Globalnet are pleased to announce that we are 10 years in business this October.

To mark this important milestone we have freshened up our logo and revamped our website. We would like to thank all our customers for their support over the last 10 years it is sincerely appreciated by all of us here.

Microsoft announces the release of Windows 7 ….should you upgrade?

Despite the release of Windows Vista almost two years ago the majority of businesses have continued to run windows XP. 
PC manufacturers were shipping Vista machines along with XP downgrade options which did not say much about Vista.

Should I upgrade from XP to Windows 7 on the same hardware?

The short answer here is no, we would not recommend you upgrade from XP to windows 7 on the same hardware.
Should you decide that you want to retain your existing PC’s and upgrade to Windows 7 anyway, the upgrade will mean wiping the PC completely and installing Windows 7. 
Such an upgrade will result in unnecessary costs and result
in a poor investment when all things are considered.
Vista users can upgrade much more easily, but windows 7 offers
little incentive to do so in terms of additional features.

How should we upgrade to Windows 7

If you want to introduce Windows 7 into your organisation we recommend that you consider replacing your existing PC’s which will start to ship with windows 7 preinstalled. Naturally the age and state of your existing PC’s will determine when you should make this investment.

You will not only benefit from Windows 7 you will also benefit from new and improved hardware covered under the manufacturer’s warranty. It is important to consider your existing applications when making this investment and any application upgrades costs need to be factored in.

Please contact Globalnet Solutions for more information or advice on upgrading to Windows 7

IT audit highlights major IT issues in Irish Businesses

Globalnet recently offered a free IT audit to a number of Irish businesses with a view to cutting costs and getting the most out of their existing IT systems.

The audit revealed that over 30% of all medium sized businesses audited had either serious security vulnerabilities or had critical systems that were on the verge of a serious disaster.

While business look for ways to save money by cutting their IT costs it leaves them extremely vulnerable with potentially disastrous effects on their business.

The audit highlights that businesses are continuously vulnerable and susceptible to malicious attacks and system failures. It also highlights the fact that critical IT systems need to be proactively monitored and managed by qualified personnel and that a proper benefit / risk analysis be carried out when cutting IT costs. 

The audit also provides valuable feedback in terms of Security, Data Protection, Critical System Status, Performance, and effective use of IT.


Contact Globalnet for more information or to avail of an IT audit for your organisation.

Audit subject to terms and conditions including engineering availability.

Scareware is a relatively new breed of rogue software typically disguising itself as a new antivirus package.

Antivirus 2010 is a very good example of scareware that distributes itself via misleading online advertisements.  Typically a message appears on your screen informing you that your PC is unprotected and infected with viruses, and suggests you click on a button to carry out a full scan of your PC.

Clicking as instructed is most likely installing the rogue program that quickly informs you that your PC is completely riddled with all sorts of viruses and spyware while it disables your legitimate antivirus program. In the case of Antivirus 2010 it will continuously try to scare, bully and eventually force you into making a purchase just to make it go away.

The advertisements and software look extremely legitimate and many people fall for the scam, in fact Symantec report that 40 million people have fallen for the scam in the last 12 months along. Symantec have identified 250 different versions of the Scareware and criminals are earning approx 1 million euro per year from the scam.
Should you accidently install Scareware such as antivirus 2010 do not make a credit card payment as instructed by the software.  Removal of most Scareware is often possible albeit time consuming.

For more information on legitimately protecting your systems please contact Globalnet Solutions.

Backing up your laptop files automatically

We are often asked for a simple backup solution that does not involve the painful task of dragging and dropping files every time you want to backup.

Often when you save your documents in the “My Documents” folder a copy of the files are stored on the server provided offline files policies are setup to do so in your organisation. Such a setup allows you to work on documents when out of the office in offline mode. Changes you made to files while out of the office typically synchronize with the server when you get back into the office ensuring your files are backed up.

Despite laptop and server synchronising policies many business laptop users keep important company documents on their C drive outside of the folders that actually synchronise.


Laptops are prone to disk errors and disk failures primarily due to the fact that they are moving around and pick up the odd bump along the way. It is important to ensure your laptop files are either backed up via a synchronization process or otherwise.


If you are looking for an affordable plug and play backup solution for your laptop files please contact us for more information on Click Free.

USB memory keys – “Can seriously damage your organisation’s health”

There is no doubting that USB memory keys or memory sticks are becoming as ubiquitous and as useful as a writing pen. But this little device can cause untold damage to your organisation. Bank of Ireland recently launched an internal investigation after finding out that a USB stick containing account details was lost. The bank informed the affected customers and placed the accounts under supervision for suspicious activity.

Earlier this year the U.S. Department of Defense banned USB drives and other removable media devices after a worm infiltrated Army networks. The US military's ban on these media devices highlights a problem that every organization has to consider as data introduced on a USB drive bypasses the company firewall.

Do you require a USB key to transfer confidential information or would like to restrict
USB access in your organisation? If so Globalnet can provide you with a range of USB
encryption keys along with USB access control solutions.

Contact us to learn more, our experts will help you understand the best options suited to your needs.