Tony_BradleyPCW
Windows 7 marches on and is projected to be on retail shelves this October. Microsoft is providing free upgrades from Windows Vista to Windows 7 for consumers and businesses who purchase computer systems right now (albeit with some limitations). Microsoft has put together some animated video presentations to illustrate some of the new features and functions of Windows 7. You can view the Windows 7 videos on the Tour Windows 7 site.
GFI has come out with a new blog, Talk Tech To Me, that has a little bit of everything. The blog is split into five sections that cover a wide variety of topics for technical network administrators and budget conscious SMBs. There is also a video library and a tweet roll.
Sections on the site include:
Whether enterprise security administrators like it or not, instant messaging and social networking are part of the Internet fabric. Sites like Facebook and LinkedIn are growing in popularity. Twitter has quickly become a household word, especially with the integral role it has played in recent events such as the election in Iran or the death of Michael Jackson.
These tools have many benefits, but also come with some security risks. Allowing the flow of information in and out of the enterprise network always exposes some measure of risk. In this month’s Reality Check podcast I talk about these security concerns with Elaine Hom, Associate Editor of TechTarget’s SearchUnifiedCommunications site. We talk about whether or not social networking sites belong in the workplace, and how to prevent hacks and breaching. We also discuss best practices when trying to maintain IM security and social networking sites’ security.
Click here to listen to the podcast: Reality Check: Enterprise IM security and social networking security
Microsoft announced last November that they planned to discontinue their retail Windows Live OneCare security product and replace it with a new free antimalware offering. That time has come. Well, its coming soon. Microsoft just released the Beta of their new Microsoft Security Essentials software.
Aimed at the consumer market, Microsoft Security Essentials leverages the research and resources of the Microsoft Malware Protection Center to identify and block viruses, spyware, and other malicious threats in real-time. It does not replace some of the other functionality of Windows Live OneCare such as defragmenting hard drives or backing up data, but it promises industry leading malware protection at a price that is hard to ignore in this economy- free.
You can get a copy of the Beta version by visiting the Microsoft Security Essentials site. I have downloaded my copy and will post a review of the product in the coming weeks.
You may have received a number of emails lately titled ‘Microsoft has released an update for Microsoft Outlook’. Some of them are titled ‘Critical Update for Microsoft Outlook’ instead. The body of the message says:
“Microsoft has released an update for Microsoft Outlook / Outlook Express. This update is critical and provides you with the latest version of the Microsoft Outlook / Outlook Express and offers the highest levels of stability and security.”
I am pointing this spam/phishing attack out because I have received so many recently and they are getting past my Junkmail filter and into my Inbox. This attack does a fair job of trying to appear legitimate.
An example:
Let’s examine all the clues that this email is not legitimate and the signs you could use to avoid becoming a victim:
As I said, this email actually does a fair job of appearing legitimate to users who don’t know better. Microsoft releases their updates on the 2nd Tuesday of each month, ‘Patch Tuesday’, unless there is a major security issue that needs to be managed out of cycle.
In those cases, the update might be released off schedule, but it would still be distributed via Automatic Updates and/or Windows Update. Under no circumstances would Microsoft Support send you an email with a link to the update.
Bottom line- you should avoid clicking on links in emails even if the email appears to be from Microsoft. If you are concerned that it may be legitimate, open your web browser and visit ‘http://update.microsoft.com‘ to determine if there are any patches or updates that you should be aware of.
Do you have an iPhone? Have you downloaded version 3.0 of the iPhone OS (the real thing- not the leaked pirated version with the malware)? I mentioned in the comments to my post earlier this week about the leaked iPhone 3.0 scam that I didn’t really understand what the rush was. It seemed like everyone *had* to have the update at precisely 1pm eastern. Not having an iPhone, I couldn’t figure out why you couldn’t wait an hour, or a day, or whatever and just download the update when it is convenient. But, now it has been a few days and it seems safe to say that if you have an iPhone you probably should have acquired the 3.0 update by now. If the copy & paste feature isn’t a compelling enough reason, consider that there are almost 50 security updates included in version 3.0. The security updates apply to a broad range of features and functions of the iPhone. Its a virtual guarantee that at least some of them will have some relevance to you
Asus and Disney are teaming up to create the Disney Netpal. The Disney Netpal will be available in two models- the MK90 with a 16Gb solid state drive, and the MK90H with a 160Gb hard drive- and will only be available from Toys R Us and Amazon.com for a suggested retail price of $349.99. Both models will come in either ‘Princess Pink’ or ‘Magic Blue’, following the stereotypical gender color coding. The target market for the Disney Netpal is boys and girls age 6 to 12.
The next logical question is ‘why would I spend $100 more than a comparable netbook that isn’t branded by Disney?’. The answer is that Asus and Disney have worked to make the netbook safer for kids. First, it has a reinforced case and design to make it more ‘kid-proof’ from a physical perspective. Second, it is designed with a unique Disney user interface (built on Windows XP) with more than 40 parental control options.
According to this ZDNet article, “the system’s Disney browser is preloaded with numerous kid-friendly Disney websites for kids to explore, and the 2D “gadget tray” (think Windows taskbar, or OS X dock) displays visual icons for easy access to applications. There’s also a collection of 15 widgets, including a stopwatch, a digital memo pad and a calculator.”
Ain’t nothing like the real thing baby. And, since the real thing is officially released today do yourself a favor and don’t fall for any messages claiming to lead to a leaked download of the latest iPhone update.
Apple is releasing the iPhone 3.0 update today which adds copy & paste functionality and some other features to the popular mobile device. Scammers have started a multi-pronged attack involving Twitter, file sharing services, and affiliate marketing schemes capitalizing on the popularity of the iPhone and the excitement about the 3.0 release of the iPhone OS.
Microsoft provides a free online file sharing service called Office Live Workspace. Office Live Workspace lets you store and manage files from Microsoft Office programs like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. You can also synchronize contact, task, and event lists with Microsoft Outlook.
Microsoft gives each user 5Gb of free space to store data online. There are a couple of advantages to this. First, you can access the data from anywhere with Web access. Rather than carrying sensitive data on USB flash drives when you travel, you can store the data online and access it from your destination. Second, you can share the data with others and use it as a file transfer or collaboration tool.
Office Live Workspace can also represent a form of secure off-site backup. Granted, 5Gb is not an unlimited amount of storage. You will still need to have a more complete backup solution as well. But, one of the weaknesses of backing up data locally is that a disaster such as a fire or flood can take out your data and your backup at the same time. With Office Live Workspace you can at least take your most important 5Gb of data and store it online where it will survive even when your data and your local backup are destroyed.
I love digital cameras. I used to spend tons of money on film and processing only to find out that most of the photos I took were crap. With digital cameras I can see if the photo is any good instantly. I can take 1,000 photos and it doesn’t really cost any more or less than taking 10 photos. Of course, you have to do something with all of those photos. In my family we store them on our hard drive. As of today, I have over 140Gb of family photos and video clips.
That brings me to my paranoia. I have 140Gb of one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable data that could all be gone in the blink of an eye. Hard drives die. So, once a month I copy the entire photo and video collection to a USB drive that I have connected to a different computer. Then it occurred to me that a fire or flood could still take out both drives, so I began also copying the data to another USB drive which I then store inside of a fireproof safe where I keep important documents like birth certificates and such.
All of that may sound extreme, but I want some assurances that decades of family memories can survive a hard drive crash, or a fire, or a flood. Imagine my excitement then to find out that one USB drive manufacturer has taken my paranoia into consideration and built a disaster proof USB drive. The ioSafe Solo drive comes in 500Gb, 1.0Tb, and 1.5Tb sizes and is encased in a fireproof and waterproof enclosure. With the ioSafe drive I can eliminate a few steps from my routine and still have some peace of mind that my data is relatively safe. In the coming weeks I will be evaluating the device and will post a full review later.