If you are using an older version of Microsoft Internet Explorer, there is an important deadline that has just passed: January 13, 2016. From this date, only the most recent version of Internet Explorer available for a supported operating system will receive security updates and technical support. In other words, you will receive security patches only if you are running the following Internet Explorer/operating system combinations: Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) Internet Explorer 9 on Windows Vista SP2 Internet Explorer 11 on Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Internet Explorer 10 on Windows Server 2012 Internet Explorer 9 on Windows Server 2008 SP2 Internet explorer warnings If you are running any other combination (e.g., Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 8 or Windows 7), you will not receive any security updates. This is not a new development. Back in August 2014, Microsoft announced its phase-out plans, including the fact that version 11 is the last release of Internet Explorer. Its successor — the new Microsoft Edge browser — is already available for Windows 10. Hackers will be well aware of the change, so it is important that you upgrade Internet Explorer if you are running an older version. Otherwise, you might become an easy target. Be sure to let your family, friends, staff, and business colleagues know about the deadline so that they can also reduce their risk of becoming targets. If you have been using Internet Explorer's Automatic Updates feature, you are likely already running the most current version supported by your operating system. You can check by opening the application, clicking the button that has a question mark on it, and selecting About Internet Explorer. In the pop-up box that appears, you will see the version of Internet Explorer you are running. If you have not turned on Automatic Updates and you want to do so, check out the How to Configure and Use Automatic Updates in Windows web page. It provides a tool that you can use to automatically enable this feature on computers running Windows XP SP2 and later versions. It also provides instructions on how to manually turn on Automatic Updates in each of those operating systems. You also have the option to do a clean installation of Internet Explorer rather than an upgrade. For example, you can download Internet Explorer 11 using an online installer or offline installer. If you need to upgrade your business's browsers, contact your IT service provider so that you can learn about your options. Together, you can decide the best approach given the number of browsers needing an upgrade and the browser requirements of any essential web applications. Make security threats a thing of the past Multi IT & Telephony Solutions are security specialists and have a highly qualified and experienced team to ensure your online security. Offering unified threat management devices with firewalls and centralised management you can rest assured that you and your data are safe and secure when using Multi Managed Security Services. Contact Multi IT now to discuss your security needs.

While some businesses do not bother with an IT Budget, they can be extremely worthwhile. Besides helping you manage costs, an IT budget can highlight areas where you might need to invest more resources. It can also keep you on track in meeting your financial goals. <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GNlrvj2SGfA" width="420" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Here are eight tips that can help you prepare an effective IT budget for 2016: 1. Take the Time An IT budget is not something you can throw together in a day. It takes time and thought to create one that will help your company grow. It also requires input from your management team, as your IT systems are likely being used in many different areas of your business. Further, an IT budget is not something you should file away and forget about once it is created. You should take time each month to check and update your budget as needed. 2. Look to the Present and Past to Predict the Future A good way to begin your 2016 IT budget is to create a baseline budget that shows your IT expenses and income for the current year. You can then adjust it to account for anticipated changes in 2016. Examining your IT budgets from previous years can give you an idea of how variable revenue and costs have fluctuated from month to month, quarter to quarter, and year to year. 3. Do Not Try to Budget Down to the Last Cent IT budgets are designed to only estimate where money will be coming in and going out. They are not accounting ledgers, so you do not need to account for every last cent. Because you are just estimating your IT expenses and revenue, do not be surprised if your projections are wrong. You can adjust them as needed when you review your budget each month. 4. Align Your IT Budget with Your Company's Strategic Goals IT systems can help or hinder a company's efforts to meet its strategic goals. For example, meeting the goal of improving customer retention is more easily achievable with a fast, reliable web ordering system than a slow, quirky one. Budgeting IT improvements in areas that support your company's strategic goals will help turn IT into a profit centre rather than a cost centre. 5. Budget for Hardware and Software Updates and Replacements Many companies have outdated hardware and software because they do not keep track of when these resources should be updated or replaced. As a result, employees often use them until they fail. These failures can lead to many other problems, including lost productivity, security risks, and even system downtime. A better approach is to use an asset management system to track when hardware and software need updates or are approaching the end of their life. That way, you can budget for upgrades and replacements. This will help you avoid the additional costs and hassles of dealing with failed hardware and software. 6. Invest in Measures That Will Improve Security Cybercrime is on the rise, as studies by Symantec and ThreatMetrix show. However, many companies do not adequately invest in IT security. A Spiceworks study found that 59 percent of IT professionals feel their organisations do not adequately invest in IT security. This is corroborated by the finding that those organisations plan to spend only 9 percent of their software budget, or 6 percent of their total budget, on security measures in 2016. Given the prevalence of cybercrime, spending more on security measures is a wise investment. 7. Do Some Calculations before Treating Cloud Costs as Operational Expenses A Computer Economics study found that 56 percent of organisations plan to increase spending on cloud applications. In budgets, companies often list cloud costs as operational expenses so that they can increase or decrease them as needed. This gives companies more flexibility to meet financial goals. However, if you plan to use a cloud application for many years, it might be cheaper in the long run to treat the cloud costs as a fixed amortisation expense. 8. Do Not Postpone or Cancel IT Training to Reduce Costs Training is a discretionary expense in budgets, so companies often schedule IT training later in the year. That way, if they need to reduce costs, they can simply delay or cancel the training and remove that cost from the budget. However, delaying or canceling IT training can lead to more problems down the road, especially if it is security-related training for employees. For any information on preparing your IT budget or if you would like your IT budget prepared for you like our managed service customers receive please contact Multi on 08600 Multi (68584) or email info@multi.co.za.

Apple has built a solid reputation for producing secure mobile devices. Some of the tech giant's customers believe that Apple products are so secure that they do not need to take any additional security measures. However, Apple's mobile devices are not without their flaws. There are known vulnerabilities in the iOS operating system and in the devices' built-in apps. Plus, malware and third-party apps can put these devices at risk. Knowing about these security risks can help you better protect your mobile devices. Here is how to protect iPhones and iPads from Cyberattacks. Vulnerabilities in the Operating System and Built-In Apps Apple's iOS operating system has had some security problems. In November 2015, Zerodium announcedthat an anonymous team of researchers successfully hacked Apple's iOS 9 operating system. The team received $1 million for its efforts. Zerodium pays for security exploits that are not publicly available, selling them to the highest bidders. Because Zerodium sells the exploits it purchases, it is tight-lipped about the iOS 9 hack. However, to get the $1 million bounty, the hack had to meet certain criteria, which means that: It works on versions of iPhone 6, iPhone 5, and iPad running iOS 9. It bypasses all iOS 9 security defences using previously unknown vulnerabilities or exploits. It starts one of four ways. The attack vector might be a web page that either targets the mobile browser (Apple Safari or Google Chrome) or targets a web application reachable through the browser. Alternatively, the attack vector might be a text message delivered through the Short Message Service or a multimedia file delivered through the Multimedia Messaging Service. It leads to the installation of a malicious app on a fully updated iOS 9 device. It works remotely and silently, without any user interaction except for when the user initially visits the malicious web page or opens the infected text message or multimedia file. This specific hack might not be used by cybercriminals if Zerodium lives up to its claim of selling its hacks to only legitimate corporations and government organisations. However, because Zerodium announced that iOS 9's security defences are penetrable, cybercriminals will likely try to discover the vulnerabilities that were exploited. The hack purchased by Zerodium is not the first problem that researchers have discovered in iPhones and iPads. In June 2015, a cybersecurity researcher revealed the existence of a major flaw in the built-in email client. The flaw let cybercriminals send phishing emails that produced pop-up messages that were almost identical to the real iCloud login pop-up messages. The fraudulent messages automatically filled in users' email addresses and asked for their passwords. After unsuspecting victims provided their passwords, the passwords were sent to the cybercriminals. Although Apple fixed this flaw in its mobile devices running iOS 8.4 and later, iPhone and iPad users need to be on the lookout for similar phishing attacks. Apple mobile devices are also susceptible to other types of attacks. For example, Skycure researchers discovered the No iOS Zone vulnerability, which exposed iPhone and iPad users to denial of service (DoS) attacks. In a typical DoS attack, cybercriminals try to prevent users from accessing a service by overwhelming it with service requests. With the No iOS Zone vulnerability, the researchers were able to inflict a more destructive DoS attack. After setting up a malicious wireless hotspot that forced nearby iPhones and iPads to connect to it, the researchers manipulated the traffic, causing the devices' operating systems to crash. Sometimes the mobile devices went into a repeating crash-restart cycle, rendering them useless. Fortunately, Apple has fixed the No iOS Zone vulnerability in iOS 8.3 and above. Malicious Malware and Unsafe Third-Party Apps Apple mobile devices are vulnerable to malicious malware like WireLurker. WireLurker spreads to iOS devices when they are connected to infected computers. Palo Alto Networks discovered this malware, which steals information from the mobile devices it infects. Third-party apps can also install malware and other potentially malicious code on Apple mobile devices. You cannot even assume that the apps you download from Apple's App Store are safe to use, as the following incidents show: In September 2015, Palo Alto Networks revealed that 39 apps in Apple's App Store were infected by malware named XcodeGhost. Cybercriminals can use XcodeGhost's remote control functionalities to perform phishing and other types of attacks. In October 2015, SourceDNA discovered that hundreds of apps in the App Store were collecting more device and user data than what Apple allows. The additional data collected included the device's serial number, the serial numbers of peripherals (e.g., the battery system), a list of installed apps, and a numeric value associated with the user's Apple ID. In October 2015, Apple found that some App Store apps were installing root certificates that allowed the app developers to access the app users' encrypted traffic. While the certificates were being used for legitimate purposes, they left the mobile devices open to man-in-the-middle attacks. In this type of attack, cybercriminals insert themselves between two communicating parties. They then intercept data, decrypt it if necessary, and steal any personal information. In all three cases, Apple removed the offending apps from the App Store. It also neutralised the WireLurker malware. how to protect iPhones and iPads from Cyberattacks Apple mobile devices have security vulnerabilities, so you need to take some security precautions. Make sure that you: Install all iOS updates promptly. Use strong passwords for all your accounts. Resist the temptation to use the same password for multiple accounts. If you have to remember a lot of account passwords, consider using a password manager. That way, you will not be tempted to re-use passwords or write them down. Do not connect your mobile device to public computers. Only connect your device to computers you know are secure. Research an app before you install it, even if you are downloading it from Apple's App Store. Do not open any email messages from unknown senders. If a message is from someone you know but looks suspicious, call that person and confirm that he or she sent it. Scrutinise any pop-up messages that you receive when working in the email client. A pop-up message is a fake if it appears only in the email message's body or if it scrolls down when you scroll through the message. Multi IT can show you how to protect iPhones and iPads from Cyberattacks. Our team of expert ICT security professionals are highly qualified and experienced in providing complete security from network security to end point and device security. We offer world class next generation firewalls to ensure your complete security from all possible cyberattacks. Contact us now to get complete peace of mind.