Quoting research from various industry analysts, Microsoft warned that users who install unlicensed or counterfeit software on their PCs are 73% more likely to suffer data loss or damage than users of legitimate software. The company also cited a 2006 IDC study that found that 25% of counterfeit software attempted to install unwanted or malicious code when downloaded. In response, Microsoft is launching a series of educational initiatives and enforcement actions in over 70 countries to combat the threat. Microsoft is calling its anti-piracy campaign Consumer Action Day. Microsoft has posted additional information about the risks of counterfeit software and its efforts to fight the problem at microsoft.com/howtotell.

Related articles:

• Counterfeit reports climb (robbiz1978.blogspot.com)
• Microsoft launches attack on pirates, counterfeiters (seattlepi.com)
• Microsoft Links Malware Rates To Pirated Windows (news.slashdot.org)

In Microsoft Word, you can use mail merge to create a batch of envelopes when you want to use envelopes to send a mass mailing to your address list. Each envelope can contain an address from your list.

Learn how…

A PowerPoint photo album is a presentation that you can create to display your personal or business photographs. You can add effects that include attention-grabbing slide transitions , colorful backgrounds and themes (theme: A combination of theme colors, theme fonts, and theme effects. A theme may be applied to a file as a single selection.), specific layouts , and more. After the pictures are in your album, you can add captions, adjust the order and layout, add frames around the pictures, and even apply a theme to further customize the look of your album. To share your photo album with others, you can send it as an attachment to an e-mail message, publish it to the Web, or print it.

Learn how…

A new report by security vendor Cenzic shares research indicating that security flaws found in Web applications continue to grow and should be a major concern for many businesses, including SMEs, as more and more depend on the Web for their business. According to the report, almost 80 percent of more than 3,000 software security flaws publicly reported this year have been in web technologies such as web servers, applications, plug-ins, and web browsers. That number is about 10 percent higher than the number of flaws reported in the same period last year — and 9 out of 10 of the flaws were found in commercial code. The top 10 vulnerabilities for the first half of 2009 included familiar names such as Sun, IBM, Mozilla, Apache, and Safari, where most Web applications were found to have vulnerabilities related to information leaks and exposures, Cross-Site Scripting, and session management.

Are you using the web for your business? Concerned about the security of your data and information? Contact us and see how we can help.

Related articles:

• Web application security is growing problem for enterprises (infoworld.com)
• Firefox flaws make up 44% of all browser bugs? (theregister.co.uk)
• Vulnerabilities Whitehat Security (ecombizcenter.blogspot.com)

Microsoft Office Publisher makes it easy to produce effective business cards, whether you create your own design or use one of the Publisher designs. You can use color schemes and font schemes to select the colors and fonts that reflect your company’s image. You can further customize your business cards for specific market segments or locales, and you can add names and job titles for new employees as your business grows.
Learn how…

Microsoft Office Access 2007 makes it easy to gather data from people who are located anywhere on the globe, such as members of your sales team, survey participants, or contacts. Office Access 2007 works with Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 to help you to generate and send an e-mail message that includes a data entry form.

Learn how…

New research from the Ponemom Institute and Lumension, shows that a majority of firms are struggling to secure data as users quickly adopt new and emerging technologies such as mobile, cloud computing, and collaborative Web 2.0 technologies. The study, which surveyed IT security and IT operations practitioners, shows that many (44 percent) feel that their IT network is less secure than a year ago or that their IT security policies are insufficient in addressing the growing threats arising from the use of new technologies. Budgets are also a limiting factor, with many feeling that IT security budgets still aren’t what they need to be to fully support business objectives and security priorities. Other findings from the report:

• 56% said mobile devices are not secure, representing a risk to data security
• 49% said data security is not a strategic initiative for their company
• 48% said their companies have allocated insufficient resources to achieve effective data security and regulatory compliance
• 47% cited a lack of strong CEO support for information security efforts as a reason for ineffective data security programs
• 41% said there was a lack of proactive security risk management in their organization

Just as large companies worldwide struggle to keep up with security, many small businesses do so even more. If you need help understanding the security implications that new technologies bring to your organization, contact us so we can help.

Related articles:

• Companies face IT attacks in uncertain economy: Ernst & Young (newswire.ca)
• Keeping America’s information safe offers a secure career (techburgh.com)
• Cloud Security and Privacy (oreilly.com)
• Computer Security Challenged By Web 2.0 ‘Endpoint’ Growth (Investor’s Business Daily via Yahoo! News) (slumpedoverkeyboarddead.com)

Entrepreneur Magazine’s Scott Steinberg shares in his online column Top Ten reasons why Small Businesses should use Windows 7. Among them: lower system requirements than Vista, better multitasking, and enhanced security. And while he says not everything is perfect (for instance, confusing multiple versions, and separate download and installs for email and calendar programs) he says “Windows 7 provides a welcome evolutionary step forward for the platform, significantly improving security, stability and everyday convenience.”

Also check out an online slideshow from bMighty.com which shows 10 Windows 7 Features SMBs Should Love which provides a more visual guide for businesses evaluating whether to upgrade to the new Windows Operating System.

Need help evaluating or migrating to Windows 7 for your business? Contact us today!

Related articles:

• Transfer files and settings from XP to Windows 7 (helpdeskgeek.com)
• Windows 7 may be secure, but are Windows users safe? (infoworld.com)
• How To Reduce Aero Peek’s Delay Time (techie-buzz.com)

If you are using an automated clearing house (ACH) system to manage your funds, then you had better be extra careful.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has warned ACH users – particularly small businesses – to be on the lookout for ACH system fraud, which has already scammed as much as $100 million from unsuspecting victims.

The FBI is working with the National Cyber Forensics and Training Alliance (NCFTA) to determine a solution for the problem and to catch the criminals behind these multi-million dollar scams.

All it takes is a seemingly harmless email to an organization’s bookkeeper or accountant to give hackers access to all their accounts. In a technique called “phishing”, these criminals send electronic correspondence laced with attachments disguised as documents or genuine applications (like an update for Windows, for example), or links to supposedly legitimate websites. Once a recipient clicks on these links or installs the software, the hacker installs a keylogging program in their system, giving them access to passwords and other sensitive account information.

The siphoning off of funds happens fairly quickly. Some hackers set up ACH transfers to unaware third party groups that typically do payroll processing tasks for international companies, which in turn transfer the money overseas. Others create fake names on a payroll system which automatically siphons off money into preset accounts enrolled in a similar system.

According to the FBI, the usual victims are small businesses because of their tendency to work with smaller, less secure banks. It’s the FBI’s conclusion, indicated in a report by their Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), that smaller banks lack the proper security measures, which gives hackers the capacity to abuse the ACH system.

“In several cases banks did not have proper firewalls installed, nor anti-virus software on their servers or their desktop computers. The lack of defense-in-depth at the smaller institution/service provider level has created a threat to the ACH system,” the IC3 report reads.

More details about this story can be found here.

(http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9140308/FBI_warns_of_100M_cyber_threat_to_small_business?taxonomyId=17&pageNumber=1)

The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and  Symantec recently released the results of a survey they did as part of National Cyber Security Awareness Month to assess the awareness and preparedness of small businesses (51 or fewer employees) in countering cybersecurity threats.

Some notable findings:

• Only 28% have formal Internet security policies in place
• Only 25% provide even minimal Internet use/Internet security training to employees
• Those companies that do train spend less than 5 training hours per year on average
• 86% do not have an employee focused on Internet security
• More than 90% believe they are protected from malware and viruses

However:

• Barely half of the businesses surveyed check their antivirus software weekly to insure they’re up to date
• 11% never check security tools to make sure they’re current

For many, it seems, online security is simply not a top priority, falling far behind other issues such as meeting payroll and managing cash. But this is dangerous thinking, since more and more companies’ operations have become highly dependent on their IT infrastructure and the Internet for communications and business transactions.

How about your business? Is it secure? Call us today and find out how we can help.

Related articles:

• Fake security software ‘installed on millions of PCs’ (telegraph.co.uk)
• Celebrating National Cyber Security Awareness Month 2009 (googleblog.blogspot.com)
• Symantec lists “Dirtiest Web Sites” (canada.com)