Ransomware is malicious computer code that has been written in order to illegally elicit money from unsuspecting victims. The code is normally delivered by one of the following methods and infects the computer, network or data:

• Misleading and well disguised SPAM emails lead you to click on a link or open an attachment that infects your computer
• Infected removable USB drives or USB pens automatically install the virus when they are connected to a PC
• By other malicious software that delivers the ransomware attache, this is also referred to as an attack by Trojan Horse
• Compromised websites that may be unknowingly infected with code that distributed the ransomware

What steps can you take to mitigate an infection:

• Prevention: network firewall and internet traffic filters can prevent access to malicious websites
• Protection: endpoint security software configured to block PC attacks and suspicious program activities
• Backup: automated daily off-site backups are the only way to guarantee recovery

At Cactus IT, we are aligned with the right technology partners to help you prevent, protect and recover from ransomware attacks. We are here to give advice and recommend any action required to protect your business in this new era of cyber crime.

There are a growing number of free resources available now to help combat and recover data from infections, most notably is the website NoMoreRansom that is run by the National High Tech Crime Unit of the Netherlands’ police in collaboration with Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre.

For more information, please call us on 01943 666 711 or contact us via the support utility on our home page.

Definition: A Virtual Server is an instance of a Computer Operating System running within a container on Simulated Hardware.

Server virtualisation hides direct physical access to the host computers hardware and instead, makes available an abstract layer that shares the hardware access amongst all of the guest Operating Systems. This allows you to install multiple, isolated “guest” operating systems on a single physical “host” server with the host server’s resources (like CPU, Memory, Networking, Disk, etc.) allocated out to the guest servers as Simulated Hardware.

Although this technology has been around for many decades, is has not been until relatively recently that it has been adopted for mainstream use in business. Gartner has reported that around 80% of x86 Server workloads are now virtualised (ref: Gartner), with both Microsoft’s Hyper-V and VMware being in the “Magic Quadrant” (ref: Gartner) of technology that are leading in both vision and execution.

My 5 top reasons to implement server virtualisation:

1. Cost savings
   • Lower energy consumption of a single server compared to multiple servers
   • Fewer physical servers means less hardware maintenance and support costs
   • Less downtime with virtualisation unlocking high availability and failover technologies
2. More efficient hardware utilisation
   • Allocate resources to each individual virtual server as required
   • Over allocate resources like memory to allow servers to access more resource during peak usage
   • Dynamically expand or shrink virtual hard drive sizes as needed without re-booting the server
3. Hardware independent (no vendor lock-in), flexible provisioning
   • Virtual servers are not dependant on specific hardware drivers, so upgrades and server migrations are easier to implement
   • Server can be provisioned very quickly without having to install a complex list of hardware and software drivers
   • P2V (physical to virtual) migrations make hardware upgrades easier, faster and less risky
   • Host server upgrades can be done with zero downtime using live migration
4. Easier to backup and for DR (disaster recovery)
   • Backups (and restores) run more efficiently with fast server resources
   • An identical set of hardware is not required for Disaster Recovery
   • Restore and DR testing is easier
5. Faster server provisioning
   • Server virtualisation allows for elastic capacity, making it much easier to allocate additional resources to a server when needed
   • You can quickly clone a golden image or master template to get a server up and running in minutes
   • Easily create and add an isolated virtual network for DR testing or virtual machine isolation

If you haven’t been introduced to virtualisation yet, then you should start taking advantage of the benefits that aren’t possible or available in the physical server world.

If you would like to find out more:

Please contact us on 01943 666 711 or email bevan@cactus-it.co.uk and find out what makes us different.

Ransom-ware virus outbreak

With the recent wave of ransom-ware virus infections, mainly in the form of the “Locky” virus, I wanted to offer some helpful advice on how to avoid becoming the next victim!

It’s a nasty piece of work and causes massive disruption to businesses every day in the UK and around the world.

What does it look like?

• This virus is normally delivered by email
• The email looks legitimate
• There is an attachment in word or excel format

If you open the attachment, you may already be infected, or you may be prompted to “enable macros”!

Credit to @NakedSecurity for the image above

How to protect yourself?

• Backup your data regularly and keep a copy off-site
  • USB backups left attached to your PC or Server can easily be infected with the Locky virus
• Don’t enable macros in documents received by email
• Ensure you regularly run Windows and Virus Protection updates
• Be suspicious of email attachments

What is 3-2-1 backup rule?

Everyone talks about the pace of change in IT, but something that has not changed is the 3-2-1 backup rule.

These 3 simple rules help you overcome almost any failure scenario….. If you follow them.

What are the rules?

1. Have at least 3 copies of your data

2. Keep the copies on 2 different media

3. Store 1 copy off site

Pretty easy to follow, here is how it works:

1. Have at least 3 copies of your data
Your original data on your Server, Desktop or Laptop plus an additional two copies of the data. This is to reduce the risk factor of multiple device failures, particularly if some of those are at the same physical location.

One copy is good, but just not good enough if you value your data.

2. Keep the copies on 2 different media
Keeping your backups on the same media as your data is not best practise and increases the risk of looking your data. If you backup on the same RAID array as your production data resides, you are at increased risk of losing data if there is a problem with the array.

The 3-2-1 rule suggests using a mixture of media such as internal drives, external drives, tapes, USB drives, etc.

3. Store 1 copy off site
This means as far away as possible. Another City or County would qualify, keeping your external USB or tape backup in the server room (where it would also get damaged in a fire) or IT managers boot (with increased risk of physical damage) would not qualify.

Backing up to a remote branch office or to the cloud would keep your data safe, even in the event of a local disaster on site.

How to follow the rules?

There are many ways to address this problem and each scenario may be slightly different. Windows Hyper-V offers replication of virtual machines that addresses different media types, creating an automated backup jobs using software to manage your copies and off site storage is another way.

If you need help setting up your 3-2-1 compliant backup solution, please contact us, we would be happy to assist you.