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SiteVision March 2016 News & Tips

5 March 2016
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Categories: Geographic Information Systems, Hosting Solutions, News, Public Agency Solutions, Security

2016 Security:  Expect To Be Hacked, Phished, and Scammed

Hacker WAVSWith hacking, phishing and scamming at all-time highs, a good defense is your best offense for the year ahead.
According to ZDNET and other sources, more than one billion personal records were accessed in 2014 alone. 2015 was another banner year for hackers that included the FBI, T-Mobile (15 million customers), ScottTrade (4.6 million customers) Excellus BlueCross BlueShield (10 million), the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) (22 million government workers), and the IRS (last count 724,000 accesses to taxpayer account data) to name but a few.   Read More . . .

Tax ScamsPrepare Yourself:  Tax Scams and Hacks.

Hackers are actively plotting to steal your most personal and valuable information, and get your tax refund to boot.  Quartz has a story to make you weep – a preview of what’s to come for the unlucky. What to do?  Read More . . .

Hosting Spotlight Lawrence Companies WebsiteLawrence Companies
Dedicated Hosting Services

A longtime client of SiteVision, Lawrence recently moved from a shared server to a dedicated server arrangement.  With several sites and applications, a dedicated server became more cost-effective and provided increased security, performance and management features, as well as greater scalability and flexibility unavailable in a shared server environment. Hosting worked closely with Lawrence IT Manager, Mark Carter, to help ensure a smooth transition and to provide an optimal server setup configured to their specific requirements.

“SiteVision has proven a valuable business partner of Lawrence Companies. From our customer-facing websites to our private employee portal, we continue to trust their experience and expertise to keep our internet presence updated and secure. We have worked with many providers over the years, but consider ourselves lucky to have state-of-the-art hosting services with top notch support just down the street!”

Lawrence Companies is an employee-owned company based out of Roanoke, VA, in business since 1932. With six locations in Virginia and North Carolina, Lawrence is a multifaceted company with focuses on full truckload and flatbed transportation, corporate office moving, and is a dealer for CASE Equipment. As one of the founding United Van Lines Agents in the country, Lawrence continues to focus on moving household goods and offers a variety of Relocation Services.

SiteVision provides custom configured dedicated servers for a broad range of customers.  We are a SOC 1 SSAE 16 Type II compliant firm, are VITA (Virginia Information Technology Agency) approved, and are an approved HIPPA resource. We also routinely provide specialized services such as GIS, Cloud, SAAS, ISA, Data-Driven, fail-safe or CDN hosting.

To learn more about dedicated servers go here.

SiteVision Hosting Services
for Virginia Commonwealth
Agencies and Localities Renewed

Includes ArcGIS for Server, Website Application Vulnerability Scanning, and Other Specialized Hosting Services

VITAlogotypeRoanoke VA February 29, 2016— SiteVision’s Hosting Services and Software as a Service contract has been renewed by the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) for an additional year.  The contact is part of Virginia’s electronic government services program (eGov) and includes all state agencies and local government entities. The firm is also a certified SWaM Micro-business by the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity.  Read More . . .

GIS Hosting Solutions

SiteVision GISNavigating rapidly evolving GIS technology can often be a bit unnerving.  With almost two decades of  GIS application development experience, SiteVision has developed uniquely qualified shared, dedicated and custom hosting solutions for the GIS community.   We offer application-specific hosting such as ESRIArcGIS map applications and database driven applications, as well as basic website hosting on shared or dedicated servers. We’re happy to answer any questions you might have, or offer a solution to meet your exact requirement.  Just contact us!

In The News

MS Office 365:  Lots of updates.

Document pinning, ink jotting and camera integration for Windows tablets and iOS box integration are among a host of new features for Office 365.  Currently available only for Office “insiders,” the new features will presumably go out to standard users soon.  ZDNET

Hybrid Tablets Go Mainstream:

Enterprise use of hybrid tablets is growing fast, according to CIO and IDC.  While PCs and traditional slate tablet sales have shrunk, hybrids with detachable slates appear to be gaining traction with some 8.1 million sold in Q4 2015.

Mobile World Congress:  2,000 Exhibitors – 100,000 Attendees

From self-driving cars to submersible phones, and social robots, MWC proves an exciting showcase for new products and technologies.  Bloomberg    PCMag

Deep Security Flaw
Affects The Entire Internet

According to security researcher Dan Kaminsky, the glibc DNS bug is the latest of several serious flaws found in the backbone of the internet. He’s advising anybody running Linux servers to “patch this bug with extreme prejudice.”  Endgadget.  Dan Kaminsky

Yahoo Approaching Bidders?

In exploring its strategic options, Yahoo may have reached out, or soon will, to corporate and private equity firms seeking bids for its core business.  Verizon, Comcast, AT&T and other private equity firms are among those may be interested.  Bloomberg

SiteVision Hosting Services for Virginia Commonwealth Agencies and Localities Renewed

2 March 2016
1 Comment
Categories: Hosting Solutions, News

Includes ArcGIS for Server, Website Application Vulnerability Scanning, SAAS, and Other Specialized Hosting Services

VITAlogotypeRoanoke VA March 1, 2016— SiteVision’s Hosting Services and Software as a Service contract has been renewed by the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) for an additional year.  The contact is part of Virginia’s electronic government services program (eGov) and includes all state agencies and local government entities. The firm is a certified SWaM Micro-business by the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity.

WAVS

SiteVision is authorized to provide Web Application Vulnerability Scanning (WAVS) and offers a cost-effective solution to discover, analyze and provide reporting on website application vulnerability – a vital technology in response to severe and widespread intrusion threats. Remediation solutions are also available.

GIS Hosting

The firm has long participated in GIS application development and hosting. This contract should be of particular interest to Virginia’s mapping and GIS community. With a minimal cost of entry, organizations may take full advantage of distributed GIS and Internet map server technology.

Conventional And Customized Solutions Including Software As A Service

In addition to conventional hosting technologies; the firm offers SAAS, content delivery networking (CDN); media delivery and streaming services; failover, redundancy and disaster recovery services; cloud storage solutions; and a variety of custom hosting options.

“We are very pleased to continue as a provider of advanced hosting and related technologies,” said Patrick Maddox, CEO of SiteVision, Inc. “Our hosting and technical teams are always ready to help state and local bodies achieve a smooth transition of existing services, or to help with any new services that might be required.”

VITA Objectives

The stated objectives of the VITA contracts are to modernize the Commonwealth’s procurements and provide enhanced value to the state, greater transparency, broader participation by multiple suppliers, and cost-effective access to best-of-class technology services

The original contract awards followed in-depth, multi-agency evaluations of responses to VITA’s requests for proposals (RFPs) for eGov services. Awards were based on demonstrated, measurable benefit to the Commonwealth and contract users. VITA is the Commonwealth’s central information technology (IT) agency. VITA’s statewide contracts can be accessed and utilized by all public entities, including Virginia counties, cities, towns, agencies, educational institutions and public safety providers. The current renewal is effective through April 2017.

The Hosting Contract is: VA-120416-STVN – Hosting and details may be found at: http://www.vita2.virginia.gov/procurement/contractDetail.cfm?contract_id=1000732

As a provider, SiteVision has offered application design, development, and hosting solutions to federal, state, local, non-profit, and private sector clients for nearly 15 years. A dedicated hosting staff focuses purely on hosting services and solutions. The firm services hundreds of customers and thousands of domain names and e-mail accounts across all of their hosting services.  All key systems (ping, power, and pipe) are redundant, and all servers and required services are actively and consistently monitored for availability.

About SiteVision:  SiteVision, Inc. is an Internet application development, consulting, design and hosting firm providing solutions for a broad spectrum of markets and industries, as well as for state, federal and international entities. Expertise includes custom, dynamic back-end applications, consulting to achieve unique goals, geographic information systems (GIS), content management systems, hosting services including, map and GIS application hosting, as well as custom and dedicated hosting solutions.

SiteVision, Inc. participates in, or is available through, the following state and federal contracting vehicles, and is a SOC 1 SSAE 16 Type II compliant firm:

The firm’s home office is in Roanoke, VA, with sales offices in Charlottesville, VA and Miami, FL.

SiteVision Custom Dedicated Server Solutions

29 February 2016
1 Comment
Categories: Hosting Solutions, News, Security

A Reliable Source For Dedicated Servers

SiteVision, INC - Hosting Services
SiteVision, INC – Hosting Services

Considering a switch or upgrade to one or more dedicated servers? We can help. We’ll work with you personally to make sure you not only get an optimal configuration but that your setup is comprehensive and professional — backed by almost two decades of deploying and configuring platforms from the simple to the complex. And should you want managed servers for greater peace of mind, we’re at your ready. You can call or contact us anytime.

Custom applications? Ecommerce?  Legacy applications? You’ll find us a reliable partner.  Plus, as an approved VITA partner, we’re accustomed to creating solutions for your very specific requirements. We routinely deal with HIPPA and numerous other government agencies as an approved source.  We can also accommodate your need for specialize options such as GIS, Cloud, SAAS, ISA, Data-Driven, fail-safe or CDN hosting. SiteVision is also a SOC 1 SSAE 16 Type II compliant firm. 

6357974-three-black-serversDedicated Servers In A Nutshell:

If you are just beginning to consider a dedicated server environment, here are a few important benefits.  

Improved Security & Reliability.
You’re in control.  Compared to less stringent platforms, you eliminate the shared environments that work quite well for simple, inexpensive websites, but do increase security risk levels. There’s no concern with the sharing of server resources, disk space or the associated greater potential for downtime. Your server can be as secure as you need it to be. In brief, you don’t share bandwidth and you will always have access to the resources you require.

Scalability and Flexibility

Because we can build a dedicated server to your specific specifications, you server is custom configured for your unique web environment with specific features tailored to your unique needs. And, unlike other options, you can scale up or down, depending on your future web application, traffic or upgrade requirements.

Always Included With SiteVision Dedicated Servers

Popular Options: 

As we’ve noted, custom configurations are our specialty, but here are a few popular options.

 

 

 

 

May 2015 News & Tips

29 April 2015
No comments
Categories: News, Security, Software As A Service Solutions

WordPress Users Should Update Plugins Now!

WordPress LogoEven the latest WordPress 4.2 is vulnerable, so users are warned. In particular the most recent bulletin notes that the XSS flaw is executed through comments and permits the attackers to execute arbitrary code, or, in effect, become the administrator.

A quick fix is to eliminate comments until a patch is released, and to avoid logging in as an administrator.

Multiple WordPress plugins may be vulnerable to the persistent cross-site scripting (XSS) flaw. A list of the known plugins is available here, but WordPress users have been urged to update all plugins now.

Cross-site Scripting allows an attacker to embed malicious content into a vulnerable page to gather data. The use of XSS can expose and compromise private information, manipulate or steal cookies, create requests that can be mistaken for those of a valid user, or execute malicious code on the end-user systems.

You can also read more at Net-security.org.

**Note that because WordPress has particular security issues, SiteVision offers an update service on an as requested basis ($60) or as a monthly maintenance feature ($60 monthly, 1st month free). Just contact us.

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SiteVision’s Daria Norris to Speak at National Development Conference

Daria, SiteVision’s Lead Technical Architect, has been invited to speak at this year’s dev.Objective() conference, May 12-15 in Bloomington, MN. The web-centric conference covers a wide variety of topics relating to software development and skills with content geared toward mid-to-advanced-level developers.

Daria NorrisNorris will deliver two sessions. The first, Feed Your Beans: From Anemic to Domain Driven Modeling, will cover four model patterns, their pros and cons, common anti-patterns, business logic in beans, and domain driven modeling. The second session, FW/1 3.0: Simplify Your Workload, will focus on Framework One (FW\1) and Inject One (DI\1) and how to simplify development workload while providing best practices.

The conference session list typically includes topics by speakers from companies such as Google, Adobe, Mozilla, Netflix, and IBM.

Kudos to Daria!

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VITAlogotypeVITA Renews Annual Service Contract With SiteVision & Adds Services

SiteVision will continue to serve as a provider for Hosting and Software as a Service (SaaS) for Virginia State Agencies, including all local government entities.

Vulnerability Scanning Added this year is a provision for Web Application Vulnerability Scanning. Application Vulnerability Scanning is a technique to identify and assess security risks before a possible or likely exploitation.

The process has become increasingly important as major intrusions escalate across all web stratifications.Virginia Agency and local government entities can contact SiteVision for consultation and pricing.

The Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) administers the contract awards and renewals as part of Virginia’s electronic government services program (eGov).

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Google in the News

Google Introduces “FI”

fi_logo_2xGoogle calls it a new way to say “hello.” Reviewers call it anything from a takedown of the big wireless providers, to a fairly underwhelming offering. But what seems to be consistent is “fi’s” potential to be a game changer.

So what is it? Google has confirmed plans to launch its own wireless service, Project Fi, which automatically switches between Wi-Fi and Wireless to give you the best possible coverage. Partnering with Google are T-Mobile and Sprint.

Fi comes with one plan at one price, Google says. For $20 a month, subscribers get the talk, text, visual voicemail, Wi-Fi tethering and international coverage. It’s $10 per gigabyte of data after that for cellular data while in the U.S. and abroad. In a nice twist, the plan refunds any data you don’t use.

In some studies, close to 30% of carrier paid-for data goes unused, suggesting consumers are considerably over-paying for unneeded data coverage.

Described as a “project,” Fi is by invitation only for the initial offering, and works only on Nexus devices.

You can read more at Google, USA Today, TechRepublic and Mashable.

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SEO Alert: MobileGeddon Is Here

Google AlgorithmGoogle has updated its algorithm to evaluate websites it classifies as “mobile-friendly” better on mobile search engines.

You can run a mobile-friendly test here

You can read more here:

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Quick Takes

AppleWatchMy weekend with Apple Watch — and the verdict is . . .

Breach Outbreaks Fuel Encryption Adoption

New Windows 10 preview beefs up Mail app and more

Opening Windows Source Code Could Improve Security

Microsoft kicks off two-month Spartan bug bounty program

SiteVision Awarded Hosting Services Contract for Virginia Commonwealth Agencies and Localities

19 September 2012
No comments
Categories: Development Solutions, Geographic Information Systems, Hosting Solutions, Information, News, Technology

[image source_type=”attachment_id” source_value=”2167″ align=”left” size=”Small 150 width”] Includes ArcGIS for Server and Other Specialized Hosting Services

Roanoke, VA September 19, 2012: SiteVision has been selected as a hosting service and Software as a Service (SaaS) provider for Virginia’s state agencies, including all local government entities. The new contract is part of Virginia’s electronic government services program (eGov). The Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) announced the contract awards with the stated objective of modernizing the Commonwealth’s procurements and providing enhanced value to the state, greater transparency, broader participation by multiple suppliers, and cost-effective access to best of class technology services.

Contract awards followed in-depth, multi-agency evaluations of responses to VITA’s requests for proposals (RFPs) for eGov services.  Awards were based upon demonstrated, measurable benefit to the Commonwealth and contract users. VITA is the Commonwealth’s central information technology (IT) agency.  VITA’s statewide contracts can be accessed and utilized by all public entities, including Virginia counties, cities, towns, agencies, educational institutions and public safety providers.

The Hosting Contract is: VA-120416-STVN – Hosting and details may be found at: http://www.vita2.virginia.gov/procurement/contractDetail.cfm?contract_id=1000732

“We are delighted to be selected as a provider for advanced hosting and related technologies,” stated Patrick Maddox, President and CEO of SiteVision, Inc.  “We will dedicate ourselves to ensuring that the transition for state agencies and public bodies will be as smooth and seamless as possible,” Maddox said.  “We take pride in our service offerings, and will do what is necessary to ensure that the first impression in the transition process is a good one.”

As a provider, SiteVision has offered application design, development, and hosting solutions to federal, state, local, non-profit, and private sector clients for nearly fifteen (15) years.  A dedicated hosting staff focuses purely on hosting services and solutions.  The firm services several hundreds of customers and thousands of domain names and e-mail accounts across all of their hosting services.  All major systems (ping, power, and pipe) are redundant, and all servers and required services are actively and consistently monitored for availability. In addition to conventional hosting technologies; the firm offers content delivery networking (CDN); media delivery and streaming services; failover, redundancy and disaster recovery services; Cloud storage solutions; and a variety of custom hosting options.

In addition, the firm has long participated in GIS application development and hosting. “Currently, many of our clients are realizing significant benefits in moving their systems to a distributed environment,” states Daniel Shaffer, Director of SiteVision’s Geospatial Systems Division.  “This contract should be of particular interest to Virginia’s mapping and GIS community.  With a minimal cost of entry, this contract allows organizations to take full advantage of distributed GIS and Internet map server technology.”

SiteVision, Inc. (www.sitevision.com) is an Internet application development, consulting, design and hosting firm providing solutions for a broad spectrum of markets and industries, as well as for local, state, federal and international entities. Expertise includes custom, back-end dynamic applications, consulting to achieve unique goals, geographic information systems (GIS), content management systems, hosting services including map server and GIS application hosting, as well as custom and dedicated hosting solutions. The firm has its home office in Roanoke, VA, with sales offices in Charlottesville, VA and Miami, FL.

 

Why SiteVision?

We’re your advocate. SiteVision has been providing web development and hosting services to government agencies and non-profit organizations for over 20 years. We understand how overwhelming it can be to seek out a reliable solution for you website, custom application, and hosting needs.

At SiteVision we are passionate about creating solutions for customers that make their life better. We excel at understanding your business process and developing an application that is easy to learn and operate. We will always be fair, knowledgeable, honest, and professional.

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