CIO Solutions
November/December 2010 - Issue 15
Find It Fast
Check with the Tech: Public WiFi
CIO In the News: CIO Partners with Cotttage Health System
Tis' The Season of Competition
App of the Month - Citrix Receiver
CyberCrime - Malware
Employee Spotlight: John Petote
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CIO Holiday Schedule

 

Closed: Friday, December 24th

Closed: Friday, December 31st

 

To receive emergency support during these times please call 805-692-6709, ext. 3

Happy Holidays!

Greetings!,
 

As we reflect on 2010 there were many highlights and we are grateful for a prosperous and productive year. We continue to be extremely thankful for the patronage of our customers, the opportunity to serve our amazing community and the ever-entertaining and dedicated CIO team.  

 

The holidays are a time to focus on family, friends and community. CIO continues to operate according these guiding principles and we find that our success is directly tied to our relationships.

 

We wish you and yours a joyful holiday season filled with good food, good friends and great times!

Cheers,
John Petote
CEO, CIO Solutions

Check with the Tech
Check with the Tech
Check with the TechSend your questions to [email protected]
Thanks and Enjoy!

 

Q:
What are the potential risks of public WiFi?

A: It has been said that nothing in life is free - in regards to public WiFi, this is almost always true. If you are sitting in an airport or other generally public place wanting to get to the internet from your laptop, there is almost always a "Free Public WiFi" signal available and usually with a strong signal. 
 
Tempting as it may be, these system are set up to steal your identity.  Few people are altruistic enough to set up a WiFi connection to offer you free public internet access.  Normally, the "Free Public WiFi," when it does provide you with a link to the internet, sets up a system to copy your personal information as you are going to websites like amazon.com and to your email. They can then use this stolen information or sell it on the black market.
 
It is important to note that legitimate establishments throughout Santa Barbara might offer free internet access. Coffee shops all over town will offer free WiFi to their customers assuming that you purchase a beverage. These connections are relatively safe and should be used in the place of the illegitimate access points. 
 
This simple tech tip can save you from getting your identity stolen this holiday season.
 
Santa Mike 
Santa Shinn
CIO In the News
 

CIO SOLUTIONS PARTNERS WITH COTTAGE HEALTH SYSTEM TO PROVIDE A FIRST CALL RESOLUTION HELP DESK AND NETWORK OPERATIONS CENTER

 

Cottage Health System and CIO Solutions are working together to improve Patient Care and End-User experience.

 

December 16, 2010 - Santa Barbara - CIO Solutions is now supporting Cottage Health System's Clinical and Administrative teams through the implementation of a First Call Resolution Help Desk and Network Operations Center (NOC). These services provide Cottage Health System with additional support resources that will help prepare them for the increasing demands that the health care industry faces in the Information Technology (IT) arena. CIO Solutions has been able to assist Cottage Health System in reducing their IT costs without reducing staff.

 

The First Call Resolution Help Desk has decreased IT downtime by providing immediate response and resolution as well as proactive measures that identify problems before they cause outages. Eric Egolf, VP of Operations for CIO Solutions states, "When issues are resolved on the first call, this means that Cottage Health System employees are able to resume work faster resulting in less time dealing with IT issues and more time to focus on patient care."

 
  

Although the Network Operations Center (NOC) has not been very visible to Cottage employees, the effect has been very pronounced. It has enabled quicker response times and better visibility into the health of Cottage's data network and server infrastructure resulting in a decreased volume of support calls.

 

Since the inception of the First Call Resolution Help Desk and NOC, end-user satisfaction has increased dramatically. The end-user satisfaction levels have been one of the major drivers of this initiative. As of December 2010, the cumulative scores of customer service exceeded the industry standard for help desks in the area of Information Technology. Alberto Kywi, Vice President of Information Services and CIO of Cottage Health System states, "Our employees are exceedingly happy with the new IT Help Desk. It is a collaborative effort in which both CIO Solutions and Cottage's Information Technology Department have shown great dedication and persistence."



CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL PRESS RELEASE

Tis' The Season...of Competition 

The holiday season is bringing out the best of the CIO team. We are holding two competitions this year:

 

Beer

CIO Beer Brewing Competition!

Teams will compete by submitting various homemade brews ranging from crisp lagers to robust porters.

 

If you are interested in participating in the judging please contact Richard Clark

 

Winners to be announced next month

 

 

 

CIO Holiday Bake-Off!

Individuals will put their best dessert forward for CIO's first Holiday Bake-Off.

 

Winners will be determined by popular vote.

 

Winners to be announced next month

 

App of the Month - Citrix Receiver

Citrix Receiver

Citrix Receiver Application for iPad/iPhone and Android OS

 

 

The Citrix application allows users who have a Citrix work environment to connect as if they would from a computer. This is available for both mobile phones and tablet PCs. The Citrix Receiver application allows access to both published applications and published desktops that the company hosts. The Citrix desktop is more applicable for users of tablet PCs that are able to have a desktop-like experience on a thin, portable device. This application is free and the only caveat is the existing Citrix environment that you will be accessing. If the environment is not running a current version of Citrix then the application will not work as intended.

 

Have an idea for the next App of the Month? Send it to Hannah

CyberCrime - Mike Shinn, Remote Engineer
 Mike Shinn
In mid-October, I had the pleasure of attending the Science and Engineering Council of Santa Barbara's presentation on Internet Security. This was presented by Christopher Kruegel who is on the front-lines of fighting cyber crime and is currently an associate professor at UCSB. His research includes most aspects of computer security, with an emphasis on malware analysis, web security, network security, and vulnerability analysis.

Historically, cyber crime used to come in the form of kids creating viruses in hopes that they would become circulated. This has evolved in recent times to aim at profit and even cyber warfare. Th profit made off malware and viruses is estimated to be as high as $67 Billion annually.

Chris defined malware as software that has a deliberate and harmful intent by the creator. The most popular malware consists of antivirus-like applications that serve only to siphon money from its victims held hostage by a barrage of pop-ups. By reverse engineering the most popular and common malware programs, Chris was able to determine some common factors regarding the computers that were affected. He stated that typically these computers had users with weak passwords and upatched computers and browsers.

Chris recommended safe computing first - keep your computer patched, use strong passwords and do not click on tempting advertisements or unknown links.
Employee Spotlight  - John Petote, CEO

John Petote, CEO
CIO Solutions would not be in existance without John Petote. While he is now CEO, John started CIO from the ground up and at one point filled almost every position in the company. From sales to accounting, John knows what it takes to create and sustain a successful company. He has had many accomplishments in his life and owes much of his success to his dedication and work ethic.

 

Full name:  John Petote

Where didyou grow up? Pittsburgh, PA

When did you move to Santa Barbara: 1983

What you like best about Santa Barbara:  The weather and CA's culture of encouraging creativity and entrepreneurship.

When did you start working at CIO:  I founded the company on Feb. 1, 1986.

What you like best about working at CIO:  Working with a great team and watching 'my baby' mature and evolve.

Dreams/aspirations: To teach motivated younger generations how to recognize, and capitalize upon, their natural born talents.

Favorite color:  All - a Rainbow.

Favorite food: Italian - or the chef's specialty

Favorite book/movie: 'Illusions' by Richard Bach / 'Cinema Paradiso'

Motto/quote: "Do just once what others say you can't do, and you will never pay attention to their limitations again". ~ James R. Cook

Anything else that is interesting about yourself: Just the incredible wisdom that I have been fortunate enough to learn from interesting people.

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