Quite a few companies acquire a Wi-Fi unit from the local electronics store or from their internet provider. Obviously Wi-Fi is a wireless connection to your business’s network. There are some things you should consider about that Wi-Fi connection…
- Do you know who is connected and what resources they are using?
- Do you know what they have access to? Can you track their activity?
- What impact does a user’s phone, tablet or other device have on productivity?
- Is it good or not so much?
There is new technology available that answers these questions.
The Department of Homeland Security has publicized information on a vulnerability in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser. Their recommendation is to stop using the product until the vulnerability is patched.
For internal sites that require Internet Explorer to fully function (e.g. Sharepoint or Office 365 webmail), the vulnerability is not an immediate concern and utilizing Internet Explorer is fine. For external sites, we highly recommend that you utilize an alternate browser such as Google’s Chrome or Firefox. We will be loading Chrome in the next day or so for clients who do not have it currently loaded.
Over the next few days, EasyIT will also be patching Adobe Flash and applying other security fixes as recommended by Microsoft until a hotfix for Internet Explorer is available. We anticipate the Microsoft patch for this vulnerability will be available in the next week or so and we will deploy it promptly upon its’ release.
Until a patch is developed, we ask that all users:
Please leave your PC on in the evening when you leave the office so that your machine can be properly patched. You can manually load Chrome by clicking on the “Download Chrome” link on this web page: //www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/browser/?brand=CHMA&utm_campaign=en&utm_source=en-ha-na-us-bk&utm_medium=ha Use Chrome or Firefox instead of Internet Explorer Please share this with your fellow staff members and friends.
We will keep everyone up to date as to when Microsoft has patched their browser.
Note: if you utilize Windows XP or Server 2003, this vulnerability will NEVER be fixed as those operating systems are out of support. Please contact the Service Desk at 614.339.4900 to request an upgrade of your operating system.
-The EasyIT Service Desk
