MailStore have released an important Security Fix for their Outlook Add-in.
Whilst working on the next main version, the German developers identified a critical vulnerability which they have fixed in version 12.1.3 of the Outlook Add-in.
MailStore have released an important Security Fix for their Outlook Add-in.
Whilst working on the next main version, the German developers identified a critical vulnerability which they have fixed in version 12.1.3 of the Outlook Add-in.
Linus Chang CEO of BackupAssist recently posted a great blog post article on ‘Backups and preparing for a COVID-19 Lockdown’. In this, he highlights three key problems that Backup Administrators face when considering their backup policies.
So you are using MailStore to archive all your company email, and to manage mailbox sizes you have chosen to delete all email from users mailboxes older than 1 year. Its all working great, but then you receive a support call from one of your customers who is having issues reading an email that is only in their archive. All they get is a content unavailable error when they select the message in the archive?
For many years now its been common place for users to need access to their business email, calendars and contacts on their mobile devices. Over the years there have been different ways to achieve this, but by far the easiest to setup and the option with best support for access from any connection is ActiveSync.
Passwords are the pain of every user but almost every interaction you have with online services requires them. How often do you find you are being asked to come up with a password on the spot but yet remember them many months down the line.
Security Experts will agree that they need to be ‘strong’ and ‘unique’ and due to the ever-increasing number of data-breaches should also be changed as soon as they are potentially compromised.
As it turns out, to do this without generating a whole load of additional security risks by making notes in places you shouldn’t, can be a real challenge.
Our options when it comes to password creation tend to look something like this…
Many of us give in to convenience and end up duplicating passwords, but at the risk of labouring the point, this really isn’t going to end well.
Still not convinced?
One site that highlights the dangers of duplicating passwords is ‘Have I been pwned’ which features a long list of companies who’ve suffered data breaches. It’s more a case of if, and not when – so being able to quickly limit the damage when a breach happens by changing just one password could be the thing that saves your bacon.
OK OK, I’ve got it.
So it’s agreed, we must listen to the experts – strong and unique is the way forward.
This means we’re going to need help with managing a large collection of often 100’s of passwords.
So, enter password managers – handy little utilities which take all of the legwork out of creating, storing and managing secure passwords. There are numerous great products out there that will do the job, but having researched a handful of the top ones, the one that stood out to us and the one we recommend is 1Password from Agilebits.
1Password is not just an encrypted notepad with a big list of sites and passwords it’s much more useful than that.
As soon as you need a new password simply click on the generate password option and copy the result. You can quickly choose a matching password policy to help generate compatible passwords for the sites you are using, but without ever having to remember the password generated
Whenever you either create a new login on a website or update any details the 1Password browser add-in will pop up and invite you to store those credentials so you don’t have to remember to. used in conjunction to the password generator means you very rarely ever need to know the passwords you are using and makes it quick and easy to update account details as needed.
Visit a website that you have login credentials for and 1 Password will show you the login accounts you have saved for that sire under the browser add-on, with one click the details are auto-populated and login initiated, without anyone ever seeing the password in plain text.
Plugs are available for all the main browsers so its quick and easy to get access to your passwords when you need them without having to open and unlock another application. Once logged in to the browser a plugin the session can be set to remain open to allow quick access to other login details.
Having access to all your login details on the move is one of the most useful features of 1password. the Android and iOS apps make this extremely easy and if your device has a fingerprint scanner you don’t even have to remember a single password to unlock your vault and enter login details directly into websites and apps on the device.,
After importing your old browser save passwords into 1 password or after adding several manual login details its worth keeping an eye on the security reports that help highlight areas where you can further improve your security. For example, you can see duplicate sites where the same passwords are used ( never a good idea) but also alert when one of the websites you use gets compromised. this is a great way to be alerted to change those details asap.
So you now have a great locked vault full of passwords, but it does not stop there. 1password is an ideal secure store for many more of your secure information such as bank card details, password and identity details, software licences, even just simple notes that you might need quick but secured access to.
1 Password uses AES-256 bit encryption and uses multiple techniques to protect your data at rest and in transit. only you know your Master password and this alongside a security key generated on your device locks your 1Password vault from prying eyes. Not even 1Password themselves can see your information.
All you have to do is remember one strong master password
1Password is available in a variety of flavours, including a version for individuals and one for families with up to 5 users billed annually. This unlocks all features in all versions of the app, includes web access to your passwords, automatic syncing, sharing, permission control, and 1 GB of document storage.
For companies who require more advanced features such as sharing groups of login credentials between teams of users as well as a single administration console, there are three business plans available billed annually to completely bespoke packages for an enterprise.
1Password does a great job of easing the burden that is password management and although there’s a small amount of transition work involved to import old passwords, it didn’t take me long to reach a point where logins for the most frequently visited sites were updated
You’ll find loads of information along with a 30-day trial on the AgileBits site. so I highly recommend heading over there and taking a look for yourself.
Anyone who has ever needed to host a secure service on the Internet will be familiar with the complex process of purchasing and registering root trusted SSL certificates and installing onto your servers, as well as the need to keep track of when they expire and need renewing.
Next week James Steel (MailStore) and Neil Perry (Zen Software) will be joining over 200 registered IT Providers at the CompTIA UK Channel Community Meeting in Manchester.
Why not join us?
MailStore version 12.1 is now live and includes some great new features for new users of the software as well as improvements for end users.
End users icons have been modernised to fit in with current versions of Outlook; a new print function added; the ability to export and flatten the folder structure of mailbox data if required; several security improvements and fixes; and overall performance of mailbox archiving has also been increased by up to 20%!