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Organized criminals believed to be based in Eastern Europe are robbing small to midsized US businesses of millions of dollars via an elaborate scheme aided by malicious software. Recent reports reveal that over the past few months, several businesses have fallen victim to unauthorized fund transfers whereby hundreds of thousands of dollars from the businesses’ bank accounts have been transferred to accounts in Europe, and in some cases, to the accounts of willing or unwitting accomplices in the United States.

According to the reports the victims, usually the company CFO or owner, were sent malicious software as attachments to email, which when opened remained resident on the victims’ machines and stole the victims’ passwords to their online banking websites. The cybercriminals used this information to initiate transfers from their accounts of up to US $10,000 at a time to evade notice and detection from their bank’s anti-fraud or money laundering detection systems and protocols.

Your business might be at risk. Make sure you are protected from this type of fraud by securing your PC and network from malicious software. Do not open suspicious-looking attachments and make sure you have the necessary protection in place, such as firewalls, antivirus software, and other methods of protection. Need help? Contact us today.

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As a result of the past year’s economic climate, many small and medium-size businesses have increased their efforts to mitigate risks and lower costs—and more and more are turning toward remote IT support to fulfill those goals.

Remote support tools allow IT providers to support an entire company’s computing infrastructure, wherever and whenever needed, from their own offices. This helps address the needs of a market that significantly benefits from doing more with less— small and medium businesses.

Some of the benefits of remote support include:

• No travel time. As long as the issue doesn’t require on-site support, you won’t pay for time spent traveling to your site.
• No waiting. Response time is faster because support staff can address your needs immediately with online access to your machines and servers.
• Less work interruption. Because support can be done remotely, much support work can be done after hours, or behind the scenes as you continue to work. No more downtime while support staff takes over your physical desk.
• Lower costs. IT support staff can work on all of your computers simultaneously from their own offices, saving time – and therefore money.
• Proactive monitoring prevents problems from ever happening. Instead of waiting to come out and fixing your infrastructure when it’s already broken, remote support provides ongoing network monitoring, management, and unlimited remote support that prevents problems from occurring in the first place – all for one fixed monthly fee.

Contact us today for details on how our remote IT support solutions can help your business stay on track.

Virtualization is generating a lot of buzz in IT circles these days because it promises to dramatically change the way many companies manage and operate their IT infrastructure. Virtualization is a broad term that covers the creation of virtual computing resources—such as storage, the network, or even an entire machine. For example, using virtualization you can create virtual machines on one computer, each running its own operating system.

According to research from the Yankee Group, 26% of medium businesses (100-499 employees) and 43% of enterprises (500+ employees) are using server virtualization today, and within 24 months, the percentage for medium-sized businesses is expected to increase to 69%. Among small businesses (20-99 employees), 23% are using server virtualization in production servers, and 8% of very small businesses (2-19 employees) are following suit.

Here are some examples of how you can take advantage of virtualization:

1. Reduce capex and opex. If you run a fair-sized organization with multiple servers, you can reduce your capital expenditures for new equipment or upgrades by purchasing a smaller number of machines and running your server workload off of them. Over time, this will reduce operating expenses because you’ll have fewer machines to maintain, less power and space consumed, and more machines more fully utilized.
2. A cost-effective way to keep IT running. Some virtualization solutions include features that allow virtual machines to quickly recover in case of disaster or application downtime. Virtual machine loads can be transferred in real-time from one physical machine to another. This means that your accounting application or warehouse management system will always run even if the original machine it’s installed on goes down – if it’s installed on a virtual machine that can intelligently transfer the application to a standby system.
3. Test multiple types of machines and run multiple applications on different operating systems. With machine virtualization, you can run multiple operating systems on a single PC. Thinking of running Windows 7 but are afraid some applications might not run properly on it? Use virtualization to run Windows XP within Windows 7. Want to use a Mac but your email is tied to Outlook? No problem! Buy a Mac, and use third party software to run Windows inside it.

Curious about virtualization and how it can help your business? Contact us today to explore ways that virtualization can increase your efficiency and lower your costs.

Carpal tunnel syndrome and eyestrain are two of the most common conditions that affect habitual computer users. Whether or not these conditions pose serious health risks remains a subject of debate, but it’s safe to say that no one wants to suffer them. Both conditions are painful, and can affect your productivity. The good news is that there are simple ways to prevent suffering from either condition.

How to prevent eye strain:

• Never stare too long at your monitor. Blink occasionally and use eye drops to avoid dry eyes.
• Rest your eyes regularly for about 2-3 minutes. If you have time, take a power nap (5-15 minutes) – this not only gives your eyes a rest, but also gives your brain and body a well-deserved break.
• Use glare-resistant glasses or a glare reduction screen for your monitor.
• Avoid working in too-bright environments.
• Reduce the brightness of your computer screen.
• Place your monitor at least 20 inches from your eyes. If you can’t read the screen, increase the size of your windows. You may also want to visit an optometrist to see if you need glasses or a new prescription.

How to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome:

• Adjust the height of your chair so that your arms and wrists are level with the keyboard.
• Move and click on your mouse lightly.
• Perform this wrist exercise several times throughout the day:
  1. Stretch your arms out in front of you, palms facing out – as if you were doing push ups. Hold for 5 seconds.
  2. With arms still stretched, straighten your wrists and relax you hands.
  3. After a few seconds, make tight fists and point them downward with your wrists. Hold for 5 seconds.
  4. Repeat step 2.
  5. Let your arms hang at your sides and then give them a gentle shake

Try incorporating these easy, quick, and safe tips into your daily routine. If they become habits, they’ll help you avoid the inconvenience and pain of carpal tunnel syndrome and eyestrain.

Another reason to keep your computer malware free: cyber-pirates raided several businesses as well as a school in recent attacks through the Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network.

The losses, which ranged from $150,000 to more than $400,000, were accomplished by the crooks in mere minutes. Luckily for these companies, the banks managed to reverse some of the transfers. If they hadn’t, the losses would have amounted to $700,000 up to a whopping $1.2 million.

The modus operandi of the hackers is simple. Making use of the ACH network, they send out “phishing” emails to account holders. When the recipient clicks on the link, malicious software – a Trojan horse or virus – automatically downloads itself to the recipient’s computer, allowing the hacker to infiltrate the system. Keylogging software (software that tracks keystrokes) is installed, which gives phishers access account numbers, names, and passwords. They then divert the company’s funds into their own accounts.

ACH fraudsters can also use the same method to not only siphon off money into their own pockets, but also to establish “ghost employees”, which they insert into the payroll and qualify to receive regular paychecks.

While banks are doing their best to strengthen the system, they can only do so much, and experts admit that the ACH network is a very old system compared to today’s standards. The volume of money that flows through the ACH is also so massive that it is difficult to keep track of specific amounts for specific accounts.

Despite its shortcomings, the ACH system still remains widely used, and the best defence is to guard your system well. For our clients, we have firewalls and anti-malware software in place, but you should also make sure your bookkeepers and staff are briefed on how to avoid being the victim of fake phishing emails.

If you have any questions or concerns please give us a call.

For more details about this story, visit http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9136334/Cyber_attackers_empty_business_accounts_in_minutes?taxonomyId=17&pageNumber=1.

Entrepreneur magazine columnist Gail Goodman offers an insightful look into email marketing and its relevance in today’s social network marketing-crazy world. She argues that despite the rise of Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, blogging, and other Web 2.0 tools for direct marketing, she argues that they will not likely displace email soon.

Goodman points out several arguments in support of her case. Among them: email is still valuable for relationship-building and meaningful interaction and dialogue with customers. Also, social networking has its place as a complementary channel to the marketing mix, and research from MarketingSherpa seems to bear this out. Another is that young people continue to use email despite their fascination with social networking sites.

If you rely on Internet, email, or direct marketing in your business, then be sure to continue using email as well.

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A new report by PandaLabs, Panda Security’s malware analysis and detection laboratory, examines the proliferation of so-called “rogueware” – malicious software that attempts to convince people that their computers are infected with malware in order to trick them into buying their “security software”.

Rogueware misleads users in that it tells them that it is protecting them from annoyances (such as online ads) or harm (such as from viruses or other malware) – even if it’s not. Often these programs themselves are not malicious beyond displaying false information. However, in some cases they can be the source of harm themselves, creating a backdoor for other Trojans or viruses to enter the system.

According to Panda’s research, as many as 35 million computers are newly infected with rogueware each month, many through social networking websites such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Digg. Ads featuring free downloadable software are often featured, containing links or reminders to get the paid versions after first use—which earn the fraudsters as much as $34 million per month, Panda estimates.

To ensure you use only legitimate security software, make sure you only use systems from trusted software vendors that are vetted by your IT advisor. For advice and help, contact us today!

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Microsoft recently announced the availability of the Release Candidate for Windows XP Mode. According to Microsoft, this release was specifically designed to ease the migration path for small to medium-sized businesses by providing additional compatibility for their older applications that may not be compatible with Windows Vista or the upcoming Windows 7.

Windows XP mode runs a virtualized instance of Windows XP in Windows 7, and requires a PC equipped with additional 1 GB of RAM, 15 GB of available disk space, and a processor capable of hardware virtualization with AMD-V or Intel VT turned on in the BIOS. Because of these system requirements, older PCs are not able to run the software.

In the blog post by the Windows 7 Development team, they suggest that users first try the Native Windows 7 mode when running their applications before resorting to Windows XP mode. Windows XP Mode was developed to address some users’ concerns about compatibility, considering that Windows 7 uses the same kernel as Windows Vista. Some businesses had been holding back from upgrading their operating systems since some business applications built for XP proved incompatible with Vista.

Windows XP Release Candidate will work with both the RC and RTM (Release To Manufacturing) versions of Windows 7. If you need more information, please contact us today and we’ll assess whether you can safely upgrade to the new release of Windows 7, or you need Windows XP compatibility mode for your business applications.

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Microsoft recently announced that Windows 7 will include a feature to allow instant upgrades from lower editions of Windows 7 to a higher edition (i.e., from Starter to Home Premium) with the click of a button. The feature, called “Windows Anytime Upgrade” or WAU, will make the process of upgrading much simpler and more convenient than before.

Typical scenarios for upgrading include:

1. Users running Windows 7 Starter Edition on their netbooks, who wish to upgrade to Home Premium to take advantage of Aero Peek and other enhanced functionality from their OS such as Taskbar Previews. Desktop themes are also enabled, and so is Remote Media Streaming.
2. Users running Home Premium on their laptops who wish to connect to their office network’s domain or run their old custom business applications using Windows XP Mode can upgrade to Professional.
3. Users running Home Premium or Professional who want to encrypt and secure their USB devices.

With Microsoft’s early announcements of pricing and upgrade options for the upcoming Windows 7 release, you have the opportunity to plan now for the investment strategy you will use when the time comes to upgrade. If you need information or advice about your options, don’t hesitate to call us.

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Information Week has posted a helpful guide to assist those planning to upgrade to the upcoming release of Microsoft Windows 7 on their existing Windows XP machine. Long story short: there is no direct upgrade from XP to Windows 7. You can’t simply insert the Windows 7 installation DVD, upgrade your running XP installation, and have all your programs and data remain intact.

However, this article does explain what you can do, including any of the following:

1. Install a copy of Windows 7 on the same computer, in parallel with your existing XP install.
2. Install a copy of Windows 7 on the same computer and replace your existing XP install entirely.
3. Obtain an entirely new computer with 7 installed, and migrate your existing XP data and application settings to it.

To learn more, visit Information Week. If you need help with preparing your business for Windows 7, contact us – we are here to help.

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