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According to Symantec’s 2009 security review, the biggest single threat to computer security is a user’s failure to apply new security patches when they become available. A “patch” is simply a software fix to a known security bug in a software program. Once a vulnerability is discovered, software vendors scramble to develop a patch to prevent hackers from using this to access PCs – but their release of a patch is also a “go” sign for hackers who them scramble to write viruses designed to exploit PC users who haven’t gotten around to patching or updating their system.
As you might expect, online criminal opportunism is at an all-time high. One well-written virus can spread and attack millions of PCs in minutes, giving these cyber criminals access and control over your PC – often without YOU ever realizing it until it’s too late. And since most of us are storing … Keep reading
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Have you ever sent an email containing:
-A Credit Card Number?
-A Social Security Number?
-Confidential Documents Attached?
When you sent these emails, were they encrypted? If your answer is no, or you’re not sure, then you may have compromised sensitive information. Most email you send travels a great distance over many networks, secure and unsecure, monitored and unmonitored. These messages pass through and make copies of themselves on servers all over the internet. In short, anyone with access to those servers can read your unencrypted emails.
Would you write your social security number on a post card and send it in the mail? My guess is no, but sending sensitive information in an unencrypted email is just as dangerous.
So what can you do to protect your emails?
If you are mailing a check to pay a bill, you probably enclose the check in a security envelope with crossed … Keep reading
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If you missed our webinar on virus prevention, you can watch an excerpt from the presentation:
http://www.youtube.com/user/NexxtepTechnology
This video explains what to look for in questionable emails, what admin rights are and why you might want to remove them, and examples of social networking scams, among other things.… Keep reading
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My mom (Hi Mom!) forwarded me an email last week and asked me if it was true. Unlike many forwards, the information in the email was true, and important to know:
HTTP stands for Hyper Text Transport Protocol. The S in HTTPS stands for “Secure”. If you visit a website or webpage, and look at the address in the web browser, it will likely begin with the following: http://.
This means that the website is talking to your browser using the regular, “unsecure” language. In other words, it is possible for someone to “eavesdrop” on your computer’s conversation with the website. If you fill out a form on the website, someone might see the information you send to that site.
This is why you should never ever enter your credit card number in an HTTP website. But if the web address begins with https://, your computer is talking to … Keep reading
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At the end of this month, we will hold a webinar about Social Networking in Business and Acceptable Use Policies. More information about this webinar will become available in the coming weeks.
The following are facts about the use of social networking at work. Some may be common knowledge, but others might surprise you:
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If you want to keep your information safe online, you should use a different password for every account you create. However, it is almost impossible to remember all these passwords, so most people use the same password for some or all of their accounts.
You can have the best of both worlds: the security of multiple passwords and the convenience of having only one password. LastPass is a secure program that stores all of your passwords in one account. The installation process is painless, and every time you create a new account afterwards, LastPass will store it and automatically fill in your login and password information the next time you access the account. It can even scan your browsers for currently saved passwords.
Of course, this program is safest on a computer that only you can access.
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By default, Windows hides file extensions. For example, a picture file named “Bill.jpg” would display as “Bill.”
This can be dangerous and confusing, allowing viruses to disguise themselves in email attachments. Most viruses disguise themselves as different file types to trick you into opening them. With hidden file extensions, a virus file “Bill.jpg.exe” would display as “Bill.jpg.”
To avoid confusion and lower your chances of opening a virus file, you can un-hide file extensions in Windows.
Anne Wilhoite… Keep reading
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