Ransomware provider LockBit has been taken offline by a joint operation involving law enforcement agencies from eleven countries.
As of the 20th February, a banner on LockBit’s website declares that the site is now under the control of the UK’s National Crime Agency, part of a coordinated operation to take down the group’s ‘command and control’ infrastructure.
Authorities from the NCA, the FBI, Europol and others from around the world swooped on a number of individuals believed to be involved with Lockbit – making arrests in Poland, Ukraine, and in the United States. Two further named individuals are believed to be Russian nationals.
The combined operation (‘Operation Cronos’) also froze more than two hundred cryptocurrency accounts, took down 34 servers and closed 14,000 rogue accounts.
LockBit made headlines as one of the world’s most successful ‘Ransomware-as-a-service’ providers: offering a toolkit any would-be cyber criminal could use to launch their own cyber extortion operation, demanding more than $120m in ransoms for unlocking encrypted data.
The group behind LockBit, which first emerged on Russian forums in 2020, did not respond to Reuters following requests for comment, but published messages on an encrypted messaging app stating it has backup servers not yet ‘touched’ by law enforcement. Investigations by police in numerous countries also revealed copies of stolen data the group claimed to have deleted after negotiating ransom payments.
More than 1,700 organisations are believed to have been compromised by LockBit, many of which are now listed online – and include Royal Mail, the NHS, Boeing and ICBC, China’s largest bank, among many others.
Decryption tools have so far been released to victims of LockBit in 37 languages, as part of the ‘No More Ransom’ project, with UK authorities pledging to reach out to organisations affected by the ransomware.
For Cyber Security expertise and assistance, please contact our team today.
We’ve launched a new online Trust Centre aimed at demonstrating Lineal’s commitment to Cyber Security and data privacy.
We take our role as your trusted IT provider extremely seriously, and we hope the trust centre will show what we’re doing to maintain the highest of industry standards.
Available online to anyone at any time, our trust centre acts as a transparent dashboard showing our current compliance standards, risk profile and cyber security best practices. In addition to reviewing our key policies, we’ve detailed what we do to keep staff, data and systems safe – across numerous areas including endpoint protection, network security, backup, infrastructure, app and information control.
Our intention is that the trust centre gives our customers confidence in our dedication to good cyber hygiene, and acts as a useful reference resource when our clients are dealing with 3rd-party supply-chain assurances, industry frameworks and insurance providers.
Furthermore, we hope that a detailed overview of the cyber security strategy employed by Lineal acts as a model for others, and a useful template for the kind of organisational transition our own team can help your organisation pursue successfully.
Those measures are backed by important standards: Lineal is an ISO 9001 & 27001 accredited organisation, Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus Certified – with reviews of our status undertaken by Cybersmart, Microsoft, Alcumus and Huntress.
For Cyber Security expertise and support, please contact our team today.
Major email providers including Google, Yahoo and AOL are set to tighten rules on incoming email – making accounts more secure against SPAM and demanding more of bulk senders who want to see their emails delivered.
Google and Yahoo alone represent more than two billion email accounts, many of them belonging to individual consumers for personal use. Estimates suggest around 70% of these have no protection against domain spoofing.
Until recently, even many basic security protocols such as SPF (checking whether email header and ‘sent from’ address match) were not enforced on major email platforms such as gmail – allowing fraudulent emails to unsuspecting users. This made phishing emails easier to circulate, harder to detect, and has been recognised as one of the biggest enablers for cyber security attacks.
DKIM – a protocol that signs both the real domain and email with a cryptographic signature that email clients can cross-reference for authenticity – is also often absent, with email providers increasingly looking to demand better standards from email senders.
From February 2024, bulk email senders must adhere to the following requirements outlined by Google and Yahoo:
New Sender Rules
SPF & DKIM Enforced – Business and organisations that need their emails to be delivered safely will have to add SPF & DKIM settings to their domains and mail servers that verify whether emails purporting to be from them are genuine, and have not been tampered with. Without checks in place, Gmail and Yahoo may reject those emails altogether.
Easy Unsubscription – bulk emails must offer ‘one-click’ unsubscribe options for recipients, making it easy for email recipients to opt-out of repeated unwanted messages, and keep clutter under control.
DMARC, the most challenging of the requirements, will be enforced for bulk email senders sending more than 5,000 emails per day, aimed at preventing rapid phishing scams and other mass attempts at fraudulent communications.
For those communicating with the public, the changes are likely to prove crucial, and IT managers need to prepare carefully to ensure their emails continue to be trusted.
For Cyber Security assistance and expertise, please contact our team today.
Two of Lineal’s youngest team members recently featured in an exciting video project aimed at introducing young people to careers in technology.
The Digital Skills Series is a joint project by Devon County Council & the Heart of the South West LEP which interviews ‘Digital Pioneers’ among some of the South West’s most innovative tech companies, and aims to get Key Stage 3 students interested in the amazing opportunities that are available in the digital sector.
It is hoped that the scheme will help promote apprenticeships, degree apprenticeships, work experience and other kinds of placement that help promote much-needed technical skills in the sector.
One recent survey of tech companies in the South West suggested more than half of businesses struggle to find recruits for technical roles, and that the region needs to do more to work with schools, local and central government to overcome the skills shortage.
Lineal have supported apprenticeships for over a decade, and are featuring in this video project for the second time in recent years. The short video-interviews will be shown to school children across the area as part of a series, and we hope it will help inspire the next generation of digital pioneers.
Microsoft have previewed a new ‘Windows App’, designed to be a centralised hub for hosted Windows desktops.
Currently in preview, the new Windows app is compatible with iOS, macOS, iPadOS, and web browsers, and offers the streaming of multiple Microsoft services via Windows 365, Azure Virtual Desktop, Microsoft Dev Box, and other Remote Desktop Services.
The app also facilitates multiple monitors, custom display resolutions and scaling, as well as device redirection for peripherals such as webcams, storage devices, and printers.
Hinting at a future where Microsoft seeks out new customers independent of their hardware, more like Google’s ChromeOS, the Windows App indicates a push by Microsoft to establish the operating system as a standalone cloud-based service in its own right.
The team responsible – a new ‘Windows and Web Experiences’ Team – have also been tasked with a number of related cloud-centric features, including dynamic search interface, a widgets system, and of course, Copilot AI integration.
For now however, the Windows app exclusively caters to Microsoft’s business accounts, omitting consumer accounts. Despite this there are indications that this may change soon: the app includes a sign-in prompt for personal Microsoft accounts, although this feature remains non-functional.
Each year new cyber threats appear to circulate online, and 2023 has certainly been no exception. For cyber criminals, it’s business as usual… right?
Not quite. Over time certain new patterns emerge that are important for cyber security researchers to identify, and these can help protect businesses and organisations in the future. So what can we learn from this year’s crop of nasty ransomware strains?
Akira
First spotted around April 2023, Akira ransomware appears to be one of the better-organised criminal efforts to extract payments from victims.
Suitable for multiple operating systems and sporting a green-and-black ransom note aesthetic Sophos describes as ‘Retro’, Akira is a professional effort that should give pause for thought.
Disabling many security settings to give itself more lateral movement on systems, the infection also tries to destroy backups to hinder the user, and has a ransom note written in (relatively) good quality English with a host of supporting infrastructure to help the hacker leverage a bigger payout.
The threat actor(s) behind Akira were known to exploit an existing VPN vulnerability to spread the ransomware, but had used stolen credentials purchased online from third-party data breaches to get started – in what has become a common pattern of low level breaches by third-parties supplying the more serious cyber crime via online black markets.
MedusaLocker
Originating back in 2019, this nasty ransomware has been through a string of variants with the most recent strain popping up in September 2023 to hit a major European health organisation.
MedusaLocker is an example of ‘Ransomware-as-a-Service’ – anybody can purchase and launch their own version, with a typical ransom being around $12,000. Like legal software companies, the developers behind Medusa even offer their customers a Support Helpdesk!
More recent variants have moved over to ‘double-extortion’ style attacks, where the hacker not only compromises the data, but threatens to leak a copy online, which is more likely to compel healthcare and public-sector organisations holding very private information on behalf of the public to pay the ransom demand.
Black Hunt
Targeting Windows environments, this ransomware looks relatively traditional, but may show the shape of things to come.
It can be spread both by email and via drive-by downloads on malicious websites that purport to give away free software or content, and for a special trick, immediately tries to terminate other processes on the user’s machine to speed up how quickly it can corrupt data – getting ahead of efforts to slow it down.
Curiously the ransomware searches for a specific text file called ‘Vaccine.txt’, which is likely a safety mechanism used by the original developers to protect their own systems against the dangerous infection.
The Group behind Black Hunt also use a tactic becoming increasingly popular among cyber criminals – publicly naming their victims in a perverse online ‘Hall of Fame’ – as a warning to others.
Our Verdict:
Keeping your data, staff and systems safe from ever-evolving ransomware infections means instilling good cyber-hygiene among your organisation, backed by a cyber security strategy that covers a range of areas including; endpoint protection, identify security, perimeter defence and user awareness training among others. Learn more here.
For Cyber Security Expertise and Support, please contact our team today.
The NHS have updated their ‘secure email standard’ which other organisations are expected to follow.
First published in 2016, the minimum standards for email security are designed to protect NHS staff and systems against supply-chain attacks caused by weaknesses in the cyber security of third-parties.
The standard anticipates that one of the biggest risks to the NHS originates with the rest of us: outside organisations, who need to be trusted not to put the health service in danger via email compromise.
There are two ways to meet the NHS secure email standard:
1. Implement an existing compliant service such as NHSmail, Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace [and follow configuration guidelines for that service.]
2. Demonstrate your own [email] service is compliant with the secure email standard by following the NHS secure email accreditation process.
For those using the biggest platforms – NHSmail, Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, the to-do list of requirements are simpler and include such steps as ensuring there is a process for notifying the NHS if you have been breached, policies and procedures for using mobile devices, risk assessment, documented policies and universal use within the organisation.
There are also a set of specific configuration settings which the NHS has documented for Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, which you can learn more about here.
For organisations operating their own mail servers or other email systems, the requirements are more extensive, and require the organisation to manually achieve DCB1596 certification with documented evidence that their setup meets the NHS Secure Email Standard. This applies to organisations hosting their own Exchange, hybrid configurations, and other lesser-known business email platforms.
For cyber security assistance and support, please contact our team today.
Windows Server 2012 and R2, will officially reach its end of life on Tuesday 10th October 2023.
Scary. End of life (EOL) means that Microsoft will no longer provide updates, patches, or security fixes for Windows Server 2012 R2. This termination of support poses several challenges and risks to businesses that continue to use this platform past the EOL date.
We explore the ramifications of this for your business and examine how Lineal can play a role in shaping the future of your server infrastructure.
So, what are the issues now facing clients?
Security Risks: Without regular security updates, Windows Server 2012 becomes vulnerable to new and evolving cyber threats. Hackers often target systems running on unsupported software, as they are more likely to find unpatched vulnerabilities to grant unauthorised access to company data. Using server hardware outside of its product lifecycle hinders the ability to detect and respond to security incidents in real-time, increasing the window of vulnerability to cyber threats.
Compliance Issues: Many industries and regulatory bodies require businesses to maintain up-to-date and secure systems. Using an unsupported operating system like Windows Server 2012 can lead to compliance violations under Cyber Essentials and ISO Accreditations.
How can Lineal resolve them?
Upgrade to a Supported Server: The most straightforward option is to upgrade to a newer and supported Windows Server operating system. Windows Server 2019 or the latest version 2023 offers enhanced security, performance improvements all supported by our technical expert team.
Migrate to the Cloud: Many of our clients are adopting cloud solutions like Microsoft Azure. These offers scalable, secure, and managed server solutions that eliminate the need for on-premises hardware alongside reducing the burden of server maintenance costs through pay-as-you-go and reservations payment models.
Virtualisation: If a full server upgrade is not feasible immediately, consider virtualisation solutions like VMware. These allow you to run Windows Server 2012 in a controlled and isolated environment while planning your migration strategy meaning each virtual server can run its own operating systems independently.
The end of life of Windows Server 2012 signifies the importance of staying current with technology to ensure security, compliance, and compatibility. Our team is ready to assist your business in transitioning away to a more appropriate solution for securing your company’s data.
As Openreach continues a massive upgrade of the UK’s telecommunications infrastructure from analogue copper to digital fiber-optic, a record 10 million homes and businesses are now switched over.
However, September marks another key milestone – the official ‘Stop Sell’ of older analogue services to the market. From this month, no new copper telephone lines may be ordered*, as Openreach seeks to retire the old-style copper service that goes back to the early 1900s. The stop sell affects a wide range of services – including landlines, traditional broadband, alarms lines and many more.
The £15bn investment represents a great leap forward for the UK – but what does it mean for businesses with existing copper?
Will my existing copper line be turned off?
Not yet! Existing analogue services are expected to be allowed to continue into 2025. However, the lifespan of these is now rapidly reaching its end, and Openreach advises businesses should be preparing to replace these to avoid any risk of loss of service.
What should I be replacing my old copper line with?
For those still on the schedule to be completed, SoGEA broadband options which eliminate the existing line rental in preparation for the fibre switchover are already available for millions of properties. These may remove your old line number, so bear this in mind before you make the important jump to the new service.
What if nothing else is available in my area?
If you’re one of a small proportion of exemptions (sites where no Fibre or SoGEA services are available) ordering a reactivated copper line may still be permitted, at an increased cost.
Alternatively, customers may consider 4G or satellite broadband as an alternative. A new SOTAP (fixed line) option is expected to be available from March 2024, eliminating virtually all new copper service orders nationwide.
What do I do about Service (X) that my business needs?
If you’re unsure about any aspect of your telecoms or connectivity provision, and how it is affected by the stop sell, please contact our team for assistance.
Alternatively, check out Lineal’s recent webinar on the ‘Big Switch Off’:
Microsoft have announced the end of WordPad – declaring that the word-processing app will be removed from future versions of Windows.
The difficult middle-child of Microsoft’s three main word-processing apps was originally released for Windows 95, and always sat a little uncomfortably between Microsoft Word (which has remained a heavyweight of the word processing scene) and Notepad (a stripped back, plain-text editor.)
Able to edit rich text for free, but with many features missing, WordPad was beloved by students, techies and other irregular writers who either didn’t have, or couldn’t afford, a licence for Microsoft Word.
The app was offered for free with each new release of Windows as a kind of ‘teaser’ for Word itself – but didn’t support many important features such as footnotes, subscript, tables, numbered lists, indentation and other typesetting options needed for more formal work. For more than decade, it remained many people’s only way to open a Word document, and gave digital access on millions of lower-specification machines across the developing world.
But WordPad itself has not been updated since the ill-fated Windows 8, way back in 2012, and still looks somewhat reminiscent of Office 2007 a decade later. There are also more alternatives in 2023 – with Microsoft Word more affordable than ever as part of Microsoft 365 (both on the web and on the desktop), Google Docs chasing the education market, and free alternatives like Libre Office and Open Office winning over casual users.
Vodafone and the owner of Three UK have announced their intention to form the largest mobile phone operator in the UK. The companies intend to merge their operations based in the UK, resulting in a combined customer base of approximately 27 million.
However, the deal is still pending approval from regulators, and the Competition and Markets Authority will assess the advantages and disadvantages for consumers.
There is widespread expectation that the two companies would pool their available resources, with Three and Vodafone customers benefitting from wider coverage, particularly 5G availability.
With approval pending, both Vodafone and Three are promoting the idea that the merger helps, rather than reduces, competition – creating a third provider with big enough scale to complete with the UK’s two biggest providers, EE and O2.
Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone Group Chief Executive, said: “The merger is great for customers, great for the country and great for competition. It’s transformative as it will create a best-in-class – indeed best in Europe – 5G network, offering customers a superior experience.
Canning Fok, Group Co-Managing Director of CK Hutchison said: “Together, we will have the scale needed to deliver a best-in-class 5G network for the UK, transforming mobile services for our customers and opening up new opportunities for businesses across the length and breadth of the UK.
Upon completion of the Vodafone and Three merger, their combined market share will surpass that of EE and Virgin Media O2. While Virgin Media O2 currently serves around 24 million mobile customers, EE, which is owned by BT Group, has 20 million users. Vodafone and Three UK currently occupy the positions of the third and fourth largest mobile companies in the UK.
Under the terms of the merger, Vodafone will hold a 51% stake in the new company, with CK Hutchison, the owner of Three UK, retaining the remaining share. Vodafone and Three have assured customers that they can expect an enhanced network experience with improved coverage and reliability, without incurring any additional costs from the outset. Furthermore, the companies have committed to investing £11 billion in the development of 5G technology in the UK over the next decade.
Vodafone and CK Hutchison initially confirmed their merger discussions in the UK in October of last year. In May, Vodafone acknowledged the company’s underperformance and announced plans to reduce its workforce by 11,000 employees.
Apple has announced the next major operating system release – macOS Sonoma – at WWDC 2023.
Apple’s most advanced operating system yet brings new personalisation features via integrated desktop widgets, stunning screensavers, increased iPhone connectivity, improvements to Safari, smart video conferencing, enhanced accessibility features and a new focus on an optimised gaming experience.
The annual developer conference is Apple’s opportunity to pitch a plethora of new hardware – including M2 Ultra chipsets, new Mac Studio, MacBook and updated Mac Pro models – and feature-enhancements to flagship operating systems including MacOS Sonoma, iPadOS 17, and WatchOS 10.
However, there is also an announcement on end of support on legacy hardware dating earlier than 2017 – which given the remarkable longevity of many Apple devices, is likely to affect a large number of users:
The affected operating systems include:
– iOS 11 to iOS 11.2.6
– macOS High Sierra 10.13 to macOS 10.13.3
– watchOS 4 to watchOS 4.2.3
– tvOS 11 to tvOS 11.2.6
You can read more about the features of the newest system release here.
The 2023 Cyber Breaches Survey has been released, highlighting key findings about the state of the UK’s cyber health.
This year’s study found that cyber security breaches and attacks remain a common threat, with 32% of businesses and 24% of charities recalling any breaches or attacks within the last 12 months – but with cyber security taking a back seat in the minds of many, falling behind economic issues like inflation.
In more positive news, a majority of businesses and charities have a broad range of measures in place, with the most common being endpoint security software (75%), cloud backups (70%), restricted admin rights (67%) and network firewalls (66%).
However general cyber hygiene may actually be getting worse. The report also highlights that the routine avoidance of relatively unsophisticated threats needs greater attention over more advanced hacking, with smaller businesses in particular losing ground in some very fundamental areas, including:
Use of password policies (79% in 2021, vs. 70% in 2023)
Use of network firewalls (78% in 2021 vs. 66% in 2023)
Restricting admin rights (75% in 2021, vs. 67% in 2023)
Security updates within 14 days (43% in 2021, vs. 31% in 2023).
A mere three-in-ten businesses have undertaken any kind of cyber security risk assessment – again showing low scores among smaller firms and driven in most cases by either changes at board level or the demands of customers – corresponding to an increase in businesses reporting checks on their own suppliers.
“Taken together, these findings highlight an increasing cyber hygiene challenge among small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in the post-pandemic era.”
In particular, the survey highlighted the food and hospitality sectors, entertainment and the construction sectors for reporting low take-up of cyber security measures. The UK’s largest businesses generally report higher scores across all areas, with the exception of patch management (44%) and restricting access to organisation-owned devices (31%).
Among the 11% of businesses that have suffered cyber crime in the last 12 months, the annual (mean) cost of an incident is now estimated to be approximately £15,300 per victim.
For Cyber Security advice and expertise, please contact our team today.
Apple has announced ambitious plans to expand the use of recycled materials, particularly metals, in its devices.
The company has set a new target to use 100% recycled cobalt in all Apple-designed batteries by 2025, along with entirely recycled rare earth elements in magnets, 100% recycled tin soldering in printed circuit boards, and 100% recycled gold plating.
The use of these key recycled metals has already significantly increased in recent years, with Apple now sourcing over two-thirds of all aluminum, nearly three-quarters of all rare earths, and over 95% of all tungsten in Apple products from 100% recycled material. The company aims to make all its products using only recycled and renewable materials, and to achieve carbon neutrality for every product by 2030.
Showing progress, 73% of recycled rare earth elements used in the Tech Giant’s devices came from recycled sources last year, and during 2022, a quarter of all cobalt found in Apple products came from recycled material.
Cobalt mining can be both environmentally damaging and comes at enormous human cost. A dramatic surge of demand for the rare metal have caused widespread worker deaths and human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where 75% of the World’s Cobalt originates, that is then refined via Chinese metal processors and sold on to electronics manufacturers. Child labourers are often forced to work without protective equipment, even though cobalt is toxic and frequently unearthed alongside radioactive uranium.
Innovation has also driven progress toward Apple’s goal of eliminating plastics from the company’s packaging. The company has developed fibre alternatives for packaging components like screen films, wraps, and foam cushioning and is working to replace labels, lamination, and other small uses of plastics.
To cut the need for labels and glue, Apple has developed a custom printer to introduce digital printing directly onto the boxes of iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro, and has introduced a new overprint varnish in packaging for iPad Air, iPad Pro, and Apple Watch Series 8 that replaces the polypropylene plastic lamination found on boxes and packaging components. These innovations have helped the company avoid over 1,100 metric tons of plastic so far.
Windows Server 2012 and Server 2012 R2 will be declared end of life (EOL) as of 10th October 2023, after which the operating system will receive no new security updates.
This leaves organisations using Server 2012 with several options:
– Re-license and migrate to a newer operating system if hardware supports it.
– Migrate those server workloads into a cloud platform like Microsoft Azure.
– Replace those server workloads with web-based applications.
– Purchase new server hardware with a supported operating system.
– Purchase specialist Extended Security Updates (ESUs) until 2026.
Which option to choose depends on where a business is their replacement/hardware lifecycle, budgets and changing workplace requirements. For some, a move to a newer version of Windows Server (2016, 2019 or 2022) is still possible, but this isn’t the only option. Don’t forget to check out Lineal’s handy flow chart on what to do when faced with the choice of replacing a server.
How and when to replace servers is a complex question, and businesses increasingly have far more cloud-based and software-as-a-service (SaS) choices available than a decade ago. Bundled services like Microsoft 365 have increasingly replaced the on-premises Exchange server, the file server and more for many small organisations – making the heavy capital investment for a server impractical. In the face of increasing hardware and energy costs, running on onsite server also looks increasingly expensive.
In some ways the end of Server 2012 represents the end of an era – in 2012, server sales were just beginning to recover from the financial crash. A decade on, both PC and small volume server sales look bumpy, while the largest server manufacturers appear to be focusing ever more sales attention on the data centre market – where there is growing appetite for enterprise hardware driven partly by the hosting and increasing consumption of those same cloud services.
For many small businesses in particular, a Server 2012 box may have turned out to be the last on-premises server they would ever purchase.
For Technical support and expertise, please contact our team today.
The FBI has cautioned smartphone users to avoid public USB ports due to the risks of malware delivered by public charging stations. The Denver FBI office, through CNBC on Twitter, stated that public charging stations in hotels, airports, and shopping centers are all susceptible to opportunistic malware attacks.
According to the FBI, malicious individuals have discovered that public USB ports can be adapted to “inject malware and monitoring software onto devices.” As a result, users should bring their own charger and USB cord while in public and use an electrical outlet for charging instead of a public USB port if possible.
Avoid using free charging stations in airports, hotels or shopping centers. Bad actors have figured out ways to use public USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software onto devices. Carry your own charger and USB cord and use an electrical outlet instead. pic.twitter.com/9T62SYen9T
Using a public USB port to transfer malware to a device, such as a computer, tablet, or smartphone, allows hackers to obtain sensitive data on the device, such as usernames and passwords, hijack email accounts, steal funds from online accounts, and much more.
While Apple’s iPhones and Macs possess a USB security feature that disables data transfer through the Lightning port when the device has been locked for over an hour, this feature does not prevent malware installation when the device is in use and connected to a public port.
To safeguard against this potential method of attack, the recommended solution is to bring your own USB cable to charge in public spaces. The FBI has issued a comparable warning on its website, cautioning individuals against using free charging stations, using public Wi-Fi for sensitive transactions, opening suspicious documents, utilizing the same password for all accounts, and clicking unsolicited links in text messages and emails.
For cyber security expertise and support, please contact our team today.
Microsoft has announced a new Teams experience for Windows, replacing the existing version with a faster, cleaner Teams app.
The new version seeks to dramatically improve user experience, introduces powerful-AI based tools to more users, and addresses performance issues that have crept into Teams since the platform’s astonishing success during the Covid-19 pandemic – which saw rapid adoption by organisations around the world and an explosion of new features.
Microsoft estimates the new communication and collaboration app is now twice as fast, but uses approximately 50% less system memory, completing initial loading in under 10 seconds compared to over 20 seconds in ‘Classic’ Teams in independent benchmarked testing.
Part of that extra speed – in loading, scrolling and searching – has been achieved by tidying many of the extra controls that have been added to teams, simplifying the design for a ‘cleaner’ viewing window. Users who need access to multiple accounts will also find it easier to switch between work environments.
Microsoft are also highlighting the extensive integration of ChatGPT AI tools in the form of Copilot – which debuted for Microsoft 365 a few weeks ago. Within Teams, AI assistance will be able to summarise meetings, write chat or documents on your behalf, and answering questions mid-discussion flow.
While we’re not quite convinced about 3D avatars (!) the new Teams can highlight when individuals were speaking, automatically break long meetings into key ‘chapters’ for video review, redesigns Teams channels to feel more like the gathering point they’re intended to be, and use AI mid-chat in a way that has untold potential.
Overall the new design is more visually impressive, with customisation options that are available in public preview now, and available to Microsoft 365 users later in 2023.
For Microsoft 365 Expertise and support, please contact our team today.
3CX, one of the world’s best known telephony applications, has been rocked by a devastating supply-chain attack that is infecting end-users.
The breach, designated ‘SmoothOperator’ is believed to affect both the 3CX Desktop app and PMA, 3CX’s recommended replacement. Once the trojanised payload is delivered to the 3CX end-user, it interacts with popular web browsers such as Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Brave – likely in an attempt to steal user data, including browser history, down the line.
In a video released earlier today – SentinelOne demonstrated the forensic detection of SmoothOperator which has risen dramatically in recent days. A sample of how the powerful endpoint security software blocks the threat can be seen in the video below.
Security analysts are rumoured to have discovered links to Labyrinth Collima, a North Korean Lazarus Group offshoot from Bureau 121 of the DPRK’s ‘Reconnaissance General Bureau.’ 3CX is believed to be in use by more than 12 million daily users around the world, among more than 600,000 organisations.
Managed detection and response specialists Huntress have published a wide-ranging report on the breach with a difficult verdict for organisations using 3CX:
“We anticipate that 3CX will not complete a root cause analysis of this incident for some time, and users should look for alternative telephony mechanisms for the foreseeable future.”
Remediation: organisations using 3CX are advised to…
1. Enforce mandatory password resets for all users.
2. Reset passwords for any web-based accounts which might have suffered credential harvesting via the user’s browser, and have multi-factor authentication (MFA) enabled for those accounts.3. Invalidate any persistence tokens used for Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and other accounts that might allow automatic login without MFA.
4. Enable high security risk conditional access if using Microsoft Azure.
For Cyber Security expertise and assistance, please contact our team today.
Microsoft have announced plans to throttle, and eventually block, emails sent from on-premises and hybrid Microsoft Exchange Servers that remain unpatched.
“Persistently vulnerable” servers will receive incrementally stricter controls, beginning with throttling (delayed delivery) up to and including a complete block beyond 90-days, preventing onward delivery to other Microsoft-based email accounts such as those in Microsoft 365/Exchange Online and Outlook.com.
The dramatic move puts yet another large question mark over organisations relying on on-premises Exchange server hardware. While Exchange 2003, 2007, and 2010 are now rare, Exchange 2016 still remains in surprisingly widespread use, and many copies of Exchange 2019 are not regularly patched against known vulnerabilities.
Extra controls will apply to servers that run on outdated or unsupported software or haven’t been patched against known security bugs – to help Exchange admins identify unpatched or unsupported on-premises Exchange servers, and allowing them a chance to upgrade or patch before they become security risks.
Even in 2023, A simple Shodan search still shows thousands of Internet-exposed Exchange servers, with many still waiting to be secured against attacks targeting them with ProxyLogon and ProxyShell exploits, two of the most exploited vulnerabilities from 2021.
For cyber security advice and expertise, please contact our team today.
Backups are essential to ensure business continuity and protect against of data loss, system failures, or cyber attacks – and IT experts often reference the fabled ‘3-2-1’ rule when organising backups into an effective strategy.
The 3-2-1 backup rule states that businesses should have at least three copies of their data, stored on at least two different storage devices, with at least one copy being stored offsite:
1. Three Copies of Data
The first part of the 3-2-1 rule states that businesses should keep at least three copies of their data. This means that there should be two backup copies of the original data. Having multiple copies of data ensures that in case of data loss or corruption, and dramatically cuts the risk of complete data loss. As long as there’s at least one remaining backup copy, even giant corporations can always restore their data in a dire emergency.
2. Two Storage Mediums
The second part of the 3-2-1 rule states that the data should be stored on at least two different storage devices. This means that businesses should not rely on a single storage device, such as an external hard drive or a cloud server, for their backups. Storing backups on at least two different devices ensures that if one device fails, there is always a backup available from a separate source.
3. One Copy Offsite
The third and final part of the 3-2-1 rule states that businesses should keep at least one copy of their data offsite; ideally more! This means that the backup should not be stored in the same location as the original data or the other backup copies. This ensures that in case of a physical disaster, such as a fire, flood, or theft, the backup data is still safe and can be accessed from a different location.
While not perfect (cyber security experts argue modern backup solutions should probably specify immutability, for example) the 3-2-1 principle guards against each of the biggest threats to business data – destruction of the original data, failure of the device hardware holding that data, and a disaster at the site where that hardware exists – that most often causes financial losses, legal liability and repetitional damage.
By planning your backups with this rule in mind, you’ll know your business continuity is protected against common emergencies.
For IT Support & expertise, please contact our team today.
Microsoft has announced a GPT-4 powered AI assistant for the Microsoft 365 Office apps named ‘Copilot’, in an impressive array of preview videos.
Copilot promises to bring OpenAI’s groundbreaking natural language assistant into Word, Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint, Teams and more – helping users to write documents automatically with prompts, analyse spreadsheets and more.
Copilot can also use other Office documents as its source material, allowing powerful cross referencing commands such as ‘Make a Presentation based on my notes in Document.docx’, or copy styles based on examples of your other work.
The new tool, announced at Microsoft’s ‘Future of Work’ event in March, follows a string of recent Chat GPT related developments for the tech giant – which Microsoft promises to dramatically cut the time required to produce first-drafts, as well as rapidly cross-reference with data the user doesn’t have to hand.
Within Microsoft Teams, Copilot promises to summarise meetings based on text analysis of the transcript, or even recap for late attendees based on what they have missed.
Unlike the original ChatGPT version 3 preview, Copilot promises to implement some of the advances used in the trial version of Bing – with references and links embedded inside the AI’s responses demonstrating why it chose that answer.
Don’t expect to see Chat GPT 4 doing all your work for you quite yet though – Copilot remains in a trial phase with twenty select Microsoft customers, with the preview set to expand in coming months. (No Clippy, I wasn’t trying to write a letter – Copilot will do it for me.)
For Microsoft 365 expertise and support, please contact our team today.
Microsoft have acknowledged a critical new zero-day vulnerability with Outlook, that does not require any user interaction with an email to be triggered.
Reported by the Ukrainian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) to Microsoft and graded 9.8/10 on the severity scale according the NIST, the exploit is believed to have already been used by a “Russia-based threat actor” in attacks against European targets across government, transport, energy and military sectors.
The exploit (CVE-2023-23397) abuses the way Microsoft Outlook attempts to follow links in emails to retrieve remote content, even before they’re opened or viewed in the preview pane – allowing a remote attacker’s server to request authentication via an old technology known as NTLM, and automatically receive poorly encrypted username and password details from Outlook. NTLM was officially retired by Microsoft after Exchange 2003, but the technology remains available in current versions.
This is dangerous because with a username, password and corresponding email address, hackers have effectively completed a credential theft without any interaction from the end user. Many users use their email account as a single-sign on for other applications, putting numerous other services at risk.
CVE-2023-23397 is not yet fully documented however Microsoft believe the vulnerability occurs “when an attacker sends a message with an extended MAPI property with a UNC path to an SMB (TCP 445) share on a threat-actor controlled server. No interaction is required.” Once a connection is made, the server sends the user a new technology LAN manager (NTLM) negotiation message which is relayed for authentication – none of which requires the user to even view the email itself.
The exploit affects only the Microsoft Windows version of the Outlook Desktop client. Outlook for Mac, the Outlook Web & Mobile Apps (as well as Outlook.com) are not affected – since these do not support NTLM authentication. Estimates vary but Outlook is said to be used by over 400 million users worldwide, in its various forms.
System administrators are advised to urgently patch with the latest Outlook updates from Microsoft within 24 hours.
Where this is not possible, system administrators are advised to add users to the Protected Users Security Group (blocking NTLM), or Block TCP 445/SMB outbound from network firewalls or via VPN settings, cutting off any NTLM authentication messages at the perimeter of your network. In both cases, Microsoft warn this may affect other services from working correctly.
For Cyber Security expertise and support, please contact Lineal’s Cyber Security Team today.
No need to keep changing tapes or wheel in a giant in-house recording server in the 21st century! Call recording is an increasingly accessible technology for small businesses that can be optioned onto phone systems, opening up a wealth of possibilities for improving customer service, dispute avoidance and data protection.
There are some good reasons why fully-virtualised call recording is worth considering:
Training Fuel
Phone calls are not just for dispute avoidance, but the audio is useful for other purposes: highlighting good examples of calls with customers or demonstrating what NOT to say. These examples are really useful in call centres, but also for staff training in other customer-service environments.
The best call-recording options will let you hold your call recordings in the cloud, reviewing and ‘clipping’ sections of those recordings on the web – helping you to get the best out of the available audio, or download the content you need to keep, while dispensing with the rest to keep storage retention costs low.
Compliance-Ready
In certain industries – particularly in the financial and legal sectors – call recording is an important part of showing your business is acting in good faith and fully within the rules, as well as being an economical way to build trust among customers that your organisation is professional.
As the technology becomes ever-more affordable, it’s likely we’ll see more regulatory bodies, insurers and asking businesses to accept recorded audio as a minimum threshold.
Get on the record.
It’s very easy for somebody else’s interpretation of what was said on a call can vary from your own – which leads to all sorts of difficult situations.
Announcing that calls are recorded in advance not only provides evidence in the event of a dispute, but pre-emptively warns callers of that fact – helping to cool the temperature of the call before it begins. So next time, get that call on the record!
For telecoms advice and expertise, please contact our team today.
Microsoft have released an early preview of AI-powered search integrated into Bing.
Available via Bing.com, the new tool is the first sign of Microsoft’s multibillion dollar investment in artificial intelligence company OpenAI – and uses the same technology first seen in the open preview of ChatGPT 3.5. AI ‘Copilot’ now not only delivers search results, but can generates longer text-based responses to questions, and form responses to more abstract queries that don’t have an obvious web destination.
The move comes just 48 hours after Google’s rival AI chatbot, Bard, generated a factual error in a promotional video, wiping an estimated $100bn off Google’s total market value.
ChatGPT’s ‘chat prompt’ format also allows the user to respond to Bing in turn, and continue the conversation to get a refined response without having to restart their search from scratch.
In each case Bing’s responses contain automatically embedded links that allow the user to follow-up the origins of each recommendation, even where the citations originate from a wide range of sources.
A new sidebar in Microsoft Edge takes this one step further by allowing Bing to ‘read’ each web page you visit, and intelligently re-format the results – picking out key details or presenting data back in a new format.
Sample queries and a waiting list are already available via Bing.com, but the preview is expected to be made widely available to millions of end users within weeks as Microsoft bets big on the future of search.
For IT support and technical expertise, please contact our team today.
We recently attended a special event about the danger of Russian cyber aggression against the UK: here’s the latest guidance from the UK National Cyber Security Centre.
Be prepared for changes to Russian strategy
A feared ‘firestorm’ of wholesale attacks on the digital infrastructure of the UK and Ukraine’s other Western allies hasn’t arrived, but the NCSC urges Russia remains extremely unpredictable.
Intelligence agencies are now concerned Russia may launch a new cyber attacks on the West this year, partly as compensation for Russian ground war failures.
Rates of cyber attacks on UK organisations remain ‘steady’, with some very serious incidents reported – and the NCSC has emphasised before how Russian cyber attacks on satellite networks and banking systems in Ukraine have spilled over into multiple countries.
We do know that behind the scenes a number of UK organisations have been carefully briefed to prepare for Russian cyber attacks over the past year – and a ‘handful’ of cyber incidents each year are serious enough to require COBRA meetings.
Yes, REALLY unpredictable
Russian strategic aims are often inconsistent. Boldness and risk-taking are known to be favoured in Russian high command – which itself encourages reckless cyber operations, experimental techniques and surprise attacks – but also corners-cut and operational errors.
Much like the Russian ground offensive, many of the most aggressive Russian cyber attacks – such as the widespread use of destructive Wiper malware – appear to have been ‘front-loaded’ during March/April, preparing for a quick victory which did not materialise even as Ukrainian systems have been hardened.
However, the NCSC emphasises that ineptitude or failure is not a barrier to the further attacks by Russia – the individuals behind the attacks are shameless, and cyber attacks remain a convenient way to highlight weaknesses from policy makers in other countries.
Essentially ‘nothing is off-limits’ – an approach that is also exacerbated by the internal competition between Russian service branches, with the FSB, FDR, GRU and others often seeking to outdo each other.
Who is a target in the UK?
Past experience suggest Russian cyber operations often include a key psychological element – following infamous KGB tradition.
As a result, the Russian military likes to target ‘pressure points’ in particular: critical infrastructure, the energy sector, transport, media organisations, senior politicians and especially companies with visible public-facing operations – anything that might generate panic among the public, suggest democratic policy makers are weak, undermine the West’s resolve to support Ukraine, or provoke a widespread feeling of vulnerability.
Ukraine provides some clues as to Russian strategy, but the NCSC emphasises that espionage attacks can often involve gaining access for no specific purpose – and (for example: obtaining privileged administrator access to systems) are simply a contingency for the future.
Organisations that plan ahead suffer less pain
Official advice is clear: organisations that prepare even the most basic disaster-contingency plans recover more quickly and suffer much less financial pain in the event of a cyber attack.
Even very simple crisis management steps like agreeing ‘who is in charge’ in advance, confirming ‘where are the backups’, and keeping printed copies of essential preparations for an emergency, all help radically minimise the damage, disruption and time to recovery.
Forensic engines included in modern Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR) software help provide rapid information about the scale of hacks during incident response – this provides essential time for first responders to mitigate further threats, limit damage, and give the NCSC information about the threat to others.
The NCSC argues that British resilience will rely not just on small organisations across the country remaining vigilant, but gathering a wider pool of information on the centre’s behalf – the grassroots feeds into the ‘bigger picture’ of national security, and defending the UK is a team effort.
NCSC guidance, right from the top of the organisation’s CEO remains the same:
“Even with a war raging in Ukraine, the biggest global cyber threat we still face is ransomware” – Lindy Cameron, NCSC CEO, June 2022.
Useful Links:
NCSC Early Warning System – Early Warning helps organisation investigate cyber attacks on their network by notifying them of malicious activity that has been detected in information feeds
NCSC Exercise in a Box – A free online tool which helps organisation find out how resilience they are to cyber attacks & practice their response in a safe environment.
Incident Management – cyber incident response plan NCSC guidance to create your own cyber incident response plan
Each year GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre issue stricter new rules for business and organisations looking to secure UK Cyber Essentials (CE) and Cyber Essentials Plus (CE+) Certification.
Continuing themes from last year, there are now tighter rules on account access, thin clients, device firmware, remote desktops, antivirus/EDR solutions and more. Despite the success of the Cyber Essentials scheme, the past year has seen some notable cyber attacks on British organisations, and renewed calls for cyber security vigilance.
We’ve compiled a summary to help organisations prepare for what revisions are coming down the line in April.
Multi-Factor or Else.
Even sooner than many expected, Cyber Essentials will now require not only Administrators to have Multi-Factor Authentication enabled – but all end-user accounts as well, across all platforms. Previously exemptions were granted for services without this option available, now that gap closes.
Instead, where a service doesn’t support MFA this will now be declared a non-conformity, bringing digital services fully into line with the rules enforced on UK online banking, and even applying to school children – right down to reception-age.
That’s likely to pose a challenge for companies (and particularly schools) using any software or web services which don’t yet offer MFA – so many organisations may need to look at augmenting their IT setups with 3rd-party MFA solutions like Cisco Duo.
Don’t forget the Firmware!
Software version controls now extend to hardware device firmware – with the definition clarified to specifying “firewall and router firmware” in particular – which was always essential, given the perimeter nature of these devices. In a rare step back, firmware on servers, PCs and other devices has been removed from the scope.
Device Clarifications
The NCSC has admitted third-party devices have been a point of confusion – and has published a revised table clarifying which devices are within the scope of Cyber Essentials. Updates will apply only to devices which are not domain-joined, or when unlocked have limited access to data (smartphones, handheld scanners etc.) If the a vendor does not allow configuration to see CE standards, the application may use the vendor defaults without incurring a non-conformity.
Given that the definition partly rests on who owns the device in question, we predict more changes in future years.
Not Just Any Anti-Malware
Antivirus solutions no-longer need to be ‘Signature-based’ – since the best EDR solutions don’t rely on signature-based detection of threats anyway. CE+ audits will include extra tests to verify that anti-malware software is effective (beyond simple EICAR tests) and application allow-listing is being encouraged.
Scoring Changes
Minor/Major non-conformities have been merged with a single Non-Conformity mark. Any applicant receiving three non-conformities will receive an instant failure. Corrective actions must now be completed within two days, despite some exceptions are available for larger organisations.
However, unsupported operating systems become an unfortunate immediate triple-word score: the presence of any unsupported operating system within the scope is an automatic fail.
For Cyber Security and Cyber Essentials expertise, please contact our team today.
One of the best features available to Microsoft 365 users is a special setting in OneDrive called Files on Demand.
Where OneDrive normally synchronises a local copy of a file on your device to the copy saved in your account in the cloud, Files on Demand allows you to be more selective – only downloading local copies of files from OneDrive when you really need them.
This helps you conserve storage, and is especially useful on laptops with smaller hard-drives.
Each user can choose which files are also kept locally on their device – synchronising a local copy of essential files that will be available offline – while relinquishing larger files likely to take up space (such as videos) to only reside in your Microsoft 365 account in the cloud until you need them.
Users see a green tick where files are available both locally and synchronised in the cloud, and a blue cloud icon where files are saved in the cloud only.
When a file is accessed, the local copy is downloaded in the background, and made available locally for the future. The same control is available via a right-click option, by clicking on ‘Always keep on this device.’
Alternatively if you need to manage your local storage usage, you can right click and select “Free up space” to remove it from your device, knowing it still remains available in the cloud.
For Microsoft 365 expertise and support, please contact our team today.
Extended Support for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 officially ends as of January 2023.
The older operating systems will no longer receive any security patches or technical updates from Microsoft, which poses a compliance risk to businesses and organisations.
Mainstream support for Windows 7 originally ended in early 2020, although some Enterprise users could choose to purchase an ‘Extended Security Update’ (ESU) program for an additional three years.
Ever since then, Microsoft has regularly urged users to upgrade to Windows 10, and later Windows 11 on PCs with TPM security built into their chipset.
Windows 7 was originally released in 2009 and became an overnight success, selling over 100 million copies within six months. As of September 2022, a staggering 11% of traditional PCs are somehow still estimated to be running Windows 7 globally.
Windows 8 suffered a more checkered history: originally developed with a touchscreen-friendly tile display designed to be similar across PCs, tablets and the ill-fated Windows Mobile – many users found the new user interface confusing, continuing the mysterious curse of alternate-versions of Windows being a flop.
Microsoft Edge 109 will also be the last version of the web browser that will be considered supported for Windows 7 and 8, with a similar change expected from Google within Google Chrome.
Now the World officially waves goodbye to Windows 7/8.1, and any users still stuck on the old versions are faced with the choice of either purchasing a licensing upgrade for their old PC if their hardware permits it, or replacing their device entirely with a newer Windows 10/11-based model.
For Operating System expertise and support, please contact our team today.
As a New Year dawns, we check out some of the best new features that have been quietly added to recent Microsoft Teams updates ready for 2023.
Scheduled Send
One of the very best features of Microsoft Outlook now comes to Teams, with the addition of ‘Scheduled Send’ on messages – allowing a participant to drop a message into a chat or channel at a later time if they choose – perfect for coordinating across time zones or just getting ahead of the curve.
Teams also now supports quick-send video/audio note messaging much like many popular personal messaging apps, with audio note already available to send from the Teams mobile app.
Live Translation of Captions
This one has to be seen to be believed, but Microsoft Teams can now filter auto-generated captions through Azure Cognitive Services and translate these live on screen while the end user is speaking – a fantastic feature for organisations and businesses working internationally.
Real-time translation is currently available to trial across 40 spoken languages, although Microsoft have confirmed this will require Teams Premium licensing in the near future.
Instant Polls
Unlike most 3rd-party poll question apps, 1-click Instant polls can now be created and launched within a Teams meeting – allowing your attendees to respond to a simple binary choice easily.
The poll creator can also choose whether or not each vote is anonymous, and whether the results are shared with other attendees within the meeting.
Video goes 7×7
Teams Meetings previously supported a maximum of 9 video displays (3×3) on one screen, with users forced to choose a ‘Large Gallery View’ to access more. Now that limit has been raised to 49 (!) videos (7×7), allowing for some truly massive meetings!
Search Conversation History
A particular favourite of ours: Teams Search now returns the user to part of an entire conversation, not just the searched-for message itself.
This helps you revisit old conversations much more easily, without endless scrolling or loading, and finally means Chats can be a valid replacement for mountains of internal email.
Popout Shared Content
With an additional button, shared content in meetings can now be moved to a satellite pop-out window (much like chats) that can be moved freely like another window.
This handy addition becomes especially useful where you have secondary or tertiary displays in a conference room, and need to place certain windows on specific screens.
Emoji’s Go Wild!
Reactions were always a useful way to acknowledge or respond to a message from a colleague, but the reaction function has been expanded beyond the Facebook-style menu of emotions to incorporate all available emojis. Users can now effectively save their favourites, for a handy go-to reaction that fits their personality.
Suggested Replies
Microsoft Teams now also uses AI to take a stab at what your likely reply is going to be, and offers it up as a quick-response button.
Not entirely accurate but certainly interesting, this becomes more useful where simple responses like ‘Yes’ or ’No’ are needed from a mobile Teams user, for whom typing might be inconvenient.
@dditional People
Using the @function now adds people into Chat’s directly (with a prompt for sharing conversation history), saving the need to add people manually. Handy!
More to come….
Microsoft have also teased a refresh of Teams Channels, including a new ‘top-down’ format and increased branding, which brings them closer into line with both SharePoint Online and a number of popular social media apps such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Check it out below!
For Microsoft 365 expertise and support, please contact our team today.
UK & Dutch police have helped lead an international operation with Europol to take down one of the World’s biggest DDoS-for-hire services, webstresser.org.
The UK’s National Crime Agency and their Dutch Police counterparts announced the success of ‘Operation Power Off’ – which saw the seizure of infrastructure believed to be linked with criminal activity based in the UK, Netherlands and Germany, and the arrest of individuals as far afield as the UK, Spain, Canada, Croatia, Italy, Australia and Hong Kong by at least a dozen different law enforcement agencies.
On the other side of the Atlantic, the Department of Justice announced an additional six arrests by the FBI, with a further 48 domains seized as part of a criminal investigation into DDoS-for-hire operations.
According to Europol, Webstresser is estimated to have let over 136,000 customers launch more than four million Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks on targets for as little as £11, overwhelming websites and online services with traffic and knocking them offline. Although DDoS for hire services often pose as genuine ‘stress-test’ tools, users with very little technical knowledge were able to order attacks on unrelated targets – choosing between ‘Bronze’ ‘Silver’ and ‘Platinum’ packages.
The service was thought to be responsible for cyber attacks on at least seven major UK banks in November 2021, as well as numerous other businesses and government departments around the world. The BBC reports UK police have raided an address in Bradford, in connection with last year’s attacks on UK banks in particular.
Jaap van Oss, the Dutch Chair of the Joint Cybercrime Action Taskforce (J-CAT) praised the joint cooperation by law enforcement agencies to finally take Stresser offline.
Lineal Software Solutions Ltd. has successfully been awarded two ISO Certifications – ISO 9001 and ISO 27001.
ISO is the world’s best known international standard for assuring business quality across a wide range of areas – including information security quality management, safety, sustainability and more. Highly prized among businesses, each ISO certification is extensively audited by an independent auditor to check compliance with the published standard.
Each management system must be continually reviewed and improved. We benefitted from in-built advantages of our own SQLWorks ERP software – which included many of the controls necessary to implement a quality management system. In particular, auditors praised the way Lineal’s own software automatically logged a forensic record of the actions of Lineal staff, the efforts of the company to incorporate customer feedback, and the team’s work on safeguarding against errors.
Managing Director Mike Matthews praised staff for their efforts, explaining:
“In our industry, what matters most is trust in technical expertise. Everything looks impossible until you know how to do it! We are so proud of our team, who not only took on this intense challenge over many months but succeeded. Twice.”
ISO 9001:2015 (‘Quality Management’) checks that a business is carefully planning, following and monitoring all business processes, constantly reviewing results good or bad, and implementing improvements in an organised way.
ISO 27001 (‘Information Security’) requires businesses to maintain the highest standards of data security, privacy and information management throughout the organisation, and is especially important among businesses in the technology sector.
Our special thanks go to Balazs Bagi of Improved Ways Ltd, for his expert knowledge and vital assistance at every stage of our application, and to our external auditors from Alcumus.
Well done to our entire team for their hard work!
This project has received grant funding from Devon County Council via the Devon Elevation Fund & UK Community Renewal Fund.
Microsoft has announced a new app designed to make it easier to coordinate remote-working and in-office staff.
Dubbed Microsoft Places, the app includes a number of features such as hybrid scheduling, intelligent booking, hot-desk reservation and way finding designed to support companies working in a more flexible way, where staff might only attend the office in person a few days each week.
Hybrid scheduling makes it easy for employees to signal to each other when they plan to work from home or the office, and this allows Microsoft Places to make intelligent recommendations about the best times to speak with people in person. The aim here is to avoid what has been dubbed ‘commute regret’ – visiting the office only to discover the person you need to see is working from home.
With many companies using less office space and more hot-desking arrangements, hot-desk booking allows users to visually map themselves onto a floorpan, picking the best space for their work or coordinating time with colleagues.
Wayfinding has been designed to help colleagues who might attend offices infrequently – guiding them to meeting rooms from their mobile and generally making it easier for companies to adopt shared work spaces.
Alongside the monitoring tools already rolled out to Teams & Viva, Microsoft Places also adds an extra reporting layer that helps companies monitor home and remote working trends, and make recommendations based on those insights.
For Microsoft expertise and IT Support, please contact our team today.
Lineal have scored strong results in our Annual Client Satisfaction Survey this year, continuing a run of success.
For the third year in a row, over 70% of you said we understood your technical queries “Extremely Well” – our highest available grade – with no negative responses received for this question at all. More than 50% of you also told us we responded to problems either “quicker than expected” or “much quicker than expected” – a score bolstered by improvements we’ve made to our Client Support Portal.
This year we’ve seen a growing percentage of you (around 20%) using our Client Support Portal to raise and monitor new support tickets – although phone and email remain our busiest channels.
For the second year running, over 90% of you told us our customer support was either “Great” or “Good” – a score we’re working hard to perfect.
You also gave us honest feedback for areas we can improve – in particular some clients had suffered hardware shortages and supply chain delays recently, something we’re working hard to address: with more supplier choices, greater options for refurbished hardware, and more advance warning.
We review every comment, and particularly enjoyed the following:
“I have worked with many IT support organisations and in comparison, I have found Lineal’s customer service to be friendly, extremely efficient and very professional.”
“Always approachable, professional and friendly and swift in solving the problem.”
“Lineal website is full of information and easy to find what you are looking for. The regular newsletters and product information are informative and very helpful. The SQLWorks Procedures on the website are very helpful.”
“My questions and requests have always been answered speedily and professionally. I value the professional opinion of the sales team and the software support team.”
Apple has released two urgent security warnings for iOS, iPadOS and macOS in response to two new zero-day vulnerabilities.
The company believes both weaknesses – found in WebKit, the engine which underpins Safari, Apple device kernels, and many other apps – are being actively exploited by hackers.
A vulnerable device that accesses “maliciously crafted web content” would allow hackers to execute code, and even to “execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges” – essentially full access to the device.
Affected Software Versions Include:
iOS prior to 15.6.1
iPadOS prior to 15.6.1
macOS Monterey 12 Prior to 12.5.1
Users are advised to check their OS version and update immediately. To do this, please navigate to:
On iPhone or iPad: Settings > General > Software Update
On Mac: Apple Menu > About this Mac > Software Update
For Apple Support and Expertise, please contact our team today.
This year we’ve made a number of policy changes to how Lineal protects your technology, data and users – part of a programme of adjustments designed to help our clients keep their organisations secure.
One of these is a change to how we manage security permissions. In future, we’ll be stricter about how and when we allow administrator (‘admin’) privileges to be used.
What does this mean?
Put simply, we expect no end-user to use an administrator account for their routine work.
Where a user needs administration privileges as part of their official role, we expect a separate admin account to be created for this function, with some extra protections put in place.
All admin accounts should be named to indicate the owner, assigned to only one individual, authorised by management, and protected by Multi-Factor Authentication, where available.
Why are Lineal taking this step?
Admin accounts carry enhanced powers – often to install applications, access raw data or bypass safeguards – each of which represents a more significant cyber security threat where an admin account is misused or compromised.
In the event of a cyber security breach, it’s not uncommon for attackers to leverage admin accounts to attack other systems or users laterally, using heightened account privileges.
Reducing the number of administrator accounts, their use, and the risk of an account breach, all help to maintain strong cyber security within your organisation.
No – this change will be a guiding principle for the assignment of existing/new admin privileges.
My organisation is subject to a compliance standard / framework, what do I do?
If you’re already subject to any specific controls over the distribution of administrator privileges, please contact us to discuss further, and we’ll do our best to explain how these changes support or enhance your existing controls.
What if I don’t want to do this, because of _________?
Where a client still allows a user to have local or domain administrative rights for standard duties, we’ll now require you to declare this to us in writing – as part of a disclaimer accepting liability for any adverse consequences of this decision.
We’ll also make clear that any remedial works required by us following an incident caused by this decision will be chargeable.
Who can I speak to about this?
Please contact our IT Support Teams via our Client Portal, via [email protected] or, 01271 375999, and one of our team will be happy to assist.
Microsoft Teams has taken the world by storm, but it’s not just for office workers. Teams can also be deployed to powerful effect in many other working environments – including for field staff.
One of the lesser-known features is Teams Walkie Talkie Mode, whereby staff can transmit audio via special single-press mechanism that doesn’t require conventional dialling. This lets a frontline worker transmit either directly, or into a channel, in a similar fashion to when using a walkie talkie.
There’s a number of key advantages here – it means warehouse, shop-floor and field staff can carry fewer devices, and walkie-talkie mode’s ‘big button’ is also more glove-friendly than many touchscreen apps. Companies may also appreciate having to purchase less single-use hardware to begin with.
Because Teams already runs over data connections (usually Wi-Fi or 4G in the case of mobile devices) the range on Walkie Talkie Mode is also infinite, unlike their namesake devices.
If your field staff already have rugged Android devices, from providers such as Zebra or Samsung, these can even integrate single-press keys to drive Walkie Talkie Mode, even if the device screen is off.
Microsoft 365 ‘Field’ licensing is also available at lower cost, with a restricted toolset, allowing companies to safely and cost-effectively rollout Teams access to a wider pool of users. Walkie Talkie Mode itself is available as an additional app that can be enabled in your Teams Admin Centre, and controllable using security permissions administered by your administrator or Microsoft 365 Licensing Partner.
Lineal are a Microsoft 365 Gold Partner – for IT support and expertise, please contact our team today.
Apple have unveiled a special ‘Lockdown Mode’ for individuals likely to face extremely targeted threats to their cybersecurity.
Lockdown Mode will be added to iOS 16, iPad OS16 and macOS Ventura, and is designed for a small number of users who are likely to be targets of high-end surveillance spyware, and require the digital attack ‘surface’ of their device to be drastically reduced.
The new functionality is partly a response to the work of organisations like NSO Group, who have faced repeated accusations that their counter-terrorism surveillance software has also been used by governments and various state-sponsored actors around the world to illegally target journalists, activists and other political opponents.
The new tool represents an extreme device-hardening posture, and imposes very strict controls – including:
* Messages: Most message attachment types other than images are blocked. Some features, like link previews, are disabled.
* Web browsing: Certain complex web technologies, like just-in-time (JIT) JavaScript compilation, are disabled unless the user excludes a trusted site from Lockdown Mode.
* Apple services: Incoming invitations and service requests, including FaceTime calls, are blocked if the user has not previously sent the initiator a call or request.
* Wired connections with a computer or accessory are blocked when iPhone is locked.
* Configuration profiles cannot be installed, and the device cannot enroll into mobile device management (MDM), while Lockdown Mode is turned on.
Apple is keen to point out that “while the vast majority of users will never be the victims of high targeted cyberattacks”, lockdown mode will become an option for those that may be, and reasserts Apple’s credentials in the high-end ‘secure-phone’ market previously dominated by Blackberry and other niche hardware players.
The tech giant’s will also offer up to $2m to anybody able to demonstrate a vulnerability in Lockdown Mode under their bug bounty programme – the largest such reward available in the industry.
Apple have previewed a range of futuristic new technologies at the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference 2022.
Among the latest releases were the upcoming new version of Apple’s flagship Mac operating system, macOS Ventura, iOS 16 for iPhone and iPad, new hardware and the new M2 Chipset.
Ventura brings a range of device-flexibility options to mac and macbook hardware – including ‘Continuity Camera’ – the impressive ability to use an attached iPhone’s special camera lenses via your laptop for some (truly next-generation) video-calling tricks.
A new productivity tool called ‘Stage Manager’ also helps users group windows into temporary groups – although perhaps the more useful feature is handoff support for facetime to iphone, allowing the user to leave their desk ‘mid-call’ without interrupting the conversation, in the style of more enterprise unified-communications apps.
2022’s powerful new MacBook Air will be the first to receive Apple’s own M2 silicon chipset, which somehow exceeds the staggering performance and power-efficiency traits of its M1 predecessor. To put those traits into perspective – Apple claim a new M2 chip can match 87% of the performance of a 12-core PC/laptop chip, while using only 25% of the power.
iOS 16 adds new abilities to iPhone – including the option to customise their lock-screens and notifications, circulate family photos in a shared album, and recall recently sent iMessages.
Apple also previewed a range of new services and Apple account features, including a new ‘Buy-Now-Pay-Later’ scheme (BNPL) in the style of popular fintech services like Klarna, passkey-based login support within Safari, and a safety feature called ‘Safety Check’ designed to help those who end up in abusive relationships.
For Apple IT support and expertise, please contact our team today
Lineal Software Solutions Ltd. are currently seeking ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 accreditation as part of a UK business improvement scheme.
ISO is the world’s best known international standard for assuring business quality across a wide range of areas – including quality management, information security, safety, sustainability and more.
This project has received grant funding from Devon County Council via the Devon Elevation Fund & UK Community Renewal Fund.
Seeking ISO accreditation requires the company in question to submit to a two-stage, independent external audit – reviewing both documented procedures, and how those procedures have been put into practice.
Watch this space!
For more information, please contact our team today.
Lineal’s Managing Director Mike Matthews has won an Omnis Software award for Outstanding Community Support at the International Omnis Developer Conference in Dusseldorf.
Mike first began developing software nearly 40 years ago, – starting with stock control software for the family manufacturing business – which eventually evolved into the modern software products carried forwards by Lineal’s in-house software development team.
Over many years Mike and Lineal have helped organise the European Omnis Developers conference (‘EurOmnis’) – promoting a community of developers who support each other’s projects and skills development.
Omnis software now underpins a number of important Lineal-developed software applications – including our flagship SQLWorks platform for business manufacturing/MRP, CRM, accounting & stock control. Omnis allows us to develop mission-critical business applications more quickly, deploy cross-platform across Windows & Mac, and draw on expertise from a wider community of developers.
This year’s conference was entitled ‘The Future of App Development’ – joining other notable recipients from as far afield as Mexico, Switzerland and Australia, and Mike thanked the conference for the award.
Congratulations Mike!
For business software advice and expertise, please contact our team today.
Just occasionally cybercriminals discover a new technique for tricking users or gaining access to something they shouldn’t have.
Hacks and scams go in and out fashion like much else – depending on their effectiveness and particularly, awareness among the wider public.
It’s helpful to keep one step ahead, so here’s our pick of some newer emerging threats to watch out for:
MFA Fatigue
The introduction of Multi-factor ‘Prompt’ notifications on Android and iOS are meant to make life easier. Instead of typing in a six digit code sent by text or generated by an authentication app, the user simply clicks ‘Yes this is me’ (or similar) when prompted on their authorising device.
But a hacker who obtains your password may have the option to spam the user with such notifications, until the user either accepts one by mistake or deliberately to make the prompts go away.
This trick can even get the hacker past otherwise bulletproof MFA on an account by pestering a targeted user – and users are often spammed in the early hours, when they’re likely to approve the login attempt without thinking, believing it to be a technical fault. By the time they’re asleep again, the hacker has remotely accessed their account.
30 Pieces of Silver
One of the most interesting revelations from recent arrest of members of the Lapsus$ ransomware group was wider publicity of their public-facing telegram channel.
This presents an interesting strategic question: how do you defend against a disgruntled member of your team being bribed to hand over vulnerabilities, credentials or privileged access that would otherwise remain guarded? Attackers who begin inside a networks usual defences have an extra capability for ‘lateral’ attacks that use each system or login captured to slowly compromise more of an organisation.
An ‘Insider’ attack is perhaps a corporation’s worst nightmare – with even a single VPN or admin password able to cause severe damage.
Dodgy App Permissions
A massive ecosystem of additional connected apps is available for Microsoft 365 – although many require addition permissions (such as access to emails, calendars, contacts and more) which are approved through an authorisation standard called Oauth.
Unfortunately this is open to abuse, particularly ultra-targeted spear phishing of upper-level management and those with privileged accounts. First step: get the user to visit a URL that wants permission for an innocent-sounding app to connect with Microsoft 365. Second step: when the user ‘Accepts’ an app’s access conditions, they grant an access to much of their Microsoft 365 account – an access that works remotely without being re-authorised by MFA or any of the usual protections, often in perpetuity.
In some cases the permission windows for the suspicious app are specially modified so that cancelling is circular, or give the app immediate permission to email other users the same app authorisation to spread the hack further.
In a mobile-first world, QR codes in public places can all too easily be tampered with to make users pay the wrong website, share malicious links on social media, or even dial premium numbers. Although Google Lens and similar apps will preview a link before the user clicks it, the underlying flaw is how easy it is to mimic the style and placement of official, legitimate QR codes, without the end user realising the swap has taken place.
The central problem is user awareness – would you click on a blind link in an email? No, exactly.
For cybersecurity expertise and support, please contact our team today.
In future Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Apple’s Safari will all facilitate passwordless login as an option – and major tech providers will offer passkey login for important online services including Active Directory and Azure.
Microsoft estimate that around 330,000 people have removed their password from their Microsoft Account in the last six months – with most using Microsoft Authenticator as a kind of passkey instead.
‘Hackers don’t break in, they log in’ is an often repeated mantra among cybersecurity professionals – reflecting the fact that most online accounts are breached via a normal login attempt, but with stolen credentials.
The FIDO alliance is the the online movement to replace password authentication entirely with single-use passkeys – although the organisation admits there are barriers to entry, including organisations’ cost to develop their own versions of the technology, an unfamiliar user experience, and the reluctance to ‘go first’.
It is hoped that with major tech providers building passkey support into their browsers, many more developers will be able to adopt the new standard to help keep users secure.
For Cybersecurity expertise and support, please contact our team today.
A good cybersecurity strategy includes layers of defensive counter-measures, designed to mitigate a wide range of threats at different levels of your organisation.
However there’s lots of ways you can help bolster your cybersecurity a little more, even working on a budget of (basically) zero – here’s our pick of the best:
Although compulsory for online banking in the UK, this feature is often available for free elsewhere online as well – and you should take full advantage.
This useful website is an index of websites and online services that already offer 2FA on your account(s), which methods are available, and where to find them.
Customised Login Pages
By default, your login window for many public cloud services is identical to everyone else’s – for example, by default Microsoft 365 companies see a picture of Rio de Janeiro each time they sign in. However, many people don’t realise this image can be customised, making the sign-in experience unique for your compny.
This feature is often free – but has one really important cybersecurity benefit: it helps your users realise when they might have been redirected to a phishing website. Fake login pages attempting to steal their credentials will often use the default background image to be recognisable to more people, rather than your custom one. When one of your staff clicks the wrong link, the wrong background might just help alert them before they hand over their credentials to a cybercriminal.
‘Spot the Phish’ Quiz
Let’s be honest, many online cybersecurity training tools are a bit rubbish – but this little gem of an online game from email security provider Barracuda uses five real examples of scam emails (A & B) to quiz your staff, and educate them on the warning signs.
User training helps build a resilience to cybersecurity threats that isn’t available via technology – protection for the ‘human layer’ of the organisation that needs to be vigilant, no matter which technology they’re using. Challenge your team today!
Has your Email been Pwned?
This delightfully terrifying website allows you to search those massive cybersecurity breaches you read about in the news for your own email address – informing you whether your information was involved, and where.
If you find an old email address has been listed in a known data breach, it’s best to update your password, turn-on two-factor authentication, and make sure your haven’t used that password anywhere else online – because it’s entirely possible that your credentials are already circulating as part of large stolen data dumps on the dark web.
Build a Cyber Action Plan
The UK National Cyber Security Centre (part of GCHQ offers a free ‘Cyber Action Plan’ tool to sole traders and smaller businesses that takes you through a short questionnaire about your business to help you build a starter list of recommendations to consider.
It’s been almost a year since Lineal introduced our new Client Portal, which allows our customers to not only raise new IT Support tickets direct into our systems, but review ticket progress and respond as new information is discovered.
However, we can also use global ticket data to get extra insight into our IT support process, improve our services, and help customers enjoy a better experience. So what have we learned so far?
Faster Responses
We’ve noticed some real advantages to customers connecting with us via the client portal – since last year, our average first-response time has improved by approximately 8%.
Evidence also suggests that in-life ticket responses are actually quicker via the portal than when raised by phone (around 5% on average), reflecting the fact that tickets can be updated without both agent and customer being available to continue the conversation at exactly the same moment.
So what does the time saving look like? In practical terms, it takes around 4 minutes longer for a simple phone call to be received, spoken and generated into a new ticket, rather than for that ticket to be submitted directly to the portal by the customer.
If most of those calls became portal tickets, Lineal customers and staff would save as much as 300 hours of talk time each and every year.
Changing Times
In previous years we’ve noted that Monday is our busiest day of the week, however recent data suggest this has shifted to Tuesday – possibly reflecting new hybrid working trends catching on, as office workers choose to reacclimatise to work from home either side of a weekend.
9am-10am remains overwhelmingly our busiest time of the day – as well as the period when a portal ticket can be created with the biggest time saving, compared with calling our Helpdesk.
High Importance
We took a gamble giving customers the ability to grade the priority of support tickets via the portal – we weren’t sure whether this tool would be used the way it was intended.
Statistics suggest it’s been an overwhelmingly positive feature – our highest priority tickets raised via the Client Portal (rated High and Urgent) have significantly faster first response times than not just tickets on average, but corresponding priority tickets raised by other methods.
Positive Feedback
Instant feedback (‘smiley face’) buttons added to the bottom of each ticket help users tell us more broadly how we’ve been doing. Ticket feedback for our IT Support service has been overwhelmingly positive (95%) and less than (5%) negative.
This is important because the feedback is gathered at time of writing, and on a rolling basis – rather than at times we’ve chosen to measure. Our current target is to increase this to 98% positive or greater.
For IT Support help and expertise, please contact our team today.
Members of Lineal’s cybersecurity team recently ran a special training event for over a hundred UK exporters, as part of the Department for International Trade’s ‘Export Academy’ initiative.
The UK Export Academy was formed to give UK companies vital know-how as they develop international trade opportunities, and to help them avoid common pitfalls.
Attendees were given a wide-ranging crash course on common threats, including a run-down of various vectors of cyber attack typical to companies trading internationally, and techniques to mitigate dangers.
Topics included best practice for password management & identity protection, email safety, device health, network safeguards and much much more.
We’ll be part of other UK Export Academy events in the near future – you can find more information about the academy here.
Learn more about Lineal Cybersecurity expertise here.
Gamma Communications have officially released a new version of their flagship ‘Collaborate’ softphone app for desktop and mobile.
Collaborate extends your work phone functionality to a convenient app that runs across many device types, allowing phone system users to escape their desk phone, and communicate from a far wider range of workplace environments – as well as route calls intelligently in the cloud, regardless of the physical layout of the organisation.
With nearly three-quarters of a million Horizon end-users across the UK, Gamma Horizon’s cloud-hosted phone systems are already a technology titan of the British workplace.
But that workplace is ever-changing – with huge numbers of knowledge-workers operating either remotely from home, via co-working spaces, while travelling or across multiple sites, phone users are no longer anchored to a plastic deskphone.
Version 2 introduces a significant visual refresh to the platform, and already appears more reliable in typical marginal call scenarios (such as when transferring external calls with mobiles.) In addition to immense bolt-on phone flexibility, Collaborate also adds Instant Message, Video/Conference Calling, Status Notification and more under one roof, for a convenient unified communications solution that is perfect for small to medium-sized organisations.
Collaborate Version 1 users will receive prompts to update from the legacy version from April 11th, which is expected to be moved to end-of-life in the near future.
For telecoms expertise and support, please contact our team today.
Microsoft have announced a raft of new security features for Windows 11 – aimed squarely at the new trend of hybrid working.
With millions of users working remotely post-Covid, the enhancements largely focus on hardware security and identity protection, as end-user devices access ever more cloud-resources from a broader range of working environments.
Microsoft Pluton
‘Microsoft Pluton’ is the name of a new security processor integrated into CPUs on devices shipping with the new operating system – an App Control feature designed to prevent untrusted apps from running, block the theft of user credentials, and counter dangers from outdated drivers.
As we’ve noted before, Pluton (like Windows 11 itself) also relies upon Trusted Platform Module (TPM) technology to fire up a PC securely – but some TPM chips remain vulnerable to encryption keys being intercepted between components. Pluton devices are expected to close off that weakness, preventing this kind of hardware attack.
Smart App Control
As many predicted, Application Management begins taking centre-stage in 2022, as bigger organisations seek to prevent users introducing rogue software into their IT infrastructure (or worse, introducing it back into the company network themselves.)
Smart App Control blocks unsigned or suspicious apps at the OS level, and will receive regular updates daily.
However – it’s worth noting this core feature only applies to newly shipped devices – so even those who adopted Windows 11 early would have to complete a full operating system reinstall to ensure Smart App is live.
Microsoft Defender SmartScreen
SmartScreen helps protect identity by alerting the user if they’ve begun interacting with a known malicious application, fake or hacked website – with the added advantage that the safeguard is pre-installed for all users.
Microsoft are keen to demonstrate SmartScreen’s record of success elsewhere – blocking nearly 26 billion brute force attacks on Microsoft Azure Active Directory, and nearly 36 billion phishing emails that were intercepted by Microsoft 365, last year alone.
Credential Guard
Another ‘by default’ upgrade – Credential Guard isolates really important system secrets in a way that is designed to stop ‘pass the hash’ style attacks where a hacker is able to use the encrypted version of a password to gain entry, and (Microsoft claim) can even prevent malicious applications that have somehow obtained Admin-user privileges on their device from accessing those secrets.
You can discover the full list of the security enhancements coming to Windows 11 here.
Several Lineal Engineers have entered the 2022 international CyberDrain ‘Capture-the-Flag’ competition.
Designed to sharpen the problem-solving and technical skills of IT administrators, CyberDrain challenges test proficiency across a range of common platforms (including Microsoft Azure, Hyper-V, 365 & Linux environments). To rise to the top of the 1000-person strong global league table, contestants must recover as many ‘flags’ as possible before 14th March.
Contestants must be able to answer both beginner challenges that mimic typical support tickets raised by end-users, but also demonstrate advanced PowerShell scripting and system engineering skills.
This year’s competition adds an extra layer of challenge – with both harder and time-limited challenges that earn bonus points – and a wider range of prizes sponsored by Huntress and other notable IT vendors.
Good luck to all our competitors!
For IT Support and technical expertise – please contact us today.
Endpoint security specialist SentinelOne have isolated and demonstrated an installed instance of HermeticWiper malware currently destroying PCs across Ukraine.
First spotted on February 23rd, the 114kb ‘Hermetic Wiper’ malware gets its name from the (likely fictitious) ‘Hermetic Digital Ltd’ – a Cypriot company allegedly named on its digital certificate. The malware appears to have been circulated among a number of Ukrainian organisations, and abuses a partition management driver to begin corrupting a device’s physical drives.
Once activated, the malware initiates a device shutdown, making the system irretrievable and booting only as far as Windows’ ‘Your PC/Device needs to be repaired’ screen.
The timing and nature of the attack (crippling PCs in the short term, until they can be replaced) suggests an effort that has been coordinated with Russian military operations.
For cybersecurity advice and expertise, please contact Lineal today.
Android version 13, codenamed ‘Tiramisu’, has been previewed to developers – the new operating system will spend February and March in preview build, with the final release expected in August of this year.
Android is clearly thinking ahead about how individuals will use their phones in future. Detailed in the developer notes are clear preparations for a time when an Android device has to sit even more at the core of many people’s broader technology usage:
Among the improvements already announced are a new ‘Photo Picker’ tool – an important security improvement that allows users to share specific images to 3rd-party apps installed on their device, without having to grant that app access to an entire media folder.
In a similar upgrade, Android 13 also adds a new device permission for apps that join to nearby Wi-Fi devices without sharing GPS permissions, for example allowing users to use smart devices in their home, without granting outright location permissions in the process.
Visual customisations first introduced in version 12 are being extended – with Google’s own ‘themed app’ colour settings granted to 3rd-party app developers, allowing far greater customisation of a phone’s look and feel.
Furthermore Android 13 will expect more apps to route updates via the Google Play store, continuing the trend of tightening security, against the (sometimes risky) app ultra-flexibility that was once Android’s hallmark.
For IT expertise and support, contact our team today.
This year GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre have introduced stricter new rules for businesses and organisations hoping to achieve UK Cyber Essentials (CE) and Cyber Essentials Plus (CE+) Certification.
In addition to promoting the scheme’s key priorities, the new terms for successful assessment are widely believed to be partially a response to recent events – including more widespread remote and home-working via cloud-based web services during Covid-19, and a series of devastating ransomware attacks that disrupted major infrastructure in the US.
Need a taster of what’s to come? Here are our key take-aways:
Cloud Services under the spotlight
In previous years organisations could exclude many cloud-based platforms from the scope of their assessment – but with the wholesale move to the cloud only accelerating under working from home, and web-services containing ever more data, cloud-based systems such as Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace move squarely into the frame.
Multiplying multi-factor
Most critically this year, two-factor authentication will become compulsory for all administrator accounts registered to cloud-based services – as the NCSC tries to stop hackers obtaining credentials and then remote accessing their way to cyber-devastation. Expect user accounts to follow in 2023 – an exemption may be granted under certain circumstances, but it’s clear the days of the old ‘password-only’ login are numbered.
2022 also places new restrictions on passwords: organisations are encouraged to have password managers enforcing random 8-characters or more, or a 12-character pattern, at a minimum. Mobile devices and similar should have minimum 6-figure pin or biometric security – with a recommended lock-out for ten failed password attempts.
Sub-networks under scrutiny
Sub-networks may now only be excluded if they don’t have a connection to main networks or no internet-access – meaning many organisations will now have to detail their satellite and subordinate operations more fully.
Patching-discipline is said to be the most common reason for failing a Cyber Essentials assessment – the 14 day patch window remains, but automated updates should now be enabled if available. Thin client devices are to be included from next year, and unsupported software should be air-gapped on sub-networks that don’t have internet access.
A question of hats
All super-users are now meant to have distinct user and administrator accounts, with stronger security on the latter. This distinction extends to cloud-services, meaning administrators will have to swap between their day-to-day functions completed on user accounts, and their admin roles where they have elevated privileges.
In the wake of the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack and others, it’s clear rules for admin accounts will only become more stringent.
Greater auditing
Cyber Essentials Plus Certification will increasingly require more in-depth auditing by independent inspectors – including sending malicious test-emails, validating software versions, testing file access, and confirmation of the all-important admin/MFA rules described above.
Lineal are a Cyber Essentials Plus certified organisation, and can help your team achieve certification. Contact our team today.
Microsoft have announced that OneDrive Personal will cease to synchronise on Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 from 1st March 2022.
Beyond this date, data saved to the OneDrive desktop app will not be saved to the user’s online Microsoft 365 account. Instead the user must either upload files via their account on the web through their browser, or upgrade their hardware to Windows 10/11.
Business-licensed users will still be able to synchronise OneDrive files until Windows 7 extended support finally ends in January 2023, although time is clearly ticking for business users of the popular file storage app who remain on older operating systems.
The hugely successful Windows 7 reached ‘End of Life’ (the end of official support) as of January 2020, but remains in surprisingly widespread use. Despite the free release of Windows 10 and 11 over the past decade, Windows 7 alone still has millions of PC users remaining – approximately 14% of the global market.
Keen observers will note that with the business version still running (for now) there’s likely no overriding technical reason the Personal version must cease, but that OneDrive itself sits at the centre of Microsoft’s hugely popular suite of Office apps – and that announcements like this are one of the few remaining ways Microsoft can clearly signal the need to upgrade decade-old hardware that may have security vulnerabilities.
A massive cybersecurity vulnerability discovered in an Apache logging tool has caused chaos across the internet, as organisations rush to patch millions of web-based services around the world.
The Log4j weakness exploits a bug in Apache’s open-source Log4j v.2 logging Java library, allowing an outside user to insert their own code that Log4j will interpret as ‘real’ instructions, to devastating effect.
Log4j is highly common across huge numbers of web-based services, servers with web based front-ends, and countless devices that support some kind of web-based maintenance – such as routers, network switches and many more.
A horrifying compilation of screenshots gathered on GitHub shows how (at time of writing) hackers can already exploit the bug everywhere from the search fields of Linkedin, Amazon and Baidu, to the login pages of Apple and Cloudflare, across Webex meetings and even the chat boxes on online games such as Minecraft.
In each case hackers can use the vulnerability to have the device’s network-access ability either forward confidential information to another URL, or retrieve a payload from another website. According to reports by ARSTechnica, the trick has already been used in the wild, with researchers seeing new botnets, crypto-mining malware and more installed by hackers.
CVE-2021-44228 is graded ‘Critical’ by Apache, and SysAdmins are advised to patch services urgently.
Lineal’s IT Support Teams are rolling out an important security change to the way we secure your Microsoft 365 accounts – enabling Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for all users.
We’re taking this step in response to a marked increase in account-theft attempts that we’ve seen in recent months; where previously MFA was an optional extra for added security, we’re now strongly recommending this be enabled across the board.
Every person with a Microsoft 365, Exchange Online or Azure user account licensed with Lineal.
What are the advantages?
An extra ‘factor’ at login drastically helps improve the security of your user account – making it difficult for any attacker who manages to obtain your username & password from logging into Microsoft 365 using your identity.
We’ve encountered a noticeable increase in account-takeover attempts in recent months, with individuals’ work emails then being used for the onward spread of supply-chain attacks and phishing emails to others.
Multi-factor authentication is already standard practice across online-banking in the UK, and we believe it should be standardised for all identity-based online services.
How does it work?
In addition to your username and password, each user registers a third factor – typically either a mobile phone number (for SMS), smartphone authenticator app, USB security key or password manager – any of which generates a temporary code for login. This extra ‘factor’ verifies your identity – making it hard for a third party to log into your accounts, since they won’t have access to the temporary passcode.
For preference, we recommend free Authenticator-app based MFA via Microsoft Authenticator, Google Authenticator or similar apps for iOS/Android. These are generally considered to be a more secure method than single-use SMS (text-message) codes, which have their weaknesses, with Microsoft and others announcing this method will be phased out.
However, even SMS-based MFA will be more secure than a standalone password, so we’ll still implement this where necessary.
Does my organisation need to budget for this?
No – although paid options are available if you need your MFA backed by Conditional Access or other security settings.
What’s the timetable for this change?
We’re aiming to have this change fully deployed by 2022.
What do I need to do?
Nothing for now – a member of your Lineal IT Support team will be in touch to discuss implementing the change.
What if I experience issues getting started with MFA?
Please contact our IT Support Teams via [email protected], 01271375999 or via our Client Portal, and one of our team will be happy to assist.
Apple has unveiled ‘Self Service Repair’ (SSP) giving hope to individual consumers to complete their own repairs with genuine Apple parts and tools.
With the introduction of ‘Self Service Repair’, individual customers will now join 2,800 Independent Repair Providers (IRPs) and 5,000 Apple Authorized Service Providers (AASPs) in receiving authorisation to fix their Apple devices using genuine parts, tools and documentation guides.
The move comes after growing pressure on tech providers to support a public ‘Right to Repair’ in the interests of environmental and consumer protection.
Over 200 Apple OEM parts and tools along with manual documentation will be made available for the iPhone battery, display and camera functions initially with additional repair opportunities being added during 2022. SSP will see first light in the United States with global expansion planned throughout 2022 facilitated via an online store for technical consumers with the knowledge and experience to fixing their own damaged devices.
Prices for these genuine parts are yet to be officially released, but the online store will be managed by an unnamed third party provider with repair manuals being made available through the Apple Support website.
This announcement now positions Apple as the central hub for consumers who desire to access genuine parts and how to manuals for out of warranty, damaged devices. However, the scheme is only aimed at new and future models of Apple products and will not help customers who own older generations of iPhones or Mac devices. SSP is initially being rolled out across the iPhone 12 and 13 line-ups with future plans to include Mac computers with M1 Chips.
Responsibility for fixing their own Apple devices has been shifted onto the consumer from IRPs permitting wide public access to the tightly guarded Apple ecosystem. Examples of the devolution of repairs to the masses include new software availability for ‘True Tone’ allowing for replacement display parts to be used on iPhone devices and customers who return their broken Apple ‘core’ device parts will receive credit towards their original purchase order.
The self-service repair program is just one pillar of a multi-pronged approach by Apple for increasing the longevity of their endpoints’ lifecycles including the introduction of a ceramic chassis shield and the replacement of plastic with steel on the iPhone 12 and 13 alongside crack resistant crystal for the Apple Watch 7’s display.
However, Apple and associated commentators warn of the dangers of consumer self service repair where DIY by Apple device owners can lead to further damage of the device through misrepair where tampering of the lithium-ion battery can cause serious bodily harm.
For the majority of Apple device owners, visiting a professional repair provider such as Lineal with our experienced technicians who use genuine Apple parts is the most reliable and safest way to ensure a successful repair:
For apple device expertise and IT support, please contact our team today.
Lineal are delighted to announce our new partnership with Jurassic Fibre, bringing faster broadband to South West businesses.
Exeter-based Jurassic Fibre are a regional connectivity provider rolling out new ultrafast full-fibre infrastructure to thousands of addresses across the West Country.
At time of writing, Jurassic Fibre’s £250m investment in a new fibre network already includes numerous towns and rural communities such as Barnstaple, Bridgwater, Bude, Exmouth, Honiton, Okehampton, Sidmouth, Sowton, Taunton, Wellington and Yeovil.
Lineal Software Solutions Ltd. are a Barnstaple-based IT support and software development company assisting businesses and organisations across the UK and beyond.
Lineal’s Managing Director Mike Matthews said: “Thanks to Jurassic Fibre many businesses will finally have the option of true ultrafast, ‘pure’ fibre broadband at low cost, provided over cutting-edge infrastructure that simply hasn’t been available from any other provider.”
“We’ve been impressed by what Jurassic Fibre have built. Every day Lineal’s Technical Support teams encounter businesses depending on ever more cloud-based technology, and requiring faster connection speeds – together we’ll help deliver the connectivity options many so desperately need to run their businesses effectively.”
Jurassic Fibre said: “We are proud to be serving both business and residential customers across North Devon with our ultrafast full-fibre broadband services. Our partnership with Lineal enables businesses to take full advantage of their new bandwidths by providing the platform to utilise new technologies to serve their customers better.”
Jurassic Fibre is available in a range of speeds from 100Mbps down (20Mbps up) up to gigabit grade, and via private-fibre ‘leased line’ gigabit ethernet, for businesses needing exceptional quality connectivity.
For find out how faster connectivity options could help your business, please contact Lineal today.
Law enforcement agencies have announced the arrest of seven individuals linked to REvil ransomware which caused a series of high profile ransomware incidents earlier this year.
Europol and the US Department of Justice recently announced the success of ‘Operation GoldDust’ which included a joint-effort from 17 countries – with arrests spanning Romania, Poland, South Korea and Kuwait.
The group are accused of 7,000 individual ransomware attacks, and links to attacks which breached organisations using Kaseya remote-manageement software back in July – a supply chain attack described by security specialists SentinelOne as a ‘well orchestrated’ and ‘mass-scale’ ransomware campaign.
Europol thanked all the countries involved for a concerted effort, Eurojust and Interpol, and also praised the contribution of a number of private cybersecurity firms who assisted Operation GoldDust with technical support.
After originally claiming to be disbanding in September, it was revealed REvil’s infrastructure was itself hacked by a joint team from the FBI, US Cyber Command and the Secret Service – and forced offline. Key members of the group’s leadership, believed to be Russian, were thought to be on the run.
The issue of Russian reluctance to tackle cyber-crime syndicates also spilled over into warnings of US retaliation during in-person talks between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin in June.
Apple has released a staggeringly powerful new MacBook Pro model for 2021, bundling some important changes of direction.
Firstly, screen size: Apple will offer both 14-inch and 16-inch versions of the latest Pro, having presumably seen the light from both PC rivals (looking at you Dell), and it’s own Apple devotee fanbase, respectively – who for years have hoped for the larger 17” format to be re-released.
In a big U-turn, Apple has also re-introduced HDMI, SDXC and other ports, after famously removing all but USB-C from the Macbook’s chassis in 2016. That future didn’t quite work out – as Apple now acknowledges: the user-base of the Pro in particular have generally been power-users that need more options, not just more dongles.
Unlike its smaller cousins, the MacBook Pro 2021 isn’t burdened by quite the same portability obsession – favouring high performance for processor-intensive computing, photo, audio and video-editing – of the kind that makes Macs popular among creatives and software developers. The latest edition of the ‘power user’s’ MacBook incorporates the all-new M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, which boast some eye-watering performance statistics.
MagSafe also makes a welcome return, ensuring that a snagged power cable won’t pull your laptop off the table into oblivion. 2016’s Touch Bar, never quite beloved of the user-base, has been scrapped to enlarge the keyboard – returning the overall design in the direction that originally made the Pro so successful.
Prices begin at £1,899 inc VAT for the 14-inch model, and £2,399 inc VAT for the 16-inch. For those with no maximum budget, optional extras are available up to a blistering 64GB of memory and an 8TB (!) SSD, for those who need a laptop with all the stored-up potential of a nuclear reactor.
Lineal’s Tom Williamson Cary has become one of North Devon’s first successful ‘Kickstart scheme graduates’.
During his six month Kickstart placement at Lineal, Tom has worked on numerous new business opportunities, helped promote Lineal, and even mentored younger students as part of Lineal’s work with the PETROC ‘Techknowledgy Transfer’ Project – funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy working with Innovate UK under the Business Basics programme.
Having completed the Kickstart programme, Tom will now join Lineal’s Marketing Team as a full-time staff member, to work on business development, and is believed to be among only a handful of such ‘Kickstart graduates’ in North Devon.
Lineal’s Managing Director Mike Matthews explained: “Tom is one of the first wave of Kickstart placements – one of around sixteen thousand young people across the UK – who’ve already benefitted from this scheme. He shows real promise and enthusiasm, and we’re delighted he’ll now be joining our team longer-term.”
Tom said: “I’ve learnt a lot over six months, and it’s been great to be welcomed to the team and get started on some exciting projects.”
The Kickstart scheme is a £2 billion Government programme dedicated to short-term work placements for those aged 16-24 who are eligible to claim Universal Credit – and aims to help bridge the gap between education and work, when many young people are at risk of longer-term unemployment.
Businesses can learn more about the Kickstart Scheme here.
***Edited 1st February 2022 – To reflect updated information issued by Microsoft.***
Microsoft has officially announced 2022 pricing updates for UK customers of Microsoft 365, Office 365 and many related cloud services.
The hugely popular cloud-based collaboration software is used by millions of organisations around the globe, and assists around 300 million end-users to work more productively.
New pricing – the first mainstream increase for a decade – is set to go-live from March 2022, and will see increases of between 0% and 25%, depending on license type.
To help businesses know what to expect, we’ve assembled a short guide to the upcoming changes.
Which License Types are affected?
Although exact UK figures have not been published in full yet, indicative US pricing changes are expected to be as follows:
Old
Expected
%
Microsoft 365 Business Basic
$5
$6
20%
Microsoft 365 Business Standard
$12.50
$12.50
–
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
$20
$22
10%
Office 365 E1
$8
$10
25%
Office 365 E3
$20
$23
15%
Office 365 E5
$35
$38
9%
Microsoft 365 E3
$32
$36
12.5%
Microsoft 365 E5
$57
$57
–
Microsoft 365 ‘F’ Plans
No Change Expected
Microsoft 365 ‘A’ Plans
No Change Expected
Microsoft 365 Personal Plans
No Change Expected
Will anything stop working?
Unfortunately, yes – Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365-based data and services will cease to be available to businesses using old subscriptions after 1st July. All users will need a new NCE license assigned to them by their Microsoft licensing provider before this date. Microsoft Partners will continue to provide, deploy, manage and administer licensing, exactly as before.
However the service itself will remain the same – all old license options will be available under new NCE license types and new pricing.
Why is Microsoft making this change?
This is the first such price rise for a decade, and reflects the huge leap forwards in the quality of technology, range of apps and business value of cloud-based services that have been added to Office 365 since the package originally launched in 2011.
Can I ‘lock in’ the old price in any way? / Any offers… on offer?
Organisations who replace their old licensing with new SKUs prior to the 1st February are able to ‘lock in’ some of the legacy-pricing, and avoid the upcoming price rise until February 2023.
Purchasing new licensing also reserves this price for additional users that the customers might add during the term – meaning that customers expecting to increase their staff/license count later this year may be incentivised to move themselves to new licensing now, before pricing changes take effect.
However, 2022’s new annual licensing prices also includes annual minimum terms that restart each year at renewal, so licenses do not ‘leave contract’ entirely after the first year as before. Please contact Lineal for more information.
So many license types – help!
Don’t panic – we’ve published a handy guide to what each license type contains, and this page will be regularly updated with the latest information. Alternatively, please contact our team and we’ll be happy to clarify your current or future licensing.
Lineal’s Lewis Marrow has graduated from the University of Plymouth to become North Devon’s first cybersecurity ‘Degree Apprentice’.
Starting at Lineal in 2017 to pursue an apprenticeship in cybersecurity via PETROC, Lewis’s skills have gone from strength-to-strength to see him achieve a 2:1 BSc (Hons) from the University of Plymouth (Digital Technology Solutions: Cyber Security Analyst.)
‘Degree’ or ‘Higher’ Apprenticeships are an advanced category of apprenticeship organised by the National Apprenticeship Service that combine undergraduate-level academic work with specialist training in the workplace.
Apprentices are expected to ‘earn-and-learn’ in tandem, gaining both knowledge and industry skills that are greatly-valued by employers. Many, like Lewis, are quickly snapped up by their business sponsors full-time once their apprenticeship is completed.
Lewis said: “A Degree Apprenticeship has been a fantastic experience allowing me to gain the knowledge and training I require to become an IT professional, the team at Lineal have been very supportive along the journey and I would recommend to anyone.”
While working at Lineal, Lewis won a Petroc Outstanding Achievement Award, has appeared in a Department for Culture, Media and Sport ‘Real Ideas’ film project promoting STEM education in schools, and his cybersecurity work has improved the resilience of numerous organisations – including helping Lineal itself achieve Cyber Essentials Plus Certification.
Lewis also recently completed the Great North Run in a blisteringly quick time of just under 1 hour and 27 minutes!
Lineal are proud to announce that we have officially achieved Cyber Essentials Plus certification.
Our operations passed a number of essential vigorous vulnerability tests of our cyber security with flying colours. Cyber Essentials Plus is the advanced level of certification offered by the government-accredited Cyber Essentials scheme; supported by the UK National Cyber Security Centre – a public facing arm of GCHQ.
The external audit of a sample of our systems saw a 100% pass rate across all PC and devices – thanks to the hard work of our in-house Cybersecurity team who worked tirelessly to ensure our success.
Attainment of CE Plus certification showcases our dedication to protect and respond to the needs of our customers. This allows us to not only have peace of mind about the high standard of Lineal’s cyber protection, but also presents opportunities for us to more effectively assist your business in achieving the Cyber Essentials certificate.
Hackers’ methods have evolved in recent years, leading to a huge rise in phishing and malware attacks with over 86% of businesses experiencing some form of cyber attack since 2017. The need for a comprehensive cyber security standards within your organisation has never been greater.
Suitable for businesses of all sizes and sectors, Cyber Essentials certification helps to demonstrate that your organisation takes cybersecurity and its clients’ data protection seriously – ensuring trust from your customers.
Contact us today to assist with your organisation’s application and ongoing compliance. You can refocus on your core business, safe in the knowledge experienced technicians will be able to help you meet the requirements for successful certification or re-certification.
Windows 11 is due to be released officially on 5th October 2021 – the first major version upgrade since Windows 10 was released in 2015.
As with Windows 10, PC users will be able to begin downloading the new version from this date, and new PCs will begin shipping with Windows 11 pre-installed.
If the thought of your PC changing fills you with dread – never fear! Here’s how you prepare:
See a preview
The first thing most users will notice is the visual improvement – Windows 11 features a ‘new design’ which forms the backbone of the update in an effort to make PC screens feel more user-friendly, calming and interact better with natural light.
Check Minimum Specifications
The following list summarises the published minimum specifications required to install and operate the new upcoming version:
Processor:
1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with 2 or more cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or System on a Chip (SoC)
RAM:
4 gigabyte (GB)
Storage:
64 GB or larger storage device
System firmware:
UEFI, Secure Boot capable
TPM:
Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0
Graphics card:
Compatible with DirectX 12 or later with WDDM 2.0 driver
Display:
High definition (720p) display that is greater than 9” diagonally, 8 bits per colour channel
Internet connection and Microsoft accounts:
Windows 11 Home edition requires internet connectivity and a Microsoft account to complete device setup on first use.
Switching a device out of Windows 11 Home in S mode also requires internet connectivity. For all Windows 11 editions, internet access is required to perform updates and to download and take advantage of some features. A Microsoft account is required for some features.
Microsoft’s full specifications for Windows 11 can be found here.
Things to Expect
The following Windows 10 features are all due to disappear on the new version, in some cases being disabled, replaced by newer apps or available only via manual re-download from the Windows store on new installs:
– Internet Explorer
– Windows S Mode (Home Edition Only)
– Skype (Personal), 3D Viewer, Paint 3D and ‘OneNote for Windows 10’
– Start Menu Groups
– Taskbar Moving
– Tablet Mode
– Timeline
Cortana will also be relegated to the Start Menu – no longer used during setup and not automatically pinned to the taskbar.
Make a Backup / Create a Recovery Drive
Major (or even minor) Windows version upgrades are not without pitfalls as we’ve seen in recent years, so it’s worth checking that you have a full backup of your device prior to leaping into the unknown.
Synchronised copies of files in Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive or Dropbox are always a plus, although for rapid restoration it’s also helpful to make a manual, local backup to a portable hard-drive that will be more quickly restorable if your subsequent upgrade doesn’t go to plan.
Hugo achieved a stunning 4th-place finish internationally – just narrowly missing out on a bronze medal for Team GB, but winning a PlayStation 5 in the process from competition cybersecurity-sponsor Huntress.
Martyn and Joe also scored very highly from among 1,000 competitors worldwide – finishing a record 17th and 32nd respectively.
Each passed significant milestones in their challenges – at 2000 points and 3000 points respectively – with Hugo becoming one of only four competitors worldwide to break the stratospheric 4000-point barrier.
Designed to test System Administration and IT engineering skills, the CyberDrain CTF challenge puts competitors through a series of forty investigative challenges across server and client-side, Microsoft Azure, Linux and Microsoft 365 environments. The competition ran throughout July, with bigger point bonuses awarded for more complex technical challenges.
Congratulations to all our competitors!
For IT Support and technical expertise – please contact us today.
This July, Lineal we be launching our new online Client Portal for all our IT support and managed services clients.
We’ve been preparing this for some time, and we’re excited to see it go live!
Our new Client Portal will be available from week beginning Monday 19th July, and will provide a smart new way of raising IT support tickets with our IT Support Team.
How will it work?
The Client Portal button is accessible in the top right hand corner of our website (on both desktop and mobile devices) and can be used to raise a new IT support ticket directly with our IT Support Team by clicking ‘New Support Ticket’.
You’ll receive email updates whenever the status of your ticket changes.
Since the Client Portal also allows you to log in and check recent progress on your support tickets, you will be asked by email to create a username and personal password when accessing the portal for the first time.
What does this mean?
We’re introducing this extra tool to help resolve your IT queries (particularly routine queries) faster and even more efficiently.
For various reasons, many of our customers have told us they would benefit from the added convenience and transparency of this instant access, self-service tool. Behind the scenes, our IT support package remains the same great service you can rely on.
Can I still use email or phone?
Absolutely! Our full helpdesk IT support service will remain open as normal via [email protected] or 01271 375999. In addition, you’ll also be able to monitor these tickets via the portal.
We hope the new Client Portal will save you both time and effort – providing an easy and convenient new way to raise support tickets swiftly and track progress.
If you have any questions or queries, please contact us via [email protected] or 01271 375999 (or the client portal!)
An intrepid group of Lineal IT engineers are each competing in a capture the flag (CTF) event designed to sharpen the skills of Systems Administrators.
Points are awarded by completing a number of investigative technical challenges across Hyper-V, Microsoft Azure and 365 – capturing a ‘flag’, or important string of text, which credits the player’s score.
Designed to test System Administration and IT engineering skills, one thousand contestants are taking part in the ongoing July event, organised by CyberDrain, and supported by judges from Managed IT Service Provider association CyberGeek.
There are forty flag-capture challenges being attempted by (overwhelmingly) IT engineers around the world – spanning server and client, Azure, Linux and Microsoft 365 management.
Challenges must be completed independently, and the scoreboard is updated as individuals compete for first place. Contestants are encouraged to tackle more difficult challenges to win prizes, and find creative alternative solutions to capturing flags – although hacking is strictly prohibited!
The capture the flag competition is sponsored by a number of leading IT, communications and cybersecurity providers, including Microsoft, Datto and Huntress.
Good luck to all those taking part!
For IT Support and technical expertise – please contact us today.
More than a thousand organisations using Kaseya Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) software are estimated to have been hit by ransomware over the weekend.
Miami-based Kaseya’s ‘VSA’ product – which is used by Managed Service Providers to provide remote IT services to the systems of organisations worldwide, including endpoint and patch management – is believed to have been breached with an update that rolled-out ransomware to many of Kaseya’s own customers.
REvil themselves claim the total number of encrypted user endpoints around the world may be as high as one million, and have demanded an unprecedented ransom of $70m in Bitcoin (around £51m at current price.)
On Friday, Kaseya advised all customers to immediately shut down any on-premises Kaseya VSA servers, to prevent hackers shutting off administrative access for future fixes – and ignore any communication from hacking groups while an FBI investigation was ongoing.
Access to Kaseya’s cloud-based SaaS services were initially shut down as a precaution, but has since been restored, and an endpoint detection tool has been published online here.
It is now believed that the exploit for Kaseya VSA had recently been highlighted by the Dutch Institute for Vulnerability disclosure, but early patches to rectify the problem had not yet been issued. In the 48 hours following the breach, more than 2,000 VSA severs were taken offline – suggesting that many organisations did heed warnings issued by the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and others – although Swedish supermarkets, New Zealand schools and many others have had systems crashed by encrypted data.
It’s 2021 but somehow the phishing email scams just keep coming.
You could almost miss the days when ‘Bill Gates’ would get in touch by email to offer you a shipment of diamonds. Modern email scams are much more sophisticated, the designs more convincing, and the payloads more dangerous – than ever.
Our advice remains the same:
Be wary of any unsolicited email or unknown contact.
Always look to see if an email is being sent from the correct domain.
Don’t open any unexpected or mystery attachment, or click links to unrecognised destinations.
If unsure, verify information with someone by asking via a communication method other than email (eg: by looking up a phone number separately from the email, and calling direct.)
Here’s our pick for some of the sneakiest our team have seen ‘in the wild’:
The Dodgy File Share (Deluxe Edition)
As useful as a crowbar in the arsenal of the burglar, cybercriminals have been using these ever since file sharing and collaboration apps took over the world – this one appeared even more persuasive for it’s nearly spot-on branding imitating a Microsoft 365 file share link.
But the Deluxe edition takes this scam to a whole new level – with just a mistaken click giving cybercriminals an automated account access, and even replying affirmatively to emails between users asking if these are genuine. Nasty.
The TV License
TV licensing is something many people buy once a year, often never receiving physical proof, and don’t think about much – making this a clever way to steal card details without arousing too much suspicion.
These often go the extra mile – making up fake customer numbers and renewal dates – to seem real, which can also identify the email as a scam if cross-referenced in your own records.
The Pandemic Phish
Cybercriminals don’t let little things like ethics get in the way of a good scam – with widespread public fear, and the NHS Covid vaccine roll-out in full swing, everything is an opportunity to hack accounts, steal information, or extort money.
Please be aware the real NHS will contact you via a combination of text message and/or post, and certainly won’t threaten you with the loss of your vaccine appointment if you don’t click a suspicious link.
Microsoft have announced a web-based version of Visio will soon be made free to all commercially licensed Microsoft 365 users.
The popular diagramming and visualisation app was originally a standalone license, but will transition to being offered as an inclusive web app for the first time, much like Microsoft PowerBI, Microsoft Project, and other historically specialist apps Microsoft have been keen to promote more widely.
Visio (Online?) is described an initially ‘lightweight’ version of the original, allowing business users to create, edit and share professional diagrams live within their browser – as well as integrate these with other apps such as Microsoft Teams, Office apps like Word or Excel, and even via PowerBI.
This new version will be available to all business users with Microsoft 365 Business Basic (or higher) subscriptions. Power users needing extra functionality (such as the ability to automatically visualise external data sources) will still need a standalone plan (Visio Plan 1 or Plan 2) to access higher level features.
A ‘Visio in Microsoft 365 Early-Access Signup’ Form is available here for keen diagram-makers everywhere!
Lineal are a certified Microsoft Gold Partner – for expertise and support, please contact us today.
As things re-open from Covid-19 lockdown measures, Lineal are taking some important steps to help keep everyone safe while we care for your technology.
Regular Staff Testing
This Spring we introduced regular Covid testing, with Lineal staff receiving Innova SARS-CoV-2 antigen rapid lateral flow self-testing kits.
All results are received within 30 minutes and are submitted twice weekly via the GOV.UK Covid-19 test reporting service.
Maintained Social Distancing
Although staff have returned to the office, we’ve maintained flexible remote and home-based working for many, with around three-quarters of staff working at least two-days per week remotely. Staff hot-desking is discouraged – a measure we’ll review over time.
Lineal’s front-of-house has been enrolled in the NHS venue QR code system since September 2020, for app-based track-and-trace.
We’re asking both staff and clients to maintain onsite social distancing & mask use during site visits, as a precaution.
Vaccination
We’re encouraging all our staff to book vaccination appointments as soon as their age group is eligible under the national NHS covid-19 vaccine roll-out.
At time of writing, this programme has now been extended to those in the 30-40 age bracket.
We’ll be reviewing recommended best practice regularly as NHS guidelines are reviewed. For more information, please contact Lineal today.
Gamma Communications have launched a new ‘PhoneLine+’ service to help micro-businesses prepare for the WLR switch-off due by 2025.
The new easy-subscription service allows micro-businesses, sole traders and other organisations with few lines to move to a low-cost and digital ‘virtual-landline’ style service that can even incorporate their existing analogue phone hardware.
However users can also leverage extra cloud-based features – including desktop PC/Mac softphone and mobile app access to their existing landline(s), call-redirection, number presentation, voicemail-to-email, automated open/close scheduling and other ‘business style’ features.
All existing analogue PSTN phone lines are due to be switched off by 2025, meaning businesses need to plan to either migrate their analogue phone services/numbering either to SIP-based technology or a cloud-hosted VOIP system that routes calls via the internet.
For the UK’s 6.5 million micro-businesses, many of whom rely on mobile re-directs or use a joint telephone number for broadband/voice calls, this presents a challenge, as Openreach is already upgrading the fibre network to FTTP – putting many small companies’ advertised numbering at impending risk.
Moving your phone service to PhoneLine+ is available via a simple email-signup process, with the option of porting across your existing number, and choosing between either a new VOIP handset or adopting your existing landline with an ATA adaptor.
Gamma Communications is both the UK’s largest SIP provider, and one of the most established VOIP telecoms providers: with around half a million phone users using its popular Gamma Horizon platform for business telecoms. PhoneLine+ is expected to prove equally popular, as the telecoms market extends to include smaller organisations, needing a more simple, flexible and cost-effective option.
For communications expertise and support, please contact us our team today.
According to a survey conducted by Gartner at the end of 2020, nearly one in five workers consider themselves to be digital technology ‘experts’ since COVID-19 – and over half consider themselves proficient.
Researchers suggest the increase in confidence (or overconfidence) is perhaps due to the increased reliance on collaboration tools such as Teams and Zoom and a lack of in-person IT support while working remotely – but found more than half (55%) of those surveyed were using personal devices for access to work systems/data, or privately obtained ‘shadow IT’ applications not sanctioned by their employer, at least some of the time.
The sample group, spread across US, Europe and Asia-Pacific regions among around 10,000 full-time employees at organisations with 100 or more employees in November and December 2020, analysed workers’ technological and workplace experiences.
Whit Andrews, distinguished research vice president at Gartner, argued: “Workers seized on the crisis” adopting “a wide range of technologies and applications in the space of a few months.”
Workers Shift Device Preferences
The Gartner survey found that digital workers increased their reliance on portable devices during 2020. Workers reported an 11% increase in the proportion of their work time spent on laptops, smartphones or tablets. The proportion of their time spent on desktops declined by 8%.
The findings also showed a rise in the number of workers using personal technology for work purposes. Over half of respondents reported that they use applications or web services that they personally obtained – most of which are not employer-sanctioned – for collaborating with other workers. The same proportion (55%) are using personally owned devices for their work at least some of the time.
“When organisations were forced to go remote in early 2020, workers started to rely on their own devices or programs they discovered themselves to make up for their employers’ technology shortcomings,” said Mr. Andrews. “In 2021, organisations can embrace this trend by expanding the choice of devices and software programs that workers can use with little or no friction.”
Flexible Work Supports Increased Productivity
One of the main questions lingering among executives regarding the impacts of the last year is remote work’s effect on productivity.
According to the Gartner survey, among employees whose work-from-home time increased since January 2020, 36% reported an increase in productivity, while 35% reported no change. Flexibility in working hours was the most cited factor enabling greater productivity, selected by 43% of respondents.
A quarter of workers surveyed did report that their productivity fell. Connectivity issues and technology changes were among the top reasons cited for decreased productivity.
“Digital proficiency becomes even more essential for productivity when working remotely,” said Mr. Andrews. “CIOs should extend worker-to-worker lateral mentoring and training to ensure that no employees are left behind as technology mastery becomes the expectation.”
For IT Support expertise, please contact Lineal today.
Apple has released important security updates under macOS 11.3, in response to a serious gatekeeper vulnerability discovered by security researcher Cedric Owens.
The weakness, found in Apple’s ‘Gatekeeper’ tool which normally blocks unrecognised apps from being installed by default, allows a dangerous file to be rigged so as to not trigger the operating system’s inbuilt safeguards.
Writing in a Medium Post entitled ‘Gatekeeper Bypass: 2021 Edition’, Owens demonstrates a terrifying method by which an attacker can ‘very easily craft a macOS payload that is not checked by Gatekeeper.’
Once launched, no warning prompts prevent the user from installing just about any dangerous application, which can also communicate with external servers without even triggering App Transport Security (ATS).
The simplicity of the hack, which leverages the fact that scripts placed in Contents / macOS / directory are not checked, has been described by Objective-See as ‘massively bad’ and ‘a doozy’ of a blog post.
GateKeeper itself was originally introduced in 2012 as part of an effort to stop the spread of malware in Mac OS X ‘Lion’ v10.7.5, and was followed by enforced application notarisation in 2020 under macOS 10.15 ‘Catalina’, as Apple required software developers to have apps officially cleared for authorised use.
In response to the discovery, Apple have released macOS Big Sur 11.3 update with ‘improved state management’ that prevents the ‘bypass’ of Gatekeeper checks, and are urging macOS users to install the upgrade.
For Cybersecurity expertise and support, please contact our team today.
Facebook and LinkedIn have both suffered massive data breaches, exposing the details of more than 533 million and 500 million user accounts respectively, it has been revealed.
Extensive leaked data from Facebook was reportedly found online by security researcher Alon Gal – including the personal information of 11 million UK users such as phone numbers, locations, birth dates and many email addresses.
It’s believed that the ‘hack’ may relate to a bug in Facebook’s friend-adding ‘Contact Importer’ tool which was fixed in September 2019. Previous breaches in 2017 fell before the introduction of GDPR, which Facebook argues absolved it of responsibility to notify users.
Questions still hover over the LinkedIn breach in particular, with the company claiming much of their data appears to have been aggregated from other sources, or (like Facebook) were perhaps not technically ‘hacked’ at all – but scraped in bulk from publicly visible parts of the popular professional website.
The huge cache of Linkedin data was thought to be on sale, after security researches found a 2 million user ‘sample’ advertised online.
A Facebook spokesperson told Reuters the social media platform will not inform users if their accounts were part of the breach, and Linkedin are yet to issue a statement on this point – although given that LinkedIn has around 740 million accounts in total, a clear majority of its users are likely affected.
Users of both platforms can check if their email addresses (and now phone numbers) were likely breached via either platform over at: https://haveibeenpwned.com/ – and are advised to update passwords as a precaution.
For IT Support and cybersecurity expertise, please contact our team today.
Android users around the world have reported problems with apps crashing randomly, following a widespread fault with WebView.
In particular, the problem seems common to email clients including Google Gmail, Microsoft Outlook, Yahoo! Mail and more – with one early warning sign being the repeated display of messages warning that apps ‘keep closing’.
It’s as yet unclear how the bug found its way into the live build of so many users’ hardware. In a statement, Google acknowledged they are aware of the fault, and advised users looking to self-fix the problem to uninstall Android System WebView.
A further fix was issued to Android as of 11pm Pacific Time on Monday which updates WebView directly. Webview is a piece of software which helps load content from the web and receives regular updated alongside Google Chrome.
So far only Google and Samsung support have acknowledged the issue directly, although it’s likely to affect all recent Android phones not yet updated to Chrome version 89.0.4389.105.
For IT Support and expertise, contact our team today
Microsoft have urged the system admins of on-premise Exchange email servers to upgrade in response to new breaches from state-sponsored hackers.
The Chinese group, known as ‘HAFNIUM’, are believed to have exploited previously undiscovered zero-day vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server 2013, 2016 and 2019 via compromised US-based servers. Microsoft Exchange Online or related services (such as Microsoft 365) are not affected.
CVE-2021-26855, CVE-2021-26857, CVE-2021-26858 and CVE-2021-27065 create a ‘perfect storm’ under which the attacker makes an untrusted connection to the targeted Exchange Server on port 443, and connects appearing to be someone with authorised access to add a web shell that grants a backdoor for future access.
HAFNIUM has previously been accused of industrial espionage and attempts to breach the technology of important private, public and national security organisations, including defence contractors.
As of 4th March, the Department of Homeland Security has also issued an emergency directive to all US federal agencies to urgently patch any on-premises Exchange servers by midday on 5th March.
For Cybersecurity advice and expertise, please contact our team today.
The UK National Cyber Security Centre have launched a new online Cyber Aware ‘Cyber Security Self-Assessment Tool’ to help small businesses.
Free to use, and aimed at organisations with fewer than ten staff, the short online questionnaire generates a handy to-do list of actionable cybersecurity recommendations and points to check, with guidance for each – depending on the answers submitted.
Questions are branching depending on the circumstances of each small business, but covers topics including backups, passwords, technology lifecycle management and more. Small business owners are also directed to useful plain-English resources to address each point highlighted.
Cyber Aware is a campaign launched by the UK National Cyber Security Centre (the public-facing arm of GCHQ) designed to provide simple guidance for individuals and small businesses to use technology more safely.
Support for Microsoft Edge Legacy will officially end on 9th March 2021, and the web browser will not receive any further security updates, Microsoft have announced.
The next Windows 10 monthly update, due 13th April, will automatically include the new (Chromium-based) Microsoft Edge and replace the legacy version automatically.
Edge was originally released in 2015 as a direct replacement and refresh for Internet Explorer, which was rapidly losing market share among the world’s most popular web browsers. Edge Legacy, which used EdgeHTML, was a programming fork of Microsoft’s ‘Trident’ engine that had been used in Internet Explorer 11.
The new Edge, released in 2020 and based on the same Chromium ‘Blink’ browser engine as Google Chrome, has proved more popular – and as of January 2021 looks set to overtake Firefox as the world’s third biggest web browser.
Enterprise organisations still provisioning the legacy version as standard are advised to plan their deployment of the new Microsoft Edge with the following set of steps.
Lineal are Microsoft Gold Partner – for IT expertise and support, please contact us today.
Approximately 50,000 UK customers have had .eu domains suspended, following Brexit.
The .eu domain registrar EURid has formally suspended 81,000 such domains as of 1st January 2021, following the decision that .eu ownership requires the owner to be resident in a country that holds membership of the European Union.
Many internationally trading UK companies hold foreign domain versions of their websites to assist trading overseas, support multiple languages, improve web performance in other territories and develop export markets.
Numerous IT services, including email, websites, directories and more are often also tied to domains which represent a key pillar of many companies’ authentication technology.
Many British domain holders cancelled their domains as the transition period approached – over 200,000 .eu domains held by UK customers were cancelled between 2018 and 2021, with registrars contacting customers multiple times to alert them to the changes.
Although the remaining 81,000 have not been not cancelled outright, UK customers have no way to recover these domains without being able to prove the owner holds citizenship of an EU member state, and provide a suitable registered address.
Britain’s exit from the EU also begins a countdown for these customers – who must either have an EU company representative to renew on their behalf, or face their domains put back up for sale again by 2022.
A number of major UK internet service providers (ISPs) have announced above-inflation broadband price rises for 2021.
Virgin Media says an average customer will face a 4% rise this year – announcing that the increase is part of a plan to invest £1 billion in its network infrastructure.
BT, EE and Plusnet have also amended their terms of service, and are expected to publish above-inflation price rises over 4% shortly. Sky have already raised prices, with some customers seeing increases of up to 10%.
Ofcom figures suggest market rates for broadband have remained broadly consistent over the course of the last decade prior to 2020 – driven in part by more of the UK being brought on-stream under Openreach’s superfast fibre roll-out.
Although network investment is likely to be welcomed, many customers will no doubt suspect ISPs are raising profits at a time that the UK is particularly dependent on home use of connectivity.
Where investment also supports fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) rollouts, the increase may also represent a regressive step – charging customers in less well-connected parts of the country with slower broadband to fund upgrades in already better-connected areas.
Approximately 41% of broadband customers are not in contract, and the best deals are gained by those who look for options rather than renewing automatically. New Ofcom rules mean that price rises from an ISP allow escape from contract terms, giving customers other options.
Contact Lineal – Placing your connectivity with a trusted IT provider can be both more organised, and sometimes better value. Contact us today!
SMS-based two-factor authentication, where the user typically receives a passcode text message to their smartphone that acts as a secondary confirmation of who they are, has been a staple of online banking and many other secure online services needing two-factor authentication (2FA) for over a decade.
However many now believes even SMS can be intercepted, and would rather sign users onto authenticator apps or issue secure keys with encoded passcode generation.
Official Microsoft statistics state that users who enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) on their accounts to verify identity block 99.9% of all automated account breaches. Using SMS-based two-factor authentication should not ‘stop’ doing so (despite the flaws of SMS, any 2FA is better than none) but users should consider swapping to other methods.
However this modification to Microsoft’s advice will see more of a driving force behind MFA as specifically biometric, authenticator app or secure-key based, rather than relying on mobile networks for one-time passcodes.
For cybersecurity expertise and support, please contact out IT team today.
Apple have announced a new range of Mac devices with Apple M1 Silicon Chips. iPad and iPhone devices have used Apple’s own ‘A’ chips for some time, but M1 will be the first Apple chipset in macOS devices – which previously used Intel chips under license.
M1 is expected to show exceptional performance – with the 8-core CPU matching comparable PC laptop performance while using only 25% of the power, and able to deliver over twice the speed of comparable PC laptop CPU performance at maximum power levels.
Autumn 2020 sees the release of macOS Big Sur, the latest update to Apple’s Mac operating system, which has been optimised for the M1 chipset and its integrated graphics – as well as offering new app features such as universality for all Mac apps across all M1 devices, and offering iOS/iPadOS apps vis macOS.
For Apple expertise and support, please contact our team today.
Lineal are delighted to be taking part in the new Petroc Techknowledgey Transfer project – aimed at teaching students to support businesses with special technology masterclasses.
The project will involve some of North Devon’s best known technology firm, and cover a range of different topics, including modern accounting, digital marketing, procurement, cybersecurity and other important business processes.
“Petroc’s Techknowledgey Transfer project is excited to be supporting local businesses alongside local business experts Applegate Marketplace, Maynard Johns Chartered Accountants, Lineal, LimeCloud and Barr Media to deliver an exciting new project.
We are inviting small and medium sized businesses to access support on business admin technologies. Our business partners will be delivering fully funded virtual masterclasses to eligible businesses. We also have student work placements available for some businesses. For more information, please contact- [email protected]”
One hundred small businesses will be selected to take-part in the student-led part of the Petroc Techknowledgey Transfer, which will also be a studied project to measure the benefits of technical expertise being applied to businesses.
Password managers help users remember all their passwords – but can be a much more powerful tool for dramatically limiting the damage in the event of a single account being compromised.
Criminals increasingly use credential-stuffing attacks where automated tools use previously-breached account details to gain access to the user’s other accounts.
A good password manager ensures you can use a strong, randomly generated and distinct password across each of your accounts to prevent any single breach putting other data at risk.
Keeper can also notify users when breached passwords are identified online, integrate with single sign on tools such as Active Directory, and enforce multi-factor authentication – all important considerations for organisations needing to maintain cybersecurity standards across large teams.
For added convenience, Keeper is available via the web, Windows/MacOS desktop clients, browser extension and Android/iOS mobile app.
For Cybersecurity advice and expertise, please contact our team today.
Facing an income shortfall of around £2m due to falling visitor numbers during lockdown, the Bletchley Park Trust, which is a registered charity, was facing extensive redundancies – some of which will now be avoided.
In a statement, Facebook said the heritage site was a ‘birthplace of modern computing’, and acknowledged the important strategic role the wartime location played in shortening the war.
Bletchley was home to a number of famous mathematicians, linguists and other intellectuals working in secret on behalf of the war effort, including Alan Turing – now considered the father of modern computing – Gordon Welchman, Hugh Alexander and others. At its peak, almost 10,000 personnel, around 75% of which were women, worked as part of Bletchley’s operation, who remained bound by the Official Secrets Act until at least the 1970s.
Google have re-branded GSuite as Google Workspace, in an effort to consolidate the Google software brand for business users.
The re-designed platform brings Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs apps, Google Meet and more all under one banner more officially, and follows other recently announced updates to the platform including new file deletion rules for Google Drive.
New collaboration tools for the post-lockdown world have been added – including simpler sharing of co-authored documents, previewing documents before opening them, and introducing popout video calling during co-authoring.
“…We’re bringing Meet picture-in-picture to Gmail and Chat, so you can actually see and hear the people you’re working with, while you’re collaborating.”
Existing Gsuite customers will not face contract changes for at least 12 months, although redesigned app icons and extra features will begin appearing during October 2020, and new Google Workspace customers will be expected to choose from the new licensing packages immediately.
More information for both existing and new customers is available on the officially rebranded Google Workspaces Blog here.
For knowledge of cloud services and excellent IT expertise, please contact our team today.
The original source code to Microsoft Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 has leaked online – nearly two decades after their original release.
Official support for Windows XP ended back in 2014, and the final security patch was a one-off release in 2017 released in response to the WannaCry ransomware attack that temporarily crippled large parts of the NHS.
According to NetMarketShare, Windows XP still accounts for at least 1% of all PCs that generate web traffic worldwide (around 25 million PCs) although may actually include many air-gapped factory PCs and similar in practice.
The 43gb data dump has been available to Government agencies and similar for a while, although it’s unusual that the public at large have the opportunity to discover zero-day exploits for an entire operating system. Microsoft urges that users should not still be using XP, and the outdated platform is insecure even for the oldest legacy services.
For IT expertise and guidance, contact our IT team today.
Google Drive trash will soon impose a new 30-day automatic deletion deadline on trashed files.
At present users may delete files, but these are retained indefinitely in their Google Drive trash until deleted manually – causing a loss of storage space, encouraging hoarding of files, and convincing users that they need not worry about file retention limits.
The change, which begins on October 13th, brings Google Drive more into line with Gmail and other free Google Services – as well as rivals such as Microsoft OneDrive and Dropox – which also auto-empty trashed files after set periods. New warnings inside Google Drive will notify all users.
You can learn more on the GSuite updates blog, published here. As before, G-Suite admins will have the ability to recover post-trash deletion for a further 25 days, although this is a hard limit and only available for active users.
AI lent a helping hand to one of our technical support teams last week to help Lineal save a local business from an email hack.
At 07:40 GMT on a seemingly normal week day, Barracuda Sentinel issued an alert to Lineal to say an account had been accessed from a suspicious location. It seemed a malicious actor, appearing to be from Nigeria, compromised one of a client’s finance department email accounts, and created a forwarding/delete rule in the inbox.
Barracuda Sentinel’s AI email protection caught the account takeover attempt, and as a result, we were able to mitigate and resolve a significant threat to one of our customers. Barracuda Sentinel detects both account takeover attempts and attacks launched from compromised accounts.
Corporate account takeover presents a significant new threat to business. Hackers gain access to email accounts and use them as tools to launch subsequent targeted attacks, internally and against external targets – who themselves fall victim.
Account takeover or attacks that originate from these accounts are almost impossible to detect as they don’t use the usual impersonation techniques—they come from a legitimate account and appear to be from a trusted source, allowing the attacker to initiate sophisticated financial scams.
Lineal automatically picked up the alert & create an incident in Barracuda Sentinel. Sentinel remediated the issue with an immediate password reset, disconnecting all active logon sessions for the user and deletion of any rules created during the incident time. Within 40 minutes this potentially disastrous event was avoided.
Barracuda’s worldwide threat protection network automatically gathers intelligence from inboxes around the world to deliver award-winning security, checking both inbound and outbound email to stop the spread of cyber-threats and malicious communications. To find out more visit our Barracuda Email Security page on our website.
This risk could have easily been mitigated by using any of Lineal’s services, such as:
Using Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) on the account,
Barracuda Sentinel-type tools to alert/remediate on compromise,
Having Azure P1/P2 licensing to allow the use of conditional access to prevent sign-ins from risky locations, untrusted countries, etc.
If you would like to find out more about Cybersecurity and how Lineal can help protect your business please contact us.
This year’s Lineal Client Survey 2020 saw hugely positive feedback, and record customer satisfaction results for our staff – thank you to all who took part.
2020 has been a turbulent year so far, but our positive improvement in the quality of our technical services continues from similar results during recent years. (Past Client Survey Results: 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016)
A record high number of you (76%) felt we “understand your questions and/or problems” “Extremely Well”. This is the most people who have ever awarded us the top grade, and represents long-term progress: over double the quality score we received back in 2015.
We asked an important supplementary question this year: how did you feel our IT Teams supported you during the Covid-19 lockdown specifically? Respondents graded us strongly, with a mean average of 4.45 stars out of 5.
For the first time, more than 70% of respondents considered our overall customer support “Great” – also the highest grade available, and twice our score from five years ago.
We also continued to make steady progress on our speed of responsiveness: more than 50% of you now feel we respond ‘Quicker’ than expected, and for the first time more than 20% of you considered us to be “Much Quicker” than expected – again: a rating we’ve doubled in recent years.
Lineal’s Net Promoter Score – an industry wide metric for good customer service which asks whether respondents with consider referring our services to a friend or colleague, rose to +56 this year, our best score to date.
Your feedback helps us identify areas of weakness where we still have room to improve: and to focus training and other resources on ensuring our clients receive the best service possible. In this coming year, we’ll be looking at ways to track our progress more steadily over time.
“Staff show an understanding of the issues and are dedicated to resolving them and formulating a constructive outcome cost effectively. It is not so much about a quick response and service, it’s more the fact that the staff take ownership of the problems.’
“We love Lineal. So helpful and understanding of our needs. No other company matches up to the efficiency of them. Big thanks to Paul and Hugo!”
“When we moved from Outlook 365 Home to Business we could not have had more support.”
“Fantastic service! They helped me find a replacement iMac when mine died, and the service they give is exemplary! Highly recommended! 10/10.”
For expert IT Support and technical services, please contact us today.
Many Adobe Lightroom users on iOS have suffered a crippling data loss after a faulty routine update.
Users who updated to Adobe Lightroom Mobile 5.4.0 on iPhone or iPad had their photos and software presets deleted unexpectedly.
Adobe, which develops a large suite of creative apps for the media and design-sectors, has apologised and issued an update for the fault, but made clear that the lost data is irretrievable to those without backups.
The software company’s statement clarify it is only a subset of Lightroom users who have been affected – specifically those:
Using Lightroom Mobile 5.4.0 on an iOS device (iPhone/iPad)
Without an Adobe Cloud Subscription, or with cloud sync disabled
Without a separate device or cloud backup (such as iCloud) in operation, independent of Lightroom itself.
This includes many free version users who would have trialled Lightroom without a full Adobe Creative Cloud subscription.
Users are advised to update to 5.4.1 to avoid the issue, although this will not restore lost photos. As always: please, please, please maintain an independent backup of all data you can’t afford to lose.
For IT Support and business continuity assistance, please contact our team today.
Qualifying businesses in many rural parts of the UK are eligible for a Voucher worth up to £3,500 to help get new leased-line fibre broadband installed under the UK Gigabit Voucher scheme.
The Government recently urged SMEs to apply, with Digital Minister Matt Warman MP arguing the £70m pot is “still there for the taking.”
But what is the Gigabit voucher scheme, and how does it work?
How fast is gigabit?
Gigabit broadband is 1,000 megabits/per second (around twenty-times the download speed of a normal domestic FTTC connection) and unlike conventional broadband, supports a ‘symmetrical’ upload rate that is equally as fast as the download.
In most cases however, SMEs will deliberately opt for a more limited connection speed on a gigabit ‘bearer’ (eg: 200Mbit/s up and down) to keep costs manageable, while retaining the capacity and option of regrading up to a maximum of 1,000 Mbit/s at a later date if needed.
What does the voucher get used for?
Most connectivity providers charge an installation cost on new Leased Line installations – normally based on the length of fibre cabling that must be ‘dug in’ to connect the business. The voucher is a refund to help offset this upfront cost. Businesses must pay the ongoing monthly connectivity charges as normal, but the voucher is intended to help firms overcome the initial barrier-to-entry.
I’d like £3,500 please.
Quite! Although the the voucher is paid direct to your chosen supplier. Once your business has applied and been deemed eligible, your supplier will submit your voucher with your details when you place the initial order for your leased line. After your fibre is dug-in and connected, the scheme will check that your service is live before paying your supplier the due amount.
If your install is less than £3,500 you are likely to only be awarded the relevant cost, rather than the full amount. In most cases businesses will be signing a leased-line term with their provider for the ongoing cost of connectivity – normally between one and five years.
Can I use my voucher via Lineal?
Yes! We use Gamma Telecom Ltd for fibre leased-line connectivity, who are an approved supplier under the Gigabit Voucher Scheme.
Why is this funding being offered?
Successive Governments have reasoned that investing in better broadband is good for UK business growth, but the logistics of physically digging in fibre cabling is left to third-parties such as Openreach. Those providers insist ‘hard-to-reach’ properties are not economic to connect under the regional FTTC and FTTP broadband roll-outs because of the upfront cost of this installation work, or that gigabit fibre to the entire country is only achievable over the long term. For the best return on investment, the Government wants to prioritise upgrading businesses that already suffer slow speeds.
Gigabit fibre installations to commercial properties are also a capital project – the physical fibre, once ‘dug-in’ to a business premises, may end up being used for years to come by future businesses who take over the site, allowing more companies to benefit from widespread upgrades to the existing infrastructure.
What are other businesses doing?
To date around £90m worth of vouchers have been awarded so far, and around 29,000 connections have already gone live. The Government’s election pledge during 2019 was for gigabit fibre for the whole of the UK by 2025, a target which is widely expected to be missed.
This leaves rural businesses dependant on inclusion in their regional fibre-to-the-cabinet broadband roll-out as a stopgap, hoping to be included in an early tranche of Openreach’s future FTTP roll-out, or looking to fund the upgrade to a leased lined themselves.
Help! We really are out in the sticks!
If the cost of your install is still too large, there are other options: such as pooling your vouchers with neighbouring eligible businesses, accessing faster connections via 4G or point-to-point link. Speak to us to learn more.
Lineal Software Solutions are excited to announced the public release of our next generation of SQLWorks software.
Version 10 of our flagship business management suite harnesses more advanced manufacturing capabilities for the first time – introducing brand new material resource planning (MRP) capabilities into our existing integrated accounting, CRM & stock control platform.
Automation is critical to productivity. SQLWorks MRP allows businesses to instantly gauge future demand for stock items & materials based on a flexible time horizon and existing stock availability, automatically generate purchase orders for approved suppliers, automatically roll-up part and cost changes through bills of material, and automatically create works orders for production centres on the factory floor.
“… We are clear that the faster adoption of technology will result in greater investment and in more manufacturing taking place in the UK.”
UK Gov ‘Made Smarter’ Manufacturing Review
These hotly-anticipated new features will help drive real business benefits, especially among manufacturing and logistics companies: including more intelligent and cost-effective purchasing, optimised stock holding, and coordinated forward planning of production.
Factory managers can now backflush manufactured items, auto-attach engineering documents, optionally roll-up updated part-costings from purchasing through the relevant kits, and even import new assemblies from popular engineering CAD software via drag-and-drop.
“… British manufacturing needs a factory reset.”
Mike Matthews, Lineal Software Solutions
MRP is an immensely powerful tool for running a business – and we’ve given users the ability to drill-right down into purchasing and production recommendations – finding the exact source of demand from potentially thousands of orders, to line level, with a simple double-click.
SQLWorks manufacturing abilities integrate seamlessly with other business processes across accounting, CRM and stock control – and we’re planning further extensions to functionality for release later in 2020: including detailed capacity planning, support for ‘Just-In-Time’ (JIT) style manufacturing, and more complex ad-hoc report building.
We’ve also made some updates to the visual identity of SQLWorks with this iteration to help make our software feel smoother and more accessible to new users, and expanded Lineal’s UK Software Development Team of Omnis developers to hasten our development cycle.
Mike Matthews, Lineal’s Managing Director, explained: “This is a terrific new leap forward for our SQLWorks software. The new release is our most advanced ever, and introduces powerful new manufacturing and logistical control to our existing business management tools.”
Measurable Business Benefits
One, fully-integrated platform
Heightened financial visibility
Hours of work duplication saved by automation
Greater manufacturing control
Optimised spending & stock holding
Genuine support for business continuity
“We believe the ability for industry to automatically complete important engineering tasks – like importing newly-designed assemblies, production planning, updating part costs and forecasting future operations – will prove a popular choice among manufacturers.”
“Post-lockdown many firms will be doing some serious soul-searching about whether their systems are really up to scratch. British manufacturing needs a factory reset. If you can’t innovate then you’re at a dead end, and modernisation will be an important part of the UK’s economic recovery.”
July 14th: as Microsoft flag a ‘Critical’ Level-10 DNS vulnerability on Domain Name System (DNS) servers worldwide, Lineal engineers rush to patch the infrastructure of dozens of organisations overnight.
The Microsoft Security Response Center recently released details of CVE-2020-135, a ‘Critical Remote Code Execution’ weakness deemed ‘wormable’ (potentially spreading between devices automatically) affecting all Windows Server versions.
A grade of 10.0 is the highest possible severity level that can be assigned under the Common Vulnerability Scoring System Calculator. For comparison the WannaCry attack, which temporarily crippled the NHS in 2017, had a CVSS rating of 8.5.
Lineal staff use remote monitoring software to administer large numbers of client servers and devices, monitor hardware health and deploy patches more rapidly – and were quickly on the case overnight to patch the vulnerability as a special emergency.
Within 8 hours we’d patched a large number of DNS servers – applying both an initial fix and further scheduled updates.
DNS is a naming technology which translates the identities of computers, servers and other networked devices into the IP addresses used for connecting on private and public IT networks.
For this reason, DNS servers often have massive reach, and must be carefully protected to mitigate the risk of compromising an organisation’s technology on a huge scale – even across the globe.
Israeli IT security firm Checkpoint Software Technologies, who discovered the 17-year old hidden bug and reported it to Microsoft, argue ‘this is not just another vulnerability’ and risks handing an attacker ‘complete control of your IT’ if IT admins fail to address the issue urgently.
For IT expertise and support, please contact our team today.
UK mobile networks have been instructed not to buy Huawei 5G equipment for their infrastructure by the Government, and must remove all existing Huawei equipment by 2027.
The landmark ruling came following an overturning of last year’s half-way decision to ban Huawei from the ‘Core’ UK network only – decided as a result of the UK National Cyber Security Centre’s 2019 findings that due to US sanctions affecting Google Android products, any Huawei chip manufacture removed from (Japanese-owned and UK-based) ARM could ‘increase the risk’ to the UK.
Huawei itself argues the criticism is a politically-motivated attack by Washington to hit the Chinese economy. The tech company is the World’s biggest provider of this kind of technology, as well as one of China’s most successful exporters.
China itself has undoubtedly faced more scrutiny from the international community in recent months, following news stories about the Chinese Government’s handling of Coronavirus, Hong Kong protests, the detention of Uighur Muslims in ‘reeducation’ camps, and the close connections between Huawei and the Chinese Communist Party.
All four of the UK’s big mobile providers (BT EE, Vodafone, Three and O2) all use Huawei equipment in their core networks, albeit to different extents. The decision also affects major broadband infrastructure providers, such as BT Openreach, and related ISPs.
In practice, this means 5G providers will be forced to look at alternatives from either Finnish-provider Nokia or Swedish provider Ericsson.
For IT expertise and support, please contact our team today.
Microsoft have previewed an exciting new set of Teams collaboration features in the June 2020 update.
Those on the more experimental Preview Build will be the first to receive the option for large Gallery View – expanding the video meeting grid to 7×7 for a maximum of 49 participants in a meeting. The maximum possible meeting attendance is also set to be increased to 300 participants.
With Schools around the world attempting to push ahead with e-learning, there’s also a new ‘Class Insights’ dashboard designed to monitor pupils’ engagement. Microsoft is promising ‘virtual breakout rooms’ – with centralised control via an organiser who can direct smaller groups to their own meetings and recall them to the main meeting when ready.
Multi Window support will allow users to create satellite calls, chats and more in external windows for better productivity – likely to be especially welcomed by those who use more than one display.
For those speaking English, live captions in meetings will be available in Preview Build to support extra accessibility.
Assigning Priority status to certain chats will allow users to receive custom notifications on important or urgent items. On the security side, external the PSTN numbers of dial-in users will now be masked to guest-attendees, and ‘screen-lock’ is compatible between Teams phones and the desktop app.
Teams phone hardware is receiving a host of new UI features, and for those interacting with more personal users, Teams calling has become inter-operable with the Skype app. This will allow more public facing communication between business Office 365 tenants, and those with Outlook.com acounts, Microsoft 365 consumer/student plans and similar.
The Free Teams Trial will also have one of its key limitations, the ability to schedule meetings, removed in a bid to encourage users to get the most out of one of the platform’s strongest features.
Cybersecurity experts are warning against a prevalent new strain of macOS ransomware for Apple devices dubbed ‘EvilQuest’ – packaged alongside pirated versions of popular apps.
Like most ransomware, EvilQuest encrypts all the Apple user’s files and demands a $50 ransom for decryption within 72 hours.
While many Mac users believe malware for Apple devices does not exist – this is simply untrue. The newest strain comes after similar infections spreading between Mac users in recent years, including KeRanger and Patcher.
EvilQuest is also a more sophisticated effort than most attempts by cybercriminals: the app is correctly code signed, with a very convincing installer, and even overpowers the Mac versions of common antivirus softwares such as Norton, Kaspersky, Avast, McAffee and Bullguard.
The trojanised software known to be used to deliver EvilQuest to unsuspecting victims are torrent download versions of popular Apple macOS apps, examples of which include Little Snitch, Ableton Live and Mixed in Key 8 – a popular DJ software.
Among the important steps Mac users should take to reduce the risk of macOS ransomware are:
Keep a regular, organised regime of backups, offline and air-gapped from the device itself.
Only download Apps from reputable sources.
Consider whether utilities like Malwarebytes and RansomWhere are needed as extra precautions.
For IT Support and cybersecurity expertise, please contact our team today.
macOS 11.0 Big Sur, unveiled in June 2020 at WWDC, is the newest version of macOS, set to be released this Autumn.
macOS Big Sur elevates the most advanced desktop operating system in the world to a new level of power and beauty. Delivering their biggest design upgrade since the introduction of Mac OS X. Experience and enjoy Mac to the fullest, with a refined new design and the biggest Safari update ever. Discover new features for Maps and Messages and get even more transparent around your privacy.
Mac OS X is finally finished, with Apple confirming that it’s officially moving to macOS 11 after almost 20 years of OS X (or macOS 10). This fall, users will finally be upgrading from the 10.X versions that Apple has been using for nearly two decades to version 11.0. It’s ‘MacOS’ from now on, much like ‘iOS’ and ‘iPadOS’.
Safari Updates
Safari is packed with new features, including a customisable start page, elegantly designed and more powerful tabs, quick and easy translation, and a new Privacy Report. A new weekly Privacy Report on your start page shows how Safari protects your browsing across all the websites you visit. Users can choose when and which websites a Safari extension can work with, and tools like data breach password monitoring never reveal your password information — not even to Apple.
In the biggest update to Safari since its original launch in 2003, the world’s fastest browser is even faster, providing industry-leading speed and battery life. Tabs have been entirely redesigned to make navigating with Safari faster and more powerful by showing more tabs onscreen. Displaying favicons by default to easily identify open tabs, and giving users a quick preview of a page by simply hovering over the tab.
Other newly Updated features
The updated Messages app lets Mac users send and receive more personal and expressive messages, and easily keep track of and interact within group messages. Maps also offers an all-new experience with immersive features for exploring and navigating the world.
macOS Big Sur delivers a spacious new design that makes navigation easier, while putting more controls at users’ fingertips. Overhauling everything from the curvature of window corners to colours and dock icon designs. A refreshed Dock displays thoughtfully designed icons that are both uniform and consistent in shape to match others in the Apple ecosystem. Buttons and controls for apps appear when needed, and disappear when not in use. The entire experience feels more focused, fresh, and familiar, reducing visual complexity and bringing users’ content front and centre.
The customisable menu bar features a new Control Centre, delivering instant access to the controls used most, from the desktop. And a new design for core apps brings more organisation to multiple open windows and makes interacting with apps even easier.
macOS Big Sur is available to developers, with Apple planning to make a public beta available to public beta testers next month. When it launches in the fall, macOS Big Sur will be a free update for all compatible Mac models.
For Apple device expertise and IT Support, please contact our team today.
This defining moment of the 21st century has provided ample inspiration for the world’s writers, bloggers and journalists – so far, 2020 has been a big year for tech.
Here’s some of our favourite technology articles from across the internet in recent weeks:
1. “… By now the silence from the UK government about the NHS app was deafening. What was going on?”
The Ransomware that Attacks your from inside a Virtual Machine – Sophos
3. “… In the rest of the building, only three people tested positive out of 927”
A fascinating diagrammatic look at how Covid spread through a single floor of a 19-story office building; researchers conclude duration of interaction is the critical danger to workplace safety.
An Analysis of three Covid-19 outbreaks, how they happened, and how they can be avoided – El Pais
4. “… In fact, Zoom is using its own definition of the term.”
Free public Wi-Fi is a popular service for retail, events and hospitality providers to offer, and increasingly becoming an expected service among the public.
This needs careful thought: not least technical considerations like how to keep public networks isolated from work networks, and providing strong enough connectivity to support the user environment.
But most importantly: how should a businesses or organisation to gain value back from providing free Wi-Fi? We take a closer look at some of the best techniques.
Authentication & Audience Participation
Most public Wi-Fi networks expect connecting users to ‘authenticate’ by providing details such as their email address or name, and often accepting some terms and conditions of use.
This can be a fantastic marketing opportunity to gather email subscribers, demographic data, survey product popularity, or simply count customers.
Alternatively, commercial quality systems like Cisco Meraki also offer hidden gems like Facebook Authentication – in which the user has to ‘Like’ the business brand or page to gain access. This kind of authentication is superb way of increasing your visibility online by leveraging value from public Wi-Fi – effectively asking the public to become your marketeers via social media.
Physical signage and other real-world marketing can also encourage visitors to share their experience of your venue or event online while their complimentary connectivity is available.
Targeted Advertising
‘Splash’ Pages loaded on the User’s device when they first connect are customisable on many business Wi-Fi platforms, and this creates a perfect opportunity to brand the experience.
Treating this like a regular webpage offers the chance to advertise offers that are time-sensitive, updated seasonally, or promoting key products.
Alternatively, if your audience is large or targeted enough, then this space can be treated like digital real-estate, and sold on as advertising space to others looking to reach an audience.
Footfall Mapping
By combining signal strengths from different access points and triangulating the direction, enterprise systems like Meraki are able to produce animated ‘heatmaps’ of footfall around a site or venue over time.
This is valuable information it itself for public-spaces and retail centres – who rely on being able to control or exploit human travel to maximise sales, minimise costs or optimise the flow of people.
Prompt for Reviews
You’ll never get a more geographically targeted audience than this – so why not ask the key question when it counts?
To online brands in particular, digital reviews are worth serious investment, and smartphone connections direct with the customer is a perfect opportunity to prompt via the web for useful feedback or survey customer satisfaction.
Alternatively ask publicly: and gather Google Reviews, Facebook Ratings, Trustpilot Stars, or any other feedback that is of value to your organisation en masse.
For Wi-Fi guidance and networking expertise, please contact our team today
To complete the challenge, he must run at least six kilometres every day throughout June, to exceed his one-marathon-a-week target.
Kevin decided to raise money for his chosen charities after wife Debbie, a nurse, was diagnosed with cancer herself twice during the past decade – and praised the support provided by FORCE cancer support centres across Devon.
The couple benefitted from counselling sessions, a breast-reconstruction support group, a course on life after cancer, pampering sessions and even travel insurance advice.
Debbie explained: “At the time I was first diagnosed there was nothing like this in North Devon. I found FORCE very helpful. At times it can feel like you are in the middle of nowhere not knowing where to turn. FORCE helped me to put things into perspective.”
Kevin has returned to running himself as part of a recovery: shedding five stone in weight since 2018. His fundraising target for the June challenge is £250 – but he hopes to exceed this at a time when many local charities will be struggling to fundraise.
On behalf of the whole team at Lineal: well done Kevin – keep going!
No need for a backup if it’s safely in the cloud, right? Wrong – here’s three reasons your team still needs to independently backup cloud data.
1. Retention Time
Popular cloud-storage platforms like Microsoft Office 365, Google G-Suite and Dropbox only retain deleted items in trash/deleted items for 30-days, with the longest ‘from beyond trash’ recovery being 90-days in some cases. Dropbox Pro and Business accounts may optionally extend this to 180 days, but this is still a limited window for many businesses.
Three months is not a long time – and users are often horrified to discover they can’t simply salvage a deleted file under any circumstances beyond this event horizon.
Astonishingly, this misunderstanding helps contributes to top cause of business data loss being… human error. Delete (an un-backed up) file in haste, and repent at leisure.
Advisable cloud-backup platforms such as Veeam Backup for Office 365 and Barracuda Cloud to Cloud Backup can be used to keep a fully automated and distinct backup of cloud-based data, well beyond the default retention limit.
2. Single File Recovery
Some cloud storage platforms only allow the user to recover one file at a time – designed as they are to be used by large numbers of users interacting with individual files. This feels very practical, until it comes to a situation where an organisation needs to restore larger quantities of data in one go – such as cases of widespread malicious deletion by an employee or hacker.
Even on a relatively serviceable 50Mb/s broadband download connection, 1TB of data would take more than five and half-hours to restore centrally – and some platforms even require each file to be restored individually via manual control. In the short term, this might put significant pressure on a business or organisation’s ability to function.
This is something often ignored in Business Continuity planning – not just whether recovery is possible, but how long will it take. More comprehensive backup options normally allow a full, automated restore, either to the existing platform or an entirely new environment.
3. The Email Problem
Despite premature claims of email’s demise, many users still keep their entire working life in their inbox – including not only communication, but attachments.
Having moved traditional Exchange servers to the cloud, businesses often don’t have a backup for these (even in text form) beyond that of files. Why should email be any different?
A much better solution, and one that guarantees better sleep, is to put in place a backup service that includes your email estate, that is fully indexed, searchable and restorable for when you need it most.
For IT Support and backup expertise, please contact our team today.
In a statement, easyJet says that a “highly sophisticated cyber-attack” discovered in January 2020 compromised email addresses and travel details of roughly nine million travellers. For 2,208 customers, credit card information was also accessed.
No further detail has yet been publicised as to the nature of the breach, although the company stated that it had “closed off unauthorised access”.
The bad news comes at a difficult time for airlines, as air-travel has declined dramatically in the wake of Covid-19 restrictions. When faced with a similar situation in 2018, British Airways received a large financial penalty of £183m from the Information Commissioner’s Office.
The airline are making contact with all affected customers warning extra vigilance towards ‘unsolicited communications’, due to the heightened risk of phishing attempts from criminals masquerading as easyJet who may have gained access to customers’ personal details.
Under new GDPR guidelines introduced in 2019, it is mandatory that breached organisations report to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), who are currently investigating.
For cybersecurity and IT Support expertise, please contact Lineal today.
Gamma Communications have officially launched Teams Direct Routing, allowing organisations which use Microsoft 365 to make Microsoft Teams your phone system.
Teams Direct Routing is a simple monthly bolt-on to Teams-enabled Microsoft 365 licenses, that allows the user to make or accept normal voice calls via the UK phone network.
But what about the actual… phone? Yes, end users can use either the Teams mobile app for their smartphone on iOS/Android, or their PC/Mac – however hardware manufacturers are surprisingly close behind: with Poly and others announcing hardware officially approved to operate a Microsoft Teams based phone system.
Poly CCX Series Teams Phone Handsets
This makes Microsoft Teams a compelling choice as a full-business phone system, with call-routing, voicemail and many the other features commonly associated with work phones – available ‘through’ Teams.
Each user’s overall license package comprises three parts: two Microsoft elements including the user’s Microsoft 365 license that includes Teams, the ‘Phone system’ (PBX) bolt-on, and one from Gamma – the Teams Direct Routing Bolt-on itself.
All this is backed by the remote-working flexibility of Microsoft 365’s cloud infrastructure and Trust Centre – better yet, the monthly cost of extending Teams in this way is a tiny fraction of the upfront cost of buying a traditional business phone system and unifies the user’s other key work communication tool (email) under a single account, calendar, and set of security permissions.
With a user-base of over 70 million daily active Teams users, Teams itself is a workplace juggernaut given extra momentum by the important need for home-working driven by Covid-19. Although Microsoft themselves also offer direct routing call plans that integrate with Microsoft Teams, these do not include the numerous extra functions extensively supported by telecommunications suppliers, such as flexible number porting, extra control over redundancy and business continuity plans, and other related considerations needed to better ‘manage’ an organisation’s communications.
Teams Direct Routing is likely to prove an extremely popular choice for companies seeking to modernise, and ‘get the most’ out of Teams. Take our advice: this one is going to be big.
For more information on Microsoft 365 and Teams, click here.
For more information on Microsoft 365 licensing, click here.
For more information on how Microsoft Teams can be deployed as a full phone system, please contact our team today.
Microsoft have announced Reply All email storm protection for Exchange Online – designed to prevent crushing organisational reply all email chains.
By default, the feature will detect ten reply all emails to over 5,000 recipients within 60 minutes, (what IT admins jokingly call a ‘reply-allpocalypse’) and will block further sending to prevent the problem escalating.
A particular problem in large organisations, email storms begin when large numbers of recipients click ‘reply-all’ either to respond or ask to be removed from the chain – massively multiplying the overall number of emails passing through Exchange servers.
If you find yourself stuck in a big reply all email storm, the guidance is simple: Do nothing. Do not reply to the email. Replying only makes the problem worse for everyone in the email chain, including you.
Reply all email storms have plagued large organisations. The NHS was infamously struck by a server-crushing 500 million emails in less than two hours on 14th November 2016, after an IT contractor accidentally sent a test email to everyone with an NHSmail email address – approximately 840,000 people.
Microsoft itself became one of the first test cases during the “Bedlam DL3” incident of 1997, when a user emailed 13,000 company addresses. Other users unaware of how many replies they were sending asked to be removed, and by the time the storm had subsided a terrifying 15 million emails had been sent – far beyond the capacity of late-90s email servers.
Reply-all email storm protection is currently being rolled-out to Microsoft Exchange Online and packaged services including Microsoft 365.
For IT Support and expertise, please contact Lineal today.
The UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) are officially removing the technical terms ‘Whitelist’ and ‘Blacklist’ from their organisation in an effort to be more inclusive.
The terms ‘Whitelist’ and ‘Blacklist’, which refer to lists of permitted and not-permitted things in the cybersecurity world, will be replaced with the more literal and accurate ‘Allow List’ and ‘Deny List’.
Prolific spam email domains for example are often ‘Blacklisted’ by system administrators – a negative association the NCSC feels should not, even inadvertently, imply a connection to skin colour.
The organisation, a more public extension of GCHQ, acknowledged in a statement on their website that whilst “…it’s not the biggest issue in the world…”, the organisation is acting positively in response to requests from the public, is making an effort to be more inclusive, and that using such terms might otherwise have impaired the recruitment of valued “future colleagues.”
‘Blacklisting’ also has an unfortunate connotation with an illegal practice of barring whistle-blowing employees and trade union members from working across certain sectors, which has a history within the construction industry among others.
Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and others have made similar terminology decisions – deciding that pejorative references to colour should not be used in cybersecurity terminology.
For IT Support and cybersecurity expertise, please contact Lineal today.
Microsoft Teams will soon gain the ability to display video-call participants in a 3×3 (9-person) grid, among other new Teams features.
The new teams features improve on the current limit of a 2×2 (4-person) grid – one notable limitation when compared with popular rivals such as Zoom.
Other features being added include custom-backgrounds, a ‘raise-hand’ feature similar to that used in Citrix GoToMeeting webinars, audio-sharing and call recording for 1-1 direct calls. The iOS version on mobile/tablet will also gain Teams’ background blur feature used to obscure the caller’s surroundings.
Recognising perhaps that Teams is still new to many workplace settings there has been a revised focus on hardware for new teams features: ‘Teams Certified’ audio/conferencing devices are now available, and the new Teams push-to-talk ‘walkie-talkie’ mode designed for field workers is currently in preview.
Playing catchup with Teams’ dramatic surge in popularity – to over 44m daily users and 1000% more calls during lockdown across the globe – Microsoft are also overhauling the Teams Admin centre to give admin users more visibility and control over meetings, usage and group policies.
Lineal are a certified Microsoft Gold Partner. Learn more about Microsoft Teams, or contact us today.
Common scams include pretending to represent Government, law enforcement or medical authorities to obtain information or financial payment, blackmailing users with threat of infection, donation requests for fake organisations, and malware distribution – including one new ransomware even dubbed ‘Coronavirus.’
In a joint statement published in April, the UK National Crime Cyber Security Centre and US CISA (Dept. of Homeland Security) notes the sudden rise in Covid-19 scams, and even highlight instances of SMS text-messaging phishing attempts mimicking UK Government text alerts.
In the example cited, a fake compensation payment is offered to entice the user to hand over details via an imitation UK Government website.
There has also been a growth in online hackers and trolls targeting Zoom and other video conferencing platforms. Users unfamiliar with this kind of software in particular may prove an easy target for cyber criminals.
Phishing scams are part of a larger trend of online Covid-19 themed fraud. In March, the NCSC removed around 500 fake online shops claiming to be selling fraudulent virus-related items over the internet.
Google currently estimate that Gmail filtering is blocking over 100 million phishing emails each day, and that almost 20% of online email scams now refer to Coronavirus (around 18 million) – likely to be the largest phishing ‘theme’ in history.
For cybersecurity expertise and assistance, please contact Lineal today.
As businesses and their staff begin to adapt to the UK’s Covid-19 lockdown, we take a closer look at how IT Support requirements have shifted.
After two weeks of IT Support call volumes to Lineal rising significantly, queries have begun stabilising as the organisations and companies we support, and their employees, become more accustomed to working from home.
In parallel, the nature of IT tickets we commonly address has also altered, with a majority of support queries involving either virtual private network (VPN) or remote access assistance – even overtaking email in the short term.
We’ve seen renewed interest in cloud-based services, including Microsoft Office 365 tools, Gamma Horizon hosted telephony, and Azure-based computing, as well as portable hardware shortages – with major distributors keeping things moving but reporting limited availability of new laptops, headsets and power cables.
In-house, Lineal’s own use of Microsoft Teams has increased noticeably as staff work remotely. Following an initial lockdown practice drill in early March, activity graphs show three weeks of increased Teams collaboration between staff – including audio/video conference calls, chats and screen-sharing.
We’re keeping things moving and continuing to support all our clients fully throughout the the Covid-19 lockdown; if you have any feedback or ways we can improve our service, please let us know.
For IT Support and technical expertise, please contact Lineal today.
Lineal SQLWorks company Diamedica (UK) Ltd., who manufacture specialist medical solutions, are providing vital support to the NHS as part of the UK Government’s Ventilator Challenge:
Developed by Lineal’s in-house software development team, SQLWorks integrated business management software, is the core of Diamedica’s accounting, order-processing, stock and production control.
“…Diamedica (UK) Ltd confirmed today they are playing a critical role in the Government’s efforts to accelerate production of ventilators to support the fight against COVID-19. Diamedica’s ventilator designs were shared with the Cabinet Office team leading the challenge, who have been able to match the plans with specialist manufacturers who are able to start ramping up production quickly, and at scale.
Diamedica are now providing consulting services to the matched specialist manufacturers who are contracted to produce ventilators.
Robert Neighbour, Managing Director, commented “We are exceptionally proud to be a part of the effort to deliver ventilators for the NHS. Our product is already the leader within emerging markets and has now been selected to support the UK’s fight against COVID-19. I want to thank our team here at Diamedica for their dedication and efforts thus far, and all the manufacturing partners who are critical to this effort.”
For further information please contact Charlotte Green, Head of Sales and Marketing at Diamedica (UK) Ltd.”
The world is on lockdown, but not all is doom and gloom – as people unite during a period that can only be described as one of the most challenging times we have faced in decades. Our ways of life have been put on pause, travel and holidays are no more; our freedom of movement halted.
But this is only temporary and there will be an end to this crisis. There is a global rise of togetherness and tough times don’t last – but tough companies do.
What good can come out of this chaos and uncertainty? There is hope: here’s some good news stories you might have missed:
Everyone gathered on door steps, in their gardens, on their balconies each Thursday. There have been so many positive reviews, news stories and comments – but this one stood out with the videos really displaying a united Britain https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/27/thank-nhs-clap-carers/
Social media users sharing details of home schooling ideas, new hobbies, fitness programmes, baking tips, and virtual tours streaming of galleries, museums, and zoos.
Remote working, although daunting and perhaps challenging at first isn’t too bad after all, no travelling, productivity levels high with less distractions, contact is still possible and chat on Microsoft Teams or Zoom is the new normal.
Time is the greatest healer and as we have the time to reflect, appreciate the smaller things in life. Spend time with your children, your pets, your significant other – you may be with just them, for a little while. Take some time out to look out the window, if you go for a walk notice how spring is arriving.
One thing we don’t know is how long this will all last, all we do know is there will be an end – we’ll get through this and Lineal’s team are here for you when you need us.
Mozilla have released an urgent patch to version 74.0 of Firefox, notifying browser users around the world that it’s time to patch Firefox again.
The timing of the new patch, which also affects the ‘Extended Support Release’ (version 68.6) suggests that the latest update fixes a vulnerability which (at worst) may have been live in the browser since July 2019.
Mozilla’s official announcement from 3rd April categorises the impact as ‘Critical’, and states that ‘we are are of targeted attacks in the wild abusing this flaw’.
The precise details of the security flaw have not yet been published, although we know that the issue refers to a ‘use-after-free’ function by which the browser frees up previously occupied memory back to the device – with online cybersecurity blogs speculating that any new contents of the relinquished memory may still have some level of access to the browser.
Community-led Mozilla, whose popular Firefox browser is still the World’s second-most popular desktop browser, suffered other critical security flaws as recently as January – when the US Department of Homeland security took the unusual step of instructing users to urgently update their browsers following the discovery of a vulnerability which granted potential access to the operating system.
Google have released aggregated smartphone location data which shows the UK under lockdown.
According to the newly published ‘Community Mobility Report’, in which Google GPS data from the location settings of Android phones is broken down by country, the UK has seen a dramatic drop in those going outside during March, as people stay in lockdown for the duration of the Covid-19 crisis.
‘Retail and Recreation’ visits, which includes restaurants, cafes, shopping centres, theme parks, museums, libraries and cinemas are down 85% against normal rates, and ‘Parks’ show a 53% decrease.
‘Transit Stations’ including public transport hubs are down an astonishing 75% as people remain at home rather than travelling.
‘Grocery & Pharmacy’ visits show a smaller decrease, at 46%, as people continue to shop sparingly for essentials.
However, Google GPS data varies across the UK – with Google warning readers not to compare rural and urban areas. Remoter parts of Scotland and Wales are less consistent both in lockdown severity but also available data to measure.
This measurement difficulty is something also noted by the Kings College Covid-19 sympton tracker app, which gathers self-reported data from across the UK and has risen rapidly up the Google Play and Apple App Store app charts in recent days.
Data for Devon suggests the lockdown is being observed slightly more strictly, with even lower rates of shopping and leisure trips being made compared to the UK average, but marginally higher attendance at workplaces and at public transport hubs.
The UK’s biggest telecoms providers have agreed to remove data caps from Home broadband packages during the Coronavirus lockdown.
Although most UK home broadband packages now come with an ‘unlimited’ data allowance (subject to fair usage), many legacy products still enforce a data limit which may incur financial penalties if exceeded. Much like mobile data contracts, historically these were usually set at a specific monthly data usage, eg: 200GB.
The move follows discussions with the Government and telecoms regulator Ofcom, who are seeking to support vulnerable customers during the Coronavirus lockdown.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has also stated that the measure will be ‘effective immediately’ and help ‘people to stay connected whilst they stay at home.’
As more and more of us are starting to accept remote working as the new norm, it may still feel unnatural and difficult for those who have not experienced this before. Keep calm and carry on – Lineal are here to help.
Remote working out of the office or from home has increased by nearly a quarter of a million over a decade, according to the office of National Statistics.
We may have lost the face-to-face daily contact with our colleagues and friends, but this does not mean we cannot stay in touch easily and efficiently;
Through phone calls
Messaging
Video calls
Business platforms such as Teams
With the current global crisis, for most of us we may feel like we are in uncharted waters. A lot of people have had to adapt to working from home, with no planning and little time to prepare for the change. There are many questions:
How do you set up a space where you can focus?
How do you stay connected when you can’t meet face-to-face?
Why does it feel like it’s never the right moment to take a break?
It’s inevitable that some employees will have questions and may struggle adapt.
So what have we learnt so far?
Microsoft’s article – Making the switch to remote work – is an interesting read, with 5 lessons on how they have approached working from home, and ideas of how best to overcome common hurdles. The current situation has compelled Microsoft to take a new look at everything from scheduling meetings to the way teams are managed.
In particular, protecting your employers and employees mental health is very important:
Wake up at your normal time, but enjoy a little longer to get ready.
Have some breakfast an extra cup of coffee, as you don’t have to face the stress of the daily commute – No traffic jams, public transport or queuing, bonus!
Then structure your day like you would if you were in the office.
Organise meetings, speak to your colleagues, call your customers and suppliers, adapt your ways of working.
Be productive and proactive, there are many solutions available to you, and Lineal are here to help, if you need us.
There are also various positives for remote working, both for the employee and the employer:
Increased productivity – working remotely increases productivity work that needs focus by 16 per cent
Higher morale – a study showed that those who work from home love their job more than those who work in an office.
Higher employee retention
Less stress – one in five employees say that juggling their work and personal lives is the main cause of stress
Some of us may be lucky enough to have some four-legged furry colleagues keeping us company instead on a day to day basis.
Keep calm and carry on, and if you have any IT concerns please contact the Team here at Lineal Software Solutions Ltd.
OK – don’t panic: try and make a quick list of everything you commonly need to work in the office. Then contact our IT support teams via [email protected] and 01271 375999
Cloud-based services such as Microsoft Office 365, G-suite and Dropbox should still work via your web browser as normal (but please ask if you run into difficulties.) However, if you have systems that are based at your workplace, you might need to ask Lineal for a VPN in order to gain remote access (see below.)
Check out our tips for happy remote-working here, and some great deals for remote workers here.
If you have a Gamma Horizon phone system, we’re offering several months of free Gamma Collaborate licensing to extend your phone system to mobile/desktop devices – to support remote working. Please let us know here.
Can you help me set up a VPN?
Yes – as you might expect, this is currently our most requested support ticket type! Please speak to your support team via [email protected] or 01271375999.
How do I access ___[system]___ or line-of-business applications.
The answer to this will vary depending on the system, the security permissions at your company, and where it’s hosted – please speak to your support team via [email protected] or 01271375999.
Are Lineal extra busy?
Yes – our call and support ticket volumes have increased around 30% over the past two weeks, however these are still at perfectly manageable levels.
How do I set up my desktop PC at home?
We can walk you through ‘which-cable-goes-where’ if you’re unsure, but if your work-now-home-PC isn’t configured how it normally is in the office, please just speak to our support teams for remote assistance: [email protected] or 01271 375999.
Why might I need a ‘VPN’?
A Virtual Private Network gives direct access to your workplace network from home. If you have technology which is only available in the office (eg: an accounting database or CRM system based on your own server) these won’t be accessible outside without first connecting via a VPN.
If you have cloud-based services such as Microsoft Office 365, Dropbox, G-suite, webmail, Salesforce or other online services, these should be available through your browser as normal.
Help! I can’t buy ___[hardware item]___ anywhere!
You’re not alone: we’ve seen stocks of laptops, convertibles, power cables and others run low from many UK suppliers. If you’re having trouble sourcing something, please contact us via [email protected] for a quote, and we’ll do our best to find your request direct via distributors.
I think ____[service]____ is down, but maybe I’m just confused. How do I tell?
It’s first worth heading over to DownDetector.com to see if there are issues reported with major UK providers, such as mobile networks, cloud services and broadband ISPs. If you’re unsure, please speak to our support teams.
Will the internet/service_x fail due to high demand?
No, but we do all need to act responsibly. Much like with supply chains and emergency hotlines, capacity needs to be used sensibly by everyone.
Please don’t stream 4K or High Definition video unless it’s really necessary, and expect some of the bigger cloud computing providers, like Microsoft and Google, to dial down the responsiveness of some connectivity-intensive bonus features to help accommodate the extra computing demand around the world.
How do I use my work phone system remotely/from home?
Depending on who maintains your phone system, you might need to speak with your provider for either remote access or call re-directs.
If you have a Gamma Horizon phone system provided by Lineal, we’re offering several months of free Gamma Collaborate licensing to extend your phone system to mobile/desktop devices – to support remote working. Please let us know here
For IT Support & technical expertise, please contact our team today.
With growing numbers of employees out of the office in response to Coronavirus, we’ve assembled some great deals, discounts and freebies available online for home-workers, remote-workers, and many others.
Discounted ESET Antivirus
You’ve started using your home laptop or PC for work so you can keep away from the office? You’re not alone.
For companies that don’t have Office 365 collaboration software already, Microsoft are offering a 6-month free trial of the freemium version of Microsoft Teams – permitting audio/video conferencing, document sharing, instant message and more across PC/Mac, tablet and smartphone.
Perfect for working from home, the freemium version does include low data limits (10GB shared, 2GB personal) but Microsoft have temporarily lifted the user-limits to accommodate more businesses.
Discounted MacBook Air
This past week Apple have cut the price of their ultra-portable, highly popular MacBook Air model to £999 inc VAT.
Famously small enough to fit inside a Manila envelope and perfect for taking home, the latest lightweight model is made from 100% recycled aluminium, comes with a 13-inch Retina display, and boasts a 256GB solid-state hard-drive – twice the previous storage capacity. Extra discount is also now available for Education customers.
Free Gamma Collaborate
For businesses and organisations using Gamma Horizon phone systems with us, Lineal are offering a minimum of two-months free trial of Gamma Collaborate for all users.
Gamma Collaborate extends your deskphone to the Horizon app on your mobile, PC or Mac, and includes instant-message, audio/video conferencing, screenshare, presence notification, extension dialling and more. If you have call-handling settings like hunt groups or number presentation set up, this will work automatically from the new devices.
As of last Thursday, audiobook giant Audible.com have launched a free service called ‘Stories’ to introduce free audiobooks to children (and indeed, re-introduce much-loved classics to adults.)
Available in multiple languages, you can discover Audible stories here.
Adobe Creative Cloud for Students
Adobe are making Adobe Creative Cloud apps available to all existing higher education students and educators users free of charge, until at least 31st May 2020. Registered institutions must enrol for access beyond their existing campus desktop apps, but you can learn more about the opportunity here.
Peloton
For the restless, exercise app company Peloton has extended its free trial to 90-days – the infamously expensive Peloton bike itself is not required, and classes incorporate yoga and other kinds of work-outs to take advantage of throughout the shutdown.
For technology assistance and IT support: please contact Lineal’s team today.
This week Microsoft Teams gained 12 million daily users, bringing the total to 44 million globally. During the past few days, Microsoft have raised cloud computing capacity by 600% to support this surge in demand for remote-working tools.
If it’s all new to you, or you’re working from home for the first time – never fear!Lineal haveassembled some of the best online Microsoft Teams resources to help users of all levels.
We’ll update this ultimate guide to Microsoft Teams to include valuable new videos, examples and training materials as we discover them.
Members of Lineal’s Software Development Team were recently invited to join the Omnis Software Engineering Team for a special 2-day visit focusing on development work regarding web features within SQLWorks.
Software engineers from both companies focused the dedicated day on the implementation and deployment of Lineal’s recent online work including business-to-business (B2B) trade ordering portals and online user survey systems.
The SQLWorks Team at Lineal wanted to thank the staff at Omnis for being excellent hosts and helping to craft an extremely useful and informative visit.
Omnis technology has underpinned Lineal’s SQLWorks Business Management Software (integrating accounting, stock control, CRM and manufacturing) since the early 1980s. Lineal’s Managing Director Mike Matthews is a part of the international Omnis Technical Committee, and Lineal staff regularly help coordinate and take part in EurOmnis, the international Omnis software developer conference.
For Software development advice and expertise today, please contact our team today.
We recently attended the 2020 Gamma Communications Roadshow at Stamford Bridge – hearing the latest business telecoms and technology trends from across the UK. But what do businesses need to be aware of?
Clock Ticking for ISDN
BT will officially turn off all ISDN services by 2025, with the ‘stop-sell’ order coming as early as 2023.
With UK businesses just getting used to putting ‘2020’ on paperwork, this is no longer a drill – if your phone system uses ISDN, your business needs to begin preparing to switch to a digital services such as SIP or better still, a hosted VOIP platform.
There are perhaps as many as 1.5 million ISDN channels still in use by businesses across the UK. Gulp.
Ultrafast Fibre Rollout Gathers Pace
Superfast broadband (‘Fibre to the Cabinet’ or FTTC) prices are falling all the time, but the big story of the decade is likely to be the steady roll-out of ultrafast ‘Fibre to the Premise’ to many more businesses – to around 40% availability over the next few years.
Salisbury is the first single-year rollout ‘test’ area trialling complete fibre infrastructure (booking a new copper line in the Salisbury area is likely to be rejected).
Interested in fibre for your area? Perhaps you should speak to your friendly neighbourhood IT provider…
Not all 5G is born equal
We’ve known for a while how the smallest of the UK’s four mobile networks (Three Mobile) is arguably in the best position to deliver data, although it’s now becoming clear Three has an enviable technical advantage over some of the other major providers – and is even using the cheeky marketing slogan: ‘If it’s Not Three, It’s Not Real 5G’.
The reserved spectrum range favours Three to such an extent that EE/BT, O2 and Vodafone have all submitted strongly worded complaints over preferential access. Gulp.
Microsoft Teams Telecoms Emerges
Among Gamma’s most exciting news was the announcement of a Direct Call Routing service for Microsoft Teams – which effectively plugs into the back of Teams and Microsoft’s ‘Phone System’ PBX add-on, to turn your Microsoft Teams software into a fully fledged business phone system.
Until now Microsoft’s Teams platform has been a strong option for video/audio conferencing, screenshare, instant messaging and collaboration – but have always lacked the more robust business call-handling feature-set of true phone systems, or suffered from a shortage of physical handsets. With both of those challenges solved by Gamma and the Teams app available on a variety of devices, it’s easy to imagine Teams phones appearing on desks.
Direct Routing for Teams is expected from April 2020. The final pricing is likely to be somewhere in the region of between £15-25 a month per user (including Microsoft Office licensing) – finally unifying telecoms under the same single user account as Microsoft Office 365 hosted email, files storage, office apps and collaboration software. Watch this space.
For communications services and expertise, please contact our team today.
Edit: This article was originally published a few weeks before the first national UK COVID lockdown, 2020 – and has been left in its original form.
“All Staff Meeting” it said in the diary, and that was unusual. While both Lineal’s technical and non-technical teams meet regularly, it is rare that they are all required to gather at once on a Monday. Something was up.
“Tomorrow…” announced Mike, “… you’re all going to work from home. Lockdown: you have two hours to prepare.”
Tuesday 10th March would be a complete quarantine drill day. Staff would attempt to replicate everything Lineal does while working remotely – from home in most cases, but in physical isolation from each other. The scenario would be a practice run for either a coronavirus isolation scenario, or a catastrophic on-site evacuation incident such as severe flooding.
We would be permitted to visit clients if required, make preparations for home working, and to remove any equipment we might need from Commercial House in advance – providing we did so within the 2 hour advance warning period.
The business operations of our clients would remain critical throughout, so everything would need to operate as normal, with the quarantine remaining effectively ‘secret’.
(Lineal staff first begin finding out about the quarantine drill. Approx. 1430hrs Monday.)
The problem with working in a technology business is that you rely on a lot of technology. Two hours isn’t a long time to coordinate twenty-six people, so putting Lineal’s Business Continuity Plan into practice isn’t as easy as asking if everyone has memorised the document.
First: untether from the desk. Staff without laptops would need to be issued them quickly, and everyone remove their device from the building. Fears of a burgeoning black market in charging cables proved unfounded, and by late afternoon everybody had what they needed.
“.. those who have had close contact will be asked to self-isolate at home for 14 days from the last time they had contact with the confirmed case ..”
(Gov.uk, “COVID-19 Guidance for Employers and Businesses”)
Web-based and other cloud services such as Microsoft Office 365 would be accessed over home broadband connections, with the same security controls as staff normally use while remote working.
Good luck everyone!
As always, IT Support engineers would depend on remote assistance software to help end-users, and need to ensure good communication at all times. Throughout the process, staff were encouraged to note their experience of the experiment and highlight issues for review.
Secure access to Lineal’s internal networks, and all the systems that sit behind it, would be granted to our team via a secure Virtual Private Network (VPN).
Top tip #1: Familiarise yourself with the mobile hotspot on your smartphone, because the 4G connection is a useful way to test that your VPN will connect successfully, before actually leaving your place of work.
Tuesday Morning
Everyone was connected remotely to all our business continuity systems, which granted access to Lineal’s in-house telephony, shared workspaces in Microsoft Teams, and SQLWorks business management software.
Without a physical desk phone at home, staff would instead use a desktop softphone on their PC, continuing to handle and transfer calls exactly as before – relying on status indicators to gauge each other’s availability, similar to how they would with their existing desk phone.
Microsoft Teams would permit instant message and document sharing – and facilitate video conference calls and screen-sharing with clients who were often otherwise unaware that Lineal’s offices had gone dark for the day. Teams rapidly became the preferred method of quick communication between individuals or small groups – with a rapid problem-solving chatter sitting below the level of email.
Incoming and outbound call volumes were actually slightly higher than usual, as staff continued not just taking customer calls, but calling each other more regularly due to the lack of physical proximity. The relative ease through which individuals would usually interact was replaced through Teams, and more conference calls, later reflected in higher Teams user activity.
Lineal Microsoft Teams User Activity: 3rd – 10th March
Top Tip #2: To enable full home-working, you need not just a unified communications tool, but more call volume ‘capacity’ than normal.
Full remote-working is an interesting exercise because it forces your team to reconsider elements of the operation everyone takes for granted. For example, our teams regularly make use of meeting rooms and spaces at the Lineal office in order to work on projects and meet with customers.
In a geographically distributed “virtual” world, these meetings need to take place in different ways. Generally, tools like Teams make an excellent substitute and the result is a far more focussed experience which achieves the shared aims of the meeting, but with slightly less social interaction than you would expect when meeting face to face.
(Business as usual, with rising call volumes)
Although the practice of full home-working is dramatically easier than it once was, and potentially hugely cost-saving, several staff reported feeling a little isolated. We’ll be incorporating all our staff’s feedback into our Business Continuity planning, and continue to make improvements.
How to Plan:
Have a Plan Saved in your email drafts – detailing what needs to happen in the event that a significant number of staff need to be sent home. Worry about things in this order:
1. Basic Connectivity & Communication
How will your staff connect to your IT remotely, and how will they communicate with each other. The checklist runs as follows: hardware, cables, broadband and communications tools. These are the most fundamental tools for both work, and circumventing any other problems your team encounters.
2. Access to Work Files
In the short term, staff otherwise isolated from systems can still process documents productively – If you’ve moved to Office 365, G-suite or cloud-storage platforms like OneDrive or Dropbox, this should be easiest workplace task to provide access for.
3. Access to Databases
Operating cloud-based? That will help. However, remotely connecting to non-cloud, ‘on-site’ systems such as accounting, stock control and other vital software will rely on external access to your network – for example via VPN.
This is likely to be unfamiliar to many end users used to working from the office – start with the users that most need it for the continued operation of the business, such as mission-critical staff or more senior accounting managers.
4. External Permissions
What systems do you need access to that are operated by third-parties. Remote equipment? Agency resources? Supplier portals? If these are web-based they may be accessible from anywhere, but make sure this is the case. To dramatically simplify this one, don’t run an IT company!
5. Support Structure
If you’ve never worked entirely from home before, it can feel strangely isolating. Guidance from NHS England currently states coronavirus self-isolation should last as long as two weeks, so check regularly that your team are coping OK. Encouraging emails, chat channels, funny gifs, team calls and the like are more important than you might think.
***This page will be updated with links to new guidance, as required.***
For business continuity technology and expertise, please contact Lineal today.
Microsoft have combined the mobile versions of its Office programs into a single new Office app, uniting Word, Excel and Powerpoint under a single banner.
It’s true that Microsoft would prefer you use their whole Office 365 suite of apps, but the combination isn’t just strategic – the new mobile Office includes a whole toolkit of new abilities better optimised for mobile.
A number of typical tasks people might tackle when using a smartphone, such as PDF signing, reading QR codes, photo-to-document conversion or scanning PDFs with Microsoft Lens, are all ‘baked in’ to the new mobile Office version, with Microsoft clearly trying to maximise awareness of these lesser-known extras.
Such tools are activated from a new ‘Actions’ menu aimed at simplifying the controls users have to input to complete common tasks, as part of Microsoft’s Fluent design scheme.
Microsoft Word comes with a new dictation ability (which may be familiar to those using the desktop app) that supports speech to text. It’s hard to imagine users writing lengthy documents this way unless forced not to type, although assembling plain text into a OneDrive file for others to collate, or editing changes into an existing project might be more practical.
Excel is, of course, not a natural fit on mobile – where individual cells remain a bit fiddly on a touchscreen. Even so, there are improvements here too: Excel ‘cards’ simplify wide Excel rows into a simple summary, which ensures the user doesn’t have to open an unwieldy spreadsheet to find information.
Again, there’s an awareness here – that very few users will seriously attempt heavy editing via mobile, but access and convenience is critical for a workforce that increasingly operates on the move. Powerpoint presentations can also be created from a bullet-point list: not a work-of-art perhaps, but potentially a lifesaver at short notice.
Outlook, Teams, OneNote and the other Office 365 apps remain independent (for now) although it’s easy to imagine some of these also being merged into the combined app in future, as Microsoft seeks to build a seamless experience between the different productivity apps of the popular Office package.
In a diplomatic move, Office also includes support for popular third-party storage apps including Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud and Box.
Google have released the new developer preview of Android 11, with technology ready for 5G and support for virtual-reality overlay options within apps.
Developer previews are designed to encourage 3rd-party app developers to stay ahead of the curve, and test the compatibility of new features, prior to the release of Android 11 during the Summer.
This time around, the much-hyped release of 5G requires Android handsets and app developers to adapt to the new technology: including operating-system to assess whether connections are metered or unmetered, and unlock boosted computing options if data speeds are sufficiently high.
Some of the improvements are also being driven by hardware trends among the big manufacturers – including new support for folding-screens and the ‘pin-hole’ style cameras that sit within the screen extent of the phone.
An ‘Only this time’ choice will be added to security preferences which allows for a one-time exemption to default security options. This is already the case with standard apps (such as your default browser) but will now apply to system tools such as the phone’s GPS, microphone or camera.
On the flip side of this, more of the phone’s intrinsic features (such as phone/messaging apps) will begin behaving more like their popular 3rd-party app counterparts – allowing persistent notification ‘bubbles’ that can be re-positioned on screen for a more fluid experience.
At present Android 11 will only operate on Google’s own flagship ‘Pixel’ range of smartphones, but expect the OS to begin appearing on other handsets from June 2020.
For Business Mobile expertise, please contact our team today.
At time of writing, around 83 million trees have been planted worldwide across at least 16 countries – and assuming you don’t clear your browser settings, Ecosia also keeps a total count of your personal searches. Supported by Microsoft Bing, Ecosia’s searching is encrypted, results are not stored, and data is not sold to any third-party advertisers.
Around 45 searches equates to one new tree – so get searching!
Video Conference, Don’t Travel
Business travel, especially air travel, isn’t as necessary as it used to be, and it’s increasingly difficult to justify time spent sat in traffic.
Video conferencing was once a bit of a standing joke, but with responsive video quality, devices with in-built microphones/cameras/speakers, and better internet connectivity, the technology is much more practical than was once the case.
For an easy way to gauge the costs involved, add up mileage expenses for a week, month or year, and ask which meetings really had to be conducted by travelling. If that expense could be saved, so could the planet.
Use an Eco Button (Or Don’t)
There are a number of gadgets available that prompt office workers to turn off their screens, most famously the ‘Eco-button’ – a bright green light-up USB button which you hit to switch your PC into sleep mode. On startup, a small application praises your efforts by displaying your CO2 and cost saving to date.
Unfortunately this is arguably an example of greenwashing. The plastic device (probably shipped from China) isn’t actually necessary to enable device sleep settings – Windows 10 already has handy power-saving options available, so aside from the software recording your savings, the button mainly serves only to raise awareness and act as a fun reminder.
Hopefully each eco-button might one day have saved enough CO2 to justify its own manufacture… maybe. But with a little vigilance, this ought to be achievable without quite so much plastic.
Return your old Router
Switching broadband services often means a new router, which isn’t ideal for cutting plastic waste.
Some ISP’s allow users to voluntarily return a redundant router for recycling, in an effort to cut down on routers being piled up in cupboards, and ensure fewer of their devices ultimately end up in landfill.
BT recently announced this scheme will soon be compulsory, and new customers who fail to return their BT router for recycling at the end of the contract using a pre-paid return envelope will face an extra charge of up to £50.
Alternatively, many local councils now allow the recycling small electrical items with household recycling, so there’s little excuse for throwing out this kind of equipment.
New customers will face a fine of up to £50 if they decline to return their BT router at the end of the contract, British Telecom have announced.
BT operates a scheme to recycle old routers, which will soon become compulsory, in an effort to reduce electrical waste and cut the volume of unrecycled broadband routers being sent to landfill.
Entry-level Broadband routers from many major providers are locked to a single Internet Service Provider (ISP), which often causes spare routers to pile up in cupboards when customers switch broadband supplier.
The move follows a pattern of UK companies trying to bolster their green credentials, in the wake of Extinction Rebellion and other environmental movements gathering increased public support.
As subsidiaries, the BBC reports that the scheme will also ‘eventually’ apply to EE and Plusnet broadband customers.
Increasing numbers of local councils in the UK now offer direct recycling of small electrical items, reflecting a noticeable rise in the value of copper and other useful materials – giving home users few excuses not to attempt to recycle their old router.
For IT support & expertise – please contact our team today.
Lineal Software Solutions Ltd. recently welcomed Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid MP to Lineal’s Barnstaple Offices to tour our operations and see our technical work.
Visiting with North Devon’s new MP Selaine Saxby, Mr Javid toured Lineal’s different departments and had chance to meet technical staff in a number of different roles (and enjoy a cream tea!)
Considered one of the most senior Cabinet positions, the Chancellor is responsible for financial and economic matters at the Treasury. A former Managing Director at Deutsche Bank, MP for Bromsgrove, Culture Secretary and then Business Secretary, Javid is the first British Asian to hold one of the Great Offices of State.
For IT Support and technical expertise, please contact our team today.
The US Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have advised all Mozilla Firefox users to urgently update their browser versions, following discovery of a vulnerability that grants potential access to the operating system.
The unusual warning comes after Mozilla itself admitted being aware of ‘targeted attacks in the wild abusing this flaw.’
It’s 2020! Looking back at recent years, we thought we’d share articles we wish we’d written – some of the most fascinating and most thought-provoking technology pieces from across the internet.
1. “… Close to a fifth of the entire world’s shipping capacity, was dead in the water”
Surely a Hollywood movie waiting to be made. Couriered by hand from Ghana to London, how one last hardcopy backup saved a $55 billion coporate empire from total destruction.
NotPetya – The story of how Ransomware nearly destroyed Maersk Shipping – WIRED
4. “… everyone has different lifestyles and levels of paranoia”
A scorched earth strategy against data-hungry Google is more possible than you might imagine: with some handy tools from Google themselves to eliminate your account piece by piece.
How to set your Google Data to Self-Destruct – NY Times
5. “… I stared at the cursor. Eventually, I typed “nytimes.com” and hit enter. Like a freaking dad.”
Google Chrome 79 will contain a Chrome hacked password alarm to notify at-risk users.
‘Password Checker’, which first appeared in October, will regularly compare user passwords saved in-browser against publicly-known data breaches.
The service will feel familiar to those who’ve tried the (often terrifying) but essential https://haveibeenpwned.com/ – which shows visitors where their email addresses have been compromised.
Chrome’s update is being gradually rolled out to new users, and is available within Settings > People > Sync and Google Services > Other Google Services, and is named ‘Warn you if passwords are exposed in a data breach.’
The alert mechanism is just the latest in a series of attempts to push users to safer browsing: 2019 also saw Google Chrome actively warn users of websites without valid security certificate, and penalise such websites in Google search rankings.
Chrome 79’s new hacked password alarm mechanism should prompt systematically when account credentials need password updates, and allow users to keep their accounts secure.
For IT support and cybersecurity expertise, contact Lineal today.
Lineal Software Solutions Ltd recently won a Tech SW award at the 2019 Tech South West Awards.
Held at the Exeter Mercure Rougemont Hotel,the Tech South West Awards recognise technology excellence across the wider South West region of Bath, Bristol, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Awards celebrate talent, creativity, business success, education, leadership, diversity and more.
Each ‘Cluster’ Award celebrates fantastic organisations and technical initiatives across different parts of the South West. This could be a company achieving fantastic growth, an organisation or partnership delivering a big positive difference to their community, a learning initiative, innovative programmes, novel ways of encouraging and celebrating tech heroes, diversity, best practice or local tech successes.
This year Lineal won North Devon’s Cluster Award, and also narrowly missed out on winning ‘Tech Company of the Year (Revenue under £5m)’.
Managing Director Mike Matthews and Naomi Williams (Business Development) were proud to collect our Tech SW award, and our glass trophy now enjoys pride of place in our office!
“We were honoured to be the recipient of one of the first Tech SW awards” explained Mike: “It’s a real endorsement of our team’s hard work and our commitment to delivering brilliant technology solutions for businesses and organisations across the South West.”
Lineal will continue to grow and develop – we look forward to next year’s Tech SW awards, which you can learn more about here: https://www.techsouthwestawards.co.uk/
Thousands of devices were left with broken browsers this week, after a Google Chrome experiment rolled out a hidden change to the world’s most-used browser.
Launched exclusively on ‘stable’ versions, the update left IT admins around the world puzzled at blank tabs that refused to load.
The test initiated a new WebContents Occlusion feature, designed to reduce Chrome’s device resource use for tabs while not currently being viewed – no doubt part of Google’s effort to address Chrome’s reputation for heavy resource usage and the ever-increasing pattern of users deploying more and more tabs during the shift to cloud services.
Online forums were suddenly filled with complaints from system admins fielding complaints from users and businesses all over the world – including US wholesaling giant Costco, who claimed their entire call centre environment was unavailable.
Larger organisations typically use device control to specify applications such as which browser an employer uses – which left System Admins at large enterprise businesses unable to simply direct users to an alternative browser, and furious that Google can roll-out unexpected changes to the platform.
Google has now issued an apology:
“After the rollout, we received reports that in some virtual environments, Chrome on Windows displays a blank page, which may be because Chrome mistakenly believes it’s covered by another window. As soon as we confirmed the reports, the feature was disabled.
“If Chrome on Windows is displaying blank pages, restart Chrome. On the next start, this feature will be disabled.
We also want to provide an explanation of how this change was rolled out. For some features, Chrome uses a gradual rollout process that happens more slowly than the main rollout. This allows us to quickly revert a change if we discover a bug that wasn’t uncovered in prior testing.
Once we received reports of the problem, we were able to revert it immediately. We sincerely apologize for the disruption this caused.”
For IT Support and expertise, contact Lineal today.
An online crowdfunding campaign has been launched to pay the mobile roaming bill of migrating eagles being tracked the Russian Wild Animal Rehabilitation Team at the Siberian Environmental Centre.
The thirteen tagged Steppe Eagles, being tracked via bi-hourly SMS messages containing GPS coordinates, ran up a hefty data roaming bill after migrating across countries as far afield as Egypt, Georgia and India.
One eagle, named ‘Min’ by researchers, unexpectedly flew from Kazakhstan via Iran, initially losing signal but then sending a backlog of messages at high rates, before crossing into Saudi Arabia and reaching as far South as the Yemen.
At a cost of 7,000 roubles (£85 per day), Min quickly used up the programme’s entire budget for tracking all 13 Eagles, forcing the Russian team of environmentalists to turn to social media for financial support.
Considered endangered by the IUCN, the Steppe Eagle once commonly reached as far afield the Ukraine, but researchers were unprepared for expensive data charges across the Middle East, which can be three-times higher than those in the Russian Federation.
The centre’s crowdfunding campaign has raised more than 250,000 roubles (roughly £3,000), although Russian telecoms provider MegaFon has since agreed to write-off the wayward Eagles’ data roaming bill debt as a gesture of goodwill.
How secure is your password?… One of the biggest reasons for security breaches is weak passwords. People often choose passwords that are too short. Regardless of how tedious it seems, make it a point to update your passwords regularly; use upper and lower case letters along with symbols and numbers.
The key measurement of password security is entropy. This, in computer science terms, is a measurement of how unpredictable a password is, based on how long it would take an attacker to work it out by making a guess at each character. As a standard, longer passwords are by definition more secure and harder to crack. In the table below you can see how shorter/easier passwords, are quicker to crack.
What should a password look like
Strong, secure passwords have a lot in common; they are usually long, unique, random and involve a mixture of lowercase and uppercase letters as well as special characters and numbers. Trying to create passwords that comprised of all of these aspects, can sometimes be challenging.
Most insecure passwords are the result of our human behaviour. People do a lot of very predictable things and in general find it difficult to be random, especially when they are actively trying to be. For instance putting special characters only at the beginning or end rather than mixing them up in the middle, or using common phrases and keyboard patterns. So that we can remember we often try to use memorable pieces of information but we should always, where possible, avoid clues and references to our personal lives.
Where can I go for advice
There are many articles online to help assist with what a strong password looks like. At a recent event Lineal ran with the South West Police Regional Cyber Crime Unit, which focused on cyber security, password strength was highlighted as a high risk for many businesses and individuals.
To find out more, or if you require any help with ways to help protect your business, please contact the IT support team at Lineal.
Email remains a, if not the, key threat vector for protecting organisations from cyber crime – with around 90% of cyber attacks beginning by compromising an unsuspecting user via email.
Today we take a closer look at some of the clever tricks of Barracuda’s email filtering & security service, and why the small investment to protect your inbox is worth it:
Attachment Scanning
In addition to profiling every email which passes through its live email filtering service in seconds, Barracuda scans each email attachment for signs that the contents might be malicious.
As cyber criminals begin to use more sophisticated means, it’s worth implementing this to prevent macro-enabled office documents, infected PDFs and similar file download tricks from catching out users who might be curious to open a dangerous attachment.
Outbound
Barracuda email filtering scans not just incoming, but outgoing emails from your hosted mail service or mail server, ensuring not only that your clients are protected from suspect emails, but that staff cannot circulate threats further within your organisation.
Anybody familiar with being caught in a reply-all ’email storm’ knows how quickly bad email can spread internally – be part of the solution yourself, not the problem.
Email Spooling
In the event that your email service falters, clients quickly begin receiving bounce-backs, which leave a poor impression of customer service.
This is avoidable – routing via Barracuda’s email servers, emails will temporarily ‘spool’ like planes stacking over an airport, ensuring onward delivery later when the service comes back online. This ensures any unfortunate interruption to communications is not immediately visible to your clients.
Long Term Recovery
Hosting your email in the cloud with Microsoft Office 365? Everything is backed up in the cloud, correct? Not quite – even Office 365 has a 30-day recovery period on deleted email, and emails can ultimately only be restored individually.
This retention period can be longer, or even unlimited, with Barracuda email backups, making sure that emails can be recovered long after staff have deleted them, accidentally or otherwise.
This extra silo of automated email backup protects not just against employee negligence or malpractice, but also common digital breaches such as compromised accounts.
For cyber-security and IT expertise – please contact our team today.
Apple have released MacOS Catalina, 2019’s update to the Mac’s leading operating system.
Catalina introduces a number of new features, including ’Sidecar’ dual display, new media systems, Mac Catalyst for developers and Screen Time activity monitoring.
Although we say it every year, the endless march towards a unified Mac/iPad operating system feels another step closer: macOS Catalina introduces ‘Sidecar’ – which allows an iPad to be the secondary monitor for your MacBook. In addition to being a smart productivity trick for those needing extra screen space, the iPad is able to perform new functions such as an extra high-resolution display for those with impaired vision.
MacOS Catalyst, released in the latest version, also makes it easier for app developers to publish their apps across both MacOS and iPadOS operating systems, with the implication being that Apple see the devices as very much part of the same software universe.
Apple have shuffled their media services options around this year – replacing iTunes with new services named Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and Apple TV. In addition, the new Apple Arcade gaming subscription service has been launched, with a fixed-subscription service for an unlimited package of games.
Screen Time introduces activity monitoring, with either productivity or parental control clearly in Apple’s sights. Downtime allows users to share time away from the screen, categories or individual apps, and includes shared visibility across multiple apple devices.
As always, it’s worth waiting a short time for others to discover any early release-bugs in the new operating system update, before updating promptly.
For Apple device expertise and IT Support, please contact our team today.
Microsoft are offering an initial ten free Charity Microsoft 365 licenses for Nonprofit organisations.
Microsoft 365 allows users across an organisation to work more flexibly, collaborate on shared work and maintain an ‘always-up-to-date’ software base across a charitable organisation.
The flagship ‘Microsoft 365 Business’ cloud IT bundle, which normally retails at £15.10+VAT per user per month (Or £3.80+VAT per month for NonProfits) includes everyone’s favourite Microsoft Office 365 apps such as Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook and more. 50GB of Exchange Online email hosting per user is also included as standard, with 1TB of cloud OneDrive storage, and Windows 10 Pro licensing for each user’s device, packaged with a host of organisational security features.
Lineal’s Head of Technical Services Matt Norris explained: “This is a super offer which we’re expecting to do some real good in the Charitable sector especially – and hopefully nonprofits will snap up their free Charity Microsoft 365 licensing while it’s available. Office 365 makes flexible working and collaborative projects much easier, advantages that we know are a key concern for many in the voluntary sector.”
Mike Matthews, Lineal’s Managing Director explained: “We’re delighted to be shortlisted for the Tech South West awards – it’s a real recognition of our team’s hard work, creativity and dedication to be ranked among the best in the region.”
“2018-19 has been really quite something for Lineal. We’ve opened new premises, taken on bigger projects than ever before, expanded our product offering to new areas, and signed a diverse range of new clients.”
“It’s fantastic to make it through to the final round of this prestigious award.”
Tech South West exists to champion excellence among tech companies, and make the South West a hub for technology and innovation.
The awards will be presented in a special ceremony at Exeter Castle on Wednesday 27th November – a full shortlist of nominees and categories has been published on Tech South West’s website, here.
Every year we ask you, our valued clients, to give us feedback on how Lineal has been doing recently, and how we might be able improve.
This year, Lineal posted some of our best customer satisfaction results to date: our client survey 2019 posted a stunning 92% of you rating our overall customer service either ‘Great’ or ‘Good’ – a record high, and a similar 92% felt we met out mission statement as a company, a further small increase on 2018.
We’ve worked hard to develop team structures and training programmes in the past year, with some promising results. You rated the extent to which we understood your technical queries strongly – 95% of you believing our support teams understand your queries either ‘Extremely Well’ or ‘Very Well.’
Our speed of response also continues to develop. More than a third believe Lineal acts ‘Quicker’ or ‘Much Quicker’ on IT support tickets than expected, with just 3% of respondents believing we responded slower than expected. This is our best responsiveness score in five years.
The trend towards a more diverse range of IT services was shown again in client survey 2019: more than 15% of you now recognise Lineal’s ability to deliver specialist consultancy, networking & cybersecurity expertise, and more than 55% recognise us as a provider of managed cloud IT services.
We’re not perfect: among the constructive suggestions raised this year were that we perform routine website security updates out-of-hours to maximise availability, and that we help to provide more training material for newer products.
Your feedback help us highlight potential areas of improvement for our staff, and define our focus for the coming year. Among our favourite comments from this year were:
“Keep up the great work guys! Exciting times ahead…”
“I have had a pretty good service. Your staff are always polite and do not get too technical with me.”
“It is great to see a friendly face at our front door – you just know that your problem will be solved.”
“I’ve been very impressed with the level of service I have received from Lineal over the last 2.5 years at [Client] and would have no hesitation in recommending you guys”
Apple have made headlines this week with the release of new iPhone 11 models at their annual Autumn hardware release event.
New models include the mid-range iPhone 11 ($699), and flagship iPhone 11 ‘Pro’ ($999) and ‘Pro Max’ (6.5” larger form factor) options.
The latest design has divided opinion – with the irregular hole design of the extremely powerful triple-camera on the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max models in particular unsettling those with trypophobia.
On paper however, some truly impressive camera features have been included as a result: including wide-angle and night-mode photography that is finely optimised for low light levels, as well as 4K and even 120fps slow-motion video recording.
Apple have heavily doubled-down on photography and videography for the selfie-generation this year. The cluster of three telephoto lenses even theoretically allow the user to shoot different shots simultaneously from the same iPhone, although it’s hard to imagine anyone but the keenest of photography nerds making use of such a feature.
At $50, the standard dual-camera iPhone 11 more affordable than last year’s iPhone XR, and there’s a hint that Apple are calibrating for the sweet-spot of what consumers will accept at a time when Apple’s critical new hardware sales are actually declining. However, as numerous publications have noticed, the lower value of the pound is likely to make the current generation of iPhones still feel more expensive for UK customers.
Other headlines are as expected: Apple have extended battery life once again, offered a new range of colours, the ‘toughest glass ever‘ and stated a revised focus on device privacy, one of the remaining key strengths of Apple devices over Google Android rivals.
In a throwaway line, it was also confirmed that iPhone 11 will be ready for Wi-Fi 6, but not 5G – a subtle suggestion perhaps that Apple believes 5G may be an innovation still slightly over-hyped by the tech industry. Perish the thought.
Microsoft have announced dark mode for Microsoft Office 365.
Dark mode will extend muted and low-light colour schemes across Microsoft’s suite of Office 365 apps, and across Office.com, beyond the Outlook dark theme introduced last Summer. The improvement comes just in time for the newest releases of iOS and Android smartphone operating systems.
Adding low-light themes has become a popular addition for the major tech players in recent years – with Apple and Microsoft making significant strides in adapting their operating systems to be easier to use after-hours.
Office 365’s development team point to the changing nature of work: that office users increasingly use battery-dependent devices (such as laptops, tablets and smartphones) that need to conserve power, over desktop PCs with fixed power connections.
Today’s workforce is much more mobile, often working from home at night, in shared office spaces or even darkened aeroplanes – and are more aware of the health dangers of eye-strain and sleep deprivation that can be caused by unnaturally bright screens.
Instead the focus is on a more ‘relaxed’ viewing of Office 365, with Outlook even able to automatically able to switch to dark-mode depending on the hour and date dynamically, or when the user has enabled battery-saver.
Dark Mode is expected to roll-out to Office 365’s 200-million users in coming weeks.
Lineal are certified Microsoft Gold Partner – for Office 365 expertise, licensing and support, please contact us today.
Rumours circulating online suggest Apple may be planning multiple iPhone 11 models – with square multi-lens camera clusters and glassy coloured casings, photos of the materials or which were leaked online in May.
Remaining releases are likely to be mainly iterative, including iOS 13 for iPhone, iPadOS and even WatchOS 6. MacOS 10.15 Catalina is also expected to be a key part of Apple’s showcase.
The tech giant is likely to see the iPhone 11 announcement as a chance to help reverse hardware sales trends – which Apple now curiously no longer publishes in full, asserting that devices sold is ‘less relevant today than it was in the past’ a likely marker of the iPhone market slowing down as consumers hang on to their devices for a longer replacement cycle.
Apple is also expected to launch it’s own gaming service, dubbed Apple Arcade, as an online subscription service akin to an iTunes for gaming – just one example of how the company is increasingly re-focusing its efforts on premium service offerings, rather than luxury hardware.
For Apple hardware, expertise, accessories and support – please contact our team today.
But is it true; are passwords doomed? Enter the FIDO2 Project – a fascinating effort to ‘Move the World Beyond Passwords’ led by the FIDO Alliance industry association and World Wide Web Consortium.
Headlines aside, FIDO2’s aims are ambitious: to replace passwords with a flexible device-based authentication standard that allows users to log in via biometrics or temporary security keys.
Unique to each website, not stored centrally and not transmitted, FIDO2 argue this standard naturally scuppers phishing, password theft and replay attacks – and introduces some privacy advantages sure to woo even ardent digital rights activists: such as the inability to track users between sites.
While still technically possible, cheating biometrics requires the kind of preparation not common to everyday opportunistic cyber-criminals.
The big players are taking note: Google plans to ‘begin’ retiring passwords for Google services accessed via biometric enabled smartphones (such as those with fingerprint scanners) and Microsoft is planning similar changes to apps in Windows 10; even talking of a ‘passwordless world‘ via Windows Hello that extends facial recognition. Apple have been publicly heading down this road for a while now – with ‘FaceID’ facial recognition introduced for recent generations of iPhone and iPad, as well as Apple Watch device-led unlocking for your Mac.
Password keeper apps (such as the excellent 1Password) have become an interesting half-way house to a more secure password future – where the password manager retains a set of passwords behind a strong keycode, in an encrypted form. The password manager may also perform other useful functions, such as warning the user where passwords overlap, allocating different password access permissions to different people within a business or organisation, or auto-filling in common web browsers.
The adoption of password managers may reflect a coming time where users continue to ‘use’ passwords, but without engaging in the process of recalling or typing the password. It may not be passwords that are doomed, but the user’s traditional interaction with passwords.
Are passwords doomed? A few potential futures emerge: one where passwords exist but are used less directly by users, where passwords are relegated to a secondary security measure of questionable usefulness, or most radically, where passwords are replaced entirely.
For cybersecurity and IT expertise, please contact our team today.
Office 365’s Microsoft Teams has grown and grown to become far more than a simple work chat or video conferencing app.
As new features are added to the collaboration suite all the time, you could easily miss the best of the new updates – so we’ve collated some of the most interesting cool tricks for Teams:
Blur background
Homeworking? Taking an important video call with a less than formal background? Unless you want to end up in a viral video clip like BBC commentator Professor Robert Kelly, Teams has got you covered with simple controls to mask your immediate surroundings from a video call.
With a simple toggle, Microsoft Teams will detect your face in the foreground and blur the remainder of the screen, to spare everyone the embarrassment of your favourite coffee shop or messy home office.
Screenshare to Mobile
Teams has had the ability to optionally share your screen with other attendees in the same meeting for some time, choosing to show either the whole Windows desktop or restricted to a single window (such as a presentation.)
However, Microsoft have also recently added this feature for iOS/Android, allowing attendees to enjoy the full Teams experience on the move.
Viewing a desktop on a mobile can be an eyesight challenge, although it’s especially handy to be able to view a shared Powerpoint presentation in Private mode – and skip back through slides without interrupting everyone else’s flow.
Join by proximity
Join by proximity allows Teams to detect meeting that’s physically located nearby. This seems like a peculiar idea to begin with, but is actually designed for more open ‘meeting’ situations – such as conference venues or hotdesking environments: making individuals’ screen space as collaborative as the room itself, or extending a spontaneous group meeting into a virtual one.
Teams will prompt within the meeting room lobby if any existing rooms are available nearby via Bluetooth, allowing the user to apply to join the meeting with audio muted, and without an original Teams invite. The meeting room organiser must accept via a Meeting Room control unit for security reasons, to ensure only welcome attendees join the meeting room.
Proximity join is available from May 2019, including on mobile versions of Teams.
Integrate Interactive Tabs
One of the best untapped features of teams is the ability to add custom tabs (click ‘+’) into each chat channel which allows for the creation of something entirely custom.
Among our favourites are embedded maps, OneNote notebooks, diary, Sharepoint files, and Microsoft Power BI’s impressive data visualisations.
Of course, Channel admins can also add from a category simply marked ‘website’ – via which any responsive web service with a valid SSL certificate can be deployed neatly through teams for the look-and-feel of a more integrated desktop.
Get Notified of Availability
Status indicators mean its easy to tell if a contact is unavailable to chat, but right-clicking on a contact now offers a handy ‘Notify When Available’ option which performs the basic requirement of call back – allowing Teams to prompt you of contact availability the best time.
Microsoft Teams is available with Microsoft Office 365 Business Essentials licensing and above.
Lineal are a Gold Microsoft Partner – for Microsoft Office 365 support, licensing and expertise, please contact our team today.
Chinese technology giant Huawei have announced the development of Harmony OS, a smartphone operating system designed to replace its reliance on Google’s Android platform.
The news, which was announced at the 2019 Huawei Developer Conference, is the latest twist in a series of events which saw Google’s official suspension of Huawei’s Android license in May 2019, in response to a security warning from the US Government.
Much like its rivals, Harmony OS is designed to run across a wide range of devices beyond smartphones, including tablets, wearables and smart screens. Built from scratch, Huawei also claims developers will be able to develop and deploy new apps across multiple device-types and screen sizes much more easily.
Huawei’s focus on developers may seem a little niche, but may be shrewder than first thought – in light of the difficulty Microsoft experienced seeking to establish Windows Mobile as a rival to Android and iOS, and the declining spiral of app availability, hardware sales and popularity.
Harmony OS may be at an early stage (concept images were noticeably absent from Huawei’s media release) although the move may signal a realignment of the smartphone world into the 2020s – with three operating systems: Apple’s iOS, Google’s Android, and Huawei’s Harmony going head to head.
For Business Mobile expertise and support, please contact our team today.
Lineal have launched Lineal Business Mobile at the 2019 North Devon Show.
The annual North Devon Show, for which Lineal is a proud Sponsor, receives around 20,000 visitors each year. In addition to all the agricultural, culinary, craft, entertainment and community highlights of North Devon, visitors to the show might also have spotted Moby, Lineal’s Business Mobile Mascot.
Mike Matthews, Lineal’s Managing Director explained: “We’ve provided fixed-line business telecoms for a wide variety of local firms, but increasingly customers have asked us to deliver business mobile services too. We felt that the time was right, and we’re delighted to be able to add this to our extensive range of IT, software and communications services.”
“With attractive packages for unlimited business mobile voice minutes, unlimited SMS and Data bundles, – and even UK network-hopping SIM technology – we’re certain Lineal Business Mobile will be a popular option for businesses across the South West.”
Visitors to the show also undertook our retro Space-Invaders Challenge for the second year running, with a live Microsoft PowerBI ‘Highscore’ dashboard visualising the best arcade skills on display at the show! Congratulations to Martin P. from Barnstaple, who achieved the best highscore (1390) of this year’s challenge.
Despite uncertain weather at first, North Devon Show 2019 was a great success – see you next year!
For Devon IT Support and expertise – contact our team today!
Communications giant Poly (nee ‘Polycom’) have launched their new VVX450 series phone handsets – and our team at Lineal have taken it for a test drive.
On first impression, the new handset is exceptionally eye-catching – the square design certainly feels modern and cutting-edge, if a little serious. All the controls will feel very familiar to users of the very successful VVX410 and VVX411 handsets, but the phone’s 4.3″ full colour screen is the most dramatic improvement – with a wider display and higher definition that appear much sharper.
Much like the VVX411, the menus and buttons are simple and intuitive – continuing the same focus on ease-of-use that has seen Poly sell VVX phones in the hundreds of thousands across the UK, into a very diverse array of business sectors.
We were particularly impressed by the speakerphone. Polycom have cranked the in-built speaker up to eleven, and the Polycom VVX450 could easily be used as a capable conference phone for a typical meeting room.
Someone may have been slightly over-ambitious with the phone’s size: desks may include less paper these days, but the handset feels large and space might be an issue in more traditional working environments. As before, the VVX450 supports single-cable (‘POE’) network and power, PC pass-through, headsets and more, but is noticeably larger than the VVX411 predecessor, itself a substantial handset. Overall, the impression is that the new model may look more naturally at-home on the desk of an executive, rather than an occasional phone user.
Microsoft have blocked availability of May’s Windows 10 Update from PCs with attached removable storage – such as USB flash drives and SD Cards.
The restriction has been put in place to prevent users encountering accidental drive re-assignment when they try to update: causing D: to become E:, or similar.
Harmless for most personal devices, any change is likely to cause maximum confusion for work devices which often rely on organisations sticking to a fixed structure for drive access.
Instead, users will be confronted by a warning message reading:
Your PC can’t be upgrade to Windows 10. Your PC has hardware that isn’t ready for this version of Windows 10. No action is needed. Windows Update will offer this version of Windows 10 automatically once the issue has been resolved.
While USB drives may be easily removable to make May’s Windows 10 Update available again, users online have pointed out that Microsoft Surface devices and other Windows 10 enabled tablets are likely to be scuppered by the SD Card, which may have been pre-installed for work devices. More worryingly, Microsoft’s official support article notes ‘The drive reassignment is no limited to removable drives. Internal hard drives may also be affected.’
May’s 2019 Windows Update (which looks to include some promising new features) has undergone an extended testing period with the Windows Insider program this year, after some Windows users suffered file deletion problems during the October 2018 update cycle.
An undetected bug remains a setback for Microsoft’s flagship operating system, and the concept of a constant update cycle on a consistent platform. The problem will not be unfamiliar to Apple, however, whose 2017 OSX High Sierra update somehow reached release with an undetected root password security bug, only discovered weeks after release.
Microsoft have confirmed the removable storage bug will be resolved in a ‘future servicing update for Windows 10’ although May 2019’s Windows 10 update may well turn into June, July or August.
For IT support and expertise, contact our team today.
Online rumours about the release of iOS 13 have suggested Apple may be about to add a number of ‘Mac’ style features to their touchscreen-based operating system.
Among the improvements hinted at exclusively by 9to5Mac for release at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in June, iOS 13 looks set to include system-wide dark-mode and high-contract display versions, a less intrusive volume control, new font management, desktop-version website priority and new ‘Undo’ controls.
Most importantly, iOS 13 is rumoured to include a kind of panel-based app container system, allowing users to more easily control screen space and switch between applications smoothly.
If true, the move will be seen by many as the first confirmation of a long suspected plan by Apple to begin merging their two main operating systems, iOS (for iPhone and iPad) and MacOS (for MacBook, iMac and Mac mini ranges) for a more common experience across Apple’s range of devices.
Numerous concept images of what the proposed iOS might to look like have appeared online, although Apple aficionados may note that dark-mode would display very differently on OLED devices to non-OLED ones.
Recent iPad Pro advertising, which asks ‘What’s a computer?’ suggests that much like Microsoft, Apple is preparing for more capable tablets to increasingly replace traditional laptops for work computing.
For Apple equipment and expertise, contact our team today.
Microsoft’s Windows Team have previewed a new optional Light Theme to be released in May 2019’s Windows 10 update.
The glossy, bright look is currently available to those on the Windows 10 Insider Preview Build (a kind of test program for volunteer guinea-pigs of future Windows versions – accessed through Windows Update.)
Both Apple and Microsoft have introduced ‘Dark Modes’ more eye-sensitive for night-time use in recent years, either in popular software such as Outlook, or as part of the main operating system itself, as in the case of Apple’s Mojave update.
Windows Light Theme introduces a brighter feel for Microsoft’s signature operating system, likely to prove a hit among companies with certain in-house ‘styles’ favouring brighter tones, or to provide more options to those with visual impairments.
As of March 2019, Windows 10 is now in use across more than 800 million devices worldwide, running on just a smidge under half of all PCs in existence (49.9%.)
May’s Windows update (build 18362.30) also features numerous minor fixes, including improvements to printing processes, splitting Cortana from Windows Search, and extending dark mode within OneDrive.
Light theme will be available within the ‘Personalisation’ settings available by right-clicking on the Windows desktop, once the new update lands in May.
For Microsoft expertise and support – contact our team today
Staff and volunteers from Lineal Software Solutions Ltd. and TM Fitness have raised £500 for North Devon Hospice’s Pitch-in-a-Pound day.
The annual Pitch-in-a-Pound Day, supported by businesses and fundraisers across North Devon, raises funds for the vital work of the former Charity of the Year, which cares for more than 3,000 people affected by life-limiting illnesses each year.
With help from TM Fitness gym in Barnstaple, Lineal staff ran, walked and rowed a total of 100 miles in relay, and raffled-off healthy fruit basket prizes to raise funds.
Lineal’s Managing Director Mike Matthews thanked all those who donated, volunteered or helped:
“This important charity has cared for somebody from so many local families, across more than 800 square miles. The organisation and its staff rightly hold a special place in the heart of the local community for its good work.”
“That’s why, for the second year running, we decided to match whatever Lineal staff raised on the day, bringing the total tom £500. Well done team!”
Thank you to everyone who volunteered, donated or helped with pitch-in-a-pound this year! You can still sponsor our appeal via our JustGiving by clicking here or learn more about North Devon Hospice by clicking here.
Samsung have unveiled Galaxy Fold – a folding smartphone with a large (7.3” 2152×1536) internal display.
Designing a folding phone presents challenges, not least how close to exact the fold can run without breaking the internal display.
The benefits? A larger screen inside looks a smart choice for certain app formats – such as Google Maps, or split-screen use between apps. Samsung have cleverly ensured the display switches as the hinge is opened, seamlessly connecting the ‘outside’ display to the ‘inside’ without a delay that might interrupt use of the phone.
But there are some quirks too – the impressive internal screen is 6% less bright than the external, and drains the battery significant faster than the external 4.58 inch display that acts as the more traditional phone keypad.
The South Korean electronics conglomerate is not the first to trial a folding smartphone, nor even the first to announce – with Chinese rivals Huawei and Xiaomi both previewing rival models with different folding styles.
The Galaxy Fold will cost a wallet-emptying $2000 – but does at least demonstrate a level of innovation that has been sorely lacking in the smartphone market in recent years. Studies suggest gadget-lovers are increasingly holding on to their devices for longer, with risk-averse manufacturers adding only incremental changes.
Folding smartphones have disrupted the market before, so perhaps if the design can be perfected, there may be new use cases that soon demand folding technology.
For IT support and expertise, contact Lineal today.
Adobe have released an urgent update for Adobe Reader DC, patching newly discovered security vulnerabilities.
The highly popular PDF app, often pre-installed on Windows PCs, has been shown to contain a loophole that allows an attacker to remotely run Javascript code within an opened PDF to cause memory corruption.
Currently rated ‘Critical’ by Adobe’s Severity Rating System, the bug is believed to have originated from entirely legitimate functionality: Adobe Reader allows PDFs to contain embedded JavaScript to support interactions with the web.
Adobe have responded quickly – publishing the fix to Adobe Security Bulletin alongside patching for 42 other vulnerabilities as of Wednesday 12th February, including one which allowed PDF documents to access hashed passwords.
Adobe Reader is officially 25 years old this year, and although official figures are hard to source, is popularly believed to dominate more than 75% of the PDF software market.
Users can either auto-update their installation or prompt this manually by clicking ‘Help’ > ‘Check for Updates’ within the software itself.
For software and security expertise, contact Lineal today.
Facebook has announced plans to merge WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram’s messaging capabilities.
The social media technology giant plans for interoperable communication between each platform, although the development is stated to be the start of a “long process” and the apps will remain independent.
The consolidation may be good news for consumer-facing businesses, as dramatically more of the world’s smartphone chat users are centralised under a common standard for instant messaging.
WhatsApp released a Business version in 2018, suggesting that the chat software provider believes the public will increasingly seek to engage with businesses directly via such chat apps in preference to traditional methods such as email or phone call.
Whatsapp (over 1.5 billion active users globally), Facebook Messenger (1.3 billion) and Instagram (1 billion) will easily represent the largest collective chat application user base in the world, and the most popular across Europe, Africa, North America and South America.
The coagulated mass of (WhatsMessengerGram?) will also allow Facebook to better compete with Google’s unified Messenger App, and Apple’s iMessage platforms, as well as further challenge regionally strong chat applications with tertiary functions – such as payment transferring WeChat, preeminent among Chinese smartphone users.
Facebook’s project is set to be completed later during 2019.
For IT and communications expertise, contact Lineal today.
With the Government publishing official Brexit guidance, we take a closer look at 4 items likely to be important for the technology of UK businesses:
.eu Domains
For UK businesses using .eu registered domains, it’s expected that these will not be available for purchase or renewal after April 2019.
Official Government guidance is for businesses to purchase .co.uk, .com and/or .uk versions of important domains, and re-direct traffic in case of a ’No Deal’. Such action is likely to be more challenging for domain-linked services such as email.
This is also a difficult prospect for the unprepared: .com domains alone outnumber their .eu counterparts almost 40-1, so UK businesses may find themselves in a race to grab vital digital real-estate. Web developers and marketing teams might also have built significant reputational presence for the .EU versions of their company websites, and won’t relish the prospect of having to start over.
Mobile Roaming
UK Mobile users abroad currently benefit from EU roaming regulations that limit mobile operators to a default data usage cost of €50, with alerts generated as the mobile user approaches the roaming limit.
Official Government guidance states that in the event of a Deal this limit would continue during the ‘implementation period’ so mobile workers abroad would temporarily be protected against high roaming costs after 1st April.
In the event of ’No Deal’ outcome, EU roaming regulations would no longer applies to UK mobile users abroad, and restrictions on how much European mobile operators could charge roaming UK mobile users would be removed.
The Government states UK networks will soon be bound by new UK laws upholding the same financial penalties for their roamers abroad – although these UK-based networks are ultimately responsible for whether roaming services are available via foreign networks. Mobile users working internationally need to be wary when consuming mobile data abroad after 1st April 2019.
Data Sharing
Whether UK businesses can access customers’ (or any) personal data from the EU will be determined by an ‘Adequacy Decision’ taken by the European Commission; deciding whether UK data protection rules are sufficiently close to those of the EU for data transfers to be permitted.
The UK formally adopted the EU’s ‘General Data Protection Regulation’ (GDPR) during 2018 and will retain this beyond April 2019, suggesting that a common framework for a company’s ‘Legal Basis’ to process personal data is likely. However, the EC have stated this decision will not be taken until the UK leaves the EU.
Government guidance suggests companies dealing with any personal data from the EU, or with operations abroad, proactively seek legal advice to ensure they continue to be legally watertight when transferring data internationally after 1st April.
Geo-Blocking
‘Geo-blocking’ certain customers online based on their location is currently not permitted, but this restriction will effectively be lifted after 1st April – for UK trading businesses.
This affects many online retailers: for example those who deliver goods ordered online, online services (such as streaming or cloud hosting) or take bookings for services at physical locations (such as ticketing.)
UK businesses trading to the EU will still be expected to uphold EU rules – for example offering the same service to both French or German customers.
However, the lifting of Geo-blocking restrictions effectively opens the door for UK-based online retailers to offer different services to different UK customers, or UK customers when compared to EU customers. Businesses are still advised to seek independent legal guidance for any variations to their service.
Online Security breach website HaveIBeenPwned.com has detected the largest online breach of email addresses to date – nearly 773 million unique emails.
The 87GB of breached personal data, publicised by Microsoft Regional Director and cybersecurity expert Troy Hunt, was spotted last week via online file-hosting website MEGA under the ominous name “Collection #1”, and has now been removed.
The data itself, believed to be a terrifying aggregation of a large number of previous smaller data breaches, also contained more than 21 million identifiable plain-text passwords.
More than 140 million of the email addresses identified have never been seen before by HaveIBeenPwned.com, suggesting some of the personal data may originate from as yet undiscovered breaches.
Those affected by the breach are advised to change their passwords immediately, to prevent criminals potentially exploiting the data to access other online services where the user has registered with identical login credentials.
You can check if your email(s) (and potentially passwords) have been breached among the 773 million by clicking here.
For IT support and cybersecurity expertise, contact Lineal about your requirements today.
Windows 7 uptake worldwide has finally been overtaken by Windows 10, with just one year until all consumer support for the popular operating system ends.
2009’s acclaimed Windows release will officially reach end of life from January 14th 2020, beyond which customers operating remaining Windows 7 PCs will receive no additional security updates or patches.
Much like Windows XP before it, Microsoft’s Extended Security Updates (ESU) will theoretically be available for additional years (specifically until 2023), but only to enterprise customers using Professional or Enterprise versions, billed on a ‘per-device basis’ and at increasingly steep annual costs.
Online web market share tracker NetMarketShare now records Windows 10 as a mere 2% ahead of Windows 7, approaching 40% of the overall desktop market – if still some distance behind Microsoft’s original Windows 10 roll-out targets.
Users looking to upgrade to Windows 10 may look to replace hardware, purchase a direct upgrade, or acquire the upgrade via a larger package such as Microsoft 365.
For Microsoft advice and support, contact Lineal today.
Early feedback from users was positive (despite recurring jokes that the Microsoft Office user-interface may also need a similar makeover from designers.)
That makeover has already begun with Office 365’s new fluent menus: specifically, streamlined menu bar options for both the web and desktop client versions of the major Office apps, which load faster during general use. The existing option-heavy menus will also remain optionally available, as might be expected for a product being used by more than a billion knowledge-workers worldwide.
Licensed Office 365 customers receive ongoing updates throughout the lifetime of their subscription, including security updates and all new visual improvements. However, revised icons for gradually retiring apps, such as Yammer and Skype for Business, might imply these products have greater independent lifespan than is actually expected by Microsoft support.
Lineal’s Ian Meredith has been awarded DrayTek Certified Network Admin Certificate, adding an additional qualification to Lineal’s networking experience.
DrayTek’s ‘Dray School’ requires network engineers to pass a series of advanced network and security configuration tests using DrayTek devices, routers and access points, including best practice for firewall settings, fault-finding and other detailed network tasks.
DrayTek’s business-grade Router range have won praise from across the IT Support sector recent years, with the provider winning a PC PRO Technology Excellence Award for five successive years (2014-18). DrayTek router models have proved highly popular with businesses, with intelligent features such as 4G fail-over increasingly in demand for business continuity requirements.
As a part of the 2-day examination procedure, each engineer’s router is attached to a testing network which judges whether the engineer has managed the device correctly, and automatically passes or fails based on a series of security checks.
Well done Ian!
For Networking and Security Expertise, contact Lineal today.
Setting your email out of office is something most people do only occasionally, and therefore can be unfamiliar to many. However, an auto-reply helps present a professional face for your business or organisation while you’re away enjoying the holiday season, and provides reassurance to those trying to contact you.
Here are our handy guides for setting up your auto-reply:
1. Open Outlook from your Office 365 Apps, and click the ‘Settings’ cog icon in the top right of your browser. Click ‘Automatic Replies’.
(If using Microsoft’s Outlook.live.com free personal service, you may need to click ‘View All Outlook Settings’ in your Settings tab for Automatic replies to be visible.)
2. Outlook will open your Autoreply settings. To turn on your Automatic replies, tick the top box labelled ’Send Automatic Replies’, and enter the text for your auto reply in the text box.
Choose the date and time period you wish your Out Of Office to remain active for, and when ready, click ‘OK’
Outlook 2019 (for Mac)
1. Open Outlook from your Applications, click ’Tools’ from the Menu Bar and select ‘Out Of Office’.
2. Outlook will open your Autoreply settings. To turn on your Automatic replies, tick the top box labelled ’Send Automatic Replies’, and enter the text for your auto reply in the top box.
Choose the date and time period you wish your Out Of Office to remain active for, and when ready, click ‘OK’.
Outlook 2019 (for PC)
1. Open Outlook and click to the ‘File’ Menu from the top toolbar.
2. From the ‘Info’ Tab click the ‘Automatic Replies/Out Of Office’ Button to open the Automatic Replies Window.
3. Click ’Send Automatic Replies’ at the top – choose the date and time period you wish your Out Of Office to remain active for, enter the message you wish to use for your Autoreply in the ‘Outside My Organisation’ text field, and click ’OK’.
Mac Mail
1. Open Mac Mail
2. Right click on the left hand navigation panel and select get Account Info.
OR – If you right click on a file stored in your own mailbox you will have a direct link to your Out of Office
3. Click ’Send Out of Office Replies’ – choose the date and time period you wish your Out of Office to remain active for, enter the message you wish to use for your Autoreply in the ‘Internal Reply and External reply’ text fields, and click the red close icon in the top left.
Gmail
1. Open Gmail in your web browser, and click the cog icon in the top right.
2. Open ’Settings’, click ‘See All Settings’ and scroll down to the section named ‘Vacation Responder’.
3. Switch Vacation Responder to ‘On’. Choose the date and time period you wish your Out Of Office to remain active for, enter the message you wish to use for your Autoreply in the text field, and click ‘Save Changes’.
Kerio Webmail
1. Sign in to Kerio Webmail, and click your email name in the top right of the browser window. Choose ‘Out Of Office’ from the dropdown Menu.
2. Tick ’Send Out Of Office Message’, choose the date and time period you wish your Out Of Office to remain active for, enter the message you wish to use for your Autoreply in the text field, and click ’Save’.
Yahoo! Mail
1. Sign in to Yahoo! Mail and click the cog icon in the top right corner of your browser to access your settings. Click ‘More Settings’
2. Click ‘Out Of Office’ Response from the left hand menu. Toggle the ‘Turn On Out-Of-Office Response’ Switch to ON.
3. Enter the to and from dates you wish your out of office to remain on for, enter the auto-response in the text box, and click ‘Save’.
Windows 10 Mail App
Open Mail and click the settings cog in the bottom right of the menu.
2. Select ‘Automatic Replies’ from the settings menu
3. Select your email account, toggle Automatic replies to ‘ON’ and enter text for your automatic reply for internal and/or external contacts.
For IT support advice and guidance, contact Lineal today.
Microsoft have re-released October 2018’s Windows 10 update, after pausing the upgrade for technical fixes last month.
Some users complained of missing files and other update issues due to a bug with folder re-direction, with Microsoft eventually halting the availability of the download globally.
The move sees a more cautious Microsoft seek to evade criticism with a new ‘focus on quality’. The revised update has taken a month to re-issue and was released to ‘Windows Insiders’ (a kind of Beta-testing pool) several weeks ago for initial vetting, prior to re-release for the general public.
Since 2015, Windows 10 has been updated incrementally (much like rival Apple MacOS) with each iteration upgrading Windows 10 itself rather than seeking to replace the platform.
For businesses, updates may be managed centrally to avoid stumbling into first-day mishaps, such that home users were most likely to suffer from the results of October’s upgrade false-start. As always, Lineal’s advice is to delay major operating system upgrades for at least 24 hours, to ensure release-bugs have been identified.
In Microsoft’s defence, Windows 10 is now running on 700 million devices, and shows healthily declining customer incident rates – in addition to high public satisfaction, allegedly receiving the best Net Promoter Score (NPS) of any version of Windows to date.
The October Windows 10 update remains the only one of its kind to be pulled, and then re-released, and the pressure will be on Microsoft to ensure it remains unique.
For Windows expertise and support, please contact our team today.
Apple have announced three new Apple products in their Autumn Keynote product release – including a new Mac Mini, MacBook Air and iPad Pro.
The new devices eliminate creeping gaps in the Apple product range, finally replacing legacy devices long overdue a refresh. The Air (released in 2011) and Mac Mini (2013) both receive a significant upgrade in design and more powerful technical specifications.
The new Mac Mini has been upgraded to to 3.6Ghz processor, 8GB of memory and 128gb all-flash storage. For power users, the specifications inside the new Space Grey casing can be pushed higher – up to 4.6Ghz 6-core i7, 2TB SSD and a staggering 64GB of memory likely to please even the most demanding of photo-editors.
Speaking from New York, Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed rumours from earlier this year, and pitched the releases as a move to assist ‘creatives’, acknowledging that customers from Apple’s most loyal business sector would be anticipating convenience and more powerful hardware from the upgraded models to support their creative work.
The new MacBook air is an astonishing work of portability, at just 15.6mm thick (around 10% thinner even than the 2011 version) and incorporates a retina screen, Thunderbolt 3 Ports, Touch Sensor and many other recent staples of the current MacBook and MacBook Pro range.
A 100% recycled aluminium shell on both devices also demonstrates Apple’s increasing environmental awareness, and serious efforts have been made to decrease plastic consumption to manufacture the inner workings of the device.
iPad Pro receives updates handed down from the more successful iPhone range, including FaceID, edge-to-edge screens and a thinner shell (equating to 25% less volume than previous models) charged by USB-C and including the A12X chip.
Apple claim the increase in core-count equates to a huge jump in processing speed – making the Pro technically faster than 92% of all portable PCs, and even able to generate complex Autodesk objects or run games at 120 frames per second. If true, this represents an enormous leap in capability, positioning the iPad Pro as a true competitor to performance laptops.
2018’s Macbook Air will be priced from around $1,199, and Mac Mini/iPad Pro from around $799, at time of writing, and will be available almost immediately.
For Apple hardware and expertise, contact Lineal today.
Due out this Autumn (2018) is macOS Mojave – Apple’s latest new operating system for the Mac range.
Named after the arid desert in the Western United States made famous by movies of the same genre, macOS Mojave has been widely pitched as a usability update with a range of new features designed to make it easier for users to stay ‘focused’.
Headlining Mojave will be the new system-wide ‘dark mode’, allowing users to swap between lighter or darker macOS theme to make their Mac less sleep-disruptive and easier on the eye, particularly at night-time.
Far from just being a black background however, Mojave rather artfully adjusts the entire theme and default background through a gentle ‘morning/day/evening/night’ cycle.
There are plenty of new tools too: the desktop can now sort files by type using ‘stakcs’, search by image, and quick edit PDFs and screenshots via Preview.
The tech giant, which recently became the world’s first trillion-dollar company, has also been rumored to be planning new MacBook Air, and Mac Mini devices for release later this year, both of which would coincide neatly with a fresh operating system with the theme of keeping macOS a highly ‘convenient’ system for all settings.
The MacBook Air hasn’t been fully refreshed since its launch in 2010, and the Mac Mini since 2014. While the former occupies a crowded space of various other MacBook and iPad sizes, the latter is long overdue for a replacement.
In a possible nod to the limited physical space where such devices might be used, Mojave can also detect photos automatically from your iPhone and insert the image on your desktop app, into a document or file.
However, an additional update, which Apple initially suggested would allow FaceTime video conversations expand to include up to 32 participants, has been bumped back to a later release.
Apple’s ninth Mojave beta was recently released for public testing, indicating that the full autumn release to the wider public is now not far away.
For Apple hardware, expertise and support, contact Lineal today
Yes, it’s that time of year again – the time when we ask our clients how our team has been doing, and what we can do to raise our quality of service even further.
In 2018, a record 96% of you feel we understand your IT needs either ‘Extremely Well’ or ‘Very Well’, and 90% of you felt we met Lineal’s IT support mission statement either ‘Very Well’ or ‘Well’.
In three years, the percentage of you who feel we resolve queries ‘Much Quicker’ than expected has doubled, and a high 82% feel we’ve either met or exceeded their expectations for time taken to resolve technical queries.
Your Client Survey 2018 feedback also suggests Lineal is being used for a wider range of IT expertise than ever before – with more of respondents recognising our capacity to deliver phone systems, broadband, leased lines, Wi-Fi networks, SQLWorks business software and a whole range of Cloud IT services.
There were also areas for improvement: a small minority of you (14%) still felt our customer service had been ‘OK’ – a rating we’ll be working hard to exceed with some new processes for sharper communication, monitoring task completion, and ensuring timely confirmation.
Lineal moved into new offices in central Barnstaple this year, and we want this to help deliver a better service for our customers.
As always, thank you to everyone who responded to our Client Survey 2018 – a wide variety of constructive feedback helps us immensely to focus on key areas of improvement.
Kind and constructive comments are always helpful – here were some of our favourites.
– Always helpful, would recommend the Company to others. Thank You.
– Good team of people and we now use Lineal for most if not all our IT, software, phones and support. It’s good to have in one place and generally we are very happy with the overall service.
– All seems OK, call outs prompt and service great.
– Generally resolve issue promptly and friendly team.
For Lineal IT Support expertise and advice, please contact our team today.
This year Lineal Software Solutions Ltd. was an official Sponsor of the 51st North Devon Show, and launched (maybe) the show’s first ever Space Invaders Championship.
The retro arcade pub-classic, in which the player holds out against descending ranks of tiny pixelated aliens was first released in 1978, making the game 40 years old this year (yes, really.)
Mike Matthews, Lineal’s managing director explained: “We wanted to make this year’s show fun with something both young people (and the young at heart) would recognise instantly and enjoy.”
“For those of us er… more advanced in years… the memories flooding back! Lineal was first founded in the 1980s, and it’s astonishing to think how far technology has developed.”
Fortunately so has Lineal, and visitors to our stall could learn more about Lineal IT support, cybersecurity, business software, cloud services, phone systems and much, much more.”
Lineal, which recently moved to new premises in central Barnstaple, was also an official Sponsor for this year’s North Devon Show, and presented the prizes to winners of the ‘Hacks and Riding Horses’ class.
However, much like IT support, battling aliens also seems to be a matter of experience – with parents often achieving much higher scores than children on our Space Invaders High Scores board.
After 2017’s Show was unfortunately cancelled due to poor weather, 2018 was a huge success and a fantastic day out for locals and visitors alike. Next year? We’ll be planning something even bigger…
Mike explained: “The North Devon Show is always a highlight of the calendar, and the array of businesses, charities, livestock, rural groups, crafts and all-round entertainment is a showcase for the community in this part of the world. We’re always proud to be able to support it.”
See you next year!
For IT Support and expertise, contact Lineal today.
Lineal Software Solutions Ltd. has welcomed VIPs to officially open our new offices in central Barnstaple, celebrating our 30th year anniversary in business.
We’ve expanded our operation, moving into Commercial House on Barnstaple’s Strand. The building will be home to Lineal’s team of over twenty IT support and software development staff, including three apprentices from PETROC.
Lineal’s new offices were officially opened in a short ceremony by North Devon’s MP, Peter Heaton-Jones, Vice President of PETROC, Bill Blythe and Marise Mackie of Pluss.
Mike Matthews, Lineal’s Managing Director, explained: “We’ve grown steadily in recent years, and for the businesses and organisations whose technology we support every day, the additional space will help us deliver improved connectivity and an even stronger service.”
Click for a Virtual Tour of Commercial House, now officially open:
“We’ve invested in infrastructure that will help future-proof Lineal’s new home for the 2020s: including high speed gigabit fibre-optic cabling throughout, solar panels, new training facilities, conference rooms and an enlarged hardware workshop.”
“The next generation of Lineal’s own SQLWorks accounting and stock control software for cloud and mobile platforms, designed to give businesses a competitive edge, will be built right here in North Devon.”
“This was a year in planning, and I want to thank all our staff, who worked tirelessly around the clock to make the move a reality.”
Peter Heaton-Jones MP congratulated Lineal: “I was delighted to be asked to cut the ribbon on Lineal’s impressive new offices. I first met Lineal’s founder, Mike Matthews, four years ago when he was operating from a converted barn in his back garden. The expansion since then has been incredible. The fact that this growing business is moving into the centre of Barnstaple is excellent news for the town, and shows how robust our local economy really is. Their close ties with Petroc, allowing young people to get their first taste of the world of work, is something I particularly support. I wish Lineal many more years of success and growth in their excellent new home.”
For IT support and expertise, please contact our team today.
The European Commission has issued Google with a €4.34 billion fine for Android anti-competition practices, after ruling the popular operating system unfairly cemented the dominance of Google Search.
The EC found Google had, via ’significant’ payments to smartphone manufacturers, ensured exclusive installation of Google’s own search application, and bundled Google apps such that selectively omitting services was impossible on the mobile platform prior to release.
More than 95% of all searches on European Android devices are made via Google search, testifying to the search giant’s unprecedented reach via pre-installation.
Many users (as Microsoft’s Bing search engine can surely attest) never change their system defaults, and although many rival search and browser providers are available for Android, these must be installed separately, often via Google Play.
Many will remember similar court battles fought between the US Government and Microsoft, resulting in the former’s eventual ruling that the latter had unfairly influenced the market via pre-installation of Internet Explorer, and creating the convention of an initial default browser choice on all new Windows PCs.
Microsoft eventually paid $561 million, but also continued losing ground to rival web browsers, including Google Chrome, among those using the internet on their operating system. Since 2013, the number of affected devices (particularly handhelds operating various versions of Android) has increased hugely. In future, new Android devices may be forced to include a similar initial search/browser selection, to help maintain consumer choice.
Google has defended its actions throughout, and has already announced it will appeal the decision, with the case expected to continue for some years.
For technology expertise and support, contact Lineal today.
Support and security updates for Microsoft’s Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 operating systems will end in January 2020.
Customers operating Windows Server 2008 will then cease to receive security patches and other important system updates.
Around 70% of the world’s server operating systems are Windows based, with Server 2008 one of the most successful versions, still representing more than half of these installations as recently as 2016.
Users of Server 2008 and 2008 R2 have just over 6 months to decide whether to upgrade to a newer version of Windows Server (such as the long-awaited Server 2019, hardware permitting), replace servers with newer models, or migrate those server-based processes to a cloud-based platform, such as Microsoft Azure.
‘Mainstream’ Support for Server 2008 is unlikely to be extended – having already been granted temporary extensions, once from July 2013 to January 2015, and again to the final deadline next year.
As with previous operating systems, enterprise customers will have the option of purchasing ‘Premium Assurance’ support packages of different levels, to extend support as late as 2026 – but as with other legacy Windows products, for increasingly high associated costs.
Businesses will need to weigh up for how long they can afford to delay upgrading, or depending on the physical server hardware, whether it makes more sense to spurn the licensing costs of upgrading the Windows Server version and go directly to either the cloud, or a new server.
For IT infrastructure support and expertise, please contact our team today.
Microsoft has announced the release of a new Surface Go tablet, adding to it’s acclaimed Surface lineup.
The new addition to the touchscreen range is designed to be an entry-level offering, offering more basic specifications but far greater portability at just 1.15 lbs and 8.3mm thin.
At around $399, it’s difficult to say exactly what Microsoft is trying to achieve: the new model is less consistent with Surface’s more ‘premium’ brand, and doesn’t stack up particularly well on price against Apple’s entry-level iPad, or against cheaper Windows laptops on technical specification. Limited to Windows 10 S and an Intel Pentium Gold processor, the additional elements which makes the Surface range more interesting, like the keyboard and stylus controls for touchscreen artwork, are also optional extras.
Instead it’s widely believed the tech giant is attempting to win over customers in the education sector, where a budget offering from a reputable manufacturer is likely to appeal to departments looking to provision sets of devices.
As always, Microsoft may also be hoping that the Surface Go owners of today will be the Surface ‘Pro’ owners of tomorrow.
While a 9 hour maximum battery life and a 10-inch screen is likely to prove limiting for business use, Chief Product Officer Panos Panay noted it was the ‘perfect device’ for his youngest daughters – and the internet seems to agree, noting the release timing is suspiciously good for the new term.
Lineal are a Microsoft Gold Partner – IT assistance and expertise, contact us today.
A Lineal engineer has climbed to the world-famous Southern ‘base camp’ of Mount Everest, to a height of 17,598 feet (28°0′26″N 86°51′34″E).
Lineal’s Martyn Kay, a senior support engineer, reached base camp (via Kathmandu) as part of a team of 6 intrepid explorers, flying to Lukla (in what appeared to be a modified rickshaw) before a climb of more than 5,300 feet to base camp itself. On the way they crossed one of the worlds highest mountain passes and summited 3 Himalayan peaks above 16,000 feet.
Affected by the thin atmosphere at an altitude in excess of 18,000 feet, Martyn described the symptoms of altitude sickness as constantly fighting to catch your breath accompanied by pounding headaches.
Following in the footsteps of Edmund Hilary and Sherpa Tenzing in 1953, the team reached the Southern base camp on 18/4/18 under snowy, sub-zero weather conditions.
Despite encountering other teams in difficulty, Martyn and team completed their 100 mile expedition and returned safely from the life-changing experience – bringing home local Nepalese delicacies for the Lineal team.
Scale new heights with Lineal! Contact our team today.
Adobe has announced a large discount for its Creative Cloud suite of apps, in a special Adobe discount scheme designed to win over the education sector.
Many of the big names in software, including Microsoft’s Office 365, Google’s G-Suite and other popular products such as ESET’s antivirus range, have been offered with significant discounts for the education sector through partner resellers, in the hope of capturing the next generation of technology users early, and contributing to wider learning.
In each case, the gesture is undoubtedly a worthy public relations boost, with Adobe also pledging to support workshop schemes to show educators how to teach with Adobe’s suite of creative apps in the classroom.
In both cases early access is especially important for Adobe Creative Cloud, which includes Photoshop, Lightroom, InDesign and many other leading creative apps, because of the very high high barrier to entry: both creatively and by cost – despite the software brand being simply unrivaled across the creative sector.
Adobe clearly hopes the dramatically reduced Adobe discount pricing will wet the appetite of larger organisations, and introduce high quality design apps to a much wider audience at an earlier age.
Google have made public their plans to release a comprehensive Android Chat app, comprising of both SMS and a new rich communication standard (RCS.)
In an exclusive with the Verge, Android announced the new app, which looks distinctly like the direct challenge to Apple’s iMessage fans Android have been hoping for, and which will be able to centralise messaging under a single platform.
Unlike Apple users, content with the excellent iMessage, Android users have long been split among a variety of messaging apps. They must suffer SMS run via Android’s ageing ‘Messages’ app, and direct messaging spread out among video/IM hybrid Google Hangouts, world domination software WhatsApp, various invasive species of Facebook Messenger, the re-branded Microsoft Skype app, and Google’s own doomed chat app: Google Allo. It’s all a bit of a mess.
In addition to overhauling this, Android Chat will also be available from a desktop client with SMS abilities (much like iMessage) and include new rich communication standard style messaging familiar to Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp users.
A single ‘feed’ encompassing rich content abilities also tracks the trend in the commercial sector: with firms looking to adapt from email to group-managed, millenial-friendly, cross platform communication apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams.
However, in addition to trying to build a fan-base for individual use, Google is presenting fresh opportunities for businesses. RCS has already been trialled by the tech giant in partnership with a number of companies (pictured), who plan to evolve currently SMS-based messaging services into RCS based customer service that integrates more complex tasks, such as calendar bookings and imagery.
Google Allo ran out of steam around 50 million installations. Whether, like iOS, Android can finally centralise disparate systems under a kingmaker will soon be tested.
Be honest, you’ve read some truly useless things online about GDPR. We all have.
The problem isn’t one of enthusiasm: more and more companies are recognising the impending deadline of the new data protection regulations and acting to implement best practice.
There is, of course, a growing industry of consulting firms and data protection advisers trading on businesses’ lack of expertise and frequently, fear of being left behind. Most organisations begin preparing with a spot of Googling, some light reading, and a bit of browsing online GDPR help articles written by experts.
However, the real experts can’t divulge too much free advice (otherwise why contract their services?) thus much of the available articles and blog posts are deliberately vague. The conundrum has already spawned some unfortunate attempts at humour, but doesn’t really help companies attempting to put in place GDPR compliant policy.
All is not lost: there really is some genuinely useful guidance out there – here are our pick for some of the best GDPR resources:
ICO: Eight Practical Steps
The Information Commissioner’s Office original ‘eight practical steps’ presentation is a series of slides that are exceptionally clear, and can be worked through in stages. A more recent, formal ’12-step’ version also exists, for a more conceptual understanding of the new regulations.
GDPR Readiness Assessment from Microsoft
A little technical at times, this quick quiz is a useful way of thinking further about protection policy, particularly around access control. For further information on how Microsoft can assist with GDPR in the cloud, look for the blue button in the top right hand corner.
ICO Helpline
The ICO has a little known helpline via which small businesses and charities can consult a member of ICO staff for extra advice – details of which can be found above.
IT Governance Compliance Gap Assessment Tool
Always a strong source of IT expertise and policy, IT Governance have developed a range of ‘Toolkits’ to assist data protection officers and those implementing GDPR within their organisations. These range from the simple £60 compliance gap assessment tool (a handy Excel Spreadsheet you can work through) to more expensive implementation packs and data flow mapping tools.
Team Lineal have raised £250 for North Devon Hospice, after hosting a fundraising buffet for staff and visitors.
The donations were collected by the IT Support firm as part of the local charity’s ‘Pitch in a Pound’ day, held each year in support of the hospice by North Devon businesses, schools and community groups.
Managing Director Mike Matthews explained: “It’s hard to find anyone in North Devon who doesn’t have a friend or family member who has been cared for by this terrific local charity, and it’s important every business does its bit for worthy causes.”
“That’s why I agreed I would match whatever my team raised on the day. Well done to all involved!”
North Devon hospice, which covers more than 800 sq. miles of Northern Devon, supports and cares for more than 3000 patients with life-limiting illness each year.
Lineal staff cooked, baked and sold a variety of sweet and savory food, including curry, pastries, chilli, samosas, dips, and a whole variety of different cakes and sweet treats.
Learn more about ‘Pitch in a Pound’ day on North Devon Hospice’s website by clicking here.
North Devon IT support and software company, Lineal Software Solutions Ltd, has celebrated 30 years’ success in business.
First founded in 1988, our company, which supports businesses and organisations across the UK and beyond with a range of IT services, are preparing to move to larger offices in central Barnstaple in the Spring.
Managing Director Mike Matthews thanked staff past and present for all their hard work over the last 30 years:
“Technology (and hairstyles) have changed considerably since 1988, but for us the best is yet to come. I’m proud that during that time, we’ve played a role in the success of some of North Devon’s best-known companies.”
We have doubled in size in the last two years, now employing over 20 locally-based staff who work in IT support and software development on behalf of other businesses and organisations across the UK and, increasingly, overseas.
Lineal also now includes staff from disability social enterprise Pluss, apprentices and degree apprentices, training in cooperation with Petroc.
The company has been recognised as one of the South West’s few Microsoft Gold Partners, helped to launch the Barnstaple Town Centre Wi-Fi project, and is part of DigitalND – a new group designed to promote digital connectivity and skills in North Devon.
Mike added: “The South West still has important connectivity and IT skills challenges to address, but public internet access didn’t even exist thirty years ago. Now the small company we originally started in my back room supports trusted clients as far afield as Australia. Ten Years from now? Watch this space.”
For IT Support and expertise, get in touch with our team today.
USB drives are a security nightmare. From losing files, to sharing them inadvertently, or accidentally installing something malicious, these tiny handheld digital storage grenades are a data-protection disaster waiting to happen.
Many people can’t help themselves. Sometimes it’s just so useful to be able to move a file to a separate computer, or carry a copy of that file on a handy keyring.
It’s true that too many operating systems auto-run memory sticks. As users we could perhaps be more careful though – find a USB and it’s tempting to plug it in… a 2016 University study suggested roughly half of those who find a memory stick on the ground will plug it in without thinking.
In particularly data-sensitive environments options are available to either disable PC USB ports, or remove them from a PC entirely. At the very least, businesses preparing for this summer’s new GDPR regulations need to take some sensible USB security precautions:
1. Be strict.
Ask yourself whether it’s entirely necessary to put this file on a memory stick, and be harsh about what files you copy. Memory sticks now hold terabytes of data, and are too easy to drop, or leave on the train.
GDPR is naturally concerned with sensitive personal data, and not your supermarket shopping list. Nobody ever intends to lose a file full of personal data, so you should think twice before putting the former on a USB drive, while the latter is probably OK.
The best antivirus softwares (for example Lineal’s recommended ESET antivirus) automatically offer to scan a newly connected memory stick for malicious software, before the user accesses the files. This only takes a few seconds, but it’s strongly advised to let your antivirus act as gatekeeper for a USB stick, as you would your emails or web browsing.
3. Sharing is not caring
Sharing files via memory sticks is not sensible, not least because you’re forced to share the whole contents, including the ability to duplicate files.
You can’t be certain what any given person will do with the USB drive or its data, or what the person giving you a memory stick might have done with it previously, so it’s safer to confine USB drives to a specific individual.
4. Get something better
The world of IT is full of better solutions, including Apple’s useful ‘Airdrop’ function which allows direct, localised file sharing over WiFi. For company-wide systems, numerous excellent cloud-based file storage and sharing platforms are available. Microsoft’s excellent OneDrive platform is easy to use from any device, and allows businesses to share files online via the cloud, with customisable permissions to control who has access to the data at any time.
A USB drive should not be necessary to complete routine IT tasks. Thank goodness.
Apple have issued a fix for yesterday’s severe security alert, after it emerged the tech giant’s High Sierra operating system would allow access to many users’ MacOS Root User without entering a password.
The story caused alarm around the world, as Mac users discovered full administrator control of their device was available to anyone within reach of the keyboard.
Discovered by a Turkish developer who tweeted it to Apple Support, Lemi Ergin, the widely publicised fault is believed to affect all Apple MacOS devices (such as the iMac and MacBook ranges) running version 10.13.1 or newer.
Mr Ergin has since published an article on Medium defending his decision to flag the vulnerability publicly, arguing that despite the security flaw being public knowledge on the Apple Developer Forum since 13th November, Apple had failed for resolve the issue.
Yesterday Lineal published guidance to all our Mac clients, advising caution over the physical security of Apple hardware, and explaining the need for users to set a new root password to temporarily secure their Mac while Apple worked on a security fix.
Security update 2017-001 is now available via the App Store, and Apple have even taken the almost unprecedented step of forcing 10.13.1 devices to update automatically.
The failure to set a random default MacOS root password (a fundamental technical security feature) once again calls into question the recent competence of Apple’s historically excellent quality control and product testing, and may slow the adoption of the firm’s latest flagship operating system. The widespread media publicity surrounding the story is also likely to undermine Apple’s long-held reputation for security on Mac devices.
Apple issued an apology, stating ‘We greatly regret this error and apologise to all Mac users.”
For Apple assistance and support, contact Lineal’s IT team today.
Firefox Quantum has been released to the world, in Mozilla’s biggest browser release since 2004.
Mozilla’s newest version of their flagship open-source browser project is by far the fastest ever version, with a visibly quicker, crisp style and 30% less memory usage than Chrome. In a subtle nod to Microsoft Edge’s fading promise, the project claims the new Browser will be fast ‘For Good.’
Lineal’s team have been impressed by how jaw-dropingly quick the new browser is. Strip back the home screen to nothing but a search bar and jumping to your first optimised web-page is like turning the page of a book – the kind of responsiveness Google say they want to one day achieve with Chrome.
And Firefox must stand up to Chrome. Google’s own web-browser has become the closest thing to an internet standard since competition rules finally punctured Internet Explorer’s dominance in the mid 2000s.
Chrome’s flat-packaged browser now accounts for around 60% of all normal web use, and increasingly eclipses major rivals like Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari. This level of conformity may be unhelpful – just as Microsoft’s old defacto-monopoly of the browser market arguably prevented Internet Explorer from developing, to the detriment of web users, so Google Chrome’s dominance needs to be challenged. If not by Firefox, then whom?
Not comprehensively challenged, sadly: Firefox Quantum moves Mozilla from using Yahoo! search by default, to using Google, where the search giant is even further ahead. Mozilla will also inevitably fall far behind Google on mobile, where it runs on under 1% of devices thanks in part to Google’s own development of the Android platform.
Nevertheless a super-fast, community-driven browser for the future of the Internet (even on desktop) really is a breath of fresh air.
Google search is by far the world’s biggest search engine (sorry Bing), but some of its more hidden Google games, apps and tools are lesser known – a reward for a lucky few.
Got a few minutes to kill? Here’s some of our favourites:
Chrome Dinosaur
Google’s Chrome browser contains an offline game for when your browser can’t connect to the internet: T-Rex run charts the journey of a pixelated dinosaur in her/his quest to reach the right hand-side of the screen.
Press space bar to begin, jump over obstacles and try to set a new high score. Perfect for killing a couple of minutes when your router is re-starting.
Like Google Earth, Google Sky allows you to explore the heavens with useful overlays for learning the constellations, and zooming into high quality NASA photography of distant galaxies where available.
For extra wonder, search out the ‘Ultra Deep Field’ image, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995 – the furthest optical point humanity has ever seen.
Make Music
For the creative-type, Google added this guitar widget to its hidden Google games in 2011. Move your mouse over the strings to compose a musical masterpiece, and record your jamming session with a handy record function.
Google Doodle Pacman
Google’s doodles have become an almost daily feature – celebrating everything from the World Cup, the birthdays of famous inventors and the anniversary of beloved 1980s classics.
The doodles normally link to a relevant search term intended to educate, but just occasionally games – such as a wonderful ‘Google-themed’ Pacman widget from 2010.
Communications regulator Ofcom has ruled that automatic compensation for broadband faults will be available to customers experiencing service faults.
Customers of BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and Zen internet (roughly 90% of UK customers) will be able to claim £8 per day for disconnections not fixed after 2 days, £5 for delayed repairs, and £25 for scheduled engineer visits which do not happen.
Ofcom estimates automatic pay-outs could exceed £142m annually, considerably more than the estimated 15% of claims currently paid out by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) each year.
Customers will be expected to follow a complaints procedure to receive compensation – revised guidance will be published in advance of the changes coming into effect in 2019. Existing rules detailing what types of faults should currently be referred to your ISP are available here.
As before, compensation is not expected to cover internal network or internet connection delivery problems at a property, with BT levelling charges on customers who request unnecessary engineer call-outs.
Broadband customers can learn more about their statutory rights on Ofcom’s website here.
Need IT Support? – call Lineal’s experienced team today.
Microsoft have announced their plans for combining Skype for Business and Microsoft Teams, setting out how the two communications platforms will merge in a new Microsoft Teams roadmap.
As Lineal predicted just a few weeks ago, Microsoft will indeed align the two apps under one heading, named Microsoft Teams, from Summer 2018.
Microsoft Teams, a super-smooth instant messaging and group sharing app for business, will go head to head with rapidly expanding collaboration app rivals like Slack and Basecamp, but will incorporate the enterprise business telephony and conferencing abilities (including PSTN calling, video conferencing and group screen sharing) from the hugely popular Skype for Business.
On the Messaging side all new planned features (for example contact groups, chat between the two apps and Skype for Business contact import) will be available by the end of Q1 2018, although Meeting and Calling additions are more gradual.
Certain Meetings features, such as browser-based meetings via teams and audio conference calls will be available by Q4 of 2017, although power uses will need to wait until Q2 of 2018 for more advanced features such as recording, powerpoint share and PSTN fallback.
Call queues, out of office support and transfer to PSTN call tools will be running by next Summer, with call park and shared line appearance delayed until Q4 of 2018.
Users can already run both Skype for Business and Teams side by side, although Microsoft will increasingly push users in the direction of the latter. Extra help materials for organisations making the transition can be found here.
Both Teams and Skype for Business are already included at no extra charge to Microsoft Office 365 Business Premium customers, although many do not even realise the leading communication apps are available to use.
While the combined product is likely to be an extremely powerful and flexible business tool, Microsoft’s challenge for the Teams roadmap will be to make Microsoft Teams as much of a household name as the Skype brand.
Lineal are a Microsoft Gold partner – contact us today for Office 365 support.
This year Lineal’s SQLWorks Team traveled to Arnhem, The Netherlands, for the 4-day European Omnis Developers Conference – EurOmnis 2017.
Conference workshops offer the opportunity for developers from more than a dozen countries to exhibit their latest work, seek advice from other programmers and share best practice. A primarily educational event, EurOmnis brings together the brightest and best to further develop software projects and draw on a wider pool of knowledge.
Members of the Omnis Executive Team also attended to discuss the very latest developments of the platform, explain new features (such as remote debugging technology working live from the developer console) and gather valuable feedback from the wider Omnis developer community.
Managing Director of Lineal Software Solutions, Mike Matthews explained: “Over the many years during which we’ve helped organise EurOmnis, both the software itself and the Omnis Developers Group (ODEV) have gone from strength the strength.”
“This year’s conference studied some exciting breakthroughs in web development, mobile/tablet-friendly user interfaces, internet-of-things (IOT) examples, future API technology, and much, much more.”
“SQLWorks is designed to be a highly flexible business management software, and we greatly value contributions from the extraordinarily diverse range of industry sectors, creative skills and technical knowledge represented each year at EurOmnis.”
In addition to coding, EurOmnis 2017 attendees had the chance to visit and dine at the Kasteel Doorwerth, a medieval chateaux dating from before the 13th Century, and literary home of the Beaulieu restaurant, where Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema wrote Soldier of Orange.
See you next year!
Lineal are Omnis and business software development specialists – learn more here.
Technology firms are urgently issuing fixes for the WPA2 KRACK (Key Reinstallation Attack) thought to compromise the WPA2 encryption used in most WiFi routers and other wirelessly enabled devices.
The exploit, discovered and published by Mathy Vanhoef, a Belgian security expert for Imec-Distrinet, Ku Leuven, has caused serious alarm amongst cybersecurity professionals due to the widespread use of WPA2 across millions of items of networked hardware around the World.
Security guidance remains to continue using WPA2 (rather than reverting to an older encryption standard) and to install the latest WPA2 KRACK security updates from manufacturers as soon as they are available.
A number of key technology vendors were notified in August, giving them some time to prepare. Microsoft are reported to have adjusted “how Windows verifies windows group key handshakes” to fix the issue. Apple and Android are yet to specify exactly when patches will be available, although both are understood to be working on a secure fix to be made available in coming weeks. The more responsive hardware developers, including Cisco and Ubiquiti, yesterday began issuing guidance and new firmware for their wireless equipment.
The Wi-Fi Alliance, the international organisation dedicated to developing Wi-Fi technology, have essentially argued that there is no need to panic. There is no evidence of the extremely serious hack being deployed outside test conditions (yet) – although it’s probably only a matter of time before someone attempts to do so. Because Wi-Fi relies on physical range, it’s likely this could target public Wi-Fi and other easily accessible networks. For this reason, users are (as always) reminded not to use public networks for sensitive tasks, such as online banking.
It’s clear from the increased publicity surrounding the discovery that major vendors of network equipment will be under pressure to issue the required WPA2 KRACK security patches.
However, the underlying vulnerability also threatens a wide range of wirelessly connected internet-of-things (IOT) devices – including everything from CCTV to smart-fridges – such that it’s unclear just how widespread this latest security flaw will actually prove.
For IT support and cybersecurity expertise: get in touch with Lineal today.
A public consultation on broadband speed and delivery is being conducted by Ofcom until 10th November, as the regulator seeks to hold Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to account.
Ofcom currently requires ISPs to provide an estimated download speed the end user will receive in product advertising.
Providers typically advertise possible broadband speed with the phase ‘up to’, rather than guarantee a deliverable lesser service level (very difficult) although under new rules may be asked to express this as a form of average to more accurately reflect the broadband speeds experienced by the majority of customers.
The consultation is part of a trend in recent years for regulators to tighten up broadband speed advertising rules, and eliminate the more misleading claims sometimes used by ISPs to imply a better quality internet service – as Virgin Media found out to its cost, when a series of adverts featuring Jamaican Sprinter Usain Bolt and several unsubstantiated phrases such as “bye-bye to buffering” were blocked by the Advertising Standards Authority.
Subject to the findings of the consultation, new rules are expected to give consumers the right to terminate their broadband contracts without penalty should their provider not be able to guarantee the minimum standard of service on which the contract was sold.
Exactly what that ‘minimum standard’ should be in future hasn’t yet been made clear. Very few users will receive the perfect 80Mbps download speed theoretically granted to them from super-fast fibre in 80:20 enabled-areas, but to what extent the service will be degraded largely depends on copper-wired distance from the nearest fibre-enabled BT cabinet to each customer’s router.
Businesses seeking a required level of connectivity may opt for a dedicated leased line with higher data allowances – although these carry waiting periods for installation, and are not a cost-effective option for an individual domestic consumer.
Recently released in beta, Veeam Backup for Office 365 is a curious idea. Remember the old days of email? A physical server in a backroom somewhere sorting your business mail like a private sorting office?
It’s not really hard to see why that setup became redundant: that trusty piece of hardware, with its installed copy of email handling software like Microsoft Exchange or Kerio, was doomed to fail eventually, whether it be from an office disaster or the finite lifespan of hardware.
Then cloud-based services came along and ensured your email was suddenly resilient to real-world dangers. A cloud backup for your Exchange Onsite was dependable, and if backing up into the cloud wasn’t enough, why not just move there entirely? No service has exemplified this virtual shift more than Microsoft Office 365 – placing your entire Exchange (and operating your inbox client too if your prefer) off-site in the cloud, and letting Microsoft worry about the data centre infrastructure, has frequently been the smart choice for both IT strategy and budgets.
For many, the cloud was backup enough, but in larger organisations or those with special regulatory demands on email retention or availability, users are increasingly wary of certain dangers from a wholesale move to the cloud.
Because internet outages aside, the offline copy you have control over is only as reliable as the client laptop of smartphone it’s stored on, and client devices are frequently even more at risk than your old server. Break your device on the same day as your office loses connectivity for any reason, and your email history is suddenly hundreds of miles away.
Enter Veeam’s newest backup product: Veeam Backup for Office 365 – which turns the concept of a hybrid backup upside down to provide something new, in the form of a local backup for Exchange Online.
Backup for Office 365 replicates a backup of your Microsoft cloud-based email and calendars to a server of your choice (a physical piece of hardware if you wish) on specific backup terms. Users can continue operating Office 365’s wonderfully tactile email service from the cloud, knowing that Veeam will provide you an up-to-date local copy your IT team can immediately seize in event of an emergency.
The actual server architecture holding the backup can be physical or virtual (which potentially makes the entire notion of ‘localised’ hybrid backup a bit abstract, but bear with us) so Veeam’s solution is adaptable in the extreme – re-saving your emails wherever you prefer, to any machine with a Microsoft operating system.
The curious thing is that this hybrid inversion actually makes a lot of practical sense, and re-introduces a critical fail-safe role for a traditional ‘on-hand’ server. Veeam’s mission statement, to always provide ‘availability for the always-on enterprise‘ (a focus on constant, utterly uncompromising uptime of IT services and data for businesses that can’t afford any downtime) is demonstrated with a technical obsession to fulfill even the most demanding business continuity planning.
For business continuity and IT contingency planning, contact Lineal today about Veeam Backup for Office 365
iOS 11 users who updated their iPhones and iPads this week have been given a nasty shock, upon discovering Microsoft email services will no longer function correctly.
Apple are reported to be ‘working closely’ with Microsoft to resolve the issues – affecting compatibility with Microsoft Exchange 2016, Office 365 and Outlook.com – which display an error message informing users that their mail account “Cannot send mail. The message was rejected by the server.”
One week on from Apple’s flagship iPhone X launch, the problem leaves the tech giant with a public relations headache, as early adopters of the newest touchscreen operating system rush to complain online.
Rubbing salt in the wound, Microsoft also published an official support warning on Tuesday, rather mischievously entitled: “You can’t send or reply from Outlook.com, Office 365, or Exchange 2016 in iOS 11 Mail.app”. According to MacRumors, beta testers (including engineers at Lineal) were raising the Microsoft email service problem as early as July, although it appears to be unresolved by Apple’s developers.
Users urgently needing email are advised to download the Outlook for iOS app from the App Store as a lifesaving alternative, suffer a more Microsoft branded email experience, and await rescue from Apple bug fixers.
Google Drive client will be replaced with separate Personal and Business applications from March 2018 – here’s what you need to know.
Officially deprecated already according to Google, the existing Google Drive desktop folder (an automatic excuse for an argument among team Lineal) will instead be led-by its existing backup and sync facility in the personal edition of the new software, becoming Google ‘Backup and Sync’.
New users will already be prompted to install the inelegantly named ‘Backup and Sync’ when downloading Google Drive’s old desktop client.
Functionally similar once you become familiar with where the application resides and make a desktop shortcut for the file, backup and sync computer backup can be denied if you’d prefer to configure your Google Drive client to run like the old version.
Attentive Google Drive users will note the software itself has only changed emphasis – Google Drive has had the ability to backup an entire PC or Mac’s designated folders for some time, but the new client prioritises this such that users are encouraged to work this way by default, and put ever more of their data into the cloud automatically.
For business users of Google Suite, Google Drive’s downloadable client becomes ‘Drive File Stream’ – making Google Drive’s desktop presence an excellent ‘files-on-demand’ application akin to Microsoft’s OneDrive’s latest enterprise update.
Cloud-based files will be available if you are connected to the internet, but won’t automatically sync a local copy unless prompted to – helping larger organisations cut down on both the amount of both network traffic and unnecessary storage use on user devices. Your laptop just became a kind of Chromebook: very efficient for space and allowing much better use of high-performing SSD storage on ultra-portable devices.
Team Lineal are particularly impressed by Drive File Stream, but can’t help but feel the distinction will be confusing to less-technical users. Where Google Drive shines is in it’s simplicity: and this might become a little tarnished from next year.
This year’s new iPhone X and iPhone 8 have been released by Apple at 2017’s keynote address at the new Steve Jobs Theatre in California.
The future is here, albeit a week after the rest of us found out of course – large parts of Apple’s keynote address leaked to a number of technology news outlets just a few days ago, somewhat undercutting the surprise.
Rumours had been circulating of a full screen, super-expensive iPhone model without a home button – and Apple delivered it artfully in the form of a new iPhone generation and new flagship model, where the “device disappears into the experience.”
While the iPhone 8 (and Plus model) appear visibly similar to previous models, the eye-wateringly expensive iPhone X ($999 or £999, available for pre-order from the deck of your yacht from October 27th) if anything, begins to look less like an iPhone in pursuit of screen space.
All the usual tweaks have been repeated – the new models are slimmer, more powerful and boast longer battery life, a fresh outer-case and in particular, dramatically sharper OLED screens that squeeze the most from the stunning new design. So far so Apple.
On the iPhone X the removal of the Touch ID fingerprint sensor from the front face necessitates the introduction of a new Face ID authentication tool using the 7 mega-pixel front-facing camera, which ‘sees’ whether the user is the correct person to unlock the phone.
A spin-off of the Face ID authentication is the ability to track users faces for other purposes – such as customised animal emojis copying your facial expression, henceforth known as Animojis.
Updated Apple Watch ‘Series 3’ and 4K HDR Apple TV models were also announced, bringing those ranges back up-to-date again. Apple’s new wireless charging station will be able to charge several devices simultaneously, and the glass outer shell of the new iPhone models has been chosen to help optimise this inductive charging.
Apple’s share price has been on a roller-coaster ride since yesterday: a decline during the keynote address itself, which media outlets enjoyed blaming on an unfortunate technical glitch which left Apple exec Craig Federighi temporarily unable to unlock the screen of the iPhone X whilst on stage, was in fact more likely to reflect the announcement that new model won’t actually be sold until Q3.
This leaves a few more months until the iPhone (and almost solely the iPhone) gives Apple the accolade of becoming the World’s very first trillion dollar company.
Microsoft’s Azure Cloud platform has taken the business world by storm, adding a record 120 thousand customers every month last year, 6 million total users, and holding an estimated 1.4 million SQL databases.
If you’re not technical, you could be forgiven for being unsure of what it actually is or how it works. We can’t hope to cover the over six hundred potential applications, but here’s a crash course guide to understanding Azure.
What is it?
Microsoft Azure is a business ‘cloud computing’ service created by Microsoft for operating IT applications and services from the cloud.
Everything run, tested, built, shared, stored (and more) from Azure exists in one or more of a number of secure Microsoft data centres around the World (or via a local service if you prefer.)
OK, but what is it actually?
Think servers. Lots and lots of servers. Locked down, climate controlled warehouses full of servers humming away running every computing process imaginable from email to databases, virtual desktops to machine learning, file storage to phone apps.
Customers who purchase Microsoft Azure services get access, via the internet, to a tiny fraction of this worldwide supercomputing infrastructure, with the option to run a huge variety of potential services in the cloud.
Azure itself has no-upfront charges, and is instead billed by the minute based on usage and the computing demands of the service purchased.
Why is that good?
This is instant access computing. Need 50 extra virtual servers by this afternoon? Tap a few buttons and they’re available.
The staggering economies of scale means Microsoft always has practically unlimited scalable computing power available, on demand, at subscription pricing.
The ability to spin up temporary services (impossibly impractical if you tried to resort to urgently buying physical hardware) and remove them again, allows businesses to react instantly and cost-effectively to even the most wildly fluctuating IT demands.
Even more mundane computing processes – such as large numbers of hosted desktop sessions can be delivered from Azure, without being such a logistical challenge.
OK, but what if it goes wrong?
Azure is reliable. Crazily reliable. Microsoft’s uptime statistics are as dependable as you would expect from their leading enterprise cloud service – in 2015 achieving a remarkable 99.9936% of annual uptime.
Much as with other Microsoft Cloud services (like Office 365’s OneDrive) an array of backup procedures ensures copies of data stored are protected and duplicates available for recovery. Virtualisation, where everything runs in an isolated software environment kept independent of the physical hardware, means individual drives and servers are expendable – your IT lives on, supported by the rest of the hundreds of remaining server racks.
Microsoft are discrete about their security, but in a data centre empire where every email is tested through a minimum of 3 independent antivirus services, it’s safe to say both physical and digital security is extremely tight. Centralised infrastructure also gives Azure (and every Azure customer) the kind of specialist professional and cybersecurity defences unavailable to all but the very largest enterprise corporations.
Need access to the remaining 0.0064% of the year? Remember that for at least half of the World’s inhabitants, it’s likely these 29 minutes of annual downtime will fall whilst you’re asleep.
Do I need a computing PHD to use it?
Yes and no. Anyone can, in theory, get started with a free account (and $150 of free credits) today from Azure’s website, and test out the service.
The interface is relatively intuitive and, like all Microsoft’s cloud services, works consistently across tablet and mobile devices if you wish to play about with Microsoft’s cloud until your free credits have expired.
However, in reality what you demand of the infrastructure is likely to require a more complex setup. Unless you’re a true enthusiast with some special requirements, Azure’s cloud infrastructure is like a private helicopter: not really optimal for personal use (and there are far more sensible options available)
Cost by the minute also means that, when choosing from the bewildering array of virtual machine specs and other services available, it would be easy to overspend if you’re not careful. Indeed part of Azure’s business model is based on ambitious, technology-hungry companies biting off slightly more than they can chew.
To make sure your Azure deployment is both effective and proportional to your budget, call the experts.
Lineal are a Gold Microsoft Partner – contact us today: 01271 375999
Appledore’s intrepid U14 pilot gig crew have won the coveted 2017 Lineal Shield.
Sponsored by Lineal, the annual youth competition is just one race among the men’s, women’s and youth events held between local gig clubs as part of the annual North Devon Pilot Gig Club Regatta in Barnstaple.
This year’s winning youth team had to contend with the hot sunshine of an August Bank holiday on the river Taw, completing the traditional 1-mile sprint race which finishes by Barnstaple’s Longbridge, just outside Lineal’s riverfront offices, at a record pace.
Fans and supporters lined the Barnstaple quayside to cheer on the local gig races, including the winning Appledore boat, the Whitford.
Signalling from the quarterdeck of his event camera-boat the ‘Red Baron’, Lineal’s naval correspondent and Managing Director Mike Matthews congratulated the young team on their success:
“This is the second year of the Lineal Shield competition, and it was fantastic to see the Appledore team win the trophy in spectacular fashion. It’s important we do everything we can to support youth sport.”
“Congratulations to all the excellent local teams who took part in this year’s brilliant community event. I’m off to the pub.”
The most visually compelling changes are the partial screen management of apps – in particular Android’s new ‘notification dots’ which launch a floating speech bubble-style notification from the app icon itself, and ‘picture-in-picture’ app-minimisation into a small corner screen allowing app-multitasking.
The defining test for this will be whether users increasingly see their smartphones as even more powerful workhorse devices, capable of running a computer-style ‘desktop’ of apps all at once, or find the extra content on screen overwhelming.
In hardware terms, Google claims Android Oreo will bring significant advantages behind the scenes improving app security from Google Play, battery life, and system performance. This last benefit has been achieved, Google adds, by the way Oreo will limit the computing demands of background apps not being displayed.
There are also nods to the latest trends – fresh emojis for the newest standard of Unicode, richer screen colours (subject to device) and, in a move likely to be welcome amongst recovering smartphone addicts: intrusive notification ‘snoozing’.
At the time of writing, Android Oreo is currently only available in Beta, with Google’s own Pixel and Nexus handsets widely expected to be the first to receive the new update. Third-party developers (prolific in the open-source universe of Android) are likely to be spoilt too: with early availability and various development tweaks, such as tooltip functionality and new API tools for Oreo apps.
Timescales from the other Android smartphone manufacturers are unclear – although speaking to TechCrunch: LG, Huawei, HTC, Blackberry and OnePlus statements suggested a willingness to offer Android Oreo to customers sooner rather than later, with Motorola and Samsung sounding slightly more cautious.
Perhaps no industry moves faster than the world of telecoms, with traditional business PBX phone systems looking increasingly ancient on the wall.
At Lineal we’ve been impressed at just how quickly technology has advanced to support far greater user mobility, more flexible deployments, wider integration and dramatically lower costs.
Businesses (and other organisations) have more choices open to them than ever before – we look at 3 of our favourite options that make much more sense than struggling on indefinitely with prehistoric communications.
ShoreTel Connect
ShoreTel’s on-site phone systems have been some of the best for years, and their Connect platform continues to impress.
Connect is available as either a feature-rich and scalable ‘on-site’ system (more familiar to a normal enterprise workplace), or in the cloud (an option increasingly popular with the sub-25 user smaller business market looking to avoid heavier upfront expense or where users are split across multiple offices.)
The Californian company’s handsets are simply the best we’ve ever seen, durable and well-built with clear and effective controls. The noise cancellation built into every handset is so effective it has to be experienced to be believed.
Yet it is ShoreTel’s software (intellectual property so well regarded that telecoms behemoth Mitel has spent several years manoeuvring to purchase the entire company) where the real innovation lies.
A cross-platform, smartphone friendly, cloud-based collaboration and instant messaging unified solution more akin to Slack, Basecamp or Microsoft Teams, ShoreTel takes everything to a whole new level of integration. The onscreen client for Windows/Mac is already a superbly intuitive piece of design, but is increasingly becoming part of a bigger software offering that feels identical across lots of devices and screen sizes.
For maximum flexibility and features at competitive pricing, look no further than one of the UK’s fastest growing business telecoms providers.
Gamma Horizon replaces your boxy on-site PBX with subscriptions to a virtual equivalent in a UK data centre, with VOIP handsets that operate over the internet. 4000 minutes a month are included as standard per phone, sufficient for even the most talkative callers using the cloud-based system.
This brings some major advantages: the phones themselves should work anywhere with an internet connection and power supply (router permitting) allowing one cohesive ‘system’ to cover multiple sites or home offices. The number of subscriptions can be increased or decreased to balance requirements against cost, or to fit with seasonal businesses. More complex features such as advanced call-routing, auto-attendant, smart-phone apps and scheduling are also available, and all the phones in a system will obey the configuration set in the online web portal, wherever they’re located.
Handsets connected to Horizon look and feel like any traditional phone systems in use, with Polycom’s business-like HD Voice hardware our recommendation (portable DECT and conference phones are also available.)
Calls between Gamma phones are free of charge, with other special deals available to Gamma broadband customers. The UK small/medium business sector appears to love the flexibility of Gamma Horizon, so it’s little wonder there are already more than a quarter of a million endpoints out there.
Skype for Business
Why pay for a phone on your desk? Sure, we all find something very reassuring about the heft of a piece of well-manufactured plastic, but when we so many people use laptops and carry smartphones anyway, many businesses will correctly reason that the extra expense is not *actually* mandatory.
Skype for Business is available as both a desktop and smartphone app – users can make or answer audio or video calls from either. Arguably the best thing about this software (’softphone’) alternative is that anyone already using Microsoft Office 365 Business Premium or Enterprise plans has it available to download and use via the cloud without extra charge.
Internal calls between users and instant messaging are free, and integration with Microsoft Exchange allows your Outlook calendar meetings to sync up with the on-screen client. Video conferencing is (surprisingly) smooth and reliable, even on low bandwidth connections, and with handy options for screen sharing and group meetings also available – again at no extra cost.
Add PSTN licensing however (for a fraction of a normal call plan), and Skype’s business version allows you to dial outside Skype for Business to any phone, becoming a fully fledged unified communications solutions and replacement for traditional phone systems.
Skype for Business is brilliant for dispersed teams, mobile-workers and anyone seeking a low cost collaboration solution. More advanced call-routing and auto-attendant options are still being developed, leaving Skype for Business still some way short of an enterprise phone system in the cloud for now, but for businesses looking for a cost-effective next-generation digital transformation, such an option could be ground-breaking.
… and for those who still find a soft-phone a step too far, Skype for Business can still be ‘plugged-in’ to many SIP desk phones or conference phones, for a more familiar call experience.
Each year we ask you what we can do to improve, and your feedback helps us make positive changes to the quality of our IT services and support. Here’s how we did in our Client Feedback Survey 2017:
As ever, thank you to everyone who responded to our request for your opinions in Lineal’s Client Feedback Survey 2017 – praise is very encouraging, and constructive criticism extremely useful in improving how we deliver a quality service to a wide range of organisations and businesses.
Overall, an all-time record 96% of you believed we understood your IT queries either ‘Extremely Well’ or ‘Well’, and 88% of you rated the work of Lineal’s IT Support helpdesk service either ‘Good’ or ‘Great.’
Most encouragingly we’re resolving more of your IT queries than ever, more efficiently. More than 56% of you now feel we solve your problems either “Quicker” or “Much Quicker” than expected. This figure has more than doubled during the last 2 years, and we want to develop it further.
There are still areas we need to work on: we’ll be focusing on improving our communication (particularly the speed of call-backs) and ensuring the valued relationship you have with your account managers is maintained as our team grows further.
Your comments also help us get a better sense of how you feel about the human side of business support and adjust accordingly – here were a few of our favourites:
You guys are BRILLIANT! 🙂
Always quick to respond to issues or queries and all staff are extremely knowledgable
Great IT support and team. Perhaps just a little more communication internally is needed. It is sometimes the case that we are told someone will get back to us and they do not. But overall, the problem is usually resolved with friendly people.
We find Joe very helpful sorting out any problems we have in a very short time
The lines of communication with Lineal have been very good. We have had worthwhile conversations around additional services which Lineal could provide in the future.
Thank you once again to everyone who sent us their feedback this year.
Intel technologies has released it’s newest generation of storage products, including new drives and a curious intel ruler format solid state drive (SSD)
The futuristic M.2 format storage ‘stick’ is a lengthy SSD designed to add jaw-dropping storage density to servers: a single 1U server space (approximately 1.75 inches high) will be able to hold 1 Petabyte (that’s 1,000 TB of storage, or the equivalent of more than 500,000 free Dropbox accounts, if you prefer.)
Intel’s design allows each unit to use significantly less space on holding, connecting to and cooling large numbers of traditionally shaped drives. The solid state format, increasingly the standard in laptops but now also in many servers, holds no moving parts making them increasingly durable. Flash-only storage allows far greater performance, less weight and more efficient power use. Smaller DC S4500 and S4600 formats are also available for a variety of storage sizes, if you prefer the more conventional design.
It’s unclear how manageable the new intel ruler drives will be if a server suffers a drive failure, although expect these to be ordered by the hundred in the world’s most futuristic data-centres, where data replication and forward planning are a science in their own right.
Intel also insist that like the miniaturised version fitted to laptops to improve performance, the new format helps cut power consumption, although here the details are a valuable and closely guarded technology secret.
For IT advice and consultancy, please get in touch with our IT support team today.
Microsoft have announced the introduction of eye-tracking cursor and typing controls, as part of the latest Windows 10 Insider Preview Build.
‘Eye control’ is due to become a new accessibility feature (think those unable to use conventional physical controls), which uses a dedicated camera to track the tiny movements of your eyeball and triangulate where the user is focused on screen.
The technology itself is brought to you by Swedish eye-tracking software developer and camera company Tobii – working in partnership with Microsoft, and various health groups, for example Motor-Neuron Disease patient communities. Specialist cameras can be designed into special devices, retrofitted to the base of a device screen as a peripheral, or fitted into the user’s glasses.
Tobii’s ‘Eye Tracker 4C’ is the very first to support Windows 10, and the company clearly sees widespread roll-out as part of a mainstream operating system to be their best route to widespread adoption and awareness of the assistive technology among a broader user-base. Sight-based control has already been used successfully in gaming and other consumer fields, but introduction as a ‘baked-in’ part of Windows 10 would be setting a new standard for usability in business IT.
Independent research suggests that users may initially find eye-tracking controls tiring after long periods of use, such that their PC usage time may need to be moderated. In addition, recent studies have suggested that although eye-tracking data is not considered by legally classed as ‘biometric’, it is possible to identify users by their eye-tracking data from PC use, in much the same way that a key-logger might record unique typing data.
However, with Windows 10 now running on over 270 million devices, eye-tracking abilities may be seen on a PC near you sooner than expected.
Lineal’s IT Support team are certified as a Microsoft Gold Partner – for advice and support, contact us today: 01271 375999
Fake hardware has been seized by a City of London Police intellectual property crimes unit, following a recent raid in Kent.
The counterfeit networking equipment, worth at least £300,000, is believed to have been manufactured by organised criminals imitating the high-quality hardware of IT giant Cisco.
Police believe the risks of organised criminal gangs being caught transporting imitation IT hardware are lower than for drugs or firearms, and that only technically-trained specialists would be able to distinguish counterfeit technology from the real thing.
Although no evidence of cyber-security intrusions have so far been found, engineers from Cisco stressed that small items like these could easily find their way into a business or public-sector supply chain, become mixed up with genuine network hardware, or fail due to low-quality manufacture.
Customers who suspect they may have encountered counterfeit items should isolate the hardware in question from other devices and report their suspicions to IT staff.
Lineal are a Cisco Select Partner – for hardware advice and support, please contact our team today: 01271 375999
Intel have caused widespread confusion amongst expectant Apple iMac Pro customers, following an announcement that their new processors won’t actually be powerful enough for the new iMac Pro.
Apple’s upcoming new flagship iMac is set to be high-powered in the extreme, supposedly boasting up to 18 cores running at 4.5Ghz, up to 16GB RAM and 4TB of SSD storage.
Unfortunately, Intel’s new server-grade Xeon ‘Purley’ processor chips and specifically the fastest Intel Xeon Gold 6144 which will soon be available, can only reach a turbo-boosted 4.2Ghz at best.
This leaves Apple either falsely advertising the specifications of their upcoming new iMac Pro, or unable to build the device pending further developments. It’s unclear whether this was simply a miscommunication between Intel and Apple, or whether Intel have embarrassingly fallen short of some previous agreement during research and development.
The new iMac Pro isn’t actually due to be released until December 2017, so there’s still time for Apple to manoeuvre on the exact details of the Pro’s staggering specification.
The ‘Most Advanced Graphics ever’ includes the new Radeon Pro Vega GPU: able to handle all the next-generation 3D-rendering, virtual reality and machine learning tasks one would expect from a ground-breaking Apple device which will need to last several years of technological advancement – and justify a $4,999 (starting) price!
It appears that rather than replacing the existing cylindrical Mac Pro, the new ‘most powerful’ device in Apple’s range will simply combine the 5k retina display as part of the iMac Pro package, perhaps correctly reasoning that the space-grey behemoth will already be the reserve of premium customers.
Apple remains particularly strong within the creative sector, and the new iMac Pro almost looks like a gauntlet, thrown down in challenge to the most processor-demanding architects, animators or video-editors to do their worst.
Once it can actually be assembled that is.
For Apple hardware, expertise and support: contact Lineal’s IT Support team today.
Brainboxes from Lineal have won North Devon’s first Tarka Radio Quiz night.
Tarka Radio, North Devon’s Hospital Radio station, is run by volunteers for the enjoyment of patients and staff at North Devon District Hospital.
Public, business and smartypants technology teams all took part in the charitable quiz at the Barnstaple Hotel to help raise funds for the beloved local broadcaster.
An intrepid six, assembled from the elite across different Lineal departments, answered three long rounds of tricky questions with only 5 incorrect answers.
Our thanks to Tarka Radio Chairman Keith Turner for organising such an enjoyable evening on behalf of a good cause.
SQLWorks is changing: Lineal will be launching a new major version of our flagship business software in 2017.
Version 8 will bring a host of new features to our flagship business management software, as well as provide existing SQLWorks customers a greatly improved user-experience.
Managing Director of Lineal Mike Matthews explained: “We were determined to release a major new version of SQLWorks this year, and wanted to implement the customer feedback we’ve been gathering in recent months.”
“By changing to the StudioWorks 8 framework, SQLWorks Version 8 will allow us to update the technology behind our business software – modernising the visual ‘look-and-feel’ to be more intuitive, adding greater flexibility, and offering more options for integration.”
In a surprise move, Eugene Kaspersky has publicly offered to give the US Government access to the source code of its security software in a bid for transparency.
The offer is the latest development in an ongoing dance between the Russian IT security company and the US Government, after the Senate Armed Services Committee threatened to ‘blacklist’ the software company from applying for US defence contracts over the risk of influence from the Russian Government.
In a sensationalist piece released by Bloomberg, journalists claim the Moscow-based firm hold regular meetings with Russian Ministry of Defence and FSB agents, and that Eugene Kaspersky has even personally met with Russian intelligence officials in a ‘banya’ sauna.
Kaspersky argues the headlines are part of a ‘witch-hunt’ by Washington; industry analysts have acknowledged the heightened scrutiny of Kaspersky by US authorities has closely followed their recent uncovering of NSA ‘Equation’ hacking tools as a part of work against recent ransomware outbreaks, but may also represent the beginnings of a smear campaign by domestic US security providers.
Speaking to the Associated Press, the security provider implied it had already rejected government requests to undertake offensive cyberattacks rather than defensive software development – not necessarily requested by the Russian government.
Against the background of press-interest in alleged Russian hacking stories, it appears the dramatic feud has some distance left to run.
For IT security advice and expertise – contact Lineal’s team today.
Lineal are proud of our role investing in skills and people, and our growing office now includes two talented new apprentices looking to develop their technical know-how.
Apprenticeships provide a vital way for trainee staff to develop specialist industry skills, highly-sought after by employers, at an early age.
In the second of our recent ‘new faces’ features, we welcome these two new valuable members of our IT Support team:
Lewis Marrow
Lewis joins our IT support team from Petroc as our first ‘Degree Apprentice’, pursuing education and training in tandem. He’ll join our main IT support team on the frontline to help resolve customers’ IT queries and help improve their system security.
Focused on security in particular, Lewis has even demonstrated Lineal’s ability track email fraudsters, and aims to become a cyber-security specialist.
Luke Woolacott
Luke joins us an Apprentice to support Lineal’s workshop – expanding our ability to turn around repairs more quickly, and deliver more ambitious hardware and cabling projects, both in-house and on-site.
Always hands-on with technology, Luke previously worked for one of North Devon’s best known retail companies before pursuing a new career with Lineal.
Mobile phone charges for travellers within the EU officially end from today under a new EU Law.
Additional fees levied by mobile providers for cross-border calls (‘roaming’ charges) had been significantly higher – often catching out unsuspecting holidaymakers.
The end of costly EU roaming charges is widely credited as one of the EU’s most popular achievements, ending fees that the commission felt represented one additional cost barrier to cross-border communication. The agreement has not been without difficulties however, and the new regulation has taken 10 years to come into force.
However, as always with the EU, this welcome news for travellers comes with some specific caveats:
Users will still be charged high fees for data use (at around £8.30/GB, falling incrementally in future years), whilst standard calls and texts will remain at typical network pricing.
EU roaming phones will be monitored for time spent on ‘home’ networks and ‘roaming’ networks to discourage phone users taking out a contract in a cheaper country and using it permanently in a more expensive country. If found not to be truly ‘roaming’, extra charges may still apply.
Call fees will still be higher for international calls made from the customer’s home country.
Countries in ‘Europe’ but not in the European Economic Area (EEA) will not be included in the agreement (including Switzerland, Serbia and the Channel Islands among others) nor will calls from cross-channel ferries and other satellite-linked areas.
It’s as yet unclear what will happen after Brexit.
Lineal’s been growing recently, and we’re pleased to be able to welcome some new faces onto our team to help better support our customers:
Sarah Allsobrook
Sarah joined Lineal earlier this year from a well-known North Devon electronic engineering company, and has quickly become an invaluable member of our team.
Her responsibilities include managing communication with our customers, coordinating our engineers’ busy schedules, and ensuring that Lineal’s offices run smoothly.
Kieran Tennant
Kieran became part of Lineal’s SQLWorks team a few weeks ago for work experience. So far, he has been assisting with more complex data tasks, and helps maintain our IT Support Team’s Lineal Active Monitoring Process (LAMP): a proactive series of hardware maintenance checks performed every day on our clients servers- a job that favours a methodical approach and a keen eye for the early warning signs of server problems.
Messy office cabling can cause a number of both technical and safety problems: in addition to being a nasty trip and electrical hazard, bad cabling can lead to overheating, poor network performance, unnecessary stresses on equipment, expensive repair costs, and can make routine maintenance more confusing.
It doesn’t have to be this way – we share our 5 top tips to tame your office cabling and avoid the scourge of messy electronics.
Get POE (‘Power Over Ethernet’) Switches and Phones
It really isn’t necessary for every device to have both a power lead and network cabling – investing a little more in a network switch which provides both data AND power to networked devices immediately halves the number of unnecessary cables left trailing around desks.
Modern VOIP phone systems typically include pass-through ports, to network your PC via the phone, cutting the need for yet another long network cable.
Get a Server Cabinet
If you’ve got significant onsite hardware, such as servers, larger switches or NAS devices, these tend to accumulate wherever there’s a space for them, however inconvenient.
This is a significantly easier evolution to manage with a purpose built server cabinet – in addition to the clear security benefits of being able to lock your hardware away, a server cabinet provides the racking necessary to ‘stack’ equipment vertically safely and ventilate electronics efficiently.
It’s best to investigate a larger cabinet than is actually required for your long-term hardware investment: to allow long-term room for expansion.
Shorter Cables for the Cabinet
If you’ve ever laughed at the uselessness of a 10cm network cable you’ve clearly never wired up a server room: short cables are a lifesaver to connect servers to switches without a vipers pit of excess cable trailing all over the place.
It’s also good for the environment not to use metres of unnecessary copper just to bridge a gap of only a few centimetres – so don’t do it!
Get a meshed WiFi Network
It’s not 2006 anymore. Many devices can and should be connected wirelessly to save both the hassle and expense of yet more office cabling cluttering up the place.
Modern business WiFi networks use a series ‘meshed’ access points that pass signal to ensure consistent signal strength, and can be managed centrally from the cloud with ease at low costs. If you’re covering a larger premises or supporting staff with portable devices, it really is a no-brainer.
Call the experts
We understand how messy office cabling happens: over time small additions are made until the overall system is a mess, and sooner or later someone is forced to admit it’s a problem.
DCMS has published this year’s 2017 UK Government Cyber Security Report, suggesting a staggering 46% of businesses have been hit by a cyber security breach in the past year.
The average cost of a cyber security breach is reported to be £1,570, although larger businesses (of which 68% reported falling victim) show figures of £20,000 or higher.
The polling, conducted by research institute Ipsos Mori, suggests businesses are increasingly seeking external IT or security advice as insurance against potential losses – particularly basic training for non-specialist staff and information on specific threats to their industry.
Certain positives jump out: basic technical standards laid out in the Government’s ‘Cyber Essentials’ scheme have been rolled out by half of all firms (although this was always a low bar, and the report admits that fewer than one in twenty firms have referred to public sector sources for security advice)
More encouragingly, the most common cyber breaches all involve an element of preventable human error: those reporting a breach in cyber security cited the most common cause as staff clicking links in fraudulent emails (72%) with other typical risks including viruses, spyware & ransomware (33%) and impersonation (27%.)
Specific dangers identified included:
Less than 40% of businesses have segregated WiFi networks, or any rules for encrypting personal data.
More than 70% do not have any input from someone responsible for IT security at a senior level.
Only 20% have run any kind of cyber security training in the last 12 months.
With the planned changes next year brought about by the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), the potential costs associated with a data breach could be set to rise. Having measures in place to mitigate this risk well in advance is sound advice.
For IT Security support and advice, contact Lineal today: 01271 375999
If you let your iPhone download Apple’s iOS 10.3 update this week, you downloaded the most advanced version of iOS ever.
But you probably noticed that it took a long time to finish updating. A really…. long…………. time. Android updates appear to complete inside 5-10 minutes, so surely a quick software patch shouldn’t take this long?
Never fear, there’s nothing wrong with your iPhone (necessarily). iOS 10.3 introduced an unusually extensive, 600 MB worth of changes which don’t just tinker at the edges of what Apple’s most popular operating system can do, but pull it apart and re-build it.
First and foremost, iOS 10.3 introduces a new file structure known as APFS. It take a long time for your phone to re-write its entire file structure but those with patience will receive a phone that’s better optimised for Flash and SSD storage, offering space sharing for some data which frees up GBs of space, and theoretically provides stronger encryption security.
In practice it is the extra capacity which will be most welcomed by smartphone addicts, and may simply help extend the practical life of an iPhone user’s device.
At least 60 patches for known iPhone security exploits are also included in the iOS.10 update, including preventative measures for full-screen adverts that would once have effectively locked you into a browser session.
The update also fixes various wireless connection and Bluetooth issues, for example improving the connection to a pair of Apple AirPods. A handy ‘Find My AirPods’ feature enables you to seek out those pesky wireless earpieces, which could so easily get lost.
As always it’s sensible to let someone else take the update plunge first, and back up your files before moving: but iOS 10.3 has been a largely successful update, and it’s worth persevering with.
Continuing our recent series on email phishing trickery including fake invoices and Apple ID theft, this week we discovered a new scam involving a fake communication claiming to be from the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).
You haven’t sent them your vehicle details: but never fear, enter them below and avoid a hefty ‘1000 GBP’ fine. Never mind that your garage should have organised a V5 document for you, just click the link and type in your details. This couldn’t be a scam? Right?
We set Lineal’s security trainee Lewis on the fake DVLA emails case – who found that the email links to a private (non Gov.uk) web-page with a extensive bit of PHP code running in the background. A classic Trojan, this webpage invited you to download your casefile – and likely something dangerous along with it.
Despite poor grammar, the format matched a GOV.UK page quite closely and the ‘official’ nature of the styling might easily have tricked unsuspecting motorists.
Avoiding the page itself, Lewis completed an HTTPS lookup on the domain hosting the fake web page – but found two servers running the same scam. The email itself appeared to be routed via the USA, in an effort to mask the attacker(s) identity.
Tracing both IPs seperately led back to the same address in Germany, registered under two different names which could either be part of an organisation (or more likely) both assumed identities stolen from others fallen victim to the scam.
German privacy law prevents Google StreetView from being completed across most of the country, so an aerial view of an unknown industrial building on the outskirts of Lippstadt was a close as we could get to sourcing the suspicious email itself.
Clearly a sophisticated operation, fake DVLA emails like this highlight the growing technical ability of online scammers and the need for solid IT security precautions.
For IT Security advice and support, contact Lineal today: 01271 375999
Here at Lineal we check a lot of suspicious emails – containing everything from fake invoices, dodgy downloads and even new ‘Zero-day’ ransomware threats not yet seen elsewhere on the internet. Cyber-security is a rapidly developing battlefield.
Last week our security trainee from Petroc, Lewis, received a fairly typical ‘Phishing’ email – designed to look like an official request for information in order to trick recipients into handing over personal details. Keyboard at the ready, he decided to go on an investigation – hunting down email scammers.
‘Your Apple ID has been suspended’ read the headline, but never fear, you can reset your account by typing in your private details via ‘Appl.e.com’. It may sound like an obvious scam, but the written quality of the email was high, and Verizon estimates that more than 25% of Phishing emails are not only opened, but clicked on by unsuspecting victims.
The email link itself looked suspicious so Lewis stripped the exact page link back to it’s original domain as our first clue. A quick HTTP lookup found the IP address of a Linux based Server with several open ports.
The scammers themselves were careful – expanding the email header shows an encrypted code in place of an email reference.
Online tools like GeoTool suggested the server sending the email had been French (although mapping this an imprecise science – suggesting the Parisian machine was sat at the bottom of the river Seine.) Nevertheless this gave us a country of origin and also a more accurate address.
Here we hit a problem: the address listed related to a French cloud hosting provider’s company office building in Roubaix, near the city of Lille on the border between France and Belgium. The company itself appears entirely legitimate, so it’s likely a server there has been hijacked or otherwise used inappropriately by a customer of the provider.
A reverse DNS lookup via an online US Security tool suggested the hosted domain name’s registered contact person was based in an apartment building in district 56121, Thessaloniki, Greece, and even listed a gmail address and phone number for the named contact (redacted.)
Had we wanted to, there’s an opportunity here for mischief, but here we decided to end our search – with sufficiently detailed information to report to customer services of the French hosting provider whose server had been misused to distribute the email.
Although it’s likely the original source had been found, it’s possible the Greek client registering the domain name was themselves a victim of the Phishing email or a similar scam.
As a case study, Lewis’ virtual chase across Europe hunting down email scammers highlights how every business is at risk from a globalised world of threats – anyone can be struck by a dangerous email from anywhere, and even the most local businesses need to take precautions.
Apple’s recent financial results show record iPhone sales for the final quarter of 2016 – and that could be a problem.
More than 78 million iPhones were sold during the final 3 months of 2016 and it’s easy to see why. Exceptionally high build quality, ease of use and Apple’s range of strong supporting services make the iPhone a popular choice for both personal and business customers alike. In the case of the iPhone 7, bad press stories regarding the Samsung Note 7 battery disaster no doubt helped win over premium smartphone buyers for another year.
Globally speaking, Android may dominate the smartphone market, but the user base is split between dozens of manufacturers – whilst the Apple’s iPhone stands alone as a cultural icon of the decade.
But a very troubling trend is emerging for Apple. As industry analysts have noted in recent years – Apple is becoming increasingly dependent on smartphones for its sales.
iPhone in Numbers:
As of December, nearly 70% of Apple’s entire revenue is generated by smartphone sales. $54 billion each financial quarter. And this is before considering the proportion of sales attributable to services that support the iOS ecosystem.
That’s a lot: the iPhone generates more than twice the revenue of every other Apple product and service added together.
Not all Apple products were created equal. iPad sales continue to fall (as customers hold on to premium devices for longer periods.) Despite a massive advertising push, fewer than 1 in 10 iPad’s sold (less than 1% of Apple’s entire revenue) were iPad Pros.
True Mac fans could easily be wondering if Apple will one day become disinterested in their conventional desktop hardware range.
Too big to Fail?
So has Apple’s signature product become too big to fail? If rumours of a radically updated iPhone 8 are to be believed, the iPhone may become even more of a success, and Apple may be gambling ever more on each new model’s popularity.
Apple’s reputation and heritage gives the impression that they are a successful computer manufacturer, like Dell, when in fact Apple is now arguably even more like Nokia or Blackberry.
Not too much like Blackberry hopefully, because if this trend continues, any failure for the iPhone ‘brand’ could one day spell serious trouble for Apple itself.
With data security making national news headlines, 2017 is only likely to put increasing pressure on businesses of all sizes to take sensible precautions.
But with IT moving so fast, what innovations are likely to lead the way through 2017? Exactly what sensible precautions will most tech-savvy companies be taking?
Cloud is good…
The worldwide push for ever more cloud-based systems appears to be unstoppable. A recent report from Synergy Research Group has suggested the global market for cloud computing grew by 25% to September 2016, reaching a staggering $148 billion in value.
It’s hard to see this not continuing, with companies relying on the convenience and automation of stashing growing quantities off-site backups in the cloud – using services like Office 365 as their private vault. As we’ve covered before: holding assets like email in the cloud actually gives you better protection than most people’s private server.
…..But Hybrid Cloud is better still.
But 2017’s smartest will be looking further ahead to Hybrid Cloud systems. As IT Pro recently noted, many companies report using more than 5 backup systems, but have no planning for speed of recovery should that data actually be needed urgently during 2017.
Getting all that data back may present a problem if your organisation is large, meaning hybrid on-site/cloud services like Lineal’s Disaster Recovery Service are likely to become the most flexible middle option. Keeping both a synchronised backup on-site, and a copy with a relatively local cloud service, leaves even the most vulnerable business with the maximum number of options.
Change your passwords
If you don’t already change passwords regularly, the security benefits cannot be overstated. Stolen data can often be circulated on the internet many times, so changing passwords regularly keeps not only your business secure, but helps prevent repeat data theft from being profitable.
Whilst everyone still has a ‘New Year’ mindset and are prepared to accept a little change, it’s worth updating those passwords company wide. Remember to use a variety of different characters and choose something only you would ever guess.
Have a 2017 Plan A…. and a Plan B
Ransomware increasingly appears to be the organised criminal world’s cyber-weapon of choice and shows no sign of abating; expect to see more big UK high-street names get compromised this year by malicious emails.
Antivirus companies may include ever more sophisticated heuristics to intercept malicious downloads before they begin encrypting your files, but ultimately only safe backups will ensure you can always restore to a clean set of data. Every firm should have a ‘Plan B’ for how to carry this out.
It’s all about Recovery Time
Expect to see Disaster Recovery (not just back-up and contingency) become a by-word for preparedness, with companies and organisations in every sector being judged not just by their number of backups, but by their costly hours of down-time.
So if nothing else, start 2017 with an old piece of technology: a pen and paper. Work out what your business’ data recovery plan actually is, and how long it will take – should the very worst happen.
Lineal can provide a range of IT security and business continuity solutions: contact our team today.
Skype is probably the only brand name in video calling successful enough to have become synonymous with its purpose (try offering ‘Citrix’ to somebody and you’ll get confused looks.) It’s perhaps unsurprising therefore that Microsoft have taken their former Lync communications platform, and given it both an upgrade, new features, and a name with a better pedigree.
Enter Skype for Business, Microsoft’s newest unified communications offering for Windows, Mac and Android – available as a downloadable client or via a web browser. On the face of it, the potential in Skype for Business is enormous: calls, group meetings, directory lookups and instant messages between Skype for Business users are free-of-charge, making it a perfect internal communications platform in the cloud.
Skype for Business is already available to those using Microsoft Office 365 Business Premium as a free download. Users can connect, make audio/video calls and collaborate from anywhere in the world. VOIP packages are also available to allow calling ‘out’ to conventional phone numbers, presenting an affordable alternative to your old phone system.
We’ve found the video and sound quality to be exceptional (even on some poorer broadband connections.) For those on the move, a designated app is also available for your smartphone and tablet which, operating over your Wi-Fi or 4G connection, also extends the platform into the wider world.
Most reassuringly, Skype for Business need not just be a ‘soft-phone’ on screen but can connected to a traditional, physical, AudioCodes or Polycom VOIP handset on your desk.
That’s not to say that there are no shortcomings. Calling outside Skype requires the additional PSTN licensing which is likely to confuse those unfamiliar with Microsoft licensing. Skype’s website is not particularly helpful in this respect, with it sometimes being unclear when links refer to Skype, or Skype for Business.
Certain features that Microsoft originally advertised (such as the ability to take polls in group meetings) are also still in testing on some platforms at the time of writing, although screen sharing and scheduled meetings already work smoothly and are very intuitive. Focusing on collaboration, these are sure to be fixed as Microsoft reviews Skype for Business.
The minimalist design is smarter and more formal than the original Skype and, whilst a little unfamiliar to begin with, the general ‘look’ of the platform is a noticeable improvement on both Lync and traditional Skype.
Skype for Business is not quite ready to take over the world just yet, but it’s certainly one to watch for 2017.
Lineal have officially become an Approved Supplier for the Government’s rural Broadband Voucher Scheme.
Eligible recipients who claim their Government Broadband voucher from Connecting Devon and Somerset by November 31st, can put the voucher towards installing a faster broadband solution from an alternate provider.
The scheme aims to provide an alternative for those in rural and other remote locations, who receive speeds of less than 2Mbps and are excluded from the Government’s fibre-optic broadband rollout, to access faster broadband.
Lineal’s experienced engineers can use a combination of the latest fixed wireless technology, much like that used in the Barnstaple Town Centre WiFi project, to provide more challenging locations with better connectivity. A typical installation, location permitting, costs £390 (+VAT), and includes a discrete antenna and router for your property or business. Once installed, faster Broadband from Lineal is available from £12 per month (+VAT.)
Microsoft Access is making a return to Microsoft Office, and will soon be offered as a free extra to many cloud customers.
In a recent announcement from Microsoft, the ‘Access Team’ confirmed that the popular business database tool would be making a return as a part of the standard package available to all Office 365 Business Premium customers.
Officially the move continues Microsoft’s commitment to keep expanding Office 365’s cloud service to make more features available (including the new Slack-style Microsoft ‘Teams’) giving Office 365 subscribers ever more for their money.
Unofficially, we wonder whether omitting Microsoft Access from the well-known ‘suite’ of Microsoft Apps (Word, Excel, Powerpoint and others) has seen Microsoft lose it’s 1990s database dominance to other platforms or CRM systems. Reintroducing the app may be timely for modern businesses that are increasingly interested in studying their data, and help encourage a wider audience to take a second look at the powerful program.
Recent iterations of the popular database management system have expanded on the traditional database store and report tools, allowing power users to use Access to develop web apps and other software, or act as the practical visual ‘front-end’ for more complex ‘back end’ database systems like Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle.
In addition, Access will be available with a set of enterprise data connector allowing Office 365 users to integrate their databases with Dynamics CRM, Salesforce and others.
A Lineal staff member has won North Devon’s Pluss Achiever of the Year award for 2016.
Reuben Winsor, from Barnstaple, was awarded the prize in recognition of his success since becoming a trainee software developer with local IT support and software firm Lineal Software Solutions Ltd. in June.
Pluss, which helps support thousands of people with disabilities to enter employment, presented the award at a business networking event at the Royal Hotel, Bideford, as a part of the Disability Confident Campaign.
Speaking at the ceremony, Managing Director of Lineal Mike Matthews explained: “Reuben’s diligence and attention to detail are vital skills for a software developer, and have been indispensable in helping us develop the next generation of our business software. He has become a confident and valued member of our team.”
“Pluss’ work has been exemplary, and we’re absolutely delighted that Reuben will remain at Lineal as a full-time member of staff.”
In addition to developing his skills contributing to bigger software projects, Reuben has helped adapt Lineal’s SQLWorks accounting and stock control software for use on smartphones and tablets.
Congratulations to Reuben on his success and we look forward to his future development at Lineal.
You can learn more about Pluss and their work by clicking here.
Microsoft’s Office 365 Team have announced the availability of multiple UK data centres for customer data.
The move follows increasingly strict rules on data compliance in the financial, security, health and public sectors – with more cloud IT users looking to ensure their data remains safely located in the UK.
Prospective customers considering the implications of Office 365 are able to view the locations of Microsoft’s uk data centres with this online ‘Where Is My Data?’ map, which now displays both the additional data centres and the Microsoft cloud services they support, in both London and Durham, with a third site anticipated for Cardiff.
Office365 and Azure Users will also have the ability to ‘re-locate’ their data from regional data centres (in most cases based within mainland Europe) to the new UK service.
In addition to the security and legal advantages for protecting sensitive data, cloud users of Office 365 are likely to benefit from lower costs, online backups and collaborative, remote access to files.
For now, the ability to re-locate Office365 or Azure data to the UK is likely to be restricted, with priority expected to be given to high-profile UK public sector customers including NHS Trusts and the Ministry of Defence – the latter mirroring many customers belated move to the cloud, upgrading legacy on-site systems in use since 2005.
The new infrastructure has been widely praised, with Microsoft clearly investing heavily in addressing the doubts many have about moving their IT to the cloud; reducing Office365 downtime to just 4 hours per year, and now re-locating data within country of origin for compliance with a high standard of data protection.
Contact Lineal for advice on moving to the cloud, or for a free trial of Microsoft Office 365 Business Premium, click here.
We increasingly live in a mobile dominated world in which Smartphone sales have skyrocketed whilst traditional PC sales have stalled. With portable devices likely to be the future of many people’s IT use – we’ve put together a few of the main smartphone security threats you need to be aware of.
Mobile Phishing & Fake Apps
Phishing websites which pretend to be your bank in order to get your personal or financial details have been around for many years, but for few people imagine that this is also a big risk on their smartphone.
Fake apps are the most obvious modern incarnation of this scam. IT security specialist ESET recently showed that a popular app like Prisma spawns multiple fakes online, downloaded unwittingly over 1.5 million times before being pulled from Google Play, with many containing harmful malware which attempt to steal personal information.
Don’t attempt to download an anticipated app before it’s official release date, as it’s likely you’ll be downloading a fake. Avoid downloading apps from unknown third-party websites, check the comments for warnings from other users, and invest in mobile antivirus to intercept downloaded threats to your smartphone security.
Old-fashioned Theft
In addition to fitting in your pocket, your phone contains a staggering amount of personal information about you which makes theft a real danger – everything including your personal details and those of friends/family, your emails, GPS coordinates of places you regularly visit and more: all stored on the device.
In addition to setting numeric pin codes on every device to prevent the danger of theft, tracking and lifesaving wiping tools like are strongly advised.
Public Wi-Fi Networks
With the proliferation of portable devices, many businesses, particularly in retail, offer public Wi-Fi hotspots to customers.
The problem with this is that you’re sharing a network with… whom? Terrifying free tools like [Redacted – obviously] and [Redacted] allow anyone on a shared public network to view insecure websites you visit, and snoop on any keystroke you type.
Not every public Wi-Fi network is a security nightmare, but it’s sensible to avoid using public Wi-Fi to do anything sensitive, such as online banking. A 4G data connection or simple telephone banking is the easiest alternative if you’re on a mobile phone, and likely to be more secure than a public Wi-Fi Network.
It should probably go without saying that you shouldn’t connect to entirely unrecognised, unsecured or unknown Wi-Fi networks either. For obvious reasons.
Being Personally Targeted
The problem with the wider shift to portable devices is that we carry our workplace into the outside world. Many of us expect complete access to our business data on our smartphone (as we would on our PC) wherever we are.
But carrying your work phone outside work means you’re also outside the protection of in-house IT security software and firewalls.
A simple phishing email can easily be targeted to you outside working hours when you’re ‘off-guard’, and the potential loss of confidential company data could be devastating.
If you’ve received an “Unsent Message” status in the iOS mail app on your iPhone or iPad, it could be because you have emails stuck in your outbox, with mail refusing to send correctly.
You attempt to can send the email again by going to the outbox, selecting the message with the red [!] warning icon, and touch the send command to attempt to re-send the message. If your connection dropped whilst sending, this can be used to prompt a successful second attempt when the connection is restored.
If your outgoing email still remains stubbornly unsent, it may be best to delete the un-sent email and re-draft (some artful copy-pasting can alleviate this frustration considerably) by selecting the failed email in the outbox, choosing ‘edit’ and choosing ‘trash.’
Should your device remain uncooperative, putting it into ‘Airplane Mode’ should turn off wireless connection searching – which can help Mail stop searching for a way to send the email, and give you the chance to ‘trash’ the offending draft.
Team Lineal recently attended the 50th annual North Devon Show, setting up alongside a range of local businesses in the show’s ‘Arcade’ tent at the Umberleigh show ground.
“As a local business, Lineal are always pleased to be able to attend the North Devon Show” explained Lineal’s managing director Mike Matthews: “the huge variety of enthusiastic local firms and organisations exhibiting here always make the day a success, and there’s always something new to see.”
Two days of rain beforehand didn’t dampen spirits, and the show itself was sunny and well attended by thousands of both North Devon locals and tourists to the area.
This week’s IT security alert from Lineal – fake invoices which ask users to run a dangerous piece of code.
The example above comes from a fake Word document emailed with a typical text line, such as ‘Please check this invoice’ or ‘Double check my numbers for me’, to an unsuspecting user.
Upon opening, the document appears to load a popup from Office 2016 prompting the user to ‘Enable Content’ for compatibility purposes, before they can view the detail of the ‘invoice.’
In fact, the display is just an image within the word file, and the ‘Enable Content’ content button instead runs a piece of Visual Basic code downloading unknown malware from the internet.
The scam relies on users’ curiosity at the unusual $1999.00 charge, and upon reaching a user still running an outdated version of Microsoft Office.
Several measures can be taken to prevent this kind of attack:
Don’t click any popup that doesn’t visibly pop ‘open’ in Microsoft and don’t ‘Enable Content’ you can’t see in a document.
Consider an email filtering service like Barracuda – in the above example, Barracuda had recognised this email as malicious and stripped the code from the document before placing it in the correct email inbox for the intended recipient.
It’s that time of year again – when we ask you how we’ve been doing, and what Lineal can do to improve the quality of our technical support.
Firstly, a big thank you to those of you with kind words to say about members of our IT help desk. Our team found your kind comments to be enormously supportive and it’s good to know that so many of our customers value the contribution of their account manager so highly.
83% of you felt we met the technology needs of small to medium size businesses ‘Well’ or ‘Very Well’, and 89% felt we understood your IT queries ‘Very Well’ or ‘Extremely Well.’ Overall, 85% of you rated our customer support ‘Good’ or ‘Great.’
We weren’t perfect however – some of you felt we’d been slower to respond to certain emails and call-backs recently, and we’re putting in place new measures to address this: we’ll be adding to our team in coming weeks to help manage our responsibilities to our ever-growing number of IT support clients, and to ensure clearer communication between our team and customers during ongoing project work.
Your comments included an insightful mix of both praise and constructive criticism which we’re reviewing carefully – but here were a few of our favourites:
“A good “local” company. Always on hand.”
“As a small organisation of mainly non IT literate users Lineal staff always respond to queries in language we understand and without making us feel stupid!”
“Would like to thank Martyn especially, and dealing with mostly one person simplifies things.”
Thank you to everyone who gave us their feedback, it will inform our future decision making and help us provide a high quality of customer support.
Nearly 1 in 5 Windows Server users are still running Windows Server 2003 at great risk, more than a year after Microsoft announced end of security support for the product, new findings have shown.
Research by Spiceworks and Cloudphysics both found that 18% of Windows Server licensing market share is still taken up by Windows Server 2003, based on data recorded in June 2016. More than 53% of those surveyed also still ran one or more instances of Windows Server 2003 somewhere in their organisation.
Anyone still using the old software risks becoming vulnerable to security threats, which Microsoft will no longer address, with many organisations potentially being in violation of their compliance, insurance or regulatory obligations for data protection.
The continuation of Windows Server 2003 (which Tech Radar last year touted as potentially “the biggest security threat of 2015”) has been left unresolved within many companies, many of whom believe they lack a clear decision, expertise, or funds to replace the now unsupported operating system.
In the short term the best measure is risk mitigation: isolate any Windows Server 2003 systems as much as possible to prevent access by outside security threats.
But sooner or later, all companies will need to upgrade important systems, and those that do make the move are less likely to invest in the capital expense of physical hardware as they were over a decade ago – with increasing numbers likely to utilise an outside IT provider to migrate to a managed virtualised solution, for example business cloud services.
For Windows licensing support or guidance, please contact Lineal today – 01271 375999 or click here.
A mixed Barnstaple and Bude youth team have won the first U14 juniors shield, sponsored by Lineal Software, at the third annual Barnstaple Pilot Gig Club Regatta.
This year’s winning youth team, which included rowers from Barnstaple and Bude, beat Appledore in a 1-mile sprint race on the river Taw to Barnstaple’s Longbridge.
The event, which is supported each year by Lineal, includes teams from across North Devon and Cornwall, and finishes just outside Lineal’s main office in Barnstaple.
We hope that the juniors’ contest for the new shield will become a regular feature of the annual regatta, and that the competitions will grow to get more young people involved in local sport.
In addition to sponsoring the shield, Lineal’s Managing Director and resident sports reporter Mike Matthews provided live action photography of the men’s, women’s and junior races from aboard Lineal’s mobile camera boat: ‘The Red Baron!’
Congratulations to all the teams on a fantastic event.
Yesterday Lineal’s team successfully rescued a client from a new ‘zero-day’ Cryptolocker Virus which nearly destroyed many of their files.
The dangerous variation of the ‘Zepto’ cryptolocker, only identified online during the last 24 hours, is believed to be a brand new threat originally derived from ‘Locky’ ransomware.
An employee at one of Lineal’s IT support clients recently opened an email containing an infected file – a malicious piece of obfuscated code written in Visual Basic scripting language. The installed Zepto cryptolocker began encrypting the company’s files, readying to demand a heavy ransom.
In a coordinated attack, an outside user also forced access to our client’s server, instructing it to begin sending fake Barclays ‘phishing’ emails, attempting to criminally capture banking details.
Our team caught both threats early, forcefully locking out the intruder in mid-session, identifying the employee who introduced the threat, and quarantining the infection with ESET’s business endpoint security.
Lineal then notified ESET about Zepto to help with future identification, having avoided the need to restore all the clients files from backup at great disruption.
The landscape of online security threats is rapidly changing, and Cryptolocker variants have spread quickly in recent months.
In this case Lineal’s rapidly responding team and professional security software helped our client dodge the huge potential losses from the security breach – and highlighted how vital it is that organisations of all sizes take proactive steps to protect their IT from hostile intrusion.
Lineal has been certified as a Gold Microsoft Partner with immediate effect, becoming the only such Gold Partner in the North of the region.
Our official Microsoft Partner status was upgraded from Silver to Gold after Lineal’s team qualified for Microsoft’s Gold Small and Midmarket Cloud Solutions competency – the result of several month’s efforts by the team comprising training, outstanding performance in our deployments and a large number of highly satisfied customers.
Head of Technical Services, Matt Norris, praised the team on all their hard work: “Lineal’s Gold award shows our commitment to providing our customers with only the highest quality Microsoft Cloud Services and Support – and to the continued development of our team’s expertise. I cannot be more proud of our team and the dedication to excellence they have shown which has been recognised in this award.”
The award is Lineal’s latest achievement following a string of Silver Microsoft awards, including Silver Authorised Education Partner (AEP), Silver Midmarket Solution provider, Silver Application Integration and Silver Hosting.
Microsoft certified partners must undergo a rigorous program of technical assessments and examinations via the Microsoft Partner University, as well as demonstrating real-world proficiency in undertaking complex Microsoft deployments for customers, in order to qualify for the prestigious ‘Gold’ status.
In addition, and pivotal to Lineal’s commitment to exceptional knowledge and expertise in the South West region, each Gold Partner must employ a number of Microsoft Certified Professionals (MCPs) whose skills match the requirements of each award. MCP is the global standard for measuring expertise in Microsoft products and technologies with each of our team being required to hold multiple MCP Certifications which are regularly renewed. MCP examinations are widely recognised to be among the hardest professional qualifications to attain in the IT industry.
Lineal’s team are now working towards additional Microsoft Gold awards covering new Microsoft specialisms and products.
For expert Microsoft Services and Support, contact Lineal today by clicking here
If you haven’t already upgraded to Windows 10, Lineal highly recommend doing so before the free upgrade period ends on 29th July 2016. The free upgrade is available to PC users currently running a valid copy of Windows 7, 8 or 8.1.
Step 1 – Visit Microsoft’s Windows 10 Downloads page by clicking here, and select your current version of Windows from the dropdown menu, and click ‘Confirm’.
Step 2 – When prompted, select ‘Upgrade this PC now’.
Step 3 – Windows 10 will begin downloading, showing a progress report on screen. This can take 15 minutes to an hour, depending on your PC and internet connection speed.
Step 4 – When Windows 10 has downloaded, click to install Windows 10 and your PC will reboot – beginning the installation of the new operating system, and copying across all your existing files/settings.
Step 5 – When your PC has completed the installation and launched your desktop – enjoy Windows 10!
For extra help or advice in upgrading to Windows 10 for free, please contact Lineal’s IT support team today – 01271 375999
Chromebooks will soon run Android apps, after Google announced their Chrome and Android operating systems are to become fully compatible.
The minimal hardware, low cost, web-access laptops will now mirror existing Android smartphones and tablets. Apps available through Google Play on Android will operate fully on Chrome OS, granting many third-party software developers access to the rapidly growing numbers of Chromebook users out there.
The announcement itself comes at a fascinating time for Chromebooks, which with over 2 million devices purchased according to data from IDC analysts, outsold Macs in the United States for the first time during Q1 of 2016.
The popularity of Chromebooks, especially in sectors where cost-effective, limited capability devices are favoured (such as in education, or to equip remote workers) have been a surprise hit – which could have some interesting consequences for the industry.
Will the new capabilities spook Microsoft and Apple? Entirely possible: with most of the big brand hardware manufacturers releasing Chromebook models of their own, it’s clear that both the hardware has become widely available and the concept itself has taken flight.
More importantly, the traditional argument for buying a Windows PC was the use of Windows exclusive desktop applications, such as Microsoft Office. Office 365 and similar apps has been fully mobile on portable Android devices for a while now, but many users still prefer a larger screen with a keyboard for document processing – forcing them to buy a traditional desktop PC at traditional costs.
With a wide range of these ‘PC’ type apps becoming available on your Chromebook, that’s about to change.
For IT hardware products, advice and support – contact Lineal today: 01271 375999
New research by security company Duo has suggested that as many as 25% of Windows PC users are running out of date versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Among Windows XP legacy users the problem is particularly acute, with more than half still running Internet Explorer 7 or 8, rather than upgrading to version 11.
Duo suggest this is putting thousands of PC users at risk of exposure to over 700 security risks caused by known viruses, malware or other online threats via their now outdated and unsupported web browser. In particular, un-patched exploits via popular third-party plugins such as video player codecs pose a likely danger.
Microsoft are currently offering Internet Explorer’s latest replacement, the superior Microsoft Edge, free to every user with a Windows 7 license who chooses to upgrade to their PC to Windows 10 before the 30th of July deadline.
Alternatively, users should consider the pushier update-reminding Mozilla Firefox, or Google’s automatically updating Google Chrome offering, along side a tried and trusted security software (such as the excellent ESET NOD32 Antivirus,) to ensure that the technology they use for private data transfers such as email and online banking, remain private.
Contact Lineal today for IT advice and support: 01271 375999 or email [email protected]
Local IT company Lineal Software Solutions Ltd. has been awarded a Silver Microsoft Authorised Education Partner (AEP) award, demonstrating its ability to specialise in Microsoft services for customers in the education sector.
To earn a Microsoft AEP authorisation, local IT partners must undergo extensive testing to prove their level of expertise meeting the IT needs of, and support for, academic institutions.
Managing Director of Lineal Mike Matthews thanked Microsoft: “We’re delighted to be awarded this special accolade from Microsoft in recognition of our commitment to IT in the education sector.”
“By becoming AEPs, partners show themselves to be committed and trained in providing discounted Microsoft academic products to the education market,” said Anthony Salcito, Vice President of Education for Microsoft Corp.’s Worldwide Public Sector.
“This authorisation, along with our other education partner initiatives, gives our partners recognition of their areas of expertise and our academic customers the confidence that they are buying from academic IT specialists.”
The Barnstaple-based IT firm serves a large number of businesses, schools and other organisations across the wider North Devon area and beyond.
Learn more about Lineal IT Support for the education sector by clicking here, or call us on 01271 375999.
Apple’s Macbook will now be available in rose-gold, in a move sure to be welcomed by fans of Apple’s pink(ish) iPhones.
Behind the headline, Apple are also updating the specifications of their Macbook range, to include the latest Intel Core M processors, faster graphics chips and an estimated 10% longer battery life.
Although we’ve been impressed with the portability of the MacBook range, this normally comes at a performance cost. Fortunately, as Lineal have long recommended to customers, 8GB of memory will also officially become Apple’s new baseline memory (including for the ultra-portable but typically less powerful Macbook Air.)
The new colour sees Apple attempting to offer similar product options for their laptops as their incredibly successful iPhone range, which represents more than 60% of Apple’s total revenue.
How about a rose gold Macbook Pro? or a rose gold iMac? Go on Apple – you know you want to.
Lifecycle support for Microsoft’s Exchange Server 2007 email will end in April 2017, Microsoft has confirmed.
Existing email servers will continue to work past this date initially, but will receive no further patching without purchasing ‘custom support’ at an unknown extra cost. Each version of Exchange is predicted to last only around 10 years, with the 2016 edition lasting until 2025.
Exchange 2007 was included as part of Microsoft Small Business Server 2008 which went end of mainstream support last year. With the challenges of ensuring systems are secure, upgrading from SBS 2008 sooner rather than later will be the order of the day for many businesses.
Unfortunately, upgrading old copies of Exchange Server 2007 to Microsoft’s latest version of Exchange Server (2016) may be more challenging than many organisations will expect, as a direct migration is not available.
This forces users to stepping-stone via the 2010 or 2013 versions, a restriction that will be familiar to any business that has tried to upgrade a legacy Windows XP system to Windows 10, who must buy a redundant Windows 7 license just to make the transition.
Lineal can offer consultancy services for upgrade and migration planning in addition to being a certified Microsoft Partner. We specialise in Office 365 and hybrid deployments across the entire Microsoft product set.
Please get in touch to find out how easy and cost effective it can be to move your email to the cloud with Lineal.
The virus then begins encrypting files, demanding a ransom be paid to unlock the user’s data.
According to the BBC the unconnected company cited in the email, cotton fabric manufacturer British Millerain Co Ltd, have received more than 150 phone calls from individuals concerned that they owe money.
Phishing emails and websites, which typically mimic official bank or company communications to trick vulnerable users into making payments to criminals, are becoming increasingly sophisticated.
The use of an individual’s personal address, and higher quality written English, suggests the original creator of the email has gone to greater lengths to make the email look convincing and to avoid detection.
It is also likely that the matching address originates from stolen, legitimate customer data, accounting for users’ recognition of the way they write their own home contact details.
New threats are constantly developing, and Lineal recommend installing an antivirus software with a strong record of catching emerging online threats – such as ESET.
Always follow some simple rules:
Never click a link or open an attachment from any suspicious email whose origins you do not recognise.
Banks and similar will NEVER request your private passwords, pin numbers or other confidential information. Do not disclose these to anyone.
If hit by cryptolocker style ransomware, every second counts – seek professional technical support immediately.
Always keep a regular, separate backup of your files.
Popular messaging app WhatsApp have launched end-to-end WhatsApp encryption for over one billion users.
The new security capabilities introduced by the Facebook owned company ensures that every message remains encrypted during transmission, preventing even WhatsApp from reading user data.
With encryption and technological privacy issues regularly appearing in recent news headlines, the WhatsApp encryption upgrade comes at just the right moment for the security concerned, after more than two years of delays in development across multiple platforms.
Much like during Apple’s recent legal dispute with the FBI, the move would also prevent the release of confidential user data following a court order. According to reports from the New York Times, the technology provider have been reported to already be in a longstanding dispute with the US Department of Justice over user data.
From today, the WhatsApp conversation screen will now display an official notification to all users – confirming that their messages are encrypted successfully.
Cryptolocker Warning: in the past fortnight we’ve seen an increasing number of companies hit by sophisticated cryptolocker viruses.
These dangerous programs, often installed by accident, lock your files over time, encrypting data and eventually demanding victims pay a ransom to retrieve their irreplaceable data.
In all of these cases, security products were installed but they did not protect against the threat. In our experience the only product that is reliably detecting these new threats and offering sufficient protection at this time is ESET. Older, less effective or out of date security products are offering little or no protection against these new cryptolocker variants.
Once affected by a cryptolocker, there is no way to de-encrypt scrambled files without paying the ransom, and users must remove the trojan before recovering recent versions of a file from their backups – highlighting the importance of a regular backup plan for data.
Poor quality USB-C cables which can destroy a smartphone or laptop in spectacular (and dangerous) fashion have been blocked from sale by Amazon.
The online retailer has faced criticism in recent months for permitting third-party dealers to sell cut-priced USB-C cables, with often faulty power distribution, to early adopters of the technology.
The latest version of the USB standard is both reversible and can deliver large quantities of both power and data to a wide range of devices. This introduces a new danger, as a substandards cables can draw too much power from a laptop when charging another device, doing serious damage to circuitry.
The move comes as more and more laptop manufacturers introduce USB-C to reduce device size, ports and weight – for example Apple’s latest MacBook, which includes virtually no other physical ports.
USB-C cables have been added to Amazon’s prohibited products list (along side GPS jammers, laser pointers and radar shifters) and can not be sold unless compliant with standards set by the USB Implementers Forum.
A dangerous new banking app malware has successfully bypassed smartphone security used by some of the world’s biggest banks.
Customers of Australia’s four biggest banks, and numerous New Zealand Banks, have all been declared at risk from the malware which activates when using a banking app, copying details from login screens.
Most worryingly, the malware can also divert two-factor authentication codes sent to a given smartphone by SMS – and pass the code to criminals, breaking a tried and trusted system used by many online financial apps around the world.
ESET security systems (commonly deployed by commercial clients for server and endpoint security) recently detected the extremely sophisticated malware, which downloads via fake Adobe Flash windows on video streaming websites.
On Android, personal users can uninstall the malware manually via Settings > Apps > Flayer > Uninstall, and are advised to only accept approved downloads from trusted public sources such as Google Play.
Commercial clients should take similar precautions against banking app malware and similar, protecting company devices behind specialist security systems.
For IT security advice and support, contact Lineal today by clicking here.
Congratulations to Lineal’s George Ward, who has won a Petroc award, in recognition of his improvement over the past year.
Apprentice George will become 2014-15 academic year’s proud recipient of the local higher education college’s ‘Most Improved Student’ award from the Department of Leadership and Higher Technical Skills Awards Evening, sponsored by North Devon Orthodontic Centre.
The prize-giving ceremony was held on Wednesday 23rd March at the Barnstaple Hotel.
This is high-flyer George’s second major award in two years, after winning the North Devon Journal Business Awards ‘Apprentice of the Year’ in 2015.
Lineal recently rescued a London-based business from its own private cabling nightmare, with a complete network overhaul.
In a 48-hour marathon rebuild, network engineers from Lineal replaced dozens of faulty cables, analysed every area of the network, adding new switches and other network equipment.
The picture above shows just one of several cabinets, before (left) and after (right) Lineal’s rebuild. The equipment had previously been patched and re-patched over ten years without clear planning, resulting in slower internet access and overheating rooms.
Network engineer Martyn Kay explained: “This company rightly realised that they had to address the problem rather than ignore it – and fortunately we were able to overhaul the entire system.”
The team quickly discovered other unexpected problems, including mystery fibre-optic cables that led nowhere, stray power cables, long-dead switches and improvised cabling ‘borrowing’ internet access from neighbouring departments.
Lineal reconnected every cabinet, replaced every cable with new lines, standardised the colour scheme for data and phones, and added reliable backup switches to improve network resilience and business continuity.
For expert network, cabling and IT infrastructure support, click here.
We at Lineal are proud to be the first sponsors of Ilfracombe Academy U14 Girls football team!
The high-flying team who have been Devon County Champions for the past two years running, will play in the new blue ‘Lineal’ team kit, produced by MJM Sportswear of Bideford, as they seek to continue their winning streak.
Lisa Norris, second in PE at Ilfracombe Academy thanked Lineal: “We’re delighted with the kit. We really promote girls getting into and continuing to participate in all types of PE. Having a fantastic kit (which they don’t have to share with the boys!) gives them a real sense of pride and is a real boost for the team. They have already had superb success in winning the North Devon Friendly Tournament, and we have no doubt that there’s no stopping them now!”
Terry Schofield, Managing Director at MJM Sports explained ‘’The kit is a very technical fabric used by some professional Clubs. We are delighted Lineal selected us as their preferred supplier, and we wish Ilfracombe Academy further success in the future’’
Mike Matthews, Managing Director at Lineal, praised the team: “We wanted to give something back to Ilfracombe Academy and sponsoring new kit for this fantastic team was perfect – they are yet to lose a single league match! Lineal have personal connections to the academy through our own staff, and via the North Devon Employment Skills Board: we think local businesses ought to do more to kick-off engagement with young people.”
“We wish the whole team the very best of luck at the Devon County Finals.”
Smartphone manufacturer Ringing Bells has launched a £2.50 Smartphone, the Freedom 251, aimed at bringing mobile access to rural parts of India.
The Freedom 251, which costs only 251 rupees, runs on Android and features a 1.3Ghz quad-core processor, 8GB of memory, with front and rear facing cameras.
As the second largest mobile phone market in the world, India is already estimated to have around 236 million mobile users – but this is expected to grow to a staggering 317 million during 2017.
Part of that growth includes tailoring the system to the needs of users in rural India – the Freedom 251 will include software aimed at farmers and fishermen, elderly users needing medical assistance, and even includes an app for ‘women safety’.
Wider connectivity is not only expected to bring economic benefits for Indian consumers, but also to third parties – with the £2.50 price reflecting an already heavy subsidy from interested companies looking to be the first to reach India’s newest smartphone customer base
A smartphone for less than the cost of a cup of tea? Welcome to the future.
For business IT Support, contact Lineal IT today: 01271 375999 or email: [email protected]
An unfortunate hoax is catching out iPhone users this week, Lineal have learned, after many users discovered resetting the date will completely destroy their iPhone.
Despite what a website may promise you – DO NOT reset the clock on any iOS device to January 1st 1970 under any circumstances. This will permanently break (or ‘brick’) your device.
A device broken in this way will simply display the Apple iOS loading screen forever, permanently stuck. The bug, which prevents the phone counting Unix time (a count of seconds since 00:00 01.01.1970) if the clock is set ‘before’ this using local time (UTC-1), is impossible to fix without hardware support from Apple to remove the battery.
You have been warned!
For expert apple support from Lineal, contact us today: 01271 375999 or click here.
Mobile phone coverage across the UK may be about to improve, with mobile operator O2 seeking a controversial merger with rival Three.
The £10.25bn deal looks set to merge coverage patterns, potentially providing shared coverage to customers of either network in more rural areas, and comes just two weeks after BT took similar ownership of EE, the UK’s single biggest mobile operator.
Of course, whilst consumers may be set to enjoy improved signal from shared infrastructure, this may come at greater expense. Both the European Commission and Ofcom have raised numerous monopoly fears about the merger, arguing that fewer than four mobile providers in the UK risks less competitive pricing for customers.
Three’s parent company, CK Hutchinson, has attempted to counter by promising in a public letter to the Financial Times that prices will not increase for at least five years.
Unlike in many other EU countries, the UK does not enjoy a universal service obligation for mobile phone coverage data strength – lose signal in North Devon and no rival provider’s phone mast has any obligation to offer phone coverage for anything other than 999 emergency calls. Travel abroad and your phone will ‘roam’ to a friendly foreign network to ensure you always have the option of staying connected.
The solution to some coverage blindspots may be right around the corner in the form of fewer, bigger networks for everyone – but don’t rule out paying more for it.
For a wide range of IT services right here in North Devon, contact Lineal today: www.lineal.co.uk or 01271 375999
Lineal Software Solutions recently merged with another local IT company, Active Computing & Telecoms Ltd, based in South Molton.
Active Computing formally joined with Lineal as of December, and will continue to offer quality business IT services across Devon as part of Lineal’s IT support division.
Nick Hews, Managing Director of Active explained: “I’m very pleased to see Active joining with Lineal: like Active, Lineal began right here in North Devon, and places a very special importance on listening to their customers’ needs – which was very important to us before moving ahead.”
Managing Director of Lineal and former branch chairman of the North Devon FSB, Mike Matthews said: “We’re delighted to be taking on Active Computing. Between us we can now offer the widest possible range of business IT & telephone systems, technical support and business accounting software.”
Following the Lineal Active merger, the two partners have recently launched their new website (www.lineal.co.uk) for 2016.
Former staff members from Active now work at the premises of Lineal, and added together the two companies have more than 50 years’ experience trading across the wider North Devon area and beyond.
Over Christmas 2015/16, Lineal launched a technical trial to provide free, public-access Wifi across Barnstaple Town Centre.
The pilot scheme, which took place during the busiest shopping period of the year, saw our team solve a number of technical challenges: scoping sites for Wifi access points, installing suitable hardware and managing network connectivity for shoppers and visitors to the town.
With generous support from Barnstaple Town Centre Management (BTCM), North Devon Council and M&E Alarms, we delivered a free wifi network connected to by more than 400 people each day at peak usage.
To build the network itself, we used Cisco Meraki MR-66 ruggedised outdoor routers, fixing a ‘mesh’ grid of interconnected access points high on selected buildings owned by local businesses who agreed to take part. Visitors to the town could connect from any smartphone or other wirelessely enabled device, via a special ‘splash’ page.
Managing Director of Lineal, Mike Matthews, explained: “We wanted to attempt an ambitious project which would benefit our local area. Wider connectivity opens up new ways for people to find out information about upcoming events, for local businesses to advertise, and for visitors to our town to share their enjoyment of Barnstaple with friends and family over social media. There are many possibilities.”
Throughout the trial period each access point also collected anonymised location data in real-time. With as many as 20,000 wirelessly enabled devices moving within Barnstaple town centre during a 24 hour period, the free Wifi Project was also successfully used to measure footfall patterns in public places, which could one day be used to help local authorities plan for busy periods.
Although the pilot project has now ended, team members from Lineal presented the initial findings to the Barnstaple Town Centre Management, North Devon Council and Devon County Council in February 2016, with a view to launching the network as a more permanent asset for the town in the near future.
For more information on cabling & network infrastructure services from Lineal: click here or call us today on 01271 375999
Education tracking software LearnSprout has been bought by Apple, in a purchase expected to extend the computing giant’s reach into the education sector.
American software platform LearnSprout, already used across 42 states in over 2500 schools, is an analytics dashboard that allows teachers to monitor pupil’s performance and results, attendance, student health and more.
LearnSprout’s developers argue that by aggregating data, schools can help study trends for promoting better teaching, improving readiness for higher education and ensure a more efficient use of resources.
This is the second announcement in recent weeks about Apple investing heavily in technology for the education sector, following the January launch of Apple’s Education package and iPad modifications designed for classroom use. It’s unlikely to be the last.
For education sector IT support – talk to Lineal today: 01271 375999
Ever wish you could add handwritten notes to documents in Microsoft Office? Now you can – as Microsoft have unlocked the ‘Draw’ tab for Office 365.
The new tools come with a range of pen shapes and bright colours, and have been designed particularly with touchscreens and tablets in mind. Accessible across all Office 2016 documents, spreadsheets, presentations and notes, the ‘Draw’ tab follows the recent releases of Microsoft Surface Pro 4 and the iPad Pro. Those with clumsy fingers may prefer to use a stylus.
It’s undoubtedly a pretty and relevant addition to Microsoft’s historically bland Microsoft Office – the simple colour wheel can be used for highlighting text or adding freeform annotations in various ‘ink’ colours.
Behind the new sketchpad fun is some intelligent software, which includes shape recognition that allows users to ‘rough’ draw polygons for conversion to regular shapes for use in diagrams or flowcharts .
The possibilities for working collaboratively, marking homework, sketching designs, reviewing reports or simply saving paper are endless and enjoyable – and show just how practical Office 365 has already become.
Explore Office 365 with Lineal today: click here or call 01271 375999
Apple have finally announced that iOS 9.3 will included special support for schools and colleges.
Using iOS 9.3, each student can be given a unique Apple ID that is compatible with any iPad in a classroom, allowing for the use of any device from a pool of shared school iPads. The Apple education package ID’s themselves are maintained through Apple School Manager, a web based control panel giving admins control over the system.
Apple’s new ‘Classroom’ App allows teachers to launch any app on every shared device in a room at once, and guide students through educational materials. A ‘Screen View’ function keeps an eye on what’s on every student’s screen, allowing teachers to prevent distractions from learning.
For students assigned the same tablet each day, a caching system holds work and resources, and gives a photo login procedure so that each child can find their usual device easily.
More than 70% of UK primary and secondary schools now use tablet computers as part of their ICT tools – including ‘Bring Your Own Device’ (BYOD) schemes. So far however, schools have had to find a good reason to justify the extra expense for Apple’s high-quality iPad devices over cheaper rivals.
By offering cleverly designed software support for the classroom environment, Apple may have just provided that justification.
Learn more about IT support for the education sector – contact Lineal today: 01271 375999.
Almost certainly – but don’t panic. Details of anonymous data gathered from Windows 10 users were released this week, with Microsoft publishing more usage information surrounding Windows 10 tracking.
In a blog post, Microsoft explained that the data is gathered for “Standard diagnostic, anonymous analytics that enables us to deliver the best Windows 10 experience possible.”
Via Windows 10 tracking, Microsoft have now measured more than 200 million active devices running the new operating system, 2.4 billion search questions asked of Virtual Assistant Cortana, and more than 44.5 billion minutes spent using the new Microsoft ‘Edge’ browser.
Routine data collection is unlikely to concern most users – and has clearly been announced to show Windows 10’s success. Microsoft also casually notes that the new operating system, released in the summer of 2015, has been “Outpacing… Windows 8 by nearly 400%.”
The accelerating adoption of Windows 10, including among 22 million Enterprise and Education customers, offers Microsoft renewed hope for growing the user base of associated products, such as Azure cloud computing, Windows Phone and the impressive Office365.
If concerned, users can ‘turn off’ all feedback (aside from error reports) by setting the feedback option to ‘Basic’ in their settings.
Taking a more nuanced view, this admission illustrates an industry ever more capable (and willing) to be flexible with privacy concerns of customers in the quest for the perfect user experience.
Need Windows IT support and advice? Contact Lineal today: www.lineal.co.uk or 01271 375999
Apple’s iPhone 6S pressure sensitive 3D Touch screen can even be used to weigh small quantities of materials using a third-party application, users have discovered.
An iPhone 6S screen can be used to hold a measuring container, re-calibrated to zero with a tare function via a web app, and set to display the mass of ingredients placed in the container by measuring the downforce they exert on the 3D Touch screen.
For now the technology is not necessarily practical for actual cooking (unfortunately illegal uses might be entirely possible) because the maximum accurate weight is only 385 grams.
Expect to see more sensitive screens and wider measurement ranges in future iterations of the 3D Touch, and similar screens from rival smartphone makers as a new standard feature.
Now if only it could mix the ingredients too!
With over 25 years of experience – contact Lineal today for Apple IT Support: 01271 375999 or [email protected]
With ‘Windows 10.1’ now barely a month old, and the Microsoft operating system already running on over 12 million business PCs, how fares Microsoft’s free updates strategy?
Windows 10.1 update was released with relatively little fanfare (be honest, you didn’t notice) adds features that, understandably with hindsight, might have been a distraction at the main Windows 10 release back in July.
Packaged within were mainly performance and security upgrades – Windows 10.1 will now boot almost 30% faster than an old Windows 7 system on the same device, the Cortana virtual assistant has some new handwriting recognition skills and there are new enterprise tools for mobile devices. Microsoft Edge runs smoother too, offering previews of tabs before viewing and syncing favourites across devices.
Most importantly, after recent corporate data breaches in the news, Microsoft have added a range of new security safeguards. These including ‘Windows Hello’, supporting enterprise grade biometrics including fingerprint and facial recognition – sadly currently only available for US users.
Aside from controversy surrounding user privacy then (if you didn’t notice your Windows 10.1 update, that’s maybe because Microsoft installed it automatically on your device without asking you) the first free update went ahead with relevant additions and limited fuss.
Starting free updates officially moves Microsoft into line with Apple’s OS X business model that has become the industry standard. Yet limited promotion of Windows 10’s ongoing development risks downplaying Microsoft’s progress.
Which would be unfair, because Microsoft is plainly taking extra care to develop the business security of their product range, including the excellent Office365, Microsoft Azure and now Windows 10.1. Microsoft is clearly listening to business’ fears, and businesses should welcome it.
AirDrop must be prompted to recognise older Apple devices
Apple’s AirDrop tool has been a much praised addition to Apple’s software lineup – allowing Mac users to wirelessly transfer files from one Apple device to another in close proximity.
However users often report that their new Mac is unable to ‘see’ adjacent Mac devices, preventing them from using AirDrop.
The solution is surprisingly simple: look to the bottom of the AirDrop window on the newest manufactured device, where a small link reads “Don’t see who you’re looking for?” clicking this opens a new option “Search for an older Mac”, which widens the search to older devices running OS X or iOS.
There’s been no explanation from Apple as to why Airdrop is set up in this way, but enabling ‘Search for an older Mac’ allows a 2015 Macbook to find a previously invisible 2011 Macbook with ease, allowing you to begin transferring files.
Happy AirDropping!
Lineal have over 20 years of Apple expertise: contact us today via 01271 375999 or email [email protected]
Web filtering provider Bloxx have announced that they will be ceasing support for their products and services, following a shock email from the company’s Chief Executive.
The move comes as part of a cash deal takeover bid by cloud services firm Akamai Technologies, announced on 2nd November 2015, and will see an end to the sale of all Bloxx products.
Bloxx has a good reputation in the UK and beyond for delivering a strong feature set in their appliances that are used to filter online content delivered in sensitive environments. Their products are commonly implemented by educators, healthcare providers, local authorities and businesses.
Although existing contracts will be honoured, those who have invested in physical Bloxx hardware may well find the lifespans are now limited, with little indication of whether Akamai will offer suitable replacements.
With online security stories dominating the news in recent weeks, wider awareness of the need for web, social media and email monitoring is likely to only increase demand for such products. It remains to be seen whether interested parties will consider a cloud-based offering from Akamai to be sufficient, especially when it comes to security and bandwidth management.
Need help with online content filtering and network security for your organisation? Speak to Lineal today: call 01271 375999 or email [email protected]
Some of our own staff experienced printing problems for the Mac version of Microsoft Office 2016 – these have fortunately already been rectified in update version 10.11.1 by a humbly apologetic Apple.
One of the most notable surprises however was the outright removal of functionality that long-time Mac users have had from the earlier days of personal computing.
Apple’s Disk Utility app update has removed the ability to verify and repair disk permissions on your Mac, leaving users with no way to verify incorrectly installed programs with the correct disk permissions to read/write to their hard drive.
At Lineal we’ve always advised users to verify and repair disk permissions after major updates, and even some Apple software regularly flags up as in need of verification.
Apple has made two sweeping generalisations: firstly, that Mac users only need to run software that immediately cooperates with their hardware (a big assumption) and secondly that users will be content to let Apple worry about the details of their computer maintenance.
Personal computing today feels a little less personal. Mac users have become used to the idea that Mac updates are very reliable, and worthwhile installing promptly – yet the sudden removal of longstanding features puts this in doubt for the first time.
Should we all trust manufacturers? A question for Volkswagen.
Lineal can offer Tech Support for a range of Apple devices: get in touch with us today via 01271 375999 or contact us online.
Presenting a professional face to the world relies upon efficient customer service, but if you’re just one small business starting out, how do you keep up?
ShoreTel’s Cloud Phone systems are a perfect example of how technology can be a force multiplier for SMBs allowing your small team to take on much bigger competition – and win.
A cloud-based phone system allows users to cleverly route incoming calls to the right place, by any method you choose – service level, skill matching, customer identity, caller location or simple priority. By deploying a smart call routing system to direct calls to the right person you can ensure that the customer spends as little time as possible holding on the line and gets their query answered.
In order to better serve customers when they call, ShoreTel’s unified communications platform can be configured to give members of your team the relevant details at their fingertips – such as simple screen pop-up containing a customer’s information. This helps your customer service team deal with queries faster, and in a more informed manner.
Being away from the phone need not be a barrier to SMBs either: voicemail and fax can also be routed onwards into transcribed email, so mobile working won’t hold you back from interacting with customers promptly. ShoreTel’s data also integrates with common CRM systems, seamlessly stitching the different strands of your business’ existing work flow together. Operating a business with a small staff, on the move, or across multiple locations? ShoreTel is made for you.
ShoreTel Connect’s Contact Centre is based around a monthly subscription service rather than a big hardware investment – a much more cost effective option for smaller businesses and ensuring a faster return on investment (ROI). Yet the true investment is in your reputation as a company – as a trusted business that is efficient and responsive to your customers’ needs.
Don’t get stuck holding: explore ShoreTel today.
To learn more, speak to somebody from Lineal today – call us on 01271 375999
Cyber crime is finally set to become the UK’s most common crime type, following inclusion in the latest crime figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This re-classification comes only days after news headlines emerged that an Eastern European crime group successfully used ‘Dridex’ malware to steal over £20m from UK bank accounts via thousands of infected PCs in the UK.
The 2015 National Strategic Assessment from the National Crime Agency estimates that losses due to cyber crime in the UK now amount to a staggering £16 billion annually. The NCA also asserted that the theft of large amounts of private companies’ data still faces ‘considerable under reporting.’
Nowhere is this more threatening than for those in the financial services industry, where both reputations for reliability and access to funds make IT security of paramount importance, requiring compliance with the strictest procedures for identity validation, network safety and fraud detection.
All businesses need to be prepared for the future, where cyber crime is likely to become more sophisticated and UK companies may be expected to demonstrate greater data protection measures. This week Microsoft promoted it’s Financial Services Compliance program in connection with Office 365 – making assurances (aimed squarely at businesses in the financial sector) of direct access to staff and resources to ensure that Microsoft Office cloud services comply with financial security regulations.
Greater awareness of cyber crime amongst Government figures, the media and the public can only be a good thing, but ultimately it still remains very much up to the individual to ensure their IT systems are secure – before the worst happens.
More than 70% of businesses fail after significant data loss. Lineal can install a range of security measures to safeguard your business IT systems and data – enquire today via: http://www.lineal.co.uk/contact/
Apple launched the new OS X 10.11 El Capitan to Mac users yesterday, in the latest free update of its trademark operating system.
The new offering is not a revolution, but an evolution of Apple’s OS X Yosemite released last year, with the newest version including a host of tweaks to improve performance and ease of use.
Having test-driven the software, Lineal staff had the following initial verdicts on El Capitan:
Immediate downloads are for die hard fans – even with 60+ Mbps download speeds, it took us several hours to download the full version today, less than one day after release. Conversely, some of our team managed to download it hours after release in under 20 minutes. Early download performance seems very inconsistent, presumably due to global load on Apple’s servers. For a more user-friendly experience, be patient and download over the weekend.
We liked the new multitasking tools, including the Split View window management system highly reminiscent of Microsoft Windows 10, but even more useful on Apple’s smaller screen MacBooks.
El Capitan improves performance behind the scenes, loading a test PDF file around 50% faster, and improving battery life in the process. Finder also shows a greater initiative, intelligently understanding ‘edited yesterday’ and similar phrases to speed up searching for your files.
Safari finally gets a refresh that includes pinned tabs, allowing for a more efficient way to keep persistent information open. This has been possible in Chrome and Firefox for some time so it’s good to see improvements to Safari to complete the user experience compared to the rivals.
Several of Apple’s most basic apps have received an overdue refresh – for example Notes, where users will find they can now add hitherto excluded images and video if needed, along with a few basic formatting options. Shake your mouse cursor and it will swell in size so that you can find it easily. Apple hasn’t changed – these are thoughtful touches.
Overall OS X El Capitan is a solid, if somewhat modest, revision to Apple’s software range, which clearly has not been rushed to release. The new features have been developed with care and the real draw is increased performance. Both are worth waiting a day or two for though, giving other users time to test the new system, and yourself a less stressful update.
Lineal can offer support and expertise for a range of systems, including various Mac devices – get in touch with us today via: http://www.lineal.co.uk/contact/
Microsoft Office 2016 is here: the staple of word processing, spreadsheets and presentation work everywhere is now available for single purchase on Windows 10 and Mac OS X.
Office 2016’s apps will look very familiar to existing customers – but Office 2016 is undoubtedly ‘smarter’ than any previous version of Office, with its most impressive new features aimed at boosting productivity for both home and business customers.
Take Microsoft’s new ‘Smart Lookup’ function for example – click a single word in a document and Office will web search that term (via Bing) within the window, allowing instant research.
Cleverly, Office 2016 will even infer from the context of the surrounding paragraph the exact meaning of the word being searched for, preventing irrelevant homonyms clouding your search results. A neat trick certainly, but also an important one for certain sectors – for instance helping children do school work with protection against loading inappropriate search results based on words with double-meanings.
It is a similar case with 2016’s new ‘Tell me’ function. Gone are the clunky help menus or cartoon paperclips – ‘Tell’ Word for a tool like ‘mail merge’ or ‘footnotes’ and the Office 2016 apps will not load search results, but immediately take you to the exact menu and function needed.
The latest version allows for collaborative working (finally catching up with rival Google Drive) with multiple users able to edit documents in real time with a visible tracked changes function, from remote locations if needed. As an added bonus, Office is integrated with Skype, aimed at making the process of collaborative working more easily communicated.
Part of productivity is personal though, so Office 2016 also introduces ‘Office 365 Planner’, an app aimed at time and project management. Even Outlook will attempt to shave a few minutes off your day by linking attachments from cloud-based OneDrive and introducing ‘Clutter’, an automated email filtering service which avoids distractions by pushing less relevant emails into a separate folder, helping you to best utilise your time. Office 2016 knows that time is worth money, and for some may be a very smart investment indeed.
Need advice on software for your business, or help migrating to Microsoft Office 365 services? Lineal can help – contact us today: http://www.lineal.co.uk/contact/
Lineal’s team were recently represented at this year’s North Devon Show, joining local businesses from across the area in advertising the best of North Devon. Hosted just outside Umberleigh on the A377 south of Barnstaple, the popular agricultural event draws large local and visiting crowds.
Managing Director Mike Matthews explained: “We’ve been working from North Devon for 28 years, and I’m always delighted to be able to represent Lineal alongside the region’s thriving businesses at the North Devon Show. The exhibitions always impress visitors with the diverse range of firms who operate here, how far afield our customers are, and what we’ve got to offer.”
Originally attending as a smaller business, Lineal has grown considerably since its very early days. In 2013, Managing Director of Lineal and Chair of the North Devon branch of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Mike Matthews met with Prime Minister David Cameron at the show to speak about the issues facing local firms in the region.
“Since last year’s show Lineal has gone from strength to strength” added Mike, “We’ve moved to new premises and enlarged our team with new staff and apprentices. In addition to developing our original products, we’re pleasedto be providing brand new services for our customers including: unified communications, Office 365, and disaster recovery services. I’m certain that by the time next Summer’s show arrives, we’ll have even more to bring to the table.”
Lineal is pleased to announce its successful move from Loxhore to its new offices in Unit 7, Riverside Court, Barnstaple, North Devon. The new offices add increased capacity and will provide our customers with significantly more reliable connectivity for remote-access cloud services.
“Our new office is a step up for us” explained Head of Support Matt Norris, “We’re especially pleased that the new premises give us greater scope to interact directly with customers, to offer a wider range of services and equipment, and to invest in a larger team of staff for Lineal’s future.”
In addition to private meeting rooms and equipment workshop, the Riverside Court site includes an enlarged staff working room and our Pearson VUE -authorised test centre. The new work space supports a team of ten, with a range of specialised disciplines crossing software development of our SQWLWorks software, technical support, consultancy, marketing and administration. With the move also come new products: Lineal now offers businesses the unified Communications platform Shortel, Office 365, and disaster recovery services.
Just off Castle Street, Barnstaple, contact details and directions to Lineal’s new offices at Riverside Court can be found on our website here.
Online shopping giant Amazon have announced they will sell a budget tablet computer, the Fire Tablet, at an advertised price of just £50 from the end of September.
In possibly a promotional world first, Amazon will sell the Fire Tablet in a ‘six-pack’ for the cost of five tablets. Take note education sector; for under £1500 an entire class of 30 children could have personal access to this basic tablet computer.
Nor are there any indications that the Fire Tablet will be poor quality. Like many tablets the Fire will burn on a standard Android system, with the technical specs boasting a 1.3Ghz processor, 8GB of storage space, a 7-inch (171 ppi / 1024 x 600) screen and 7 hours of battery life, all fairly standard for the lower end of the tablet market.
Of course Amazon’s pitch is more strategic than it may first appear – the bargain handheld device allows the massive retail conglomerate another way to promote Amazon video streaming services, Amazon Prime, Kindle Books and other online shopping services.
But commercial clients too could benefit from working with low-cost handheld and mobile devices like the Fire Tablet – here at Lineal we’ve long argued that technology needs to suit your business, not vice versa. Portable access and low outlay means that these tablets allow your digital information to spread into less static or safe working environments – out of private offices and studios, into public places, onto construction sites, factory floors, classrooms, or the remotest of small businesses.
The cost of the device may even ignite interest among some users reluctant to risk moving to a tablet, encouraging them to finally give it a try.
Data breaches can lead to a massive loss of trust among customers, so how do you ensure your IT remains secure?
Despite what many online sign-up forms would suggest, the ‘strongest’ password is not necessarily long and complicated. Whilst complexity makes a password harder to guess or crack with a ‘brute force’ testing of combinations, most security breaches occur from stolen passwords, either physically or by malware attacks.
Very complex passwords do not help in this respect: users still need other IT security, such as antivirus software, errors are more common when typing (particularly on handheld devices) and employees may find complex passwords harder to remember – undermining data security by writing down their login details. The ubiquitous sticky note attached to the monitor is still a trusted solution to working with complex password policies in some organisations!
Routine password changes are a sensible precaution for most businesses, but can make it harder for employees to remember their passwords, leading to the same problem in which users are locked out of work accounts, copy passwords across accounts, or write passwords down at risk of theft.
Phrases can help avoid this problem by making passwords easier to recall: ‘Lineal15theB3st’ is preferable to a 15-digit numeral because a touch of personality adds memorability. Beware profanity though – just imagine trying to explain it to technical support later on!
Here at Lineal we’d also advise against ‘Remember Me’ automated sign-in functions, as well as Windows 10’s new Wi-Fi password sharing ‘Wi-Fi Sense’ Feature, as these make your chosen password redundant.
If you want to see where the future of online security is going, follow the money: most online banking incorporates a two-stage authentication process, requiring both a password and a unique alert code texted to the customer’s mobile phone for identification. This is already a free optional setting for Google, Facebook, Twitter and other popular websites.
Lineal’s advice is to stick to the following basics:
Avoid physical theft:
Don’t write your passwords down on a post-it note on your desk! Microsoft has a practical tip: if you absolutely must write a password down, do so in a safe place, without labeling it as a password or to which account it refers. Substitute words should also be used to hide the true password, for example writing ‘Fruit8£’ could refer to a password of ‘Apple8£’.
Don’t use an easily guessed word, such as your name, your company’s name, 1234, the name of something on your desk, the word ‘password’, or anything similarly obvious.
Never tell anyone your password, and change your password if you suspect it has been compromised.
Ease of Access:
If you struggle to remember your passwords, use a password storage program to store some of them. Remember to use a secure password for the program.
Mitigate against your own forgetfulness by setting up alternate password recovery options, allowing you to choose more varied, difficult passwords.
Consider where users will need to log in from – take full advantage of using numbers and special characters ( ! , £, %, * etc.) for keyboard users.
Preventing digital theft:
Use different passwords for your most important accounts, such as online banking.
Use two-stage authentication.
Maintain up to date anti-virus security software and firewalls on your work desktops, and don’t download untrusted software or open suspicious emails which could be phishing or contain password stealing malware.
Consult IT specialists to ensure office networks are protected from outside attacks.
Your security should always be strong enough to give peace of mind. Lineal can provide expert advice and support for securing your IT systems: why not get in contact with us here?
This week saw the hotly anticipated release of the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, Apple Inc’s flagship smartphone announced in their annual product release that has become as inevitable as the tides.
With the iPhone now accounting for something close to 70% of Apple’s revenue, the 6S and 6S Plus were the main attraction. The new design fixes old durability problems with a stronger case and tougher screen, but added features include the obligatory faster processor, a new rose gold colour choice, and an upgraded 12MP camera – all aimed at keeping ahead of the competition, at least when it comes to performance.
‘3D Touch’ is Apple’s newest technical innovation, making the screen of the company’s newest devices pressure sensitive. This gives users the illusion of screen depth by accurately judging the strength of the screen press, allowing for new capabilities like a ‘peek’ at an app with a gentle touch, and giving Apple another technical edge with which to play the long game.
Not that Apple’s thinking hasn’t been questioned: commercial clients may find the power to shoot high resolution 4k video enticing, but will likely be sceptical at how practical it is to save such high-quality video files on a smartphone.
Indeed, for a company whose founder’s dislike of the stylus is well documented, releasing a large tablet with a stylus appears an open invitation for criticism. Nevertheless this is exactly what Apple have now done, introducing the new iPad Pro, a 12.9 inch tablet, ostensibly optimised for creative use by designers, illustrators and other editors needing a larger screen.
The demonstration of the iPad Pro included the new $99 (£65) stylus, the Apple ‘Pencil’ effortlessly photoshopping a woman’s smile on screen, an illustrative but perhaps ill-chosen example that somehow made it through Apple’s press office without ringing media alarm bells. Appropriate use aside, the technology is nevertheless impressive: the Apple pencil combined with 3D Touch allows pressure sensitive brush strokes on screen drawn with great precision.
This year’s releases represent Apple maturing a little, yet still relying on groundbreaking technical features to stay ahead of the curve. Apple Inc. shares actually slid two percent to close lower on Wednesday, with investors holding their breath to see whether the new products were enough to really ‘impress’ customers. The tech giant has arguably sacrificed some of the flamboyance of previous years’ releases to concentrate on the innovation needed to outpace rivals, and open more important doors for its own future, including in the form of its renewed invasion into our living rooms with the new Apple TV and tvOS complete with the long heralded AppStore.
Lineal has over 20 years of business experience with Apple Mac, including connecting your mobile devices for working on the move – why not get in touch with us today? http://www.lineal.co.uk/contact/
Facebook have announced that Facebook Pages will soon allow online sales, in a move expected to be welcomed by online businesses.
The popular social media website could potentially offer organisations access to the largest marketplace in the world, after Facebook recently made headlines for over 1 billion active users in the space of 24 hours. The competition is also likely to be fierce however, with over 45 million pages already in existence vying for attention.
Facebook pages currently include an option for a ‘Call to Action’ button like this one, allowing visitors to ‘Contact Us’, ‘Sign Up’, with similar ‘Donate’ options for non-profits, which will all receive a redesign.
Over the next month however, Pages will be granted access to new ‘Shopping’ and ‘Services’ sections, allowing a business to showcase their products for purchase or a range of professional services for hire. Additionally, Facebook are understood to be testing a voice-activated AI ‘assistant’ service, ‘M’, for both Facebook and the Facebook Messenger App, keeping pace with similar offerings from other giants of the tech world.
It would be a brave business which moved to Facebook sales alone, although some startups may attempt just that, eventually processing all payments through social media as a replacement for a traditional website.
But as the old saying goes: ‘Where there’s crowds, there’s business.’ A conventional internet banner advert is clicked-on merely 0.1% of the time, or one in a thousand views, perhaps tempting internet savvy companies to move more of their efforts to Facebook, a website millions of users log into (willingly) each day.
If you need technology to drive sales for your business, why not get in touch with Lineal? Contact us here: http://www.lineal.co.uk/contact/
Intel have announced the release of their new Skylake processors – their sixth generation of processor chips using multiple cores to combine greater processing power with lower energy consumption.
The new chips will boast around a 60% performance increase for a standard PC, with overclocking capabilities and other features clearly aimed at capturing the higher end of the gaming market and similar. There are also more rudimentary improvements behind the scenes: for example supporting multiple 4k displays, and optimising for new connections expected on the next generation of laptops, including USB Type-C and Thunderbolt 3.
Skylake’s greatest asset however will be remarkably more efficient power-use. Intel believe superior energy efficiency (and less overheating) will allow more devices to operate without the need for internal fans, saving device weight, size, manufacturing costs, environmental costs, maintenance on moving parts, and prices for consumers. Their smaller models, Core m3, m5 and m7, will also help corner the market on more portable devices, saving weight and critical battery life in the tablets and smartphones of the future.
Intel must realise their market is changing and that it will be harder to keep selling new processors. Both Microsoft and Apple now offer constant upgrades to their Windows 10 and OS X Yosemite operating systems via free downloads – such that users are no longer forced to buy a new computer or package when they wish to upgrade. The IDC estimated last November that new tablet sales were also slower than the industry expected, as users hold on to older, well-built devices longer than expected rather than purchasing newer models. Hard drive capacities, in devices of all sizes, will only increase.
This all leaves Intel with a sales challenge – how to sell computer hardware to a world that doesn’t necessarily need or covet new devices as regularly? Skylake must provide new opportunities to manufacturers to push the boundaries of what can be achieved with a better chip to drive fresh sales across the industry.
Expect to see Skylake processors become available by the end of 2015, with the PC market picking up the range fully in the New Year.
If you’d like to take advantage of Lineal’s advice and expertise, you can contact us online easily by clicking here: http://www.Lineal.co.uk/contact/
If you choose a full-size magic keyboard for your mac you have the advantage of a PC-style number keypad, alignment and full-size arrow keys – but no PC-style ‘Num Lock’ key.
So if you discover your number keypad isn’t working, it can be hard to tell if this is due to a hardware failure or a setting to disable the numberpad in software. Never fear – here’s the answer:
Before you begin testing the settings as you go, it’s worth opening your favourite text app and the onscreen keyboard – via the ‘Show Keyboard Viewer’ option on the menu bar of modern macOS versions.
Where is ‘Num Lock’ on a Mac Keyboard?
Without the Num Lock key, you’ll need to tap either Clear or Shift + Clear on your hardware keyboard (depending on the version), and then test your numpad number keys again in your text app.
However, it’s also worth checking you don’t have a setting called ‘Mouse Keys’ enabled. This setting allows a user to move their mouse using the number pad as direction keys, and is intended as an accessibility option for those who find it difficult to use a mouse or trackpad.
If this is turned on, you may notice your mouse cursor move slightly when you tap one of the number keys on your number keypad.
You can check for Mouse Keys via the Apple Menu, choosing ‘System Preferences’ and clicking on ‘Accessibility’. Select ‘Pointer Control’ from the left hand menu and ‘Alternative Control Methods’. Here you can untick ‘Enable Mouse Keys’, and hopefully return your number pad to its expected function.
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In a similar upgrade, Android 13 also adds a new device permission for apps that join to nearby Wi-Fi devices without sharing GPS permissions, for example allowing users to use smart devices in their home, without granting outright location permissions in the process.
Lewis Marrow
Luke Woolacott
Sarah Allsobrook
Kieran Tennant
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