There have been rumors in the wind that there could be an Intel chip flaw that affect Intel Processors built in the last 10 years. Linux distributions have been frantically updating their code, but being very careful about why they are updating it. The Register was able to find out that the bug allows programs to see some of the contents of the protected kernel memory. This area is protected because it could potentially hold information like logins, passwords, or other critical data. In a worst-case scenario, your browsers JavaScript could read files in your memory, thus giving others access to your data. It is speculated that the bug is fairly significant since this is under such secrecy, Linux and Mac have released patches and we expect Microsoft to release patches shortly.
Thrive Ranked Among Top 100 CSP’s
7th Annual Talkin’ Cloud 100 Report Identifies Top Cloud Services Providers
Thrive ranks among the world’s Top 100 cloud services providers (CSPs), according to Channel Futures seventh-annual Talkin’ Cloud (TC) 100 report.
The full list is available now by visiting ChannelFutures.com.
Based on data from Channel Futures’ online survey, conducted between August to October 2017, the TC 100 list recognizes top cloud services providers (CSPs), including MSPs, hosting companies, cloud consultants and more. Rankings are based on annual cloud services revenue growth and input from Channel Futures editors. (more…)
A Major Hospital was Cyber AttackedWell sort of, popular TV series Grey’s Anatomy featured an episode last week where the hospital in the show was cyber attacked. It started with multiple departments experiencing some technical difficulties. Enter confused internal onsite IT guy, Tim, who is overwhelmed trying to figure out what is going on with all the computers in the whole hospital. Sounds like a lot of work for one guy doesn’t it? Normally day to day a small IT department onsite dealing with minor IT problems sounds like a good cheap plan until a disaster strikes.
How low are you willing to CybeRTO and CybeRPO? Part 2 of 3Intrigued by the notion of learning more about new industry terms? In the first part of this series, we discussed CybeRTO (Sigh Ber To) and CybeRPO(Sigh Ber Po) and the general meanings of both. In the second part of the series, we will take a deeper look at the two different ways to address the particular aspects of CybeRTO.
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Keys to Getting Started With Compliance
I have recently jumped head first into a number of compliance initiatives both for our internal needs as well as for our customers. To say that I have learned a lot in 3 months is an understatement. I was working with a compliance consultant who at the beginning of the exercise said, “Mike, you seem like you know a little about this stuff and you could probably play a compliance consultant in a movie but we’ve got a lot of work to do.” Not the comment I was looking for at the time but I am always up for a challenge. (By the way, what movie would need an actor to play a compliance consultant?)
Regulatory compliance has many different definitions depending on what industry you are applying the policies to. Since compliance means integrating standards that follow specific requirements, regulatory compliance is the regulations a company must follow to meet specific requirements.
When you apply regulatory compliance to IT, the regulations apply to two different aspects of company operations. These include the internal requirements for IT and compliance standards. They are set forth by external entities. Both types of regulatory compliance affect IT company operations and can potentially restrict what a company can and cannot do. (more…)
Thrive Ranked Among Top 501 MSPs by MSPmentor
10th Annual MSP 501 Ranking and Study Identifies World’s Most Progressive MSPs in Information Technology
Thrive ranks among the world’s most progressive 501 Managed Service Providers (MSPs), according to MSPmentor’s 10th-annual MSP 501 Worldwide Company Rankings. The top MSP 501 companies ranked this year include organizations from around the world and from diverse technology and business backgrounds. Collectively, they amassed $14.48 billion in total revenue (based on 2016 results), up more than 15 percent from a year earlier.
How low are you willing to CybeRTO and CybeRPO? Part 1 of 3When it comes to security and a business continuity plan there are two things companies care about the most, CybeRTO (Sigh Ber To) and CybeRPO(Sigh Ber Po). For people who are not in the IT world this might sound a bit like a foreigen language. RPO and RTO are very common in the IT world and are a pretty simple thing to understand once it has been broken down for you.
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Intel vPRO Processor VulnerabilityAs many of you have heard, Intel recently released a bulletin on a critical escalation vulnerability (CVE-2017-5689), which was nicknamed “Silent Bob is Silent” by the researchers. The researchers claim it affects Intel vPro processors from 2010 till now. A majority of the systems were sold by Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Intel, and Lenovo. This chipset was made specifically for enterprise administrators to manage their servers, laptops, and desktops. That is the reason this vulnerability is so bad, as the vulnerability will have full control of the system without the Operating System knowing. Since this is a hardware vulnerability, it doesn’t matter what Operating System, if any, these machines are running. It does not affect Mac’s, even though Intel does supply Apple with chips, this vulnerability only affects Windows-based machines.
How to Turn Off “Protected View” in Microsoft Office 2013Did you just open a document in Microsoft Word 2013 and nothing is happening? Oh, that’s right….. You forgot to click on that annoying, little, yellow button on the top of the window. Welcome to the world of Protected View in Microsoft Office 2013.
As annoying as it may be, there are valid reasons for this security feature in Office 2013, which first appeared in Office 2010. As explained by the Microsoft Office Engineering Team…
“Files from the Internet and from other potentially unsafe locations can contain viruses, worms, or other kinds of malware that can harm your computer. To help protect your computer, files from these potentially unsafe locations are opened in Protected View. By using Protected View, you can read a file and see its contents while reducing the risks..”
It goes without saying that you shouldn’t open a document from a sender that you don’t know. If you’re ready to turn off this annoying alert permanently, here’s how you can do it: (more…)