USB Drives: Simple, But Deadly Hacking Devices

hardware,
26
Jun 2017

bad_USBWe’re all used to using USB devices with our PCs for easy connections, but it’s this convenience which also makes them perfect for hacking.

The hacks that grab the headlines are those that are distributed online and through email due to the huge numbers of people these can attack; USB sticks – and, in fact, any USB devices – are limited in their range due to their physical existence, but this doesn’t mean they can’t cause huge problems in localised areas. And hacks involving USB devices can completely disable your PC, so this can have a huge impact on the ability of your business to operate.

Therefore, we’ve decided it’s a good opportunity to give you a quick lesson on the USB hacks that can affect you and how you can counter this everyday threat.

The World of USB Device Hacks

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Due to the presence of autorun software loaded on to USB sticks, all a hacker needs to do is ensure that their infected USB stick is plugged into a PC to activate it’s malicious payload.  Sometimes, though, USB devices don’t even need to be plugged into the PC, so this is why they’re particularly tricky to identify and combat. Here are some of the most common hacks contained within USB devices:

  • USBdriveby – This USB stick is easily identified by the chain attached to it (apparently this is so the user can wear it round their neck!) and contains a particularly nasty surprise inside. Once plugged into a PC, it begins to imitate your keyboard and uses keystrokes to disable firewalls, opens backdoors to allow remote control and tells network monitoring apps that everything is okay.
  • KeySweeper – Disguised as a USB wall charger, the KeySweeper hack is a very well concealed device which uses wireless connections to identify and spy on local Microsoft wireless keyboards. And, by monitoring keystrokes, KeySweeper can quickly obtain login details and transmit these back to a remote location.
  • BadUSB – Another USB stick hack, BadUSB impersonates your keyboard to allow itself to reprogram firmware associated with your existing USB devices e.g. network cards can be reprogrammed to send users to sites containing malicious software which can soon infect your entire network.

All of these hacks are very simple, but can cause a lot of damage, so how do you combat them?

Combatting USB Hacks

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Thankfully, when it comes to USB hacks, there are some very simple steps you can take to combat them:

  • Educate your users on the dangers of USB devices. Some hackers have been known to drop infected USB sticks in the car parks of large corporations in the hope that a curious employee will plug them into their work PC.
  • Never ever use pre-owned USB devices in your business, always purchase new devices which can’t have been tampered with.
  • Lock USB port use on the PCs that make up your business and only allow access to trusted administrators. This is perhaps the most guaranteed way to prevent any infected USB devices activating their contents as the USB ports will essentially be disabled and unable to do anything.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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4 Tips to Keep Your Laptop Working Out of the Office

hardware, ,
18
Apr 2017

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Laptops make remote working a real possibility for your employees, but this also means they need to be maintained correctly to remain effective.

Obviously, any issues with a desktop PC in the office can quickly be rectified by your IT team. However, when employees are away from the office with their laptop, it makes any necessary fixes that little bit harder to implement. And the delay in addressing these issues could put a real dent in your employees’ productivity.

Therefore, it’s essential that you know every little trick for keeping your laptop productive when IT support is out reach. And that’s why I’m going share 4 tips to keep your laptop working out of the office.

  1. Get a New Battery

After a couple of years, lithium-ion batteries struggle to be as effective as they once were. Where your battery would once hold enough power to keep your laptop running for three hours, now it may only work for an hour. And this is no use to an employee working on the move.

Many businesses make the rather kneejerk reaction of scrapping the laptop and purchasing a new one. Whilst this also provides a number of other upgrades, it’s also an expensive move as the cost of a battery will be a fraction of the cost of a new laptop. Not only is a new battery more cost effective, but it will also prolong the life of the laptop.

  1. Always Install Updates6-installing-updates

As those employees with laptops will be working off site for long periods of time, it puts them at risk of security threats much more so than those working from a central location. And this is why it’s imperative that laptop users install ALL updates as soon as possible, this provides the best protection from having their laptop compromised.

  1. Protect Your Keyboards

There’s nothing worse than losing a key from your keyboard or suffering a non-responding key, especially when – with a laptop – it’s your only typing option to hand. Thankfully, there’s a preventative measure you can take to prolong the life of your keyboard.

Silicon keyboard protectors are a relatively cheap solution which fit over your keyboard and helps to protect the keyboard from knocks, dirt and grime. And, believe me, it’s a lot less labor intensive than taking a laptop keyboard to pieces to repair!

  1. Prevent OverheatingThermaltake-Massive-V20-Laptop-Cooling-Pad-Effective-cooling-performance-with-high-quality-material

Whilst laptops are, naturally, suited to sit in your lap, this position should always be restricted to short periods of time. And this is because, nestled in your lap, your laptop’s air vents can become blocked and this causes overheating which can soon lead to system failure.

The simplest solution, of course, is to invest in a laptop stand which will hold your laptop a few inches off the ground and provide plenty of airflow. They’re simple devices which fold up quickly and provide the minimum of fuss whilst protecting your laptop.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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Diagnosing 3 Simple PC Problems

hardware
03
Jan 2017

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There are many problems you can experience with a PC, but you may be surprised to learn that many of these can be diagnosed by yourself.

It’s always useful if you can diagnose the problem that your PC is having as it allows you to start working on a solution. And that means you can get back to doing the important things on your PC.

That’s why I’ve decided to gather together some of the simplest tests you can do to get to the bottom of three of the most common PC issues, so let’s take a look.

1. An Application Is Running Slowly or Not Responding

It’s always frustrating when that application you desperately need isn’t working correctly, so it’s essential for your stress levels that you know what to do in this situation.

When an application is running slowly then it’s possible that it’s not loaded correctly, so the simplest solution here is to close the application and restart it. However, if this doesn’t correct the problem then there’s a good chance that one of the files has become corrupted. Therefore, in this instance, it’s best to head to the developer’s website to check for any available updates that can be downloaded and installed.

If, however, you’re unable to even close your troublesome application down, then you need to do something a little different first. By holding down the control, alt and delete keys at the same time, you can bring up the Task Manager window which lists all the applications which are currently running; all you have to do here is click the application in question and click ‘End Task’ to exit the application.

2. PC Is Not Turning On

Sometimes you’ll go to turn on your PC, but that power button just isn’t responding. It’s a common fault, but many PC users fail to grasp the fact that the actual problem may be ridiculously simple.

First off, always check the power cord as this can easily become disconnected from your PC. Even if it’s just worked its way out slightly, then your PC will not turn on.

Another good thing to investigate is the plug socket that the PC is plugged into as these can sometimes develop faults. Try plugging a different device into the plug socket to see if this springs into life. If there’s no response then it indicates an issue with the plug socket, so may require the intervention of an electrical engineer.

And, if it’s a laptop, it may be that the battery is not charged or it can no longer take a charge and needs replacing – usually there should be an indicator light to show that the battery is charging.

3. Entire System Is Running Slowlyslow-computer

PCs are capable of running many different tasks at work thanks to their memory capabilities, but sometimes you’ll find your PC slowly grinding to a halt and barely able to get a drop down menu to work. Often, this will be down to one or more applications hogging the memory, so you need to identify which applications are causing this and then start rectifying this issue.

Again, you need to go through the control, alt and delete key hold to bring up the Task Manager window. Once there, click on the performance tab to view your CPU usage – if this is rising above 60% then there’s a good chance that your PC is going to start struggling.

And to identify which application is causing your issue you then need to head to the Processes tab of Task Manager. This will list all the applications currently running and if you click on the Memory tab you can sort by the most memory hungry applications. If, for example, it shows that Firefox is using 400,000K of memory, but you’re not using it then it indicates a pointless memory drain, so click End Process to free up some valuable memory.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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Samsung Deliver a Huge 16TB Solid State Drive

hardware,
12
Apr 2016

Samsung-PM1633A

You can never have enough storage on your PCs, so that’s why Samsung has now released a 16TB solid state drive (SSD) which is being called the biggest ever.

Samsung has decided that it’s time to solve all your storage issues with an integral SSD rather than investing in finicky cloud storage systems. The SSD – entitled PM1633a – has the business sector in its sights and is an impressive sign of intent by Samsung.

The PM1633a has such high density storage that it’s currently unparalleled in the PC market. It’s an exciting opportunity for businesses to get involved with premium storage, so it’s time you found out a little more.

What is the PM1633a?

SSDs are a relatively new form of storage system which has evolved from the traditional hard disk drive (HDD). The main benefit of SSDs over their HDD counterparts is the all important factor of speed. Whereas a HDD relies of mechanical parts to operate (hence all the whirring sounds), an SSD operates via flash memory, so is much faster and quieter.

Despite this edge in terms of speed, SSDs have traditionally been unable to match the huge amounts of storage real estate that HDDs have been capable of. However, Samsung’s PM1633a potentially signals the beginning of an era of dominance for SSDs by racing past HDDs.

The All Important Specs

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The largest SSD storage capabilities currently available are around 8 – 10TB in size, but, in order to make a huge statement, Samsung has gone for 16TB with the PM1633a. This is close to double anything else currently available in the SSD market, but how has Samsung managed this?

In order to achieve such high storage, Samsung has really had to re-design the wheel. In the case of the PM1633a, Samsung has integrated their new 256GB V-NAND flash which has been stacked up in 48 layers. For comparison, Samsung’s previous foray into high storage SSDs was comprised of only 36 layers.

These figures are very impressive, but what exactly does it mean in terms of performance?

What Will The PM1633a Do For You?

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Samsung’s new SSD will, rather obviously, provide huge amounts of storage for your business, but its magnificent benefits do not stop there. It will also provide the following:

  • A staggering 2 million input/output operations per second (IOPS). This is in stark contrast to the current average of 90,000 IOPS in SSDs. The higher the IOPS, the quicker you can save and access large files without your system grinding to a halt.
  • There is a high level of data protection on offer with the added bonus of a data restoration tool to protect against temporary blackouts and power issues.
  • The ability to write a total of 15.36TB of data every single day, so this is very attractive to businesses which process large amounts of data.

Is Samsung onto a Winner?

Samsung has predicted that there will be a huge demand for ultra-high storage and, when you take a look at the PM1633a’s specs, it’s difficult to argue against this.

The crucial difference with the PM1633a is not that it’s merely a behemoth of storage, it also promises to enhance your business operations by making PCs more productive. The smart money, therefore, is currently on Samsung to deliver a market leader in SSDs.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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Can Intel’s New Processor Increase PC Sales?

hardware,
22
Mar 2016

intel-logo

In response to a decline in PC sales, Intel has unveiled their new processor – 6th gen Core vPro – which promises to transform business computing.

PC sales fell by 10.6% during Q4 2015, so growth in the market appears to be slowing down. Naturally, this is the last thing that PC manufacturers want to hear, so will Intel’s new chip give the market a shot in the arm?

It’s an intriguing question and, to fully understand it, we need to take a look at why the market has slowed down and what Intel’s new processor can bring to the table.

Decrease in Sales

The number of new PCs sold in 2015 fell below 300 million and, whilst this sounds a huge amount, it’s actually the lowest number of yearly sales since 2008. Consumers, then, appear to be holding off on that glittering upgrade, but why is this?

Well, back in the early 00s, you could expect the cost of PC processors to fall every 18 months whilst the number of transistors would double – this was known as Moore’s law. The result was a cheaper, but more powerful processor. And businesses, keen to stay at the cutting edge of technology, were happy to upgrade to maintain an advantage over competitors.

However, as we’ll discover, Moore’s law has not remained constant and the speed increases are not what they once were.

Introducing the 6th Gen Core vPro

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Intel’s latest processor hopes to offer businesses that little bit extra to convince them that an upgrade is necessary.

The question on most consumers’ lips – as ever – is “will this processor speed up our business operations?” and the answer is a resounding YES! However, although, the increase in speed is estimated to be around 2.5x faster, this is only when compared to a 2011 PC.

The increase in speed is relatively small compared to previous advancements in speed. Couple that with an increase in the cost of transistors and you can see why progress has slowed.

Speed has increased, though, and Intel’s new chip has plenty more to tempt businesses into parting with their cash.

Intel has also improved the efficiency of their conference connectivity software Intel Unite to provide smoother connections between the myriad of different adapters and connections. This will sound like an absolute dream for anyone who’s ever tried to set up video conferencing!

Also at the forefront of Intel’s sale pitch is their strong focus on security. We live in a world where the potential for cyber-attacks seems to increase by the day, so Intel is moving into hardware based security. Utilizing multi factor authentication, Intel Authenticate will aim to reduce current data security threats by around 25%.

And this will involve much more sophisticated methods than SMS authentication or old fashioned passwords. Intel is moving into the 21st century with fingerprint scanning and smartphone/PC proximity checks.

Will PC Sales Increase?

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Intel is certainly putting all it’s got into making sure the 6th gen Core vPro succeeds and I think they’ve got a good chance of achieving this. The increase in speed – although smaller than is historically expected – will be a real boon for businesses as will the enhanced security in an unsecure landscape.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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