Office Insider : security

Store your docs safely online

StephB — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:50:00 GMT

Have you ever lost a memory stick, had a laptop stolen or suffered a hard-drive failure? Yep – it’s likely the the answer is ‘yes’. An easy way to back up important files is to use an internet-based storage system like Office Live Workspace. You can back up your valuable documents to the web and then securely access them from any internet connected computer. That’s a PC or Mac running Internet Explorer, Firefox or Safari.

And if you were wondering what happens to all those lost memory sticks… take a look at the video from one of the links below :)

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weSfAmonDgg
MSN video: http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-gb&vid=d0689630-1b1d-4876-af1b-8c65328a19b8
Office Live: http://ask.officelive.com/workspace/media/p/8573.aspx

Office 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2) now available to download

StephB — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 21:15:07 GMT

If you’re using Office 2007 and want to keep your computer completely secure and performing at it’s best - and I know you do - head to the links below, where you can find out about and download Service Pack 2 (SP2). If you have your PC configured to download updates automatically (Control Panel / System & Security / Windows Update), you will get this update automatically after around 90 days. However you can get the benefits straight away by installing the update early from Windows Update on your PC or by following the links below.

What are the improvements?

Faster email management in Outlook 2007

According to expert & blogger Gray Knowlton ‘One of the most important end user benefits of the SP2 release is the improvement in Outlook performance.’. Amen to that I say – anything that speeds up managing my email is a definite plus :). Improvements include:

Faster and more predictable startup & shutdown
Better folder view & switching
Improved calendar reliability
Reduction in number of data file check error messages

‘Save as PDF and XPS’ added to ‘Save As’ options

If you haven’t already downloaded this feature you’ll find it installed as part of the SP2 update. Saving as PDF or XPS keeps your formatting intact and secure so you can ensure your documents are seen exactly as you intended. So, very handy if you have official docs to email or complex creations to send to the printer.

Save as ODF 1.1

This feature should help if you have friends or colleagues using other types of office software. Basically, it allows you to save your Office 2007 docs in a shareable format which is easily read by most types of office software.

Next steps

· Where can I download SP2? – You can pop up to Microsoft Update and install the bits

· Where can I learn about what is in SP2? – Here

· Is this an Automatic Update? – Not yet. For the first 90 days (at least the first 90), service packs are made available as a manual download. After 90 days and with a 30 day notice, Service Packs are offered through the Automatic Update channel as a critical update.

Want even more info

More detailed overview of the Office 2007 Service Pack 2 can be found on Gray Knowlton’s Gray Matter blog – from which most of this info in lovingly cribbed. Thanks Gary!

Internet security update

GillLeFevre — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:58:39 GMT

It was somewhat ironic that I posted an article containing advice about internet safety in the same week that the Internet Explorer security flaw hit the headlines. It’s a sad reminder of the fact that we live in a society where some people look to cause trouble and pain and to take what doesn’t belong to them.

The flaw has been rapidly fixed and instructions on how to protect your computer can be found here: http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/updates/bulletins/200812_oob.mspx.

If you've got Automatic Updates turned on (which we recommend) you should already have received this update.

This incident serves as a reminder of the importance of keeping all of your software up to date -- a task which should now be as automatic as remembering to lock your doors and windows when you leave your house. This applies to everything from anti-virus software (which is virtually useless if it doesn’t get the regular updates it needs), productivity software, your operating system and your internet browser. It doesn’t matter who has made the software -- all software needs updating -- as these recent articles show:

* Firefox tops list of 12 most vulnerable apps (or see The Register for a different perspective on this)

* Mozilla issues eight Firefox patches

* Opera issued 8 security updates

* Apple released Security Update 2008-008 to address 21 vulnerabilities in Mac OS X

Finally, all the technical precautions in the world can be undone by a careless human error. Social engineer Kevin Mitrick warns that it is easier to trick someone into giving out their password than to hack into a computer system.

Keep your passwords strong (check here to see how yours rate) and secure and keep up to date with advice and guidelines on online security.

True... my sister-in-law's colleague said this happened to her son's next door neighbour...

GillLeFevre — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:04:00 GMT

A timely reminder of the dangers of online crime from my colleague and Microsoft UK's Chief Cyber Security Advisor, Ed Gibson:

A few days ago the news broke that a series of banks, savvy investors and other esteemed financial institutions had collectively become victims of a $50b fraud. Inevitably, this news was quickly followed by shock and outrage: "how could this happen?" "where were the regulators?" "how could reputable companies and individuals have been suckered?"

But how surprised should we really be? White-collar criminals are the best in the league. Having investigated scores of massive complex fraud schemes during my career as an FBI Agent, I know never to underestimate the apparent plausibility of the schemes invented -- or the willingness of victims to clutch at the "hope" offered by scammers and to fall for a deal too good to be true.

So here's a reminder of my list of things for you to stay away from online no matter how good or believable they might appear to be...

1. Banks will NEVER ask you to verify your account details – they already have your details. The same applies to Ebay and PayPal.

2. MySpace, Bebo, Facebook, and ALL other social network sites are OPEN by default. Unless you want everyone (including that bully at school, the nosey neighbour, your boss, your mother, or the paedophile from abroad) looking at your site, NEVER use it until you make it PRIVATE. Go into the website settings and follow the instructions. See www.safesocialnetworking.com for more information. The same applies to Instant Messenger -- if you don’t know the person, don’t add them as a contact.

3. Microsoft has not and NEVER will hold a Lottery. (And when we do hold competitions, the terms and conditions will be posted on our website so you can check.)

4. You know if you have relatives in Nigeria or West Africa. NEVER ‘help’ someone you don’t know move money from a foreign country -- that makes you a criminal too!

5. NEVER click a hyperlink in an email from someone you don’t know. And be wise, unless you know who is sending you the online Birthday or Christmas card NEVER click on it – it’s loaded with malware or will redirect you to someplace you don’t want to be. Miscreants and criminals frequently abuse the ‘Hallmark’ name because it is so recognizable. If your name is not in the body of the email, do not click on it.

6. Wireless Internet: Make sure your wireless internet is secure (WEP is okay, WPA is better – and if you don’t know what these terms mean, read the instructions that came with your wireless device). If you're not sure how to secure your network, do NOT use your wireless internet until you find a trusted advisor to fix it (generally your neighbour’s 14 year old kid).

7. There is no free lunch. NEVER reply to email requests for charitable contributions. If you want to donate to a good cause, call the charity yourself and know who you are talking to.

8. "Free" deals usually have a sting in the tail. NEVER reply to pop up ads telling you to run free anti-spyware or anti-malware to get rid of spyware or viruses. You can be certain they will ‘find’ bad stuff on your computer requiring you to buy what they want to sell. OR they will load stealth software onto your computer to steal what’s important to you.

9. NEVER think you are smarter than the criminal. You may be, but if you reply, you lose, you will always lose.

10. Falling in love at first sight does happen – and it’s fabulous when it does – but falling in love online, whether in Second Life or another online virtual world, can be dangerous. Hey, if you are scoring a 4 or 5 in real life, you gotta wonder why a 9 or 10 is chatting you up online...

Finally, think before you forward an email -- whether it's promising good news ("free Marks & Spencer vouchers") or warning of dire dangers ("an armed and dangerous man hiding in your backseat"). There are several internet websites, including snopes.com and hoax-slayer.com, that enable you to check whether or not the offer or warning you've just received are genuine.