Windows 7 End of Life

When Windows 7 reaches End of Life on January 14, 2020, Microsoft will no longer patch security holes or fix any bugs that come up in their popular operating system. This means if you are one of the millions of users still on the decade-old operating system, it is time to start planning how to move on.

Without a doubt, Windows 7 has been incredibly successful and popular since it first launched on July 22, 2009. According to StatCounter, 17.91% of US-based desktops were still running the decade-old operating system through the end of 2019.

StatCounter-windows_7_users_December_2019

However, in the light of the success of Windows 10, it only makes sense that Microsoft dedicate their resources to improving the new OS.

Now don’t worry. If you are using Windows 7 now, we are not saying that when you turn on your PC on January 15 it won’t work. You will still be able to use Windows 7 after it has reached End of Life status. However, just because you can use it, doesn’t mean that you should.

Windows 7 End of Life: What it Means for Your Security

Security implications of any operating system reaching End of Life are without a doubt one of the biggest concerns that need to be taken into consideration. In the past, Microsoft has commonly released “booster” security patches leading up to an OS reaching its EOL date in an effort to improve security one last time. However, once those last patches are released hackers have free reign to try and attack the systems.

It’s important to remember that the overwhelming majority of cyberattacks are not targeted, but rather they simply occur wherever a hacker could successfully gain access. Hackers are opportunists, and they choose the easiest target. Outdated operating systems have long been a resource for hackers who can leverage previously known vulnerabilities and expand upon them to gain access to a system. We saw this happen with WannaCry and Windows XP fans who held on after EoL. With 17.91% of nearly a billion Microsoft users worldwide still operating on Windows 7, hackers will have plenty of incentive to try and exploit the operating system once Microsoft releases their final patches.

The facts are clear. The sooner you can get away from Windows 7, the better.

Windows 7 End of Life: What’s Next? 

If you are looking to make a decision on what to migrate to from Windows 7, you have several options, including:

  • Migrate to Windows 10
  • Migrate to a Linux OS such as Ubuntu
  • Migrate to MacOS

All of these options come with pros and cons. We recommend working with IT experts, such as Montra, to decide which course is best for your business needs.

If you are trying to decide what your best option is for moving off of Windows 7, reach out to our experts today for a consultation.

 

 

Tips for Managing Your Sprawling IT Infrastructure in 2020

IT Sprawl is a phenomenon that has risen significantly in small and mid-market businesses over the past several years. This growth can largely be attributed to two factors: rapid cloud services adoption and digital transformation initiatives. Across every industry, cloud services have spread like wildfire due to their ability to increase agility and cost-efficiency. Meanwhile, digital transformation projects have put technology in the middle of almost every business function. These combined factors have led to companies having to deal with some level of the hybrid technical environment.

It is well known that hybrid environments are great for small, growing businesses. Their “best of both worlds” approach to technology adoption allows IT to leverage cloud-based applications while keeping sensitive information on-premises. However, hybrid environments do come with their challenges as well. Over time applications and workflows are added by individual users or departments. This lack of centralization leads to IT teams having a sprawled environment that is difficult (if not impossible) to manage.

Struggling to keep up with the sprawl of hybrid technical infrastructures is nothing new to technology professionals. While the concerns are not new, figuring out how to effectively deal with these challenges is still a top priority for IT teams. According to the 2019 Solarwinds IT Trends Report, 48% of IT professionals plan to prioritize skill development of Hybrid IT Deployment Monitoring and Management within the next 3 to 5 years.

As your organization heads towards the final planning phases for 2020, now is the perfect time to consider if a sprawling IT infrastructure is hindering your business or IT Department. So, what can be done to help you get control over the sprawling technical infrastructure within your organization? Here are our tips:

6 Tips for Managing your Sprawling IT Infrastructure in 2020

Audit Your Environment More Often

The first step to getting your IT environment under control is to conduct a full audit of your systems and applications. Knowing what all is in your environment is the only way to understand how different IT components affect larger business processes. After all, how can you possibly fix a problem if you do not know it exists? Your audit should catalog every cloud service you are using, every server or VM, every network component, and every device. This process should lead to the creation of an inventory of all the technology used in your business and specifically what each component is used for. From this process you should be able to begin to understand:

  • Which services and components are redundant?
  • Which are not aligned with your business and technology strategy?
  • Which are outdated or no longer supported?
  • Which are lightly if ever used?

Prioritize Network Visibility Across the Sprawl

Maintaining network control in a modern, spread-out environment is significantly more complicated than on a local area network. One of the best ways to maintain a level of control over IT Sprawl is to have visibility throughout your entire network. Full network visibility will enable you to know what devices are on your network and what applications are being installed. We recommend partnering with a company, like Montra, who can integrate your various management platforms into a single, comprehensive solution that provides you with end-to-end visibility from a single platform.

Standardization leads to Better Hybrid Management

An easy way of minimizing the burden of sprawling IT management is to standardize the components within your environment. Use as few server, computer, router, VM, etc. types as possible. Once these various types have been decided, consolidate your IT environment to eliminate as many of the others as possible. This will lead to decreased maintenance as IT has fewer components to manage. In the long run, IT employees will achieve additional efficiencies as they become specialists in keeping only a specific number of types of IT components running at their best.

Establish Policies for Deploying New Cloud Applications

It is unlikely an employee will stroll into work with their own server. However, the same cannot be said for cloud and other web-based applications. All too often a cloud-based application enters a company’s environment at the request of a single employee. These services undergo little-to-no vetting and are often duplicated or redundant to applications already in use. An easy way to combat this is to enforce authorization procedures for the selection and implementation of new technologies. These procedures should align to the company’s larger strategic goals and make sure applications fit the “bigger picture.” When properly enforced, these procedures should reduce new or duplicate applications from entering the environment.

Consider Full Lifecycle Cost of New Products

It’s common for businesses to find cheaper technical solutions more appealing than slightly more expensive, yet more efficient, counterparts. However, cheaper solutions can come at their own cost. Choosing cheaper equipment can affect maintenance, power efficiency, and management costs which are not considered in the initial investment. Maintaining these various inefficiencies only gets more complicated as infrastructure grows. When expanding IT components on your network make sure you consider the full lifecycle cost of each product and not just the upfront cost.

Be Cautious of “Jack of all Trades” Hiring

You probably have great experts on your team. However, experts in managing servers may not be able to provide the best insight consolidating your cloud. Modern hybrid business infrastructures are composed of a wide range of technologies and systems. This makes it very difficult to find a generalist that can properly support a mid-sized IT infrastructure. Often times the best result comes from bringing in an outside team of experts. These team members can often better serve as your internal IT team by providing deeper expertise in particular IT specialties. Bringing in additional resources increases the level of specialization of each component within your network. Additionally, an outside team provides you with an “outsiders perspective” that is often helpful in determining the actual validity of a specific service or component even if it is associated with a specific, high-maintenance user.

If you are interested in learning more about managing your sprawling IT infrastructure, contact our experts today.

 

Do You Need Dark Web Monitoring?

Data and information security has been a top priority of businesses for years. Firewalls, password policies, and user right limitations help control information flow in and out of your company. Digital credentials such as user names and passwords enable you and your employees to access your business systems and data as well as online services in a way that protects the business from hackers. Passwords are definitely helpful but they are hardly a fool-proof security practice in the world of cyber security. According to Verizon’s 2017 Data Breach Investigations Report, 81% of hacking-related data breaches involve the use of a weak or stolen password. When using stolen credentials, cyber criminals essentially have a digital key to the front door of your network, making all of your other security precautions worthless. These credentials are often purchased on the Dark Web, and if you aren’t monitoring your company domain your data and your client’s data could be sold to the highest bidder long before you realize there has been a data breach. In this post we will take a deep dive into the Dark Web to discuss:

  • What is the Dark Web?
  • Why is Dark Web Monitoring Important to Your Business?

What is the Dark Web?

Beneath the surface of the visible information accessed and indexed in Search Engines lies the Deep Web. The Deep Web is a massive sublayer of the Internet that is not indexed (and therefore hidden) in search engines such as Google, Bing, or Yahoo. Within this hidden universe lives a nefarious community called the Dark Web. Many estimate that the Dark Web is 550 times larger than the Surface Web and growing. It’s actually difficult to know for sure how big the Dark Web is. The Dark Web operates differently than the Internet we see every day, or “Surface Web.” Users on the Dark Web use secure browsers, such as Tor, that render their identity and location untraceable. This is accomplished by routing web page requests through numerous proxy servers around the globe which makes IP addresses unidentifiable. The ability to operate anonymously makes the Dark Web an ideal marketplace for stolen data and illegal activity. Experts  estimate that as much as 50% of the data on the Dark Web is illegal or illicit material. In short, it is the last place you want to find your company’s sensitive data. Unfortunately, digital credentials are among the most valuable assets on the Dark Web. An article by CSO from IDG reports that login credentials to a $50,000 bank account could go for $500 while a Netflix premium account login can go for around $6. These risks are not all aimed at personal information and accounts. A 2019 study, Into the Web of Profit, by Dr. Michael McGuires at the University of Surrey shows that the number of dark web listings that could harm an enterprise has risen by 20% since 2016. This can be disastrous for your company.

Why is Dark Web Monitoring Important to Your Business?

Luckily, it is possible to scan the Dark Web and detect credential theft before cybercriminals have the opportunity to hack your system. Our monitoring solution combines human and Dark Web intelligence with search capability to identify, analyze, and proactively monitor your organization’s compromised or stolen data. We can search for stolen email addresses, passwords, and other confidential data in:

  • Private Sites
  • Botnets
  • Peer-to-Peer Networks
  • Internet Relay Chat (IRC) Channels
  • Black Market Websites
  • Social Media
  • Hidden Chatrooms

Montra’s Dark Web services monitor your data and notify you immediately when sensitive information is found on the Dark Web. Then, our team will remediate the situation before any identity theft, data breaches, or other crimes occur. In addition to Dark Web Monitoring, Montra provides employee training, phishing simulation, and Identity Theft protection. This insures your business’ sensitive data is secure. Interested in learning more about our Dark Web Security Services? Download our datasheet

Top Reasons Companies Leave Their MSP

MSPs provide an excellent option for companies looking to improve their overall IT performance without having to invest heavily in internal staff. However, not all MSPs are equal. As the market for Managed Services continues to grow, the pressure on MSPs to meet rising consumer expectations from new performance standards and technologies has surpassed what many Managed Services providers are capable of delivering.

Having been in the Managed Services market for decades, our team knows the common gaps that can lead to poor perceived MSP performance and how to overcome these challenges. In this blog, we cover our list of the top reasons companies leave their MSP for alternative methods of support.

Top 4 Reasons Companies Leave Their MSP

1. Lack of Attention to Proper Security & Compliance Requirements

Security breaches are in the news daily. Because of this, security demands on small and medium sized businesses has never been greater. In the past, most small and medium sized organizations often considered it enough to install a firewall or endpoint solution. But these simple measures aren’t always effective against modern cybersecurity threats. Today’s threats are a constant reminder to all businesses that malicious actors can find ways into a system. In other words, anyone could be a target.

Protecting core data and technology is the leading reason companies seek out MSPs in the first place. Customers expect guidance and support in developing a layered security approach that detects and stops the vast cornucopia of threats. However, many MSPs are struggling to keep up with these increased demands. According to research, nearly one in four SMBs (24 percent) has already changed MSPs in the aftermath of a cyberattack.

2. Lack of Transparency

All businesses today are reliant on technology to operate. This is why many businesses turn to MSPs to support their systems. But business leaders can no longer just “trust their IT guy.” The stakes are too high. Tangible data must be available about the status, availability, and security a business’ IT environment.

Leaders must be able to see work their MSP does on their behalf and understand the state of their systems. Additionally, business leaders need to be able to tie this data back to the cost of outsourcing their IT in the first place. Yet, poor communication has been consistently listed as one of the top reasons that companies leave their MSP.

It’s important to note that lack of data doesn’t mean lack of work. Often it means lack of the customer’s awareness into work done on their systems. Maybe an MSP provides a customer with recommendations for new solutions, options, and technologies that will improve their performance. As a result of this recommendation, uptime and availability improve. However, without data showing improvement, the customer will struggle to tie the changes to any added value to the business.

3. Recurring Issues

One of the promises made by nearly every MSP in the market is the provision of proactive support. However, incidents often will find their way through. Well-run MSPs leverage a combination of comprehensive monitoring systems, sophisticated incident databases, and good client documentation to facilitate the MSP getting to the root of an incident the first time. Recurring issues is a common sign that an MSP is not tracking issues properly.

4. Poor Response Time & Customer Service

Long wait times are consistently one of the top complaints businesses have with their MSP. Businesses hire MSPs to come in and make sure that their technology is taken care of. When something goes wrong, customers expect that their Managed Services provider will work to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. A simple network outage could cost a small business thousands of dollars. When an MSP is overstretched, response times and time-to-resolution often suffer as a consequence. Poor response times to critical issues often leaves businesses looking for alternative methods of support.

All these reasons boil down to three underlying causes: quality, value, and preparation. When choosing a MSP to support your business and technical operations, make sure that they are aware of how to avoid these common shortcomings.