As you have probably heard in the news recently, there have been several instances across the global of crypto-viruses affecting tens-of-thousands of machines worldwide. What’s scary about these crypto-viruses is that they execute without anti-virus software detection and they will encrypt all of your personal data (Pictures, Documents, Spreadsheets, etc.) on your hard drive. If you have any external drives connected or if you have any network shared drives connected, the virus will often encrypt the data in those locations as well. Once the data is encrypted, it is impossible to decrypt unless you pay a ransom to the person (or organization) that created the virus. Of course, paying the ransom doesn’t guarantee that they will provide you with the key to unlock your data. Chances are, the data is gone. A new variant of the crypto-viruses recently release is called ‘Petya’. What is especially concerning about this crypto-virus variant is that it also encrypts a portion of your hard drive that Windows looks at in order to boot up! So if this virus gets executed on your system, your computer won’t even boot up normally AND your data will be encrypted. As you can imagine, this has created an absolute nightmare for IT professionals, businesses and end-users worldwide. So the question becomes, how do I protect myself and my business from getting these types of viruses? Well, it’s fairly simple and the steps are outlined below: Windows Updates: Ensure that ALL workstations AND servers are up-to-date with the latest version of Windows updates. Many of these viruses take advantage of holes in Windows that Microsoft has recently patched. By having your systems up-to-date, will ensure a less-likely possibility of being infected by one of these bugs. Having an up-to-date system also ensures that no other bugs can affect you either. Cross Island Computers can ensure that all of your systems are up-to-date with our advanced management software. Back up: This should go without saying, but ensuring that you have a proper back-up in place for all workstations and servers is absolutely crucial. This isn’t only to help in the event you get one of these bugs, but also in the event of a hardware failure or some...
Read MoreCross Island Computers is proud to announce that we are offering Remote Management and Monitoring for businesses of any size. Here are the benefits of Remote Monitoring and Management: Allows us to proactively monitor servers for any events that may cause an issue. These include predictive failure of hard drives, as well as Windows errors. Ensure Servers and Workstations are up-to-date with the latest Windows Updates which ensure your system is secure. Monitor Servers and Workstations for any performance related issues. Full versions of MalwareBytes Professional and WebRoot antivirus for all workstations and servers. Log Me In Pro for all workstations and servers; this enables you or your staff to remotely access their office workstations in a SECURE manner that doesn’t require a VPN connection. This enables them to work remotely when needed. 24/7 Monitoring by remote help desk technicians. 24/7 Help Desk support for afterhours/overnight support* Network Monitoring* *Requires the Elite Package. We are offering these services for a very reasonable monthly fee. These services will ensure that your business will continue to operate smoothly and that any hiccups can be addressed in a timely and efficient manner – before it’s too late and hours are lost on troubleshooting. Think of this as cheap insurance to ensure minimal impacts to your business operations and workflow. Please Contact Us today to find out more and to get a quote for your business!...
Read MoreTo the Cloud! We have all heard about the ‘cloud’; we all use ‘the cloud’ every single day with our cell phones, email platforms, hell, even Facebook uses ‘the cloud’. But what is the cloud and how can you use it to improve your business productivity, efficiency and maintain your bottom line? Simple, I’ll tell you how. First, we need to know: What is the cloud? Well, essentially, the cloud is a collection of strategically placed datacenters that house hundreds if not thousands of servers that store all types of information from emails, to browsing history, to credit card data to everything in between. By using the power of these massive data centers, many large companies and developers are able to build applications and store data that have direct impact on our lives. Gone are the days of a company having a headquartered building with a basement full of servers; that if the internet went down or the power went out, customers were unable to access that company’s website, banking resources or email systems. Now, information is stored across these datacenters so that if a datacenter in one region is inaccessible, another datacenter in a different region will provide access to the resource that is requested. As a result of this scalability, resources such as email, data storage, websites and apps are available at an extremely low cost and with nearly 100% uptime/availability. Ok, so what does this mean for me and my business? Well, chances are if you use Gmail, Facebook, a banking platform, hell even the web based version of Quickbooks, you are interacting with the cloud. This is all fine and dandy, but if your business utilizes any type of IT related infrastructure, such as a website, email or data storage or even Quickbooks, then it may be time to take advantage of the power and cost savings of the cloud. If you are using an in-house email solution such as an on-premises Microsoft Exchange Server, Lotus, or any other in-house email platform; or, if you are using an email platform provided by your web hosting company, then it is time to move over to a platform that actually works. The 2 biggest providers are Google...
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Strategic Integrated Medical Solutions was looking for a website to showcase their service offerings.
Read MoreEDIT: 4/29/2014 Microsoft announced over the weekend that ALL VERSIONS OF INTERNET EXPLORER have a MAJOR security flaw that will allow an attacker to fully gain access and take control of your computer. While the attacks are primarily targeted at government and financial agencies, any user of Internet Explorer (the Blue ‘E’), will be susceptible to this attack. What’s worse, Microsoft IS NOT going to release a patch for users of Windows XP. This further exemplifies the need to get away from Windows XP and move towards Windows 7 or Windows 8. If you still need to use Windows XP, then it is highly recommended that you use another web browser such as Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, or Opera. Cross Island Computers can certainly help you with anything pertaining to Windows XP or security issue. As of April 8th, 2014 Microsoft has stopped supporting Windows XP. What does this mean for you? Well, your computer will no longer receive updates from Microsoft. This could potentially open your computer up to attacks from hackers and other creeps on the internet. When a ‘hole’ is found in the operating system, Microsoft will no longer fix it leaving your computer vulnerable to anything out there in the wild west of the web. Cross Island Computers can help your Long Island or New York based business upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7 or even Windows 8. We can build custom Windows images that are tailored to the needs of your business and deploy this image to any number of machines that you may have. We can also assist with upgrading any software to ensure that it will function with the newer versions of Windows. Not a business but worried about your personal/home computer being attacked? Not a problem! We can help you with purchasing a new computer or if possible, upgrading your current computer to Windows 7 or Windows 8. Cross Island Computers highly recommends that you make this upgrade sooner rather than later. The world isn’t going to come to an end on April 8th, but I wouldn’t go for more than a few months at most without making the change. Call us today, 631-894-7450 and we will help guide you through saying goodbye to...
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