Merry Christmas 2013!

We would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas! Hopefully you will spend it in good health and high spirits with your family and friends. Or, at the very least, with a pet that loves you! If you are travelling, watch out for the loonies and get back the Upstate safely. Homeland Secure IT is going to close today, …

Zero Day Vulnerabilities addressed by Adobe and Microsoft – Get it while it’s hot!

It’s time for updates to come out from from your favorite software vendors, and whether you are using a Windows based PC or a Mac, there’s something for you this month! Applying these updates is VERY IMPORTANT – your machines are vulnerable unless you take steps to secure them. Up for your patching pleasure are the following (as listed by …

Support for Windows XP and Office 2003 is coming to an end

Support for Windows XP and Office 2003 is coming to an end On April 8, 2014, Microsoft will end support for the decade-old Windows XP. This means you will no longer receive updates, including security updates, for Windows XP from Microsoft. Support of Microsoft Office 2003 will also be ending on the same date. Security Risk Without critical Windows XP …

Remote tech support installs malware on server?

I received a phone call from a client last night who said that they could not browse the internet at their organization and that mail was down as well. Here are the initial observations: Their Cisco VoIP phone system was able to make calls and internal machines could ping outside servers by IP, but not by name, indicating that the …

Internet Spring Cleaning Day 2013 is TODAY! Please take action to protect your devices.

It’s that time of year again when ISPs (Internet Service Providers)  all around the world perform their yearly maintenance, call it “Spring Cleaning” if you will. If you have been living under a rock and missed the stories on the news and the countless emails flying around for the last week or so, then this may come as a total …

Unexpected three day sale on computers here in Greenville SC

This never happens….  Welllll, I can’t say “never” after I post this… One of our favorite vendors is having a sale and we are passing the savings on to you. Nexlink is offering 25 dollars off their prebuilt business computers, and if you order today (Wednesday March 27, 2013) through Friday the 29th, we can knock 25 dollars off the …

Windows 8 automatic restart after updates really upsets some people

So you’ve got Windows 8 and you are loving it, or maybe not. Once you get past that totally different interface, and the login if you are on a domain, one annoying trait that may tweak your shorts is the forced automatic restart after updates are applied. You would notice that where Windows keeps saying that your machine is going …

Adobe and Microsoft patches galore for March 2013

While spring has not quite sprung, Microsoft and Adobe have both sprung a slew of updates for you. It is important that you apply these updates to your computers and servers in order to keep your network secure. Let’s start with Adobe – Four Flash security holes have been plugged in Flash Player 11.6.602.171 and earlier across all platforms.  Yes, …

Microsoft Office 2013 is not transferable to another PC

If you have purchased, or plan to purchase, a new computer with the OEM version of Microsoft Office 2013 on it, please understand that the installation of that Office 2013 can only be done on the computer it was first installed on. In other words, let’s assume you buy a new computer from Homeland Secure IT along with Microsoft Office …