As the winter holidays are quickly approaching, Network Logix is republishing this entry to increase awareness.

In the past, Network Logix has received reports of an increased number of phishing scams and malware campaigns that take advantage of the winter holidays and holiday shopping season. Network Logix reminds users to remain cautious when receiving unsolicited email messages that could be part of a potential phishing scam or malware campaign.

These phishing scams and malware campaigns may include but are not limited to the following:

• electronic greeting cards that may contain malware
• requests for charitable contributions that may be phishing scams and may originate from illegitimate sources claiming to be charities
• screensavers or other forms of media that may contain malware
• credit card applications that may be phishing scams or identity theft attempts
• online shopping advertisements that may be phishing scams or identity theft attempts from bogus retailers

Network Logix encourages users and administrators to use caution when encountering these types of email messages and take the following preventative measures to protect themselves from phishing scams and malware campaigns:

• Do not follow unsolicited web links in email messages.
• Use caution when opening email attachments. Refer to the Using Caution with Email Attachments Cyber Security Tip for more information on safely handling email attachments.
• Maintain up-to-date antivirus software.
• Review the Federal Trade Commission’s Charity Checklist.
• Verify charity authenticity through a trusted contact number. Trusted contact information can be found on the Better Business Bureau National Charity Report Index.
• Refer to the Recognizing and Avoiding Email Scams (pdf) document for more information on avoiding email scams.
• Refer to the Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks Cyber Security Tip for more information on social engineering attacks.
• Refer to the Shopping Safely Online Cyber Security Tip for more information on online shopping safety.

Microsoft has issued a Security Bulletin Advanced Notification indicating that its December release will contain 14 bulletins. These bulletins will have the severity rating of critical to important and will be for Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, and Internet Explorer. Release of these bulletin is scheduled for Tuesday, December 13, 2011.

Microsoft has issued a Security Bulletin Advance Notification indicating that its August release will contain 13 bulletins. These bulletins will have the severity ratings of critical, important, and moderate. Release of these bulletins is scheduled for Tuesday, August 9, 2011.

Network Logix will provide additional information as it becomes available.

Microsoft has issued a Security Bulletin Advance Notification indicating that its June release will contain 16 bulletins. Nine of the bulletins will have the severity rating of critical. The notification states that these critical bulletins are for Microsoft Windows, Microsoft .NET framework, Microsoft Silverlight, Microsoft Forefront Threat Management Gateway, and Internet Explorer.  The remaining 7 bulletins will have the severity rating of important.  The notification states that these important bulletins are for Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, Microsoft SQL Server, and Microsoft Visual Studio. Release of these bulletins is scheduled for Tuesday, June 14, 2011.

Network Logix will provide additional information as it becomes available.

Microsoft has issued a Security Bulletin Advance Notification indicating its April release will contain 17 bulletins. Nine of these bulletins will have the severity rating of critical and will be for Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer and Office. The remaining bulletins will have the severity rating of important and will be for Microsoft Windows, Office, Server Software, and Developer Tools and Software. Release of these bulletins is scheduled for Tuesday, April 12, 2011.

Network Logix will provide additional information as it becomes available.

Microsoft has issued a Security Bulletin Advance Notification indicating its March release will contain three bulletins. One of these bulletins will have the severity rating of critical and will be for Microsoft Windows. The remaining two bulletins will be have the severity rating of important and will be for Microsoft Windows and Office. Release of these bulletins is scheduled for Tuesday, March 8, 2011.

Network Logix will provide additional information as it becomes available.

Microsoft has released updates to address vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer, and Office as part of the Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for February 2011. These vulnerabilities may allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code, cause a denial-of-service condition, obtain sensitive information or operate with elevated privileges.

US-CERT encourages users and administrators to review the bulletin and follow best-practice security policies to determine which updates should be applied.

Microsoft has released updates to address vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows, .NET Framework, Server Software, Office, and Internet Explorer as part of the Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for October 2010. These vulnerabilities may allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code, obtain sensitive information, operate with elevated privileges, cause a denial-of-service condition, or tamper with data.

Network Logix encourages users and administrators to review the bulletins and follow best-practice security policies to determine which updates should be applied.  Network Logix clients under a ProCare Managed Office contract do not need to do anything, as our engineers will be handling the updates to your networks.

Microsoft has issued a Security Bulletin Advance Notification, indicating that its July release will contain four bulletins. Three bulletins will have the severity rating of critical and will be for Microsoft Windows and Office. The remaining bulletin will have the severity rating of important and will be for Microsoft Office. Release of these bulletins is scheduled for Tuesday, July 13, 2010.

Network Logix will provide additional information as it becomes available.

Microsoft has issued a Security Bulletin Advance Notification, indicating that its June release will contain ten bulletins. Three of these bulletins will have the severity rating of critical and will be for Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer. The remaining bulletins will have the severity rating of important and will be for Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, and Microsoft Sharepoint Services. Release of these bulletins is scheduled for Tuesday, June 8, 2010.

Network Logix will provide additional information as it becomes available.