Apple’s Lack of Security

First, I want to start by saying, I prefer Mac over PC. So this is not a hate message, but I am  frustrated when I learned, “Apple won’t allow companies to develop ‘true endpoint security’ for iOS, iOS will become a malware target, leading to plunging iOS market share,” mentioned by Kaspersky security company.

Eugene Kaspersky, claims that Apple will not allow his company to find a solution to all the Malware attacks towards Apple’s iOS system. It was  bad enough that Apple did not have an immediate solution or response when we found out that Macs were being attacked by malware.

It is troublesome for IT support providers and IT consulting companies to provide solutions to combat the malware attacks. Apple showed their vulnerability against the malware attacks that we all thought were not possible. That’s far from the case and it will become a continued trend for Apple if they don’t wise up with their security for iOS.

There are more Mac users out there than ever before, so it’s no longer just PC’s that are largely the only focus for Malware attacks. Apple is said to be behind Microsoft 10 years when it comes to security, and that’s embarrassing when you have a company that makes more than certain countries in the world. I think Microsoft can gloat  all day about that, since they take security seriously.

It is true that iOS is still well protected but it’s going to be a matter of time when you don’t allow companies that focus on security to get the job done. I hope it’s something Apple has in the works. It would be a pleasant surprise and I will be wrong.

Get with the program Apple! How many more “Mac down!” messages are there going to be?

Written by IT Management and Consulting Professionals at FedSolutions.  Thanks for stopping by!

Build Your Own Server!

Years have gone by and you finally upgraded to a new PC. The question remains, “What do you do with your old PC?”

If your IT service provider is FedSolutions, we are here to collect and make sure it goes to the right place.

Now that we have made a suggestion to donate the old thing, there is still one more suggestion to make use of your old PC. Setup a server and create a network at home. I know it sounds completely geeky, but it would be cool to have your own local server at home. The only downside is that you won’t have the IT support that goes along with it, but that should not discourage you.

PCworld.com gives us some tips to create a local server: 

Office for iOS

Microsoft Office has been available for Apple for years now, but there’s been a delay for iPad users. Partially, because Microsoft will be releasing its own Windows 8 tablet soon.

iPad has been taking the tablet market by storm and even laptop sales have been significantly lower due to the iPad phenomenon. It would be in Microsoft’s best interest to get office on iPad.

Onlive offered a virtual Windows 7 and Office product on iPad but received lots of scrutiny from Microsoft. OnLive Desktop uses the same powerful network used the company’s cloud-based gaming service, which launched in the UK last year. This means the OnLive desktop app is also powerful enough to support features on the iPad that you typically needed a PC to use, including: HD video, animations and PC video games, along with multitouch gestures, handwriting recognition and the Windows keyboard.

IT providers would welcome such a familiar product in their environments since so many users are adopting iPads for their professional duties.

TGdaily.com talks more about Microsoft Office for iPad: 

Preventing A Breach

Anonymous has dominated news with taking down government agencies to large corporation websites. IT consultants are hired and companies end up spending expensive hourly rates just to get things up and running.

Not all organizations are lucky enough to have a large  budgets to use on IT, especially since they don’t usually plan for such costs. They probably don’t even think about being hacked or losing vital company secrets.

The fact is that not everyone has an IT department to get them out of such bad luck or in general the malware and viruses that just lurk the internet and computers out there. It’s time to get smart and protect your infrastructure no matter how small you are. Trust me, Hackers are finding small businesses because they know they lack IT security and don’t have any systems in place, making them easy targets.

Edtechmagazine.com talks about some preventive actions to avoid a security breach:

Bing Takes Streetside Offline

Privacy issues has made Microsoft take Bing Streetside View offline in Germany. Questions of how Microsoft blurs images is at stake and Germans are concerned not only about being photographed but also images of their homes and streets etc…

Google also ran into issues with their Street View service with similar concerns about certain images being blurred out. One of those concerns where the unblurred images stored by Google servers. Google in turn later agreed to delete those images, they were held on as a process to blur specific images.

Privacy concerns are prevalent now due to the major social media channels of real time message and photos that hit these sites and then go viral quickly. IT departments have concerns about  policies they must implement and protect for their organizations. This particular streetside view issue is and should be a concern, although it is a pretty cool feature to look at.

PCworld.com give us some more insight in the concern over security and privacy for citizens in Germany, and something else to think about is how it affects all of us all over the world? 

DOJ In Trouble?

Anonymous has been terrorizing companies for a while now. There is no company too small or too big. They are out to expose anyone or anything in large ways. IT departments from all these institutions and corporations are largely the targets. Anonymous is exposing the holes in their security by releasing large sums of files that could be harmful to their organization or to the security of the country.

At one point the FBI did seem to get a handle on a few hackers and arrest them exposing more people in Anonymous’ network. It seems they are not startled and want to continue their mission of taking down sites and exposing vital information.

IT consultants that are hired to fix these breaches have sometimes been unable to complete their tasks and these corporations are spending enormous funds hourly to fix their internal security from Hackers like Anonymous.

Department of Justice (DOJ) is in the news as the latest target of Anonymous, they have claimed to hack into their statics wing web server and released 1.7GB of data from it.

PCWorld.com reports more about this Security breach from Anonymous:

Did Google beat Microsoft?

IT departments have started to use Google Chrome browsers in their environment. The Google browser has been steadily increasing it’s market share since it’s release in 2008.  Last week, it was announced that Google Chrome surpassed Internet Explorer in the No.1 spot.  Firefox and Safari were still behind both browsers.

LATimes.com has more about Google Chrome: 

How To Buy a Wi-Fi Router

Recently, I was at my old digs, otherwise known as my parents’ house. I usually make sure to bring my laptop with me so I can listen to my music and, most of all, have something to do.

I was doing some work from their basement and I had noticed that my wireless signal was low and I thought it was very unusual. It went back upstairs to the router and noticed that it was my old router from almost ten years ago. Ahh….some things never change, especially since my parents are not technology savvy one bit.

I did notice another router which was from the internet provider, but  from my past experiences, I remembered that those usually end up breaking and don’t carry a very good signal. Plus renting the device from your provider is an unnecessary expense every month that makes no sense.

I didn’t wait long to go do some research for a new router and get on the road to the closest Radio Shack.

I knew a little about routers before I started my search, and I knew that an expensive one for my parent’s house wasn’t necessary. A budget of $50-$150 should do it.  I was planning on getting a similar one I purchased a few years back for my own place but found that router signals had boosted since the last time I purchased my own.

If you’re looking to get a top notch router then you should expect to pay a lot more. It just depends on the level of activity you plan having with your internet connection. Using the internet for web browsing and email allows you to be more conservative with your budget, however, if you plan on using your wireless internet to stream HD movies, play online video games, or download large files, you may want to spend a little more.

I found a Cisco Linksys E-Series that was right with my budget.  I purchased it and it worked like a charm with more than enough signal giving me 2.4 GHz, which was more than I needed. I was back in the basement like old times working again without any glitches.

Here are some tips from PCworld.com on details:

Speed Up Your Internet!

Technology is advancing fast. So is the demand for bandwidth and internet speed. We live in a world of wireless technology that substantially puts stress on network bandwidth. From using streaming video and file sharing, IT departments witness a lot strain, and, in turn, an organization can lose productivity from all these advances in the way we work today.

There is a new solution from Alcatel Lucent which says it can boost up your internet speed by 5 times by using its core internet router.

“Just one 7950 XRS router can deliver 16 terabits of data per second. That’s about 2.5 million HD video streams every tick of the second hand”‘, says CNN Money. 

Are You Paying Too Much For DDoS Attacks?

You don’t want to spend $10K – $50K per hour dealing with a DDoS attack. That’s how much some companies are spending.

Hackers, such as Anonymous and Lulsec have targeted companies like Visa, Zappos and other corporations and government agencies. They have exposed the security breaches and their hired IT consultants and IT service are not always doing a professional job.

Hackers are always evolving, just like the malware they release, and they’re ready to take down the next corporation. Many times, they don’t just do it for financial gain, it’s for the challenge.

Biztechmagazine.com talks more about DDoS Attacks: