If you’re expecting a package from FedEx, or even if you’re not, be alert for fraudulent emails claiming to be from FedEx regarding a package that could not be delivered. The email will ask the recipient to open an attachment in order to obtain the airbill or invoice for picking up the package. The attachment is a virus. Do not open it! Instead, delete it immediately.

These fraudulent emails are from third parties, not associated with FedEx. When FedEx sends emails with tracking updates for undeliverable packages they do not include attachments.

FedEx does not request payment or personal information in return for goods in transit or in FexEx custody. If you have received a fraudulent email that claims to be from FedEx, you can report it by forwarding it to abuse@fedex.com.

With all the talk about Cloud Computing, this is the question a lot of businesses are facing. To make an educated decision on this, you’ll want explore the reasons why businesses are embracing the cloud, and think through the concerns about capabilities, security, reliability, and integration.

There’s probably a good chance you’ve already used some form of cloud computing. If you have an e-mail account with a Web-based e-mail service like Hotmail, Yahoo! or Gmail, then you’ve had some experience with cloud computing. Instead of running an e-mail program on your computer, you log in to a Web e-mail account remotely. The software and storage for your account doesn’t exist on your computer — it’s on the service’s computer cloud.
Cloud computing is perfect for small businesses; the biggest reason being that it can save you money on equipment and software. Instead of installing software for each computer, you’d only have to load one application. This would allow workers to log into a Web-based service which hosts all the programs they need for their job, and local computers no longer have to do all the heavy lifting. Also, servers and digital storage devices take up space. Some companies rent physical space to store servers and databases because they don’t have it available on site. Cloud computing removes the need for physical space on the front end.

Another plus to converting to the “Cloud” is the ability to access your applications and data from anywhere at any time. Data wouldn’t be confined to a hard drive on one user’s computer, or even a corporation’s internal network.
Now let’s talk about the common concerns some companies may have, perhaps the biggest is security and privacy. Companies might hesitate to take advantage of this system because they can’t keep their information under lock and key. The counterargument to this is that the companies offering cloud computing services live and die by their reputations. It benefits them to have reliable security measures in place. Otherwise, the service would lose all its clients. Privacy is another matter. If a client can log in from any location to access data and applications, it’s possible their privacy could be compromised. One way to protect it is to use authentication techniques such as user names and passwords. Another is to employ an authorization format — each user can access only the data and applications relevant to his or her job.

Thinking all of this through should help your decision on “To Cloud, or Not to Cloud”.

Have you been doing your Christmas shopping online this year? New technology makes it so much easier, especially with free shipping most of the time. And everything gets delivered right to your door so you don’t have to worry about the hassle of transporting big boxes around, or even leaving your house for that matter.

 However, there are some things you need to be aware of when doing your shopping online. First, is your anti-virus up to date? If not, don’t even think about entering your financial data! There are so many viruses out there that will take over you operating system and steal your data.   

A friend of mine just discovered that his computer had been attacked with a Trojan horse. AVG calls this virus a Generic 26.ohm, and once you’re infected it waits for you to go to a website and then takes over that page and steals any information you enter. The technical term for this is Pharming. It doesn’t show in your task bar, and it looks like an official page.  So it’s good enough to get even someone who is aware of these dangers (my friend knows IT and Managed Services like the back of his hand).

So here’s what happened: He goes to PayPal and logs into his account like normal, when a window pops up (which looks like an official PayPal page) asking him to enter his credit card number, social security number, and date of birth. Well, he entered his credit card number but like most, was very leery of entering his social security number so he tried to submit it without. But it wouldn’t go through; this pop up was requiring him to enter his SSN (which most legit sites don’t do). This is when he realized something wasn’t right. So immediately, he got on the phone with Pay Pal and explained to them what was going on. They assured him that they would never ask for this type of information and told him that his account had been compromised. And, since he had already entered his credit card numbers, he had to immediately call the credit card company and cancel that card (yet another hassle).

These viruses have the ability to take over your entire operating system, requiring your computer to be wiped out and everything reinstalled. Luckily, this didn’t happen to him.  He was able to fix the issue by running several scans with multiple anti-virus tools.

Moral of the story – Keep your systems, anti-virus, firewalls, etc. up to date. Think of the internet like a big city. You wouldn’t take your car to Detroit or any other big city and leave it unlocked with all of your valuables inside, would you?

You think you’re logging into the coffee shop’s Wi-Fi network to check your email, but you may actually be connecting to a crook.

Scammers have gone public, invading libraries, airports, hotel lobbies, and other public places that offer Wi-Fi connections to the internet. With hacking tools that are available online, sometimes for free, scammers can create their own networks that mimic the name or look of a bona fide establishment’s hot spot.

The crook knows things you may not, for instance that many Wi-Fi networks are not secure. This allows for easy pickings of your data – email addresses, cell phone numbers, and passwords. And if you bank or shop online while connected to these networks, your financial account numbers are at risk too.

So if you use Wi-Fi in public places, here are 5 tips to safeguard your information:

1. Set your laptop or smartphone so that you have to manually select the Wi-Fi network. You may need to change the default setting.
2. Make sure you know the exact name of the establishment’s Wi-Fi network and connect only to it. Don’t be fooled by look-alikes.
3. If your device shows the site as secured, pay attention to what kind of encryption it lists. WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) is an early system, from over a decade ago. If it’s WEP, treat the network as not secure. WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) is better, and WPA2 is best.
4. Before using a public Wi-Fi network, install software called Force-TLS and HTTPS-Everywhere, which are free add-ons to the Firefox browser. These will ensure you use encryption features available on the websites you visit.
5. As with your home computer, be sure to change your passwords frequently and make them hard to crack by including digits and symbols.

 YES! You should backup your data weekly at minimum using onsite and offsite solutions.  There are backup solutions for every budget, whether you’re a one person home office or a 300 employee enterprise.

Back up solutions today come in many forms; Tape, Mirror Drives, and Offsite back up services to name a few.  When deciding whether or not to have a back up, take into consideration the time you and your associates put into building your business and the information contained in your computer network, customer records, employee records, and vendor info are just a few.

Businesses are starting to realize the importance of outsourcing network management to a managed services provider. However, to drive the maximum benefit from outsourcing services, businesses need to consider the following:

1. Analyze your needs – It is extremely important for businesses to analyze their environment, identify their needs, and then look at service providers who can provide solutions specific to their needs. To pick the best provider, you need to understand what managed services your company needs, and in what locations it needs them.
2. Evaluate Contracts – With your security and efficiency of operations at stake, and with the typical contract lasting two to five years, it is critical to evaluate the contract with the provider.  You should be looking for vendors that understand your business, provide clear and competitive pricing, and easy to understand contracts.
3. Flexibility – contracts should be flexible enough to upgrade to different classes of service as needed. Also, services that are scalable for the long term, allowing easy, low-cost upgrades to support evolving application needs should be considered.
4. Total Cost of Service – It is imperative for businesses to analyze the total cost of service over the course of the contract. Charges for service changes or work done outside normal business hours, in addition to initial up front expenses, can add up to the total cost.
5. Details – The contract should communicate shared expectations regarding service levels, including installations and changes. What will the provider control and where? Will the equipment be on the provider’s premises or yours? What reports and information will be available to the company, and how often? How will the provider respond to issues, and how quickly?

Among the benefits of such a partnership are end-to-end quality, cost efficient network management, and more reliable, scalable, and secure services that are easy to deploy and expand as the companies needs change.

When looking for an agent, this is an important question to be asked. Power outages don’t occur very often. But when they do, there is typically no warning. That’s why you should always be prepared.

It is crucial to have a battery backup or a UPS (uninterruptable power source) connected to your server so that if the power does go out, your server stays on.  Statistics show 60% of businesses will fail if they lose their data.

If the power does go out, here are some steps to follow:

1. Contact your network service provider to report the problem (can’t receive calls, can’t dial out, etc.)
2. Contact your phone carrier and ask them to have all calls forwarded to another line (cell phone, or another office location if you have one) until the issue has been resolved
3. When the problem has been resolved, ask to have the forwarding of lines turned off
4. Follow up with your network service provider to document the problem in their database for further action and follow up.

Bottom line, always be prepared. It takes years to collect all of the data you have…. And only seconds to lose it if you don’t have the proper systems in place.