by Felicien | May 24, 2017 | Education
WannaCry has brought huge public organizations to their knees. Find out now how to protect yourself from the debilitating ransomware.
The name WannaCry is ominous enough to make it clear just how bad the latest cyber attack truly is. The cyber attack has been linked to debilitating attacks across the globe and targeting seemingly impenetrable systems. If you haven’t yet heard of WannaCry, you need to find out more now. Otherwise, you may find yourself the target of malicious ransomware and having to pay $300 or more to get your computer back up and running.
What’s WannaCry?
WannaCry is a type of ransomware, which first appeared on May 12, 2017. The malware found its way into thousands of computers worldwide due to a Microsoft vulnerability. Once the malware infects a computer, data is encrypted to prevent user access. The infection is obvious since a screen will pop up demanding money for the return of your data. A deadline is set with the ransom amounts increasing the closer you get to the deadline. If the ransom isn’t paid, the hackers delete your files and your data become unsalvageable.
Why the mass attack?
One of the main reasons for the success of the ransomware is due to the vulnerability on older Windows computers. Despite a March 2017 patch released by Microsoft to provide protection against the vulnerability, not all computers are protected. Microsoft only provides support for Windows Vista computers and later. Those companies who were running Windows XP or earlier wouldn’t have received the patch. Many large firms still run on the outdated operating system. Because of this, estimates from the White House homeland security advisor concluded more than 300,000 computers fell victim to the ransomware. The rate of infection was so startlingly that Microsoft decided to extend the patch update to users with older versions of their operating system.
Who got hit the hardest?
Across the United Kingdom, patient care was severely at risk when WannaCry infected the National Health Service network. There were as many as 40 hospitals and 24 trusts infected with the ransomware. Everything within these healthcare systems was affected from imaging programs to patient charts. Non-emergent patients had their appointments canceled and many physicians and nurses were unable to view patient information on their systems. Since 90 percent of hospitals in the UK run XP or older, the organization was an easy target. Other European businesses hit by the malware included Nissan and Renault. Asia was also hit hard by the attacks due to the large incidence of pirated Microsoft operating systems within the country. Utility companies in Asia reported outages and large Japanese manufacturers like Hitachi were also affected by WannaCry.
WannaCry Protection Tips
Cyber security firms have been proactive in dealing with WannaCry and the attack is largely mitigated. Microsoft has urged PC owners to turn on the auto-updating setting. The security update to protect against WannaCry can also be manually downloaded.
When the malware first gained traction, a security firm found a kill switch to stop the attack. However, hackers have updated the program to prevent the kill switch from working. Since the ransomware is so effective, it is believed over $70,000 in BitCoin has been paid to the hackers. Experts advise cleaning your computer and using backups if possible to restore data instead of paying the hackers.
Many WannaCry attacks originated from attachments on phishing emails. Always practice extreme caution when opening any attachments, especially from unverified senders. Also, enable your Windows computer to show file extensions since this helps you spot malicious software. Common extensions to be wary of include .exe, .scr, and .vbs. When in doubt, use caution to save you the headache of handing cash over to cyber criminals.
by Felicien | May 24, 2017 | Education
Worried about data protection? Here’s how Office 365 deals with it, and what you need to know about backups.
Office 365 and its associated services put a whole lot of data into the cloud, and that makes some businesses nervous. After all, what if that data is destroyed or lost – what assurances do you have that you will be able to recover important lost information? Well, the good news is that Microsoft Online Services are in a period of great reliability right now, with 99.9% guaranteed uptime and a good service level agreement that should past most organizational vetting processes. For the rest of your backup strategy, we’ve got some tips that you need to consider for your Office 365 plans.
Focus on Your End
There are two important reasons that most of your energy should be directed toward in-office backups and data protection. The first reason is that Microsoft’s data centers are out of your hands. You can’t control what goes on there, or choose their security policies – Microsoft guarantees a certain amount of protection there, and that’s that. But you can control direct sources of data loss at your organization, which includes accidents (oops, I just deleted this file and logged out before realizing other people needed it), malice (an angry employee destroys everything they were working on), or attack (malware attacks delete data). These are the areas you need to focus on, which is less of an Office 365 problem and more of a security strategy issue.
Second, most of the tools for reclaiming specific bits of lost data (which we will talk about in a moment) are in your hands. Understanding these tools, what they do, and what additional backup services you to add is the important goal here.
The Deleted Items Folder is Customizable
Office 365 has several options for “retention” or storing deleted items for a certain amount of time so that they can be recovered later…within limits. An excellent example of this system is the Deleted Items folder via Exchange Online, which allows for any Exchange items to be recovered once deleted. Ordinarily, deleted items are backed up in this folder for 30 days before being lost forever.
However – and this is the interesting part – administrators can massage the retention policy to meet more specific needs, thanks to compliance management via the Exchange admin center. This allows companies to choose options that allow them to save deleted items in Exchange for a year or even five years if necessary (or just a few days, if that fits your strategy better).
There are some limits – while the process works with employee Outlook accounts and similar information, only global administrators with eDiscovery permissions can actually restore specific items, and it takes a little bit of time. Outlook emails are set to a 14-day backup before being permanently lost, but as with general Exchange recovery, this can be adjusted by the administrator. Once recovered, emails can be held for a specific time or held based on specific filters called Litigation Hold (for obvious reasons).
OneDrive’s Recycle Bin is Similar
OneDrive is a little tricky compared to Exchange Online services and the Litigation Hold option. Because of the extensive collaboration involved with OneDrive, it can be a lot easier to lose data. OneDrive keeps track of a lot of edits, and so only stores the most recent versions of files. However, like Exchange services, it does provide a recycle bin where files stay for 90 days and can be restored up until then. Settings do allow you to change this timeframe, but 90 days is the default period you have to work with if something unexpectedly goes wrong.
Additional Backup Services are Available via Vendors
Are you looking for more permanent backups for files across Office 365 and beyond? Your best option is a vendor that provides these services. Fortunately, many vendors offer backup services that are fully compatible with Office 365, including SherWeb, SkyKick, and other options popular among growing businesses reliant on data. We’re not saying that such an extra service is mandatory, but it can fill in the gaps, and O365 customers may get discounts for such backup services with a little searching.
For more information on how to reliably backup your data with the right {city} services, contact {company} today. You can reach us at {phone} or send us a message at {email}.
by Felicien | May 24, 2017 | Education
The switch from Linux to Windows may be easier than you thought: Here’s why.
It’s time to talk about Linux. We understand that Linux users, especially companies that use Linux, have very good reasons for doing so. They have often spent years building systems that work exactly the way they want, and dislike the idea of switching to any other “mainstream” option that doesn’t offer the same benefits. At the same time, we know that there’s a lot of pressure out there to move to platforms that are easier to integrate and compatible with other companies in the industry, so hanging onto Linux in the business world is getting harder. So we’re going to talk about how switching from Linux to Windows 10 may be easier than you expect – and just what both options have in common these days.
Bash Compatibility
This is the big one – the one that really makes Linux users sit up and pay attention. Microsoft announced Bash for Windows back in 2016 and added the compatibility with the Anniversary update. Now that the bugs have been smoothed out from that particularly update, it’s a great time to check out just what this Bash option can do on Windows. It’s works on 64-but PCs and is designed for “developer mode” where you can enable the Windows Subsystem for Linux. Reboot, and Bash is ready to run. GNU command lines are enabled, apt and apt-get work fine, Symlink is compatible, and there’s basic language support for Python, Perl, and more.
Perhaps even more reassuring, while you can install Linux apps, you cannot accidently edit or delete Windows apps in this mode, so there’s no need to worry about doing unintentional damage to the Windows side of things. If you’ve been steadfast in sticking to your Linux capabilities, this could be the feature that convinces you to make the switch to Windows 10 while still keeping many of the things you know and love.
Apps in Common
Modern apps have focused increasingly on greater compatibility, especially apps targeted toward organizations that may need to work with a number of different platforms. As a result, many of your favorite apps probably work well with both Linux and Windows. That includes entertainment apps like Spotify and VLC just as much as free doc software like LibreOffice or design-friendly Visual Studio Code. Even apps that don’t have a specific version designed for Linux/Windows frequently have web apps that you can pop open no matter where you work. Don’t think you have to give up old apps or adopt unfamiliar apps when making the switch.
Windows Server
You may love your Linux server operating capabilities, but it’s worth noting that Microsoft has really improved in this area in recent years. Windows Server 2016 is a vast improvement on older versions of the Windows Server software, with far better stability and more options for customization than older versions. Don’t base your server management decisions on what the Windows Server used to be, because Microsoft has really pulled a 180 here.
Automation
On Linux, there are a number of task automation options to get things done – a very popular option, for example, is Cron, which runs a number of jobs based on parameters you can freely set. If you’re worried about giving this functionality up, you may be pleasantly surprised: Windows 10 has more automation than ever before, including Task Schedule which allows you to schedule automated tasks that are nearly as customizable as Cron.
Managing Your Profiles
Do you prefer to use multiple profiles to manage of a variety of logins, each with their own tasks and purposes? One of the traditional advantages of Linux is how easy it makes this kind of customization: Fortunately, Windows 10 has a lot of user account control, too thanks to its administrator features. With an administrator account, you can control multiple accounts, lock down accounts if necessary, and customize them as necessary.
Still not convinced? If you have more questions about using Windows for your {city} business, we can help out. {company} is an expert provider of IT systems services with experience in managing many transitions. Contact us at {phone} or {email} to learn more!
by Felicien | May 24, 2017 | Education
Want more productivity on Windows? Check out these highly integrated apps.
Windows 10 works best when you have the right apps that take advantage of its integration with Microsoft services as well as other software. This is particularly the case of apps that take critical business services that you depend on and replace them with Windows Store versions that are more efficient, provide a friendlier interface, and work more efficiently with other Windows programs. Here are several of our favorites – is it time that you download any of them for your job?
Windows Skype App
Skype remains a very popular web conferencing app, especially for small businesses that want a free service (easily accessible by everyone) to quickly communicate with partners and clients. If you find yourself frequently turning to Skype, make sure you have the full Windows Skype app downloaded to take advantage of its speed and features. Even better, consider Skype for Business, an excellent addition that adds many web conferencing tools to flesh Skype out for more sophisticated training, team conferencing and other capabilities. If you want to work on more online communication, this is a great place to start.
Windows Wunderlist
Wunderlist is a useful task managing app with a Windows 10-dedicated version available for download. The normal version of Wunderlist offers to-do creation, list management, syncing tasks, and similar organization capabilities for those who love to list out and share tasks. The Windows version adds integration with Cortana for automatic additions and updates, making task management that much faster (even if you’re just managing tasks for yourself).
Important note about Wunderlist: Wunderlist’s team was acquired by Microsoft a few years ago. They have been working on a new to-do list app specifically for Windows 10 called Microsoft To-Do, which offers task management capabilities that are even more closely connected to Windows and Office 365. Eventually, To-Do is going to replace Wunderlist on Windows machines, and Wunderlist support will be dropped. We mentioned Wunderlist because it’s a much more recognizable app, but if you are planning for a long-term service, it’s smart to switch over to To-Do instead.
Splashtop Business
Remote desktop software allows you to access a particular desktop computer from a different device, even if you aren’t at work. This type of software can be very useful (with proper security) if you have remote workers or workers with flexible schedules that allow for at-home work. It’s also particularly useful if you need to access a Mac desktop from a Windows computer instead of switching back and forth, which may not always be convenient. Finding a good free remote desktop option can be tricky, but Splashtop is one of the best we’ve come across.
DrawBoard PDF
DrawBoard is all about detailed PDF management. If none of your current PDF tools on Windows can really do what you need them too, it’s time to find a better solution – especially if you end up trading a lot of documents in PDF format. DrawBoard allows you to quickly make notes, draw, highlight, and find specific sections on your PDFs, then send them along as necessary.
Dropbox for Windows
Do you use Dropbox for storage? Then make sure you have the version that’s designed for Windows: The expanded app provides support for Continuum (in case you want to use your phone as a full-fledged computer), interactive notification, integration with Quick Search and Jump List, and a lot more functionality. Other cloud storage options are available on Windows of course (Box, Drive, etc.) but Dropbox offers some of the most important compatibility.
Zinio
Zinio is more of a niche app, but useful for a particular kind of business: Do you find yourself looking through a lot of magazines for new ideas, news, fashions, marketing techniques, or opportunities? Zinio allows you to collection and views full digital magazines to quickly move through content on your computer and find the information you need.
Windows Central
Windows Central keeps you updated on the latest Microsoft news. It’s a little salesy, but it’s also a good way to follow notifications about any new tools, partnerships, or important patches that you may not otherwise hear about.
Want to know more about using Windows more productively for your {city} business? Let {company} help! Find out more by calling us at {phone} or sending us a message at {email}.
by Felicien | May 24, 2017 | Education
If you are giving a presentation and part of it involves a shared display or handouts of a spreadsheet what can you do to keep the group awake? Let’s face it, Microsoft Excel is an excellent tool for organizing and manipulating statistical data, but when sharing your spreadsheet with others, your spreadsheet has to be interesting and informative.
How Do I Get More Information into an Excel Spreadsheet?
Before you get more information into your spreadsheet, make sure that a spreadsheet is a right tool for the job. More often than you might think, we use spreadsheets inappropriately. Would an Access database work better? Should you use PowerPoint for your presentation.
If you have decided that Excel is the right vehicle for your presentation, include a text document that is a “welcome” or “about” for the Excel document. This keeps you on track and reminds others what the purpose and mechanics of the spreadsheet are.
While it’s true that most of the spreadsheets we use in our careers are for our own consumption, it is a good practice to talk about your spreadsheet with others. Find out what features they like and which they don’t favor. If you work collaboratively with others in your organization be generous with credit and be sure to mention their names in the about or welcome document.
PivotTables Help (A lot)
PivotTables are important as they take tables of data, often with hundreds if not thousands of rows and help you and others understand the data by summarizing them by the column fields.
For a PivotTable to operate correctly it has to be set up in a certain way; each column needs to contain the same kind of data that is in a “raw” state – that is the data has not been processed yet. The following are some advantages associated with using PivotTables in Excel:
Simplicity
Speedily produced
Multiple dimensions – you can sort data by row or by column
Allows for interactive analysis
Appearances Do Matter
Your Excel Presentation can be exciting and visually stimulating. Following are some tips that help you accomplish this.
Consistency: Your spreadsheets will be easier for others to understand if you use only one font, bold headings for data groupings and formulae, distinct shade categories of data (for example shade raw data gray and results in green) and analytical comments should be in italics.
Create a Logical and Natural Flow: This is done by using the order of Worksheets and the layout of calculations and data to read left to right and top to bottom. An excellent Excel presentation takes the reader through a story – from inputs and assumptions to calculations and finally the results.
I Want Highly Informative Excel SpreadsheetsMake Data Relevant: To be more informative, an Excel spreadsheet presentation needs to have relevant data and analysis stand out. To do this, try to downplay the non-data elements of your tables and graphs. While you might create axes and gridlines the same color, make them paler than the data points.
{company} in {city} is your best source for tips, tricks, and hacks as well as news relating to the latest advances in technology. [Phone} or {email} us today.
