What's New Windows 10 - Microsoft's aggressive push to get every Windows 7 and Windows 8 computer upgraded to Windows 10 has gone from light speed to ludicrous speed.  Per Microsoft, Windows 7 is still supported until January of 2020 and we have had very good results with the Never10 utility from GRC.  If you have Windows 8, Windows 10 may be a better option.  Otherwise, it may be worth delaying the Windows 10 upgrade. DEF CON 24 - Piratica has invited the crew from Cyber Tech Cafe to join them at DEF CON 24 this year (4 August to 7 August) in Las Vegas.  Most of us will be leaving Thursday evening but we will be leaving a skeleton crew behind Friday and Monday to cover things.  Everyone will…

   What's New Windows 10 - Microsoft's aggressive push to get every Windows 7 and Windows 8 computer upgraded to Windows 10 has gone from light speed to ludicrous speed.  Per Microsoft, Windows 7 is still supported until January of 2020 and we have had very good results with the Never10 utility from GRC.  If you have Windows 8, Windows 10 may be a better option.  Otherwise, it may be worth delaying the Windows 10 upgrade. Helpdesk Changes - We are excited to announce that the changes that we mentioned a few months ago to the Cyber Tech Cafe helpdesk are going well.  If all goes well, we should have some exciting news in the next 10 to 14 days. DEF CON 24 - Piratica has invited the crew from Cyber…

   What's New DEF CON 24 - Piratica has invited the crew from Cyber Tech Cafe to join them at DEF CON 24 this year (4 August to 7 August) in Las Vegas.  Most of us will be leaving Thursday evening but we will be leaving a skeleton crew behind Friday to cover things.  Everyone will be back for normal business hours Monday. Updates Executive Summary - May delivered several updates from Microsoft to patch critical vulnerabilities in Windows, Internet Explorer, Edge, Office and .NET.  I've noticed it a few times and more frequently lately, but MS16-064 was an update to Adobe Flash Player for Windows 8.1, Server 2012, Server 2012 R2, RT 8.1 and Windows 10.  Two important things to note here is that Microsoft is issuing Flash Player updates…

   What's New Disable Windows 10 Notification - Our policy regarding Operating System (or any other major) upgrade has always been to proceed with caution and upgrade when a) you have a need to, b) your environment (hardware, software, etc.) supports it and c) it's stable.  Microsoft has been pushing Windows 10 since it's release and has gotten more and more aggressive with the rollout with each monthly update cycle.  Our policy is still, if you are currently on Windows 7 and have no business requirement to upgrade, stay with Windows 7.  If you have Windows 8.x, Windows 10 is a slight upgrade but Windows 7 is battle tested, well supported by third parties and is scheduled to be supported by Microsoft until January of 2020.  All of that said,…

   What's New Hacker Playdate - The Q2 2016 Hacker Playdate "Business Edition" is scheduled for 23 April 2016 at the Bartow County Library.  Huge thank you to the Bartow County Library for all of their support and for the new venue.  Additional details are available here. Ransomware & Rogue Tech - We continue to see computers that are infected with ransomware that encrypts the data and demands a ransom (generally payable by Bitcoin) and rogue tech support calls.  Backup your data.  Don't let strangers onto your computer.  That is all (for now) :)  Windows 10 -  We are seeing a LOT of folks who are installing Windows 10 'accidentally'.  Two very important things to note on this are that you have 30 days from the time you do the…

   What's New Hacker Playdate - The Q1 2016 Hacker Playdate, despite some weather concerns, was a huge success.  Many thanks again to our sponsors and participants Cisco ASA Vulnerabilit - A vulnerability in Cisco ASAs (firewalls) was disclosed last week that could allow a remote attacker full access to an affected Cisco ASA.  Scans for vulnerable devices have been very aggressive since the disclosure Cisco, to my knowledge, has not released an update to patch the hole.  Some sites have reportedly disabled host-to-site IPSec VPNs as a result.  Additional information is available at SANS here. DMA Locker - We have reported on ransomeware (I believe that this was our first article on it back in 2013) and it looks like the genre has experienced another evolution.  This latest variant encrypts…

   What's New Hacker Playdate - The Q1 2016 Hacker Playdate is right around the corner and we're starting to get excited.  We're doing this one a little different and are specifically targeting the presentations and the villages toward business owners, managers and IT professionals.  One of the new things that we're trying this time is a CTF village with multiple vulnerable machines and several 'attack' laptops setup to give attendees an opportunity to try the tools and tactics that attackers are using in the wild (and we'll have solutions available for those who just want to get to the end).  As always, it's free and open to anyone.  We will be in the meeting room at Primo's Mexican Cocina from 12:00pm EST to 5:00pm EST on Saturday, 23 January…