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Act CRM Security Notice | Friendly Act CRM Software Database Sales Support & Training

Act CRM Security Notice

Notice Release Date 4-19-22

Act announced today a potential security issue with Act software.  For some versions of Act they have offered a free update.  For older versions of Act it is advised that you update or upgrade your Act CRM software.  Please read the security notice by clicking on the link below.  If you have questions you can reach out to me for more information.  I have been Act certified consultant for more than 20 years and I have never seen them release a notice like this one.  Please take it seriously.

Act CRM Security Notice Posted on Act’s Website: https://www.act.com/notices/important-notice/

We recently became aware of a security vulnerability within our Act! Pro, Act! Premium, and Act! Growth Suite software that may make it easier for a threat actor to gain unauthorized access to your system. To address this vulnerability, updates are available for supported versions of Act!. View the Act! Support Obsolescence Policy. See additional version and deployment-specific details below.

Available Updates & Instructions

Updates are being made available for Act! v24, Act! v23 and Act! v22.1. To ensure the vulnerability described above is addressed, you will need to apply the appropriate update for your supported version as soon as possible.

Available Updates:

 

You can download and install using the links above, or install directly via Act! following the instructions below.
 
1) Ensure the Act! application is closed
2) Right-click Act!
3) Select run-as-admin
4) Enter username and password details
5) Navigate to the Help Menu

6) Select Act! Notifications and follow the on-screen prompts to install the latest update.

 

Note: Customers who host or sync their software via a 3rd party hosting provider should contact that provider immediately to discuss the appropriate remedy.

Act CRM Security Notice

Some common misconceptions about the Act! security alert

Written by Ken Quigley about the Act CRM Security Notice : https://www.keystroke.ca/en/blog/news/act-security-alert-2.html

Since April 19th, the date Act! made their security announcement, we’ve sent out countless email alerts and made thousands of phone calls to our customers. The reaction to these notices has been mixed, ranging from dismissive to overly alarmed. Here is a list of the five most common unexpected reactions we’ve encountered thus far:

  1. I only drive my Act! to church on Sundays, am I still vulnerable?  Act! is not a small program that shuts down completely when you close it. Many services like SQL, Scheduler, Smart Tasks, the Web API, and the Indexing service remain running after the program is closed (ever wonder how your Outlook emails get attached to History when Act! is closed?).
    Rest assured, if you’re using an unpatched or unsupported version of Act! on a computer connected to the Internet, the bots capable of exploiting this vulnerability can find you with or without Act! running.
  2. I have nothing interesting on my PC, so no one would hack me. Bots & hackers don’t care about your data, since they’re not stealing it to sell on the open market. They only intend to sell it to one person, and that’s you by way of ransom demand. For reference, ransomware demands range from 1-5 bitcoins on average, with one bitcoin currently worth approximately $30,000 USD.
  3. Act! is not disclosing the details of this vulnerability, so it must be fake. Everyone loves a good conspiracy theory but consider this. Act! could announce the precise nature of this vulnerability, and paint a target on every unsupported version installed around the world. This would certainly generate more upgrade sales than the cautious “advisory” approach we’ve taken.
  4. My Anti-Virus software will protect me. No, it won’t. Unless it’s part of a larger security suite, a pure anti-virus program will protect you from a hack about as well as rubber boots will protect you from food poisoning.
  5. It won’t happen to me. We hope it doesn’t, but let’s not confuse a wish for a plan. Ransomware attacks rose 93% in 2021 compared to 2020, with 304.7 million ransomware attack attempts in the first half of that year alone. And the second half of 2021 was worse than the first.
    Using software that has a known vulnerability will not keep you on the safe side of those odds.

Please don’t confuse our light tone with us taking this lightly. We were hit by ransomware in 2017, and with a team of technicians and some good luck, we managed to avoid the worst, but it was an experience we wouldn’t wish on anyone.

OK, you have my attention, what should I do?

If you have Act! Pro or Premium installed on any of your computers,  we recommend taking one of the following actions:

  1. If the version you’re using is Act! v22.1 or newer, please visit this LINK after for a patch to secure your installation at no cost. It takes 2-3 minutes to download and apply.
  2. If it is an older version, and you no longer need to reference the data, please uninstall Act!, forthwith.
  3. If you do need ongoing access to the data, you can either disable Internet access on that workstation(s), or purchase Act! Pro v24 for a low one-time cost (limit of 5-users).
  4. If you have a perpetual license of an unsupported version deployed in a production environment (Act! v21 or older), we strongly recommend subscribing to Act! Premium and updating your software to a supported version, especially while Act! is running its Winback promo.

How can I tell which version of Act! I’m using?  From within Act!, click Help > About Act!, and read the top line of text.

AboutAct