IT Disaster Recovery – MBM Ltd – IT Support and Cloud Services

Mark Northall
Apr, Thu, 2015

Cloud

Wi-fi In-flight a threat warns report

Technology News – The Guardian warns of possible security breech with the introduction of in-flight internet

Hackers on commercial flights could now bring down the plane they are on by using the on board Wi-Fi, a US government watchdog has warned.

The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) does not suggest it would be easy to do but it points out that as airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration attempt to modernise planes and flight tracking with internet-based technology, attackers have a new vulnerability they could exploit.

The GAO says: “Modern aircraft are increasingly connected to the internet. This interconnectedness can potentially provide unauthorized remote access to aircraft avionics systems.”

The report highlights the fact that cockpit electronics are indirectly connected to the passenger cabin through shared IP networks. The connection between passenger-accessible systems and the avionics of the plane is heavily moderated by firewalls, but information security experts have pointed out that firewalls, like all software, can never be assumed to be totally infallible.

“Four cybersecurity experts with whom we spoke discussed firewall vulnerabilities, and all four said that because firewalls are software components, they could be hacked like any other software and circumvented,” explains the office.

“According to cybersecurity experts we interviewed, internet connectivity in the cabin should be considered a direct link between the aircraft and the outside world, which includes potential malicious actors,” the report adds.

The Federal Aviation Administration does not currently verify the cybersecurity of a new airliner before certifying it for scope, although it “currently issues rules with limited scope, called Special Conditions, to aircraft manufacturers when aircraft employ new technologies where IP interconnectivity could present cybersecurity risks”.
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The report praises the FAA for the steps it has taken to get its cybersecurity policies in order, but says that “opportunity exists for further action”, and particularly highlights as a cause for concern the fact that cybersecurity responsibility is split over multiple FAA offices.

A worst case scenario is that a terrorist with a laptop would sit among the passengers and take control of the airplane using its passenger Wi-Fi, said Rep. Peter DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee who requested the investigation.

“That’s a serious vulnerability, and FAA should work quickly” to fix the problem, DeFazio said.

The GAO released a separate report last March that determined the FAA’s system for guiding planes and other aircraft also was at “increased and unnecessary risk” of being hacked.

One area of weakness is the ability to prevent and detect unauthorised access to the vast network of computer and communications systems the FAA uses to process and track flights around the world, the report said. The FAA relies on more than 100 of these air traffic systems to direct planes.

In January 2015, the GAO praised the FAA for taking steps to protect air-traffic controllers, but warned that “significant security control weaknesses remain that threaten the [FAA’s] ability to ensure the safe and uninterrupted operation of the national airspace system”.

Mark Northall
Mar, Wed, 2015

Who can be trusted with your data?

Think about a day without computers or tablets, whether for personal or business use – could you cope – how would you feel?
So what do you do when your computer system fails? Who are you trusting at the moment with all the information on your computer?
You could Google your options and find there are thousands of choices, including real companies or web-based organisations.
This is when it could get tricky as many web-only computer repair concerns have very impressive websites and offer rock-bottom prices. The problem is, you have no way of knowing where these companies are operating, who the people are behind the scenes and what kind of things they may be doing to your systems in the background but the premier concern is can you trust them with your company’s data?
Most remote software allows the third party access to do things you cannot see. Some may advertise you can watch everything the technician is doing unfortunately this is not always the case – would you give complete strangers your passwords or your wallet?? . Although there will be companies that are legitimate, they often use remote technicians operating out of their home locally and this could be situated anywhere typically in a third-world country call centre.
What precautions should you take?
• Research the business. Take advice from satisfied clients. Whilst there are some repairs that can be done remotely, making location not as important as ratings, complaints and reviews. Search out testimonials on their website. If they’re all written in a similar style, it’s possible they’re not as genuine as they make out.
• Contact the business. Call the business to test how responsive they are. If the business does not answer the first time, do they call back within a reasonable amount of time? Are the calls or emails handled professionally? Avoid doing business with companies that don’t respond in a timely fashion; it could be a sign of how queries are handled as well. Good customer service is endemic in an organisation.
• Check the website. Does the company’s website represent its business well? If the website is poorly organized maybe even on a self-build platform, it may be a sign to take your business elsewhere.
• There is the old adage about paying peanuts don’t always go for the cheapest price. When it comes to computers, you want the job done correctly the first time. Businesses with more experience and expertise may charge more for their services, but it should ensure that you get quality service. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Companies that seem to offer the lowest price might not be the best deal for you.
Just one parting thought your computers and your systems in effect ARE your business. Look after them and you will never have to worry about not being able to access your data. Paying cheaply can lead to paying twice. Never has there been a better example of getting what you pay for.

Mark Northall
Feb, Mon, 2015

Tip

Uk SMEs facing an unprecedented level of attempted online fraud

According to experts at smallbusiness.co.uk the Uk is experiencing an unprecedented level of attempted online fraud this month – the reason is a simple one as the article explains
Data from payment processing company Worldpay suggests instances of fraud could rocket by as much as 80 per cent in February as hackers start to capitalise on customer data harvested during a hectic Christmas shopping period.
Tim Lansdale, head of payment security at Worldpay says, ‘We see a dip in fraud around Christmas as hackers go on the hunt for information, using the online sales rush to stockpile thousands of customer card details.
‘It isn’t until February that they start cashing in on all the data they’ve collected. Other breaches can last much longer; attackers might decide to keep returning to their targets, sometimes for years.’
During 2011-2014, the average data breach exposed 284 days of card payments. Worldpay’s analysis shows breaches lasting from 11 days at the lowest end of the scale, to 1,723 days at the other extreme.
The company says small businesses are by far the biggest target for hackers, accounting for 85.7 per cent of UK data breaches. Virtually all data breaches (99.3 per cent) happened online, rather than at the point of sale, as the UK’s e-commerce market continues to boom.
In 2014, businesses in the entertainment, hobby and leisure industries accounted for 23.3 per cent of all card data breaches, followed by clothing and footwear stores (16.3 per cent) and jewellery, beauty and gifts (11.6 per cent).
Businesses in the entertainment industry, particularly online ticket booking systems, tend to make easy prey for hackers due to the high number of credit and debit card transactions they process online each day.
The clean-up costs of being targeted can run to tens of thousands of pounds, with a standard investigation costing £11,250 on average, and attracting at least a £8,000 penalty, not including the costs of lost goods and damage to reputation.
Lansdale says, ‘Data breaches can be ruinous, so its vital small business owners know the risks and take the necessary measures to protect themselves and their customers and employees.
‘You wouldn’t leave your store unlocked overnight, yet so few businesses are doing enough to protect their online shop fronts and keep hackers at bay.’
Worldpay advises taking measures such as changing all your default passwords, having a third party host your payment page, and testing your firewalls at least every three months,
Securely destroying all card data records when no longer needed, and avoiding storing the three digits ‘CVC’ number on the back of the card, are also measures that should be observed.
At MBM we can help Small Business combat this fraud. We would love to speak to you about protecting your data.

Mark Northall
Feb, Fri, 2015

Cloud , Office , Tip

Put your IT in the cloud – not your head!

There are great advantages to cloud computing services and no wonder it is becoming an easy choice for businesses: the minimal upfront costs, pay-as-you-go cost structure, flexible access to software and data, and the fact that the expensive and awkward parts of the IT setup are someone else’s burden!
Cloud services can make applications that were once the preserve of only the largest organisations, like CRM, sales management, contact centre software, call recording – available to any company, from a two-person business to a £20 million turnover organisation.
One of the biggest benefits of Microsoft Office 365 is that it gives you virtually anywhere access to the Microsoft Office tools you know and rely on – your complete office in the cloud.
Some businesses are concerned about exactly how to choose the right cloud applications, how to get the best use from them, and if their data will be secure when it’s up there. To help dispel these doubts, here are the key questions you should ask a cloud service provider before committing.
So do you know what the cloud is? Simply put, cloud computing is computing on the internet. Rather than installing programs on a computer, for example, people can run applications directly from a website. This principle also applies to storage of data; rather than keeping folders full of important work on your own PC, it can be stored remotely online this gives you data you can access from any computer regardless of where you are
And the reason why you should be using it ?Cloud computing and storage has a huge number of benefits for small businesses – as well as being more efficient, it also gives you a little protection if the worst happens and you lose access to the files on your computer – no real need for an IT disaster recovery plan !
Cloud computing allows you to store as much or as little data as you need to, usually charging on a pay-as-you-go basis. This means that you don’t need to upgrade your own hardware, and allows you to keep saving and working without worrying about limitations. The vast number of servers involved in a cloud system also means that bandwidth requirements can be increased on demand, so you don’t have to wait around to gain more space.
Would you like to discuss Cloud Computing for your Business? Give MBM a call.

mbmadmin
Jul, Fri, 2014

Data Backup , Tip

Why is Malware written?

Carrying on from last weeks Blog the answer to the “what is malware?” question cannot be complete without exploring the ‘why’ of its creation. By now, you should have a pretty clear idea of what type of damage can be done as a result of malware, but you might be wondering – why do programmers create malware in the first place?
Student Hackers and Cyber-crooks

In the early days of software, programmers wrote malware mostly to prank one another, or to show off their technical skills. These programmers, who were usually students had a great sense of humour but did not have much business sense. These students eventually graduated and got jobs. Their new motivation was now money, and how to make more of it using their skills. Some of these programmers learned that they can make thousands a day if they successfully exploit malware to their advantage.

These people went on to become cyber-crooks, defrauding individuals and organizations for financial gain. These criminals steal personal banking information to transfer money out of users’ bank accounts and into their own. They also launch distributed denial of service attacks against corporations and ask for money in exchange for an end to the attack.

Worms, zombies and distributed denial of service attacks are a good way to inflict mass damage on a global scale and are therefore very appealing to cyber-activists. These people want to get a message across and are ready to do so by utilizing any means necessary and this includes writing malware that causes damage, gets them noticed, and enables them to announce their messages and beliefs to a large audience.

Governments are also part of the game. A cyber-war between countries is raging. Some countries such as China, Syria, and America are rumoured to be state-sponsoring cyber-gangs whose only purpose is to research and develop new malware techniques capable of infiltrating government agencies and infrastructures. Malware has recently been spotted in the wild that was designed to infect SCADA systems with the scope of shutting down nuclear reactors. Some reports suggest that this worm, which might have been created by the Americans, was successful in shutting down several Iranian nuclear power plant coolers.

The malware problem is huge and is growing fast. By the end of 2010 the counter for unique malware programs stood at 14 million, with a staggering 60,000 pieces of new malicious code detected every day. Recently a worm called Koobface — which targeted people on social networks — netted its creators over 2 million dollars in just 12 months. Another worm, the Mariposa is said to have created the biggest network of zombie machines in the world. Experts could never determine its exact size, but estimated that over 12 million computers were infected. This worm dropped spyware capable of stealing sensitive information from victims, such as bank account numbers and credit card details. All this was created by a single hacker in Spain who fortunately made a mistake which exposed him and got him arrested.

The industry is fighting back. Numerous security solutions are available from many vendors that help stop malware infections. The threat however is a moving target. Hackers keep finding new ways to write bigger and better malware, the incentives are all there and the waging war is showing no signs of slowing down.

Worried that you might be exposed ? Speak to MBM

mbmadmin
Jul, Thu, 2014

Cloud , Tip

Microsoft action interupts innocent users

Microsoft has obtained a court order to halt traffic to servers in order to halt the Cyber-criminal activity of some users. This has had the effect of interupting millions of innocent users. The giant has been accused of being’heavy-handed as in stopping the criminals it also interupted data to legitimate sites.

In a blogpost, Microsoft lawyer Richard Boscovich said it had taken the action against domain administration firm No-IP.com for its “roles in creating, controlling, and assisting in infecting millions of computers with malicious software”.

He said No-IP’s infrastructure had been used to spread the Bladabindi and Jenxcus family of malicious programs in 93% of the cases it had seen. Over the past 12 months, he said, Microsoft had detected variants of the two viruses more than 7.4 million times.

The thieves behind the malware could steal data from infected machines, record keystrokes and listen to any sounds taking place around a computer, he said.

Microsoft had taken the legal step of making itself the controller of the 23 domains because No-IP had not done enough to police them, wrote Mr Boscovich. A federal court in Nevada granted Microsoft the right to take over the No-IP domains.

Once it had had control of the suspect domains, he said, Microsoft had applied filters so only “clean” data had got through and that helping the malware spread had been caught and discarded.

In response, No-IP said Microsoft’s action had been “draconian” and had wrongly “affected millions of innocent internet users”.

No-IP speculated that Microsoft had underestimated the amount of data traffic flowing towards the domains it was now administering, which had caused service disruptions for many legitimate customers.

“Millions of innocent users are experiencing outages to their services because of Microsoft’s attempt to remediate hostnames associated with a few bad actors,” wrote No-IP in a statement posted on its site.

Having problems – Call us at MBM and we will be happy to take a look

mbmadmin
Jun, Fri, 2014

Office , Tip

How does your computer become infected ?

There are literally dozens of different ways a computer can become infected with spyware, viruses, and other malware. Below is a list of the most common ways a computer can contract these infections listed in the order we believe are most commonly done.

Please be aware – everyone who uses the computer should be aware of how to properly use it and protect it from malicious software.

Accepting without reading

By far one of the most common ways a computer becomes infected is the user accepts what he or she sees on the screen without reading the prompt or understand what it’s asking.

Some common examples:

Whilst browsing the Internet, an Internet advertisement or window appears that says your computer is infected or that a unique plug-in is required. Without fully understanding what it is you’re getting, you accept the prompt.
When installing or updating a program, you’re prompted (often checkboxes already checked) if it’s ok to install additional programs that you may not want or are designed to monitor your usage of the program.

Opening e-mail attachments

Another very common way people become infected with viruses and other spyware is by opening e-mail attachments, even when from a colleague, friend, or family member. E-mail addresses can be made up and even when genuine your acquaintance may unsuspectingly be forwarding you an infected file.

When receiving an e-mail with an attachment, if the e-mail was not expected or from someone you don’t know delete it. If the e-mail is from someone you know still be cautious when opening the attachment.

Not running the latest updates

Many of the updates, especially those associated with Microsoft Windows and other operating systems and programs, are security updates. Running a program or operating system that is not up-to-date with the latest updates can be a big security risk and can be a way your computer becomes infected.

In addition to running operating system updates, the plugins associated with your browser can often contain security vulnerabilities. Make sure you have the latest versions of plugins. Contact MBM for details of the latest updates.

Pirating software, music, or movies

If you or someone on your computer is participating in underground places on the Internet where you’re downloading copyrighted music, movies, software, etc. for free, often many of the files can contain viruses, spyware or malicious software. This is a highly dangerous practice and you should have procedures in place to stop users doing this.

No antivirus spyware scanner

If you’re running a computer with Microsoft Windows it’s highly recommended you have some form of antivirus and spyware protection on that computer to help clean it from any infections currently on the computer and to help prevent any future infections.

Downloading infected software

Finally, downloading any other software from the Internet can also contain viruses and other malware. When downloading any software (programs, utilities, games, updates, demos, etc.), make sure you’re downloading the software from a reliable source and while installing it you’re reading all prompts about what the program is putting on your computer.

Where can I find out more?

We are happy to advise on your business protection at MBM. We are your IT department at the end of a phone – keeping your business – in business.

mbmadmin
May, Wed, 2014

Data Backup , Tip

What are Trojans ?

Looking at common terms within the IT world we look today at Trojans.

Trojans are malicious programs that perform actions that have not been authorised by the user. These actions can include:

Blocking data deleting data modifying data copying data disrupting the performance of computers or computer networks

Unlike computer viruses and worms, Trojans are not able to self-replicate.

How Trojans can impact you

Trojans are classified according to the type of actions that they can perform on your computer:

Backdoor
A backdoor Trojan gives malicious users remote control over the infected computer. They enable the author to do anything they wish on the infected computer – including sending, receiving, launching and deleting files, displaying data and rebooting the computer. Backdoor Trojans are often used to unite a group of victim computers to form a botnet or zombie network that can be used for criminal purposes.
Exploit
Exploits are programs that contain data or code that takes advantage of a vulnerability within application software that’s running on your computer.
Rootkit
Rootkits are designed to conceal certain objects or activities in your system. Often their main purpose is to prevent malicious programs being detected – in order to extend the period in which programs can run on an infected computer.
Trojan-Banker
Trojan-Banker programs are designed to steal your account data for online banking systems, e-payment systems and credit or debit cards.
Trojan-DDoS
These programs conduct DoS (Denial of Service) attacks against a targeted web address. By sending multiple requests – from your computer and several other infected computers – the attack can overwhelm the target address… leading to a denial of service.
Trojan-Downloader
Trojan-Downloaders can download and install new versions of malicious programs onto your computer – including Trojans and adware.
Trojan-Dropper
These programs are used by hackers in order to install Trojans and / or viruses – or to prevent the detection of malicious programs. Not all antivirus programs are capable of scanning all of the components inside this type of Trojan.
Trojan-FakeAV
Trojan-FakeAV programs simulate the activity of antivirus software. They are designed to extort money from you – in return for the detection and removal of threats… even though the threats that they report are actually non-existent.
Trojan-GameThief
This type of program steals user account information from online gamers.
Trojan-IM
Trojan-IM programs steal your logins and passwords for instant messaging programs – such as ICQ, MSN Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Pager, Skype and many more.
Trojan-Ransom
This type of Trojan can modify data on your computer – so that your computer doesn’t run correctly or you can no longer use specific data. The criminal will only restore your computer’s performance or unblock your data, after you have paid them the ransom money that they demand.
Trojan-SMS
These programs can cost you money – by sending text messages from your mobile device to premium rate phone numbers.
Trojan-Spy
Trojan-Spy programs can spy on how you’re using your computer – for example, by tracking the data you enter via your keyboard, taking screen shots or getting a list of running applications.
Trojan-Mailfinder
These programs can harvest email addresses from your computer.
Other types of Trojans include:
- Trojan-ArcBomb
- Trojan-Clicker
- Trojan-Notifier
- Trojan-Proxy
- Trojan-PSW

How to protect yourself against Trojans

By installing effective anti-malware software, you can defend your devices – including PCs, laptops, Macs, tablets and smartphones – against Trojans. A rigorous anti-malware solution will detect and prevent Trojan attacks on your PC anti-malware products that defend the following devices against Trojans:

Windows PCs
Linux computers
Apple Macs
Smartphones
Tablets

We can advise on and install anti-malware products at MBM

mbmadmin
Nov, Mon, 2013

Office , Tip

Before you use the Sledgehammer

Have you found that your computer is running a little on the slow side recently? Been tempted to take a sledgehammer to it? Before you do that, you might want to see if we can help you!

Over time a PC will build up unwanted registry entries, unused programs and general clutter, which are the biggest contributing factors in reducing the speed at which systems run.

To help resolve these problems – and rescue you from the verge of insanity here are some tips for giving your computer a clean up to help it run more efficiently:

1. Review your programs

With so much free software available to download, it’s easy to start accumulating unwanted programs that you rarely use. We recommend that you review and uninstall any programs that you don’t use.

2. Clear out temporary files

When you visit a website, some files are saved to your computer to make it faster when visiting that site again.

3. Update anti-virus & anti-spyware software

If you’re using the internet or email we highly recommend that you have anti-virus, anti-spyware and malware software loaded onto your computer. It is important that you keep these updated and run them regularly.

4. Run Windows Update

It is important that you install the latest security updates otherwise you are open to hackers.

5. Duplication of information

If you save files to your computer to work on, plus you also have the same document saved as an attachment in an email, you’re doubling the amount of storage space taken up.

6. Add more hardware

There are many options available should you need more space.Typically you could install an external hard drive.

7. Compressing pictures

Digital pictures can take up vast amounts of storage space on your hard drive or memory card.

8. Upgrading RAM

If memory is a problem, your computer will be slow whenever you start a new application. Talk to your IT expert about installing more RAM

9. Give your computer a physical clean inside and out!

lots of Products are available to do this but dust clogging cooling grills even your mouse will hinder performance.

We at MBM are happy to discuss your needs from one laptop to a hundred seats we can help you keep on top of your computer maintenance Contact MBM today.

mbmadmin
Aug, Wed, 2013

Data Backup , Office , Online Backup

Busy time as local company upgrades and when did you last back-up?

Its been a busy week or so at Micro Business Machines but we wouldn’t have it any other way !

Microsoft as ever moves on and a local company has taken the step to upgrade 33 machines to Windows 7 from Windows XP Pro. This has involved our engineers being on site at every stage of the process. Migration from XP pro was vital to our client as support for the product ends in April 2014. That date will soon come around – if you are still running XP please contact us to discuss the options available to you. Don’t leave it too late to plan your IT future!

On the other end of the scale we have cleaned up two Laptops heavily infected with viruses and successfully restored the data on those machines. The biggest issue that these problems highlighted was the lack of data backup. Had we not have been able to save the data then much of the work if not all would have been lost.

So what options do you have on Data back-up ?

The very least you should have in place is a copy of you files on some separate source – typically a hard drive stored separately from your laptop but that relies on you remembering to adhere to a strict back-up routine and removing the back-up source to a safe place. There are many options when it comes to cloud options – storing your work securely on the internet. A back-up solution can be put in place to automatically so no need to remember ! This solution will work from one to hundreds of machines and is available now.

And if you do nothing ?

So, please take a minute to think about how long your backup would take to restore and then consider if you can afford to be down for that long.

If you want an IT continuity solution that will get you working again in hours rather than days, please call us on 01902 324494 to discuss your requirements.

Tag IT Disaster Recovery