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The Burning Issue |
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Dear Reader
Welcome to the May edition of
Burning Issue. The year is turning, and here we
are on the brink of Summer, when we sit outside
squinting to see the screens of our laptops and
mobile phones, or work twice as hard inside,
covering for colleagues away on leave.
This month I look at
the phenomenon
of "phishing" and some tips for safe
purchasing on-line. I've also looked at
online backup systems, which can help reduce the problems
of tape backup and ensure your important data is
safe.
Alison's tip this month is
something so simple yet so useful you'll wonder
why you didn't know it before, and it works with
all the Microsoft packages.
Following last issues reminder
about Viruses, the Internet is currently in the
grip of the "Sasser" worm, so we've got some
details of how you can protect your system against
this new threat.
Our
cool internet links just keep
growing, you'll never know just how many hours of
web surfing this represents, you're sure to find
something interesting or useful. Remember if you
have a favourite Internet link, send it along to
me ,and I'll include it in next month's Issue.
As ever, if you like this little
newsletter, tell your friends,
send them a copy and get them to
subscribe here.
If you don't like it, tell me. You can unsubscribe with
[UNSUBSCRIBE], or send me
an
email and I'll make sure you don't receive
another copy.
Enjoy
Stuart Box -
Email me your feedback
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"Phishing",
don't be phooled.
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If you've recently received an
e-mail, purporting to come from one of the big UK
Banks, asking you to "re-register or "reactivate"
your account, you should know that this is
probably a fraudulent attempt to get you to give
out your bank account details. These emails point
users to a replica "Bank" website where they are
asked to enter their account details. Should an
unsuspecting user do so, their account is rapidly
plundered for its funds before they can stop
it. This scam, known as
"phishing" has become a real problem with over
3.1 billion fraudulent emails being sent out
worldwide in April, according to e-mail filtering
firm
Brightmail.
Police suspect organised crime
gangs from Eastern Europe are the main culprits in
the multi-million pound racket. Just last
Wednesday, police arrested a gang of dozen
criminals accused of transferring hundreds of
thousands of pounds in defrauded funds to a
Russian crime gang, in one of the biggest actions
so far against a "phishing" gang.
The
National Hi-Tech
Crime Unit has combined with the
British Bankers'
Association and the
Association for
Payment Clearing Services in compiling a list
of tips for staying safe online. The checklist,
largely commonsense advice, contains the following
pointers:
- Know
who you are dealing with - Always access
Internet banking by typing the bank's address
into your web browser. Never go to a website
from a link in an email and enter personal
details. If in doubt, contact the bank
separately on an advertised number.
- Keep
passwords and PINS safe - Always be wary
of unsolicited emails or calls asking you to
disclose any personal details or card numbers.
Keep this information secret. Be wary of
disclosing any personal information to someone
you don't know. Your bank and the police would
never contact you to ask you to disclose PINs or
all your password information.
- Keep
hold of your cash! - Don't be conned by
convincing emails offering you the chance to
make some easy money. If it looks too good to be
true, it probably is! Be especially wary of
unsolicited emails from outside the UK.
- Keep
your PC secure - Use up-to-date
anti-virus software, security patches and a
personal firewall. Be extra careful if using
Internet cafes or any PC which is not your own
and over which you have no control.
- Check
your bank's website - If in doubt, a good
place to get help and guidance on how to stay
safe online is your bank's website.
- Check
your statement - If you notice anything
irregular on your account contact your bank
immediately.
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Online data backups
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"Is it Safe?"..... if you remember
the film "Marathon Man" those words will send a
chill down your spine, as you remember Sir Lawrence
Olivier as the evil Nazi using dentistry to extract
information from Dustin Hoffman. However, if we're
referring to your data, the same question might
still give you a chill. How many of you backup the
key data on your PC's and Laptops? regularly? All
of it?, come on now be truthful.. If you're like me
you'll back it up occasionally, when you remember,
and trust your luck for the other times.
Determined to find a better way ,
I've been looking at online backup services, these
use your broadband connection to copy data from your
PC, Laptop or Server up to a secure storage area on
the internet. Capitalising on the fact that
Broadband is always on, many of these can be run
overnight to secure the entire contents of your
network. Your data is backed up, safe secure and
off-site, you don't need to worry about tapes, and,
subject to security considerations you can access
your data anywhere you can get to the internet.
Here are a few of the services
I've been looking at..
BT Datasure, you don't get
much more reliable and dependable than BT, after
all most Internet connections are made via BT in
the UK. I've several clients using Datasure and they're
very happy with it.
Clunk Click,
"safer, less
expensive and more efficient at backing up and
restoring data than traditional onsite backup
solutions"
Backup
Direct, Simple, secure affordable, claims to be
the UK no 1 in online backup for small businesses.
Databarracks - Holds your data in a secure ex
RAF bunker data centre.
All of these services provide a
useful service that is easier to use than managing
your own backups and Tapes or Disks. But like all
backup solutions they are only of use if used
regularly, and tested frequently by copying data
back down from a backup. However it's done, whether
Tapes, Disks, or Online, backups are an essential.
Contact us if you want to discuss making your data
secure, or any aspect of backup technology.
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Remote Email Access,
Home thoughts from Abroad
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Summer is coming, (well let's hope
so, as I write this the rain is lashing down,
typical British spring).
If you're going to be off on your holidays, taking
a quick break, or maybe just working away from the
office, can you afford to be cut off from your
email? With such great communication tools as
Wireless Access, intelligent Mobile Phones and
Palmtops you should be able to get email anywhere,
yet the initial setup can be quite tricky.
Products such as
Microsoft's Small Business Server
2003 have wonderful remote access, or you can
simply use something like
Orange Email to send
mail to your mobile phone.
We at Burningsuit can help you
and your staff get emails when out of the office,
working on-site, at home, or checking in whilst on
a well deserved break. Good, reliable remote
access can give you more time, reduce travelling
and stress and allow you to keep your finger on
the pulse, even from a beach in the South of
France! Phone us on 01403 786740 or
email
and we'll tell you more.
top of page |
Once more, with feeling.
Alison's tip of the month
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Alison's tip this month is
deceptively simple, but I bet you'll soon be using
it. I'll let Alison explain..............
"When your doing a repetitive task
in Office, like adding new table rows in Word or
Columns in Excel you can use the Redo function,
this is often a button on the toolbar, or menu
function, but you can also press F4, (Function key
4) to repeat the last action. This is simple quick
and easy, and works in all Microsoft Office
applications, but I'm always surprised how many of my
trainees don't know about it until I tell them."
So there you are, simple yet
powerful. If you'd like Alison to help unlock the
secrets of Microsoft Office, or any other of the
products we train on, for you or your company,
feel free to
contact her, or look at the course
details on our
website.
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The "Sasser"
Worm, a suitable case for treatment
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The "Sasser" worm has made the
headlines in the past week, first for disrupting
computer communications (HM Coastguard's systems
were a high profile victim on Monday). Then for
the arrest and charging of an 18 year old German
Student as the alleged author. Sadly the arrest
won't stop the spread of Worms and Viruses, but it
may discourage others thinking of creating new
ones.
If you are concerned your
computer is infected with the "Sasser" worm, try
these steps:
Block
Enable a firewall to prevent
infection or reinfection. A properly configured
firewall will block Sasser from reaching your
computer. To turn on the WindowsXP firewall,
follow the instructions on
Microsoft's Web site Enabling the
firewall may prevent other software, such as
Internet-based gaming, from working correctly. If
so, refer to Microsoft's additional instructions.
Check
Download a free "cleaner" program from an
antivirus vendor. The program should remove the
virus and repair any damage it might have caused.
You can also download the program on a friend's
computer to a floppy disk, then run it on your
computer before connecting to the Internet. Such
free programs can be downloaded from
McAfee
,
Symantec , or several other vendors.
Protect
Your computer can still become reinfected unless
the appropriate patch is installed. Get the right
patch for your PC from Microsoft at
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS04-011.mspx.
Microsoft recommends a free scan of your PC for
any other unpatched vulnerabilities, which is
available here:
http://specials.msn.com/msn/security.asp?GT1=3391
If you think you do have a
problem with Viruses, or would like more
information please contact us.
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