NSA Warns: Update Windows Or Else

For the first time I’ve ever seen, the National Security Agency has made a public announcement about a private company’s product, warning that all Windows users that are still using older versions of Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, Windows Server 2003/2008, or Windows 7 should upgrade or face serious remote exploit risks. Their advisory can be …

Simple Home Security Tips

For the most part and except for the rare high net worth executive or celebrity, our firm does not actively engage in home security consulting for residential properties.   We typically just aren’t cost effective, and there are plenty of other very good sources of information out there that can provide good service for your needs.   …

The use of shielded category Ethernet cable for IP Video

It comes up from time to time from customers and vendors when and where to use shielded category twisted pair cable for Ethernet.   Most vendors hate it.  It’s hard to terminate, doesn’t flex well and nobody ever seems to agree on how it should be grounded.    For the most part, it wasn’t much of a …

Bitcoin Hacked! Hackers steal $70M dollars! And Other Sensational Journalism…

Bitcoin…  Another story.   The mainstream media, in their usual quest for drama and ratings, is in a fever pitch about the December 5 hack of Nicehash.com that resulted in the theft over over 4736 bitcoins (~$77M dollars as of this writing).  See here for what is claimed to be the blockchain identifier for the transfer:  …

Door Handedness

One of the questions that comes up all the time in access control design layouts is door handedness.  It’s not a hard concept to understand once you see it graphically, but it’s sometimes tough to remember in the field if you’re not accustomed to working with door hardware on a daily basis. While we would …