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June 27, 2017

From Telegraphs to USENET and How to Protect Yourself from Spam

When someone thinks of spam they typically think of unsolicited bulk commercial email they receive in their inbox. However, the concept of spam started a little earlier than you might think. How far back? How does 1864 sound? Spam in 1864 you say? Yes, in the form of a telegraph, advertising a local dentistry actually. The Telegraph was so much news that the local paper even reprinted the telegraph that was sent to many households, further propagating the message.

Spam Messages

More recently, people consider the first spam email coming out of Digital Equipment in 1978 which went to a total of 393 people promoting their latest computer model. You can thank a Monty Python sketch based on a cafe that only served the canned spiced ham SPAM for the origin of the name. Another early spammer was the lawyers Canter and Siegel posting their “Green Card Lottery” message to USENET, a shared messaging system.

What does all this have to do with today? You don’t want to be known as a spammer. There are three ways to attack the spam problem. First off, you don’t want your marketing emails to be classified as spam. Secondly, you don’t want your mail server to be abused where someone sends spam through your hardware. While this wasn’t sent to you directly, your hardware could be blacklisted, thus affecting your own emails. Lastly, you don’t want your employees to respond to spam. There are ways to filter this at the mail server to prevent them from seeing the messages, or at least classify messages as fishy before their opened. Our company {company} can help you to protect your business from being labeled a bad apple in the email business.

Starting with the most important avenue, ensuring your marketing messages get through, there are some best practices to know about. For starters, don’t just send emails directly to your clients. Putting everyone’s email in the “To:” field of a message is bound to cause problems when someone does a reply-all. If you absolutely have to send a message to LOTS of people, it is better to use the BCC (for blind carbon copy) field of a message. Better yet, rely on a mailing list management package like that offered by Constant Contact. Typically, you don’t want to add people to the mailing list yourself. Instead, people should opt-in. More importantly, with each message you send, there should be unsubscribed instructions.

Protecting your mail server is not an easy task. There are some simple steps you can do like requiring that users are authenticated before sending a message, but someone can just spoof the email headers to make it appear messages came through your server. To best protect your server, in 2012 DMARC, or Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance was introduced. Combined with the earlier introduced SPF, Sender Policy Framework, this makes sure that any messages appearing to come from your mail server actually came from your mail server. {company} can help you keep up with the latest ways to protect your email servers and thus getting your marketing messages through.

Lastly, it is important to look at the inbound side of spam. With all the talk of Russians hacking servers and the release of inappropriate celebrity photos, most of these attempts are triggered by phishing attacks of targets. You still need to worry about viruses being sent through email, but phishing involves fraudsters sending what look like real emails in the attempt to reveal personal information like passwords and bank account info. You don’t want your employees giving away the farm so that others can then get into your company network or your employees worried about identity theft. {company} can help protect your mail servers from letting these unsolicited emails through.

Contact us at {email} or {phone} to learn more about how we can help you.

June 27, 2017
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June 26, 2017

What Companies Need to Know About Technology Management  

Technology Management has become an important aspect of doing business today.

Here are a few details about what it entails, and why a business may need it.  

Technology Management

Technology management is a term that is used to refer to a group of services offered to a business that may not have its own IT department. The process can include project management, technology planning, database services, disaster recovery, security, document services, document formatting, e-billing, mailing, mass printing, and much more. Here is some more information I have prepared on this topic. It should help you gain a better understanding of technology management.

Why Do You Need Technolgy Management Services?

The break and fix approach may seem like a good way to save money, but it is going to cost you. Such neglect will eventually lead to a major tech disaster in the future. Such disasters could take the form of tech failure or even a major security breach. Such breaches can lead to class action suits if critical information is lost.

However, having to hire an in-house team may not work either. The inflated costs on the payroll are not worth it for most business owners. When you outsource technology management, the IT infrastructure will receive the care of experts. Best of all, it does not cost an arm and a leg. Additionally, your business will get the full benefit of an experienced team of experts instead of just a few IT experts working in-house. Some of the benefits are:

  • Proactive Management.

With technology management, you do not wait for technology to fail before fixing it. A technology management company will review your equipment often and make upgrades as they may be deemed necessary. Such a company will also ensure that you work with only the best antivirus and malware protection.

  • Better Network Administration.

A good technology management company does not just hire fresh college graduates. People that work for such companies usually have years of experience under their belts. They know how to tweak each system to fit into a unique business environment. That way, a company is able to maximize its output. The result is that you will be getting more value for the salaries you pay your employees.

  • Automated Monitoring.

A good company will have hundreds of system monitors that will allow them to take proactive measures to deal with any problem. That way, a company does not have to deal with an aftermath of a disaster.

  • Technology Consultancy.

All companies have technology needs that continue to grow as the company grows. However, it is not always easy to know what you need unless you have an expert as part of your staff. A technology management company will give you the advice that you need to choose the right technology. That way, you will always have an edge over your competition in terms of technology utilization.

  • Real Time User Support.

When you hire a technology management firm, it will not be much different to hiring in-house staff in regards to response time. Most of them can have an engineer at your office in minutes when you need a technical expert to solve an issue. Such an expert will give all the options you have and make a recommendation on which you should choose.

Some of the Cloud Service solutions you can expect.

Most business today use cloud services. A technology management can help you with these services if you use the cloud:

  • Spam Protection.

A major downside of the cloud is spam. It takes up valuable space in the cloud. A good tech management company will provide you with solutions that prevent unwanted messages from ever reaching the inbox.

  • Data Backups.

Data backup is another important service that you will get as part of the cloud-based solutions. By offering cloud-based backups, you will get the peace of mind that you need to run your business. You will no longer have to worry about losing backup tapes or the tapes were stolen.

What Types of Companies Need Technology Management?

All businesses, no matter how big or small, need some IT support to operate efficiently in the modern world. Such support can be useful in helping them to avert major disasters to their business operations.

However, different industries will have differing needs. Thus, not everyone wants the same kind of IT support. There is no one-size-fits-all that can work for all businesses. Some of the businesses that may need Technology management are:

  • The Financial Sector.

A good tech management firm will provide you with a clear understanding of the current state of your systems. They will identify the vulnerabilities, risks, and prioritize the issues that are discovered. Additionally, they can also help you identify what has been changed since the last audit took place.

  • Manufacturing.

Most people think of the manufacturing sector as the huge processing plants and large warehouses. However, these companies have office buildings that allow them to process the paperwork. If the back office operations are not efficient, an office could lose a lot of money. A technology management firm will help you keep an eye on the IT systems to ensure that they are always working well. That way, a company can focus on its core duty of manufacturing.

  • Professional Service Industry.

Downtime is more than just annoying to customers. It can have a huge impact on the profitability of a company. Instead of waiting for equipment to break down, the company will often conduct assessments at regular intervals to prevent downtime. Less downtime will mean that employees have more time to work on their projects. Additionally, it will help to keep your customers happy.

  • Non-Profits Operations.

Cyber security must be the priority of every business. There is a lot of malware being created all the time. A breach to a company’s network can have a crippling effect on its finances. The effects can be worse for non-profits since they rely on donors. If donors feel that you are not taking care of their money, they will simply move on. A good technology management company will help to ward off any criminals that may want to reap where they never sowed

June 26, 2017
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June 19, 2017

Dial Phone Calls Directly from iOS Calendar Events

Dial Phone Calls Directly from iOS Calendar Events

Let’s make life easier on the go…

Imagine that you’re adding a calendar event for a meeting with a contractor, and you want to make it easy to call them if you are running late. Or perhaps you want to embed conference call details into an event.
Simply enter a phone number into an event’s Location or Notes field in the Calendar app. Then, whenever you’re viewing the event later on your iPhone, you can tap the number to dial it directly. To add a meeting code to a conference call number, append a semicolon, the meeting code, and the pound symbol—after the iPhone dials the phone number, you can press a button to dial the code at the right moment. The whole thing would look like 518-555-0101;123456#.
For a more automated but potentially error-prone approach, replace the semicolon with one or more commas, each of which causes the iPhone to pause for 2 seconds before dialing the rest of the numbers.
Finally, if you suffer from way too many conference calls, the MeetingMogul app can make dialing in even easier.

A few other posts that might interest you.

More great tips from the archives…

June 19, 2017
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June 16, 2017

WWDC: One More Thing…

Apple announced a slew of new hardware (HomePod!) and software at WWDC yesterday, and we have the rundown
Read More
June 16, 2017
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June 16, 2017

Microsoft’s Advice on How Business IT Professionals Can Disable SMB 1 Insecurities

This white paper details what additional steps IT pros need to take to safeguard their networks and systems and why they should leave the newer versions of SMBs alone.  

SMBv1

With the recent appearance of the “WannaCry” ransomware cyber attacks, the vulnerability of the 30-year old SMB1 protocol was finally laid bare. Through the use of an exploit tool called “ETERNALBLUE” and leaked from the NSA by the “Shadow Brokers” hacker group, the vulnerabilities in the Server Message Bock (SMB) services were successfully exploited to spread its malicious denial-of-service mayhem.

Most of the hacks affected those with older, less-secure systems, as with Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, which are so old that they are no longer even supported. Security bulletin MS16-114 detailed the vulnerabilities of the protocol implementations in those (mostly older) Windows versions.

The Microsoft Corporation hurriedly issued a “critical” security bulletin release to be installed in networks as a safety measure but even Microsoft’s engineers are in agreement that the only reliable way to stop the spread of the virus is to disable the SMB1 protocol completely.

The problem

But, you say, I have a newer version as well as SMBv2 or 3 and besides, aren’t the Microsoft protections enough to stop the ransomware’s infestation? Why bother with tinkering with the SMB at all – isn’t that a bit of overkill?
That’s only part of the story: even with a patch or other protective installations and newer versions of the SMB, there is remains the very real problem of interaction with other devices that may need to continue to connect with SMB1, such as printers or other peripherals. The real problem is, according to Microsoft field engineer Ralph Kyttle, that SMB1 is still lurking in your computer’s innards or those of your clients, who can unwittingly act as SMB servers by ‘talking’ to devices using SMB1, including printers or NAS or anything else that might be running Windows or Samba/Linux. This is why even those at Microsoft highly recommend getting rid of SMB1 as soon as you download their version-specific instructions.

Solution #1: Follow Microsoft’s instructions for disabling the SMB feature

If you want to remove the possibility of a future hack or another SMB1-related security issue, the best – really, the only – way, according to Microsoft’s Principal Program Manager and engineer Ned Pyle, is to remove it completely. Microsoft gives somewhat differing instructions according to this link depending on which OS you are using. Be sure to backup your data before trying to follow their advice as there is a possibility there may be a change to the Windows Registry – and not following the steps as set forth by Microsoft could result in your machine crashing altogether.

Solution #2: Banishing SMB1 “zombies”

Like a zombie rising from the grave, even a disabled SMB1 has a way of coming back to haunt users all over again. Because of the real possibility of post-removal SMB1 interactions, Kyttle recommends that IT pros use one of more of the following methods to detect SMB1 network dependencies, such as network capture and other software and tools to detect and remove any noncompliant configuration.

It’s worth noting that Microsoft offers tools for IT pros to detect whether SMB1 is being used within a network. One is the Microsoft Message Analyzer, a tool which displays logs of inbound and outbound traffic which can be subject to filtering for SMB1 activity.

Another useful tool is PowerShell’s Desired State Configuration Environment Analyzer (DSCEA) module. Requiring PowerShell version 5.0, DSCEA shows compliance information via Power BI or HTML, allowing IT pros to use the scans to repair problematic configurations.

Finally, users should be aware that depending on an individual computer’s configuration as well as other variables, there have been reports that SMB1 had to be reinstalled at least temporarily, in order to authenticate domains and access shares.

Solution #3: SMB2 and SMB3: Love ‘em or leave ‘em?

Most experts say to leave them because unlike with SMB1, they’re there for some pretty good reasons. Microsoft warns that disabling them should be viewed only as a temporary measure – be sure to enable them once done with troubleshooting tasks.

Here’s what you stand to lose if you leave these two important SMB protocols disabled:

In Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2:

Disabling SMB v2 deactivates the following:

  • Caching of folder and file properties allowing clients to retain file copies
  • Improved use of faster networks through larger reads and writes
  • Durable handles which permit transparently reconnection to the server in case of a temporary disconnection
  • Request compounding which allows the user to send multiple SMB2 requests as a single request
  • Improved scalability for sharing files, increasing the number of users, shares and open files per server
  • Improved message signing with MD5 hashing algorithm replaced by HMAC SHA-256
  • Better support for symbolic links
  • Client oplcock leasing model which limits transferred data between client and server, resulting in improved SMB server scalability and performance with high-latency networks

In Windows 8, Win 8.1, Win 10, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Server 2016:

Disabling SMBv3 deactivates the following (as well as previously-described SMB2 functions):

  • Concurrent access of shared data on file cluster nodes via Scale Out
  • End-to-end encryption and protection from eavesdropping by untrustworthy networks
  • Transparent failover allowing clients to reconnect to cluster nodes without interruption during failover or maintenance
  • Directory leasing which improves branch offices’ application response times via caching
  • Multichannel aggregation of fault tolerance and network bandwidth if multiple paths are available between client and server

Summary

In the aftermath of this hacking, taking steps for immediately removing SMB1 should be a no-brainer. Removal, however, is only part of the solution: doing so can bring in other, possibly unwelcome consequences. Thanks to the sheer pervasiveness of SMB1, IT pros can’t let down their guard even after disabling the pesky protocol. So, while it may at first seem like overkill, in today’s cyber environment it’s better to be safe than sorry.

June 16, 2017
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June 15, 2017

More from WWDC: tvOS and watchOS 4

More from WWDC 2017: tvOS and watchOS 4

Although Apple gave tvOS the lead announcement at WWDC, it was just to get it out of the way quickly before making all their other announcements. The news is that Amazon Prime Video will be coming to the Apple TV sometime later this year, and better yet, it will integrate with the TV app. It’s likely that there will be additional changes in tvOS before Apple’s big OS release in the fall.

watchOS, on the other hand, received quite a bit of love during the WWDC keynote. watchOS 4, due for free this fall, will feature a new Siri watch face that feeds you relevant information based on the time of day, your activities, and data from apps like Activity, Calendar, Maps, News, Reminders, and Wallet. Other new watch faces are for fun: Toy Story characters with tiny animations and a Kaleidoscope face that draws ever-changing patterns.

Since fitness tracking is important for the Apple Watch, Apple has made watchOS 4 pushier to help you stay on the exercise wagon. It will send morning notifications to encourage you to match the previous day’s activity levels or reach a new Achievement. It also nudges you in the evening to complete your activity rings and issues monthly exercise challenges tailored to your situation.

The Workout app will help pool swimmers track sets, pace, and distance for different stroke types. Triathletes will like being able to switch between workout types and later combine them into a single session for better tracking. Apple will also add motion and heart-rate algorithms for High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). And if you work out in a gym, you’ll be able to sync exercise data with sufficiently capable gym equipment like treadmills, ellipticals, indoor bikes, and stair climbers.

If you listen to music while you work out, improvements to the Music app will be welcome. It will sync your most-listened music from your iPhone automatically, and if you subscribe to Apple Music, it will also pick up your favorite mixes.

Finally, watchOS 4 will make it easier for developers to connect the watch to more Bluetooth devices, such as for continuous glucose monitoring, analyzing your serve via a sensor on a tennis racket, or recording wave height and calorie burn via a sensor on your surfboard. Let us know if you have a sensor-enabled surfboard!

Happily, watchOS 4 will be compatible with both the original Apple Watch and the Apple Watch Series 2, so all Apple Watch owners will be able to enjoy these new features. Apple said nothing about new Apple Watch hardware, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see some before the holiday shopping season.

Some other big announcements we’ve covered…

June 15, 2017
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June 14, 2017

Sneak Peek: macOS 10.13 High Sierra

When Apple releases macOS 10.13 High Sierra this fall, it will include big behind-the-scenes improvements and a few upfront changes in core Apple apps like Safari, Mail, and Photos. The upgrade will be free, and High Sierra will run on all Macs that can run 10.12 Sierra now.

The most important change under the hood is a new file system called APFS (Apple File system), which is designed for modern needs like fast backups of massive amounts of data and optimal behavior when storing files on solid-state drives. The file system is the smarts beneath the Mac’s Finder, helping your Mac to keep track of all its data. The Finder itself won’t change much, but certain tasks like duplicating lots of data will be much faster.

Other low-level technology changes will enable developers to bring faster video streaming and playback to the Mac. Plus, they’ll be able to create graphically demanding apps that have even more realistic images, which is important for the fields of virtual reality and gaming.

More obviously, you can look forward to Safari providing a more enjoyable Web browsing experience, with fewer ads, articles opening in the less-cluttered Reader view, and no more auto-playing audio. You can customize all these settings, as well as the text zoom percentage, on a per-site basis.

Searching in Mail will be significantly faster, with a Top Hits area that Apple says will learn from you over time and get smarter about suggesting ideal results. Mail will also feature a redesigned split screen option that puts the compose window next to your messages, and your Mail archive will consume less drive space than before, thanks to better compression.

Photos gets a lot of attention from Apple in High Sierra, with a refined interface that should make it easier to find tools, syncing of facial recognition training between your Apple devices, new editing tools for fine-tuning and saturation, and fun choices for enhancing Live Photos. Also, Photos will finally allow integration with third-party editing apps like Photoshop and Pixelmator, along with support for printing projects to non-Apple print services, so you’ll have more choices in that area.

Overall, High Sierra looks like it will be a solid refinement on Sierra, with some core improvements for pro users and a nice collection of enhancements to apps that the rest of us use every day.

June 14, 2017
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June 13, 2017

A Look Ahead to iOS 11

iOS 11 At WWDC

Apple gave us a peek at iOS 11, due as a free update this fall (which likely means September). Although it offers numerous changes, iOS 11 won’t seem like a huge revision, since most of the changes are refinements rather than new apps or wholesale rewrites.

Perhaps the most noticeable change is Control Center, the panel that appears when you drag up from the bottom of the Lock screen or Home screen. Apple has redesigned it so that the audio and HomeKit controls fit on one screen, even on the iPhone. In iOS 10, you may have to scroll sideways to see all the controls, which is awkward. The new design also takes advantage of 3D Touch to let you do more than toggle settings on and off.

We’re looking forward to the new Messages, which takes advantage of iCloud to sync messages (including deletions!) between your devices. What’s most important about this is that older messages will be stored only in iCloud so they won’t occupy precious storage space on your device.

Siri will receive new voices that sound more natural, and it will also sync what it knows about you between devices to personalize responses better. Siri is also getting smarter, or at least more observant. Thanks to a technology called Siri Intelligence, Siri will better understand your interests and the context in which you’re speaking. So, if you search for information about Paris, the News app may start recommending articles about France, and if you type “bor” in an app, the iOS keyboard may suggest “Bordeaux” as an auto-completion.

Apple will introduce new formats to the Camera app in iOS 11, which should result in photos and videos that take up much less space. iPhone 7 Plus users will also appreciate improvements in the two-camera Portrait mode. If you like Live Photos, don’t miss new features in Photos for trimming and editing the underlying movies — you can even apply looping and reversing effects.

Although Maps may always be playing catch-up with more established mapping companies, we’re still pleased to see Apple adding features like indoor maps of malls and airports in major cities. It will also inform you of speed limits and offer lane guidance on large roads.

If splitting a restaurant bill is awkward, you’ll be able to use Apple Pay in iOS 11 to send money directly to another person. It goes into an Apple Cash Card found in the Wallet app, and money stored there can be transferred to a bank account or used to pay for Apple Pay purchases.

Last, but certainly least, is a potentially life-saving feature: Do No Disturb While Driving. When enabled, it will detect that you’re riding in a car and shut off all notifications to your iPhone. You’ll be able to set an auto-reply text message in case anyone messages you, which the sender can break through by stating that the message is urgent. You can also turn off Do Not Disturb While Driving if you’re a passenger.

iOS 11 requires a 64-bit device, which means that it won’t be available to the iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, and fourth-generation iPad, but it will run on all other iOS devices Apple has released since 2013.

June 13, 2017
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June 10, 2017

New iPad Pros

The wait is over!

Although these days Apple is putting more emphasis on the Mac, particularly for professional use, the company certainly isn’t ignoring pro iPad users. If you’ve been holding off on an iPad Pro purchase, there’s no reason to wait any longer. Apple introduced a new 10.5-inch iPad Pro that’s just a hair taller and wider than the 9.7-inch iPad Pro it replaces, despite having a larger screen that’s 20% larger. The company also enhanced the 12.9-inch iPad Pro with a variety of new hardware capabilities.

All motion on the screens of both iPad Pros will be smoother and more responsive, thanks to a previously unheard of 120 Hz refresh rate. It will make drawing with the Apple Pencil even more fluid. The screens are also brighter, can display more colors, and have low reflectivity. Both models get new cameras that match those in the iPhone 7: a 12-megapixel rear-facing camera with optical image stabilization and True Tone flash, plus a 7-megapixel FaceTime HD camera on the front.

Since professionals care about performance, the new iPad Pros rely on Apple’s new processor, the A10X Fusion chip. Apple claims that the A10X is 30% faster than the A9X used by the previous generation of iPad Pros, and it also delivers 40% faster graphics rendering.

You can buy an iPad Pro with 64 GB, 256 GB, or 512 GB of storage, significantly more than last year’s models. The 64 GB 10.5-inch iPad Pro with Wi-Fi costs $649; jumping to 256 GB increases the price to $749, and going to 512 GB raises it to $949. For the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, a 64 GB configuration starts at $799, with 256 GB at $899 and 512 GB at $1099. Add $130 to any configuration to get cellular connectivity as well.

Although the iPad Pros are available starting this month, you can look forward to them becoming significantly more useful when Apple releases iOS 11 in the fall. That’s because iOS 11 promises to bring a number of iPad-specific features, including:

  • A customizable Dock that holds more than six apps
  • A new App Switcher that includes split-screen app combinations
  • A new Files app for managing documents
  • Drag-and-drop capability for moving data between apps
  • Instant Notes, which opens the Notes app with an Apple Pencil tap on the Lock screen
  • Inline drawing with the Apple Pencil in Notes and Mail
  • Handwritten text recognition so you can search what you write
June 10, 2017
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Whoo Hoo! Apple Announces New iMacs!

Finally! A 21″ inch iMac we can recommend!

For those who have been waiting patiently to buy a new iMac or Mac notebook, now’s the time. Apple refreshed the entire iMac line with Intel’s latest processors, faster storage, higher performance graphics, and brighter, more colorful screens. They all provide a pair of Thunderbolt 3 ports for driving external displays and connecting to speedy external storage.

The most-improved award goes to the 21.5-inch iMac with 4K Retina display, which should see the most performance gains from faster CPUs and high-performance Radeon Pro graphics processors. Plus, that model can now take up to 32 GB of RAM, up from 16 GB — it’s far more compelling than before, if you don’t need the larger screen and better performance of the 27-inch model.

 

You can buy a 21.5-inch non-Retina iMac starting at $1099, a 21.5-inch iMac with 4K Retina display starting at $1299, and a 27-inch iMac with 5K Retina display starting at $1799.

Looking for more performance than even a tricked-out 27-inch Retina iMac can provide?. Wait for December, when Apple promises to release the new iMac Pro. It’s a workstation-class machine that retains the form factor of the 27-inch Retina iMac but swaps the brushed aluminum look for a space gray finish. It will be the fastest Mac ever, thanks to 8-core, 10-core, or 18-core Intel Xeon CPUs. Other performance enhancements include a next-generation Radeon Pro Vega graphics chip, up to 128 GB of RAM, a 1 TB SSD upgradeable to 4 TB, four Thunderbolt 3 ports, and 10 Gbps Ethernet. It won’t come cheap, with prices starting at $4999 and rising quickly with build-to-order options.

June 9, 2017
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