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While there are ways to prevent that you fall prey to such an attack, there's one thing you can )] TJ ET BT 61.016 604.453 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(do which will ensure that you are safe. And it's not technical or difficult to do.)] TJ ET BT 61.016 584.464 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Once a week, backup all your data. Yes, this is a menial, boring administrative task - and we all hate those, but by )] TJ ET BT 61.016 573.475 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(ensuring that your data is safe and sound elsewhere, it won't matter if your PC is infected by ransomware or any other )] TJ ET BT 61.016 562.486 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(malware. If you do lose your data, you will have another version available. )] TJ ET BT 61.016 542.497 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(Here are a few quick tips to help you:)] TJ ET BT 78.360 522.524 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(1.)] TJ ET BT 91.016 522.508 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Choose one day a week which suits you and make an appointment in your diary to do a )] TJ ET BT 441.692 522.508 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(weekly backup)] TJ ET BT 505.223 522.508 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(.)] TJ ET BT 78.360 511.535 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(2.)] TJ ET BT 91.016 511.519 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Try not to overwrite your previous backup. Rather make )] TJ ET BT 315.098 511.519 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(consecutive copies)] TJ ET BT 398.132 511.519 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [( in various folders on your external )] TJ ET BT 91.016 500.530 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(hard drive or on your network space and name each with the particular day’s date. If any of the documents )] TJ ET BT 91.016 489.541 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(become corrupt for some reason, you can always fall back on a previous version.)] TJ ET BT 78.360 478.568 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(3.)] TJ ET BT 91.016 478.552 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(Regularly check)] TJ ET BT 160.046 478.552 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [( that )] TJ ET BT 180.062 478.552 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(the medium)] TJ ET BT 230.570 478.552 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [( on which you made your backup is still in working order and you’re able to )] TJ ET BT 91.016 467.563 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(access your documents.)] TJ ET BT 78.360 456.590 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(4.)] TJ ET BT 91.016 456.574 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Use )] TJ ET BT 109.520 456.574 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(more than one backup medium)] TJ ET BT 242.549 456.574 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(, for example, your network space AND an external hard drive.)] TJ ET BT 61.016 436.585 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(Where should you backup data?)] TJ ET BT 78.360 416.612 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(1.)] TJ ET BT 91.016 416.596 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Each staff member has access to his/her own )] TJ ET BT 275.093 416.596 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(network space)] TJ ET BT 337.616 416.596 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [( \(usually the h-drive\) where you can save an )] TJ ET BT 91.016 405.607 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(allocated amount of data for free. You have 1GB at your disposal to backup your most critical documents. At an )] TJ ET BT 91.016 394.618 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(extra cost of R10-00 per 1GB this space can also be increased. This network space is also available via the web at )] TJ ET 0.373 0.169 0.255 rg BT 91.016 383.629 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(storage.sun.ac.za)] TJ ET 0.18 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 91.016 382.478 m 162.053 382.478 l S 0.153 0.153 0.153 rg BT 162.053 383.629 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [( if you find yourself away from the SU network. )] TJ ET BT 78.360 372.656 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(2.)] TJ ET BT 91.016 372.640 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(On your )] TJ ET BT 125.531 372.640 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(departmental network space)] TJ ET BT 247.067 372.640 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [( \(usually the g-drive\). The departmental drive can be used for files used by )] TJ ET BT 91.016 361.651 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(more than one person and 15GB is allocated to each department. SharePoint can also be used by groups for )] TJ ET BT 91.016 350.662 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(sharing documents.)] TJ ET BT 78.360 339.689 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(3.)] TJ ET BT 91.016 339.673 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(OneDrive)] TJ ET BT 131.030 339.673 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [( allows each staff member 5TB of storage space. This is available via the Office365 suite. )] TJ ET 0.373 0.169 0.255 rg BT 91.016 328.684 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(https://portal.office.com/)] TJ ET 0.18 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 91.016 327.533 m 186.560 327.533 l S 0.153 0.153 0.153 rg BT 78.360 317.711 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(4.)] TJ ET BT 91.016 317.695 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(If you choose to have your data close at hand, get yourself an )] TJ ET BT 339.164 317.695 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(external hard drive)] TJ ET BT 419.696 317.695 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(. Never save important data on )] TJ ET BT 91.016 306.706 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(a flash drive – its sole function is for transporting data from one device to another and is not a dependable medium )] TJ ET BT 91.016 295.717 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(for backup. Just ensure that these devices are stored somewhere else \(not also in your office\) or in a safe. If )] TJ ET BT 91.016 284.728 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(confidential, SU documents are kept on an external hard drive, files have to be protected with a password or )] TJ ET BT 91.016 273.739 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(encrypted. Keep in mind that if you lose the password, not even IT can salvage your data.)] TJ ET BT 78.360 262.766 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(5.)] TJ ET BT 91.016 262.750 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Alternatively, you can save data in the cloud. We've already mentioned OneDrive, but )] TJ ET BT 433.394 262.750 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(GoogleDrive or Dropbox)] TJ ET BT 91.016 251.761 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(are also examples of this. It is extremely important that cloud storage is only for personal use, not for any )] TJ ET BT 91.016 240.772 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(academic information or sensitive data. Also keep in mind that if you use more than one device, you have to sync )] TJ ET BT 91.016 229.783 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(data across devices and this will incur costs.)] TJ ET BT 61.016 209.794 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(More tips on backups, as well as activating Windows' automatic backup function on )] TJ ET 0.373 0.169 0.255 rg BT 394.376 209.794 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(www.backblaze.com.)] TJ ET 0.18 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 394.376 208.643 m 478.895 208.643 l S 0.153 0.153 0.153 rg BT 61.016 189.805 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [( )] TJ ET BT 61.016 171.316 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [( )] TJ ET 0.400 0.400 0.400 rg BT 61.016 160.327 Td /F2 9.0 Tf [(Posted in:E-mail,Security,Tips | Tagged:Data Backup,Ransomware | With 0 comments)] TJ ET endstream endobj 8 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F1 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Oblique /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Helvetica-BoldOblique /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /A 13 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 61.0157 636.5872 202.5587 645.7447 ] >> endobj 13 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (http://blogs.sun.ac.za/it/en/2017/06/new-targets-hit-by-massive-ransomware-attack/) >> endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /A 15 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 91.0157 382.7962 162.0527 391.9537 ] >> endobj 15 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (http://storage.sun.ac.za/) >> endobj 16 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /A 17 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 91.0157 327.8512 186.5597 337.0087 ] >> endobj 17 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://portal.office.com/) >> endobj 18 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /A 19 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 394.3757 208.9612 478.8947 218.1187 ] >> endobj 19 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://www.backblaze.com/pc-backup.html) >> endobj xref 0 20 0000000000 65535 f 0000000008 00000 n 0000000073 00000 n 0000000119 00000 n 0000000305 00000 n 0000000334 00000 n 0000000472 00000 n 0000000575 00000 n 0000007972 00000 n 0000008084 00000 n 0000008199 00000 n 0000008319 00000 n 0000008427 00000 n 0000008554 00000 n 0000008688 00000 n 0000008815 00000 n 0000008892 00000 n 0000009019 00000 n 0000009097 00000 n 0000009225 00000 n trailer << /Size 20 /Root 1 0 R /Info 5 0 R >> startxref 9317 %%EOF data backup « Informasietegnologie
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The end of Windows 7

Wednesday, December 4th, 2019

After 10 years support Windows 7 came to an end on 14 January 2020.

How does this affect you?  

If you still use Windows 7, after January 14 your PC will no longer receive security updates or technical support from Microsoft. Subsequently your PC will pose a threat to the university’s network and we might have to remove it from the network in future for security reasons. This also means that you data will be unprotected, and you could potentially have no access to the network (in other words, no internet, email, etc.)

Therefore, if your PC is still running on Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 you will have to upgrade to Windows 10, an operating system which can provide the latest security updates to keep your data safe.  You can read more on Microsoft’s software life cycle on their site. 

Upgrades from Windows 7 & 8.1 to Windows 10 will be free for staff. To request this upgrade, please log a request on the  ICT Partner Portal (Windows 7 to Windows 10 upgrade) after which you will automatically receive and email. Please include the following information in the request: 

  1. the computer’s asset number
  2. device type
  3. contact numbers
  4. building name
  5. room number

Your device will be checked for an upgrade possibility as older equipment may need components for the upgrade, and this will be for the account of the department. There might also be a possibility that very old equipment or devices that do not meet the minimum requirements will not be able to be upgraded.  

If any other actions are needed, an IT technician will also contact you. 

IT will do the following without charge: 

  1. Guide you with work related data to be backed up to OneDrive
  2. Upgrade the operating system from Windows 7 & 8.1 to Windows 10 
  3. After the upgrade a technician can assist with if needed: Installing of non-standard campus related software such as SPSS, Statistica, etc., install printers.

You will have to pay for: 

  1. Backups of all data if and IT technician has to do the backup
  2. Hardware components necessary for the upgrade to Windows 10 

If IT is requested to backup data, the cost will be as follow: 

Less than 15GB – R1310-00 
More than 15GB – R2240-00 

Relevant articles on the end of Windows 7: 

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Protect your equipment against power outages

Sunday, March 31st, 2019

By now we’re used to the unpredictable nature of our electricity supply and started making changes to ensure our daily routine can continue in spite of it.

But have you considered the effect these irregular power surges might have on your appliances at home and the office? To ensure you don’t suffer any serious damage, there are a few measures you can take.

the-light-bulb-371652_6401. Regularly check the load shedding schedule.
This is important since you can’t protect your appliances if you’re not sure when power will be shut down. There are various ways to do this, including Eskom’s Twitter feed, website, as well as various apps. 

2. Switch off and unplug
Before scheduled load shedding, turn off and unplug or disconnect all your electrical appliances. By doing this, you will avoid a sudden strong surge of power to your device which could damage sensitive electronic circuitry.

It is also important to unplug computer power cables from plugs, as well as telephone cables.

3. Use surge protectors
As mentioned above, power surges could damage your appliances. To prevent this, you can also fit plugs equipped with surge protectors which will lessen the surge. Just remember, even if you use surge protectors, it’s still safer to unplug devices entirely.

4. Get a power bank
These useful little things are portable chargers which you can charge your phone and any other USB device with. With their help, you won’t be stuck without your cell phone or tablet while the rest of the world is shrouded in darkness.

They are readily available at online stores like Takealot and are not that expensive considering the convenience.

5. Get a UPS
A UPS or Uninterruptible Power Supply functions as a surge protector, but with also has a built-in battery, and can provide a constant power output for up to an hour. A UPS is merely a backup system to buy you time to protect appliances and save data. 

6. Backup
Backing up your data shouldn’t be done only when load shedding is prevalent. It should be part of your weekly routine. If you know load shedding will take place, do regular backups while working or before the scheduled power outage. This will ensure you don’t lose important work.

 

[SOURCE: www.eskom.co.za, www.mg.co.za, www.fin24.com, www.mweb.co.za, www.property24.com]

 

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Defeat ransomware: Backup your data

Wednesday, July 5th, 2017

The destructive Petya ransomworm caused destruction and major interruptions of services around the world last week. Unfortunately, it’s becoming progressively more difficult to avoid these attacks as cybercriminals become more clever and inventive in their methods. While there are ways to prevent that you fall prey to such an attack, there’s one thing you can do which will ensure that you are safe. And it’s not technical or difficult to do.

Once a week, backup all your data. Yes, this is a menial, boring administrative task – and we all hate those, but by ensuring that your data is safe and sound elsewhere, it won’t matter if your PC is infected by ransomware or any other malware. If you do lose your data, you will have another version available. 

Here are a few quick tips to help you:

  1. Choose one day a week which suits you and make an appointment in your diary to do a weekly backup.
  2. Try not to overwrite your previous backup. Rather make consecutive copies in various folders on your external hard drive or on your network space and name each with the particular day’s date. If any of the documents become corrupt for some reason, you can always fall back on a previous version.
  3. Regularly check that the medium on which you made your backup is still in working order and you’re able to access your documents.
  4. Use more than one backup medium, for example, your network space AND an external hard drive.

Where should you backup data?

  1. Each staff member has access to his/her own network space (usually the h-drive) where you can save an allocated amount of data for free. You have 1GB at your disposal to backup your most critical documents. At an extra cost of R10-00 per 1GB this space can also be increased. This network space is also available via the web at storage.sun.ac.za if you find yourself away from the SU network. 
  2. On your departmental network space (usually the g-drive). The departmental drive can be used for files used by more than one person and 15GB is allocated to each department. SharePoint can also be used by groups for sharing documents.
  3. OneDrive allows each staff member 5TB of storage space. This is available via the Office365 suite. https://portal.office.com/
  4. If you choose to have your data close at hand, get yourself an external hard drive. Never save important data on a flash drive – its sole function is for transporting data from one device to another and is not a dependable medium for backup. Just ensure that these devices are stored somewhere else (not also in your office) or in a safe. If confidential, SU documents are kept on an external hard drive, files have to be protected with a password or encrypted. Keep in mind that if you lose the password, not even IT can salvage your data.
  5. Alternatively, you can save data in the cloud. We’ve already mentioned OneDrive, but GoogleDrive or Dropbox are also examples of this. It is extremely important that cloud storage is only for personal use, not for any academic information or sensitive data. Also keep in mind that if you use more than one device, you have to sync data across devices and this will incur costs.

More tips on backups, as well as activating Windows’ automatic backup function on www.backblaze.com.

 

 
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