Microsoft October 2020 Patch Tuesday, Alexa IT Headache and new iPhones.

Microsoft October 2020 Patch Tuesday fixes 87 vulnerabilities

Fixes for 21 remote code execution (RCE) vulnerabilities included for products like Excel, Outlook, the Windows Graphics component, and the Windows TCP/IP stack.

Microsoft has released today its monthly batch of security updates known as Patch Tuesday, and this month the OS maker has patched 87 vulnerabilities across a wide range of Microsoft products.

 It's a monthly thing, sometimes no gain, only pain but with much of the U.S. and the world working remotely it is now more important to apply your OS updates than ever.  Hackers are concentrating their efforts on the RDP protocols.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-october-2020-patch-tuesday-fixes-87-vulnerabilities/?ftag=TRE-03-10aaa6b&bhid=2219791&mid=13109479&cid=716603217

Amazon's Alexa is driving IT managers crazy

"The danger is that these devices aren't typically secured by design," Grimm told me. "They can basically be like an open door or window to the network that an attacker uses as a means to get on the network and look for more valuable resources -- intellectual property, personal information, and more."

https://www.zdnet.com/article/amazons-alexa-is-driving-it-managers-crazy/

See also: Amazon's Alexa gets a new brain on Echo |  Alexa, why should I upgrade my Echo?  | Which Echo to buy? How to pick the best Alexa device for your needs | Why Amazon needs to stop selling us new Echos

Apple just announced the iPhone 12 lineup, and it's packed full of features and new capabilities, at a range of price points.

I've been telling Verizon and AT&T clients for over a year now, just because your phone displays 5G in he upper right corner, if you don't have a 5G phone you are operating at 4G.  Well 5G iPhones are finally here.

All four iPhone 12 models are capable of connecting to 5G networks. In the US, that means they include Sub6 and mmWave compatibility. The phones will have a Smart Data Mode that will decide whether or not a 5G connection is required for a task, and when it's not, it will use a 4G LTE connection instead. Doing so will save battery life. 

New iPhone models and dates of availability:

iPhone 12 Mini: Nov. 6 preorders, Nov 13 availability

iPhone 12: Oct 16 preorders, Oct. 23 availability 

iPhone 12 Pro: Oct. 16 preorders, Oct. 23 availability 

iPhone 12 Pro Max: Nov. 6 preorders, Nov 13 availability

https://www.zdnet.com/article/iphone-12-all-the-models-launch-date-pricing-and-specs/

This article (link) has me thinking about keeping my iPhone 7 a little longer.

iPhone 12 has 5G, but Apple still has us questioning why we need it

For now, the biggest reason to buy a 5G phone is FOMO -- and future-proofing.

https://www.cnet.com/news/iphone-12-has-5g-but-apple-still-has-us-questinoing-why-we-need-it/

Global Microsoft Outage, Apple Woes, Cybercrime, Nvidia RTX 30 series graphics cards.

Global Microsoft outage brings down Teams, Office 365 and Outlook

Microsoft says a recent update has affected the processing of authentication requests, making cloud-based services inaccessible.

Microsoft Blames Software ‘Code Issue’ For Office 365 Outage

“It’s amazing to me that a change in code could cause a platform as big as Azure to go down,” says a senior executive for one of Microsoft’s top partners, who did not want to be identified. “It sounds like someone wrote some code that was merged into a production environment and it broke authentication. That’s ridiculous. If you can’t get into email or documents for five hours it’s pretty bad.” CRN

The outage affected users between the hours of 5:25 pm EST to 10:25 pm EST.  I did not hear from a single user concerning any issues.  Fortunately for us the outage occurred after normal business hours and from what I read, users who had a session established were okay.  It was only those who tried to log in during that period of time who were affected.

Microsoft attributed the Azure service outage to a “recent configuration change impacted a backend storage layer, which caused latency to authentication requests.” CRN.

https://www.crn.com/news/cloud/microsoft-blames-software-code-issue-for-office-365-outage

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/sep/29/major-microsoft-outage-brings-down-office-365-outlook-and-teams?ref=hvper.com

https://www.bing.com/news/search?q=Office+365+Outage&qpvt=office+365+outage&FORM=NWRFSH

Apple News

Who'd have thought... Apple makes mistakes too.  Read the link below, 

iOS 14.0.1: The battery and connectivity woes continue

iOS 14.0.1 fixes some things. Breaks other things.

The bottom line is that we're into that messy period at the beginning of an iOS launch where there will be a lot of bugs and fixes and new bugs. I suspect iOS 14.0.2 is not that far away, and that it won't be long until iOS 14.1 is released, likely to be the iOS version that ships on the new iPhones.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/ios-14-0-1-the-battery-and-connectivity-woes-continue/?ftag=TRE-03-10aaa6b&bhid=2219791&mid=13076371&cid=716603217

iPhone 12 64GB model incoming, says leaker, shipments start next week

A new report from serial Apple leaker Jon Prosser states the iPhone 12 will be getting a 64GB storage option, despite previous reports Apple was ditching the configuration.

https://www.imore.com/iphone-12-64gb-model-confirmed-shipments-start-next-week

Cyber Crime

Cyberattack hobbles major hospital chain's US facilities, staff forced to use paper records

https://www.foxbusiness.com/healthcare/cyberattack-hobbles-major-hospital-chains-us-facilities-staff-forced-to-use-paper-records

A computer outage at a major hospital chain thrust healthcare facilities across the U.S. into chaos Monday, with treatment impeded as doctors and nurses already burdened by the coronavirus pandemic were forced to rely on paper backup systems.

Universal Health Services Inc., which operates more than 250 hospitals and other clinical facilities in the U.S., blamed the outage on an unspecified IT “security issue” in a statement posted to its website Monday but provided no details about the incident, such as how many facilities were affected and whether patients had to be diverted to other hospitals.

Google removes 17 Android apps caught engaging in WAP billing fraud

The 17 apps were infected with the Joker (Bread) malware, which Google described in January 2020 as one of the most persistent threats it dealt with since 2017.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/google-removes-17-android-apps-doing-wap-billing-fraud-from-the-play-store/

The FBI's most wanted cybercriminals

https://www.zdnet.com/pictures/the-fbis-most-wanted-cyber-criminals/

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 Series Graphics Cards

Nvidia announced their new RTX 30 graphic cards on September 17th.  The GeForce RTX 3090 was released September 24th.  I was at the Marietta Micro Center store on the 23rd of September and saw this scene that I had to take a picture of;

I first thought it was the line to get in due to the Pandemic, (there usually is a line on weekends due to restrictions on the number of people allowed in at one time), but then I saw people going into the store bypassing the line.

Once inside I asked the lady what was going on, she replied "they are camping and waiting for the release of the Nvidia graphics card tomorrow."  WOW, not only are these people going to fork over $1500 for a video card but they can afford a whole day of their life devoted to this purpose, and they don't need to work, they have the money.  SMDH.

Read more about the new Nvidia cards and while at it, be sure to buy a DForce Gaming computer.

Thanks for reading!

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/news/introducing-rtx-30-series-graphics-cards/

DFORCE Gaming Rigs, Ultra-fast performance, Powerful and expandable!

A lot of Apple News from Yesterday, however still waiting on iPhone 12 and 5G. iPad Air 4 sounds great.

The Apple Watch and iPad launch event was typical Apple. Product upgrades that spur purchases, services to threaten multiple rivals and good price points across the portfolio.

The Apple event yesterday September 15th focused on the new Apple Watch 6, iPad Air and new service bundles including Apple TV, Apple Music and a new Fitness service to challenge Peloton's App.

Key fitness items include:

Blood oxygen measurements.

Background health metrics while you sleep.

Partnerships with academic institutions on studies.

Apple announced a new subscription model, Apple One that introduces various levels of service bundling which has already triggered responses from Spotify and other entertainment providers.

I have an Apple watch 3 and after reviewing details and what other reviewers are saying this a.m., I have no intention of upgrading my Apple Watch.  I'm waiting on the iPhone 12 with 5G.  

Yesterday's event was only a warm-up to spur sales prior to the iPhone 5G introduction which I'm sure will be available before Christmas.

I'm not going to lie though, I will purchase the new iPad Air 4 when available since I have kicked Comcast TV services out of my office and home.  I have a great IPTV service which runs on IOS.

Apple surprised iPhone users with a next-day iOS 14 release. App developers are pissed.

To read about all the product announcements from the Apple Event yesterday please click on the following link;

https://www.zdnet.com/article/everything-apple-announced-at-its-sept-15-event-apple-watch-series-6-se-apple-one-fitness-plus-and-ipad-ipad-air-lineup-updates/?ftag=TREc64629f&bhid=2219791&mid=13049704&cid=716603217

Apple Product reveal day is today, Windows Server severe bug patch, Emotet and Hackers on the rise.

 It's a big day in Tech world with the annual Apple new Device release event set for today.  Expect emphasis on new Apple watch 6 and iPad Air to take center stage.  But first let's deal with a huge security issue.

"Unbeknownst to many, last month Microsoft patched one of the most severe bugs ever reported to the company, an issue that could be abused to easily take over Windows Servers running as domain controllers in enterprise networks."

 If your organization runs Windows server there is an update that is imperative your IT support techs apply to your servers.  A flaw in the Netlogon authentication process allows an attacker to exploit the cryptographic algorithm used to verify identity of a computer on a domain network.

The update has been available since Patch Tuesday of August 2020, it is known as CVD-2020-1472 and if your server is behind in updates then you are vulnerable.  The flaw has received a severity rating of 10, the details are only coming out now more than a month after the update was released because the vulnerability was too dangerous to make public.

"But in a blog post today, the team at Secura B.V., a Dutch security firm, has finally lifted the veil from this mysterious bug and published a technical report describing CVE-2020-1472 in greater depth.

And per the report, the bug is truly worthy of its 10/10 CVSSv3 severity score."

For more info, please follow this link.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/zerologon-attack-lets-hackers-take-over-enterprise-networks/?ftag=TREc64629f&bhid=2219791&mid=13047656&cid=716603217

Apple Event.  Because of Covid-19, the 2020 Apple event will be held virtually at 10 a.m. PDT from Apple Park.  

You can add the event to your calendar and obtain a link to the event by going to;

https://www.apple.com/apple-events/

For insight into the new products and features, please visit the links below.

https://9to5mac.com/2020/09/14/apple-september-event-what-to-expect/

https://9to5mac.com/2020/09/14/heres-how-apples-fall-2020-ipad-ipad-air-and-iphone-12-features-will-compare/

COVID cybercrime: 10 disturbing statistics to keep you awake tonight

Not everyone has been sidelined by the Corona virus.  Hackers are out in force trying to steal your info/credentials and ultimately, finances.  9 out of 10 coronavirus related domains are scams and a half a million Zoom accounts have been compromised and are available on the Dark Web.

With so many new remote workers there has been a huge increase in desktop connections using RDP (remote desktop protocol) which has created a huge number of new targets for the bad guys.  The speed at which all these new connections have been created has led to mistakes in implementation and many remote devices are not secured.  This has led to a 400% increase in brute-force attacks.

In addition email scams related to Covid-19 were up 667% in March, 2020 alone.

The following is amazing to me but with so many people getting their news from social media, I guess I shouldn't be surprised;

In a test performed in late March, researchers found that users are three times more likely to click on a phishing link and then enter their credentials than they were pre-COVID. Of course, it doesn't hurt that those phishing emails often used words like "COVID" or "coronavirus, "masks", "test", "quarantine" and "vaccine."

Be careful;  for more details follow the link  below,

https://www.zdnet.com/article/ten-disturbing-coronavirus-related-cybercrime-statistics-to-keep-you-awake-tonight/?ftag=TRE-03-10aaa6b&bhid=27630927001468733386426006914379&mid=13046731&cid=1862926557

Watch out! Patch Tuesday is here, one day before Tax Day, 2020

Watch out!  Patch Tuesday is here, one day before Tax Day, 2020.

With a record number of people working from home hackers are busy trying to exploit weaknesses.  They have a narrowed target since they know who the remote access service providers are, the ports and protocols they use and the weaknesses of home routers.  See ZDNet links below

SECURITY

• Zoom working on patching zero-day disclosed in Windows client
• Home router warning: They're riddled with known flaws and run ancient, unpatched Linux

In the past 5 months Microsoft updates have contained an average of ninety fixes for CVEs, (common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVE)).  However, total updates are actually down from previous cycles with no new updates for Exchange and SQL products.

It is important to keep your systems updated so that security flaws are patched and your computer protected.  You can delay your updates for a default of 7 days to a maximum of 35 days if you wish but remember this can leave your system vulnerable to the latest attacks.

You need to be diligent about updating your system, Old vulnerabilities exist and new variants of ransomware are appearing one, example being Try2Cry.

If you are experiencing any particular issues as you roll out this new operating system you should check out the known issues page for the latest information. You may find a fix is already available or will soon be on the way.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/release-information/status-windows-10-2004

To read more visit this link which is the source of much of this post.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2020/07/10/july-2020-patch-tuesday-forecast/

July 2020 Patch Tuesday forecast

• Expect to see a larger number of Microsoft updates this month. We are due for a new set of .NET updates and, as I mentioned above, we are overdue for a SQL server or Exchange server update.
• Servicing stack updates (SSUs) and Extended Security Updates (ESUs) for Windows 7 and Server 2008/2008 R2 are expected in the group release as usual.
• The Oracle Critical Product Update (CPU) aligns with patch Tuesday once again this quarter. Don’t forget your Java update and other OpenJDK-based products such as Amazon Correto, AdoptOpenJDK, and others which will follow close behind.
• After the surprise Adobe Flash release last month, could we see another? Unlikely, but be on the lookout. The last major security update for Acrobat and Reader was in early May so look for a security release this week.
• Apple released their security updates for iTunes and iCloud back in late May and have been releasing roughly every other month. We may not see a release on Tuesday but be on the lookout later this month.
• Google released a security update for Chrome 84 this week.
• Mozilla provided minor security updates this week for Firefox 78, and major updates for Firefox ESR 68 and Thunderbird 68 the last week of June. We may see a minor update for these applications next week.

Malware on the rise, Evil Corp Malware Gang returns and Major Breach of Police Departments and Fusion Centers

Malware on the rise, Evil Corp Malware Gang returns and Major Breach of Police Departments and Fusion Centers, Info published Online.

Last week was a busy week fighting malware attacks and phishing schemes.  There were plenty of emails forwarded to me to check for validity checks... a client whose credentials were compromised and another where an associate was compromised and for some reason this external associate had my email address and I received the bogus email as well.

The email I received from my compromised client was a first.  It contained an HTML file that deposited itself into my Onedrive.  When I clicked on it, file explorer took me to my OneDrive folder and displayed a photo placed in there by the HTML code.  I never had seen that before, I deleted all instances of the file and scanned the OneDrive folder on my computer with Malwarebytes.  Next I ended up mapping a network drive to the client's online SharePoint folder, deleted all instances of the file and perform a virus scan via the network drive mapping to be certain no other threats existed.

This was an example of Fileless malware.  Many fileless attacks begin by exploiting an existing legitimate program, becoming a newly launched “sub-process,” or by using existing legitimate tools built into the OS (like Microsoft’s PowerShell). The end result is that fileless attacks are harder to detect and stop. If you aren’t already very familiar with common fileless attack techniques and programs, you probably should be if you want a career in computer security.

Be very careful while online and make sure your anti-virus software is current and up to date.  A Firewall should be in place and running.  If a website is compromised and contains code placed there by hackers, it can be downloaded and executed on your computer.  A good firewall can stop many of these attempts at the point of attack.

The following link describes 9 types of malware.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/2615925/security-your-quick-guide-to-malware-types.html

Evil Corp malware gang returns with WastedLocker ransomware

Evil Corp, one of the biggest malware operations on the internet, has slowly returned to life after several of its members were charged by the US Department of Justice in December 2019.

A Ransomware attack is not only difficult to recover from but has caused disruption in services and even caused bankruptcy of companies in the past.  It cost the City of Atlanta over $2.6 million dollars to clean up after one such attack.

  
https://www.wired.com/story/atlanta-spent-26m-recover-from-ransomware-scare/

Now comes news that one of the most successful groups is back in business after the DOJ charged several members in 2019.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/evil-corp-malware-gang-returns-with-wastedlocker-ransomware/

BlueLeaks: Data from 200 US police departments & fusion centers published online

Activist group DDoSecrets published 296 GB of police data on Friday, June 19.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/blueleaks-data-from-200-us-police-departments-fusion-centers-published-online/?ftag=TRE-03-10aaa6b&bhid=2219791&mid=12891070&cid=716603217

The DDoSecrets group has often been categorized as "an alternative to Wikileaks." The group's previous leaks have exposed major government corruption scandals across the world, and DDoSecrets' work has been cited in the New York Times, CNN, The Daily Beast, and other major publications.

DForce Intel based Workstations with SSDs, Solid State Drives.

Windows Update; Should I stay or should I Go.

Windows 10 Update 2004:  when to update.

Tuesday of this past week, 06/09/2020 was the second Tuesday of the month aka in the Microsoft realm as Patch Tuesday.  This update included patches for 129 vulnerabilities.  It was the largest Patch Tuesday ever.

Should you update?  As of June 9th, none of the bugs had been exploited in the "wild", only in lab testing.  However, malware writers are known to dissect Microsoft's monthly updates to select, find and exploit vulnerabilities that are most useful and profitable for them.

So yes it is a good idea to update your machines to keep them safe from the bad guys...  see link below for details about this update.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-june-2020-patch-tuesday-fixes-129-vulnerabilities/?ftag=TRE-03-10aaa6b&bhid=27630927001468733386426006914379&mid=12873514&cid=1862926557

So, should you update to Windows 10 2004?

The latest version available is Windows 10 2004.  It has been delayed for 6 months due to extensive testing by Microsoft to attempt to avoid issues caused by the update.  In the Microsoft Universe, there are millions of combinations/permutations of hardware and software.  That's due to the ubiquitous installed base of Windows computers.

Also, manufacturers are always bringing new devices to the table and in many cases refuse to continue to write drivers or provide support for older devices.

After awhile even Microsoft can no longer support 10 year old processors and computers.  This is true in the Apple World as well.  I can't upgrade my old MAC to the latest version of Mac OS.  They stopped supporting it in 2014 with the Yosemite release, 10.10.

Thus far with Windows 10 Ver. 2004 there have been issues resulting in printer bugs, that stopped all print jobs on some printers.  

https://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-10-out-of-band-update-printer-bugs-fixed-as-microsoft-moves-more-of-you-to-2004/

The out-of-band update should fix Ricoh, Canon, Panasonic, and Brother printers that Windows 10 admins reported stopped working after installing the security update. 

I have read about USB ports disappearing and reappearing, BlueTooth devices not working and now there seems to be issues with Chrome and Edge browsers.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-10-2004-issues-now-browser-bugs-hit-edge-startup-launches-chrome-sign-outs/

In conclusion, I would recommend delaying the upgrade to Windows Ver. 2004 until next month's Patch Tuesday, July 14th, 2020.

You can delay updates for up to 35 days by going to Settings, (left click Start Button, and click on Gear Icon), Updates and Security, 

then select Advanced Options and look for Pause Updates

In the meanwhile stay tune to this blog and I will keep you updated as to when it is safe to go back in the water.

This is my current situation;

How to determine your Windows version

When Microsoft introduces a major feature release they use the last 2 digits of the year and 2 digits of the month to define the version, so version 1803 was March 2018 and the latest is April 2020.  This is known as the Version Number.  There is also the Build Number that more precisely defines updates and hotfixes that have been applied since you last upgraded the the latest Version.

You can find this information by using the WINVER command;

• To open Run Command in Windows 10 use the shortcut key Win key+R
• Type the keyword “ winver ” and click OK.
• a Window with your Info will open.

Below is a link to a good article about Window versions and builds.

https://www.anoopcnair.com/windows-10-build-numbers-version-numbers/#Windows_10_2004

DForce Intel based Workstations

If you are running old equipment or an out of date OS, operating system, you could be putting your business and information at risk.  

Starting with the Intel 8th generation of processors, performance took a quantum leap forward, Core i3 processor cores increased from 2 to 4, Core i5 from 4 to 6 single thread cores and the Core i7 6 hyper threading cores.  In addition, SSDs are included in all DForce workstations.  Intel launched 9th generation Coffee Lake Refresh CPUs with up to eight cores.

Get up to speed today and safeguard your business and information.