small and medium business – Page 14 – Computer Security Articles

Think twice before deploying Windows’ Controlled Folder Access

July 5, 2022 admin Security, small and medium business, windows, Windows 10, windows 11

Credit to Author: Susan Bradley| Date: Tue, 05 Jul 2022 07:29:00 -0700

As ransomware attacks gained steam in the mid-2010s, Microsoft sought to give Windows users and admins tools to protect their PCs from such attacks. With its October 2017 feature update, the company added a feature called Controlled Folder Access to Windows 10.

On paper, Controlled Folder Access sounds like a great protection for consumers, home users, and small businesses with limited resources. As defined by Microsoft, “Controlled folder access helps protect your valuable data from malicious apps and threats, such as ransomware. Controlled folder access protects your data by checking apps against a list of known, trusted apps. Supported on Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2022, Windows 10, and Windows 11 clients, controlled folder access can be turned on using the Windows Security App, Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, or Intune (for managed devices).”

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ComputerWorld Independent

FCC commissioner wants Apple, Google to remove TikTok from App Stores

June 29, 2022 admin apple, google, Mobile, Mobile Apps, Security, small and medium business

Credit to Author: Jonny Evans| Date: Wed, 29 Jun 2022 05:34:00 -0700

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr has written to Apple and Google to request that both companies remove the incredibly popular TikTok app from their stores, citing a threat to national security.

Is your data going TikTok?

Carr warns the app collects huge quantities of data and cited a recent report that claimed the company has accessed sensitive data collected from Americans. He argues that TikTok’s, “pattern of conduct and misrepresentations regarding the unfettered access that persons in Beijing have to sensitive U.S. data…puts it out of compliance,” with App Store security and privacy policies.

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ComputerWorld Independent

The surveillance-as-a-service industry needs to be brought to heel

June 24, 2022 admin Android, apple, iOS, Mobile, Security, small and medium business

Credit to Author: Jonny Evans| Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2022 09:40:00 -0700

Here we go again: another example of government surveillance involving smartphones from Apple and Google has emerged, and it shows how sophisticated government-backed attacks can become and why there’s justification for keeping mobile platforms utterly locked down.

What has happened?

I don’t intend to focus too much on the news, but in brief it is as follows:

Google’s Threat Analysis Group has published information revealing the hack.
Italian surveillance firm RCS Labs created the attack.
The attack has been used in Italy and Kazakhstan, and possibly elsewhere.
Some generations of the attack are wielded with help from ISPs.
On iOS, attackers abused Apple’s enterprise certification tools that enable in-house app deployment.
Around nine different attacks were used.

The attack works like this: The target is sent a unique link that aims to trick them into downloading and installing a malicious app. In some cases, the spooks worked with an ISP to disable data connectivity to trick targets into downloading the app to recover that connection.

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ComputerWorld Independent

Trouble with Windows? You have support options

June 21, 2022 admin Security, small and medium business, windows, Windows 10, windows 11

Credit to Author: Susan Bradley| Date: Tue, 21 Jun 2022 05:15:00 -0700

So, you finally got around to installing a Windows update from Microsoft, and there’s a problem. Where do you go for support and assistance?

Short answer: it depends.

If you are an Enterprise customer and have an issue with your work computer — whether in the office or remote — there should be a designated IT administrator or help desk for you. You either call the help desk or open a trouble ticket and someone gets back to you. Often, they have tools to remotely connect to your computer and see what’s going on. If the issue is so serious your machine can’t be fixed, they’ll deploy a new computer or reimage your PC using tools such as Autopilot to deploy a fresh copy of Windows for you.

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ComputerWorld Independent

Microsoft delivers solid Windows-focused updates for June's Patch Tuesday

June 17, 2022 admin microsoft, Security, small and medium business, windows

Credit to Author: Greg Lambert| Date: Fri, 17 Jun 2022 12:09:00 -0700

June’s Patch Tuesday updates, released on June 14, address 55 vulnerabilities in Windows, SQL Server, Microsoft Office, and Visual Studio (though there are oo Microsoft Exchange Server or Adobe updates this month). And a zero-day vulnerability in a key Windows component, CVE-2022-30190, led to a “Patch Now” recommendation for Windows, while the .NET, Office and SQL Server updates can be included in a standard release schedule.

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ComputerWorld Independent

Will COVID's legacy be a healthier workplace?

June 17, 2022 admin IT Strategy, Security, small and medium business

Credit to Author: Paul Gillin| Date: Fri, 17 Jun 2022 04:30:00 -0700

Exit signs and fire extinguishers became mandatory following the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City. The 1933 Long Beach earthquake triggered an overhaul of building codes for California public schools. Regulations covering the construction and operation of nuclear power plants were fortified after the 1979 Three Mile Island accident.

What will the long-term impacts of COVID-19 be on workplace safety?

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ComputerWorld Independent

Jamf CIO: Apple will be the No. 1 enterprise endpoint by 2030

June 16, 2022 admin apple, iOS, MacOS, Mobile, Mobile Device Management, Security, small and medium business

Credit to Author: Jonny Evans| Date: Thu, 16 Jun 2022 04:02:00 -0700

I spoke with Jamf CIO Linh Lam on a recent UK visit to mark the company’s 20th anniversary. The 2020 Bay Area CIO of the Year Finalist joined Jamf in 2021 – and thinks Apple will be the top enterprise endpoint by 2030 as its current momentum accelerates.

The changing landscape of enterprise IT

“The way the demand is growing and the expectations of younger generations joining the workforce, Apple devices will be the number one endpoint by 2030,” she told me.

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ComputerWorld Independent

Before Patch Tuesday, a to-do list to avoid trouble

June 13, 2022 admin microsoft, Security, small and medium business, windows

Credit to Author: Susan Bradley| Date: Mon, 13 Jun 2022 10:11:00 -0700

You could call today Patch-Tuesday Eve. It’s the day before Windows machines get offered updates from Microsoft. What should you be doing to prepare?

It depends on what kind of computer user you are.

If your files are stored in the cloud

You keep everything in the cloud, you use a Microsoft account, you don’t mind reinstalling your OS if need be. Your data is protected by a username and a password, and if you are savvy, your data is protected by two-factor authentication.

Prior to Patch Tuesday, you might decide you don’t need to back up your computer system since you know if something happens to your computer, you can reinstall the operating system and merely reconnect to your various online storage services. You’ve double-checked that all cloud services you use have file versioning enabled, so if you need to roll back to a prior version of a file, you can do so.

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