Technology by Design

Technology news, reviews, and how to keep your technology running fast and smooth!

Stuck on XP

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imageDear geek,
I know Microsoft XP has ended, but I really don’t want to spend money for a new operating system. There hasn’t been any issues with XP yet, has there? Is it really necessary to switch?
Sincerely,
Still reluctant

Dear (soon to be) hacked,

Yes, and yes. There are already some issues with XP that are a result of the ending of support to the operating system. The biggest issue with XP so far is a bug found in Internet Explorer dubbed “Operation Clandestine Fox.”. This bug in the browser allows hackers to access your system and view, alter, or delete files.  It also allows them to download malicious programs, and make users so they have full access to your computer.

Microsoft said that there will be a security update to ensure that this bug is fixed, but only for Windows 7 and 8.  It will not cover Microsoft XP.  Any future security updates will not apply to Microsoft XP as well. This means any more problems in the future will be taken care of for Windows 7 & 8 only.  Microsoft XP will not have access to these updates, and any computer system that is running Windows XP (and its data/information) will be left open to attackers.

If you would like some more information on the ending of XP support, give us a call, and we can help make the change an easier transition.

Got a question for The Geek?  Email:  geek@tbyd.ca.

Got Cyber-Bugs?

Call 1-204-800-3166

For Cyber-Extermination!

Leaving computers on

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computer power buttonDear geek,
I turn my computer off every time I leave it for more than 10 minutes. A coworker noticed when I went on lunch that I had turned it off, and asked why I don’t just leave it on. Is there really a benefit to turning it off all the time? Won’t leaving it on all day, everyday break it?Sincerely,
Powered off

Dear powerhouse,

Prior to about 1993, there was an issue with the power switch with some computer manufacturers if you left the computer on for too long, so many people would insist that you turn your computer off if you were going to be away from it for more than a few minutes. Today, this is not an issue.

With the issue of potential damage no longer an issue, the only other issue is power conservation. If you are leaving a computer on overnight in order to run a virus scan or backup once in a while, it should have very little impact on your electricity bill.  However, in an office with a hundred or more computers, leaving every computer on overnight could result in a higher electricity bill.

Computer virus scans and backups both tend to run at night. This means that if your computer is turned off, it will not scan or backup properly, which is not a good thing. If you are turning your computer off at night, it is important to schedule these things to run at another time- like on your lunch break.

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

Got Cyber-Bugs?

Call 1-204-800-3166

For Cyber-Extermination!

ALERT: Heartbleed Bug

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Heartbleed Bug

ALERT:  Heartbleed Bug

Internet security experts are scrambling to patch an alarming encryption vulnerability that has exposed millions of passwords and personal information, including credit card numbers, email accounts, and a wide range of online commerce.

 

Some reports as many as two-thirds of sites on the internet are using OpenSSL – the encryption code that we now know is flawed and vulnerable to so-called ‘Heartbleed’ attacks.

What Sites You Should Be Worried About:

The Canada Revenue Agency website is shut down, and not expected to be open again until at least the weekend.  The CRA says this move was precautionary, because there is no evidence of a breach.

Canadian Banks, airlines, and online retailers such as Amazon.ca, Walmart, and Indigo Books all said they were NOT affected by the bug.

The online new site Mashable has an extensive list  of other affected sites.  

They suggest you should immediately change your password if you use any of the following:
  • Facebook
  • Gmail (or other Google services)
  • Tumblr
  • Yahoo mail
  • GoDaddy
  • Intuit (TurboTax)
  • Dropbox
  • LastPass
  • OkCupid
  • Soundcloud

Wondering about a site not on the list?  The Web developer resource Github has been testing sites, here’s a working list of the vulverable, not vulnerable and no SSL sites:  Heartbleed-Masstest.  The caveat for this information is that there is no central “is my internet broken” government agency that can verify these checks; Githrub’s community of volunteers appears to be our best resource, but maybe think of it more like Wikipedia than a peer-reviewed journal.

There are also a few services, such as filippo.io/Heartbleed, that let you test a website yourself.  We recommend doing this for any lesser-known site you use regularly.

As Toronto-based password-managing site 1Password says “The time to change passwords is after sites patch vulnerability *and* update certificates.”

How Do You Make Your Passwords Safer?

The smartest thing to do at this point is diversify your passwords, so that if someone hacks your OKCupid account they can’t get into Google with the same password.  My rule of thumb is that no site that connects to my credit card shares a password with any other site that I use.

Most people use terrible passwords.  There are a number of reasons for this.  One is the sheer variety of password-enabled devices we have to deal with every day (how many of you will admit to still having the default “1234” as the password on their vehicle’s Bluetooth connection…?).  Another is the fault of certain products and websites that either don’t care what sort of password you choose, or force you to jump through a bunch of hoops that result in the creation of a convoluted password you end up forgetting a week later.  The most important determinant of password strength is entropy.  Basically, the more stuff there is to guess, the better the password.  So choose a long password.  And if you don’t think you can remember multiple passwords and don’t want to use a password manager, at least memorize a strong password and use it exclusively for your most important digital transaction.  The last thing you want is your banking login compromised because someone hacked into a gaming forum you frequent and stole your password.

Is This A Virus?

No.  A virus is a piece of malicious code that seeks to infect your computer systems.  Heartbleed appears to be a mistake, a flaw in the encryption code that many websites use to protect passwords they ask you to use to log in, as well as other information.

How Long Has This Been Going On, And Whose Fault Is This?

According to researchers that found the problem (and let’s be clear, this is a gaping hole that words like “flaw, bug, and vulnerability barely describe), the bad code was introduced two years ago.  To quote Codenomicon (who found and named Heartbleed): The affected code is called OpenSSL and “is the most popular open source cyptographic library and TLS (transport layer security) implementation used to encrypt traffic on the Internet.”

The OpenSSL Software Foundation and the developers who maintain this code are having a lot of pointed finger wagging at them.  According to the Wall Street Journal, there are only 4 staffers to maintain the open-source libraries…and only 1 is full-time.

“There is no question more effectively applied manpower would be a good thing,” said Stever Marquess, President of the foundation.  “Formal code audits would be a good thing.”  Really…

You can’t stop CyberCriminals from targeting your company or employees.
But you can be prepared for their arrival, and have full shields up.

Got CyberBugs?

Call 1-204-800-3166

For Cyber-Extermination!

#itthatworks

 

 

Photo Backups

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imageDear Geek,
I’m always worried about my home computer. If something were to happen to it, all my family photos would be gone, and I wouldn’t be able to get those all back. Is there some way to ensure that my photos will be safe if some
Sincerely,
Photo historian

Dear historian,
Often when someone has a computer disaster, the first thing they are worried and we are asked about, is their pictures. Most times we can recover these, but unfortunately sometimes we can’t or the cost of such recovery runs into the thousands of dollars. For this reason, I offer some of the best ways to backup your photos for free, or at a low cost.

1. MyShoeBox
http://shoeboxapp.com
Cost – Free (At Screen Resolution) or $5/month for original resolution
Service – Unlimited backup of pictures

2. Dropbox
https://www.dropbox.com/
Cost – 2GB Free, or per month fee for additional storage
Service – drop anything you want into your cloud storage

3. Google Drive
http://drive.google.com
Cost – Free 15GB of storage
Service – 15GB Free, but there is no security or file locations

4. Crashplan
http://crashplan.com
Cost – $10/month
Service – unlimited computer backups

Need someone to help setup a solution for you? Give us a call – 204-800-3166. We also offer managed cloud backups and local backups of your workstation.

Got a question for The Geek?  Email:  geek@tbyd.ca.

Got Cyber-Bugs?

Call 1-204-800-3166

For Cyber-Extermination!

 

ALERT: Employee Recruiting

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Job Scam

ALERT:  Employee Recruiting

There is a new cyber attack being aimed at companies looking at recruiting new employees through the internet.

 

 

The malware attack, called Gameover Zeus, comes in two stages. In the first stage, a phishing attack takes over the workstation using social engineering, and infects the machine with the Gameover malware. The malware then grabs information from website forms, such as usernames and passwords, as they are typed. In the second stage, the attackers try to get the HR employee to give out the information they are missing in order to take over the (usually Monster or CareerBuilder) account. They use a bogus security check form and ask for the answer to their security question.Fake Employee

Why would an attack target HR departments? The first reason for this is the ability to take over the HR computer, create fake “employees”, and cash in on these employees. The second reason is that if the computer is tied to a bank account, and has a spending budget, it can then be made to be a target for banking Trojans.

It is important for everyone, especially HR, to pay attention to emails and websites for red flags. If something does not look right, it probably isn’t.

Technology by Design can help with virus and malware protection and removal, in order to save your information. For more information, give one of our technicians a call at (204) 800-3166, or email helpdesk@tbyd.ca.

You can’t stop CyberCriminals from targeting your company or employees.
But you can be prepared for their arrival, and have full shields up.

Got CyberBugs?

Call 1-204-800-3166

For Cyber-Extermination!

#itthatworks

April Newsletter

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April TechTips Newsletter
The return of Flappy Bird.
Twitter helps Turkey citizens tweet despite a government ban.
Teacher keeps show secrets in return for good behaviour.
The Klingon inspired beer.
All this and more!

Get the newsletter by clicking here.

**************************************************************************

Check out our blog for “Ask The Geek” where our resident Geek answers your questions, AND translates them from Geek-lish to English!
If you have a question for our resident Geek, email it to:  geek@tbyd.ca!

Visit our website for access to past issues, security alerts, free ebooks, and more!

Like us on Facebook at:  facebook.com/TechnologybyDesign

Follow us on Twitter: @techbyd

Travelling Laptops

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imageDear Geek,
I’m going on a work trip next week, and I need to bring my laptop, and an external hard drive on a plane. Is the X-ray going to wreak my laptop? Can it erase my files?
Sincerely,
“I’m leaving on a jet plane”

Dear leaving,
Airplanes say that electronics need to be in your carry on bags. The X-rays used at airports produce electromagnetic energy, which is NOT magnetic, and will not damage your laptops or erase any files. Any kind of computer, tablet, or phone will be safe from X-ray damage. The only thing these X-rays can harm would be camera film, because it is light sensitive, but not many people still carry camera film.

The only thing to be worried about on the plane is physical damage, which is an easy fix. Get a good case for your laptop, and make sure your electronics are stored properly, so they don’t shift and break.

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

Got Cyber-Bugs?

Call 1-204-800-3166

For Cyber-Extermination!

Deleted Files

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deletedGeek,
I am on my way to a meeting, where I’m giving a huge presentation. While trying to put the presentation on my USB hard drive, I clicked “delete”. My whole presentation is gone! What can I do?!
Sincerely,
Uh oh, Spaghettio.

 

Dear Spaghetti,

Don’t worry, the Geek is here to save the day! When you delete a file, it doesn’t just disappear, it actually goes to your “Recycle Bin”. When you click on the icon, which is on the desktop of your computer, it should open up a folder of all the files you have recently “deleted”. To restore any of your files, you just need to highlight any files you want to be restored, right-click on the file, and select the “Restore” option. This will restore the file from the original location it was deleted.

If your file is not in the Recycle Bin, there could be three explanations for this. The first one is that it could have been deleted from the Recycle Bin in order to make room for more files. However, if the file was just deleted, it is most likely one of the other two options. The second explanation is that you, or your boss, or whoever set up the computer, could have enabled Windows not to send the file to the Recycle Bin. The most likely scenario, is that you, or someone else has emptied the Recycle Bin.

If you have your files backed up, deleted files are still inconvenient, but it means you don’t have to start your presentation from scratch.  If your data is being backed up regularly, you should be able to pull this file from your last backup.
 
 
For more information on Backup and Disaster Recovery, give Technology by Design a call.  We can advise you on a backup plan that suits your needs and budget.
If you have a question for our Resident Geek, send it to: geek@tbyd.ca.

Got Cyber-Bugs?

Call 1-204-800-3166

For Cyber-Extermination!

ALERT: Blood Test Results

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blood-cells

ALERT:  Blood Test Results

 

Cybercriminals are stooping lower (we didn’t think that was possible) and using the threat of cancer to fool people into unknowingly infecting their computers. They are sending emails with the headline “IMPORTANT: Blood Analysis Results”, and the message is along the lines of:

“We have been sent a sample of your blood analysis for further research. During the complete blood count (CBC) we have revealed that your white blood count is very low, and unfortunately, we have a suspicion of cancer. We suggest you print out your CBC test results and interpretations in attachment below and visit your family doctor as soon as possible.”

The attached file is not a CBC test result, but a double extension file (.pdf.exe), and opening this file will install malware on your computer. At the moment, there are only 14 antivirus products that will register this file as being malicious, so it is very important to stop and think about what you are opening or downloading onto your computer from email.

Technology by Design uses, and sells, an antivirus software as well as a spam filter that will register this file as being malicious.  TbyD’s customers have been targeted with this virus, but our antivirus and spam filter has blocked it from reaching the intended recipients.  For a low fee, you can ensure your computer network is safe.  For more information, call Bob at (204) 800-3166.

You can’t stop CyberCriminals from targeting your company or employees.
But you can be prepared for their arrival, and have full shields up.

Got CyberBugs?

Call 1-204-800-3166

For Cyber-Extermination!

#itthatworks

 

Checking Windows

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winverDear Geek,
I want to make sure that my Windows support isn’t ending, but I’m not sure what version of Windows I have. Is there a way to check?
Sincerely,
Better door than Window.

Dear Window-Aspiring,

It’s relatively painless to figure out what kind of Windows program you have. If you click on the “Start” menu, then “Run” or sometimes there is a “Start Search” field, either way, click on one of them. Type in “winver”, and press enter. This will bring up some information about your licensing for Windows, including what version you are using in nice big letters.

Another option is to right-click on “My Computer” and click on “Properties”. In the “System Properties” tab, it will show you what version of Windows you have installed on your computer.

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

Got Cyber-Bugs?

Call 1-204-800-3166

For Cyber-Extermination!