About the Job:

This is a senior and team orientated role and to be successful you will have a minimum of 3 years overall experience in a client facing IT Support Managed Service Provider environment with 12-18 months experience at 2^nd line level.  You will have a strong IT background with experience in coordinating a small but busy team and managing or supervising a helpdesk.  You will be able to demonstrate excellent client service skills along with the ability to support IT Projects and your colleagues in developing and delivering first class IT Solutions.  This will include proactively carrying out regular reviews of IT service desk performance, processes, monitoring ticket priorities, queues and SLA’s.  The ability to follow procedures is essential and experience of ITIL is desirable. You will demonstrate a flexible approach and self-discipline in order to work independently or within an unstructured team environment.

You will be able to quickly gain a good understanding of our client networks as day to day, you will be involved in helpdesk, desktop, telephone, remote and onsite support across our vast and varied customer base.

Excellent communication skills with fluent and clear spoken and written English is essential as is a full driving license and your own transport.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Manage and maintain the Ventrus Networks Monitoring Systems (these report on the status and performance of services and facilities)
• Fault handling and escalation (identifying and responding to faults on client systems and networks, liaising with 3rd party suppliers, handling escalation through to resolution).
• Provisioning Windows servers, desktops, switches, firewalls and cloud services.
• Server build and installs, application upgrades, network equipment build and installation.
• Tier 2 Support for client co-location, cloud and disaster recovery networks.
• Provide Windows and third-party patch management, including installation, reporting and monitoring for Windows Servers and Desktops
• Provide Anti- Virus management, including installation, reporting and monitoring for Windows Servers and Desktops
• Provide Application support, including installation, reporting and monitoring for Windows Servers and Desktops
• Provide OS support, for Windows OS’s, Linux and Apple
• Good network diagnostic skills and basic sys admin skills.
• A good understanding of VDI environments such as Citrix and Microsoft Virtual Desktop as well as an understanding of computer networks such as LAN, WAN and VPN

If this sounds like you and you are looking for a new challenge then please email your CV with salary expectations to HR@ventrus.co.uk  We look forward to hearing from you!!

Respectfully no agencies please.

Investment decisions are often pushed back, budget constrained or in the most challenging cases, subject to a divided opinion on need. IT partners and co. will perform their role and make the necessary recommendations or as suggested by leaders within the security sector but cost is most often the driver that denies change.

Those businesses fortunate enough to adhere to some form of compliance are less prone to delays or division. In order to remain compliant, they must follow the security guidelines laid out before them.

The risks of avoiding or delaying such recommendations, can often far outweigh the costs of implementation and those that would continue to delay put not only their data, but the success and reputation of their business at risk.

The challenge for us as Managed Service Providers, is to help business owners understand both the necessity of investing in and having professionally managed up-to-date systems as well as the evident risks of not doing so. The solution is still a value or bottom line proposition as there is still a limited understanding and willingness to accept the risk.

To Manage or Not to Manage?
An awful pun but a very pertinent question. Having professionally managed and up-to-date systems have obvious benefits. As a SolarWinds® MSP partner, we are able to provide centralised management of servers, desktops, mobile devices and pretty much everything in between. We can empower IT Managers and Internal IT departments to take control of their own landscape and monitor their systems with ease. It is now a common approach that Managed Service Providers (MSP’s) have adopted as it streamlines, protects, reports and it does all of that in abundance. Businesses can reap the benefits of a single pane of glass approach to managing Antivirus, Windows Security Patching, Third Party Software Patching including Windows Server and Desktop Backups. Such systems significantly reduce systems downtime and the subsequent demand on support.

The Security status of devices can be seen in real-time allowing technicians to quickly react to threats and issues with AV and Patching keeping customer networks safe and secure. A threat on one customer site can be mitigated across all other customer sites in near real-time. This has a huge advantage over disparate Antivirus, patch management and backup systems with a lack of visibility and access rights across technicians. This disjointed and time consuming approach can leave customers and their IT partners exposed to significantly longer response times when mitigating or dealing with the aftermath of a successful attack.

We need better protection
Businesses understandably want the vendors of security products to do more to protect them, their employees and their data. MSP’s and businesses are crying out for that support and in most cases, we are seeing it. Security products are constantly evolving to detect the latest threats and can now predict where threats could occur by continually scanning your network for vulnerabilities whilst placing a £ value on the data that’s exposed. Yet, the responsibility cannot be solely placed with them and why should it? Human intervention and the employee determine the final outcome. The zero hour threats (new or latest iteration of a virus or malware) are the most difficult to protect against as a new strain may not have the same signature as its predecessors which means we cannot completely rely on the security products to perform. We all need an additional layer of protection.

This protection comes through education, we must educate our employees to recognise these threats but equally as important, be responsible for their actions. An employee armed with an understanding of consequence and what to look for, follows the guidelines for their own security (separate usernames and passwords for business and private accounts) and communicates with their IT team can single handedly prevent a devastating infection. It already happens several times a day and most don’t realise they are already protecting their employer from exposure!

For instance a spam email with a link or attachment has managed to make its way through all layers of protection and into a user’s mailbox. The decision at that point to be curious or careful is the decision that will determine how much downtime, data loss and financial burden is placed upon the business and IT support. The email looks genuine, it’s from another employee asking to transfer funds to pay an attached invoice, seems legit…but something is off. The reply address is a Hotmail address but it says it’s from the FD?
Having the ability to recognise such threats is the difference between the potential for financial loss and a normal working day. Where security products fail, our employees are our last line of defence and we should at least provide them with the tools and understanding of how to better protect themselves.

Every serious infection of virus or malware we have identified, is the direct result of an employee not understanding their responsibility, their role in the security process and how they can better protect themselves and the business.

So what do we do?
Investing in the right security products is an obvious component in threat protection. It is the responsibility of IT department heads, IT partners and the Security Product Vendors, to help their customers and decision makers better understand the products at their disposal and why they are needed. Configuring those products to help predict, detect and prevent infection can de-risk a signification portion of the IT landscape.

User education is critical and needs to be continually reviewed to ensure employees don’t become complacent.  Regular meetings or bulletins reinforcing the importance of being vigilant in their approach as well as updates to what to look for will be the mainstay. We can invest a significant portion of our budgets in the latest products but it can easily be undone by human curiosity or from a lack of education.

If you are unfortunate enough to be a victim of a ransomware attack, you will inevitably turn to your backups or Disaster Recovery Strategy. Local backups can be and are often infected if stored on local servers or Network devices such as a NAS but cloud backups are securely encrypted and safely out of reach of ransomware. Your recoverability determines how quickly you go about your working day so ensure you invest in a backup solution that securely stores your data offsite.

How do we protect our customers?
We are open and transparent about our methods and approach to network management and take pride in having invested in the best tools available. SolarWinds® MSP allows us to manage our customer’s IT landscape with real-time monitoring, Antivirus, security updates, risk intelligence and full disaster recovery solutions delivering an unparalleled support and systems management experience.
Speak to us, we are great at listening

How are passwords compromised?

Your password could be obtained via a brute-force attack. For example, the automated attack might try all the words in a dictionary, or most commonly used passwords, or a combination of letters and numbers.  A vast number of people still choose to utilise their partner/child/pet name as their password, the word ‘password’ or even ‘123456789’.  It is estimated that 20% of people use these easy to crack passwords and often duplicate the same password for ALL their accounts including their business accounts.  To put this into perspective, it would take less than 5 minutes to brute force a password of 5 letters in lowercase, not featured in the dictionary.  Imagine how much quicker that would be if your password is in the dictionary.

Your password is released by hackers via a data breach.  4 years ago, popular professional site LinkedIn was compromised and a huge 117 million logins and passwords were released.  At that time, only 6.5 million passwords were posted online.  However, on 18 May 2016 more than a 100 million were posted online.  The news site Motherboard who first reported on this issue were able to confirm that the data released in the breach contained still actively used passwords confirming this posed a considerable security risk.

You are the victim of a spam/phishing/malware scam.  This is one of the biggest threats to enterprises now and can take the form of Cryptolocker which is propagated by infected email attachments encrypting files which are considered unfeasible to unbreak without backups or by paying a large ransom usually in bitcoins.  SAMSAM is a fairly new type of ransomware variant known to encrypt files including backup data via compromising servers and then moving vertically across the network to compromise machines as well.

You think you should be safe when using public Wi-Fi right? Wrong.  Sniffers or MITM can intercept any information including usernames and passwords sent from your device to the router without you having any idea.  They might not even be in the same room as you.  How are you sure you are connecting to a valid and trustworthy source? You could be connecting to a rogue hotspot setup to look like it’s genuine.  Common places for being hacked in this way include hotels, coffee shops and even hospitals.

• Encrypt your connection with a Virtual Private Network (VPN)
• Ensure your antivirus is up to date, we recommend BitDefender, contact us for a quote
• Use a firewall.

Do you ever use pubic workstations? Then think again. There have been instances of keystroke logging software being installed on public internet terminals.  This type of software is invincible stealth type that enables the hacker to see Every. Single. Keystroke. entered into that device thus gathering user account details and passwords from unsuspecting users.

Our best advice is to not use public workstations at all but if you must:

• Do not access any critical accounts.
• If possible, scan for spyware
• Delete your files and cookies and remove your browsing history
• Delete any documents
• Empty the recycle bin
• Consider changing any passwords used once you are back on a secure private   connection

How can I create a good password?

There are many password generators available online such as this one but it can be tricky to remember them in which case you may wish to consider using a Password Manager to store all of your passwords for you.  We suggest Dashlane.

Another method often used is to use a memorable phrase for example – “Roberto di Matteo appointed Aston Villa manager from May 2016!” could be changed to “RdM@AVmfM2016!”.  If you can go a step further and change letters to symbols such as an ‘a’ to ‘@’, then all the better.  This is particularly useful when setting a master password (for example to access a password manager).

What constitutes a strong password?

A strong password should consist of minimum of 8 characters but ideally 12 including a mixture of upper and lower case, numbers and symbols/non alphanumeric characters.  It should not contain a dictionary word, name or company name.

Hello2u! is not strong because it contains a complete word.  H3ll02u! would be a better alternative because it contains upper and lower case, symbols but it not a complete word.

Golden Rules when creating passwords

• You MUST have a unique password for every service of site you use.  If you use a single password for all accounts and a hacker discovers it, they then have access to the rest of your accounts.  Don’t make it easy for them!
• Enable two-step verification where possible
• Create and remember a STRONG master password, do not write it down or record it
• Consider using a password manager secured with a master password as point 3 above
  
• Don’t share your password and don’t store them on your devices, especially those they are designed to protect
• Change your password regularly

Finally….

Be aware of spam and phishing scams which can also compromise your sensitive data including usernames and passwords.  See our guide on Avoiding email viruses and protecting against spam emails here

As always, if we can help you further please contact us on 01344 989 131 or email us on sales@ventrus.co.uk

Spammers collect email addresses (including yours) from a variety of sources including websites that you have registered your email addresses with. They then send you emails in an attempt to verify that your address is valid in order to start sending unsolicited spam messages, often as part of phishing scams.  Phishing aims to obtain sensitive information such as login or password credentials, credit card numbers or bank account details.  Often spam is responsible for spreading malicious code or spyware on to machines and transmitting viruses but it can take other forms.

Give me an example of an email virus infection?

E‑mail attachments are a primary source of virus infection.  As an example, you can receive an e‑mail, even from someone you know, with an attached file that is disguised as a document, photo, or program, but is actually a virus. If you open that file, the virus will infect your computer and potentially your network.

What else do they try and do?

Deceptive links in e‑mail messages are often used as part of phishing and spyware scams and can look as though they are genuine, but they can also be used to transmit viruses. Clicking a deceptive link can take you to a webpage that attempts to download malicious software onto your computer or encourages you to enter sensitive information into fake webpages. Use extreme caution when deciding whether to click a link in a message, particularly if the sender is unknown to you or the message itself, seems inappropriate or very vague.  Even when the message appears to be from a genuine sender it is always better to exercise caution in choosing whether to open a link – see further information below on spoofing.

Spoofing is the creation of emails with a forged sender address.  The sender address could purport to be from your own email address or simply be using just your name and any email address.   A spoofed email does not mean the alleged sender has been hacked.

Spoofing is a very common tactic used in phishing because the victim if more likely to open the email and act upon the contents when they think it has come from someone they know and trust.  The idea is to get you to give up sensitive information or convince you to take action such as opening an attachment (virus) or making a fraudulent payment.

You can recognise a spoofed email sent to you by looking closely at the name and email address of the sender or in more detail by checking the message header.  To check the sender in the message header, open the email message (by double clicking), click the File tab, on the Info tab, click Properties and header information appears in the ‘internet headers’ box.

Always be vigilant and exercise caution.  If in any doubt call the sender to verify the contents especially if the sender is asking for a payment to be made.  Do not reply to the email as your reply may go straight to the spammer.

What are Ventrus doing to protect us?

Anti-virus and Anti-spyware – Ventrus has deployed Anti-virus and Anti-spyware which automatically blocks the “known” viruses and phishing scams however this is an ever-evolving and hourly changing threat and new technologies are consistently being designed and deployed to circumvent these security products and spread malicious software.   Until those malicious technologies are deployed, the threat is unknown and patches will not have been developed therefore no amount of anti-virus or spamware will ever completely eliminate this threat.  It is therefore very important to remain aware of the risks and take the appropriate action.

What should I be doing to minimise the risk?

To reduce the possibility of receiving spam emails there are things you can do to protect your email addresses and accounts, on your computer. The following tips will help you and your company combat the amount and type of spam you receive.

• Limit the places where you post or register your business email address
• Review the privacy policy of websites
• Try not to leave too much personally identifiable data where it will be easily accessible.

What should I do if I receive a suspected spam email or an unexpected attachment or link?

Employees - If you receive an email from an unknown source or even a trusted source, particularly if it has attachments or links, makes requests for sensitive information or asks for a payment – the general rules are as follows:-

• Look at the sender’s address, it might be an address you recognise at first glance but if you double click on the address or check the headers it could be something entirely different.
• If the email has what appears to be a genuine link, hover over it to see the real address
• Never click on any links or attachments: this is the simplest and most effective way to handle junk emails.
• Ignore and delete the spam message
• Never reply to a spam message as this lets the sender know it is an active account.
• Never forward a spam message.
• If you receive e‑mail attachments or links from a KNOWN SOURCE that you aren’t expecting, consider contacting the sender by telephone and asking them to verify that they actually sent the attachments or links before you open them.
• Be aware that the email could be spoofed to look genuine, were you expecting a request for a payment? Is the payment for someone you’ve never made a payment to? Is it asking you to submit sensitive information or visit a website? Always exercise caution, check the header and/or make contact with the sender via telephone especially where requests for payment are concerned.

What else can the company do to minimise the risk?

Establish and enforce clear information security policies in order to make staff aware, educate staff to recognise security risks and follow the guidelines set out to protect them and your company.

Have internal security processes for payment requests whereby they are verified with a phone call.

Do not respond to these emails, by responding to spam emails, employees are actually confirming their company email address as a valid address to spammers.

Restrict the use of office email addresses for personal messages or participation in website newsgroup or chat rooms by employees.

Do not register your company email address on websites that you do not trust not to pass on your details to third parties. Ensure employees register their personal addresses with personal use websites.

• Consistency is key

Windows 10 is a much easier system for the user, whether you are navigating via your desktop PC or via a touch screen on your tablet.  The look and feel of the system is consistent across all devices including your Xbox!

Much of what you currently see in Window 8 has remained which gives users the benefit of familiarity and the confidence that they will get to grips with the new system in little time.

• Start  button is back

Microsoft have rectified the mistake they made with the Windows 8 release when they removed the popular start button as this is back in all its glory in the new release!  Click  Start  button on the taskbar and start pinning apps and programs, moving and regrouping tiles.  It can also be resized.

• Microsoft Edge

Codenamed Project Spartan from the Trident rendering engine used in Internet Explorer 11; has replaced Windows Explorer with new easier ways to find things, read and even write on the web page plus a little help from the lovely Cortana if you get stuck.  Internet Explorer will continue to run on a legacy basis for the time being.

• The Hub

This is where you store everything you find on the web.  The Hub incorporates favourites, a reading list, browsing history and downloads.  The Hub also allows you to read without distractions by clicking on the book, edge will display your page with purely just text and pictures without all the titles, ads and pop ups.

• Search

You can search much faster straight from the address bar which will provide you with a list of search suggestions and instant results.

• OneDrive incorporating on and offline access

Files that you save to OneDrive are available online at OneDrive.com and offline on your PC. This means that you can use them at any time, even when you’re not connected to the Internet. When you reconnect, OneDrive updates the online versions with changes that you made offline.

• Task view now in desktop mode

Task View historically just available on tablets is now available on desktop mode. Accessible either via the button in the taskbar or by using the Windows-Tab keyboard shortcut, it allows you to create virtual desktops.

• Snap and resize

Snap allows you to quickly resize a window so that it takes up a quarter of the available screen size by simply dragging the window to a corner of the screen.  As soon as you release and as if by magic, thumbnails will appear of all your other windows allowing you to click or tap and resize.

• Windows Updates

Windows updates are now mandatory with the exception being the Enterprise version in which you can choose to receive only critical updates and defer others for 90 days, you a then divide them into circles and dictate which are updated fist and set update schedules so as to minimise disruption to the working day.

• Apps

In Windows 8, the Windows Store apps on a desktop are a full-screen making them awkward for use on a normal desktop. In comparison in Windows 10 these are in a windowed mode and much less intrusive.

• How we can help

Improve performance of your workstations and laptops with a faster, lighter operating system by upgrading to Windows 10 now.  We will begin by checking your workstations for compatibility and plan the migration on your behalf. Standard engineering rates apply.

• See more here:-

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-10/getstarted-get-to-know-windows-10

We currently have vacancies for the role of second line Field/Helpdesk Engineers to be based primarily in Wokingham where you will be supporting client sites around the UK via the telephone and remotely, there will also be a regular requirement to work at our customer sites.

You will be providing second line support and implementations on a wide range of technologies.  You will remotely diagnose IT problems and resolve them efficiently and quickly.  You will have excellent organisational skills, be able to manage work queues and demonstrate your ability in efficient ticket management by triaging tickets according to urgency and escalating where required.  You will be able to follow processes and procedures in ensuring that tickets are resolved and closed in accordance with our strict SLA’s. You must have excellent communication, customer service and interpersonal skills along with the ability to work on your own initiative and thrive under pressure. Teamwork is key and you will have good leadership skills working in collaboration with account management and other departments in ensuring the client receives an excellent all round experience.

Key Responsibilities:

• Install and configure workstations, HP/Dell/IBM servers, NAS appliances, HP/Netgear/Huawei switches, Cisco/Draytek routers and various firewall appliances (Juniper, Cisco and Barracuda)
• Install and configure Barracuda Networks family of appliances (Webfilter, NG firewall, Spam Firewall, Message Archiver)
• Install and configure Cloud Service applications from Soonr, GFI, Bytesize Backups and our own Dedicated Cloud platform

Skills and experience required:

• Technologies including W7, W2008/12 admin and network implementation and troubleshooting.
• Active Directory
• Windows Server 2008, 2012
• Small Business Server 2008, 2011
• Exchange Server 2007, 2010, 2013
• Windows Vista, 7, 8 and 10
• Cisco IOS
• Blackberry Enterprise Server
• Kaspersky/Sophos and Bitdefender Antivirus
• Sharepoint
• IIS, DNS, DHCP, RRAS

If you are interested in hearing more or if you feel you have the skills necessary and you are ready to apply, please contact Sara Chapman via email with an up to date copy of your CV to sara.chapman@ventrus.co.uk

We look forward to hearing from you.

 **STRICTLY NO AGENCIES**

Ventrus are delighted to announce that we have relocated to our new office in Wokingham, Berkshire.

Our new office is a detached converted former barn which provides us not only with increased space and improved modern office facilities but also onsite parking for staff and visitors, a dedicated server room, boardroom and full training facilities but also sits within beautiful surroundings whilst remaining close to the mainline station and the M3/M4 corridor.

We believe this move contributes greatly to our ability to provide continual service improvement, employing the latest technologies for our clients and forming partnerships with other market leaders to provide the best value products and services.

We look forward to welcoming our clients, suppliers and partners to our new office over the coming weeks and months and ask that you note our new address detailed here.

All staff have been provided with a BHF pedometer and are being actively encouraged to walk 10,000 steps per day.  Data is being uploaded to a central leader (or loser!) board where calculations are made as to individual and team activity.  Our aim is to walk the equivalent of London to Marseille over a 4 week period.  Staff are walking in their lunch breaks as well as at home in the evenings and weekends.

Some staff are using the challenge to lose weight, others are using it to raise some funds for their chosen charities.  Most of us are just doing it to increase our general health and make the most of the sun!

At Ventrus, we understand the importance of wellbeing at work and we actively promote this, we believe mental and physical wellbeing is essential to coping with all of life’s demands.  The Pedometer Challenge is very inclusive and almost all staff are taking part.  It is an excellent way to ensure all staff, especially those in remote locations, feel involved and an important part of the team.

We will be organising team activities culminating in a Ventrus Social Event and prize giving for our ‘Super Stepper’ – Watch this space!

For day by day reports on our staff activity over the next 4 weeks, please follow our Twitter feed at:-

https://twitter.com/VentrusNetworks

Or, for more information on the challenge set by the British Heart Foundation, please click the link below:-

http://www.bhf.org.uk/HEALTHATWORK/getting-active-at-work/active-at-work-challenges/pedometer-challenge.aspx

We only hire the most talented and dedicated individuals who take pride in delivering the highest standards of service and support time and time again.

We understand that the growth and success of our business is built upon the continued efforts of each individual in our team.

Ventrus works with the latest and emerging technologies from global market leaders to deliver the most effective solutions.

Consequently, our team members gain access and exposure to the most exciting products available. There is a continual stream of knowledge and experience to be gained by any member of our team.

Due to ongoing success we have now commenced our next phase of growth in IT solutions including the launch of our new We are Cloud service, making this an exciting time to join us.  We are always interesting in hearing from talented individuals.

Please take a look at our careers page for the latest opportunities!