The Messenger

The last few weeks have marked a particularly aggressive push by cyber-criminals with several high-profile instances of large-scale ransomware attacks.

What is Ransomware?

As the name suggests, this type of computer virus exists to extort money from unsuspecting individuals and corporations. It is a pernicious form of malicious software (Malware) which, when activated, targets and encrypts your important data-files (documents, photos, spreadsheets, etc.) both on the local computer, and any attached drives (USB thumb-drives and hard disks, Network Drives etc.); effectively locking and encrypting them until you pay a hefty ransom to secure a decryption key.

Sitting on a mountain of old technology and consumables that you’re not sure what to do with? Read On.

When it comes to disposal of electrical waste and computers, people generally fit into three camps:

In my last Windows 10 post I talked about the reasons that you should make the switch, but with Windows 10 now just around the corner I want to talk a little bit about getting your PC ready to make the switch. 

How to Reserve Windows 10

According to myNBN.info it would appear that the NBN is finally heading to: Berowra, Berowra Heights, Brooklyn, Cowan, Dangar Island, Mount Kuring-Gai which is great for those that have been suffering from sub-standard speeds for some quite time now.  That's the good news.  The bad news is that it is still some way off with the current plans showing the build commencing in Q2, 2016 and Ready For Service in Q1, 2017. 

Speed and Performance

ADSL vs ADSL2+ 

When it comes to the performance of your Internet connection, download and upload Speeds are the two main factors that people tend to consider, with download being all important for most consumers who download / stream: movies, TV shows, music etc. or want to play online games.

Yesterday I sat in on a Bitdefender seminar in Sydney where it was reported that according to AV-Test.org (The independent IT Security institute) in 2009 there were approximately 32,000 unique malware programs registered globally every day, which is huge, but nothing compared to the 400,000 unique malware programs being registered every day in 2015.

One thing is clear, Malware infections are growing at an unprecedented rate.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock you will have heard that Microsoft is preparing to release its latest, and final, version of its flagship Windows operating system – Windows 10. From this point forward Microsoft intends to treat Windows as a Service the idea being that there will be no new major releases of Windows, and instead the platform will evolve over time through system updates.

The current lay of the land

According to netmarketshare.com, worldwide more than 90% of Desktop and Laptop Operating Systems are running Windows, with the balance spread between Mac OSX and Linux.

With the Apple Watch being released on April 24th, 2015 and pre-orders already well underway I headed to my local Apple Store (Hornsby) to take a peek. I rocked up yesterday, fully expecting to have to battle throngs of drooling fan-boys, and the rest of the high-end tech obsessed, but what greeted me was quite the opposite.

The store itself was buzzing as usual, but the Watch counter was totally deserted. Now, to be fair, it was a Monday lunchtime...but still I expected at least some visible signs of interest in this new holy grail of tech wizardry. I was in-store somewhere between 10-15 minutes and not one person came close to take a look.  As Apple have apparently pre-sold in excess of one million units, I was somewhat surprised that no-one wanted a sticky beak.

March 31st is World Backup Day and according to www.worldbackupday.com some 83% of us own a computer, yet alarmingly 30% of people have never backed up; and only 1 in 4 of us make regular backups. 

Disclaimer:

Before we get cracking with this week’s blog, I want to state up front that Excalibur IT Solutions is in no way affiliated with www.worldbackupday.com and that www.worldbackupday.com do not support or endorse any products or services of Excalibur IT Solutions (and vice versa).

By way of a heads up to our Business Customers, and if you haven't heard already, On February 26th Google announced that they will be making changes to their Search Algorithms starting on April 21, 2015 that expand the use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal.

In Google's own words:

The scam begins with a phone call or email from someone pretending to be from Microsoft Support (or similar) and saying that you have a major problem with your computer, and providing you with contact details for a 3rd party support company in the US or India who can assist. When you contact these people they will request remote access to your computer, and if you grant that request this is where the real pain begins.

If you haven't already heard, Microsoft will end support for Windows XP on April 8 2014.

What does this mean to me?

For those that continue to use Windows XP beyond this date, your computer will still work however there may be an increased risk of security problems such as viruses, malware, spyware etc.  You may also find that many software / hardware vendors will also stop supporting Windows XP which means that new software: applications, games etc, or hardware: graphics cards, printers etc may no longer be compatible with Windows XP.