When it comes to email security and keeping one’s data safe, many people are startlingly ill-informed as to how easily personal details and vital information can be hacked by external sources.
You wouldn’t leave your house unlocked and unalarmed, the cash office at work open to everyone or the keys hanging in your car door. But when it comes to email security and keeping one’s data safe, many people are startlingly ill-informed as to how easily personal details and vital information can be hacked by external sources.
Your email account is at its most vulnerable following a server migration; this is when data is moved from one server to another, often because the new server is an upgrade on the current one, is more secure, or offers more memory. The migration is usually done by a team of specialists, but occasionally someone may be tempted to do the job themselves in an effort to save time and money.
However, this option is extremely risky, and can result not only in falling victim to hacking, data loss and other technical problems, but also a hefty bill from the technicians called in to clean up. The bottom line is, without the help of a specialist during server migration, you may as well leave your bank details lying around and your phone on the table in the pub.
This issue is an extremely pertinent one following Microsoft’s unveiling of the new Exchange Server 2010. The latest server includes a Personal Archive feature in the email server, an administration delegation option and a new transportation concept known as Shadow Redundancy to protect emails while they’re being sent.
As a result of these new and improved features, many businesses and individuals are keen to upgrade to the new Exchange 2010 Server, in order to profit from the enhanced performance. However, Exchange migration is no different from any other type of server migration, and as a result it’s vital that you seek the appropriate technical help before proceeding.
Server migration does cause a few technical problems during the data relocation, and upgrading to the latest Exchange Server is no different. Data and previously archived emails may be lost in the move, which may mean that important information is lost forever. It can also cause problems with UK email law as companies running mail servers are required to retain full records of emails that passed through their system. It’s also likely that your email will go down or suffer outages whilst it is being moved to the new server. For those using services such as Exchange, whose main feature is email, or even for businesses that rely on quick and immediate communication, this can be disastrous. A professional server technician will be able to deal with these problems and keep your business and computers running as smoothly as possible.
Another problem that can occur if server migration is not performed correctly is a breach of your security system’s defences. As a result, hackers may find it easier to infiltrate your data and steal personal details, or even delete information altogether. Hackers mainly access data through email, which is entirely against international law. However, since your email will often go down for a time during the migration, hackers may be able to stealthily gain access to your systems. Once again, using a specialist will minimise or even eliminate email downtime altogether.
While you may think that migrating your server yourself will save you time and money, the opposite is often the case. The process is deceptively complex, and even the most computer-savvy individual can come unstuck, or forget a vital part of the process and compromise their computer security. It’s better to be safe than sorry, so call in a specialist; you wouldn’t take chances with your home or car, so why do so with your computer data?
