by Felicien | May 16, 2018 | Education
Where Did They Go?
In 2017, Microsoft planned to release a lightweight version of Windows 10. This was their effort to provide a Windows solution that delivered a predictable performance by using only Microsoft-verified applications via the Microsoft Store.
Microsoft also wanted to compete with the Google Chromebook and promote Windows 10 S for use in the K-12 education market. Windows 10 S was initially offered as part of the Surface Laptop which is a premium, and quite expensive product. So, this addition to the education market was quite a leap.
Windows 10 S was going to be offered at a reduced price with the option to pay more to “unlock” the full Windows 10 Operating System. But Microsoft changed their minds. They realized that we don’t want to pay extra for something that should have been included, to begin with.
On March 7, 2018, they said:
Based on customer feedback we are simplifying the experience for our customers. Starting with the next update to Windows 10, coming soon, customers can choose to buy a new Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro PC with S mode enabled, and commercial customers will be able to deploy Windows 10 Enterprise with S mode enabled.
What this means is that the Windows 10 S computer has been retired. Instead, Microsoft has decided to incorporate Windows 10 S as a “mode” for all Windows 10 Operating Systems.
Microsoft hopes this new approach will make it possible for their customers to start using the S mode. They say that it provides a streamlined computing experience that enhances security and performance across all editions.
So, for the foreseeable future, Windows 10 S is now a configuration in the Windows 10 Pro and Windows Home computers. The S Mode will lock down Windows 10, so it can only run applications from the Microsoft Store–essentially, exactly what the dedicated Windows 10 S operating system was intended to do.
Microsoft is letting Windows 10 Home users disable the S Mode free of charge. However, Windows 10 Pro customers with S Mode enabled on their device will have to pay $49 to get access to the full version of Windows 10 Pro.
Should You Consider Using the S Mode? The “S” in Windows 10 S was supposed to stand for “simplicity.” Its intent was to provide a productive and secure Windows experience. Microsoft says that it’s designed for superior performance. Starting up, streaming HD video and switching across applications is much faster than with Windows 10.
Windows 10 S only uses apps from the Microsoft Store and provides a safer browsing capability via Microsoft Edge. Because the applications for Windows 10 S only come from the Microsoft Store, the folks at Microsoft say that it ensures security and integrity. And they say that Microsoft Edge is more secure than using Chrome or Firefox browsers. The Windows Defender Antivirus and other security features in Windows are also included in Windows 10 S.
Windows 10 S comes with built-in apps and new features like Cortana, Windows Ink and Windows Hello so you can sign on without a password. It integrates with OneDrive, so you can easily save your files to the cloud and sync them across your other devices. If you decide you want to run applications that aren’t in the Microsoft Store, you can easily switch to Windows 10 Pro (except you’ll have to pay $49 to do so).
What Do Others Think About Windows 10 S?
Microsoft says that 60% of their users stay with Windows 10 S when using third-party devices. And those who do switch, do so within 24 hours of setting up their device. Those who keep using Windows 10 S for a week or so, end up keeping their device in S mode (83 %). These statistics are for low-end PCs as the only high-end computer running Windows 10 S is the Surface Laptop. These users weren’t included in their survey.
It looks like the Windows S Mode is here to stay. But some experts predict that it poses problems for Microsoft down the line. They believe that it’s going to confuse people. While the Home versions offer a free switch path, the charge for the Pro versions could bother users who want more premium devices.
Here is another issue with this change— Microsoft says that AV/Security apps will come in the Windows 10 S mode. But what about the AV software from third-party providers? Will these applications run in the S mode? If so, this defeats the purpose of what the S mode is supposed to do. Does this mean that using these apps will hamper the promised performance in Windows 10 S? We’ll have to wait to see how Microsoft deals with this. But for now, it seems like a contradiction.
Windows 10 S devices span a price range from $189 to $2,199 (for the top Surface Laptop). It’s not impossible to provide solutions for both low-end and high-end device users, but some feel this will be difficult for people to get their minds around.
Windows 10 Spring Creators Update will probably be released with a different name: Windows 10 April Update. However, it’s been delayed while Microsoft rushes to fix a newly-discovered bug. Between the changes with Windows 10 S and now the next Windows 10 update, it seems there’s a lot of “plate-spinning” going on at Microsoft right now.
by Felicien | May 15, 2018 | Education
Security researchers have discovered a new hacking group that is targeting healthcare organizations and other major international corporations related to this sector all around the world, and especially in United States, Europe, and parts of Asia. The intent of this group is to conduct corporate espionage. Researchers have named this hacker group “Orangeworm”. According to a recent report, this group has been active since early 2015, and its primary focus is the health sector.
How does Orangeworm work?
The healthcare industry has been targeted by Orangeworm to get access to patient’s records and to learn more about imaging devices. The hackers install a Trojan (dubbed by security researchers as “Kwampirs”) in computers used to control high-tech imaging devices like MRI and X-Ray machines. This allows the hackers to steal sensitive data and remotely access equipment by opening a backdoor in these compromised computers. It also infects machines that are used to assist patients in filling consent forms.
Kwampirs then takes some basic information from these compromised computers and sends it to the hackers to a remote command-and-control server. This server then determines if the hacked system is being operated by a high-value target or a researcher. If the server finds the victim to be of interest then the virus spreads itself across network shares and infects all the other computers in the same organization. The malware uses the system’s built-in commands to gather information about the victim’s compromised system and network instead of using enumeration tools and third-party reconnaissance.
Companies infected by Orangeworm
Almost 40% of companies infected by this malware belong to the healthcare sector while the rest of the organizations, although not belonging to the medical sector, are related to healthcare organizations. Other organizations infected with Orangeworm belong to companies in the agriculture, logistics, IT services, and manufacturing sector. According to researchers, hackers attempted a supply-chain attack to penetrate the software of healthcare organizations by infecting a service provider.
Profile of the hackers
According to investigators Orangeworm does not fit the techniques, procedures, and tactics of a classic nation-state APT (advanced persistent actor) but it is still an APT. The most common observation is that Orangeworm is a single hacker or a group of lone hackers working to steal information about patients from healthcare organizations to sell on the black market. This patient information is considered to be more complete than customer data stored in financial or any other institution. Hackers gather as much information as they can about their victims such as network shares and user groups, configuration information, account policy information, list of directories and files, running system process and systems, accounts with admin access and the like.
If the virus detects something of value in the system, Kwampirs will copy itself, propagate across the network and infect other computers. Investigators are of the opinion that the hackers are working on some sort of espionage on the sector as they do not appear to be copying any data from the network.
The hackers are not concerned about being detected as they are using lateral movement methods that are thought to be noisy and antiquated. In spite of this, it took investigators three years to disclose and identify the group’s attacks. According to investigators, the reason why this malware went undetected for so long is that the healthcare organizations usually use computers that are old and have software that is rarely updated, doesn’t have an antivirus, and are therefore easy to hack.
According to experts, hackers employed a similar pattern in all the attacks that were carried out. They infected one computer with Kwampirs, and then proliferate to others. This ensured them remote access to every infected host. The hackers spread the virus to as many systems possible that is why the malware has also infected the computers that control the medical devices.
Security concerns
According to the findings of a detailed report on the group’s method of operation, hackers have made no efforts to update the virus since the first attacks which suggest that the attackers are either stupid or supremely confident about never getting caught.
These attackers are bold as their methods have proved very effective. Security researchers have been stressing for a long time the need to install security measures to safeguard the weakened ports. Medical devices have been targeted before also. Recently, WannaCry ransomware also targeted hospitals all around the globe.
Even though the motives of Orangeworm are unclear and investigators have been unable to find the group’s origins, they are of the opinion that the group is conducting espionage for personal gain and commercial purposes. They have been unable to find any significant evidence suggesting that a nation-state backs it.
Although, Orangeworm is not the first or the last malware to hit the healthcare organizations it is imperative that these organizations routinely search and monitor their computer systems to make sure that their devices are safe from such attacks.
by Felicien | May 14, 2018 | Education
The cost of downtime goes up exponentially when you’re waiting for an unresponsive IT company. So why bother? Try our responsive Help Desk instead.
So much of the IT industry is dependent on time. How quickly an IT firm can respond to a problem, how much downtime their client deals with, how much they’re charged for on-site repair hours, etc. The speed of resolution is a primary factor in how valuable an IT firm’s services really are.
We all know that downtime is bad. It’s bad for business, bad for employees, bad for clients – bad for you. When your systems fail, your employees sit around twiddling their thumbs, waiting for it to come back online. Your customers get more and more frustrated, waiting to get what they were expecting when they came to your office or called you that day.
But the truth is, it’s even worse than that.
Beyond the surface level issues caused by unexpected downtime, there’s the reality that downtime both wastes your money and costs you in revenue. When you really dig into the details, downtime can cost you a lot of money in a relatively small time frame.
That’s why it makes zero sense to put up with unresponsive IT support. Every minute of delay costs you more money in wasted staff hours, lost data, and lowered productivity, all on top of what you’re already paying the IT firm in the first place!
The reality of modern technology is that cybercrime, serious weather, or even human error can quickly take your systems offline. IT is now such a central part of a business that server failure and software crashes will affect every aspect of it.
The computer isn’t just one part of your business anymore. It’s how you process sales, place orders, track inventory, and more. That means that one full day of computer downtime equals one full day of not being in business.
Given that your IT is such a foundational part of your business, you need to invest in support that will make sure it keeps working for you, day after day, regardless of increases in cybercrime, or bad weather, or a careless employee.
{company} is proud to offer high-quality Help Desk support services for your business. Unlike other Lakeland network support companies, we won’t put you on hold when you need our help.
We know when you have problems with your technology, your employees are unable to stay focused and productive, which means time and money are wasted and work doesn’t get done. Our Help Desk professionals are here to give you the quick and reliable support you deserve with:
E-mail applications and Web browsers
Hardware and network troubleshooting
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We specialize in proactive management and maintenance of your IT environment. With this type of support, most of the pending issues and possible threats in your system are neutralized before they affect your business. In-house IT staffs often operate on a break/fix model, which only address issues after a problem has occurred. Proactive maintenance keeps your systems running and your employees productive, which ensures a maximum return on your investment in technology and employee wages.
However, when something does go wrong, and you need our help, we won’t keep you waiting!
Technology issues need to be sorted out as quickly as possible, and that’s exactly what we’ll do. Our Help Desk services give you:
Access to knowledgeable technicians that are able to resolve issues remotely or come onsite when needed.
Around the clock availability via our online ticketing system, phone or email, which means you are never left without the help you need.
A thorough explanation of the situation in plain, easy-to-understand terms to help you understand what is happening with your technology.
Comprehensive support solutions for anything you need to stay productive, including remote access, printing, email, phones, connectivity, and more.
Your business can’t afford downtime, slowdowns, and breakdowns. Our proactive approach to IT management and Help Desk Services gives you the answers you need and speedy resolutions to any IT issues that may come up from day to day.
Our responsive Help Desk staff is internal and based right here in our offices.
Your assigned Help Desk technician will even come to meet you at your office – so you know exactly who you are talking to every time you pick up the phone and call.
We won’t make you wait on hold – you can speak with us directly by telephone. If it’s more convenient, you can access our Help Desk through the agent we set up on your computers, online portal, or email.
by Felicien | May 11, 2018 | Education
The legal industry is facing its most challenging obstacle to date and it’s not from judges, court cases, the mafia, felons or any of those things you might guess. Instead, these attacks against law firms are coming from hackers. Once viewed as impenetrable to hackers, today’s law firm is just about as likely to be hacked as any other business.
John Sweeney of LogicForce explains: “Law firms are the subject of targeted attacks for one simple reason,” he recently said. “Their servers hold incredibly valuable information. That includes businesses’ IP, medical records, bank information, even government secrets. For hackers looking for information they can monetize, there is no better place to start.”
His comment highlights a growing problem for the legal industry. Each day, they are faced with new and practically unstoppable cyber-crimes. One of the most startling aspects of this troubling trend is that many times, the law firm doesn’t even know it’s been hacked. A 2016 study done on this topic showed that 40 percent of the law firms that were breached had no idea that a crime had been committed. This is disturbing on several levels.
If you’ve recently done business with a law firm, there is a possibility that your business, personal and/or financial information could already be in the hands of hackers on the other side of the world.
A global problem for law firms
The fourth largest law firm in the world, Mossack Fonseca lost 11.5 million files from its database. The information was eventually shared with journalists, the BBC and newspapers. This offshore law firm specializes in helping wealthy clients hide their money. The documents that were leaked contained highly sensitive information about wealthy clients and their offshore tax schemes.
Mossack Fonseca’s client base also included national leaders and well-known politicians. The documents that were leaked held clear evidence of how and where large amounts of money were hidden by illustrious leaders like Vladimir Putin. Embarrassing revelations were made public such as how British prime minister, David Cameron’s father, had been avoiding paying taxes in Britain for many years. Any law firm would find it difficult to recover from such a devastating breach of security.
Solving the problem
For most companies who are breached by cyber thieves, the recovery process begins with contacting those who were affected while stopping any other data leaks. With law firms, this process usually begins with helping the firm to find out whether they’ve already been a victim of a cyber-crime. This requires experts in cybersecurity who will run a series of tests looking for specific anomalies. Once they find out whether data has been lost, the experts will recommend a course of action. This typically includes securing the data so that no other intrusions will occur, while notifying those who were affected.
Law firm hacking on the rise
In spite of all the hype about hacking and cyber-security, a new report says that 14 million businesses were, in some way, affected by cyber-crimes last year. The experts believe that the reason the number is so high is that most small business owners do not believe they are at risk. This is also true of most law firms. They simply think they are exempt from data breaches. This leaves them even more at risk because they are unprepared.
Senior attorneys don’t fully understand how hacking is done and what types of weaknesses a hacker looks for. The principles at a law firm are often not up to date on the latest techniques that hackers are using. This leaves them defenseless. If you want to defeat an enemy, you must first learn everything you can about that enemy. Very few people including attorneys, understand the science behind hacking.
In addition, lawyers use a wide range of devices from smartphones to laptops and desktop computers. Each device is a potential gateway for cyber-thieves to enter and steal information. With the Internet of Things (IoT) now growing, even appliances in the break room can be hacked.
The recent rise in law firm breaches proves that professionals are still not fully aware of the dangers lurking around us on the internet. Attorneys may be reluctant to spend the money and time on a security team that will come in and create the proper security protocols. But waiting to see will place all customer data at risk. People often tell their attorney sensitive information that could harm their clients in many ways. A data breach is embarrassing and hard to explain to those clients who have entrusted you with personal information.
Preparing for data breaches
A good place to start for a law firm that does not have proper security in place is the American Bar Association’s guide. This comprehensive document includes a great deal of information about preventing cyber-attacks. It also addresses ways to respond once an attack has occurred. Employees should be trained about phishing attacks and this training must be ongoing because the method that hackers use evolves with each new attack.
The managers at a law firm can begin by engaging an outside IT security expert that specializes in legal data. The team of security experts will assess your current level of protection against intruders, then recommend new initiatives. They should institute a regular training program that teaches employees how to spot phishing attacks in emails. Even trained employees may get careless, but continual training helps everyone to remember how important it is not to click on suspicious links or give away passwords.
What a law firm can do today
Many law firms are also writing their own policies about password protection, log-in credentials, and web-surfing. Once you have policies in place that your employees are aware of, you can begin to enforce them and this will help to eliminate threats. Your onsite IT people should be checking weekly for patches and updates to software. New updates should be downloaded as soon as possible.
Regardless of the time and expense of these security initiatives, the alternative could be devastating. One of the most important assets a law firm has is its reputation. Once a data leak has occurred, it’s too late. Legal professionals must do everything possible to prepare and prevent these leaks.
There’s every reason to believe that this digital age will continue to expand across the world. Businesses and the legal industry are facing unprecedented challenges for the future, but there are solid remedies that work. It all begins with realizing how vulnerable you are and how important it is to protect your client’s information. Regardless of the cost, the alternative is just too costly.
by Felicien | May 11, 2018 | Education
Microsoft Office 365 now has over 60 million active users each month and has become a favorite of large and small business owners. Just about every task that business people complete each day can be accomplished using Office 365. From Excel spreadsheets to professional word processing, users say they get more done with Office 365.
Their flagship email program is Outlook and this program can handle much more than your average email tasks. It integrates perfectly with the other Office 365 programs and it features a similar look and feel. The “Ribbon” that everyone has become so accustomed to has many of the same commands as you might see in Word. That makes it much easier to learn how to become an expert user.
Outlook 2016 features so many good shortcuts and handy tricks to make every project go smoother. However, sometimes users simply want to sort through their emails, answer them and move on to something else. For those times, you can follow a few easy steps to create a much more streamlined Outlook experience.
Simplifying the Home Page
The home page of Outlook 2016 contains six major areas. The ribbon runs across the top, then across the middle are four sections. On the far left is the folder pane, next is the Inbox and then the wider section is your reading pane. On the far right is the calendar. Here’s where you can set appointments. Down below, across the bottom is a new area that Microsoft has recently incorporated in the design called the Navigation Pane. This area contains links for your Mail, Calendar, People, Tasks, and More.
This new area replicates some of the other areas on the page. Therefore, you can just close the whole right-hand section where the traditional calendar is located. To do this, simply click on the small “X” in the upper right-hand corner. This makes the Calendar area disappear. When you’re ready to restore that area, simply click that X again and the pane reappears.
In addition, you can minimize the whole Navigation Pane by clicking on More (represented by dots). Select “Navigation Options” from the drop-down list. A small dialog box appears where you can check the box that says, “Compact Navigation.” This reduces the Navigation Pane to small icons that are barely noticeable. They will still work the same as the original, only now they’re inconspicuous.
Following along that same concept, you can also remove the left-hand pane which contains your folders. Now, you’ve effectively reduced the Home Page from six sections to three. This is a good idea for anyone who just wants to comb through their emails, see what is important and respond. Your attention is no longer drawn away by a busy-looking page. Now things appear much simpler. If you need to look at any of the sections you’ve removed, it’s very easy to restore each section. For the folders, you can click on the word “folders” and they will appear until you click the word again. In many Microsoft programs, hovering over a word or section causes additional information to appear. This is a good way to learn more about a section or get a quick look at what is contained in an area. These pop-outs usually appear when you hover over them and then disappear once you move your cursor.
Working with the Ribbon
The Ribbon in Outlook 2016 contains four major tabs with various tools available. It’s easy to remove the Ribbon if it seems distracting. Simply click on the arrow on the far right side and this collapses the Ribbon. The keyboard shortcut for this action is Control+F1. If you need to quickly show the Ribbon, then click on the View tab and it will appear until you click away. It’s often just that easy to make a section appear or disappear. This makes it fast to remove areas you might not need and it’s a good method of personalizing your Outlook program.
If you’d like to just completely get rid of the Ribbon, there’s an icon in the upper right-hand area next to the question mark. Click on that and you’ll see that they are three options for the Ribbon. You can Auto-Hide, Show Tabs or Show Tabs and Commands. The last one is the most commonly used. The other two allow you to have as much of the Ribbon at the top as you need. If you click on Auto-Hide, the whole Ribbon disappears leaving you with a very clean looking page that deals only with your Inbox and Reading Pane. You can quickly move through emails or read over longer emails that require more attention. When you need to temporarily view the Ribbon, just place your cursor over the colored bar at the very top and the Ribbon will reappear.
Personalizing your Program
Once you get the hang of how easy it is to close and open areas, you can adjust your Outlook email program so that it displays only those things that you work with most often. Microsoft purposely builds software programs that can be easily modified by the user to give each person their own personalized experience.
One thing that many users probably know but may forget is that all Microsoft programs have one thing in common: you can right-click in whatever area you’re working and get a list of options. Often, on this list, you’ll see the action you want to take, thus preventing you from having to completely restore an area of the page. This is a quick, easy way to accomplish almost any task.
Reading Emails
The new Outlook also allows you to click on “Reply” and then start typing your email. There’s no longer a new window that appears. This has proven to be a huge time-saver. Let’s say you’ve clicked reply but you want to add some bolding to your typing or use a larger font. Highlight the text and the font section appears next to your typing. This works exactly the same as it does in Word. You can quickly change fonts, colors, add underlines or bolding, highlight text or even add indenting to your paragraph. If you right-click the Inbox, you’ll see a different set of commands that pertain only to the Inbox.
Attachments can be viewed just by clicking on them. If you’re reading an email that has a Word doc attached, just click it once and it opens in the Outlook program. If you double-click on the attachment, it will open up in Word. This is also true for PDF attachments. This can save lots of time if you only need to take a quick look at an attachment someone sent with their email.
Keyboard Shortcuts
One of the big time savers in all Office 365 programs involves learning the keyboard shortcuts. People who use these daily say that it improves their speed and prevents them from losing focus. If you print them out and keep them handy, you’ll quickly learn the most commonly used ones. Below are a few that everyone uses in Outlook, but there are many more that you could learn if you want to be an over-achiever:
Alt+S: send email
Ctrl+R: reply to email
Ctrl+M: or F9 to Send/Receive all
Alt+R: reply to all in email or switch to work week calendar view
Ctrl+G: open the “Go to date” dialog and jump to any date in the calendar
Alt+W: forward email or switch to weekly calendar view
More Shortcuts
Press Ctrl + [the place number of the item] to switch between email, contacts, calendar and other items in Outlook. This is a quick way to move from one task to the next. Create a reminder by pressing Ctrl + Shift + N. This creates a virtual sticky note that you can drag anywhere on the screen.
When setting appointments go to your calendar and just type a phrase like, “next Thursday” or “one week from now” and your calendar will automatically open there.
You can block annoying emails that you don’t want to receive by going to Home>Junk email options and selecting the sender you wish to block. View long emails as a conversation by clicking on the message and then selecting View>Show as Conversation. Flag a message for further inquiry by pressing the Insert key to toggle the flag off and on.
Learn to Make Outlook Work for You
Outlook 2016 includes so many great time-savers like these. If this is a program you use daily, it’s a good idea to become a pro at using them. You can cut precious minutes from your busy day simply by learning how to streamline and personalize Outlook. As Microsoft continues to update its Office 365 programs, they will build in many more shortcuts. They’re easy to learn and the company offers a number of great video tutorials and training videos to help even a novice learn all the helpful features.
