21Jan 2022 by nathan

January 2022 News & Updates

CTC NEWS, Industry News, Monthly Newsletters, Tech news
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…
Read More
20Dec 2021 by nathan

Merry Christmas from Cyber Tech Cafe

CTC NEWS
Cyber Tech Cafe will be closed from Friday, 24 December 2021 until Monday, 27 December 2021 to celebrate Christmas and to enjoy time with family, friends and loved ones. Any non-emergency support requests will be responded to on a first come, first served basis on Monday, 27 December 2021. If you need emergency technical support Thursday thru Sunday, our emergency on-call technicians will be available. You can page the emergency on-call technician by including the word ’emergency’ in the subject of your email request or using the emergency support telephone option. Please note the holiday rate will apply. From all of us here at Cyber Tech Cafe, we wish you and  yours a very Merry Christmas! Nathan and Kristy Underwood
Read More
14Dec 2021 by nathan

December 2021 News & Updates

CTC NEWS, Industry News, Tech news
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…
Read More
16Nov 2021 by nathan

When is the last time that you’ve actually tested your backup?

CTC NEWS
Many people have backups setup, but when was the last time that yours was tested? When's the last time that you've actually tried to restore something from your backup? Ransomware has been a go-to for criminals because they know that, in many cases, their victims a) depend heavily on their data and b) do not have usable backups. These criminals are able to break into the systems, encrypt the data and then extort basically whatever they want (typically, large sums of money) from the victim in exchange for their data back. Having known good backups is an easy way take away that leverage. One of the many things that sets the MyIT Program apart is the fact that we test your backups every month to make sure that it's not…
Read More
15Nov 2021 by nathan

Happy Thanksgiving from Cyber Tech Cafe

CTC NEWS
Cyber Tech Cafe would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! We will be closed on Thursday, 25 November 2021 and Friday, 26 November 2021 to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with family, friends and loved ones. Any non-emergency support requests will be responded to on a first come, first served basis on Monday, 29 November 2021. If you need emergency technical support Thursday thru Sunday, our emergency on-call technicians will be available. You can page the emergency on-call technician by including the word 'emergency' in the subject of your email request or using the emergency support telephone option. Please note the holiday rate will apply. From all of us here at Cyber Tech Cafe, we wish you and  yours a Happy Thanksgiving! Nathan and Kristy Underwood
Read More
09Nov 2021 by nathan

November 2021 News and Updates – The Holidays are Upon Us

CTC NEWS, Industry News, Monthly Newsletters, Tech news
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…
Read More
21Oct 2021 by nathan

Windows 11, time to install / upgrade?

CTC NEWS, Industry News, Tech news
Microsoft recently released Windows 11, it's latest flagship desktop operating system as a "free" upgrade and are aggressively recommending that users with potentially compatible hardware upgrade. Our standard policy with any major upgrade (operating system or otherwise) is to wait until at least the first major update to the product (service pack, feature update, etc.), until there's a need (your productivity software requires it, etc.) or the current version is being retired. If you are a home / residential user, the potential risk is generally low. The worst case is often that a piece of hardware (often a graphics or audio device) is not supported by the new version. Checking the system requirements will typically tell you if you'll run into problems or not (not always) but the "free" software…
Read More
14Oct 2021 by nathan

October 2021 News & Updates

CTC NEWS, Industry News, Monthly Newsletters, Tech news
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…
Read More
04Oct 2021 by nathan

Global outage impacting Facebook, Instagram, ZoHo and others

CTC NEWS, Industry News, Tech news
Details are still a bit sketchy but there's currently a global outage that's impacting major sites including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, ZoHo and others. Additional details are below. https://downdetector.com/ https://www.northcentralpa.com/business/worldwide-internet-outage-takes-out-everything-almost/article_3f9d605c-252b-11ec-8ec2-771391c82d6e.html https://nypost.com/2021/10/04/facebook-instagram-and-whatsapp-hit-by-global-outage/
Read More
16Sep 2021 by nathan

September 2021 News & Updates

CTC NEWS, Industry News, Monthly Newsletters, Tech news
Executive Summary Lots going on in September including updates from the usual suspects (Microsoft and Adobe) but also a couple of significant releases from Apple and Chrome this month. Test your backup - Many organizations, especially in the wake of so many ransomware attacks, have implemented backups. Few though think to test those backups to make sure that they're working. Simply restoring something from the backup to make certain that a) the backup is running and b) you can recover what it's backing up is usually sufficient. If you don't have a backup or aren't sure when the last time it was tested (if ever) was, we'd love to help. A monthly test of your backup is included as part of all of our MyIT Plans.Cyber Risk Insurance - If…
Read More