Technology is an essential part of the modern business in large part due to the way that it helps bring people together. Since the beginning, Microsoft solutions like OneDrive and SharePoint have been founded on this simple fact – by making it easier for people to collaborate and communicate with one another, organizational leaders can create an environment where everyone can contribute towards the goal of working “smarter, not harder” whenever possible. At Microsoft’s recent SharePoint Virtual Summit, company officials debuted a number of new features for both platforms that seem to double down on this simple-yet-critical goals. The features, which will begin making their way to users later on this summer, are intended to improve the way that organizations can connect both internally among employees and externally with clients. OneDrive Updates The centerpieces of Microsoft’s summer update spree in terms of OnePoint is undoubtedly the new “file sharing experience,” a feature designed to improve OneDrive’s integration with the built-in file management tools found in the Windows 7, Windows 10 and MacOS operating systems. When users navigate to an Office 365 file or folder using either the “File Explorer” file management system on Windows or “Finder” on a Mac, a new OneDrive-centric “Sharing” option will appear. This is similar to the way services like Dropbox already work in that employees can now share files and other documents with one another WITHOUT navigating away from the file manager or opening a different piece of software. The same window will give users the option to create Web links for colleagues from external organizations or even from their clients. What sets OneDrive apart from their competitors, however, comes by way of the far deeper level of control that it provides. Users can set an expiration date on all links that they create, for example, and can even modify the permissions they give to any particular shared file. If someone is sharing a proof of concept document with a client that they want them to SEE but not EDIT, it is now simple to make that happen in just a few quick clicks of a mouse. One specialist described the OneDrive updates as “collaboration on my own terms.” He said that Microsoft is going deeper than just allowing people to share documents – instead, it’s now possible to truly connect with someone in a meaningful way the same way you would if they were sitting beside you in an office. People can connect anyWHERE, anyTIME with anyONE – something that will be of particular value to the collaborative environment with many employees working remotely. Because OneDrive sharing permissions will also be tightened, end users will have a far superior level of visibility over who can view, modify or even access certain documents. This will also go a long way towards maintaining a much-needed level of security in a digital age that is growing more dangerous by the day. The Future of SharePoint During the same event, Microsoft also announced that a new feature called “communication sites” are coming to SharePoint later this year. They’re designed as an alternative to the existing “team sites,” offering employees a much better and more user-friendly way to distribute content more broadly across and organization than ever before. If a certain piece of information needs to be seen by as many employees as possible as quickly as possible, users can create a “communication site” in seconds to do exactly that. If the venue of an upcoming company picnic has suddenly changed due to unpredictable weather issues and people are already in transit, the “communication site” can bring together elements like Bing Maps, an image gallery, a general messaging service and more – all in an effort to spread the word as far as possible as fast as you can. Microsoft also announced a new feature that administrators have been clamoring for in particular – the new “Site Management” page. Viewing and managing all SharePoint sites is no longer a time-consuming and frustrating experience. Instead, administrators can navigate to a single page that serves as a comprehensive destination for viewing and managing all sites, no exceptions. That noise you just heard was the collective sigh of administrators around the country enthusiastically awaiting this release. Another upcoming feature that will allow admins to rest easy – a newly designed “Device Access” page, distilling all of the various access controls for mobile collaboration down to a single window. Businesses can now quickly set policies restricting file sharing based on users, devices, and location characteristics, helping to cut off small security incidents before they have a chance to become much bigger (and undoubtedly more expensive) ones down the road. More Features on the Horizon In related news, Microsoft also took the opportunity to announce changes to PowerApps – the company’s “no fuss, no muss, no-code” business app builder. End users will soon have the option to create custom forms that appear in SharePoint lists and libraries. Approval flows are also on the horizon, which are built on the Flow automated workflow platform and are intended to speed up the approval process at many different organizations. Microsoft has taken a lot of flak over the years for releasing “solutions in search of a problem” or for making “changes just for the sake of it” with many of its products. The company’s flagship operating system seems to have been a particularly notable culprit of this, though Windows 10 has undoubtedly gotten things back on track. Regardless of what has happened in the past, one thing is for sure – Microsoft’s summer update spree to both OneDrive and SharePoint, in particular, reaffirm its commitment to its customers and their own workflows moving forward. Microsoft seems to genuinely want to make it possible for organizations to work “smarter, not harder.” While the company’s definition of “smarter” is often up for debate, steps like these show that the tech giant is at the very least moving in the right direction. {company} is incredibly proud to be your

Microsoft Teams is a chat-based work hub destined to change the way you communicate with team members. Follow these tips and tricks to make the most of your Office 365 experience. The goal of Office 365 developers is not only to make better productivity applications, but they also want to allow for a more collaborative experience among users. To achieve this goal, they have developed a new application for their suite of products called Microsoft Teams. The driving force behind Teams is to get everyone working together in the most efficient way possible. Microsoft Teams Overview With Microsoft Teams, users have a digital hub for all their most important workplace applications. The service comes with Office 365 and the new chat element allows for easy collaboration for team projects. Teams was created as a competitor to the very popular service Slack. With Teams, real-time messaging with application integration makes the service a must have on any compatible device. Unlike Slack, Teams uses threaded conversations in order to avoid the confusion of searching through too many messages on your screen. As long as you’re an enterprise-level Office 365 subscriber, the application is completely free. It’s very important to have a business-level Office 365 subscription. Otherwise, Teams is unavailable on single subscriptions. Tips and Tricks of Microsoft Teams Toggle between private chat and team chat. You are in control of who sees your messages. Write to the entire team or send an individual message from the application. You can schedule and create as many group chat sessions as you like. All chat history is saved to help you go back and review previous messages. This is helpful if you need to locate a shared URL, image, or attachment. With messaging taking place in the cloud, you never have to worry about any information exchanged within the program being lost. Give access to all of the tools your team needs to success. Microsoft Teams is more than just a chat room. Microsoft has enabled all of their most popular applications to be shared within Teams. Your team will be able to exchange information via OneNote, SharePoint, and Skype for Business. Using Microsoft Teams can be overwhelming at first. The interface is fairly simple to figure out, but Microsoft offers plenty of tools to help navigate the interface. Within Teams is a new assistive feature referred to as “bots.” These bots are ready to answer any questions you pose to them. For instance, a “Whobot” will help you find team members based on their skill set or previous work assignments. Bots are expected to pop up from top companies such as Trello and SAP. These bots will help you better organize your current and future projects. Calendar integration is another feature you should be using within Teams. All team members can schedule meetings within the application including the addition of recurring events. There is also a free and busy calendar option to let others know your current and future availability. Although chat is a quick and easy form of communicating among teams, you may also choose to go live in real-time. With Skype for Business, you can begin a live video chat session in high-definition with premium sound. Bring Microsoft Teams with you wherever you go. The application works on all computers running Windows 10, but also can run on iOS devices. Android and Windows phones and tablets can also run Microsoft Teams. Accessibility is very important to Microsoft developers and this is why options include keyboard only navigation, higher contrast resolution, and support for screen readers. The most important feature is the high level of security offered with the Microsoft Teams framework. Teams abide by all global security practices and standards to keep your data confidential within the cloud. Don’t miss out on this exciting new rollout from Microsoft 365.

Cyber insurance helps ensure business profits in case of data attacks: Here’s what you need to know. Cyber insurance is business insurance that covers costs associated with data attacks, offered by insurers and via plans with certain vendors. When many companies here about that, the automatic thought is, “Yes, that is exactly what I need!” That may be true – but it’s important to note that cyber insurance is not cyber security. It will not actually protect you, and there are strict limits to what it can do. So let’s go over some facts about this type of data insurance that you need to know about. Coverage Does Vary Based on the Policy Cyber insurance isn’t as strictly codified as some types of insurance, and its coverage can vary greatly between policies. What one standard policy covers may be very different from what another insurer or vendor offers (we’ll talk more about this later). In other words, you can’t really count on any particular coverage without reading the fine print, so get ready to put on your glasses. Fortunately, like other types of insurance, you can usually attach various riders and clauses to create coverage for the specific events or costs that you are worried about. This will, however, raise the price of the coverage. Human Error Is Not Covered Basically, cyber insurance doesn’t really cover people being dumb, and this can cause a whole lot of problems with making claims. For example, let’s say that one of your employees opens a phishing email and downloads some really nasty malware. Will cyber insurance cover that? Quite possibly your claim would be declined because the problem has its roots in a human mistake instead of an attack that your company couldn’t avoid. It’s even more unlikely to find coverage for poor password management or leaving a computer unattended and logged in. Take this as an important reminder that employee education should be a best practice no matter what type of insurance you have or what you want to protect again. Known Vulnerabilities are Rarely Covered Here is where matters of liability become tricky. You see, few cyber insurance policies will cover problems that result from known vulnerabilities. That means that if a security policy is known, and the provider or manufacturer announces a patch to fix it, it is on you to download the patch and fix your security. If you do that, coverage shouldn’t be a problem. But of course, a vast number of data attacks happen because businesses have not patched known vulnerabilities (just look at WannaCry) even though patches have been made available. There may be additional, customizable add-ons for protection even from known vulnerabilities, but it’s going to be a lot more expensive. So, once again, even with cyber insurance, you still need smart security practices and a strict update policy to protect your company. Are you getting the theme here? Data Restoration May Not Be Covered, Either Yeah, this one throws a lot of companies off balance: Isn’t cyber insurance supposed to recovered data restoration? Isn’t that the point? Well no, it isn’t. “Data restoration” is a complex process that may or may not work, no matter how much money you throw at it. It usually relies on things like proper data backup, which is a company responsibility, not an insurer responsibility. It’s not really an area that an insurance policy is well-equipped to deal with. So cyber insurance focuses primarily on interruption costs – on “refunding” you the profit that your company lost while dealing with the data attack. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that all associated costs will be covered. Third Party Insurance is Different From First Party Typical cyber insurance covers the first party – that is, your company. And that’s it. If data is lost, mishandled or attacked while with a partner or third party, your insurance coverage won’t touch it. However, there is a second type of cyber insurance that is specifically designed to protect your data when it is in the hands of third parties. This is particularly useful in sectors like the healthcare industry, which finds itself transferring sensitive data to other organizations regularly. Cyber insurance or not, it’s pretty obvious you will need a robust data security plan in addition to any coverage you may choose (or be required to have). We can help here! {company} provides IT services in the {city} area for a variety of different data goals. Let us know what you need by contacting us at {phone} or {email}.

When someone thinks of spam they typically think of unsolicited bulk commercial email they receive in their inbox. However, the concept of spam started a little earlier than you might think. How far back? How does 1864 sound? Spam in 1864 you say? Yes, in the form of a telegraph, advertising a local dentistry actually. The Telegraph was so much news that the local paper even reprinted the telegraph that was sent to many households, further propagating the message. More recently, people consider the first spam email coming out of Digital Equipment in 1978 which went to a total of 393 people promoting their latest computer model. You can thank a Monty Python sketch based on a cafe that only served the canned spiced ham SPAM for the origin of the name. Another early spammer was the lawyers Canter and Siegel posting their “Green Card Lottery” message to USENET, a shared messaging system. What does all this have to do with today? You don’t want to be known as a spammer. There are three ways to attack the spam problem. First off, you don’t want your marketing emails to be classified as spam. Secondly, you don’t want your mail server to be abused where someone sends spam through your hardware. While this wasn’t sent to you directly, your hardware could be blacklisted, thus affecting your own emails. Lastly, you don’t want your employees to respond to spam. There are ways to filter this at the mail server to prevent them from seeing the messages, or at least classify messages as fishy before their opened. Our company {company} can help you to protect your business from being labeled a bad apple in the email business. Starting with the most important avenue, ensuring your marketing messages get through, there are some best practices to know about. For starters, don’t just send emails directly to your clients. Putting everyone’s email in the “To:” field of a message is bound to cause problems when someone does a reply-all. If you absolutely have to send a message to LOTS of people, it is better to use the BCC (for blind carbon copy) field of a message. Better yet, rely on a mailing list management package like that offered by Constant Contact. Typically, you don’t want to add people to the mailing list yourself. Instead, people should opt-in. More importantly, with each message you send, there should be unsubscribed instructions. Protecting your mail server is not an easy task. There are some simple steps you can do like requiring that users are authenticated before sending a message, but someone can just spoof the email headers to make it appear messages came through your server. To best protect your server, in 2012 DMARC, or Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance was introduced. Combined with the earlier introduced SPF, Sender Policy Framework, this makes sure that any messages appearing to come from your mail server actually came from your mail server. {company} can help you keep up with the latest ways to protect your email servers and thus getting your marketing messages through. Lastly, it is important to look at the inbound side of spam. With all the talk of Russians hacking servers and the release of inappropriate celebrity photos, most of these attempts are triggered by phishing attacks of targets. You still need to worry about viruses being sent through email, but phishing involves fraudsters sending what look like real emails in the attempt to reveal personal information like passwords and bank account info. You don’t want your employees giving away the farm so that others can then get into your company network or your employees worried about identity theft. {company} can help protect your mail servers from letting these unsolicited emails through. Contact us at {email} or {phone} to learn more about how we can help you.

Need a fast Windows screenshot? We’ll show you how to do it! Do you need to take a quick Windows screenshot for work or fun, but can’t figure out how to do it? Don’t worry: Our guide will show you just how it’s done. Copy the Screen for Posts Traditionally, the “Print Screen” option is the quickest way to take an easy screenshot that you can use later on as desired. The only problem here is that these days Print Screen looks a little different based on what type of keyboard you may have. These steps may not all be available on some keyboards, especially more compact keyboards or non-Windows keyboards. First, look at the top rows of buttons on your keyboard. Look for a button that says “PrtScn” or “Print Scr” or any other abbreviation (it may also be lurking around the Ctrl key, there are several places that they appear. If there’s a dedicated key, all you have to press it. This will instantly copy a snapshot of the screen. You can then go into any document and paste the screenshot wherever space is available. Note that sometimes this feature is on a dual-purpose key, and you may have to access it by pressing the Ctrl or Fn key at the same time. Automatically Save Screenshot as File Let’s say that you don’t want to just copy a screenshot for pasting, but that you actually want to save a screenshot as its own photo file. In that case, you may need a combination of buttons. If your keyboard has both a Print Screen button and a Windows logo key, you can press them both at the same time: This will usually take a screenshot and then automatically save it as a separate file, typically in the desktop or its own screenshots folder. Of course, it’s not always that simple. If you have a Windows key, an Fn key, and a Ctrl key, you may need to push some combination of these keys along with the Print Screen key to create an automatic save. A little bit of experimentation may be in order, but if you’re using a built-in keyboard (like on a laptop) then you can probably look up the best method. Choose a Single Window as a Screenshot This is a common case in many of today’s larger screens, where you have several windows open at the same time but only want to take a screenshot of one window, not the whole screen. There’s a way to do this, too: Click on the window you want to copy so that it’s highlight. Then press the Print Screen key and the Alt key at the same time. If your keyboard has an Fn key, you have to press Print Screen, Alt, and Fn at the same time to get this to work. “Snipping” Screenshots Windows also lets you select a particular area of the screen through a dedicated screenshot tool called the Snipping Tool. It’s not as fast as other methods, but it is very effective. Just type in “snipping tool” into your Windows search box and it will bring up the right link to select. This opens up a small bar that allows you to create a “New” screenshot and change the shape of the shot. You can then drag your mouse to create whatever size you need. Looking for more information on how to use Windows 10? Remember to take a look at {company}’s Wisdom Wednesday series for continued advice. If our {city} readers have any further questions or need help figuring out a problem, contact {company} at {phone} and {email}.

Memorial Day has been observed on the final Monday in May each year since 1971, but this occasion traces its roots back much farther in our country’s history. Originally known as Decoration Day, this day was first established during the Civil War in 1862 and was marked by loved ones decorating the graves of those who gave their lives serving in the Confederate Army. After the war, in 1868, the veterans of the Union Army soon added their own traditions to the mix, eventually leading to the creation of the ceremonies and customs we know today. Today, Memorial Day is the more somber counterpart of Veterans Day. It is a day set aside to honor and remember those who have given their lives while serving in the military. It’s appropriate to mark this occasion by visiting cemeteries and war memorials, honoring their sacrifice. This day holds special meaning for us at {company}. We will be closed Memorial Day to honor the memory of all those who have gone before, and have given their lives for us. If you have to work, please take a moment to honor their memory.

While it remains unclear exactly how many have been affected by the latest ransomware, aptly called “WannaCry,’ the estimate has already reached more than 75,000 computers in over 150 counties worldwide. Hospitals, government offices, and high profile organizations are still reeling today after what cyber experts are calling one of the largest cyber attacks ever. This virus, identified as ransomware, seizes control of the user’s computer until a ransom has been paid. The user is given six hours to pay the $300 ransom, with the price increasing every three hours after that. While it remains unclear exactly how many have been affected, the estimate has already reached more than 75,000 computers in over 150 countries worldwide. A vast majority of these ransomware attacks targeted Russia, but the effects were felt as far as the United States, Taiwan, and Ukraine. A major telecommunications enterprise in Spain reported a freeze on their entire network, as their ransom climbed to almost $550,000. Who’s at Risk? The latest in a recent string of cyber attacks was first discovered May 12 and has been linked to vulnerabilities in Windows. Aptly named ‘WannaCry,’ the ransomware targeted Windows XP, Windows 8, and Windows Server 2003 customers who had not yet installed the security update released by Microsoft in March. The National Security Agency (NSA) has received much criticism over the last week, with many blaming their handling of the ‘cyber weapon’ theft last month for the attack. In April, the group called ‘Shadow Brokers’ claimed responsibility for the piracy, but many feel the threat wasn’t taken seriously by the NSA. While the attack was initially revealed on the 12th, analysts indicate the ransomware software was likely spreading for several weeks, laying dormant, waiting for the kill switch to be pulled. This exceptionally well-written code makes it virtually impossible to unlock encrypted files once they’ve been infected. In the United Kingdom, outpatient appointments for sixteen National Health Service facilities were canceled and patients were advised to steer clear of emergency rooms if at all possible. China reported PetroChina gas stations were also experiencing difficulties, forcing consumers to pay cash for goods and services. Both countries have reported no evidence of personal information being compromised. With Russia at the center of a large portion of the attacks, cyber experts indicate that the attack may have originated in Russia. Evidence points to the hacking of an extensive Russian email database as the likely source. What’s Next? The ransomware was discovered by a British security researcher, who goes by the name MalwareTech. It was configured to continually contact an unregistered domain that was built into its coding. During his analysis of the attack, MalwareTech registered the domain, which, unbeknownst to him, was what was necessary to halt the ransomware attack from spreading any further. While Microsoft customers were the target of this attack, all software users are urged to update their operating systems immediately. Windows users who haven’t installed the update Microsoft released in March can prevent an attack on their system by doing so now. Unfortunately, the update won’t help those who have already been targeted in this recent attack. Laptop users should use extreme caution when utilizing public WiFi connections, as the ransomware is equipped with a ‘hunter module,’ which helps spread the virus to anyone on the shared network. Recent studies reveal that cyber attacks are on the rise, showing no signs of slowing down in the near future. A published FBI report indicates an average of 4,000 ransomware attacks occurred each day in 2016, with an attack on U.S. enterprises occurring once every forty seconds. Businesses and individual users are urged to keep their firewalls up-to-date and configure them to block any malicious IP addresses. Anti-virus and anti-malware programs should also be configured to automatically perform regular scans.

Unless you have been totally disconnected from the world the last few days, you have heard about the WannaCry ransomware attack that has been spreading around the world. This attack is being dubbed by some as the precursor to a larger, more focused attack once the extent of the vulnerability is revealed. Those primarily affected are running unsupported systems like Windows XP, pirated or illegal copies of Windows, and those not staying current on operating system patches. What is the right response to WannaCry? What should your IT team be doing? In the wake of the news of the WannaCry ransomware attack, the cyber-security professionals of {company} went immediately to work. While we believed that the workstations and servers we support had been patched appropriately to protect against the WannaCry attack, we still took the time to review all of the workstations and servers we support to determine if there are any that may have been missing the patches needed. Beyond this immediate response, we also proactively surveyed the security of our internal network to protect the resources we depend on in delivering IT services to you. Here’s a checklist that your IT support provider SHOULD be doing.  Actively monitoring all security fixes and patches for Microsoft, Adobe, and other major software packages commonly used and applying them as soon as possible. This can be frustrating to end users when their workstations interrupt their work by restarting or operating slowly, but it is a critical part of staying safe in today’s technology-infused world. Eliminating unsupported operating systems and software wherever possible. The cost of continually upgrading and replacing workstations and servers can feel like an unnecessary drain on company resources. WannaCry – and similar attacks – are the reason why {company} IT consultants talk regularly with our clients about replacing unsupported hardware. The Windows 10 operating system was not affected at all by this attack. Staying current on operating systems and other software is a critical part of staying safe in today’s world. Segregating your private network from your guest network. Over the last year, the {company} team has been more forcefully recommending the creation of separate networks for guest workstations and employee-owned equipment. This has felt inconvenient to many, and in some ways, it is. Again, attacks like WannaCry are the reason why we recommend this change. {company} works actively to keep our client’s equipment patched and up-to-date. But we cannot do the same for equipment we do not support. By providing a separate network for non-company owned equipment, we can provide the Internet connection needed without endangering the company’s valuable assets. These are just some of the proactive steps we take to help secure the networks we support. But cyber security is a team effort. We cannot do this on our own. What can you do to help in the process of securing your company against cyber crime? {company} IT consultants recommend that the primary contact for your company meet regularly with your IT support team to discuss and plan the technology for the company. This will give you the clearest picture of what is being done with the company’s technology. Armed with a high-level picture of your company’s IT strategy, you will be able to: Be an advocate for proactive technology practices in your company. Ask questions. Of your IT support team – so you feel comfortable with the direction of your business technology. Of your coworkers, so you know what’s happening with the technology in the rest of your company. Share information from the Strategic Business Reviews with others, and encouraging them to be involved in the process. Encourage technology training and awareness for all members of your staff. WannaCry and similar attacks begin by someone clicking on something they should not. Education and awareness can often be just as important as up-to-date systems. Whether you like it or not, technology has become an integral part of our daily lives. Properly cared for, it can be a valuable asset. But when ignored, it can be an ugly beast that can lay waste to the business. {company} is proactively working to secure and maintain the networks of our clients, and we encourage our clients to take an active role in their own IT and to implement common sense cyber-security policies. How has YOUR current IT support team responded to the WannaCry threat? Have they been efficient, informative, and communicative? Maybe it’s time for a change. We’re here to help! Contact us now at {phone} or {email} Bonus Info! – Here are some articles that we looked at as we researched this latest WannaCry threat. Take a look! ESET: https://www.welivesecurity.com/2017/05/13/wanna-cryptor-ransomware-outbreak/ Symantec: https://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/what-you-need-know-about-wannacry-ransomware Microsoft: https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/msrc/2017/05/12/customer-guidance-for-wannacrypt-attacks/ Times Now: http://www.timesnow.tv/technology-science/article/india-windows-piracy-wannacry-ransomware-rbi-atm/61104 CNN: http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/14/technology/global-cyberattack-explanation/ CNET: https://www.cnet.com/news/wannacry-wannacrypt-uiwix-ransomware-everything-you-need-to-know/

In case you have been living in a cave the past three days… Wanna Cry is a ransomware that spreads like wildfire by leveraging a Windows SMB exploit to remotely access and infect computers running on unpatched or unsupported versions of Windows. It infects the targeted computer then moves on to others on the network and those it can find on the open internet. 237,000 computers across 99 countries have been infected thus far. The news has reported that a 22-year-old security researcher has stopped the Wanna Cry ransomware plague. That’s only partially true. He found a “kill switch” in the code of Wanna Cry that will keep one strain of Wanna Cry from infecting computers. Here’s the problem… Now there are multiple strains of Wanna Cry cropping up across the globe. Some with a different URL “kill switch,” and if reports can be believed, at least one strain with no “kill switch” at all. This “no kill switch” variant is believed to have been created by parties not related to the criminals who developed the first Wanna Cry code. Whatever the final number of Wanna Cry strains ends up being, the truth is that we aren’t even close to being done with Wanna Cry. And the criminals in control of this cyber-WMD aren’t done with causing us pain. Yes, the infection rate has slowed, but that lull is likely only the calm before the second wave of the storm – according to industry experts. Where did Wanna Cry come from? There is no public information on the criminals behind Wanna Cry, but the SMB exploit they are utilizing is believed to be part of a hacking toolset that the NSA allegedly created and lost control of when a group of hackers called “The Shadow Brokers” stole it and dumped it onto the dark web. Currently, the predominant strains of Wanna Cry are being thwarted before they infect computers by utilizing the method discovered by 22-year-old MalwareTech. He discovered that by registering a domain name that was buried in the ransomware’s code, he was able to create a “sinkhole” that didn’t allow the virus to infect the computer. The problem is that if the connection to this “sinkhole” domain is lost, Wanna Cry will move into “infect” mode. As we have stated above, there are now several strains of Wanna Cry out there with a “kill switch” domain name in their code. Each unique domain name must be registered so that a “sinkhole” is created for that strain. Even with these domain name “sinkholes,” we aren’t out of the woods. Malware Tech, the security researcher who found the first “kill switch” buried in Wanna Cry code, has stated that “WannaCrypt (or Wanna Cry) ransomware was spread normally long before this and will be long after, what we stopped was the SMB worm variant.” There are some scenarios that will allow your unpatched computer to be infected – even with the kill switch in place. Here they are If Wanna Cry comes to you via an email, a malicious torrent, or other vectors (instead of SMB protocol). If your ISP or antivirus or firewall revokes access to the “sinkhole.” If your system requires a proxy to access the internet – common in corporate networks. If someone utilizes a DDoS attack to makes the sinkhole domain inaccessible. What to do… The cyber-security experts of {company} advise you to: Patch your computers Run a decent anti-virus Make sure your backups are current and secure Because of the high-profile nature of this ransomware attack, there will be copycats that make Wanna Cry even more virulent and destructive. Wanna Cry 2.0 is inevitable. It’s important that you act proactively for your company now and get the {company} cyber-security team on your side. We have the resources to help you stay running and safe. Contact us now at {phone} or {email}

If you are giving a presentation and part of it involves a shared display or handouts of a spreadsheet what can you do to keep the group awake? Let’s face it, Microsoft Excel is an excellent tool for organizing and manipulating statistical data, but when sharing your spreadsheet with others, your spreadsheet has to be interesting and informative. How Do I Get More Information into an Excel Spreadsheet? Before you get more information into your spreadsheet, make sure that a spreadsheet is a right tool for the job. More often than you might think, we use spreadsheets inappropriately. Would an Access database work better? Should you use PowerPoint for your presentation. If you have decided that Excel is the right vehicle for your presentation, include a text document that is a “welcome” or “about” for the Excel document. This keeps you on track and reminds others what the purpose and mechanics of the spreadsheet are. While it’s true that most of the spreadsheets we use in our careers are for our own consumption, it is a good practice to talk about your spreadsheet with others. Find out what features they like and which they don’t favor. If you work collaboratively with others in your organization be generous with credit and be sure to mention their names in the about or welcome document. PivotTables Help (A lot) PivotTables are important as they take tables of data, often with hundreds if not thousands of rows and help you and others understand the data by summarizing them by the column fields. For a PivotTable to operate correctly it has to be set up in a certain way; each column needs to contain the same kind of data that is in a “raw” state – that is the data has not been processed yet. The following are some advantages associated with using PivotTables in Excel: Simplicity Speedily produced Multiple dimensions – you can sort data by row or by column Allows for interactive analysis Appearances Do Matter Your Excel Presentation can be exciting and visually stimulating. Following are some tips that help you accomplish this. Consistency: Your spreadsheets will be easier for others to understand if you use only one font, bold headings for data groupings and formulae, distinct shade categories of data (for example shade raw data gray and results in green) and analytical comments should be in italics. Create a Logical and Natural Flow: This is done by using the order of Worksheets and the layout of calculations and data to read left to right and top to bottom. An excellent Excel presentation takes the reader through a story – from inputs and assumptions to calculations and finally the results. I Want Highly Informative Excel SpreadsheetsMake Data Relevant: To be more informative, an Excel spreadsheet presentation needs to have relevant data and analysis stand out. To do this, try to downplay the non-data elements of your tables and graphs. While you might create axes and gridlines the same color, make them paler than the data points. {company} in {city} is your best source for tips, tricks, and hacks as well as news relating to the latest advances in technology. [Phone} or {email} us today.