New for 2014, client service reports and a new starter

By on January 16, 2014 in Blog, Company news

Happy New Year! We are pleased to announce this year, we will be introducing a new look quarterly report for all management and support clients.

The new M2 Computing Client Service report is designed to give you a clearer picture of your IT performance each quarter. It includes an analysis summary of new and completed tickets, SLA first response, SLA resolution compliance and ticket performance by employee. The report will also enable us to maintain the high level of service we provide and highlight any areas which may require attention.

Greg Roffe, Managing Director at M2, comments ‘We have introduced this new look report to show an in depth view and analysis of how M2 are performing and delivering our support service in an easy to digest format.’

For further information about the new report, please get in touch on 01293 871971.

[themecolor]M2 also welcomes Erika Chitty…[/themecolor]

We are pleased to announce the new arrival of Erika Chitty joining M2 Computing this month.

Erika joins us to support the team as an Operations & Sales Support Administrator. Erika has a strong background in a number of sales support roles in the technology industry and always lights up the office with a big smile. Outside of the office, Erika has an artistic flair for natural life painting and dotes on her pet bearded dragon called Frankie.

Read more

M2 unveils a new brand – shaping IT for the ambitious business

By on December 16, 2013 in Blog, Company news

This month, we are pleased to announce our new brand identity and website.

The new M2 logo maintains the basic elements of the original – whilst adding a contemporary new twist. Its design mixes typography more effectively to hint at the company’s expert integration capabilities and takes its colours from a modernised brand palette.

Our strapline ‘shaping IT for the ambitious business’ was developed to reflect the M2 Computing mission: To provide tailored solutions for small and medium sized clients who are keen to realise their growth potential and who need a cost-effective and trustworthy IT partner that really understands their systems and business requirements.

Incorporating this brand identity, our new website is easier to browse and simplifies the service offering. IT solutions can often be tricky to communicate effectively, which is why we have simplified our services and placed them under distinct titles creating a site which is easy to navigate.

Greg Roffe, Managing Director comments ‘We needed to bring the website up to date and find an easier way to summarise our services. Our intention was to provide all the required information in a clearer, more concise format.’

[themecolor]To take a look at our new site, please click here www.m2computing.co.uk.[/themecolor]

Read more

Blackberry letter says ‘we’re still open’

By on December 13, 2013 in Blog, Mobile devices, Telecoms and mobile data

Blackberry published an open letter on its website this month, dismissing reports of its demise as nothing more than idle gossip. A bold move, yes, but not an unprecedented one, since the beleaguered vendor posted a similar letter to clients back in October in an attempt to calm nerves after the company was put up for sale.

Whilst Blackberry’s first letter sent out more of a general message stating the company’s intention to stick around, this second message focuses more specifically on business usage – the firm’s BES10 platform, its dedication to multi-device management (MDM) and BYOD (bring your own device).

[themecolor]Market share slides from 50% to under 5%[/themecolor]

So was this communication from Interim CEO of Blackberry, John S. Chen, truly just an open letter or more of a “we’re still open” letter? The business has certainly come out fighting and, after some dire results in recent years, some would say it’s high time they did.

Since Blackberry’s heyday in the noughties, the brand has crumbled dramatically under strong competition from iOs and Android devices with market share sliding from 50% in 2009 to below 5% today (figures quoted by The Guardian, Aug 2013).

Only two years ago, as the 2011 summer riots raged in London, the Blackberry was still considered to be such an influential communication tool that politicians called for the BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service to be switched off. But delays in releasing new operating systems, reports of billion-dollar losses, staff cuts and attempts to sell the business have since attracted a lot of negative media coverage and seen Blackberry continue to lose ground to its competitors.

[themecolor]Focus on enterprise and multi-platform[/themecolor]

One of the points that Chen seemed at pains to emphasise in his letter was Blackberry’s on-going commitment to multi-device management. He stressed how the launch of his company’s latest BES10 platform last year was a deliberate move to enable the management of all devices and BYOD initiatives.

Interim CEO of Blackberry, John S. Chen stated: “Our competitors want you to think that BES only manages BlackBerry devices, and that we are somehow more expensive than other MDMs. This is false […] We understand the realities of the enterprise mobility market better than anyone, and we’re in the game for the long term.”

What’s more, Chen stressed that recent investment had placed Blackberry in a strong position to compete. He listed the following as proof:

(extract from John S. Chen’s open letter)

  • Our EMM customer base is much larger than any of the other vendors in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Mobile Device Management – and is growing.
  • We manage more mobile devices than any other vendor. Period.
  • We move more secure mobile data than anyone else.
  • We have substantial cash and are not a small VC-backed “pure play” MDM player seeking additional funds every year.

Chen acknowledges that Blackberry devices are not for everyone whilst at the same time trying hard to present his organisation as a business solution provider with unrivalled expertise in security and multi-platform technology.

On the first point he makes, he is certainly correct. On his second, only time will tell whether UK businesses share his confidence.

Read more

The rise and rise of the Bitcoin

By on December 13, 2013 in Blog, General, New technology

You may have read reports last month of a man desperately combing his local landfill site for a PC he had thrown away several months previously. The reason for his hunt was that the hard drive held his digital wallet, containing 7,500 Bitcoins worth an estimated £4 million.

Mr Howells, has since called off the search but Docksway landfill site, located near Newport in Wales, is now expecting the arrival of hoards of virtual treasure hunters.

For many readers of this story, two questions immediately sprang to mind. The first: why did a man who actually works in IT not take a backup of his computer before consigning it to the bin? The second: what is a Bitcoin?

[themecolor]What is a Bitcoin?[/themecolor]

Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency, which is web-based money that relies on cryptography, rather than central government authorities, for its creation and management. The concept is credited to one Satoshi Nakamoto who published a paper in 2008 entitled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”. In fact, this name was a pseudonym and despite investigations into his or her real identity, there is still a lack of certainty over the individual or group of individuals behind this project.

Still, the first Bitcoins were mined in 2009 with transactions and values being negotiated in special forums. In 2010, a major vulnerability in the protocol was identified leading to 184 billion Bitcoins being generated. However, the bug was soon fixed, the money recovered and since then, no other major security law has been exploited.

The key principles of supply and demand apply to Bitcoin like they do any other currency and as an increasing number of online organisations started to recognise the currency, so its value began to rise. Wikileaks were one of the first to accept bitcoin transactions followed by others including dating site OK Cupid and food ordering service Foodler.

But it was the closure of Silk Road, an online black market site for illegal drugs and other goods and the recovery of 26,000 BTC by the FBI in October 2013 that really grabbed the media’s attention.

[themecolor]The future of the Bitcoin[/themecolor]

Many aspects of the evolution of this new currency have overtones to the dot-com bubble of the late nineties, whilst the rapid rise in value of the Bitcoin is reminiscent of the super inflation seen in Germany under the Weimar Republic. In both cases, it all ended in tears for those concerned.

The graph below demonstrates the exponential rise in value of a new money system whose future is uncertain as the source from which it was drawn (yes, Wikipedia). But one thing is clear. If values continue to rise, so too will the number of people wielding metal detectors on a landfill site in South Wales.

Read more

Safer online Christmas shopping

By on December 13, 2013 in Blog, Security

December 2013 could prove to be the busiest online retail period in history and security firms are warning online buyers to take all necessary precautions to prevent falling victim to fraud this Christmas.

With ‘Cyber Monday’ kicking the month off, shoppers will be turning to the internet for all manner of gifts right up until Christmas Eve and then no doubt hitting the sales from Boxing Day onwards.

However, Alex Grant, managing director of fraud prevention at Barclays, has warned that Christmas will have come early for cyber-criminals if shoppers don’t take some basic precautions when purchasing online.

[themecolor]4 million Britons scammed in 2013[/themecolor]

Speaking to The Telegraph, Grant cautioned: “Our research has shown that internet shoppers will be faced with a high level of threat to their personal and financial information as they hit the online stores this Christmas.”

According to research from Barclays and Kaspersky Lab, more than four million Brits have fallen victim to scams over the past year. So what can shoppers do to remain safe?

  • Firstly, security experts advise shoppers to ensure their bank is displaying up-to-date contact details so that any suspicious activity can be reported.
  • It is also vital to ensure computers are running anti-virus software which is fully updated. Home users should ensure firewalls are switched on, something which can be done in both Windows and OS X.
  • When making an online purchase, it is always a good idea to ensure the URL of the store you are visiting begins with ‘HTTPS’ rather than HTTP. This is a secure protocol which encrypts data between you and the online server.
  • Always use strong and unique passwords made up of a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols.
  • Finally, be wary of clicking links sent via email. The safest way to avoid falling victim to a phishing attack is to visit a site directly.

After taking these precautions, if shoppers still suspect they have been a victim of online fraud, they are encouraged to contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or visit actionfraud.police.uk.

Read more

How to delete duplicate data in Excel

By on December 13, 2013 in Blog, Tips & tricks

This time each year, many of us spend hours poring over customer lists updating contact names and address details in order to prepare the annual Christmas card mail merge.

We start by dumping a variety of information into a spread sheet – exports from our CRM system, our Outlook contacts and various lists we have produced in previous years – and inevitably this results in a degree of duplication.

So did you know that Excel offers a handy tool to help identify and remove duplicate rows of data at the click of a button? Here’s how it works:

[themecolor]Highlighting duplicates[/themecolor]

The work sheet below shows duplicate data that you may wish to identify when preparing your Christmas card list.

For example, Jones Brothers have two Directors; do you want to send a Christmas card to each of them or just one to your main contact? Also, Smith & Co has recently relocated from Guildford to Chester, so you probably wish to remove the old address from this list.

To identify duplicate values in the Company column highlight column A then select:

Home > Conditional Formatting > Highlight Cells Rules > Duplicate Values

The following formatting will be applied enabling you to easily identify the duplicate values requiring your attention.

You can also sort the data by text colour, so in a longer list you might wish to bring all duplicate values to the top of the page, making it easier to manage all items together (see below).

[themecolor]Deleting duplicate values[/themecolor]

You may simply wish to delete any rows containing duplicate values without first highlighting these entries for review. To do so, highlight the entire dataset and click:

Data tab > Remove Duplicates

The following dialog box will be displayed. Deselect the column tick boxes as appropriate. Leaving them all selected means that only rows with duplicate values in every column will be deleted. Selecting just one of two columns means rows with duplicate values in those particular columns will be deleted.

Click OK to complete this action.

Read more

XP bug reminds users of threats to come

By on December 13, 2013 in Blog, Microsoft, Security, Topical

A zero-day exploit affecting XP and Server 2003 in December 2013 has given users a glimpse of what lies ahead when support for these products is discontinued by Microsoft.

Although the software giant announced it was working on a fix for this particular security threat, users were reminded that, after April next year, patches and fixes for these products will no longer be distributed, leaving older systems vulnerable to attack.

[themecolor]Elevation of privilege[/themecolor]

The exploit is an elevation of privilege (EoP), meaning it isn’t dangerous by itself but when used in conjunction with another vulnerability, it could pose a threat. EoP allows the attackers to gain access to resources which the user can’t usually get to.

Microsoft explained: “An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could run arbitrary code in kernel mode. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new account with full administrative rights.”

Essentially, the attacker gains access to resources beyond what an administrator could. In this particular case, the EoP is being used in conjunction with an Adobe Reader exploit, which is targeting versions 9.5.4, 10.1.6, 11.0.02 and earlier.

The best way to avoid falling victim to this exploit is to upgrade the computer’s operating system to any later version of Windows, especially given the April 2014 support deadline. Quite simply, attacks which occur after this date will not be Microsoft’s responsibility.

[themecolor]What is a zero-day attack?[/themecolor]

A zero-day attack is when a vulnerability is exploited by the hacker before the developer of the software is aware of it. This leaves the vendor no time to address the weakness before attackers begin taking advantage. Knowledge of the exploit is then spread around, leaving users susceptible to having their personal information or confidential data stolen.

Currently the only known version of this exploit causes an attack by opening a malicious PDF, which then drops in a backdoor into the system. It isn’t known if the PDF is being sent via an internet browser, email or in some other way, but users should obviously avoid downloading or opening anything they do not recognise just to be sure.

Patched Adobe users should be fine, but anyone using XP or Server 2003 should seek advice regarding an upgrade since other attacks exploiting other program vulnerabilities may become more prevalent in the lead up to Microsoft’s April 2014 support cut-off.

Read more

Windows 8.1 rolled out to warm reception

By on November 19, 2013 in Blog, Microsoft, New technology, Product releases

The tech giant’s initial offering of its flagship operating system – Windows 8, was met with mixed reviews back in August last year. Microsoft took a big gamble by moving away from the iconic desktop, choosing to opt instead for the Metro theme – a tiled approach, similar to Xbox.

This strategy, which was designed to morph Microsoft’s desktop and mobile platforms into one single user interface, left many infuriated. The lead cause for this frustration was the lack of a Start button; a feature that has been reinstated in 8.1.

Microsoft has also addressed these concerns by allowing users to boot directly into the conventional desktop, bypassing the tiled start-up screen altogether. While Microsoft is adamant that this is not an admission of error, many industry analysts have said that the company simply got it wrong with Windows 8.

However, despite restoring user access to the beloved desktop and Start button, Microsoft is still pushing ahead with the Metro theme in hopes that they can create one ecosystem in which all their products coexist.

Windows 8.1 is available now as a free download from the Windows Store and while the upgrade process has been straightforward for most, there have been reports of some problems along the way.

After so many years in the business, one might think that Microsoft would have its product launches down to a fine art, yet the rollout of 8.1 has not been entirely plain sailing. Many users are currently reporting mouse lag; an issue for which Microsoft is currently working on a patch.

Others have reported that they see the infamous ‘blue screen of death’ when attempting to upgrade and then are reverted back to Windows 8. According to microsoft.com, this is a driver issue, which can be easily resolved.

Despite the hiccups, most users and industry watchers are hailing 8.1 as a success and the figures seem to suggest that the operating system is quickly gaining its fair share of the operating system market.

Read more

The most productive tool in your inbox

By on November 19, 2013 in Blog, Tips & tricks

Most of us configure an auto responder once or maybe twice a year for the weeks when we take annual leave. A hastily written line announcing your temporary departure from the rat race and providing alternative contact details should the enquiry be of an urgent nature.

These are the email replies that Outlook refers to as ‘Out of Office’ messages and Gmail calls the ‘Vacation responder’. But now some key business innovators are pioneering a wider use of these systems as an essential tool to help boost productivity.

So forget rules, flags and sub folders, maybe the auto responder is the most productive email tool you never thought of. Here are a few of the ways this feature is being put to use by the movers and shakers.

[themecolor]Time management[/themecolor]

Cofounder of the WomenInnovateMobile accelerator, Kelly Hoey began using an auto responder last year in a bid to improve her time management. Feeling duty-bound to reply to emails as quickly as possible, Hoey was frequently unable to commit time to important projects during the day as she waded through a bulging inbox, responding to more urgent but less pressing tasks.

Hoey says this pressure is symptomatic of our always-available culture commenting that when it comes to email communication “we expect information to come immediately, so we feel a responsibility to spit information out immediately.”

Using an auto responder can buy time and relieve pressure and if you update the information regularly, recipients will receive a more relevant message than the generic “I’m returning to the office on 30th November”. For example, why not include details of your weekly schedule, a link to a recent blog post or an event you will be attending?

[themecolor]Adjusting expectations[/themecolor]

It seems the more senior and visible you are within an organisation, the greater the deluge of email you can expect. Tina Roth Eisenberg, founder of swissmiss, CreativeMornings, and TeuxDeux, recently confirmed she is getting 1,000 emails a day across her various inboxes.

“About a year ago, I really hit a wall of feeling such anxiety and guilt around my inbox and not being able to keep up, the thought of disappointing people and not being responsive and not getting back to people, that really stressed me out. It got to the point where it wasn’t healthy.” Eisenberg says. “So I put the autoresponder up to adjust expectations for people that email me.”

Eisenberg’s use of the autoresponder allows her to enjoy a similar relationship with her inbox as she does with her Twitter account, where it would be great to receive a reply but a response is not mandatory.

[themecolor]Signpost for enquirers[/themecolor]

Elsewhere, the auto responder is serving as a vital productivity tool. Ryan Holmes, the CEO of HootSuite, is continually reviewing how he can improve the management of his inbox and his latest trick is to draft an ‘enquiry-directing message’ – something along the lines of “If you’re interested in this, this, or this, here are the people to talk to…”

Holmes explained: “I don’t want to become a switchboard for my company, but I found I was doing that. I was spending a lot of time on these things that I didn’t need to rewrite every time, so I’m just going to put this in front of people so they can go and chase down and be self-empowered. Some people might call that douchey, but I just think it’s getting people in touch with the right thing.”

Read more

What is ransomware?

By on November 19, 2013 in Blog, Security

Ransomware presents a serious threat to business data, as it has the ability to lock access to files until the victim pays the attacker. It is a form of malware that works by encrypting user data until the correct decryption key has been entered. However, users can only gain access to that key by paying the ransom the attacker has set.

This specific type of malware has been around for a while, although criminals are now using it to scam individuals as well as businesses who have traditionally been the prime target. In recent weeks a new variant of Cryptolocker (a type of ransomware) has been affecting UK businesses and it seems the only way to retrieve data other than restoring from backup is to pay the ransom.

[themecolor]How does it work?[/themecolor]

Ransomware is often attached via an email, a computer programme that’s been infected or a website which has been compromised. However there have also been examples of more sophisticated infections. A whitepaper from Sophos called ‘Ransomware: Hijacking Your Data’ notes that, in some cases, people have been presented with a message that appears to be from the ‘Federal Bureau of Investigation’. Those victims are then asked to pay a fine because their computer has apparently been used for illegal activities.

Not every type of ransomware will directly ask its victims for money though; the Sophos whitepaper explains that in a similar vein to fake malware, the main purpose of ransomware is to scare its victims into making a purchase. Whereas fake malware will try to persuade users to buy a virus removal programme, ransomware sometimes counts on its victims searching for the problem online.

This is reflected by Google Trends statistics which show that ‘ransomware’ is now more commonly searched for than ‘fake malware’. The attackers depend on this searching as it will often lead victims to buy software from a legitimate website – a technique known as blackhat SEO (search engine optimisation).

[themecolor]Prevention advice[/themecolor]

  • Do not click or open any suspicious attachments. If in doubt ask your IT support team.
  • Antivirus software should be updated, as should operating systems.
  • User created files should be backed up routinely and preserved off the network.

[themecolor]What are your options if you become infected?[/themecolor]

Where a computer becomes infected it should be disconnected from the network, and professional assistance should be sought to clean the computer. M2 offer remedial software solutions that can remove infected machines although we cannot guarantee decrypting files and these must be restored from backup.

M2 suggests that running a reliable backup is the best way to avoid falling victim of ransomware. After all, not only does it seem wrong giving into the bad guys but, even if you do decide to pay the ransom, what guarantee is there that your files will be decrypted afterwards?

Read more