CyberStreams Blog

I recently ran across a strange error while updating a client’s certificate that they use for their Exchange 2007 system.  It turns out that its a pretty random error but when it occurs certificates can longer be installed or removed in Exchange.  The system has either forgotten where it put the Private Key for your certificate or the certificate store is corrupted.  With past versions of Exchange you would be using IIS for all the certificate management anyway, but with Exchange 2007 and onward you have to use the Exchange Management Shell to properly manage the certificate for use with your email system.

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As a primarily PC support company and PC users, this is a question we hear often enough. Apple does a good job of maintaining the “Apples don’t have problems” mystique when this is not the case.

Most of the time it turns out there is a perception issue. Case in point, a call I took from a client a couple of days ago who was having troubles with a certain web site he uses. Within seconds of launching the java applet it would crash his copy of Internet Explorer 8. So at one point as we were troubleshooting the issue he asked the above question, “How come this never happens on my wife’s Mac?”

One of my first questions to him was, “Have you tried this website on your wife’s Mac?” and the response was, no, the website would only work on PCs. The short of it was that the website’s programmers have a site compatible with a very narrow set of devices; it has to be windows running Internet Explorer 7 or earlier, no Windows Defender, and no intrusion protection on the Sonicwall firewall. It does provide some great tools for him, but it also forces him to operate with some fairly hefty security vulnerabilities to do so.

But ultimately, is the problem or faults Microsoft’s or the web site designer’s? Microsoft’s Vista operating system was perceived as buggy when it first came out, and indeed it was a problematic upgrade for many users, but in actuality roughly 29% of the crash data collected by Microsoft early on was from video card drivers from a specific hardware manufacturer. To re-state that, nearly a third of the crashes (many were not the traditional crash requiring a restart) in Vista were not caused by anything Microsoft did, but a separate company that they had no control over and just had a working relationship with. Microsoft, however, wound up with the egg on their face because all the user saw was that their computer crashed.

In the case of the afore-mentioned client, it was not that the Mac was more stable, but that it was more limited in what it could do because of a third party who had no affiliation with either Apple or Microsoft. This is a situation that people should keep in mind. Apple would love it if you bought in to the hype and mind set, but it really is making a descision on false pretenses.

The internet has changed the way we do business and it has changed the way we act as customers.  Specifically the way customers do research on a company or a product.  From blogs and Amazon customer reviews to Tweets and the entire range of ‘Social-Not-Working’ mediums. 

The internet has made us all much ‘smarter’ consumers, at least that is how it appears. 

But how accurate is that review on Amazon?  Is that blogger an unbiased source of information?  For the last few years many people just assumed everyone was submitting an honest opinion, but how could that really be possible, everyone honest?

The FCC and the courts are attempting to make people and businesses liable for their statements.  And this is where the business owner needs to be watchful.  Now bloggers whom have any affiliation with a company must identify themselves.  Obviously we want employees to identify themselves when they promote their own business.  Now the even the person whom received a free product, or receives free service associated with a product they review, must identify themselves. 

Business found to be trying to slip this by the consumer will be penalized.  Business owners need to coach their staff and are responsible for what their staff is stating on the internet about themselves or even competitors.

A few recent articles on CNN.com highlight this significant issue of balancing free speech with devious marketing. 

Manav Tanneeru covers how business and individuals are being found liable for the comments they make.  In “Can the Law Keep Up with Technology?” we see the recent libel court case associated with a Twitter post Cortney Love made regarding her dissatisfaction with a professional designer.  We also see a property management business won a libel case where a former tenant made damaging statements about the apartment they rented, statements that were not true.  

Conversely, Rick Klau’s article on “In Defense of Bloggers’ Free Speech” is attempting to publicize the importance of free speech within society and how the various mediums have evolved over the years in a similar fashion to the way blogs are proliferating across the internet.  Specifically, how important these mediums are to the global society.  Censorship must be stopped.

Business owners need to be aware of their rights to protect themselves as well as their duty to facilitate the behavior of their staff and affiliates when commenting on their business on the internet.  This ‘hat’ is going to consume a lot of time and resources.