With the start of a new year come new challenges for the internet security industry. The well publicised activities that surrounded ‘Operation Payback’ and the “hactivists” working in sympathy of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange exposed that even the most supposedly secure websites can be exposed to viral attacks. So what should be the course of action for smaller businesses and domestic users? Well the advice has always been that one of the most important steps when setting up or maintaining your computer software is the installation of a reliable and pervasive anti-virus program. In a commercial environment it is always worth pursuing the advice of a professional IT Support agency.
So what type of anti-virus software should you choose? With so much competition in the market today it is important to select a program which compliments your usage, does not hinder or impede the processing of your OS or any communicative features and is, perhaps most importantly, going to thoroughly and efficiently protect your computer. When I of course refer to antivirus software I am referring to a utility which protects not only from viruses but Trojans, spyware, rootkits, keyloggers, adware, scareware and host of other potential compromising attacks.
One feature of many of 2011’s new antivirus releases is the blurring of the lines between standalone and suite programs. Previous features which would provide a distinction between the two were the presence of personal firewalls and spam filtering tools yet these tools have been integrated into many of the recognised security suites including Panda Antivrus Pro 2011, eScan Anti-virus 11 and McAfee AntiVirus Plues 2011. Spam filtering has also become incorporated into BullGuard Antivirus 10 as well as eScan’s offering. StopSign Internet Security 1.0 includes an optional firewall with inbuilt spam filter. Other new programs include BitDefender Antivirus pro with its full remote management system and an effective anti phishing tool. GData Antivurs 2011 and AVG’s newest free antivirus update also feature anti-phising.
This trend doesn’t however spell the death of the standalone antivirus program, F-Secure Anti-Virus 2011 is completely distinctive from a form of suite or mini suite, while providing a resilient service
In a recent post on Adobe’s official blog, Peleus Uhley revealed that 2010, the so called ‘Year of the sandbox’ still has a few surprises in store despite it being December. Adobe’s Flash Player already supports protected mode in both Windows Vista and 7 which assists users in conducting Flash Player and Internet Explorer in a low integrity process. This, Uhley admits, only serves a certain segment of Windows users, what about increased IT support for those who operate an alternate browser, for example Google Chrome? Well, here come Adobe and Google Chrome’s Carlos Pizano to the rescue.
A sandbox for those of you aren’t sure is a security mechanism that is used for separating programs, usually used to execute untested code or suspicious programs from third parties, suppliers and unfamiliar users. Essentially, it traps or at least hinders malware from escaping an application and wreaking havoc on an OS.
Apple which has been in a dispute with Adobe since 2007 regarding Flash on the iPhone, recently dropped the software from the newest MacBook Air and the intention seems to be to remove it from all future machines. Apple insiders cited security as the reason for turning their backs on the product and removing it from their Apple OS X system.
Google it seems took a different approach and instead sought to work in conjunction with Adobe to develop said sandbox. On the Chromium Blog, Chrome’s official news source, Pizano and developer Justin Schuh stated that, “This initial Flash Player sandbox is an important milestone in making Chrome even safer. In particular, users of Windows XP will see a major security benefit, as Chrome is currently the only browser on the XP platform that runs Flash Player in a sandbox.”
Although Google and Adobe are optimistic about their new development they do accept that there is still more to be done, “While we’ve laid a tremendous amount of groundwork in this initial sandbox, there’s still more work to be done. We’re working to improve protection against additional attack vectors, and will be using this initial effort to provide fully sandboxed implementations of the Flash Player on all platforms.”
Some users have already complained that the newly implemented sandbox has had a detrimental effect upon their software including breaking the control panel of the settings menu. No doubt Adobe will consider the long term security implications of the development a worthy compensation for these temporary inconveniences.
The internet, much as we make of it, is not a secure place. There are many spam sites looking to install malware on your computer. If you’ve ever had a look in your spam folder in your email, you’ll quickly realise that the large majority of your email is actually complete garbage on subjects you’d likely never be interested in. Protecting yourself when so much of the internet is set on robbing you of information and money can be a tricky job. Here are five steps to help you guarantee your safety on the internet and protect your computer from viruses and malware, without any help from IT support.
1. Install a antivirus program. This is the most important step you can possibly take. An antivirus program will immediately inform you of any threats to your system and can scan any incoming files for threats. Perfect innocuous sites can sometimes be hacked, so you won’t even know that there’s a virus on your system without this protection. Don’t let it lapse or expire – you’d miss your laptop if it all fell apart, wouldn’t you?
2. Put a firewall on your machine. This is basically protection from anyone who is hacking into your internet connection – if you’ve left your network unsecured, you can be vulnerable to many attacks. It’s important to remember that firewalls may block applications you want to use, so consider carefully what to let through and how vulnerable it might make you.
3. Watch out for fake websites. Emails that look completely innocuous, that may be from your local bank, may not be. Always remember to go to the website’s URL instead of clicking on links from your email. It only takes a minute and will leave you much more secure than you would have been otherwise; counterfeiters are amazingly good at making websites look precisely the same as they would have been.
4. Be careful on social networks. If a friend’s link looks completely out of character, don’t click on it. Their account may have been hacked and that means clicking on their link leaves you completely vulnerable to an unknown website, which may or may not be full of viruses and malware. At the very least, it’s likely that you may get an unwelcome post on your own wall, which will spread to all of your friends. If in doubt, just don’t click, or at least ask your friend about it first.
5. Don’t install any suspicious programs. If you’re browsing random websites and come across free software that seems too good to be true, it probably is. Do not download any of this, no matter how good it sounds; instead do your research and ensure you are downloading from a qualified site. If you do accidentally download a spam software program, then you’ll be pleased you have your firewall and virus protection, as they should shield you from any attacks and let you know that the program is suspicious. The internet is always changing, however, and viruses and malware develop apace; keep in mind that your defences are not foolproof and do your best to stop problems before they happen.
Though few in the tech world, especially if you’re in IT support in London, can understand why, many people out in the wider world still use Internet Explorer for their every day browsing. Whether you’re using it because it’s just what’s been installed on your computer and you never considered anything else or because you genuinely prefer it to the competition, here are a few tips and tricks to make your computing life a little bit easier.
1. Suggested sites. Are you enjoying the site you’re on? You can hit “suggested sites” to find out which sites are similar to the ones you’re already looking at. This does send information back to Microsoft about your browsing habits, though apparently without any information to connect it to you, but the suggestions are pretty accurate and can help expand your horizons. If you don’t have much time to browse the internet for yourself, suggested sites may well make your browsing a little more enjoyable.
2. Try out the accelerator. This is fairly unique to Internet Explorer; basically, if you highlight some text, a blue box will appear to next to it. If you click on the box, you’ll get a range of different options for what you can do with it. For example, if you’ve highlighted an address, you can look for it on maps or search for it for more details or to find out what it is. You can search for that text on Wikipedia, post it to twitter, or send it out through your email. The accelerator’s goal is to speed up your daily life by making tasks you’d normally perform a little bit easier and quicker.
3. Organise your tabs better with tab colouring. Internet Explorer 8 colours tabs to help you remember what purpose they have, even if they’ve become so tiny that you can’t read all the words. If you open a link in a new tab from a page, it will be the same colour as your original tab, so you can keep track of which sites are related. New tabs will be opened in different colours. It’s a small touch, but a good one to learn about and use to your advantage.
4. Take advantage of compatibility mode. If a site doesn’t function well in IE8, as many still don’t, the compatibility button will pop up and switch the browser down to an older mode, so you’ll still be able to use the page. Given how incompatible different versions of Internet Explorer are from one another, this can be a god send, and is well worth using while you’re waiting for the supposedly more compliant IE 9 to appear.
5. Finally, if you’re a developer, you are probably already aware of the fact that IE 8 offers a developer debugger to help you with your code. All developers know that Internet Explorer is notoriously hard to program for and can throw up errors for no particular reason. It can take hours to carefully modify your site to ensure it displays correct on all the different versions of Internet Explorer. This debugger doesn’t fix the problem (and it will never be fixed as long as Microsoft continues fragmenting their browsers) but it may ease the pain a little.
When Internet Explorer 9 is officially released, we’ll update with all new tips and tricks specifically for that version of this popular browser. Stay tuned!
When you’re logging in to most sites, you probably don’t think too much about how secure your passwords are. You might worry about financial sites, but these usually have a few additional safeguards such as asking you to choose a certain picture when you enter your password or entering certain special digits from a memorable number. But with the right technology, anyone can steal this information; it’s happened before and will undoubtedly happen again. Humans are fallible creatures and use the same password for multiple sites – otherwise they struggle to remember it. If they do choose more secure passwords, they often store them on the computers in question or write them down, which again opens them up to theft whether due to spyware, robbery, or sneaky houseguests.
The solution, then, is often tricky and expensive. Some extremely large businesses can afford a two step verification cycle, whereby for example those who can unlock the building have both a password and a physical object that work together to open the door. They may scan a key fob and input the password. For online authentication, however, the case is trickier, yet even more important as more businesses place their secure information and resources in cloud computing. Google, one of the leaders in web-based storage and software, have come up with a scheme to make these systems more secure without the hefty charge another system would use.
Basically, Google’s new two step verification requires a password and a mobile phone. To log in, you enter your username and password. Then a message is sent to your mobile phone with a verification code, which you enter into the next box. This is more secure because you know your password and someone who steals your mobile phone will not have that information. If someone knows your password, they’ll also need your mobile phone to access your account. It’s far more unlikely that a thief would end up with both things, and even if your computer has been infected with spyware, there’s no way of anyone finding out which code you’re sent next. It’s very clever. At present, it’s available only to Google Apps Premier, Education, and Government Editions; these administrators can choose whether or not to have users take advantage of the increased security. Google even plans to roll the feature out to the rest of us, so in a few months’ time all of our personal data can be that much more secure on Google.
I’m not sure that this will be a widely adopted feature. It is a little too much hassle just to check your email. For those who use Google for important documents, especially businesses, I can imagine that this will be embraced with arms open wide. More security is never a bad thing; Google can probably still spy on you, but at least you’re protected from everyone else. We can’t wait until it’s rolled out more broadly so we can give it a try ourselves.
While Google Chrome is far from the most widely used browser, it is steadily gaining market share. Many people who use it are Google enthusiasts or are simply after a smoother, faster browsing experience which Chrome purports to offer. These are the same people who are happy to learn new tips and tricks, so I hope that you’ll find something useful here today. If you’ve never used Chrome before, perhaps these will provide you with an incentive to download it and give it a play today.
Let us know in the comments if any of these tips help you use Google Chrome! Stop by next week for browser tips on Internet Explorer.
Even if you think you know what’s wrong with your PC, it’s important to take steps to ensure that you don’t harm yourself or the computer through your efforts. This guide will not include instructions on what to repair or how to repair it, simply a few tips to keep you from causing more harm than you’d like when you’d prefer to repair your own computer rather than calling an IT support company.
Whenever you repair your PC yourself (a fantastic idea), keep these safety tips in mind so that both you and your PC can keep running for a long time to come.
It’s difficult to find a laptop with a battery that lasts more than a few hours. In most cases, it’s difficult to find a laptop with a battery that can get through just one hour, especially after the laptop and battery have aged over the course of a year or two. This makes laptops increasingly pointless; if it needs to be plugged into the wall all the time, you might as well just invest in a desktop instead.
While you can’t realistically extend your laptop’s battery life into the stratosphere, you certainly can make it last just that much longer, and in many cases that little bit of time is enough to finish whatever project you happen to be working on at the time. Here are a few of my favourite top tips to extend your battery’s life wherever you are.
Buy a spare battery. While this doesn’t count as extending your battery life, if you really need your laptop to last more than an hour or two it’s well worth investing in an extra battery to carry along with you. You’ll probably find that your new battery lasts longer than your old one and as such can really help you to make the maximum use of your laptop while out and about.Most importantly, keep a realistic view of what you’re doing and how you’re draining your battery. If you’re simply browsing the web, checking your email, or using word processing software, you should expect reasonable battery life. If you’re watching a DVD or playing a game, though, your battery will drain very quickly (which is only logical). If you manage your expectations of your battery’s life realistically, you should be able to determine how long your battery should last and what you should then do about it.
Have you ever considered leaving the Microsoft-dominated sphere and going for something a little cheaper? If you have, it’s likely that Google Docs could be a reality for your business, especially for small businesses with fewer demands.
If you’re really trying to cut costs, it’s possible to get by using just Google’s free Apps suite. These require no hardware or software and can be accessed through any Google account. For increased support and storage capabilities, however, it’s best to sign up for Google’s own service which is available at a cost of £30 per person. Everything is then hosted on Google’s servers, so you won’t have to worry about downtime or maintenance – Google guarantees a 99.9% uptime.
Google’s docs offer quality functionality at a bargain price. They can’t do quite everything that Microsoft Office can, but you’ll find that many of your most used features are present. It all depends on the need of your individual business; most people are unable to do the most advanced aspects of Office programs anyway, and if you’re never going to need it, why waste the money on it?
Google Docs also have the potential to save you thousands of dollars. To begin with, you needn’t purchase or set up your own server. Everything is hosted on Google’s servers, so you don’t have to worry about losing your information due to any fault of your own, though you may choose to save a copy of important documents on your own PC. You also may find yourself without the need for an IT professional in house or even an external IT support company because Google will provide you with much of the support you need for their software. If your hardware breaks down, that’s another issue, and you may wish to contract with an external company for that purpose, but overall your maintenance costs are still lower.
When you choose to go with Google Apps, it’s important to remember that your documents will be in the cloud and potentially accessible by Google employees. This, however, is highly unlikely, and Google has invested in the top security firms and experts to ensure that hackers cannot access your information no matter how hard they try. The cloud also means that you and any relevant employees can access documents at the same time and edit them together in real time. This makes collaboration easier than ever, regardless of where you happen to be. You can work from home, from work, or on a trip somewhere as long as you have access to the internet.
Businesses also have access to more in depth tools than free users. In particular, they have more advanced custom spam email filtering tools, both inbound and outbound, information sharing rules to ensure that employees don’t release personal documents by accident, password guidance, SSL connections, and email archiving up to ten years. You can also connect Google Apps to your current domain and email address, so the transition is virtually seamless.
Choosing the hardware to either start or expand your business can be a challenge. You’ll need to do your research and ensure you’re getting the best quality of parts, services, and upgrades. Choosing the correct PC manufacturer and equipment can make your future both more secure and easier.
First of all, it’s best not to purchase the newest model of anything. While you don’t want to purchase outdated equipment, you’ll find that with new hardware, you’re often paying a premium for something which may not be much better than the last model. Moreover, you don’t need employees to have particularly powerful PCs. High end computers are often truly only necessary for gaming, which you certainly don’t want your employees to be doing. Most mid-range PCs can run the business software you’ll need quickly and easily, which is ideal. When you upgrade, keep this important caveat in mind and consider what you really need to purchase to keep productivity high and cut costs.
In order to figure out what type of PC you need, check the requirements on your software. Find the most demanding one and ensure the PCs you’re buying meet that standard. If you’re looking to save some money, there isn’t a need to go too much higher.
When buying software, it’s similarly best to wait until it’s been out for a few months, unless it’s absolutely essential for business operations. That’s because you’ll not only pay a premium for new software, but it might have bugs or missing functionality which will be resolved with patches in future. Rather than call your IT support, it’s best to wait until such problems have been ironed out before purchasing, and you might end up with some cash left over as well.
If, however, you have employees who truly need intensive software, you may need to reconsider what type of hardware they’ll need. If you have a team of graphic designers or programmers, their computers may well need a lot more resource-hogging software than a normal administrative worker. It’s all about judging what you need for which employee. Keep in mind that if you do have to purchase a large number of expensive PCs for your high-end employees, when the time comes for an upgrade in a few years they can be passed down in a few years to employees with fewer demands, essentially recycling hardware efficiently and cost-effectively.
Buying laptops is often an even more difficult decision. Consider carefully what your employees are going to need to do outside of the office – if they already have a desktop PC that they will continue to use, this consideration is even more important. If they largely just need to check their email or use a word processor, though, why not outfit them with a cost-effective netbook? They’ll have all the functionality they need at an incredibly low price, and you’ll even be able to make more employees feel important and valued by giving out a few more than you could have planned for with a high end laptop.
What are your company’s rules for purchasing new hardware?