Can You Really Afford Not to Have a Backup Plan?

According to Symantec SMB, 50% of SMBs admit to having no backup and disaster recovery plan in place. 41% of those surveyed confessed that they had never even given much thought to implementing a disaster recovery or business continuity plan. If you are one of them, then you really need to think about whether you can afford the status quo. Answering these questions will help you decide.

1. How often is employee productivity and customer accessibility or service stalled each day from a downed network or system?

2. How much downtime can your business truly afford and what kind of backup or recovery solutions are in effect when systems are unavailable?

3. What level of IT support can be accessed? Can it be accessed quickly enough to minimize damage? Are you confident that your business can either be back online or be able to access lost data with minimal disruption, no matter what?

4. Is your most critical data frequently backed up? Is the data on the personal laptops, iPads or Blackberrys of employees backed up? Are all backups stored in a location off-site and quickly accessible in the event of theft, fire or flooding? Are you using any custom installed software and is the supplier still in business should this software need to be re-installed or updated? Are account details, licensing agreements, and security settings somewhere on record, and is it duplicated off-site?

5. Are your systems truly protected from theft, hackers, and viruses? Are passwords to sensitive data changed whenever employees leave the company or business unit?

6. When was the last time you tested backup processes to ensure they are working properly? How quick were your back ups?

Answering these questions will help you understand if you are needlessly bleeding money every day by subjecting your business to the high hourly rates, service charges, trip fees and wait times of on-call IT support. If you are an SMB, you don’t have to fear technology failure. A trusted MSP can help you resolve these challenges in a more effective and efficient manner.

Internet Explorer 11

We are now in the second week since Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) has been deployed, and there are a few things worth noting to be prepared in advance.

For starters, IE11 is only being made available to Windows 7 and Windows 8 computers.  If you are still using XP or Vista, look no further as IE11 will not be deployed to your computer.

We have found that the majority of websites are not having compatibility issues, as most modern sites with good cross-browser compatibility are already up to par.  However, if you are using any sites which require specific versions of Internet Explorer, there is a good chance that IE11 will not work.  Government and healthcare related sites tend to be the most browser specific.

With that in mind, we would like to note that we are not yet deploying IE11 to any of our CommonFocus customers, pending approval from each of those customers' vendors that IE11 compatibility is supported.

For those of you not using our CommonFocus service, you may discover that the update will take place automatically.  Largely, the change may go unnoticed, although if you find throughout the course of doing your work that some websites are giving you errors or trouble, then it may be worth rolling back to a previous version of Internet Explorer.  Do not hesitate to contact your IT provider for assistance, as these types of issues are expected in the field anytime new software is rolled out.

Lastly, we would like to note that our own internal testing has found IE11 to be both more stable and less resource-intensive (meaning it will run quicker) than previous versions of Internet Explorer.  Additionally, Microsoft has closed security loopholes present in previous versions.  Therefore, we do advise the upgrade if it is possible to do, assuming no compatibility issues arise.

Cracked.com infection

For those not familiar, Cracked.com is a comedy site similar to Mad Magazine.  According to Alexa surveys, which rank website popularity, it is the 289th most-visited site in the US.  While the content on the site can be humorous, it is typically not risky (except for the lost productivity when reading instead of working).  However, the folks at Barracuda Labs have discovered that the site has been hosting malware for at least a week now.

Visitors to the site are exposed to a javascript exploit which downloads and installs itself onto the visitors' computer and leaves "little indication that their system has been compromised except that the java plugin has launched and the system is low on memory" according to Barracuda Labs.

Full technical details from Barracuda Labs can be found at the link below.

http://barracudalabs.com/2013/11/yesterday-on-cracked-com-malware/

According to virustotal.com, as of 8:00 AM EST on 11/14/13, 24 of the 47 antivirus engines tested will detect the infection.  Full results are available at the link below.

https://www.virustotal.com/en/file/0fb9613582fd025b6fd14dcd003973c676db3798b733851a6b37ef6b0bc5f3be/analysis/

If you are a reader of Cracked.com and are concerned about your system potentially having been exposed, contact your IT provider for assistance, even if your system shows no signs of infection.  We here at Pointsolve Technology are pleased to note that our recommended antivirus vendor, Vipre Antivirus, does in fact detect this attack.  However, we are still advising not visiting the site until the infection has been removed.

If you are not using Vipre Antivirus but would like to inquire about how to get started, feel free to contact our very own Nick Stevenson at nstevenson@pointsolve.com or 866-336-3106 ext 2.

Apple iOS7

After the last two entries, we decided to give you a quick break on a somewhat lighter subject: Apple's latest operating system, iOS7.  It has now been about three weeks since Apple made iOS7 publicly available, and we have been fielding a surprising number of questions.

Interestingly, the question at hand seems to be whether or not to do the upgrade!  Both in phone settings and at the computer (for those who sync your phones to a computer, which we do recommend), Apple's software is fairly persistent in reminding that the update is available.  Technically speaking, Apple has made iOS7 available to iPhone4 and above (including 4S, 5, 5C, and 5S).

Our official advice is to only run the update if you have an iPhone5 or higher.  The 4 and 4S can technically run the update, but the feedback we're getting from our test units is that the phone gets much slower to react.  This is due to the fact that iOS7 is much more resource-intensive to run than iOS6, which overexerts the older phones' more limited processors and memory.  For those who have a 4 or 4S and have already run the upgrade, we do not advise attempting to roll back to iOS6, but it is time to consider a phone upgrade!

As always, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to call your IT provider.  We are hear to help and are more than happy to assist with any smartphone related questions you may have!

How did I get that infection, continued

Last week, we discussed how infections are commonly spread, and more importantly, why they can slip past antivirus programs.  Let us now take some time to discuss how you can reduce the risk of infection.

The absolute most effective technique for avoiding infection is to be extremely careful what you click on.  Ages-old advice was to not open emails from people you do not know, or not open attachments in those messages.  That was for a time when infections spread through email and, largely, is out of date.  Modern infections spread through the Internet and infected web sites.  That in mind, when visiting an unfamiliar site, be very careful of what you click and pay particular attention if the site attempts to run any add ons.  Keep your surfing to known and trusted sites whenever possible, as these are not foolproof but will greatly reduce your online risk.

Next, make sure your antivirus software is up to date and current.  To be at its most effective, antivirus needs to have its most current virus definitions, so it knows to 'look for' the most current infections.  If you do not know how to check this, contact your IT provider.  Trust us, we would rather spend a few minutes show you how to check your antivirus or getting you set up with current antivirus than we would clean an infection after the fact.

Also, make sure your operating system is fully patched.  You know that Windows Update warning that pops up when you log in?  Yes, that is what we are talking about.  Not only does Microsoft go through and attempt to fix bugs, but they are also patching security loopholes.  Do not underestimate how important this is!  Did you know that the Blaster Worm which made the news in 2009 had exploited a weakness which Microsoft had patched months earlier?  The entire infection was preventable for anybody who had already taken advantage of a service which Microsoft provides for free!  This applies to Apple products too - you may notice that Apple very quietly stopped advertising that they do not need antivirus software?  This is because of the increasing number of infections that are being discovered which target OSX.

Lastly, make sure your third party software is fully patched as well.  We are talking about those little popups you get in the lower right hand corner of your screen asking you to run an Adobe or Java update.  Do not ignore them!  Most of the time, those companies are patching security loopholes in their programs.  Plus, if you run the updates, they will stop popping up and bugging you until the next one comes along.

For our CommonFocus customers, we would like to inform you that these are all services which are included with CommonFocus service.  We are monitoring your antivirus and ensuring it is up to date & running, as well as controlling and deploying both your Microsoft patches and your third party patches as well.  If you are not currently a CommonFocus customer but would like to explore becoming one, contact our very own Nick Stevenson at nstevenson@pointsolve.com or 866-336-3106 ext 2.

How did I get that infection?

One of the more common questions we get, typically while cleaning an infected PC, is how the infection came to be.  This is a very good question, and we would like to take some time to clear up a few misunderstandings and explain a bit of how infections work.  In our next entry, we will elaborate on the steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of infection.

The first concept to understand, and this is very important, is that no antivirus or security software is foolproof.  Antivirus helps to mitigate risk and good quality antivirus software is very beneficial, but it does not render the PC invulnerable to infection.

The second important concept is that, even if an infection does not get stopped by antivirus software, that does not mean the antivirus did nothing.  In most cases, the antivirus will have stopped the infection from doing any serious harm, and makes our job cleaning up quite a bit easier.

Lastly, even if the PC appears to be infected, it may not necessarily be a virus.  The infection could be malware, which does not attack a PC in the interest of doing damage, but instead attempts to render the PC useless enough to extort monetary gain from the owner of the PC.  We will expand on that a bit later, but the relevant piece of information here is that, because malware does not attempt to damage the PC, it does not always trigger the security mechanisms that antivirus is designed to look for, so many forms of malware will fly under the radar of most antivirus software.

We mentioned that malware attempts to extort monetary gain from the owner of the PC.  This is a type of digital extortion that has surfaced over the last few years and, unfortunately, has caused quite a headache for many in our industry.  Generally, a PC infected with malware will pop up a fake antivirus program that claims to scan the PC and "finds" infections, which it offers to "clean" when the user choosed to "activate" the software by putting in a credit card number.  This is annoying in and of itself, but these programs make themselves impossible to close or remove, and sometimes even lock the user out of Internet access or other capabilities, which makes the malware even more difficult to remove.  Importantly, as we mentioned above, it does not actually attempt to the damage the PC, it simply attempts to exploit the user for monetary gain.

There is another method by which infections can take hold, and that is by loopholes in common software.  Microsoft , Adobe, and Oracle, are three companies whose software is almost ubiquitous among computer users, and thus, the folks who write infections will attempt to locate weaknesses in their software.  Antivirus software is trained to recognize these programs as "safe" and thus, will allow these programs to run.  Unfortunately, if an infection is exploiting a loophole in one of them, the antivirus is fooled into thinking it is one of those programs and may allow it to run.

Keep watching for our next entry, in which we will outline some basic concepts of how to lower the risk of infection.

Office Documents don't open! Help!

In, just business as usual, you show up to work in the morning, turn on your PC, and get working.  Except, when you go to click on that Excel spreadsheet you need to update, the computer presents an error message that it cannot open the file, and you notice the icons have changed to little orange squares.  What happened?

You have experienced one of Microsoft's first bad updates in quite some time!  KB2589275 was an Office update rollup that happened to break the file associations with Word and Excel documents, and a handful of others.  The Microsoft team has provided the problem, and the fix, very nicely in a blog post of their own, which you may read at:

http://blogs.technet.com/b/office_sustained_engineering/archive/2013/09/18/office-2010-starter-edition-file-type-associations-missing-after-september-2013-update.aspx

Our CommonFocus customers are already benefiting from our patch management service, in that we have turned off deployment for this patch and rolled it back from the small number of machines which were already affected.  And if you are not currently a CommonFocus customer, but are interested in exploring becoming one, feel free to contact our very own Nick Stevenson at nstevenson@pointsolve.com for a quote.

Computer Hardware Recommendations

One of the most common questions we get relates to the types of PC or laptops we would recommend.  While we would like to simply be able to say that a certain kind is better than another, unfortunately it is a bit more complicated than that.  However, we are happy to provide some insight into what we look for in equipment and this tip should help any computer shoppers.

Before we go any further, we would like to point out that these recommendations are for home users, and not for computers used in a business environment.  If you are looking for recommendations on a computer used in your business, contact your IT provider for specific details.  We welcome any current or future Pointsolve Technology clients to get in touch with our very own Mr. Nick Stevenson for a quote.

For computers used at home, our generic list of recommendations includes three basic items:

1. Intel Core i3 or higher processor.  We recommend third-generation or higher, which you can note from the first digit of the four-digit number after the processor.  For instance, an i3-3120 is a third-generation processor, while an i3-2310 is a second-generation.

2. 4GB of RAM or higher.  Generally, this is easy to find, however some companies attempt to cut corners and cut costs by skimping down to 2GB or 3GB.

3. 7200RPM hard drive.  We find that modern hard drives generally have much more storage space than is necessary, however some laptops especially attempt to save money and preserve battery by using slower 5400RPM hard drives.  The 7200RPM models will read and write much quicker, which means shorter load times for when you start your computer and open your programs.

If you're purchasing a laptop, take note of the weight of the laptop and size of the screen.  These are entirely personal preference as there is no option that is better than the other, but everybody has different needs and desires.  When shopping for Windows 7 or 8, this is again a matter of personal preference - although we will add that if you intend to use your old printer or some old programs with your new computer, you will want to ensure they will run on whichever version of Windows you intend to buy.

As always, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us for answers to your technology needs.  We are happy to provide any advice that can help you make a better purchasing decision!

The End of Windows XP

We have been getting a lot of questions about the end of support for Windows XP, and there is a lot of misconception out there of what this truly means.  What is "end of support" and how does it affect you?  Let's separate some of the myths from reality and then take a look at what we advise doing for those of you still using XP.

For starters, if you don't know which version of Windows you  have, you can right-click on my Computer and choose Properties.  It will say exactly which version you have.  For example, "Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3."

Microsoft has very well publicized its official end of support for Windows XP Service Pack 3 for April of 2014.  Notice we pointed out that it is end of support for the "Service Pack 3" version: that is because Microsoft has already ended support for all prior versions of Windows XP.

Now, when the end of support hits in April, it does not mean that suddenly your copy of Windows XP will stop running.  In May, you may still turn on your computer, it will run, and everything will appear normal.  What it does mean, however, is that Microsoft will stop releasing bug fixes and patching security holes.  This can be relevant in two ways.  First, you may run afoul of business requirements for security; and second, you may become exposed to unnecessary risk.  On an unrelated note, if you're running XP still at this point, it means your computer is likely at least five years old, and you may want to be proactive about replacement before it is too late.  More on that later.

As we noted, when you stop receiving security patches, you may run afoul of business requirements for security.  If you are using XP at home, this is of course not an issue.  However, if you are subject to an organizational requirement to maintain current security standards on your equipment, you may no longer be in compliance.  Especially if you are subject to HIPAA compliance!  If you are unsure whether or not this will affect you, check with your regulatory office and they will tell you if XP will continue to meet their needs.

Additionally, when you stop receiving security patches, you put yourself at risk of attacks from malware.  We always encourage our readers and customers never to underestimate this risk: the Conficker worm, which caused large numbers of infections in November and December of 2008, exploited a weakness with Microsoft had already patched in October of 2008.  That means every single PC which had gotten infected was 100% preventable!  And while a lot of people think that antivirus will protect them, the reality is that antivirus is the last line of defense and will not compensate for a poorly patched PC.  The best way to prevent malware from getting hold of the system is to patch the loopholes in the system, and then you will not have to 'hope' the antivirus catches it.

Lastly, we would like to take a moment to remind our readers that XP came out in 2001.  It was released when I was still in high school.  The national average for a gallon of gas was $1.40.  Tablets and smartphones had not been invented yet, and even the iPod was in its infancy.  It was until 2008 that you could purchase a computer with XP on it, which means that even if you had purchased the last PC with XP, it is still five years old.  This is relevant because, in our experience, five years is about the maximum reliable service life of a computer.  Moving parts break, electrical parts can overheat and fail, and these are factors of risk that increase with age and usage.  In our experience, attempting to replace a PC after it has already had a failure of some sort can be much more expensive and time consuming that replacing a PC that is still running and accessible to us.

Bearing all of that in mind, for one reason or another if you still have a PC running Windows XP, it will be worth having a conversation with your IT provider about it.  If you are subject to security guidelines such as HIPAA or financial product regulations, check with the regulatory body you answer to with regards to compliance.  If you need advice, as always, we are happy to help answer any questions you may have!

Internet Explorer 10

Good afternoon all,

As we welcome spring and, hopefully, see the remnants of our last snowstorm disappear from view, this week presents some interesting problems with the deployment of Internet Explorer 10.

Internet Explorer 10 was released last week by Microsoft through its usual channel of Windows Update.  It will be applied to Windows 7 computers, as Windows 8 already had Internet Explorer 10 and Vista is capped at version 9, XP is capped at version 8.  We have not released version 10 to our CommonFocus maintenance clients, but we will be doing so at a time when we have confirmation that the appropriate corporate and public websites are compliant with version 10.

If you have been diligent with your updates, or have them set to apply automatically, then you may have noticed a few small differences in your browsing experience.  Largely, IE10 looks and feels like IE9, so the change is an easy transition.  However, we are discovering some websites are having compatibility issues, which Internet Explorer is equipped to handle.

Should you find yourself looking at a web page that appears to not work, and it was working as recently as last week, then you should try flipping the page into Compatibility Mode.  In the address bar at top of the page, where you type in "www.pointsolve.com" you will see an icon that looks like a small page with a jagged break in the middle of it.  Clicking on that will reload the web page and turn the icon blue, which means Compatibility Mode is enabled for that site.

That will fix most site compatibility problems.  If the page you are trying to view is still giving you problems, do not hesitate to contact your IT company or the owner of the web page and they will be happy to assist you.

Java 7 Patch 11 Deployed

As many of you have been asking us about, the media has been made aware of a recent high-profile exploit in Java.  The advice at the time of the leak was to disable or uninstall Java on every computer you can, as it was believed the weakness permeated all versions of Java across all operating systems.  Those of you signed on with our CommonFocus service were contacted with this information and the option of doing so for you as part of the service.

Fortunately, the fine people at Oracle have wasted no time in closing this loophole with Java 7 Patch 11.  The Oracle Security Blog at https://blogs.oracle.com/security/entry/security_alert_for_cve_2013 nicely outlines some of the vulnerabilities that were exploited and how they have been closed.  However, the important thing to know is that Java has been patched against that particular weakness.

For those of you on our CommonFocus contracts, you will be updated automatically.  For any of the rest of our customers, if you've already removed Java, then at your convenience you may reinstall for free simply by visiting www.java.com and downloading the latest version.  If you've had Java disabled, you should re-enable it, and then immediately visit www.java.com to update to the latest version.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact your IT provider as we are happy to assist in any way that we can.

Stay safe and happy browsing!

Java Exploit

We have been made aware of a vulnerability in all versions of Java that is currently being used to install malicious software on any Windows PC with Java runtime installed.

At this time our recommended action is to uninstall Java from all workstations.

Although this will break functionality on any websites, even non-malicious or trusted ones, it is the only way to properly secure your workstations from being infected.

If you need access to Java enabled websites for normal day-to-day operations we recommend only going to business critical websites with workstations that still have Java installed.  Casual browsing is not recommended, even on popular websites.

All Common Focus customers are being alerted of the threat through email.  Please respond to the email to have Java uninstalled automatically from all workstations.

As soon as a patch is released we will update this blog.

Update:

Many people have been asking for instructions on how to remove Java.

The official documentation can be found on Oracle's site here:

http://www.java.com/en/download/uninstall.jsp

Thank You,
PointSolve Technology, Inc.

Sandy Followup 11/6/2012

One week has now passed since the East Coast has been struck by Hurricane Sandy.  We here at Pointsolve are excited to be running at 100% capacity again and have resumed normal business operations, and more importantly, most of our clients are too.

We would like to thank everybody for their patience and compliance in working with us and your other vendors to help resolve any issues the storm may have brought.  We understand the inconvenience in having your services disrupted, and though often the fix is out of your hands or ours, patience goes a long way in allowing the various utilities and services companies to restore services to their customers.

For any of our customers still experiencing issues, whether hurricane related or not, we encourage you to call us at 866-336-3106 ext 1, or email at support@Pointsolve.com.

Hurricane Sandy Update 10/30

As most of you know, either from being in it or reading about it, the East Coast has been battered with Hurricane Sandy over the last 24 hours.  The desctruction caused is not yet know, but early estimates place 750,000 people without power as of last night.

Pointsolve's central office is one of those places without power.  However, our support operations are still able to function at almost 100% capacity, as our technicians are at a variety of locations around the midstate and at the moment, all have power and phone access.

What this means to our customers is that we will still be monitoring the 866 line when you call, we still have access to email, and we still have our technical notes and our remote support tools.  For our CommonFocus subscribers, please note that the CommonFocus server is currently offline, so routine maintenance services will not be running after hours and you may notice the system tray icon observing that CommonFocus cannot contact the server.  This will return to normal once we have power.

As observed yesterday, we are experiencing higher than usual call volume, so if you do not get a technician immediately, please leave a detailed message and the first available technician will return your call.  Please be sure to identify yourself and leave a good contact number for which to call you back.

As always, thank you for working with us, and please stay safe and dry.

Extreme Weather Preparation

As Frankenstorm bears down on the East Coast, and we are starting to get hit with some sideways rain as I type, we would like to take a moment and review best practices for the next few days.  Many of you will likely be losing power and other services, and we're sure you already have your basement stocked with canned food and bottled water, but have you thought about your IT infrastructure?

For those of you with servers in your offices, you very likely have an Uninterruptable Power Supply connected to it.  The purpose of the UPS is to prevent sudden power loss and give the server ample time to complete a proper shutdown (thus preventing any serious damage from a sudden poweroff).  However, these units typically provide 15 minutes to half an hour of runtime, which does not help if you have four days without power.  Double check with your IT provider to determine if your UPS can shut down your server before its battery runs out, and if not, please ensure somebody in the office has the username and password to log in and shut down the server if the power goes out.

For desktop PCs, just shut them down at the end of the day when you leave.  Yes, that may stop you from working from home, but better to avoid a potentially damaging power loss.

For clients of Pointsolve Technology, please note that our support team will be working hard to respond to your calls.  Should you happen to call and one of our technicians did not answer, our message system will activate.  Please leave a voicemail and clearly identify yourself, and leave a good contact number.  A technician will get back to you as soon as possible.  We cannot emphasize enough to please leave a message, even if you do not believe your question is critical: we would rather answer an innocuous question than run the risk of not having answered a potentially serious issue.

Thank you all for your time and patience in this matter, we wish everybody to stay dry, stay warm, and most importantly stay safe!

Windows 8 (2 of 2)

Welcome back!  In part 1, we looked at the new features that you will be seeing in Windows 8.  Today, we'll have a look at how Windows 8 will be available.

Let's start with upgrades.  Microsoft and its resellers are offering upgrade licensing for Windows 8 from as far back as XP.  The idea is that, you can run the upgrade to 'convert' your PC from Windows ___ to Windows 8.  Some of you may remember, they offered this type of upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7.  Those of you may also remember, your PCs ran a little strangely afterwards, and never quite as well as PCs that came native with Windows 7.  That is exactly what we are after here.  While the technical capability exists for varying forms of 'conversion' from one copy of Windows to another, we do not recommend this in almost any situation as the background architecture of Windows 8 is never fully deployed.  It is the rough equivalent of getting new walls, flooring, and finishings in your house: it will look and feel newer, but it still resides on the old frame and is subject to weaknesses from that frame.

So how do we install Windows 8?  The only method we feel comfortable recommending a Windows 8 install in which you are least likely to encounter problems down the road, is from a freshly formatted hard drive using a System Builders License.  Using our house analogy from above, you'll be building everything from the frame up, so the entire structure is brand new and laid out exactly the way it needs to be.

But what will be the best way to get Windows 8, without needing to format your hard drive and install Windows?  Quite simply, purchase a Windows 8 computer, tablet, or notebook.  The companies who build computers have been working with Microsoft for the last year or so to develop computers that are truly designed to run Windows 8 and take full advantage of it.  The prime example of this will be touchscreens, which have largely never been a mainstream Windows thing, as the mouse & keyboard have served for decades as the primary input mechanisms.  Windows 8 was designed to work with touchscreens seamlessly, so it will be worth getting a machine with a touchscreen to take advantage of this.

The reality of Windows 8, however, comes down to a few simple ideas.  First, if you already have Windows 7, there is really no need to get Windows 8.  If you have Windows XP, it is probably time to replace your old PC anyways as it is certainly more than a few years old.  For those of you on Vista, talk to your IT provider for a recommendation.  The bottom line is, it is not worth buying the software itself to upgrade on your existing hardware, and if your existing hardware is ageing then a new PC is in order.

Windows 8 (1 of 2)

Many of you will be seeing Windows 8 launching in the very near future, in a variety of forms.  October 26 is the official launch date, and many vendors are accepting pre-orders.  Here is what you need to know.

The main differences between Windows 8 and Windows 7 are the metro interface, integrated Security Essentials, and a new interface for Windows Explorer, as well as a number of technical details that happen behind the scenes (things your IT provider will need to know, but won't affect you).

The metro interface is a tiles-based interface that will look vastly different than your standard Windows desktop you typically see.  We find it to be a bit 'clunky' and unintuitive when using a traditional mouse and keyboard, but it is designed for ease of use on touchscreen PCs.  To that end, unless you intend to use a touchscreen enabled piece of equipment, the metro interface will likely be worth turning off.

Integrated Security Essentials is the feature that should have been built into Windows years ago, in our opinion.  Instead of having Windows, and then having to install an antivirus program, why not have the antivirus built into Windows?  That's exactly what Microsoft is doing with Windows 8.  This should enhance security by having everything working right out of the box, and one less item for you to worry about when you get your new Windows 8 PC.

The ribbon interface for Winodws Explorer is essentially a modification of how the window looks when you open "My Computer" or "My Documents".  The new interface is modeled after the style that is used for Office 2010 and Office 2007, which can be somewhat of an initial shock but many users have found it to be fairly intuitive.  Be prepared for a learning curve, but it should not take more than a day or two in order to get used to it.

Check back soon for part 2!  We'll address upgrades and new equipment.

"LOL, is this your new profile pic?" Do not click!

A new infection is spreading through popular video service, Skype, exploiting a loophole in the software.  Similar to other ransomware, infected users are locked out of their PCs and presented with a page claiming that illegal content has been found on their PC and requesting a fee to gain access to their data.

GFI Software, makers of Vipre Antivirus, have discovered the infection spreads when a user is presented with the message "Lol, is this your new profile pic?"  Upon click, the user's PC is infected.

As always, we recommend that you maintain an active antivirus subscription and ensure Windows is fully patched - including running those Java and Adobe updates that pop up in the morning.  Additionally, if you are a Skype user and the software offers an update, please run it immediately as Skype is working to close the security loophole and will deploy the new software as soon as it is ready.  Lastly, please remember that government and law enforcement agencies will never lock you out of your PC and request money.  If you have become infected, do not provide any payment information and contact your IT provider immediately.

Read more at CNET: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57528353-83/worm-spreading-on-skype-im-installs-ransomware/

FBI Internet Scam

We have recently performed a number of cleanups relating to an "FBI Virus" that PCs have become inflicted with.  The infection uses the FBI logo and presents a very official looking message that pirated content has been detected on the PC and the user should pay a $200 fine in order to avoid going to jail.  Of course, this also locks the computer up and makes it unusable.  This type of infection is known as Reveton, and essentially holds the computer 'ransom' until the user pays the fine.

We have experienced this type of infection getting past every major antivirus vendor on the market, as of early October 2012, and can be delivered simply by visiting an infected web site.  Regardless, we still advise maintaining active antivirus subscriptions and *please* ensure your Windows patches are up to date.  Don't forget to run those Java and Adobe updates that keep popping up!

As always, it is good practice to never provide payment information to a vendor you do not recognize or have prior experience with.  Antivirus companies will never ask for payment to clean up an infection, nor will any government agency 'lock' your computer until you pay a fine.

Should you be presented with this type of infection, call your IT provider immediately for assistance.  Even if you succeed in 'unlocking' your PC, the infection may still be present and working in the background to steal personal information.  Read more here: http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/august/new-internet-scam

PC Cleanup Utilities - Buyer Beware

One of the complaints we hear the most from new clients is how slow their computers are.  This is usually a multi-faceted problem that includes outdated hardware, a slow internet connection, an out of date operating system, and too many running programs.  As this is such a common complaint, a myriad of companies have started to advertise a service to “Clean Your PC.”  One of the most advertised products is from mycleanpc.com.

The business model works like this.  They advertise a free diagnostic service, which is usually a piece of software you download and install.  You run the scan, which will always find thousands of errors, and then you find out you can remove all these errors and have a computer that runs like new for the low, low price of $_____.

Independent tests by software review companies have found that even if they run the diagnostic scan on a brand new machine that has a fresh copy of Windows installed with all updates run, the software will detect multiple issues.  Also the software usually comes with toolbars and free anti-virus scanners that will actually slow down your computer.  This is a double bonus for the company, as by bundling the software with a toolbar such as Bing, they make money for advertising the toolbar, and because your machine will run slower, you have more of an incentive to purchase the cleaning product.

The long and short of it is that all of these businesses are as close to a scam as you can get, without actually being illegal.  Windows is a very complicated operating system internally, so you can design anything that will find “errors” that it can “fix.”  But they will not give you more memory, or a faster processor, or a speedier internet connection, or remove a bunch of pre-installed programs that are actually slowing down your desktop experience.

There is good news however.  A piece of software we do recommend is CCleaner made by Piriform.  It can be downloaded from Piriform's Website.  Make sure to uncheck the box to install any toolbars during installation.  After it is installed it can be run by right clicking the Recycle Bin and choosing Run CCleaner.  This will wipe out any temp files, browsing history, and other various junk that does not need to be there.  Typically it won’t speed up your PC, but does about the same thing as the paid programs do.  And it’s FREE!

The quickest way to speed up your PC without updating the hardware is to go through your installed programs and uninstall anything you don’t use.  Or you can speak to one of our technicians for a consultation who can give you a proper recommendation to improve your overall computing experience.