As we ring in 2024, many are reflecting on the past year and making resolutions for the future. For businesses, one resolution should stand out: recommitting to data security. The late-2023 Xfinity breach, where 36 million customers had their personal information compromised, serves as a stark reminder of the ever-present threat of cyberattacks. What happened?…
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SQL Server is a critical component for many businesses, and its health and performance can have a significant impact on operations. If SQL Server is having a bad day, a lot of people are having a bad day. Users, patients, loan officers, etc, and of course, IT. That’s why we recommend performing a SQL Server…
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Poorly secured SQL Server VMs in Microsoft Azure are being attacked. And they are being used as a beachhead for additional exploits. According to a recent Microsoft warning, these attacks allow the bad actors to gain access to cloud resources without having to compromise the underlying infrastructure. How the attack works In the warning, Microsoft…
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We know better than to click a link from the son of an unfairly deposed Nigerian Prince who needs our help. Yet, according to Deloitte’s 2023 Global Risk Management Survey, 91% of all cyberattacks begin with a phishing email. And many of them are successful. No business or industry is off limits. So, it’s important…
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SQL Server is being targeted again. This attack is called DB#JAMMER. And it’s targeting poorly secured SQL Servers. What’s happening? Attackers begin by brute-forcing access into poorly secured SQL Servers. Once they have gained access, the attackers use xp_cmdshell to deploy tools. They manipulate the firewall, if needed, and transfer files to and from the…
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Many businesses depend on data systems. Data systems help doctors schedule appointments with patients. They allow construction companies to manage projects and calculate costs. The list goes on and on. And if a key data system isn’t available, it hurts. It’s disruptive. And users, customers, patients, and leadership get unhappy. That’s why it’s important to…
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“Why is my SQL Server slow?” Have you ever asked that question? Have your users? Unfortunately, that’s a commonly asked question. Fortunately, though, something can usually be done about it. Here are fourteen reasons a SQL Server instance could be underperforming. I’ve divided them into four broad categories. Slowness due to resource constraints Often the…
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SQL Server is good. You install it, give it some databases to manage, and let it do it’s thing. When queries come in, it figures out how to resolve them. If it needs some statistics, it creates them. If the database is running out of space, it’ll grow the data file for you. Automatically. And…
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Microsoft SQL Server is popular. Statistics vary as to just how popular, but most agree that it is one of the most popular database platforms in the world. And for good reason. It’s feature rich, very reliable, highly scalable, and can be made extremely secure. All good things. According to a 2022 survey conducted by…
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If you’ve worked with SQL Server for very long, you’re probably familiar with the concept of indexes. Indexes can help speed up queries by allowing SQL Server to quickly locate specific data values within a table. Indexes are typically much smaller than their underlying tables so they can be searched much more efficiently. (They aren’t…
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