Info Advantage Blog

Regardless of what type of organization you run, there is always a need for a word processor, spreadsheet software, and email solution. You might already take advantage of Microsoft Office, but do you take advantage of the subscription service (Office 365), or do you purchase the software licenses outright?

The primary benefit of Office 365 compared to Microsoft Office 2016 comes from understanding the difference between the two. In particular, users and business professionals need to know that Office 365 is a subscription-based model, while the traditional Office 2016 suite is a one-time purchase. However, the differences don’t stop there. Here are three of the major reasons why your business should consider Office 365 as its primary productivity suite solution.

Office 365 is More Cost-Effective
When you consider the fact that small monthly payments fit into budgets easier than large up-front expenses, the benefits of Office 365 are clear. When purchased through Microsoft, Office 365 provides users with a discount for paying for 12 months ahead of time, allowing for further cost savings.

Office 365 Stays Up-to-Date
When using the traditional Microsoft Office suite, you would purchase the most recent version of the software. In this case, it would be Office 2016. However, in several years when the next version of Microsoft Office is released, users who paid up-front for their solution will have to, once again, shell out for up-front costs. A better option is to just pay for the Office 365 subscription, which will take into account all of these upgrades so that you’re always using the most recent version of Office--for no real additional costs.

Office 365 is More Flexible
Unlike Office 2016, which is a one-time download of your productivity solutions, Office 365 benefits from its subscription-based status by providing varied levels of service. If your current service plan doesn’t quite meet your expectations, you can change your plan to better suit your business’s needs. This type of flexibility is great for businesses that are growing or anticipating growth.

So, have we convinced you to switch to Office 365, or at least give it a shot? Either way, regardless of how you want to take advantage of Microsoft Office, Info Advantage can help you get started. To learn more, reach out to us at (585) 254-8710.

Ransomware, the malware variant that has appeared more and more frequently has struck again, this time targeting users of Microsoft Outlook in a zero-day attack. A malware variant of Cerber (a ransomware) was recently utilized in a large scale attack on users of the messaging program, sent via phishing emails to corporate users.

What’s worse, this variant of Cerber is more than just your typical ransomware, as it also possesses DDoS capabilities.

DDoS, or Distributed Denial of Service, programs utilize the previously infected systems in their attacks on new victims as part of a botnet, causing the target system to cave under a deluge of useless traffic. Therefore, as an unfortunate recipient of this malware tries to resolve the problem, their system has already been assimilated into a cyber horde that’s attacking other systems.

Cerber demands a ransom of 1.24 Bitcoins to unlock the currently uncrackable ransomware, which converts (as of this writing) to approximately $718 US dollars.

The attack typically goes down as such: An intended victim receives an email with the ransomware. If activated, Cerber adds three files onto the desktop of the victim’s computer, each containing the same message. One is TXT format, one is HTML, and one is a Visual Basic Script that converts into an audio message. Their message reads: Attention! Attention! Attention! Your documents, photos, databases and other important files have been encrypted! The most annoying part is that every startup will trigger this message.

The other two files also contain instructions to navigate to the Tor payment site in order to pay the ransom, with the phrase “What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger,” transcribed in Latin at the bottom. As a brief reminder, we never recommend paying a malware ransom, as there is no guarantee that they will comply and release your files, and your funding will only contribute to further attacks.

As there is currently no known fix for Cerber, it is critical that businesses (the clear target of the ransomware) avoid falling victim to it, or any phishing-based attack for that matter. To do so, decision makers in companies should implement and enforce the following policies in their day-to-day practices.

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1. Users should be informed of email security best practices, including not running or opening attachments from unknown sources or suspect emails in general.
2. In case of possible infection, all files should be kept on an isolated backup to prevent data loss. An infected backup is no good, and so it should remain separate from the network to avoid such a circumstance.
3. Be sure to keep all systems thoroughly updated with the latest versions of all your protections, as malware designers are in a constant race with their programs to outpace those who design protective programs.

To find out more about threats like this affecting your business, subscribe to Info Advantage’s blog.