E-Safety

HD Forensics E-Safety

E-Safety from MC Ware and HD Forensics

 Can the adults keep up with the kids?

 I’ve been studying this for a while now and following some extensive research I am convinced that the answer is no. I do agree that in many cases best efforts are in use but I’m not always sure that Schools have the funding to hire security professionals who are specialists in E-Safety.

Yes you have E-Safety Videos, Yes you have E-Safety Policies and you tick all the boxes but are you really studying the content filter logs? Are you keeping on top of the latest technology and the latest list of Proxy Servers? Are your users using remote access to get out or are they simply logging on to a Virtual Desktop? The answer may be that there is nothing you can do to stop someone who wants to get out of the control of the Network Admins and “Content Filter Police” but they do need to see first- hand the possible consequences of their actions. MC Ware solutions spot trends, keyword clouds, obfuscation and other known methods used in the corporate world.

E-Safety Services from http://www.mcware.co.uk and http://www.hdforensics.co.uk include E-Safety Assemblies at each School . E-Safety Parent Helpline. E-Safety – Train the Trainer sessions. We don’t rely on firewall logs we go straight to the Internet History

Password Cracking from MC Ware

reset passwords

MC Ware now offer a unique password and encryption recovery service. Don’t worry there is nothing sinister in this, we are asked for this all of the time.

With over 190 file types supported we can recover or reset passwords in almost any situation including: –

Full scan of computer to find all password protected files
Reset of local admin password
Encryption cracking
Bitlocker cracking
Decryption attack
Domain Password Recovery
Website username and password recovery

Why would you need it?

Computer Forensics may need to quickly find password protected or encrypted files.
Employee data problems – An employee can encrypt files before they leave.
Domain Admins password recovery

Computer Expert Witness

Earlier in the year we dealt with a major case for the defence that dealt with the dreaded virus defence. The computer was riddled with malware and the main culprit was a DNS changer that was pointing this guys searches all over the place.
We were able to demonstrate using Liveview and VMWARE exactly how his browser was behaving and with a little help from Sunbelt in the US (morale support during a tough time) we found the smoking gun.
The Virus Defence has been successful very few times and in fact I was only able to find one other case. All readers of this blog must beware how images can end up in temporary internet files without your knowing. If you have saved them, previewed then or even put them on CD then you should pack your toothbrush and get ready for a stay at her majesties pleasure.
If you are under investigation at work or as part of a criminal investigation and you believe that malware or viruses are to blame for files found on your computer then contact http://www.hdforensics.co.uk or http://www.mcware.co.uk

Fraud Prevention Suggestion for Online Merchants

Fraud Prevention Suggestion for Online Merchants

Last week I took delivery of a treadmill.  Two young kids and a cold winter means that I can’t hit the roads for a while yet and sitting in front of a PC writing this blog whilst eating anything that comes my way is not helping my waistline.

When the guy delivered it I asked how his online sales were going.  He said every order that comes in creates a headache and a whole load of worry.  He has been scammed so many times with stolen credit cards and now he can smell a rat after asking the right questions.  But he couldn’t get his head around why the Police were not interested even though he knew the transaction was fraudulent, he knew where it was going to be delivered so why didn’t someone just go with the delivery and arrest them.

If only it was that simple.  Firstly the Police are no longer interested and would prefer to pass this over to the banks to deal with.  Secondly the chances are that the person who signs for the goods has no idea what the scam is and the transaction will not be traced to them.

A third party robust manual check system is needed and I’m sure the merchants wouldn’t mind paying their bit.  The credit card company needs to ring the cardholder, if the purchase is over a certain amount or if requested by the merchant.

If your products are only low value items you are already paying a high price and it’s likely that you are already paying plenty in merchant charges and allow for this shrinkage,  however painful in your numbers.

I would love to hear of any other fraud prevention suggestions. We have posted an fraud prevention section on http://www.mcware.co.uk and http://www.hdforensics.co.uk can also help with anti fraud advice.

Digital Marketing – Do you have an empty shop?

So you got a call offering you a website for a couple of hundred pounds and you are now selling products and promoting your business online – woo hoo.  I’m afraid you may as well open up a retail outlet on a boat floating in the middle of the north sea because nobody will see you and they certainly won’t buy your products.  Why – because they won’t find you.  Putting a website online is the easy bit getting people through the imaginary door and keeping them there is the tough bit.  But don’t despair your tiny first step is at least a start.  Here is what to do next: –

1 – Start filling the site with useful interesting content including lots of keywords.

2 – Blog blog and blog some more

3 – Set aside time to create content for the site.

4 – Write about your site on your social media sites

5 – Search for your business on google using keywords.  This will tale you to bulletin boards where people may be asking how to get hold of your products?  Let them know and create a link back to your site.

6 – Create online press releases and launches – don’t make the boring like so many others.  Make them different.

7 – Create digital videos and images explaining your products

8 – Regular newsletters.  Sample these first using a product like dotmailer to see how many are actually hitting the target.

9 – Outsource your blogging and link building to http://www.mcware.co.uk

I know what you are thinking.  How the hell I am supposed to get time to do that.  Here comes the shameless plug bit http://www.mcware.co.uk we’ll do it for you.

You do what you’re good at and we’ll do what we’re superb at.

mcware – we try before you buy and it’s great.

Why does the MCware IT solution work?

 

Although we set up in 1998 it wasn’t until 2001 when we actually got our own systems in order at http://www.mcware.co.uk.  We stated out with a copy of Act CRM, a CompuServe e-mail account and a Microsoft FrontPage website.  Very basic but it got the job done and kept us up to date with all of our contacts, quotes and invoices which were then done in Microsoft Word.

 

It’s all a bit different now.  We have a fully online ERP system that creates, quotes, sales orders, invoices and helpdesk tickets allowing us to know exactly what is going on in our business at any given time.  Network Infrastructure is via VMWARE ESX Servers and Hitachi or EMC SAN Drives.  We have a full disaster recovery plan and have had no downtime since 2004.

 

All internal staff and field engineers have Iphone 3G’s that connect to a Microsoft 2007 Exchange Server.  We use Citrix Xenapp to connect to third party applications.  From our Iphones we can actually logon to a server on one of the many ships we look after and complete routine tasks and repairs.

 

Once we have run a particular solution for 6 months we are then ready to start rolling it out to our clients and you will find that most of our clients have a very similar set up to mcwware including: –

 

http://www.hdforensics.co.uk a leading computer forensics company who also specialise in mobile phone forensics.

http://www.stayinthegoodbooks.com a major online greeting card retailer.

For more information go to http://www.mcware.co.uk

Microsoft to pull Windows 7 Release Candidate in August

Thanks to  Barry Collins for this article.

 

Microsoft has announced that the Release Candidate program for Windows 7 will cease in mid-August.

The company has made the Windows 7 RC freely available from its website since the beginning of May.

That free run will come to a close on 15 August, after which point you won’t be able to download the software, although it will still be possible to get an activation key for the operating system.

Once installed on a PC, the Release Candidate won’t expire until 1 June 2010, although users will be hit with annoying 

bi-hourly restarts from 1 March in a none-too-subtle attempt to persuade people to pay for the full version, which will be released on 22 October this year.

Stragglers who are still running the Windows 7 beta software are being urged to decamp to the Release Candidate as soon as possible, as they will start being hit with the bi-hourly restarts on 1 July. The beta software will eventually stop working on 1 August.

Microsoft is due to confirm the UK pricing of Windows 7 later this week, as well as details of free upgrades for people who buy a Vista machine in the run up to the launch.

Leading PC manufacturers are beginning to share with PC Pro details of new product launches to coincide with the launch of Windows 7, with some taking full advantage of the operating system’s new touchscreen support.

MC Ware Limited is based in Stokesley North Yorkshire and were established in 1998. They are specialists in Microsoft Solutions, VM Ware, Citrix, Cisco, Mitel and Computer and Mobile Phone Forensics. For more info on computer forensics and mobile phone forensics go to http://www.hdforensics.co.uk.  Also see an example of MC Ware web development at http://www.stayinthegoodbooks.com.

 

 

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http://www.mcware.co.uk

Iphone broadband dongle

iPhones enabled as broadband dongle for free by “simple Hack

The Guardian UK

People wishing to avoid O2’s extra charge for using their iPhone to connect a computer to the net can use free software but o2 warns it will cut them off. The Guardian has established that owners of iPhone 3GS handsets and the iPhone 3G can circumvent extra monthly charges for using handsets as a broadband “dongle” using a simple technical workaround..

Visitors to Benm.at an iPhone and iPod touch enthusiasts’‘website can download a profile that instantly activates the tethering system free of charge. In the UK iPhone is only available on o2 and they were unequivocal in there response that any use of tethering without the purchase of a bolt-on is specifically prohibited under the terms of serve. However, when pressed as to whether or not the company would actually charge of disconnect offending users, the spokesman said that decisions would be made on a case by case basis. The spokesman would not specify to the Guardian precisely how O2 would detect and distinguish tethered and non tethered data use.

http://ilovenorthyorkshire.wordpress.com/

http://mcware.co.uk

MC Ware Limited is based in Stokesley North Yorkshire and were established in 1998. They are specialists in Microsoft Solutions, VM Ware, Citrix, Cisco, Mitel and Computer and Mobile Phone Forensics.

European Digital Surveillance

The European Digital Surveillance Proposal is to come under Scrutiny

The EU is considering a proposal to set out the use of techniques and technologies for the digital surveillance of its 500 million citizens.

Leading civil rights and justice expert Tony Bunyan will look at the proposal of the EU Future Group report Freedom, Security and Privacy – the area of European Home Affairs.

According to Tony Bunyan – “The national and European states require unfettered powers to access and gather masses of personal data on everyday life of everyone, so that we can all be safe and secure from perceived “threats”. But how are we to safe from the state itself, from its uses and abuses of the data it holds on us – If we do not have an open and meaningful debate now, we never will because it will by then be too late.”

http://ilovenorthyorkshire.wordpress.com/

http://mcware.co.uk

MC Ware Limited is based in Stokesley North Yorkshire and were established in 1998. They are specialists in Microsoft Solutions, VM Ware, Citrix, Cisco, Mitel and Computer and Mobile Phone Forensics.

Can Microsoft ever improve on XP

Extract from Digital Daily by John Paczkowski
“Windows XP is almost nine years old. And it will be almost 11 before it’s finally retired for good, now that Microsoft has once again extended XP downgrade rights.
Said Microsoft: “Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate customers will have the option to downgrade to Windows XP Professional from PCs that ship within 18 months following the general availability of Windows 7 or until the release of a Windows 7 service pack, whichever is sooner, and if a service pack is developed.”
This means OEMs could still be selling XP-equipped PCs as late as April 2011. Which is astonishing when you recall that the company originally planned to cut off sales of XP on Jan. 30, 2008, one year after Windows Vista debuted. But the poor reception given Vista and the unwavering loyalty of XP users caused the company to extend that deadline to June 30, 2008. A few months later, Microsoft (MSFT) pushed the deadline out further, to Jan. 31, 2009. Then, amid reports that more than a third of all new Vista PCs were being downgraded to XP, Redmond extended the XP deadline to May 30, 2009. The company subsequently pushed that extension out to April 22, 2010.
And now we’re into mid-2011. “

MC Ware are based in North Yorkshire and provide IT services across the globe. Marine IT, VM Ware, Mitel Partners, Citrix Xen app and Sonicwall specialists

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http://www.hdforensics.co.uk