Email phishing scams from unknown, untrusted sources, have been so publicized that most users know how to spot and abort them before information violation occurs. But this new Spear Phishing employs tactics that make it more likely the user will fall victim. They appear to come not only from a trusted source, but often from someone in your own company, a superior in many cases, or from a close relative. The subject line often will be one of relevance to either current projects of developments within the company, or may be related to family history.  The violation occurs when the user opens the emails, clicks on the link attached and then receives notification that they trojans or malware have been downloaded.

We train our customers to only open emails and attachments from trusted sources, ones they are certain are legitimate. Spear phishing has success in manipulating users into releasing confidential information for 3 reasons:

-The source appears to the user to be known, trusted, and one that the user has frequent correspondence with

-The verbiage used in the subject reinforces the validity that the source is legitimate

-The information requested seems to make reasonable sense to the user considering the ‘source’

An example of spear phishing would be an email that appears to come from a specified and known network or IT person within your company. It prompts you to login with your employee name and password. Upon doing so, malware is downloaded.  More threatening is that it only takes one employee to fall victim to an attempt like this. As once the perpetrator has the user name and password of that employee, s/he can then access great amounts of company data using that access.

To protect yourself against such scams, if you are not expecting an emailed request for specific information, do NOT respond or act without first contacting the ‘sender’ by telephone and verifying that the email is legitimate. You may also check if you can see the origin of the email either in the “from” or “reply to” headers. If an address is shown that is not an address used within your company or that is not associated with the name of the person ‘supposedly’ as the sender, then its most likely a scam. Do not just delete these emails. Report them immediately to your IT dept or your contacts for computer support needs.

Free Security Awareness Presentation from ECS-Adobe Version

Free Security Awareness Presentation from ECS-Powerpoint

Malware spread onto a user’s MAC often happens without them even being aware, most commonly through USB drives, email attachments, internet downloads, and even silent installation. The user in most instances isn’t even aware their computer security has been breached . And even though the majority of the Malware discovered was intended for Windows, we stress again that these malware have the potential to spread and cause other problems in MACs.  And Mac users are a new likely target as they less frequently take the steps to install anti-virus software. The days of MACS being immune to malware have long passed and we encourage our customers to appreciate the severity of these risks and install software to protect their computers. We recommend this FREE ANTI-VIRUS software for MAC users to install. We also encourage our MAC customers to make sure their anti-virus once installed is current, including remaining up-to-date on security patches. And while it may seem obvious, its worth reiterating to be cautious when installing programs onto your computer, or opening email attachment links.  Just because you own a MAC, you are not immune!

At ECS, we strive to satisfy each one of our customer computer and IT service needs. Its great to receive feedback that we are doing our jobs well. Here are some of the things are recent customers are saying about us!  Please click on Comment and leave your own thoughts on your experience with ECS.

“I have never had anything but great service from ECS. Kyle dealt with all my issues amongst my network and now I am up and running better than ever. He was very professional and proficient at his job” -Anna Tindell, Anna Tindell Appraisal Services

“ECS has been wonderful to work with. Asher and Kyle have listened to and understood our company’s unique needs and in turn have been able to get our technology up and running beautifully. ECS has the unique ability to explain what is happening, the course that will need to be taken, and the resulting outcome in a language that is understood by those of us that are not so ‘tech-savvy’ without speaking down to us. We are very fortunate to have ECS as our IT management solution” - Chris Martinez, ACC

“We have found ECS to be very prompt in responding whenever we need help, which is rare, since they do the job correctly the first time. They are dependable and knowledgeable. We highly recommend this company.” -Dr. Robert Bernstein, Regional Endocrinology Associates

“After price comparison shopping, ECS is the only computer repair business in town, prepared with a standard menu price for virus removal, reasonable time estimates, and addresses all my needs with a sincerely welcoming customer service experience. Well Done!” – Christopher Maestas, Chrystalis Salon

“The staff at ECS are very friendly, responsive and knowledgeable. I chose ECS to have repairs done on my laptop because they focused on my concerns, the service was performed as promised and was extremely professional! I would highly recommend ECS to any of my friends and family.” – Jill May, Santa Fe

“ECS was great! I really appreciated the pricing as opposed to the MFG or retail store. I also appreciated your friendliness which isn’t really measurable, but I do think its key to a consumer oriented business. I was very pleased with the work and the excellent customer service was a wonderful bonus. Don’t wish to have problems with my computer, but do look forward to working with ya’ll again. Keep up the good work!. -Mike Adams, Shipping & Receiving Manager-Buffalo Thunder

Unpatched Java Vulnerability Exploited to Infect Macs With Flashback Malware

The most common reason Windows will not shut down is because it is waiting for programs to finish running or a task is stalled. Start by assuming this is the cause and try pressing “CTRL-ALT-DEL”. You will  get a screen that,  depending on the version of Windows you are running, will allow you to log-off, close any open programs, or force the shutdown completely. Through this Task Manager box that is brought up, be sure there are no programs still running (eg. A print job is still processing). If programs are listed as still running, you can either wait for them to finish and the box to clear, or force close them through the options in Task Manager.  Then try to log-off and shut down.

If this doesn’t work, disconnect the power supply to the computer, or hold the power button for approximately 10 seconds. Once it is forced off, reboot the computer and shut it down properly. If it still will not shut down, you can try starting it in Safe Mode. Again, disconnect the power or force the power button to shut it down. Power back on the computer and hold the F8 button before you get the Windows screen to start loading. From the Windows Advanced Options Menu, select “Safe Mode” Once your computer has started in this mode, shut it down, reboot and attempt to shut down properly.

If you were successful in shutting down your computer in Safe Mode, the problem may have been bad drivers, a virus, or a software problem. To fix these, start by following the directions to download for free and use Quick StartUp to disable programs you don’t need or use from loading when you start your computer. If there are outdated or poor software programs on your PC, it will be helpful for you to download or purchase updates or remove them completely. To fix a driver problem, press the Windows key + R. In the text box, type  devmgmt.msc and Enter. You will get a list that you can expand using the + buttons to view the devices on your computer. When you double click, you there is a Drivers tab where you can select to install updates to the driver software for the things most likely to be causing your shut down problems (try the wireless card, Ethernet card, graphics programs, battery drivers or power management drivers). After attempting these fixes, try to start and shut down your computer properly to see if this solved the problem.

If you are still having issues, or you think you have a Virus, download an anti-virus program and run a scan (or use your existing Virus program to do the scan). We recommend Microsoft Security Essentials, which you can download for free. The scan will alert you of any viruses and inform you of what you need to do. If you need to schedule an appointment to have a virus removed, you can call us at 505-954-4400.

One of the other things that can affect how your computer shuts down is the Power Options. So it may be useful to check and make sure your settings are to actually turn off the PC when you press the Power Button, and not put it in Stand-By or Hibernate mode. Under Control Panel, go to Power Options and you can select what happens when you press the Power Button.

If none of the above work, you can resort to trying a System Restore. To do this, from the Start Menu, select All Programs/Accessories/System Toos/System Restore. This will allow you to restore the settings on your computer to a previous time (eg. Several days ago when it did power off properly).

If after attempting the troubleshooting options above you are still have problems, consider bringing in your computer for a diagnostic appointment in-shop or scheduling an on-site tech to come to your residence. There may be more complicated issues with your hardware where parts need to be replaced, such as the hard drive, keyboard, or motherboard. Our support specialists would be happy to take a look and make recommendations for how to get your computer in healthy condition again.

In XP: Start>Control Panel>Folder Options>View>click Show Hidden Files and Folders

Now: My Computer>C:>Documents and Settings>User (select your username here)>AppData>Microsoft>Templates and now delete the normal.dot file.

In Vista or Windows 7: Start> type “Folder” into the search bar and select Folder Option>View>click Show Hidden Files and Folders

Now: Computer>C:>Users>(your user name)>Appdata>Roaming>Microsoft>Templates and now delete the normal.dot file.

This is Word’s structuring profile and it will be recreated when Word is executed again. Give it a shot and let us know how it goes. Of course, if this does not work, try a fresh install of Word or even a repair.

There are many benefits to running Google in place of Microsoft Exchange some of which include:

1. Data is stored and secured in a world class data center
2. No need to manage backups
3. Great SPAM filtering
4. Lower administration costs
5. Easy to support across any platform

I would say that three of the major hold ups at this point are:

1. Many user are very accustomed to using Microsoft Outlook and synchronizing with Windows Mobile phones.
2. Managing separate account for Google Apps and existing domain/directory system
3. At this point no easy way to have a universal shared contact list

Recently Google has released Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook with does allow for integration between Outlook and Google Apps. The downside is that it does not support syncing of tasks which could be problem if you like to sync with your mobile phone as well. A work around would be to ditch Outlook all together and sync with a phone running Google’s Android OS.

Google no offers Google Apps Directory Sync which will allow for synchronization between Google Apps and your existing Active Directory or LDAP system.

In conclusion I think that Google Apps may be a viable replacement for Microsoft Exchange in small business environments. The cost to setup and maintain Google Apps is estimated at <50%.