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Source: ConfigServer.com http://www.ConfigServer.com 

Why you should use :fail:

There are sound technical reasons that you should only use :fail: and not :blackhole: on a cPanel server running exim. We have conducted quite extensive testing to establish this configuration is best and outline the reasons here.

In general the two different settings both discard email not destined for a POP3 account, an alias or a catchall alias. However, ever since cPanel included the verify = recipient code in the standard cPanel ACL section for exim, the way email is discarded differs with the two methods quite starkly:

• Using :blackhole: email is accepted and received into the server in its entirety. It is then processed through exim and only on delivery is it written to the null device (/dev/null) and silently ignored.
  • This wastes server bandwidth as the email data, or body, of the email is accepted into the server
  • This wastes server resources (CPU, memory and disk I/O) as the email is fully processed by exim before being finally written to /dev/null
  • Because the blackholed email is still processed through the whole of exim before it is finally deleted, if any of the usual checks and routing that any email goes through fails, such email can be placed in the exim mail queue for later reprocessing. This can lead to tens of thousands of blackholed emails accumulating in the exim mail queue which in turn can cause a range of serious server performance and resource problems and will affect the normal and timely delivery of email
  • This actually breaks the SMTP RFC’s because you’re not notifying the sending SMTP server that the email is undelivered, which is a requirement
  • Causes emails that will never be delivered onto the exim mail queue because checks such as sender verification are still carried out when processing such emails and if they cannot complete they will stay on the exim mail queue and repeatedly reprocess the email until it is finally discarded (usually 4+ days). This can cause very large mail queues full of spam which is repeatedly processed causing severe performance degradation
• Using :fail: the email is never accepted into the server. During the initial SMTP negotiation when the senders SMTP server connects to your SMTP server, the sending SMTP server issues a RCPT command notifying your server which email address the email to follow is intended for. Your server then checks whether the recipient email actually exists on your server (a POP3 account, an alias or a catchall alias) and if it does not, it issues an SMTP DENY which terminates the attempt to deliver the email.
  • This saves bandwidth as the email data is never received into your server
  • This saves server resources as the email never has to be processed
  • This complies with the SMTP RFC’s because the sending SMTP server receives the DENY command
  • Your server does not send a bounce message (just the DENY command)
  • Your server does not send anything to the sender of the email (i.e. the address in the From: line)
  • The sending SMTP server is responsible for notifying the original sender

Here is a simple explanation of what happens during the SMTP conversation

• Some other SMTP server connects to your server on port 25 and initiates an SMTP connection (EHLO command)
• Other server then sends a message saying who they’re delivering a message for (MAIL FROM command)
• Other server then sends who the message is for on your server (RCPT command)
• At this point your server then checks whether the email address in the RCPT command can actually be delivered on your server. If you do not have a catchall alias configured to point to an email address (Default Address) and you have it set to :fail: the following happens:
• Your server sends back along the same connection to the sending server “Go away, no-one here” (the DENY command)
• The sender server would then normally tell their user that the attempt to email your server failed. Your server does not send a “bounce” message. As far as your server is concerned, all that has happened is a little SMTP chatter and no email has been received and no bounce sent

Additionally, this is what our Exim Deny ACL does:

• If the sender server tries four email addresses that don’t exist on your server the ACL disconnects the session with the sender server (DROP) and puts the IP address of the sender server into /etc/exim_deny
• If the sender server connects again, the ACL first checks /etc/exim_deny and if it finds the senders IP address there the session is immediately disconnected

Source: http://www.blackberry.com/btsc/articles/551/KB02318_f.SAL_Public.html

Select the Wipe Handheld option

To delete all the data from your BlackBerry smartphone, complete the following steps. This option is available with BlackBerry® Device Software 3.8 and later.

1. On the Home screen of the BlackBerry smartphone, click Options.
2. If you are running BlackBerry Device Software 4.1 or later, click Security Options > General Settings. Otherwise, click Security.
3. Open the menu and then select Wipe Handheld > Continue.
4. Type blackberry and then press the Enter key. All the data on the BlackBerry smartphone is deleted.

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Type an incorrect password

To delete all the data from your BlackBerry smartphone, lock the BlackBerry smartphone, then type an incorrect password ten times. During this process you may be prompted to type blackberry a few times. Once completed, all data on the BlackBerry smartphone is deleted.

Note: You must have a password set on your BlackBerry smartphone in order to perform this task.

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Use the Application Loader tool to delete all data

To delete all the data from your BlackBerry smartphone, complete the following steps:

1. Connect your BlackBerry smartphone to the computer, open BlackBerry Desktop Manager, and type the password of your BlackBerry smartphone, if prompted.
2. Double-click Application Loader > Next.
3. On the Device Security Password screen, type the password of your BlackBerry smartphone. Click Next.
4. On the Device Application Selection screen, click Next.
5. On the Completing the Application Loader Wizard screen, click Advanced. The Device Data Preservation screen is displayed.
6. To delete all application data from the BlackBerry smartphone, select the Erase all application data check box. Click Next.
7. Select Do not automatically back up and restore the device application data during the loading process. Click Next.
8. Click Finish. The BlackBerry smartphone resets. This might take several minutes.

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Use the Backup and Restore tool to clear the application databases

To clear the application databases from your BlackBerry smartphone, complete the following steps:

1. Connect your BlackBerry smartphone to the computer, open BlackBerry Desktop Manager, and type the password of your BlackBerry smartphone, if prompted.
2. Double-click Backup and Restore > Advanced.
3. Press and hold the Shift key while selecting all the databases in the Handheld Databases list box.
4. Click Clear.
5. Click OK on the Warning window. All application databases on the BlackBerry smartphone are erased.

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Type an incorrect password in the Application Loader tool

To delete all the data from your BlackBerry smartphone, complete the following steps:

1. Connect your BlackBerry smartphone to the computer, open BlackBerry Desktop Manager, and double-click Application Loader.
2. In the Application Loader Wizard window, click Next.
3. On the Device Security Password screen, type an incorrect password, and click Next. Perform this step ten times.
4. Click Close. Without software, the BlackBerry device is unresponsive and displays device error 507.
5. Reinstall the BlackBerry Device Software. For instructions, see KB03621

Procedure

Environment

• BlackBerry® Device Software 4.2.2
• BlackBerry® Enterprise Server software version 4.1 Service Pack 4 (4.1.4) 

To remove an IT policy from a BlackBerry smartphone, the BlackBerry Enterprise Server administrator must perform the following steps:

1. In BlackBerry Manager, in the left pane, click BlackBerry Domain.
2. On the Global tab, click Edit Properties.
3. Click IT Policy.
4. Assign the IT policy Remote Wipe Reset to Factory Defaults to the BlackBerry smartphone user account.

   Note: This IT policy is located in the Security Policy Group.

Note: It is required that the IT policy Erase Data and Disable Handheld be applied to the BlackBerry smartphone first in order for the IT policy Remote Wipe Reset to Factory Defaults to become effective.

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Additional Info

Prior to BlackBerry Enterprise Server software version 4.1 Service Pack 4, an IT policy could not be removed on the BlackBerry smartphone, even when the data on the BlackBerry smartphone was erased using the Wipe Handheld option. The reason for this is, when a BlackBerry smartphone is activated on the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, the BlackBerry smartphone retrieves the IT policy and then locks it in a read-only state.

However, with the release of BlackBerry Enterprise Server software version 4.1 Service Pack 4 and later and BlackBerry Device Software 4.2.2, the IT policy Remote Wipe Reset to Factory Defaults allows BlackBerry Enterprise Server administrators to remove IT policies from BlackBerry smartphones.

When the IT policy Remote Wipe Reset to Factory Defaults is applied to a BlackBerry smartphone user account, the following actions are performed automatically on the BlackBerry smartphone:

• All data is erased
• All third-party applications are removed
• The IT policy is removed

Essentially, the BlackBerry smartphone is reset to its factory defaults.

Doc ID : KB14202
Last Modified : 2007-11-02
Document Type : How To

Source: http://www.blackberry.com/btsc/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&externalId=KB14202&sliceId=SAL_Public&dialogID=29071028&stateId=0%200%2029067990

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I don’t need to be a gypsy fortune teller to tell your fortune. I can tell with a 95% certainty whether or not a person is (or is going to be) successful. All I need is 20 minutes of conversation or a few email interactions and I know. It is easy to do. You can do it too. Yes! You can actually predict whether or not someone will have the success they say they want. Better yet, you can tell if you are going to be a success OR not.

The best part about checking to see if you will be a success is that you don’t have to ‘beat around the bush’ in a conversation to discover the clues, as you would normally have to do with another person. The worst part about checking in with yourself is that you will run up against an outright liar. Yes, you will attempt to deceive yourself. Now that you are forewarned about that, you can watch out for your attempts to obscure (or divert yourself from) the truth about yourself.

So, if you want to predict the future of anyone, including yourself, here are the ten most critical clues that you will need to uncover and clarify: 1) Attitude, 2) Intention, 3) Purpose, 4) Passion, 5) Plan, 6) Resolve, 7) Responsibility, Words, 9) Actions and 10) Peers. Let’s take a closer look at each.

1. Attitude:
   There is a winner’s attitude and there is a loser’s attitude. Most people have a mix of the two. A winner’s attitude is characterized by high self-esteem, a positive outlook on life, a general feeling of gratitude, a sense of great personal destiny, a willingness to learn and the will to do what is necessary. Losers have poor self-esteem, a negative (they say realistic) outlook on life, a general feeling of resentment about the trials and tribulations of life, a sense of impending negative fate, a stubbornness about what they ‘know’, and lousy will-power or self-discipline.

2. Intention:
   As a general rule, things done with intent, produce intended results and things done without specific intent produce unintended results.It is my experience that most people think, say and do most things in life without any conscious and specific intent.I like to ask people (and especially myself) the following clarifying questions: what is your intent in holding that belief?; what is your intent in thinking that way?; what is your intent in doing what you do? Most can’t answer. Winners can.More importantly, winners are always asking themselves, “what is my intended result for this chosen action, thought or way of being?”

3. Purpose:
   This is so simple it is almost ludicrous… a life without a defined and stated purpose is a life of no purpose and no meaning.Winners have a purpose. Losers do not. Winners live a life of purpose and ‘on purpose’. Losers live accidentally; victims of circumstance instead of creators of circumstance.The sooner you write down the succinct and true purpose of your life, the sooner you will discover success, happiness and personal fulfillment. Important caveat: your purpose does have to be altruistic or measure up to anyone’s standards except your own.It can be entirely selfish.

4. Passion: 
    Passion is that fuel that drives you. Passion is also what attracts to you the people and  resources that you need to achieve your success. Passion is magnetic. Desire is the metaphysical equivalent of gravity. It draws to you the elements that you need to succeed. Passionate people attract followers and supporters.Winners are passionate! ! ! ! ! 

5. Plan:
   You’ve heard before. You’ve read it many times. Every personal empowerment teacher says it… You must have specific and written goals and a step-by-step plan to enact those goals. Every business needs a business plan. Your life needs a plan. You must create it. As Ben Franklin pointed out, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.”Winners have a game plan. Losers are spectators and armchair quarterbacks. Do you have written goals? Do you have a specific game plan?

6. Resolve:
   It is persistence that creates winners. It takes resolve to reach the top. There will be obstacles in your path and impediments to your success. Losers allow themselves to be defeated by these barriers. Winners use them to build up strength and/or to learn a better way to do something. I see it all the time… people quit just before the finish line. They lose focus and direction. Winners persist. Losers desist.

7. Responsibility:
   Ask yourself this question, “Why don’t I have all the prosperity, happiness, success and fulfillment that I desire?”If you blame any condition, circumstance, event, person or external thing, then you are a loser. Winners accept responsibility. Losers assess blame. Step up to the plate and accept responsibility for your life and you will become the winner that you desire to be in your secret heartfelt moments. The wonderful part about accepting responsibility for your failures is that you also get to accept responsibility for your successes. You don’t have to say that you were lucky or blessed or had the right breaks… you can say, “I did this.”

8. Words:
   The words you speak and the way you speak them tell a lot about you. They tell the world what you believe, what you think, where you have been, who you hang around with and where you are likely to end up. Below average people talk about other people; average people talk about events and circumstances. above average people (winners) talk about ideas and ideals (especially their own). Winners say what they mean and mean what they say. Losers say what they think will please others or repeat what they have been told.

9. Actions:
   And yes, actions speak louder than words. The things you do are a reflection of your character. Most people tend to do what most others do, in some sort of willful ignorance of the plain fact that most people live mediocre lives and never achieve the success they had idealized for themselves. Actions produces results. If you want uncommon results, you must undertake to act uncommonly on purpose, with intent, with responsibility, with persistence, with resolve, with passion and according to your plan. Do what you love. Do what you will.

10. Peers:
    Birds of a feather do flock together. If you want to be a winner, hang out with winners. Create your own ‘mastermind group’. Try to be involved with people who are smarter than you, more successful than you, have greater aspirations than you. If you can’t do it in person, read their books or read their biographies or visit their websites. Losers like to hang around with other losers, not just because misery loves company, but because their self-esteem is not threatened by comparison to their peers. If you can find the way to love yourself enough to always have a high level of self-esteem, then you won’t need to compare yourself to others. Winners believe in themselves. Losers believe in the world around them.

So now you know my secret to be able to predict the future. All I need to know about a person is: 1) who they hang around with, 2) what they do day-to-day, 3) the way they speak and what they say, 4) whether or not they assume responsibility or assess blame, 5) whether or not they have the resolve (the stick-to-it-tive-ness) to overcome obstacles, 6) if they have a plan to live by, 7) a passion for life and their plans, a self designed purpose to live for, 9) if they act intentionally or in reaction, and 10) what their overall attitude is to life and their part in it.

Now that you know, you don’t need me, or some gypsy tea leaf reader, to predict your future.

The GREAT good news is that, if you discover, through this self-analysis, that you do not have these 10 necessary characteristics of winners, you can change the way you are and the things you do. So there it is… your destiny is yours, by design or by default. It is up to you.

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–>Leslie is the author of The DELFIN Knowledge System Trilogy: The Initiation, The Journey and The Quest plus many more success publications. He also the co-author of The End of the World with Hugh Jeffries and Alexandra’s DragonFire with his daughter Ashley. Subscribe to his free and ad-free eZine at http://www.ProsperityParadigm.com or http://www.LeslieFieger.com.

Reprinting and republishing of this article is granted only with the above credit included. Permission to reprint or republish does not waive any copyright.. Article on success, attitude, destiny, by Leslie Fieger

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Layered Security Approach Helps Small Businesses Protect Information – Overview

As most seasoned mountain climbers know, the key to keeping warm in subzero temperatures is to put multiple layers of insulation between themselves and Mother Nature.

To help protect your company’s data, you should take cues from the climbers. Instead of looking for a magic formula, you should approach data security from the perspective of layers or building blocks. Each safeguard you can place between malicious online threats and your company’s data will provide another layer of security for the lifeblood of your business: information. The layers – or building blocks – that all small businesses should consider are:

Physical security User security System security Network security

Following are some key considerations for these building blocks.

Building Block 1: Physical Security

When a notebook turns up missing, a desktop is stolen or a handheld is lost, the information stored on the devices goes right along with it. For many small businesses, the cost of losing that data can be far more devastating than the replacement costs of the devices. Small businesses whose employees spend most of their time out of the office, where wireless devices are more vulnerable to loss or theft, can be especially impacted and should be sure to have a protection plan as it relates to physical security.

Physical security includes cable locks and asset tagging, as well as recovery services (such as ComputraceComplete¹ from Absolute Software) that are designed to protect your PCs and the data they contain from theft and unauthorized access. Products like those offered by Computrace also can help you remotely track PC configurations and usage.

Building Block 2: User Security

As a small business owner, you should consider your company’s data in much the same way you consider your personal property: You have things you don’t mind sharing with people you know and other stuff that nobody touches but you.

That’s the way you should set up your systems. And with user authorization protocols and software, you can. The first thing to do is to set up your systems so that only authorized users – your employees and, in some cases, your customers – can access the information you want to share with them. The next step is to make sure your employees can readily access information they need in order to do their work efficiently, but are restricted from accessing sensitive company information.

To meet these steps – user authentication, password and encryption technology offer the best solution:

Look for systems that support BIOS-level passwords that require user authentication even before the operating system loads. All DellTM  business systems do this. Consider using Smart Card technology to restrict/allow access to your systems. This is standard equipment on all D-family Dell LatitudeTM  notebooks. Biometric solutions (such as fingerprint identification) offer even greater levels of user authentication. Encryption software – which scrambles data in such a way that it becomes useless to any unauthorized person who accesses it – helps to keep hackers and other malicious intruders at arms length.

Another important user security precaution is instituting an e-mail and Internet security policy. By getting each employee on the same page about security, you’ll be less likely to experience security problems. Click here for more information on e-mail and Internet security policies.

Building Block3: System Security

More than any other device on your network, the individual PC is the Achilles’ heel in terms of vulnerability because it’s the favored point-of-entry for some of the most common security threats. And the “work-anywhere workforce” enabled by wireless technologies heightens your security challenge. That’s why installing and keeping a current version of security software on all your employees’ computers is a necessary first step to system security. This software helps protect against viruses, worms, spyware, and other threats that are transmitted over the Internet, as well as files imported from USB keys, instant messaging and other means. Click here for a more focused article on spam, viruses and spyware.

Another smart step is to set up your IT structure in a way that enables you to view and manage all of your company’s computers from one central location. This step, which you can achieve by using solutions such as Dell’s OpenManage^TM  Network Manager, will add confidence that all your PCs have the same level of protection.

Dell also helps small businesses protect their systems from unauthorized access, control and damage with a more secure or “hardened” operating system configuration. This service involves more than 50 factory-activated security settings within the operating system designed to meet security benchmarks established by the Center for Internet Security.

Another important area that small businesses would prefer to avoid – but definitely need to consider – is hard drive failures. Specifically, you need to consider what will happen to your data – and how you want to manage it – in the event of a fatal hard drive crash. To that end, Dell offers a “Keep Your Hard Drive”² service that helps small businesses stay in control of important data. Under this program, if a hard drive covered by your Dell limited warranty³ fails, you can keep the defective hard drive that’s being replaced by Dell, helping you protect sensitive, classified or proprietary information.

Building Block 4: Network Security

Without a doubt, network technology drives small business productivity and success. But it also increases vulnerability to security threats. Fortunately, a wide range of technologies in the marketplace today are designed specifically to help small businesses keep your networks safe and secure:

Firewalls: A firewall is a protective barrier that prevents unwanted access to or from your company network. The firewall scans all traffic passing in and out of your network and blocks unauthorized messages, intruders and viruses. VPN Protection: A virtual private network (VPN) is a cost effective solution for employees at small businesses to connect securely to their respective business networks from remote locations, and communicate confidentially with each other across shared or public networks like the Internet. Leading technology vendors offer VPN and Intrusion Protection/Packet inspection to help ensure that VPN connections are secure. Encryption: When buying network technology, small businesses should seek out those vendors who provide hardware support for WPA2, a sophisticated encryption protocol and part of the 802.11 industry standard for networks. WPA2, which comes standard on select Dell Latitude notebooks, is designed to eliminate the weaknesses found in previous encryption protocols. Cisco Compatible Extensions Program: Because the vast majority of wireless networks come in touch with Cisco Systems technologies, small businesses should consider using wireless equipment manufactured by the Cisco Compatible Extensions Program, which is designed to ensure that wireless solutions deliver tested and certified compatibility with the latest Cisco wireless infrastructure hardware and security technology. Dell is a founding member of the program.

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