security Archives - Page 44 of 48

Report: 43% of Companies had a Data Breach Last Year

Office IT, Securitydata breach, securityOphtek, LLC

Sep 2014

A recent report from the Ponemon Institute shows 43% of companies had a data breach in the last year. Here’s how you can harden your office security.

The report cites data breaches affecting as many as 20 million people in one incident. Criminals can use many different avenues into a company’s systems to steal client, proprietary or private information which then gets sold on the black market. Here are some ways to harden your office security:

Keep an Eye on your Hardware

Data breaches often occur in the form of viruses, trojans or malware being installed on office computers. These infections give criminals full control of the computer, even if it doesn’t look like it on the surface. One of the first signs of infections are high hardware usage:

Patches, Updates and Security

When Microsoft releases updates to fix security holes, anyone is able to look at the update and determine exactly which weakness was fixed. This is why it’s important to keep your system and anti-virus updated and patched:

IT Policy Enforcement

The first line of defense for any office or individual is a proper IT policy. This means putting in place rules on systems or as policy to office staff on how to manage data to prevent infections and data breaches. Here are some best practices we recommend:

For more information on managed IT services that can provide 24/7 monitoring, maintenance and IT management to prevent data breaches in your office, contact your local IT professionals.

Check if Your Email has Been Stolen

Office IT, Office Network, Securityemail, hacked, security, stolenOphtek, LLC

Sep 2014

With corporate data theft happening frequently, your email may have been stolen without you even knowing. Here’s how to check if your email has been stolen.

What Exactly is at Risk?

The simple answer is data. The power behind stealing data from a company means that your information can get into the wrong hands for malicious use. One prime example is Adobe, who had a large number of their users’ accounts exposed to the public domain. The interesting thing was that these same accounts were being targeted time and time again with the same user credentials, which puts their other accounts at risk. Other sites that have been compromised are mail.ru, Bitcoin Security Forum, Gmail dump accounts, Yahoo accounts, Sony, Tesco and many more.

Compromised information can include your email address, usernames, credit card details and password hints. People often use the same information on other websites as they would have done on their compromised email account making them, yet again, another easy target.

How to Check if You’ve Been Infiltrated

As much as we take precautions with our passwords, secret questions and the like, one needs to check periodically that their details have not already been accessed by unsolicited activity.

We suggest you check out this free public service, developed by Microsoft professional Troy Hunt, to check if your email or username has been compromised:

https://haveibeenpwned.com

If your email has been compromised, you will be advised on this site that it has been “pwned”. Being “pwned” is slang for having your email or other personal information stolen. You can also set up notifications in the event of being “pwned” in the future.

What if I have been “pwned”?

We suggest changing your password ASAP. The best practice is to use different passwords on different accounts. This is especially important for your primary email account, banking, shopping, and whatever else you would consider critical if someone were to steal. If keeping track of your various passwords is a challenge, there are free and secure password managers out there to help.

You can find a good FAQ and a list of other compromised networks as well.

For more tips on securing your privacy and office network, contact your local IT professionals.

How to Remove Toolbars

Internet, Security, SoftwareAvoid, Remove, security, ToolbarOphtek, LLC

Sep 2014

Browser toolbars entice you with safety and promised convenience. In reality, they should be avoided as much as possible. Here’s how to remove toolbars.

Hopefully, your web browser doesn’t look like the one above. If so, something drastic is in order to restore an smooth web browsing experience.

Though initially designed to enhance a user’s web browsing experience, the reality is toolbars are piggy- backed by malware, data mining or browser hijacking to steal the user’s information. In addition, they burden your processor and memory with an extra, unnecessary application.

Here are three ways to remove toolbars.

1.) Uninstall them as applications from the Control Panel

After selecting Control Panel from the Start menu, choose either Programs and Features or Uninstall a Program, depending on the menu you are presented with.

From the list of programs that appear, find the one that looks like the toolbar. Sometimes it can be tricky, as the name can be different.

Click Uninstall from the top menu. If you are presented with a User Account Control warning, click OK or Yes to allow Windows to uninstall.

2.) Toolbars in browsers can be disabled

In Internet Explorer, click either the gear icon or Tools and select Manage add- ons.

In the Add-on Types menu on the left, choose Toolbars and Extensions.

Select each toolbar and click Disable in the bottom right corner.

In Google Chrome, select Settings or Tools then Extensions.

Select the extensions that are the toolbars and click Remove.

For some Chrome browsers, there will be a trashcan icon insread of the Remove prompt.

In Firefox, select Add- ons then Extensions.

You navigate there by typing about:addons in the address bar. Click the toolbar you wish to remove and click Remove.

3.) Browsers can be restored to their factory default states

You are best advised to backup your bookmarks or any other setting you wish to retain from the browser.

In Internet Explorer, select Internet Options and the Advanced tab.

Click Reset and click to confirm.

In Google Chrome, click Settings and show advanced settings.

Click Reset browser settings.

In Firefox, select Help denoted by the ? icon.

Select Troubleshooting Information.

Click Reset Firefox.

For more information about toolbars or other issues affecting your PC, consult your local IT professional.

Should You Update Adobe Flash?

Internet, Security, SoftwareAdobe, Flash, security, updateOphtek, LLC

Aug 2014

Adobe Flash player is an indispensable part of web browsing. Whether you’re watching Youtube videos, gaming online, or streaming videos, Adobe Flash will likely be necessary so be sure to keep it secure.

What is Adobe Flash?

According to Wikipedia:

Adobe Flash (formerly called Macromedia Flash and Shockwave Flash) is a multimedia and software platform used for creating vector graphics, animation, games and rich Internet applications (RIAs) that can be viewed, played and executed in Adobe Flash Player.

In other words, when you view multimedia through your web browser such as videos, music or animations, there is a good chance that it is using Adobe Flash.

What’s the risk?

The increased functionality flash player gives you also comes with risks. Flash player gives criminals almost as many opportunities to compromise your system as Java. If these risks are not addressed, you could be subject to exploits such as one that allows attackers to mimic a website to obtain your confidential information or even cause a denial of service by corrupting your memory.

Keeping your flash player updated to the latest version is the best way to plug these security holes that jeopardize your system. Fortunately, if you web browse with google chrome, your flash player is automatically updated.

How to update Adobe Flash player

1.) Go to Adobe’s website to check if you have the latest flash player installed.

Click Check Now to see if you have the the current version. If you do, congratulations. If you don’t….

2.) Go to the download link in step 2.

Click Download now to download the file. Before doing this, make sure NO extra programs are checked for you to download. Frequently, this will be McAfee as shown below:

Immediately uncheck the box next to Yes, install McAfee Security Scan Plus. You do NOT need this program, and it will make Windows run slower if you already have an antivirus program running.

3.) Follow the installation instructions on the download page.

4.) Enable Flash Player on your browser. The links for the instructions for each browser can be found on Adobe’s website.

5.) Verify if Flash Player is installed by checking the animation on Adobe’s website. If you see clouds moving, you have installed the player. If you don’t, try refreshing the page. If that still fails to produce moving clouds, go through the installation steps again.

For more information on this or other security issues affecting your PC, consult your local IT professional.

Why It’s Important to Update Java

Internet, Security, SoftwareImportant, Java, security, updateOphtek, LLC

Aug 2014

Java is required by many applications and websites to work properly. It can also be exploited by criminals. Here’s why you should keep your java up to date.

Many business users need it to run custom or legacy applications. Java is not just for gamers. It is used by countless business applications.

Java Security Risks

As recently as January, hackers were able to exploit a security hole in Java to serve up malware to hundreds of thousands of systems per hour.

It is because of these security holes and many others that Java must be updated frequently.

Java often uses your web browser to access websites, and your web browser is the most vulnerable attack surface for hackers. Therefore, not updating Java religiously is playing with fire.

How to Update Java

First, find out if you have the latest version here.

Click the red Verify Java version box to allow Oracle’s website to find out if you have the latest version installed. If you are given a prompt stating Allow the Java plugin for your browser, click to allow it. Next, another prompt will likely appear as shown below:

Click Run to allow the application to run. If you have reached this stage, you have Java, though not necessarily the latest edition. If you have the latest Java, you should get a window telling you Congratulations with an accompanying green check. If you don’t have the latest Java, you should see a screen that looks like this:

Click Click Download Java Now to get the latest version of Java.

Click the red Agree and Start Free Download to get the newest Java for your system. The progress of the download should appear at the bottom of your browser. It will finish when no time appears next to the download.

Click the .exe file to kick off the installation. You should promptly close your browser to avoid any roadblocks or conflicts.

When the security warning appears, click Install to permit the latest Java to be installed.

On the Welcome to Java screen, click Install again to allow the installation to proceed. At some point during the installation, you will see the following window:

At all costs, do NOT check the Install the Ask Toolbar and make Ask my default search provider option. The Ask Toolbar is completely unnecessary and makes your computer more vulnerable to infections. Click Next to allow the final steps of the installation.

After the green progress bar reaches the end, you will be directed to Oracle’s website where you will again see the following:

As before, click the red Verify Java version button. Once again you should click Allow to enable the website to see what Java version you are running. Also, click Run in the following window to enable the test.

If you have the latest Java, you will see the following window:

If the website still tells you your Java is outdated, go through the earlier steps starting with Download Java. If you have already downloaded and installed the latest Java and you get the outdated message, simply closing and reopening your browser will often correct the problem. Go back to Oracle’s website to verify your Java version.

For more about Java or other security issues affecting your home or office computers, consult with your local IT professional.

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Tag Archives: security

Keep an Eye on your Hardware

Patches, Updates and Security

IT Policy Enforcement

What Exactly is at Risk?

How to Check if You’ve Been Infiltrated

What if I have been “pwned”?

1.) Uninstall them as applications from the Control Panel

2.) Toolbars in browsers can be disabled

3.) Browsers can be restored to their factory default states

What is Adobe Flash?

What’s the risk?

How to update Adobe Flash player

Java Security Risks

How to Update Java