iYogi Re-Defines Technical Support – BizTech2.

Remote managed services are gaining a lot of attraction these days. Companies are looking to outsource the maintenance and monitoring of their IT infrastructure to a third party to improve efficiency and save costs. BizTech2.com caught up with Uday Challu, founding partner and CEO, iYogi, to see what the company has to offer in this space.

As far as Enterprise and SME customers are concerned, which verticals are you focusing on?

Our focus will mostly be on small companies with around five to 100 users and also firms that have multiple small branch offices like travel agencies, retail stores etc.

What kind of support services do you provide to your customers? What is the Green PC service?

iYogi provides the next generation of remote computer support services for consumers and businesses. For consumers, our live 24/7 support extends to technologies we use everyday, including hardware, software applications, devices, peripherals and networking equipment. iYogi also offers a full range of business IT solutions including managed monitoring, managed services, set-up and installation services, and incident-based services.

Green PC Service

With the current state of the global climate and increasing dependency on the computer, iYogi helps PC users reduce their carbon footprint and save money at the same time. iYogi’s Green PC service is the first in the independent computer support industry to offer customers a way to save money, conserve energy and protect the environment by optimising their PC’s efficiency. Consumers and businesses can save up to $200 per year, per desktop, in energy costs with iYogi’s Green PC application. This green application makes the computer environmentally friendly by reducing power consumption by almost 50 percent.

Our Green PC dashboard helps customise power settings and calculate power savings in kWh (kilowatt hour). The Green PC dashboard also gives a status on the reduction of CO2 and how responsible usage will benefit the environment by saving trees. A customised service that increases the energy efficiency of computers, undertakes the below-mentioned three primary initiatives:

- Computer assessment, analysing settings and PC energy use
- Customised efficiency planning geared specifically to the individual’s usage patterns
- Implementing setting changes to maximise the computer’s energy use

What are the technologies that allow you to offer 24/7 support and ensure there is no downtime at the client site?

We have invested significantly in developing a comprehensive monitoring and management tools stack. This enables us to manage and monitor all devices in the office network as well as for branch offices and mobile users. Our tools continuously monitor the customer’s network and notify our NOC (Network Operations Centre) in case of problems. Based on the set of events, tickets are automatically generated and escalated to corresponding teams. Over and above our proactive approach, the customer always has an option to call our 24X7 support line for issues that are not identified via the monitoring tools.

Please throw some light on your proprietary iMantra technology.

iMantra is a CRM system, which is tailor-made to suit the emerging business needs at iYogi. It allows for the formation of individualised customer relationships with the aim of providing personalised services to each subscriber. This tool is built on the latest java technology with a layered architecture that makes it scalable and secure. This architecture provides a seamless workflow and independent channels for various business needs: sales, support, quality and customer service. The entire system can be exposed in the form of secure APIs and Web services, which makes it a re-usable entity.

Your business model is similar to BPOs in India providing technical support to offshore customers. What unique values do you bring to this ecosystem that would help a potential client choose you over a competitor?

iYogi’s business model is different from traditional BPOs. Some key factors that differentiate iYogi include:

- Direct-to-consumer and -small business: iYogi delivers technical support services directly to consumers and small businesses and is a global technical support brand based out of India. Unlike traditional BPOs in India, iYogi does not provide any private label support and/ or work on behalf of large OEMs or software publishers.

- Optimised Processes: iYogi has developed proprietary processes for consistently delivering on a resolution rate of 87 percent, which is among the highest published benchmarks in the support industry, where averages hover in the range of 50 percent.

- Comprehensive technology platform: iYogi’s global delivery platform, iMantra, gets smarter with every customer interaction. It documents every problem, the solution and relevant hardware and software aspects, while capturing each customer’s demographic information and creating a behavioural profile. All of this information is at the fingertips of iYogi’s Global Tech Experts. This set-up combines a knowledge base with a comprehensive set of tools and technology expertise. iYogi offers a range of tools that complement its remote support services for helping customers maintain technology at peak performance levels. iYogi’s products include iYogi Smart PC Scan, iYogi Support Dock, iYogi Green PC and iYogi PC Optimisation.

How do you plan to move up the value chain in the times to come?

The growing use and penetration of the Internet and new Web-based applications has consequently opened the door to threats and vulnerabilities, which affect the system performance and ultimately lead to degrading performance. If the threats are diagnosed early on, the impact on efficiency can be minimised considerably. Currently, a user only realizes that he needs technical support once the damage has occurred and reactive methods of support are used to recover from the loss.

At iYogi, we are developing our capabilities to not only provide support when demanded, but to also monitor, pre-empt and fix threats before they can cause any damage to the computer. This will be possible only by combining technology with processes that are capable of re-defining the way technical support is delivered today.

What is your India strategy?

Technically, we are capable of servicing any geography including India. At this stage, we are looking for the right kind of partners to find access to potential customers and provide them a consolidated, 360-degree solution and services for issues relating to hardware, software, network etc. We aim to launch our India services in the coming six to eight months. Our services will offer clients a one-stop solution for all their business needs.

Source : BizTech2.com

Why do You keep getting spyware and viruses?

This is a query that has riddled both antivirus companyes and computer users since the beginning of high-speed internet use. This post outlines the 2 main techniques hackers use to infect a home user’s PC.

Hackers will often reverse engineer security software to figure out how it detects spyware threats. This means, they study the means of detection, so they can devise methods of getting around your antivirus software the next time. Reverse engineering has long been used by hackers and many reverse engineered threats can be eliminated by keeping your antivirus software updated and upgraded on a constant basis.

Hackers have figured out an even easier way to gain access to your computer, however. They use social engineering to exploit the human user.
The most common methods of social engineering are:

* Cleverly crafted fraudulent emails
* Email attachments that pretend to be items of great importance
* Free offers that have hidden programs in them
* Web sites that silently try to sneak software onto your machine, when you click on a link.
Teens are the primary users of file swapping software (Limewire, KaZaa, BitTorrent, etc.), frequent visitors to crack sites (to avoid paying for software) and live on social network sites, (i.e. Myspace.com, orkut.com) which are all targeted by the bad guys.

Residential computers tend to have a much greater level of virus and spyware infections, primarily because of the way they are used.

Hackers understand their victims and always go after the weakest ones. In this case, it’s the average residential user.

If you can stop this behavior, you can stop the infections. Any seasoned computer person can take a look at the programs you have installed and determine if you have a user abuse problem.

Source:
http://www.examiner.com/x-8155-Seattle-Internet-Examiner~y2009m7d22-Internet-Security-101-Why-do-I-keep-getting-spyware-and-viruses

How Do Spyware Infect A System?

Facetime Communicetions, an online security company, estemates that almost 79 per cent of the world's computers are affected by spyware. Spyware installation can happen through various means. Most of them rely on the security loopholes in the host system. Here are some of the tactics by which they infect a system:

1. Automatically: Some spyware, such as Claria Corporation's tiny program called Gator, get installed without any notification. This happens when you visit a web page infected by the spyware. Only if you have set your browser security to the high level, you will get a notification of this installation.

2. By Tricking Users: Some spyware trick users with a message stating that the system is infected by viruses and Trojans, with a button to start scanning. If you click this button, it will spark a spyware installation instead.



3. As Browser Add-ons: Sometimes, spyware applications are installed as browser's add-ons. Installing unverified toolbars, buttons, or other functionalities to your browser may cause this. Therefore, it is recommended that you install add-ons only from the browser's official website, which contains verified components only.

4. With Software Packages: Sometimes spyware programs are bundled with the installation packages of other software. This is the case with many Peer-to-Peer file sharing applications. The issue here is that if you remove the specific piece of spyware, the original application may not run properly. So, many people see it as an unavoidable risk.

5. Through Unknown E-mails: Viewing and clicking links on emails from unknown senders may not always be safe. Some of these links may be already infected by a piece of spyware looking to expand its presence.

See Also
spyware removal software

Twitter Leak Illustrates Google Chrome OS Security Hazards

This week, Twitter had sensitive papers leaked in a roundabout method that involved a Twitter employee being phished and their Google password used to access sensitive data stored online in Google Apps. TechCruench, the final recepient of these documents, vigorously defended their position on republishing the found Twitter documents citing leaks (in whatever form) have always existed and served as an information source. While true in a journalistic sense, it opens the door to a greater question of data security in a world where all your information is stored online in some fashion. Protecting your personal information on the Internet has been an ongoing struggle. Every time you interact, whether it’s a post to a blog, comment in a forum or just “tweet,” you are growing the hacker target on your back. Take this example:

I am on Twitter and micro-blog regularly to my account. From just my Twitter account, you can get my full name and location. Now, within a few clicks you can probably trace down my e-mail address from some previous post to a forum, newsgroup or even comments on an article in certain instances. At that point, even a semi-dense hacker has enough information to launch a targeted phishing attempt against me. Granted, I triple check any links I get in e-mail to ensure it takes me where I am supposedly going, but I am someone who works in the trenches of the online industry and have been trained from DNA up to be careful of any kind of attacks.

Google’s announcement of Chrome OS, an operating system that is enhanced by Internet connectivity, creates a security conundrum of mammoth proportions for the general population…illustrated by the Twitter security breach. If you are compromised in a world of always-on connectivity and data living in a personal cloud, the ramifications are no longer just limited to someone reading your e-mail. They now have access to anything that you did and can, in fact, lock you out of your own account.

Grant Gross of PC World wrote an article last week citing how the new Google Chrome OS promises a world with no malware, no security updates and no viruses. Sure, Google has shown that it is pretty good with spam guarding your mail accounts, but when it comes to protecting the user against itself it’s not just Google but everyone that has failed. Gross’ article contains a quote from Brian Chess, CSO of Fortify Software that sums up the real issue – “The question is, is the system going to be able to do a reasonable job of defending itself even in the face of a certain amount of user error?”

Every generation that adapts to new technology increases their collective intellect regarding that technology. From the blinking 12:00 on your parents’ VCR to cell phones to computers, each successive age group to adapt to the new technology takes as rote things the previous age group struggled with. However, the Internet provides a mixed bag of every demographic across the globe. Over time, those groups will adapt and understand the underlying nuances of new technology a little more.

However, a vast majority of these people currently look at Windows OS as a black box that presents them a nice UI and relatively secure access to their personal things…so much so that people have no problem keeping their taxes, personal data and even lists of their passwords on their PCs. Even today, spyware and malware, phishing and other attacks cause a boom for businesses that focus on PC security and data recovery. Fast forward to a world where this data is living not only on their computer but also accessible through some password scheme on the Internet and you’ve got a formula for potential disaster.

Yes, Google is aware of this. Possibly no one understands online user behavior better than Google, evidenced by their success both in product development, adoption and their beefy stock price. However, the intellectual gap may prove tougher to solve than any of its technical hurdles. Let’s hope, for the sake of the everyman, that Chrome OS has such great security features that it stops users from inadvertently giving away their data. Maybe the leak at Twitter is a good place to start with beta testers.

source
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Twitter-Leak-Illustrates-Google-Chrome-OS-Security-Hazards-881250/

Protect your PC against External Security Threats

Computer viruses are not the only threat to your computer. Other threats that have come up in recent years are spyware, adware, hacking, identity theft, information theft, pop-ups and data loss.

Every computer user needs to protect his/her system in the same way they protect their home, car and bank account. You will never like to give the keys of your home to any stranger. Would you? Similarly, if you are not taking any steps for your PC protection, you are giving the keys to a stranger and letting him/her have full access to your system. And these strangers are none other than the computer hackers who will snoop around and take whatever they want.

With increasing advancements in technology, it’s no difficult for any Internet novice to access your computer online. Since the introduction of cable modems and DSL everyone’s PC is online all the time and accessible.

Outlined below are the tips you must follow to protect your Pc from internal as well as external threats:

Install a spyware removal software program and install and configure correctly. If you already have spyware application installed, ensure its up-gradation to keep refreshing its memory.

Install an Adware application and install and configure properly. If you already have adware application installed, ensure its up-gradation to keep refreshing its memory. And the same rule applies for your virus removal software program.

Install backup software, why because if something does get through your defenses or delete something by accident you always have a way of retrieving the information. You should try to backup your system at least every other day.
Install a Firewall. The Firewall can either be software or hardware based. It is a software which blocks hackers trying to scan your system while you are on the Internet.

In case you are bit confused about how to install/configure all these useful software, you can consider availing support from online computer support vendors. They can not only help you with these software programs but also troubleshoot your computer errors thereby enhancing its efficiency.

Source:
http://www.articlesbase.com/computers-articles/protect-your-pc-against-external-security-threats-867567.html

Top 7 Steps to Remove Spyware from your Computer

Introduction.
The word Spyware is very common to all that is called a type of internet or computer virus and is a very dangerous. There are many types of viruses some of them are dangerous for MS Word Files, and Some infect Booting Files, some are harm-full for Registry. But there is a lot of Anti Virus to Scan System for Spy Ware and remove, repair, delete from system. Here are some steps to which help to remove spyware from system.

1.First try to Install spyware removal software

After successful installation try to update Antispyware and then scan whole computer it will automatically detects viruses and try to repair, remove and Quarantine.

2. Install Smith Fraud fix and try to update.
After installing both Anti viruses on the computer please try to update both of them and then try to Restart computer in Safe Mode.

3. Disconnect from the Internet
After performing all of the above steps be carefully disconnect your computer but make sure that try to close all open browsers and any opened applications on your computer. There is a very simple way to disconnect computer from internet is remove Telephone Line, or Ether net Cable and from router.

4. Scan Computer
Whenever you have disconnected your computer from internet, it is easy to remove spyware or adware from system via Add remove programs, but always try to remember after performing any modification or degradation or removal of any software and hardware from system care try to Reboot the computer then it work properly. But it is easy and best way to reboot the system in safe mode and then try to run smith fraud fix and then antispyware and if any virus found it will automatically prompted, allow the scanner to clean, quarantine, or delete as appropriate.


5. Get Clear Access to the Problem
While scanning the system in Safe Mode is good practice, it may not be enough to thwart some malware. If the adware or spyware persists despite the above efforts, you'll need to get access to the drive without allowing the adware or spyware to load. The most effective means to get clean access to the drive is to use a BartPE Bootable CD. Once you've booted to the BartPE CD, you can access the file manager, locate the installed virus removal software and rescan the system. Or, locate the offending files and folders and manually delete them.

6. Undo the Residual Damage
After removing the active infestation, you'll need to make sure the adware or spyware won't simply reintegrate itself when the computer is reconnecting to the Internet.
• Before reconnecting, reset your browser start and home pages. Ensure your HOSTS file hasn't been hijacked.
• Make sure undesirable websites haven't been added to your Trusted Sites Zone.


7. Preventing Adware and Spyware
Make sure that your Web browser security is up to snuff, keep your system fully patched, and free from intruders.

Source:
http://www.articlesbase.com/security-articles/top-7-steps-to-remove-spyware-from-your-computer-967664.html

Antispyware help

What is Spyware

Spyware is a software writtern programe to steal other's information. Especially hackers who want to collect information from other's computer make a spywares programe. To collect the information spywares can capture keystrokes, screenshots, read your personal e-mails, your web data and other important information breaking the authentication. Generally hacker’s code and brodcast spyware on to the internet. Once they get into your computer system spywares send all information where it has came means to the hacker.

How Spyware Work

If your computer has got infected with spyware, whatever you are looking or searching on internet it tracks everything. Spywares scan your financial data such as your credit card numbers when you enter it for any of your online transaction. It can tacke you authentication method as your bank online accounting status, online payment details and online phonegraphic data as well. When you are using e-mails it monitors incoming and outgoing mails and track the related e-mail address and steal your outlook password, saving web sites password, msn explorer
password, digital certification ets. and other personal informations there on your computer.

Impact of Spywares and How to protect yourself

During internet browsing if you find some pop ups, make sure they are not spywares. Do not select any of them when it comes. Turn on your internet browser popup option. To do
this Go to Tools > Popup blocker.

Another way to judge the Spyware infection
Generally spyware consume huge network bandwidth. When you feels your internet is working slow it might be possible there is attack of spywares. Check network bandwidth > Open the Windows task manager and go to Networking tab > here you can check Network Utilization, Link Speed and networking state.

Sometime you feel that your computer is working slow although you are just using basic application. This means that there could be some spyware running on your computer. For checking that > Open Windows Task Manager and go to Progress Tab.

If you find any running process which seems to be suspicious, stop that process at ones.
To stop the process Open the Task Manager > go to Process Tab > Select the suspisiou process and click the End Task button.


To sum up with the details use good antispyware software and keep updating and scanning your computer system regularly. Optimize your Internet browser frequently. For optimizing Internet you can delete temporary files, cookies, browsing history and the password history.

See also
Bad Information For Hackers
Detect and Prevent Spyware Infection
http://www.articlesbase.com/computers-articles/antispyware-help-988023.html

Detect and Prevent Spyware Infection

"Spyware is a term for Tracking Software deployed without sufficient notice, consent, or control for the user."

Spyware programs are installed into your PC without your information, in order to show you unnecessary

advertisements. They can trace your personal data and browsing trends for showing better targeted ads. Unlike

viruses or Trojans, spyware may not damage your software or OS. They can, however, slow down your system a lot.

How Do Spyware Infect A System?

Facetime Communications, an online security company, estimates that almost 80 per cent of the world's computers

are affected by spyware. Spyware installation can happen through various means. Most of them rely on the security

loopholes in the host system. Here are some of the tactics by which they infect a system:

1. Automatically: Some spyware, such as Claria Corporation's tiny program called Gator, get installed without any

notification. This happens when you visit a web page infected by the spyware. Only if you have set your browser

security to the high level, you will get a notification of this installation.

2. By Tricking Users: Some spyware trick users with a message stating that the system is infected by viruses and

Trojans, with a button to start scanning. If you click this button, it will spark a spyware installation instead.

3. As Browser Add-ons: Sometimes, spyware applications are installed as browser's add-ons. Installing unverified

toolbars, buttons, or other functionalities to your browser may cause this. Therefore, it is recommended that you

install add-ons only from the browser's official website, which contains verified components only.

4. With Software Packages: Sometimes spyware programs are bundled with the installation packages of other

software. This is the case with many Peer-to-Peer file sharing applications. The issue here is that if you remove

the specific piece of spyware, the original application may not run properly. So, many people see it as an

unavoidable risk.

5. Through Unknown E-mails: Viewing and clicking links on emails from unknown senders may not always be safe. Some

of these links may be already infected by a piece of spyware looking to expand its presence.

See also
remove spyware
top ten spyware
Spyware removal: clean up your act
Top 7 Steps to Remove Spyware