Recent Advisories
Windows 10 Update Issues. Part 2
Systems running Windows 10 are sometimes aggressively prompting "Updates are available. Required updates need to be installed" with the only visible option selectable being "Get Updates".
If we have remoted to your machine and receive this message which blocks us from providing support for the application, we will:
- Disconnect from the server and place the support call on hold.
- Advise you an upgrade is pending and we cannot proceed as we are being blocked
- If you explicitly authorise us to start the Windows update process, we cannot be responsible for the update or any consequences of the update. Windows updates sometimes need to reboot your server as well.
The above process and comments apply to any software or component that interupts and blocks when we are using your computers. As an ISV we only provide support for our application
Windows 10 Update Issues
Systems running Windows 10 are having their POS licence disabled after some Windows Updates. A previous constant value on the system is now changing more dynamically, and the POS detects this and blocks as a security measure.
If you have this problem, contact Fieldpine support and your machine will be relicenced. This will generally require a support engineer to remote to your machine, and cannot be done instantly over the phone.
We will workaround this Windows issue in a version update shortly
Windows 10 updates can be unpredicatable and install at semi random intervals. If this occurs when you are wishing to trade then the machine will be locked. There are several options, but not always totally effective, and we suggest you contact your PC support vendor for advice
Ransomware Infections
If your computer is infected by a type of malware called ransomware, you may find your POS files are encrypted and not readable. You should immediately turn the computer off to reduce the risk of further spreading.
Fieldpine uses a distributed database technology and if you have multiple standalone checkouts and stores then losing one machine to ransomware may not unduely affect your whole retail operation. Copies of sales and data are held in multiple machines, so losing one is no different than total hardware failure.
More recent versions also include "instant offsite" technology to ensure changes to retail data are reflected instantly to other machines in your network. This is a high reliability option, which helps reduce the impact of a small number of infections.
We continue to enhance the system to protect against attacks
Email Provider Changes
A number of ISP (Internet providers) have recently been changing their email interfaces to require SSL. If you are using automated emails from the Retail System, such as statements, the retail system will need changing in addition to your email client programs.
To support SSL on SMTP connections, Fieldpine will use Stunnel, rather than embedding highly complex code into the system. Stunnel is highly reliable and secure
Fieldpine do not know which customers use which ISPs; as this is configured inside your machines. And we are not advised by the ISPs when you are forced to switch.
Blackhole Virus
A virus called blackhole is currently in the media and reported to target POS systems. This attack is using 'memory scanning' and searches through the computer memory looking for credit card type numbers.
Fieldpine POS does not store full credit card numbers in memory or anywhere else, so risk from this virus is low in it's current form. If you are using Integrated EFTpos, you may like to verify with the provider also, however security standards in US, where the problem is mostly being reported, are much lower than most other countries.
We continue to enhance the system to protect against attacks
Windows RT
Windows RT uses a different type of processor internally called ARM rather than Intel used in PCs, and is not capable of running normal Windows Applications such as PointOfSale.
For reporting and back of house operations we suggest using the Web interface to your retail server (requires Gds)
Office 365 & Excel
If you are using the online hosted version of Office, rather than installing locally to your PC, you will not be able to use Fieldpine Excel Addin.
In their current forms, Office 365 and Google Spreadsheet, do not have any programming interface to allow them to communicate to other systems such as your Retail System. You can continue to Save as Excel and load Excel spreadsheets but you cannot use formulas that read retail information directly in cells.