Peering into their crystal balls the other day, the guys at network security vendor SonicWALL came up with a list of predictions for their field in the coming year.

Web 2.0 tops their list of villains, as it should. Sure, Web 2.0 technologies like Web-based apps and social networking promote sharing and user-uploaded content and good stuff like that.

However, they cause bandwidth overload and security threats, SonicWALL says.

Streaming video and Flash gobble up bandwidth. And Flash has become a favorite of the bad guys because it's so widespread that it gets past just about any security and is a great vector for distributing malware.

Also, Web 2.0 apps are fertile ground for exploits, because they are based on user collaboration and user input and there's no way of ascertaining how safe users are. That means security admins have no control over what is being uploaded or collaborated on.

Malware authors have become experts in using Web 2.0 technologies such as AJAX, which creates rich Internet applications. These open up your system to security breaches, and it would be wise to implement Web filters and gateways to prevent the bad guys from invading your system through them.

Manage your apps properly to prevent bandwidth overload and maintain security, SonicWALL recommends.

As if that's not enough, the adoption of software as a service (SaaS), and service oriented architecture (SOA) will, like the Web 2.0 technologies, as well as social networking, let bad guys bring in their toys, and SonicWALL recommends deep packet inspection in these cases. Packet sniffing isn't going to be enough, SonicWALL says.

The increasing sophistication of hackers and malware authors will add to network security managers' headaches. Your firewall isn't going to be enough to protect you, SonicWALL says, because the bad guys will use more techniques to evade it.

And port-hopping, which used to be a term reserved for sailors until the advent of personal computing, will contribute to network security woes.

All these factors will push corporations to increase their adoption of unified threat management (UTM) solutions that take a layered approach to network management and security, SonicWALL says. We've known for years that a layered approach is best, but how many enterprises adopt it?

Watch your networks closely -- they're at the heart of your enterprise.

It's not generally known, but Santa is really an alien using advanced technology and high-tech gadgetry since the dawn of time.

Think about it: This fellow jumps onto a vehicle drawn by eight furry four-legged beasts that manage to fly without any wings or rocket propulsion. Think antigravity or maglev trains. What, you ask, is a maglev train? Magnetic levitation, a system of transportation that uses magnetic forces. Why do you think the sledge runners are so long?

Now on to his list of naughty and nice kids. This is obviously compiled on a mega-database with a huge data warehouse using extremely complex algorithms to perform very involved sort functions running on a mainframe at the North Pole. C'mon, how else can he get the list done in tiime? Remember, you have to be nice right up to the very minute he arrives. Word has it that Santa's thinking of an SaaS database in the cloud. Remember, you read it here first.

The lists sent from the data warehouse are compressed and stored in the maglev's onboard computer, which is updated in real time through wireless communication. That computer is air-cooled (notice how Santa doesn't appear in tropical countries? That's a dead giveaway.) and linked to a hand-held device running a really tight Linux kernel so he always has access to an up-to-date list without having to go play with the keyboard or key in commands.

Let's not forget routing -- the back end system at the North Pole also has a route planning application, which is linked to the data warehouse so it can amend and update Santa's list in real time to take into account any amendments made at the last minute when kids forget to be nice. Think Santa can do the Drunkard's Walk in his head with millions of variables to factor in? Nah!

Then there's the issue of the presents -- Santa's maglev has a matter transmitter on board to handle them in JIT (just in time) fashion, obviously. How much do you think all those presents weigh? Some of that technology leaked out to the public, as any Trekkie will tell you.

Finally, as to Santa -- what human being can be that old and never change his appearance? Definitely an alien in human guise.

You know the old joke about IT, that support staff don't know what a weekend is because they're often in the office doing management or maintenance or backup or one of a thousand other tasks.

Well, as the recession bites and enterprises further tighten their belts, things are getting even worse, and IT is being squeezed to the max.

Bad enough that IT has to do more with less; but the demands of regulatory compliance are also kicking in, and some companies report that IT spends up to 20 percent of its time on compliance issues.

Now, compliance issues are serious matters, so they take priority over service and support.

Enter NTRglobal, a company that offers -- you guessed it, IT support as a service capabilities. If you want to automate some service processes, the company's NTRsupport product is a multi-platform remote support service that has customizable Bots to automate critical IT functions such as change management and searching for and eliminating malware.

Get your Bot, program it to do what's necessary, turn it loose and let it carry on, and it costs you a fraction of what a trained sysadmin would.

The company's NTRsupport is a remote support service that lets a company's support technicians remotely take control of customers' or employees' PCs, Macs or Linux devices to diagnose and fix problems over the Web, saving enormously on travel and other costs.

The company's major clients include Konica Minolta, Scandinavian Airlines and Lufthansa.

Support as a service? What's not to like?