Warning! Running Windows XP Software Expose You To These 5 Serious Threats
We’ve all done it before – you find a program that you love, and you use it every day until it’s so old it stops getting support from the developer – in the case of Windows XP, that could be extremely dangerous for you and your business.
SanDisk reported in 2015 that roughly 25% of organizations were still using old versions Windows and didn’t plan on migrating until the software’s end-of-life. Windows XP was first introduced in 2001, and since then it has been one of the most popular operating systems with millions of users even two years after the end-of-life.

However, just how dangerous is it to just keep using the same program? It can’t be that bad, can it? In reality, it is incredibly dangerous. Here are the facts you need to know if you plan to keep using geriatric versions of Windows software:
No More Updates Or Patches… You Are On Your Own

One of the main issues with old software is that it isn’t issued new updates and patches. Once software becomes all but extinct, it no longer gets the same protection. Microsoft cannot possibly create patches and updates for all the software and programs it has ever released, so they instead focus on just their most recent software. If you are using an old version, this means that you are leaving your computer vulnerable to the latest security threats.

Doesn’t Play Well With Others
A second danger that comes with failing to update is software incompatibility. New applications cannot be made to accommodate all software that has ever been released, as they are optimized for only the most recent of operating systems. If you are still using Windows XP, then you are limiting your computer’s compatibility with other legacy software, which in turn limits what you can get out of your programs, and out of your network as a whole.

Security Threats
If you are a business that stores essential data, such as sensitive customer information, or payroll accounts, then you could run the risk of not complying with the law. Entrusting your business’ confidential information to a legacy application means you aren’t securing or protecting your data. In other words, you are leaving the doors unlocked and open; you might as well load the info on a flash drive to give directly to the hackers. If you are hacked, you would have to contact Microsoft to get a patch, and then you will have to fork over a large amount of cash. A customer support agreement with Microsoft can run a business $200-$600 per server. Keep in mind that the cost for a custom support agreement goes up each year.

Ransomware And Windows XP
Ransomware is a type of malware that prevents or limits users from accessing their system or files until a ransom is paid to the hackers. The cost of global ransomware incidents is estimated at $325 million for the year of 2015. By the end of 2017, this number had already multiplied to $5 billion. By the year of 2020, it could easily quadruple to $12 billion.
A good example of the dangers that come with Windows XP is the recent “WannaCry” ransomware that swept the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). The NHS had to shut down services throughout their hospitals and clinics due to this ransomware attack. It was reported at 90% of their NHS used at least one device that was still operating on Windows XP. Due to their computers being encrypted by the ransomware, the hospitals were forced to turn away patients while they fixed the problem. Keep in mind that this is software that has not been supported since 2014. As of January 2017, the number of Windows XP users dropped to 0.9% of the market, which seems relatively small and non-threatening – however, 0.9% of 2.17 billion is still 19.5 million.

Costs Out Of Pocket And Out Of Luck
Beyond risking your security and reputation of your company you are also forcing yourself to pay higher operating costs. Using old software has a much higher price for maintenance and bug-fixing. For example, if you needed a patch from Microsoft for Legacy Windows XP, you would end up paying more than you would to just update and replace the program.

Snail’s Pace Performance
Lastly, you will be suffering from inadequate performance and unreliability. Programs built in 2003 and before cannot keep up with the technology of 2018. This means that while Windows XP was cutting edge when it first came out, now it cannot keep up with the internet speed, or with the pace of faster servers. We all hate waiting for a program to open, or watching the spinning wheel while your computer tries to catch up – while you wait, your work continues to pile up. Imagine what this costs your company in downtime alone.
With so many issues, it’s hard to see why so many people have continued to use Windows XP. Years after the last update was offered from Windows, huge companies still cling to the operating system’s remains. The reliability and comfort of the operating system proved to be a fault in their own. Imagine if we lost 75% of our water utilities in the US, due to a preventable hack. Not only would be out of the water, but all the sensitive information that the utility companies hold would be left defenseless.

Continuing to use software that is out of date is like leaving your home unlocked, your doors open, and all your valuables on display and unsecured. Hackers don’t have to keep up with the latest software to make good money when businesses are making these kinds of mistakes. If you stay with Windows XP, you will be paying more for security vulnerabilities and poor performance – don’t let this happen to your company. The cost of the updated software will pay for itself by saving you the money you’d pay for the patch from Microsoft and in damages.

Here’s Everything New About The iPhone 8, Your New Virtual Assistant
The latest iPhone fulfills its promise of features and fun, and a few extras for safety, too.

When the first iPhone launched in 2007, were you one of the consumers waiting in line to get your hands on the latest technological innovation? With its user interface incorporating a multi-touch screen and virtual keyboard, the iPhone combined the best of an iPod, a desktop computer, and a basic mobile phone – it started a revolution.
The powerful trio in your pocket allowed users to “cut the cord” in so many ways – we were now instantly connected to everyone, and everything, we needed to be and at any time. This has become both a blessing and a curse, as business operations can be conducted any hour of the day we deem necessary, but boundaries tend to blur. Busy professionals see the upside: endless productivity.
Every time an upcoming keynote is announced, we hear rumors and hints of what features might be included in the next update. Each iPhone iteration has come with a variety of improvements, and Apple keeps the focus on what your iPhone can do for you, adding fantastic features and high-tech hardware to the line-up with each release. The latest – iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus – are no different, with a loaded list of camera feature upgrades, and a new iOS packed with ways to help you make the most of your time and maintain efficiency – after you master the changes, of course!

Make the most of your iPhone 8 features
This latest round of updates can best be classified into three distinct areas: setting refinements, safety improvements, and camera upgrades – topped off with a sprinkling of extras.

Settings
Note that Apple has made it extremely easy for iPhone users to upgrade from one version to another – even easier than a sync using iTunes! The new Quick Set-up feature allows you to point your old iPhone’s camera at your new model, and the two iPhones will recognize each other and connect. After a few quick taps to enter the passcode that you used on your former iPhone into your new iPhone, and the data transfer is complete.
Once you’ve finished the Quick Set-up process, take some time to get to know your new phone. In iOS 11, iPhone users may have to hunt for settings whose locations have shifted in this update. Personal information, and settings for iCloud, iTunes, and the App Store have been centralized within Settings.

What iPhone 8 users need to know:

One-fingered typists need no longer struggle with the standard built-in keyboard; a tap-and-hold on the emoji icon opens options for one-handed typing modes, for both right-handed and left-handed users.
A customizable Control Center puts you in control of your new iPhone. Try 3D Touch on each item, and see even more settings: shortcuts for features you use and delete those you don’t.
You can adjust your True Tone display. This uses a light sensor to match the lighting of your surroundings and dynamically adapt the color of your screen. If you find that this feature ends up being more of a hassle than help, it can be turned off.

Safety
For years, auto manufacturers have been employing extreme measures to enhance the safety of drivers and passengers alike. Airbags, rearview cameras, built-in navigation systems, and a myriad of other high-tech safety assistance features have all been added, and more passenger vehicles are coming with options like Bluetooth connectivity for hands-free communication to minimize distraction.
Unfortunately, fancier mobile devices have the opposite effect on drivers. Earlier, we mentioned that the ability to stay in touch and the resulting perpetual productivity that smartphones enable. The temptation of a quick text message (reading or replying!) at a stoplight, or the allure of checking your email while in bumper-to-bumper traffic doesn’t seem like a life-or-death situation at the time.

Did you know that the leading manufacturers of residential smoke detector units have changed the standardized notification method for unit alerts? Instead of the old-fashioned high-pitched “beep beep beep” we’re used to hearing, newer models of smoke detectors now also shout “Fire”! This is partly because young children have adapted to hearing assorted “beeps” from video games and smartphone alerts, but have been found more likely to respond appropriately alarmed to a stranger’s voice.

The ways in which we’ve incorporated technology into our lives have necessitated adaptation of safety features. A quick review of key safety features on your new phone:

We strongly encourage you to enable a new feature – Do Not Disturb While Driving. This detects when you’re attached to in-vehicle Bluetooth (or detects movements with sensors) and silences notifications until you reach your destination. People in your Favorites list can override this feature for texting you in case of emergencies, and hands-free calls can still reach the user.
The great thing about any smartphone is that the user typically carries theirs in a pocket or somewhere very near them, which is why we love the new Emergency SOS feature called “Auto Call”. Pressing the power button rapidly five times will call emergency services. Just in case this was accidental, your iPhone won’t start dialing right away, but the option to call will appear. Touch ID will also be disabled temporarily until you enter your passcode.

To enable, go to Settings > Emergency SOS and toggle Auto Call to “on”.

Another great emergency safety feature is the Countdown Sound, which plays a warning sound while the setting is counting down to call emergency services.
Maps now incorporate a popular feature that Google Maps has long included: lane navigation, reducing the chance you’ll need to cut over at the last minute and risk your safety and that of those around you. As an extra for those of you who still enter brick-and-mortar shopping centers, this latest update also helps you avoid hunting for a store directory with a built-in map features for shopping malls and airports.

Camera
We finally come to the fun part of the update! iPhone users love their cameras. Whether you’re sharing a picture of your food on social media, snapping a selfie, or FaceTime-ing with family while on a business trip, your iPhone and your camera have become critical to maintaining connections.

What exciting upgrades await you?

Filters! Instagram lovers, rejoice! Filters are fun and can add more pizzazz to photos. Gone are the days of taking a roll of film to the local drugstore for development and waiting about a week to see the shots – hope you didn’t accidentally cover the lens with your thumb. Today, seeing the images right away isn’t enough – we want to spice up our shots, and iOS 11 now allows photos to be treated with vivid, dramatic, or even black-and-white filters to make those photos pop.
Screen recordings! Screenshots are so last year. A favorite of techies and app testers is Screencast, helping mobile users record video of screen activity without the use of another smartphone’s video camera to record you using your own phone.

You can now also save an animated GIF without taking a video on a separate device!

Virtual reality and augmented reality are hot new trends, and apps are allowing import of your videos into a software overlay to give the user a catered and customized experience. The iPhone 8 has a higher level of precision for optimizing the use of these apps.
Amateur and professional photographers alike will love new features and effects, including lighting and spotlight for dramatic focus, controlling the resolution at which you can take video, slow sync leaving shutters open for longer to light up foregrounds in dim shots, being able to edit lighting even after the shot is taken, and so much more!

There are tons of additional features, too:

You can now send money to a friend using Apple Pay Cash by linking a debit card to your Apple Pay account to avoid fees and send money through Messages.
Apple is working hard to make Siri your new best friend, if not, at the very least, your unpaid virtual assistant. Ongoing efforts to make Siri your helpful sidekick include upgraded capabilities, like searching the Apple podcast directory for playback or playing music from Apple’s Music Service with biographical details on music.
“Qi-pad” charging: The iPhone 8 no longer needs a lightning cable to charge its battery. Batteries don’t recharge quite as fast as they would with a lightning cable, and Apple is working on its own product – another update for which we will eagerly wait!
Gone are the days where you are limited to copying text from an email and pasting it into a Note. Now you can use drag-and-drop method across multiple apps, like in Messaging or for email attachments.

One more thing: iCloud backup and storage space can now be shared with family members. Files remain private – only space is shared. No more “storage full” messages! This is another setting that must be turned on by the user, but it’s a welcome feature.
We’ve come a very long way since the features included with the first iPhone. This list doesn’t cover every single announcement from the latest Apple release, but these are the elements we’ve been the most excited to see become a reality.
What do you want to see in Apple’s next major announcement?

How Businesses Are Accidentally Exposing Cloud Services – Don’t Make The Same Mistakes

There are countless hackers out there just waiting for your business to leave your data vulnerable. With the introduction of the cloud, you felt a bit more secure and slept slightly better at night – but now, it seems that was precisely what hackers wanted us to do.
It’s reported that 53% of businesses using cloud storage accidentally expose their data to the public. This is like securing your whole house, locking all doors and windows, and then going to sleep with the garage wide open.

This doesn’t just point the finger at small businesses either. The study showed that even big-name companies such as Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) had inadvertently exposed one or more of these services to the public. The scary thing is that the previous survey showed this was occurring only 40% of the time. Now, this number has grown to 53%.
This study was conducted in 2017 between the months of June to September. Within those two months, they found that businesses are not only exposing their own data but they are also neglecting vulnerabilities in their cloud. When you ignore these things, you put not only your customers at risk but also the livelihood of your company as well.

What Are You Exposing?
The report shows that businesses weren’t solely leaking data such as customer information, but incredibly dangerous information such as access keys and other private data as well. These cyber-attacks commonly expose data such as personal health information, financial information, passwords and usernames, trade secrets, and intellectual property. With two million new malware attacks launching every day, it’s more important than ever to stay in a constant state of vigilance.

Example Through Viacom
This is similar to the Viacom breach in 2017, which was discovered and exposed by UpGuard, a security firm. Viacom’s vital information — from their subsidiaries such as Paramount, Comedy Central, and MTV — was exposed including not only passwords and manifests for Viacom’s servers, but also data pertinent to maintaining and expanding their IT infrastructure was as well. Of the data exposed, the most significant was Viacom’s access key and secret key for the corporation’s AWS account. With this information, a hacker could have gained control of Viacom’s servers, storage, or databases. Viacom is an $18 billion multinational corporation, yet it apparently still had massive security weaknesses.

How Are You Exposing Your Cloud Data?
There are a few ways that users are accidentally exposing the data they store in the cloud. The main four reported are:

Ignoring vulnerabilities
Abusing or misusing employee access
Accepting inbound connections
Complex attacks

Understanding each of these is pertinent to combating them, and securing your business and your cloud data.
Ignoring Vulnerabilities
A common misconception is that it’s the service provider’s responsibility to keep cloud data safe – this is not true. Most of the damage caused by ignoring vulnerabilities can be prevented by training. If your staff is trained to recognize weaknesses, then they can be more proactive in fighting against them. More than 80% of businesses are not managing host vulnerabilities in the cloud. Vulnerabilities include insufficient or suspicious credentials, application weaknesses, and inadequate employee security training.

Abusing Or Misusing Employee Access
CloudPassage’s Cloud Security Spotlight Report found that “53% of organizations see unauthorized access through misuse of employee credentials and improper access controls as the single biggest threat to cloud security”. Employees abusing or misusing their credentials happens mainly in two ways: the first is by using unsecured devices on a secure network or connected to the corporate cloud. Mobile devices make up for 51% of all cybersecurity breaches. Often, users rely on mobile devices to continue working, while on lunch break or even on the weekend. Accessing your cloud from these mobile devices poses a new threat. While computers and other on-premise devices have high-security protection, often personal phones and devices are not as safeguarded. The second is by using different employee’s credentials to access items that their credentials aren’t authorized for.

Accepting Inbound Connections
37% of databases accept inbound connection requisitions from the internet, with 7% of these being from suspicious IP addresses. When you accept incoming connections with insufficient or dubious credentials, you allow access to all of your critical data, without resistance. Once the hackers have access, they are able to not only view and read data, but they can additionally modify or delete data. Having stronger policies specifically addressing inbound connections can prevent this from happening to your business.

Complex Attacks
Not all the attacks and vulnerabilities are the fault of the business. Some of these attacks are far more complex than most businesses are prepared for, including big-name companies. These sophisticated attacks not only know and bypass the company’s vulnerabilities but also various application weaknesses. For example, a computer software program could have a minor flaw in its security, which can lead to the total collapse of the entire system.

What Can You Do About It?
The first action you can take against attacks like this is recognizing suspicious IP addresses. Have a policy in place for identifying, flagging, and isolating suspicious IP addresses. Spending a few extra minutes of your time could save months of recovery and downtime.
Secondly, limiting the way that the hackers gain access is key to protecting your company. One of the easiest ways for a hacker to gain access to your cloud is through your email. Protecting your email provides a strong defense against these breaches. Having an email policy such as using strong passwords, changing passwords frequently, avoiding opening phishing emails, or clicking on suspicious links provides another layer of defense. Additionally, it is essential to also have policies in place that protect against misuse of credentials such as connecting unsecured devices to the cloud.

Another way that organizations can better secure their cloud is to train their IT staff. The Cloud Security Spotlight Report states that “61% of organizations plan to train and certify existing IT staff, while 45% of other organizations plan to partner with a managed security services provider or deploy additional security software to combat these issues”.
It’s important to pay attention to mistakes that others have made so that you don’t suffer the same consequences. It also helps to be diligent in looking for suspicious IP addresses or emails. Remember that this allows hackers to quickly gain access to your cloud data. Be sure t,o train and certify the IT staff you already have – cyber attacks are all but guaranteed. What isn’t guaranteed is how prepared your business is to thwart off those attacks.