by Felicien | Nov 28, 2017 | Education
A new strain of ransomware — SCARAB — began hitting millions of inboxes last week; make sure your business knows how to protect against it.
Ransomware is now a household name, and there’s no going back. Even though cybercriminals have been using ransomware for years now, it wasn’t until the global Wanna Cry ransomware attack earlier this year that awareness reached critical mass – but that was just the beginning.
The latest development in the ever-evolving series of ransomware attacks uses the internet’s largest email spam botnet to propagate a relatively new ransomware known as “SCARAB”. This strain works similarly to the “Jaff” ransomware, relying on the now infamous Necurs botnet to reach millions of potential targets.
This threat was first detected by Forcepoint Security Labs as a part of a malicious email campaign that arrived in target inboxes on November 23rd at 7:30 AM UCT. From the time of the first detected email and over the following 4 hours, Forcepoint observed an increase in SCARAB emails from just under 100,000 separate incidents to nearly 350,000. At its peak, the SCARAB ransomware campaign was sending more than two million emails per hour. A vast majority of the emails carrying SCARAB are targeting .com addresses, followed by various European domains.
Identifying SCARAB – Look Out For This Email Subject Line
Ransomware emails sent by Necurs carrying SCARAB have the subject, “Scanned from {printer company name}”, a phishing ruse similar to those employed by cybercriminals involved in the Locky ransomware campaign. The includes a .zip file that is assumed to be a scanned document or image file but actually contains a VBScript downloader.
Once executed, SCARAB drops a copy of itself, creates a registry entry as an autostart mechanism, and encrypts files using a “.scarab” extension. The ransom note is then placed in every affected directory, named “WANT TO GET ALL YOUR FILES BACK, PLEASE READ THIS. TXT”.
Contradictory to other major ransomware campaigns, SCARAB does not necessarily state a specific monetary amount for the ransom, instead of saying, “the price depends on how fast you write to us”. Payment can be made through an email address, or through an alternative BitMessage contact mechanism.
What Can You Do To Protect Your Business From SCARAB?
As with any strain of ransomware, there are a few key steps you and your employees can take to protect your business:
Be suspicious of emails and attachments from people or companies that you don’t do business with, as most ransomware infections arrive via infected word/xls/zip/exe files.
Backup your data on-site and off-site, and test your backups regularly.
Create a plan for getting infected, and regularly test your plan.
Consult with trusted cybersecurity and IT professionals.
Remember – you don’t have to do this alone. {company} will help you set up robust backup solutions, develop cybersecurity response strategies, and help you protect against threats like SCARAB ransomware.
For more information about SCARAB and how to protect against it, contact the {company} team at {phone} or {email}.
by Felicien | Nov 27, 2017 | Education
A warning to businesses to be on the lookout for the latest ransomware threat, “Scarab” which is making headlines in the UK and around the globe. This variant of the ransomware virus has become part of a large-scale email-based campaign that manages to slip past the defenses of some unsuspecting companies.
Scarab, is distributed through a malicious email campaign. The email uses the subject line “Scanned from {printer company name}. This is similar to a previous version of the Locky ransomware. The email contains a 7zip attachment that contains a VBScript downloader. The virus script has been found to contain several references to Game of Thrones.
Scarab is a relatively new ransomware family that was discovered back in June. Strangely, the note doesn’t specify the amount demanded, instead it tells you “the price depends on how fast you write to us.”
As with all ransomware, Scarab encrypts the victim’s files, making them irrevocable without payment. Most ransomware has a built-in file extension filter that will leave executable files intact.
While antivirus and firewalls are incredibly effective in reducing risk, you need a more robust security solution in place to defend against the increasingly dangerous threat landscape. To be fully protected, companies will need a proper, reliable backup and disaster recovery (BDR) solution with online and offline backup solutions as the ultimate failsafe against successful attacks.
You want to be vigilant in protecting yourself and your data on a daily basis. Some things to remember are:
Backup that data. You can never backup too often.
If you don’t who is sending an attachment, don’t open it.
If it appears to be from someone you know, verify that they sent you one before opening.
Install Windows updates as soon as you see them available. They are there for a reason.
Make sure you are using passwords and don’t use the same password on multiple sites or more than once.
Unfortunately, no matter how strong the security solutions, attacks will continue to slip through the cracks. Therefore, MSPs and MSSPs who are looking to fully-protect their clients must implement a proper, reliable backup and disaster recovery (BDR) solution with online and offline backup solutions as the ultimate failsafe against successful attacks. Your data is important, don’t let some hacker take it away.
by Felicien | Nov 24, 2017 | Education, M-A
Staying on top of business and technology trends have become increasingly expensive. However, your competitors will be investing in IT even if you don’t—and that’s something you can’t afford. With our deep understanding of small and mid-sized businesses needs, together with our expertise in cloud technologies/CRM/enterprise infrastructure/collaboration platforms, we can design a unique solution based on Microsoft Office 365 that makes technology your competitive advantage.
You can boost productivity with cloud-based collaboration tools, and work with full versions of Office anytime, anywhere, and on virtually any device. Further benefits include low up-front costs and the flexibility to add users and services as needed.
Whether you want to transition to a cloud environment or extend the value of your existing IT investment, we can help you meet your unique business goals.
Contact us now and get on the fast track to modern business.
by Felicien | Nov 24, 2017 | Education
Migrating from G Suite to Office 365 – A Comprehensive Guide for Business Owners
Microsoft’s Office 365 and Google’s G Suite are the two leading contenders when it comes to business optimization in the Cloud. While the two platforms share a variety of similar features and applications, administrators know that there are some distinct differences between the two Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) productivity platforms.
What are the benefits of Microsoft Office 365 over Google G Suite? Watch our webinar recording focused on “Google G Suite vs. Microsoft Office 365”
This means, for administrators looking to migrate data from G Suite to Office 365, making careful considerations about platform differences can make the transition run smoother. While Microsoft offers an Office 365 Onboarding Guide, it doesn’t address all the potential considerations for users migrating from G Suite.
Setting Sail: Strategies for a Smooth G Suite to Office 365 Migration
To ensure no G Suite data is lost in translation, it’s critical that businesses take a moment to examine their situation and develop a migration strategy. By implementing migration best practices, administrators can better manage the migration from G Suite to Office 365 and make sure all data is transferred successfully.
There are a variety of third-party tools and services that business owners can use to migrate data from Google’s cloud to Microsoft’s online office suite. Regardless of which tools or services you use, developing an overall migration strategy will help your company avoid the common pitfalls and problems associated with G Suite to Office 365 migrations.
Before launching a migration, companies need to answer four key questions. Answers to these questions will determine the type and scope of your migration. Having these answers firmly in place before the migration process begins will prevent problems down the road and make the overall process run smoother.
Let’s explore each of the four questions below:
What Data Needs to be Migrated?
First and foremost, determine what G Suite data needs to be migrated into Outlook. For most organizations, the critical element of migration is focused on migrating email data from Gmail to Outlook or Exchange. Because email is such a foundational part of operations for all modern businesses, this data is usually the most important element of the migration process. So, for some businesses, migration will be heavily focused on migrating email data and nothing else.
However, if organizations are looking to move more than email data, a few other questions arise. For instance, is all the data coming from G Suite or does data need to be migrated from additional apps and platforms used by different departments? Do different users have different kinds of data that need to be migrated? Having answers to these questions is a critical part of ensuring migration is constructive and efficient. Furthermore, asking all the necessary questions ensures that no data is left behind.
Will you Deploy a DIY Migration or Enlist Outside Help?
Next, it’s critical to choose how you’re going to undertake the migration process. For some businesses, going it alone may be the most cost-effective option – especially if there are some tech-savvy team members on staff. If your company decides to take on the migration process without external help, be sure to do your research and get the lay of the land before diving in. Microsoft has a variety of instruction manuals designed to help business owners understand and master the migration process – we’ll touch on those later.
For companies looking to enlist support, there are a number of third-party services out there that specialize in Office 365 migrations. Additionally, if your organization works with an IT MSP, their team can help manage or at least provide expert assistance with the migration process. No matter what, if you decide to enlist third-party migration help, make sure to make that decision before you start the migration process. Bringing in outside help mid-migration can be incredibly complex and expensive.
What’s in Your Migration Toolbox?
Once you’ve determined your migration team – whether it be internal, external or a mix of both – it’s just as important to build a migration ‘toolbox’. There are a wide variety of software tools and services designed specifically to arm business owners with everything they need for a successful migration.
This wide range of tools includes totally free options and some solutions that carry a price tag. The free solutions simply do Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) transfers between Gmail and Office 365 accounts. Alternatively, the priced solutions offer more complex SaaS tools that map and move data between Google and Microsoft accounts. However, business owners should make explicit considerations about cost and compatibility issues before deploying or investing in any of these tools.
What is Your Migration Timeline?
As much as we’d love to say it’s like flipping a switch, migration from G Suite to Office 365 takes time and care. Unless you have a very low number of users, it’s unwise to migrate every account from G Suite to Office 365 at once. In fact, even for companies with a low number of domains, ‘all at once’ migration is not the most strategic approach.
Migration should happen in waves, and start with a pilot subgroup of users who will have the easiest time adapting. If possible, break up your migration into at least three stages. Experts suggest:
10 percent of users in the first wave,
40 percent of user accounts in the second, and
The remaining 50 percent in the third.
Be sure to leave ample time between each stage to troubleshoot any problems discovered during each phase. By setting a clear, reasonable timeline before your migration starts, you’ll avoid mistakes and future headaches.
Migration from G Suite to Office 365: A Step-by-Step Migration Check List
Once you’ve answered all the necessary questions about your migration strategy, you can use the Setup Wizard in the Office 365 Admin Center for migration. The full scope of instructions can be found here. For comprehensive details on the basics of IMAP migration, check out the background info here.
However, before Office 365 can connect to Gmail or G Suite accounts, all users need to create an app password to access their account. This is because Google considers Outlook to be a less secure app and will not allow a connection to it with a password alone. For full details on how to connect Office 365 to G Suite, check out these instructions. Furthermore, learn how to set up 2-step verification here.
In addition to the information provided above, here is a basic list of steps in the migration process:
Step 1: Verify that you own your domain
Step 2: Add users to Office 365
Step 3: Create a list of Gmail mailboxes to migrate
Step 4: Connect Office 365 to Gmail
Step 5: Create a migration batch and start migrating Gmail mailboxes
Step 6: Update your DNS records to route Gmail directly to Office 365
Step 7: Stop synchronization with Gmail
Step 8: Users manually import their calendar and contacts
IMPORTANT NOTE: As reflected in Step 8, migration will only transfer email data, not calendar and contact information. However, users do have the ability to manually import their own contacts, calendar info and other mailbox data to Office 365 once the migration is complete. Full instructions on how to make manual imports can be found here.
Making the switch from one platform to another usually results because of headaches or shortcomings. The migration process shouldn’t be another hassle for business owners to worry about. Though it may seem complicated and daunting, migrating from G Suite to Office 365 doesn’t have to be an uphill battle – so long as business owners pay attention to the tips, tricks, and instructions outlined above.
If your company is thinking about making the switch, be sure to use this outline as a guide for making your migration run as smooth as possible. Taking time to consider your migration strategy will make execution easier than ever. In turn, the migration will be implemented more efficiently and users will adapt better to the switch.
However, if your head is spinning and you’re looking for a little extra help in navigating the migration process, reach out to a team of local technology experts for guidance and consultation. When it comes to migration, a little help from the industry pro’s goes a long way in optimizing efficiency and productivity.
by Felicien | Nov 24, 2017 | Education
How to Optimize Compatibility Between Google Chrome and Microsoft Office
Microsoft continues to be at the forefront of business technology optimization. From Windows operating systems to Office 365 and SharePoint platforms, Microsoft has a huge collection of tools and services that help business owners get work done more efficiently.
However, one place Microsoft falls short is with their browser solution. While Internet Explorer was one of the first consumer web-browsers on the market, tech innovation has seen competitors come to market that offers speedier and better functioning alternatives. Undoubtedly, one of the most popular web-browser’s today is Google Chrome.
For Microsoft-loving business owners, using Google Chrome instead of Internet Explorer is an incredibly common scenario. Additionally, there are new strategies available that allow Google’s speedy Chrome browser to be optimized for increased compatibility with Microsoft Office applications.
Office Online: A Browser Extension Designed by Microsoft for Chrome Compatibility
So, let’s assume you’re a Windows loving business. Chances are, even if all your business software is from the Microsoft camp, you and your team definitely prefer Google Chrome over Internet Explorer. We don’t blame you – Chrome it’s quite simply one of the best web-browsers on the market – and it’s definitely head and shoulders above Explorer.
However, you’ve probably noticed that since Chrome is designed by Google, many of the built-in features have a Google bias. For business owners who use a variety of Cloud-based Microsoft Office apps, Google defaults can be a real nuisance.
Luckily, Microsoft has given in and answered the call. Microsoft users who have their heart set on Chrome for web-browsing can now download Microsoft’s Office Online extension for Google Chrome. The Office Online extension allows users to supplement Chrome with an Office-first mandate and streamlines access to all Office documents.
Using Office Online: The Key Ways Microsoft’s Chrome Extension Optimizes Compatibility
With the Office Online extension for Chrome, users can open and create documents using Office Online apps. Without leaving the browser window, users are able to launch new documents or open and view existing documents stored in OneDrive or locally on their machine. Using the extension, users are able to sign into their Microsoft account to open and edit files using all the most familiar Office apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Beyond the basics, the Office Online extension also offers a unique drag-and-drop feature. This feature allows users to drag-and-drop files directly from their machine into an open Chrome window, which automatically uploads them to OneDrive. This makes it easier than ever to grab a document from your desktop and seamlessly transport it to the Cloud.
Finally, when a user runs across Office document formats on a web page, such as resumes or academic papers, they will automatically open in Office Online instead of the Chrome file viewer. However, it should be noted that PDF files will continue to open in Chrome’s native viewer.
Sign Me Up: How to Add and Navigate the Office Online Chrome Extension
The Office Online extension can be added to your Chrome browser by accessing and installing it from the Chrome Web Store. It’s incredibly easy to add and once installed the extension will appear as the Office Online logo in the top right-hand corner of the browser window, next to the address bar. Once, installed, click on the logo to sign into the extension using your Microsoft account.
Once signed in, users can click the Office logo at any time to display recent documents. At the top of the extension’s drop-down window, users will find the option to create a new document using Office Online apps. The extension supports all the major Office file types including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and even the latest app from Microsoft, Sway. The extension drop-down menu will also give users the option to open existing documents saved to OneDrive or a local drive.
IMPORTANT NOTE: To take advantage of the drag-and-drop feature, users must manually activate it. Once your Office Online extension is installed, type chrome://extensions into the address bar of your browser window and scroll down until you see the listing for Office Online. To activate the drag-and-drop feature, select the box that says, “Allow access to file URLs”.
Smooth Sailing: Navigating Chrome with the Office Online Extension
Once these steps are complete, users are ready to go. Chrome browsing for business purposes becomes easier than ever and compatibility with business apps is optimized. Depending on the unique needs of every business, this can result in a streamlining of processes, a decrease in wasted time and an increase of resourcefulness among employees.
