If you haven’t done so, this is a second reminder that Microsoft released an “out of band” update for Internet Explorer. Yesterday, it appeared that it was for Internet Explorer 6 only, but it turned into an update for Internet Explorer 6 through 8 by yesterday evening.

If you are receiving a notification to update Windows this morning, do so to plug a nasty little security hole.

Out of band updates are done when security holes are so “large”, but Microsoft feels that an update needs to be release ASAP, instead of their normal Tuesday release cycle.

An interesting thought came to me while I cracked open a 221 page security checklist for Server 2008 yesterday evening. It was nearly midnight, I had to be up by 6:30 the next morning, yet I just sat down to read a security guide that would make any normal person’s head spin. My wife describes these things as “worse than VCR and Stereo setup directions”, and perhaps, she’s right. It’s amazing how halfway through most of these guides, you find conflicting advice and information: “Open port X” then 30 pages later: “Close Port X” – which is it? These security guides can literally make you go cross eyed after about 100 pages.

I guess my point is, most technicians that pour their life into their business, even as an employee, and never really go home and relax. I have never been one to leave work at work and I’m certainly not going to stop now. If I can find something online late at night, that will either make my life easier or can save a customer some time and money, I’m going to take the time to study it.

On the note of always working. I was driving around Beaverton in the Protocol16 mobile computer repair truck and my wife and I pulled into a grocery store parking lot. I got all kinds of crazy looks… My guess was that it seems crazy that a repair truck would roll up to that grocery store, but that’s my mentality. If I’m out of the office and we get a call, I need to be prepared to go to that customer’s location to fix their problem. Why should my customer wait for me to drive back to the home office, grab the truck then head out to their office or home? In heavy traffic, that could be an extra 40 minutes or more. Unless they’re on the other side of the city, I would nearly be there by that time.

I guess that last paragraph says something as well. We are not a business that likes to schedule people into time slots. If we can do it right then and there, we’ll tell our customer that. I don’t know how many times I’ve been met with utter shock when I can tell a business that we’ll be there in a half hour. Your computers are important, why would you need to wait a day or two? I’ve personally been told that no one would be able to look at a computer for a week because one shop was “so busy”. My thoughts: hire more people… Perhaps I’m too deadset on providing quality to my customers instead of worrying about my profit margins.
Justin

Spyware and Viruses in the workplace are, unfortunately, common. We’ve had many calls to locations throughout the Portland Metro for removal of all kinds of nasties. It’s not fun, especially when we tell business owners that we must remove a machine for further work back at our office. In the worst cases, we must inform owners that we’ll need to get with them to backup data so we can re-load Windows. Those phone calls or in-person talks are never fun, trust us.

So, with all that said, here’s how you can protect yourself, and your business.

1. Spyware & Antivirus Software: Always have this type of software installed and running on your computers – always. We’re still testing solutions to see which software types we want to officially recommend. We’re testing one right now that we think is “the one”. We should know within the next week or so.
2. Browsing Policies: While I would love nothing better than to let my own employees go anywhere they want on the internet, they can’t. Having a policy of openly letting your employees surf as much as they want is a prime way to open yourself up to the horrors of a Spyware or Virus infestation. Depending on the type of router you have in the office, you may be able to use a service that allows DNS filtering. We know we just said a handful there, but there are services that will filter the websites you go to and allow/disallow the content to be passed through. There are also commercial options, like Untangle, that can help your situation. These types of software sit and monitor your connections and block certain types of sites based on rules you’ve setup.
3. Security Policies: All businesses, in my professional opinion, should use a tiered login system. This means that you have Admins and Standard Users. I even recommend this for home users and I personally “eat my own dog food” with this – ALL my computers, including my mac, are setup with an Admin login and a Standard User login for use. Between careful browsing habbits and the security I have in place, I have NEVER gotten infected with a Virus or anything else like Spyware…never. Some friends have called me paranoid, but when I have to fix their computers, they ask for the same level of security… Some may say “that’s impossible”, but it’s not – the right mindset and security policies really do help!
4. More Security: While this goes beyond most small businesses, did you know there are ways to make Windows so locked down that a 10 year old couldn’t mess it up? The way to do this is through an option called “Group Policies”. I can set your computer up to require you to hit Control-Alt-Delete to log in, or to only allow your employees to be able to write to certain areas of the hard drive… Again, sometimes this is considered overkill for small businesses, but it’s an option.
5. Software & Windows Updates: The last peice of the “easy” puzzle is to always keep your software up to date. Windows needs regular updates, don’t turn this feature off. Microsoft Office needs regular updates as well, and up until very recently with Vista and Windows 7, those updates required a seperate way to update Office instead of being able to use Windows Updates… Antivirus and Anti-Spyware applications require updates as well. Spending a little bit of time updating your software, or insuring that all the auto-updates installed properly, can save you countless hours with a technician.

Some people in the computer repair world would call me crazy for GIVING AWAY advice like this, but I think it’s best to educate my users instead of taking money from them over and over again. Why should I take your money when I can help educate you and make the experience easier for everyone?

As always, if you run a business and need an on call or on site repair company, we’re here for you and understand your needs. If you’re a residential customer, we’re here for you as well and know you have different needs (like setting up time limits for your kids to use the computer – we can teach you that in minutes with Vista and Windows 7). Feel free to give us a call for your computer repair needs!
Justin