The T By D Team, Author at Technology by Design

November 2013 Newsletter

November 14, 2013 by The T By D Team Leave a Comment

November Newsletter
Child skipping school? See what one desperate parent did to try to curb his son’s truancy. A special happy birthday, Google gives lessons, and how cats show their hatred for Dell laptops!AND…
Top 10 selling video games of all-time!

We also feature September’s trivia winner:

Diane Pratt at Arnes Welding!

See the Newsletter by clicking here.

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YOU ARE INVITED:
Fundraising Social for Earl Harder

We hope you can join us for a social in honour of Earl Harder.
Come for the music, prizes, dancing, beverages, fun and friends!

Saturday November 30, 2013
Riverview Community Club, 90 Ashland Avenue
Tickets $10
8pm – 1am

For tickets, or to donate prizes, email tinaparas@gmail.com
or call 204-510-2630 or 204-488-1402
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Skill testing question for coffee & donuts…
Answer the following trivia question by emailing answer@tbyd.ca.
Correct answers will be entered into our draw for FREE coffee and donuts for you & your co-workers! Draw will be made on Tuesday November 26th.
Winner will be notified via email.

Trivia Question:

In Disney’s “The Sword in the Stone”, what does Merlin call The Greatest Force on Earth?

In addition to the coffee & donuts (as if that wasn’t enough incentive!),the winning company will be featured in TechTips, on our website, Twitter, and our Facebook page!
If you know someone that would like, or would benefit from, the newsletter, feel free to forward it to them!

Your feature will reach over 2000 other people!
Remember Google is your friend – send your answers in to answer@tbyd.ca

See the November 2013 Newsletter!

Leech-Free Wi-Fi

November 13, 2013 by The T By D Team Leave a Comment

Dear Geek,

I am SO tired of my neighbors mooching off my wi-fi! It’s slowing down the upload of my stop-motion lego batman video to YouTube! This genius needs to be shared! Help me!

Sincerely,

Help! There’s leeches in the water!

Dear leeched,

Cheap neighbors can be a problem. Easiest solution for this problem, is to add a password to your wi-fi.

To do this, you first have to access your router. If you still have the manual or disk for your router, you can use it to find the router address. If not, the address can usually be found on the manufacturer’s website. The address should look something like “192.168.1.1”. If you type that address into a web browser, it will bring up a box. It should look something like this:

The default username and password is usually “admin” for both name and password, unless you have changed it before. If this is not the case, look up the name and password, again it will be either in the manual or on the router manufacturer website.

Now that you’ve accessed your router, there will be a “Security” option hidden in one of the tabs. Every router has it under a different selection, but it will most likely be under a “Wireless Settings” or “Security Settings” tab.

From here, you will have to choose an encryption type. This is usually under a drop down menu labelled “Authentication Type” You will be typically be able to choose from “WEP”, “WPA–PSK” (personal), or “WPA2-PSK”. If you have the option, WPA2 is a good choice, however, some older routers do not have this option, and some older devices will not be able to connect to a network that uses WPA2. This means it may not be a good option if you have quite a few older devices that are needing the internet.

Next, you might have the option to change the encryption. If it gives you the option (which it may not), change it to “AES”. This stands for “Advanced Encryption Standard” and is the best set of algorithms, making it way better than the older version “TKIP”.

Now, you get to name your network, or the SSID. Name it anything you’d like, from “C3P0’s MOM” to something more professional like “TbyD”, just as examples. It will also ask for a “Pre-Shared Key”. This is your password. It is important not to have something simple like “password”, because it is easy to guess, and your neighbors will be on your wi-fi in no time.

Only thing left to do now, is save the changes and re-set your router!

If you have a question for our Resident Geek, send it to: geek@tbyd.ca.

We’ll translate it from Geek-lish to English, so it actually helps!

ALERT: HoneyPot Scam

November 12, 2013 by The T By D Team Leave a Comment

You know the story: Pooh goes in search of honey, and gets stuck in Rabbit’s door.

The Honeytrap. Used for years by spys. Also a favorite ploy of the last few centuries to socially engineer people.

Now, cybercriminals are using this old trick to their advantage. It’s even easier for them today, because you don’t need a live good looking woman anymore. It’s all done virtually. Research has been completed, and pictures of good looking men don’t work as well as a picture of a good looking woman.

Click here to read a story about a U.S. government agency, compromised by a fake Facebook hottie. The hackers that pulled this trick, fooled a government employer into thinking the woman in the picture was an employee, and conned them out of a company laptop, network access credentials, SalesForce logins, and more.

The moral of the story to pass along: Think Before You Click!

Call Technology by Design for a Security Assessment, or

if you think your computer and/or network has been compromised!

Call TbyD at 204-800-3166

ALERT: CryptoLocker Ransomware!

November 6, 2013 by The T By D Team Leave a Comment

There is a new version of an old trick going around, which could cost you thousands to get your computer data back!

There is an email being sent out, which contains a link. Once you click on the link, it downloads malware onto your computer. The malware encrypts all of your computer files, including any files on attached or networked storage media which makes it impossible to access them at all. Once this is completed, your a big red message will appear on your computer screen demanding payment via Bitcoin or MoneyPak. It then installs a countdown clock on your computer that ticks backwards from 72 hours. Victims who pay the ransom receive a key that unlocks their encrypted files; those who let the timer expire before paying risk losing access to their files forever. The nice cyber-nasties will let you pay after the 72 hours however, the price doubles. By the time the virus announces itself, it’s too late. You’re already infected.

I cannot stress this enough: If you receive any emails that look suspicious, no matter what they say, DO NOT click on the link. Avoid suspicious emails, if you can’t verify that it is legit – DON’T OPEN IT, don’t open zip files. Make sure your computer is free of malware, because this malware is a “Zombie”. This means takes any kind of malware that is already on your computer, and turns it into itself – meaning it multiplies (kinda like zombies, hence the name).

Some computer security companies are taking the moral high-ground, and advising their customers NOT to pay the ransom. However, there are many companies that are on the verge of bankruptcy because of the loss of data and the loss of business.

This encryption is virtually uncrackable encryption, and if you want your data back, you have no choice but to pay their ransom. Not to mention the time and money wasted on having a non-functional computer until the payment goes through.

There is a program that can help block this crypto-locker. You can download it at: http://krebsonsecurity.com/2013/11/cryptolocker-crew-ratchets-up-the-ransom/

We have a Spam Filter available that would help to prevent this malware getting through.

And….backups, backups, backups. In case you missed that subtle hint – backups! They are more important than ever!

If you think you’ve got this nasty bug, or any other bug –

call us at 204-800-3166 or email helpdesk@tbyd.ca, and we’ll help you get bug-free!

Fox Says “Whaaaat?”

November 5, 2013 by The T By D Team Leave a Comment

Dear Geek,

I am OBSESSED with the “What does the Fox say?” video. All the animals, the noises, and that chorus…. I just need the video so I can sing and dance along with it. Is there a way to save the YouTube video onto my computer?

Sincerely,
Ring-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding!

Dear obsessed,

The easiest way to save a youtube video is though a YouTube download site. A few good ones are:
savevid.com
keepvid.com

Although there are many more. There are usually three simple steps you need to take to save your video.

First, you open the youtube video and copy the URL of the video. This is under the “Share” option, as shown here (they’ve recently changed the layout of YouTube).

Once you’ve done that, paste the URL into the text field on the download site. Then click the download button. It will most likely give you multiple formats you can save it as, such as MP4, FLV and WebM. The most commonly used one would be MP4, and an MP4 would be perfect for this kind of purpose. It should also ask you where you would like to save it. Make sure you know where you saved it to (this Geek has a habit of forgetting where they saved things).

You now have the ability to watch the cow go moo and the frog go croak!

If you have a question for our Resident Geek, send it to: geek@tbyd.ca. We’ll translate it from Geek-lish to English, so it actually helps!

Fundraiser Social for Earl Harder and Family

November 5, 2013 by The T By D Team 1 Comment

FUNDRAISER SOCIAL FOR EARL HARDER & FAMILY

Riverview Community Centre at 290 Ashland Avenue

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Time: 8pm – 1am

Ticket Price: $10

For information on how to get tickets, or if you would like to donate prizes,

contact Julie Pritchard at The Floral Fixx at 204-488-1402, or email juliesflowers@mts.net

Like the Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/SocialForEarlHarder

And In This Corner…Mac Vs PC!

October 31, 2013 by The T By D Team Leave a Comment

Dear Geek,

My co-worker bought this shiny new computer, and it made me realize that my old computer was so slow, out-dated and, well…not shiny anymore. I have a few co-workers who swear their Apple computers are so much better than their old PC’s. I guess my question is this, which is better? Mac or PC?

Sincerely,

I just want a shiny computer.

Dear Shiny Computer,

Both systems have advantages and disadvantages, depending on what you’re looking for, and many people are asking the same question.

The first noticeable difference between the two is the designs of the computers. In a Mac, there isn’t many ways to be unique. You have a few varieties of laptops, and a desktop, all in the same colour and shape. The CPU and the monitor are all one single unit, which can limit the amount of cords and space required to run. This very compact design can mean that things are more difficult to fix because all the parts are in one small machine. Because PC’s don’t come from one single manufacturer, there are a lot of varieties and options in regards to colours, styles and types. In the desktops, there are two parts (unless you get an All-In-One), which can lead to more cords, and more space taken up, but it also means things are easier to fix or cheaper to get fixed.

The next thing you will notice is the price. Typically, Macs are more expensive than their PC counterparts. Few Mac computers sell for less than $1,000, whereas there are many PCs that sell for way less than that. However, this doesn’t mean that Macs are more expensive than PCs, just that Apple has built up their reputation and their products to be higher-end computers with better, more expensive components. This means again, that the parts on a Mac would be more expensive to replace, but because they are so well built, with higher-end parts, there is a lesser chance of you having to replace them.

Comparing the technical aspect of both Macs and PCs can be difficult because there are such a range of PC manufacturers. While both of them have similar parts, the speed and capacity of these parts can vary. Macs will generally blow low-end PCs out of the water in regards to performance, which is again, because of the more expensive, better-quality parts. However, when compared to the higher-end computers, Macs tend to lack in RAM, hard-drive space and USB ports.

The features of the PCs can vary model to model, while the Macs have a pretty standard set of features. The PCs can have features such as a touchscreen, BluRay players, HDMI ports and more. Macs generally have a SuperDrive, which reads and writes CDs and DVDs, audio in and audio out, USB, FireWire, which is data transfer, Ethernet, and a magnetized power port.

Operating systems are very different in the two machines. Mac are generally pre-installed with OS X Lion, while PCs are now installed with Microsoft Windows 8. Between 2007 and 2009 while PCs were using Windows Vista, the Macs had a huge advantage in regards to operating systems. Vista was seen as slow, prone to crashing and had annoying pop-up dialogue boxes. With the upgrade to Windows 7, and now Windows 8, these problems have been fixed and now makes the difference of operating systems come down to personal choice of functionality and layout.

Ask Cindy at Technology by Design about her old problem with Macs- the lack of computer software and games. When she had the a Macintosh computer back in the days of walking in the dead of winter, uphill both ways, she was always upset that all computer games were geared towards PCs. This continues to be an issue with Macs, as the gaming companies would have to take a tremendous amount of time and money to switch platforms. Though Apple is making a huge effort to get software such as the Microsoft Office programs and games such as World of Warcraft, Starcraft and Civilization, all of which are now available for Mac, PCs still dominate in this aspect. On the online gaming platform, Steam, there are more than 1,300 games for PC compared to the sad amount of 180 for Mac.

Because the majority of the world’s computers run on Microsoft Windows, most security attacks are geared towards PCs. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t viruses for Mac, just that there are so many more for PC. As Macs become more common, the amount of threats are predicted to rise, but there is a quote floating around the internet that “a Mac owner who runs no security software is vastly less likely to be the victim of a successful attack than a Window’s user who’s protected up to his eyeballs”.

Apple is more selective in regards to who can sell their product, which means that there is a difference in availability. Apple has opened more than 300 Apple stores in 11 countries, but they are focused largely in large population centers. This has lead to a few agreements with companies like Best Buy and Office Max to get their product out there. PCs on the other hand, have a different strategy. The company doesn’t produce the hardware, but licenses it’s Windows operating system to other companies. These companies push their product into as many stores as possible, which makes PCs easier to find. While you might not see an Apple computer in a computer shop, you will see many PCs.

This availability means nothing in regards to customer service, because although the PCs are more widespread and available, the Macs always rank higher in customer satisfaction, no matter which brand of PC they are facing. This is due to the way that Apple operates their customer service. You have a problem with your MacBook pro? Take it to the Genius Bar help desk at any apple store, where they will sort it out there, or get it fixed in the store if needed. What happens if your PC is having issues? You may have to spend a few hours on hold with two or more companies, just to find the underlying problem, then send it off overseas.

Once again, the choice of Mac and PC computers boils down to personal preference and what you’re wanting in a computer. Gamers may want to stick to PCs, while people looking at more advanced operations may want to look at spending the extra money on a well-built Mac.

Still not sure? If you would like some advice on what computer would fit your needs, call Technology by Design at 204-800-3166.

If you have a question for our Resident Geek, send it to: geek@tbyd.ca. We’ll translate it from Geek-lish to English, so it actually helps!

ALERT: A Serious Liability – Bad or No Security Awareness Training

October 29, 2013 by The T By D Team Leave a Comment

After you are done reading this article, do not waste time. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Immediately forward this article to the head of your legal department, or the person in your organization who is responsible for compliance.

Recently, the Department of Health and Human Services in the U.S. reported that bad or no security awareness training is a main cause for compliance failures. This is true for not only health care, but all kinds of organizations in industries like banking, finance, insurance, manufacturing, and surprisingly, high-tech. It does not stop with mere compliance failures causing regulatory fines. Trend Micro reported that 91% of successful data breaches started with a spear-phishing attack.

The problem is that to be “letter of the law” compliant, you only need to herd your users once a year into the break room, feed them coffee and donuts, and give them a PowerPoint Security Awareness Update presentation that, let’s be honest here, most of them will either sleep or play ‘Candy Crush’ through. Even so, you’ve done your job right? The courts may not see it that way, and ineffective security awareness training could turn out to be a serious legal liability.

Why? Cybercriminals go after the low-hanging fruit: your users. Why spend time exploiting complicated software vulnerabilities when you can easily social engineer an end-user to click on a link?

So your user goes through the coffee & donuts PowerPoint security awareness update presentation, which was inadequate even if they did pay attention. Now they go back to their workstation, and falls for the hacker trick. Their workstation is now infected with a keylogger, and the hacker now knows their login and password. With this in hand, the hacker penetrates your network. Simply put: if it’s the Eastern European cyber mafia, their focus is to transfer out money from your operating account over a weekend while nobody’s in the office. (See story below). If it’s the Chinese, they will steal your intellectual property. If it’s independent hackers, your customer database and credit card transactions are exfiltrated and sold on dark web criminal sites.

In all three cases you run the risk of a lawsuit:

1. You might sue the bank for negligence, and they might sue you back. Massive legal fees are inevitable. If it is found out the attackers came in by social engineering a user, your case is significantly weakened. Go to Brian Krebs’ site and search for “Patco Construction”, a nightmare scenario. Here it is: www.krebsonsecurity.com.

2. If the Chinese steal your intellectual property and you are exposed to a shareholder lawsuit, there will be a lengthy and costly discovery period. If it is found out the attackers came in by social engineering a user, your case is significantly weakened.

3. If hackers get into your network, and an investigative journalist like Brian Krebs discovers a website that has all your customer records and credit card transactions, you can expect a class action lawsuit soon. (This is the legal profession’s biggest growth industry). If it is found out the hackers came in by social engineering a user, your case is significantly weakened.

See the trend? Not training your staff to a level that effectively mitigates the risk you are exposed to, is a severe legal liability.

Within a whitepaper called “Legal Compliance Through Security Awareness Training” written by Michael R. Overly. In this paper, Michael describes the concepts of acting “Reasonably” or taking “Appropriate” or “Necessary” measures. Reading this whitepaper may help you to prevent violating compliance laws or regulations.

Do These Two Things:

ONE: Did you know that you are supposed to “scale security measures to reflect the threat”? In the whitepaper are some examples of the Massachusetts Data Security Law and HIPAA to explain what is required. I strongly recommend you download this whitepaper and get up-to-date about the legal repercussions of not providing effective security awareness training: http://info.knowbe4.com/whitepaper-overly-kb4-13-10-28.

TWO: Have you ever wondered how effective your current Security Awareness Training program really is, and if you are at risk in case of legal action? KnowBe4 offers a FREE test that gives you a real quantifyable number as to the percentage of your users that would click through and fail, a simple Phishing email. Do their FREE Phishing Security Test. You can do the test right away, and it only takes about 5 minutes: http://www.knowbe4.com/phishing-security-test.

If you are concerned about the security of your network, or think your network has been compromised,

call Technology by Design at 204-800-3166.

Got Backups?

October 22, 2013 by The T By D Team Leave a Comment

Dear Geek,

On my personal computer, I have a lot of photos, programs, and chapters of my Sci-Fi book that would be crushing to lose. I hear people can lose all of this if a computer completely breaks down. Is this true? How can I save it from being lost?

Sincerely,

Lost in space

Dear Lost,

Yes, personal files can be lost from your computer. This could be a result of a hard drive failure, the corruption of data, a virus infecting your computer and either deleting or corrupting your files. The best way to prevent the loss of this important information is to back up your computer data.

There are two main ways to do this, through a physical storage device (like a USB thumb drive, CDs, or a portable hard drive), or through an internet program (such as backblaze, or even iCloud on mac).

If you are wanting to back up to a physical storage device, you have to first find an appropriate device for you. USB thumb drives are generally cheap, very portable, and relatively easy to use. Keeping this in mind, they are usually used only for short term storage, such as bringing home files from work or vice-versa. External hard drives are bit more pricey (usually around $80.00 for 1TB hard drive), but have more room for files, and are becoming more portable than ever. They are relatively easy to use as well, and are the fastest option. CD’s, though mentioned, are slower, harder to use, and more prone to breaking than the other two options.

The easy way to backup just a few files to a connected storage device, such as photos or word documents is just to either copy and paste files from the computer to the storage device, or drag them from the computer to the storage device.

The other option is to designate the storage device as a back up. When a storage device is plugged into the computer, a dialog box should pop up, asking what you’d like to do with it. You will want to choose the option that says something along the lines of “Use this device as a backup” and open “File History”. This should open up another box, where you can alter how often you’d like the computer to backup to this device, how long files are kept, and how much space can be taken up. When all the settings are set up the way you’d like, make sure that the correct drive is selected to be your backup drive. The external drive you plugged in should be chosen by default, but double check anyways. Last thing you need to do is click “Turn on”. This should start the backup process, but be aware that the first backup may take a while, so your computer might be busy for a while.

The other way is to backup online, which is another good option. On top of having your files backed up in case of a computer failure, this can also save your files in the event of a fire, or loss of your physical backup. All online systems are different in terms of setup and cost, so it is important to do your homework before signing up for any online system.

All this said, a lot of people have good intentions of backing up their pictures, programs and/or data, but “don’t have enough time”, or “don’t get around to it”, or simply don’t know how.

If you’re looking for a ‘no effort’ kind of backup, where someone else does all the work, call Technology by Design at 204-800-3166 & ask us about our Managed Backups. TbyD can provide Managed Backups of your computer system and/or server up to several times an hour. All for a low monthly fee. Technology by Design offers Managed Backup with or without Disaster Recovery for computer stations and/or servers. That way, if your system crashes, you could be back up and running without skipping a beat.

Think your data is safe because “it’ll never happen to me!” Every single person who has lost data, thought that…until they lost their data. The pie chart to the left, indicates the most common causes of lost data. The biggest culprits being human error, hardware malfunction, and software corruption.

If you’re thinking that this isn’t worth it, you have to ask yourself – what would it cost me if I lost all my data. Would it mean you lost some irreplaceable pictures of that once-in-a-lifetime trip, or of your kids/grandkids growing up? Or would it mean a loss of business? How long would your business be down for? How long could you afford to be down for?

If you have a question for our Resident Geek, send it to: geek@tbyd.ca. We’ll translate it from Geek-lish to English, so it actually helps!

ALERT: Fake Invoices

October 15, 2013 by The T By D Team Leave a Comment

This week, CyberNasties are using a well-known social engineering trick to try to make company employees click on fake invoices to distribute a piece of malware. This is especially nasty, because they are trying to reach employees that work in company finance departments. They are hoping the employees either open the attachment, or get it forwarded by a co-worker that is not sure what it is so they send it to Accounting.

The emails are titled “Invoice #3404196 – Remit File”. They contain the following (or something similar): “The following is issued on the behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Attached is the invoice (Invoice_3604196 (dot).zip) received from your bank. Please print this label and fill in the requested information.”

If anyone in your organization opens the attachment, a malware dropper may get downloaded, which will pull down a large amount of malware that allows the CyberNasties to take over the whole machine.

The Moral of the Story: STOP – LOOK – THINK before you click.