Baroan Blog | Managed Service Provider NJ

Latest Malware and Preventative Steps

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Miaoulis) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 19:39:00 +0000

We have noticed a recent increase in malware-related calls from our clients. It’s easy to click on a link or open an email that can infect your computer since malware creators are continually inventing new and convincing ways to get your attention. The following instances of malware are the ones we’ve seen most frequently as of late:

USPS scam email – This one has been around for a few years and keeps resurfacing with different subjects. It may say something about a tracking number, notification, or delivery failure then tell you to click on a link. Do not click on the link!
UPS scam email – This is another one that has been around. The subject may say your package is available for pickup or mention a delivery failure.
LogMeIn scam email – We actually received this one ourselves (see screenshot below). Again, it asks you to click on a link. Don’t do it! It will make your computer vulnerable to infection.

FBI Moneypak Ransomware – Several of our clients have encountered this recently after clicking on internet ads/popups. This “ransomware” will lock up your screen with an FBI logo and ask for money. (This Forbes article has further info: http://onforb.es/113tVG0)

To avoid malware, take these steps BEFORE you click:

Think. Have you ever received an email like this before? Do you know the sender? In the case of the USPS scam, have you actually shipped anything recently?
Hover over the link. If you hover over the link, you can see the address it will take you to. For an example, see the screenshot of the LogMeIn email below. When you hover over the link that claims to be new terms and conditions, you can see it will definitely not be taking you to the LogMeIn site. Instead, it will take you to a zip file that will then infect your computer.
And if you’re still not sure…Google! If you’re still having a hard time discerning if an email or site is harmful, a quick Google search will usually tell you the answer. For example, if you Google “USPS email,” on the first page of search results you will see several articles warning against fake USPS emails.

You may be reading this and thinking, “I don’t have time for all this!” These quick checks will soon become second nature to you when encountering suspicious content and it will be become easier to separate the scams from the rest. Just think of how much time you will lose if your computer does become infected. It is worth it to take these precautions.

Our Baroan Managed Services can include Kaspersky Antivirus and Malwarebytes Antimalware. Contact us for further information.

Remove duplicates in Outlook

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Miaoulis) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:22:00 +0000

Spending too much time deleting duplicate emails, contacts, or calendar items? Clean up your Outlook with this free tool: ODIR by Vaita.

"Free, Fast and easy tool for removing duplicate items from Outlook folders: With ODIR it's a snap to clean your Outlook folders by removing all duplicates. ODIR removes duplicates from Contacts; Calendar; Tasks; Notes and Email folders."

Turn Off Address Bar Search in Internet Explorer

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Miaoulis) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 15:37:00 +0000

Anybody else have an issue with Internet Explorer 9 when you type in something short like "sharepoint" in the address bar, and it searches for that term instead of taking you to your Sharepoint server? This new and wonderful “FEATURE” of Microsoft’s can be disabled as per this Microsoft Knowledge Base article.

There are 3 different methods you can use to disable the address bar search in IE 9:

Method 1: Using Tools menu in Internet Explorer

Click Internet Options

Click the Advanced tab

Check the option Go to an intranet site for a single word entry in the Address bar.

Method 2: Using Group Policy
Local or Domain Administrators can configure this setting by using Group Policy.

Click Start > Run

Type gpedit.msc, and then click OK.

Expand User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Internet Explorer.

Then expand Internet Settings > Advanced Settings > Browsing

Set Go to an intranet site for a single word entry in the Address bar according to your desired settings.

You have to update policies or restart the computer to apply changes.

Method 3: Using registry key

Important: This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. We recommend using one of the above methods if possible.

Outlook 2010 – “Contacting Server”

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Miaoulis) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 13:30:00 +0000

Problem

When receiving emails with embedded links to files on the internet, Outlook downloads the images for display. When replying to messages, if they have not been fully downloaded, Outlook hangs while it retrieves the file with a dialog “Contacting Server”

Resolution

To prevent this issue, the solution is to not download the images in Outlook automatically. This prevents this issue for occurring.

Process

1. Open Outlook

2. Click on “File” in the top left corner of the Outlook window

3. Click on “Options”

4. Click on “Trust Center”

5. Click on “Trust Center Settings…”

6. Click on “Automatic Download”

7. Check all of the boxes on the right except for “Warn me before downloading content when editing, forwarding, or replying to e-mail”

8. Click “OK”

9. Click “OK”

Results

Emails now offer an option to download images like this:

Emails show an icon for undownloaded images like this:

Replies to emails look like this with images replaced with blanks:

If you choose to download the pictures, you can still end up with the same issue where you are waiting on the images, but at that point you will know why this is happening.

Migrating to Office 365: Important Things to Consider

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Miaoulis) — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 21:34:00 +0000

We're proud to bring you another President Post from Guy Baroan on the StorageCraft Blog!

In "Migrating to Office 365: Important Things to Consider," Guy covers the main benefits of moving to Office 365: savings, availability, and a big one that gets overlooked - the fact that the necessary changes needed for the migration will raise the company's security and functionality to the proper level.

Baroan Technologies' many migrations have made us experts on the many things you’ll have to take into account if you’re considering making the move to Office 365, and Guy shares that knowledge in his post.

See all of our posts on the StorageCraft Blog here.

Can I do real work from my iPad? Part 2: Software

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Miaoulis) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 14:08:00 +0000

The Baroan Blog is excited to bring you a two part guest post from Casey Morgan of StorageCraft. If you are interested in guest posting, please contact us.

In Part 1 of "Can I do real work from my iPad?" we talked about what type of hardware can enhance your ability to use your iPad for business.

As I mentioned last time, a lot of office work consists of writing documents in Microsoft Word or creating Excel spreadsheets. There are a few different apps you can download for the iPad, both free and paid, that allow you to create these different files.

Let’s take a look, starting with the free stuff.

Free Options

Microsoft SkyDrive app for iPad

(available free in the app store)

You can view anything you’ve saved in SkyDrive but you can’t make edits, create anything new, or even print.

Pros:

View anything saved to SkyDrive
Anything previously synced can be viewed offline

Cons:

No editing
Can’t create documents, spreadsheets, or presentations
Can’t print
Useless for anything but reading

What’s the point? Don’t waste your time with this app.

Microsoft SkyDrive Online

If you open a browser on your iPad and head to Skydrive.com, you can do a lot more with SkyDrive and the Office web apps.

Pros:

Open, edit, and save Word, Excel, and OneNote documents as well as PowerPoint presentations, using Microsoft Office web apps
Save documents in the cloud, accessible anywhere with Internet access
Remotely access documents on your other computers (as long as they’re turned on)

Cons:

Can’t use offline
Can’t copy and paste without a Bluetooth keyboard
Slower than full Office programs

The online apps work pretty well on the iPad but things like auto-correct and spell check are much slower. You also can’t copy and paste without using keyboard shortcuts, which can be annoying if you need to move text around but don’t have a keyboard. Remotely accessing documents is way awesome, but you still can’t print anything.

Google Drive App for iPad

(free in app store)

Google’s file share service allows you to create and edit many different types of documents on and offline.

Pros

Create and edit documents and spreadsheets (including Word and Excel formats)
Edit documents and spreadsheets offline
Create new documents and spreadsheets offline
Save documents in the cloud, accessible anywhere with Internet access
Copy and paste from anywhere without a keyboard

Cons

Fewer tools than Word and Excel web apps
Can’t create presentations
Can’t print
Documents are saved in Google Docs format
Can’t download work in MS Office formats from the app but you can from the online version at drive.google.com

The Google Drive app lets you edit many types of documents; not just Word and Excel. You can copy and paste anything you wish, and it also works offline. The files you make are saved in Google Docs format but you have the option to download them as Word documents using the Google Drive web app when you get to a proper computer with an internet connection.

Paid Options

There are a couple of different paid and free office suites, but let’s focus on my favorite:

Quick Office HD for iPad

($19.99 in the app store)

Pros

Create, edit, and view presentations, spreadsheets, or documents—even offline
Save as Word, Excel, or Powerpoint files
Sync with Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, and more, making files accessible anywhere.
Print from iPad

Cons

Costs twenty bucks
Doesn’t sync with SkyDrive

There are free or cheaper office suites, but the others don’t allow you to print and offer limited functionality. The main advantages to using Quick Office HD are the ability to create presentations and the fact that this is the only option we’ve looked at that allows you to print from your iPad. For me, it was worth the cost, but it might not be for you when so many free options are available.

What I recommend to get the job done

To me, the clear free option is Google Drive. You can create and edit documents and spreadsheets on and offline that can be saved to your Google Drive and later be changed into MS Office and other formats so you can work on them from anywhere and in any format you want.

If you need to print a document from your iPad, or want to make a presentation, you’ll have to get Quick Office HD. From there you can print things saved to Google Drive or whatever compatible service you use. But for twenty bucks it’s probably better to wait until you can use a real computer.

What I learned

There’s nothing that works perfectly when it comes to doing real work on your iPad. At this point, we’re trying to recreate the experience of a laptop on a smaller, touch-screen enabled device, but we’re in a transitional phase and the technology just isn’t there yet (not for a reasonable price, at least). Your best option for now is to buy a laptop with a touchscreen or a convertible computer, or wait until tablets are capable of operating as well as an actual laptop or desktop.

If tablets were enough like laptops, people wouldn’t buy both and that means fewer dollars in the pockets of hardware manufacturers (not that we feel bad for them). Tablets were not built with doing real work in mind so we can’t really expect them to do everything we demand, yet.

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Casey Morgan is the Marketing Content Specialist at StorageCraft Technology Corporation. Avid blogger and technology enthusiast, Casey holds an English degree from the University of Utah. As an ardent reader, he will only set down a book for two things: going snowboarding or playing with puppies.

Can I do real work from my iPad? Part 1: Hardware

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Miaoulis) — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 15:52:00 +0000

The Baroan Blog is excited to bring you a two part guest post from Casey Morgan of StorageCraft. If you are interested in guest posting, please contact us.

The quick answer is “sort of.” Let’s explore what I mean.

First, I’ll lay out the scenario that required me to work from my iPad. The other week, my computer broke and for whatever reason our IT guys couldn’t find the problem. Sometimes you just can’t find the issue or it takes a long time to fix. It happens.

While my computer was broken, I had to work using a pen, paper, and my iPad until mine was fixed. Of course, my computer is Windows-based and iPads, of course, run iOS. Many of the issues I encountered came because the Apple Reich doesn’t play well with others.

In order to do real work, I found my iPad extremely limiting, even once I got some tools to make it a little better. The majority of them came from the lack of a Microsoft Office app, which for some reason Apple and Microsoft won’t work together to produce. But for now we’ll focus on the lack of peripheral hardware.

The Keyboard Challenge

The first challenge was using the iPad’s onscreen keyboard. I’m a writer, so my job largely consists of writing, editing, and manipulating text using Microsoft Word or Excel. The onscreen keyboard is fine for sending a short email, but just doesn’t cut it for proper word processing. Luckily iPad is Bluetooth capable and for $100 you can get an awesome and highly-rated Logitech Bluetooth keyboard cover that makes word processing much better and also keeps your screen protected. Problem one solved.

The Mouse Challenge

Another thing you need to get real work done is a mouse. Touchscreen technology has come a long way, but to quickly and effectively click boxes in a spreadsheet or to edit, cut, and paste pieces of text, you really need a mouse. Unfortunately, with the iPad, you can’t currently use a mouse through Apple-supported methods, which is sad. Other tablets have USB ports that you can easily use to plug in a mouse. Way to go, Apple.

Those are the solutions on the hardware end - good, not great. Stay tuned for Part 2 of this series, which will cover downloadable software that can help you get the job done on your iPad.

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Casey Morgan is the Marketing Content Specialist at StorageCraft Technology Corporation. Avid blogger and technology enthusiast, Casey holds an English degree from the University of Utah. As an ardent reader, he will only set down a book for two things: going snowboarding or playing with puppies.

Useful Microsoft Utilities: Snipping Tool and Problem Steps Recorder

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Miaoulis) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 19:00:00 +0000

Snipping Tool

With the release of Windows Vista, Microsoft created a new faster way of taking a picture of your screen than ever before. In the old days you would have to press the printscreen button, then open a program like Paint or Word and paste the image. Now Windows Vista (along with Windows 7 and Windows 8) comes with the “Snipping Tool.”

Just go to Start->All Programs->Accessories->Snipping Tool. This neat little application lets you select a part of the screen which it then immediately displays to let you markup, save, or email for help.

Problem Steps Recorder

A useful utility released with Windows 7 is the “Problem Steps Recorder”. This handy little application also in Windows 8 was designed to assist helpdesk collect information from end users when things aren’t working right. PSR will take a picture of the screen every time you click the mouse so that support can follow along to troubleshoot the issue.

Problem Steps Recorder How To

Click on Start->Run.
Type in "PSR" and hit Enter to launch, or type "PSR" in the Start menu's Search box and click on the program.
Once PSR is open, click on “Start Record” and perform the steps to reproduce the issue.
Optional: Click "Add Comment" if you'd like to add a comment during a particular part of the recording. A box will pop up that will allow you to highlight part of the screen and type in your comment.
When you are finished, click on "Stop Record".

(Thanks to our tech, Dennis, for posting about these utilities.)

StorageCraft MSP Model: A Great Way to Protect Your Clients

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Miaoulis) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 19:42:00 +0000

This is a special President Post because it's Guy Baroan's first post on the StorageCraft blog!

Baroan Technologies is partnered with StorageCraft to bring best-in-class backup and disaster recovery to our clients. You can read more about our StorageCraft offerings on our partner page.

In Guy's post, StorageCraft MSP Model: A Great Way to Protect Your Clients, he discusses the benefits of StorageCraft offering their software for a monthly fee on a month-by-month basis. Stay tuned for more Baroan guest posts on the StorageCraft blog!

Favorite Google Chrome Extensions

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Miaoulis) — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 15:42:00 +0000

The Baroan Blog is excited to introduce our very first guest post, which is from Casey Morgan of StorageCraft. If you are interested in guest posting, please contact us.

There are a lot of options when it comes to web browsers. The most popular are probably Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Google Chrome. One of the great things about all of them is that plenty of developers have designed add-ons that allow for a wide variety of new functions.

My personal favorite is Google Chrome. I like its simplicity, style and functionality, and the huge selection of extensions, ranging from games to any number of apps. As a Chrome user, I’m always looking for cool plug-ins to make my experience more enjoyable and efficient. So when I stumbled on an Infoworld article, I was excited. Here are a few that stood out (and don’t worry, many of them are available for other browsers as well).

Securing your security

I’ll just say it: passwords are annoying! If you’re anything like me, you have about thirty different passwords, some secure, some completely insecure. There are a number of approaches to creating strong, secure passwords, but most give you passwords that are far too complicated to remember when you need them. That’s where LastPass 2.0 comes in. LastPass 2.0 is a free password management tool that allows you to keep track of all of your passwords, fill out forms, and generate new passwords. It’s all encrypted locally before it’s sent online to make it extra secure—not even LastPass can access your passwords. It’s also available on the other browsers.

Making a few ad-justments

It’s difficult to say this (as someone who works in marketing) but people really don’t need to be constantly prodded by advertisements. Luckily, AdBlock wipes them out. Turn it on and it removes all those eye-gougingly obnoxious ads from websites you visit. This is the most popular Chrome extension, and with good reason—no banners, pop-ups, or flash ads, just 100 percent pure internet. AdBlock is also available on IE, Safari, and Firefox.

The two-click intellect

My personal new favorite extension is the Google Dictionary. It lets you define any word in website text by double clicking it. The definition appears in a little bubble so you never have to leave the page. If you want to browse alternate uses of the word, you can click “More” to peruse a more robust look at its usage. Dictionary Tooltip for Firefox and LiveDictionary for Safari work similarly, but I couldn’t find a decent dictionary tool for IE. Bookmarking Dictionary.com might be your best bet.

For research, I often start with Wikipedia, but is a bookmark really enough for something you use constantly? Not for a power-user! Right-Click Search Wikipedia allows you to highlight a word, right click it and instantly search that word on Wikipedia. I find it invaluable to my research and similar extensions are available on IE, Firefox, and Safari as well.

Tactical Tabbing

Anyone who wants to get some serious web-surfing done is going to end up with a gazillion tabs floating around. TooMany Tabs is a tab consolidation tool that lets you group similar tabs together and treat the groups as separate tabs. Just click each tab group to spread out the tabs inside. This way, you can put work in one group, shopping in another, and personal research in another, making sure you’re totally organized. Also available for Firefox.

“Leave me alone, internet!”

Do you need to get that report typed up quickly with zero distractions? You might try using Writer, a super simple word processor, no fonts, no italics, just you, your words, and a word count. You can customize the page and text color separately to suit any preference, and it automatically saves anything you type into it. If you open the app in full screen mode, you are free from all distractions, no toolbar icons, no bookmarks, no Outlook emails pecking at you in the corner of your screen. Sometimes you just need to get your thoughts on a page before you worry about formatting and this is a great tool for that. Sadly, I couldn’t find anything quite like Writer for the other browsers.

Feeling fine (wasting time)

Of course, no good web browser is without a few time wasters. Little Alchemy is a mix and match game that starts you out with four basic elements that you combine to create new elements until you have hundreds. The Chrome add-on allows you to play offline but you can play it online with any of the other browsers.

Tactical Tabbies

I’m a dog lover, but I’m somehow more drawn to the fame of the internet cat so I was sure to add Cats. The sole purpose of Cats is to show you cats. Basically, it gives you a new picture of a cat each day and that’s it; so get Cats, because cats are cool. This wacky add-on is unique to Chrome and should serve to illustrate the range of extensions available on the web browser.

Satisfying your new extension addiction

There are hundreds of other extensions available on the Chrome store, The IE gallery, Firefox add-ons, and Safari add-ons to make your web browsing experience easier, more enjoyable, or downright bizarre.

What are some of your favorite web browser extensions?

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Casey Morgan is the Marketing Content Specialist at StorageCraft Technology Corporation. Avid blogger and technology enthusiast, Casey holds an English degree from the University of Utah. As an ardent reader, he will only set down a book for two things: going snowboarding or playing with puppies.

Our new article in Spiceworks' Spotlight on IT

noreply@blogger.com (Dimitri Miaoulis) — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 20:46:00 +0000

I'm excited to share my contribution to Spiceworks' Spotlight on IT series: Clone wars: Standing out from the identical MSP masses. I share what I've learned in our 15 years as a managed service provider about the best way to differentiate ourselves.

Also be sure to browse the other articles in the series, a variety of tech-related topics are represented. If you're at all interested in IT, Spiceworks is a great community to be a part of.

(This has been a Vice President Post by Dimitri Miaoulis)

Download Multiple File Links in Firefox

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Miaoulis) — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 15:23:00 +0000

Have you ever been on a website and wanted to download a lot of links at once? You stare at the long list of files and think, "There has to be a better way to do this." Well, you're right! The Firefox add-on DownThemAll! is the perfect tool for downloading multiple files in one shot. It saves valuable time and you don't have to feel overwhelmed.

Once you install the add-on, all you have to do is right-click on any webpage and a DownThemAll! pops up with a list of every downloadable item on that page. You can filter the files by type or check off the ones you want, along with the location you want them saved to. The add-on also alerts you about duplicates and any links that caused errors. Even if you only end up using DownThemAll! a few times, it will be well worth the download.

Click here to download DownThemAll! and make downloading multiple file links in Firefox faster and easier.

Sandy Aftermath

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Miaoulis) — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 14:58:00 +0000

We hope our clients and anyone else reading this are doing well. We spoke with and assisted some of you yesterday, and we hope to continue to help everyone get back up and running as they recover from the storm.

As of today, telephone providers' lines are still down as a result of Hurricane Sandy, so our phone lines cannot be forwarded or accessed. To reach us, please call 620-728-2927. This is our answering service, please leave a detailed message and your contact information and one of our techs will get back to you.

You can also submit help desk tickets via our website or email our help desk as per usual. See the email we sent to our clients yesterday: http://conta.cc/ScVRme. We will be updating our clients via email, Twitter, and Facebook as soon as our phone lines are back up.

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We received the following email from New Jersey Senator Frank R. Lautenberg and would like to pass it on as it contains important information to those affected by Hurricane Sandy.

"In the immediate aftermath of the storm, individuals who are trapped or need emergency assistance should call 9-1-1. For other information, including road closures, transit information, and shelter locations, the best number to call is 2-1-1. Power companies are working to restore electricity, but it will be a long process before everyone has their power back. Notify your power company immediately of any outages and keep in touch until your power is restored.

PSE&G: 1-800-436-7734, www.pseg.com/outagecenter , and @PSEGdelivers on Twitter

JCP&L: 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877) or 1-800-545-7738, www.jcp-l.com , and @JCP_L on Twitter

AC Electric: 1-800-833-7476, www.atlanticcityelectric.com/home/emergency , and @ACElecConnect on Twitter

Rockland Electric Company: 1-877-434-4100, www.oru.com , and @ORUConnect on Twitter

Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative: 1-877-504-6463, www.sussexrec.com/outages.asp

Vineland Municipal Utilities: 1-856-794-4280, http://www.vinelandcity.org/Electric/VMEUsite

The Red Cross is working closely with local, state, and federal emergency management teams to provide shelters throughout New Jersey. To find a Red Cross shelter operating in your community, call 1-800-RED-CROSS or check online at http://app.redcross.org/nss-app/ .
President Obama acted quickly to issue Major Disaster Declarations for many New Jersey counties suffering damage from Hurricane Sandy, and I have requested that all counties in our state receive the designation. This makes New Jersey residents eligible for a number of Federal disaster relief programs that offer grants and loans to individuals and loans to businesses.

The Federal Government has a website that allows people to apply for assistance online: http://www.disasterassistance.gov .

This website consolidates the application process across several Federal agencies, including FEMA and the Small Business Administration. The website also reduces the number of forms you will ultimately have to fill out, shortens the time it takes to apply, and allows you to check the progress of your applications online.

If you want to apply by phone rather than the Internet, you can call 1-800-621-FEMA (1-800-621-3362).

While the damage suffered across New Jersey is devastating, I know our state can rebound. Federal aid will play a crucial role in our recovery, so please take advantage of the resources available."

We also received this email from the NJ Chamber of Commerce that contains more important phone numbers and links:

Recovery Resources in the Wake of Hurricane Sandy

"Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by Hurricane Sandy and we stand ready to help our members in any way we can. If you have problems or questions that we may be able to assist with, please call our office at (609) 989-7888. We will continue to update you with recovery information in the wake of the storm by email and at www.njchamber.com.



The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that federal disaster aid has been made available to the State of New Jersey. FEMA is now accepting applications from residents and business owners who sustained losses in Atlantic, Cape May, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Union counties.



Register online at www.disasterassistance.gov or calling 1-800-621-FEMA(3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired.



Important Phone Numbers:

To report life-threatening infrastructure problems, call (609) 963-6810.

To volunteer time or resources, call 1-800-Jersey7 (537-7397).

For business questions, call the Business Action Center at (609) 534-7789.

For FEMA disaster assistance, call 1-800-621-FEMA(3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY)



Web Resources:

For FEMA disaster assistance, click here.

For disaster assistance from the U.S. Small Business Administration, click here.
For U.S. SBA disaster loan information, click here."

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Stay safe and do not hesitate to contact us.

Windows 8 Start Menu Replacement

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Miaoulis) — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 20:04:00 +0000

Like the rest of the world, we at Baroan Technologies have been adjusting to Windows 8 (read our review). One of our techs found this great app from Classic Shell that allows you to add the Windows Start button to Windows 8.

"Classic Shell is a collection of features that were available in older versions of Windows but were later removed. It has a customizable Start menu and Start button for Windows 7 and Windows 8, it adds a toolbar for Windows Explorer and supports a variety of smaller features."

To download: http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/

If you've found any other helpful Windows 8 add-ons, leave us a comment!

Direct Marketing Spam Email

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Miaoulis) — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 18:34:00 +0000

Today one of our techs received the following spam email that looked legitimate at first. Since we could only find one site referencing this particular scam, we wanted to inform others.

The site we found was http://www.mywot.com/en/scorecard/meht.us, and the email they received use a slightly differing message and the same return address but a different name and email address:

"I'm looking for the person within your organization that is in charge of direct marketing, and if you don't mind, a phone number and email address I can reach them at.

Can you help me with that?

Regards,

Jay Gilmore
21781 Ventura Blvd #126
Woodland Hills, CA 91364
818-921-6853
mailto:jay@meht.us"

The email sent to our tech can be seen below:

"Subject: One Quick Question

I was hoping you could tell me who I might contact there regarding direct marketing.

Also, do you have a phone number and/or email address I can reach them at?

Regards,

Fred Lapides
21781 Ventura Blvd #126
Woodland Hills, CA 91364
818-925-4382

tipta.com
7210 Jordan St #B21 Canoga Park, CA 91303"

There is also a link to "manage subscription" but this could be an attempt to get further information from you, and we would not recommend clicking on it.

If you receive an email like this, it is spam!

UPDATE:
Thanks to everyone for commenting and letting us know some other variations of this spam email:

"I was hoping you could help me with a quick question: Do you know who the head of marketing is and do you have a phone number and/or email address I could reach them?"

and

"Could you please send me contact information for somebody in your sales department.
Phone and email would be very much appreciated."

Best Regards,

Victor Gabriel
21781 Ventura Blvd #126
Woodland Hills, CA 91364
818-921-6853

Leave a comment if you received a similar email or a variation.

Windows 8: I'm annoyed!

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Miaoulis) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 14:13:00 +0000

Well, I’ve read the reviews and blogs. I’ve heard the opinions, the opinions, and the opinions!

Why am I so annoyed? Because after installing and running Windows 8 I found that all the noise it is just that – NOISE!

I had to replace my production laptop, which was still functional but sluggish and a little bruised from being out in the field. I have a new laptop with Windows 7, and despite all the noise about Microsoft Windows 8 I’m taking the plunge.

After upgrading my laptop from Windows 7 to Microsoft Windows 8 Professional, I was presented with the lock screen. I hit the mouse button and was presented with the logon screen. I entered my credentials and logged into the new start page.

Now all this does look different, but come on people!

Review

I think that Windows 8 should be called “Microsoft Windows 7 Redux.” “Microsoft Windows 7 New and Improved.” “Windows 8: ‘Hey I’m not ‘ME’ or ‘Vista.’” Windows 8 is worth it!

As for new features, the Windows 7 Start Menu is now replaced with a Windows 8 customizable Start Page. The Start Page does take work. Why does the Customizable Start Page take work? Because it you have to customize it! You can Add/Remove, Resize, and Group your tiles to your liking. Right Click in open area on the Start Page and bottom and you have the option to see “All Apps.”

Control Panel is still Control Panel. There is still a Desktop where you can create “Shortcuts.” On the Desktop you can still “Pin” Programs to the “Task Bar.” The left side of the screen gives you a peek at Open Areas. Control Tab and Windows Tab allows you to toggle between Open Areas.

Microsoft Windows 8 is totally intuitive. I am working so easily in it that I am not taking any notes. After less than 1 day, I am fully functional and have no need to rely on my original production laptop for backup. Windows 8 feels quicker and easier to maneuver than Windows 7. Like I said, it feels like an improved Windows 7. So that’s something you will have to determine on your own.

Don’t believe the noise!

My New Production Laptop:

Dell Latitude E5510      ConnectWise
Intel Core i3                  Kaseya
4 GB of Ram                 Sonicwall NetExtender
Microsoft Office 2010

Compatibility

With Kaseya Live Connect it worked best with Firefox. I use all 3 browsers – Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Firefox. I find that each browser has certain websites and devices that it works better with, i.e., I like using Firefox when I am accessing a Sonicwall or Netgear switch directly.

I did have an issue with the Dell Sonicwall NetExtender. My SSL Portal has version 5. You will need version 6 to install it on Windows 8. No question you should verify that applications you use have support for Windows 8 before taking the plunge, but you have options. Stay tuned.

Have you tested out Windows 8 yet? If not, are you planning on it?

(Thanks to our tech, Riley, for posting about his experience.)

Unable to Login to Website During Remote Session

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Miaoulis) — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 19:14:00 +0000

We recently came across this issue with one of our clients. The client was at a friend's office borrowing a workstation. From this workstation, he used LogMeIn to remotely access his workstation at his own office. From this remote session he attempted to visit his bank’s website. When he tried to go to the website, it reported that he needed their security software, and after that it refused to allow a login.

Cause: The bank’s security software not only detected her remote session, but our tech's remote session as well while troubleshooting, and did not allow any logins to the website while all these remote control tools (possible attacks/malware/hacks) were in effect.

Solution: When the client returned to his own office the next morning and tried to login to the bank site again from the same workstation, just not using a remote session this time, he was able to login.

Offline Malware Scanners

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Miaoulis) — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 20:00:00 +0000

Do you have about ten different antimalware scanners installed on your laptop? When you get a virus, do you download antivirus after antivirus, hoping the next one will get the job done?

Save your disk space and keep your PC uncluttered with "rescue disk" scanners that DON'T need to be installed. This also means you don't have to worry about new scanners conflicting with old scanners, plus there is less chance of the malware preventing the scanner from doing its job.

Here are some offline antivirus scanners:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/what-is-windows-defender-offline

http://support.kaspersky.com/viruses/rescuedisk?level=2

http://www.f-secure.com/en_EMEA-Labs/security-threats/tools/rescue-cd/

http://www.bitdefender.com/support/How-to-create-a-BitDefender-Rescue-CD-627.html

http://www.avira.com/en/support-download-avira-antivir-rescue-system

http://www.avg.com/us-en/avg-rescue-cd-download

http://www.freedrweb.com/livecd/

http://www.superantispyware.com/portablescanner.html

http://support.kaspersky.com/faq/?qid=208283363

(Source: Microsoft Answers)

Gmail downloading Request file

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Miaoulis) — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 19:37:00 +0000

We recently came across this issue with one of our clients. The user's Gmail kept trying to download a file called "Request." Below is a description of the issue and the fix found on http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!msg/gmail/yOi252z3HYc/mpw9VXQut0QJ

[

User is getting multiple downloads for a file named ‘Request’

Google trying to download the file named “request” every time the user clicked in the search field while logged into Gmail/Google

This was caused by a recent Microsoft Update.

Resolution

On the Gmail site, click on the gear in the upper right hand corner of the page; Go to Settings/General and choose "Always use https"- and DON'T forget to save changes at the bottom of the page. Then update your bookmark/favorite/shortcut to the URL "https://mail.google.com" instead of "www.gmail.com" or whatever.

]

By logging into Gmail using a secure site, this issue stopped happening.

Office 365 FISMA Certification

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Miaoulis) — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 17:16:00 +0000

As a Microsoft SMB Cloud Champion, Baroan Technologies is proud to announce that last month, Office 365 was granted the Authority to Operate under the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA). This is an exciting certification for multiple reasons; it is a confirmation that Office 365 "meets the industry's most rigorous global security and privacy standards" and it also means that government offices will be more likely to choose Office 365 as their cloud service.

See Microsoft's official announcement for more information.

Baroan answers "What is managed services?" with a video!

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Miaoulis) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:30:00 +0000

© Baroan Technologies 2012

At Baroan Technologies, we are often asked, "What is managed services? Do we need it? What can it do for our company?". Our favorite way of describing managed services is this: Think of your computer (or your whole network) as a car. When you get home from work, you leave your car in the garage until the next morning. Imagine that while you're sleeping, a pit crew comes in and does a complete 20 point inspection, rotates your tires, fills your gas tank, and changes the oil. Every morning your car is optimized and ready to go. This is what managed services does for your technology.

Baroan's Remote Managed Services reduces downtime and improves security on all of your company's servers, desktops, laptops, mobile devices, and backup. Everyday, every device on the network is monitored and proactively maintained by the secure Software Agents automated processes and our Managed Services Team.

We created this video so those interested in or curious about managed services could have a visual of our managed services definition and hopefully better understand the benefits that managed services has to offer. If after you watch the video you find that some questions have gone unanswered, please do not hesitate to contact us. If you think that managed services could help your business, please contact us as well!

(If you are a fellow MSP, head over to www.mspbuilder.com to purchase this video and customize it for your site.)

How to Reduce Picture Size in Outlook

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Miaoulis) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 19:00:00 +0000

Sending digital pictures by email can result in huge message sizes which may be bounced by the sender or recipient's email server. To avoid an issue, you should reduce the size of image attachments before you send them.

While this is easy to do in any image editing program, including the Picture Manager that comes with Outlook 2003 and up, it does take a few minutes to reduce the photo and save it.

You can save a lot of time if you let Windows or Outlook reduce the file size as you attach the image instead of resizing it yourself. There are a couple ways to do this.

Note: If the recipient will be printing the photo you may want to leave the attachment at the original file size.

Using Send to Mail Recipient in Windows Explorer

When you right click on one or more images in Windows Explorer and choose Send to > Mail Recipient, the Windows image re-size app comes up, allowing you to reduce the size of the image.

Using the Insert file command in Outlook

When you use Outlook 2010 and the Insert File command, you can re-size the image from the File tab. Outlook 2010 has only one size option, and although it's not the smallest size, it is the most popular size.

In Outlook 2007, expand the Include section (using the arrow in the lower left hand corner) to open the Attachment Options pane. In Outlook 2003, click the Attachment Option button to the right of the attachment field to display the Attachment Options pane (as seen in the screenshot below and to the right).

Types of Viruses, Malware, and Spyware: Know the threats to your computer

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Miaoulis) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 19:30:00 +0000

You have Antivirus. It is current and updates daily. You run Spyware Scans once a week. But are you really safe? A little education may help.

Here is a Quick Virus/Spyware 101:

Virus

Attaches itself to a program or file.
Requires human interaction or an action to spread.
Replicates itself.
Spreads to other computers.

Let's go over the misuse of the word “virus.” There are programs that get labeled as viruses but don't have Reproductive Ability. There are also programs that are used to generate profit for the programmer without charging the user. These Programs might have a banner or advertisement displayed or popped up. As annoying as this is, you have the option to purchase the full program which would not have the advertisements. Advertising does not necessarily equal a virus.

Adware/Malware/Spyware

Is it Legal or Illegal?

They say nothing good in life is free. Not really true, but not really false. Malware/ Adware are ways for Programmers to make money on their programs. This is called Shareware. So when you download a free Program, yes you should read the Term & Conditions.
That was then this is now. These programs track your actions or display Banners. "Spyware" is now the single largest problem facing internet users today.

These little programs turn your Computer into a “Live Server Transmitting data to a Home Base.” The banners or links in the software can misdirect you to advertiser’s sites, or worse, to an attacker’s site.
So like most things that may have once had a useful purpose, they can be turned into something bad. Your computer is also taking a hit. Performance, unwanted redirections, as well as accessing your personal information affects you and others.

Worm

A type of Virus that can spread on its own by using resources available:

Network/Internet
Memory Stick
Email

Trojan Horse

Looks like a legitimate program but once it is run it can wreak havoc on your system as well as deliver a Package.

Backdoor

Usually delivered by a Trojan, it can allow malicious users access to your system.

Keystroke Logger

Captures your keystrokes. Mainly for personal information, credentials used to access your computer, banking account, credit card Info as well as just to see what you are doing.

Zero Day

Holes or vulnerabilities in Operating System (OS) or known “good” programs are exploited before they are discovered by the developer or a patch can be deployed.

Phishing

This is an attempt to get credentials to a legitimate site by create a fake lookalike.
Usually delivered by email or instant message link.

Denial of Service

The intent is to render a computer or site inaccessible to users trying to access it. (This is usually not a personal computer issue.)

Port Scanners

Your computer, network, and internet work by using ports. Programs use these ports. A Port Scanner looks for open ports and software vulnerabilities through which it can access your computer and network.

Bottle Necks

Floods or slows down the speed of your network.

Application (Apps) and Operating System (OS) Vulnerabilities

Applications are well tested but hackers are well versed. They find holes and that is where the importance of updates comes in. You should always run your OS and Application Updates because for the most part this is how the Programmer can fill these vulnerable gaps in their software.

Single Virus

Usually Antivirus programs or Spyware scans will pick up and remove a single virus. When the user receives an email, inserts a USB Key, or clicks a link on a site, that triggers the active Antivirus or Spyware program into action.

If you don’t have these programs in place, that’s part of your problem.

Blend Threats

Now the real threat is a Blend attack that combines the worst aspects of viruses, worms, and Trojan horses into one single attack.

As a technician, this is what I see the most. We are usually called in when a system or network has been rendered useless.

Summary

This article was designed to give you an overview of the possible threats your computer system and network have to contend with. Below are some resources that can give you a more detailed look into these areas.

Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_virus

http://www.spychecker.com/spyware.html

http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/antivirusantispyware/a/malware101.htm

http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2004/virus.asp

(Thanks to our in-house virus expert, Riley, for this educational post!)

Phishing Scam: "Looks like someone broke into your Facebook"

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Miaoulis) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 14:24:00 +0000

One of our help desk techs recently came across this scam when helping a client with an email issue. This email found in the inbox was the cause of the issue. It does not look like a typical phishing scam since it is written in a casual manner that makes it seem as if it was sent from an actual person. The email claims that your Facebook account has been hacked.

The subject is "Looks like someone broke into your facebook!" and the zip attachment is a virus. The body of the email can say a variety of things, as we found that some people received the message: "Hi there ______, What's with your facebook??? Very strange stuff on your profile page, I made a screenshot, see attachment. Is is you or someone stole your account??" (http://security.buffalo.edu/node/3555). The email sent to our client said, "Hi there _______________, Can you please stop spamming me with this BS? I get twenty emails like this from you per day, check attachment to see the stuff you send me."

If you receive an email like this, do not open it and definitely do not open the attachment.

Cozi App - The Family Organizer

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Miaoulis) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 19:30:00 +0000

One of our techs (who recently became a father!) brought this great site to our attention. Co-founded by former Microsoft employees, Cozi provides the perfect organization solution for the modern day family that's always on the go. And...it's free!

Why do families use Cozi? "Cozi makes managing day-to-day activities easier with a centralized, online calendar, shopping lists, to do lists and a family journal everyone in the family can access and share."

Cozi can be used with other calendars (like Google) and they offer a mobile app so you can stay easily stay updated. Families can setup automated emails for reminders or weekly schedule updates.

Cozi has garnered positive reviews from Better Homes and Gardens, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal, to name a few. Sounds like it's worth a test run! Let us know if you give Cozi a try (or if you recommend it to one of those families whose calendar has taken over their refrigerator).