16
May, 2016
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In the Midst of Chaotic Financial Markets, Technology Remains a Constant

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Not that long ago, the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange was filled with business-tie clad gladiators, climbing over each other in what looked like a capitalism-induced mosh pit. The Open outcry pit had its language, its own weather, its own smell. Nowadays, these pits are more subdued. They still are populated with people, and some are gesturing to buy and sell, but most of the transactions are done digitally. It is this role where the computer has changed the way financial markets work; from the ground up.

The Street Before the Internet
The first thing you should know is that computation of some sort has been utilized by traders and brokers for decades. With that truth out of the way, today’s Wall Street doesn’t resemble the Wall Street of old at all. Long gone are the days where traders would make trades out the window, stand in the street during a snowstorm to buy and sell securities, and even later, sit in their offices and read stock prices off a ticker tape, or later, a teleregister (or quotation board).

These technologies all supercede the technologies of today, and go a long way toward paving the way for the instantaneous trading you see in hedge funds and brokerage houses today. In fact, once the personal ticker was invented during the second half of the twentieth century, and traders could get nearly instantaneous updates at their home or office, the stage was set for dynamic investor growth. In the 1980s the Quotron used more modern computing tactics to produce the same effect: providing individuals with up-to-the-minute trading information. These technologies, while all cutting-edge for their times, don’t have the enormous effect that today’s technologies have for investors.

The Street and the Internet
In order to monetize, commercialize, and totally legitimize the new Internet, there first needed to be capital in place to build the necessary infrastructure required in order to process and send all the data that people send via the Internet. Many people take this infrastructure for granted today, but there was a time, in the infancy of the Internet where Wall Street was trying to get a hold on all of the available new technologies. After all, brokerages had been using something called Electronic Communications Networks (ECNs) to create efficiencies for brokerages since the early 1970s. Like most of western society, brokers were wholly unprepared for the speed in which these new networking technologies would change the market.

The big shift began in 1994 when two economists, William Christie and Paul Schultz, published a paper titled, “Why do NASDAQ Market Makers Avoid Odd-Eighth Quotes?” where they outlined a deliberate anomaly where these market makers were manipulating the spread (the difference between the buy and sell prices of NASDAQ securities) to secure these individuals a higher profit margin. This led to a full scale investigation and, eventually, rule changes by the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) to protect smaller investors. The demand fueled by more attractive (and fair) investment tools led to online brokerages such as ETrade and Ameritrade being created. These organizations offered flexibility to any individual investor and led to traditional brokerages, such as Charles Schwab and TD Waterhouse, moving much of their trading to the web.

A few years later with more and more retail outlets popping up, Wall Street seemed to be in a spending frenzy over the next big Internet sensation. This led to what is known as the dot com bubble. Its explosion 1999 and 2000 paved the way for recession in many major western nations. As the economies in the EU and US rebounded, the improvement was largely driven by consumer and investor confidence that the Internet was here to stay, and that companies that had a viable business plan could find success by using the Internet as their sales base.

The Street at High Speed
After the housing market collapsed in 2008, the global economy hit the skids quickly. As a result, many of the strategies that were implemented to keep the world from sinking into a terrible depression were to add stimulus capital, without any real regulations about where the money was going to go. This has produced a wilder, less transparent, and overall fast stock market. With the use of today’s most dynamic Internet speeds, traders are now able to execute trades in incredibly short intervals; millions of times faster than the human mind can make a decision. Quantitative trading uses complex algorithms to do trades so fast that a half a cent here and a half a cent there can lead to millions of dollars changing hands over millions of trades.

This technology-driven trend is difficult for Wall Street regulators. Despite having state of the art solutions for monitoring these transactions, so many are made each day that it is practically impossible for people to keep their finger on the pulse of the market any longer. Regulators now rely heavily on automated systems that look for fraudulent activity in what seems to be a futile effort to keep investors, traders, brokers, and anyone else involved in this system, honest.

Nowadays, any major volatility of the market is largely the result of these micro-traders. Take the “Flash Crash” of May 6, 2010. The DOW, which had been losing ground all morning suddenly dropped 600 points, with Procter & Gamble losing 25 percent off its starting stock price. There was true frenzy on Wall Street, with the fear that we were looking into the abyss prevalent throughout the pundits and money managers all throughout the financial industry. In a matter of moments almost $1 trillion in shareholder value was erased.

The silver lining is that the market rebounded almost as fast as it fell and the DOW only finished down three points, but it took regulators over four months to determine what made the “Flash Crash” happen. It turned out that the problem stemmed from one of these algorithms being triggered by a very large sale of stock, along with the same-day announcement that Greece was bankrupt. When millions of trades can be made every minute, and are made every minute, there just isn’t the infrastructure there to provide entities the proper oversight the markets need to be thought of as “controlled”.

What do you think about the role of technology in the stock market? Do we need better oversight to ensure that fortunes are not lost in a blink of an eye, or that automation can’t take down the world economy? Or, do you believe that the market itself will dictate the end-game for technology in the financial sector?

To relate all of this back to your business, how has technology changed you? Has it made you faster, more automated, and more effective?

Leave your thoughts below in the comments.

13
May, 2016
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Find Out What REALLY Happens When You Delete Your Data

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You understand that the Recycle Bin is the place where deleted files go, and you know that emptying the Recycle Bin is how you dispose of files that you no longer need. What you might not know is that emptying your Recycle Bin does not guarantee that your files are gone at all, and that they’re probably still available on your PC.

The problem here is that you have to go through an extraordinarily complex process in order to truly “delete” files from your devices or hardware. Deleted files can still be accessed if someone knows where to look. This usually happens in the form of law enforcement personnel, like detectives, digging through a suspect’s computer. Even if these criminals deleted files from their computers, law enforcement knows that deleted data isn’t necessarily “deleted.”

When you drag your files from one location to another, like when you move your files to the Recycle Bin, you aren’t moving every single piece of data associated with that file. Instead, it’s just redirecting your computer to where to access the data, which could be in several places scattered across the hard drive.

TechQuickie explains how this works: “The way your operating system knows where to find all the pieces [of your data] is… through the reference to it on the Master File Table. So back to deleting stuff, removing a file from the Recycle Bin, only removes the Master File Table reference that points to the pieces that make up that file puzzle, and registers that space that it used to take up as ‘empty.’ This gives the operating system permission to write over it, but that does not mean that, right after you clean out your Recycle Bin, that the file is gone. Not by a long shot.”

If a criminal were to delete incriminating files from their PC and they didn’t take the opportunity to perform any additional activity on their PC, this information hasn’t been overwritten and can still be pieced together by law enforcement. Detectives and law enforcement agencies are in possession of special programs that help them perform such feats, accessing deleted information that’s scattered across hard drives to piece together the entire file.

By this same logic, it’s imperative that you contact a trusted IT professional, like those at NuTech Services, before you assume that data is deleted from your hard drive. This is especially important following a data loss disaster, like a hardware failure. Depending on how severe the disaster is, we might be able to use the same tools that detectives use in order to put your files back together, but of course, we can’t make any guarantees.

The best way to approach data recovery is to revert to a recently backed-up copy. This is why it’s so important to routinely back up your company’s data. We recommend that organizations back up their files with a backup and disaster recovery (BDR) solution. It’s the best way to guarantee your data’s recovery, even if it’s deleted. One of the best parts of BDR is that it works equally as well for both accidental and intentional data loss caused by user error or hacking attacks.

Now that we’ve let you know about what happens when you delete a file, how are you going to approach data loss and disaster recovery? For more information about how to recover deleted information, give us a call at 810.230.9455. We can also show you how to wipe your hard drive so you can know the deleted data is gone forever.

11
May, 2016
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Tip of the Week: How to Avoid Oversharing on Social Media

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Social media, as wonderful a tool for connecting and communicating as it is, does have its dangers. Fortunately, these risks may be mitigated through careful deliberation and pragmatic posting habits, but only if you know what they are. What follows are some easy habits to encourage a heightened state of security both digitally and in the physical world.

  • Share with Caution: There are some pieces of information that really have no business on a social network, as they could be used to the benefit of identity thieves. One really obvious example is the unique-to-the-individual Social Security Number, but it isn’t totally wise to share your home address or phone number, either. Birthday information and other personal details should only be shared if the site offers private profiles – but even then, think twice and be sure to triple-check your privacy settings frequently, and only add those who you know personally. If all a thief needs to verify that they are you is your date of birth or your dog’s name, you might be opening yourself up.

A side note: Even if you trust your privacy settings and your list of contacts, never post your address and/or a post sharing your agenda until after the fact. Announcing that your home will be empty on social media for a given amount of time is inviting criminal activity into your residence.

  • Limit Employment Details Online: Sites like LinkedIn, while phenomenally helpful with professional networking, can also provide identity thieves with a blueprint of your life thus far to exploit. Unless actively seeking employment for a time, leave just enough to entice those who view your profile to contact you directly to seek more information. Take advantage of privacy settings on those sites as well.
  • Do an Online Audit: The online world is vast. Your information could be in more places than you think. Friends and contacts of yours could post information about your real-time whereabouts that others could exploit, or your information could exist outside of the real-time social media sphere, in cached browsers and the like. Do a quick search for yourself online and remove anything you can. Google Street View will reveal details about your life that can easily implicate your financial situation, a quick request through their “Report a Problem” feature will solve that with a blurred image, rather than your home and belongings.
  • Continue with a Social Audit: How well do you know all of your personal social media contacts? Would you welcome them into your home? Share intimate details about your life with them? Call them friends? If any of the corresponding answers are negative, these people probably don’t need access to your full account and information. Limit access to your info (with certain exceptions, if you must) or ideally remove people from your social media sphere.

Social media can be both a fun personal venture as well as a valuable professional networking resource, but like any other tool, it must be handled with care. For more information, tips, and best practices to apply to your social media habits, read more of our posts or call NuTech Services at 810.230.9455.

9
May, 2016
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Can Technology Cure Blindness? We’ll See!

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Wireless technology is a staple in the office, but it’s making leaps and bounds in the medical industry, too. With innovations like wireless sensors, pumps, and other Internet of Things devices that can communicate with each other, medical care can be provided in unprecedented ways. But what would you say if we told you that wireless technology can give the blind back their sight?

Well, these patients may not have perfect sight, but they can regain their ability to see to a certain degree. While there are several retinal implants that help victims of degenerative eye diseases, the Argus device by Second Sight is mostly used to help patients suffering from retinitis pigmentosa– a hereditary condition in which the light-sensitive cells in the retina depreciate. In other words, the disease gradually erodes the vision of the victim until they’re unable to see anything but the brightest of lights. The Argus can give victims of this crippling condition another chance at living a normal life.

The Argus is a small device that is designed to take the place of some functions of the retina, aiding in sight. It sits on the patient’s retina and receives images wirelessly from a camera mounted on a special pair of glasses. The Argus then converts the images received into electromagnetic pulses, which communicate with the brain via the optic nerve much like a normal retina does. Though the images seen by patients aren’t necessarily full-color, perfect visions of the outside world; patients describe seeing rough black and white renditions, which certainly beats seeing nothing but darkness.

Of course, the inside of the human body isn’t a very hospitable environment for technology, even under the best conditions. Considering the body is full of salt, electronics can corrode and deteriorate over time. The main challenge is creating a device that is capable of withstanding the conditions inside the human body, while making it small enough to not be obtrusive to the human eye.

At first, the Argus only had 16 electrodes, which offered a limited amount of vision for the patient. The modern versions of Argus use 60 electrodes, which allow patients to “see” much better. As time goes on, Second Sight hopes that Argus can provide even better vision for its patients, as well as color vision. If there’s any question of whether the Argus is effective, watch this video.

In the future, these types of eye implants could be used to treat many different kinds of blindness, including optic nerve damage, diabetic retinopathies, glaucoma, and more. However, this might not be for quite some time, considering how the technology would have to imitate the function of the optic nerve, which demands a direct connection to the brain.

With so many great new technologies coming into existence, it’s only a matter of time before technology can be used to help even more people eliminate their physical handicaps. What are your thoughts on using bionic technology to help those in need? Do you think that someday science will have the power to restore vision completely? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to our blog for more great tech news.

6
May, 2016
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Prepare for a Future of More Jobs Being Automated

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Eliminating unnecessary costs is a natural part of doing business. By “trimming the fat,” so to speak, organizations can optimize operations and profits. Automation technology is instrumental to this plight, but as these systems grow more advanced and capable, even professional employees are finding themselves at risk of losing their jobs to cheaper, more efficient automated systems.

You can see this in many forms throughout the manufacturing and retail industries. For example, the self-checkout systems at major retail stores allow for shoppers to get their wares and get out. Manufacturing plants use automated assembly machines to aid in some mundane tasks. The goal is to eliminate payroll and optimize operations, but let’s face it; these trends put people out of work. Yet, despite the various advantages of automation, their performance is often variable, and they require a certain amount of oversight in order to be effective. Shopping centers will often have a staff member on-hand for times when the self-checkout machines don’t work, and someone has to fix malfunctioning technology when it’s not assembling parts correctly. Thus, humans still have a vital role in ensuring the success of automated systems.

In light of this fact, rather than replacing workers, a solution could be to use automated technology to augment the capabilities of human workers. For example, there are programs that write articles for news aggregates. These systems are capable of writing much faster than a human ever could, but they also lack the emotion required to appeal to readers in a way a human author can. There are still plenty of jobs that automation systems can’t touch, but how long will this remain the case?

While we’re not necessarily declaring that technological advancement is bad, we want to raise awareness of how technology advancement affects the economy and job market. If a technology is putting skilled people out of work, can it really be called “advancement?” This is a question that you have to answer for yourself.

Even if automated solutions are taking jobs, they can still be somewhat useful. Take, for example, your business’s IT infrastructure. You can now outsource your business’s IT needs to a managed service provider, allowing for an “automated” process of managing and maintaining your business’s technology solutions. In a way, you would be augmenting your business by bringing valuable technical expertise into the fold, allowing for more efficient management and maintenance of your systems.

The beauty of working with NuTech Services is that we aren’t like other automated solutions, like those that want to replace your workers. Instead, we want to work with your internal IT department (if you have one) to help your business reach its greatest potential. If your team is having trouble keeping up with critical updates, we can handle this responsibility for them. Or, if you want to implement new solutions and innovate for a better future, we can recommend and implement solutions based on your team’s unique needs. Regardless of whether your team has the training and expertise to handle your IT solutions, our team can offer a way to improve your business’ operations.

Our professional IT staff will prove more valuable than any automated solution ever could be. To learn more, give us a call at 810.230.9455.

4
May, 2016
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Tip of the Week: Try This Weird Trick to Free Up Space on Your iPhone

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It’s a situation that’s all too familiar to an iPhone user: after taking a gorgeous picture, or trying to download a new app, the device flashes up a warning that there is not enough storage to complete the download. So what do you do?

Most people would do either of two things, depending on how badly they wanted to complete what they had first attempted. They would either start cleaning out the apps on their phone, deleting the ones they no longer used, or give up and not download the app. However, what if there was another option? One that would allow a user to free up storage space without sacrificing other files and applications that they would rather keep?

According to Reddit user eavesdroppingyou, there is a trick that has been verified by dozens of other users and quite a few technology websites since the original thread was started. All one has to do is try to rent a movie from the iTunes store. Not just any movie, however; one with a file size larger than the amount of available space left on the phone.

The trick works like this: a user enters the Settings on their phone and checks how much space is left available in the device’s memory. They then enter the iTunes store and attempt to rent a movie with a file size larger than the allotted space remaining. The phone will notify the user that there is not enough available storage to download their selection, giving the user the option to either accept the notification or travel back to Settings. If the user returns to Settings to reevaluate their available storage space, it will have increased since they attempted their futile download.

This is apparently because the iPhone will try to make room for the file by clearing out extraneous data from the apps you already have, like cookies and histories, which take up extra space while serving no real purpose. This process can be repeated, as the memory gains will most likely be incremental. After a few attempts, however, a user can accumulate a considerable amount of extra space. Commenters and posters on the Reddit thread and the various websites publicizing the find have reported memory gains ranging from a few hundred megabytes to a few gigabytes.

What makes the process even nicer is that, since the rental is unable to complete its download, the user is not charged for it and receives data space at essentially no cost. As long as, that is, they remember to check their available storage between attempts, so that they don’t inadvertently rent a movie by clearing up enough space to host it on their device.

Furthermore, this in no way voids any warranty and requires no jailbreaking of the device. The riskiest aspect of this method is the possibility of the trick adding a few megabytes of data to the phone (as has been reported by a few commenters), or perhaps renting a movie that there was no interest in watching. Regarding that, who knows – the rented movie just might become a new favorite.

How would you make use of the newly freed-up space on your phone? Leave a comment below and let us know what your next download will be!

2
May, 2016
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A Law From 1986 Shouldn’t Govern Email Privacy in 2016

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Are you familiar with the protections in place that ensure that your digital communications remain private? What’s keeping an entity like the government from going through your emails? In the United States, the government uses a loophole in an outdated law to access the digital information they want from its citizens. If you’re concerned about privacy, you need to be informed about such laws and loopholes.

For the US government, this loophole is found in the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). Key to this discussion is the fact that the law was originally passed in 1986. We don’t have to tell you how different the technological landscape was in 1986, much less digital communications like email. The loophole to ECPA is that it considers any stored electronic communications over 180 days old to be “abandoned,” and thus, law enforcement agencies can access it after the 180-day mark without a warrant. Obviously, the original version of ECPA was passed without having any idea how dependent the world would become on sharing and storing digital communications 30 years into the future.

Recently, legislative action has taken place to try and close this loophole. CompTIA reports:

On April 13th, the House Judiciary Committee unanimously passed an amended version of the Email Privacy Act (H.R. 699)… The Email Privacy Act would put an end to this outdated 180 day rule and require a warrant for law enforcement to access the content of all stored communications. While the current iteration of the bill is not perfect, we were happy to see that it does not contain a carve out to the warrant requirement for civil agencies, nor does it alter ECPA’s emergency exception procedures.

The idea here is to protect users of email and cloud services, along with the service providers themselves. As society continues to become more dependant upon digital communications, having discussions like this and knowing who has access to your data is increasingly important.

Were you aware of this loophole before reading this article? Do you feel this is cause for concern, or do you not care if the government reads your emails? Share your opinion with us in the comments.

29
Apr, 2016
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3 Ways the Internet is Changing Things, for Better AND for Worse

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We’ve all become so adapted to the conveniences of the Internet that it’s difficult to remember what society was like before it. This becomes especially obvious when watching old movies. How odd is it to see characters do pre-Internet activities like go to the library to research information and use a phone book? These are just some of the ways that the Internet has dramatically changed society, for better and perhaps for worse.

Consider these three ways that the Internet has changed how we work and live, and then ask yourself truthfully, “Are we better off?”

Increased Productivity
One advantage the Internet affords us is that we can be productive virtually anywhere that we can connect to it. This includes places that were previously thought to be off limits from the reach of productivity, like at the beach while on vacation, on the road for business, we even hear that some users take their favorite devices into the bathroom with them. Looking at this situation from a purely business standpoint, it makes you as a business owner feel good that your staff is spending every waking moment being as productive as possible. However, looking at it from the standpoint of the human experience, it makes one feel like we’ve lost something when we can’t go but a few minutes without stopping to look at our mobile devices.

Yet, Productivity Decreases
While the Internet affords us more opportunities to access the web and get work done, it can also be a major distraction for the times when we actually sit down to, get work done. For example, at the end of the work day, how many tabs does your web browser have open? If you’re like the average modern office worker, your screen is full of interesting news articles, YouTube videos, multiple instant messaging conversations, and more, much more.

The problem here is that all of these little distractions presented by the Internet actually cut into productivity in a major way. In fact, it’s proven that it takes anywhere from 5-to-15 minutes for a worker to refocus on a single task after they’re pulled away from it. Therefore, having the Internet bombard an employee with distractions all day long actually results in getting less work done. But hey, they can always make up for it at home, or even in the bathroom.

Access Any Information Instantly
So far, the future we were promised is disappointing because it lacks flying cars, laser guns, and hoverboards (we don’t count the “Hoverboards” found in today’s retail stores). However, thanks to the Internet, virtually all of the world’s media and information is just a click away, and can even be carried in your pocket. This is a huge advancement for our civilization; one that would make the Jetsons green with envy.

Yet, all of this instant information is killing our attention spans. Consider these two sobering statistics from List25:

  • 50 percent of Internet users quit waiting for a video to load after 10 seconds.
  • The average shot length in an English-language film has decreased from 12 seconds in 1930 to only about 2 seconds in 2015.

Therefore, while the Internet is satisfying our need for instant gratification, it’s making patience much harder for human beings to come by.

In what ways do these benefits and drawbacks of the Internet play out in your office? Is your staff more productive and more distracted? Is work time cutting into leisure time? Are people so impatient that they resort to Googling a question instead of having an actual discussion about it? Are you taking any measures to control online distractions in the workplace? Of course, these are just some of the ways that the Internet is changing everything, both for better and for worse.

Do you have any points to add to this list? Share with us your thoughts in the comments.

27
Apr, 2016
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Tip of the Week: 10 Google Easter Eggs to Get You Through the Workday

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Perhaps one reason why Google is so popular is because the company knows how to have fun and not take themselves too seriously. One way that Google shows us their silly side is with Easter eggs they’ve incorporated into their search engine. Here’s a list of ten of our favorites.

To access these Easter eggs, you first have to go to Google.com, and then enter the following in the search form:

Type “Atari breakout” and click Images
Doing this will transform your screen of images into a playable game of Super Breakout, complete with music and a score counter.

Type “Askew”
This will tilt your screen. Don’t worry, your browser isn’t broken. It will return to normal after you leave the page.

Type “Festivus”
Festivus is a made up holiday popularized by the television show Seinfeld. Actually, Googling “Festivus” will tell you preciously what the holiday is and what it’s about, as well as display a fun Festivus pole to the left of the search results. A Festivus pole isn’t anything fancy (it’s just an aluminum pole that stands upright), which is why it’s such a fitting symbol of the holiday.

Type “Google in 1998”
Doing this acts as a time machine that will transport your Google search back to the way things were in 1998.

Type “Zerg rush”
In another nod to video games, Google transforms the search result into an offensive attack by Google letters, characteristic of the Zerg race from the popular game StarCraft. Only you can stop the assault by clicking multiple times on each letter until it disappears, which will only cause more Zerg-like Google letters to appear. For this egg, you’ll also see a handy score counter on the side.

Type “flip a coin,” or “roll a die”
Each of these search results will provide an animated coin or die that will give you a random result once the page has completed loading. It’s handy for decision making when you can’t get ahold of the real thing.

Type “[actor’s name] Bacon Number”
This is in relation to the game “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon,” not the food. As you may recall, this game involves trying to figure out how many films separate the actor from another film that Kevin Bacon has acted in. Admittedly, having Google automate this game kind of takes the fun out of it.

Type “fun facts”
This will bring up a random fact card with a bit of trivia to boot. This is a stimulating way to satisfy a moment of curiosity, or turn time with friends into a trivia game.

Type “The answer to the ultimate question of life the universe and everything” (no punctuation)
Fans of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy will appreciate this one. The answer, of course, is 42.

Type “Google Pacman”
One last Google game for you. Entering this into Google will display a pop-up screen with a playable game of Pac-Man. Google made this as a doodle to celebrate Pac-Man’s 30th anniversary in 2010 (costing the US economy $120 million in lost productivity, or 5 million wasted work hours) and the game has stuck around as fun Easter egg ever since.

These are our top 10 favorite Google Easter eggs, there are actually many more to be found. Can you think of one or two eggs that we didn’t go over? Share them with us in the comments!

Bonus egg: “Do a Barrell Roll!”

25
Apr, 2016
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Moving to a New Office Building? Make Sure Your Technology is Good to Go!

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Moving your office is never an easy task. You have to move furniture, personal objects, and above all else, your technology infrastructure. There’s nothing simple about moving your office’s technology, but it’s still nothing to get worried about. That’s why we’re here to help, from suggesting the optimal network cabling, to the proper deployment of new and improved technology solutions.

For example, let’s take a look at your old (or your current) office. You have a certain number of workstations, one for each of your employees. These workstations need to be connected via cable to your business’s network. Otherwise, your team could go without required software, data, and other important resources. Keep in mind that your cabling infrastructure could quickly grow to be uncontrollable, especially if you don’t approach your cabling procedures in an educated and logical manner.

Another issue that you might encounter comes from equipping everyone with the right communications solutions. The most notable problem is setting up phone lines for everyone who needs them. Adding new lines is far from a simple task, and one which can quickly exceed your budget if it’s not planned out in advance. This also makes adjusting for growth much more difficult, considering you have to add and/or remove lines as needed, making for an expensive investment.

Furthermore, how are you going to move all of your physical files? Chances are that you would much rather make the move without lugging unnecessary items; especially extremely heavy and cumbersome objects like large file cabinets. The problem is that your organization might be torn between keeping the files and getting rid of them, especially if there’s mission-critical data stored somewhere. There may be files you’re required to keep around, plus some that you might not need anymore. It makes sense to take inventory before committing to such a move.

NuTech Services offers several services that are designed to help your business make its move much easier. In fact, our services aren’t just convenient for businesses that are relocating; they’re great for most any SMB that wants to maximize productivity.

  • Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP): With a VoIP solution, your business can take advantage of your Internet connection to make and receive phone calls. Since the only connection you need is to your Internet, you can skip out on the complex cabling required of traditional telephone systems. You still need to keep an eye on your bandwidth, but if you use a NuTech Services-provided solution, we’ll help you ensure that you get the most out of VoIP with minimal incident.
  • Cloud storage and virtualization: If you’re having trouble providing information to your entire infrastructure, you can use cloud computing and cloud storage to provide access to applications, software, and data required by your employees throughout the workday. Doing this helps you avoid unnecessary cabling and allows for similar data access capabilities. As long as your employees have an Internet connection (say, through a WiFi signal), they’ll be able to connect to the cloud and access information. In other words, they can work from anywhere, leading to more productivity.
  • Electronic records storage: If your organization is having trouble with file storage, NuTech Services can equip your business with a solution that’s designed to help you eliminate unnecessary physical file storage systems in the office. Instead, you can store your files in a digital, compliant space, that’s optimized for your file’s security. Since your files will be stored digitally and protected with data backup, you’ll be able to quickly get back up to speed without the frustration of filing cabinets.

A new office means a second chance to start over, so why not do your IT the right way? For more information about how we can help your office relocation progress more smoothly, give NuTech Services a call at 810.230.9455.

22
Apr, 2016
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Tip of the Week: The Top 5 Mistakes that Ruin Mobile Devices

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To get the most life out of your smartphone, you’re going to want to properly take care of it. Of course, this is easier said than done for a small device that’s prone to being dropped and subject to the many dangers of being transported. Here are five smartphone practices to avoid if you want your device to last.

Going Without a Case
When purchasing a mobile device, it’s easy to brush off getting a case. Although, if your device goes unprotected, then it can experience some serious damage when (not if) you next drop it. At the end of the day, protective cases are relatively inexpensive and can be easily found, so you really have no excuse… unless you’re this poor bloke.

Plus, if you’re super serious about protection, you can even special order a military-grade case that promises to safeguard your device from the harshest of conditions.

Exposing Your Device to Extreme Temperatures
Both extreme hot and cold weather can devastate a device. At 113 degrees Fahrenheit, a phone will overheat and become damaged, which is easy enough to reach inside a car on a hot summer day. On the opposite side of the thermometer, a smartphone ceases to work when the exterior temperature reaches -40° Fahrenheit. Just be mindful of this and turn your device off if you find yourself either in the desert, Arctic tundra, or even in direct sunlight.

Never Turning Off Your Device
Smartphones are different than PCs. With a PC, you can leave it on all day long without any adverse effects. In fact, some PC users will argue that it’s better to never turn off a PC. However, smartphones need to be turned off every now and then. TechRepublic explains:

At least once a week, reboot that device or (even better) shut it down for 30 minutes or so. Doing this will ensure that caches are cleared and subsystems are properly restarted. Shutting down the device once a week will aid with the longevity of the RAM on the device and allow certain diagnostics to be run at boot.

Keeping Your Phone in Your Pockets
While it certainly is convenient to keep your phone in the pockets of your pants, doing so puts your device at great risk. This is especially the case with your back pockets; forget to remove your phone and you’re in for one expensive sit. Even keeping your smartphone in the front pocket of your pants can cause it to fall out if you bend your legs a certain way. Plus, in some rare occasions, phone batteries have been known to combust.

Also, shirt pockets make for a bad place to store mobile devices. The reason should be obvious. Instead, it’s better to transport a mobile device on a belt clip, or even in a purse or messenger bag.

Ignoring Malware
For many users, mobile security solutions are ignored because they feel like their mobile devices aren’t susceptible to the same risks as PCs. While it’s true that more viruses are designed for desktops, there are many attacks exclusive to mobile platforms, and the number of threats continues to rise as mobile computing becomes ever more popular. At the very least, you should have an antivirus solution for your phone and perform regular scans, and you need to be careful of the mobile apps you install.

By avoiding these smartphone blunders, your phone should last for years to come, and the risk of something happening to it will decrease dramatically. For more tips and best practices, contact NuTech Services and subscribe to our blog.

20
Apr, 2016
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Alert: New Petya Ransomware Spreads via Fake Online Resumes

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Next time you see an unsolicited resume in your email, it’s worth scrutinizing before you just click on it. It could be a nasty new ransomware called Petya.

Petya is a particularly mean-spirited ransomware that hackers use to extort money from their victims. Infection begins with a Windows error, followed by the typical “blue screen of death” reboot, and displays a red skull and crossbones. As the computer restarts, a fraudulent “system check” allows the infection to encrypt the master file table (MFT), so the computer more or less “forgets” where, or even which, files it has.

In addition to doing this, instead of barring access from particular files, Petya locks the user out of their system entirely by overwriting their computer’s master boot record. Once this happens, the computer is rendered useless (you can’t even log in), only displaying a list of demands, an online address to appease those demands in Bitcoin, and finally, a decryption code to regain access to the files.

When the user accesses the payment page, they learn that they have a limited amount of time to purchase their key before the price is doubled–from around an initial cost of .99 Bitcoins, which is equivalent to about $430. While many websites claim that there are commands that will allow the user to skip the lock screen, the MFT will still be encrypted, and the files still useless. Additionally, there’s no guarantee that the decryption key provided upon payment will even solve the problem, potentially leaving the user short $430 and all of their digital files.

Business owners and human resource representatives need to be particularly alert, considering that the preferred method of disbursement for Petya is via email, specifically disguised as what would appear to be a message from someone seeking a job. The message contains a hyperlink that directs to a Dropbox containing a “resume” (an antivirus program-blinding Trojan containing Petya) and a stock photo. With these tactics, Petya had been plaguing German businesses, with no telling when it may spread.

Fortunately, a programmer has come up with a fix to remove Petya without paying any ransom after his father-in-law’s system was targeted. Thanks to some purported carelessness by the authors of this malware, the encryption is crackable. To do so, however, isn’t such a simple task – it requires a second, uninfected hard drive, for starters. So while Petya has been cracked, it is still better to not be a target in the first place.

So how does one avoid such an attack? Mainly vigilance, assisted by NuTech Services’s security solutions that help detect and block questionable sources. Call 810.230.9455 for more information about products to keep your company safe from the cyber pirates flying a digital skull and bones.

18
Apr, 2016
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It’s the End of the Line for Microsoft SQL Server 2005 – Are You Prepared?

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Do you know which database management system is used by your company’s servers? Obviously your end users aren’t expected to know the answer to this question, but this is something that you, as a business owner, need to be aware of. If you don’t keep track of which database software you’re using, you might accidentally wait too long and wind up running an unsupported piece of software. For example, you need to move away from SQL Server 2005 (which is now unsupported) as soon as possible.

For those unaware, the end of life for SQL Server 2005 was just last week, April 12th. This means that if you haven’t upgraded away from it yet, you could be in serious trouble. Plus, 10 years is far too long a time to use any dated software.

Your best chance is to upgrade to a more recent version of database software that’s supported by Microsoft’s security patches and updates. SQL Server 2014 or Azure SQL Database are two great options that will last your business for years to come. The skilled technicians at NuTech Services can assist you with such an important upgrade. Let’s face it; unless you’re an experienced technician in your own right, your best chance of switching to a new database software solution with minimal complication is by letting professionals do it. This helps you avoid a lack of compatibility with mission-critical applications. Errors like these can lead to huge operational inefficiencies, which inevitably leads to downtime. Plus, if you are upgrading your SQL Server, you may need to reconfigure or upgrade certain apps, which is significantly more challenging than installing a new version of SQL Server.

Tim Hegedus, senior manager of the analyst team with Miro Consulting, explains to CIO: “The biggest risk stems from continuing to use the product when there is any kind of uncontrolled or external access to that database. Any security breach can be damaging not just monetarily but also reputationally.”

Organizations that utilize sensitive data need to be especially careful of this type of upgrade. If you’re using SQL Server 2005 (or any other unsupported software), what would happen if your systems were hacked and you lost access to important data? Or worse, what would happen if this data was stolen by hackers looking to sell it on the black market? Your business could be subject to hefty fines, many of which could number in the thousands of dollars per record.

Businesses that want to upgrade have a great opportunity to try out Microsoft Azure. Azure SQL VM is a legitimate option to consider, especially if you don’t want to buy and maintain a new server unit. Keep in mind that doing so requires the migration of software solutions and all of your data; something that NuTech Services can help you with. We can also help you weigh the pros and cons of the many options available to you.

For assistance upgrading away from SQL Server 2005, or any of your other unsupported software, contact NuTech Services at 810.230.9455.

15
Apr, 2016
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3 Solid Ways to Approach Your Company’s Technology

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Technology is always changing and evolving to suit the needs of modern society and business. Organizations that fully understand technology’s impact on business are always trying to make the most of their technology. Here are three ways that your company can better leverage its technological investments to meet your organization’s needs.

Think for the Future and Appreciate Your Technology
The most difficult challenge that your business has to deal with is admitting that you’re not thinking about the future of your IT infrastructure. This is especially true for business owners who aren’t specializing in tracking their technological assets. In many cases, business owners forsake their technology to focus on other aspects of running their organization, and operations can suffer because of it.

Even if you’re focused on ensuring that the administrative side of your business functions without a hitch, you’re still responsible for paying attention to your technology and making sure that it gets replaced in an orderly manner. If you don’t make sure that you’re proactively replacing your technology, you’ll one day find yourself surrounded by old IT equipment that’s practically impossible to manage in a productive manner. Todd Nashville explains to IT Knowledge Exchange:

Don’t get into a rut and get too comfortable. The IT field is forever changing and changing faster than ever before. It’s easier to stay current with technology than trying to play catch up after many years of being stagnant. That learning curve can be hard to overcome.

Have the Proper Equipment for Future IT Trends
Keeping up with the current IT trends is great and all, but only if you can predict your company’s own growth and IT requirements. If you can understand where your business will be in one, two, or even five years from now, you can make an educated decision concerning what technology you’ll need to accommodate these shifts in your business model before the future even arrives.

One good example of how to predict the future of your business will be to consider how many users and devices your business will need to manage five years from now. Even if you can make a guesstimate, you can plan to implement the technology needed for this growth today, while ensuring that the growth you experience won’t negatively impact your IT infrastructure. If you don’t take a proactive approach to this, you’ll find yourself forced to upgrade at the worst possible time, which could lead to wasted time and resources. NuTech Services offers IT consulting to companies just like yours in order to best prepare you for future growth and IT trends.

Keep Security On Your Mind
Technology grows more complex every day, but so do the security threats that undermine businesses utilizing it. You need to prepare for dangerous new security threats that will attempt to compromise your business’s security measures. If you don’t stay on top of these threats, you could be putting your business at risk.

Take for example one of the hottest IT trends for businesses, the Internet of Things. In order to take full advantage of dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of new devices accessing your network, you’re first going to want to have in place every network security measure possible. Todd Nashville explains:

Without strong authentication, firewalls, and other measures, we are heading for a heap of trouble. The more devices we add, the more vulnerable we become. To support all the various types of devices, we should have some standards. Modifying our connections so each new device will work is a major obstacle.

To future-proof your IT infrastructure, give NuTech Services a call at 810.230.9455.

13
Apr, 2016
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Tip of the Week: 3 Ways to Take Full Advantage of Google Drive

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Google Drive is a great way to get work done. It provides several applications that are similar in nature to Microsoft Office, like a word processor, spreadsheet software, and a presentation maker. Just like any other type of software, Drive has keyboard shortcuts and other tricks that can be leveraged for more productivity. Here are some of our favorites.

Share Larger Files That Can’t Utilize Your Email Solution
In addition to being a productivity suite, Google Drive is a solid cloud storage option. If you’re using all of these solutions for your business, chances are that you’re also using Gmail for Business as your preferred email client. Gmail has a 25MB size cap for its attachments, which might make it difficult to send and receive large documents. Thankfully, if you’re integrating Gmail with your Google Drive, you can accomplish much larger file-sharing sizes (up to 10GB). All you have to do is upload your file to Google Drive and share it out with Gmail.

Google Drive Keyboard Shortcuts
Many of the standard keyboard shortcuts work with Google Drive, but there are also several specific shortcuts that allow for exclusive functionality within Drive. Here are some of the best keyboard shortcuts available with Google Drive. Just keep in mind that these shortcuts are for Drive itself, not the apps that you might create a file with.

  • Shift + t: Create a new Google Docs document. This is great if you need a quick way to open a new document, but don’t want to go through the process of doing it manually. The document will be made in the current folder you’re viewing in Drive.
  • Shift + p: Create a new presentation with Google Slides. This works in exactly the same way as the above shortcut for Google Docs.
  • Shift + s: Create a new spreadsheet in Google Sheets. Again, this works like the above two shortcuts.
  • / (backslash): Search through your Drive folder. This is a good alternative to manually clicking on the Search form at the top of the page.
  • i: Show or hide the activity panel. This will show you the most recent activity on all documents in your current folder.
  • n: Rename your selected item. This can be handy for cutting out several clicks in the renaming process, or opening the file only to rename it.

Keep An Eye on Revision History
Google Docs and your other files in Drive allow you to view their revision history. This helps to keep users accountable for the edits and changes that they make to documents, but this also presents a unique ability to look at what has been changed from previous versions of the document. To view your revision history, click on File > See Revision History. You’ll be shown a color-coded rendition of the document which correlates to changes made, by whom, on specific dates and times. The right panel displays the various revisions, which you can restore if you so desire.

For more great tips and tricks, be sure to subscribe to NuTech Services’s blog.

11
Apr, 2016
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Some Microsoft Users are Getting Windows 10 Upgrades Against Their Will

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Windows 10 might be the latest operating system from Microsoft, but despite its great new business-friendly features, many are still hesitant to upgrade. For those who don’t want Windows 10, there are reports of unwanted (and unexpected) Windows 10 updates. Now, here’s the big question: would you want your business’s software upgraded without your consent?

The biggest concern about Windows 10’s automatic installations is that businesses are still in the process of testing their compatibility with the operating system. Many organizations rely on legacy software that may be incompatible with Windows 10, and in a worst-case scenario, an unexpected upgrade could completely shut down operations. Your business could experience crippling downtime and headaches that are easily preventable through proactive maintenance.

ComputerWorld discusses some of the many concerning claims of Windows 10’s automatic updates and installations, with several of them seemingly due to users choosing automatic installation of Windows Updates. Ordinarily this wouldn’t be a problem, but the unique way that Windows 10’s installation launcher is distributed also plays a role in this. There’s another setting that users have checked off where recommended updates are installed as critical updates. Since Windows 10 is a recommended update, it will be set up and installed, for no other reason than the fact that the user’s machine is set to do so by default.

Additionally, a supposed inability to refuse the update also plays a major part in updating to the operating system. Some users are stuck in an upgrade loop which won’t allow them to decline the update. Some are even claiming that Microsoft has tampered with their settings to distribute Windows 10 to as many people as possible, but we’re not going to buy into this train of thought. Instead, we see this as an opportunity to remind you to be prepared for unintended upgrades. Depending on your business’s needs, you might even be able to prevent Windows 10 from installing indefinitely, but you want to consult a professional IT technician before doing so. In general, you should always consult tech professionals before making significant changes to your computing infrastructure.

If you don’t want to update to a new version of Windows, perhaps you should consider why you are having reservations. Do you have legacy applications, or are you simply worried that you’ll be changing operations too much in a short time? Consulting a professional technician is the best way to effectively make a significant change to your business’s infrastructure, and while you’re at it, you can ask about all of the great opportunities that managed IT offers. In particular, virtualization services can be valuable assets to help your organization use legacy applications in the most convenient way possible.

The most important part about upgrading your business’s operating system is to make sure that it happens on your own terms; not accidentally due to Windows 10’s installation settings. Regardless of whether or not you think Windows 10 could automatically install on your infrastructure, you need to prepare for the worst. You will want to take every precaution possible to make sure that Windows 10 won’t leave you without vital operational assets for an extended period of time. It’s recommended that you contact NuTech Services for your IT questions or concerns. Our team can help make your Windows 10 adoption as painless as possible. We can examine your network for potential problems, so you can approach Windows 10 in an educated and informed manner.

For more information, give us a call at 810.230.9455.

8
Apr, 2016
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It Only Takes 8 Seconds for a Hacker to Open Your Garage Door

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Hackers have proven to be a crafty and suspicious lot, and can take advantage of even the most benign technology to infiltrate networks. However, we don’t often associate them with objects in the physical world. Now, even something as simple as a decade-old communications device can be used to open the right garage doors.

The device in question was built from a discontinued toy from 2007 called the IM ME. Manufactured by Mattel, it’s a device that was advertised as a secure wireless instant messaging system, sort of like an archaic mobile phone that allows for texting. It stores an address book of other users of the IM ME system, and allows for communications between devices so long as the device had an Internet connection. Looking at it now, you wouldn’t be surprised to hear that it’s no longer supported or even remotely useful these days, especially since smartphones are so much more dynamic and effective for communication.

Last year, it was discovered that this toy could be altered to hack into any garage door that’s equipped with an insecure fixed code transmitted from a remote, rather than one that uses a “rolling code” that’s constantly changing with every button press. The flaw was discovered and exploited by Samy Kamkar, who works as an independant developer and technology consultant. He reportedly built the device out of the IM ME, adding only an antennae and a simple open-source hardware attachment.

Kamkar explains that his device, which he dubs the OpenSesame, works in a different fashion from what are known as “code grabbers.” Ordinarily, code grabbers are devices that capture the code from the garage door button when it’s pressed, and can then reuse the code at a later time. This requires the presence of the hacker when the button is pressed. OpenSesame can accomplish this without being anywhere near the user, which makes it significantly more versatile and dangerous.

The most dangerous part of this hacking experiment is the fact that any hacker can walk up to a vulnerable garage door and have it open in around eight seconds. As reported by WIRED:

Using a straightforward cracking technique, it still would have taken Kamkar’s program 29 minutes to try every possible code. But Kamkar improved his attack by taking out wait periods between code guesses, removing redundant transmissions, and finally using a clever optimization that transmitted overlapped codes, what’s known as a De Bruijn sequence. With all those tweaks, he was able to reduce the attack time from 1,771 seconds to a mere eight seconds.

If you want to know how OpenSesame works, you can watch this video. If you’re unsure of whether or not your garage door is vulnerable to this particular issue, you can watch this video released by Kamkar:

This just goes to show how dangerous and unpredictable some of the things on the Internet of Things can be. With so many devices capable of communicating with each other through near-field and Bluetooth communications, in a worst-case scenario, it becomes a liability that can quickly spiral out of control. Concepts like these should make your business question if it’s prepared to handle the dangers that are approaching in the form of unregulated Internet of Things devices. Considering how much your business stands to lose, you shouldn’t be putting your organization at this kind of risk.

We can give your business’s network a quality assessment to ensure that it’s not vulnerable to other Internet of Things devices and emerging technologies. To learn more, give us a call at 810.230.9455.

6
Apr, 2016
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Tip of the Week: You Need to Manage Your Company’s Online Reputation–Here’s How to Get Started!

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Two things are true today: 1) having a good reputation is critical to the success of any organization, and 2) the Internet is a vast network where seemingly anything goes. How then can you make sure that what’s said online about your organization isn’t hurting your reputation? By taking some basic online reputation management actions, you can stay one step ahead of the virtual haters and keep your reputation intact.

Before we walk you through how to do this, let’s start by establishing the fact that every modern business owner needs to know what Internet users are saying about their company to some degree. For example, what if an unhappy customer or former employee was so upset that they took the time to spread rumors about your business? Neglecting this virtual world is like shooting yourself in the foot, especially if something ugly said about you goes unchecked. Or, you could be missing out on a golden marketing opportunity if people online are singing your praises and you fail to capitalize on their goodwill.

Start With Google
Taking advantage of Google Search is a great place to start. If you’ve never searched for your business on Google Search before, then you may be surprised at what you find. For the most part, a general Google Search will yield basic information about your business, like your website, your location on Google Maps, your Google Plus account, along with your company’s information listed on various business listing services (like Yellow Pages). Depending on how active your company is on social media, you may also see your various social media accounts appear on the first or second page of your Google search.

While knowing these basic Google search results is a great place to start, and it may even yield some reputation management issues, you’ll most likely have to dig deeper in order to find out, specifically, what people are saying about your business. You can do this by refining your search. Instead of searching Google just for the name of your business, get more specific by including the name of your city. You can also try searching for your company’s name plus whatever product or service you specialize in. This might land you on some review websites that you previously did not know about.

It can also be helpful to get even more specific with the timeframe of your search. For example, in Google Search, go to Search Tools > Any time. From here, you can narrow down your search to include results from the past hour, or all the way up to the past year. You can even go to Custom range… to narrow down your search to specific dates. By being more specific with your search, you’ll be shown results that would have otherwise been buried dozens and dozens of pages in with a generalized search.

Additionally, you can take advantage of Google’s email option where Google notifies you every time they index a new search result for whatever it is you’re searching for, like your company’s name or what your business specializes in. You can do this by going to https://www.google.com/alerts, entering what you want to be alerted about in the form, and then confirming your email address. Taking advantage of Google Alerts is a great way to manage your company’s reputation by catching and responding to issues early on.

Pro tip: one way to narrow down your search is to focus on past times that your company gave reason for people on the Internet to talk about you. Relevant time periods to search for include; after a major sale, during your company’s “busy season” (if you have one), while you had a major promotion take place, after your business got covered by the local news, after you parted ways with a problem employee, etc.

Be Sure to Monitor Your Social Media Accounts
Social media is designed to get people to interact with your brand. If you’re not paying close attention to social media activity regarding your company, then your reputation might be taking a hit without you even realizing it. In addition to monitoring the activity of your social media accounts (like people commenting on your posts), you can search social media platforms for content related to your business, much the same way you would perform a Google search.

Remember, in the social media realm, it’s natural to come across users who don’t much care for your company. However, one benefit about social media is that it gives you a public stage to reply to these comments. If the complaints against you are fair and you respond reasonably, then the public will see this, appreciate your quick action and genuine concern, and your reputation will remain intact. Although, be careful to not engage with “trolls.” These are Internet users who love creating rumors and chaos just for kicks. In some cases, you’re able to report trolls, which could lead to them getting their accounts blocked.

Additional Online Reputation Management Tips
Utilizing Google and social media can go a long way in protecting your company’s online reputation, but the suggestions we shared are just the tip of the iceberg. Online reputation management is actually a big business in an of itself, which means that there are many more tools, tips, and best practices that you can take advantage of. If you want to know more about online reputation management, here are 7 tips from Sprout Social to point you in the right direction.

1. Get customers to share positive reviews & experiences.
2. Connect with consumers and solve problems.
3. Find creative ways to tell your company’s story.
4. Monitor your presence and direct the conversation.
5. Give your employees an avenue to share content.
6. Rethink how you use social media.
7. Remember the power of social media.

One last tool that you can take advantage of to boost your company’s online reputation is positive comments left on your website. Speaking of that, we encourage you to share your thoughts about this article, or your experiences with NuTech Services in the comments below. And remember, the best way to improve your company’s online reputation is to get the word out on the Internet about how great you are. If you believe in what you’re doing, then this simple task should come naturally!

4
Apr, 2016
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Do You Use Steam for PC Gaming? Watch Out for this New Malware!

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Malware has traditionally targeted industries that are exceptionally profitable. For example, hackers like to target retailers for their wealth of financial credentials. One of the most profitable industries, entertainment, is also subject to similar torment, including Steam, the PC gamer’s most valuable tool for gaming binges.

Steam is a web-based distribution platform developed by Valve Corporation, which provides multiplayer gaming, among various other services, to gamers. In a way, it can be compared to cloud computing. With over 140 million active users, Steam is one of the most prominent online gaming retailers out there. In October 2013, it was estimated that 75 percent of all games purchased online were through Steam. If nothing else, Steam is a valid online computing outlet that hackers want to take advantage of.

Over time, gamers’ accounts can accrue a “value” of sorts, be it through a collection of purchased game titles, virtual items, or currency, all of which can potentially be stolen by hackers. These items might seem trivial, but they’re giving rise to a new type of hacker on the Steam scene; those who take advantage of Steam Stealer, a new type of malware that helps both experienced hackers and would-be chumps steal in-game items, currency, and other “valuable” assets from other users. This entrance to cybercrime could be seen as a slippery slope. If users find that they can steal in-game items and other valuables, they might one day decide to see if they can exploit other aspects of their rivals’ accounts, like their real-world wallets.

The most dangerous part of Steam Stealer is how easy and affordable it is to take advantage of. People who have no knowledge of malware can easily use Steam Stealer thanks to its included specializations, user manuals, APIs, and its price tag of $15. Other malware-as-a-service offerings are much more expensive and complicated to get involved with, while Steam Stealer makes it exceptionally easy to get a taste of the cyber crime scene. And once they get a taste of the proverbial slice of the Steam-pie, what’s stopping them from eating the whole thing?

In the end, these hackers won’t be satisfied until they hit the real goldmine: the wealth of financial information stored from purchasing games, and other products, through Steam’s online interface. Steam experiences its fair share of account takeovers (around 77 thousand accounts suffer from this every month), so it’s logical to assume that many hackers are after the lucrative information stored within these accounts.

As is to be expected, the best way to keep Steam safe from hackers is to practice a combination of two-factor authentication, and to remain vigilant for potential phishing scams. Changing passwords regularly also helps to keep your security in top order, and keeping a close eye on URLs can prevent potential account compromisation before it occurs.

Do these tips sound familiar? They are all, more or less, valuable tips to help you stay safe online, whether at work or at play. Just because Steam is a gaming platform doesn’t mean that there aren’t valuable lessons in cybersecurity that can be learned from it. Gamers see their precious inventories as valuable assets that cannot be replaced, much in the same way that a business owner must protect their organization’s network infrastructure and the data stored within.

If you’re concerned about the status of your data security, reach out to us at 810.230.9455. While we might not be able to help secure your Steam library, we can most certainly help with your business’s data security practices.

1
Apr, 2016
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Is the “Send Me to Heaven” App the Best Technology Prank Ever? [VIDEO]

b2ap3_thumbnail_applications_and_pranks_400.jpgIf someone asked you to throw your expensive smartphone high up into the air and risk dropping it, just for the fun of it, you would probably say no. However, for the hundreds of thousands of smartphone users who have downloaded an app designed to do just that, they may have fallen for one of the best (or dumbest) technology pranks of all time.

The app we’re referring to is S.M.T.H. (Send Me to Heaven) and it’s found on Google Play. However, unlike Google, Apple isn’t falling for it. Apple actually banned the game from their App Store, claiming that it was “encouraging behavior that could result in damage to the user’s device.”

To Apple’s credit, they’re not wrong, as evidenced by a WIRED interview of the app’s creator, Petr Svarovsky. In the interview, Svarovsky admitted that he had “hoped to have people shatter as many iPhones as possible.” Why would someone want to do such a thing?

Unlike your average mischief-maker who wants to watch the world burn just for the fun of it, Svarosky’s motivation is to get back at people who buy expensive devices as a status symbol. He admitted as much to WIRED, “The original idea was to have very expensive gadgets, which people in certain societies buy just to show off, and to get them to throw it.” One can only imagine the devastation Svarsoky could unleash upon the world if he designed the S.M.T.H. app for smart TVs.

How Does the S.M.T.H. Work?
Like all great mobile gaming apps, S.M.T.H. is ridiculously simple. With the app activated, you simply chuck your smartphone into the air and catch it. After it lands safely in your hands, you’ll then check the screen to see how high your throw was. As seen in this tutorial video:

To give you the motivation to keep throwing your smartphone and putting it at further risk, the app registers the throw’s height and uploads the result to leaderboards such as; World Top 10, Week Top 10, Day Top 10, Local Top 10 (national) and Facebook Friends lists.

Safe to say, there has been many phones destroyed because of this game, earning it the infamous title, “the last game your phone will ever play.” However, for those who aren’t all that concerned about breaking their phone, S.M.T.H. actually makes for a fun and competitive gaming experience where you have to get creative in order to break your old record. Take it from these guys using rubber bands to launch their phones and a blanket to catch it:

What do you think about S.M.T.H.? Does it seem like a fun and exhilarating way to do something new with your smartphone? Are you going to give it a try, or perhaps recommend it to a friend as a practical joke? Share with us your thoughts and high score (well, maybe not) in the comments!