May 2016

End of Life for Internet Explorer

In January 2016, Microsoft discontinued support for Internet Explorer versions previous to IE11. What impact does this have on the single IT department or global business?

While it shouldn’t impact the average home user with the default Windows Update settings, businesses are a different subject. Many businesses are not always updated to the latest patch level for a number of reasons.

IT Administrators test new releases in “sand boxed” environments to check stability

IT administrators are often restricted by red tape and providing evidence that an application will work with a companies’ applications, websites and operating systems. This is called testing in a “sand boxed” environment, and is usually completed in a pre-production network away from live systems. Microsoft’s decision to no longer support IE spells bad news for IT administrators following this practice, with many only just switching to IE10. Testing new applications is time-consuming, so these companies are faced with a choice: continue to follow this process or release an untested browser?

In its 15th year, Windows XP is not supported by IE11 or Edge

For IT administrators still using Windows XP this is one of the biggest headaches. Not only is the browser no longer supported, the only long-term solution is to migrate the entire operating system. In Microsoft’s defense Windows XP did go out of support in 2014, but premium support was an option for critical updates. Will companies justify this significant purchase any longer?

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So what is the Microsoft logic in making this decision?

Microsoft is tired of companies refusing to upgrade from obsolete operating systems and applications. Last year we revealed around 60 percent of companies were still using versions IE8, IE9 and IE10! Microsoft Edge is also on the playing field so this could be a critical move to encourage customers into planning for the imminent demise of Internet Explorer and upgrading to Edge.

But it’s not all doom and gloom move, IE11 offers improved security, better backwards compatibility, heightened performance and support for newer web standards. We always encourage customers to upgrade and stay up-to-date on the latest browser for a faster, more secure browsing experience. Microsoft has also stated that IE11 is around for the lifespan of Windows 7, 8.1 and 10, so there’s a few years before we need to review this again.

Internally designed applications

Research from 2015 shows that over the past five years the use of customized applications has risen by 60 percent. Spiraling licensing costs from “off the shelf” vendors and the flexibility of in-house application are likely causes. Custom applications face challenges due to Microsoft’s decision to halt support for versions of Internet Explorer 8, 9 and 10. On the bright side the integrated “Enterprise Mode” released for use in IE11 on Windows 7 and later could be a workaround for many companies. Enterprise Mode, which Microsoft shipped as a standalone patch in April 2015, makes IE11 behave like IE8 and even presents the old version to websites and ActiveX controls that are hard-coded for specific browser releases, however this is not an option for Windows XP and older environments.

What solutions exist for small- and mid-sized organizations?

There are two solutions for customers to work around this end-of-life challenge. The first solution is a long-term strategy involving the adoption of a systems management toolset. The toolset enables IT administrators to identify systems with older IE browsers and upgrade users when it suits the business. A systems management tool should also offer functions for swift and efficient deployments:

Cloud-based systems require little to no need for servers.
Agentless models don’t require agents installed on devices.
Endpoints on the network are discovered and inventoried, including software and hardware.
Software is distributed from a single point of control.
Instances requiring troubleshooting are easily resolved with IT professional remote control.

The second alternative is the adoption of virtualized applications. Virtualization serves as a quick-fix option and is a stable way of keeping older applications running on modern platforms. A virtual application is a self-sustained, standalone program that operates its own virtual environment and requires no installation with the operating systems. This means that companies can carry on using their applications without interruption. A cloud-based systems management tool is still useful for IT administrators to deploy the virtual application.

Some additional benefits of virtualization:

Retains a secure older version of IE.
Protects product application investments.
No need to rewrite or buy new applications.
Adopts supported platforms and browser releases.
Access Windows applications from any platform.
All security protocols are preserved.

This article originally appears on TMCnet.

May 26, 2016

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May Patch Tuesday: Security Bulletin Storm – Mayday! Mayday!

By hsmithNews, Patch Management, Patch TuesdayNo Comments

Flashing red lights and calls for Mayday run in the minds of many IT pros as a perfect storm of release strikes. This month’s Patch Tuesday features a total of 16 security bulletins — eight Critical and eight Important releases designed to remediate 37 vulnerabilities. By examining the ID numbers, it would appear that there could have been 17 releases. It’s interesting to note that MS16-063 was omitted from the list. Perhaps it will be included in the next release.

This record number of security bulletins for the year kicks off with Internet Explorer and Edge cumulative updates. There also is a patch for Office 2007, for which official support ended back in 2013. It’s great news for businesses and users persevering with the older product. Please note that an upgrade to the support version should be taken seriously since these updates will not last forever.

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The highest-priority vulnerabilities are MS16-051, MS16-058, MS16-061 and MS16-064. Surprisingly, Microsoft rates MS16-061 as Important. However, the CVSS shows a severity of 10, which is a rare high that should not be ignored.

This month’s non-security updates reflect Microsoft’s new dual-release strategy. There are a total of 29 updates covering Office 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016. The release for Office 2007 serves the junk mail filter feature.

Are Updates Improving?

Updating devices each month with the latest releases from any vendor is paramount to keeping a company’s infrastructure safe and secure. A solid test, pilot and rollout strategy ensures proper deployment and helps single out problem patches.

Unfortunately, companies that lack a Systems Management Tool suffer the consequences when improperly installed updates cause significant harm to the devices that they are designed to protect. A high-quality Systems Management Tool is a wise investment for a company’s IT department. Without this vital safeguard, the company has little control of what is happening within its infrastructure.

Companies using automatic vendor updates to manage their infrastructures are, in most cases, using a proper procedure. More than 85 percent of all targeted attacks can be prevented by applying a security patch. According to a US-CERT article published in 2015, the majority of updates have been good. But in the last two years, at least six major releases caused issues, prompting emergency revisions by Microsoft.

Many companies will defend their practices of holding off on applying security updates until they are pleased that all the releases are stable. They are confident of their strict security regimes and strong antivirus products. It’s important to note that nothing prevents hackers from gaining access to systems better than up-to-date software.

On the flip side, releasing updates can be equally as challenging for vendors. A patch update can be as simple as a registry key update or a modification to a line of code. Developers can never be fully certain that this alteration will not affect other products, particularly when diving into the in-house bespoke application world.

Developers compiling updates, particularly on zero days, are usually working against the clock to get them released. More often than not, the updates are released on an “acceptable risk” basis along with trust in the software provider.

Adobe Releases 6 Updates

These updates target two of Adobe’s flagship products: Acrobat DC and Acrobat XI, along with their respective reader-only versions. Vulnerability identifier APSB16-14 updates and the latest information can be tracked here.

The independent CVSS scores used in the table below range from 0 to 10. Vulnerabilities with a base score in the range of 7.0-10.0 are High, those in the range of 4.0-6.9 are Medium, and those in the range of 0-3.9 are Low.

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UPDATES

MS16-051 – Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (3155533)
(Impact: Remote Code Execution; Restart Requirement: Requires restart; Severity: Critical; CVSS Score: 9.3)
This security update resolves vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer. The most severe of the vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted webpage using Internet Explorer. An attacker who successfully exploits the vulnerabilities could gain the same user rights as the current user. If the current user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker could take control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.

MS16-052 – Cumulative Security Update for Microsoft Edge (3155538)
(Impact: Remote Code Execution; Restart Requirement: Requires restart; Severity: Critical; CVSS Score: 9.3)
This security update resolves vulnerabilities in Microsoft Edge. The most severe of the vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted webpage using Microsoft Edge. An attacker who successfully exploits the vulnerabilities could gain the same user rights as the current user. Customers whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users with administrative user rights.

MS16-053 – Cumulative Security Update for JScript and VBScript (3156764)
(Impact: Remote Code Execution; Restart Requirement: May require restart; Severity: Critical; CVSS Score: 9.3)
This security update resolves vulnerabilities in the JScript and VBScript scripting engines in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user visits a specially crafted website. An attacker who successfully exploits these vulnerabilities could gain the same user rights as the current user. If the current user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker who successfully exploits these vulnerabilities could take control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.

MS16-054 – Security Update for Microsoft Office (3155544)
(Impact: Remote Code Execution; Restart Requirement: May require restart; Severity: Critical; CVSS Score: 9.3)
This security update resolves vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office. The vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Microsoft Office file. An attacker who successfully exploits the vulnerabilities could run arbitrary code in the context of the current user. Customers whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.

MS16-055 – Security Update for Microsoft Graphics Component (3156754)
(Impact: Remote Code Execution; Restart Requirement: Requires restart; Severity: Critical; CVSS Score: 9.3)
This security update resolves vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows. The most severe of the vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted document or visits a specially crafted website. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.

MS16-056 – Security Update for Windows Journal (3156761)
(Impact: Remote Code Execution; Restart Requirement: May require restart; Severity: Critical; CVSS Score: 9.3)
This security update resolves a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Journal file. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.

MS16-057 – Security Update for Windows Shell (3156987)
(Impact: Remote Code Execution; Restart Requirement: Requires restart; Severity: Critical; CVSS Score: 9.3)
This security update resolves a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if an attacker successfully convinces a user to browse to a specially crafted website that accepts user-provided online content, or convinces a user to open specially crafted content. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the current user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.

MS16-058 – Security Update for Windows IIS (3141083)
(Impact: Remote Code Execution; Restart Requirement: Requires restart; Severity: Important; CVSS Score: 9.3)
This security update resolves a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if an attacker with access to the local system executes a malicious application. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the current user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.

MS16-059 – Security Update for Windows Media Center (3150220)
(Impact: Remote Code Execution; Restart Requirement: May require restart; Severity: Important; CVSS Score: 9.3)
This security update resolves a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if Windows Media Center opens a specially crafted Media Center link (.mcl) file that references malicious code. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the current user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.

MS16-060 – Security Update for Windows Kernel (3154846)
(Impact: Elevation of Privilege; Restart Requirement: May require restart; Severity: Important; CVSS Score: 7.2)
This security update resolves a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerability could allow elevation of privilege if an attacker logs on to an affected system and runs a specially crafted application.

MS16-061 – Security Update for Microsoft RPC (3155520)
(Impact: Elevation of Privilege; Restart Requirement: May require restart; Severity: Important; CVSS Score: 10)
This security update resolves a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerability could allow elevation of privilege if an unauthenticated attacker makes malformed Remote Procedure Call (RPC) requests to an affected host.

MS16-062 – Security Update for Windows Kernel-Mode Drivers (3158222)
(Impact: Elevation of Privilege; Restart Requirement: May require restart; Severity: Important; CVSS Score: 7.2)
This security update resolves vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows. The more severe of the vulnerabilities could allow elevation of privilege if an attacker logs on to an affected system and runs a specially crafted application.

MS16-064 – Security Update for Adobe Flash Player (3157993)
(Impact: Remote Code Execution; Restart Requirement: Requires restart; Severity: Critical; CVSS Score: 9.3)
This security update resolves vulnerabilities in Adobe Flash Player when installed on all supported editions of Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows RT 8.1 and Windows 10.

MS16-065 – Security Update for .NET Framework (3156757)
(Impact: Information Disclosure; Restart Requirement: May require restart; Severity: Important; CVSS Score: 2.6)
This security update resolves a vulnerability in the Microsoft .NET Framework. The vulnerability could cause information disclosure if an attacker injects unencrypted data into the target secure channel and then performs a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack between the targeted client and a legitimate server.

MS16-066 – Security Update for Virtual Secure Mode (3155451)
(Impact: Security Feature Bypass; Restart Requirement: Requires restart; Severity: Important; CVSS Score: 2.1)
This security update resolves a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerability could allow security feature bypass if an attacker runs a specially crafted application to bypass code-integrity protections in Windows.

MS16-067 – Security Update for Volume Manager Driver (3155784)
(Impact: Information Disclosure; Restart Requirement: May require restart; Severity: Important; CVSS Score: 2.1)
This security update resolves a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerability could allow information disclosure if a USB disk mounted over Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) via Microsoft RemoteFX is not correctly tied to the session of the mounting user.

Robert Brown is the director of services at Verismic, a global leader in cloud IT management technology, green solutions and business network software systems. Operating out of the firm’s United Kingdom headquarters, Brown’s leadership of over 10 years with the brand has cemented its stature as one of the most dynamic and forward-thinking information technology companies in the industry.

This article originally appeared on ChannelPartners.

May 24, 2016

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Verismic Software Two-Factor Authentication Deploys Robust Security for User Network Access

By hsmithNewsNo Comments

Security Feature Insulates Business Networks From Identity Fraud

ALISO VIEJO, CA–(Marketwired – May 23, 2016) – Verismic Software, creators of Syxsense , today announced two-factor authentication for its signature product, adding a topline security measure to ensure end user data security. CMS two-factor authentication deploys the traditional username and password combination while adding a second authentication code via SMS, Google Authenticator or email.

“Online phishing and identity fraud are serious concerns,” says Verismic Software president and CEO Ashley Leonard. “And with more business conducted online, layering the digital protection for users and the business unit ensures data is still protected even if usernames and passwords are compromised.”

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Two-factor authentication deters phishing, identity theft and other forms of online fraud, ensuring individuals attempting to access the systems management tool are authorized users. CMS adds an extra layer of control to two-factor authentication by allowing IT managers to enable or disable the feature on a user to user or global basis, granting IT managers greater control over the environment.

“By granting IT managers the ability to enact two-factor authentication for individuals or groups of users, we’re keeping control of the network environment securely in the hands of the IT managers,” says Leonard.

For a product demonstration or more information on Syxsense, visit www.syxsense.com.

About Verismic: Verismic Software, Inc. is a global industry leader providing cloud-based IT management technology focused on enabling greater efficiency, cost-savings and security control for users, all while engaging in endpoint management. Headquartered in Aliso Viejo, Calif., Verismic is a growing and dynamic organization with offices in four countries and 12 partners in nine countries. Over the past two years, Verismic has worked with more than 150 companies ranging from 30 to 35,000 endpoints delivering a variety of solutions for organizations of all sizes as well as managed service providers (MSPs). Verismic’s software portfolio includes the first-of-its-kind agentless, Syxsense ; Power Manager; Software Packaging and Password Reset. For more information, visit www.verismic.com.

May 23, 2016

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Adobe issues Flash Player update

By hsmithNews, Patch ManagementNo Comments

Adobe today released its previously announced update to Flash Player covering 25 critical vulnerabilities that if exploited could allow for remote code execution, including one now in the wild.

The headline vulnerability in this update is CVE-2016-4117 that Adobe confirmed does exist in the wild, but the company said it is not aware of reports that the vulnerability is being actively exploited. However, if the confusion vulnerabilities in CVE-2016-4117 were exploited they could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system.

“Bulletin APSB16-15 would normally have been released in line with Microsoft patch Tuesday releases and one of the CVE’s is actually referenced in MS16-064. It seems that the reason for pulling this update from their patch Tuesdays release this week was to address a last minute vulnerability which is not covered by their Microsoft counterpart,” James Rowney, server infrastructure service manager for Verismic Software, told SCMagazine in an email.

Security bulletin APSB16-15 covers systems running Windows, Macintosh, Linux and ChromeOS and nine versions of Flash Player and Air. Adobe warned the public on Patch Tuesday on May 10 that this update was coming through. The earlier updates covered 97 vulnerabilities.

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The other patches resolved several different vulnerabilities including, use-after-free, memory corruption and heap buffer overflow all of which could lead to remote code execution.

Read the article at scmagazine.com.

May 12, 2016

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Critical Updates for IE and Edge in May’s Patch Tuesday

By hsmithNews, Patch Management, Patch TuesdayNo Comments

Microsoft issues 16 security bulletins for May’s Patch Tuesday, including critical updates for its Internet Explorer and Edge browsers and Microsoft Office.

Microsoft released 16 bulletins, eight tagged as critical, for May’s Patch Tuesday.

Internet Explorer (IE) and Microsoft Edge received critical cumulative security updates addressing remote code execution (RCE) vulnerabilities that could give an attacker the same user rights as the current user. If the current user has administrative rights, the attacker could control the affected machine and install programs or create new accounts with full user rights.

MS16-051, which resolves five vulnerabilities in IE, is rated critical for IE 9 and IE 11 on affected Windows clients. One of the critical vulnerabilities, CVE-2016-0189, is currently under attack in the wild.

“That’s the one you want to install quickly,” said Wolfgang Kandek, CTO for Qualys Inc., in Redwood City, California. “That’s a no-brainer.”

The flaw — which is also addressed in MS16-053 — is in the JavaScript engine, and packaged separately from IE in Windows Vista and Windows 2008.

Even if a user is not using IE, it still needs to be patched because it runs in the background and can be attacked by hackers, according to James Rowney, service manager at Verismic Software Inc. in Aliso Viejo, California.

Read the full article on techtarget.com.

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May 11, 2016

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Verismic Announces Record Growth and Adoption of Syxsense

By hsmithNewsNo Comments

International Cloud Software Company Grows 425 Percent and Expands to Office in Salt Lake City

ALISO VIEJO, CA–(Marketwired – May 9, 2016) – Verismic, the award-winning creator of Syxsense , announces rapid growth over the last 12 months, including the opening of a new, larger office in Salt Lake City.

Verismic grew rapidly in all markets, including the US, United Kingdom, Brazil and Australia. Year-over-year company staff growth is in excess of 55 percent. This includes the opening of an Innovation and Technology development center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“Opening an Innovation and Development center for the Americas region extends our ability to deliver on our vision of allowing Syxsense customers to manage everything, everywhere, all the time from the cloud” says president and CEO Ashley Leonard.

This led to a steady increase in active users of Syxsense. To date Syxsense has garnered a 425 percent year-over-year increase in its active customer base. This includes recent customers UK-based Poundworld and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, located in Colorado.

“To manage PCI compliance and security patch updates, we needed a cost effective system with high functionality that is easy to install and use,” says Andrew Moor, IT operations manager for Poundworld. Read more about the Poundworld case study or learn how the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office discovered and patched more than 750 computers in less than five hours with Syxsense.

The agentless model of Syxsense enables rapid deployment to all computers in a company’s network. This simplifies tasks like Microsoft and third-party patching, software distribution, and inventory history.

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“We’re proud of the success we’ve had with Syxsense,” says Leonard, “Our hope is a continued trend in growth for the product and the company.”

ABOUT VERISMIC: Verismic Software, Inc. is a global industry leader providing cloud-based IT management technology focused on enabling greater efficiency, cost-savings and security control for users, all while engaging in endpoint management. Headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California, Verismic is a growing and dynamic organization with offices in four countries and 12 partners in nine countries. Over the past two years, Verismic has worked with more than 500 companies ranging from 100 to 30,000 endpoints delivering a variety of solutions for organizations of all sizes as well as managed service providers (MSPs). Verismic’s software portfolio includes the first-of-its-kind agentless, Syxsense ; Power Manager; Software Packaging and Password Reset. For more information, visitwww.CloudManagementSuite.com.

May 9, 2016

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How to Make Tech Meetups Work for You

By bmhumeNewsNo Comments

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On any given day, more than 9,000 groups in 180 countries will gather somewhere in their local community to attend a “meetup,” according to the company that coined the term and originated the concept, Meetup.com. While topics range widely – from Texas Hold’em to plant-based nutrition – there are more listings for technology-focused topics than any other area, except careers/business.

Search under hot topics like big data and mobile development and you’ll find thousands of groups and millions of members, while general topics like software development and new technology each list over 10,000 groups, and 4 million members.

Groups on the east and west coasts are particularly strong, with NY Tech Meetup and Silicon Valley Entrepreneurs & Startups boasting 49,149 and 24,548 members, respectively. One analyst even claims you can use meetup data to determine which cities are the hottest for startups.

“From virtual reality developers, to entrepreneurs, engineers, artists, early adopters and quantum neuro-hackers, meetup groups within the tech community are gaining wild popularity and have become one of the most beneficial ways for the tech-savvy to network,” says Ashley Leonard, CEO and president of Verismic Software. “There’s even a meetup just for women called Girls inTech, a relatively new group with over 200 members,” he says.

Read the full article at networkworld.com.

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May 2, 2016

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