Axian offers both proactive and reactive security services. We can help you design, upgrade or optimize your security system to prevent problems. We can even manage it for you. And if you've had a security incident, we can help you find out why and how, as well as what you can do to prevent it from happening again.

In addition, we offer services to support computer technology-related litigation, including custody of evidence, forensics services and consulting for attorneys.

Click on the one of the links on the left side of this page to see more details about proactive, reactive and forensic security services.

Glossary of security terms

Here is a glossary of some computer security terms it might be helpful to know:

DNS (Domain Name Service): DNS is how we relate human names to IP addresses (e.g., www.pacificinterpreters.com = 198.107.53.48). A DNS server has two purposes. One is to be the repository of information for a domain name (tracking ftp. www. and mail. pacificinterpreters.com). The other is to fetch the DNS information from other DNS servers for which it is not the Authoritative Host (www.cnn.com, mail.yahoo.com, ftp.msn.com, etc.). A DNS server can perform both or either of these tasks. DNS also has a client component. This is what workstations use to get the IP information for creating connections.

DSL (Digital Subscriber Line): DSL is a cheap method of connecting to the Internet. It does, however, have it faults—quality assurance being one of them.

IP Internet Protocol: See TCP/IP

IPSEC: A standard for transmitting IP securely. This standard is currently being adopted by most VPN providers, and is now being used between VPN providers. IPSEC under the best interpretations offers fantastic localized firewalls, encrypted intra-office connections and remote user access.

IP Telephony: The ability to route phone calls over the LAN and possibly the Internet. This can connect offices together without expensive tie lines into current PBX systems. It can save money on long distance charges as well.

Kb/s (Kilobits per second): This is how network speed is measured. A T1 line is typically 1.5 Megabits/sec (1,500 Kb/s). DSL tends to start at 256 Kb/s. A normal LAN is 10 Mb/s (10,000 kb/s). And 56K modems refer to 56 Kb/s.

Masquerade: A type of NAT. See Transparent Proxy.

NAT (Network Address Translation): See Transparent Proxy.

Proxy: A device that listens on two networks, taking requests from one network and re-requesting to the other network, as though the proxy were the initial requester. Thus a Web server does not see a workstation contacting it, but instead the proxy. This adds quite a bit of security.

Transparent Proxy: A device that magically takes requests heading to another network (Internet) and proxies them. What makes it transparent is that the workstation is not aware of the behavior.

TCP/IP: TCP/IP is the network protocol used on the Internet and now most companies as well. It defines the packets that travel down the wire and determines how routers deal with the packets.

T1: A Telco line, meaning one optical fiber. T1 actually determines 24 trunk pairs (normal phone lines) but it also refers to a DS1, which is the same fiber with data only. A DS1 carries up to 1.5 Mb/s.

VPN (Virtual Private Network): This indicates a network that runs across a hostile network, but is encrypted to the hostile network. Typically a VPN is used to connect one company location to another across the Internet.