KeepIT, Inc.

Attention QUICKBOOKS users!! There's been some reports of a malware infection that was injected with updates. It appears to have infected the Quickbooks desktop products that I'm currently aware of. If you see this warning, DO NOT CALL the number on the alert. Contact Intuit DIRECT at 1-800-4INTUIT.

AI storm on the horizon.

AI storm on the cybersecurity horizon An analysis of cybersecurity incidents in 2023 published by IBM finds there was a 44% decrease in phishing attacks in 2023.

Microsoft is finally pushing out it's preview of CoPilot to Windows 11 machines. Interesting article regarding same.

www.msn.com {"title":"Failed to forward request through Maestro.","status":503,"detail":"2024-02-21T15:50:21.6642608Z - Gateway is overloaded. Please try again later. ","instance":"urn:microsoft:error:0HN16K9GA1QL2:0000000A","extensions":{}}

Sonicwall has released their 2024 Cyber Threat Report. Important read.

2024 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report To give the world’s defenders the actionable threat intelligence needed to safeguard against this relentless surge in cybercrime, we’ve compiled our research into the 2024 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report tailored to SMBs. Here’s a preview of the year’s most critical findings.

Excellent Black Friday deals with SiteGround web hosting!

SiteGround Login To provide the ultimate experience for you, we have designed our platform with the latest technology available. To get advantage of it, please enable JavaScript in your browser.

https://www.neowin.net/news/cisa-don039t-install-windows-patch-tuesday-updates-for-may-on-domain-controllers/

CISA: Don't install Windows Patch Tuesday updates for May on Domain Controllers The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is no longer recommending the installation of May Patch Tuesday updates on Domain Controllers because of authentication issues.

Keep your passwords secure and change them often!

https://www.cpomagazine.com/cyber-security/fbi-alert-warns-of-blackcat-ransomware-that-compromised-60-organizations-in-4-months/

FBI Alert Warns of BlackCat Ransomware That Compromised 60 Organizations in 4 Months - CPO Magazine The FBI warned that BlackCat ransomware had compromised 60 organizations worldwide as of March 2022 and demanded millions in ransom payment. Alert linked BlackCat to the now-defunct BlackMatter ransomware group.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveywinder/2022/04/30/warning-massive-new-security-update-for-32-billion-google-chrome-users-confirmed/?sh=79143d5141a7

Google Chrome—Massive New Security Update For 3.2 Billion Users Confirmed Like London buses, another Google Chrome security update is always just around the corner. This one, however, is truly massive and you should act now.

Shields Up !!

As the tanks rolled into Ukraine, so did Malware; Then Microsoft entered the war Within three hours, Microsoft threw itself into the middle of a ground war in Europe — from 5,500 miles away.

With the recent developments of Russia and Ukraine, there has been a significant uptick in cyberattacks from Russia.
Areas of Concern
• Increased activity of phishing and spam emails from reputable sources.
• Microsoft, FedEx, Chase Bank, Coinbase
• Trusted vendors whom you work with are spoofed and send phishing emails.
• Unknown Multi-Factor Authentication requests from Microsoft or Duo
• Website ads or flashy headlines that attempt to lure you into entering data.

Fortunately, all of our clients have geographical filters in place to block certain locations/countries. Many other businesses and most home users do not. Please be careful when opening emails. Confirm the send from email address (not just the name) and also hover over links to confirm they are from a legitimate source. If you are not sure, delete the email and contact the sending party or access your portal (bank, email, etc.) to confirm no pending alerts on any of your accounts.

BAD WEATHER AND INTERNET PROBLEMS?

Winter weather is on the move in the Midwest. Our roads and homes are blanketed with snow and ice and the temperatures are close to 0 degrees (below freezing if you include wind chill). Your internet connection can deal with average winter conditions, but severe weather can slow down or even shut down your internet connection. Here are some ways in which bad winter weather might impact your DSL or cable internet speeds.

High winds, heavy snow, ice build-up, and ground heaves due to freezing and thawing can take out power lines, damage connection points between your internet provider and your home. It can also stress cables, causing your connection to be slow or even be dropped if lines are damaged or broken. It's important to remember that internet lines expand and contract based on temperature which can fracture cabling.

During cold weather most of us want to be inside where it’s warm, your neighbors probably do too. Heavy internet usage in the neighborhood can also mean poor connection and download speeds for everyone.

It’s also worth remembering that good weather in your neighborhood doesn’t necessarily mean there isn’t a storm or damage somewhere else that’s impacting connection points to your home.

Check local weather reports as well as utility and internet provider sites to see if there’s a problem somewhere.

Patience is the only answer as you wait for the storms to blow over.

Microsoft - BAD PATCHES ???

"Recently, we became aware of a serious issue stemming from a set of Microsoft patches that can cause Windows Domain Controllers to fail to boot, and determined that this issue impacts Server 2012R2, 2016, and 2019. These patches can also cause Hyper-V environments to fail. The affected patches are:

KB5009624 for Server 2012 R2
KB5009595 for Server 2012 R2
KB5009546 for Server 2016
KB5009557 for Server 2019

We have confirmed the issue in testing, and it is being advised that this patch does NOT get deployed to systems until corrected.
Customers If this patch has already been installed we advise removal prior to any scheduled reboots."

A preview of Windows 11.

Microsoft Windows 11 Preview A radically slicker, more consistent design belies what it is really more of an evolutionary update to the world's most popular desktop operating system.

https://www.oann.com/microsoft-finds-new-backdoor-security-breach-in-exchange-software/

Microsoft finds new backdoor security breach in exchange software Microsoft announced 20,000 U.S. organizations have been compromised in a recent hack. On Friday, a U.S. official said Microsoft had discovered a breach in its exchange server, which works with Microsoft Outlook to ensure updates on devices are synchronized.

PATCH NOW - Hackers are mass-scanning the Internet in search of VMware servers with a newly disclosed code-execution vulnerability that has a severity rating of 9.8 out of a possible 10. CVE-2021-21974

PATCH NOW - Hackers are mass-scanning the Internet in search of VMware servers with a newly disclosed code-execution vulnerability that has a severity rating of 9.8 out of a possible 10. CVE-2021-21974 **A malicious actor with access to a host compromised in your network with access to port 443 may exploit this issue to execute commands with...

Security threats for 2021.

Five predictions for email security in 2021 This blog gives five predicted trends for email security in 2021, explaining how attackers will continue to adapt their tactics to evade legacy security reliant on rules and blacklists.