30
Nov, 2015
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Pay a Hacker Ransom Money and Risk Getting Bamboozled Twice

b2ap3_thumbnail_distributed_denial_of_service_400.jpgRequesting a ransom from victims is an unfortunate trend gaining momentum in the hacking world. This is typically done using ransomware (where hackers encrypt data and request money for the key) and distributed denial of service attacks (where hackers threaten to overwhelm a system with traffic, thus knocking it offline). In both scenarios, hackers are looking for the victim to pay up, or else. Should they?

The answer should be obvious; absolutely not. However, when a person’s valuable data becomes encrypted or they receive a legitimate threat to take down their servers, emotions often get in the way and they’ll end up “paying the piper.” Hackers know this, which is why their ransom methods employ fear tactics.

For example, ransomware like CryptoLocker will lock the user out of their computer while the screen displays a clock counting down to when their data will be deleted. And with DDoS attacks, a hacker may contact the victim mid-attack and promise to cease the attack for a fee. Both of these situations play straight into a person’s irrational fear, causing them to cough up cash.

Before reaching for your credit card to pay a hacker’s demands, stop, take a deep breath, and think objectively about the situation. What guarantee do you have that these hackers will actually make good on their promise to turn over your data or cease the attack? This guarantee is only as good as a hacker’s word, which is pretty worthless seeing that, you know, they’re criminals. Therefore, whatever you do, DON’T GIVE MONEY TO A HACKER!

By paying hackers money, you’ll only add fuel to the fire and help fund the spread of their devious acts. Plus, there are several reported cases where a victim pays the ransom, only to still have their data deleted or the attacks on their site continue. What’s it to them if they go ahead and follow through with the attack? They have your money, so who cares? It’s a classic case of adding insult to injury.

Need proof? There’s a recent example of this happening to ProtonMail, a Switzerland-based email encryption service. On November 3rd, ProtonMail was threatened with a DDoS attack by the hacking group Armada Collective. Like many companies would do, they ignored the threat, deeming it to not be credible. Soon afterward, their servers became overloaded to the point where they had to cease operations.

As reported by ZDNet:

The encryption service says the assault reached 100Gbps and not only attacked the ProtonMail datacenter but routers in Zurich, Frankfurt and other locations linked to the ISP — eventually bringing down the datacenter and ISP. This not only took down ProtonMail, but other companies were affected, too.

To get the attackers to stop, ProtonMail paid the hackers a $6,000 ransom. The hackers happily took their money and kept up the attack. In addition to losing a cool $6k, the company was out a vast sum for all the downtime they experienced.

How much would it cost your company if you lost revenue for a full day of work, and you still had to make payroll? For a medium-to-large sized company, losing a full day’s work would likely come to much more than a few thousand dollars. In fact, hackers understand how downtime can be so costly, which is why they feel justified asking for such an exorbitant fee.

What are you supposed to do if you were asked to pay a ransom by a hacker? The first thing you’ll want to do is contact the IT professionals at NuTech Services. We’re able to take an assessment of the attack to determine how bad it is, and restore your data to a backed up version that’s not infected with malware. When facing a hack attack, we can present you with all the options you can take, none of which will include paying a hacker money.

Call us today at 810.230.9455 to learn more, and don’t give the hackers have the upper hand.

27
Nov, 2015
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Office Workers Still Prefer Using a Traditional Phone Over Mobile

b2ap3_thumbnail_voip_solutions_400.jpgTake a moment to look at your desk telephone and contemplate its usefulness. When was the last time you used it for day-to-day operations? Do you even use it anymore, or do you rely on more recent communications solutions like Voice over Internet Protocol, and the smartphone? Some might argue that the telephone is an antiquated technology for the modern office, but recent studies show that despite its disadvantages, it still has an edge in the office environment.

There are a number of reasons why workplace phones haven’t been completely eliminated in favor of the smartphone and VoIP. For one, contrary to popular belief, people still want to separate the workplace from home, but the main reason that office phones are still around is because folks prefer using their office landline to conduct business. A survey from RingCentral, performed in May 2015, studied the ways in which 505 United States workers communicate within the office. The results were somewhat surprising: 65 percent of the workers would rather use their office phone to conduct business while only 30 percent preferred to use mobile devices for calls.

Now, consider the prevalence of the smartphone in today’s workplace environment. You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn’t use their device for work purposes, like answering phone calls or sending emails. Suddenly, that 30 percent seems kind of strange, especially with millennials and their newfangled technology now taking up a considerable portion of the workforce. Curtis Peterson, the senior vice president of RingCentral, suggests that the younger generation isn’t as comfortable working with telephones as seasoned professionals. In fact, according to another survey from TollFreeForwarding.com, only 6.5 percent of people between the ages of 25 and 34 are comfortable using a telephone, and would rather resort to other methods of communication, like messaging or email.

Still, it seems that the office telephone isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, for the sole purpose that it’s still somewhat preferred as a telephony solution. Therefore, it’s imperative that your business takes full advantage of your voice communications solution, whether it be with your office desk phone, or your Voice over Internet Protocol client. Your business might find that you can be so much more productive with a unified communications solution, including VoIP, instant messaging, and video chat.

Despite the clear popularity advantage that traditional communications have, VoIP has a clear-cut advantage in the fact that it’s much easier to make changes to your service plan. Thus, replacing your classic telephone solution with VoIP is a fantastic way to start cutting unnecessary costs, especially when you consider how cable companies tend to package multiple services together that aren’t necessarily needed. Additionally, it’s difficult to make changes to your traditional telephone infrastructure on a whim, which makes growth challenging at best.

Integrating a VoIP solution can alleviate many of the issues that plague modern businesses by offering scalable and predictable solutions that are effective for managing your business’s communications strategy. For more information, give us a call at 810.230.9455.

25
Nov, 2015
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Tip of the Week: Use This Chrome Extension to Avoid Online Movie Spoilers

b2ap3_thumbnail_spoiler_alert_400.jpgThe Internet is a great and wondrous thing, giving us information about pretty much anything we could ever hope for. However, this is a dangerous thing for those who want to go about their entertainment “spoiler-free.” In other words, you want to be pleasantly surprised when you watch your favorite movies or TV shows. Sometimes the Internet isn’t so kind toward that goal. Well, here’s a somewhat viable solution: the Spoiler Alert extension for Google Chrome.

Especially with Star Wars, Episode VII: The Force Awakens just around the corner, there’s no time like the present to arm yourself against the savage assault of spoilerific Internet content. The extension for Spoiler Alert is capable of blocking certain web content in accordance with your specifications. While the extension asks you to sign up with your email and date of birth, it allows you to browse categories and block content related to specific TV shows and movies. CNet cites that the only movie currently available to block spoilers of is The Force Awakens, but hey, isn’t that all that matters?

Spoiler Alert also works for certain other events, like sports, new episodes of TV shows, and the like. This is particularly helpful for popular dramas that are huge hits in pop culture (think The Walking Dead), or for keeping you from viewing the score of the big game until you’ve watch it. You can even use it to avoid all of the political debates and debauchery, if you so desire.

However, Spoiler Alert is still far from ideal. As explained by Rick Broida at CNet:

One problem I discovered is that Spoiler Alert doesn’t seem to work past the initial page-load. So on Facebook, for example, if you scroll down far enough that the site loads more content, the extension doesn’t block anything in that additional load. That’s a problem. But this blocker is still in beta, so hopefully the developers can address that. In the meantime, I’m just happy to have at least some line of defense against our spoiler culture. Seriously, people, why would you want to know everything (or anything) about “The Force Awakens” before getting to the theater?

In some cases, Spoiler Alert only blocks headings, titles, and text, rather than images, but in other cases it’s capable of blocking the entire site, while offering the choice of entering at the risk of being spoiled. You can change these settings to suit your needs, though, like if you’ve already seen the latest episode of your weekly TV show. Another solution to this dilemma is to completely avoid Facebook, Twitter, and pretty much any online news aggregate, but that’s not really a viable choice. As a business owner, you probably spend a lot of time on the Internet doing research on new solutions and clientele. You shouldn’t have to have your fun ruined by Internet spoilers just because you’re doing your job.

In the meantime, Spoiler Alert might alleviate the problem to a degree, but the fact remains that the Internet is rife with spoilers that can potentially ruin the experiences of folks around the world. If you know of another way to keep spoilers away, feel free to share it in the comments; and please, no spoilers!

23
Nov, 2015
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How Fishing Nets May Be the Greatest Security Threat to the Internet [Video]

b2ap3_thumbnail_internet_under_the_sea_400.jpgMany countries around the world have access to the Internet, but have you stopped to consider how this service is deployed and connected to countries on different continents? Well, this is only made possible by the countless miles of wire laid beneath the surface of the ocean, all around the world. In fact, it’s somewhat unnerving to think that international communications depend on the structural integrity of cables submerged at the bottom of the sea.

Like a mighty sea serpent, the Internet’s cables snake around the globe, connecting countries and online infrastructures to ensure global communication. The majority of transoceanic communications, including phone calls, emails, and just about any Internet transmission, is dependent on the well-being of these cables. As reported by WIRED, the first telegraph wire was initially laid across the Atlantic Ocean in 1866, and others soon followed, laid across common trade routes. In the 1950s, the standard for overseas cabling shifted to coaxial cables, which were capable of carrying telephone conversations. Today, the world uses fiber-optic cables that are used to transfer enormous amounts of data relatively quickly.

Here’s a video of how these cables are laid:

And a map of where they’re all located:

As you can expect, these Internet cables have become important staples for how society communicates on an international scale. Still, doesn’t it seem strange that such important pieces of technology are left at the mercy of the ocean? Most people don’t bother to remember that the cables exist until a problem happens and a connection goes down. More often than not, people only take interest in the cables when something goes wrong with them, but it’s a fairly common occurrence for submarines and international powers to take an interest in them.

As reported by WIRED, the following problems are fairly common threats for the Internet cables: seismic activity, various undersea creatures (namely sharks – you know, the scary ones with teeth), and international intervention. By far, though, the most common problem for the undersea cables comes in the form of ship anchors and fishing nets. Between the two, they make up about 60 percent of all cable destruction. This is the primary reason why most sea charts will mark the location of these wires; since, as you can imagine, cutting them has some pretty dire consequences.

Cutting undersea cables would probably make for a great sabotage trick for an international conflict, but such activities haven’t occurred since the previous World War. These days, the cables are typically left untouched and forgotten about, though occasionally the media will make a scene about submarines sniffing around near the cables. What are your thoughts on these undersea cables? Do you think there should be a more efficient manner of deploying information across the world? Let us know in the comments.

20
Nov, 2015
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Wearable Technology is Trending: Is This Good For the Workplace?

b2ap3_thumbnail_smartwatch_technology_400.jpgYou’ve probably seen the new fancy-schmancy watches that some people wear and wonder to yourself, “What’s so special about them?” Smartwatches like these are considered wearable technology and are typically meant to perform the various functions of a smartphone, minus the phone. Some devices are even used to monitor the body’s physical activity with health apps. They might seem useful now, but what’s the endgame for wearable technology?

What is Wearable Technology?
Technically, just about any device that’s worn on the body (like a headset) can be considered wearable technology. However, most wearable devices that you’ll encounter are designed to do one (or both) of two things: 1) Monitor the body’s physical well-being and track health progress, or 2) provide efficient access to apps that are designed to enhance productivity and efficiency for office employees. While they initially were meant for more of the former, the incredible success of wearable technology inspired developers to improve functionality in other areas.

As explained by CyberTrend:

A 2014 Parks Associates study projected that smart watch sales will reach 121 million units worldwide by 2018. Similar to a smartphone or smart TV, a smart watch can connect a user to the Internet for access to real-time data. Generally, smart watches will offer users some basic features (current weather, music, access to email and texts, etc.), which are also available on smartphones. Depending on the model, some folks can use their smart watches to control their smart TVs, capture pictures, video chat, and run scaled-down versions of common smartphone apps, in addition to using the device as an activity tracker.

While wearable technologies are versatile and can be used for multiple tasks, this doesn’t mean that these devices will be practical in the near future. For example, which would you rather use for your smart technology experience: a smartwatch or your smartphone? Many would probably say the smartphone because it’s vastly more powerful and efficient compared to the smartwatch. A larger screen makes it much more viable to get work done on a smartphone, rather than on a smartwatch.

Another type of wearable gadget consists of smart glasses, like Google’s failed Google Glass product. The main issue here is privacy; having a camera readily available on your glasses is somewhat sketchy and reminiscent of cyber espionage. Thanks to the portability afforded to smart glasses, they were thought to be a threat to both personal privacy and data security, so the idea never really took off.

How Wearables Affect Your Workplace
When workers are using wearable technology in the workplace, you should practice considerable caution. The trend known as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) coupled with the Internet of Things (IoT) can spell trouble for businesses that aren’t prepared to deal with new devices connecting to their private networks. Any Internet-connected device can be considered a threat to your business if it’s not managed and maintained by your company. This is why it’s so important to keep an eye on devices that your employees are bringing to work with them. One way you can set these fears aside is by implementing a mobile device management solution, which gives you the ability to remotely wipe managed devices, restrict access to information on an app-by-app basis, and so much more.

Don’t let wearables and other Internet of Things devices hold your business back. To find out more information about how NuTech Services can protect your business from these new threats, give us a call at 810.230.9455.

18
Nov, 2015
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Tip of the Week: Every PC User Should Know NOT to Do These 3 Things

b2ap3_thumbnail_more_PC_mistakes_400.jpgKnowing how to properly use your PC is key to its longevity. Therefore, you should never take for granted basic PC best practices. Here are three basic PC best practices that are easy to overlook.

Don’t Plug Your Computer Equipment Directly Into an Outlet
While it’s likely that you plug a variety of your electronics directly into your outlet, you shouldn’t do this with computer equipment. The problem here is that electricity coming directly from outlets can fluctuate. For example, this is why your building’s lights may randomly get dimmer and then brighter. While your light bulbs can handle these power fluctuations, your computer equipment cannot; and it may lead to irreversible damages.

Instead, be sure to plug your equipment directly into a surge protector. This is a simple power strip that can be found at most any store. Though even a cheap power strip is better than no power strip, a basic power strip will not protect your PC as well as a heavy-duty one. Therefore, it’s worth it to drop some extra cash on a power strip that’s rated to protect your equipment from surges, instead of one that’s designed only to provide you with extra outlets.

For the best solution to these power surges, consider an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS). This is a device that both restricts surges in electricity, as well as provides additional power during a surge’s low point.

Don’t Click Next or Ok Without First Reading
Granted, it’s unreasonable to expect someone to read every word of every software agreement, but at the very least, you should skim it over to have an idea of what you’re agreeing to. It may be the case that a shady third-party software company is trying to pull a fast one on you. ComputerHope.com explains:

It is not uncommon for new users to click Ok or Next without reading what they are agreeing to and not making sure there are no check boxes still checked. Make sure you read every prompt before agreeing, or you may be agreeing to install new browser toolbars, a program you didn’t intend to install, or other crapware.

Don’t Open Unknown Email Attachments
A quality spam filter will go a long way to prevent a PC from getting slammed with a virus or malware. However, even the most secure system can be compromised if the user makes the mistake of downloading something that they shouldn’t, like a corrupted email attachment. Viruses that spread through email attachments are among the most common ways that computers become infected. In order to trick you to download the dangerous attachment, hackers will disguise the message as originating from a trustworthy source, like your bank, your hospital, a parcel delivery service, a resume, and much more.

As a rule, never download an email attachment unless you’re absolutely sure of the source, and if something seems sketchy, it probably is. Remember, if the email appears to come from a legitimate source, then you can always call the sender using the phone number that you have on record in order to confirm the message. If your source admits to not sending you the message, then you know it’s a scam.

By following these three best practices, you’re sure to save yourself the headache (and expense) of dealing with PC performance issues. Knowing how to properly use a PC is the best way to prevent issues and breakdowns. To learn more PC tips and best practices, subscribe to NuTech Services’s blog and give us a call at 810.230.9455.

16
Nov, 2015
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Why You Shouldn’t Chuck Your E-Waste In the Garbage

e_waste_management_400.jpgToday’s society practices a policy of upgrading to brand-new devices whenever the next big thing drops. We see this all the time when businesses want to keep up with the latest trends by upgrading to new workstations that utilize recent operating systems, or because their old hardware feels slow. However, this can have a negative effect on the environment in the form of e-waste.

E-waste is defined by ewasteguide.info as:

e-Waste for short – or Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) – is the term used to describe old, end-of-life or discarded appliances using electricity. It includes computers, consumer electronics, fridges etc which have been disposed of by their original users. On this website – the e-Waste Guide – “e-waste” is used as a generic term embracing all types of waste containing electrically powered components. e-Waste contains both valuable materials as well as hazardous materials which require special handling and recycling methods.

In other words, your computers, servers, network components, and other hardware, all contain valuable metals and other materials that can be potentially hazardous to the environment if left unchecked. This wouldn’t normally be a problem if these materials were properly recycled, but the fact remains that e-waste is an exceptionally prevalent problem in many third-world countries that don’t have a specific workflow for getting rid of these gadgets.

Due to it being vastly cheaper to ship discarded devices overseas (rather than properly recycling them), many countries suffer from exorbitant e-waste, just like Guiyu, China. According to Slate, Guiyu has a population of around 150,000, and is known as the e-waste capital of the world. It houses many businesses that are dedicated to dismantling discarded devices for their valuable components, but their processes are often dangerous to both the inhabitants of Guiyu, and its environment.

For example, Slate explains that “to extract metals from a circuit board, the workers burn each part over an open fire; this process releases large amounts of toxic gas into the air and the town’s water supply.” This practice is naturally a cause for concern, especially considering the fact that the pollution winds up in the bloodstream of the inhabitants in the form of metals like lead, copper, zinc, etc.

The first step toward preventing this pollution from worsening is to take the proper steps when recycling your old technology. First, you should take steps to ensure that all private or sensitive data is removed from the device. NuTech Services can help you through this process. The last thing you want is for some stranger to get ahold of your device and tamper with it for information that’s stored on it. Once you’re sure sure that no information is left on the device, we’ll handle the recycling of the device in an environmentally-friendly manner.

To ensure that you always follow the best practices of replacing and recycling your old technology, contact NuTech Services at 810.230.9455.

13
Nov, 2015
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How a Nearby Hacker Can Access Your Phone Through Google Now and Siri

b2ap3_thumbnail_cell_phone_hack_400.jpgThese days, mobile exploits aren’t anything to be surprised about. Most people consider their smartphones to be more secure than their desktops or laptops, but the fact remains that there are just as many exploits, if not more, for mobile devices as there are for PCs. One of the latest mobile threats that can infiltrate your iPhone or Android device takes advantage of Siri and Google Now.

This exploit can use Siri and Google Now to perform any number of actions using your mobile device. The hacker can silently issue commands to devices that have headphones plugged in, acting as a receiving antenna. For example, the headsets that business owners love to use to communicate while out and about could work for this exploit. The headphones antenna acts like an FM radio chip that can communicate with mobile devices.

ZDNet explains further how this particular exploit works:

With the open source GNU Radio software on a laptop, electromagnetic signals can be sent to those devices. Depending on the sent command, Siri or Google Now can be told to open up a website, send a text, place a call or do any other number of things.

In order to pull this hack off, the attacker only needs to use a laptop with some sort of antenna apparatus to broadcast the signal. All of this could easily be concealed in a backpack and taken on the move. Granted, this exploit is also dependant on whether or not users will leave headphones plugged into the device when not in use, which is relatively unlikely.

Researchers further explained that this hack can work from around six feet from the phone, meaning that the hacker still has to get somewhat near the victim. Furthermore, the signal could potentially extend up to 16 feet from the victim, if the hacker has a powerful enough battery and antenna. Of course, this kind of powerful equipment isn’t nearly as portable as a laptop, making it somewhat inefficient to use, despite the further range.

Finally, it’s very likely that users will notice that their devices are being tampered with before the hacker manages to do anything fishy. The hack doesn’t disable the display of the device, so anyone who is currently using their device will notice what’s happening and react to it, hopefully. These types of hacks are one reason that you should always practice proper smartphone security and use a lock screen. It’s not known if this trick can bypass the lock screen, but either way, it’s a best practice to always be using one. You never know who could get into your device if you’re not using it, especially if you lose it or it gets stolen in a public place. This is why you need some sort of login credential for your device, just like you would for your laptop or desktop PC.

What are your thoughts on this new exploit? Do you think there’s a chance that this kind of vulnerability could be a threat to the business world, or do you think there’s little chance of it having any practical use? Let us know in the comments.

11
Nov, 2015
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Tip of the Week: 4 Common Email Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

b2ap3_thumbnail_email_gaffs_400.jpgEmail is a staple in offices around the world, but many organizations are finding it easier than ever to make simple mistakes that can be easily avoided with proper training procedures. It’s a best practice to ensure that your team is adequately trained on how to efficiently use your chosen email client to its maximum potential. Here are four of the most common email mistakes that the average employee can make, and how they can easily be avoided in the future.

Avoid Major Spelling and Grammar Errors
The importance of spelling and grammar in both internal and outgoing communications cannot be stressed enough. While a minor error here or there is acceptable, anyone who wants to be considered a professional in their industry should take the time to put together messages that are both grammatically correct and easy to read. This is especially true when dealing with prospective clients. You want to be seen as the expert, and showing that you’re a well-rounded and educated individual will reinforce this thought.

Most email clients like Outlook and Gmail have a built-in spell checker that can be used for a quick idea of how many corrections need to be made, but it’s often better to compose an email in a word processor like Microsoft Word. This lets you use the powerful spell checker that the program provides, and allows you to use a copy/paste tactic where there’s minimal room for error.

Don’t Accidentally CC the Wrong People
If you’re dealing with a medium-to-large workforce, you might find it easier to communicate with all of your employees by simply clicking the “carbon copy” option when issuing statements via email. However, this comes with a risk. When you’ve received a CC of a message, and you have some input, you want to make sure that you don’t reply to all, especially if it’s something that’s only meant to be seen by the recipient. Always be aware of what you’re sending, and who you’re sending it to.

Or, better yet, don’t complain about one of your coworkers through email at all. Email should be a formal type of communication in the workplace, and you shouldn’t be using it like it’s your personal account. If someone is checking up on your email messages, it could come back to haunt you later. Still, letting off some steam in the workplace is often a necessity, so if you feel you absolutely have to get something off your chest, do it in person rather than through email.

Make Sure Your Email is Finished Before Sending It
This seems like a given, but you’d be surprised how often some folks forget to finish an email before hitting the “send” button. Again, you want to ensure that you’re retaining your professional presence with both your staff and your prospective or current clients, and sending half-finished emails isn’t going to help this goal. It’s relatively easy to hit the “send” button before your message is actually complete, especially if you’re multitasking and distracted by your other responsibilities.

This is especially why it’s important that you give your message a thorough proofreading that helps you ensure that the message is complete and ready to be sent. It’s an important part of the email process, and shouldn’t be overlooked if you’re in a hurry.

Be Absolutely Sure Who You’re Sending Your Message To
While the other mistakes we’ve mentioned thus far have somewhat trivial repercussions, sending a message that potentially reveals sensitive information to the wrong person could have far-reaching complications. If it’s internally, it’s possible that it’s no big deal, and can be resolved by simply asking the recipient to disregard the email. However, if the message is sent to an external party, and it contains sensitive information, you should immediately put yourself in damage control mode.

In the event that you accidentally send company information to an unknown email address (which you shouldn’t), it’s important to assess how important this information was and take action as soon as possible. For example, if you sent passwords or usernames (which you shouldn’t), promptly change the credentials. You should also make an attempt to notify any party involved, especially clients. While it might be embarrassing, it’s better than the alternative.

For more best practices and tips, be sure to subscribe to our blog.

9
Nov, 2015
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If a Teenager Can Hack the CIA, You Can Be Hacked Too!

b2ap3_thumbnail_cia_hacked_400.jpgWith new threats emerging all of the time, it’s no wonder that cybersecurity is such a major part of any technological endeavor. Your should be using the most powerful security solutions on the market in order to avoid intensive hacks. Despite the emphasis that our society places on security, it takes a high-notoriety hack to truly shake the public into action; for example, what if the Central Intelligence Agency were hacked by a teenager?

Well, that kind of happened. As reported by WIRED, CIA Director John Brennan had his email broken into by the hacker in question. By posing as a Verizon worker, the hacker was able to gain access to Brennan’s AOL email account. The hacker used a targeted spear phishing tactic, where he posed as a worker to trick real Verizon employees into handing over sensitive information about Brennan’s account. Surprisingly, all they needed were the last four digits of Brennan’s bank card.

Then, to add insult to injury, the hacker and his associates changed the password on Brennan’s account, locking him out of it and gaining access to his inbox. Since this was his personal email account, you’d think things wouldn’t be any different from a normal hack; well, the problem here is that Brennan’s inbox contained secret government documents from Brennan’s work email address, which he forwarded to his personal inbox. You don’t need us to tell you that this was a bad move on Brennan’s part. According to WIRED:

After providing the Verizon employee with a fabricated employee Vcode—a unique code that he says Verizon assigns employees—they got the information they were seeking. This included Brennan’s account number, his four-digit PIN, the backup mobile number on the account, Brennan’s AOL email address and the last four digits on his bank card.

“[A]fter getting that info, we called AOL and said we were locked out of our AOL account,” he said. “They asked security questions like the last 4 on [the bank] card and we got that from Verizon so we told them that and they reset the password.” AOL also asked for the name and phone number associated with the account, all of which the hackers had obtained from Verizon.

The most unnerving part of this entire situation is the fact that Brennan wasn’t necessarily at fault for the hack itself. The only thing he did wrong was send sensitive information from his work email to his private email address. The real issue at hand should be the fact that these hackers easily wound up accessing an important government worker’s email address. Simple security questions aren’t going to be enough to stop hackers from accessing your accounts. If they really want to, they can get whatever information they need.

Therefore, taking advantage of several security layers is the best way to protect your accounts. Part of this is practicing a quality password security protocol. You should be using secure passwords with several different types of characters, including upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols. Strong passwords help keep hackers from cracking your login credentials.

Another best practice is to integrate two-factor authentication into your account logins. This type of solution requires a secondary credential in addition to your normal username and password, making it much more difficult for hackers to attack your accounts. These credentials are usually sent to your smartphone in the form of a SMS message, an automated voice message, or even to your secondary email account. In other words, hackers need physical access to your device in order to obtain this credential.

You don’t want to be stuck in an embarrassing (or potentially incriminating) situation like the one the CIA Director is in now. Give NuTech Services a call at 810.230.9455 and ask us about how we can improve your business’s network security.

6
Nov, 2015
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3 Ways to Make Sure that Your Technology Doesn’t Get Stuck In the Past

b2ap3_thumbnail_cloud_management_400.jpgThe purpose of business technology is to propel an enterprise into the future. Yet, too many businesses are reluctant to make major adjustments to their current IT systems, wrongly believing that it’s not worth the investment. The best way to approach upgrading is to use an IT roadmap that lays out a plan for your technology’s future. This way, you won’t be surprised by what the future holds.

Here are three easy ways that you can “future-proof” your IT infrastructure.

Lease Whatever Computer Hardware that You Can
Generally speaking, it’s easier to upgrade when you’re leasing equipment, rather than having to pay for new equipment outright. Often times, a hardware refresh will even be included in the terms of the lease, and at no additional cost. This way, you won’t have to worry about the consequences of hanging on to your old technology for too long because your hardware refresh will already be scheduled and taken care of by your vendor.

At first glance, it may seem like the monthly expense of leasing hardware will end up costing you more than if you paid upfront for the equipment, but the cost-savings of leasing hardware can be seen in that the cost is now an operating expense, instead of a capital expense–which is very advantageous for your company’s future budget.

Layout Your IT Infrastructure to Accommodate Your Company’s Growth
One mistake that a non-future-minded company does with their technology is to set up their IT infrastructure to only accommodate their current computing needs, instead of designing the system to handle their organization’s growth. An IT system that’s designed for the future will have enough open access points to accommodate new users stemming from an increase in staff numbers, as well as enough available hard drive space and computing power to handle the IT trends that consume a lot of network resources, like BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) and The Internet of Things.

By not planning for future growth, you’ll be caught off guard by something that should be simple, like adding a new workstation. Also, you don’t want to get stuck not having enough bandwidth for an important video conferencing meeting with a client, due to too many users participating in the meeting.

Make Sure that Your Cloud Service is Flexible
A business that’s taking advantage of the cloud will often have an outside company host and manage their cloud services, either partially or exclusively. Due to the unpredictability of your company’s future computing needs, you’re going to want to commit to a cloud agreement that’s flexible, instead of locking you into some strict terms. NetworkComputing explains:

Cloud deployments tend to be dynamic — not static — and must grow or shrink depending on the requirements of the client. Any agreement with a managed service provider (MSP) needs to cater to the variability that the consumptive nature of the cloud provides.

Before implementing technology for your business, NuTech Services will take the time to discuss with you the future of your company’s computing needs so that your IT systems will be prepared for anything that the future will throw at you. We can assist you with finding the right hardware, laying out an IT roadmap, managing your cloud services in a way that best suites your current and future needs, and much more.

Call us today at 810.230.9455 to prepare yourself for whatever the future’s got in store for your organization.

4
Nov, 2015
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Tip of the Week: 3 Ways to Take Back Your Day From Workplace Distractions

b2ap3_thumbnail_distractions_at_work_400.jpgIn today’s competitive workplace environments, productivity is at a premium. Although, thanks to our gadgets, the allure of the Internet, and of course, having to interact with people, working at the modern office isn’t without its fair share of distractions, which hinder productivity. Here are three tips that you can use to tune out the distractions so you can get more work done.

Active “Airplane Mode” On Your Smartphone
When you really need to hunker down and focus, having your smartphone nearby may not be the best move. Unless you’re an extremely disciplined individual, it can be very difficult to ignore the slew of notifications periodically hitting your phone. Yet, it’s likely that you need your phone for what you’re working on, like to access your contacts, calendar, and clock. One way to still access basic apps like these while eliminating the distractions of the Internet is to set your phone to airplane mode. When you’re done with your project, simply turn off airplane mode and any notifications that you missed will promptly appear, as well as voicemail messages.

Bonus productivity tip: If you use your smartphone as your alarm clock, use airplane mode while you sleep in order to avoid being awakened by notifications and even phone calls.

Headphones Keep People at Bay
By putting on a pair of headphones, you’re essentially communicating to the world, “I don’t want to be bothered.” Of course, not everyone will take the hint and you’ll still have a few people tap you on the shoulder to ask a question. Hopefully, the inquires will be essential and they’ll think twice about offering you their opinions regarding what’s trending on social media.

Using your headphones, you might be able to listen to music in order to help you focus better (if you use Spotify, check out their Focus playlists). Although, not every worker has this ability. Therefore, you can also try listening to white noise in order to drown out the noisy distractions in the room. If neither of these options agree with the way you’re wired to work, then you can simply wear the headphones without actually using them for music as a way of communicating to your coworkers that you’re not to be bothered.

Schedule Times For Checking Your Email
If you’re one to keep your inbox open throughout the day, then you’re going to keep one eye on it while trying to be productive. This spells trouble for any project you’re working on because you’ll get slammed with notifications often and at random times. Actually, this applies to other forms of digital communication as well, like social media. Instead, try scheduling times throughout the day to check your email so that you can focus better on the task at hand. You can even take advantage of an email autoresponder tool that lets people know what time you’ll be checking your email. This way, people won’t wonder what’s wrong with you or their computer because they didn’t get an instant response. Remember, if it’s an urgent matter, they can always just pick up the phone and give you a call.

These tips may seem overly simple, but they’ve got the potential to enhance your focus and revolutionize productivity in your office. Try them out and let us know in the comments how they work for you!

2
Nov, 2015
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SharePoint Brings Dynamic Collaboration to Your Business

b2ap3_thumbnail_sharepoint_information_400.jpgEvery business needs a platform they can use to securely store, organize, share, and access the mission-critical information needed to keep operations running smoothly. SharePoint is Microsoft’s intranet solution for enterprises of all shapes and sizes, and it’s worth looking into for your data needs.

SharePoint is part of the Microsoft Office 365 family, which means that it works seamlessly with all of Microsoft’s productivity applications. Yet, SharePoint isn’t a Microsoft-exclusive product. For example, it easily integrates with popular enterprise software from third parties. The integration of a valuable tool like Yammer, a corporate-style social network, is a great example of this.

Additionally, SharePoint can be accessed by non-Microsoft web browsers like Chrome and Firefox (and of course, it works great with IE and Edge). In fact, this is probably SharePoint’s strongest selling point; the fact that it can be accessed from the web browser of virtually any Internet-connected device. This is possible thanks to SharePoint’s ability to be hosted on the cloud, or on-premises (in your own IT infrastructure).

Another advantage of SharePoint comes from its versatility. As explained by the Microsoft support page, here are four ways that SharePoint can benefit your business.

  • SharePoint Online. A cloud-based service, hosted by Microsoft, for small and large businesses. Instead of installing and deploying SharePoint Server on-premises, organizations can subscribe to an Office 365 plan, or to just the SharePoint Online service. Using SharePoint Online, your employees can create intranet sites for the purpose of sharing documents and files with colleagues and customers.
  • SharePoint Foundation. SharePoint Foundation is available for on-premises deployment. You can use SharePoint Foundation to create a variety of sites that let your team collaborate on documents, lists, calendars, and other mission-critical data.
  • SharePoint Server. Organizations have the option to deploy and manage SharePoint Server on-premises. SharePoint Server also offers additional features and capabilities like Enterprise Content Management, business intelligence, enterprise search, personal sites, and a news feed.
  • OneDrive for Business folder sync. A desktop program that allows you to sync offline versions of your files to a folder on your computer.

The primary benefit of SharePoint is that it allows everyone on your team to share corporate data with each other. SharePoint is essentially the ultimate team collaboration tool for enterprises. Here are just some of the ways it can benefit your operations:

  • Share documents and files with employees and partners.
  • Host internal training guides.
  • Manage and organize projects.
  • Keep commonly updated documents in order.
  • Build and maintain repeatable processes.
  • Use it as a single, central location for everything going on internally.

Do you think that SharePoint is the intranet solution that your company needs? Whatever data-sharing platform you go with will affect operations in a major way. Therefore, you’re going to want to make sure that you consult an IT expert before making such an important decision regarding your company’s mission-critical technology. Give NuTech Services a call at 810.230.9455 to have a discussion about your data-hosting options, and to find out if a solution like SharePoint is right for you!