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December 2013 News & Tips

9 December 2013
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Categories: Information, News, Technology
Gifts & gizmos for the holidays.  IT looks ahead to 2014.  Google Voice for Your Chrome Browser . . .

News & Views

google voice extensionGoogle Adds Voice To Chrome Browser

If you thought that using Google Now voice commands was a smarty-pants way to talk to your smartphone only, Google just changed that. A new voice extension for Chrome browser lets you plug in a microphone and say “OK Google” or use the browser microphone button and ask away! It’s Hands-free with no typing. Simply say “Ok Google” and then ask your question. Here’s a fun you tube video that shows the way! GigaOM also has a good overview

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black-serversIT Looks Ahead To 2014

As IT moves into the new year, it becomes increasingly clear that IT must continue to upgrade its business management profile. More than ever IT decisions affect not just the back room, but the up front profitability and cohesiveness of the corporate structure. Two interesting articles? Twelve Challenges Facing IT Professionals in 2014 by IT Business Edge and Four Ways IT Can Embrace Business Management by Information Week.

 

maskme_logoMaskMe by Abine Safeguards Your Online Identity.

During the holidays (and always), Abine promises you can browse and shop online without having to give out your real email address, phone number, or credit card number. Using AES-256 Encryption, when you enter private information like your phone number or email, it appears something like this {2cb-005-83cdk} and {80s-d8si-3jsld}. Cnet give it a big thumbs up. There’s a comprehensive overview here. The basic version is free, but you can choose to upgrade for $5 per month, which includes Masked Phones, Masked Credit Cards, and the mobile app for iPhone or Android.

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Holiday Quick Picks:

ChromeCast_Chromecast!

A Great gift at a bargain price. Clever little dongle that controls streaming to your TV via your Android or iOS device, or through the Chrome Browser. Now with HBO GO. It connects through your TV HDMI port and you pull it up with the input button on your television remote, the same as you would a DVD player. A totally innovative little gizmo at $35.

RokuRoku

Nifty little streaming box in 3 versions, with Roku 3 for hidef being the one to beat. Tons of watching pleasure in a tiny box with speed to spare. Enjoy a wealth of channels from Netflix to Amazon, Smithsonian, National Geographic, PBS, and many,many more!

nexus7The New Nexus 7

Touted as a smoking little tablet with great features at a very affordable price. 1,920 x 1,200 IPS display, 2GB of RAM, a rear camera, a quad-core processor, wireless charging. Cost is a modest $229 for 16G. $269 for 32G. Unlocked!

motogMotoG:

Praised as “an affordable phone, done right,” by Engadget, it’s priced at $179 unlocked! The MotoG comes with a 4.5-inch 720p display, and a comfortable curved back. Specs include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core 1.2GHz processor, 1GB RAM,a 2,070mAh battery, a front-facing cam and a 5mp camera. You can choose from a range of shell or flip covers. See the Engadget review here

appleiPadmini with retinaiPad Mini With Retina.

You get a gorgeous screen, the Apple ecosystem, and a great design; albeit at a price point that’s a little hard to take when compared to others with the same specs. Apple lovers, however, will probably go ahead and take the bite at close to $400 for a 16G model. PC Mag calls it “Beautifully built, fast . . . with a super sharp retina display that packs all of the power of the iPad Air into a more portable package.” See their review here.

xboxoneXbox One

Touted as a command center for your living-family-gaming pleasure, it’s selling like hotcakes, with Kinect built in. Some say TV integration is frustrating and confusing. It’s also slightly pricier than PS4, but offers a ton of popular titles. Here is TechRadar’s take on the beast!

Sony PS4Sony PS4

Great graphics, controller and speed – lacking somewhat in available titles. Despite its smaller size than the Xbox One, Cnet says the PS4 “serves up dazzling graphics, runs on a simplified and logical interface, and boasts a fantastic controller. It’s also $100 cheaper than rival Xbox One and has the upper hand on indie and day one digital-only offerings.”

 

SiteVision News & Tips November 2013

4 November 2013
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Categories: Information, Mobile Solutions, News, Security, Technology

 IN THE NEWS

win8.1_btdesktop2

Win 8.1 Arrives – Boot To Desktop and Sync.

It’s kind of ironic that Microsoft managed to annoy nearly everyone with Win 8, and has now spent the past year compensating for the havoc it wreaked. This is not to say there aren’t some real improvements in 8.1. Most reviewers feel it’s a positive upgrade (free) that helps correct a confusing interface and adds some new features.

For many however, the return of the start button reigns supreme. More importantly, perhaps, is the ability to boot to desktop with a simple point and click.

 

 

 

Here’s how:

Other improvements include a baked-in Sky Drive, faster shutdown, IE 11, a more unified smart search with Bing, and the ability to resize app tiles, to name but a few.

Will this be enough to convince small business and consumers to abandon earlier versions of Windows? Time will tell, but Microsoft has some substantial credibility issues to overcome.

By the way, for IT pros Zdnet has a free ebook written by Ed Bott: Introducing Windows 8.1 for IT Professionals. More on Win 8.1 can be found at Information Week and Technology Guide[divider]

PHP.Net Confirms Malicious Malware Attack:

php logoThe security breach was confirmed last week after Google’s “Safe Browsing” service blacklisted the site. The PHP group initially thought the warning was a false positive, but a more thorough investigation shows malicious JavaScript code was injected into one of the site’s files. That coded executed exploits from a third party website that, if successful installed a piece of malware on visitors’ computers.

According to PHP, two servers were compromised and all services on those computers have been migrated off. PHP will reset user passwords, has revoked their old SSL certificate and is in process of getting a new certificate. More at PHP.Net, PC World

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3D Printers Hot Ticket Item:

3d-printed-headphonesWhile some may think of it as child’s play, 3D printing may be the beginning of a new paradigm for manufacturing, prototyping, computing and science. For example, NASA will be getting into the act by sending a 3D printer with its astronauts to manufacture (rather than haul) some of the tools they need. The pretty cool headphones pictured here at Wired were designed by Teague Labs’ John Mabry as a project.

According to Gartner, consumer and enterprise 3D printer shipments are growing at 95.4% and revenue at 81.9% from 2012 through 2017. Gartner predicts the 3D printer market will grow from $288 million to more than $5.7 billion by 2017. More at Techcrunch and Elite Daily

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Quick Takes

LightbeamMozilla releases Lightbeam an application that lets you know who is watching you online. When you activate Lightbeam and visit a website, this add-on creates a real time visualization of all the third parties that are active on that page. See more at Zdnet

Guardly_beacon-screenDoes walking alone at night give you the creeps? If you have a Smartphone, several new personal safety apps act as your guardian. Although most are subscription based, the small costs could be a real life-saver. One example for college students: Guardly Safe Campus. Others from TechHive are here.

 

 

Apple’s OS X Mavericks 10.9.

The good news: it’s free and it further refines the OS. The other news: there’s nothing particularly stellar or innovative. See more at Techcrunch, Engadget, Cnet

 

SiteVision August News & Tips

2 August 2013
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Categories: Information, News, Technology

IN THE NEWS

Online Hacking. You Are A Target.

Congratulations. You haven’t been hacked yet. The bad news? You probably will be. While online companies promise to keep your information private, recent history suggests it’s pretty much an empty promise.

Think Zappos – about 30 million accounts hacked. Living Social – 50 million. Oh, and by the way, a majority of breaches occur for financial accounts. And that’s just a tiny sampling. Scary, huh? As the saying goes there are only two types of online companies: those that have been hacked and those that are about to be.

maskme_home_logoThat means you have been or likely will be attacked – Really. Truly. No fooling. So what to do? One nifty program, MaskMe, is an easy to use browser add-on and mobile app designed to protect your email account, your phone number and your credit cards and your passwords. It acts as your personal, kung-fu bodyguard, so to speak. Cnet and others give it high marks. Abine,
the company who created MaskMe, is also the creator of “Don’t Track Me,” another useful program to prevent online retailers, thieves, social networks, etc from tracking you as you browse the internet.

The moral: while you may not care if your tweets get hacked, you really don’t want your bank account, your credit cards, or your personal identity in the hands of the evil-doers! So do yourself a favor, and do something now.

Oh, and by the way. At the very least, check out our previous article on basic Password Strategies.

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SiteVision’s Statewide Hosting Award – Customer How To Guide.

SiteVision awarded VITA Hosting Services ContractAs we’ve mentioned, SiteVision was honored to be awarded a VITA (Virginia Information Technology Agency) statewide contract for the Commonwealth’s electronic government (eGov) services. The contract is for advanced Hosting and related technologies. All Virginia public bodies, including state agencies, universities, school systems and localities, can use the eGov contracts.

In addition to traditional hosting technologies, SiteVision offers customized solutions such as GIS, Cloud, Data-Driven, SAAS and IAAS options.

Now, to help customers transition more easily, we’ve provided a useful “How To Get Started” guide that provides step-by-step assistance. You can find it by visiting SiteVision and download the PDF. In addition, you can contact SiteVision with any questions you might have, or ask us for guidance on how best to accomplish your hosting goals.

As always, we’re anxious to make your hosting experience the best it can be!

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Did Google’s “ChromeCast” & New Nexus 7 Get the Drop on Apple?

And did Google’s nifty little streaming gadget wow? Oh, yes! While Chromecastthere’s room for improvement, what’s not to like about a little $35 thumb-drive sized USB streaming device that plugs into your HDMI TV and uses almost any of your devices as a remote control. For example: open your Netflix or the You Tube app on any device and stream away. The app doesn’t steam. It’s sends a signal to the ChromeCast device. It’s amazingly simple and easy to set up according to reviews. And did we say this innovative little streaming device is about as inexpensive as you can get?  TechCrunch is among those who really like it.

Nexus7The new Nexus 7 was another show stopper. It sports the highest resolution to date of any tablet out there – a simply gorgeous screen. Apple, did you hear that? Cnet calls it “ . . . the best small tablet you can buy.” The basic specs? Android 4.3, a 1,920 x 1,200 IPS display, 2GB of RAM, a rear camera, a quad-core processor and wireless charging Pricing is quite impressive as well – $229 for a 16G with wifi; 269 for a 32G with wifi. No doubt there are a few discounts (or will be) beyond the published pricing from Google.

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Welcome New Hosting Customers!

dcr.virginia.gov — VA Dept of Conservation
mrc.virginia.gov — VA Marine Resources Commission
dof.virginia.gov — Virginia Department of Forestry
vbbe.virginia.gov — Virginia Board of Bar Examiners
dma.virginia.gov — VA Dept of Military Affairs
mvdb.virginia.gov — Motor Vehicle Dealer Board
dyslexiadash.com — Dyslexia Dash
buyvrabonds.com — Virginia Resource Authority
virginiaresources.org — Virginia Resource Authority

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A Reminder: Google Publishes Online Phishing and Malware Scams

Google has said it will begin to regularly publish Internet security data on malware and phishing scams that infect computers and steal consumer information.  The weekly reports will include the number of offending sites and their map locations.  The company said it finds about 10,000 such sites a day.  Google will also disclose government and law enforcement requests for user data. The data will be included in Google’s Transparency Report.  The data comes from Google’s Safe Browsing program, which the company uses to find and flag malicious sites across the Internet.

Was Your Password Hacked Today?

29 July 2013
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Categories: Information, News, Security, Technology

[image source_type=”attachment_id” source_value=”3446″ align=”left” size=”small 150 width” autoHeight=”true” quality=”90″] UPDATE:  Whoa! Facebook says hackers try to steal your stuff about 600,000 times daily. A more recent example: Zappos online store was hacked and hackers gained information on 24 million customers. Living Social about 50 million.  While full Zappos customer credit card information wasn’t compromised, all customer passwords had to be deleted. We’re sure you’ve heard of other scary hacks. Online financial information is a huge target.  So if you’ve been a little lax about your passwords, it’s really time sit up and take notice.

So, what to do?

First, Avoid These Common Mistakes

Creating Your Password

Special Tip:

Use a pseudo-random phrase: A great way to create a unique password is to think of a phrase only you would know, and then use letters, numbers and symbols to create the password:

Unique Passwords For Your Important Accounts

Never use the same passwords for your important banking, stock, healthcare and personal information accounts. Hackers test stolen passwords and usernames from a particular site across many internet sites, meaning your identity and banking and stock resources could be severely compromised with single use passwords. Give each of these account types a unique password!

Keep Your Password Reminders In A Safe Place

Most of us couldn’t possibly remember all of our passwords to all of the sites we commonly use. So, if you decide to save your passwords, don’t leave notes with your passwords lying around in plain sight.

If you save your passwords in a file, create a unique name for the file, so that people don’t know what’s inside. Avoid giving the file an obvious name, such as “my passwords”; instead use a unique file name.  Better yet, password protect it – just make sure you can remember the password!

Password managers are available through your security programs and elsewhere, but spend the time to check out reputable resources. If you have a difficult time remembering different passwords, a trusted password manager may be a good solution.

Need A Better Password: There are numerous password generators, but make sure you use a reputable one! As an example, here is a quick PC Tools online version: http://www.pctools.com/guides/password

By following some simple, but important rules, you can substantially reduce or eliminate your chances of having critical information such as your banking, credit card and identity stolen!

Check Out Other New Protection Methods:

As hacking and tracking become neary ubiquitous in our everyday browsing, do a little homework on browser based or device software that hides your identity, email, credit card info and more.

 

 

SiteVision News & Tips

3 July 2013
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Categories: Information, News, Technology

 

IN THE NEWS

Win 8+ – Prettier, Friendlier, But Will You Fall In Love?

[image source_type=”attachment_id” source_value=”5130″ align=”left” size=”small” quality=”100″] The Microsoft Build Conference revealed that perhaps, just perhaps, Microsoft gets it. The traditional MS corporate narcissism – so apparent in the release of Windows 8 – was universally criticized. The new build of Windows 8, now dubbed Windows 8.1 features a plethora of changes to allay the growing and often strident criticism of the original release. According to some, it’s what Windows 8 should have been. But no matter the hue and cry, MS Windows still dominates worldwide desktop usage with more than an estimated 80% market share.

In a nutshell, Windows 8.1 will:

There’s a good bit more, and we’ve linked a Windows Preview. There is also a download, but be forewarned, it’s not for the novice or faint of heart. Definitely read the FAQ before you leap.
For more in depth reports of the new iteration see: ZDNet, Fox, PC World, Information Week

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Tablets Munching Away At Desktop Share

While Windows still dominates PC desktop market share, iOS is the mobile leader with a nearly 60% share. Android is next with about a 24% share. It’s interesting to note that Android has taken about a 20% market share away from iPad in the last year. In fact, by 2015, unit tablet sales are projected to come in at 337.8 million, eclipsing combined desktop and laptop sales of 292.2 million, according to Gartner. Internet Explorer is still, far and away the most popular browser, however. In general the PC market is expected to continue to decline as user behavior changes and as a growing and versatile choice of tablets, cell phones and other mobile options become available at increasingly attractive price points. You can read more here: Gartner, Wikipedia, ZDNet,  Net Market Share

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Google To IRS: Pay Up Or Else:

moneyIn an interesting twist, Google is suing the Internal Revenue Service over a prior AOL stock transaction claiming that the US government owes them a whopping $83.5 million. In the suit, Google argues that the IRS disallowed a Google deduction in error. . Forecasting an optimistic outcome, Niki Fenwick, a spokeswoman for Google, said in a phone interview, “We hope to have it resolved soon.” Bloomberg Business Week, CNET

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Are You A Wimp? Size Matters.

No WimpsAre you just a wimp – an insignificant piece of dark matter? According to Harvard Research, it depends in part on the size of your computing device. Really? Well, at least, maybe. A couple of researchers found experimentally that the larger your computing device the more power and confidence you exude. Hunching over a small device is diminishing, while a large screened device appeared to produce a more assertive and in control persona. If you are so inclined, you can read more here: Harvard Business School

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Google To Reveal Online Phishing and Malware Scams

Google has said it will begin to regularly publish Internet security data on malware and phishing scams that infect computers and steal consumer information. The weekly reports will include the number of offending sites and their map locations. The company said it finds about 10,000 such sites a day. Google will also disclose government and law enforcement requests for user data. The data will be included in Google’s Transparency Report. The data comes from Google’s Safe Browsing program, which the company uses to find and flag malicious sites across the Internet

June News & Tips From Sitevision

3 June 2013
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Categories: Information, News, Security, Technology

Lots To Like In Your New IceWarp Email!

IW_sm_HomeScreenWith a new, inside-out redesign, your new IceWarp Email Client aims to please!   For starters, a new graphically appealing and intuitive log-in page allows for company branding and personalized colors.  The same look and feel welcomes users with large LCDs, tablets, in any browser of choice.

Other great features include:

For more information visit the support article here at SiteVision.  You can also view the online Userguide

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winblueMicrosoft Rejiggers Windows:

In response to a generally luke-warm reception of Win 8, and IT’s lack of enthusiasm for abandoning the very stable interface of Win7 – Voila, enter stage-left, Win 8.1.  Available as a free upgrade later this year, there are a slew of new features, but what’s one biggie?  The Start Button resurfaces!  According to several sources it’s back in its familiar place and always visible, though the menu trees are gone.  Will it look the same?  Maybe, Maybe not.  Some think it will resemble the stylized windows we show here.
For many, who are disenchanted with Microsoft’s tone-deaf approach to Win 8, the new upgrade won’t be enough.  For others, well, maybe.  According to Forrester, Win 8 in current iterations won’t gain enough traction to become a standard.  IT is particularly adverse to this upgrade.  Interestingly, though, again, according to Forrester, users have warmed up to the new version.  Here are several links to recent articles:  Engadget, Forrester, and The Verge.

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Who’s Peeking At Your Skype Chats & Calls?

Oops, your private Skype calls and chats may not be so private after all.  It seems that not only is Skype (Microsoft) scanning messages for security reasons, but it is also scanning “https urls,” which are supposed to be private. Most of us reasonably expect that this type of messaging is private, but perhaps not.  It’s also unclear what Microsoft does with that data.  . Just what Microsoft needed, eh, especially since they have pounded Google for privacy infringement in a long-running “scroogled” campaign. Here’s this interesting perspective from Infoworld

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weasymbolWireless Emergency Alerts For Your Mobile Device

You may not have noticed, but if your mobile device is WEA capable you will receive alerts for critical emergencies.  The alerts are issued for extreme weather situations such as floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes; Amber Alerts; or Presidential alerts about catastrophic disasters. The system is a joint effort of several government agencies such as FEMA, NOAA and the Association CTIA, a nonprofit  international trade organization. More information here.

SiteVision News & Tips: May 2013

3 May 2013
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Categories: Information, Mobile Solutions, News, Technology

PasswordsNew Rules for SiteVision Email!

To comply with Anti-Spam regulations and standards:

As of April 16, new passwords must: be at least 8 characters long and contain a capital letter, lower case letter, and number.

By now, you are surely aware of our new email account requirements, limits and password requirements.  It’s become a really critical issue for you and for all of us in the digital world.

In an internal review, we have discovered that most of your SiteVision email passwords could be easily hacked using a standard desktop computer.

Since nonsensical passwords can be difficult to remember, consider using a pass-phrase that reminds you of something, or is familiar.  Examples:  iLuv2shop,  d0n’tskipLunch, meetMyQu0ta, and so forth.

For the full scoop visit this article at our Help Desk and our tutorial on passwords

Helpful Email Tips

Use Unique Passwords for Your Important Accounts. Never use the same passwords for your important banking, stock, healthcare and personal information accounts. Hackers test stolen passwords and user-names from a particular site across many Internet sites, meaning your identity and banking and stock resources could be severely compromised with single use passwords. Give each of these account types a unique password!

Keep your password reminders in a Safe Place. Most of us couldn’t’t possibly remember all of our passwords to all of the sites we commonly use. So, if you decide to save your passwords, don’t leave notes with your passwords lying around in plain sight. If you save your passwords in a file, create a unique name for the file, so that people don’t know what’s inside. Avoid giving the file an obvious name, such as “my passwords.”

convertible_No More Parking Tickets?

Several clever new mobile apps not only help you park, but check your meter and find your car, too. ParkMe for Apple displays the closest parking and real time availability.  Another, HONK, for iPhone & iPad checks your meter, records where you parked your car and reminds you where to find it again.  Waze, for Apple and Android, is a social GPS app lets you get up to the minute traffic, detours and such from fellow travelers.  Take a look at this USA Today video here.  You can also visit the app sites:  ParkMe  Honk  Waze

Google-GlassDevs:  If  You Don’t Play Nice, Google Will Brick Your Google Glasses.

For those of you developers who rushed to purchase Google Glasses for development purposes and paid a hefty price, don’t get silly and try to sell, rent, loan or otherwise try to make a penny or two off of your prized possession.  Best to stick to the challenge at hand:  developing apps for the device. Cnet gives you the details

 Mycestro-the-next-generation-mouseAw, Our Beloved Mouse Is Probably Going, Going, Gone!

How long have we had that faithful little companion around?  Would you believe about 60 years?  And  now, it seems inevitable, perhaps, that mousey will bite the dust.  Here’s one example of a 3D finger-mounted device called Mycestro that’s in the works.

javaiconHoly Moly! Oracle Fixes 42 Holes in Java.

In an effort to calm the stormy seas, Oracle has released a patch that fixes not one, not two, but 42 Java vulnerabilities.  While some recommendations have included disabling Java entirely, many companies have legacy software that relies on Java and have pushed for safer implementation. You can read about it here.

 

 

More Java Breaches, Fixes, New Phone Tablet . . .

3 March 2013
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Categories: Information, Mobile Solutions, News, Security, Technology

[image source_type=”attachment_id” source_value=”4776″ align=”left” size=”Small 150 width” quality=”100″] Java Problems Ongoing.  Are You At Risk?

As we outlined last month, the serious flaws in Oracle’s Java7 were enough to set the industry abuzz with criticism.  Since our last newsletter remaining flaws in Java7 permitted attacks on Facebook and Apple, though the companies claimed no customer or user data was compromised.  Twitter warned that about 250,000 user accounts were compromised.

In essence if you are running an outdated version of Java you are at risk.  Oracle has scrambled to provide fixes.  The most recent came in early February and contained some 50 security fixes; then another February 19 with several additional fixes. According to PC World, the latest update, Java 7 (Update 15) and Java 6 (Update 41), address five additional vulnerabilities that couldn’t be included in the emergency Java update that Oracle released on Feb. 1 due to time constraints.

For the average user who may be confused, uninitiated and wary, geek.com has provided a handy guide for disabling Java in your browsers.  It should be noted that all browsers as well as Windows, OS-X, and Linux operating systems are vulnerable.

Furthermore, according to Information Week mobile developer sites were targeted in the recent attacks, so if you are a mobile developer and feel you’ve been compromised, it’s critical that you check your source code. We’ve included some helpful links if you want to further explore the issue:  Information Week, geek.com, PC World, Oracle Java topics, Oracle downloads

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ASUS FonepadHello!  A Tablet That Can Call Home.

The Asus Fonepad is what many of us have been waiting for:  A tablet that’s a phone that’s a tablet.  Who wants to carry a slew of devices around to talk, type, hype and chat?  In short Fonepad is a 7″ Android tablet that features 3G data and voice capabilities.

But, is it really the bomb?  Do you really want to hold a 7” tablet up to your ear?  For some, perhaps, who rely on speakerphone, no big deal?  For others, probably, no way!  As one reviewer put it:  who wants to hold something up to your ear that blocks out the sun?

On the other hand the Fonepad is expected to be relatively inexpensive (about $250 US), resembles the Nexus 7 in many respects, and adds a phone into the mix.  So use the phone or not, it’s there at a very decent price.  Asus hasn’t  yet given a US release date, so for the moment we can wait and see how it’s received in the UK and Asia.

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Do Operating Systems Matter Anymore?

While they certainly will matter on the back end — to the average user, the operating system is becoming less and less important.

Why?  For starters, a proliferation of device sizes, shapes, capabilities and operating systems are now in direct competition with the traditional PC model.  Furthermore, Software As A Service (SAAS) is dynamically affecting how we receive and use applications for business and pleasure.

As a business owner, I might utilize several servers, a cloud-delivered custom customer relations management system, and a proprietary accounting system; permit a BYOD environment for certain employees, and use, say, Google Docs or Windows for my daily word processing and spreadsheet applications.

It hasn’t been so long ago that the Microsoft OS had us pretty locked into a rigid my way or the highway mentality. Surely you remember the blue screen of death.  Surely you remember that your primary OS choices were Windows or Apple.  Application delivery is a fast shifting paradigm, and it will be fascinating to see how it coalesces, or, indeed, if it does; and whether it even matters. Here’s more if you want to explore:  Forbes.  Computerworld.

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Welcome New Clients!

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March Maintenance Schedule

March 19th @ 5pm

Please contact us if you experience any problems.

SiteVision News & Tips: February 2013

4 February 2013
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Categories: Information, Mobile Solutions, News, Security

[image source_type=”attachment_id” source_value=”4777″ align=”left” size=”Small 150 width” quality=”99″] Beware! Browsers Using Java Still Vulnerable After Oracle “Fix”

Unfortunately, according to numerous experts, it boils down to the fact that Java is flawed.  Period!  View an infected web page and get infected. Oracle’s new edition of Java – the fix issued on January 13, (Version 7, Update 11) –  is already “busted.”

Since then numerous new vulnerabilities have been discovered.  The new flaws, like the earlier highly publicized one, permit an unsigned Java program to break out of its sandbox and do as it pleases with the victim’s computer.

In brief, the current issues are with Java from Oracle which does not run on android, but does run on Windows, OS-X, and Linux – an enormous user base.  Importantly, this can be true in all browsers and versions – in one instance even with the Java Control Panel set on the “Very High” setting.

Adam Gowdiak of Security Explorations in his posting said, “… recently made security “improvements to Java SE 7 software don’t prevent silent exploits at all. Users that require Java content in the web browser need to rely on a Click-to-Play technology implemented by several web browser vendors in order to mitigate the risk of a silent Java Plugin exploit.”

Sadly, according to Michael Horowitz, Computuerworld, “that advice is only useful to techies that understand both Java and Click-to-play.”  According to Horowitz the best strategy for Windows and Mac users is to uninstall Java and hope nothing breaks.

And while this discussion deals with online hazards, offline use has no restrictions in applications at all, with the only cure that of uninstalling Java completely.   Horowitz has a good article on how to be as safe as possible here
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NoAs of Now, Unlocking Your Cell Phone Is Illegal Without the Permission of the Carrier Who Locked It . . .

In a rather esoteric (some might call it bizarre)  interpretation by the Librarian of Congress of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, if you want an unlocked phone you now have to buy it that way.

No more unlocking by alternative means, if you get my drift.  The new rule basically says you can’t buy a new highly discounted carrier phone and then unlock on your own. You must have the carrier’s permission.

I guess we’ll see how that works for us, huh? Lots of petitions in the works.  Sure to be more to come.
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Virus ProtectionBest Android Apps to Help Keep Your Smartphone Safe

As Smartphones proliferate, so do the dangers.  AV-Test,  an international and independent service provider in the fields of IT security and anti-virus research, says after inspecting 41 different virus scanners for Android,  about half of these scanners are not yet suitable for use as reliable products.

In general, the tried and true come from the desktop products you are familiar with.  The best products in their 2012 tests (with detection rates of 90% and above) were in alphabetic order: Avast, Dr. Web, F-Secure, Ikarus, Kaspersky, Lookout, McAfee, MYAndroid Protection/MYMobile Security, NQ Mobile/NetQin and Zoner.

Note that new 2013 testing has already begun, but you can check out their existing results here
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 February Maintenance Schedule

Tuesday, February 19th @ 5pm
Please contact us if you experience any problems.

January News & Tips: Securing Your Android Device & More

10 January 2013
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Categories: Information, Mobile Solutions, News, Technology

Happy New Year!

As we welcome the advent of 2013, each of us here at SiteVision wishes you and yours a joyful, rewarding and prosperous year!  If you have suggestions about how we can improve our existing services to you, add new services, or improve our help and support,  we welcome your input!  You can contact us anytime
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Microsoft Warns of Zero-Day Vulnerability

Microsoft has confirmed that a zero-day vulnerability affecting older versions of Internet Explorer could allow attackers to gain control of Windows-based computers to host malicious Web sites. The vulnerability affects older browsers through IE 8 and can be mitigated.  For more information click here

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How to Secure Your Android Device

Get a new Android device for Xmas?  As Android proliferates, it’s increasingly important to secure your device against Malware and uninvited snooping.  Here are some important tips from TechHive.  Read the entire, very informative article, as well as a review of the top five free security apps, here:

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January Maintenance Schedule

Tuesday, January 15th @ 5pm
Please contact us if you experience any problems

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Welcome New Hosting Clients!

College Solutions:  www.collegesolutions-va.net

Colonial Behavioral Health: www.colonialbh.org

Parker Investigations:   www.parkerinvestigates.com  (Under Construction)

Rotary Club of Salem:  www.oldesalemdays.com

Rotary Club of Salem:  www.salemrotaryclub.com

Shores Collision:  www.shorescollision.com

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At SiteVision we are passionate about creating solutions for customers that make their life better. We excel at understanding your business process and developing an application that is easy to learn and operate. We will always be fair, knowledgeable, honest, and professional.

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