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Let's Get IT TogetherDTS’s goal is to direct its efforts toward the satisfaction of the County Executive’s mission statement. DTS supports all County’s Departments in achieving their defined objectives. The purpose of this blog is to provide yet another communications channel to respond to business and technical ideas, challenges and direction. DTS leadership and staff are determined to promote innovation, improvements and seize any technology opportunities by aligning both DTS and Departmental IT resources and long term implementation initiatives that will support the missions of the County Executive. |
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Friday, May 27, 2011Summer Computing ConsiderationsWith school winding down, done for some college folks already, it is time to be more aware of schemes that could put you, your children or your financial well being at risk. With folks on the keyboard doing more surfing the internet and spending additional time looking at emails, advertisements and those pesky pop-ups, cyber thieves are on the prowl.
Make sure you continue to reinforce good internet surfing practices with your family. Remind everyone to be wary of emails with attachments and be cognizant that hidden links can be imbedded in messages to take advantage of "random mouse clicks". Even if you get an email from someone you know, if the message title seems strange or the message content doesn't fit the type of information you'd expect to get from them, DON'T open it. Check with your sender via another path (Facebook, Twitter, Text Message or the like) to see if they sent you something odd. The best way to prevent an attack is to just be on guard as you surf.
Change your passwords. One of the most common ways that your information can be compromised is by using a simple password that you haven't changed. A few months ago, I got an email from someone I knew asking why I was sending them some weird emails with links to some pretty racy sites. Turned out, my email account had been hacked and someone used my online address book to attack my friends and co-workers. I was pretty lucky, my friends checked with me and it had only been a couple of hours, so a simple password change and those annoying emails came to a halt. Use the recommended password strength that states using a password of at least eight (8) characters long, a combination of upper and lower case letters, one or more numbers or special characters. Never make a password a derivative of your name or a common phrase (e.g. Whoareyou?). Following these rules will prevent getting your identity exposed and you'll enjoy your summertime computing, rather than dealing with the financial woes of identity theft.
Have a Safe Great and Enjoyable Computing Summer!!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011Montgomery County Receives National Recognition for its Web Technology and Social Media ToolsThursday, May 05, 2011Reminder - Potential Risks with Unsolicited Email MessagesThe hype over some artificially created photos of the Bin Laden is potentially more problematic than just being fake. According to the “Internet Crime Complaint Center”, links in those e-mail messages that claim to show photos or videos, likely contain malware that could compromise users’ computers, embedding itself into contact lists and eventually infecting the systems of others. This is a continued example of social engineering that utilizes emotions and curiosity to create havoc on computer systems. Please do not open unsolicited e-mail messages, and to be cautious even of messages that seem to come from someone you know. The same center also warned users to increase the privacy settings on social media sites they use since these same links could find there way to “user friendly” applications. Wednesday, May 04, 2011Ask the County CIO: An On-Line Discussion with County EmployeesAre you worried about the security of your data? Do your kids know more about social media than you? Are you having a hard time choosing between an Android and an iPad? Is “the Cloud” over your head?
JoinCounty Chief Information Officer (CIO) E. Steven Emanuel in an informative and interactive discussion entitled “Ask the CountyCIO.” This on-line event will take place on Wednesday, May 11th, from 12PM – 1PM. County employees will be able to send questions directly to the CIO. Employees may submit questions anytime prior to, or during, the discussion. Answered questions will be available at the beginning of the live session and selected questions will be answered during the scheduled discussion time. To learn more about this on-line discussion, and to participate, please visit: http://portal.mcgov.org/apps/News/Discussion/IntraGenericDisc.asp?discID=4. Employees are encouraged to ask questions regarding workplace technologies as well as emerging consumer technology issues and trends. Steve will share his experience and insights to make this a useful experience for employees. Steve joined the County in 2007 after a nine-year career with Amtrak. Before coming to Amtrak, Steve worked for GPU Companies, serving as IT Site Support Manager at the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in Forked River, NJ and as Network Coordinator for Jersey Central Power & Light Headquarters in Morristown, NJ. He was also a Network Analyst for GPU Nuclear and Corporate Headquarters in Parsippany, NJ. Wednesday, May 04, 2011Montgomery County Information Technology Service Desk ranks among the tops in the nationMontgomery County’s Information Technology Service Desk ranks among the tops in the nation, according to the recently released Desktop Support Practices Report by the Help Desk Institute (HDI). Among the key findings: 1. 3% of County service tickets are assigned to a desk-side support technician. Most organizations assign between 11% and 20% of tickets to desk-side support. County helpdesk analysts are equipped with remote diagnostics tools that allow them to resolve most incidents without the need for a desk-side visit. 2. County service tickets are resolved in an average of 32 minutes. In other organizations, average resolution time falls between 1 hour and 4 hours. In many organizations, average resolution time is 1-2 days. 3. 97% of County service tickets are resolved on the first attempt. Nationwide, most organizations first call resolution falls between 71% and 90%. The County’s Department of Technology Services (DTS) manages the IT Help Desk under the Desktop Computer Modernization (DCM) program. County employees may contact the County’s IT Service Desk at 240-777-2828. |
 Chief Information Officer: Sonny Segal
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