If you?re constantly on the go, you are going to need a laptop that can keep up with your busy schedule. Many business professionals find themselves in need mobile computing to accommodate with busy travel; to check their emails, go over notes, or even finish up sales presentations. However, laptop batteries can only last so long without needing a charge, and that isn?t always a readily available option. Here are some times on how to extend your laptop?s battery life so you don?t have to worry whether or not it?s going to run out while you?re out doing business. Adjust your Display and System Settings There are a multitude of display and system settings that can be adjusted to lengthen the life of your laptop?s battery. For example, you can reduce the display brightness, turn off the screensaver, and set the laptop to hibernate rather than just go to sleep. Hibernation mode will make sure that the computer is not consuming any power while it is not in use. You can also turn off the WiFi or Bluetooth setting when not in use to give yourself a few more minutes of battery life. Check Your Power Settings Today, many laptops come equipped with an option of power settings to help optimize the laptop?s life and performance. In Windows, the Power Plan setting allows you to choose between standard settings or customized plans. MacOS systems use what?s known as ?Energy Saver,? which will automatically adjust display or other system controls. Don?t Overload Your Laptop When you?re in a rush, it can be easy to leave up multiple tabs and applications for easy use. However, the time you save not closing out your apps will cost you in battery life. Having too many tabs open on your laptop?s browser can drain its power and slow down your productivity. Make sure you close all browser tabs and applications after you?re finished using them to save yourself more battery time. Need an on-the-go laptop, but aren?t sure what features and specifications you want included? Contact the Info Advantage technology specialists at (585) 254-8710 today to talk about which model would be best for you and your business.
Servers are the backbone of many businesses, as it is responsible for the communication and the exchanging of data. Since there is so much relying on servers to run properly, it is imperative to keep them well-maintained to ensure that business will not be interrupted. Here are a few steps businesses can follow to make sure your servers will continue to run without any issues. Backup Your Data Regular back up is the first and arguably the most important step of server maintenance. In the case of disaster, such as server failure or a cyber-attack, backup can be used in order to restore your data with little to no downtime needed. Experts suggest that you do multiple backups, making sure to keep at least one outside of your business or network. One of the easiest and safest ways to keep your data backup safe is to use a cloud service, which can be maintained and connected to from anywhere that you can connect to the web. Along with data, it?s also recommended to backup any device drivers, along with the network configuration. This will make it much easier to restore your server in case of failure. The Right Environment If you have physical servers, you?re going to need to make sure you have the right environment. Your servers should be in a separate, air-conditioned room. This will ensure that they do not overheat, and that the noise won?t disrupt your employees. It?s suggested to clean the servers, and all of the removable media drives, on a regular basis. Keeping them clear of dust will help keep your servers running at their best condition and running properly. Keep Everything Updated An upgrade or patch may be the one thing that keeps your severs safe from malicious attacks. Make sure to keep a careful eye on any new updates, and make sure that everything is up-to-date. In addition to upgrades, make sure you keep all of the other systems that keep your server running smoothly. Experts suggest that businesses should check their security systems, server utilization, and user accounts frequently to make sure there aren?t any issues. In addition, it?s recommended to change any passwords you may use every 6 to 12 months. Having trouble keeping your servers maintained properly? Call Info Advantage at (585) 254-8710 today to talk to a specialist about the best solution for your business.
On Friday, May 12, a cyber-attack was launched that affected over 300,000 computers in roughly 150 countries. The attack, a ransomware worm known as WannaCry, affected nearly every major industry; including healthcare, government, and privately-owned businesses. The attack began in Europe and continued to spread across the globe, reaching targets in China, Japan, and even reaching across seas to the Americas. Once hit with WannaCry, the worm encrypts all the files on an infected device, prompting the user to pay $300 in order to regain access to their files. Since the attack spread, the hackers are thought to have gained about $80,000 in bitcoins from WannaCry victims. However, that number is not expected to rise much higher, as many technology companies have already implemented measures to block the attack. In fact, Microsoft had already had a vulnerability patch in place in March, months before WannaCry was released. So how was WannaCry able to affect hundreds of thousands of devices while there were already measures available to block the attack? The answer lies within an affected company?s technology infrastructure. While the patch by Microsoft was originally released in March for Windows XP systems, many businesses completely overlooked the upgrade. This left them wide open for an attack, making them easy targets with well-known vulnerabilities. However, we cannot be so quick to blame the IT departments of the affected businesses, particularly those with complex technology infrastructures. For example, many health care service providers in the UK were affected due to a reliance on older versions of operating systems. This is due in part to the variety of third-party medical equipment that health care providers rely on to do their jobs. This equipment can often be difficult to upgrade or patch, and can only be replaced if the budget allows for it. In many cases, companies will choose to spend their dollars on other IT necessities. What can businesses do to protect themselves from WannaCry and other similar cyber-attacks? Security experts state that the best way to combat these attacks is to keep your technology updated and your employees aware of potential threats. A good way to gauge your company?s vulnerability is to perform a threat and vulnerability tests. These tests will give a company insight into how many employees would fall for an attack by sending out a fake phishing scam. Once the data is collected, a company will have a better idea of what kind of vulnerabilities they have, and how they can train their employees to avoid them. Experts also suggest that companies keep as up-to-date on their software as possible, and urge them to consistently check for updates or patches. While an update might not seem imperative, hackers are constantly on the lookout for newly discovered vulnerabilities to exploit. By creating a consistent update schedule, companies can be sure that they are protected from future attacks. Don?t have the time to constantly check for software updates? Not sure if your company is up-to-date with the best possible cyber security plan? Contact our security experts at Info Advantage by calling (585) 254-8710 today to talk about how you can protect your business? assets.
In the wake of the well-coordinated ransomware attack, known as WannaCrypt, the world is breathing a sigh of relief.
With the rise of the age of the Internet of Things (IoT), more and more everyday devices are becoming connected to the web as a means to make a more personalized product experiment. Today, we have IoT connected watches, televisions, and even kitchen appliances like refrigerators or coffee makers. As convenient as these devices can be, they can pose a serious threat to a user?s personal information if the security behind the device is lackluster. Such is the case with CloudPet, a IoT connected stuffed animal that lets children and their loved ones communicate with each other through an app, which exposed the personal data of thousands of accounts. CloudPets are made by Spiral Toys, a company based in California that specializes in toys that connect to the internet. The concept behind the toy is that a child can communicate with their parents or loved ones who are far away. The toy is connected to an app, which allows the connected party to record voice messages to send to the child?s CloudPet. The CloudPet then allows the child to send a voice recording back, which can be played through the app. On February 28, 2017, security researcher Troy Hunt posted a blog about how the data from CloudPets stuffed animals had been leaked and ransomed, potentially exposing these recordings. Hunt found that several parties had reached out to CloudPets and their parent company Spiral Toys about the breach, yet had received no response. With some help of members on his site, Have I Been Pwned?, Hunt was successfully able to access the user photos and voice recordings. While there were no recordings or photos on the exposed database, the leakage did contain sensitive data that could easily compromise an account. According to the CloudPet?s site, the breach was caused when CloudPet?s user data was temporarily moved to a new database software. In December of 2016, third party developers moved CloudPets data to a temporary database in order to make upgrades to the CloudPet?s app. During the time, the database software that was used had an exploit that hackers would use to hold data for ransom. While CloudPets claims that no voice recordings were accessed, they do admit to the leakage of email addresses, usernames, and encrypted passwords. However, there were no password strength rules before the breach, so a hacker could still easily access thousands of those compromised accounts. Since the breach was made public on February 22, the CloudPets app required all users to reset their passwords, and created new password security requirements to ensure the new passwords are more secure. They also recommend that users create a unique password for every application or site, and advise them not to use ?easily guessable? passwords.