Cyber criminals will always be eyeing your data regardless of where it?s stored. That means even your trusty Android phone or iPhone isn?t safe. In fact, it may be more exposed to security risks than you think. These tips can help increase your mobile?s security. Set a strong password Whether your device requires a 4-set or 6-set numerical PIN, a fingerprint, or a facial scan, set a lock that?s difficult to crack. This is not the strongest security measure by any means, but they provide a necessary initial barrier for intruders. Major manufacturers like Apple and Samsung are innovating their products? locking mechanisms and you?re doing yourself a favor by using them. To manage your device?s locks, follow these steps: iOS ? Go to Settings > Touch ID & Passcode, enter your passcode, and switch on ?Require Passcode.? This is also where you can manage your Touch ID settings and adjust access controls (Recent Notifications, Today View, and more). If you?re using an iPhone X, go to ?Face ID & Passcode.? Android ? Go to the Settings page > Lock Screen and Security to set your passcodes. These feature names may vary per device. Download applications only from official stores For iPhone users, download only from the App Store, and for Android phones, Google Play Store. Downloading apps only from these platforms doesn?t guarantee that your phone will be 100% safe from malware, but doing so greatly reduces the likelihood of you downloading malicious programs disguised as legitimate apps. Even Apple, which used to be the gold standard for software security, is no longer immune to system vulnerabilities. Despite having a strict policy on downloads (iPhone users can download only from the App Store), those with ?jailbreak apps? are exposed to a multitude of malicious entities. As a further precaution, download only apps that have high ratings and steer clear of downloads from unknown links. Check your apps? permissions When you download certain apps, you?ll be asked to grant permission for it to access your data (files, contacts, photos, etc.). What most users don?t know is that some of these permissions also gain access to hardware controls such as those found in the device?s camera and microphone. And if a malicious app happens to slip through the cracks, these permissions can serve as a gateway for hackers. Android and Apple have already improved their respective OS?s mechanisms to control what apps can access, but you can take it up a notch. Follow these steps to manage what apps can access on your phone: iOS ? Go to Settings > Privacy to see your apps? access level. For example, if you tap on Microphone, you?ll see all the apps that have access to your iPhone?s Microphone. If you wish to deny access to it, you can do so by turning privacy off. Android ? Go to Settings > Apps, select an app, then tap ?Permissions.? From here, you can control every individual app?s access to your devices? files. Update apps and security software We cannot stress this enough: As soon as they become available, download and update your OS and apps? software. In exceptional cases where certain versions of an OS are known to have bugs, not patching your device doesn?t make it any less exposed to risk. And here?s why: Most […]
Details for a security vulnerability thought to affect almost every Intel processor made in the last decade have recently been released, and the outlook is not good. While there are updates on the way to fix the flaws, experts believe that a patch may slow down computers by up to 30%. According to The Register, where the information was first publically released, the Intel vulnerability allows hackers to access areas of the computer that shouldn?t be reachable. The flaws, known as Meltdown and Spectre, directly affects the kernel memory of the Intel chip. Meltdown breaks the isolation between applications and the OS, allowing hackers to access the memory of programs and the OS itself. Spectre breaks the isolation between different applications down, allowing a hacker to trick error-free programs to leaking information. These flaws allow apps to detect and read the operating system codes, look into other app?s memory banks, or even leak personal information such as passwords, login information, files, and more. The patch will make the affected kernel completely invisible, but this comes at a price. According to The Register, making the kernel invisible would add a new process that will increase its overhead, slowing down the computer. Since the problem is with the hardware itself, nothing short of an OS-level fix will be required for the affected operation systems, including Windows, Linus, and Mac. So far Windows has released an emergency patch for Windows 10, with patches for Windows 7 and Windows 8 to come next week. However, there seem to be some issues caused by some anti-virus softwares that can result in bluescreen errors. Apple says they have also addressed the majority of their flaws with their last OS update, and they are currently testing new tweaks for their next update. Linux developers have also created a set of patches. In addition to operating systems, many cloud services companies will need to release updates in order to keep themselves protected against the vulnerability. Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS, and Google Cloud Platform have all reported that they are working on implementing new updates to bulk up security against Meltdown and Spectre. However, they have all stated that the impact of proposed update and have found that they have very little affect on performance in their benchmark tests. If you want to know more about how these vulnerabilities may affect you and your business, call us at (585) 254-8710 to learn more about how you can strengthen your technology security.
Google has just released a handful of new extensions for their Gmail client aimed to help aid professionals that use Gmail for their day-to-day business. Here?s a brief look into the new extensions, and what they can do to help rev up your productivity. Asana ? Allows you to turn important emails into tasks and assign specific responsibilities and track them directly through Gmail. With Asana you can create tasks, assign team members to the task, set due dates, and include attachments. Any updates will be synced automatically without having to leave the mailbox. Dialpad ? A business communication tool that allows you to call or text directly from Gmail. You can use these features on a variety of devices, and even switch a call from desktop to mobile if you?re on the go. You can also view history, or save contacts directly from a Gmail message. DocuSign (Coming Soon) – Allows you to sign and execute any business documents, such as contracts or agreements. Hire ? A recruitment tool that allows you to distribute job opportunities, find the right candidates, and manage the interview process from the Gmail client. It integrates with many of the other Google solutions, including Google Search, Calendar, Docs, Sheets, and Hangouts. QuickBooks Invoicing ? Enables you to send Quickbook invoices directly into a GMail message, allowing your clients to pay online with credit cards or bank transfers. ProsperWorks ? A CRM tool focused on design, usability, and automation that lets users use Gmail as the core of their workflow. The Add-on allows users to view contact and activities directly on your email, and works on a variety of different platforms. RingCentral ? This extension chooses contextual information within a user?s Gmail threads. It also allows you to see the online/offline status of contacts, review call history, make calls, and send SMS messages. Smartsheet ? Helps users keep track of important emails and add attachments to new or existing rows in Smartsheet. Streak ? Another CRM tool that lets you run the entire sales process through your email. It is flexible enough to aid with sales, recruiting, customer support, project management and even fundraising. Trello ? A list-making tool that can turn emails into to-do?s automatically. This can be used for tracking sales leads, managing customer feedback, event planning, and more. Wrike ? A project management extension that allows you to write, view, and edit tasks. You can also write and receive Wrike comments directly from you Gmail account.
The age-old proverb ?There?s more than one way to skin a cat? is especially relevant when budgeting for IT services. With the right technology consulting and support, any business can afford customized solutions that employ creative methods to achieve its end goals. As just one example, let?s review all the ways you can use virtualization technology! What is the core concept of virtualization? By virtualizing any of the items below, you can trick software into recognizing hardware when none actually exists. The easiest way to explain this is with examples from the most common type of this technology: hardware virtualization. If you had one high-powered computer processor, virtualization would allow you to split it up and run four separate operating systems (Windows, Apple OS, etc.), each seemingly running on a standalone, low-powered processor. Conversely, virtualization could also be used to connect four high-powered processors to create what your operating system would recognize as one ultra-fast piece of hardware. This technology can be applied in a number of ways to create opportunities for more efficient resource utilization and cost savings. Desktop virtualization Sometimes referred to as cloud desktops, this form of virtualization grants you access to a fully functioning computer that you access via a local network or the internet. Somewhere, a server has allocated a portion of its hardware resources for your virtual desktop. With a keyboard, monitor, mouse, and extremely low-end computer, you can connect to this virtual desktop and utilize all the processing power and storage the server has set aside for it. Application virtualization By installing a program on a server hard drive, your employee workstations can use their computing resources to run the program, but restrict data from being stored on their hard drives. The program and the documents it creates will never leave the server hard drive, making it much harder for hackers to compromise them. With more advanced virtualization solutions, your server can also allocate the computing resources necessary to run the program, meaning your workstations are merely a window to your server. Storage virtualization Similar to hardware virtualization, this strategy makes it easy to organize how your data is stored. In addition to combining hard drives across several computers into a massive virtual drive, storage virtualization also stores data based on how important it is. Frequently used documents are saved to your fastest drives and can be automatically backed up to the cloud. Network virtualization If your office has more than 10 workstations, it makes sense to consider network virtualization, which allows you to separate vulnerable devices. For example, if you had one server that handles a lot of web traffic and another that stored sensitive documents, you might want to connect them to different networks to avoid a cross contamination. Network virtualization would allow you to do that without buying any new hardware! Even with our simplified explanations, virtualization is still a complicated subject. Rather than try to figure it out in a few hundred words, give us a call and we?ll show you in person!
The public internet is vast, with over one billion websites already established, and more and more created every day. While being connected to the internet has its undeniable benefits, there is also a constant threat that puts our sensitive information at risk: hackers. These cyber criminals will do anything they can to try and steal your personal information, and once they have it, it can be difficult to recover. Luckily, there are a few simple methods every internet user can utilize to keep themselves safe from a hack attack. Enable Two-Factor Authentication Where Available Many popular sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Ebay are now embracing an extra layer of login security with their two-factor authentication methods. This process is activated when you try to login to your account using a device that isn?t recognized by the site. In order to confirm your identity, the user will get sent an authentication code through a verified contact point such as email or text message. This ensures that no un-recognized source can access your information unless they also had access to your second form of contact. Secure a Site Using HTTPs These days we don?t often type out the full website address we are looking for, as most browsers will automatically fill in the correct address or send you to a search engine to point you in the right direction. However, there is a hidden benefit to typing out an address, and it can be as easy as adding a single letter. When adding a ?s? to the end of http (hypertext transfer protocol,) the browser will encrypt any and all information sent between the server and the user. While many modern browsers add the ?s? to a site?s address on their own, you can ensure that you?ll always have a secure connection by downloading apps or programs that will automatically make the switch for you. Keep Browsers and Devices Updated Typically, updates are direct responses to issues or vulnerabilities that have been discovered on your program or device. Therefore, it is critically important that you always run trusted updates as quickly as possible. Outdated versions of browsers or mobile operating systems are often an easy entry-point for hackers, allowing them to exploit the known security holes. If you?re not sure whether or not you?re completely updated, many browsers and operating systems have a service that will automatically update as soon as new versions are released. Worried about the safety of your sensitive data being sent over the public internet? Contact Info Advantage today at (585) 254-8710 to speak to a security professional about how you can strengthen your network security!