JPT Solutions » Security

Just another cyber Monday

admin — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 11:08:01 +0000

As the year begins to draw to a close we creep ever closer to, what has become known as, ‘Cyber Monday’. The term is a marketing reference to the first Monday after ‘Black Friday’ which again is the first Friday after the American holiday, ‘Thanks Giving’. Black Friday has become known as the traditional start of the Christmas shopping season and the subsequent Cyber Monday which online retailers see increases in online sales by up to 77%. Here in the UK Cyber Monday happens a little later and typically falls on the first Monday of December, which this year is the 6th December 2010.

So what does this have to do with IT?

Well as it the name suggests, this is the time when a huge surge in online purchases take place which also means that there will be an up-surge in malware, spyware, virues etc as criminal try their best to harvest credit card and banking details for their shopping spree. So here are some tips to help keep safe during the upcoming holiday period.

Install updates – your computer may have been telling you for sometime to install update, DO IT NOW. Many of these updates contain security patches to stop hackers from getting inside your computer.
Install a good anti-virus – you would be surprise how many computers still exist without anti-virus installed. For home users there are a number of free anti-virus products from AVG, avast, Avira which will give basic protection and help to keep you safe online. However, we would always suggest that you purchase a full product rather than the free one’s as they provide greater protection for your computer and it’s data.
Always shop safe – when shopping online ensure that you go to a reputable website, one which you have heard of from a number of sources. Once you are asked to put in card details, ensure that you see the padlock on the toolbar which looks like this in Internet Explorer.
Always check a sites privacy policy – if a site does not have a privacy policy then it should bee seen as a ‘red flag’ for buying as you will have no idea how they will use your data.
If it sounds too good, it probably is – at some point you will come across a site with offers ‘too good to be true’ then chances are it probably is and should be avoided.

The golden rule really is to behave online as you would offline, if someone walks up to you in the street and asks for your bank details you wouldn’t give them out because you don’t know them so why do it online.

watch out, dark nights coming

admin — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 20:59:48 +0000

This weekend the clocks go back here in the UK and this time of year typically signifies an increase in crime as the criminals take advantage that the additional cover of darkness affords. Statistics show that there are many popular items that are stolen from homes these include games consoles and laptops. When this happens it is extremely upsetting but often the items taken can be replaced under a good insurance policy. However, when a computer or laptop is stolen there is more to it than just the item stolen as these items have information on which can often be very personal to the owner.

So what can you do?

Apart from the normal household security measures, you can help to protect your important information and the best way to do this is to backup the information that you have got such as photo’s, files, emails and other such files. There are a number of ways that this can be done. One way is to purchase an external hard drive and copy your data onto the drive using software that typically will come with your operating system; with Apple OSX you can use Time Machine or with Windows 7 you can use Windows backup. You could also use an online storage provider, many of these will offer a ‘freemium’ service to home users. The essence of this type of service is that it is free under a basic service plan, however if you require more then you have the option to purchase a monthly plan. Below is a list of online storage providers that offer online storage free or under a ‘freemium’ service.

Mozy – provides 2GB of online backup using their own backup software
Humyo – provides 10GB of online storage which is uploaded through their web portal
Live Skydrive – provides 25GB of online storage provided through Microsoft’s Live website
A Drive – the largest provider giving 50GB online storage accessed through FTP under the free account

All of the above services offer some form of free service which should be able to get you kick started in doing regular backups and, should the worse happen, then it may just prevent those most valuable memories from being lost.

If you have it, keep it

admin — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 08:18:04 +0000

In recent years we have all heard about massive data losses by some high profile organisations such as HM Customs and Revenue and the NHS. In all of these cases while the loss may not have been preventable, the damage could have been minimised. In all of these cases, the data has been stored in an unencrypted format which basically means that when someone attempts to open the information it is completely unprotected without the need for a password. In recognition of this new trend the Data Protection Act (DPA) was updated in April 2010, the main change to this was the fine for data loss was increased from £50,000 to £500,000 for a single incident.

a better way

It is said that the biggest weakness in any security system is the human factor. Many people today have to remember a number of password for things such as Internet Banking, ebay, Facebook etc. The inherent problem with this is that most people will either use the same password for everything or they will write them down, not so good. The is ever more important when it relates to your business data which, in the wrong hands, could be valuable. So what can be done?

encryption will set you free

The single best thing that you can do is to adopt encryption throughout your business. This means that if you were to loose a laptop, USB stick, CD Rom that had company data on it then the information would not be legible without knowing the password to decrypt it. Even if the hard disk was removed from a laptop and put into a new computer is still would not be readable.

so what’s my options

Now we have established why you need to encrypt your data we really should look at what you can do to encrypt it. If you are already using Windows 7 Ultimate or Enterprise you may have seen Bitlocker which is Microsoft’s drive encryption technology which allows you to perform whole of drive encryption. This in essence means that you encrypt the whole drive giving you maximum protection. If you don’t have this then you may have heard of Truecrypt which is an Open Source encryption solution and is capable of creating secure volumes as well as whole of drive encryption. In the commercial space there is Secuware which is able to perform whole of drive encryption along with Pre Boot Authentication (PBA). It is also able to perform file and folder encryption both stand-alone as well as network managed. All of which go towards making a fully managed solution.

All three of these are great products in their own market spaces and, depending on your requirements, will serve you well but more importantly will protect your data from prying eyes. If you would like to know more about encryption solutions then call us on 0844 310 0040 or complete the call back form below.

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Microsoft Security Essential free to SMB’s

admin — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 08:45:02 +0000

Microsoft announced that as from early October (no actual date as yet) it will be making Microsoft Security Essentials available for small businesses with up to 10 PC’s FREE OF CHARGE. If you are not already aware of it I would highly recommend taking a look this move signifies a shift in the way that software is delivered to the SMB space. Microsoft have always supplied Security Essentials to home users free of charge but the SMB space has always been covered by Microsoft Forefront Security as part of their Business Ready Security Suite.

So what’s the difference? The core difference between the two products is that Microsoft Forefront Security is a centrally managed product which had updates and definitions distributed from a central source which is traditionally the office server. In contrast Microsoft Security Essentials is ideally suited to Small businesses that may not have a server in place, for example when they are using cloud services, or that do not require central management. Either way it is a compelling and interesting move by Microsoft in to a market space which they currently do not have a significant market share in.

Either way this is great news for Small Businesses everywhere!

Warning: Scam alert

admin — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 11:34:54 +0000

I had a phone call earlier this today from someone who’d had a rather strange phone call and wanted to check with me. They had received a phone call from someone with an indian accent who claimed to be from ‘windows’. They told her that she had corrupt files on her laptop and they needed to be fixed immediately. She told them that she was going out and hadn’t got time to look at it but the person on the phone became quite insistent that she should boot up her laptop NOW.

She told them again she had not got time now so the person reluctantly left their name, Steve Williams from Win PC Technologies, along with a phone number of 0141 4163986.

As soon as she asked me about it a quick google search on the phone number revealed a number of people who had received similar calls from this ‘company’, many of whom had been charged a great deal of money to sort out so called ‘problems’. One person on there claimed to have worked for this company and they had the following to say about them:

THEY ARE A TOTAL FRAUD SHOWING MALWARES AND VIRUSES THAT NEVER HAVE EXIXTED IN UR PC

So please be warned that if someone calls from this company claiming you have corruptions on your computer, there is no way that they can know this without having looked at your computer first. You should also never let anyone take control of your computer unless you absolutely know who they are first.

You should always check the credentials of any IT supplier and look for one that is affiliated with an industry body such as CompTIA or TCA. No matter how pushy they are, do not be taken in.

Beware of the hoax

admin — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 11:33:52 +0000

I have just had from a client what appears to be the latest scare, which will inevitably result in some kind of infection. This is how it looks, which by the way appears very genuine.

From: Abuse Department [mailto:abuse-uk-irl@ripe.net]

Sent: 24 September 2010 14:32

To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Subject: ISP DISCONNECTION WARNING – ADVISORY ABUSE NOTICE

From:

Date: Fri, Sept 24, 2010 at 12:44 PM

Investigation Number: 1171

Subject: ISP DISCONNECTION WARNING – ADVISORY ABUSE NOTICE

For The Attention Of: The Bill payer/Owner of this ISP account.

Our investigations have determined that your Internet Services account has been used to scan, flood or attempt to gain unauthorized access to another computer, (please see the details of the incident(s) attached to this e-mail). This activity is a violation of our Internet Services Acceptable Use Policy and the our Internet Services Account Agreement, under which you have been provided service.

THIS NOTICE IS TO ADVISE YOU THAT FURTHER ABUSE OF YOUR INTERNET SERVICES ACCOUNT MAY RESULT IN A SUSPENSION OR TERMINATION OF YOUR ACCOUNT, WITHOUT FURTHER NOTICE TO YOU. We are empowered to take such action if, in our sole determination, you have violated the terms of our Acceptable Use Policy or our Internet Services Account Agreement.

The alleged incident originated from the local IP address of 192.168.1.100 which, at the time of the incident, was assigned to a device with the unique physical address of 00:13:10:24:45:F8. This address identifies the network adapter or router connected to your ADSL/Broadband modem.

If you are unaware of this type of activity coming from your account, you may wish to inquire with others who may have access to your account and/or change the password to your account to ensure that only authorized users have access to it. IT IS ALSO POSSIBLE THAT YOUR COMPUTER MAY BE INFECTED WITH A VIRUS OR YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM MAY HAVE SOME OTHER SECURITY PROBLEM SUCH AS AN UNSECURED MAIL OR PROXY SERVER WHICH COULD ACCOUNT FOR THIS ACTIVITY ORIGINATING FROM YOUR SYSTEM.

In the event you are not able to attend to the situation immediately, please disconnect your computer from the ADSL modem to prevent further abuse.

A full description of the incident including realtime IP addresses and web traffic can be found in the attachment.

Any questions of help can be obtained from out staff during office hours 0900-1700 Monday to Friday.

Our complete contact information can also be found in the PDF report.

Kind Regards

The Abuse Team

Attached to the email is a so called ‘report’ which is a ‘RAR’ file. Inside of the ‘RAR’ file is another file which is named ‘Incident-Report-201009241171.pdf.exe’. So far it all looks like an elaborate hoax as the network the client is on is not on the range mentioned in the email and since when is a report sent as an executable file?

Any which way I will be putting it through the lab machine later to see what comes out, either way it will be interesting.

If you do hear of anyone receiving this tell them not to open it.

Laptop security

admin — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 08:03:35 +0000

As you may be aware we recently started to promote a range of laptop security products which, while inexpensive, are very effective should you have your laptop stolen or you loose it. While the situation may be a little far fetched it is not as impossible as it may seem. For example most people think of laptop theft as being taken while you are out and carrying it with you but that is not the only time this can happen. For example the recent trend is “walk in” thefts from houses. This tends to happen each summer and what will typically happen is that the thief will wait for you to arrive home and simply “follow” you in and take your goods. In this type of crime typical takings are car keys (car), work bag including laptop, handbags and basically anything near the door.

As a result of this we decided that a product was needed to help ensure that should the worst happen and your laptop is started back up then your data is deleted from the drive and, where possible, the location is traced so the police can recover it. We decided on Laptop Cop which met all of the criteria that we set out plus much more. For those of you out there who love the “cool” stuff then you will love some of the features that Laptop Cop has. For example once your laptop is stolen or lost then you log on to a web portal and put the unit in “Stolen” mode. In this state you will be asked what you want to do about your data, either recover then delete or delete only. At all times, even when not in stolen mode, the Laptop is on and connected to the Internet the location is being broadcast back to the portal so that you know where it is. What also happens when in stolen mode is the tables are turned on the thief and everything that they do is recorded, all keystrokes are recorded and if there is a webcam built in to the laptop then this is used to capture evidence about the thief.

When you combine this is our encryption & backup solutions you the perfect solutions to mobile computer security. If you want to know more about our laptop security solutions or require a demonstration then contact our sales team for more information.

Mobile Security

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:30:11 +0000

The use of Blackberry’s, iPhone’s, smartphone’s and Windows Mobile devices are becoming increasingly common in businesses today however what many of the users do not consider is the security of the device. Let’s start by taking a look at what these devices are typically used for; First and foremost they are used to telephone clients as well as loved ones. They are also used for emails both from and to clients as well as friends and family. Many of these devices are also used to store files (spreadsheets etc) as well as photos, music etc.

The problem is that typically when you ask these users what security they have enabled or purchased for these devices the answer is either “nothing” or “no idea”. The fact is that the information contained on these devices is typically just as sensitive and confidential as the information contained on the company network so why are these devices being treated differently? The directors, managers or any one else using these devices need to understand that they are no longer carrying a phone anymore and that these devices are in actual fact a part of the business network and they need to ensure that the proper precautions are taken to ensure that the data contained on them is kept safe.
One simple question to ask is does your device have a password or PIN set on it to prevent unauthorised
access to the device?

Another consideration is what is your procedure in the event of the loss of one of these handsets? Do you have the facility to remotely wipe the handheld device or indeed do you know how to do this? The fact is that this can be achieved with Corporate Blackberry handsets, also with Apple iPhone 3G units using ActiveSync for Exchange as well as Windows Mobile devices that are using ActiveSync for Exchange.
If you would like to know more about mobile security solutions or would like to know what can be done to secure your existing devices please contact us by emailing sales@jpt-solutions.co.uk

Microsoft release update for serious security flaw in IE

admin — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 19:05:22 +0000

Microsoft have now released the critical updated which addresses a major security issue with Internet Explorer that was identified earlier this week. You can obtain the update from the Microsoft Update website or system administrators can visit the Microsoft Technet website.

Serious security flaw found in IE

admin — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 07:07:37 +0000

It has been announced today that due to a serious flaw in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer users are being advised to use an alternate browser, such as Firefox, until a security fix becomes available from Microsoft.

It is believed that the identified flaw could allow criminals to take control of people’s computers and steal their password.

We recommend that any users who are concerned about this issue should download and use Firefox until such time as an update has been release by Microsoft.

UPDATE: Microsoft have now release an update to resolve this issue, please see here.