Original Plaque - Photographed by Paul Chivers, North Bay

This is a story of a national movement of Canadians, working for over a century to educate and inform fellow Canadians across the nation and around the world. It all started with a resolution passed at a public meeting in Hamilton, Ontario in February 1893, led by a young Canadian, Mr. Charles R. McCullough.

The founders of the Canadian Club envisioned the movement as becoming national. However, it was not until 1897 that Mr. Sanford Evans organized a second Canadian Club in the City of Toronto. The next surviving Canadian Club to be formed was in Ottawa in 1903. By the end of 1907, nearly 30 Canadian Clubs had been organized from coast to coast, including two Women’s Canadian Clubs in Montreal and Winnipeg. The North Bay & District Canadian Club was formed in 1908. The movement was now underway.

In the 21st century, Canadian Clubs continue to make history, and are committed to preserve and protect our precious heritage. Nerds On Site is proud to host this great Canadian organization! You can visit their website at http://canadianclubnorthbay.ca.

Chase Bank Midtown Manhattan

The Chase.com online banking portal was down for most of Tuesday and Wednesday last week, after having crashed on Monday evening. Chase told the Wall Street Journal that the outage was caused by corruption in a third-party database, rumoured to be an Oracle system. Chase did say that no customer data was at risk during this outage.

Have you considered the advantages of moving your corporate website and online presence to a dedicated server? The vast majority of businesses currently host their websites on a shared hosting platform, as this solution offers the greatest cost efficiency, but there are great benefits to having a server dedicated to your business’ needs.

Some advantages of a dedicated server are:

• 100% guaranteed uptime
• The freedom to do anything (legal) with your server
• A custom solution for your business’ needs
• No sharing of resources – the entire server is dedicated to your needs

Contact our team today to learn how we can help you with a dedicated hosted server solution!

[thanks to Nerd James Perih for this post]

“I remember the day that I spoke to my Nerds On Site Technician about my forgetfulness in backing up my information on my laptop. He told me about one of his clients that had recently registered with Nerds On Site for the backup of his files. His computer had crashed causing him to potentially lose all of his valuable information, but thanks to the Nerds backup system his information was restored and put onto his new computer within hours of the crash. That story prompted me to sign up with Nerds on Site for worry free backup of my files, including my email system. Recently my laptop crashed and I am certain that I would have lost all my information if not for the Nerds Backup and my fantastic Nerd Technician. In no time he restored my information to my computer and all is well again. The Nerds On Site Backup System is a worry free way to protect your valuable information.

Many thanks Nerds On Site for backing me up!”

While your experiences are different, every one of our clients were prompted by some reason to sign up for the service; we can’t wait to hear about yours!

Computer viruses cost US businesses $55 billion annually, and it is important that you protect your computers and business against these parasites of our modern age. Nerds On Site offers free anti-virus protection for all users of our email platform, and this system acts as a first line of defense against viruses.

Our free anti-virus system takes the majority of the load of your corporate anti-virus solution, but it is still critical to have a secondary line of defense within your network. You can consider putting a good anti-virus product on each workstation in your network (we currently recommend NOD32: http://www.eset.com), or consider a good Unified Threat Management system, such as Astaro or Untangle.

Our global team of security and network experts would be delighted to talk to you about which solution is best for your business. Contact our team at 1-877-MY-NERDS or online here: https://service.nerdsonsite.com/ServiceRequests/sr_default.asp

I remember the day that I spoke to my Nerds On Site Technician about my forgetfulness in backing up my information on my laptop. He told me about one of his clients that had recently registered with Nerds On Site for the backup of his files.

His computer had crashed causing him to potentially lose all of his valuable information, but thanks to the Nerds backup system his information was restored and put onto his new computer within hours of the crash. That story prompted me to sign up with Nerds on Site for worry free backup of my files, including my email system. Recently my laptop crashed and I am certain that I would have lost all my information if not for the Nerds Backup and my fantastic Nerd Technician. In no time he restored my information to my computer and all is well again. The Nerds On Site Backup System is a worry free way to protect your valuable information.

Many thanks Nerds On Site for backing me up!

The problem is cyber crime and its happening everywhere!

These days more and more Canadians are feeling the burn as they helplessly fall victim to these cyber attacks. While they may come in many forms, from credit card fraud, stolen identity and computer viruses, all are equally as daunting as the other.

In a recent Windsor Star article, new studies show that 65% of Canadians have already been affected by some form of cyber attack leaving people feeling helpless and frustrated.

“We are in a digital epidemic because the majority of people feel powerless about cybercrime. Only one per cent of Canadians think they won’t be victims. We really hope to get the word out to everyone to get informed,” said Lynn Hargrove, director of consumer solutions for Symantec Canada which sells Norton products.

Read more: www.windsorstar.com

Stepping in to help protect not just Canadians but people world wide stay protected and aware of incoming threats is global it solutions provider nerds On Site. With over 15 years in the IT solutions industry and clients all over the world, there expertise is something of great value.

To help better inform the public of easy ways to stay protected from these attacks, Co-founder David Redekop and fellow Nerd Kevin Lloyd have prepare this list of things to do

Ways to Prevent Being a Victim of Online Threats
• Run Windows Update to prevent threats from attacking software flaws

• Run trusted antivirus and anti-spyware software and run scans regularly

• Don’t click links in email, even if it appears to be a trusted
source such as a friends or family

• Be careful what you click on the internet. If you’re unsure, ask a Nerd

• Don’t use file sharing networks, as they are full of viruses. Purchase content legally to avoid viruses

• Be careful of how much personal information you give to websites. If something is optional, don’t give them the information.

• When on a secure website, make sure there is a lock icon at the bottom to indicate it is secure, and https:// in the address bar at the top of the browser.

• Always have secure passwords. LastPass – lastpass.com – is a great free choice.

• OpenDNS protection – www.opendns.com provides free malware protection and it truly works and is vetted by some of the industry’s best security professionals.

• Unified Threat Management protection – this can be another computer, an appliance, but it must be in every business where online transactions take place, and even in homes. Two that work well are www.untangle.com which has a free and professional version, as well as www.astaro.com which has a free Home version.

For more information on how to check your current system for vulnerabilities, current threats or to speak with a real life Nerd visit www.nerdsonsite.com or call 1 877 MY NERDS begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              1 877 MY NERDS      end_of_the_skype_highlighting (696 3737)

In June, the Nerds On Site Hosting Team ran a one month promotion to raise money for the Dragonfly Community Foundation. Today we were pleased to forward them a contribution of $180USD to their efforts for children in Thailand.

The Dragonfly Community Foundation works to strengthen communities in Thailand through a holistic approach of education, health and wellness programs, local economic initiatives, environmental stewardship, and support for the disadvantaged. We give people tools and opportunities to make sustainable, long-term improvements to their communities and their own lives by promoting volunteerism and knowledge sharing for the benefit of all.

You can visit and learn about the Dragonfly Community Foundation at http://www.dragonflycommunity.org, as well as learn about volunteer opportunities with them at http://www.thai-dragonfly.com.

Every day, criminals are attacking thousands of legitimate websites and injecting malware on them, with a new web page getting infected every 1.3 seconds. If your website is injected with malware your company will suffer significant losses of traffic, reputation and revenue.

All of our hosting clients are protected by a daily defacement scan, and we offer NerdCare Assurance packages to protect our clients with hourly hack detection. Contact us today to learn how we can protect your company’s website from becoming a statistic.

Ted Wernham, BA CLU CFSB EPC

Entering his 37th year serving clients and offering solutions to money matters, especially about how to balance the need for income with the leisure of retirement, Ted Wernham (wernhamwealth.com) has been winning awards and recognition for outstanding client and community service. He has received special recognition as “Outstanding Young Londoner” and is an Honorary Citizen of the City of Biloxi, Mississippi, USA.

In December of last year, Ted saw the benefit of adding the protection and service of Hosting NerdCare Assurance to his company’s website. Our NerdCare Assurance plans (read more) add a combination of protection through our hourly hack detection and daily disaster recovery with constant maintenance with regular content updates.

Ted says, “Thank you very much for your prompt response the other day (as always). Very much appreciate your assistance. Our company really appreciates your responsiveness and professionalism!” Ted then adds, “after 37 years in professional sales, the difference is in the service. Jonathan and his team, deliver. Bottom line … They get it done!”