As technology and computer’s advance, so do the viruses, trojans and malware that plague your operating systems. Perpetual updates to anti-virus programs, malware scanners and firewalls usually keep up with thee nefarious activities, but one such malware has proven to be resistant to security updates. The now infamous CryptoLocker is a ransomware trojan which targets computers using Microsoft Windows. The malware appeared in September of 2013.

CryptoLocker infection can be acquired from various sources. The most common is from an email attachment. When a computer is infected and CryptoLocker is initiated, the malware encrypts files stored on your PC’s local, mounted and even networked drives. Your files are encrypted by using an RSA public-key cryptography. This means that the key to access your files is stored on the CryptoLocker’s server. When your computer is infected, a message will appear offering you the ability to decrypt your data with a payment through BitCoin. Additionally, you must pay the ransom by a deadline or risk losing the deletion of the private key and therefore losing access to your private files. If the deadline is missed, CryptoLocker offers to decrypt the data for a much higher ransom.

Here’s what you need to know:

– Always avoid email attachments from unknown senders.
– Back up your PC files consistently.
– Avoid storing passwords, sensitive financial data or other personal information on your computer.
– If CryptoLocker infects your PC, removing the malware itself will not give you access to your encrypted files.
– If your computer is infected, do not try to connect a storage device to recover your back up files.
– Most users report that paying the ransom will allow you to recover your files.
– Consult an IT professional if your computer has been infected with CryptoLocker.

With these common safety tips, most users can avoid common viruses and malware. In the event of a computer or network infection, please call our help desk immediately at 1-888-930-1117.

Over the past decade PC’s have moved from high-end equipment to be more comparable to an appliance; you need it, but once you’ve decided which one to purchase, you expect to use it until it breaks. Because of this, they are still millions of people still using Windows XP with no major issues. Now, Microsoft has decided that it’s time for users to move on and they have officially announced that as of April 8, 2014 that Windows XP will be considered ‘end of life’, will no longer be supported and they will no longer release security updates/patches for it.

Image Credit: Deb Hultgren

Why Should You Care?
Both home and business users should pay special attention to Microsoft discontinuing security updates for Windows XP. No more security updates or patches means that any new vulnerabilities in Windows XP will not be fixed. To put this in perspective, Microsoft releases patches for Windows (XP, Vista, 7, 8) on the second Tuesday of every month and these updates almost always include security fixes for newly discovered issues. This means that there’s a very high chance that by the second Tuesday in May of this year all of your Windows XP machine will be vulnerable to exploitation. This will likely result in your PCs being infected and placing your entire network at risk. Due to the nature of these vulnerabilities its highly unlikely that anti-virus or anti-malware software will offer any protection.

What Can You Do?
Unfortunately there’s no way around it, the Windows XP machines must go, they will pose a significant and serious security threat to your network if they remain in use. If your organization currently has machines running Windows XP you should start purchasing new machines or plan a desktop infrastructure upgrade project with your IT department or provider. This should include replacing all Windows XP machines with newer systems OR upgrading them to at least Windows Vista (although you’d be much better off with Windows 7 or Windows 8). You may also take this as a chance to evaluate your entire IT infrastructure to ensure all of your equipment is current with the latest, updates and current support subscriptions.

If you need assistance in procuring and migrating to new desktops/laptops in your organization, Invizio provides IT support and desktop infrastructure roll-out services. Give us a call today.

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1) You Will Most Likely Need New Phones

Phones that are compatible with Hosted VoIP services are not your run of the mill telephone that you can pickup at Walmart. VoIP requires special phone models that are usually offered by manufacturers like Polycom, Cisco, Grandstream, or Snom. The bad news is that in some cases, your office may require some rewiring to support phones of this type, so you may want to check into that before diving into Hosted VoIP. The good news is that virtually all Hosted VoIP services operate their networks using the same standards, so your phones can readily be reconfigured to work with a different provider should you ever need to make a switch.

2) Reliable Internet Access is an Absolute Must

With Hosted VoIP, there’s a very simple  equation: No internet = No phone. Make sure you have a good reliable connection with sufficient bandwidth to support all of the users in your organization. Many customers choose to have a secondary Internet connection to carry VoIP phone calls or as a failover connection in the event that their primary connection goes down. Some users try to skimp on this requirement, but are quickly disappointed when the call drops during that critical meeting or when the folks on the other end can’t hear you properly.

3) Quality of Service is Important; Make Sure Your Network is Ready

Because your voice communication is now competing for Internet access with all the other Internet based activities on your network, it is imperative that you a) have sufficient Internet bandwidth (see above) and b) have network devices (i.e. switches and routers) that will prioritize voice traffic travelling to and from your network. Voice communication is a real-time form of communication, so if your voice traffic does not flow properly, your conversations will sound jittery or chopped up.

4) The Number of Users Determines Your Costs

Hosted VoIP services are typically priced per user per month and often include unlimited local and long distance calling. There are a wide range of prices out there, but we like to see it between $19.99 and $29.99/month per user. Most companies have some form of volume pricing established, so as you grow you will get a break on the per seat pricing. Unless you’re a really large organization, expect that for every user you add that your bill will go up commensurately.  If you are a big company, some providers can provide low cost per seat pricing with a pooled set of minutes to use across the organization. Make sure to know your options and match that with the type of organization that you have.

5) In My Books Software is King

Maybe I’m biased because I’m considered a “techy”, but I think its increasingly important that your Hosted VoIP vendor provide you a solid and constantly evolving software platform. Let’s face it, making a phone call, is making a phone call is making a phone call. What really will separate your business from the pack is if your vendor provides innovates software features that match up with the increasingly mobile world we live in. Mobile device apps, business SMS, softphones, and Outlook integration are just a handful of the things that I like to see, but you should take a moment to survey the market to find what ‘cool’ things you might be missing out on.

Microsoft doesn’t know what to do with Windows. Or at least it doesn’t seem like Microsoft knows what to do with Windows. Microsoft’s greatest strength in the desktop market today is inertia. The dominance the company has built over the past 10-15 years as the de facto PC operating system for both business’ and consumers is because of this inertia. Since the release of Windows 95 has there been another feasible option? Mac OS of course provides a more than viable alternative but the fact is that Windows remained dominant and Mac OS was always a niche player.

Microsoft’s problem is that it’s a much different world now, and up until last year their flagship operating system was still stuck in 1996 where UI/UX was concerned. Microsoft didn’t have an answer to the question that tablets posed and they needed one badly so they created Windows 8; the operating system that would bring Windows squarely into 2012 and compete against not only Mac OS but more importantly iOS and Android. Windows biggest competitors were now mobile operating systems, the operating systems that came pre-installed on the smartphones and tables people purchased. Microsoft also felt the need to make one operating system that would work well on tablets and also on traditional desktops and laptops and created an operating system that unfortunately doesn’t work very well on either.

What’s interesting, is that the main issue that Windows 8 has in the marketplace isn’t one of functionality its one of familiarity. The way people use Windows hasn’t changed fundamentally since Windows 95; graphics get better, features more polished but at the core there’s always been a desktop with icons and a Start menu. Users are used to this, they expect that when they turn on their Windows PC they will see a desktop with icons and a Start menu, that hasn’t changed in almost 20 years, until now. Windows 8 isn’t familiar, which may be acceptable if a long time Windows user were to pick up a Windows tablet, but on the desktop people want what they’re used to. It wasn’t broken (at least not on the desktop) so why change it? Microsoft would argue that Windows 8 works equally well for tablet AND desktop users. A similar argument however could be made that while they may work equally well, they don’t work very well in either usage scenario, unless you are willing to do some tweaking. But users who’ve gotten used to interacting with iPhone’s, iPad’s and Android smartphones and tablets don’t expect to have to tweak, fiddle or tinker with their computer/device do get it to a place where they’re comfortable with it, they expect it to be comfortable and familiar from the minute they press the ON button. For those of us that don’t mind tweaking their PC’s Windows 8 is a great upgrade, but for the rest; where’s the incentive to leave the warm, familiar, comfortable, functional Windows 7/Vista/XP which they’re accustomed to? Especially when their desktop and laptop computers are probably now more than ever relegated to appliances that are only used to accomplish “work” tasks and most leisure activities have moved to smartphones, tables, set-top boxes or game consoles. Users want something that gets out of their way, they’ve spent the last 20 years learning how to use Windows and don’t want to have to do so again. Can you blame them?

Once a train starts moving and picks up speed, it’s very hard to stop it, it’s the reason Window’s gained its dominant market position and unfortunately for Microsoft it’s also the reason it’s so hard for them to adapt to the rapidly changing PC or should I say PCD (personal computing device) landscape. The inertia isn’t Microsoft’s directly but rather a result of the expectation they’ve created in their users by not making any significant changes to Windows UI/UX over the past 20 years. Now that major change has come with Windows 8 and users want to continue along the same track they’ve been travelling these past two decades. Microsoft now has the challenge of stopping this train or at the very least changing its course.

We’d like to give a special shout out to Jennifer Kovach, the South Florida Outreach Coordinator of the Jim Moran Institute for showing us a great time and putting on a wonderful event.

Our Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Kevin V. Michael took a moment out of his busy schedule to join Web Marketing aficianado Courtney McKenzie on the third episode of her Entrepreneur 2.0 Podcast. In his interview, Kevin talks Invizio, starting up a small business, the benefit of having a business partners and the importance of social media and marketing promotions.

Click the following link to check out Courtney’s write up of the episode and listen to Entrepreneur 2.0 Episode #3 – Taking Business into the Cloud with Kevin V. Michael of Invizio.

When you take advantage of our limited time “Stress Free Summer” offer, you’ll get three exciting opportunities to take advantage of the knowledge and expertise of our team here at Invizio with a complimentary consultation package (worth $1,500).

• A 30-minute information packed presentation on growing technology trends
  • What is cloud computing and how can the ‘cloud’ improve your business?
  • The technology trends that are shaping the future of the workplace.
  • Top cloud applications and technology trends for businesses.
• One Hour technology consultation with your company’s management team
  • Let’s take some time to have a deeper conversation about technology and how  it applies to your company. You’ll get the opportunity to have your technology  questions answered and to discuss your specific challenges, goals and concerns.
• A Comprehensive Assessment of your Technology Environment in 4 key areas
  • Our extensive assessment of your company’s technology environment will give you the lowdown on these 4 key areas:
  • Business Communication & Mobility
  • Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery
  • Infrastructure Readiness
  • Information Security

Sign Up Here

Terms & Conditions
There is no purchase necessary to enter prize drawing. To be eligible your company must schedule and complete the consultation in this offer no later than July 31st, 2013. Winner will be selected in a random drawing from among all eligible entries received which will take place on August 1st, 2013. Winner will be notified by mail,  email or phone. Prize will be fulfilled within two weeks of drawing. Limit one entry per company.

As if you haven’t already been inundated with information about the ‘cloud’, we’re starting a new series on the blog called “A Cloud Conversation” to have as the name suggests, a conversation with all of you about cloud computing and the growing list of useful cloud services available to businesses today.

In our first installment of this series, I’d like to touch on one of the fastest growing segments of cloud services; Hosted VoIP. Among the big promises of cloud computing are less reliance on physical hardware, lower total cost of ownership (TCO), and location agnostic access to technology. Hosted VoIP is one of those technologies that lives up to many of these promises and with recent shifts in the market for telecommunications services, prices are falling and the options for Hosted VoIP have expanded dramatically.

What is Hosted VoIP?

Without getting deeply into the acronyms and all technical aspects of it, Hosted VoIP can be summarized as a technology that allows your business to place and receive phone calls using the Internet. If you’ve ever experiencing a more consumer focused version of VoIP such as Vonage or magicJack, its the same idea, but designed specifically for the needs of business.

For the vast majority of small business customers, the days of buying a phone system that gets installed on a wall in the office next to all the funky wires from the phone company are quickly coming to an end. Most telecommunications providers have introduced hosted VoIP services that provide all of the core functionality that come out of the box with on-premise systems. So what are the advantages of Hosted VoIP?

Reduces Capital Investment & Eliminates Maintenance Costs

Purchasing and installing a good on-premise phone system can quickly run from a few thousand dollars into the astronomical realm without much effort to get there. With a Hosted VoIP system, the only hardware to invest in will typically be the phones themselves and some Hosted VoIP providers will roll the cost of phones into your plan with a 2 or 3 year contract. Another important aspect of having the hosted system, is that many of the platforms used to manage the service are web-based and fairly intuitive. This means that you won’t need to call a ‘phone guy’ each time you need something changed, and even in the cases where you get stumped, the VoIP provider provides support for no additional charge.

Improves Flexibility of the Organization

Since the system is hosted in the cloud, it really makes the organization more flexible in a few key ways:

• Multiple Locations Can Be Seamlessly Connected – No matter how many locations your organization has, they can be connected together as if there were all in the same place. Suddenly, instead of dialing the other office with the local phone number, you can talk to James in accounting by dialing his extension. Did I mention that James is in New York while you sit in Miami? With Hosted VoIP services, geographical boundaries to centralized management of voice communication are eliminated.
• No System Relocation Needed – When it’s time for an office move, relocation is as simple as moving your phones to the new space and getting them Internet connected. That’s it, you’re done!
• Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Are Easily Achieved – For want of a better word, stuff happens (knocks on wood). Utilizing a Hosted VoIP service means that in the event of the unexpected your organization can relocate to an alternate site, or even swing incoming communication to an alternate site. This really comes in key if the show must go on in the midst of disaster.

You Get a BIG Bang for Your Buck

This is one of my personal favorites. Many Hosted VoIP systems come pre-built with a wide range of rich features that support the way most businesses handle voice communication. With everything from mobile apps that integrate with the system, to auto-attendant, voicemail and find-me-follow-me, Hosted VoIP allows any small business to sound and feel like a big business without the big business pockets.

That’s all I got for now. In the next post, we’ll touch on some important considerations to make before diving into a Hosted VoIP service. In the meantime, feel free to reach out to us with any questions you have about Hosted VoIP and we’ll get them answered right away.

In other news, our company turned four years old this past September and so I’d like to take a moment to thank you, all of our many loyal clients, partners, friends and fans for your unfailing support over the years. We’re very proud to say that our company was recently named among the Top 3 IT Service Companies in South Florida by the Daily Business Review. Just like making the list of Top 100 Minority Businesses by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce this year, we could not have gained this recognition without your help and your urging.

So, without further ado, it’s my time to go (and ours too). On behalf of our team here at Invizio, Happy Holidays to you and your families. It has been our privilege to serve you in 2012 and we look forward to your support in the New Year.

Warm wishes,

Kevin V. Michael
Co-Founder & Managing Partner