What is Ransomware? Ransomware is a type of malicious software that is designed to disrupt or damage a computer, laptop or mobile device until a sum of money is paid to the cybercriminals behind it, to fix it. It’s one of the fastest growing forms of computer virus, mainly affecting individuals and small businesses. How Read More
IT Security
What does a computer virus actually do?
No doubt you’ve heard of a computer virus, you may have been on the unfortunate end of one or know someone who has, but what is it and how can you prevent your PC from getting one? We’ve pulled together a useful summary with some hints and tips to help you out… What is a Read More
A cyber awareness guide for SMEs
Technology is rapidly evolving, providing great opportunities for businesses to improve processes and communication, however it comes with its challenges as these constant changes also open up opportunities for criminals. To help you stay on top of the latest cyber threats and what you can do to protect yourself and your business online, Smart Computers Read More
Keep safe online this Christmas
While Christmas is the season of good will and joy for many, it’s also the time of year when consumers will spend millions online – the perfect time of year for fraudsters to try and trap you with their clever, believable scams. It’s estimated that one in four Brits has been a victim of an Read More
What is this cloud?
Keep hearing the term ‘cloud’ being bandied about but don’t truly understand what it is? This article gives you the need to knows. What is the cloud? The Cloud is an internet based secure computing and storage solution that allows you to store and access data and programs over the internet instead of on Read More
Security Alert
New Zero-Day Exploit targeting Internet Explorer Versions 9 through 11 Identified in Targeted Attacks Is your business still using Windows XP? Now that Microsoft have stopped supporting this version of windows a major security flaw has been identified. Protect your business and data and speak to us at Smart Computers on how to upgrade your Read More
The password minefield
How much thought do you give to setting up your passwords? You’ll find yourself often being asked to change your password, using a combination of letters, numbers, symbols, a certain length of characters and one that hasn’t been used before, it’s hard to come up with secure passwords regularly, but it’s important. No matter how Read More
Software ‘End of Life’
When software reaches ‘End of Life’ Even software has a use by date. So what should you do when software goes EOL? With the constant cycle of updates and incremental new versions of our favourite software, it’s understandable that not every version can remain supported forever. The process of putting a piece of software out Read More
Protect your mailbox!
There are 3.8 billion mailbox users worldwide. In today’s business environment, you’d be hard pushed to operate effectively without the heavy reliance on your daily email exchanges. They form an integral and effective form of communication regardless of your business size. Over 281 billion emails are sent every single day, which has made them the Read More
Important information if you’re using Windows XP
In April 2014 Microsoft stopped supporting Windows XP with security updates, leaving the operating system vulnerable to malicious software and outside threats. At Smart, we have continued to support Windows XP users through our Smart Hosted Exchange service. However, this will be changing. Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2010 have been using a system called triple Read More
Do you have a HTTP website?
Then you need to know about this… Chrome blogged earlier this month (but it has only really surfaced in the last few days), that they are going to be firmer from January 2017 in flagging websites that they deem to be not secure. Whilst it would seem that those sites that require passwords or logins Read More
Should you be allowed to use social media at work?
Should social media be allowed in the workplace? Social media has become a large part of modern life but should it be a part of our working lives? You don’t want employees using social media when they’re supposed to be working, but could it also be a security threat? Common social media scams aim to Read More
Are your home-working teams jeopardising the security of your business?
Almost all businesses deemed ‘non-essential’ and with the ability to work from home, were forced to, at short notice at the end of March 2020 due to Covid-19. This was a first for many businesses who were more accustomed to having their entire workforce working from central premises, and they had to act quickly to Read More
Why Office 365 ProPlus?
Important note if you have Office 2013 Microsoft has announced that with effect from 13th October 2020, Office 2013 will no longer be compatible with Office 365 cloud services including Exchange Online, Sharepoint Online and OneDrive for Business. After this date there will be an increased security risk and a risk of noncompliance with industry Read More
PuTTY security patches
PuTTY releases an update. PuTTY has released the latest version of its software that includes security patches for 8 high-severity security vulnerabilities. PuTTY is a popular, widely used open-source client-side program that allows users to remotely access computers over SSH, Telnet, and Rlogin network protocols. According to their website all previous versions of PuTTY software Read More
Get Cyber Essentials accredited
1 in 5 businesses unaware of the benefits of Cyber Essentials accreditation A recent independent study has highlighted that a worrying number of UK businesses still aren’t aware of the benefits of the Government-backed Cyber Essentials scheme. Almost 1 in 5 IT managers reported that they were unaware of how Cyber Essentials compliance could help Read More
Cyber Attack
NATIONAL CRIME AGENCY ISSUES WARNING ON GAMEOVER ZEUS AND CRYPTOLOCKER You have probably heard on the news about the impending cyber attack affecting computers in the UK, there’s no need to panic, just follow this simple advice from William Rendell, our Technical Director: “Firstly let’s not panic, this infection is not as new as we are Read More
Adobe Flash End of Life – What you need to know
Important information if you run any Adobe Flash programmes. Flash to HTML5 — What the End of Life for Flash means for you On December 31, 2020, updates and distribution of Adobe Flash will stop. Why? Adobe Flash hasn’t been the most secure product. While Adobe has kept up with patching zero day Read More
Microsoft issue a rare Windows XP patch
A story was released on IT News on 14th May 2019 that Microsoft have issued a rare patch for Windows 7 and XP. Microsoft is warning users to apply a critical patch for a remote code execution vulnerability that could attack older versions of Windows. They have warned that the exploit can trigger even when Read More
Keep safe online this BLACK FRIDAY/CYBER MONDAY
There’s no denying there are some really genuine deals to be had over Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it’s forecast that consumers will spend millions online as they kick off (like us), add to or finish their Christmas shopping while picking up some bargains, but sadly in this day in age it’s also the perfect Read More
Cyber Essentials
We take IT security seriously. It’s our job to! We regularly undergo rigorous testing as a business, and are proud to have added to our impressive list of awards, the certification in Cyber Essentials. What is Cyber Essentials? Cyber Essentials is a Government backed scheme. To obtain the certification, we had to prove that we Read More
USB memory sticks in business
Whose memory stick is it anyway? USB use poses a unique problem. Most are personal property and contain personal data yet have found their way into daily use in just about every organisation, despite the fact that many can carry malware infections, they can be easily lost or stolen and putting data of any kind Read More
SCAM Awareness Month – July 2016
THERE’S ONLY ONE YOU; KEEP IT THAT WAY! Do you know how to protect yourself against identity crime? Identity theft is the UK’s fastest-growing method used to carry out criminal activity and the internet provides numerous opportunities for fraudsters to harvest the personal data of unsuspecting members of the public. Once a criminal has your details they can Read More
NCSC: One year on
PRESS RELEASE FROM OUR PARTNERS ESET After the first year in operation, the National Cyber Security Centre has had more than 1,000 incidents reported. Highlighting the severe increase in cybercrime and the UK’s attempts of blocking it. GCHQ launched the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) last year to be the UK’s authority on cyber security. The NCSC Read More
Glossary of Cyber Scam terms
Do you know your Trojan from your Zombie? You may be mistaken in thinking we are talking about the latest Dr Who series, but no, these terms relate to Cyber Scams and awareness. When it comes to cyber security there are a multitude of phrases and acronyms to learn and remember that all mean different things. Smart Read More
How to avoid falling victim to Ransomware
How to avoid falling victim to Ransomware It has recently been reported that there has been an increase in ransomware attacks affecting a variety of operating systems in the UK. Why the UK? The UK is regarded as a testing ground by foreign criminal gangs and as a result many companies have found themselves victims Read More
Online identity fraud at its highest levels
Cifas reported that week that identity theft reached an all-time high in 2016. Although all age groups were affected, theft from people under 30 saw the greatest rise. The statistics were collated from 277 banks and businesses and showed that almost 173,000 cases of fraud were recorded in 2016. 88% of the cases occurred online. Read More
Introducing Data Encryption
Introducing Data Encryption from Smart Computers At Smart Computers, we’ve boosted our Smart Protect service. Introducing Data Encryption. Encryption has become a given-standard under the new General Data Protection Regulation that comes in to force in May 2018. The new regulation forces UK and EU businesses to implement security procedures to ensure that data is Read More
Important information if you are using Windows 10 version 1507
What’s happening to Windows 10 version 1507? From 9th May 2017, Windows 10 devices running version 1507 will no longer receive security and quality updates. The following editions are affected: Home Pro Education Enterprise Since its release in July 2015, Microsoft has released two feature updates that build upon each other, delivering new features and Read More
Your business has been infected by Ransomware, now what?
Ransomware: it’s scary, it’s growing fast, its big business and no business or employee is immune from a potential attack. In a nut shell, ransomware drops an encrypted wall between a business and the internal data and applications that the business needs to operate. But these attacks can be far more serious than simply the Read More
Safer Internet Day 2016
Today is Safer Internet Day! Join the global celebration – Play your part for a better internet. Coordinated in the UK by the UK Safer Internet Centre the celebration sees hundreds of organisations get involved to help promote the safe, responsible and positive use of digital technology for children and young people. Globally, Safer Internet Read More
Microsoft update KB-3114409 with Outlook 2010 causes Havoc
“In Outlook 2010, all of my options were reset to their defaults and when I change them, the changes don’t stick. As soon as I close my Outlook and restart it, everything is back to its default” Customers report that installing KB 3114409 forces Outlook to start in safe mode when in fact this update Read More
What does a computer virus actually do?
No doubt you’ve heard of a computer virus, you may have been on the unfortunate end of one or know someone who has, but what is it and how can you prevent your PC from getting one? We’ve pulled together a useful summary with some hints and tips to help you out… What is a Read More
What is ‘Patching’?
What is ‘Patching’? ‘Patching’ or a ‘Patch’ is the term used for a software update. What does a ‘Patch’ do? Patches can do any of the following things: Fix a software bug Install a new driver Address new security vulnerabilities Address software stability issues Upgrade the software It’s vitally important not to ignore these Read More
