CoronaIS Blog

“Who are those guys?" Reflections: 1969 and 2009, good guys and bad guys

2009-09-04T09:27:00.001-07:00

The summer of 2009 brought us the 40th anniversary of some memorable moments: a little concert at a farm in Woodstock, NY, a little summer trip to a place called the moon, and the release of a little movie called Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Great stars, and a great movie, and we remember it for a great line in the script. As Paul Newman and Robert Redford marvel at the men who are able to track them down (even over bare rock), they wonder, "Who are those guys?" The trackers also can’t be influenced by bribes or discouraged by bad weather. Indeed, “Who are those guys?” The two of us ask that very same question when we intercept countless spam messages before they hit our customers’ in boxes: “Who are these guys?” Except when we ask it, we aren’t marveling at the intelligence and integrity of these spammers. Instead, we wonder how anybody can be so slimy and so stupid.

First off, slimy. What a bunch of garbage comes through the network, and what a waste of time and money for everyone involved. But we also wonder, how smart can these spammers be?

Does anyone really pay attention to messages from: - the Nigerian prince and his offer to share his wealth?- the financier who offers free money? (just ask for it! your credit history crumby? no problem!)- some pseudo pharmacy offering pills to enhance body parts you didn’t even know you had?

And besides the idiotic purveyors of spam, we also wonder: who are the people who follow through on the offers from these criminals? I guess it must be somebody, otherwise the spam would not continue. Sure, some spam can be cleverly crafted and can fool unsuspecting recipients, but everyone needs to remember: if you don’t know the sender of a message, and you're not sure if you should reply or click on a link, then . . . don't.
Don’t click, don’t reply – just delete. And if you have any doubt, or think that your system may have been compromised, contact us. Because when it comes to safeguarding your system, WE are those guys.

This Thanksgiving, A Career Blessing

2008-11-24T08:54:00.000-08:00

As you make final preparations for what we hope is a special Thanksgiving gathering this year, we want to take just a moment to “Thank You” for your trust, your business and your friendship.

It's the trust of more than 100 organizations like yours that supports our efforts. Without that loyalty, the two of us might be forced to take other career paths; one of us perhaps as a Pilgrim who works the land, (and a slew of turkeys) and saves souls. Maybe the other one would need to be a different kind of “Cleveland Indian” -- one who swings a hatchet instead of a baseball bat, probably in an effort to terrorize that same Pilgrim. We can't guess your opinion, but we don't think either of us is really suited to that line of work. As you probably know, Chris doesn't get all that preachy and as for Bob, well, he has quite a hitch in his swing. Because of your commitment to us, though, we get to commit to you. And as a result, we get to live our dream:

To engineer and maintain the best technology available to help your organization prosper.
Now more than ever, thanks for letting us help you “Light up your network.”

Happy Thanksgiving!

Chris and Bob

Afraid of the Dark?

2008-10-31T08:13:00.000-07:00

Let’s face it – we can all get a little anxious at times.

Even those of us who like to consider ourselves “different” from everyone else, ready for change, seekers of adventure - we tend to prefer what’s comfortable.

We fear the unknown and we worry about the future. And especially these days, many of those fears are well-founded.

But some are not. Take the fear of upgrading your company’s technology.

Even solid companies – ones with a growing customer base and good fundamentals - are concerned they can’t make much-needed investments in technology. Sure, they know the secret of prospering in today’s economy for virtually any business: regular, smart investment in information technology.

They know this investment provides:

* greater efficiency
* superior operational and market intelligence
* better protection from business disruption

They know they need to invest, but they turn over and over in their mind that big unknown:
What if I can’t get the capital I need ?

It is the belief of Corona IS that the ‘credit crunch’ is overblown for the majority of small and medium businesses that are out there with solid technology upgrade plans.

And backing up this belief is the view (and most importantly, the dollars) of one of our biggest partners:

Microsoft.

Yeah, that Microsoft. We can’t go into all the details here, but here’s the info you need right now:

If you have a business technology upgrade program – software, hardware and services –
Microsoft may be ready to make an investment in you.

Like you, Microsoft knows that companies that make regular, wise upgrades to computer hardware, software, and services consistently outperform their competitors. That improvement fuels the engine of growth for your company . . . and the economy as a whole.

Now, we can’t claim that every company will qualify for the free financing program will be approved. Frankly, it’s that “Everyone qualifies for everything!” mind set that got our country in the jam we find ourselves today.

But we have our finger on the pulse of the Microsoft program and we know our clients pretty well. And it’s not our style to put you in a position to fail.

So let’s not be afraid of the dark. And don’t be afraid to give us a call or send us an email for more information. And don’t be afraid if we call you with our recommendations with some ideas to help your business grow.

And one more thing - Happy Halloween!

Thanks for letting us “Light Up Your Network.” TM

Bob and Chris