UPS Systems Upgraded

2012-08-24T00:00:00Z

UPS Systems Upgraded

All MCS hosted services are now running on a double conversion power system. Better voltage = happier servers. MCS completed the upgrades last night to replace an aged line interactive system. What’s the difference between a line interactive and double conversion UPS you may ask. Well, it all comes down to cleanliness of power delivered to the equipment.

A line interactive UPS will normally just pass through whatever power is coming from your utility. If your utility delivers 124 volts, that is what is getting passed to your equipment. In the event of a power outage, the UPS has to sense the outage and then quickly replace that power with power from its battery. This causes and issue because the time in between the power going out and the UPS batteries kicking in, you are left with no power being delivered to you equipment. This is a very short window, measured in milliseconds, and most servers will have enough charge in their power supply capacitors to buffer through the outage. Sometimes though, a server might have a strained power supply, or the UPS takes a little bit too much time to kick in and this will end up with the server starved or power and it will reset. Also, since these UPS systems pass through power they are not a good fit for use with generators. Generators generally produce dirty power that can possibly damage sensitive equipment.

A double conversion UPS is much different. These devices will constantly use their internal batteries to output clean voltage within a specific range. So, 124 volts from your utility company go into the UPS and 120 volts come out to your servers. Also, since these devices are on-line all the time, in the event of a power loss there is no loss of power to the equipment. The battery will simply start to drain and not be recharged via utility power. On-line double conversion UPS devices are also better suited for use with a standby generator. When the generator kicks in, dirty power with nasty looking squared of sin waves goes in and clean power comes out thanks to the battery conditioning. These devices have a downside though. They are more expensice to purchase and to operate. Since power is not being passed through directly, more total power is consumed to power the same loads leading to a little increase on the power bill. Also, since the batteries are being used all the time, they wear out more quickly then a line interactive system and require replacement sooner.

Windows 8

2012-10-25T00:00:00Z

Windows 8

On, October 26th, 2012 Microsoft will officially release its new flagship OS. What does that mean for the business user? For one, PCs will start to have this OS pre-installed when shipped. For users that still want Windows 7, Microsoft will allow them to downgrade but they don’t have to make that process easy. Users will have to find installation media that most likely will not ship with the PC. There will also most likely be activation hassles to deal with.

For those of you wanting to stick with Windows 8 Professional, be aware that the user experience has not changed this drastically since Windows 95. Gone is the traditional start menu, replaced with a sharp cornered start screen meant to resemble Windows Phone. Power users will find that the new OS still has strong underpinnings of Windows 7 so most applications that work with Windows 7 will also work with 8. Time will tell how well that holds up.

This is another time of transition and we always caution our clients to wait before implementing brand new technologies. Windows 8 might have security issues that need to be patched, or compatibility problems that are not yet obvious. Windows 7 will still be actively supported for years to come and when it comes to businesses depending on an OS, safer is better. Let the home users try the new OS and work out the bugs. Then, if and when 8 is ready, business users should migrate. Vista is a good example of an OS that would have been better skipped if given the option.

Why Windows Small Business Server is Dead

2013-03-07T00:00:00Z

Why Windows Small Business Server is Dead

Microsoft has done away with Small Business Server. Over the last couple of years, the MCS tech team has recommended that small businesses move away from Small Business Server and into Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard. Small Business Server has always seemed to to a little temperamental. For most users, SBS was overkill and came preinstalled with SharePoint and Exchange. Best practices would lead us to believe that if you don’t need something on your server then don’t install it, but SBS forced the issue.

Windows Server was designed to be modular and that is how we install it now. We have performed several Small Business Server 2003 to Server 2008 R2 migrations successfully. This brings organizations to a more standard platform that can be custom built to suite almost any business need. We are seeing more stable servers and services now with less bloat.

Windows Small Business Server Essentials has been renamed Windows Server 2012 Essentials now. We are still recommending Windows Server 2012 Essentials for very small offices who would otherwise run a peer to peer network because of costs. Windows Server 2012 Essentials comes per-loaded on HP micro Servers for around $900 with redundant hard drives and room for 2 more. That is a great deal and it is perfect for offices that want better security and control but don’t want to pay $5000 for way more server and software than they will ever need. Small Business Server going away is the end of an era and we at MCS could not be happier.

MCS Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary

2013-05-10T00:00:00Z

MCS Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary

They say that time flies when you’re having fun. The last 10 years have been both fun and challenging in great ways. The technology industry has changed so much since 2003. We have seen mainstream adoption of virtualization and the birth of the mobile platform. IT has changed and MCS has changed with it, but the fundamentals of our business remain the same. Our mission is to assist companies with IT or programming projects with a personal touch.

We would like to thank all of our customers, partners, employees, and suppliers for making the last decade possible. When our company first incorporated in 2003, we had a goal to go above and beyond for our customers. This ethic has led to an ever increasing customer base. In 2008 we bought a 5000 square foot office building and built out our data center. Now, in 2013 we are coming up with new strategies to allow our customers take advantage of the cloud securely and responsively. We look forward to serving our customers through the next 10 years!

Ryan Coultas selected for 40 under 40 award

2013-06-28T00:00:00Z

Ryan Coultas selected for 40 under 40 award

Our COO, Ryan Coultas, has been selected to receive a 40 under 40 award from the Springfield Business Journal. This honor features 40 business leaders who are under the age of 40 in the Springfield and neighboring business communities. These individuals are selected based on their contributions to our local business community and the community in which they have chosen to reside.
From the Springfield Business Journal’s website at http://www.springfieldbusinessjournal.com:
“The selectees’ career paths, educational background and community affiliations are varied. They represent the best and brightest from a wide range of occupations. You can expect to hear more from and about these leaders in the years ahead. The program was established and is able to continue due to the commitment of local businesses that realize the importance of acknowledging these 40 individuals and supporting community business programs.”

Buy Nagios Licenses Online

2013-07-09T00:00:00Z

Buy Nagios Licenses Online

We have just launched our secure store for purchasing Nagios Licenses. Visit the pricing page for discounted pricing and fast delivery. As a Nagios Premier Reseller, MCS is able to provide not only licenses and renewals but integration services as well. Buying Nagios Licenses through a reseller like MCS gives you the same product and support as going direct, but with the added bonus of using MCS for support and guidance. Our prices are discounted and even better deals can be quoted for large orders or government procurement.

Business Phone System Offer Through 2013

2013-09-17T00:00:00Z

Business Phone System Offer Through 2013

Now through 2013, MCS is offering a small business phone system for 5 users for just $3,399* installed. The system includes an on premise Voice over IP PBX, PoE Switch, backup battery, and 5 Polycom 450 HD Voice phones. You can scale up the system for more phones and lines as needed. Our digital phone system boasts the following features:

Per user voicemail with built in email and cell phone integration
Auto-attendant
Dial by name directory
“Follow Me” locator feature to let your customers reach you wherever you are
Polycom HD Voice for crystal clear calls
Local onsite support and installation service

We have put together this phone bundle to simplify pricing and save you money. Customers that need more phones, or non-VoIP phone service can use this as a starting off point to add extra hardware as needed. Each system will be professionally installed and your employees will be trained on how to get the most out of the system. Contact a rep today for more details.

*Price excludes sales tax. VoIP phone service is assumed and extra charges may apply for POTS or PRI modules. Cabling not included. Offer expires 12/31/2013

We Do Our Own Work

2013-09-23T00:00:00Z

We Do Our Own Work

Throughout the 10+ years of our company, all of our IT and Programming projects have been completed in-house without the need to offshore work overseas. While we are proud of being able to keep our development local, that is not the only reason for our constant decision to keep our workload here in Springfield, IL. While an overseas per hour rate can be attractive, the lack of control and quality of work performed by an offshore company are just not worth the lower rates. Our clients demand that their work be accurate and delivered on time. Since our clients work directly with a project manager and that same manager leads a team of developers under the same roof, there is much less room for a spec to become diluted.

Only industry professionals are employed with MCS, and while that can mean a higher per hour rate, it can also mean less hours overall. What good is an hourly rate that is half the cost if it takes twice as long to complete a project? We plan to keep delivering quality work from local employees for years to come. Our clients expect the best and MCS delivers the best. A decision to use MCS for your next project will ensure that your dollars stay local and your project will be completed accurately.

New VVX Line of Phones from Polycom

2013-10-25T00:00:00Z

New VVX Line of Phones from Polycom

We have been a Polycom partner for several years and relied on the dependability of Polycom’s Soundpoint IP phones. Now we have a new line to offer from Polycom called the VVX. These phones boast a larger color screen and more line appearances. The cost is similar to the Soundpoint series but VVX offers more features. We have more information on our IT Services page.

Ransomware is a Rising Threat

2013-10-28T00:00:00Z

Ransomware is a Rising Threat

There is a relatively new threat gaining traction called Ransomware. Unlike most traditional viruses, ransomware may not be a recoverable issue after an infection. The basic idea behind this software is a user gets a virus through an email phishing scam or another source. Then, the virus goes to work on files by using encryption to render data unreadable. Afterward, the user is presented with a demand for payment and a countdown timer. If payment is not made before the end of the timer, the digital key to recover the encrypted data is deleted. Once that happens, there is little to no chance the files will ever be recovered.

In the past, viruses presented more of an annoyance rather than causing real permanent damage. The worst damage MCS engineers usually see is from viruses that use key logging to gather passwords and sometimes even move real money out of bank accounts. While that is a huge issue, it is still often recoverable by alerting the bank to stop the transfer. With these new ransomware viruses, even if a user pays the ransom in time, (usually around $300) there is still a possibility that the key has already been deleted or lost. If the authorities find and shut down a rouge server storing keys, all of the users with keys on that server are out of luck. Even after paying, some files may encounter an error during decryption and still may be unrecoverable.

The latest ransomware threat, called Crypto Locker, started showing up around September 2013 and it is still spreading. Currently, the onlyway to restore an encrypted file is to obtain the key from the attackers. These programs really do live up to their name as they do have control over access to personal files. Ransomware viruses affect all versions of Windows going back to XP.

This new threat is still a virus and can be avoided like any other virus. Avoid emails that look odd and never click a link unless you are sure it corresponds to something you are expecting. Never click a link that claims to be tracking a package you don’t remember ordering. It is safer to copy your tracking number and type the carrier’s web address in manually, or paste the number into a Google search. Even if you can see the carrier’s name in the link, that does not mean you will be taken to a legitimate website.

As always, MCS recommends that users always use up to date anti virus software and SPAM protection. Please contact us if you are interested in a security consultation to lower your chances of infection.

Windows 8 is Still Not Ready for Prime Time

2014-01-20T00:00:00Z

Windows 8 is Still Not Ready for Prime Time

Windows 8 Pro was released last year and we are still not recommending it to our clients. Windows 8 overall is not a bad operating system in the same way previous clunkers from Microsoft have been. Other OSs like Windows 98 first edition, Windows Me, and Windows Vista, were easy to use but were buggy and unstable. Windows 8 suffer from the reverse problem.

What lies underneath the hood of Windows 8 is really great work. This latest OS can be faster, more reliable, and even built in some really great features that users can benefit from like better dual monitor support. The problem is that Microsoft decided to put the steering wheel in the middle, and change the basic way we have interacted with a PC for the last 20 years.

On April 8, 2014, Microsoft Will Pull the Plug on XP

2014-01-20T00:00:00Z

On April 8, 2014, Microsoft Will Pull the Plug on XP

April 8, 2014. That’s the day when, after more than 13 years, Microsoft will officially end support for Windows XP and Office 2003. Like millions of others around the world, you may be perfectly happy with your XP system, but it’s now time to move on to either Windows 7 or Windows 8. Here’s how.

After April 8, Microsoft will no longer release any patches or updates for XP, even if critical bugs are found. The only exceptions will be for large corporate customers willing to pay $200 per computer for a year’s extension of “premier” support for hundreds, or thousands, of machines.

Cyber attackers will be able to target vulnerabilities in Windows XP without fear the flaws will be patched, and there won’t be anything users can do to protect themselves besides upgrading to a newer operating system.

Experts worry there will be a jump in the number of attacks targeting XP users come April, especially after new flaws in XP are inadvertently revealed by related fixes to Windows Vista, 7 and 8.

Since you’re going to have to migrate anyway, you might as well as move toward a XP-free future now, instead of waiting for attackers to wreak havoc with your digital life.

Who’s still using Windows XP?

Approximately 15 percent of enterprise users still have Windows XP running on their networks, down from about 35 percent at the beginning of 2013, according to the latest statistics from cloud-security firm Qualys of Redwood Shores, Calif. The company estimates less than 7 percent of enterprise users will still be running XP in April.

Pick an operating system

Before kicking off the migration process, it’s important to decide whether to move to Windows 7 or to Windows 8.

Windows 7 is already more than 4 years old. Mainstream support — i.e., free telephone or online support — for Windows 7 will end in January 2015, although extended support, which includes security fixes, continues until 2020.

Windows 8 — technically Windows 8.1 when the latest updates are added — will require a bit of tweaking for many applications, because the user interface has substantially changed from the “classic” Windows look. But mainstream support for Windows 8 won’t end until 2018, and extended support will go until 2023.

MCS still recommends buying a new PC with a Windows 8 license, but using downgrade rights to run Windows 7 instead. It appears that Windows 8 was DOA for the business world and waiting for another major update or skipping 8 entirely might be the best strategy for now.

The OpenSSL Bug, Heartbleed, Has Vast Security Implications

2014-04-15T00:00:00Z

The OpenSSL Bug, Heartbleed, Has Vast Security Implications

As you may have heard in the news, a vulnerability, the “Heartbleed Bug”, was discovered this week in OpenSSL (Version 1.01 and beta 1.0.2), the software that is widely used for encryption across much of the internet. MCS run servers were not found to be vulnerable to this bug.

The security risk is that a vulnerable server could be exploited to feed data contained in RAM to an attacker. Among this data could be SSL private keys. With a private key, secure website traffic can be eavesdropped.

Along with private key information, attackers could also gain access to any sensitive data residing in memory. On a database server for instance, this could lead to direct access to any database content currently being stored in memory. The implications of what types of data that can be exposed will vary from server to server and the full scope of what that data could be used for in the future is unclear.

To test your servers, use the tool at https://filippo.io/Heartbleed/. You can also let the engineers at MCS take the burden off of your shoulders and perform a Heartbleed audit and patch any affected servers. Request a Heartbleed audit now.

As a web user, you also need to be mindful of sites that you have used and logged into before they were patched. As a precaution, changing your password to these sites is recommended as long as they have been patched and a new SSL private key has been created. The reason for this is if a private SSL key was compromised at any point, any traffic to the server is considered insecure and your login information, as well as any information you saw on your screen while at that site, could have been seen. Odds are that your data was not snooped in on by a malicious party and changing passwords should just be a precaution. As with most security recommendations though, your should always plan for the worst and hope for the best.

MCS Offers DR and Business Continuation Services

2014-04-24T00:00:00Z

MCS Offers DR and Business Continuation Services

We are proud to announce that we have launched our Business Continuation center. It is located right next to our data center so we can provide high speed access to your critical data. In the event of a disaster, our clients that have signed up for business continuation services will have access to workstations with phones, Internet, and their DR servers. By securing workstations before a disaster, our customers have the ability to install their custom software and run drills to prepare. Then, if this service need to be used in the real world, the process will be smoother and quicker.

We feel this addition to our existing Disaster Recovery services is a great fit for the demands of our customers. If you are interested in adding Business Continuation to your service, contact us for a quote and a tour today.

RightTrack, our Newest IT Service Offering

2014-07-17T00:00:00Z

RightTrack, our Newest IT Service Offering

Some of our customers might know this new service as simply as an IT Service Agreement, but we have added extra value with our new RightTrack service. Customers that want a simple and proactive solution to their IT needs should defiantly consider RightTrack. This offering ensures that your business is heading down the right track by combining a guaranteed service level, networking monitoring, and a dedicated engineer assigned to your account.

With MCS RightTrack, you get access to our entire team of veteran IT consultants while still having an assigned tech for most service calls. This service is a perfect fit for business that are on the fence about whether or not to hire a full time IT person. Hiring a single IT manager is very expensive when you factor in salary, recruiting, management, benefits, vacation, and idle time. Instead, going with RightTrack from MCS gives you a tech that does not waste time, and has the experience of working with several other companies just like yours. This allows MCS to recommend best practices that are tried and true without spending lots of time in the process.

For more information about this service, please visit MCS IT Services

Windows Server 2003 Support Ends Next Year

2014-08-06T00:00:00Z

Windows Server 2003 Support Ends Next Year

The Microsoft Windows XP end of life cycle has come and gone. Now, XPs server counterpart, Windows Server 2003 and 2003 R2, will be loosing support as well. According to the Microsoft Support site, Windows Server 2003 will no longer be supported after 7/14/2015. After this date, Microsoft will no longer push out security patches.

MCS recommends that any Server 2003 machine should be migrated to a newer version as soon as possible. The later versions of Windows Server like 2008 R2 and 2012 will still be supported for years to come but in most cases, Server 2012 will be the best path. If you are worried about how long an investment in a new server may last, Microsoft states on their website that:

“Microsoft will offer a minimum of 10 years of support for Business and Developer products. Mainstream Support for Business and Developer products will be provided for 5 years or for 2 years after the successor product (N+1) is released, whichever is longer.”–http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifepolicy

Legacy server managers might see this July 14th, 2015 date as plenty of time to upgrade although that may not be the case. For those servers running Exchange 2003, support has already ended as of 4/8/2014 making a migration even more critical.

Any server currently running Windows Server 2003 has had a long life and the time has come to upgrade. To put its age into perspective, a student going into the 2nd grade at the time of Server 2003s release would now be entering college in 2014. In computer terms, that is an eternity. MCS has been assisting business customers transition to newer server platforms for over 11 years and we can help your organization too. Contact us today for a free evaluation.

Looking for a Web Application Developer and QA Tester

2014-08-27T00:00:00Z

Looking for a Web Application Developer and QA Tester

MCS is growing and we have immediate positions available for a Web Application Developer and a QA Tester. These positions are needed to supplement our existing in-house development team. Visit our Employment Opportunities page for more information and to apply online.

ShellShock Exploit Should be Patched Immediately

2014-09-25T00:00:00Z

ShellShock Exploit Should be Patched Immediately

If your organization is running any Linux, Unix, or Mac systems, you are likely vulnerable to the ShellShock attack. The issue is with bash, a very common text shell that runs on these OSs to provide a command line UI.

Our systems have already been patched to the latest available bash package as of this post. There is the possibility for an attacker to gain control of a vulnerable machine. ShellShock is rated a 10 out of 10 on the U.S. National Vulnerability Database’s severity scale.

Please contact MCS if your organization runs any Linux or Unix servers. At this time, there is no patch available for MACs. Most Linux repos have at least a partial fix available now.

Microsoft Pushes Out of Band Security Patch

2014-11-19T00:00:00Z

Microsoft Pushes Out of Band Security Patch

On Tuesday, November 18, 2014, Microsoft released an out-of-band security update (MS14-068) to address a critical vulnerability in Windows. The update deals with elevation of privileges and affects Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows RT and Windows RT 8.1, as well as Windows Technical Preview and Windows Server Technical Preview.

MCS is currently patching our data center infrastructure and also helping our customers with an active RightTrack service agreement automatically. We strongly encourage customers to apply this update as soon as possible if they do not have an active service agreement with MCS already. The patch does require a reboot so some downtime must be scheduled.

MCS becomes Veeam Cloud Partner

2014-12-10T00:00:00Z

MCS becomes Veeam Cloud Partner

We have partnered with the backup software maker, Veeam, to offer cloud disaster recovery services powered by Veeam. This partnership allows MCS to utilize Veeam’s most advanced software and features to backup our customer’s data. These features include, near real time VM replication, WAN Acceleration, virtual labs, point in time recovery, and more.

Of all of the backup software we evaluated, Veeam was a clear winner both in performance and features. What this means for our customers is that they can have peace of mind knowing that their data is safe and secure at our data center. We know a backup is only good when you can actually restore from it in a timely manner. Veeam allows us to bring up your operations at our business continuity center within minutes of an outage.

Windows Server 2003 Support is Ending July 14, 2015

2015-06-09T00:00:00Z

Windows Server 2003 Support is Ending July 14, 2015

What does “End of Life” mean for an OS? Well, as is pertains to Windows Server 2003 it mainly means that Microsoft will no longer push out security updates. Right now, if a new exploit in Windows Server 2003 becomes known, the engineers at Microsoft will create a patch and release it through Windows Update. After July 14th 2015, there will be no more security updates released to all Windows 2003 servers.

In reality though Server 2003 has been an old OS with limited support for several years. The only updates released now are critical security patches and most 3rd party software available now recommends at least Server 2008 R2 or newer.

It is critically important that all of our customers migrate to a supported Server OS very soon. Our engineers have been very busy with migrations the last several months but there is still time to act to ensure your organization is secure, reliable, and complaint.

If you would like to request service to migrate your IT environment, let us know.

Windows 10 Officially Released

2015-09-04T00:00:00Z

Windows 10 Officially Released

Now that Windows 10 is out in the world, should your organization pull the trigger on an upgrade? We recommend not yet. Windows 10 really is a great OS but it is still new and we are seeing issues with some in place upgrades. Microsoft is giving users a whole year to upgrade and given that Windows 10 does not offer any compelling “must have” features over Windows 7, the safe bet for now will be to stick with the good old workhorse that is Windows 7. Although it is looking like Windows 10 will eventually take over as the new standard in Windows computing, that shift will take some time in the business realm.

Windows 10 presents, along with new features, new problems for corporate environments. Group Policy, a tool used to centrally managed options of client PCs, only just last month issued support for new Windows 10 features. Sysadmins need time to get fully familiar with how to appropriately administer this new OS while taking into consideration different security, privacy, and reliability settings. MCS recommends that users wanting to upgrade wait at least until Q1 2016 to make the switch.

Thanksgiving Holiday Schedule

2015-11-24T00:00:00Z

Thanksgiving Holiday Schedule

MCS offices will be closed Thursday November 26th and Friday the 27th for the Thanksgiving holiday. We will have technicians on call for any client with an active RightTrack agreement who needs emergency service.

Fiber Internet is Within Reach

2016-01-22T00:00:00Z

Fiber Internet is Within Reach

Not that long ago, installing a fiber Internet connection was so costly that it was only reserved for large corporations and data centers. Often times, these super fast connections came at the price of expensive build-outs and high monthly fees. Fiber optic lines can support much higher bandwidth and travel a lot farther than copper. Copper lines were originally intended only to transmit analog voice communications and were later adapted for digital data. Fiber optic cable has served as the backbone for telecommunication companies for a long time and getting it the “last mile” to end users was far too expensive in years past.

Now, faced with growing bandwidth needs and an aging copper infrastructure, Internet and phone providers are investing heavily in building out their fiber networks to customer facilities. MCS has seen Comcast, AT&T, and Windstream offer free fiber build-out in exchange for just a 3 year term to most areas we serve. That, combined with cost savings of bundling phone and Internet service over the same line can mean that a brand new optical line can actually save even a small business money right from the start. Not to mention that once you have fiber, it can be upgraded to faster speeds with no additional construction.

Eventually, everyone will have fiber run to their business because it just makes more sense. It is faster, more reliable, and will last for the next few decades. MCS has partnered with all of the major providers and can engineer a fiber line solution that meets the needs of businesses from 10 to 1000s of employees. Our engineers know the needs of businesses will create estimates from multiple providers to get you the best deal and ease the transition. There is no cost from MCS for this service and you won’t pay any more per month. Contact a rep today to see the difference of Internet at the speed of light.

Cisco ASA Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

2016-02-22T00:00:00Z

Cisco ASA Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

On February 10th, Cisco published a security advisory about a major flaw in their ASA line of firewalls. The nature of the vulnerability is such that most of these devices out in production are affected and can be completely taken over by a remote attacker. Furthermore, there is no simple mitigation of this issue. The firmware on these devices must be flashed with an updated version with the fix built in. This means downtime for customers without a fail-over setup.

Due to the severity of this bug, Cisco has been releasing patched firmware to customers that call in even if they do not have a valid support contract with Cisco. Customers in the US can call 800-553-2447 with the serial and model number of their affected device and open a case to get the right software. In many cases, patched firmware for a customer’s specific release will not be available and these devices will have to be upgraded to a later version. This can cause functionality to break and the ASA will have to be reconfigured for the new version. MCS is working with Cisco for our affected customers with active RightTrack agreements now. If you are not covered, please contact MCS if you would like our engineers to take a look at your ASA.

More information about this vulnerability can be found here:
https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/ci…

Professional Data Recovery

2016-03-08T00:00:00Z

Professional Data Recovery

As IT consultants, we work with lots of different organizations and have seen it all. We always preach the 3-2-1 backup rule. 3 Copies of anything you want to keep. 2 storage medias. 1 offsite backup location. This is a widely accepted backup practice and protects against almost any type of loss. Sometimes though, good backups are not there when a data loss occurs. Maybe there was critical data on an individual user’s PC when it should have been on the server. Maybe backups were setup a long time ago and have not been running for the last couple weeks or months. Sometime, backups show they are completing, but when they are needed for restoration, the data is incomplete or unusable. There are many reasons why an organization might need to rely on a failed drive for their critical data. Nobody plans to be caught in that situation but it happens.

When disaster strikes there is still hope. MCS has partnered with Kroll Ontrack, a data recovery service company, and we have had very good success getting our customers’ data back. Kroll Ontrack can work with all sorts of damage including, fire, flood, impact, circuit board failure, head crash, data corruption, etc. Even though some data might be damaged, odds are that most of it is still sitting on the disk’s internal platters. That data just needs to be found and pulled off. Kroll Ontrack offers clean room services when needed to pull that data off to a working drive.

There are tips that users can follow to increase their odds of a successful data restoration.

Turn the drive off. If there is debris inside the drive it will create a snowball effect, damaging the drive and creating more debris.
Don’t take the drive to anyone to look at unless they offer professional restoration services with a good reputation. There may be only one shot to restore your data so it needs to be done right the first time.
Do not place a fire-damaged drive in refrigerator to cool and do not try to remove the hard drive. Ship the entire computer for recovery.
Never attempt to dry water damaged media by exposing it to heat. Instead, place the media in a container that will keep it damp before shipping.
Do not shake, disassemble or attempt to clean any hard drive or server that has been damaged. Improper handling can jeopardize the data recovery process.

The costs for this type of recovery service can range from 100s to 1000s of dollars depending on the type of service needed. It is not cheap but sometimes it is the only option. If you would like the experts at MCS to check your backup plan or recover a failed drive, let us know.

Move to Windows 10 on Your Terms

2016-05-31T00:00:00Z

Move to Windows 10 on Your Terms

It’s been almost a year since Windows 10 was released and we are just now starting to see it creep into the business environment. The primary issue with the upgrade has not been compatibility or user experience like most IT professionals would have thought. Rather, the issue is being able to decide when to upgrade. Through Windows updates, Microsoft has made the upgrade to Windows 10 less of a straightforward choice and, on some PCs, the upgrade to 10 is automatic unless the user specifically removes the upgrade from the schedule. This has led IT administrators to push out group policy and other update rules to block these sneaky tricks.

There are still reasons for companies to wait and stick with Windows 7 for a few more years. However, most companies with a vanilla environment can go ahead and plan and execute the upgrade sooner than later. As of this article, the deadline for the free upgrade from Windows 7 is still July 29, 2016. Internally here at MCS we are about 50/50 Windows 7 to Windows 10. The issues we have seen have been pretty minor including putting an ad for candy crush on our Start Menu, having to write a new set of group policy rules to disable Cortana and tracking features, and general compatibility with legacy peripherals like printers. That, and the time wasted waiting for the almost hour long upgrade to finish is not a great process. For most small to medium businesses, MCS now recommends the upgrade to Windows 10. It’s still free for now and Windows 10 will have mainstream support for years to come. Right now, there is no technical reason to rush and upgrade but doing so sooner will save an upgrade fee down the road.

Web Application Developer Opening

2016-09-01T00:00:00Z

Web Application Developer Opening

MCS is looking for a Web Application Developer to join our team! We are flexible for full or part time. Our firm offers full benefits and a fun and relaxed work environment. We need someone with at least 2 years of professional programming experience and would prefer PHP experience. If you are interested in applying, contact us today.

Electrical Upgrades

2016-10-25T00:00:00Z

Electrical Upgrades

When we moved our data center in 2008, we wanted to pick a location that would allow us to grow to avoid another move. Over the years, our data center has grown, and our infrastructure needs grew too. We have installed a generator, multiple fiber connections, dedicated cooling systems, and alarm/security upgrades. One of the most important needs, power, was also of some concern to us. As we added racks of servers, we know that it was time for an electrical overhaul.

We have completed our work and our data center is now 100% transitioned to a brand new electrical system from the plug to the main feed. All critical data center related services are now isolated from the rest of our building with a dedicated feed from our utility provider (CWLP).

We are Looking for a Linux Deployment Engineer

2017-05-05T00:00:00Z

We are Looking for a Linux Deployment Engineer

We need a talented person to help us out with projects and are looking for a Linux Deployment Engineer to join our team! Do you laugh at the idea of using a GUI on a server? Have the ability to dish out shell scripts like nobody’s business? Do you feel a sense of satisfaction from fully updating a system without a single reboot? We want to hire you! Our Nagios deployment team has opportunities for you to work with a wide range of technologies to fully integrate monitoring solutions from the ground-up. You will be able to work with customers anywhere from a week to a few months depending on the deployment. Most work can be dome remotely but in some cases, travel may be needed. If you are interested in joining our team, please take a look at the full posting in Employment Opportunities.

Habitat Hearts & Hammers Sponsor

2017-11-01T00:00:00Z

Habitat Hearts & Hammers Sponsor

MCS will be a board sponsor for the Habitat Hearts & Hammers Game Night Event Friday, November 1st. This event is hosted for Habitat for Humanity of Sangamon county. Details for the event:

You’re part of an interactive, life-size game; a race to complete funny tasks and take on challenges to build a “Habitat Lincoln Log House.” The player to build the house first takes the prize! Admission is $20 / person and includes dinner. Cash bar, heads & tails game, door prize chances, & live auction.

Our New Logo

2017-11-21T00:00:00Z

Our New Logo

After almost 15 years MCS has an updated logo. As our organization has grown, we have added more full-time professionals, increased our service offerings, and moved forward along with growing technologies. We thought it was time that our logo reflected the growth and change our company has had since 2003. Ownership and management of MCS is the same so rest assured MCS will keep delivering the same high quality of service our customers have always know.

We’ve Added Better Monitoring, Power Redundancy

2017-12-27T00:00:00Z

We’ve Added Better Monitoring, Power Redundancy

MCS has completed maintenance on our automatic standby generator systems to allow for increased monitoring and higher availability. With traditional generator systems, a unit will turn on once a week and run for a short period to both test the system and keep it functioning properly when not in use. If a problem is detected, or the generator is not able to start, data center staff would not know until the next manual inspection for error codes. Our new monitoring system provides a 3rd party, out of band notification via cell service. Not only are our staff notified if there is a problem, we are provided with more health information than was previously available via the generators on-board systems. This monitoring combined with regular preventative maintenance should keep our data systems running even in the event of an emergency.

MCS Upgrades Partnership with Digium

2018-02-01T00:00:00Z

MCS Upgrades Partnership with Digium

We have officially upgraded our partner level with Digium, the pioneers in the VoIP market. For years, MCS has used Digium equipment in our VoIP phone systems to bridge the gap between SIP and legacy telephone technologies. Digium also offers a complete PBX solution based on Asterisk called Switchvox. Switchvox phone systems offer every feature available for a business PBX at no extra cost so companies will not be limited on productivity. Switchvox offers a simple, easy to manage system that can tightly integrate with Digium branded phones or Polycom VoIP phones.

MCS employs several, full-time Digium certified professionals with concentrations in sales and complete system integration. We are now able to offer features like Unified Messaging, Easy Call Recording, and CRM Integration to our customers. MCS offers Switchvox as an on-site solution or hosted in the cloud with no hardware to purchase or maintain. We are very excited to expand our partnership with such a great company and look forward to better serving our customers with the full line of Digium powered communication solutions.

MCS and Nagios Make IT Work Better

2018-02-02T00:00:00Z

MCS and Nagios Make IT Work Better

As technology expands, the need to monitor it increases as well. They say that knowing is half the battle, but we say, “Why should knowing be a battle?” Nagios Enterprises offers a full suite of powerful IT management solutions that make IT work better. Nagios XI, Nagios Log Server, and Nagios Network Analyzer give admins the tools to detect future failures and act before it impacts your organization.

Let’s say your company email goes down on a Saturday afternoon. When Monday morning rolls around the service has been down for more than a day and a crisis sets in. The email server has run out of space and no one is able to send or receive email. Feeling pressure from all sides, the admin frantically frees disk space to bring services back to life. The unplanned outage causes the company lost productivity and hurts customer relations. Management is upset and the admin looks bad.

Using monitoring solutions from Nagios Enterprises and MCS, the admins would have known weeks before the issue occurred and could have proactively resolved the problem. Using trend data and alerting from Nagios products, admins can stay on top of potential issues. A little advanced warning helps admins prevent IT problems.

For more than 15 years, MCS has been a leading provider of IT consulting services and Nagios XI is our preferred monitoring solution. To be effective, monitoring software must be able to monitor a wide variety of devices, systems, and software. The goal is to have a single solution that monitors all critical IT components. This provides IT staff with a unified suite of tools to ease monitoring of the enterprise.

Nagios uses a system of plugins to allow monitoring of virtually any device that connects to a network. Nagios monitors common infrastructure devices such as routers, switches, wireless equipment, and servers. In addition, Nagios monitors less common items like environmental conditions, power devices, business processes, web applications, and manufacturing systems. The power of plugins allows Nagios to monitor almost anything on the planet. Using both open plugins from Nagios and custom developed plugins from MCS, we monitor everything.

MCS is a Featured Nagios Reseller with knowledgeable Nagios professionals on staff. MCS provides competitive pricing on Nagios licenses and renewals, as well as professional planning, setup, and implementation services. Our team of Nagios professionals provides kick-start, implementation, and managed Nagios services customized to fit your organization’s needs.

Contact MCS today for a free consultation and case studies that show how MCS and Nagios make IT work better.

The Current State of Backups for the SMB

2018-03-28T00:00:00Z

The Current State of Backups for the SMB

Over the last 15 years of working on IT with the small to medium business market, I have seen backup technologies for critical data change a lot. Being in the business of IT consulting we, of course, took care of our own backups. In the early days of our company we had one server that took care of managing users, storing shared company files, and various other tasks that kept our small startup running. Our budget was low, but we still couldn’t afford to lose our precious company data in the event of a disaster. We didn’t want to deal with an expensive and slow tape system so we opted to backup our data to a technology from Iomega called a Rev drive. It was relatively inexpensive and was able to store 35GB on a single drive. It was fast, cheap, and didn’t require any extra expensive backup software. We used drives in weekly rotation that we would swap in and out to a safe deposit box at our bank. Luckily, we never needed to actually use our backups because a plan like that had a lot of flaws.

With any backup process that involves external media the data has to be physically moved from place to place. A process where confidential data is exposed to the outside world where it can be lost, stolen, or damaged in transit is just not a good idea. I have seen organizations with several tapes or drives that are moved around in the personal vehicle of the IT manager. Some tapes were still resting in his car and sometimes they were even stored at his personal home for long periods of time. Data was unaccounted for that could open up the company to a huge liability. Back to our old backup plan, what if we had a data loss event over the weekend and needed our offsite drive to start the long and difficult process of restoration? The bank is closed until Monday morning and we would have had to wait to even get started.

Now, cloud backups are the popular way for a company to buy a plan, install some software, and feel secure that their data is stored in the cloud. Rarely will a small business actually know what is involved is getting all of that data back to their site after a data loss. With most big cloud backup companies, getting the first complete backup of a lot of data can often take several days. This is acceptable since there is no emergency. When your systems are unexpectedly down, having to wait days for restoration to complete is unacceptable and this should be kept in mind.

Let’s say you have a lightning fast Internet connection and can get your data back in a few hours. Now you have to figure out what level of backups you have. Most organizations backup just their files when the reality is that in the event of a complete loss what you really need is a backup of your entire system. Having just your files is of little use without a functioning server in place to get that data to people who use it. Most companies use Microsoft Active directory to store their employee user accounts and control security for their PCs. That security information is stored in a database and is often overlooked. This database can be difficult to restore in the event of a complete loss. Having to start over can mean having to build your server from scratch and going around to each PC manually to join them into a new Windows domain. This process will take a very long time and will not be cheap.

I have seen many times when our company is taking over the IT function for a new customer and they completely fail our audit of their backups and are shocked. More times than I can count, our point of contact will inform me that they have cloud backups and are “all good” in that department. When we go to document and verify their backups we may find backup software is indeed installed on the server but it has either never run or has not run in a very long time. The issue with managing backups is just that. You have to actually take the time to manage them. There is no backup technology that can be setup and forgotten about while still maintaining a high degree of confidence that it will continue to work properly.

Nobody wants to think about backups. Ideally, hard drives would never crash, viruses would never encrypt your data for ransom, and disasters would never hit. Nevertheless, I have seen organizations come to my company after a data loss. This is after they thought they had backups. but when the time actually came to rely on them, they were useless. We partner with a company that offers data recovery in a clean room, where they attempt to repair the drive or array of drives that have failed. The cost for this service can easily be thousands of dollars and there is definitely not a 100% success rate to get any data back. This option is the absolute last resort and it is never a good position to be in. The absolute look of dread I have seen on the faces of managers when I tell them their data is unrecoverable is not a good look. Many of these people just assumed they had good backups in place. Larger organizations have dedicated roles or even departments of personnel that do nothing else but ensure the availability of their data. A data loss for a small business can be just as detrimental but without the resources to manage backups. Self-managing your own backups can be a great way to save money but keep in mind that you must not only check your backup plan regularly, but your restoration plan as well.

SD-WAN for Reliable Internet and Voice with Lower Costs

2018-06-18T00:00:00Z

SD-WAN for Reliable Internet and Voice with Lower Costs

It’s 2018, and options for your organization’s Internet connection and voice service are plentiful. Connection speeds are getting faster while prices are going down. With more options than ever, providers are competing for your business. Smart SD-WAN firewalls are even more affordable too. These devices are power efficient, provide enterprise security, and can automatically leverage two low-cost Internet connections to give organizations high levels of reliability.

Smart Gateways with SD-WAN

Gateways, or routers, have been able to perform lots of high end security filtering and WAN connection balancing for many years now. The issue was that you also needed to pay through the nose and have a highly skilled networking staff to properly manage this functionality. Now, inexpensive security gateways like Cisco’s Meraki MX line are able to leverage the cloud to make smart decisions, or SD-WAN, to keep connections between multiple sites up even when some connections go down.

There is no longer a need to use MPLS or other high-cost carrier locked solutions. The Meraki can use SD-WAN to take two low cost connections and use them both to dramatically increase reliability. This allows you to add and remove low cost Internet connections from any provider as needed and still maintain secure connectivity to branch offices and remote workers. On top of that, these devices provide industry leading Web Filtering and Intrusion Prevention to limit your risk significantly.

Internet Options

MCS has recommended Fiber Internet for organizations in the past. Fiber give high speeds, high reliability, and a guaranteed service level agreements (SLAs). We still recommend this service for larger organizations that need an abundance of upload bandwidth as fiber connections usually come with matched upload and download speeds, but the cost is typically much higher, by at least 4 times or more. With the use of a smart gateway, organizations of any size can use a low-cost cable Internet connection along with a low-cost DSL service that can automatically fail over and load balance using both providers. This is invisible to the user and can make for a connection to the Internet that is even more reliable than fiber at a much lower cost.

Voice

Business class voice connections have come a long way since the days of a T1 based PRI. Now, it’s all about VoIP. In the early days, VoIP connections suffered from poor quality and reliability. The technology has matured now and a VoIP based voice path can be more reliable, of higher quality, and much less expensive. Using a VoIP provider for your voice lines through a carrier like NexVortex can deliver a reliable service with automatic fail-over. MCS has been using NexVortex for years for our voice service at our headquarters in Springfield, IL. The service and quality has been nothing short of excellent.

How to Switch

MCS is a reseller for most Internet and phone providers and can put together a solution that works for you. In most cases, we can increase security, reliability, and speeds while also reducing your monthly spend. There is no cost to have our team provide you with a quote. MCS has the experience to properly implement SD-WAN for any organization. We will do all of the leg work and we have saved many organizations money, month after month. Contact us today and see what we can do for you.

Veeam Silver Partner – Cloud & Service Provider

2018-06-26T00:00:00Z

Veeam Silver Partner – Cloud & Service Provider

MCS is now a Silver level Veeam Cloud & Service Provider (CSP). We have been a Veeam partner for several years. In addition, we use their software and recommend it consistently to our customers. The Cloud & Service Provider program is designed for cloud providers like MCS. We offer Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) powered by the incredible features VEEAM can offer.

Backups vs Replication

Everyone knows backups are essential for any organization. Having data backups is great but using that data in a disaster is better. Also, replication is the key to a fast recovery when the worst happens. A VM that has been replicated is ready to go at a moment’s notice. In addition, a replicated server is easier to fail-back when the main site is back online. Getting up and running fast is the most important part of any DR plan.

Why Use Veeam and MCS?

Veeam is an outstanding company and their products keep getting better. Over the years, features and reliability keep improving. In addition, their support is the best in the industry. Using features like WAN Acceleration, Deduplication, and Virtual Labs, MCS can be sure data is ready when needed. We replicate data over long distances for even large servers. Plus, our data center stores your data securely and safely. Using Veeam we can go way beyond just backups. Replicated servers can be ready to go in our data center within minutes. Space is available in our business continuation center. Using this space during a disaster can be the difference between success and failure.

As a cloud partner, MCS takes care of managing and setting up your DR plan. Disaster Recovery specialists actively monitor and manage the replication process. This means there are less errors, and better data integrity. Your data is critical for your success. Partner with MCS and let a professional take care of your precious data.

3 Options for Using Nagios Free of Charge

2018-07-02T00:00:00Z

3 Options for Using Nagios Free of Charge

When you hear Nagios, most people think of their award-winning monitoring software and that is the subject of this article. Nagios is open source software, but there are more options to use Nagios free of charge.

1. Nagios Core – Open Source

Nagios Core, available at nagios.org, is freely available to download, use, and modify. It’s called Core because it uses the same engine that is under the hood of their commercial product, Nagios XI, available at nagios.com. More on that later though. The open source version offers 100’s of free add-ons and the ability to monitor just about anything with an IP address. The core edition has no limitation on the number of monitored devices. Core has been used from everything form monitoring a garden all the way up to looking after the High-End Computing Capability over at NASA. Core’s open nature allows for lots of tinkering and complete control to modify it to suit your needs.

With a ton of control and openness there is also a learning curve. Managing Nagios Core can be difficult for lots of monitored nodes. We used the Core edition in our data center before switching to XI. Managing monitored hosts also meant manually editing 100’s of config files. Many Linux sysadmins may love this approach but we found it too cumbersome. Also, installing Core will mean compiling from source code and will take some time to setup.

Download Nagios Core

2. Nagios XI – Use the Commercial Version of Nagios Free

XI is the commercial version of the already great Core version. The main advantages to Nagios XI are Web Configuration and built in Performance Graphing. Also, you get SNMP Trap Support, easy Configuration Wizards, and a Database Backend. The UI is also just much more polished and integrated than the core. The main disadvantage to using Nagios XI free is that you are limited to 7 total nodes, or hosts. You can monitor more than you may think with 7 hosts though. A host is typically anything with an IP address. Under that, you can monitor unlimited services attached to that host. Theoretically, you could monitor 10,000 individual service checks under one host.

The good news is that the free version can even be used for commercial purposes. Let’s say you have a data center and use Nagios Core to monitor your infrastructure. If the data center goes dark, so does your core server and you wouldn’t be notified. Spend an hour and about $10 a month and you can spin up Nagios XI for free in Amazon AWS. It’s super easy and a cheap insurance policy for when everything else fails. For small projects, this is the best way to run Nagios free.

Download Nagios XI

3. Run a Free Trial

Nagios is very generous with their free trials. They offer 60 days free for most of their products. If you are serious about using their software and may move to their paid version there is a strong possibility that a rep here at MCS can get your trial extended. Contact us to let us know what your specific situation is. Nagios XI runs as a trial by default so use the download link above for this option too. If you have less than 7 hosts it takes about 10 seconds to convert a trial to the free edition that won’t expire.

Chicago Branch Office Opens in West Loop

2018-08-01T00:00:00Z

We are proud to announce that we are opening a branch office in Chicago. Our new office at 550 West Washington in Chicago, IL opens August 1st, 2018. This marks our first branch location and our commitment to growth. We will be able to better serve the Chicago market with our new base there. MCS has served the Chicagoland market via travel and remote support. With a full-time presence in the area, MCS will be able to deliver faster service, and better customer service.

Our New Chicago Space

Our new space includes lots of amenities to make working better for our employees. We have meeting space for up to 20 people, private offices, and a relaxing and inviting common space for quick meetings. In addition, we can take a quick break in a mediation room or enjoy the view on our outdoor patio. Also, this West Loop location is convenient to public transit and downtown. IT Service customers in the area are welcome to stop by and say hello.

Recently, MCS has developed a focus on Nagios consulting and implementation. Most of these projects are performed remotely for enterprise customers in larger markets. We hope to engage with enterprise customers in Chicago on a more personal level. Having a workspace right in the city will allow MCS to collaborate with teams that work in the area. Attention to customer service is what has allowed MCS to grow and thrive over the last 15 years. In addition, we are looking forward to serving the Chicagoland area even better.

We welcome all of our customers to come by the new space. We are proud of our new office and invite anyone to stop by for a coffee and a tour. Just let us know and we will welcome you for a visit.

Our Chicago Address

MCS
550 West Washington Blvd. Suite 201
Chicago, IL 60661

We are hiring an Application Developer – Web/PHP

2018-08-31T00:00:00Z

MCS has a position open for an Application Developer – Web/PHP. This is a full time position at our Springfield, IL location. We need someone who is skilled at PHP development with at least 5 years of professional experience. This is an intermediate to advanced position.

Find Out More

Visit our employment page for more information on the position and how to apply. We look forward to adding another member to our team!

Why an SSL Certificate is Needed for any Website

2018-09-12T00:00:00Z

In the very early days of the Internet, all sites were accessed with no security or encryption. In 1994 the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) was introduced as a way to securely access a website publicly. Even then, sites would only use this technology if they were accepting credit cards or other sensitive information. Now, it is common for all sites to use https by default. But what does SSL actually do?

SSL primarily accomplishes two goals

Encryption between your device and the web server
Verification that the site you are visiting is actually the legit one

Encryption is obviously important if you are banking online or having a private conversation with someone. It means that even if your Internet line is “tapped” the data would look like garbage without the private key to decrypt it. As technology has progressed, SSL has changed and improved to support more complex encryption that is even harder to crack. This is why your web server needs to renew and re-key SSL certificates fairly regularly. Visiting a site that uses SSL does not give you complete privacy though.

Accessing a website also relies on the use of a DNS query to map the friendly name of the site to an IP address. This lookup is not encrypted and will rely on a DNS server to lookup your query. Typically, this lookup is done by your ISP, like Comcast, AT&T, etc. These companies may not be able to read the specific content of your visit, but they do know what sites you went to.

Verification is the other main goal of SSL. Encrypting your communication will do no good if you are giving it to a fake site. Through different methods, a hacker could setup their own server to pose as a website to collect your data. Mimicking a website is relatively easy to do. What a hacker can’t mimic though is a valid certificate issued by a trusted provider. SSL issuers that are trusted by default in most browsers will almost always verify the owner of a website before a certificate is issued. Hackers can’t easily impersonate a valid certificate from a trusted issuer. If you are visiting a site without a green padlock there is no verification that the site really is the one you wanted to visit. This is how most phishing scams work. Sites impersonate a reputable site and bait users to giving away their information freely.

Because of the relative ease and obvious benefits of SSL, browsers have started to penalize non-SSL sites as not secure. In addition, search engines may also view an insecure site more poorly and hurt their search ranking. We have been implementing https on all new sites we launch for our customers and strongly encourage older sites to adopt this security feature as well.

Chicago Office Moves to Willis Tower

2019-04-26T00:00:00Z

After a short time in the West Loop the MCS Chicago office has moved into the iconic Willis Tower (formally Sears Tower). The move to the loop will allow our presence in Chicago to grow. We are now staffing up our 84th floor office. Therefore, we are looking for Web Application Developers. Check out our Employment page for more information or to apply for a position. Also, our new mailing address for Chicago is:

MCS 233 S. Wacker Drive, 84th floor Chicago, IL 60606

Renovation Project

The famous downtown building is currently undergoing a major renovation. The project should be completed by 2020 and will add shopping, restaurants, and green space. In the mean time, construction workers are visible all over the building. However, they are doing a wonderful job of keeping existing tenants operating without interruption.

Windows 7 Support will End Jan, 2020

2019-07-09T00:00:00Z

Windows 7 Support will End Jan, 2020

Microsoft’s desktop workhorse, Windows 7 is EOL (end of life) on January 14th, 2020. This a a big deal for organizations that want to stay secure and compatible with the latest software. Users can either purchase a copy of Windows 10 and perform an in-place-upgrade or look at the age of their PC and consider purchasing a brand new PC. Upgrading from Windows 7 to 10 in-place can be a long process and some applications may stop working or need to be reinstalled.

For a company, if your PCs are running Windows 7 and it is more than 6 years old, it is probably a good idea to go ahead and upgrade to a new PC with Windows 10 Pro. Users may be surprised in the speed and efficiency gained from a modern PC. They boot faster, use less energy, and speed up everyday tasks.

Lot’s of PCs Still Run Windows 7 Today

Windows 7 still has a big share of the market at about 30%. This may seem surprising given that a couple years ago Microsoft offered a free upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10. Many people didn’t see a compelling reason to upgrade at the time and declined the offer. Based just on usability, Windows 7 is still a very stable product that offers excellent compatibility. Windows 10 looks more modern but there are not any killer features that would compel most users to make the switch.

Of course, the threat of no more security patches is the biggest concern. PCs handling sensitive information would pose a security risk if they remain unpatched. In today’s world of data breaches, using an operating system that is no longer supported is a huge rad flag for blame. The legal liability alone is enough of a reason to start plans now to make the switch.

Nagios XI Free,Guide for the Windows Sysadmin

2019-10-25T00:00:00Z

Nagios XI Free,Guide for the Windows Sysadmin

Getting Started with Nagios XI Free is Extremely Easy!

Please Note: This guide is intended for testing and evaluation only.

At MCS, we strongly feel that Nagios XI is the best IT monitoring software available and has been for quite a long time. XI is the more polished, easy to use product over the community Nagios Core software. We have seen some resistance from enterprises that are mostly Microsoft Windows shops. There is no Windows version of Nagios XI available so sysadmins have to use Linux. For some, this may seem daunting. Getting started with Nagios XI Free is actually one of the simplest Linux tasks out there. Starting from nothing, you can start monitoring in only a few steps. This guide is for the Linux and Nagios newbie so we will cover everything.

Nagios XI used to only be supported on RHEL and CentOS but is now fully supported on Oracle Linux, Debian, and Ubuntu. Right now, we like CentOS 7 Minimal as it is stable, completely open source, and tried and true for running Nagios XI.

Starting Out

Download CentOS 7 Minimal (no GUI needed)
Install CentOS 7. Since I am talking about Microsoft shops in this article, I will use Hyper-V. Use a Gen1 VM any don’t use dynamic memory. If you are using VMware you can get the OS+Nagios XI ready to go in an OVA. We have even run Nagios XI stably on AWS on a t2.micro instance with a few dozen checks running.
Nagios has been optimized very well over the years. You only need 1 CPU, 1GB RAM, and 8GB Storage. Of course, the more resources you assign the better!
After install, login as root.
Now this is the really slick part. As long as your new CentOS 7 Server has internet access, you only need to run a single command to download and fully install Nagios XI.

curl https://assets.nagios.com/downloads/nagiosxi/install.sh | sh

The amazing engineers from Nagios keep this install.sh script up to date for you. Using this command will always get you the latest stable release of Nagios XI fresh from the factory! Grab a cup of coffee and watch a beautiful waterfall of text scroll down your screen.

Take note of the URL to access Nagios XI:

Nagios XI Installation Complete! You can access the Nagios XI web interface by visiting: http://<server_address>/nagiosxi

Once the install script is done, you now have a Nagios XI server of your very own. Just for best practices, you should now update your OS and software. Type:

yum update -y

Several items will update and you should reboot in case one of those updates was for the kernel.

reboot

In a browser, visit http://<server_address>/nagiosxi

If you missed the server address you can always run:

ip addr show

Now, set your nagiosadmin password and login via the web. By default, you will be using a 60 day trial of the Unlimited Enterprise Edition. If you plan to purchase Nagios, MCS can get you a key to extend your trial a little longer. If you want to use Nagios XI free, you don’t need any license at all. Just go to Admin > License Information and select free mode. This will let you monitor up to 7 different hosts with unlimited services.

Adding Hosts to Monitor

Nagios XI will monitor itself (localhost) by default. Adding common checks is easy though. Let’s say we want to keep an eye on our website.

Go to Configure > Configuration Wizards
Search for Website
Enter your url
Optionally customize your settings for your checks

In about one minute you are monitoring several critical metrics for a website. It is about as easy to monitor Windows Servers, Linux, networking gear, and just about anything with an IP address. It can actually be really fun and rewarding to finally get a real-time view into what is working and what is not.

MCS Chicago Moves to the Chicago Board of Trade Building

2020-02-11T00:00:00Z

MCS Chicago Moves to the Chicago Board of Trade Building

Our Chicago office relocated to the the historic Chicago Board of Trade building. After a couple of years of adding staff we now have a more permanent home in Chicago in this renovated building in the heart of downtown Chicago. This location is ideal for staff and visitors from Chicago or the surrounding suburbs via train. Our building has excellent bus, “L” train, and Metra access. Our new amenities include 6 power feeds, access to several fiber Internet providers, on site UPS, FedEx, and USPS package services, fitness center, and state of the art conference center. In the conference center MCS can host meetings of more than 50 attendees.

Our staff can take a break at the Rooftop Deck & Game Room boasting 4,000+ square feet of indoor and outdoor space with sweeping views of Lake Michigan and downtown Chicago. We look forward to working from our new branch to recruit exciting new talent, grow our offerings, and better serve our customers in Chicago and beyond.

Working Remotely to Reduce the Spread of COVID-19 Coronavirus

2020-03-12T00:00:00Z

The novel Coronavirus COVID-19 has been on all of our minds in the recent weeks. Our first priority during this time is the health of our employees and customers. At MCS we have the luxury of being able to work remotely for most of our projects. Through the aid of VPNs, VoIP, and other collaboration tools, most employees can complete their work from home if needed.

Working Remotely Is Offered to All MCS Employees

Our employees have all been given the option to work from home if they desire for the next several weeks regardless of whether they feel ill or not. This is a precaution due to our currently limited knowledge of exactly how the COVID-19 virus is transmitted. If an MCS employee feels ill or has a fever of 100**°**F or more they are required to stay home until 48 hours after they are symptom free.

For our office locations in Springfield and Chicago, access is now limited to employees only. This means no visitors including customers, family, and friends. This will remain in effect until further notice.

For our IT service department, we are strongly encouraging our customers and system engineers to avoid on site service calls if at all possible. We appreciate the understanding of our customers during this time. Luckily, MCS offers remote support that, in most cases, will completely resolve the majority of issues presented. If an on site service call is required please only request this service if absolutely necessary.

COVID-19 Outlook

We believe that through smart precautions, we can protect the health of our employees and customers while still providing reliable service. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has excellent information specific to the COVID-19 outbreak. To decrease contact through the mail we encourage customers to signup for E-Bill for invoice delivery as well. The future is never set in stone but as long as we all make healthy and cautions choices, we can make a difference in the spread of this new threat. Remember:

Wash your hands often
Avoid close contact (6 feet)
Avoid large groups
Stay home if you’re sick
Clean and disinfect touched surfaces daily

Office 365 Available Directly Through MCS

2020-06-11T00:00:00Z

Cloud services are more important than ever and represent a critical segment in the marketplace. In the past MCS was not able to directly turn up services for Office 365 for our customers. We would recommend a plan, then customers would create their own account and pay Microsoft directly for services. Now, new and existing Microsoft Office 365 users can let MCS manage, support, and bill their services directly. The cost is the same but billing is handled through MCS.

Switching Office 365 to MCS is Easy

If you are an existing customer using Office 365 directly with Microsoft, MCS can take over servicing and billing on your account in a simple, zero-downtime change. We will take care of everything. Your data will continue to reside on the Microsoft 365 cloud infrastructure and switching can usually complete same-day.

Why Using MCS for Office 365 Is a Great Idea

MCS has always been customer focused. If you have an issue with billing or service, you can get through to a rep at MCS right away. If you already have an account with us, having your cloud services billed through us just makes sense. Also, we know our clients well and can recommend a more cost effective plan or trim away unneeded services.

Join our Nagios Meetup Group for Chicago

2020-10-08T00:00:00Z

Join our Nagios Meetup Group for Chicago

MCS has started the official Nagios Community Meetup Group for the Chicago region. This is the official Nagios Meetup Chicago group part of a network Nagios Community Meetup Groups worldwide. We will hold events and have discussions about Nagios and monitoring in general.

Nagios Meetup Chicago

Chicago, IL
18Members

This is a new group we created because there are so many Nagios users in Chicago and surrounding areas. It’s always great to hear the unique use-cases people have with Nagios….

Next Meetup

<a href="https://www.meetup.com/Nagios-Community-Meetup-Group-Chicago/events/273599275/"

How to monitor virtually anything / Beyond the server room

Tuesday, Oct 27, 2020, 5:00 PM
2 Attending

Check out this Meetup Group →

Virtual Nagios Meetup Chicago Through the End of 2020

Originally, these meetup events were meant to be held in person but obviously, that is no longer possible to do safely. We hope to hold live Nagios meetup events in late 2021. For now, our venue will be Zoom and they will be free to attend. Our goal is to hold casual presentations to bring together Nagios users of all backgrounds. Everyone from a home lab to an enterprise will be able to get useful information and insights.

Your Nagios XI License is Actually 3-in-1

2021-01-19T00:00:00Z

As a Nagios featured reseller for North America we have helped organizations large and small procure Nagios XI licenses. The thing about license agreements and usage is that they can be tricky to understand. While the core components of the Enterprise ready Nagios XI are open source, the parts that make XI beautiful to use, and easy to manage are not open source. You can run as many Open Source Nagios Core servers monitoring as many nodes as you desire for free. If you want want support, a more polished UI, and Enterprise grade features it makes sense to use the Nagios XI version made for business.

Costs

Buying an Enterprise grade monitoring solution does come with a cost. Depending on the edition and number of nodes (or hosts) being monitored, Nagios XI list price scales to fit the needs of any organization. List price runs anywhere from $1,295 to over $20k for an Unlimited Enterprise edition. We know that for an IT department and management to know the health of their network and services at a glace is well worth the cost. But did you know that when you make a purchase of a Nagios XI license it includes 3 servers in 1?

3 Instances in 1 License

Once you own your license, Nagios allows 3 instances to be installed in your organization. An instance is just a server or VM running a full copy of XI. Here are the 3 allowed uses:

Production – This is your main license that you use day to day and rely on.
Test – Used for testing / lab only. It is recommended that you run this instance to test software upgrades, try new plugins, and proof of concept any new additions or changes before you use them on your production XI.
DR – This instance can possibly be setup in a redundant data center and can monitor everything that production does. Just make sure you are not using it to monitor new nodes that are not covered by your production instance. That would require another license.

Just use your license key on each of the 3 instances. If you have activation problems, make sure you are only using 3 instances and if so, contact Nagios and they will make sure you are activated.

We’ll help you find the right Nagios product at the right price. Contact MCS to get a quote.

5 Reasons Organizations of any size need Network Monitoring

2021-03-29T00:00:00Z

5 Reasons Organizations of any size need Network Monitoring

Today, many organizations face the tedious challenge of 24/7 availability and productivity. Undoubtedly, technology is rapidly changing with the evolution of business IT requirements, and the cybersecurity threats to your organization’s data have the potential to disarm your operation. However, Network monitoring solutions play a crucial part in organizations because they rely on their internal network to be productive.

Generally, there are various serious threats to your business, including Network failures and irregularities, server downtime, and service or application crashes. These threats can cost thousands of dollars in revenue and productivity. Network monitoring solutions are important because they deliver better services and reduce costs. In this article, we will discuss the various reasons to choose network monitoring solutions. The following information is quite beneficial whether you are a CEO, executive, IT manager, or IT Administrator.

What is Network Monitoring?

It is crucial to know that Network monitoring plays a significant role in any size of an organization. The network is a significant factor for any modern corporation, and if it slows down, its failure is quite costly. Usually, Network monitoring is a system to view the health of an organization, including devices, traffic, and servers. It can help to identify potential problems and prevent any network issues. In simple words, Network monitoring systems are just tools that can help administrators monitor their networks more effectively. MCS uses and recommends Nagios XI for most customers but there are many solutions.

Do you want to know why your organization requires Network Monitoring? Let’s take a deep look at 5 different reasons to choose Network monitoring for your organization.

1. Key insights of organization infrastructure

Network monitoring allows you to keep historic reports about how your internal infrastructure has performed. Generally, historic data analysis can be very beneficial to determine whether your current system landscape can meet business requirements or if you need to invest in new technology. For instance, a network administrator is trying to convince their management that it is crucial to upgrade the current infrastructure because it’s not sufficient to meet the current organization’s requirements. In that case, a historic report is made to evaluate the overall past few months’ performances with the most reliable predictions for the future.

2. Fix issues and identify security threats

If you’re in a situation dealing with a configuration error or an abnormal traffic fluctuation, network monitoring software can help you to get to the bottom of your issues. Network monitoring tools can provide excellent security to your organization. The obvious benefit you can commonly get is a high-level performance for your organization. You can spot any unusual threats including a spike in traffic levels or a harmful device that’s connected to your network. So, Network monitoring can figure out when and on what device an event occurred. Then, you will be able to take a proactive approach to solve any network security issue.

3. Increased Return on Investment (ROI)

Monitoring IT infrastructure is considerably helpful for many organizations financially because it is cost-savings. However, it can also increase the return on investment. Primarily, you must have an IT budget for your organization to spend on software and network infrastructure, IT labor, maintenance costs, and hardware costs. Unfortunately, the outdated network system can harm the return on investment. In that case, if you consider efficient Network monitoring for your organization, it provides the flexibility and scalability to grow your business, and you can easily save most of your IT expenses every month with far better improvements. No doubt, Network Monitoring plays a crucial part in cost saving and return on investment.

4. Prevention from Cyber Attacks

Network monitoring is significant for fighting against cyber-attacks. Cybercriminals are more advanced these days. Knowing the difference between a cyber-attack and normal-behavior, your team can react proactively. Recently, network monitoring prevented the Anthem medical data breach in 2015 by noticing user behavior. These attackers submitted database queries to obtain PII records, a costly type of cyber-attack. The database contained up to 80 million customer records in this attack.

5. Optimized performance, Minimized risk, and Maintained Compliance

Network monitoring systems provide optimize a network’s performance, solve attacking problems, and prevent you from developing problems by identifying slowdowns and collecting performance data. One of the apparent benefits of a network monitoring system is its potential to identify malicious network behavior. Undoubtedly, Network monitoring systems can track network security threats ranging from unauthorized downloads to password changes and flag any abnormal behavior. Further, it ensures that breaches can be identified and mitigated immediately. Most of the compliance with regulatory entities like HIPAA, ISO 27001, and PCI DSS is significant for many organizations. These regulations need network monitoring for best practices and security measures.

Future of Network Monitoring

With the advancement of technology, many devices have become network-based. This obviously increases the stress on network teams. On top of that, IoT devices have changed the way organizations think about networks. However, there is needed to improve the organization’s infrastructure because multiple DDoS attacks have been seen due to unsafe IoT devices.
No doubt, IoT changes our way of our thinking about networks. Monitoring networks is becoming more challenging with that addition of so may different types of devices. Monitoring solutions certainly will allow you to discover future problems with your network and provide efficient and reliable services to your users.

Using Duo MFA to Harden Security

2021-11-03T00:00:00Z

Using Duo MFA to Harden Security

Single factor authentication to business systems is no longer enough to protect company data access. We live in a world of ever evolving threats and data breaches that can leave your private data exposed to hackers. Duo MFA is the simple, secure answer.

A Password is Not Enough

A password as a form of identity verification has always been a poor tool for the job. Any person, or bot, can use a known password to gain access to a system not meant for them to access. With massive data breaches becoming the norm, there is a better chance than ever that an old password is know by bad actors. It all comes down to trust. A password is essentially anonymous. While complex passwords and regularly changing them is still important, you can add another line of defense in case a password has been compromised.

Duo MFA Adds Another Layer

Duo is a widely used multi factor authentication solution trusted by smart organizations that take security seriously. Everyone with an online bank account has had to verify their identity with an emailed or texted code at one point or another. Ever wondered why you have to do this for your bank and not for your work systems? Think about what an attacker would have access to if they were to access your work computer under your login. They would instantly have access to your files, saved web passwords, and if services are set to trust your computer, they have access to them as well. Traditionally, corporate networks have been behind the times when it comes to authentication.

Duo MFA provides an affordable solution to the problem of 2 factor compliance. Their authentication software can be automatically installed on all company computers with ease. Once installed, users can be setup automatically, and enroll with Duo quickly. Then, they can pick push authentication on their smartphone, text, email, or even a phone call to verify they are who they say they are. These options can be set by the organization depending on need.

Pay as You Go

Organizations can purchase licenses directly from MCS and will be billed as little as $3 / user / month. There are no contracts either. Check with your insurance carrier for possible discounts offered by using Duo MFA. MCS has the experience to deploy Duo on your systems so only authorized employees can access your data.

Internet Explorer End of Life is Finally Here

2022-06-15T00:00:00Z

While some may be sad to see the Internet Explorer End of Life, fortunately, there are alternatives to Internet Explorer, so most users needn’t worry about losing access to Microsoft’s online services. There are many benefits to using a new browser instead. The latest version is called Microsoft Edge, and its Chromium-based architecture aims to rival Google Chrome and offer a friendlier user interface on touch-supporting PCs. Luckily, there’s a way to accommodate those users who still need to use Internet Explorer.

Microsoft Edge

The usage share of Internet Explorer is quite small, with less than 5.5 percent of the market. Microsoft doesn’t publish official numbers, but third-party stats put it at 5.21 percent. In addition to this, Edge is already the default browser for Windows 11, and most home users have already switched to it.

Microsoft is phasing out Internet Explorer, with its last major version ending on June 15, 2022. Users of the browser should migrate to the latest version of Microsoft Edge, which has been optimized for security and speed. In addition to speed and security, Microsoft Edge also works with legacy applications.

While Internet Explorer End of Life is here now, Microsoft will still support its browser in Edge until 2029. Users of the IE11 desktop application will continue to be redirected to Microsoft Edge. To make the transition to the new browser easier, Microsoft is keeping a legacy browser mode available for Edge.

Built-in Internet Explorer Mode

Considering moving to Microsoft Edge after internet explorer end of life? If so, you’ll be moving to a new, improved browser that supports legacy web browsers. Microsoft Edge is much faster than IE and more secure but still supports legacy browsers. It even has an IE mode that allows you to use older IE websites.
When it is retired by its creators, Internet Explorer will be redirected to Microsoft’s Edge browser, and it will no longer be available on newer versions of Windows. Microsoft Edge comes with IE mode, which you can manually enable or disable, so you can continue to access legacy Internet Explorer sites and apps. You can set it up in the Getting Started guide, and consumers can enable it themselves.

What Does Microsoft Say about Internet Explorer End of Life?

“The good news: you probably already have it on your device. Search for “Microsoft Edge” using the Windows 10 search box or look for the icon (see the top of this article). If you don’t have it, you can easily download it here. We’ve also aimed to simplify the upgrade to Microsoft Edge; once you’ve opted to move to Microsoft Edge, it’s easy to bring over your passwords, favorites, and other browsing data from Internet Explorer in a few clicks. And if you run into a site that needs Internet Explorer to open, Microsoft Edge has Internet Explorer mode built-in so you can still access it,”

Bottom Line

While IE11 is being phased out, developers and users should prepare now for the transition to Microsoft Edge. Although the transition from IE11 to Edge may seem daunting, it will be done gradually and according to industry best practices. And because Microsoft has said it will end support for Internet Explorer in 2022, it’s worth preparing for it. After all, it is faster, safer, and compatible with legacy apps and sites.

4 Benefits of Using A Professional Consultant When Getting Started With Nagios XI

2022-06-20T00:00:00Z

Modern networks have become so advanced over the years that it’s almost impossible to keep track of issues without software.
It’s mind-boggling how many different types of devices now make up contemporary networks.
However, when it comes to open-source network monitoring tools, companies worldwide turn to Nagios.
Nagios keeps an eye on network issues while also helping you gain extensive insight with enterprise-class network monitoring, alerts, and analysis.
But did you know that you can make your life much easier by hiring a professional Nagios consultant?
Curious to know how? Then keep reading to find out the benefits of hiring one to get started with Nagios XI!

1. Save Money with a Nagios Consultant

If you want to look at the big picture and save valuable money, consider getting in touch with a professional who knows what they are doing.
But how does that work?
Well, the math is simple.
Hiring an expert Nagios consultant will reduce the number of man-hours and ultimately cost you less.
So, rather than watching your current IT department—which may not have much experience with network monitoring software—go around in circles, reach out to a professional. Experts can work on the project with precision without wasting time.

2. Ensure Precision

Your organization needs to ensure it is following the best practices when setting up network monitoring to make software maintenance as efficient as possible.
Aspects such as notifications, accessing dashboards, and adding and removing hosts and services should be set up properly, so network monitoring is carried out without any issues.
For instance, timely and accurate notification delivery is crucial to preventing system failures.
Therefore, hiring a professional will guarantee that your Nagios XI installation is done accurately and following best practices the first time.

3. Get Quality Training & Management

A professional Nagios consultant will provide training to your staff, ensuring they are well-equipped to deal with issues.
This way, you will have the surety of documentation and training to hand off the project to your team – regardless of whether the consultants build your organization’s whole monitoring infrastructure from scratch or collaborates with your current IT department.

4. Get Up & Running Without Wasting Time & Energy

Setting up Nagios IX in your organization is a fairly complicated task, and hiring a Nagios consultant to perform it is always a good idea to ensure it is done right.
So, if you need to start your project off on the right foot, reach out to experts who will install Nagios and work with your team to set up the foundation needed for a successful Nagios implementation.

The Gist

Nagios is renowned as the best tool for various server monitoring tasks.
If your company is looking for a professional Nagios Core or XI consultant when starting Nagios XI deployment, feel free to reach out to MCS.
Our competent experts will work with you and your team to install, implement, and manage Nagios products.

Manually Install Nagios XI on Linux, the Easy Way

2022-08-24T00:00:00Z

Installing Nagios XI has one the easiest setups around. While Nagios XI is not officially offered through standard repositories, the process is still so easy. In many cases, when we are starting fresh with a brand new Nagios installation for a customer, our engineers will use the .ova image. This is quick and easy but offers fewer options. When the VMware image is not ideal, we use the method below to manually install Nagios XI on Linux.

1. Install your preferred Linux OS. Nagios XI is officially supported on CentOS, RHEL, Debian, Ubuntu, and Oracle Linux. We recommend a minimum install with no GUI to optimize performance and decrease your security footprint.
2. Once your OS is installed, go ahead and make sure it has Internet access and run a full update using yum or apt-get. Restart.
3. Run this command as root/superuser (you may have to install curl depending on how minimal your install was)
  curl https://assets.nagios.com/downloads/nagiosxi/install.sh | shThis install.sh script will automatically download and install the latest version. Grab a cup of coffee, this will take several minutes.
4. Once the wall of streaming text stops you should be greeted with a message telling you what URL to use to continue your setup.

Finish Up Your Manual Nagios XI Installation via Browser

Now, you can use a web browser to set the Nagios Admin username and password. You can also install a license, activate a free trial, or go straight into the free 7 host mode. Many large organizations we have worked with will have a customized base image of Linux they deploy with custom login servers, security settings, and integrations built-in. This type of customization will work with Nagios but we always recommend that the base OS be as minimal as possible. Custom firewall rules and other security settings may not work without extra configuration.

If your organization would like expert assistance with your Nagios XI deployment, contact MCS for a free quote. We can assist with projects of all sizes. Our Nagios experts can help you manually install Nagios right the first time.

Small Business Cyber Security Can’t be Ignored

2023-03-20T00:00:00Z

In today’s climate of cyber threats, small business cyber security has become more important than ever. With the rise of technology and the increasing reliance on cloud platforms for business operations, small businesses are no exception to this rule. In fact, they are even more vulnerable to cyber attacks due to their limited resources and knowledge of cybersecurity. Therefore, it is crucial for small businesses to understand the importance of cybersecurity and take appropriate measures to safeguard their operations.

One of the biggest reasons why small businesses need to prioritize cybersecurity is the threat of data breaches. Cyber criminals are constantly looking for ways to steal sensitive information such as customer data, financial records, and intellectual property. If a small business falls victim to a data breach, it can have a devastating impact on their reputation and bottom line.

Ransomware

Another reason why small businesses need to prioritize cybersecurity is the growing prevalence of ransomware attacks. Ransomware is a type of malware that locks a business’s files and demands a ransom payment to release them. Ransomware attacks have become increasingly common in recent years. For small businesses, the impact can be particularly severe as they often lack the resources to recover from an attack.

Phishing

Moreover, small businesses are more vulnerable to phishing attacks, which are designed to trick individuals into revealing sensitive information such as passwords or bank details. These attacks are often carried out through email, and small businesses are particularly susceptible to them because they may not have the resources or knowledge to identify and prevent them.

Legal Issues

In addition to the potential financial and reputational damage, cyber attacks can also have legal consequences. Small businesses are subject to a range of regulations and legal requirements regarding data protection and privacy. Failure to comply with these regulations can result in fines and legal action, which can be costly and time-consuming.

Therefore, it is essential to take proactive steps to protect themselves from cyber attacks. This includes implementing robust cybersecurity measures such as firewalls, antivirus software, and regular data backups. Small businesses should also provide training to their employees on how to identify and prevent cyber attacks. They should establish clear protocols for responding to security incidents.

In conclusion, small business cyber security is crucial. The risk of cyber attacks is increasing, and small businesses are particularly vulnerable. Therefore, small businesses need to prioritize cybersecurity and take appropriate measures to protect themselves from the potentially devastating consequences of cyber attacks. By doing so, they can safeguard their operations, reputation, and financial stability in the long term.

Contact MCS to learn more about how our managed small business cyber security offering can get your business secured and put your mind at ease.

Using Nagios XI to Monitor More Than Servers and Network Devices

2023-04-17T00:00:00Z

Using Nagios XI to Monitor More Than Servers and Network Devices

Nagios XI is a powerful network monitoring tool that is typically used to monitor servers, applications, and network devices. However, Nagios XI can also be used for a number of unusual purposes. Here are a few examples:

Monitoring physical security: Nagios XI can be used to monitor physical security devices, such as door locks, motion sensors, and fire alarms. This can be helpful for organizations that want to ensure the safety of their employees and property.
Monitoring environmental conditions: Nagios XI can be used to monitor environmental conditions, such as temperature, humidity, and air quality. This can be helpful for organizations that need to ensure that their facilities are operating in a safe and comfortable environment.
Monitoring employee productivity: Nagios XI can be used to monitor employee productivity. This can be done by tracking the amount of time that employees spend on certain websites or applications. This information can then be used to identify areas where employees are wasting time and make changes to improve productivity.
Monitoring customer satisfaction: Nagios XI can be used to monitor customer satisfaction. This can be done by tracking the number of customer complaints and the time it takes to resolve them. This information can then be used to identify areas where customer service can be improved.

These are just a few examples of outside the box ways to use Nagios XI. If you have a creative mind, there are probably many other ways that you can use Nagios XI to improve your organization’s operations.

Here are some additional tips for using Nagios XI:

Be creative: Don’t be afraid to think outside the box when you’re using Nagios XI. If you can think of a way to use Nagios XI to improve your organization’s operations, then go for it!
Get help: If you’re not sure how to use Nagios XI in a particular way, there are plenty of resources available to help you. MCS can provide implementation help for writing custom plugins.
Have fun: Nagios XI is a powerful tool, but it doesn’t have to be all work and no play. If you can find ways to use Nagios XI to make your job easier or more enjoyable, then that’s a win-win!

Google Domains to Shut Down, Sold to Squarespace

2023-08-21T00:00:00Z

Google Domains to Shut Down, Sold to Squarespace

Google has announced that it is shutting down its domain registrar business, Google Domains. The service will be winding down following a transition period, with Squarespace taking over the business and assets.

A history of shutting down good projects

The announcement came as a surprise to many, as Google Domains had only recently exited beta in March 2022. The service was well-received by users, offering a simple and affordable way to register and manage domains.

To others, this may not be a surprise. Google has a long history or coming our with a great product, then shutting it down. Projects include Google+, Google Reader, Google Wave, Google Glass, Google Allo, and the list goes on an on.

In a blog post, Google said that the decision to shut down Google Domains was made “as part of our efforts to sharpen our focus.” The company said that it would continue to offer domain registration through its other products, such as Google Workspace and Google Cloud Platform.

Squarespace, which provides website building and hosting services, said that it was “excited” to acquire Google Domains. The company said that it would integrate Google Domains into its own platform, making it easier for users to register and manage domains.

The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023. Once the acquisition is complete, Google Domains customers will be migrated to Squarespace.

What does this mean for Google Domains customers?

Google Domains customers will need to take action to ensure that their domains are migrated to Squarespace. Google will provide more information about the migration process in the coming months.

In the meantime, customers can continue to use Google Domains as usual. Their domains will remain active until the migration is complete.

Exploring Microsoft Copilot for Business

2024-01-08T00:00:00Z

Exploring Microsoft Copilot for Business

In recent years, the technology landscape has witnessed a surge in advancements that are reshaping the way businesses operate. One such innovation that has garnered attention is Microsoft Copilot. Launched as a collaborative coding tool, Microsoft Copilot is now making waves in the business world, promising to revolutionize productivity and streamline development processes. In this article, we’ll delve into the current state of Microsoft Copilot for business and explore its potential impact on the way teams collaborate and create.

What is Microsoft Copilot?

Microsoft Copilot is an AI-powered code completion tool developed by GitHub in collaboration with OpenAI. It is built on OpenAI’s GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) language model, specifically GPT-3.5. Copilot’s primary function is to assist developers by suggesting whole lines or blocks of code as they write, significantly speeding up the coding process and reducing errors.

Key Features:

Intelligent Code Suggestions: Copilot analyzes the code being written in real-time and provides contextually relevant suggestions. This feature not only accelerates the coding process but also helps less experienced developers learn from best practices.
Support for Multiple Programming Languages: Microsoft Copilot supports a wide array of programming languages, making it versatile and suitable for diverse development projects. Whether it’s Python, JavaScript, Java, or others, Copilot aims to be an all-encompassing tool for developers.
Seamless Integration with Visual Studio Code: Integration with Visual Studio Code, one of the most popular integrated development environments (IDEs), enhances Copilot’s accessibility. This means developers can leverage its capabilities within a familiar environment, leading to a smoother and more intuitive coding experience.
Collaborative Coding: Copilot supports collaboration between developers, allowing teams to work on code collectively. This feature is particularly valuable in fostering a collaborative environment, enabling faster development cycles and better code quality.
Learning and Adaptation: As developers use Microsoft Copilot, the tool learns from the coding patterns and preferences of individual users. Over time, it adapts to the unique coding style of each developer, providing increasingly accurate and personalized code suggestions.

Current State of Microsoft Copilot for Business

As of the latest updates, Microsoft Copilot has gained traction in the business world, with many development teams incorporating it into their workflows. The tool is particularly beneficial for:

Accelerating Development Cycles: Microsoft Copilot significantly speeds up the coding process, enabling developers to write code more efficiently. This acceleration translates into faster development cycles, allowing businesses to bring products and features to market more quickly.
Enhancing Code Quality: The intelligent code suggestions offered by Copilot contribute to improved code quality. By suggesting best practices and identifying potential issues, the tool helps reduce bugs and errors, leading to more robust and reliable software.
Facilitating Learning and Onboarding: Copilot’s ability to provide contextually relevant suggestions and learn from user behavior makes it a valuable tool for learning and onboarding new team members. Less experienced developers can benefit from the tool’s guidance, accelerating their learning curve.
Promoting Collaboration: The collaborative coding feature fosters teamwork, allowing multiple developers to work on the same codebase seamlessly. This collaborative aspect is especially valuable for distributed teams working across different locations.

Challenges and Future Outlook

While Microsoft Copilot has received positive feedback for its capabilities, there are challenges and considerations. Some concerns revolve around potential code security issues, as the tool generates code based on the patterns it has learned. It is crucial for businesses to implement proper security measures and conduct thorough code reviews.

Looking ahead, Microsoft is likely to refine and enhance Copilot further, addressing any issues and expanding its capabilities. The tool’s success in the business realm will depend on its ability to adapt to the evolving needs of development teams and its continued integration with popular IDEs.

Conclusion

Microsoft Copilot represents a significant leap forward in the world of coding and development. Its ability to accelerate coding, enhance collaboration, and improve code quality makes it a valuable asset for businesses aiming to stay competitive in the rapidly evolving tech landscape. As more teams adopt this AI-powered coding tool, it is poised to become an integral part of the modern development toolkit, shaping the way software is created and maintained.

IT Penetration Testing for Small Business

2024-02-16T00:00:00Z

IT Penetration Testing for Small Business

What Is Penetration Testing?

At its core, penetration testing (often called “pen testing”) is ethical hacking. In this process, a company hires security professionals to simulate an attack on their systems. The goal is to identify vulnerabilities that malicious actors could exploit. Unlike dealing with a real data breach, where the aftermath can be costly and damaging, penetration testing allows businesses to proactively address security weaknesses.

Why Do Small Businesses Need Penetration Testing?

Risk Mitigation: Small businesses face the same cyber threats as larger enterprises but often lack the resources for robust security measures. Penetration testing helps identify vulnerabilities before they are exploited, reducing the risk of data breaches and financial losses.
Compliance Requirements: Many industries have compliance standards (such as PCI DSS, HIPAA, or GDPR) that mandate regular security assessments. Penetration testing ensures compliance and helps avoid penalties.
Protecting Sensitive Data: Small businesses handle customer data, financial records, and intellectual property. A breach could lead to reputational damage, legal issues, and financial setbacks.
Business Continuity: A successful cyberattack can disrupt operations, leading to downtime, lost revenue, and customer dissatisfaction. Penetration testing helps maintain business continuity.

What Type of Small Businesses Benefit Most?

All small businesses can benefit from penetration testing, but certain factors make it especially crucial:

E-commerce Businesses: These handle sensitive customer information and online transactions.
Startups: Early-stage companies need to secure their digital assets from the outset.
Service Providers: Businesses offering services (such as healthcare providers or law firms) must safeguard client data.
Financial Institutions: Banks, credit unions, and fintech startups deal with financial data and must prioritize security.

Choosing What to Test

Small businesses should focus on critical assets, such as:

Web Applications: These are common targets for attacks.
Network Infrastructure: Assess vulnerabilities in routers, firewalls, and switches.
Mobile Apps: As mobile usage grows, securing apps is essential.
Cloud Services: A common misconception is that IT services in the cloud are automatically protected. This is not always the case and cloud services need to be tested as data may be accessed from anywhere in the world.

Types of Penetration Tests

External Tests: Simulate attacks from outside the organization.
Internal Tests: Assess vulnerabilities within the network.
Web Application Tests: Focus on web apps and APIs.
Wireless Tests: Evaluate Wi-Fi security.
Social Engineering Tests: Assess human vulnerabilities.

Cost of Penetration Testing for Small Business

The cost varies based on factors like scope, complexity, and the provider. However, consider it an investment in your business’s security. The expense is dwarfed by the potential consequences of a successful cyberattack.

Remember, penetration testing is not a luxury—it’s a necessity for safeguarding your business in today’s cyber-threat landscape. Implementing a robust testing process can prevent costly breaches and protect your reputation.

AI Demands Massive Energy

2024-06-25T00:00:00Z

Data Centers: The Powerhouses Behind AI

When we interact with AI systems, we often don’t realize the massive infrastructure supporting them. These behemoths are data centers, housing thousands of servers that operate 24/7 and their voracious appetite for energy is a growing concern.

Global Electricity Demand: The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that global data center electricity demand will more than double from 2022 to 2026, with AI playing a significant role in this increase.
AI’s Intensive Training: Training AI models is energy-intensive. For instance, a single ChatGPT query consumes ten times more energy than a standard Google search.
Competition and Scale: Major tech companies compete to build more powerful AI models. The computational power required for training these models doubles every nine months.

The Environmental Impacts

Energy: AI systems are projected to need as much energy as entire nations. Their carbon footprint is substantial.
Water: Water-intensive cooling processes strain local resources and contribute to environmental stress.
Resource Depletion: AI’s pursuit of scale accelerates the depletion of natural resources.

Balancing Innovation and Responsibility

Pragmatic Solutions: Rather than relying on pipe-dream technologies, the industry must prioritize energy efficiency, efficient model design, and sustainable data centers.
Transparency: Greater transparency and accountability are crucial to understanding AI’s environmental costs.
Policy and Regulation: The first-of-its-kind US bill addressing AI’s environmental impact is a step in the right direction.

AI’s potential impact on the environment is significant, both positive and negative. While it can enhance sustainability, we must tread carefully to avoid unintended consequences.

Microsoft’s Local Wi-Fi Vulnerability in Windows

2024-07-16T00:00:00Z

A severe vulnerability was discovered in the Windows Wi‑Fi driver that could potentially allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code on a target system. This article summarizes the risk and how to mitigate it.

Understanding the Vulnerability

This affects all versions of Windows. What makes it particularly dangerous is that an attacker doesn’t need physical access, only proximity and access to the same Wi‑Fi network.

Exploitation of the Vulnerability

An attacker may be able to exploit the flaw without authentication and without user interaction, which increases the potential impact in public Wi‑Fi scenarios.

Mitigation and Protection

Microsoft has released a patch to fix the vulnerability. Users should update Windows as soon as possible. Avoid untrusted networks where possible and follow safe Wi‑Fi practices.

Cybersecurity Month: Tips for Business Owners

2024-09-30T00:00:00Z

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, a perfect time for small business owners to reflect on their cybersecurity practices and ensure their business is protected against cyber threats. As a small business owner, you might think that cybercriminals only target large corporations, but the reality is that small businesses are often seen as easy targets. Here are some essential tips to help you safeguard your business.

1. Educate Your Employees

Your employees are your first line of defense against cyber threats. Conduct regular training sessions to educate them about the latest phishing scams, malware, and other cyber threats. Make sure they know how to recognize suspicious emails and websites, and understand the importance of strong, unique passwords.

2. Implement Strong Password Policies

Encourage your employees to use strong, unique passwords for all their accounts. Consider using a password manager to help them keep track of their passwords. Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) wherever possible to add an extra layer of security. MCS recommends Duo, so ask your rep for more info.

3. Keep Software Up to Date

Ensure that all your software, including operating systems, applications, and antivirus programs, are up to date. Regular updates often include patches for security vulnerabilities that cybercriminals could exploit.

4. Backup Your Data Regularly

Regularly back up your data to a secure location. This can help you recover quickly in case of a ransomware attack or other data loss incidents. Cold storage is critical to guard against these types of attacks.

5. Secure Your Wi-Fi Networks

Make sure your business’s Wi-Fi networks are secure. Use strong passwords and encryption, and set up a separate network for guests. This can help prevent unauthorized access to your main network. WP3 is the latest in WiFi security and is highly recommended for businesses.

6. Develop a Cybersecurity Plan

Create a comprehensive cybersecurity plan that outlines your policies and procedures for protecting your business. This plan should include steps for responding to a cyber incident, such as who to contact and how to mitigate the damage.

7. Use Professional Pen Testing

Talk to a professional at MCS who can look at your network and scan it for vulnerabilities. It is always better to know your weaknesses before an adversary does. There are lots of best practices to follow, but a good pen tester can give you real, actionable threats to your IT security.

8. Consider Cyber Insurance

Cyber insurance can help protect your business in case of a cyber attack. It can cover costs such as data recovery, legal fees, and customer notification. Talk to your insurance provider to see what options are available for your business.

Conclusion

Cybersecurity is an ongoing process, and it’s crucial to remain vigilant. By taking these steps, you can help protect your small business from cyber threats and ensure that your operations run smoothly. Celebrate Cybersecurity Awareness Month by making cybersecurity a priority for your business!

Using a Managed Service Provider (MSP): Enhancing Security and Reducing Liability

2025-02-07T00:00:00Z

Using a Managed Service Provider (MSP): Enhancing Security and Reducing Liability

Businesses rely heavily on their IT infrastructure to keep operations running smoothly and efficiently. While traditional break-fix IT support may have been sufficient in the past, it is no longer the optimal solution for modern businesses. Instead, partnering with a Managed Service Provider (MSP) offers numerous benefits, particularly in enhancing security and reducing liability.

Proactive Security Measures

One of the primary advantages of using an MSP is the proactive approach to IT security. Unlike the break-fix model, which reacts to issues as they arise, MSPs continuously monitor your IT systems to identify and resolve potential security threats before they cause significant disruptions. This proactive approach helps to protect your business from cyberattacks, data breaches, and other security incidents that could lead to financial losses and reputational damage.

Comprehensive Risk Management

MSPs offer comprehensive risk management services that help to identify and mitigate potential security vulnerabilities within your IT infrastructure. By conducting regular security assessments, vulnerability scans, and penetration tests, MSPs can uncover weaknesses and implement measures to address them. This thorough risk management approach helps to minimize the likelihood of security breaches and reduces your liability in the event of an incident.

Regulatory Compliance and Data Protection

Many industries are subject to strict regulatory requirements and data protection laws. MSPs have the expertise to ensure that your business complies with these regulations, reducing the risk of costly fines and legal repercussions. By implementing robust security protocols and data protection measures, MSPs help to safeguard sensitive information and ensure that your business remains in compliance with industry standards.

Incident Response and Recovery

In the event of a security incident, a swift and effective response is crucial to minimizing damage and reducing liability. MSPs provide comprehensive incident response services, including threat detection, containment, eradication, and recovery. By having a well-defined incident response plan in place, MSPs can quickly address security incidents and restore normal operations, minimizing the impact on your business and reducing potential liabilities.

Employee Training and Awareness

Human error is a common cause of security breaches, making employee training and awareness essential components of a robust security strategy. MSPs offer training programs to educate your staff on best practices for cybersecurity, such as recognizing phishing attempts, using strong passwords, and following data protection protocols. By fostering a culture of security awareness, MSPs help to reduce the risk of human-related security incidents and associated liabilities.

Advanced Security Technologies

MSPs stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in cybersecurity technologies, providing your business with cutting-edge solutions to enhance your security posture. From advanced threat detection and prevention systems to secure cloud services and encryption technologies, MSPs leverage the best tools available to protect your IT infrastructure. By implementing these advanced security measures, MSPs help to reduce the risk of security breaches and associated liabilities.

Focus on Core Business Functions

Managing IT security can be time-consuming and distracting, taking valuable resources away from your core business functions. By outsourcing your IT security management to an MSP, you can focus on what you do best – running your business. MSPs handle all aspects of your IT security, from routine maintenance to complex incident response, allowing you to concentrate on growing your company and achieving your strategic goals.

Ready to take your IT security to the next level? Contact us today to learn more about how our managed services can help your business succeed.

CrowdStrike’s Next‑Gen MDR named #1

2025-07-29T00:00:00Z

CrowdStrike’s Next‑Gen MDR named #1

What You Need to Know: CrowdStrike Named 2025 MDR Leader

We wanted to share some big news that directly supports why we’ve chosen the partners we work with to help protect your business. In the latest Frost Radar™: Global Managed Detection and Response (MDR) report, CrowdStrike was ranked the #1 provider for 2025. That means out of 19 major vendors evaluated, they came out on top.

This marks the second year in a row they’ve been recognized as the leader, and for good reason. Their Falcon Complete platform isn’t just another security product. It brings together powerful detection and response capabilities across endpoints, cloud services, user identities, and networks. What’s really impressive is how they’ve built this all into a single, streamlined platform. For organizations like yours, that means fewer blind spots and better protection across the board.

One thing we like about Falcon Complete is how it blends top-tier technology with human expertise. CrowdStrike uses an AI-powered assistant called Charlotte AI to help analysts triage and investigate threats quickly and accurately. But this isn’t just a set-it-and-forget-it system. Behind the tech, there’s a world-class team working 24/7 to monitor, hunt, and respond to threats in real time. And they don’t just alert you to problems—they help fix them, often before they have a chance to cause serious damage.

The Frost & Sullivan report really emphasized CrowdStrike’s strong customer-first culture. Clients consistently say that the team is highly responsive and transparent, and that they feel supported when it matters most. That’s something we value as your MSSP—because when there’s a real threat, the last thing you want is silence or confusion. You want fast, clear answers and a plan of action. CrowdStrike delivers that.

What also stood out in the report is how CrowdStrike continues to invest in research and development. They’re not standing still. They’re constantly improving their tech, expanding what their platform can do, and ensuring they’re ready for tomorrow’s threats. That kind of forward momentum is exactly what we look for in a partner.

Why This Matters to You

We’re sharing this not just to pass along industry accolades, but to help you understand how we’re building your security program. When we choose to work with a provider like CrowdStrike, it’s because they bring real value to your business. Their tools give us the visibility and speed we need to stay ahead of cyber threats. And their expert team acts as a true extension of ours—helping ensure your environment is monitored, protected, and supported around the clock.

More importantly, this kind of recognition validates our approach. It shows that the strategy we’ve put in place with you is built on solid ground, using tools and services recognized by independent experts as best in class.

Read the article from CrowdStrike.

Nagios XI 2026: Smarter Dashboards, Better Onboarding

2025-11-21T00:00:00Z

Nagios XI 2026: Smarter Dashboards, Better Onboarding

Nagios Enterprises has launched Nagios XI 2026, bringing compelling updates that reinforce its reputation as a powerful, flexible, and modern monitoring platform. With a renewed focus on usability, scalability, and visual clarity, the new release delivers features that benefit both seasoned admins and newcomers.

1. Smart Dashboards — Next-Gen Visualization

At the heart of this release is the new Smart Dashboards framework. Designed for flexibility and insight, these dashboards let teams build highly customized views of their monitoring data. The release adds a rich set of “dashlets” like Graphs, Gauges, Bar Charts, Treemaps, and even Alert Heatmaps, making it easier to visualize trends, health, and alert patterns.

Notably, dashboards can now be shared globally across teams. Administrators can set up team-wide dashboards so everyone sees the same perspective, and users can tweak icons, layouts, and themes (especially in the Neptune UI) for consistent branding or clarity.

2. Revamped Home Screen & Onboarding

The Nagios XI 2026 home screen has been overhauled into a smarter hub. It introduces a Host Treemap dashlet, giving a color-coded, at-a-glance view of hosts and their services, making problem areas instantly obvious.

To help users get started faster, the home screen now features tabs like Getting Started, Admin, and Popular Wizards, guiding both new and experienced users to key functions. There’s also a “Getting Started” notification prompting new users with useful links and documentation.

3. New Monitoring Wizards

XI 2026 brings in a new Meraki Switch Wizard, making it straightforward to monitor Cisco Meraki switches without wrestling with complex SNMP configs.

This builds on the momentum from earlier releases, which introduced other powerful wizards (like Kubernetes, Zabbix Agent, and more).

4. Distributed Monitoring with Mod Gearman

One of the most significant backend improvements is the official integration of Mod Gearman. Rather than relying on community plugins, Nagios XI 2026 brings Mod Gearman into the core interface. This includes setup wizards, configuration templates, and native support in the Core Config Manager (CCM).

This lets organizations offload checks to remote “worker” nodes, massively improving scalability and performance for larger or geographically distributed environments.

5. Quality-of-Life & Security Enhancements

Beyond new features, XI 2026 also delivers practical improvements:

A re-run job button for SNMP Walk jobs speeds up re-scanning when needed.
There’s an experimental features toggle, so admins can safely test beta capabilities.
Logging and error handling across the application are more robust, helping with troubleshooting.
An opt-in usage-statistics feature helps Nagios learn how users actually use the platform — which can guide future improvements.
Critically, security fixes address several vulnerabilities, including command injection in various wizards.

6. Better Documentation & Support

Recognizing that powerful software needs strong guidance, Nagios has also updated its documentation. The Nagios Library now features refreshed guides, clearer structure, and more up-to-date content.

The experts at MCS are able to assist with procuring the right Nagios XI 2026 license for your organization. We also offer setup assistance to make sure your monitoring project gets implemented the right way, the first time.