news

21 Jun 2021 - Windows 11 is coming

A leaked support document seems to confirm the next version of windows to be unveiled on 24th June will be called "Windows 11".
The same document also comits Microsoft to support for Windows 10 until October 2025.
Screenshots of Microsoft's Windows 11 developer preview leaked online last week. They confirmed a subtly redesigned interface, including changes in the alignment of the Start menu and taskbar buttons.
The user interface and Start menu in the new OS look very similar to what was originally spotted in Windows 10X. 
The most noticeable changes can be found along the taskbar, where app icons have been centred and the tray area cleaned up.

Full article @ Computing

15 Jun 2021 - Microsoft to end Windows 10 support in October 2025

In a surprising move, Microsoft have announced it will stop support for Windows 10 on 14th October 2025.
Ending support means no more bug fixes, updates or technical support.
Microsoft is keen to move the operating system over to the service model (think Office365), where instead of owning the software, you rent it. (Software As a Service or SaaS).
Announcing the end of support for Windows 10 is another hint from Microsoft that it is now fully ready to launch a new version of Windows - although whether it will just drop the Windows 10 brand, or require a new purchase, is still unclear.
Although the company never mentioned maintaining the Windows 10 brand in perpetuity, it did promise to keep Windows current once licensed to a device at no cost.

Full article @ Computing

11 Jun 2021 - Google releases urgent Chrome update

Google has released an urgent update for Chrome browser to address 14 security vulnerabilities, including a zero-day that's actively being exploited by unknown hackers.
In an online post, the company revealed that Chrome's stable channel has now been updated to 91.0.4472.101 for Windows, Mac and Linux, and it will roll out over the coming days/weeks.
If you use Chrome, go to Settings->About Chrome and an automatic check and update will occur

Full article @ Computing

10 Jun 2021 - June 8 global internet outage triggered by single user

On June 8th (2021) A bunch of the world's most important and influential websites — including Twitch, Reddit, Amazon, Hulu, Spotify, and the UK government website, as well as media outlets such as the Financial Times, CNN, BBC, and the New York Times were plunged into darkness.
The outage was caused by a problem at Fastly, a cloud computing services provider. An unknown bug in their software was triggered when one of their clients made a valid settings change. 
The bug affected up to 85 percent of their network, including users from Boston and Bogota to Tokyo and Toronto.
Luckily Fastly were able to fix the issue within an hour.

Full article @ IFLScience

25 May 2021 - Windows 10 21H1 preview finally releasd

The first new version of Windows 10 for 2021 (v21H1) has finally been release in preview.
We will be assessing the preview in anticipation of its imminent full release.
We request all clients refrain from installing either the preview or new version until we have fully assessed it.

21 May 2021 - 21y old COVID scammer jailed for over 4 years

A scammer who sent fraudulent text messages purporting to be from the NHS, banks and other trusted organisations has been jailed for more than four years.
According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Teige Gallagher, 21, from Haringey, London sent fake NHS text messages to people waiting for their vaccination in order to steal their bank details.
As part of the 'phishing' scam, Gallagher used links that directed people to bogus websites designed to trick them into entering their personal and banking details which could later be used to commit fraud.
In messages that claimed to come from the NHS, Gallagher told recipients that their details were needed for verification purpose and to determine if they qualified for the Covid-19 vaccination. For this, he also created web pages that mimicked the gov.uk website.

Full article @ Metro

13 Mar 2021 - Fire at French cloud provider knocks European websites offline

Millions of websites across Europe went offline on Wednesday, after a fire at French cloud services company OVHcloud destroyed one of the site's data centres and forced the temporary shutdown of the remaining three in the local cluster.

OVH said the fire erupted in a room at one of its Strasbourg data centres. No one was injured in the incident, although service disruption continued over Thursday. It is not clear how the fire started.

The fire was fully extinguished later, and firefighters began efforts to cool the site with water spraying.

The fire completely destroyed the SBG2 data centre, as well as damaging SBG1. Fire-fighters made efforts to protect SBG3 and there was no impact on SBG4.

Fulll article @ Computing

05 Mar 2021 - Microsoft warn of new nation-state cyberattacks against Exchange Server

Microsoft has released out-of-band security updates to address four zero-day bugs that are being actively exploited by nation-state affiliated group to compromise Exchange Server.

The flaws affect Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016 and Exchange Server 2019. Microsoft advises organisations running these products to apply the patches as early as possible.

Full article @ Computing

Microsoft Blog Article

22 Feb 2021 - Silver Sparrow malware infects Macs worldwide

Researchers at cyber security firm Red Canary have discovered a new strain of malware that has infected more than 30,000 Macs worldwide, although it's currently just lying dormant.

According to researchers, the so-called Silver Sparrow malware contains a binary that is compiled to run on Apple's own M1 chip. M1 is a relatively newer chip, released in November.

Full article @ Computing

08 Feb 2021 - Fake "Mailbox Size Warning" phishing e-mails

Can all clients be aware of current fake Mailbox Size Warning emails doing the rounds.

These are Phishing e-maiils written in poor English, designed to fool you into providing your e-mail address and pssword login details.

If you are unsure, please do not click any links within the e-mail but instead contact us.

14 Jan 2021 - Microsoft patches 83 security vulnerabilities in first 2021 Patch Tuesday update

Microsoft has released its first Patch Tuesday security update of 2021, addressing a total of 83 vulnerabilities across various products and platforms.

Full article @ BleepingComputer

13 Jan 2021 - Phone Line Issues ** Resolved **

Unfortunately, we’ve had an undiscovered phone issue for the past 3 weeks preventing anyone from calling the office number.
This issue has been resolved and the phone line is now working normally.
Apologies if this has inconvenienced you.

02 Jan 2021 - Tier 4 Restrictions

Because Coventry and the surrounding areas have been placed in Tier 4, we will be once again implementing the procedures in place during the first lockdown.

4IT Systems Ltd is continuing to operate normally during this COVID-19 outbreak period, however we will be suspending all site visits unless absolutley necessary.

As is company policy, we continue to preferentially give support remotely where possible.

22 Dec 2020 - Christmas 2020 Office Closures

We will be closing the office on Wednesday 23rd December and re-opening on Monday January 4th.
Limited emergency cover is available during the christmas period. If you urgently require assistance please e-mail us.

Finally, may all our customers and friends have a very merry & safe Christmas and a happy New Year.

Lets hope normality prevails in 2021!

10 Nov 2020 - GCHQ battling Russian COVID disinformation

GCHQ is using tools that were originally developed to tackle ISIS recruitment in its fight against disinformation

CHQ has launched an offensive cyber-operation to counter online disinformation, allegedly originating from Russia, to cast doubts on the development of a Covid-19 vaccine.
"GCHQ has been told to take out antivaxers online and on social media," a government source told The Times.
"There are ways they have used to monitor and disrupt terrorist propaganda."

The Times report says that the operation will focus only on hostile state-linked content, and will not touch the information posted on social media by members of the public.
GCHQ also plans to block communication between malicious groups.

Full article @ Computing

02 Nov 2020 - US court tells Apple to pay $503 million over patent violation

A jury in Texas ruled on Friday that Apple must pay $502.8 million in royalties to Nevada-based software firm VirnetX, over infringement of its patented VPN technology.
The two firms have been fighting the case for the last ten years, with VirnetX claiming that Apple's VPN-on-Demand and FaceTime services use VirnetX's technology, which it developed for the CIA.

Full article @ Computing

02 Nov 2020 - Amazon Swedish site raises eyebrows with bad translation

$200Bn giant Amazon recently launched it's Swedish language site Amazon.se. However instead of forking our for human translators, Amazon decided to show off it's AI prowess with a 100% machine translated site.

Among those 150 million products, Swedish shoppers were surprised, some no doubt delighted, to find an expansive range of cock brushes, cock paintings, rape curtains and prostitute earrings.

Hilarious!

Full article @ Computing

12 Oct 2020 - Google could be forced to sell Chrome

Google, under investigation in the US for alleged antitrust violations, could be forced to spin off or sell some parts of its business, including its popular Chrome browser by the US Department of Justice (DoJ).
Google is facing multiple investigations in the US for alleged antitrust violations. The firm is also accused of using its search engine to advertise its own mapping, shopping and other services, rather than displaying competitors' services.

Full article @ Computing

06 Oct 2020 - Iranian state sponsered hackers actively exploiting ZeroLogon vulnerability

Microsoft has warned that the Iranian state-sponsored threat group MERCURY has been exploiting the Zerologon vulnerability in real-world attacks, in an effort to steal sensitive information from vulnerable machines.
"MSTIC has observed activity by the nation-state actor MERCURY using the CVE-2020-1472 exploit (ZeroLogon) in active campaigns over the last 2 weeks," the company wrote on Twitter.
It also urged IT admins to patch their systems as soon as possible to protect their data from hackers.
The vulnerability impacts most supported versions of Windows Server, from Server 2008 through Server 2019, however, Microsoft released a ZeroLogon patch in August and said that it would address the bug in a phased two-part rollout.

4IT Comment : Attacks like this stress the importance of staying up to date will all available updates. Servers patched in August will already be protected from this exploit.

Full article @ Computing

08 Oct 2020 - Microsoft services suffer outage in US.

Microsoft 365 services again suffered a major outage on Wednesday, affecting users in several regions of the United States.
The problem began at about 14:10 EST and prevented users from accessing multiple Office 365 services and Outlook mail, with users complaining about receiving 'Something went wrong' error messages when they tried to access their Microsoft 365 accounts.
Downdetector showed that reports of user impact to Microsoft 365 issue spiked at 14:26.
At 14:48, the Microsoft 365 Status Twitter account acknowledged the issue, stating Microsoft IT teams were investigating the cause of the problem.
"Users may see impact to Microsoft Teams, Outlook, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Outlook.com," it said.
The Windows developer later blamed a "recent update to network infrastructure" for the outage.

Full article @ Computing

23 Sep 2020 - Microsoft anounce new perpetual licence for Office

Users will know there were 2 ways to purchase Microsoft Office.
1) The perpetual licence where you paid full price for the product and it was yours to use indefinitely (eg Office 2016, Office 2019)
2) The rental licence where you pay a smaller yearly fee (Office 365)
Many commentators expected the most recent perpetual version of office (Office 2019) to be the last with Microsoft wanting to instead push forward with its rental version (Office 365).
However Microsoft have announce on Tuesday at the Ignite 2020 Virtual event that they will be releasing a new perpetual licence version for Office in the second half of 2021
Full article @ Computing

20 Sep 2020 - Late Summer Office Closure 28/09/19-02/10/19

The office will be closed for 4 days from midday Monday 28th Sept to 2pm Friday 2nd Oct
All e-mails will be collected and responded to as normal during this period.
Support clients should use e-mail as the primary contact method, or in an emergency use the alternate mobile number you already have.

08 Sep 2020 - Microsoft addresses 129 security vulnerabilities in its September 2020 Patch Tuesday update

Microsoft has released its September 2020 Patch Tuesday update, addressing a total of 129 security vulnerabilities across a suite of its products/platforms.

Of 129 vulnerabilities fixed this month, 23 are rated as 'Critical', 105 while are rated 'Important' and one is a 'Moderate' bug.

Products include Exchange 2016/2019, Sharepoint, Windows Defender, Edge and others.

Full article @ Computing

19 Aug 2020 - Microsoft retiring IE and legacy Edge

Microsoft has announced that support for Internet Explorer 11 will end August 17, 2021. At that time, all products under the Microsoft umbrella which may currently still use Internet Explorer, such as Outlook, OneDrive or Office 365 will stop supporting the browser.Support for Internet Explorer within the Microsoft Teams web app ends November 30 of this year. Meanwhile, the legacy edition of Microsoft Edge is set to end March 9, 2021.

Microsoft is keen all users should now switch to it's new Chromium based Edge browser

Full article @ pcgamer.com

17 Jul 2020 - Microsoft retiring Office 2013 from connecting to Office365 Services

Microsoft have issued the following message

"Office 2013 clients’ connections to commercial Office 365 services will not be supported after October 13, 2020. After this date, ongoing investments in the Office 365 cloud services – including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and OneDrive for Business – will proceed based on post-Office 2013 requirements. We recommend that organizations with Office 2013 clients consider migrating to Office 365 ProPlus."

If you current use office 365 services and have Office 2013 you are recommended to upgrade to Office 2019 or the subscription version of office (O365)

03 Jul 2020 - Microsoft issues emergency update to fix two flaws impacting Windows 10 and Windows Server

Microsoft has released emergency security updates to fix two security bugs that could allow hackers to remotely execute arbitrary code on vulnerable systems running Windows 10 and Windows Server 2019.

According to Microsoft, the two bugs, indexed as CVE-2020-1425 and CVE-2020-1457, exist in the Windows Codecs library that is used to handle compression of large multimedia files (photos/videos) by the OS and decoding of those files within applications for playback.

Full article @ Computing

02 Jul 2020 - New Edge Chromium being pushed out via Windows Update from 30th July

Beginning July 30th Microsoft will be pushing out it's new Chromium based Edge browser to all machines that receive their updates via Windows Update. This change will not impact devices that are updated by Windows Update for Business (WUfB) or Windows Server Update Services (WSUS).
We have been using the new Edge since early Beta versions and have been extremely pleased with it. It offers Google Chrome abilities with a much smaller memory footprint and vastly reduced impact on the resources of your machine.
If you do NOT wish this update (why not!?) you must download and deploy the Blocker Toolkit before Thursday, July 30, 2020.

Business clients using WSUS must permit the update in the WSUS console or alternatively have their users install it directly from the Microsoft Edge Update Site

16 Jun 2020 - One in three Britons targeted by scammers since the start of coronavirus crisis

Legal charity Citizens Advice is advising Britons to remain vigilant as scammers are trying to target more people during Covid-19 lockdown.

Last week, the charity disclosed the findings of a new survey, showing that nearly one-third Britons have been contacted by scammers since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Citizens Advice says it has seen a 19 per cent spike in the number of visitors coming to its website in recent months looking for advice from experts. There is also an increase in the number of people who are calling the charity to report about fake claims from scammers about vaccinations, testing kits and government refunds.

Full Article @ Computing.co.uk

10 Jun 2020 - Windows 10 SMBGhost exploit released

Expoit code for a flaw in Windows 10 v1903 & 1909 was recently made public. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a warning that hackers are actively exploiting it.

The flaw, already fixed by Microsoft, called Eternal Darkness or SMBGhost is a serious one, an attacker could gain unauthorized remote access to a target system and wreak havoc.

The fact this flaw has already been patched by Microsoft demonstrates the importance of applying your windows updates regularly and on time. All users up to date are already safe from this exploit.

More details on PC Gamer

08 Jun 2020 - Telephone disruption

Hi Everyone

We are changing ISP/Telecos today. Whilst we wait for our number to be ported over to the new Teleco, you may have trouble reaching us by phone.

Our internet remains up and active so please use e-mail if you can or use the alternate mobile number you have for emergency support.

Thanks for your patience.

Mark

02 Jun 2020 - Windows 10 May 2020 Update Is Here!

The next version of Windows 10, called the May 2020 Update, has been released.

It it currently not available to all devices yet though so to check if you can get it please follow Microsoft's support guidance

01 Jun 2020 - Important Announcement. All Clients.

Hi everyone,
I hope you have all remained healthy and happy during this unprecedented period.
As we ease out of lockdown I thought I’d take the opportunity to let you know the changes we will be making here at 4IT Systems, going forward.
As you all know, we have remained open during lockdown but restricted interactions to phone or remote support only.
As of today (June 1st) we are resuming client visits but only where absolutely necessary.  Social distancing guidelines will be respected during any client visits and necessary PPE can be worn if required (Gloves/Masks). If you require your visitors to use PPE please inform me when arranging your appointment.

Microsoft Server Clients

• As we entered lockdown, to maintain maximum reliability and uptime of your server,  all updates were disabled as a precaution. This has now been reversed and all updates will proceed as normal.
• We are restarting our server maintenance schedule. Clients who should have had maintenance done during the pandemic will be first in the new schedules and will be contacted shortly. Small  Business Server clients will require a client visit to complete the maintenance.  Windows Server Essentials clients will not (unless a local condition requires it).

Kindest regards

Mark Moran
Director

01 Apr 2020 - Microsoft's new Edge browser available to all

Microsoft have released their new Chromium based Edge browser for all windows 10 users to update to if they wish.
You will have to manually update the browser by downloading the update component from the Microsoft Website.
Edge Chromium uses the same rendering engine as Google Chrome but in tests used significantly less memory. Having used the beta version for a number of months we can highly recommend it.
One word of caution. If you are using any browser plugins, make sure they have updated versions for the new Edge first. Some plugin developers have been a bit slow to respond.

Installing this version will replace the original version of Edge that ships with Windows 10.

11 Mar 2020 - Coronavirus Update

4IT Systems Ltd is continuing to operate normally during this COVID-19 outbreak period.
As is company policy, we continue to preferentially give support remotely where possible, and on site where necessary unless instructed otherwise by our clients.

02 Mar 2020 - Windows 10 v2004 RTM build 19041.113 released

Those of you who have joined the Windows Insider Program will have had the latest RTM build of Windows 10 v2004 (Build 19041.113) made available for you to install.
This is probably either the penultimate or possibly final release before it officially ships in April 2020.
Windows 10 2004 is a large update. Be prepared fro this to take up to an hour to install on a FAST machine.
Unlike Windows 10 1909 (October 2019 Update), which was more like a service pack, Windows 10 2004 will bring numerous new features.
This includes the new Optional Updates experience that Microsoft has already set in motion by allowing driver developers to mark their drivers as 'Automatic' or 'Manual'.
Also included is a new Reset this PC from cloud feature, an updated Task Manager with GPU temperature monitoring, and an optimized Windows Search, a new Cortana experience, and much more.
You can read all about the new features on BleepingComputer

28 Feb 2020 - New Windows 10 update: Microsoft tries to fix Search bugs

Microsoft has released a non-security cumulative Windows 10 update to fix Windows Search and printing glitches.

The update for Windows 10 versions 1903 and 1909 "updates an issue that prevents the Windows Search box from rendering properly".

Full article @ ZDNet

15 Jan 2020 - Microsoft releases Windows patch for vulnerability discovered by the NSA

Microsoft has rushed-out a patch to fix a serious cryptographic vulnerability affecting Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016/2019.
The bug, indexed as CVE-2020-0601, was discovered by the US National Security Agency (NSA), which chose to disclose it to Microsoft instead of weaponising it for intelligence operations - assuming that they haven't already, but no longer have a use for it.

Full article @ Computing.co.uk

02 Jan 2020 - Windows 7 / Windows Server 2008 retirement reminder

Happy new year to you all!

Don't forget, this month sees the official retirement of both Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008. From the beginning of February there will be no further security updates issued for these products.

If you are still running either of these and would like to discuss upgrades, please get in touch. 

18 Dec 2019 - Google removes Avast and AVG Chrome extensions from store over excessive data collection

Google has followed Firefox and Opera and removed AVG and Avast extensions from its Chrome browser web store over claims that the security products' extensions exfiltrate an excessive level of user information.

AVG is a subsidiary of Avast and their respective browser extensions are essentially the same. Avast also owns a company called Jumpshot, which offers what it describes as a 'clickstream data' service. This enables its subscribers to "track what users searched for, how they interacted with a particular brand or product, and what they bought".

The action against Avast follows on from warnings by Adblock Plus creator Wladimir Palant that the extensions are "essentially spyware". He added that the data collected by Avast and its possible use by Jumpshot represented a violation of the terms that both Google and Mozilla require extension developers to sign.

Full article @ Computing.co.uk

18 Dec 2019 - Google Chrome 79 update bug loses user's data on Android

Google halts Chrome 79 update over bug that renders users' data impossible to find on Android devices.

Google has paused the rollout of Chrome 79 on Android over complaints that a critical bug is rendering users' data impossible to find on the device.
Last week, Google started rolling out the latest version of its popular web browser on desktop and mobile platforms. So far, this update has already been installed on nearly 50 per cent of the Android devices worldwide.

Unfortunately, a large number of users started experiencing the loss of their important data in third-party apps after Chrome 79 installation on their devices.
Some users described the bug as "a catastrophe" and a "major issue."

Full article @ Computing.co.uk

15 Dec 2019 - Microsoft Edge Chromium is already a viable alternative to Chrome and Firefox

Although still is Beta form, Microsoft's new version of it's Edge browser based on the Chromium core is already winning fans.

Chromium is an open-source browser project, or web rendering engine if you prefer, started by Google that developers can build upon to create more fully-fledged browsers. Google Chrome, Opera, and Amazon Silk are just a few examples of browsers built on Chromium. With Microsoft also moving over to the popular open-source project, Firefox now stands out as the last major option not built around Google’s vision for the web.

We've been testing Edge Beta for a number of weeks and are that impressed that we've selected it as our default browser on many machines. It's a fast, feature rich and polished product with the added bonus of having a smaller memory footprint that Chrome itself.

Edge Chromium Beta is free to download for anyone who wants to give it a try. It will not replace your current Edge browser but rather be installed alongside it so you can choose which one you wish to use.

Full article @ Android Authority

To get Edge Beta vist MicrosoftInsider.com and click the "Download Beta Channel" button.

Enjoy and happy testing

12 Dec 2019 - Microsoft finally (officially) kills Windows 10 Mobile

We’ve known Windows 10 Mobile has been a dead platform for years now. Even Microsoft themselves have been telling people they need to switch to Android or iOS. But yesterday, we saw the final blow to Microsoft’s mobile OS — it officially reached its end of life and is no longer supported.

Full article @ Android Authority

10 Dec 2019 - Windows 10 v1909 released

Windows 10 latest update, v1909 is now available for all users.

Users should receive the update through the normal method.

01 Dec 2019 - Christmas Office Closures

We will be closing the office on Friday 20th December and re-opening on January 2nd.

May all our customers and friends have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.

22 Nov 2019 - Windows Server 2008 (R2) End Of Life Looms

Although many users are now aware that Windows 7 support is ending 14^th January 2020, business users might have overlooked the fact that Windows Server 2008 (and 2008 R2) are also being retired (Windows 7 and Server 2008 share the same core).

If you continue to run either Windows 7 or Server 2008 (R2) after this date you will no longer receive any monthly security updates from Microsoft.

If you are in this position and would like to discuss options please contact us.

01 Nov 2019 - North Korean hackers attack Indian nuclear plant

North Korean malware detected in India's Kudankulam nuclear facility

One of India's biggest nuclear power facilities was compromised by malware in an attack believed to have been the work of a North Korean hacking group.
The Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) admitted yesterday that one of the computers at its Kudankulam nuclear power plant (KKNPP) had been attacked by malware.

Full article @ Computing.co.uk

31 Oct 2019 - Facebook sues 'security group' over WhatsApp hack

Facebook claims NSO Group took advantage of vulnerabilities in WhatsApp to propagate spyware.

Facebook has filed suit against ‘cyber intelligence' firm NSO Group, claiming that it has taken advantage of vulnerabilities in Facebook's WhatsApp messaging software to propagate spyware.
According to Facebook, NSO infected around 1,400 users in 20 countries were targeted with video-calling malware, taking advantage of a buffer overflow vulnerability in the WhatsApp voice-over-IP stack that enabled remote code execution attacks "via a specially crafted series of RTCP [real-time transport protocol] packets sent to a target's phone number".

Full Article @ Computing.co.uk

13 Oct 2019 - Hosting service plan quota upgrades

We are updating some of our hosting service plans with the following free quota upgrades :-

Advanced : Website disk quota increases from 3000Mb to 8000Mb

Wordpress : Website disk quota increases from 3000Mb to 5000Mb

Full details on the Hosting Details page

10 Oct 2019 - Farewell Windows 10 1703

Consumers should be well away from Windows 10 version 1703, aka the Creators Update, but the October Patch Tuesday marked the last time Microsoft will deliver security updates for that version to enterprise and education subscribers.
Microsoft released Windows 10 version 1703 in April 2017, meaning it's now serviced it for 30 months since that date.
Microsoft warned admins in August that 1703 was nearing end of life, which arrived today, October 9, so most organizations should have upgraded by now.

Full article @ ZDNet

If you are unsure which version you are using or need help upgrading please get in touch www.4-it.co.uk/contact-us/

10 Oct 2019 - Microsoft is bringing Android calling to Windows 10.

The new Windows 10-to-Android calling feature that leaked last month is finally here for Windows 10 Insiders to test if they're on the Fast Ring. The feature brings Your Phone calling functionality that was originally exclusive to the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 to all Android handsets.
Microsoft on Tuesday released the latest Windows 10 20H1 preview and announced the new feature called 'Calls' that it showed off at last week's Surface event where it unveiled its Android-powered Surface Duo due out next year.

The feature lets users answer calls to an Android phone from a PC and use its speakers, microphone, and screen to take calls. Besides answering incoming calls on a PC, users can make calls from the PC, decline calls on the PC with custom text, access recent call history, and transfer calls between a PC and Android phone.

Expect the Calls feature to appear in the next major Windows 10 version upgrade.

Full article @ ZDNet

20 Sep 2019 - Late Summer Office Closure 30/09/19-04/10/19

The office will be closed for 4 days from midday Monday 30th Sept to midday Fri Oct 4th.

All e-mails will be collected as normal during this period.

Support clients should use e-mail as the primary contact method, or in an emergency use the alternate mobile number you already have.

28 Aug 2019 - Avast and French police disinfect 850,000 PCs with Retadup malware after seizing c&c servers

The French National Gendarmerie, with help from anti-virus software maker Avast, has eliminated a botnet of 850,000 computers infected with the Retadup malware.
According to Avast, a design error in the communication protocol of Retadup's command and control (C&C) server enabled its security experts to remove the malware from infected machines and to dismantle the entire malware botnet.

Full article @ Computing.co.uk

14 Aug 2019 - Vulnerabilities in Microsoft CTF protocol allow hackers to hijack any Windows app, escape sandboxes, get admin rights.

Bug affects all versions of Microsoft Windows, back from Windows XP to Windows 10

A security researcher has revealed details of a high-severity security flaw in the Microsoft CTextFramework (CTF) protocol that leaves Windows wide open to hijacking.
The vulnerability affects all versions of Microsoft Windows, back from Windows XP to Windows 10, according to Tavis Ormandy, the security researcher from Google's Project Zero Team, who first discovered the flaw in the CTF protocol.
The insecure CTF protocol could also enable an attacker or malware (that have already compromised a machine) to escape sandboxes and get admin rights on that machine.
Indexed as CVE-2019-1162, the flaw has now been patched by Microsoft in its August Patch Tuesday release of security fixes.

Full article @ computing.co.uk

Comment: Exploits like these show the need to keep your machines fully up to date with all the latest security patches and, whereever possible, move away from older legacy installations and on to Windows 10.

14 Aug 2019 - Symantec breaks Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 updates due to SHA-2

Microsoft withholding updates from machines with Symantec software, because it cannot handle SHA-2 certificates and does stupid things.
Symantec / Norton anti-virus software is unable to handle SHA-2 signatures, and has led to Microsoft withholding updates from certain devices.
In an update note for Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2, Microsoft said that when a device runs any Symantec or Norton antivirus program, and attempts to install an update signed only with SHA-2, the antivirus program blocks or deletes the update during installation, which could make the operating system stop working.
Symantec has had 6 months warning that Microsoft was switching to the more secure SHA-2 signing, yet has failed to update it's software in time.

Full article @ ZDNet

31 Jul 2019 - Windows 7 support timebomb: 76% of NHS PCs at risk

With less than half a year to go before support ends for Windows 7, about three-quarters of computers in the UK's National Health Service (NHS) are still running the OS.
Just over one million computers in the NHS are still using Windows 7, according to a written answer from the Department of Health and Social Care.
Having so many machines still running Windows 7 is a problem, according to Jo Platt MP, shadow cabinet office minister, as the end of extended support in January 2020 will mean no more fixes and patches without a costly custom-support deal.

Full article @ ZDNet

21 Jun 2019 - Microsoft rolls out previews of Chromium-based Edge to testers

Microsoft is making available promised test builds of its Chromium-based Edge browser for Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. These are Canary channel builds, meaning they will be updated daily.
Microsoft plans to add Dev channel builds for all these platforms "soon," according to today's blog post. Microsoft already offers Canary and Dev channel builds for Chromium-based Edge on Windows 10.
In December 2018, Microsoft revealed plans to create a new version of Edge by using Chromium combined with some components currently in Edge, all in the name of providing greater browsing compatibility across the web. At that time, officials said Microsoft planned to make  the new Edge browser available on Windows 7, 8.1, 10 and MacOS.. While Edge will continue to ship with Windows 10, Microsoft finally will be updating it independently of the operating systems on which it runs, meaning it will be updated and patched more frequently than the non-Chromium-based MSHTML version of Edge is currently.

Full article @ ZDNet

18 Jun 2019 - Microsoft finally releases Hyper-V Server 2019

Microsoft quietly began to roll out Hyper-V Server 2019 on Saturday June 15, almost 8 months after it was initially due for release.
Microsoft originally announced availability of Windows Server 2019/1809 on October 2 2018. It subsequently pulled both client and server versions of 1809 due to data-loss reports in Windows 10 1809. Microsoft re-released Windows Server 2019/1809 in early November, minus Hyper-V Server 2019.
In January 2019, Microsoft made the Windows Server 2019 evaluation media available on the Evaluation Center, but Hyper-V Server 2019 was missing. Microsoft officials didn't provide much of an explanation officially for its absence, but it sounds like the team discovered some bugs in this product, including some problems with RDP. On April 8, Microsoft officials posted a brief notice on the Windows Server blog which said:
"As we were getting ready to publish Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2019 in the Evaluation Center, we found some issues with the media. We are actively working on resolving it. We will release it soon and provide an update here. This does not affect the Windows Server 2019 that is already available for purchase as well as for trial through the Evaluation Center."

Full article @ ZDNet

31 May 2019 - Warning over China-linked Linux malware HiddenWasp

China-linked HiddenWasp Linux malware is being used in sophisticated, targeted attacks.
Security researchers have discovered a new form of malware targeting Linux.
The 'HiddenWasp' backdoor, found by security firm Intezer, is particularly dangerous because it is still active and, they claim, is able to evade detection by all major antivirus security software products.
Intezer said the malware is unlike common Linux malware because rather than focusing on crypto-mining or DDoS activity, it is "a Trojan purely used for targeted remote control".

Full article @ Computing

4IT Comment
Some people foolishly think only Windows systems get viruses. This is simply not the case. All machines are open to attack, be they Windows, Apple, Linux etc.

22 May 2019 - ARM now cuts ties with Huawei

Huawei's woes continue in the wake of their US govenrment blacklisting as ARM instructs it's employees to cease all contact with the Chinese technology company.
Arm is the life blood of the smartphone market, as it’s responsible for the inner workings of the vast majority of smartphones. The company’s architecture and instruction sets are licensed by literally everyone in the smartphone industry.
Simply put, Huawei has now seemingly lost the very technology it requires to actually make a modern smartphone.

More details @ Android Authority

20 May 2019 - Google, Intel, Qualcomm and Broadcom cut ties with Huawei

US technology giants Google, Intel, Qualcomm and Broadcom have all cut ties with Huawei following the the US government blacklisting of the Chinese technology company, barring it from the products and services of US companies.

More info :-

Huawei’s phone business would be decimated without Google’s Android

What Google's Huawei ban means for millions of Android owners

Google pulls Huawei’s Android license, forcing it to use open source version

10 Apr 2019 - April Patch Tuesday fixes 74 flaws

A total of 74 vulnerabilities have been fixed in this month's Patch Tuesday, with 15 of the fixed flaws being labelled "critical".
The patches being applied via Microsoft's Update service include fixes for critical flaws, inevitably, in Adobe Flash (CVE-2019-7108 and CVE-2019-7096), while the rest affect various elements of Windows and Windows Server.
This month's Patch Tuesday also includes patches for two zero-day security flaws in Windows - security flaws that are being exploited in the wild right now.
Adobe has also released seven updates fixing 43 security flaws - but Shockwave will remain unpatched against seven critical vulnerabilities.

Full article @ Computing

09 Apr 2019 - AMD unveils second-gen Ryzen Pro and Athlon Pro mobile processors

Second-gen Ryzen Pro mobile processors come with built-in Radeon Vega Graphics capable of running 3dsMax and other design applications, according to AMD.

AMD has announced its second-generation Ryzen Pro and Athlon Pro mobile processors, intended for PCs and laptops for companies and other major organisations.
The new four-core Ryzen 7 Pro 3700U, Ryzen 5 Pro 3500U and Ryzen 3 Pro 3300U have been unveiled more than a year after the launch of AMD's first Ryzen Pro mobile CPUs.

Full article @ Computing

08 Apr 2019 - Windows 10 May 2019 Update: The new features

Windows 10 version 1903, which will be officially dubbed the May 2019 Update, begins rolling out soon.

Changes include...

Simplifying the Start layout
Streamlined search, with frequently used apps
Windows Sandbox
Set up a Microsoft account with a phone number
Cortana spins off from Search
Windows Hello options, made easier
Light Theme
New Windows font installer
Updated emoji picker
Updated Security Centre, and more...

Full Article @ ZDNet

22 Mar 2019 - Midweek office closure

The office will be closed from Midday Monday 25th March to 1:30pm Friday 29th March.
If you ned to contact us please e-mail us at the usual address. All e-mails will be cheked during this period.
Support clients should contact us via e-mail or use the alternative support number already supplied.

14 Mar 2019 - Intel warns of serious security flaws in its older Windows 10 drivers

Intel is warning Windows 10 users that old graphics drivers are riddled with security flaws that need to be updated with new updates that the company has released over the past year. 
The chip maker has disclosed what it says are high-severity flaws afflicting the graphics driver for Windows, which "may allow escalation of privileges, denial of service or information disclosure".
"Intel is releasing Intel Graphics Driver for Windows updates to mitigate these potential vulnerabilities," Intel said. 
The update is available from Intel's page for downloading graphics drivers.

Full article @ ZDNet

14 Mar 2019 - 2020 End of Support : Microsoft to start nagging Windows 7 users

Just like it did when Windows XP support was ending back in 2014, Microsoft is readying pop-up notification screens that it will start showing to users still running Windows 7. Beginning some time in April 2019, Microsoft will start reminding users that the company will no longer provide free support for Windows 7 after January 14, 2020.
Full article @ ZDNet

05 Mar 2019 - WordPress accounted for 90 percent of all hacked CMS sites in 2018

Security comany Sucuri have claimed roughly 90 percent of all the hacked content management systems (CMSs) they investigated and helped fix in 2018 were WordPress sites. In a distant second, third, and fourth came Magento (4.6 percent), Joomla (4.3 percent), and Drupal (3.7 percent).
Sucuri experts blamed most of the hacks on vulnerabilities in plugins and themes, misconfiguration issues, and a lack of maintenance by webmasters, who often forgot to update their CMS, themes, and plugins, "the leading cause of infections stemmed from component vulnerabilities," Sucuri said.

Full Article @ ZDNet

4IT Comment..

CMS software like WordPress, Joomla etc. are an excellent way of creating professional looking websites that end users can modify with limited training. However, like all software, it's important that updates are applied in a timely fashion. This is particularly important with WordPress where there are so many third-party add-in software options via the plugins and themes facilities. Updating your site is an easy task, done from your backend admin panel and there is really no excuse for not doing this on a regular basis.
If you are worried about updates breaking your site simply take a backup before undertaking your updates. Any of our customers who need assistance with this should get in touch.

08 Feb 2019 - Google+ account closure

In anticipation of the upcoming retirement of the Google+ platform, we have taken the decision to delete our Google+ account and remove all associated Google+ links from our website.

You can, of course, continue to follow us on both Facebook and Twitter

07 Feb 2019 - Windows 7 end of support date looms

Micorsoft have reminded users of the looming cutoff date for Windows 7 support.
After January 14th 2020, Microsoft will only offer security updates to volume licensing clients on a paid for basis and it's not going to be cheap!
If you are a Windows 7 Pro user expect to pay $50 per device for the 1st year, $100 per device for the 2nd year, and whopping $200 per device for the 3rd year!
We strongly recommend all clients start planning for the switch over to Windows 10. This can be done either during a hardware refresh cycle or via an update to existing machines. Providing you have a legitimate and valid Windows 7 license you may be eligible for a free Windows 10 upgrade.
Any clients needing help or advice please get in touch.

07 Feb 2019 - Hosting clients : Scheduled Network Maintenance

There is some scheduled core network maintenance that will affect our hosting clients.

Between 00:01 and 01:00 on Tuesday 12th February technicians will be performing upgrades to the hosting core network.
As always, the aim to keep downtime to a minimum but a small interruption is expected as traffic re-routes to the new design.
Please check the Service Status site stackstatus for updates during this period, and we ask that customers consider services "At Risk" for the duration of this maintenance window. We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this work.

07 Feb 2019 - Browser Wars : Chrome still dominates

Chrome is still the dominant web browser of the day.
As of October 2018, it holds a 63% share compared to IE at 11%, Firefox at 10% and Edge at 4%, according to NetMarketShare.

03 Feb 2019 - Windows 10 updates are broken for some users

Windows 10 updates are broken again, but this time it's not Microsoft's fault
Multiple Windows users in the US and UK have been unable to download updates from Windows Update. But rather than the problem lying at Microsoft's end, the culprit appears to be various ISPs' domain name system (DNS) settings. 
Users have also reported the same DNS issue preventing app updates from the Windows Store and breaking Microsoft's security feature, SmartScreen. 
As spotted by Softpedia, Windows users pinpointed Comcast's DNS settings as the source of the problem, and, oddly, found that switching the computer's network settings to use Google's Public DNS allowed Windows Update to resume.
Full article @ ZDNet

23 Jan 2019 - WiFi firmware security flaws exposes Chromebooks and Microsoft Surface laptops

Vulnerabilities in WiFi chipsets could expose as many as 6.2 billion mobile devices to attack.
The vulnerabilities have been attributed by the security researcher to configuration issues, rather than security flaws in ThreadX, the real-time operating used in the firmware of the WiFi chipsets.
The flaws have been found by security researcher Denis Selianin of Embedi, a security consultancy focused on smart devices, which has published a report on the security threat. The findings were also demonstrated at the ZeroNights security event in St Petersburg, Russia in November last year.
The research focused on the widely used Marvell Avastar 88W8897 WiFi chipset, which can be found in the Microsoft Surface and Samsung Chromebooks, as well as the Sony PlayStation 4, Microsoft Xbox One and Valve Software's now discontinued SteamLink.
Because the SteamLink is open source, Selianin used it as the basis for his research, uncovering four security flaws in the process.

Full article @ Computing.co.uk

23 Jan 2019 - How to find Wi-Fi settings in Windows 10

In Windows 10, the Wi-Fi -- and wired -- connectivity settings are in a new spot, but they're as easy to access and configure as ever. You just have to know where to look.
The Wi-Fi settings in Windows 10 are in a different location than in past versions of Windows, which can confuse laptop and mobile device users who rely on connecting to and switching between wireless and internet networks. Luckily, all users need to straighten things out are a few quick pointers.
Microsoft moved many systems options in Windows 10, including System, Devices, Accounts, Privacy and other option groups, into the Settings application. The Network & Internet configuration options are there, too. To access the Wi-Fi settings in Windows 10, users can click the Start button, then Settings, and then Network & Internet. A menu of options will appear on the left.
For PCs that rely on wireless network connections, a Wi-Fi entry will be included on the left list. Wi-Fi is typically listed first in the list, and the menu allows users to see a list of all the Wi-Fi networks detected in the immediate vicinity. Users can click the wireless network they want to work on and click Connect. Secured wireless networks will ask for the network security key before establishing the connection.

Full article @ TechRepubllic

19 Jan 2019 - Huawei targetted by US in criminal trade secret theft probe

Federal prosecutors are pursuing a criminal investigation of China’s Huawei Technologies Co. for allegedly stealing trade secrets from U.S. business partners, including technology used by  T-Mobile US  Inc. to test smartphones, according to people familiar with the matter.
The investigation grew in part out of civil lawsuits against Huawei, including one in which a Seattle jury found Huawei liable for misappropriating robotic technology from T-Mobile’s Bellevue, Wash., lab, the people familiar with the matter said. The probe is at an advanced stage and could lead to an indictment soon, they said.

Full article @ The Wall Street Journal

18 Jan 2019 - Iran blamed for worlwide hack

Iran implicated in DNS hijacking campaign around the world
FireEye researchers investigating a DNS hijacking campaign against governments and telecom companies said those who are potential targets of Iran should take precautions.
Security researchers have identified a global DNS hijacking campaign, which they say is likely the work of Iranian hackers.
According to researchers from FireEye's Mandiant Incident Response and Intelligence team, the DNS hijacking campaign targeted entities for the past two years across the Middle East and North Africa, Europe and North America "on an almost unprecedented scale, with a high degree of success."

Full article @ TechTarget

18 Dec 2018 - Windows 10 v.1809 (October 2018 Update) Now Available

After a few embarrassing false starts, the latest incarnation of Windows 10 (v1809 aka the October 2018 Update) is now available.
The latest update provides a number of fixes and new features most of which can be found here.
The feature which has really peaked our interest is the Your Phone app which connects your Android phone to your PC, allowing you to access your phone’s content - like text messages, photos and notifications right on your Windows 10 PC.
Check The Windows Club for more info

16 Dec 2018 - 4IT Christmas Opening Times

We will be closing the office from Fri Dec 21^st and reopening Wed Jan 3^rd.
For any clients open over the Christmas period we will be offering limited support on Thurs 27^th and Fri 28^th Dec. Client needing support should contact us preferably via e-mail as the office may not be continually staffed during this period.
We would like to wish all our clients and friends a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year

11 Dec 2018 - 4IT launches fantastic new Web and WordPress Starter Products

We've happy to announce a number of new web starter products designed to rapidly get you a web presence. All options are mobile friendly and come with free hosting and domain (.co.uk or .com) for the first year so are great value.
Clients can choose from Standard websites (Bootstrap/HTML5/JavaScript) or WordPress Websites (a good choice for easy future development) and prices start from just £199
Full details are in the Website Starter Packages & WordPress Starter Packages sections
Click here to see the Standard Website template choices
WordPress layout choices are here
Both template pages lead to full working demos of the templates.

If you would like to discuss your requirements more please get in touch.

05 Dec 2018 - BT/EE ditches Huawei hardware from 4G networks and bars it from 5G bids

BT is to remove Huawei networking equipment from the core 4G network of its EE mobile subsidiary, and will also bar the Chinese company from bidding for core 5G contracts. However, BT will continue to buy and use Huawei kit on the edge of its networks, such as equipment on masts.
The news comes after Huawei, along with ZTE, were effectively barred from bidding for 5G contracts in Australia and New Zealand, while Germany and Japan are mulling similar bans.
The moves come after China passed wide-ranging laws obliging citizens and Chinese companies to cooperate with the security services in any capacity. At the same time, the US government has strongly pressured allies to impose bans on Chinese networking hardware in national networks on security grounds.

Full article @ Computing.co.uk

05 Dec 2018 - Microsoft prepares to ditch Edge browser

EdgeHTML browser engine fails to keep pace with Chromium.

Microsoft is building its own Chromium browser to replace the default on Windows 10. The software giant first introduced its Edge browser three years ago, with a redesign to replace Internet Explorer and modernize the default browsing experience to compete with Chrome and others. While the modern look and feel has paid off for Edge, the underlying browser engine (EdgeHTML) has struggled to keep up with Chromium. Microsoft is finally giving up and moving its default Windows 10 browser to Chromium.

Full article @ The Verge

04 Dec 2018 - Are SME's getting a raw deal from the Mobile providers?

Only one in 10 SMEs get a fair deal from their mobile providers, claims a new study.
The mobile provider market for SMEs is uncompetitive and Ofcom is not doing enough to correct it, claims a new report from Billmonitor.
Billmonitor claims that the average SME can save as much as 49% on its mobile phone bills, with the largest able to save more than £24,000 each year.
The company alleges that Ofcom's hands-off approach has created an uncompetitive market, in which mobile providers take advantage of SMEs

Full article @ Computing.co.uk

30 Nov 2018 - 500 million customers affected in massive Marriott hack

The records of 500 million customers of Marriott Hotel Group have been leaked in a huge data breach, with payment details included

Full article @ Computing.co.uk

27 Nov 2018 - Regulators fine Uber for 2016 hack

The Information Commissioner's Office and Dutch Data Protection Authority have issued Uber with combined fines of more than £900,000, for its failure to protect customers' personal information when it was breached in 2016.
The ICO, which has levelled a £385,000 penalty, said that Uber had shown a "complete disregard" for the affected parties. It added, "A series of avoidable data security flaws allowed the personal details of around 2.7 million UK customers to be accessed and downloaded by attackers from a cloud-based storage system operated by Uber's US parent company."

Full article @ Computing

14 Nov 2018 - Microsoft resumes rollout of Windows 10 October 2018 Update

Microsoft is resuming the rollout of the next big feature update to Windows 10 after a month-long hiatus to fix a series of bugs.
The rollout of build 1809, originally known as the Windows 10 October 2018 Update, was halted on October 6th, after a number of PCs were hit by a file-wiping bug. Following the decision to pause the rollout, a number of other issues were discovered with build 1809, including incorrect information about CPU utilization, an issue handling .ZIP folders, and driver clashes.
Now Microsoft has announced build 1809 is available once again via the  Windows 10 Download page, although it won't start arriving via Windows Update until a later date, and even then may take a long time to arrive due to the phased nature of the rollout.

Full article @ TechRepublic

13 Nov 2018 - Major Hosting Announcement

4IT Systems are pleased to announce that we are making major changes to our hosting business. These changes allow us to offer vastly improved allowances on all our existing plans, at no additional charge to you, as well as offering new services such as Windows based hosting, Specialist WordPress hosting and also unlimited plans.
Improved plan allowances mean more space for your website files and more bandwidth for your traffic (eliminating those pesky monthly bandwidth warning emails!). Mailboxes are now excluded from the storage quota allowance and will have their own separate allowances allowing IMAP usage if wanted.
We are now also offering free SSL certificates on all websites (previously an extra charge of £74+vat p/a per site)

See the table below for examples: -

The complete list of plans and prices can be found here.

Complete list of hosting features are in the High Performance UK Web Hosting & Email Supply section.

11 Nov 2018 - 4IT Website Updates

We've taken the opportunity, during our hosting move, to update our website making it compatable with the latest versions of PHP & MySql. We have also modified the RSS feed so only the most recent 160 articles are served.
If you experience any issues please let us know at webmaster@4-it.co.uk

30 Nov 1999 - Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen dies of cancer at age 65

Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen died from complications of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma on Monday afternoon.
Allen's Vulcan Inc. announced that he died in Seattle at 65 years old.

Full article @ CNBC

30 Nov 1999 - Google kills off Google+

Google is pulling the plug on it's social network platform Google+ due to poor adoption and after a security beach which exposed up to 500,000 accounts.
Google+ was the IT giant's FaceBook alternative, which although had early adoption by some more technically savvy users, never made in-roads in to the general population.
Their decision to kill off the platform was crystallised after a data breach which dates back 2015, but was only discovered and addressed in March 2018. Google then failed to disclose this for a further 6 months.

More details @ ABC News

02 Oct 2018 - Major hosting announcement coming soon

We are in the process of a major revamp of our hosting business which will see us rolling out considerable plan upgrades free of charge to all our customers as well as offering a range of new products and services.
Full announcement coming soon..

12 Sep 2018 - Trend Micro apps on Mac accused of stealing data

Researchers claimed Trend Micro apps in the Mac App Store were stealing data. The company removed the offending features, but researchers are still not sold on Trend Micro's excuse.
According to researchers, multiple apps in the Mac App Store were stealing data, and Apple removed the offending apps from the store. But, now, Trend Micro is refuting the claims against its apps.
At least eight apps -- six Trend Micro apps and two published by a developer who goes by the name Yongming Zhang -- were found to be gathering data from user systems, including web browsing history, App Store browsing history and a list of installed apps.

Full article @ TechTarget

10 Sep 2018 - Microsoft offers alternate Windows 7 support arrangements

Following pressure from sysadmins, Microsoft has offered alternate Windows 7 support arrangements.

Microsoft are continuing with their plan of extended support — under which the OS receives security and reliability fixes until January 14, 2020. After this for Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Enterprise editions for customers using Volume Licensing there is now an option for extended support until January 2023 under a new paid program.

Microsoft are also modifying Windows 10 support arrangements to increase support for feature updates from 18 months to 24 months.

4IT Systems Ltd recommend all clients currently running Windows 7 should start planning for migrations to Windows 10 before the end of support. Free upgrades are still available from Microsoft using their MediaCreationTool

09 Sep 2018 - Targeted Extortion Spam

We’ve noticed a spate of targeted extortion spam emails. 4IT e-mail customers, so far, will have had all of these blocked by our Spam Experts filter.
These e-mails are initially alarming because the e-mail subject is a password that you have previously used on site somewhere, which has obviously been subsequently hacked.
The body of the e-mail is pretty generic and similar to previous extortion e-mails:-
“We know your password, We have evidence of you accessing porn, we have web camera recordings of you etc etc …
Pay us $5000 by bitcoin or we’ll tell everyone you know…”
These e-mails can be safely ignored but they do underline a security point that we have blogged about before :- See article 01 Oct 2016 - Yahoo hack, 500 million accounts stolen.
Users must accept that any site on which they have registered could be hacked, you should therefore use different passwords (randomly generated) on each site and make use of a password manager to remember these.

31 Aug 2018 - Rise of Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams

According to a Thursday report from Barracuda, cybercriminals are increasingly targetting business using BEC scams causing billions of dollars in fraud losses over the past few years.

The most common BEC attack involved the hacker trying to trick a recipient to do a wire transfer to a bank account owned by the attacker (47%). Other types of attacks included trying to get a recipient to click a malicious link (40%), establishing rapport with the victim (12%), and stealing PII like W2 forms (1%).

We've seen (and blogged) about these scams before and once again reiterate how important end user vigilance is.

Full article @ Techrepublic

28 Aug 2018 - Microsoft Launch Windows Server 2019 this Autumn

The latest version of Windows Server is nearly upon us.

If you'd like to see what new in this version check out the article on the Windows Server Blog

Everything you need to know about Windows Server 2019 " Part 1

Everything you need to know about Windows Server 2019 " Part 2

24 Aug 2018 - Windows Tip: Disable Automatic driver updates on Windows 10

Microsoft occasionally uses Windows Update to deliver updated drivers for devices, especially when those drivers have been shown to cause compatibility issues. In Windows 10, these updates are delivered alongside regular security and reliability fixes and are installed automatically.

 f you'd prefer to handle driver updates yourself, you can disable automatic driver updates in Windows 10. To turn on this setting in the Pro or Enterprise edition, open the Local Group Policy Editor (Gpedit.msc) and go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update. Double-click the Do Not Include Drivers With Windows Updates policy and set it to Enabled.

If you're working on a PC running Windows 10 Home, this isn't an option, because Group Policy is not supported. In that case, open Registry Editor and navigate to the key HKLMSoftwarePoliciesMicrosoftWindowsWindowsUpdate. Then add a new DWORD value, ExcludeWUDriversInQualityUpdate, and set it to 1.

Credit : Ed Bott @ Microsoft Weekly

24 Aug 2018 - Windows 10: Microsoft and Intel patch latest Spectre and Foreshadow CPU vulnerabilities

New Windows 10 updates contain Intel's latest microcode fixes for the recently discovered Spectre variant 3a and 4 vulnerabilities, as well as Foreshadow.

Microsoft has released out-of-bounds patches for Windows 10 to help protect against new Spectre and Foreshadow CPU attacks.

The Windows 10 updates, made available late on Monday, contain Intel's latest microcode fixes for the recently discovered Spectre variant 3a and 4 vulnerabilities, which affect many modern computer processors.

Full article @ Techrepublic

16 Aug 2018 - Another Intel chip flaw, Foreshadow, surfaces

Like the Spectre and Meltdown exploits earlier this year, the new L1TF / Foreshadow vulnerabilities allow for a form of speculative execution attack. Unlike those earlier exploits, these affect modern chips with SGX architecture extensions, designed to protect data and applications from interference.

The vulnerabilties allow data to be read from an area of fast memory known as the L1 cache, which is available to each processor core. An attacker could use the exploits to read any data held in the cache, including protected information belonging to the System Management Mode (SMM), the operating system's kernel, or to other virtual machines (VMs) running on third-party clouds.

Full Article @ TechRepublic

12 Aug 2018 - Enterprise Apple Mac's vulnerable fresh out of the box

A new report from Wired reveals a Mac bug allowing a common vulnerability that exploits DEP and MDM platforms.

Despite Apple's supply chain being among the most closely monitored and analyzed in the world, its devices are not immune to all potential hacks. According to a report from Wired, it's possible that a brand new Mac could be remotely compromised the first time it connects to Wi-Fi out of the box.

According to the report, when a Mac's serial number is enrolled in DEP and MDM, it will automatically run a series of checks—both with Apple's servers and the MDM vendor's servers. Researchers found the issue arises in one key step of the process.

The hacker, the report noted, could lurk between the MDM web server and the victim's device, allowing the hacker to replace the download manifest with a malicious one that forces the computer to install malware instead.

Full article @ TechTarget

24 Jul 2018 - Summer Office Holiday Closure

The office will be closed Wed 26th, Thurs 27th and Fri 28th July.

All e-mail will be answered as normal.

All support queries should be made by e-mail if possible or by using the alternate mobile number supprt clients already have.

26 Jun 2018 - Microsoft drops Windows 7 support for old CPUs

Microsoft abandons support for Windows 7 on Pentium III-era machines.

We expect this to have little or no impact for our clients as these processors are over 17 years old.

But clients should take this as a reminder that Windows 7 security updates would only continue to be issued until January 2020.

Clients still running Windows 7 now have 18 months to plan for rolling out Windows 10.

Full article @ ZDNet

25 Jun 2018 - Bitdefender scores full marks in independent Windows 10 test

Bitdefender has once again scored full marks for both protection and performance in the independent AV-TEST Institute tests.

For the protection of corporate networks, the laboratory of AV-TEST tested 16 solutions under Windows 10 in terms of their protection, performance and influence on usability.

Bitdefender has scored consistently well over the years, which further vindicates 4IT Systems decision to become a Bitdefender partner and to recommend this excellent security platform to our clients.

Full AV test article and results @ AV Test Website

20 Jun 2018 - EU follows US lead, bans Kaspersky

Following a vote by the European Parliament to implement a Kaspersky ban in the EU, Kaspersky announced it would halt ties with the No More Ransom project and Europol.

After the European Parliament voted to institute a Kaspersky ban on the use of its products in the European Union, Kaspersky Lab temporarily suspended its involvement with Europol and the No More Ransom project.

In a plenary session, the European Parliament voted on a cyberdefence strategy report written by Urmas Paet, the Estonian member of the European Parliament on the Committee on Foreign Affairs. The resolution included an amendment from the Polish MEP that "calls on the EU to perform a comprehensive review of software, IT and communications equipment and infrastructure used in the institutions in order to exclude potentially dangerous [programs] and devices, and to ban the ones that have been confirmed as malicious, such as Kaspersky Lab."

Full article @ TechTarget

12 Jun 2018 - FBI arrest 74 e-mail scammers. Recover $14 million

The US Justice Department on Monday announced the arrest of 74 individuals, including 42 in the US, for their involvement in e-mail scams designed to steal money and valuable information from both businesses and individuals.

In addition to the 42 in the US, the arrests included 29 in Nigeria, as well as three in Canada, Mauritius, and Poland. Federal authorities also seized nearly $2.4 million, and they disrupted and recovered approximately $14 million in fraudulent wire transfers.

Full article @ ZDNet

10 Jun 2018 - New Flash exploit bypasses browser, infects via Office documents instead

If you thought you were safe from malware spread via Adobe Flash think again, a new attack hides Flash scripts in Office files to download its payload.

A newly discovered Adobe Flash zero-day exploit is using Microsoft Office files to spread a stack-based buffer overflow attack, but with a twist: The malicious file doesn't contain any actual malware.

Discovered by 360 Core Security and security firm ICEBRG, this new Flash zero day was specifically found to be targeting users in the Middle East, with a potential focus on Qatar.

Malicious Office files aren't a new way to spread malware, but this particular attack has a trick up its sleeve: It remotely downloads the Shockwave Flash (SWF) file containing its payload once opened. That means the file itself doesn't contain any malware, making it easier to fly under the radar.

Adobe has released a patch to address the zero-day exploit, and those still using Flash are advised to update now.

Full article @ TechRepublic

4IT Comment:-

This exploit once again stresses the importance of NOT opening e-mail attachments from unknown OR unexpected sources. Office documents are a favourite method of delivery by the malware writers and we have seen a sharp spike in e-mails containing fake orders, invoices etc., inviting you to open the attached Word or Excel document.

Remember no matter how good your security systems are the weakest link in the chain is always the user.

10 Jun 2018 - VPNFilter router malware more serious than first thought

A new research report indicates the VPNFilter malware has a longer reach than first thought, and simply rebooting your router is not enough.

VPNFilter is a novel type of malware that infects a number of home and small business routers including those from Linksys, MikroTik, Netgear, TP-Link, ASUS, D-Link, Huawei, Ubiquiti, UPVEL, and ZTE.

Official guidance from the FBI was to reboot your router to remove the infection, however after further investigation this may not be enough.

It is strongly recommended you check your device manufacturers website and install the latest firmware available. If you already have the latest firmware you should still reinstall it to ensure removal of any infection.

Full article @ TechRepublic

07 Jun 2018 - Power users rejoice! AMD/Intel bringing 20+ core processors

Good news for PC power users: AMD and Intel bringing 20+ cores to workstation CPUs

Announced at Computex 2018 in Taipei. Both Intel and AMD are placing a great deal of emphasis on a relatively recent category of CPUs that are architecturally more similar to lower-end server CPUs than high-end workstation CPUs. This design choice brings a double-digit core count to workstation CPUs, which has been rare to find for performance workstation/desktop systems until now.

AMD's second generation Ryzen Threadripper CPUs are "on track" for launch in Q3 2018. The new CPUs will feature either 24 or 32 cores, with two threads per core, for a total of 48 or 64 threads.

Intel's newest offering is a 28 Core i9 CPU (48 threads) running at 5 GHz.

Full article @ TechRepublic

Alternate article @ Computing Website

29 May 2018 - British hacker gets 10 years

'One man crime wave' hacker Grant West was sentenced to 10 years and eight months in prison on Friday for a crime spree that netted him millions from the sale of stolen data.

Twenty-six year old West from Sheerness in Kent had pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy to commit fraud, computer misuse and drug offences on 2 May.

A prolific criminal, he hacked multiple firms including Asda, Ladbrokes, Barclays and BA, costing them hundreds of thousands of pounds.

He also used phishing emails to trick people into giving away their financial information. One such email, sent in 2015, purported to be a survey from Just Eat. It promised discount vouchers for those completing it. That email alone netted him £180,000, according to the Met Police.

A total of £84,000 was stolen from hacked Barclays accounts, costing the bank more than £300,000 to put right.

BA lost £400,000 as a result of West's hacking of accounts the Avios travel awards site.

West sold the information on Alpha Bay, the 'dark web' site that has since been taken down. The proceeds were converted into Bitcoin which he stashed in multiple accounts.

Full article @

29 May 2018 - Avast causing inaccessible desktop after Windows 10 1803 update

The Windows 10 April Update is causing more stress for users running AVAST, with many claiming their PCs were wiped clean after they hit OK on the update prompt.

The blank desktop issue has reached users across the world but does not appear to have affected a large number of users, according to the forums. If you have already installed the Windows 10 update and had no problems, you don't have to worry about the issue.

If you have Avast Antivirus, it may be prudent to delete it before installing the new Windows 10 update, as many users have reported losing access to all of their files after the installation.TechRepublic

25 May 2018 - US sites block EU users due to GDPR

A handful of top US news sites have chosen to block UK and EU users rather than deal with the EU's GDPR requirements.

Sites including USA Today, LA Times & Chicago Tribune have all decided to block rather and comply with GDPR.

Even non EU companies forced to comply with GDPR such as Facebook have taken measure to minimise their need for compliance. In Facebook's case, by quietly moving the data of 1.6bn users from their Irish data centre to a non-EU one.

The EU's threat to fine non EU companies with huge fines for non compliance has predictably lead to this result.

GDPR may yet prove to be a heavy handed and over-reaching piece regulation.

More info @ Evening Standard

25 May 2018 - Beware GDPR fraudsters phishing emails

GDPR fraudsters are conning people out of thousands a with wave of phishing emails.

ew data protection rules coming in on Friday have sparked a wave of fraudulent emails, the police's fraud arm has warned, with criminals posing as banks and companies to steal people's details.

Customers of one of Britain's biggest banks, Natwest, are among those being targeted with phishing scams in which they are told they must comply with so-called "GDPR" rules by handing over sensitive details, or face having their accounts deleted.

Full article @ Telegraph

23 May 2018 - Microsoft OneDrive preferred by business over Google Drive or Dropbox

Microsoft trumps Google, Dropbox in business cloud storage wars

A Spiceworks survey highlighted the overwhelming demand for better cloud security, and showed that most companies were turning to the tried and true option of Microsoft.

Full article @ TechRepublic

17 May 2018 - Opera Touch. The dream Android browser?

Opera Touch is a dream Android browser for users who are always on the go

If you're looking for an Android web browser that makes on-the-go browsing simple, Opera Touch might be just the ticket.

Designed for people who use their phone one handed, Opera has hit that particular nail square on its head. Opera Touch makes one-handed usage not only possible for all, but easy.

Upon launch you have easy access to the Keyboard/search bar, the Mic and a QR Code/Barcode scanner.

For those who frequently find themselves using their mobile devices with one hand, Opera Touch might well be the best laid out mobile browser for this purpose. Combine that with the Flow feature and Opera is seriously onto something. Give Opera Touch a go and see if it doesn't wind up your default Android browser.

Full article @ TechRepublic

17 May 2018 - Dire Linux vulnerability gives attackers root access

A flaw related to a NetworkManager integration script is trivially easy for attackers to leverage.

A command injection vulnerability has been discovered in the DHCP client included in Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

The proof-of-exploit code is small enough to fit in a tweet and Red Hat considers it a critical vulnerability.

This bug affects RHEL 6.x and 7x, as well as CentOS 6.x and 7.x, and Fedora 26, 27, 28, and Rawhide. Other operating systems built on top of Fedora/RHEL are likely to be affected, including HPE's ClearOS and Oracle Linux, as well as the recently-discontinued Korora Linux.

Full article @ TechRepiblic

11 May 2018 - Latest Windows 10 Patch (KB4103721) may cause boot-loop

The first cumulative patch for the Windows 10 April 2018 update is causing some PCs to enter a cycle of failed boots.

The bug in update KB4103721 may cause devices with Intel SSD 600p Series or Intel SSD Pro 6000p Series to repeatedly enter a UEFI screen after restart or stop working.

KB4103721 was designed to fix a number of issues that have arisen in the April 2018 update, but inadvertently caused a much more serious one.

If you have been affected with this please contact us for remedial action.

09 May 2018 - Windows 10 April update (v1803) is here

The next version of Windows 10 (v1803) has arrived. All Windows 10 users should start receiving upgrade notifications this week.

We have been testing the latest version for the past 3 weeks and have noticed no issues, however in a business scenario we recommend you be prudent, upgrade a single machine and test all your line of business applications before committing to upgrading the rest of your devices.

Of course if you need any assistance then please give us a call.

01 May 2018 - Windows 10 April 2018 Update - What to expect

Windows 10 is never finished, with Microsoft adding a bevvy of new features to the OS twice a year.

The latest bundle of improvements is almost here, with the April 2018 Update available to download from Monday 30 April. The update has arrived slightly later than anticipated, and with a different name than the expected "Spring Creators Update".

Windows 10 users can expect a smattering of improvements, the most interesting of which is Timeline, which allows users to easily jump back to what they were doing on a Windows 10 device at an earlier point, while IT admins and developers also get some smart upgrades to command line tools and Linux support.

Of course, not everyone will be thrilled to have a major update pushed upon them, even if it will be quicker to install than earlier releases, but there are ways to put off the upgrade.

Full article @ TechRepublic

24 Apr 2018 - Tech support scams rose by 24% in 2017, costing some victims thousands

Tech support scams, which rose by 24% in 2017, may require industry-wide cooperation to solve, Microsoft said.

The scams, which involve tricking an unsuspecting user into paying a scammer to remove fake or non-existent malware, are an attractive alternative to complicated coding and make online crime accessible to the average criminal without a tech background. Most instances of tech support scams only net the attacker a few hundred dollars, but some have managed to clear out entire bank accounts.

Full article @ TechRepublic

19 Apr 2018 - 12 months after WannaCRy attack, NHS security still woefull

Almost a year after the WannaCry ransomware attack took out banks, public transit systems, hospitals, and universities worldwide, several of the UK organizations hit have not adequately implemented cybersecurity practices that can prevent future threats, according to a Tuesday report from the UK's Committee of Public Accounts.

"The extensive disruption caused by WannaCry laid bare serious vulnerabilities in the cyber security and response plans of the NHS," committee chair Meg Hillier said in a statement on the report. "It is therefore alarming that, nearly a year on from WannaCry, plans to implement the lessons learned are still to be agreed."

Full Article @ TechRepublic

08 Apr 2018 - 4IT Website Refresh

We've refreshed our website to modernise the design and make it more mobile/tablet friendly.

We hope you enjoy our new look-and-feel, if you encounter any problems please let us know!

30 Mar 2018 - Microsoft Word document and zero-day attacks on the rise

Cyber Criminals are increasingly turning to zero day exploits and Microsoft Office to execute their attacks.

Malware attacks have grown significantly over the past few months, zero-day malware instances rose steeply by 167% compared with the previous quarter.

Cyber criminals are continuing to use sophisticated, evasive attacks and resourceful malware delivery schemes to steal valuable data.

As always user caution is the key. Do not open ANY e-mail attachments unless you BOTH KNOW who the sender is AND you are expecting to receive the attachment. No amount of security software can 100% guard against a careless user.

Full article @ Computer Weekly.

If you have security concerns or would like to discuss your security requirements please contact us

28 Mar 2018 - Easter Opening Times

We will be closing at 2:30pm Good Friday (30/03/18) and will reopen again on Tuesday 03/04/18 with usual business hours.

26 Mar 2018 - Bitdefender 2018 home products now available

We're please to announce we can now supply our residential customers with the full range of Bitdefender home security products.

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2018

Bitdefender Internet Security 2018

Bitdefender Total Security 2018

Price breaks are available on multi-year subscriptions

For full details visit the Bitdefender website

23 Feb 2018 - Highly Targetted Fraud E-Mail

Today we received a highly targeted fraud e-mail. The e-mail was directed to our accounts dept., purporting to be from our director (Mark Moran) requesting a BACS transfer of £9711 be made to a supplied account number.

The e-mail was footed with the directors full name and included the full confidentiality notice we attach to the bottom of all our e-mail. The true originator e-mail address was hidden as well as the reply address but instead a valid @4-it.co.uk was displayed.

This is the first time we have seen this level of targeting in an e-mail and advise All of our clients to pay close attention to any unsolicited e-mails making unusual payment requests.

14 Feb 2018 - Brazen E-Mail Extortion Attempt!

Over the last 14 years of trading we thought we'd seen all the spam/scam e-mails going but the one we received today took the biscuit, if just for the bare faced cheek of it!

As IT professionals we could immediately tell that the claims made were both ridiculous and laughable but likewise could understand why some basic users could fall for it.

It shares characteristics with most spam/scam e-mails, it's illiterate, uses scary or threatening language and is demanding money. Treat it with the contempt it deserves!

We've included the text of the e-mail below for your enjoyment! :-)

Tict#534445080: 14.02.2018 07:28:38 We cracked your system

I am from the squad of web criminals in Korea.We contact with you by your corp mail because we think that you will check it.

The other day my crew uploaded a malicious program in web-site with porn and after you tapped on a play your system began recording your screen and using cam to cop you masturbating.Finally I guess you realize which content Ive got.Moreover, this program force your device work as dedicated server with many possibilities like keylogger,parser etc. To sum up, my soft collected all information,especially all your contacts from messengers,e-mails,social networks.

If you wanna make me silent you should pay 320 dollars in bitcoins. 1NoBogLFrnXXXXXXXXUCtn9aDDzESsC

Just copy and past it. If I receive this sum we will be silent.There are a lot of information about how to buy bitcoins, just read it... For example you can buy them at localbitcoins, just find seller in your country.If you have a problem with this, you can search the nearest ATM for bitcoin through coin atm radar.

I give you exactly 1 day from the time you read this message for making a payment.Dont try to play with us we use botnet, also I live abroad.If you want proofs I will share it to 8 your friends then we will share their contacts. So you will be able to ask if something strange was received about you.

For some questions just reply.Think better,AmAZinGcRackeR$.

05 Feb 2018 - Adobe responds to North Korean hackers exploiting Flash zero-day for TWO MONTHS

Hackers linked to North Korea have been taking advantage of an Adobe Flash zero-day flaw since November - but the software company has only just got round to issuing a warning about it.

Cyber security researchers and South Korean authorities have long warned that cyber attackers based in the North have been tapping into a new Adobe Flash zero day flaw.

Full article @ Adobe finally responds to claims of North Korean hackers exploiting Flash zero-day for TWO MONTHS

Opinion

Security flaws in Flash have, over the years, repeatedly been used to attack pcs. It is an insecure and outdated technology and many website creators have abandoned it in favour of the newer features of HTML5. We feel there is no reason to have this on your PC and recommend all users remove it.

The best fix for Adobe Flash security flaws is to uninstall it!

10 Jan 2018 - Emergency Windows Meltdown patch locks some AMD PCs into endless loop

After installing the update users say their PCs are unable to boot and eventually get stuck in an endless loop, as they try to roll back to an earlier version of the OS.

A Windows patch to reduce the risk from exploits for the Meltdown and Spectre CPU flaws is reportedly preventing PCs with older AMD processors from booting.

The recent update, KB4056892, seems to be causing problems for computers running on Athlon X2 processors.

Despite being older machines, the CPUs date from about the mid-to-late 2000s, users say their PCs were running Windows 10 without issue before installing the update.

After installing the update users say their PCs are unable to boot and eventually get stuck in an endless loop, as they try to roll back to an earlier version of the OS.

Full article @ Emergency Windows Meltdown patch locks some AMD PCs into endless loop

09 Jan 2018 - Meltdown and Spectre Important Information

On January 3rd, 2018, Google Project Zero Team published details about critical CPU vulnerabilities dubbed Meltdown and Spectre. This issue affects most CPUs that have been on the market for the past decade. Full public details about Meltdown and Spectre were scheduled to be released on January 9th, 2018. As a result, not all software vendors managed to release their security patches that mitigate the recently disclosed vulnerabilities. Microsoft released important Operating System Security patches and guidelines on Jan 3rd, while Apple announced that Meldown vulnerability is fixed since December in its MacOSX 10.13.2. Not all Linux Distributions released their security patches and we expect more releases in coming days. We strongly recommend you apply all validated patches from your Technology providers.

06 Jan 2018 - Meltdown and Spectre security flaw affects ALL chip manufacturers

Contrary to initial reports that just Intel chips were affected by the Spectre and Meltdown security flaws, we now know that chips from Intel, AMD & AIM are ALL affected.

Specific details of the flaws are still being kept secret until software manufacturers can issue security patches which should arrive within the week.

It is reported that these patches could have a significant impact on performance (up to 30%), however until issued this will be difficult to quantify.

21 Dec 2017 - US, UK finally blame North Korea for WannaCry attack

The UK government has publicly blamed a North Korean group for the WannaCry ransomware attack that hit the NHS earlier this year. The Foreign Office said it is highly likely that the North Korea-based Lazarus Group was behind the attack in May. However, the IT security community had already pointed the finger at North Korea many months ago.

Full article @  ComputerWeekly

20 Dec 2017 - Christmas opening times.

We are open as normal until 2:30pm Friday 22nd Dec and will reopen at 9am Tuesday 2nd Jan.

If you are a customer requiring support during that period please use the normal support contact details.

Any non clients needing to contact us during our office closure please use the e-mail address sales@4-it.co.uk which will be monitored daily.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year

07 Dec 2017 - Microsoft Edge now available for iOS and Android

After a short 'preview' period and a positive community response, Microsoft today launch their Windows 10 Edge browser for the Android and Apple (iOS) mobile platforms. Edge can be download free of charge from The Google Play Store (Android) or Apple Store (iOS). Microsoft Edge for iOS and Android brings familiar features like your Favourites, Reading List, New Tab Page, Reading View, and Roaming Passwords across your PC and phone, so, no matter the device, your browsing goes with you. But what makes Microsoft Edge really stand out is the ability to continue on your PC, which enables you to immediately open the page you're looking at right on your PC"or save it to work on later. Full article @ Microsoft Windows Blog

27 Nov 2017 - New Microsoft tech support scam surfaces

Fake tech support sites will now automatically launch a device's phone dialer with a prompt to contact their "support team."

Tech support scam websites, as Microsoft said in the post, used to rely on a loop of popups and browser lockups to fool users into thinking something was wrong. Most browsers now have the ability to prevent sites from creating more dialog windows, effectively stopping those kinds of attacks, so scammers have been forced to adapt.

It you experience ANY kind of "Tech Support" warning or popup we recommend you immediately shut your PC down by using the power button on the device. Then restart your machine, if the fake support popup still persists switch it back off and call us immediately to get your machine professionally cleaned/disinfected.

Full article @ TechRepublic

14 Nov 2017 - US DHS successfully hack Boeing 757

Boeing 757 hacked on the tarmac by Department of Homeland Security in 'controlled experiment'

A team of aerospace experts working with the US Department of Homeland Security conducted a controlled hacking of a Boeing 757 on the ground at an Airport in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The team of academics and industry experts were able to remotely crack the IT systems of the 757, which uses a form of computerised fly-by-wire system for control. The test demonstrates the inadequacy of security in many modern planes that, nevertheless, rely on IT to stay airborne.

Full article @ computing.co.uk

27 Oct 2017 - NAO blames imcompetent NHS IT for WannaCry attack

The National Audit Office (NAO) has pointed the primary finger of blame at lackadaisical NHS trusts for the spread of the WannaCry ransomware that affected at least 81 out of the 236 NHS trusts across England in May this year.

The ransomware also affected a further 603 primary care and other NHS organisations, including 595 GP surgeries.

A review into IT security across the NHS commissioned by the Secretary of State for Health had warned a year before that healthcare IT systems might be vulnerable to compromise.

That review had recommended that "all health and care organisations needed to provide evidence that they were taking action to improve cyber security, including moving off old operating systems," according to the NAO report published today.

We blogged about this immediately after the attack and laid the blame squarely at the feet of the NHS's incompetent IT provision. Nice to see the NAO eventually agreeing with us!

Full article @ computing.co.uk

27 Oct 2017 - Windows 10 Fall Creators Update arrives

The latest major Window 10 update is here.

This update appears as "Feature update to Windows 10, version 1709".

If you are a Bitdefender Endpoint Security user and experience internet issues after installing this update, simply uninstall Bitdefender, reboot and reinstall.

26 Oct 2017 - BadRabbit Ransomware strikes worldwide

There is a new wave of ransomware attack, #BadRabbit, which struck on October 24th and has hit the market worldwide. 4IT customers running Bitdefender are safe. Endpoints running Bitdefender GravityZone and Bitdefender Elite were protected from zero hour against this attack wave and they are NOT impacted by this new family of ransomware. Bitdefender GravityZone security solutions detected this threat as Gen:Heur.Ransom.BadRabbit.1 and Gen:Variant.Ransom.BadRabbit.1.

25 Oct 2017 - Kaspersky admits infiltrating NSA via it's anti-virus software

Kaspersky admits filching NSA hacking tool source code via anti-virus software

Kaspersky has today admitted that it obtained the source code of National Security Agency hacking tools via anti-virus software running on a PC in the US.

The admission comes as part of the company's preliminary results from an internal inquiry over claims that Kaspersky Anti-Virus software was being used by the Russian government as part of its spy network.

In particular, the US government has claimed that a US National Security Agency worker had code exfiltrated by Kaspersky from his PC in 2014, while working on NSA tools at home.

This is a shocking admission and will be hugely damaging to their brand, we recommend customers do NOT use Kaspersky products.

Full article @ Computing.co.uk

18 Oct 2017 - Windows 10 Fall Creators Update contains Ransomware protection

The Windows 10 Fall Creators Update includes an amazing new feature: Folder protection against ransomware. Here's how to activate this essential security feature.

Ransomware is everywhere nowadays, and it's been nearly impossible to stop it. Microsoft thinks it may have the answer, and has therefore added a new feature to Windows Defender in the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update that is designed to stop the growing form of malware from snagging more victims.

The feature called Controlled Folder Access prevents programs from making any change to files or folders that are set as protected. By default that includes Windows system folders, Documents, Pictures, Videos, Music, Favourites, and Desktop folders for each user.

Exclusions for certain apps can be made, folders can be added, and Controlled Folder Access can be toggled on and off by taking the following steps.

1. Open Windows Defender Security Center.
2. Click on the Virus & Threat Protection menu item.
3. Under that option click on Virus & Threat Protection Settings.
4. Scroll down to the fourth item in the list that pops up: Controlled Folder Access. Toggle the button to On.
5. Say yes to the popup window.
6. Once it's on, the options to select folders and allow app exclusions will appear below the toggle button. Click on them if you want to make changes.

13 Oct 2017 - Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, Microsoft's next big upgrade

What is Windows 10 Fall Creators Update? Everything you need to know about Microsoft's big upgrade. Rolling out from the 17th October, the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update promises to deliver new features big and small to Windows desktops. The headline features in the free Fall Creators Update are changes to how Windows 10 handles cloud storage, easier sharing with friends and family, better security, longer battery life and a more-intuitive design for the OS and its apps. As with previous updates, however, don't expect massive leaps forward, more general tinkering around the edges.

Full Article @ TechRepublic

12 Oct 2017 - Kaspersky software 'used by Russian state hackers to trawl for US secrets'

Popular anti-virus software used by hundreds of thousands of people and businesses in Britain was reportedly hijacked by Russian government hackers to trawl for American secrets.

Cyber spies allegedly used software from the Russian firm Kaspersky Lab which is installed on computers around the world to improvise a search tool and look for the codenames of secret US programs.

Discovery of the operation led the American government to last month order the removal of the software from its computers, the New York Times reported.

Full article @ New York Times

We recommend Kaspersky customers remove their product and switch to an alternative. We are currently recommending Bitdefender. Please contact us for more information.

07 Oct 2017 - Cryptocurrency mining malware swarms the internet

An increasing number of websites are turning the computers of unsuspecting visitors into cryptocurrency miners. Aside from slowing down CPU performance, these tools violate the privacy of users.

The mining malware we have seen so far is successfully blocked by Bitdefender.

Full details @ Futurism

04 Oct 2017 - Yahoo says all three billion accounts hacked in 2013 data theft

In a shocking legal disclosure on Tuesday, Yahoo admitted that all 3 billion of its accounts were hacked in a 2013 data theft, tripling its earlier estimate of the size of the largest breach in history. Yahoo said last December that data from more than 1 billion accounts was compromised in 2013, the largest of a series of thefts that forced Yahoo to cut the price of its assets in a sale to Verizon. Yahoo on Tuesday said recently obtained new intelligence showed all user accounts had been affected. The company said the investigation indicated that the stolen information did not include passwords in clear text, payment card data, or bank account information. But the information was protected with outdated, easy-to-crack encryption, according to academic experts. It also included security questions and backup email addresses, which could make it easier to break into other accounts held by the users.

Full article @ Reuters

23 Sep 2017 - Equifax woes continue after victims sent to phishing site for support

After massive data breach, Equifax sent victims to fake phishing site for support

After a breach of 143 million people's personal information, the official Equifax Twitter account accidentally tweeted a link to a phishing website for victims who needed support.

For nearly two weeks after a data breach exposed the personal information of some 143 million Equifax customers, the credit firm was accidentally directing victims to a phishing website for support.

Full article @ TechRepublic

18 Sep 2017 - Equifax US hack affects 400,000 UK consumers

The huge data breach of Equifax (US) earlier this year has been confirmed to affect around 400,000 UK consumers. Although Equifax (UK) was not affected, between 2011-2016 UK data was stored on US servers. The information was restricted to: name, date of birth, email address and a telephone number. Equifax can confirm that the data does not include any residential address information, password information or financial data, the company said.

Full article @ ComputerWeekly.com

18 Sep 2017 - CCleaner 5.33 compromised to deliver malware

Avast's CCleaner compromised to deliver malware to unsuspecting users in August and September, anti-virus firm Avast compromised in suspected supply-chain attack.

CCleaner, Avast's popular PC tool that has been downloaded some two billion times, has been compromised in a supply-chain attack to deliver malware to unsuspecting victims.

Researchers from Cisco's Talos Intelligence said that, between August 15 and September 12 of this year, version 5.33 of CCleaner was legitimately signed, but contained a multi-stage malware payload that rode on top of the installation.

Full article @ Computing.co.uk

19 Aug 2017 - Hacker breaks Apple encryption, exposes iOS mobile security

A hacker going by the handle xerub has just released what he claims to be a full decryption key for Apple's Secure Enclave Processor (SEP) firmware.

This could be a major blow for iOS security because of the importance of the SEP: It handles Touch ID transactions and is completely isolated from the rest of its host device. Your iPhone, iPad, or iPod has no idea what's going on in the SEP, and that means no one else does either"at least until today.

Now that its firmware code is exposed it's open season on SEP vulnerabilities.

More detail @ Hacker decrypts Apple's Secure Enclave

09 Aug 2017 - Tech Support Scammers Target Windows 10 Users

Microsoft's Malware Protection Center has spotted new phishing techniques that direct Windows 10 users to fraudulent tech-support sites.

Tech support scams continue to evolve, with scammers exploring more ways to reach potential victims. Recently, we have observed spam campaigns distributing links that lead to tech support scam websites.

The links lead to tech support scam websites, which use various scare tactics to trick users into calling hotlines and paying for unnecessary "technical support services" that supposedly fix contrived device, platform, or software problems.

Summary @ TechRepublic

Microsoft Blog article here

02 Aug 2017 - DDoS attack - All web hosting customers

Our hosting team are currently observing a large scale DDoS attack on a portion of their network.

The networking team are in the process of mitigating this attack and you may see slow performance and intermittent timeouts while they tackle this.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

27 Jul 2017 - Kaspersky likely casualty of US Russia sanctions.

Kaspersky Lab executives are assessing any potentially negative fallout the rapidly deteriorating Russia-U.S. relations could have on its U.S. business strategy. Long time partners with the endpoint security vendor tell CRN they are watching the rising political tension closely, and acknowledge that economic sanctions threatened against Russia could have a serious impact on their business.

Full article @ CNN

If you are a current Kaspersky customer and would like to look at alternatives please contact us.

24 Jul 2017 - Late Summer Holiday Office Closures (Aug 2017)

The office will be closed from Thursday Aug 24th - Wednesday Sept 13th for a late summer holiday.

As usual all e-mails will be collected and responded to the same day.

All support customers, if you need to contact us your primary method should be by e-mail. If that is not possible please use the alternate contact arrangements you have received.

If you have any outstanding issues or tasks you would like completed please bring these to our attention ASAP.

21 Jul 2017 - Citadel malware developer jailed

A Russian man believed to be one of the developers of the Citadel malware used to steal millions by infecting around 11 million computers around the world.

Moscow-born Russian Mark Vartanyan has been sentenced to five years in prison by a US district court after pleading guilty to computer fraud.

Full article @ ComputerWeekly

21 Jul 2017 - Dow Jones massive data leak on Amazon S3 Cloud

Data leaks at Dow Jones, Verizon, and a GOP analytics firm show that companies are forgoing security best practices in order to quickly make it to the cloud.

A recent data breach at Dow Jones exposed data including names, addresses, and partial credit card numbers from millions of customers, according to a Monday report from UpGuard. The reason for the leak? Dow Jones simply chose the wrong permission settings for the Amazon Web Services (AWS) S3 data repository.

Full article @ TechRepublic

13 Jul 2017 - Microsoft July Patch Tuesday fixes 19 Critical flaws

Microsoft's July 2017 Patch Tuesday fixes targeted more than 50 vulnerabilities across Microsoft products and services, including 19 critical flaws and an important fix for Windows NTLM.

Full article @ TechTarget

07 Jul 2017 - Chinaregistry.net.cn spam resurfaces

All customers who own their own domain may receive an "urgent" email from chinaregistry.net.cn claiming another company is trying to register the .cn version of your domain an use it as their "internet keyword".

This e-mail is PURE SALES SPAM. You are simply being goaded in to purchasing the Chinese version of your domain. Furthermore. the "internet keyword" portion of the e-mail is utter garbage.

These e-mails should be deleted, you can also use Outlook to block the sender.

Block or unblock a sender in Outlook

03 Jul 2017 - Microsoft beef up security for Windows 10 Fall Creators Update

Windows 10 will get a number of new security features in its Fall Creators Update, including end-to-end protection that uses cloud intelligence to more seamlessly detect and respond to attacks.

The Fall Creators Update will be released to the general public in October, though many of the updates are already available to those testing the platform as part of the Windows Insider Program.

Full article @ TechRepublic

01 Jul 2017 - Petya variant malware attack strikes worlwide

On the tails of the recent WannaCry attack, a Petya variant has struck worldwide affecting up to 20,000 companies.

Whilst the experts still argue as the intent and technicalities of this latest attack, the way you protect yourself remains the same.

• Ensure both Windows and your security solution are fully up to date
• NEVER open email attachments unless you both expect them AND you know and trust the source
• Educate your staff about the dangers of e-mail attachments
• Ensure your backups are running and that they are current
• On company networks, only give users access to areas they need. Lock down the rest.

More details at Tripwire

15 Jun 2017 - Microsoft rush out XP patches to prevent a second Wannacry attack

Microsoft rushes out patch for Windows XP to prevent another WannaCry attack via a Shadow Brokers release.

Microsoft has, for the second month in a row, released a critical security patch for its out-of-support-but-still-widely-used Windows XP operating system, and warned that another WannaCry-style attack could be imminent.

02 Jun 2017 - Samba vulnerability brings WannaCry fears to Linux/Unix

A widespread Samba vulnerability has raised the possibility of attacks similar to WannaCry hitting Linux and Unix systems.

Researchers warn that many Linux and Unix systems contain a Samba vulnerability that could eventually lead to attacks similar to WannaCry or worse, if IT pros don't remediate quickly.

According to the Samba security advisory, the vulnerability (CVE-2017-7494) affects versions 3.5 (released March 1, 2010) and newer. The Samba vulnerability is remotely exploitable and could allow "a malicious client to upload a shared library to a writable share, and then cause the server to load and execute it."

Full article @ Techtarget

16 May 2017 - Did Intel's new i9 processor details just leak?

Leaked PowerPoint claims to show details of Intel's new high-end desktop CPU range.

The high-end i9 will replace the current top spec i7 and will contain a massive 12 cores running 24 threads.

Full article @ computing.co.uk

15 May 2017 - Wannacry Ransomware : Microsoft issues emergency patch for unsupported OS's

Responding to the worldwide attack of the Wannacry ransomware which specifically targeted older unpatched systems Microsoft have release an updated patch specifically for older unsupported Windows versions.

On the first day of the attacks, Microsoft released an updated patch for older Windows systems "given the potential impact to customers and their businesses". Patches are now also available for: Windows Server 2003 SP2 x64, Windows Server 2003 SP2 x86, Windows XP SP2 x64, Windows XP SP3 x86, Windows XP Embedded SP3 x86, Windows 8 x86, and Windows 8 x64.

The patch can be accessed from clicking the "Microsoft Update Catalog" link in the Microsoft Security Bulletin MS17-010 which details this issue

15 May 2017 - Bitdefender response : Bitdefender Prevents WannaCry Ransomware Attacks

Bitdefender's next gen machine learning provides zero day protection from WannaCry ransomware attacks #DontNeedtoCry - On May 12th, the WannaCryptor (WannaCry) ransomware family infected thousands of computers across the world. In just 24 hours, the number of infections has spiked to 185,000 machines in more than 100 countries. The attack is particularly dangerous for businesses because it takes just one employee to become infected for the attack to spread in the entire network, and sometimes even across countries to other subsidiaries, without any user interaction. This happens because the ransomware has a worm component that leverages a recently discovered vulnerability, affecting a wide range of Windows operating systems, including 2008, 2008 R2, 7, 7 SP1. The attacks have caused major disruption to hospitals, telecom companies or gas and utilities plants. Among the organizations that took the worst hits is the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. Why is this attack particularly dangerous among traditional ransomware attacks? WannaCry automated the exploitation of a vulnerability which is present in most versions of Windows allowing a remote attacker to run code on the vulnerable computer and use that code to plant ransomware without any human and local action. This never before seen behaviour makes it the perfect tool to attack specific environments or infrastructures, such as servers running a vulnerable version of the Server Message Block (SMB protocol). Customers running Bitdefender are not affected by this attack wave. Our next-generation machine-learning and memory introspection technologies ensure that our customers have always been safe from WannaCry, the world's most aggressive piece of ransomware, AND will be similarly protected from the next such attack. Endpoints running Bitdefender GravityZone are protected from hour zero against this attack wave and they are not affected by this new family of ransomware as our products detect and intercept both the delivery mechanism and all variations of the WannaCry ransomware known to date. Bitdefender Machine Learning models, available in all editions of Bitdefender GravityZone, are designed specifically to catch never before seen attacks at pre-execution stage. Moreover, Bitdefender's newly introduced Hypervisor Introspection solution was able to prevent exploits of the EternalBlue vulnerability from hour zero as well, before it was patched by Microsoft. The solution is capable of detecting memory violations in the raw memory stack, without knowing the vulnerability beforehand, and can therefore effectively prevent the attack. We encourage you to stay tuned and test our new technologies and innovations like Hypervisor Introspection. We are constantly innovating to keep our customers safe! Thank you for trusting and promoting Bitdefender solutions! Bitdefender Team

14 May 2017 - NHS ransomware hack and the failure of the public sector

On Friday a significant portion of the NHS was hit by a ransomware attack that crippled systems and encrypted data. It looks like patient data remains safe, presumably due to backups, but they estimate it will be a number of days until the systems are fully restored. The details of this attack are interesting. The Windows flaw this attack exploits was fixed by Microsoft on March 14th this year. All updated machines were therefore immune to this attack. The reason sections of the NHS were hit so badly is that they, unbelievably, were still using Windows XP to run critical systems. Windows XP is now 15 years old and all support ended in 2014. There have been no XP fixes issued for 3 years! It is quite frankly a shocking lack of competence for the NHS to be in this position, one would hope that heads would roll for this but as it is the public sector I don't have much faith in that. This cloud, however, may have a silver lining. For years the private sector has dealt with these attacks with little or no help from the government/police/security services. Perhaps now they will start to take some action?

12 May 2017 - HP laptops secretly recording user keystrokes

HP laptops ship with unintentional keylogger installed.

Swiss cybersecurity group, Modzero, have discovered a preinstalled app on some HP laptop machines is logging every key the user presses, including to enter passphrases for online banking and email accounts.

The researchers complained that they first reported the issue to HP on 28 April, but decided to publish their security advisory yesterday because HP had failed to respond to them.

Full article @ Sky News

10 May 2017 - Microsoft out of band patch hits the day before Patch Tuesday

Microsoft rushed to patch a serious vulnerability affecting Windows 8, 8.1 and 10 on Monday.

Even with Patch Tuesday less than 24 hours away, Microsoft didn't wait to patch a dangerous Windows remote code execution flaw that was discovered by Google's Project Zero just days earlier.

Microsoft released the out of band patch Monday evening and revealed the issue (CVE-2017-0290) was in the Microsoft Malware Protection Engine and enables attackers to perform remote code execution (RCE) or trigger a denial of service attack through type confusion and application crashes.

Full article at TechTarget Searchsecurity microsite

03 May 2017 - IBM sends malware-infected USB sticks to customers

In a recent support alert issued by IBM, the company admitted it accidentally shipped USB drives infected with malware to some customers.

It's a shocking lapse in quality control but unfortunately not the first time this has happened.

Full article @ Techrepublic

28 Apr 2017 - Microsoft urges Windows 10 users NOT to manually install the Creators Update

Microsoft has warned Windows 10 users not to download and install the Creators Update manually, but to wait until the operating system itself is ready to install on their PCs.

Despite the Insiders Program helping to prepare the Update, removing bugs before they reach a supposedly stable version of Windows 10, it appears that early adopters are having various problems with driver compatibility.

Full article @ Computing.co.uk

25 Apr 2017 - Online shoppers losing trust in e-commerce

Users are losing trust in the internet, at least when it comes to online shopping and e-commerce. According to the results of a survey, released on Monday, 49% of people said they are increasingly concerned about their privacy online, and lack of trust is the main issue keeping them from shopping online.

Full article @ Online shoppers losing trust in e-commerce

25 Apr 2017 - Save time with the Function Keys!

We have all seen function keys before. They are those keys marked F1 to F12 on our computer keyboards. Most of us rarely use these keys when at the computer, but knowing how to use them can be really helpful.

Function keys can save you a lot of time if you know how to use them properly.

F1 : Open Help Screen for almost every program

F2 : Rename file or folder

F3 : Open Search in current application

F4 : Alt-F4 closes current window

F5 : Refresh or Reload page or document

F6 : Moves cursor to the address bar in most internet browsers

F7 : Spell/Grammar check in MS Word

F8 : Access Boot Menu when starting your PC

F9 : Refresh Doc in MS Word. Send/Receive in MS Outlook

F10 : Activates menu bar of open application. Shift + F10 opens right click menu

F11 : Toggle full-screen mode in Internet Browsers

F12 : Open Save dialog in MS Word

18 Apr 2017 - Shadow Brokers' hacking group release NSA Windows spy tools, Microsoft responds

On Friday, hacker group Shadow Brokers released a new trove of alleged surveillance tools and exploits from the National Security Agency's elite hacking team. The tools were designed to target Windows PCs and servers.

You can check the full article @ ZDNet

Microsoft responded in a blog post and listed the majority of the exploits already addressed in previous patches however 3 exploits remained but could not be reproduced.

The caveat in that response is that only Windows 7 and onward, Exchange 2010 and onward were tested. Older versions are no longer supported.

The important lesson to take away from this is to make sure both your software and the security patches are fully up to date. Running legacy software which is no longer supported is a risk.

Full article @ TechRepublic

14 Apr 2017 - Important Information : Windows 10 Creators Update (v1703) & Bitdefender Users

As with previous Windows 10 updates it is advised to uninstall Bitdefender prior to updating windows, then reinstall it after the update has completed.

If Windows is updated whilst Bitdefender is installed you may not be able to browse the internet once the update is completed.

If you have already updated Windows and are now not able to browse the internet, please uninstall Bitdefender, reboot then reinstall Bitdefender.

14 Apr 2017 - 10 tips to make you a Microsoft Excel power user

Excel has been an enterprise mainstay for years, with Microsoft recently increasing its workplace appeal by adding collaboration tools and notifications, among other features. While the spreadsheet program is popular, many users do not know how to take advantage of the plethora of features it offers.

Here are 10 popular TechRepublic articles with tips for becoming a Microsoft Excel power user and getting the most out of the program.

Full article @ TechRepublic

14 Apr 2017 - Windows 10: Chrome vs Firefox vs Edge. Which wins Microsoft's battery-life test?

Microsoft says dialing back Adobe Flash in Edge in the Windows 10 Creators Update has made it the most energy-efficient browser of all.

Microsoft says a PC running its Edge browser will last 77 percent longer than Firefox, and 35 percent longer than Chrome.

To prove its point, Microsoft has once again employed a time-lapse video of three unplugged Surface Books side by side streaming video for several hours with Chrome, Edge, and Firefox.

The Surface running Edge lasts 12 hours and 31 minutes, while the Chrome device peters out after nine hours and 17 minutes, with the Firefox unit lasting seven hours and four minutes.

Full article @ ZDNet.com

13 Apr 2017 - iOS malware spreads to Android

Pegasus malware expands from iOS to Android

One of the more malicious iOS threats -- Pegasus malware -- has made its way to Android devices and it has some dangerous new tricks in its arsenal.

Full article @ Techtarget

11 Apr 2017 - Botnet dismantled after kingpin arrest

The US has led the takedown of the international botnet Kelihos after the arrest in Spain of the Russian Kingpin believed to have operated the botnet since 2010.

The botnet of tens of thousands of infected computers allegedly under the control of Russian Pyotr Levashov was used for malicious activities, including harvesting log-in credentials, distributing hundreds of millions of spam emails and installing ransomware and other malicious software.

Full article @ ComputerWeekly.com

11 Apr 2017 - Wonga data breach could affect 250,000 customers

A data breach at Wonga that exposed customers personal and banking details could affect up to 250,000 people.

The firm, which said it knew something had happened by Tuesday but did not become aware of a data breach until Friday and began notifying customers on Saturday through email and text.

Full article @ Telegraph website

23 Feb 2017 - AMD take aim at Intel with faster cheaper processors

AMD's top-of-the-range Ryzen 7 promises better performance at half the price of rival Intel chips.

Ryzen 7 1800X nine per cent faster than Intel's Core i7 6900K - at less than half the price.

Full article @ AMD's Ryzen 7 to beat Intel Core i7

22 Feb 2017 - EU still unhappy with Microsoft over Windows 10 privacy

EU watchdogs say Windows 10 is still a major privacy concern.

Microsoft made some attempts to clarify its data collection policies in Windows 10, but some EU watchdogs said that it isn't enough.

Full article @ EU Windows 10 Privacy concerns

Worried about Windows 10 snooping? Here's a handy article showing how you can stop it :-

Full article @ Stop Windows 10 Snooping

16 Jan 2017 - Exploring the next Windows 10 major update

Windows 10 will soon be getting a new look and feel, courtesy of the forthcoming Creators Update.

The extent of those tweaks is starting to become apparent from the early builds of Windows released under the Insider program.

Updates include :-

• Start Menu Folders
• Web Notes
• Flash Blocking
• Microsoft Wallet
• Edge Improvements
• Windows Themes
• Cortana

More details @ TechRepublic

05 Jan 2017 - Microsoft warn about Cerber Ransomware

Microsoft have published an excellent article warning about the dangers of the Cerber ransomware and also dissecting it in great detail to show how you get infected, how it works and what mitigations you can take.

Check out the full article at Microsoft Technet Malware Protection Centre

23 Dec 2016 - Microsoft anounce Vista, Small Business Server 2008 & Windows Server 2008 end of life in 2017

Microsoft announces end of life for the following products in 2017 :-

• Windows Vista
• Windows Server 2008
• Windows Small Business Server (SBS) 2008

End of life means no more on-going support, security patches or OS fixes will be provided by Microsoft.

If you are still using any of the above products, now would be an idea time to consider your migration or replacement options.

18 Dec 2016 - Yahoo announces largest data breach in history. 1bn accounts accessed

Yahoo has admitted that it was hit with the world's largest ever cyber attack involving a breach of customer data. The historic hack, which occurred in 2013, could have resulted in the company losing the personal details and passwords of one billion accounts, it admitted.

Full article @ The Telegraph

01 Dec 2016 - National Lottery hacked, thousands of details leaked

National Lottery operator Camelot says the log-in details of thousands of people who do the lottery online have been stolen.

The online log-in details of National Lottery players have been hacked, but no money has been stolen, according to National Lottery operator Camelot.

Full article @ Computer Weekly

23 Nov 2016 - Locky ransomware being spread via Facebook Messenger

Facebook Messenger is being used by spammers to spread Locky ransomware.

The attack methodology was discovered by malware researcher Bart Blaze, and has been acknowledged by Facebook. It uses Facebook Messenger to spread a malware downloader called Nemucod that takes the form of an .SVG image file.

Locky is a strain of Dridex banking malware. Earlier this year a Locky attack hit a hospital in the US, which had to pay $17,000 in bitcoin to decrypt important data.

As with other ransomware, once activated Locky encrypts files including images, videos, source code and Office files on the infected machine and connected local networks before issuing a ransom demand for payment in bitcoin for them to be decrypted. In this case payment is requested via a site on the "dark web".

Full article @ Computing

18 Nov 2016 - Three Hacked. Data of 6m customers at risk

UK telco Three has been hacked, with up to six million customers' data sets now understood to be under threat.

Three confirmed the breach on Thursday, revealing that hackers used an employee log-in to gain entry into its database of customers eligible for a phone upgrade.

Full article @ Computing

03 Oct 2016 - Amended office hours - 03/10/16-07/10/16

The office will be closed from midday Monday 3rd Oct and will reopen in the afternoon of Friday 7th October.

Telephone and remote support will be available as normal for all support clients.

01 Oct 2016 - Yahoo hack, 500 million accounts stolen

Yahoo confirmed on Thursday data "associated with at least 500 million user accounts" have been stolen in what may be one of the largest cybersecurity breaches ever. The company said it believes a "state-sponsored actor" was behind the data breach, meaning an individual acting on behalf of a government. The breach is said to have occurred in late 2014.

More details @ CNN

The hack leaked user account details (e-mail addresses and passwords), and reiterates the need for the end user to take some basic security measures to reduce their risk exposure when these hacks inevitably occur.

1. Do NOT use the same password on multiple accounts. Each account should have its own password. In the event of a hack, their access will be limited to that one account.
2. Use a password generator to create different random complex passwords for each of your online accounts. E.g. passwordsgenerator.net
3. Use a password manager to help you record and remember your complex passwords. Eg. Roboform or Lastpass

29 Sep 2016 - Windows 10 Upgrades/Updaes and Bitdefender Endpoint Security

To any of our clients planning on upgrading from Win 7/8.1 to 10 or running Windows 10 and about to install the anniversary update (version 1607).

If you currently use the Bitdefender Endpoint Security anti-malware solution, we've identified an issue where the user is unable to access the internet with any browser after the upgrade/update has occurred. Your local network is unaffected.

This seems to be related to the Bitdefender firewall module. A simple solution is to uninstall Bitdefender prior to the upgrade/update then reinstall after.

If you have already upgraded/updated and have lost internet access simply uninstall Bitdefender, reboot and reinstall.

31 Aug 2016 - Ransomware: The smart person's guide

One of our clients was recently hit by ransomware. They unfortunately opened an attachment in a fake e-mail because they "thought" they recognised the source (upon closer inspection this wasn't actually the case).

The attachment contained malicious code that encrypted all documents and pictures on the hard drive before placing a ransom notice on the desktop. Although we were able to recover a small number of files, the vast majority were lost as no backups existed.

Ransomware is a real threat. The #1 solution to this threat is user education. Although we've repeated this many times, never ever EVER open e-mail attachments unless you are expecting them and you can verify the source.

Make sure you are doing backups and that they are up to date.

Check the Techrepublic website for a good guide to Ransomware here

23 Aug 2016 - Windows 10 Anniversary Update kills some webcams.

Windows 10 Anniversary Update kills webcams, no fix until September.

The issue renders USB webcams and network-connected webcams inoperable in programs like Skype. Built-in webcams for laptops don't seem to be affected.

The reason for this behaviour seems to rest in the changes that were made to how the OS access the camera in the Anniversary update. Before the update, only one application could access the camera at a time. With the Anniversary update, also known as version 1607, a new service called the Windows Camera Frame Server allows for multiple connections at once, and that's causing some problems.

Full article @ TechRepublic

18 Jul 2016 - Windows 10 Anniversary Update Coming 2nd August

Microsoft is marking the first birthday of Windows 10 by giving the OS a major upgrade.

The Windows 10 Anniversary Update will add a variety of features to the OS, as well as extending and fixing what's already there.

Updates and fixes include the Start menu, Edge Browser, Taskbar, Lockscreen, Cortana and many more.

Full article @ TechRepublic

11 Jul 2016 - Malware infects 10 million mostly-Chinese Android devices

A new malware called HummingBad, associated with Chinese cyber criminals Yingmob, has infected millions of devices and brings in millions of dollars of fake ad revenue.

Full article at TechRepublic

04 Jul 2016 - Huge increase in Zepto encrypting ransomware

Security researchers have raised concerns that attackers are gearing up for a massive Locky-related ransomware campaign.

Ransomware locks up your critical data and demands payment to release. It continues to increase in popularity with cyber criminals, and a fresh campaign is underway, warn researchers.

Zepto has a professional build and there is still no known method of decrypting the information.

As always ensure you have up-to-date backups and never click on e-mail attachments unless you know and trust the source (even then you should be careful).

Full article @ ComputerWeekly

14 Jun 2016 - EU fires antitrust salvo at Google

European Commission formally objects to Google's Android dominance. Pre-installing Google Search and Play on devices is anti-competitive and limits consumer choice, claims EC.

Full article @ Computer Weekly

10 May 2016 - Amended office opening hours 12/05/16 - 16/05/16

The office will be closed from midday Thursday 12th May and will reopen in the afternoon of Monday 16th May.

Telephone and remote support will be available as normal for all support clients.

09 May 2016 - Microsoft automatic update strips features from Windows 10 Pro

Microsoft strips features from Windows 10 Pro to stop admins blocking Windows Store access.

Microsoft has come under fire for making changes to Windows 10 Professional seemingly intended to strong-arm businesses - especially small businesses - into spending more to acquire a Windows 10 Enterprise licence.

It follows a string of updates to Windows 10 Professional - under Windows 10, updates are automatically applied - that has stripped a number of enterprise-grade features from the operating system.

Full article @ Computing website.

23 Apr 2016 - China shuts down Apple services. Relations deteriorate

China bans Apple services in latest blow to US tech industry.

While Beijing has largely left Apple alone in the aftermath of the Snowdon US surveillance disclosures, their relations are beginning to deteriorate.

A report by The New York Times on Friday said that the Chinese government had shut down Apple's iBooks Store and iTunes Movies, six months after their debut.

Full article @ ZDNet

18 Apr 2016 - Web host 123-reg deletes sites in clean-up error

Web hosting firm 123-reg has accidentally deleted an unspecified number of its customers' websites.

Oops

More details @ BBC

17 Apr 2016 - Windows users advised to urgently remove Apple's Quicktime

Apple will no longer be providing security updates for QuickTime for Windows, leaving this software vulnerable to exploitation and The Zero Day Initiative has issued advisories for two vulnerabilities found in QuickTime for Windows.

Windows systems running QuickTime are exposed to elevated cybersecurity dangers, such as increased risks of malicious attacks or electronic data loss. Exploitation of QuickTime for Windows vulnerabilities could allow remote attackers to take control of affected systems.

QuickTime is now obsolete, our advice is to remove QuickTime immediately from all machines. If you have iTunes installed you may have QuickTime installed without your knowledge.

Check your installed programs list by visiting Control Panel -> Programs and Features.

Full advisory @ US Government CERT website

07 Apr 2016 - Extended support for SQL Server 2005 ends on April 12, 2016

The end of support for SQL Server 2005 is April 12, 2016. Customers are encouraged to migrate to SQL Server 2014, or SQL Server 2016, which is coming soon and which offers faster analytics, unique hybrid capabilities, industry leading security and much, much more.

More details @ Microsoft website.

29 Mar 2016 - Ad Networks serving Malware on popular sites

MalwarebytesLABS reported in February that several major ad networks have been serving up malware disguised as advertisements on popular sites like BBC, NYTimes, MSN and TheWeatherNetwork:

This was then followed in March by another report of rogue ads displayed on the DailyMail site, but thankfully there is a way to counter the danger posed by compromised Ad networks. Roll out the Ad-Blockers!

Read the Malwarebytes reports here:-

MalwareBytes Malvertising Report

MalwareBytes UK Report

Trend Micro Malvertising Report

25 Mar 2016 - Modified Stagefright could put Android users at risk

Researchers have developed a Stagefright based exploit that could mean hundreds of millions of Android devices are at risk despite mitigations and an available patch.

A new proof-of-concept Stagefright exploit called Metaphor has been created and could mean that hundreds of millions of Android devices are in danger of a drive-by download attack.

This is as yet a proof of concept and has not been seen in the wild because the Metaphor attack code must be tailored to work on a specific model of Android hardware. This would mean making a universal exploit is less likely, but not technically impossible.

Full detail @ TechTarget

25 Mar 2016 - Apple zero-day vulnerability fully compromises your devices

A zero-day vulnerability discovered within Apple's OS X operating system allows hackers to exploit key protection features and steal sensitive data from devices.

Full Article @ ZDNet

25 Mar 2016 - SMEs complain of unwanted Windows 10 upgrades

As Microsoft continues to push Windows 7 and 8.1 users to upgrade, tech support firms report a rising number of complaints from small businesses that have inadvertently made the switch.

SME's need to evaluate their move to Windows 10. If not possible then implement blocking strategies.

Full article @ TechRepublic

09 Mar 2016 - Microsoft's March Patch Tuesday addresses Windows 10, IE & Edge vulnerabilities

Microsoft released its March 2016 Patch Tuesday fixes today, which included 13 bulletins, five of which are rated critical.

Top priority for patching should go to MS16-023, the standard cumulative Internet Explorer (IE) patch bulletin, and MS16-024 which covers patches for the newer Microsoft Edge browser.

Other patches cover Windows elevation of privilege flaws, font handling flaws and critical bulletins resolving RCE vulnerabilities.

08 Mar 2016 - Revive Windows 10 with System Image Recovery

Your hard disk just went belly up, but all is not lost. Armed with a recent system image and the System Image Recovery tool, you'll be back in business before you know it.

For this type of backup to be truly effective, you need to regularly create new system images so that you'll have a recent version of your system if you need to recover it.

Full Article @Techrepublic

07 Mar 2016 - Apple users targeted by ransomware

A virus is encrypting files on some Mac computers until users pay £280 for access, in the first such infection on Apple devices.

A virus which locks computer users out of their files until they pay a ransom has started targeting Apple devices for the first time.

Hackers have infected a number of Macs with "KeRanger" malware which demands owners pay one bitcoin (about £280) for their files to be unencrypted.

Full article @ Sky News

03 Mar 2016 - Reset your Windows 10 system with the Keep My Files option

If your Windows 10 system goes awry, it's good to know that you have tools to help revive it--without losing any data.

Microsoft went to every effort to ensure that Windows 10 is a solid OS, but you still might encounter a situation that causes your system to become unstable. You could suffer a nasty virus infection, install an incompatible software application, or possibly even install a rickety device driver. Whatever the cause, Windows 10's Recovery Drive tool can help you revive an unstable system without losing your data.

Full Article @ TechRepublic

03 Mar 2016 - Windows 10 Business adoption outstrips Windows 8

Windows 10 is being adopted by business at nearly twice the rate of Windows 8.

Microsoft's latest OS is proving more attractive to firms than Windows 8 - particularly among larger businesses.

Businesses are proving far more willing to experiment with Windows 10 than they were with Windows 8.

Full article @

14 Jan 2016 - Microsoft ends support for Windows 8, IE 8, 9 & 10

Microsoft kicks off 2016 by ending support for Windows 8 & IE 8,9 & 10.

All Windows 8 users should by now have upgraded to Windows 8.1.

All windows 7, 8.1 and 10 users should have upgraded to IE11

Of course Windows 7, & 8.1 users can, optionally, also take advantage of the free upgrade to Windows 10.

If you need any further advice on this please get in touch.

14 Dec 2015 - Office 2016 released. Important info before you upgrade.

Microsoft have release Office 2016, however there is an important compatibility issue users need to consider before purchasing.

Office 2016 no longer supports Exchange 2007, this also includes Microsoft Small Business Server 2008 (which runs Exchange 2007).

If you wish to use Office 2016 you will need to migrate to a later version of Exchange (2010 / 2013) or a later version of SBS (2011).

If you need further details or advice please get in touch.

21 Nov 2015 - 5 Performance Benchmarking Apps

Fancy yourself as a DIY gaming PC builder? If you do you 'll need to benchmark your creation to see just what a beast you've built.

Check out these 5 benchmarking apps..

Article @ TechRepublic

10 Nov 2015 - Microsoft U-Turn over unlimited OneDrive Storage

Microsoft have ditched their unlimited OneDrive storage plans for Office365 users and also reduced the allowance for free users.

This has been in response to a small number of users abusing the unlimited backup facility by backing up multiple PCs and storing entire movie collections. In some instances this exceeded 75Tb (75,000Gb!!)

Full article @ Microsoft News

07 Nov 2015 - Surface Book: Microsoft just made the PC cool again

Microsoft's latest Surface Pro 4 and the flagship Surface Book offer impressive performance without sacrificing style or that illusive awe factor typically missing from PCs in general.

A hybrid device that attempts (successfully) to give the user a fully fledged PC experience in a pseudo-tablet form factor.

Check our the full article @ TechRepublic

31 Oct 2015 - The 18 scariest computer viruses of all time. Happy Halloween

Getting into the Halloween spirit, here's a run down of the top 18 scariest virus of all time.

Enjoy :-)

Full list @ Techrepublic

19 Oct 2015 - 5 Reasons To Buy The Microsoft Lumia 950 XL

The top-end Lumia's have always had an exceptional hardware specification, but could Microsoft's latest flagship be the phone that finally lures you away from your Apple / Android?

Full article @ Forbes

17 Sep 2015 - Windows 10 upgrades

As you are probably aware, Microsoft released its newest Windows version "Windows 10" about a month ago. As an early adopter we have been putting Windows 10 through its paces and have so far been impressed. The launch went pretty smoothly and Windows 10 has already been installed on millions of machines.

Microsoft have departed from their usual business model with Windows 10 and are instead offering it as a free upgrade for the majority of Windows 7 & Windows 8 users.

Home users and business users without a Microsoft server will receive the update notification automatically via the "Get Windows 10" app, however this upgrade method is NOT available if you are a business user with a windows server (a.k.a. Domain joined).

Domain joined machines must be manually updated via a downloadable DVD image.

If you wish to take advantage of Windows 10 please get in touch to arrange an assessment. We can then validate your machines to see if a windows 10 upgrade is available, do a single machine test upgrade to ensure any third party business systems you are using are fully compatible then finally upgrade the remainder of your machines.

02 Aug 2015 - Windows 10 is here. What SMB's need to know..

From upgrade expirations to free updates, Windows 10 big changes for the OS.

Here's a quick run down of the top 10 points to know.

Top 10 article @ TechRepublic

18 Jul 2015 - Latest Patch Tuesday is last for Windows Server 2003

Microsoft delivered a 14 fixes labeled critical or important to seal vulnerabilities in the desktop and server versions of Windows, Internet Explorer and Office. But the asterisk to these releases is that they are the last that will be offered for Windows Server 2003.

Full article @ TechTarget

16 Jul 2015 - Google, Mozilla disable Flash over security concerns

Users of web browsers Chrome (Google) and FireFox (Mozilla) were temporarily unable to view Adobe Flash content on sites on Tuesday amid growing concerns over the serious security holes within Adobe's product.

The just 2 days after Facebook's top security executive, Alex Stamos, publicly called for Adobe to discontinue Flash.

Flash has long been used by website builders to show animated or rich content but has recently been superseded by HTML5.

Flash has had a chequered past, although widely used it has been beset with both security and performance issues.

More details @ MarketWatch

01 Jun 2015 - Windows 10 to be released early on July 29th

Microsoft have brought forward their release date for Windows 10 by 2 months to July 29th.

The majority of Windows 7 & 8.1 users will be offered a free upgrade.

More details @ c-net

21 Apr 2015 - Google under fire by the EU

Google is accused of abusing it's market dominance by the EU with Android also facing anti-trust investigation.

More details @

Computing

17 Mar 2015 - Xiaomi Smart-Phone preloaded with malware

Security Affairs reports that security firm Bluebox has discovered that the Xiaomi Mi 4 smartphone comes with preinstalled malware including a Trojan

Full article @ SecurityAffairs.com

With the rise of cheaper Chinese smart-phones, the distribution channel is becoming ever more important. This case shows just when can happen when you buy from an unauthorised dealer.

30 Jan 2015 - MS releases Office for Android

Microsoft gets a step closer to Office everywhere with Office on Android.

All the major Microsoft productivity apps are available for all the major OSes.

Microsoft this week released Outlook apps for Apple iOS and Google Android devices and removed the preview label from Office for Android. For the first time, the company's primary end-user applications -- Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook -- are now available on all three major operating systems: Windows, iOS and Android.

12 Jan 2015 - Windows Server 2003 End Of Support Looms

If your business runs on Windows 2003 Servers, security updates, fixes, and online technical assistance end on July 14, 2015. And as the clock ticks down, the necessity to migrate Windows Server 2012 increases.

If you would like to discuss your options please call us, we're happy to help.

20 Nov 2014 - BitDefender Partnership

We're please to announce a strategic partnership with Bitdefender allowing up to specialise in their impressive range of security products for both business and home.

Bitdefender have consistently scored at or near top in the independent AV tests and their client is lightweight enough not to impact on performance.

We believe that BitDefender currently offer one of the best suit of security products on the market and so we will be migrating all of our existing clients on the BitDefender platform as and when their current AV renewals are due.

If you would like to discuss any of the BitDefender range of prodcuts please give us a call.

More details @ BitDefender UK Website

01 Oct 2014 - Shellshock Bash bug hits Apple Macs

Apple have had to issue a security update for its Mac OS X operating system to protect users from the newly reported Shellshock Bash bug affecting all Unix-based computers.

Software Updates have been issued for OS X Mavericks, Mountain Lion and Lion.

Researches at security firm FireEye have observed a "significant amount of overtly malicious traffic" using Bash.

Full Article @ ComputerWeekly

05 Oct 2014 - iWorm malware hits Apple Macs

As predicted as their market share increases, the Apple platform is becoming more appealing to malware writers.

iWorm is described as "a complex multi-purpose backdoor" and certainly looks fairly sophisticated.

Coming so quickly after the OSX Shellshock Bash bug, perhaps this will once and for all dispel the myth banded around by Apple followers that Macs don't get viruses!

Full Article @ appleinsider

20 Aug 2014 - Summer Holiday Office Closure

The office will be closed from Monday Sept 1st - Wednesday Sept 17th for a late summer holiday.

As usual all e-mails will be collected and responded to the same day.

All support customers, if you need to contact us your primary method should be by e-mail. If that is not possible please use the alternate contact arrangements you have received.

If you have any outstanding issues or tasks you would like completed please bring these to our attention ASAP.

06 Aug 2014 - Russian hackers steal over a billion usernames and passwords

Russian hackers have attacked over 500m e-mail addresses and stolen over a billion usernames and passwords.

Full article @ Computerweekly.com

If you notice any suspicious e-mail activity such as a large volume of non-delivery reports to e-mails you have not sent, or you have recently been hit by a virus we strongly suggest you change your e-mail passwords or contact us if your hosting is with us.

01 Jul 2014 - Facebook under fire over secret experiment on users

Facebook has come under fire for conducting a psychology experiment on 689,000 users without their consent.

Cornell University and the University of California were involved in the experiment conducted one week in 2012 in which Facebook filtered users' newsfeeds to study the effects on users' emotions.

Full article at

ComputerWeekly.com

Our Comment:-

How much do you pay to use Facebook?

£0??

Well stop complaining then!!

01 Jul 2014 - BT sorry after broadband customers hit by mystery outage

Thousands of BT customers across the country were left without internet access on the morning of Saturday 28 June after a mystery "network incident" brought down its service in many parts of the country.

BT provides broadband service to around seven million subscribers in the UK, but it was unclear how many of those were hit.

Read full article @

04 May 2014 - Micorosoft Issue fix to serious IE flaw and include XP users too!

Thought XP support had ended? Well so did the rest of us! But apparently this IE flaw was so bad Microsoft decided that on just this one occasion they would make the fix available to all users including those still running XP!

We highly recommend you install this update

More details @ GeeksAreSexy

Microsoft Statement @ Microsoft TechNet

29 Apr 2014 - Microsoft warns of new zero-day Internet Explorer flaw

Microsoft has issued a security warning about a zero-day vulnerability in its Internet Explorer browser, which attackers could exploit to gain the same user rights as the current user.

Microsoft reported at the weekend that it is aware of limited, targeted attacks that attempt to exploit the vulnerability found in Internet Explorer (IE) versions 6 to 11.

Full Article @ ComputerWeekly

27 Apr 2014 - Is Windows XP is a much greater risk than Heartbleed?

An interesting article over at Techrepublic.

Heartbleed has dominated headlines for over week, but that one vulnerability pales in comparison to the threat from hundreds of millions of Windows XP systems.

All machines are vulnerable to so called "zero day" risks these are security holes that are discovered and exploited immediately before security companies and Microsoft have a chance to react.

They have a point. Microsoft will no longer be reacting to any faults, flaws or holes found in XP, so the next big one that's found has the change to cause serious disruption to the millions of XP systems still in use out there.

It's difficult to justify sticking with XP. Windows 7 & 8 are both excellent OS's.

If you are still running XP and would like to investigate upgrading please let us know.

08 Apr 2014 - XP/Office 2003 support ended.

Today (April 8th) marks the cessation by Microsoft, of support for Windows XP and Office 2003.

There will be no more fixes or security patched issues, leaving these products open to potential future attack.

We strongly recommend that any clients still using these products either look at replacing them or carefully consider locking them down.

If you need any assistance or advice, we're here to help!

08 Mar 2014 - Update your business before Windows XP support ends in 30 days!

Only 30 days to go... until Windows XP and Office 2003 support ends!

With only 30 days left until Windows XP and Office 2003 support ends, it is essential that you understand the risk if you don't take action shortly. On the 8th April, Microsoft will end support for the decade-old Windows XP OS. This means you will no longer receive updates, including security updates for Windows XP and Office 2003. These are vital to prevent the security issues related to running unsupported software.

We don't want you or your business to get left behind or be exposed to severe security and compliance issues,

By upgrading to the latest Windows 8.1 and Office 2013 or 365 software, you can enrich your business and personal life and achieve business success like hundreds of other small business owners today. so make sure you understand the value of the update and take action.

More details @ Microsoft

23 Feb 2014 - Apple announces (quietly) Major Security Bug in latest iOS

Apple acknowledged a major security flaw in it's iOS operating system which powers its range of PCs, Tablets and Smartphones. There is also a possibility that their Mac range of desktop computers may also be affected.

However their announcement last Friday (21st) was so low-key you will almost certainly have missed it.

The security flaw is about as bad as it can get for a mobile OS, making the devices particularly vulnerable when connected to an unsecure public Wi-Fi hotspot.

Full article @ Slate

Follow-up commentary @ Slate

22 Feb 2014 - Adobe releases 2nd critical security Flash Player fix in 3 weeks

Adobe has released the second critical security update for its Flash Player plug-in in less than three weeks.

The latest update addresses a zero-day exploit reported by security firm FireEye that targeted visitors of at least three non-profit websites.

FireEye said the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the American Research Center in Egypt and the Smith Richardson Foundation were all compromised using remote code injection.

Traffic to these sites was redirected to a server that contained a hidden iframe running the exploit.

The security firm's researchers said the attacks may be related to a May 2012 campaign outlined by ShadowServer, based on consistencies in tradecraft, attack infrastructure and malware configuration.

FireEye said they believe those responsible for the attacks have sufficient resources, such as zero-day exploits, and are committed to infecting those visiting foreign and public policy websites.

"The threat actors likely sought to infect users to these sites for follow-on data theft, including information related to defense and public policy matters," FireEye said in a blog post.

In a security bulletin, Adobe said the updates address vulnerabilities that could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system.

19 Feb 2014 - 7 new domain names now available to all customers

Today we can announce the availability of 7 new domain names:-

• .technology
• .construction
• .contractors
• .directory
• .kitchen
• .lan
• .today

You may already have a .com or a .co.uk, but if you have a website that relates to one of the above sectors, then having one of these domain extensions could benefit you.

If you are interested in acquiring one of these names, please give us a call.

18 Feb 2014 - Windows Easy Transfer Tool

Thinking of replacing your old XP or Vista machine with a Windows 8 one? Microsoft provide a free tool called Windows Easy Transfer (WET) which eases this process. WET will transfer your files and some settings from your old PC to your new one via either a network connection or external HDD.

There are plenty of online guides showing you step by step what you need to know such as these...

TechRepublic

BleepingComputer

There is however 1 important 'gotcha'.

If you are migrating to Windows 8 from either Windows XP or Windows Vista, you must use the Windows Easy Transfer tool BEFORE you install the Windows 8.1 upgrade.

Installing the Windows 8.1 upgrade also upgrades the WET tool to the latest version which no longer supports XP & Vista migrations (only migrations from Windows 7 are supported).

07 Feb 2014 - Windows XP & Office 2003 support ends in 60 days

Did you know that support for Windows XP and Office 2003 ends in just 2 months?

On the 8th of April this year, Microsoft will end support for these old products, so if you are running Windows XP or Office 2003 you will need to take action now to ensure you avoid exposing your business to potential security and compliance risks.

Don't put it off and risk missing this date, think about your action plan today and join the other businesses benefiting from the latest new features of our new innovative technology.

If you would like to discuss your upgrade options please give us a call.

30 Jan 2014 - LogMeIn Free Discontinued

From Feb 06 2014 LogMeIn are discontinuing their free product. Users wishing to continue to use the service will have to pay a yearly fee starting at approx. $50 (discounted) for the first year and rising to approx. $100 after that.

In the past we have recommended LogMeIn primarily because it was a free service, however users may now wish to look elsewhere.

There are alternative free solutions such as TeamViewer, VNC etc.

There is a good breakdown of free remote access offerings here

08 Jan 2014 - Intel phases out McAfee brand

Intel has announced that, as it introduces new security products, it will replace the McAfee brand with that of 'Intel Security'.

The red shield logo will remain to represent the core values of security and protection, Intel said, while the re-branding is set to begin immediately. Intel said it expects to complete the re-branding exercise within a year.

08 Jan 2014 - Windows XP End Of Life Looms

The Windows XP end-of-life date, April 8, 2014, is fast approaching.

Even though it is more than 12 years old, Windows XP remains the second most popular installed version of Windows after Windows 7, running on 31% of all PCs, according to NetMarketShare.com. Many organizations never bothered to upgrade from XP to Vista due to the latter's poor reception. This led to a number of customized enterprise applications becoming even more entrenched in the XP environment. As more time and resources were invested in XP, the case for upgrading became far less compelling.

However, despite its popularity, Microsoft is ending support for Windows XP on April 8, 2014. There will be no more Windows XP security patches, no more automatic updates and no new support information. Research suggests that Windows XP is 21 times more likely to be infected by malware than Windows 8 and, although machines running XP after April will start and run as usual, the chances of infection could jump by two-thirds (based on malware infection rates in the two years after Windows XP Service Pack 2 went out of support).

Our advice? Begin working your migration strategy now if you haven't already. Don't be forced to react in a panic once the reality of unsupported software has already disrupted enterprise operations.

30 Nov 2013 - Microsoft issues warning of zero day XP bug

Microsoft has issued a warning about a bug in Windows XP and Server 2003 which is being actively exploited by cyber-thieves.

Microsoft have issued an advisory Microsoft Security Advisory (2914486) containing an immediate workaround whist it works on addressing the issue. However the workaround involves turning off some services and will break TAPI, RAS & VPNs.

Once again Windows has been targeted via an insecure third party application. In this case various versions of Adobe Reader.

Full details @ FireEye

26 Nov 2013 - Free Winter IT Audit

Winter is upon us and until the end of February 2014 we are offering a free IT audit for your office or business.

We will audit your IT infrastructure, identify your current and future needs and produce a machine by machine report for you with our recommendations and advice. All with absolutely no obligation whatsoever!

09 Nov 2013 - Microsoft warns of security flaw in key software products

Microsoft has warned that hackers could exploit a zero-day vulnerability in the graphics component of several key products to gain control of users' computers.

The vulnerable component is found in Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Microsoft Office 2003-2010 and Microsoft Lync.

The flaw lies in the handling of the Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) image files by the graphics processing component in the affected software.

In a security advisory, Microsoft has made available a Fit It Tool as a temporary measure, which the company is urging at-risk users to install.

27 Oct 2013 - Contact form issue resolved

An error with our website contact form which prevented users from validating and submitting the form has now been resolved.

We apologise to anyone who has experienced difficulties with this.

20 Oct 2013 - Apple slashes iPhone 5C production amid poor sales

Reports from China claim Apple have slashed production of the iPhone 5C due to dismal sales.

This was entirely predictable.

It's difficult to understand Apple's thought processes around the 5C. It needed to produce a cheaper phone to allow it to penetrate the Asian markets, the 5C was announced, it looked cheaper, felt cheaper but they didn't drop the price.

Full article @ pocket-lint.com

20 Oct 2013 - Windows 8.1 update publically available

Microsoft's update to Windows 8 is now available to download from the Store.

Windows 8.1 offers some significant enhancements particularly for desktop users to address their usability concerns.

We recommend all windows 8 users install this update.

For install details and whats new with 8.1 checkout this Techrepublic article.

17 Oct 2013 - D-link begin fixing router backdoor

Networking equipment company D-Link has begun releasing security patches to close the backdoor discovered on some of its routers.

Security researcher Craig Heffner reversed engineered publicly available d-link router firmware for the DIR-100 revA model, his investigations discovered a backdoor where any browser that connected to the router with a specially crafted User-Agent String would get immediate access to the administration page bypassing the usual username/password controls.

The User-Agent string was : xmlset_roodkcableoj28840ybtide which when written backward contains : edit by 04882 joel backdoor !

A quick check discovered at least a further 11 routers possibly affected and although most of these are consumer (home) grade many will be used by small and medium businesses representing a significant risk to their networks.

D-Link recommends all users check for firmware updates on the D-link site and upgrade if available.

Full article @ Computer Weekly

Craig Heffner blog post (highly technical)

11 Oct 2013 - More woes for Apple's flagship iPhone 5S

Hot on the heels of the embarrassing lock screen security bug found within 24 hours of release of iOS7, reports are now emerging of iPhone 5S's crashing with their very own Blue Screen Of Death (BSOD).

It would seem that Apple are learning the meaning of schadenfreude...

Full details @ The Telegraph

07 Oct 2013 - Get ready for your upgrade to Windows 8.1

Microsoft Windows 8.1 is set to be released in October 2013.

If you already have a Windows 8 computer, you will be able to upgrade to 8.1 for free. We have used the 8.1 preview and think if you are already using Windows 8, the free upgrade to 8.1 is a no-brainer - you want it!

If you are using Windows 7 on a computer without a touchscreen, there is really no compelling reason to upgrade now. However, when buying or building a new PC, there is also no compelling reason not to install Windows 8.1 instead of Windows 7. Despite what you may have heard, once you reach the Windows 8 Desktop, there is really not much difference from a user perspective between 7 and 8.

23 Sep 2013 - Blackberry sold for $4.7bn

As we predicted only yesterday, Blackberry has been sold to a Canadian consortium for $4.7bn ($9 a share).

Full details @ ZDNet

22 Sep 2013 - More woes for Blackberry

Faced with anticipated losses of $1bn Blackberry are cutting 4,500 jobs (40% of its entire worlwide workforce).

In our opinion the outlook for Blackberry looks grim. We anticipate it will go into liquidation within 6 months unless it's bought out by a 3rd party (as Microsoft has done with Nokia)

More details @ BBC News website

20 Sep 2013 - Embarrassing security flaw surfaces in iOS7 within just 24 hours

Apple's 'more secure' iOS7 upgrade has an embarrassing security flaw discovered within just 24 hours of it's release.

The bug allows anyone to unlock an iPhone bypassing the lock screen security and allowing full access to the phones content.

Videos showing the bug in action have already appeared in YouTube.

18 Sep 2013 - Latest iPhones underwhelm

Apple's latest iPhone releases have been met a rather muted response by IT industry insiders. Traditionally the driver of design and innovation, Apple's last few releases have been less about innovation and more about playing catch up.

The iPhone5 was a belated and half-arsed attempt to address Samsung's Galaxy 3, HTC One X & Galaxy Note but just simply didn't go far enough. The new iPhone5S is chasing the Galaxy S4 and the iPhone5C is cloning the Nokia Lumias, but with a price tag that is still far too high.

There are a few items to note. The iPhone5S now carries the 64-bit A7 processor but analysts already doubt this will have much effect on the immediate phone market. Applications are still only 32bit and one of the main benefits of 64 bit technology (being able to address more than 4gb of RAM) are a long way off being met/needed in phones. To counter, Samsung have already announced their next iteration of the Galaxy will also be 64-bit.

The iPhone 5S on-board fingerprint scanner has also raised some privacy and security concerns, particularly with Apple's track record (see Siri Spies on you)

Android still has the lion's share of the phone market outselling iOS by over 4:1. Meanwhile Windows Phone also continues to grow, particularly in the business sector, and could find fresh impetus now that Microsoft is acquiring Nokia's handset business.

More details @ Techrepublic

17 Sep 2013 - New eCommerce customer breaks 1 Million hits in first month!

So big congratulations go to our new customer Pretty Pink Productions for the success of their new eCommerce site Pretty Pink Princess.

Amazingly in the first full month of operation they surpassed over 1 million hits thanks to some celebrity endorsements and a feature on the Daily Mail Online fashion pages.

Thankfully we have plenty of spare hosting capacity to cope with these intense spikes in traffic and our active management made sure this site remained available during these peaks!

18 Aug 2013 - Microsoft and Google in spat over Windows Phone 8 YouTube app

Google has blocked users of Microsoft's Windows 8 YouTube app claiming the app violated its T&Cs.

Drilling down into this and it looks like Google is becoming the new Apple and playing hardball with Microsoft, making demands from the Microsoft developers that have not been made from either the Apple or Android devs.

This is a disappointing move from Google, whose informal company motto was "don't be evil" because in the end it's the user that suffers from this childish behaviour.

Full article @ BBC News

17 Aug 2013 - Windows 8.1 rolls out Oct 18th

The long awaited update to windows 8, roll out on October 18th.

The update called unsuprisingly v8.1 include a number of new features and tweaks aimed at some of the complaints from the desktop market.

The preview has been publicly available for a few weeks now and we think for desktop users it certainly makes more sense.

More details @ Microsoft Technet Blog

17 Aug 2013 - Microsoft warns Windows XP users risk security post April 2014

Microsoft is ending support for Windows XP on April 8, 2014. After that time there will be no more secutity updated available potentially leaving users exposed to any new security flaws discovered after that date.

As Microsoft execs have been cautioning for more than a year, after April 8, 2014, users running Windows XP Service Pack (SP) 3 -- the last service pack delivered for the 11-year-old operating system -- won't get any more updates. That includes both security and "non-security" hot fixes, free or paid support options and online technical content updates.

Full article over at ZDNet

02 Aug 2013 - Microsoft's SkyDrive name infringes BSkyB trademark

Microsoft have agreed to change the name of it's cloud storage service "SkyDrive" after losing a legal challenge by BSkyB, who claimed the name infringed it's trademarks.

Microsoft have agreed to change the name worldwide after a "transition period".

Full article @ BBC News Website

30 Jul 2013 - 4IT Systems announce free upgrades to all hosting packages

We are pleased to announce that from August 1st we are upgrading all of our hosting packages free of charge.

The upgrades are:-

Basic Package

Disk Quota upgrade from 70Mb to 80Mb

Intermediate Package

Bandwidth upgrade from 1000Mb to 1500Mb (50% increase)

Advanced

Disk Quota upgrade from 300Mb to 500Mb (68% increase)

Bandwidth upgrade from 2000Mb to 5000Mb (150% increase)

In addition we have reduced the price of bandwith and disk quota upgrades as follows:-

Disk Quota Increase from £5/10Mb to £4/10Mb

Bandwidth Increase from £5/100Mb to £2/100Mb

Upgrades will happen automatically, no action is required by the customer.

The full hosting Price/Feature list can be found here

14 Jul 2013 - 4IT launch new eCommerce site for client.

We are please to anounce the launch of a new eCommerce site Pretty Pink Princess for our client Pretty Pink Princess Productions Ltd.

This site has been completed using the PrestaShop eCommerce software and customized by us to meet our clients requirements.

We're thrilled that in the first 14 days after launch we have registered over 1/2 Million hits.

Completing this project now adds PrestaShop & oSCommerce to our list of eCommerce offerings.

21 Jun 2013 - Samsung & ASUS reveal hybrid tablets running BOTH Android AND Windows 8!

Want a tablet but not sure which ecosystem to adopt? Well you can now have the best of both worlds, a combined tablet running both Google's Android AND Windows 8 thanks to ASUS and Samsung.

What a brilliant idea!

More details @ BBC News

18 Jun 2013 - Flash webcam flaw on Google's Chrome

A security flaw thought to have been fixed by Adobe in October 2011 has reappeared thanks to a new vulnerability involving Flash Player browser plug-ins.

The as yet unpatched vulnerability creates a means to seize control of webcams without permission before siphoning off video and audio from victims' PCs. The clickjack-style flaw was uncovered by security consultant Egor Homakov, who developed a harmless proof-of-concept exploit to underline his concerns and push for an early fix.

"This works precisely like regular clickjacking - you click on a transparent flash object, it allows access to Camera/Audio channel. Voila, attacker sees and hears you," Homakov explains in a blog post.

Adobe security team spokeswoman Heather Edell confirmed there was an issue but said it was limited to Flash Player for Google Chrome.

"This vulnerability affects users on Flash Player installed with Google Chrome," Edell told El Reg in an email. "Google is working to resolve the issue and plans to provide a fix this week," she added.

The vulnerability would be potentially handy for both perverts and NSA-style spies. Tinfoil hatters who tape over webcams when they aren't in use have been vindicated by the discovery of the problem.

Robert Hansen, director of product management for WhiteHat Security, said the security model adopted by Adobe Flash has contributed to the problem.

"The basic problem with Flash is that it doesn't have modal dialogues that pop up outside of the browser, which can alert the user to what's about to happen," Hansen explained. "Because the dialogues are on the same page as the adversary's code, they can overlay things, make it opaque, and so on, to effectively hide the dialogue warning."

Google recently imposed a seven day deadline for vendors to respond to security bug reports. Homakov's discovery represents the first chance to see whether Google itself can stick to such tight deadlines.

03 Jun 2013 - Windows 8 update nearly here

Microsoft will shortly release a free update to Windows 8 (dubbed Windows 8.1) which as well as adding many new functions and feature will also attempt to address some of the complaints from desktop users.

They've added back a start button (of sorts), and given desktop uses the ability of booting directly to the desktop bypassing the Metro tablet interface.

Having seen the changes it looks like they have done the bare minimum to address these complaints. Possibly not enough to satisfy some.

I must admit. I do miss the start menu. Even though Windows 8 is a good OS, the start menu is enough for me to select Windows 7 every morning when I turn on my pc.

28 Mar 2013 - Google Phishing Notices

FAO All Hosting Clients.

All hosting clients have received e-mails from Google warning of compromised content on their site (phishing).

The format of the phishing page is :-

/~bourne/blog/wp-includes/Text/Diff/bnpparibasfortis.be/login.php

The phishing URL is attempting to use the mod_userdir facility to access malicious content present on another site on the server.

Please be assured your site has not been compromised and you are not hosting compromised content.

The compromised site content was intercepted and disabled by the hosting support team before Google sent their warnings.

11 Mar 2013 - IP Address Blocklist Updated

We have updated the IP address blocklist and rolled out the new version to all subscribers.

If you wish to take advantage of this facility we can add it to your website for just £50 + vat which includes 3 months worth of updates.

We monitor a number of websites including ecommerce sites to gather information on unwanted visitors. We have analysed February's server logs (over 100,000 lines!) to further identify hacking attempts, vulnarability scanners, unwanted content scrapers, back link spammers etc. As a result of this analysis we have further blocked access from a number of ISPs including:

• Russia, Ukraine, Czech Republic
• Saudi Arabia
• China, Thailand, Indonesia, Korea (Peoples Republic Of), India
• Australia
• Brazil, Peru, Mexico
• USA & Canada
• Germany, Italy, France

We also detected hack attempts from a handful of UK addresses which are now included.

07 Mar 2013 - Microsoft make IE10 available to Windows 7 users

Microsoft has made IE10 generally available (it was previously only available to Windows 8 users).

IE10 further improves it's HTML5 and CSS3 support, and also adds HTML Touch support which is currently unavailable in other browsers. It also finally introduces a long awaited automatic spell checker (a feature already available in other browsers).

Microsoft have continued to improve performance with independent tests showing IE10 outstripping other browsers with page-load speed.

IE10 is a fast, standards compliant and very capable browser able to hold it's own against competition from Chrome, Firefox and Opera proving that competition is a very good thing.

Download IE10 directly from Microsoft

06 Feb 2013 - Microsoft Surface Pro Out Friday (in the US!)

The next version of Microsoft's Surface tablet, the Surface Pro is out on Friday. It's an Intel based version running Windows 8 Pro and therefore capable of running all PC desktop apps (unlike the earlier Surface RT).

Initial reviews are somewhat favourable but confused. Microsoft has effectively invented a new type of device (a hybrid), which bridges the gap between a tablet & laptop/ultrabook. Because of this, reviewers are having a hard time trying to compare it to something.

If it's compared to a tablet then it's capable of doing more than any tablet on market but also more expensive ($899 at launch), thicker, heavier & with shorter battery life.

If you compare it to an ultrabook or laptop then it's more portable, has a touch screen & highly accurate digital pen, great build quality but again has a shorter battery life.

So the big question is, will Microsoft find a market for their new invention in the way Apple found with the iPad? Only time will tell, but Microsoft have already hinted that they are working on designs for the next version of the Surface and are in the tablet/hybrid market for the long run.

Interesting times!

Check out Techrepublic for an initial review.

01 Feb 2013 - Windows 8 app store falls short of prediction

Just before the launch of Windows 8, Microsoft VP of U.S. Sales & Marketing, Keith Lorizo made the rather foolish prediction that within 90 days of launch, the Windows 8 App Store would reach 100,000 apps. Well 90 days have passed and the grand total reached was 26,645, which is 73,355 short of the 100,000 goal. That's quite a shortfall!

For more in depth analysis, check out this Techrepublic article.

31 Jan 2013 - IP Blocklist Update

We 've updated the IP block list following of analysis of our monitored site logs.

In response to some suspicion activity and hack attempts we've add some blacklisted ISPs in Chicago USA, Turkey & Canada as well as blocking traffic from unwanted/badly behaved search engines including Twenga, Yandex (Russia), Baidu (China), SEOSpider (China).

All customers subscribing to this service now have this update.

22 Jan 2013 - Windows 8 £24.99 upgrade offer ends soon

Microsoft's £24.99 Windows 8 upgrade offer ends 31st Jan 2013.

Even if you don't plan on upgrading to Windows 8 immediately it may still be worth buying this update for future use.

More details @ Microsoft

05 Jan 2013 - IP Block List Update

We have been monitoring some attempted hacking activity from addresses in China, Taiwan, Brazil, Germany, France and Spain today.

As a response we have updated our IP Address Block List to include the individual addresses and in the case of China, Taiwan & Brazil, the entire ISP.

The block list is available installed on your website for £50 + vat which includes 3 months worth of updates

03 Jan 2013 - Ban unwanted traffic from your website

Over the Christmas period we've taken the downtime to analyse traffic coming to a few of our websites including an eCommerce site we host. The results have been fascinating.

Some of our sites have been getting a huge number of hits from IP addresses in Russia, China and the USA. Analysis showed these to be unwanted foreign search engine spiders/bots, content scrapers (companies harvesting website data to resell), and other websites hotlinking to images & PDF documents (stealing bandwidth). All this impacts both the sites performance and its monthly bandwidth usage/limit.

To combat this we are now offering the following services:-

IP Address Ban list

Using the log data analysed, we've built up a list of offending IP addresses and address ranges. Once installed, your webserver refuses all requests from these sources stopping this nuisance in its tracks. We are continuing to build on this address list as and when we identify more offending addresses.

The address list is available, installed on your server, for £50 + vat and includes 3 months' worth of updates.

Hotlink Protection

We will configure your site to redirect any websites attempting to hotlink to your images to a custom static images hosted on our FlickR account.

For an example click here.

Custom Image and Hotlink protection is £50 + vat

Individual Traffic Analysis

If you believe your website requires more in-depth analysis we can undertake this for you at our standard consultancy rate of £70 p/h

01 Jan 2013 - Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all our customers and friends.

We look forward to servicing all of your IT needs in 2013!

06 Dec 2012 - Microsoft kills off Small Business Server?

The current version of Windows Small Business Server (2011) will be the last one in the current configuration. Instead it will be replaced by Windows Server 2012 Essentials or Windows Server 2012 Foundation depending on requirements.

One of the killer features of SBS was the inclusion of Exchange Server all at a budget price (approx. £600). However Windows Server 2010 Essentials and Foundation will not include Exchange, forcing adopters to purchase this separately. (Although prices for Exchange 2013 are not yet available, Exchange 2010 [5 user] would have cost an additional £1100 [+ £250 for each additional 5 users!])

Microsoft will continue to sell SBS2011 until December 2013.

Our recommendations are, if you are thinking of having a server hardware refresh cycle, do it within the next 12 months!

03 Dec 2012 - Is Windows 8 any good?

The short answer is Yes!

It's based on the same Windows core introduced in Vista and refined to great acclaim in Windows 7, so it's slick, responsive and your existing devices should still work.

The caveat is the interface change. Windows 8 was designed with tablets / phones in mind so the traditional desktop plays second fiddle to the tile based interface (formally called Metro). The desktop also goes through a bit of a major change. The traditional Start menu that we've all been using since Windows 95 is gone! No Start Menu, no all programs list, no control panel arghh!!!...

Well of course those things are still all there but you now need to use other mechanisms to get to them and this can initially be very frustrating when you have been using the traditional desktop for the past 17 years! However most users should be able to adapt within a few hours with a minimum of training.

So should you upgrade?

Well unless you have a touchscreen probably not. Selling Windows 8 to a desktop user of Windows 7 going to be a hard sell. Windows 7 is hard to beat!

I would instead recommend you wait for your usual machine refresh cycle when it will be pre-installed on your new pc purchases.

28 Nov 2012 - The Windows 8 tablet season kicks off

Microsoft kicked off the Windows 8 tablet season with the launch of the much anticipated Surface.

Initially only the Arm based Windows 8 RT Surface is available. However an Intel/Windows 8 Pro based Surface will follow nearer Christmas.

Reviews of the RT version have been overall positive with some reviewers getting hung up on the restricted nature of the RT version. (The RT version only runs Apps downloaded from the Microsoft App store and will not run your traditional desktop apps.)

Microsoft has been praised for the hardware quality and the magnetic click-on keyboard is hugely popular.

Lenovo have beat Microsoft to market with release of its Windows 8 Pro tablet the

Thinkpad 2 and it looks sweet. Nice specification plenty of ports (USB/HDMI), twin cameras, NFC chip and 10 hour battery life.

26 Oct 2012 - The (2012) top 25 passwords.....

Ok so we all know we shouldn't use simple passwords but I wonder how many of us still do?

The good people over at Gizmondo have compiled this years top 25 lists..

The top 10 are :-

1. password (Unchanged)
2. 123456 (Unchanged)
3. 12345678 (Unchanged)
4. abc123 (Up 1)
5. qwerty (Down 1)
6. monkey (Unchanged)
7. letmein (Up 1)
8. dragon (Up 2)
9. 111111 (Up 3)
10. baseball (Up 1)

Click on the Gizmondo link to see the full article.

Oh, an if your password appears on this list, slap your own legs and change it!

18 Oct 2012 - Apple loses UK tablet design appeal versus Samsung

In sharp contrast to the recent success in a Californian court, Apple has lost both the original UK patent infringement case against Samsung and a subsequent appeal.

In our opinion the UK judgement is entirely correct and proper. The Californian judgement is ridiculous and looks increasingly isolated as Apple continues to lose more of these cases around the world.

The only people to benefit from Apple's bully-boy tactics are the lawyers. This kind of oppressive litigation is bad for innovation, bad for the market and bad for the consumer.

More details @ BBC News

08 Oct 2012 - Monday morning IT blues!

It never rains but it pours!

The gremlins seem to have paid us a visit overnight and we've been greeted with multiple IT failures this morning including a drive failure in our primary server and a key workstation that's refusing to boot!

The knock on effect is that we may not be checking e-mails as frequently this morning as per usual so if you have an urgent issue please call the office.

Normal service should be resumed later today.

Please note this is a 4IT Systems internal IT issue only and does not affect any of our customers' hosted accounts.

29 Sep 2012 - Windows 8 tablets to run Android Apps!!

Chip maker AMD has announced a partnership with emulation software Bluestacks to allow AMD based Windows 8 devices to run the 500,000 Apps more usually found on Android phones.

This is a major develpment as the size of the App store is a key factor in the success or failure of a mobile device ecosystem. Currently it is rumoured Microsofts own App store for Windows 8 at launch stood at just 2000 Apps. (WP 7.5 has approx 30,000 Apps)

More details @ BBC News

14 Sep 2012 - Windows Server 2012 is here

Microsoft has released final versions of Windows Server 2012. Industry reports so far seem extremely favourable with some pundits calling it "the best release of Windows Server yet from Microsoft"!

Improvements include

• Hyper-V improvements
• Failover Clustering
• DCHP failover
• Simplified domain controller deployment
• Remote Group Policy update
• The new Server Manager
• Storage Spaces
• Server Core enhancements
• Windows PowerShell 3.0

As Microsoft partners, we already have access to all of Microsoft's new products and plan to roll out Server 2012 internally within the next few weeks, so watch this space!

15 Aug 2012 - Summer break office closure & support arrangements

The 4IT office will be closed for a late summer break between Fri Aug 24th - Thurs Sept 13th.

Support will continue to be available, as before, via e-mail, remote access & Skype.

The primary method of contact is e-mail. All support e-mails will be responded to on the day of receipt starting from 2pm BST.

Please do not leave telephone messages at the office/mobile number as these will not be picked up until the office re-opens.

E-Mail Issues

If you are having issues with e-mail, use your webmail web interface (4IT hosting clients only) or a third party e-mail account ie. Hotmail/GMail to report this.

Internet Issues

In the event of loss of internet service, please ensure that you familiarise yourself with your modem / router reset instructions. Make sure you have filed a copy of your ISP's username & password and are able to re-enter these into your router should that be required. Finally should the issue still persist please direct your support requests directly to your ISP's support teams via their helpdesk telephone number. (Plus Net customers use 08451 400 200).

If you need assistance with any of the above, please contact me at your earliest convenience.

05 Aug 2012 - Microsoft forced to ditch "Metro" name

Microsoft have been forced to ditch the name of its new block-tiled user interface "Metro" first seen on Windows Phone 7 and fully developed in Windows 8.

It's believed to be in response of a legal threat from a German supermarket chain "Metro AG", however in a recent press release, Microsoft have now claimed "Metro" was a development code name and not in fact the actual release name!

But at the time of the press release it would seem that the actual release name was still unknown/undecided and is expected to be released by the end of next week.

More details @ BBC News

02 Aug 2012 - Windows 8 released to manufacturing (RTM)

Windows 8 development has now been finalised and the final product is being handed over to Microsoft's partners for them to prepare new WIndows 8 PCs and devices.

More details @ Blogging Windows.

End users will be able to get Windows 8 from October 26th, we should have our copy by August 20th

11 Jul 2012 - Windows 8 arrives in October

Microsoft have announced that Windows 8 will be released to manufacturing (RTM) the first week of August, with general availability scheduled for the end of October.

(RTM it the date of availability to parters and customers with Microsoft Software Assurance.)

Microsoft have also announced a pricing deal for users offering Windows 8 Pro upgrade for just $40! More details @ TechTarget

This announcement also serves to lock in the schedule for Microsoft's Surface tablet. Last month, in its Surface announcement, the company said that the Windows RT version of the tablet will be available at the same time as Windows 8 general availability. The Intel-based Surface model is expected to be available 90 days thereafter. That would make the Intel version release date a post-Christmas one.

10 Jul 2012 - Microsoft Surface, a real iPad rival?

Undoubtedly the iPad has been a huge success and attempts to steal market share with the wave of Android powered devices has been a bit hit and miss.

There is one sector however where iPad sales have been poor, within the business community. Companies tend to run Microsoft software making the iPad a poor fit for the enterprise user. Repeated surveys show that corporate users are holding back on purchases until a decent Windows powered device is released.

Enter Microsoft's Surface, a Windows 8 powered device with a magnetically attached removable keyboard which acts as a screen cover.

According to TechRepublic's CIO Jury, the buzz around Microsoft's new tablet is strong even among iPad users.

Article @ Techtarget : Microsoft Surface: Why CIOs think it's a real iPad challenger

The release of Surface will be a boost for the Windows Phone platform. Essentially all devices, phone, tablet and PC will be running the same OS with the Metro Tile Interface, this means a HUGE potential market for app developers leading to a much bigger app store and addressing the current key criticism of Windows Phone platform, the relatively small App Store when compared to Apple iOS & Android.

The next 12 months will be very interesting!

02 Jul 2012 - IMPORTANT ** Fraudulent Credit Card Charges **

We have had a number of reports of unknown transactions appearing on people's credit card statements listed as made by either www.4it.co.uk or www.4-it.co.uk.

These transactions have not been made by us.

We believe these transactions are fraudulent and should be reported to your card issuer and the police as soon as possible.

Please note 4IT Systems Ltd (www.4-it.co.uk) does not and has never had the ability to process credit/debit card transactions..

We have reported this to the police, however as we are not the actual victim of this crime (the card holder is the victim) there is little more that we can do about this.

08 Jun 2012 - Flame malware receives terminate order

The Flame "super virus" has been sent a kill order instructing it to erase itself from infected machines.

Security firm Symantec spotted the order on one of its 'honeypot' machines setup to monitor Flames actions.

This is no doubt in response to the huge publicity following Flame's discovery last week. It's not unreasonable to assume that the state sponsored group behind Flame are now desperately trying to cover their tracks.

More details @ BBC News Website

05 Jun 2012 - Microsoft issues emergency 'Flame' Patch

Microsoft have issued an out-of-band patch to address a vulnerability in the Windows Update service exploited by the Flame "super virus".

More details on Flame can be found @ TechWeek.

Flame is incredibly complex and believed to have been created by a nation state (probably Western) as a form of cyber-espionage or cyber-weapon and currently seems to be targeting machines in the Middle East & Israel.

Flame is able to spoof the security certificate used by Microsoft's Windows Update service to spread and infect other computers.

It is imprtant that all users apply this update.

More details on the Flame patch @ TechWeek

28 May 2012 - New 4IT Website Launched

Our new website is now live.

Although not 100% complete we were keen to show off the weeks of hard work!

We have diabled some of the links in the bottom grey bar whilst we finish them but the rest of the site should be fine and as always with our sites, has been tested as valid w3c compliant code.

We are shocasing some of our standard SEO techniques inclluding fully valid W3C compliant code & url rewriting.

If you would like us to apply SEO to your site, or your site fails W3C validation please contact us.

To verify whether your site is W3C compliant visit the W3C Site Validator

23 May 2012 - 123-Reg hosted websites under Chinese DDOS attack

Clients of web hosting company 123-REG have seen their sites go offline after reports of an attack on the firm claimed to have originated from China.

Many site are either offline or loading very slowly whilst 123_REG try and mitigate this attack.

If you are a 123-REG customer and would like to move your site to a fully managed & secure hosting provider then contact us!

19 May 2012 - New 4IT website coming soon

We've been working hard on our new look website which is now almost ready.

The new site will be launching some new services, including reduced price PAYG support when block booking and some competitively priced support contracts.

So as they say, watch this space!

05 May 2012 - New Intel 3rd Generation Core Processors (Ivy Bridge) Now Available

On Monday 30th April Intel launched their exciting 3rd Generation Core Processors - Code named Ivy Bridge.

Launching first with lines in their I5 & I7 range (I3 versions coming out in June), these processors use a 1155 socket so are compatible with current H67/H61/Z68 & P67 chipset boards * and the new H77/Z77 boards making any transition very easy.

Features of the new range are

Power Efficiency

New 22nm Design

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology & Intel® HD Graphics with Dynamic Frequency

Performance : Estimating up to 2x increase in transcode performance

Performance : Estimating >30%** increase in 3D graphics

DX11 support

Key Features:

22nm Sandy Bridge Microarchitecture

16 lanes PCI-Express*

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0

Integrated Memory Controller (IMC) - 2ch DDR3, 2 DIMMs/ch, up to 1333. Support for SO-DIMM

Next generation Intel® HD Graphics with DX11 or Discrete graphics support (1x16, 2x8)

Next generation Intel® Quick Sync Video Technology

Enhanced AVX acceleration

Socket:

LGA1155 Socket

19 Apr 2012 - Beware the RansomWare!

"Ransomware" as the name implies hold something belonging to the victim in ransom until they pay a sum of money. This type of malware is considered the next step in the evolution of scareware, malicious programs that scare users into paying money.

We are starting to notice a sharp increase in this type of malware attack, including fake police notices that your computer has been isolated and you need to cough up £130 to get it release.

However the latest variant of this type of malware attack marks a serious escalation of tactics & techniques. The latest variant replaces the Master Boot Record (MBR) with its own malicious code completely preventing windows from loading and preventing the user from being able to run any scanning or removal tools.

The MBR is a piece of code that resides in the first sectors of the hard drive and starts the boot loader. The boot loader then loads Windows.

Instead of starting the Windows boot loader, the rogue MBR installed by the new ransomware displays a message that asks users to deposit a sum of money into a particular account via an online payment service called QIWI, in order to receive an unlock code for their computers.

When the unlock code is used, the MBR routine is supposedly removed.

The only solution to this is to replace the MBR which is no mean feat and definitely not for the average user.

If you believe you are the victim of ransomware, scareware or any other type of malware, let us know, we're here to help.

18 Apr 2012 - Windows 8 will come in 3 flavours

Microsoft have announce a simpler licensing model for it's latest operating system, Windows 8.

On Intel based machines there will be just 2 versions, Windows 8 and Windows 8 pro, while on ARM processor machines (tablets / phones) there is Windows 8 RT.

This is a welcome return to a simpler product choice, compared with the 6/7 version model they introduced with Vista.

More details over @ BBC News