The world of Information Technology, commonly referred to as “IT”, encompasses vast areas of modern business needs. From physical devices such as PCs, servers, networking switches, wireless access points, mobile devices, phone systems, to not-quite-tangible technologies like web services, email … Read More
SandStorm IT Response to the COVID-19 / Coronavirus Pandemic
To All Customers and Friends, In response to the COVID-19 / Coronavirus pandemic and the nationally and state-declared state of emergency, SandStorm IT wants to share the plans and precautions we are taking. We remain committed to continuing to provide the necessary services and support … Read More
What are Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems?
You may not be aware of Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) and Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) as they relate to Information Technology (IT), but the concept is simple enough – an IPS is like the lock on your front door, it keeps people from being able to simply walk in and go through all of your … Read More
Solid State Drives, are they worth the expense?
Some people may not be familiar with the term Solid State Drives (SSD). Wikipedia defines a solid state drive as being a storage device that uses integrated circuit assemblies as memory to store data persistently. A solid state drive differs from traditional hard disk drives in that they do not … Read More
Serverless (cloud) computing – What can it do for my business?
What is it? Serverless computing is a form of cloud computing that allows businesses to handle their computing needs on-demand. Serverless computing is a form of cloud computing in which applications are scaled dynamically to handle an application's computing needs. This means that the application … Read More
Security Alert – Microsoft warns of vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer and Windows Defender
Microsoft is urging users of Windows 10 to update immediately. The flaw lies in Internet Explorer and allows an attacker to potentially install software, modify/view/delete data or even create new accounts. The vulnerability was found by a security engineer with Google's Threat Analysis Group. The … Read More
Windows Server 2008 R2 End-of-Life Support is Near
Windows Server 2008 R2 End-of-Life Support is near. Windows Server 2008 R2 end-of-life mainstream supported ended back on January 13, 2015. However, there is a more critical date looming. On January 14, 2020, Microsoft will end all support for Windows Server 2008 R2. It seems like 2020 is a … Read More
Why does my business need a next-gen firewall?
We've previously covered "What is a Firewall and Why do I Need One?". In this blog post, we will take a deeper look to see how a Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) can help protect your business. NGFW’s contain all the tried and true features of the firewalls before them but they also contain … Read More
When does your business need a server?
When does your business need a server? It may not, at least not in the traditional sense. In this blog post, we will first talk about on-premises servers and how servers can help you and your business. Later in the post, we will discuss why a cloud solution is sometimes a better … Read More
What are the security concerns of IoT?
Welcome to SandStorm IT's 6-part series about the Internet of Things. In this series, we'll shed some light on the basics of IoT. Part 1 - What is the Internet of Things (IoT)? Part 2 - Why do I care about IoT? Part 3 - What are some real-world applications of IoT? Part 4 - What are the security … Read More