NakedSecurity:Privacy dust-up as Roomba maker mulls selling maps of users’ homes

Another example of how embracing technology and automation can come back and bite you! The more technology that has reach back to the manufacturer you have in your home, the more data that they will be able to acquire about your habits, likes and dislikes and your infrastructure. So… you can either continue to acquire the products that seem to make your life easier and/or more enjoyable or you can run back to your cave and pull the rock back in front of your door. Is there a happy medium? I don’t think so! I look at the number of services and devices that I use and it has become enormous.

Take a look at this article to give you another insight into what companies like iRobot have about you and your environment and how it could be used as a commodity sale to other companies.

SharePoint Public Website

If you are or were thinking of using the Office 365 SharePoint Public Website realize that it will soon be disappearing. It is a pity since it gave you a quick website that you could add content to that your clients could visit. It was probably not often used since it did not utilize the domain name of your choice right out of the box. Of course this can be done but it wasn’t done without getting into the system and your domain hosting service to make the changes.

But of course this is all mute now since Microsoft is cancelling this service. The SharePoint Online Public Websites feature is primarily used by a small percentage of our Office 365 customers for their own external-facing websites. Office 365 customers who currently use the SharePoint Online Public Website feature will continue to have access to the feature for a minimum of two years after the changeover date of March 9, 2015.

As of February 2017, customers have had the ability in the SharePoint Admin Center to postpone the removal of their SharePoint Online public website, which would allow them to continue to use the site through March 31, 2018. Customers will continue to have the option of subscribing to third-party solutions for public website functionality. To postpone the site deletion through March 31, 2018, follow these steps:

1. Select Admin from the App Launcher. 
2. Select Admin Centers.
3. Select SharePoint.
4. Select Settings.
5. Scroll to Postpone deletion of SharePoint Online public websites.
6. Select the I’d like to keep my public website until March 31, 2018 option.

Beginning May 1, 2017, anonymous access for existing sites will no longer be available. If customers need more time to move their public website, they have a one-time postponement option for up to one year (March 31, 2018). Customers must select the postpone option by May 1, 2017.

On September 1, 2017, when Microsoft deletes the public site collection in SharePoint Online, customers will no longer have access to the content, images, pages, or any other files that reside on their public website. Before September 1, 2017, customers should make a backup copy of all their public website content, images, pages, and files, so they don’t lose them permanently.

On March 31, 2018, Microsoft will delete all public sites that have been postponed.

Why is Microsoft making this change?

As part of the evolution of the Office 365 service, we periodically evaluate the capabilities of the service to make sure that we’re delivering the utmost value to customers. After careful consideration, we concluded that for public websites, Office 365 customers would be better served by third-party providers whose core competency is public websites. Therefore, we’ve made the difficult decision to discontinue the SharePoint Online Public Website feature so that we can focus our efforts and investments on delivering capabilities in Office 365 that will bring more value to our customers.

New feature: Microsoft Forms Preview

MC106358 - Published On : July 11, 2017

Microsoft Forms is a simple and lightweight app for creating polls, surveys, and quizzes that lets your users easily gather customer feedback, measure satisfaction, learn what employees think, organize team events, and more. It works on any web browser, and includes features such as themes, logo and image support, real time responses, automatic charts, question branching, and support for collaboration. With this Preview, we will also be upgrading the Excel Survey feature, which will be renamed “Forms for Excel”. This update comes with a modern experience powered by Microsoft Forms to make it simple and easy to collect information into Excel. It can now be used without changing the organization’s sharing settings in OneDrive. The Preview comes with the quality, compliance, and security you’ve come to expect from Office 365. We have already enabled Microsoft Forms Preview for all First Release customers configured for entire organization, in June. - Allow users who access forms.office.com directly to create and share Forms (completed) - Enable app launcher tile for licensed users of Forms (completed) - Upgrade Excel Survey with Forms-powered “Forms for Excel” feature (completed) We will begin rolling out to the rest of Office 365, starting the second half of July, and the roll out will be completed by September. We have enabled Microsoft Forms settings in admin portal, so you could pre-configure Microsoft Forms for your employees before the roll out. There is no change on Microsoft Forms for education customers, as it has been available since August 2016. This message is associated with Office 365 Roadmap ID 16254.

How does this affect You?

With this release, administrators can now assign or remove Microsoft Forms licenses to employees on a per user basis. Removing the license from a user will prevent the user from creating forms in Microsoft Forms, but they can still respond to forms created by others. By default, Microsoft Forms is enabled for your organization.

New feature: Column creation in modern SharePoint lists and libraries

MC110033  -  Published On : July 18, 2017

Microsoft is improving the column creation experience in modern SharePoint Online lists and libraries. You’ll begin seeing this new feature in the coming days.

How does this affect you?

Microsoft is adding the ability to create and configure the following column types by clicking the "+" icon that next to the column headers in modern lists and libraries:

• Number
• Yes/No
• Person
• Choice
• Hyperlink
• Picture
• Single line of text
• Multiple lines of text

They will be rolling this out in late July, and the rollout will be completed in the next few months.

Microsoft Inspire 2017

I know that I am a couple of weeks late reporting on this conference but there were a lot of interesting things announced and discussions on how to help Partners like ourselves to work with our customers in understanding the Microsoft Cloud World and how we can help you to understand what is available and how to use it.

From some of the sessions that I watched I have attained some ideas of what I want to do on this blog. I enjoy sharing some of the things that I find useful to me with you, but I need to get back into the exploration of what is available to you through your subscriptions to the different products that we support. So, you can expect a little more how to instead of just straight reporting on subjects that I have found interesting.

Hopefully that will make this site more useful and interesting to all of you that are following it.

Naked Security Post: Watch out for the Android malware that snoops on your phone

Android has a long history of being the one of the most hacked and infected phone devices and so if this is what your phone is running you may want to look at this article. Don’t forget that Sophos has a free anti-malware package available for both ios and android devices. For other free Sophos Tools take a look here.

How To: Using Windows File Explorer as an FTP Client

Richard Hay, winsupersite.com discussed the built-in capabilities of Windows File Explorer to be used as an FTP Client.  I love tips like these and always want to keep them somewhere so I can pull them out when I need them. That is one of the reasons I have this blog. Not only can I share with others but I also get to keep the info available for us as well. Anyway, Richard has great illustrations to lead you by the hand and explains very well how to use it and what you are able to do with this in File Explorer.

FTP or File Transfer Protocol is a standard network protocol that is used for transferring computer files between a client and a server on a computer network.

FTP Wikipedia Site

Windows 10 Support for Older Hardware is at Risk

Microsoft with the Windows 10 operating system has been moved into a Software as a Service (SaaS) model instead of the more traditional 5 + 5 model of earlier versions of Windows. (meaning, 5 years of feature and security updates, and 5 extra years for security updates only.) Microsoft included a hardly read note that you are eligible for Windows 10 for the “supported lifetime of the device.”  The problem is that each Windows 10 update receives security fixes for just 18 months. Version 1607, the latest that these Clover Trail machines can install, will drop out of support in early 2018 - after which they'll cease to receive any patches at all.

"The following Intel Clover Trail processors are currently not supported on Windows 10 Creators Update:

• Atom Z2760
• Atom Z2520
• Atom Z2560
• Atom Z2580

Acer is working with Microsoft to resolve this issue but how long before other processor’s support is pulled as well. With hardware evolving the push is on to continue to write code to take advantage of it and there is a lot of overhead to keep code in for machines that meet these expectations. It stands to reason that Microsoft will continuously prefer to support new and newer systems, choosing to prioritize these over older hardware configurations.

Sophos Phish Threat Protection–Whitepaper

It is now surprise that Phishing attacks have caused issues with a whole lot of people. Whether it is from “The Microsoft Service Department” wanting to help you get rid of unwanted malware by signing on to your computer to get a quick look and run their special software… to the IRS scams with the caller wanting you to satisfy your unknown tax bill or there will be agents coming to take you away. They are coming at us from all directions. Some are subtle and most are real sneaky. How do we test our organization to see if we are prepared and educated to be aware of these attacks so that we are not succumbed by them? How do we get trained to understand what we should be wary of?

Sophos has an answer for you. Their brand new Phish Threat Protection service that allows you to setup campaigns to both train and test your employees. It is reasonably priced and is a good source for keeping your people on their toes. What is your weakest link in your organization? The People.

Take a look at this whitepaper: Don’t Take the Bait and learn more about protecting your company today.

Sophos Phish Threat Overview

The weakest link in a company's cyber-defenses? People! Sophos Phish Threat teaches end users to spot phony phishing messages with a series of simulated attack emails and easy-to-deploy training campaigns.

Sophos Phish Threat Overview from Sophos on Vimeo.

Greensburg Hempfield Area Library offering how to learn to borrow eBooks for Free!

Learn how to download and read free eBooks from the Greensburg Hempfield Area Library on your eReader, tablet, or smartphone. Bring your device and your library card to this free workshop.
If you don't have a library card, bring your photo ID with your current local address, and we will issue you a card so you can use this wonderful service.
Space is limited, please call the Library's reference department at 724-837-5620, extension 3 to reserve your spot or use the links below. Wireless Internet will be provided.

Hempfield Township Supervisors Office

• Wednesday, July 19, 1PM - Register Online
• Wednesday, August 16, 1PM - Register Online

Youngwood Public Library

• Thursday, July 20, 6PM - Register Online
• Thursday, August 17, 6PM - Register Online

Greensburg Hempfield Area Library

• Saturday, July 22, 10AM - Register Online
• Saturday, August 19, 10AM - Register Online

Sophos Intercept X vs. Petya/Petna/PetrWrap Ransomware

This short video showcases the signatureless protection capabilities of Sophos Intercept X. The Petya/Petna/PetrWrap outbreak that made headlines on June 27th, 2017 not only attempted to encrypt documents, it also infected the master boot record to encrypt the master file table and prevent users from using their machines.

Sophos Intercept X vs. Petya/Petna/PetrWrap Ransomware from Sophos on Vimeo.

Naked Security Posts

News in brief: dark web sites attacked; radio station pwnd; Russian hacker jailed for nine years

Your daily round-up of some of the other stories in the news

Mark your calendar for the net neutrality Day of Action

Tomorrow - July 12 - is the Internet-Wide Day of Action, with big online names from Kickstarter and Vimeo to Reddit and Spotify banding together to express their objection to overturning rules that guarantee net neutrality

Two-factor via your mobile phone – should you stop using it?

Although SIM cards themselves are very secure, it's annoyingly easy for a crook to get hold of one for your number

Your gadget could save your life: smart device phones police

We write a lot about the privacy issues of connected things in your home - but one device might have saved lives

Russians told to log in to Pornhub using verified social media accounts

Russians need a passport to get a SIM card, a cell number to get a VK account, and the VK account to log into Pornhub. What's behind this new requirement?

News in brief: probe in Jupiter fly-by; footage of politician ‘not illegal’; Trump sued over Twitter block

Your daily round-up of some of the other stories in the news

Social engineering – explored and explained by our experts [VIDEO]

Join Sophos experts James Burchell and Greg Iddon as they explore, explain - and help you to fight back against - social engineering.

Researchers find chinks in the armour of satellite phone calls

Could the proof of concept the researchers describe be used to eavesdrop on actual satellite phone calls? It depends ...

How app developers are gaming Google Play to boost their rankings

Our researchers spotted some app developers who were gaming the Google Play store - here's what they uncovered in their investigation

So long, Windows Phone – it was nice knowing you

The end of support for Windows Phone 8.1 is pretty much the death knell for a platform that never took off but which was widely liked - not least for its security

Have you looked at YouTube Red yet?

So what is YouTube Red? Here is another add-on service for YouTube content that provides Ad-Free content for $9.99/month. It also gives you the ability to save the content off-line (stored on your device) so that you can watch, listen or play even when you don’t have internet access. It also let’s you play your content in the background so you can be using a different app then the player at the same time, even when the screen is turned off. You also get a Google Play Music Subscription at no additional cost if it is available in your country. However, this service does not extend to any paid services that you are currently subscribed to. You can cancel this subscription at any time.

For more information look here.

Cord Cutting–Is YouTube TV an alternative for you?

Do you live in Chicago, San Francisco Bay area, Los Angeles, New York or Philadelphia? Then you have an alternative to Cable TV. YouTube TV is now available in the areas mentioned above for just $35/month. The channel line up is okay but doesn’t have a lot of what my family watches at this time. YouTube TV is planning on adding more options as well as locations as time goes on and if you sign up and are out of the current supported areas you will be notified when the service is available in your area. The best thing is that if you don’t like the service there is no commitment.

Currently you can purchase Showtime ($11/mo) and Fox Soccer Plus ($15/mo) as add-on channels. You get 6 accounts and everyone in your household gets their own login and personal DVR library. Also, the DVR storage is unlimited so you can save to your heart’s content. There is also no limit to the number of simultaneous shows that you can capture as well.

My only issue is that some of the stations that my wife watches all of the time are not part of the selection. But in time they may show up. I was sort of surprised that HBO isn’t available as an add-on nor are Hallmark or PBS available as part of the lineup.

For more information look here.

Sophos Phish Threat Product

Another reason that Sophos is such a great security solution company is this new product that helps you assess your vulnerabilities and help you train your employees on what they should be aware of to protect themselves and your company from Phishing attempts. Sophos says about this problem:

From our continuous assessment of the threat landscape, two things are abundantly clear: first, that email is one of the most problematic sources of infection; and second, it’s the ordinary, well-meaning people who often let poisonous emails into their organizations.

It’s easy to be tricked into clicking on a malicious email. So wouldn’t it be great to create a culture where the first instinct of each user was to think twice — even if just for a moment — before clicking on links, downloading attachments or running software that arrived via email? Think of how many threats could be neutralized before they even have a chance to make their way on to corporate networks.

So we’re excited to be able to help create that culture by announcing Sophos Phish Threat, a phishing attack simulator that’s powerful, thoughtful and very easy to use. You’ll be up and running in minutes, with campaigns to help your users learn to spot phishing links, dangerous attachments, and bogus scripts meant to cripple your organization before they have a chance to do harm.

Simply choose a campaign type, select one or more training modules, pick a simulated phishing message, and decide which users to test. Then sit back as the results roll in: top-notch reporting tells you how many messages have been sent out, who’s clicked, and, of those, who’s gone through the required modules. It couldn’t be easier.

Here’s a quick video overview of the product:

Getting Started With Sophos Phish Threat from Sophos on Vimeo.

RUNYOURMEETING.COM

Initially I thought that this package was part of the Office 365 license with an E3 account but when I initiated my first meeting I saw that not only is the application a BETA product but it is also its own subscription add-on to Office365. It is interesting that most of their testimonials are coming from outside the US as well. When you look at the site’s stats proudly showing how many meetings have been processed it is quite apparent that they are just starting.

I do like the format and it is very easy to use. It integrates with your Office 365 account very well and does pretty much what you expect it to. It does a great job of helping you to organize your thoughts and capture the information from the meeting as you use it.

What’s included?

• Unlimited meetings and action items

• Integration with Outlook and Office 365

• Mobile app for iOS

• Customer support

• Advanced security to safeguard your meeting documents

The Office 365 Services continues to grow

Microsoft is adding (3) new applications to Office 365 Business Premium. The Office 365 Business Premium SKU is focused on the sub 300 client license small to medium businesses and includes both Exchange Accounts and Office Suite. See Office 365 Team Posting.

To make Office 365 more valuable for your small business, we are announcing three new applications coming to Office 365 Business Premium:

• Microsoft Connections—A simple-to-use email marketing service.
• Microsoft Listings—An easy way to publish your business information on top sites.
• Microsoft Invoicing—A new way to create professional invoices and get paid fast.

We’re also introducing the Office 365 Business center, a central place where you can manage these business apps and get an end-to-end view of your business. In addition, we’re adding MileIQ, the leading mileage tracking app, as an Office 365 Business Premium subscription benefit. These new services—along with the recently added Microsoft Bookings and Outlook Customer Manager—help you win customers and manage your business.

Microsoft’s new additions helps to make the case to move into the Business Premium product for the low cost of $150/user per year.

Naked Security Posts

News in brief: NATO backs Kiev over cyber-attacks; China cracks down on VPNs; Somalia knocked offline

Your daily round-up of some of the other stories in the news

Tendulkar wants your number on Twitter, what do you do?

Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar asked 17m Twitter followers to send him their friends' phone numbers - good intentions, bad idea!

FTC slaps $104m judgment on loan application firm

Blue Global wasn't a loan company, didn't safeguard data and sold leads to third parties for $200 each

Apps that are a matter of life, death and data win $75,000 prizes

Two start-ups have won a US government competition to design apps that help patients manage and control their data

When ex-workers attack (again): man used Trojan to cause havoc

Former staffer used a remote Trojan to trash client databases, steal credit cards and masquerade as another employee to make allegations about the company

More than 100m records potentially lost in huge telecoms breach

India's newest telecoms provider denies that subscriber records posted online were authentic, but users claim the data is real

Your gadget could save your life: smart speaker phones police

We write a lot about the privacy issues of smart speakers in your home - but one device might have saved lives in an alleged hostage situation

Did you ever wonder the difference between anti-malware and anti-virus software?

The short answer is that most anti-virus software packages also are taking care of anti-malware because they are different faces of the same issue. All viruses are malware so… The main difference between different companies products is how effective and how they do their recognition of the malware. We pick the combination of Sophos’s Endpoint Protection + Intercept X to give you the best one-two punch to protect your systems. When you combine these products with s Sophos Firewall you have a very effective start to your security needs.

Sophos Synchronized Security