Security software has been recently discovered to be not as safe as advertised, according to a study conducted by Concordia University in Montreal.

Mohammad Mannan, assistant professor in the Concordia Institute for Information Systems Engineering (CIISE), and PhD student Xavier de Carne de Carnavalet examined 14 commonly used software programs that claim to make computers safer by protecting data, blocking out viruses or shielding users from questionable content on the internet.

“While a couple of fishy ad-related products were known to behave badly in the same set-up, it’s stunning to observe that products intended to bring security and safety to users can fail as badly.”

Central to the issues is how security applications act as gatekeepers to unwanted sites by inspecting a website’s certificate (which has been issued by a Certification Authority).

Usually, browsers themselves have to check the certificate provided by a website, and verify that is has been issued by a Certification Authority. However, security products trick the computer into thinking that they are themselves a fully entitled CA, allowing them to fool browsers into trusting any certificate issued by the products.

It is important for users to keep their software up-to-date, so that they can benefit from the latest security patches.

For companies that do not have time to assess whether their security protocols are stringent enough, there are ways to make security redundant: professional IT teams.

Although in-house IT teams are expensive, having a remote monitoring program in place can catch malicious websites before they take root in your company’s network.

Concordia University. “Not so safe: Security software can put computers at risk: Concordia University research reveals pitfalls of antivirus programs and parental controls.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 4 May 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160504161650.htm>.

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For as long a crime has existed, so have social engineers, or people who use tricks and scams to force other people to volunteer sensitive information. There are several ways to use social engineering to acquire valuable information like account information, financials, and other sensitive data.

As more of the world becomes digital, criminals are turning to social engineering to trick people into trusting them. People tend to trust others too easily – and attackers take advantage of this, creating baiting scenarios, fake company responses, and many others.

Most often, messages are sent to users in the form of an email that might contain a link to a virus or malware; once the link is opened a virus will download and infect your computer.

Another popular example is the “confidential information regarding your account”. This may come in the form of fake company messages that appear to be responses to your claims, but are followed up by a request for login details. Victims erroneously believe that they are being helped, when really, they are supplying the keys of their account to their attackers.

There are several ways people can avoid becoming victims: first, make sure never to open spam email, and double-check all ‘official’ emails from vendors that you do business with to make sure the emails are legitimate.

The same principle applies to links. Confirm the destination of any link before clicking on it. Sites commonly use shortened links, but scammers will implant a malicious redirect in the link, so be careful.

Legitimate financial institutions will never request your password, bank information, social security, or other private details in an email. Scammers will attempt to redirect you to a new page to dupe you into entering this information. If the address doesn’t have the letter ‘s’ after ‘http’, it’s likely a scam.

Last but not least, check that all your devices are protected by the most recent antivirus software. While the strength of social engineering lies in the fact that it’s people-driven rather than technology-driven, antivirus software detects and prevent requests from known cyber criminals.

For organizations that want enhanced cybersecurity, the best option is to opt for 24/7 security monitoring. There is no safeguard like having an around-the-clock IT team working on your behalf. Get in touch with us today if you need IT services for your business. We offer remote and on-site IT services, managed IT services, and more. Call 800.698.3594

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Ransomware payments for 2016 are expected to hit a billion dollars, according to the FBI, in comparison to just $24 million paid in 2015. And, it’s expected to get even worse this year. Big and medium-sized companies are more attractive extortion victims since they can pay a bigger ransom, however, an IBM report says small businesses are also at risk because their employees often lack training in workplace IT security. The study found that only 30 percent of the 200 small businesses surveyed offer security training to their employees, compared to 58 percent of larger companies.

What is Ransomware?

Ransomware is a family of malware the blocks access to a PC, server or mobile device, or encrypts all the data stored on that machine. It’s typically delivered via malicious email or infected third-party websites. To regain access or control of the data, the user must pay a ransom – typically via bitcoin. The encryption is unbreakable and simply removing the malware will not solve this problem. The victim is forced to pay for the unique software key that will unlock everything. Malwarebytes reports that 60 percent of all malware last year was ransomware.

Experts warn businesses not to pay ransomware because it encourages this activity and there is no guarantee that the systems and data will be restored. Digital Trends reports that “The hotel almost learned this the hard way, as the cybercriminals attempted yet another attack after the ransom was paid. That attempt was only thwarted by the installation of new hardware.”

How do you protect yourself from ransomware?

• Don’t open attachments from an unknown sender. IBM found that nearly 40 percent of all spam emails sent in 2016 contained ransomware. Be particularly careful with zip files and images that you did not download. If you see a new image or graphic file on your computer that you don’t recall downloading, do not open it.
• Make sure your data is being backed up daily. Ask your IT service team to confirm if the location where your data is being saved is backed up to avoid and uncertainty about whether your data is safe.
• Reassess your data backup and restoration process. If you have not been told by your IT team ho far back backups go, then test it out: create a test file, allow for it to be backed up and then delete it. Wait a week or two and ask for it to be restored. This should clarify the scope and history of the backup in place and allow you to review the process for requesting a file to be restored.
• Disable these macros. IBM reports that document macros are now a common way to deliver ransomware, so macros for email and documents should be disabled by default.

A proactive way to protect your data is to hire a remote management service that will secure your servers and enable effective firewalls. Telx Computers is one of the top IT support companies in Miami, specializing in protecting your data. Our systems can detect invasive software far before it lands in your computer. Don’t let Ransomware happen to your organization. Call 1-800-698-3594 today for more information.

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However, as the city moves forward with its plan to collect data from thousands of sensors and use predictive analytics to measure the effectiveness of city service, the 30 people in the IT department will have to learn new skills associated with the internet of things (IoT).

Kansas City must also hire IT staffers with expertise in analytics, project management, and communications. “The IT team is a critical part of this,” said chief innovation officer Bob Bennett. “Those are the type of folks I’m looking for.”

Unfortunately, there is a mass shortage of IT professionals who are expert in analytics or data science. The IoT is a complex ecosystem, and tech workers will have to have some knowledge of every aspect of that ecosystem, says Seth Robinson, senior director of technology analysis at CompTIA.

“It’s not just about building a competent technical system that can perform a task for daily operation,” he says. “It’s about using this technology to drive forward into new areas. There has to be this knowledge of what the business is trying to do.”

Tech workers in the IoT world will expand their primary domains of infrastructure, development, security and data to include IoT-related skills, however, they will still need project management skills and business acumen, Robinson adds.

The following skills are in high demand across the IoT ecosystem:

• Cybersecurity specialists will be in even greater demand as the influx of IP-enabled devices increases vulnerabilities. The DDos Attack launched last week against Dyn will only add fuel to the demand.
• Hardware and networking. Just about any device can be equipped with a sensor that can gather, store and transmit data. Robust networks will be required to move all of that data. IT professionals who already specialize in infrastructure will need an understanding of the types of networks that have to be in place to connect IoT devices, Robinson says.
• Software and connectivity. Software is required to make the data usable, and connectivity is needed to share that data with the entire system.

“Some people are very good at a system,” Bennett says. “In an IoT environment those who are the most successful have figured out how to link multiple systems, how to link the data from them to accomplish a second or follow-on goal, and they understand how System A communicates with System B.”

• Big data. The biggest force in software is Big data. According to ComputerWorld, IT professionals will need at least a working knowledge of big data to be successful in managing IoT devices.

At GE Aviation, an IoT-oriented digital transformation has led to the creation of new positions – including chief data officer and “brilliant factory leader.” Likewise, the company’s software development initiatives require people with a broad knowledge of big data because the big data technology life cycle is just 19 to 24 months, says CIO Jude Schramm.

• Another driver of IoT projects is a desire to make better decisions, and that requires analytics to create insights out of data.

According to research conducted by LNS Research, some 60% of companies don’t have enough internal expertise to launch an IoT or analytics project. Matthew Littlefield, president and principal analyst at LNS, says the remaining 40% – those who say they do have the necessary skills – “don’t really understand how big the challenge is.”

The best option is to hire IT service professionals to help with IoT integration. Telx Computers offers premier IT services for businesses across the country. With locations in Miami, Los Angeles, and New York, our IT professionals help businesses manage their technology  applications, servers, computers, software, and more.

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Security professionals should be beefing up your network security, implementing advanced firewall software, and identifying risks for possible breaches. In reality, they spend a huge chunk of their time troubleshooting issues on individual personal computers (PCs). That workflow is not ideal, but that’s what normally happens in many organizations.

Cost of fixes

According to a survey of technology professionals, companies waste as much as $88,660 of their yearly IT budget as a result of having security staff spend an hour or more per work week fixing colleagues’ personal computers. The ‘wasted amount’ was based on an average hourly salary of IT staff multiplied by 52 weeks a year. Other than knowing how much time is wasted, what makes things worse is that IT security staff are among the highest paid employees in most companies.

The fixes have mostly to do with individual rather than department or company-wide computer problems that don’t necessarily benefit the entire company. The resulting amount is especially staggering for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) whose limited resources are better off spent on business intelligence tools and other network security upgrades.

Other Costs

All those hours spent on fixing personal computers often means neglecting security improvements. The recent WannaCry ransomware attacks, which successfully infected 300,000 computers in 150 countries, demonstrate the dangers of failing to update operating system security patches on time. It should be a routine network security task that, if ignored, can leave your business helpless in the face of a cyberattack as formidable as WannaCry. It didn’t make much money but had it been executed better, its effects regardless of size.

Profitable projects could also be set aside because of e would have been more devastating to businesses, employees’ PC issues. For SMBs with one or two IT staff, this is especially detrimental to productivity and growth. They can easily increase their IT budgets, but if employees’ negligible computer issues keep occurring and systems keep crashing, hiring extra IT personnel won’t be very effective.

What businesses should do

The key takeaway in all this is: Proactive Miami IT support eliminates the expenditure required to fix problematic computers. Bolstering your entire IT infrastructure against disruptive crashes is the first step in avoiding the wasteful use of your staff’s time and your company’s money.

Even if your small business has the resources to hire extra staff, the general shortage of cyber security skills also poses a problem. Ultimately, the solution shouldn’t always have to be increasing manpower, but rather maximizing existing resources.

Having experts proactively maintain your IT eliminates the need to solve recurring small issues and lets your staff find a better use for technology resources. If you need Managed IT Services in Miami, contact us here for advice or call 305-935-3876 now.

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The healthcare industry is constantly under threat of new cyber attacks. Last month, hospitals and healthcare organizations were among the first victim of WannaCry ransomware – an iteration of malware that holds your data hostage and demands $300 for their release. However, those that follow HIPAA regulations are better equipped for future attacks.

For those who don’t know, WannaCry was first discovered in the UK. It affected over 20% of the UK’s National Health Service and created bottlenecks in hospital administration and treatment. Many healthcare institutions claimed that the privacy of patient data was not compromised, but the success of the attack shows how vulnerable these industries are to new, emerging threats.

Within 24 hours, the ransomware eventually spread and infected hundreds of thousands of machines in 150 countries. Despite WannaCry’s effectiveness in most countries, the virus did not spread so quickly in the US – in large part thanks to compliance to HIPAA guidelines by companies.

Malware Protection

Securing your endpoints with advanced antivirus software, firewalls, and intrusion prevention systems can help detect and block attacks targeting your patient data. In fact, most antivirus software has been able to prevent WannaCry since early April; with that in mind, you should keep your security systems patched and running full scans on a weekly, if not, daily basis.

Updated Software

Just like your security products, your business applications, operating system, and other software should always be up to date. WannaCry was able to spread only due to vulnerabilities in outdated Windows operating systems (which were fixed back in March). By simply taking a few minutes to check for updates and install them will save you lots of financial and legal trouble in the future.

Incident response plans

Should a malware attack occur, HIPAA requires that companies have strategies in place to mitigate the damage. When dealing with highly sensitive patient data, encryption systems are a must. And, in cases when ransomware strikes, companies should have a cloud backup and disaster recovery plans to restore files in a clean computer to keep operations running.

Security tests and risk analyses

Once you’ve established a security framework and incident response policy, risk analysis and security tests are crucial last steps. Hiring IT service professionals to perform a risk analysis will help you prevent cyber attacks by isolating system vulnerabilities. Also, security tests are important in finding out whether your defenses are capable of preventing different types of attacks from exploiting any weaknesses.

Employee Awareness

Of course, the best antidote to viruses in to prevent them in the first place. Staff who thoroughly understand cybersecurity best practices will think twice before downloading a suspicious link and will set difficult passwords.

If you need guidance with security or healthcare compliance, Telx Computers can help. With our expertise, you can rest knowing that malware and other computer viruses will be prevented from infecting your network.

Telx Computers offers expert IT support in Miami, New York, and Los Angeles. Contact us today for more information.

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With the recent spate of cyber-attacks across the globe, it is now more important than ever to get connected with Security professionals to secure your network from dangerous malware.

Last week, a ransomware program that is known as “WannaCry,” infected over 75,000 computers in 99 countries, making it one of the broadest and most damaging cyberattacks in history.

The malware locks down all the files on an infected computer and asks the computer’s administrator to pay in order to regain control of them. In particular, the ransomware targeted a known Windows vulnerability that Microsoft released a patch for in March.

Once the ransomware infects a computer, it will automatically start scanning for computers it can infect on the same wireless network.

According to U.K.-based security architect Keven Beaumont, “[the ransomware] has a ‘hunter’ module, which seeks out PCs on internal networks – for example, if your laptop is infected and you went to a coffee shop, it would spread to PCS at the coffee shop. From there, to other companies.”

Companies that have up-to-date software are protected from this ransomware. Here’s how to turn automatic updates on.

How to Defend Against the Ransomware

• All users can protect themselves by being wary of malicious email attachments.
• Users of Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows 8 can defend against the ransomware by downloading the new patch from Windows.
• The vulnerability does not exist on Windows 10, the latest version of the software, but is present in all versions of Windows prior to that, dating back to Windows XP.

Although updating your software and downloading patches are helpful in preventing malware infection, they are not full-proof. The best security comes with live server monitoring and an on-call security staff. You can rest assured with Security professionals at your beck and call, in fact, you never have to stress that the integrity of your data will be compromised when you have IT security.

Telx Computers offers IT services for businesses in Miami and across South Florida. Call 1-800-698-3594 to see how we can protect your business information from cybercrime. We offer remote or on-site IT support to prevent downtime and keep your data safe.

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What is sandboxing?

Sandboxing is one of the rare concepts in virtualization that the average person can usually grasp in just a couple short sentences. Essentially, sandboxing is the practice of tricking an application or program into thinking it is running on a regular computer, and observing how it performs. This is especially useful for testing whether unknown applications are hiding malware.

Obviously, it gets far more complicated once you delve into the details of how you implement a sandboxing technique, but the short answer is that it almost always involves virtualized computers. The program you want to test thinks it’s been opened on a workstation server and can act as designed, but it’s actually contained within a controlled virtual space that forbids it from copying or deleting files outside of the boundaries of the sandbox.

How to quarantine effectively

Virtualization is no simple task, but the benefits of sandboxing definitely make the effort worth it. Virtualized workstations can be created and removed easily, here’s how:

1. You aren’t required to manage permanent resources to utilize a sandbox – just turn it on when you need it, and when you’re done, you can return your resources to be utilized by your server.
2. When malware is exposed inside a sandbox, removing it is as simple as destroying the virtual machine. Compare that to running a physical workstation dedicated solely to sandboxing. Formatting and reinstalling the machine would take several hours.
3. Variables such as which operating system the sandbox runs, which permissions quarantined applications are granted, and minimum testing times can be employed and altered in extremely short periods of time.

This strategy has been implemented for years, and some cybersecurity experts have spent their entire careers perfecting the sandbox.

Next Steps: Containers

Recently, the virtualization industry has been almost totally consumed by the topic of “containers.” Instead of creating entire virtual workstations to run suspicious applications in, containers are virtual spaced with exactly enough hardware and software resources to run whatever the container was designed to do.

These containers will allow you to design the shape of your sandbox to your exact specifications. Although these are more efficient, they take computer professionals to install and implement them correctly.

Call the IT experts at Telx Computers for more information about IT services in Miami, FL. Outsourcing your business’ IT services can help improve your team’s productivity and save your business money. Contact us today to learn more.

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Microsoft Word is a staple business application. But since so many people use it on a daily basis, hackers work tirelessly to expose and exploit flaws in the system. Just recently, cybercriminals stumbled upon a Word vulnerability that puts your sensitive data at risk. Read on to learn more about the exploit and what you can do about it.

The attack

On April 10, cyber security firm Proofpoint discovered scammers running email campaigns to trick people into clicking on malware-ridden Word attachments. The fraudulent emails, titled “Data Scan,” included attached documents that were named “Scan,” followed by randomized digits.

Although the emails seem harmless, clicking on the documents triggers a download for Dridex malware, a Trojan virus designed to give hackers direct access to your banking information. From there, they can simply log in to your online account and make unauthorized transactions under your name.

In 2015, the distribution of Dridex allowed cybercriminals to steal approximately $25 million from European accounts, and if your business fell victim to this malware, there’s a strong possibility that your company will be unable to recover from the loss.

The Solution

Fortunately, two days after the discovery of the bug, Microsoft released a security update to disable the dangerous documents, urging users to install the patch as soon as possible. Although Dridex quickly recovered from the incident, employees continue to be the largest vulnerability to companies.

To avoid a situation like this happening at your company, it is important that you take adequate safety measures to protect yourself. You can always rely on a trusted managed services provider like Telx Computers in Miami to protect yourself from malicious attacks. Our Miami IT Services can secure and update your systems regularly, as well as train your staff in ways to mitigate online risks. Call 1-800-698-3594 today for more information.

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Recently, Microsoft Office 365 Exchange servers have experienced problems which have affected several users on different MS Office365 tenants.

Users have reported not being able to access old email, which had disappeared from their mailbox. Other users have reported issues regarding the public calendars, which had, for some uncertain reason, disappeared.

We have brought these problems up to Microsoft Office 365 Support and encountered they are, as of today, unable to figure out the root cause of the situation.

In the case this happens to a user, please bring it up to Telx. So we can contact Microsoft and take the necessary troubleshooting steps.

Here is a Microsoft guide that helps understand how their service handles email deletions.

 As per Microsoft statement: “If the e-mails are hard deleted, we are unable to recover it through any process”

Microsoft does not offer any guarantee if a user hard deletes an email or set of email folders. So please be very careful when attempting to manage your email data.

Users who experienced this particular problem, and attempted to search for old emails, were unable to find them in their Outlook nor trough the webmail portal. Telx along with 365 Support checked the Office365 Admin Portal and managed to see those emails with special tools provided by Microsoft. However, none of the mail clients were able to sync with the missing emails. Microsoft still does not have an explanation for this behavior nor has officially admitted they are having issues on their exchange back-end.

In order for Telx to find missing chunks of emails, we carried out an online mailbox export and synced them back manually into the user’s mailbox by adding the exported PST and then moving those emails back to the Inbox.

Microsoft Office 365 usually lacks clear explanations regarding service disruptions. And it is common for some Office 365 accounts to remain in “unhealthy” or “restoring service” mode for days.

If you experience Microsoft 365 symptoms as described above, do not hesitate to contact Telx Computers for further assistance. The IT support specialists at Telx Computers can help you navigate through a variety of technical issues to prevent downtime that could affect your company’s productivity. Call  1-800-698-3594 today for more information and to receive a free network check-up.

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