Peer-to-Peer Blog: Happy Birthday and the Here You Go Virus

By David Byrd

I celebrated my birthday this weekend by inviting a couple of dozen people over to celebrate. It was a lot of work to cook for that many people but done over a few days not bad. I made a number of dishes featured in this blog over the last few months. The smoker played a role in most of the dishes, as this was a pool party” (no one got in the pool). Using apple wood, I smoked sharp cheddar cheese, bacon and two pork rib roasts. The appetizers consisted of smoked cheddar cheese, roasted Mexican salsa (medium and hot) and a green chile salsa (medium). The first course was BBQ shrimp followed by bacon wrapped Chicken Asado with achiote paste, Texas style BBQ Pork Rib Roast and Spicy Asian Style BBQ Pork Roast. I accompanied the main courses with Alaskan King Crab Potato Salad and Coleslaw with White Truffle Oil. For dessert, I offered mixed fruit with Grand Marnier flavored whipped cream and five ice creams; Strawberry, Vanilla with shaved white chocolate, Double Chocolate, Butter Pecan, and Chocolate Covered Cherry. It was a wonderful afternoon to enjoy with co-workers and friend. But, alas, I do not have a new recipe for you today. Instead, I have highlighted the dishes previously spotlighted in this blog. Try them. They are good. Enjoy!

Here you go virus

I was not hit by the Here you go virus last week but I did read and listen to a number of commentators discussing its impact. It is important for the success of IP communications that PCs and networks are secure. Firewalls and anti-virus software need to be properly configured and up to date. Since I did not see the virus, I assume Broadvoxs network prevented it from entering our e-mail system or none of our employees was duped into opening it. Yes, I said duped. One commentator noted the success of the virus depended upon people trusting the content. People trusted the content from an unknown source and the type designation of .pdf. The weakest link in any security implementation is always the user. After last week, if I were an IT manager, I would send out a reminder to not open e-mails from unknown people and never open an attachment from an unknown source.

IP communications remains the most powerful communications in history. As such, it can be abused by people such as the author of the Here You Go virus. His virus may have been a protest message but clearly, it was a wake-up call for users to remain diligent. There can never be a casual approach to IP security. As Unified Communications, IM, VoIP and other IP applications are adopted, the threats to our networks and equipment increase with us as the last line of defense.

David Byrd is vice president of marketing and sales for

Broadvox

, and is responsible for marketing and channel sales programs to SMBs, enterprises and carriers as well as defining the product offering. Prior to joining Broadvox, David was the Vice President of Channels and Alliances for Eftia and Telcordia. As Director of eBusiness Development with i2 Technologies, he developed major partnerships with many of the leaders in Internet eCommerce and supply chain management. As CEO of Planet Hollywood Online he was a pioneer in using early internet technologies to build a branded entertainment and eCommerce website company partnered with Planet Hollywood. Having over twenty years of Telecom sales and marketing experience, he has held executive positions with Hewlett-Packard, Sprint and Ericsson.