News

Microsoft Update - Windows 8

Steve Hirst - Monday, January 18, 2016

In a surprise move Microsoft have announced that the support for Windows 8 ended on the 12th of January, instructing users to upgrade to either Windows 8.1 or Windows 10. The biggest issue with no support is the security risk. Windows 8 vulnerabilities were addressed in the upgrade to Windows 8.1 and this operating system will get Microsoft’s 10 year support.

For those that are already running Windows 10:

If you are installing the latest patch for Windows 10 we would recommend that you leave this until after hours or are not requiring your device for the next couple of ours. One of the team just updated his tablet and it took more than 90 minutes.

Give us a call to talk to one of our technical team if you would like some assistance with this or need more information.

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Mobile Security

Steve Hirst - Monday, January 18, 2016

An important resolution that you should carry out for the New Year ought to be setting up the security on your mobile devices. This is now critical, as so much personal and company data is now either stored on the device or the device has access to this information.

• As an absolute minimum, your phone, tablet or laptop must have a password or pin.
• It should be backed up on a regular basis.
• You should enable the “Find my Phone” and “Remote Wipe” features.
• Record your PUK Code for your SIM card somewhere safe.

Recently a friend of mine left her phone of the Interislander Ferry. Because she had enabled the “Find my Phone” feature she was able to track the phone travelling back and forth between the islands until the crew finally located it.

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The cost of security breaches within..

Steve Hirst - Monday, January 18, 2016

In a recent security audit, Kaspersky found that 73 percent of companies have been affected by internal information security incidents, with the largest single cause of confidential data losses being employees - 42 percent.

Company expansion and new components add new vulnerabilities. The situation is aggravated by the fact that not all employees - especially those with no specialist IT knowledge - can keep pace with a rapidly changing IT environment. As a result, the company is exposed not only to external threats but also internal threats that come from employees.
They found that 21 percent of companies affected by internal threats lost valuable data that subsequently had an effect on their business.

In addition to data leaks, internal threats include the loss and theft of employees’ mobile devices - 19 percent of respondents confirmed that they lost a mobile device containing corporate data at least once a year.
Another important factor was related to staff fraud, where 15 percent of those surveyed encountered situations when company resources, including finances, were used by employees for their own purposes.

This survey is a timely reminder to start the year off on the right footing and have your IT company check your company’s security status and internal practices.

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Data and Backups definitions

Steve Hirst - Monday, January 18, 2016

Here are definitions for some of the terms relating to data and backups

Encryption
Encryption is the process of encoding messages or information in such a way that only authorised parties can read it. Encryption does not of itself prevent interception, but denies the message content to the interceptor

Versioning
This is a file system which allows a computer file to exist in several versions at the same time. Most common versioning file systems keep a number of old copies of the file. This allows users to recover or view earlier versions of documents that have been since modified or partially deleted.

Archiving
Data archiving is the process of moving data that is no longer actively used to a separate storage device for long-term retention. Archive data consists of older data that is still important to the organization and may be needed for future reference, as well as data that must be retained for regulatory compliance.

Sovereignty
Data sovereignty is the concept that information which has been converted and stored in binary digital form is subject to the laws of the country in which it is located.

Legal hold
Legal hold is a stipulation requiring a company to preserve all data that may relate to a legal action involving the company. This requirement ensures that the data in question will be available for the discovery process prior to litigation.

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Ransomware Criminal Apprehended

Steve Hirst - Friday, December 18, 2015

It makes disturbing news when we read that malware doubles every year and that 63% of businesses download malware. Therefore, is was great to get some good news regarding the apprehension of the person behind the CoinVault and Bitcryptor ransomware.

If you have ever been a victim of ransomware, you know the pain of having to make the decision to lose your data or possibly shell out hundreds of dollars for a chance at retrieving it. Those who have been affected by CoinVault and Bitcryptor ransomware can now rest easy as Kaspersky has obtained all relevant decryption keys, making it possible for users to retrieve their data without having to pay a single penny.

Earlier in the year, they reported that Kaspersky Lab was working with authorities to uncover decryption keys for those affected by Coinvault. Unfortunately, at the time, only a small number of keys had been recovered, making the solution hit-or-miss. But now, several months later, Kaspersky is happy to report that the joint investigation has uncovered all of the decryption keys for CoinVault and Bitcryptor ransomware. The company has made a decryption program available for free, which will allow users to decrypt their own data.

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AVG can sell your browsing history to third parties

Steve Hirst - Tuesday, October 20, 2015

AVG - one of the world's largest computer security firms - has come under fire recently for their newly updated privacy policy. The issue in question that’s caught the eye of privacy advocates, is that they can now retain the browsing history of their users, and have the ability to sell that information on to third parties.
Their policy states the following;

"We collect non-personal data to make money from our free offerings so we can keep them free, including:
• Advertising ID associated with your device;
• Browsing and search history, including meta data;
• Internet service provider or mobile network you use to connect to our products; and
• Information regarding other applications you may have on your device and how they are used.

Sometimes browsing history or search history contains terms that might identify you. If we become aware that part of your browsing history might identify you, we will treat that portion of your history as personal data, and will anonymise this information."

Metadata is a powerful tool for identifying and tracking people, it’s what the NSA was collecting en-masse from around the world for just that purpose. As AVG classify browsing, search history and metadata as non-personal data they have the ability to share it with third parties:

Do you share my data?
Yes, though when and how we share it depends on whether it is personal data or non-personal data. AVG may share non-personal data with third parties and may publicly display aggregate or anonymous information.

Thankfully, they also state that users do have a way to opt out, by following the instructions on their website here.
The impact that this will have on AVG, who are the world’s third largest antivirus vendor, remains to be seen. As most people are used to clicking on ‘Agree’ for license agreements and privacy policies without really reading the fine print; it is unlikely many users will have any idea of their acceptance of this practice.

If you currently run AVG’s antivirus software, our tech team would be happy to provide assistance with this or similar features. Alternatively, consider switching to our managed antivirus solution, and avoid the risk altogether!

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Outlook attack steals massive number of passwords

Steve Hirst - Monday, October 19, 2015

Large organisations could be at risk as researchers have uncovered advanced malware that can steal almost all of their email passwords by infecting their Outlook Web Application (OWA) mail server over an extended period of time.

Security firm Cybereason’s researchers discovered the malicious OWA module after receiving a call from an unnamed company that had more than 19,000 endpoints (an Internet-capable computer hardware device). Apparently the company had witnessed several behavioural abnormalities in its network and asked Cybereason to look for suspicious activity. Within hours, they found a suspicious file loaded into the company’s OWA server that was unsigned (not proven to be safe).

This file contained a backdoor. Because it ran on the company's server, it was able to circumvent the security protocols, and as a result, the attackers behind this threat were able to steal the passwords of anyone that accessed the server.

Cybereason also detailed the technical information behind how the hackers managed to gain a foothold into such a highly strategic asset;
"Almost by definition, OWA requires organizations to define a relatively lax set of restrictions; and in this case, OWA was configured in a way that allowed Internet-facing access to the server. This enabled the hackers to establish persistent control over the entire organization's environment without being detected for a period of several months."

This is a particularly valuable resource for attackers because it acts as an intermediary between the public Internet and a resource that’s inside a company’s firewall. Because they were using OWA to enable remote user access to Outlook, the attackers were able to access the company’s domain credentials. Although Cybereason didn’t say how widespread the attack is beyond it targeting the one company, the likelihood is that malware as detailed as this isn’t a one-off thing, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see it resurface again.

Are you worried about such an event happening to your company? Our Managed Services Solutions can help you defend against such an attack. Talk to our sales team for more info.

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3 Tips for OS X El Capitan

Steve Hirst - Monday, October 19, 2015

The new version of Apple’s operating system was released at the end of last month, and if you have a modern Apple PC you’ll probably have received notification of the upgrade. This month we have chosen our favourite 3 handy tips to get the most out of OS X El Capitan, we’ve got plenty more of these so contact us if you’re interested.

Auto-hide the menu bar
It’s now possible to auto-hide the menu bar that appears at the top of your Mac’s screen to get more screen real estate.

1. Go to Settings -> General
2. Click the checkbox next to "Automatically hide and show the menu bar."
Don’t worry though, the menu bar will return if you put your cursor at the top of the screen.

Split View window resizing
Split View makes it easy and fast to put two applications side by side in full-screen view. This can be a big help if you need to copy and paste text between applications.

1. Click and hold the green full screen button in the upper left corner of an application window.
2. Release your trackpad or mouse button to put the window on the left side of your screen or drag it over to the right side if you prefer.
3. Click on one of the other app thumbnails that will appear on the opposite side of the screen to open it side by side with your first application.

Find your cursor
El Capitan comes with a fun, easy way to find your cursor. You can shake your mouse or trackpad and the cursor will magnify on your screen so you can quickly locate it.

1. Grab your mouse and shake it vigorously. Your cursor will grow in size so that you can easily locate it.
2. If you’re using a trackpad, tap and hold the surface, then move your finger back and forth as fast as you can. Your cursor will become larger until you can locate it.

For help with these tips or any other Apple questions and issues you might have, give us a call to talk to our in-house Apple expert!

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Passwords are becoming obsolete

Steve Hirst - Monday, October 19, 2015

Thanks to the emerging phenomenon that is the Internet of Things, the Internet and personal security has never been under such pressure, especially with the rate of the cybercrime increasing exponentially. In the past we could rely on passwords to protect our bank accounts, computer access and other personal devices, and many people changed them infrequently.

These day’s for most of us, the number and complexity of passwords we are now forced to create, and the regularity with which they should be changed is too much for most of us to handle. As a result we resort to writing passwords down, saving them in unencrypted files, or using the same password for everything. The more technically aware use a password manager such as Steganos or Last Pass, but even these require passwords to login.

The Internet of Things is focused on connecting more and more devices to each other that generate, store and share unprecedented amounts of sensitive information. The data on all these devices requires more passwords – which creates more security risks.

Ultimately to combat the security risks, passwords are becoming obsolete. Because of this, the way people access smartphones, personal computers and many other password-protected technologies will change. The likely scenario is a decline in password use over the next few years as alternative methods, like biometrics and device authentication arrive to supplement or replace them. Biometrics includes technology such as fingerprint scanners, palm print readers, iris scanners, and finger vein and face recognition. Authentication covers techniques such as two-factor authentication, device encryption and multiple authenticators.

With the unprecedented and unstoppable proliferation of devices, data and connectivity, the move away from passwords is well underway and accelerating. People want more privacy and security than passwords are giving them and alternatives will continue to grow in favour as they become more widely used in the digital world.

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Avoid Data Loss

Steve Hirst - Monday, September 21, 2015

We are still concerned at the number of companies which still do not have a comprehensive backup regime. Losing your valuable data can result in substantial costs for companies and could be the downfall for some.

Data loss can impact a business’s bottom line. If it loses customer information it may not be able to make sales or invoice customers. Reliable cash flow depends on business continuity, which in turn relies on critical and non-critical data being readily available.

As such, disaster recovery is a vital part of business continuity and should be a central pillar of a business’s strategic planning. Disaster recovery will not work properly without an appropriate backup plan. Backup and disaster recovery planning, implementation, and regular testing are essential for business survival.

Please talk to us if you if you have any concerns about the suitability of your existing backup system and disaster recovery readiness.

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