October 2022 News & Updates

CTC NEWS, Industry News, Monthly Newsletters, Tech news
Accepting Applications - We are looking to add a new member to the team and are accepting applications for a Tier 2 Support Position. If you know someone that's got a passion for good customer service, a solid technical pedigree and is looking to work with some of the greatest customers on the planet, definitely send them to our online application here.Multiple zero day vulnerabilities have been addressed by Microsoft this month including (at least) two in Microsoft Exchange that have been actively exploited. Microsoft released updates to fix 84 security vulnerabilities this month including 20 remote code execution vulnerabilities and 13 (including some of the RCE) that it has rated as Critical. Worth noting is that this does not include the 12 patched on 3 October and fixes for…
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April 2022 News and Updates

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Windows 11 is Here - Microsoft is wasting no time getting it's new flagship desktop operating system Windows 11 rolled out to (often) unsuspecting Windows 10 users. If you find yourself the recipient of an unexpected / involuntary upgrade to Windows 11, How-To Geek has put together an excellent article on downgrading back to Windows 10.Firewall as a Service - We are currently exploring an option to offer what we are calling a "Firewall as a Service" for commercial clients. This would effectively be a way to "rent" a managed firewall for a fixed monthly cost. There would be a nominal install cost as well as a monthly recurring cost to manage the firewall but no term agreement and the customer would not have to purchase the firewall. If you…
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March 2022 News & Updates

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Now Hiring - We are currently looking to hire a Senior Support Specialist to join our team. This is a full time, permanent position and hours are generally Monday through Friday, 8:00am until 5:00pm ET. If you or someone you know would be a good fit for the position, there's an online application available here.Spike in network based attacks - I reported in late February (here) that we were seeing a spike in attack traffic from IP Addresses registered to Russian and Chinese organizations. We were seeing those attacks across multiple ISPs (Comcast, Charter, AT&T, etc.) and nationwide. The initial attacks seemed focused on brute force attacks against VPN portals. The volume of the attacks has slowed significantly and the targets seem to have widened (we're still seeing brute force…
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January 2022 News & Updates

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Windows 11 is Here - Microsoft is wasting no time getting it's new flagship desktop operating system Windows 11 rolled out to (often) unsuspecting Windows 10 users. If you find yourself the recipient of an unexpected / involuntary upgrade to Windows 11, How-To Geek has put together an excellent article on downgrading back to Windows 10.The MyIT Program is proving to be a huge win for clients who are signing up for or renewing their Ransomware / Cyber Insurance plans. The MyIT Program is designed to address those important (but, sometimes, not as urgent) issues that seem to go undone until there's a problem (like testing your backup before a ransomware attack). In many cases, the regular maintenance items addressed by the MyIT Silver program address all of these (and…
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December 2021 News & Updates

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The holiday season is also prime season for other criminal activity like porch pirating, charity and phishing scams. If you'll be having packages delivered when you aren't home, it may be worth asking a trusted neighbor to watch for delivery (and then grab the package), getting a temporary mailbox (PO Box, UPS Store, etc.) or investing in one of the doorbell cameras to safeguard the delivery (or provide proof that it was stolen). If you're looking to give to charity, checking with a local Church or other charitable organization in your community may be a better option than replying to an email solicitation for donation or giving to a random but well-intentioned-looking stranger asking for a donation at a stoplight. Details on the Log4Shell Vulnerability - Log4Shell is a vulnerability…
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November 2021 News and Updates – The Holidays are Upon Us

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The November "Patch Tuesday" updates are often the last "big push" before the holidays with many shops preparing to take time off over the next several weeks. These often unattended systems can be a tempting and lucrative target for attackers, making it even more important to make certain that any and all available updates have been applied to everything from the workstations to the firewalls. The upcoming holiday season is also prime season for other criminal activity like porch pirating, charity and phishing scams. If you'll be having packages delivered when you aren't home, it may be worth asking a trusted neighbor to watch for delivery (and then grab the package), getting a temporary mailbox (PO Box, UPS Store, etc.) or investing in one of the doorbell cameras to safeguard…
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October 2021 News & Updates

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Microsoft and Apple (oddly enough) released updates to bugs that are being actively attacked. Adobe released updates to a number of products including Reader, Acrobat, Commerce and Connect.The MyIT Program is proving to be a huge win for clients who are signing up for or renewing their Ransomware / Cyber Insurance plans. The MyIT Program is designed to address those important (but, sometimes, not as urgent) issues that seem to go undone until there's a problem (like testing your backup before a ransomware attack). In many cases, the regular maintenance items addressed by the MyIT Silver program address all of these (and more). Two things that really set the MyIT Program apart from other MSP type offerings is that a) there is no term agreement, cancel at any time and…
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May 2021 News & Updates

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Executive Summary May 2021 is proving to be a busy month (already) from a technology perspective. Between massive ransomware attacks on critical infrastructure (and $5M USD ransoms paid) to newly patched wormable vulnerabilities (that could easily be weaponized and used against other critical infrastructure targets) to the latest Windows Feature Release, IT Pros have certainly been tested. Regular site visits return - When we saw the potential for a fuel shortage and the subsequent rush on gas stations, we halted all non-critical site visits. With the fuel supply stabilizing, I'm happy to report that site visits are back to normal.Enhanced Patch Management - Cyber Security impacting the physical world - We have two cases where cyber attacks had real world impacts on the physical worldColonial Pipeline Breach - Details are…
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January 2021 News & Updates

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Executive Summary Happy New Year. We hope that you were able to enjoy time with family, friends and loved ones over the holidays and that you're doing well in the New Year.Microsoft is getting the year off to a rough start, patching 80 vulnerabilities including one that is being actively exploited.Ubiquiti noted Monday that it had "…became aware of unauthorized access to its systems hosted by a third-party cloud provider…". Adobe Flash Player is officially end of life.We are excited to announce that we will be looking into more / different / better ways to interact with you over the coming weeks and months. I don't have a lot of details available to share at the moment but announcements will be made on our website and mailing list as we're…
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