Security Alerts & Vulnerabilities

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Print Nightmare vulnerability

Microsoft releases fix for “Print Nightmare” vulnerability – Update Now!

By Jeff Fowler | July 9, 2021
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A new vulnerability was found that takes advantage of a flaw in the print spooler application within Windows. According to Microsoft “A remote code execution vulnerability exists when the Windows Print Spooler service improperly performs privileged file operations. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could run arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges. An attacker could…

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Windows Update that removes Adobe Flash Player

How does the latest Windows Update that removes Adobe Flash Player affect me?

By John Hammett | November 10, 2020
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Adobe Flash, originally released by Macromedia in 1995, is a once widely used and vastly capable web application platform.  In 2005 Flash player was installed on more devices than any other internet-based media application, including Java, Quicktime, and Windows Media Player.  Flash media player still exists today but has been widely deprecated over the last…

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Data Breach

Data Breach: Macy’s customer data stolen after its online store was hacked

By Jeff Fowler | November 21, 2019
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According to Macy’s, their e-commerce website was breached in October. Hackers managed to steal information from unknowing customers as they shopped online. Overall, it’s a very scary situation that proves that data breaches can happen to anyone. Last year, online tech store Newegg was hit with a data breach that skimmed the payments page for…

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keep running Windows 7

How much longer can I keep running Windows 7?

By Josh Yarbrough | November 4, 2019
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With the End-Of-Life date coming soon for Windows 7, It’s inevitable that the beloved Windows Operating System is dying. It has that all too familiar terminal illness called End-of-Life. Microsoft has announced that it is pulling the plug January 14, 2020 on the version of Windows that most of us have come to prefer over…

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Windows Defender good enough

Security Alert – Microsoft warns of vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer and Windows Defender

By Jeff Fowler | September 24, 2019
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Microsoft is urging users of Windows 10 to update immediately. The flaw lies in Internet Explorer and allows an attacker to potentially install software, modify/view/delete data or even create new accounts. The vulnerability was found by a security engineer with Google’s Threat Analysis Group. The update is for Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7, Windows…

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Windows Defender good enough

Security Alert – Update Warning for Microsoft Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10

By Jeff Fowler | August 19, 2019
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At SandStorm IT, we typically suggest doing all updates (especially Operating System) as they become available to avoid security vulnerabilities, In the latest batch of Microsoft updates, there were some “known issues”. In this security alert, we’ll cover “What’s the issue?”, “What versions of Windows does it affect?” and “What can I do?”. What’s the…

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Windows Server 2008 R2 End-of-Life

Windows Server 2008 R2 End-of-Life Support is Near

By Justin Oliver | June 24, 2019
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Windows Server 2008 R2 End-of-Life Support is near. Windows Server 2008 R2 end-of-life mainstream supported ended back on January 13, 2015. However, there is a more critical date looming. On January 14, 2020, Microsoft will end all support for Windows Server 2008 R2. It seems like 2020 is a way’s off but updating an IT…

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Data Breach

Data Breach: Almost 20 Million Patient’s Data Stolen in 2 Separate Medical Laboratory Data Breaches

By Jeff Fowler | June 5, 2019
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Just a few days after Quest Diagnostics reported that a data breach compromised the information of 11.9 million patients, LabCorp is reporting that it was breached as well, affecting 7.7 million additional records. What happened? An unauthorized user installed malicious code on the payment pages of the American Medical Collection Agency (AMCA), a 3rd party…

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keep running Windows 7

What will happen on January 14, 2020 when Windows 7 is no longer supported?

By SandStorm IT | May 27, 2019
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I’m sure by now you’ve heard that Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 are going end of life at the beginning of next year, but what is going to happen on January 14, 2020, when it finally does go end of life? What is end of life? First, we need to define…

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Remote Desktop Vulnerability

Remote Desktop Vulnerability discovered in Windows XP, Windows 2003 & Windows 7.

By Jeff Fowler | May 17, 2019
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A recent update from Microsoft addresses a vulnerability in the Remote Desktop Service used in older versions of Windows, namely Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows 7. Given that both XP and Windows Server 2003 has been End-of-Life for a few years now, this is an unusual action for Microsoft. Here’s what Microsoft is…

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