Stories by Meridith Levinson

Four ways to prevent domain name hijacking

On the night of Monday, January 23, the hacktivist group UGNazi hijacked Coach.com, the Internet domain name of luxury goods manufacturer Coach. For several hours, fashionistas who wanted to ogle Coach's new Willis handbag on Coach.com or get a deal on its Penelope shoulder bag at Coachfactory.com were redirected to UGNazi's cryptic website.

Written by Meridith Levinson02 Feb. 12 08:57

IT salaries: Growth reflects positive changes in the IT job market

IT departments may be struggling to support and manage all of the consumer devices infiltrating their enterprises, but there appears to be one unexpected and positive outcome from the consumerization of IT: higher salaries for many IT professionals.

Written by Meridith Levinson01 Feb. 12 04:06

Resume makeover: How an information security professional can target CSO jobs

Cole Hanson's career goal is to become an information security executive. Currently, he serves as a high-level information security professional with the U.S. Army. In February, Hanson, who is also a reservist with a rank of Lieutenant, will start a new job with the Marine Corps as the technology integration officer and deputy for its Communications Directorate. In this new position he will act as a project manager and oversee a major network infrastructure replacement.

Written by Meridith Levinson28 Jan. 12 10:18

Time management: Six ways to improve your productivity

If you resolved earlier this month to work smarter, stop procrastinating and be more productive, your best intentions may have quickly been subverted by your regularly scheduled work routine.

Written by Meridith Levinson20 Jan. 12 02:22

How to retool your IT skills for the Cloud

Keith Fafel entered the world of cloud computing during the summer of 2010, while he was working as a product manager with Rackspace, the San Antonio, Texas-based provider of hosted IT infrastructure services.

Written by Meridith Levinson14 Jan. 12 02:47

FBI warns hacktivists: You're breaking the law

Last July, the FBI executed what is arguably its most public campaign against hacktivists--individuals who breach computer systems to make a political or ideological statement. On Tuesday, July 19, the G-men cuffed 12 men and two women allegedly associated with hacktivist group Anonymous for their supposed involvement in a dedicated denial of service (DDoS) attack against PayPal's website in December 2010.

Written by Meridith Levinson20 Dec. 11 12:34

10 hot IT jobs for managers and executives in 2012

If you had to pick two words to describe how the market for management- and executive- level IT jobs is shaping up for 2012, you might channel Curb Your Enthusiasm star Larry David and say "pretty good. Pri-tay, pri-tay, pri-tay, pri-tay good."

Written by Meridith Levinson14 Dec. 11 09:42

How to tame a bad boss: 8 practical techniques

If you're one of the many unfortunate souls who reports to a bad boss, you may think your only options are to find a new job or continue to take crap from your corporate Caligula.

Written by Meridith Levinson08 Dec. 11 07:18

6 hot IT jobs that will pay well in 2012

Despite ominous predictions about how cloud computing will eviscerate IT departments, 2012 is shaping up to be a great year for IT careers. Cloud computing is in fact <a href="http://www.cio.com/article/692542/">creating new roles for IT professionals</a>, while the proliferation of smartphones and tablets has ignited demand for software developers. The IT job market, which experienced a <a href="http://www.cio.com/article/681726/">strong rebound in 2011</a> after the recession, is expected to burn even brighter in 2012, <a href="http://www.cio.com/article/688029/">despite global economic challenges</a>, according to IT staffing industry executives.

Written by Meridith Levinson02 Dec. 11 10:16

Resume Makeover: How to Write an IT Executive Resume

Henry Cole has held his position as an IT manager with a global life sciences company for nearly eight years. Like all ambitious IT managers, he wants to move up to the executive level. Cole believes he's ready to step into an executive-level IT management position with a large company or into the top IT management spot at a small company based on his accomplishments, positive feedback he's received from his employer, and recognitions with which he's recently been honored. Since there are no opportunities for career growth with his employer, he's looking outside his company, as he has been for the last year and a half.

Written by Meridith Levinson18 Nov. 11 04:20

Why Law Enforcement Can't Stop Hackers

On July 19, 2011, FBI agents in nine states rounded up 14 men and two women ranging in age from 21 to 36 for their alleged involvement with the international hacking group Anonymous. Fourteen of these individuals were arrested for allegedly plotting and executing a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack in December 2010 that took down PayPal's Website.

Written by Meridith Levinson16 Nov. 11 03:14

How to fire people the right way

When Roy Bostock, the chairman of Yahoo's board of directors, fired Carol Bartz over the phone last month, the company's cold handling of the termination was widely regarded as an example of how not to fire an executive--or any employee for that matter.

Written by Meridith Levinson01 Nov. 11 02:58

IT Consultant Resume Makeover: How to Land IT Management Jobs

There comes a time in many IT consultants' careers when they decide to exchange the trappings of their jet-set professional lives for a corporate IT job with more stability. For Sevin Straus, an IT consultant based in Chicago, that moment came at the height of the financial crisis in 2009.

Written by Meridith Levinson28 Oct. 11 03:37

CIO role: Is IT facing a leadership crisis?

David Reynolds wants to be a CIO, and the 35-year-old systems manager for the Rhode Island Blood Center may well be on his way.

Written by Meridith Levinson22 Oct. 11 07:38

Stress management: Better living through technology

In 2005, at age 32, Dave Asprey realized he was literally working himself to death. At the time, he served as the director of product management at Netscaler, a fast-growing Silicon Valley startup that was being acquired by Citrix. Asprey was smack in the middle of the acquisition, working on integrating Netscaler's product line into Citrix's. He worked 60 hours a week, five days per week, checked email on weekends, and travelled at least once a month to Florida from California.

Written by Meridith Levinson15 Oct. 11 05:36
[]