Do Macs Get Viruses?

by

Many Apple owners believe their Macintosh computers are immune to viruses. Apple itself has run ad campaigns promising its computers “don’t get viruses”. And those who have owned a Mac for years, decades even, are particularly prone to believing. After all, nothing’s happened to them yet. Regrettably, Macs do get viruses, and the threat is growing.

For a long time the argument was that cybercriminals didn’t bother to develop Mac viruses. There weren’t enough users to justify the effort. Instead, they’d focus on the lower hanging fruit – PCs running Windows.

Yet Apple’s market share is on the rise, and it’s increasingly common to see Macs in the workplace, especially in creative industries. Plus, there’s a widespread assumption that Mac users are a smart target as they are likely to be better off. So, while Macs remain harder to infect (installing most software requires a password), there’s often a greater payoff.

The research reflects the reality. In 2017, for instance, the iPhone OS and Mac OS X placed #3 and #6 in CVE Details’ top 50 ranked by total number of distinct vulnerabilities. Apple TV and Safari also made the list at #17 and #18, respectively. In 2017, Malwarebytes also reported it “saw more Mac malware in 2017 than in any previous year”. By the end of 2017, the cybersecurity firm had counted 270% more unique threats on the Mac platform than in 2016.

Finding Apple’s Weak Spots

It’s obvious then that bad actors are no longer steering clear. They are actively looking for ways to exploit Macs.

A common approach is to use Trojans. Named after a gift wooden horse that hid an army, Trojans look like something you would want to install. So, Mac users happily enter their passwords to download that application and open the gates to the cybercriminal.

In 2011, for instance, a Trojan called “Mac Defender” took advantage of people’s desire to protect their computers. The fake program appeared to be anti-virus software. Once the users installed it, they’d get an onslaught of pop-up ads encouraging them to buy more fake software.

Trojans get through the gates because you let your guard down. You are taken in by that supposed note from a long-lost friend. You think you want to see that pic of that famous celebrity. All it takes to stop this type of attack is suspicion of everything you might install or download.

A business would want to educate its employees about the importance of:

  • clicking on emails with care;
  • validating the source of any files they plan to open;
  • checking a website’s URL (being especially wary of those with less common endings such as .cc or .co);
  • questioning any promises of Ray-Ban sunglasses for 90% off or the latest iPhone for $29.99.

A new threat comes from within the Mac App Store, according to Thomas Reed, a Mac security researcher. When a user tries to install an app on a Mac, a Mac OS program called Gatekeeper checks the file’s code signature. The signature helps certify the app is valid. However, Reed found that cybercriminals could buy a legitimate certificate from Apple, or steal one and trick users. Users would install masked malware that could infect legitimate programs and evade detection.

Key Takeaway

Apple is always working to protect its users from malware. It has measures in place, and user caution can make a big difference, too. Still, it’s not true that Macs are completely safe.

Find out what you can do to protect your Macs and guard against threats. Partner with a managed services provider to gauge your security levels.

Call us today at 478-474-0861!

Invest Well in Your IT Security

by

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is a common and useful rule for many business owners. It serves to protect your business against unnecessary costs and unneeded downtime. While protecting your business against many types of danger, it poses an outright threat when it comes to IT security.

Security threats to your firm move so fast that your IT should be working twice as hard as your company just to keep up. Every day, hundreds of thousands of new malware threats are released. Falling even hours behind means any one of these attacks can threaten your business.

The single most dangerous thing IT security can do is stand still. Keeping up with the latest advice, technology, and updates the security industry offers is vital to keep your business safe. This makes up much of the unseen job of IT professionals. Hackers never stop looking for new ways into your system, which means your security can’t stop looking for ways to keep them out.

Modern Systems for Modern Business

One of the most common security threats a business opens itself to is using an outdated operating system or software package. Many firms are scared to upgrade, update, or renew their IT over fears of breaking legacy systems. Many rely heavily on old software and are afraid to make a large change themselves. Some businesses today still run machines on Windows XP, an operating system first released back in 2001.

Old operating systems stop receiving security updates and patches that protect against newly released attacks. These systems become very vulnerable, presenting a large target for knowledgeable hackers. This happens many years after newer versions have been released, giving knowing IT firms a chance to migrate safely.

Hackers are always on the lookout for businesses that run IT equipment outside of its suggested service life. A server, desktop computer, or peripheral is a golden opportunity for criminals to enter and threaten a business.

Hackers purchase their attacks on the dark web, safe in the knowledge that old systems won’t be patched. These attacks can then be used to attack unguarded firms to steal or compromise vital company data.

An unpatched old machine is like a valuable security door left propped open overnight, a golden opportunity for thieves.

Smart Budgets

Budgeting for business is a difficult task. We aim to make the most of everything we spend and reduce spending as much as we can. IT security can easily fall very far down the list of priorities.

IT can seem like an easy way to cut costs. It’s a department that the customer doesn’t always benefit from directly, and when it’s working well, it might not be on the radar at all. Despite working largely behind the scenes, successful IT is one of the critical components of every highly successful firm. Good IT can be the binding glue that holds the company together.

Even businesses far removed from the IT world typically uses payment machines, ordering systems, and inventory. Even restaurants and retail stores rely on computers to operate. Downtime for any critical system can be a complete disaster. A business can be unable to trade, and costs can mount up fast.

When vital IT components are used by the customer, a sales website, or an automated booking system for example, the problem can multiply tenfold.

Keep On Top Of The Essentials

Good IT isn’t built on high peaks and deep troughs in the yearly budget. The kind of IT that makes your business and helps it to grow is built by smart financing and careful planning. Great technicians are what makes excellent IT.

Maintaining steady updates, keeping pace with the latest security, and building your IT as you build your business keeps you in the driving seat when it matters most.

When IT is planned and issues are solved before they appear, security becomes cheaper, easier, and many times more effective. System upgrades can be planned out months, if not years in advance so you are never caught unaware.

Don’t let your IT be broken before you take steps to fix it. Move ahead of the curve and give us a call at 478-474-0861 so you don’t have to find out what your business looks like without IT.

Professional Businesses Deserve Professional Setup

by

Watching a business grow is as satisfying as it is rewarding. Whether opening a new office, starting a new department, or bringing in a new employee; it’s a positive step in the right direction. Upward growth often requires new office tech and IT changes to bring new staff fully online.

At a minimum, a new computer will be needed for employees to get started quickly and hit the ground running. New staff or an entire department may require a server, printer, or additional networking hardware to cope with extra demand.

A tech smart business should give careful consideration to how it sources and sets up its hardware and software. It can be tempting to pick a simple solution off the shelf from the nearest retailer.

Modern manufacturers often make it easy to get set up with a new device straight out the box. Using default settings and a simple setup means a laptop or tablet can be just plugged in and it’s ready to go, right?

Unfortunately, setting up technology to create safe, secure, and reliable business services requires a little more detail.

Setting Up Tech For Business

The hardware you have is at least as important as the hardware you buy. It’s important to ensure new tech on the network is compatible with your existing business systems. Adding the wrong solutions to accommodate new employees can slow down the system for everyone.

Many firms talk themselves into buying the most expensive, or heavily marketed system on the market. Buyers often feel confident that the high price tag and slick design means it’s guaranteed to work with anything you put to it. We wish that were always the case.

Without an eye for fine detail and good IT knowledge, combining certain solutions can cause a significant network slowdown or even fail to work together at all.

Consistency Is Key

It can seem easy, and tempting, to buy technology based on offers and deals around at the time you need it. Some companies do this to save money short term, building their systems using a mixture of hardware from various vendors and manufacturers. When thinking long term, this approach might not get you the great deal that you think.

Mixing suppliers alone can make it difficult to track where components came from in the coming months and years. Warranties, service agreements, and support can become hard to track down when parts fail and hardware dies. Money spent securing your business against failure is completely wasted if you can’t find the right paperwork at the right time.

Sourcing replacement parts and supported peripherals can be made more difficult when components are mixed too.

Planning ahead and purchasing identical hardware can make swapping components fast and straightforward. When systems are consistent, both parts and knowledge can be shared throughout the entire business. A smart decision today can eliminate costs, time, and headaches further down the road.

Unexpected issues appearing at the last minute can have large consequences on workload and deadlines. Sharing everything from chargers to memory can help to reduce and mitigate IT risks. Consistent hardware, swappable components, and even considering a supply of spares can take care of many potential headaches.

Smooth Onboarding

In business, first impressions are critically important. Whether setting up a new office or getting an employee ready to start, a professional attitude goes a long way. Good IT that’s ready to work sets a professional tone to carry your business forward.

IT that supports and enhances operations is infinitely better than IT that gets in the way. Using consistent and well-known solutions in the right way avoids wasting time, maintains performance, and reduces costs where it matters.

Our goal is to ensure your hardware meets your business needs. A professional setup ensures your IT is consistently improved while you watch your business flourish and grow.

Give us a call at 478-474-0861 for a professional setup to make sure nothing stands in the way of growing your business.

Don’t Get Hooked by Spear Phishing Attacks

by

Phishing attacks have been around for a long time in IT. Designed to steal your credentials or trick you into installing malicious software, they have persisted in the IT world precisely because they have been so devastatingly simple and effective. Today, a more modern and more effective version of the same attack is commonly used.

A typical phishing attack involves an attacker sending out a malicious email to hundreds of thousands, if not millions of users. The attacker’s email is designed to look like it comes from a bank, financial service, or even the tax office. Often aiming to trick you into logging in to a fake online service, a phishing attack captures the login details you enter so an attacker may use them to enter the genuine service later.

By sending out tens of thousands of emails at a time, attackers can guarantee that even if only one half of one percent of people fall for it, there is a lot of profit to be made by draining accounts. Spear phishing is a more modern, more sophisticated, and far more dangerous form of the attack. It’s typically targeted at businesses and their staff.

A Convincing, Dangerous Attack

While a traditional phishing attack throws out a broad net in the hope of capturing as many credentials as possible, spear phishing is targeted and precise. The attack is aimed towards convincing a single business, department, or individual that a fraudulent email or website is genuine.

The attacker focuses on building a relationship and establishing trust with the target. By building trust and convincing the target that they are who they are pretending to be, the user is more likely to open attachments, follow links, or provide sensitive details.

Consider how many times you have followed a link or opened an attachment just because it has come from a contact you have trusted before.

A Trusted E-mail

The malicious email can appear to come from a vendor you deal with regularly. It may even look like an invoice you are expecting to receive. Often attackers can simply substitute the vendors’ banking details for their own, hoping the target will not notice the difference.

Such an attack is very difficult to detect. It takes a keen eye, strong working knowledge, and constant awareness to keep your company protected. Even a single small mistake by an unaware member of staff can compromise your business accounts.

Defending Your Business

The key to stopping a spear phishing attack is education. Learning attack techniques, and how to protect against them is the single biggest thing you can do to enhance business security.

Whenever you deal with a vendor in a business transaction, you should always consider important questions before proceeding. Are you expecting this email? Is the vendor attempting to rush you into a quick decision or transaction? Have you checked all the details are correct and as you expected? Sometimes a simple query to the vendor can protect you against worst-case scenarios.

In many cases, a phishing attack can be halted in its tracks with a strong IT security package. Web filtering prevents malicious emails and links from entering the network, shutting attacks down before any damage can be done.

Good Security Practice

As with many types of IT threat, good security practices help mitigate damage. Locking down security to ensure employees only access the systems they need helps to prevent damage spreading across the network.

Enforcing unique and strong passwords prevents leaked credentials from affecting systems related to the one that has been compromised. Getting employees set up with a password manager and good security policies can do the world of good to boost your security to the level it needs to be.

Give us a call at 478-474-0861 to audit your security practices. It could be the difference that secures your firm against sophisticated spear phishing attacks.

Back-To-School Sale Aug 2-5 2019

by

$100 off select Gaming Laptops and Desktops
20% off all Chromebooks In-Stock
Back-To-School Accessory Bundle Only $29.99

(128gb flash, 3 Months Premium Service, Microsoft Wireless Mouse and more)

Accessory Bundle ONLY available with System Purchase

#backtoschool #maconga #qualitycomputers #sale

 

Gaming Computers Starting at

$699 Desktop (8gb Intel i3, 1050 NVIDIA Graphics, 256 ssd, Gaming Case)

$899 Desktop (16Gb, Intel i5, 1660 NVIDIA Graphics, 128 ssd, 1Tb Hard Drive, RGB Case)

$949 MSI Laptop (8gb, Intel i7, 1050 NVIDIA Graphics, 1TB Hard Drive, 15″ Screen, Backlit Keyboard)

Chromebooks

$184 Lenovo Chromebook (4gb, Dual Core, 16gb ssd, 10″ screen).

Premium Service ($39 Value)

3 Months of Quality Care Suite includes Corporate level Virus Protection, 4gb of document backup space, 45 minutes of remote support, Theft recovery assistance, Patch / Security Management, and Priority Service.

128GB USB Flash ($39 Value)

128gb USB3 Flash Drive Ultra Rugged Water Resistant.

Microsoft Wireless Sculpt Mouse ($39 Value)

Microsoft’s Premier Mouse.

Quality Computers MUG (Priceless)

Got to stay cool, might as well do it in style.

Is Your Physical Security as Good As Your Cybersecurity?

by

Headlines are often made by firms that have been hacked by “elite” cybercriminals. These events sound high tech, sophisticated, and interesting. The truth is almost always an amateur attacker chancing their luck with an unpatched security hole or bad password. Physical break-ins affect businesses far more commonly and cause much more damage, but get talked about far less.

Similar to technology hacks, most physical security threats come from criminals that chance their luck on businesses that look poorly secured. On a rare occasion, they may strike a business owner that has forgot to lock up or failed to set the security alarm.

By breaking in, these criminals exploit poor physical security to cause damage and steal valuables. Typically, by destroying or taking critical assets, a criminal may make a few hundred in profit while the total damage done to the business is counted in the tens of thousands.

While most IT security packages act automatically and always remain on, physical security needs to be made a daily habit and require periodic updates.

Threats Starting from Within

Every business should have secure locks protecting their doors. Many use an alarm system to add protection to valuable assets. However, there are common threats that neither of these can protect you from. How would your business be protected if the attack came from within your firm?

A disgruntled employee, or even a former employee, can do an enormous amount of damage to a business. Attacking their own business, an employee can likely do more damage during the day than a criminal could breaking-in overnight. Misplaced trust in the wrong individual can result in devastating consequences.

Employees typically have access to one of your business’s most valuable assets: data. A criminal may steal computer hardware to sell on for quick cash because most don’t fully understand the value of the data stored on it.

The value of the data in a business machine can easily exceed the cost of the hardware one hundred times over.

Physical Security Heists

For criminals who do understand the value of data; physical security can be the weakest spot in a business’s armor. In 2013, media streaming service Vudu suffered a break in where criminals stole server hardware to obtain credit card information stored within.

A technology savvy streaming firm is highly likely to have up-to-date IT with excellent security measures. Thieves looking for easy cash recognized that the best way to get to the data was through their comparatively weak physical security.

The best security packages in the world are completely infective if the keys are left in the door and physical hardware is easy to remove. This challenge of securing your data can be made even more difficult when using a location that must remain open to the public.

Securing Your Data with Good Security Practices

Keeping your customer data safe is one of the most significant responsibilities small business owners take on. It requires a duty to employ the best possible security practices to keep your customers safe. For a customer to have the trust to use your business over the competition, they have to see their concerns put to rest.

Locking down data access for employees so they can only view and edit what is strictly needed, protects both customers and the business against many kinds of damage; both accidental and malicious. Limiting device access, such as disabling USB ports to thumb drives or storage devices, helps to prevent data being copied and carried offsite.

Physically locking down a server in the location it sits is one of the best deterrents available to prevent against theft. Locked server racks are an excellent piece of physical security that works on top of the building security already in place.

Make sure your business is up to the task of securing its data. Give us a call at 478-474-0861 to audit both your digital and physical security.

MSP Facts: Common Managed Service Myths — Busted

by

Managed Service Providers (MSPs) are not stuff of legend like minotaur’s and unicorns. Yet there are many common myths around managed services. These can cloud understanding of a MSP’s true value. Consider the facts to decide whether partnering with a third-party IT vendor is right for you.

 

Myth #1: MSPs don’t understand our business.

Not every MSP will understand your business, that’s correct. But not every MSP is the same. The right MSP examines your existing infrastructure and workflows. They’ll also meet with your people to understand their needs.

Hiring a MSP adds IT experts who can make specific technology recommendations. Meanwhile, your in-house IT team can focus on driving growth.

Myth #2: Outsourcing to a MSP is too costly.

Take a look at your IT budget today. Internal IT costs are typically high and often unpredictable. Managed services help you stay on top of your IT costs. Your business pays a simple, manageable monthly or quarterly fee. This makes IT operating expenses easier to budget.

MSPs also provide long-term cost savings by:

  • Reducing applications downtime
  • Cutting costs of IT infrastructure
  • Improving IT team productivity
  • Implementing greater security to avoid costly cyber attacks

Myth #3: Only enterprise-sized businesses can use MSPs.

One common misconception is that only big corporations hire outsourced managed service professionals. In fact, small- to medium-sized businesses can benefit more from working with a MSP. After all, large businesses tend to have a dedicated IT to secure data and maintain its systems. Smaller companies have more difficulty competing for IT talent.

Outsourcing gives any business access to skilled IT specialists. They are specialists in securing data, managing networks, and user access. You get top talent and best practices, without having to add employees to your roster.

“Recent market studies show that, when properly executed, managed services for IT can reduce in-house IT costs by upwards of 40 percent while simultaneously facilitating a 50 to 60 percent increase in IT efficiencies.” Cisco

Myth #4: You lose control of your business.

Only if you hand it over to the MSP or don’t effectively manage your partnership with your provider. You should hire an MSP with an understanding of what level of control you want to retain. Lay out the relationship in a Service Level Agreement. This document should outline expectations, roles and responsibilities, and scope of services.

Before hiring a MSP, look at client testimonials. Have others found the MSP works with businesses to only do what needs done? Ask prospective MSPs how they will keep you up-to-date about the work they do. Also, identify someone on your team to actively manage that MSP relationship.

Myth #5: You only use an MSP for security backup.

Sure, backup and disaster recovery, are the primary service outsourced to MSPs. But that is not the only reason businesses turn to managed services. Other common managed services include archiving, networking, application management, and support services.

The MSP does the work your IT team finds tedious and your general employees care little about (but rely upon). Outsource monitoring and maintaining backend technology and routine, recurring tasks. You gain high quality, consistent IT support. And you improve the morale of your overworked, overextended IT team along the way.

Business today relies on its technology to be successful. Big or small, your business can benefit. Free up internal IT teams to focus on more value-adding initiatives. Take advantage of a MSP’s expert help and powerful new technology.

Ready to outsource IT? Give us a call at 478-474-0861 or goto QualityCareSuite.com.

Remote IT Will Create Tech That Works for You

by

There are few things as frustrating as IT issues getting in the way of your work. Even the simplest of problems can break your flow, ruin your productivity, and waste your time. IT should be working to boost your day instead of slowing you down.

Tripping up on a computer glitch can happen at any moment. Working to fix one can take hours. You might try a few steps that have worked before, ask a colleague for help, or try a web search to see what turns up. All of these take time from you or your colleagues, and often make the original problem worse.

When you outsource your help desk, your IT problems become our IT problems. We take charge of righting the ship to keep your tech on the right track.

Setting Up Your Business for Success

Many businesses try a break/fix model to deal with IT issues. This means waiting for problems to happen before contacting IT to resolve them. Break/fix adds costs and downtime to every IT issue as they happen. To us, this makes it an unacceptable long-term solution for business.

The process of scheduling a mutually suitable time to visit, diagnosing the issue, and resolving every issue on a case-by-case basis is massively time-consuming. Both IT technicians and in-house staff waste productive hours dealing with, often trivial, problems.

We think that time could be better spent building your business instead.

Your Personal Help Desk

When you outsource your IT help desk, you get a custom service dedicated to resolving your issues fast. Technicians with the knowledge and experience of years in IT can work without creating new problems or making the original issue worse. In modern IT, knowledge and experience is the key to successful solutions.

Many of the issues we resolve on a day-to-day basis are problems we have seen many times before on many different systems. IT is our business, and we know it very well.

How Outsourced IT Works For You

Outsourcing your IT means simply submitting a ticket to have issues taken care of. Having your own help desk to rely on means having help available exactly when you need it. Waiting on a local firm, or nearby technician to become available should be a thing of the past.

Queueing for an ‘advisor’, waiting on hold, and spelling out your problem over and over again is no fun for anyone. There should be better ways your time can be spent. There are certainly many ways firms can benefit more from ours.

Submitting an electronic ticket to resolve your issue is an easy, one step, process. Detail the problem once, email the ticket, and you can return to your work. We’ll call you back to work on a solution when the timing best works for you.

Managing Problems Remotely

To resolve system issues, diagnose, update, or maintain systems, we often log in remotely and take ownership of the problem personally. We’ve found there is little advantage to wasting time asking staff to find menus, click on links, and tell us what they see. We get straight to the heart of the problem and fix it there and then.

Problems that tie up one or more machines for a long time can be scheduled for out-of-hours, holiday, or weekend fixes. Large, system-wide updates or upgrades can be done remotely when they won’t get in the way.

For staff, updates appear to happen without anyone around to see them. You would be forgiven for thinking the IT is fixing itself.

Our golden rule is to make sure IT works for you, not the other way round. If you are wasting staff hours on hold, arranging meetings just for your tech, or structuring your day around simple problem solving, your firm could be upgraded in a flash.

Call us at 478-474-0861 or just submit a ticket at qualitycaresuite.com and we’ll sort out the rest.

FOLLOW US

Recent Posts

Tags

#bestservice #computerrepair #nocontract #qualitycomputers backup bad hard drive cloud computer repair consumer data loss data recovery email Hacker msp new computer new laptop online safety QualityCareSuite recover data remote support repair sale scam service small business Webcam