A Taste of Crabs and a Touch of Security

David Byrd : Raven Call
David Byrd
David Byrd is the Founder and Chief Creative Officer for Raven Guru Marketing. Previously, he was the CMO and EVP of Sales for CloudRoute. Prior to CloudRoute, He was CMO at ANPI, CMO & EVP of Sales at Broadvox, VP of channels and Alliances for Telcordia and Director of eBusiness development with i2 Technologies.He has also held executive positions with Planet Hollywood Online, Hewlett-Packard, Tandem Computers, Sprint and Ericsson.
| Raven Guru Marketing http://www.ravenguru.com/

A Taste of Crabs and a Touch of Security

As promised, I grilled this weekend. Although, the meals were not what you would think of as grilled affairs. Saturday, I brined and then pounded thin some pork chops to create “elephant ears”. The bone is left in place making for an interesting presentation and providing additional flavor.  The chops were then seasoned, floured, dipped in an egg wash, covered with Panko bread crumbs and deep fried. The grilled element was the vegetables. I oiled and seasoned split Vidalia onions, zucchini, yellow squash and an avocado with salt, pepper and oregano. I grilled them for about five minutes on high heat leaving them “al dente”. I wanted them to still have some resistance as you bit into them. I served them sliced alongside the chops with a drizzle of olive oil. They were very good. Sunday, I prepared pasta carbonara, a crab and avocado salad and grilled lobster. They were served as one dish. Since the carbonara was to be the base for a seafood dish, I left out the pancetta and added cilantro and oregano to the sauce. The crab and avocado salad was the next layer placed upon the pasta. Finally, this was topped with sliced grilled lobster tail that had been seasoned with adobo (onion powder, garlic powder, Tellicherry black pepper, ground cumin, powdered Mexican oregano). Again, a little drizzle of olive oil created all the sauce you needed. It was a bit of when Italy meets Mexico. It was also very good. My choice for the recipe of the week is Crab and Avocado Salad. It was the first time I combined these ingredients and I thought they worked very well together. In fact, I was delighted with the result. Enjoy!

Security

As Verizon, Comcast and AT&T change the landscape for broadband access to SOHOs and SMBs, I wish to caution them and you on the level of security provided. I have maintained a secure Wi-Fi at home for years. Prior to Broadvox, I worked from a home office. Given the value of the information I worked with each day, I was careful to maintain an updated Internet firewall, strict guidelines for Internet surfing and a secure Wi-Fi. I used a 28 character WEP key to prevent unauthorized access. Recently, I upgraded my service to AT&T U-verse and while I like the service, I was both surprised and disappointed to see it secured by a ten-digit number. While this might be okay for home usage, it is woefully inadequate for any business. A ten digit key can be hacked in less than a couple of hours. I haven’t investigated whether I can increase the level of security, but if I was using this as a business conduit, I would certainly inquire.

It is important for a business to prevent unauthorized usage or access to its Wi-Fi for a multitude of reasons. When I owned a restaurant and had open Wi-Fi, we discovered a number of people would make use of the access afterhours. I began to suspect that these users did not want their identities known due to improper or potentially illegal use of the Internet and we began turning the free access off when the business closed. Additionally, malware worms can use open access to turn servers into unknowing participants of a denial of service attack on other web sites or Internet services.

Check the level of security offered by your ISP or cable provider. If ten-digits, ask about other options. It will be best for you and your customers.



Feedback for A Taste of Crabs and a Touch of Security

Leave a comment

Featured Events