security Archives - Page 46 of 49

How to Check For Updates in Windows

Office IT, Security, Softwaresecurity, update, WindowsOphtek, LLC

Jul 2014

To maintain a secure and functioning system, it’s important to keep your system up to date. Here’s how you can check for updates in Windows.

It’s easy to check

In Windows 7 or Vista, click the Start button and, in the search box, type Windows Update.

In Windows 8, drag the mouse to the right edge of the screen, click the search charm that appears, and type Windows Update.

Click Windows Update when it appears on the menu. You should then get a screen that looks like this:

To review the updates that are available, you can click on the blue text representing the optional and important updates respectively.

The next screen allows you to check the boxes of the updates you wish to install.

We recommend that you install all the important updates and almost all of the optional ones. The optional update we counsel against is the Bing bar, which introduces a toolbar that you definitely do not need.

Once you have checked all the updates you want, click Install to go back to the previous screen where you click Install updates to get the process started.

Set Windows to install important updates automatically

You can check this setting on the same screen on which you installed Windows updates. Look to the left margin, and you should see a link to Change settings.

For Important updates, use the drag- down menu to Install updates automatically (recommended).

Installing important updates automatically will keep the critical security fixes off the back burner and readily available to ward off viruses.

For more about updates or other issues affecting your PC, consult your local IT professionals.

Why You Need Windows Updates

UncategorizedFixes, security, update, WindowsOphtek, LLC

Jul 2014

Do you feel nagged for updates by Windows? As annoying as they may be, here are 3 reasons it’s necessary to keep your systems up to date.

Your reservations to install updates are understandable, especially when these updates can sometimes introduce glitches and even hijack your system for repeated restarts. However, no matter how annoying they can sometimes be, updates are essential for your Windows system to function optimally.

1. Most Windows updates address security issues

Neglecting updates is a surefire way to compromise your operating system with infections that can slow down your system and even allow remote users to steal your private information. Moreover, the main reason Windows PCs succumb to malware and other viruses is that users neglect installing updates. One particularly pernicious infection is the CryptoLocker virus that allows remote attackers to ransom your personal folders.

2. Updates can fix bugs that prevent Windows from functioning properly

These bugs can sometimes slow down your computer or cause your system to freeze. Windows updates often have hotfixes that address these bugs. Bypassing the installation of these hotfixes puts the stability and performance of your system in jeopardy.

3. Updates let you upgrade your existing Microsoft software or get new features

These features include Net Framework and Silverlight, which allow other programs, including non- Windows ones, to work properly. Software upgrades often add additional features to Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office, making them more user- friendly.

Note, that updates are no longer available for Windows XP. We therefore recommend upgrading to a newer version of Windows if you are running XP. Now that you know the importance of updates, do you have the latest ones installed?

For more about updates or other issues affecting your PC, please consult your local IT professional.

How To Encrypt Your Hard Drive

Security, Softwareencryption, hard drive, security, WindowsOphtek, LLC

Jun 2014

Do you ever worry about someone getting a hold of the data on your computer after stealing it from you? With disk encryption, the information on your computer is unreadable without a key.

You may use encryption to protect specific directories or the entire hard drive. The latter is referred to as full disk encryption.

While there are many applications that perform full disk encryption, we recommend True Crypt. While some may lampoon this recommendation based on an announcement from its old source page, development of TrueCrypt has continued in Switzerland by a team committed not to compromise the software with legal limitations.

After downloading TrueCrypt from the new site, launch it normally if you have a disk burner, also known as a a CD/DVD-RW drive. The disk burner will be required in later parts of the installation. If you do not have a disk burner, there is a workaround that will still allow you to proceed with encryption even though the program does not normally allow it. For more on this workaround to allow to the program to launch without the disk burning requirement, consult the following article.

After you launch the program, click the System button at the top bar and select Encrypt System Partition/Drive.

For Type of System Encryption, select Normal. Click Next.

Unless you have a RAID driver or hidden partition at the end of your drive, Yes is the best option when you are presented with the Encryption of the Host Protected Area window.

When you are asked if it is OK for TrueCrypt to make changes to the hard drive, click Yes.

TrueCrypt will then see if there are any hidden sectors at the end of the drive. Click Next when it is finished.

Click Next again after selecting whether the computer has a single- boot or multi- boot configuration. If you are running only one version of Windows and no other operating systems, you will choose Single-boot.

For the Encryption Options, AES is usually a good choice. And full disk encryption only supports the RIPEMD-160 hash algorithm. Click Next.

Choose a password for encryption. Choose a strong password of at least 20 characters. Click Next.

In the next window, make random movements with your mouse for about a minute. TrueCrypt will collect data from these movements. Click Next.

When User Account Control asks if it is OK for TrueCrypt to make changes to the hard drive, select Yes.

Click Next after TrueCrypt generates the encryption keys.

TrueCrypt will then create the ISO image of the Rescue Disk that will be needed if something happens to your boot image. The ISO image will be created in your Documents folder.

TrueCrypt will next launch the Windows Disk Image Burner to write this image to a blank CD ROM. Because you will need this disk to access your computer if your boot image becomes corrupted, TrueCrypt will not let you get to the next step until you burn and verify the disk. Choose the correct drive to burn the image to, load the blank CD ROM, and click Burn.

TrueCrypt will verify the disk after burning it. After it has been verified, click Next.

The Wipe Mode allows you to choose how to wipe all traces of previous data that was unencrypted. Typically these were files deleted before this encryption was started. If there was nothing sensitive on this computer that was deleted, click Next.

Next click Test to allow TrueCrypt to make sure everything is working.

When TrueCrypt displays instructions telling you what to do when the system fails to reboot, it is advised that you print these out for reference. Then click OK. Click Yes to reboot your computer.

After the computer restarts, you will need to enter the encryption password.

If you enter it correctly, you will be able to log into Windows. After you log in, TrueCrypt will start up automatically. Click Encrypt to start the encryption. Print the instructions showing what to do if the process is disrupted and click OK. When User Account Control asks if you want to allow TrueCrypt to make changes to the hard disk, click Yes. During the encryption, you may do other things on your computer. The encryption should take a few hours.

You may pause and defer the completion of the encryption to a later time. But until it finishes, the information on your computer will not be fully secure. When encryption is complete, click Finish.

For more information, consult your local IT professionals.

Windows 7 Update Causing Lock Ups – KB2952664

Security, Softwarepatches, security, updates, windows 7Ophtek, LLC

Apr 2014

A recent Windows 7 update meant to make the transition from Windows 7 to Windows 8 easier has been causing systems to freeze up according to many user accounts online. Microsoft released this update on April 22nd as KB2952664. There have been updates in the past which have caused the operating system to lock up, freeze or malfunction such as this Microsoft Security Essentials update for Windows XP which was pulled by Microsoft after user’s started having issues.

Although the patch has been labeled as an “important” update on some systems and “optional” on others, it isn’t necessary to keeping Windows 7 operating properly. It is best for users to hide this update completely.

If you haven’t installed it yet, here’s how you can avoid this update and avoid issues with your Windows 7 System:

Go to Start and type “Windows Update” without the quotes in the search box. Click on Windows Update at the top of the list:

You will need to look in both the Important Update and the Optional Updates for this patch:

Search for the patch with id KB2952664 in the updates list, right click on it and select Hide Update:

If you have already installed the update, or don’t see the update listed in the Important Updates or Optional Updates section, you may need to uninstall it manually.

You can do this by going to Start -> Control Panel -> Programs and Features -> View Installed Updates. Then find the patch with ID KB2952664, right click on it and select uninstall. Then follow the steps above to hide it from future updates.

All monthly maintenance clients will have this done for their systems during their next update cycle. For further support or questions about this issue, contact your local IT professionals.