Sorry

Hi All,

sorry, It's been busy and I just haven't really wanted to post anything. haha. just being a slacker.

I'll continue to post stuff once I get back into the swing of things and things settle down. It's been really busy.

Thanks
mike

Off to Nashville!

I'll be off to Nashville Aug 12 to the 13th (hopefully just the 13th) for a network upgrade for a dental client. It's a fairly simple install/upgrade. Should be fun. It'll be the second time I've been to Nashville (3 if you count driving through to St. Louis in 2009).

Rite Aid HIPPA data breach Settlement

Rite Aid to pay $1 million in HIPAA settlement
by SearchSecurity.com staff

In its settlement agreement with the HHS over alleged HIPAA violations, the pharmacy chain will pay $1 million and must establish procedures for disposing of protected health information (PHI).

Yet another corporation in violation of protecting individuals private information. Companies still don't get that there are a lot of regulations that are trying to protect the individuals private information. Hopefully sooner rather than later, all companies will take these regulations seriously.

XP won't die.

Windows XP Will Never Die

Microsoft originally said that new owners of Windows 7 who wanted to downgrade to XP would only have until 2011 to do so, but now the company has changed its mind and extended support for the old operating system until 2020.

(osnews.com)

Company Issued Devices Ruling

The US Supreme Court has overturned a lower-court ruling and concluded that management has a right to review employee text messages on company-issued devices. If used as a precedent, this case may have far-reaching consequences for employee expectations of privacy in workplace communications. However, the ruling should also serve as a wake-up call for organizations that do not have explicit written security and privacy policies.

So for everyone out there with a company issued cell phone, be careful what you say over texts because it may not end up so good for you.

Vacation Time

I am off to Norway for a vacation, June 2nd to June 12th. Be back soon and maybe I'll start updating this blog some more. It's been busy so that is good!

Thanks

Ticketing System

I created a ticketing system for it to be easier for me to track all the items that I get in email regarding support that is needed. This will definitely help me keep me more organized.

Users can create a new ticket at:

http://fortifyit.no-ip.biz/osticket

Also on this page, you can track your tickets by entering your email address and your ticket ID number.

Thanks!

Running as Admin = Not Good for Security Exploits (and in general)

Just found this article about how to easily mitigate security exploits in Windows and it of course means running as a Power User or a Regular User. Most database programs require Power User status so that would be the most common for my clients and most of them run Quickbooks or some other database program.

Here are some numbers from the article.

-100% of Microsoft Office vulnerabilities are mitigated by configuring users to operate without administrator rights.

-By removing administrator rights companies will be better protected against exploitation of 94% of vulnerabilities in all versions of Internet Explorer, and 100% of those in IE 8.

-87% of vulnerabilities categorized as Remote Code Execution vulnerabilities are mitigated by removing administrator rights.

-Companies are better protected against 81% of Critical Microsoft vulnerabilities by configuring users without administrator rights.

-Of the total published Microsoft vulnerabilities, 64% are mitigated by removing administrator rights.

-In 2009, exploits of 53% of Windows operating system vulnerabilities can be diminished by configuring users as standard users.

-90% of Critical Windows 7 operating system vulnerabilities are mitigated by having users log in as standard users.

-Of all Windows 7 vulnerabilities ever published, 57% are mitigated by removing administrator rights.


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Source: BeyondTrust, Inc. http://www.beyondtrust.com/downloads/whitepapers/documents/wp039_BeyondTrust_2009_Microsoft_Vulnerability_Analysis.pdf

Done with School!

Hi everyone (who ever reads this blog),

I have completed my BS Degree in Information Assurance and Security on March 19th. The school is just checking my records to ensure I have completed everything and that I am in good standing..etc. Blah. But I am done. I'm happy and excited about the accomplishment.

Next I am going to be working on a certification called the Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP), which is the little brother to the industry standard CISSP certification. I'll work on the CISSP at some point down the road. Also I will be working on a HIPPA certification since I have a lot of dental clients and it'll be nice for patient records to be safe. :)

Beyond those two items, not sure what I will do. Probably continue on with my Masters after those two certifications are done.

As for clients, I'm always looking and trying to get new clients. I've been trying to think of new ways to get clients but word of mouth is always the best for me so if anyone reads this and knows me, please try and push me off to your clients. I'd appreciate it because more clients = me staying in business. :)

Thanks
Mike

What's new with Fortify IT, Inc

Hey All,

Sorry for the lack of updates but it's been really busy with work (A VERY GOOD THING) and I've been trying to finish up my Bachelor's degree. I'll be done March 19th and I'm very excited! I can't wait to finally finish this up. It'll be in Information Assurance and Security so then I can start implementing some things into my clients. As always, I'll keep you guys posted on any other fun techie stuff when it comes around.

Thanks for reading
Mike