As is true with all versions of this malware, the end-user turns to victim by downloading the virus.  In this case, the latest is a spam campaign pushing the password-stealing ZeuS Trojan to corporate users by presenting itself as a legitimate web based email upgrade from Microsoft Outlook Web Access.  The Spam email tricks users into downloading the malicious software by using the Outlook Web Access design and themes.  In short, the email is believable looking and … completely bogus.

Matthijssen Inc. believes that in addition to up-to-date virus protection, education is the best defense against malicious software.   We are sending you this alert so you can educate your work force and remind them that they should be wary of unsolicited emails with links and attachments.

Here are several best practices published by the leading security firms:

·         Install quality anti-virus software

·         Install real-time and anti-virus spyware protection

·         Keep anti-malware and anti-virus applications current

·         Perform daily scans

·         Disable auto run

·         Disable image previews in Outlook

·         Don’t click on email links or attachments

·         Surf Smart

For more information call Matthijssen, Inc at 800-845-2200 or read about it at http://www.pacitnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/OWA-Advisory-Oct-2009.pdf

How do you know if your business network is protected?

Marc Aumick, Senior Network Technician for Matthijssen Inc, East Hanover NJ explains, “The problem  is people don’t realize they can get an infection by simply visiting an infected site” .  Aumick continues that  many webpages and internet websites are not protected enough from infection and as a result visiting one of these sites can lead to a behind the scenes download of a virus or malware.  “Even legitimate websites used in the course of business can be a source of these threats”.

According to MessageLabs Intelligence Reports (as divison of Symantec) email-borne malware dropped from .85% of all email in 2007 to .70% in 2008, while the number of web sites that carry malware increased from 1068 new sites discovered per day in January 2008 to 5424 per day in October 2008, an increase of more than 400% in just nine months. “For example, the website for Business Week[1],  the Miami Dolphins[2], and the United Nations[3] have all been infected during the past few years, infecting visitors who do nothing more than view the content on these sites”

When asked to describe the types of problems that may occur from an unseen malware download,  Aumick  warns against “key loggers” which can capture data such as bank accounts, credit cards, passwords, confidential documents, customer information and more.  “Bandwidth is another problem, “ Marc says, “many of these infections download and run.  They slow up the computers and decrease the performance of the network, resulting in slow email, web access or a completely fried workstation”. 

Matthijssen Inc, security specialist and  service manager Kevin Arrigo says, “We suggest a series of best practices and offer them to our Matthijssen managed service clients, such as, blocking non business websites with URL filters, SPAM filtering , content filtering , daily workstation maintenance which includes checking for viruses and spyware, monitoring workstation access and use and keeping all workstations and servers up to date on windows updates and security patches”.  Kevin says, “If you can not answer the question, ‘Is my network protected against a web attack?’, don’t put off trying to find the answer.”  

“Call your IT department  or if you are located in New Jersey, call us … “ Matthijssen Inc. is a computer service company located in East Hanover, NJ serving:  Morris, Essex, Bergen, Hudson, Union, Passaic and parts of New York.   Call 973-887-1100 to discuss our free Network Analysis.

According to ZDNET, “an updated version of the FlexiSPY application, considered a security threat by most IT security vendors, enables a remote attacker to tap into phone calls and e-mails sent to and from a Blackberry-enabled device.”  Scary right?  Except, the FlexiSPY application must be physically installed on the blackberry. Other than this nasty software, there are no known viruses for the blackberry.  So why be concerned about security?

Security specialist Dan Hoffman, author, mobile security expert  and CTO of SMobile Systems, in an interview the Network World explained,  is of the “Treat it like a PC, you wouldn’t send/receive emails, open attachments, purchase online, check back accounts, on your PC without the proper firewalls/passwords and antivirus…  Why do you think that you don’t need those things for your blackberry?” camp.

“The perception that viruses and malware are not a problem on Blackberries is out dated,” said Dan Hoffman, author, mobile security expert and CTO of SMobile Systems, in an interview with Network World. “The reason we don’t hear about widespread infections is because the nature of malware has changed. Infections used to be done for fun and notoriety. Now these crimes are financially motivated.”

However, having said that he also further explains that there are very simple steps to securing your blackberry.  Steps like, 1) Don’t Lose it.  2) Don’t talk about confidential information in public. 3) Don’t read confidential emails in a crowded room or airplane where others can view your screen. 

“I can’t even tell you how much personal and sensitive information I’ve inadvertently seen or heard over the years because of what people were doing with their mobile devices,” said Hoffman.

So, if there is no immediate threat of infection… why bother with security?  Senior Network and Security Technician Dirk Matthijssen and co-owner of Matthijssen, Inc. explains, Blackberry devices are frequently lost, stolen or traded in. 

Blackberry devices come equipped with password protection, and encryptions.  All security experts suggest: Password, Wipe, Encrypt, Encrypt and Encrypt some more.

Dirk suggests the built-in encryption and explains, “Research in Motion (RIM), which makes the BlackBerry, uses Advanced Encryption Standard 256, the strongest encryption method available.  Each message sent to a BlackBerry is broken into packets, each with a different encryption key code. The key codes are so large, even if the message got intercepted it would be virtually impossible to decipher.”  Matthijssen says, it’s important to know what you have setup and to set it up correctly. 

Device Password

The first and most easiest way is to protect your BlackBerry is to enter a password for switching the BlackBerry on. Most of the time you will not need to enter this password as your BlackBerry is supposed to be “always on, always connected”.

Wipe Confidential Information In Case
This, of course, requires that you are doing backups of your BlackBerry regularly!

So if you come into a situation where your BlackBerry might go into hands you don’t want to get access to your confidential data you can just wipe out confidential information like tasks, contacts and calendar events.

Content Encryption
The BlackBerry has advanced features to protect your confidential data. They are just deactivated by default. You enable the BlackBerry’s internal content encryption and so assure that your data is not saved in raw text on a device. Saving raw data on the device’s memory makes it very easy for crackers to read it once they obtained possession of your BlackBerry.

Password Encryption
There is an already built-in password encryption / storage on your BlackBerry’s desktop called “Password Keeper”. It is a safe way to store passwords on your BlackBerry. You can only access this password store using a password you have set before.

SD-Card / Media Card Encryption
If you have installed a media card in your BlackBerry you might have also stored some data on it. In most cases your data is not that confidential as on the BlackBerry’s internal memory. Anyway, I don’t want other people to get access to the photos I took or the track logs I recorded (remember: those carry the locations where you went to). Alternatively, you can enable the encryption mode for your BlackBerry’s internal SD card to protect your data .

Everyone agrees, the easiest way to protect your data is to keep your blackberry on you.  Don’t put it down at a bar or restaurant and walk away.  Don’t put it next to you on the ½ empty train.  Don’t leave it at the office.  Take proper steps before turning it in for a new upgraded version.  

If your Blackberry is lost of stolen, you should contact your IT department and have them Lock and/or Wipe the blackberry remotely so that no data can be accessed.

For more information about blackberry license, security and connectivity, call Matthijssen, Inc. 800-845-2200 or email info@matthijssenonline.com

1.     Less equipment.  That’s a fact.  The reality of virtualization is less equipment,  consolidating servers and storage means that you don’t’ have to buy as many servers and storage appliances.  That means, fewer peripherals, less cabling and over all less money spent on networking.  Going a step further, desktop virtualization can also reduce the need for costly PC-fleet upgrades by allowing the use of inexpensive “thin-client” instead of full-featured desktops or laptops.

2.     Less Physical Space Required.  The phrase “Data Center Sprawl” refers to the amount of space that is dedicated to housing your servers.  You don’t have to be an actual “Data Center”  to see your servers morph into monsters that take over the room, then start to crawl down the hall.  Many companies, maintain old servers because they house old data from old software. 

3.     Cooling down the overheated server room.  How does cutting your costs of cooling down the room packed with servers and appliances, sound?  It’s a simple but frequently overlooked fact, the cost of maintaining the proper environment for your equipment will be dramatically cut by housing less equipment.

4.     Going Green – is good the planet and good for your pocket. With lower heating and cooling requirements comes a reduced reliance on the energy grid, and that translates to lower energy costs. You don’t need as much power to run fewer servers, storage appliances, switches and networking equipment, and you’ll also lower your bills for running air conditioning and heating systems and lighting.

5.     Time is money.  Virtualization can increase employee productivity by decreasing system maintenance and down time.  If you have 30 employees and throughout the day they each waste 15 minutes a day struggling with slow computers…. that’s  7.5 hours of combined time wasted in one day!

Virtualization is a technology that is usable by virtually every size business. Even if you’re a small business, virtualization often makes sense from a total cost of ownership and return on investment perspective.  

One local company is taking the money saving tips directly to their clients by implementing a program called Matthijssen Managed Services, or MMS.   Scott Matthijssen, owner of Matthijssen, Inc. in East Hanover, NJ explains, “We are introducing our clients to our Managed Services program which provides them with benefit of a full-time staff of qualified network & hardware technicians for a single low monthly cost”. 

Using a virtual platform Matthijssen, Inc. monitors workstations and servers for local small business owners, performs scheduled maintenance and updates weekly and in general is keeping the Managed Service clients up and running with less downtime and fewer computer issues. 

If you are interested in more information, contact Matthijssen, inc. at 800-845-2200 and ask to speak to one of our Network Engineer for a free consultation.

What is Web 2.0, you ask?  Good Question.  Like most terms bandied about by tech savvy individuals this one is ambiguous at best.  It originated in 2004 as the catch phrase created in “a brainstorming session between O’Reilly and Medialive International.” What is Medialive International? “Producers of technology tradeshows and conferences,” according to their site; and has morphed into something that is causing local small business owners to break out into cold sweat as they worry if they are Web 2.0 compliant.

Rest assured it is merely a new name or our old beloved Internet. Sometime between 2004 and 2005 someone took at stab at trying to give body to the term Web 2.0 and produced the description, “The Web as a platform”.  Keep in mind that nothing really had changed… more like things had evolved.   In researching for this article, I believe that no one set out to suggest that a new version of the Web was out, just that they wanted us to know that the web was still important… and new things were coming… and so they have.

According to the O’Reilly website, in their initial brainstorming, they formulated our sense of Web 2.0 by example:

In short, by Googling the question, “What is Web 2.0?” you will find that it isn’t actually a new version of anything; it’s a new name for the web. Period.   Another similar phrase designed to scare is “Web 2.0 compliance”. 

According to Dirk Matthijssen, senior network technician and co-owner of Matthijssen, Inc. a local Morris County IT company, says the question of “Are you Web 2.0 compliant?” is like asking “Are you using the Web to its fullest potential?” or “Are you taking advantage of social media and web based applications” or “Are you saving money and time by integrating web based software and solutions”.   Dirk explains, “One of the ways we use the Web as a Platform is by providing 24 x 7 monitoring of our clients networks.  It’s like they have a full time IT department for a fraction of the cost”  He continued that the new tools available to IT personnel provide less expensive and more efficient methods for supporting networks and that savings is passed on to the customers.

As of this writing, today, April 22, 2009, there is no such animal as Web 2.0.  It is and has been since its inception an idea, or a message that the web has morphed into an interactive, easy to use dynamic workplace and as such deserves a new name.  

Do you have comment or question?   Email me at info@matthijssenonline.com

For instance, last week I read several notices that Microsoft was going to release  a huge patch group which included 8 bulletins, 5 of which are critical.  My experience with the patches is that the critical patches usually relate to a security threat of imminent danger.  So why isn’t everyone talking about them?

Ryan Naraine @ ZDNet, provides his take on the security updates on his blog and explains that this patch group includes a high-priority IE bulletin, five different windows bulletins, (four rated critical), an excel update (critical) and an ISA denial-of-service issue that Microsoft rates as important.  

Matthijssen Computer Services Group Manager, Kevin Arrigo explains, “A lot of attention has been brought to the Windows Update due to the recent news reports on the conficker virus.” He continues, “but in reality, that virus and other viruses, spyware and adware have been attacking PC’s for years.  They infiltrate the macros or coding in the software and destroy machines.”  He further explains that more people think that the virus is in a document or data, but actually the viruses reside in the coding behind the documents.  So that when the document is opened, the virus executes and destroys the equipment or distributes the data. 

“I personally oversee the patch management of our Managed Services  clients,” Kevin says, and explains, “I put a lot of time and energy into making sure that every machine is patched properly so that our clients are as protected as they can be when these threats are discovered”

The following is the bulletin from Microsoft Security Updates Notification for April 2009.

If you are a New Jersey business with 5 or more workstations, Matthijssen Inc., would like to discuss your system security and vulnerabilities.  Call 800-845-2200 or email: info@matthijssenonline.com

As the story unfolds, the network had actually been down for several days by the time they called us.  Apparently their IT person “who was very good at his job” was currently MIA.  In his defense, it sounded like he was part-time in that he only worked for them when they needed something done.

In this case… they really needed help.  Matthijssen Inc. was able to send over a network technician the same day to try to get them up and running.   That tech determined that the drive was bad and would need to be replaced.  Tragic yes… catastrophe… not necessarily… until… until…. we checked on their backup.

Turns out, that the person in charge of performing the nightly backup was instructed by someone; who was instructed by someone; who was instructed by someone, to simply put in the tape every night before they leave.  You guessed it.  No back up.  Now it is catastrophic.

The last good backup was over 6 months old… As a result the administration spent hours and hours recreating the accounting records, customer files and documents from hard and scanned copies.

Matthijssen, Inc. has since repaired the server and updated and configured the tape backup to print a daily report with either the success or failure of the tape backup. 

If you aren’t sure if your nightly backup is running, contact Matthijssen, Inc. for a network needs analysis and ask the tech to check. FREE.

800-845-2200 – mention this blog

This is specifically relevant if your business relies on your website.  Any users, whether they are your employees, customers or prospects that are running IE8, may not see the site as it was designed.

Matthijssen, Inc. is not suggesting that your office and users upgrade to IE8; in fact, we believe that waiting until “the kinks” are worked out is a good plan of action.

Please review the below notice and if you have questions about your website compatibility, we suggest you contact the person responsible for maintaining your website.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

800-845-2200 or contact us on the web: www.mattnj.com

Here’s a copy of the notice we received:

RESOURCES
• IE8 Readiness Toolkit
• IE8 Compatibility Information
• General IE8 information

Matthijssen, Inc. monitors and repairs many issues that cause workstations to be frustratingly slow. Our clients rave about our comprehensive, proactive, service program.  For one low fixed monthly payment, you’ll receive guaranteed network service from our entire team of highly skilled IT professionals for a fraction of the cost of just one part-time IT employee.   (NJ Business owners~mention this blog for a free network analysis 800-845-2200)

Here are the top 10 reasons your PC may be slow

1. Startup Up is Loaded Up – Many applications automatically add themselves to your start-up, which means they launch when your computer starts up.  Limiting the number of applications in start-up can speed up your computer

2. Spyware –  Spyware are malicious programs that embed themselves into your core file systems and windows registry.   Usually, these applications are installed without your consent.  These must be removed as quickly and as soon as possible.

3. Corrupt or overloaded Windows Registry — The Windows Registry manages the operating system and the applications it runs.  When it is corrupt or overloaded you can experience slow startup, extremely slow shut down, slow application startup and shut down and more.

4. Fragmented Hard Drive – Over time your computer’s files can be scattered into bits and pieces located all over the hard drive.  This is called fragmentation.  This action is performed to make your applications run faster, but over time, without maintenance, it will in fact cause your pc to run slower.

5. Security Software – Strangely enough, one of the top ten causes for your slow PC is could also be your security software.  Some security software programs and suites use a huge portion of your system resources and memory.  This can lead to sluggish performance if your PC is constantly scanning and monitoring your computer for threats.

6. Low Virtual Memory – also referred to as Windows Page File, this is a temporary area that your computer uses to move files around while it processes functions.  Basically, it’s a buffer that your computer uses for wiggle room. If it is set too small, your operating system won’t be have enough room to move and you can get poor performance or error message about low virtual memory.

7.Hard Drive Full – The rule of thumb is, if your hard drive has less than 10% free space, you will experience a dramatic slowdown in performance.  Cleaning your hard drive regularly can relieve many of these problems.

8. Virus – Viruses can cause havoc on your system’s performance and severely limit your PC’s ability to do what you ask it to do.  Viruses are easily spread and proper precautions should be taken when sharing information.

9. Hardware problem – PC’s can be slowed down by the gradually  dying internal component.  This can cause the computer a slow boot and shut down as well as poor program loaded and frequent errors.

10.  Remnants of uninstalled programs – Uninstalling applications can leave behind remnants.  These remnants can slow down your computer while Windows tries to figure out what to do with them.   These pieces can also stay behind in your system registry further clogging up the PC.

Many of the items on this list are monitored and repaired regularly with the Matthijssen Managed Services program.  Our Computer Services Group is prepared to discuss the specific needs of all New Jersey Small Business owners.  Call 800-845-2200 or visit us on the web www.mattnj.com

Some Points of Interest regarding a Virtual Private Network:

·         Provides remote workers with nearly the same level of connectivity and reliability as a private network

·         Easy to add new users

·         Extends the reach of corporate resources

·         Overseas offices can connect directly to the corporate office

·         Workers on the road can gain full network access

·         Lower costs because connection is don’t via internet

In short, VPN is a reliable way to preserve your company’s confidentiality while streamlining operations, reducing costs and allowing for flexible network administration.  Matthijssen, Inc. offers a comprehensive Sonicwall selection of VPN products, which provides added security

In addition to standard security procedures, Sonicwall VPN’s maintain privacy through the use of tunneling protocols.  In layman’s terms the VPN encrypts data before it travels through the public network and decrypts it at the receiving end.   The VPN gateway identifies the users and only allows them access to the data they are authorized to receive.

The Virtual Private Network is a fantastic solution for the small business owner that is interested in allowing remote workers access to the network.  If you are located in New Jersey and you would like additional information regarding a VPN solution; contact Matthijssen, Inc. at 800-845-2200 or visit us on the web at www.mattnj.com. 

Mention this blog and you will receive a free estimate on any in-house printer repair.