Op 6 februari 2012 heeft SaaSForce BV uit Nederland – de distributeur van McAfee Security-as-a-Service en aanverwante cloud-dienstverlening aan resellers  – extra kapitaal, een nieuwe locatie en aandeelhouder verkregen.

Marcel Hartgerink heeft de taak overgenomen als algemeen directeur en aandeelhouder van SaaSForce BV. Het door hem ingebrachte extra kapitaal wordt aangewend om de Nederlandse markt voor deze cloud producten verder te ontwikkelen.

Marcel Hartgerink heeft al vele jaren ervaring in de reseller- en IT distributie markt. Hij was aan het begin van deze eeuw als pionier in de Cloud verantwoordelijk voor de managed services bij 4Sure.IT/NOXS, later opgegaan in Westcon Security. In 2005 startte hij met de distributie van de producten van Wibu-Systems voor de licentiëring en beveiliging van software.

SaaSForce heeft tot doel een toonaangevende Benelux speler te worden in Cloud Services Distributie.

Door de inbreng van Marcel Hartgerink neemt SaaSForce direct een hoge vlucht.

De nieuwe fysische locatie van SaaSForce is aan de Adam Smithstraat 33 7559 SW HENGELO OV.

Het adres in de Cloud blijft ongewijzigd : www.saasforce.nl 

Dear Extended SaaS Team,

The McAfee Security-as-a-Service team is pleased to announce the start of the BETA period from February 10th, 2012 of Security-as-a-Service/SaaS Endpoint Protection version 5.4.

The following are some of the exciting new features we will be introducing at this time:

Update/DAT Time Scheduling

What it is: This is a feature to allow admins to select a time range when they would like their computers to be updated with the latest virus signature/DAT file.

Benefit: Admins can schedule the update at a time which would be the least disruptive to their user base
Benefit: Improved system performance and user experience as the product checks for user being idle and then updates the computers, again not disrupting the user

One Click Renewals – Live Now!

What it is: Customers looking to renew licenses will now have a very easy way to get reseller information along with license totals, making it easier to renew expiring licenses.
Customers of partners who use the partner custom “Buy Now” URL will continue to access this page when clicking “Renew” or “Buy More”.

Benefit: Makes renewal process easy and hassle-free for the end user.
Benefit: Partners can still own the renewal process, it is just easier since the license and reseller information is readily available.

To find out more and to sign up for the beta, please encourage your customers to go to http://beta.mcafeeasap.com.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Smitha Murthy or Alice Tong.

Thank you again!
McAfee SaaS Endpoint Product Team

Dear McAfee Security-as-a-Service Partner,

Thank you for your continued support of our SaaS products.

We have received a few questions about vulnerabilities related to McAfee SaaS Endpoint Protection product line that received recent media attention. We wanted to provide you with accurate information highlighting how we have addressed these issues and therefore do not believe these issues pose any risk to existing customers due to the mitigations already in place.

Please refer to the blog below to understand the two issues.
http://blogs.mcafee.com/mcafee-labs/vulnerabilities-patched-in-mcafee-saas-for-total-protection

In addition, McAfee has issued the below two security bulletins for SaaS Endpoint Protection:
Issue #1: http://mcaf.ee/nzol0
Issue #2: http://mcaf.ee/axfmz

To summarize, Issue #1 did not need any further action as this was already patched in Aug 2011. Issue #2 is fixed and the patch is in the final stages of rollout to all customers.

At this time, no action is needed from you.

Again, thank you for your continued support. Should you have any further questions, please send us an email at TPS_Partnersupport @ McAfee.com

Thank you!

McAfee SaaS Product Team

Tech website CNET maakte vanochtend melding van een issue met betrekking tot de McAfee SaaS Endpoint Protection software. Verschillende gebruikers van de McAfee SaaS oplossing zijn geconfronteerd met het feit dat hun e-mails werden geblokkeerd door hun providers en hun IP-adressen op een blacklist stonden wegens het versturen van spam.

Waarschijnlijke oorzaak voor dit probleem is een vulnerability in de RumorServer Service myAgtSvc.exe, McAfee Peer Distribution Service. Deze service dient om systemen updates te kunnen laten ontvangen, ook al hebben deze systemen geen directe verbinding met het internet. De vulnerability maakt het mogelijk om de software te hacken en het systeem te laten functioneren als een Open Proxy op poort 6515. Hierdoor kunnen spammers de computer gebruiken om grote hoeveelheden spam te versturen.

Er is vanuit McAfee nog geen oplossing beschikbaar voor dit probleem, hier wordt op dit moment aan gewerkt. Er zijn voor McAfee SaaS klanten wel twee tijdelijke workarounds mogelijk (niet door McAfee zelf uitgegeven) om dit probleem te verhelpen:

Workaround 1: alleen geschikt voor systemen die de Rumor Service niet nodig hebben.

1. Maak in uw firewall een rule aan die inkomende connecties van buiten de organisatie op TCP port 6515 blokkeert.
   1. Wanneer u een desktop firewall gebruikt, kunt u op deze website kijken voor de instructies.
   2. Gebruikt u een gateway firewall, raadpleeg dan uw firewall beheerder.
2. Schakel de Rumor Service uit (Disable) voor systemen die hun updates rechtstreeks van het internet kunnen ophalen. De instructies hiervoor zijn ook te vinden op deze website.

De Rumor Service staat nu uit en kan dus niet misbruikt worden. Mocht de service als gevolg van een McAfee update weer herstarten, voorkomt de firewall rule dat de Service alsnog misbruikt wordt.

Workaround 2: indien u systemen heeft die de rumor service wél nodig hebben.

1. Maak in de gateway firewall een rule aan die bepaalt dat uitgaande mail alleen verzonden mag worden vanaf de mailserver en alle andere servers die uitgaand email moeten kunnen versturen.
2. Schakel eventueel de Rumor Service alleen op deze (mail-)servers uit. Deze hebben toch een rechtstreekse internetconnectie om hun updates op te halen.

Op systemen zonder directe internetconnectie draait de Rumor Service nog wél, zodat deze hun updates nog steeds binnen krijgen. De aangemaakte firewall rule voorkomt echter dat spammers mail rechtstreeks van een geïnfecteerd systeem kunnen verzenden. Gebruikers kunnen nog wel gewoon mailen, omdat hun mail via de mailserver verzonden wordt.

Voor verdere vragen aarzel niet ons te contacteren.

Dear McAfee Partner:

Thank you for offering McAfee Security-as-a-Service to your customers.

We are pleased to announce the following improvements to the SecurityCenter on January 31st 2012, which provides easy online management for your customers of SaaS Endpoint Protection and related bundles:

Refresh Licenses button : We will now offer an easy way to remove computers that are no longer checking in to the security center, thus freeing up their licenses for new users, while not blocking any of them from updating. The Refresh Licenses button will make it very easy to ensure that only current systems are still using the endpoint protection product. This helps organizations clear out systems that are no longer in use and prevents machines that have been re-imaged as using more than one license.

Improved renewal flow : Customers looking to renew licenses will now have a very easy way to get reseller information along with license totals, making it easier to renew expiring licenses. Customers of partners who use the partner custom “Buy Now” URL will continue to access this page when clicking “Renew” or “Buy More”.
Automatic blocking of risky websites: Customers with a license to Web Filtering who use the McAfee Default policy will benefit from a policy change whereby risky sites (e.g. hacking, criminal activities) are automatically blocked. Customers may change this behavior if desired by creating a custom policy.

Please contact us if you have any questions.

Again, thank you for your support of McAfee Security-as-a-Service!

The SaaS Endpoint Protection Product Team

Effective March 31, 2012, the McAfee Securitycenter, Partner Dashboard, and SaaS Endpoint Protection product line will no longer support certain old browsers, notably Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.x and Mozilla Firefox 2.x. We will continue to support the latest version of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, and Apple Safari.

SaaS Platform Q4 2011 Release

McAfee Security-as-a-Service Team

McAfee SaaS Endpoint Protection Version 5.2 Patch3

Dear McAfee Partner,

We are pleased to announce the release of McAfee SaaS Endpoint Protection v5.2 Patch 3 on August 29th, 2011 to add client support for Microsoft Internet Explorer v9 and to fix a missed detection issue. It is imperative that you upgrade to this patch at the earliest.

Upgrade Scheduling Note: Please note that upgrade scheduling will be available between September 1st ,2011 and September 15th, 2011. During this period, customers will have an option to chose when they would like some or all of their computers to be upgraded. If they take no action, their computers will be upgraded as normal after September 15th, 2011.

If you would like to manage this on behalf of your customers, please use the Partner SecurityDashboard to access the account of each customer you would like to schedule. We will post notifications in each customer’s profile in the dashboard letting you know when upgrade scheduling is available.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact technical support.

Thank you again!

McAfee SaaS Endpoint Product Team

McAfee SaaS Endpoint Protection Version 5.2 Patch 2

Dear McAfee Partner,

We are pleased to announce the upcoming release of McAfee SaaS Endpoint Protection v5.2 Patch 2 on August 4th, 2011. This patch will address a bug that was recently found in the product related to ActiveX along with other fixes to known issues.
Upgrade Scheduling Note: Please note that in this release, the Upgrade Scheduling feature will be available to you and your customers between August 8th 2011 and August 22nd 2011. Just prior to the release, your customers will have the option to choose when they would like some or all of their computers to be upgraded. If they take no action, their computers will be upgraded as normal after August 22 2011.

If you would like to manage this on behalf of your customers, please use the Partner SecurityDashboard to access the account of each customer you would like to schedule. We will post notifications in each customer’s profile in the dashboard letting you know when upgrade scheduling is available.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact technical support.

Thank you again!
McAfee SaaS Endpoint Product Team