Business owners and managers have many concerns they must address on a regular basis, or at least be aware of. Some of security concerns revolve around fraud, more specifically email fraud. While this isn't a new concept, email fraud and scam occurrences are on the rise, and it is vital to know how to spot them.

Here's five tips to help you spot email frauds or scams.

Look at the email address One of the easiest ways to spot a fraudulent email or scam is by looking at the email address of the sender. Many credit card application scams use third party email services like Gmail or Yahoo. Some scammers go so far as to set up accounts in the name of the company e.g., AMEX_121@gmail.com.

Sophisticated scammers will actually try to copy the legitimate company's email account - a practice called spoofing. They will usually have a few changes like a missing letter from the address, or an extra . added.

The easiest thing you can do is look for the sender's site on the Internet. For example: You get an email from AMEX OPEN (American Express's small business credit card) and notice that the sender's email address just doesn't look right. Go to Google and search for amex fraud. You'll likely find the fraud page which tells you exactly how the company sends emails. If the sender is a smaller company, most of these will have email contact addresses right on the site, take a look and compare the two. If they are different, the email is likely a scam.

Look at the sender's website If you think an email is fraudulent, try looking up the website associated with the sender. Should you be unable to find the site, it's likely a scam.

If you find a website, click through some pages to see if there is anything that looks out of place. For example a website selling a new financial service has pages with Coming Soon or you get errors when you try to load the page. If it looks fishy, it likely is - delete the email.

It would also be a good idea to go to archive.org's Wayback Machine, copy and paste the website's URL into the The Wayback Machine Search bar and hit Take me back. This will bring up previous versions of the website. If you see that the site in question was something completely different a few months to a year ago (e.g., it is a financial services page now, but six months ago it was a page selling prescription drugs), chances are high it's a fraud.

Call them Many scammers will put phone numbers into emails to make them look more legitimate. If you are unsure about whether this email is legitimate or not, why not try calling the number? Many scammers run more than one fraud operating at the same time and may answer the phone with another name, or not at all.

Similarly, if you call a local number of a supposedly small business and get routed directly to voicemail, it's likely fraud.

Look carefully at the body of the message The body of the email can also be a great way to suss out email scammers and potential fraud. Because many fraudulent emails originate outside of the major English speaking countries, there will often be language that just sounds different from the way people write in your area. One great example of this would be a line like 'We wish to sell you a great product.'

You should also look for spelling errors, grammar mistakes or inconsistencies. While some fraudulent emails will have minor spelling inconsistencies, others will spell common words wrong. If you see mistakes like 'our product are a great deals', this should raise a warning flag.

Spelling and grammar errors are a part of business communication, so don't expect a perfect email from all companies, especially if you see that the company is located overseas. It's the emails with mistakes supposedly coming from companies in your area that should really raise alarm.

The sender asks for money or passwords It's kind of an unwritten rule that when sending out emails you never ask for a person's credit card number or account passwords. Banks, large companies and many social networks will never ask you for passwords or account information, credit card numbers, pin codes, etc of any kind over email. If you notice that an email selling something asks for you to reply with a credit card details so you can make a purchase, it's best to delete the email as it's likely a fraud.

Email fraud is a big deal, and unfortunately it will likely become even more common in the near future. This means you should be able to spot potentially fraudulent emails. If you think an email is a scam, it's best to just delete it immediately. Don't respond or forward it to colleagues or employees. If you need to let people know, write another email that describes the suspected email but has no links. You can also forward a screenshot to your colleagues or friends to illustrate the scam.

Looking for more ways you can protect your company? Contact us today. We can work with you to develop a security system that will meet your needs.

It can be argued what the most important invention of the last 100 years has been, but many would agree that the computer has to be among the top. These complex machines helped usher in the information age. Unfortunately, they come with a downside: Destructive malware such as viruses have become a major problem for businesses because viruses have been built up to such mythical proportions that many users simply don't know fact from fiction.

Here are five common myths about viruses that confuse people, and the truths associated with them. Before we delve deeper it would be a good idea to explain what a virus is.

A virus is a computer program that infects a computer and can generally copy itself and infect other computers. Most viruses aim to cause havoc by either deleting important files or rendering a computer inoperable. Most viruses have to be installed by the user, and usually come hidden as programs, browser plugins, etc.

You may hear the term malware used interchangeably with virus. Malware is short for malicious software and is more of an umbrella term that covers any software that aims to cause harm. A virus is simply a type of malware.

Myth 1: Error messages = virus A common thought many have when their computer shows an error message is that they must have a virus. In truth, bugs in the software, a faulty hard drive, memory or even issues with your virus scanner are more likely the cause. The same goes with if your computer crashes, it likely could be because of something other than a virus.

When you do see error messages, or your computer crashes while trying to run a program or open a file, you should scan for viruses, just to rule it out.

Myth 2: Computers can infect themselves It's not uncommon to have clients bring their computers to a techie exclaiming that a virus has magically appeared on the system all by itself. Despite what some may believe, viruses cannot infect computers by themselves. Users have to physically open an infected program, or visit a site that hosts the virus and download it.

To minimize the chance of being infected you should steer clear of any adult oriented sites - they are often loaded with viruses, torrent sites, etc. A good rule of thumb is: If the site has illegal or 'adult' content, it likely has viruses that can and will infect your system if visited, or files downloaded from there.

Myth 3: Only PCs can get viruses If you read the news, you likely know that many of the big viruses and malware infect mostly systems running Windows. This has led users to believe that other systems like Apple's OS X are virus free.

The truth of the matter is: All systems could be infected by a virus, it's just that the vast majority of them are written to target Windows machines. This is because most computers run Windows. That being said, there is an increasing number of threats to OS X and Linux, as these systems are becoming more popular. If this trend keeps up, we will see an exponential rise in the number of viruses infecting these systems.

Myth 4: If I reinstall Windows and copy all my old files over, I'll be ok Some believe that if their system has been infected, they can simply copy their files onto a hard drive, or backup solution, reinstall Windows and then copy their files back and the virus will be gone.

To be honest, wiping your hard drive and reinstalling Windows will normally get rid of any viruses. However, if the virus is in the files you backed up, your computer will be infected when you move the files back and open them. The key here is that if your system is infected, you need to scan the files and remove the virus before you put them back onto your system.

Myth 5: Firewalls protect networks from viruses Windows comes with a firewall built into the OS, and many users have been somewhat misled as to what it actually does, and that firewalls can protect from viruses. That's actually a half truth. Firewalls are actually for network traffic, their main job is to keep networks and computers connected to the network secure; they don't scan for viruses.

Where they could help is if a virus is sending data to a computer outside of your network. In theory, a firewall will pick up this traffic and alert you to it, or stop the flow of data outright. Some of the bigger viruses actually turn off the firewall, rendering your whole network open to malware attacks.

What can I do? There are many things you can do to minimize the chances of infection. The most important is to install a virus scanner on all of your systems, keep it up to date and run it regularly. But a defensive strategy like this isn't enough, you need to be proactive by:

• Not installing programs from sources you don't know or trust
• Being weary of any program that asks you for your password
• Not installing any browser add-ons or plugins suggested by websites. Instead, download them from the browser's app store, or the developer's website.

If you are worried about the security of your systems and network, call us today. Our team of security experts can work with you to provide a plan that will meet your needs.

One of the more popular debates about the Internet is who exactly owns your data and information when it goes online? Most of the information regarding this is held in the Terms of Service, which most people click and agree to without reading. The interesting thing about this is that web oriented companies usually update their policies on regular basis and often introduce changes you may not be aware of. With so many websites, it can be a chore to keep track of all these changes, luckily there is an online database that makes this easy.

Terms of Service for websites change on a fairly regular basis, and many of us simply have no way of knowing if and when such changes have been made, and what exactly has been changed. That's why a group of lawyers and professionals started Docracy. According to the website, "Docracy is a home for contracts and other legal documents, socially curated by the communities that use them." The company aims to make legal documents freely available.

Part of this site is the Terms of Service section which is a database of over 1,000 popular websites' Terms of Service and Privacy policies. It tracks them and notes when changes are made, and highlights these changes so they are easily found.

If you visit the site here, you can see a list of changes that companies have recently made, and clicking on one should give you basic change information. Clicking on See Full Changes will bring up the full doc with the recent changes highlighted.

Selecting See Full Directory will bring up every policy that the website tracks, and allow you to read them.

Is this useful for my business? Online law is very complicated, and many companies that run websites that you may have accounts with often don't make it easy for you to find legal contracts or policies. A good example of where Docracy is helpful is if you want to know who exactly owns your content stored on a popular cloud service. You can go to Docracy's database and quickly find the related Terms of Service. From there you can download the document and look through it, or view it on the site.

Basically this site can help you get a clearer picture on the various contracts you sign with websites, and how these websites plan to use your data. For many business owners, knowing exactly what other companies are going to do with your data can help you find a more secure solution. After all, being prepared with the correct knowledge is half the battle.

If you would like to learn more about Docracy, or how a change to a Terms of Service could affect your business please contact us today.

Think of the everyday usual precautions you take. When you get into a car, you put on your seatbelt; when you leave the house, you lock the door, the list goes on and on. Yet, when it comes to online security, most people are content with a virus scanner, and do little about securing their personal data stored online. Why is this? If a grocery store clerk asks for your home address and phone number, you’d likely ask why they need it. Online however, we usually provide it without a second thought. Instead, we should be proactive taking steps to protect our personal information.

Here’s three things you can do to help secure your personal data shared online.

1. Realize your online actions are risky
Read any tech related blog, or even syndicated news articles and it’s not hard to see that identity theft and cybercrime in general is not only serious, but on the rise. Let’s face it, our online actions are risky. As with any plan, the first step is realizing that there is a problem that needs to be fixed. The first step is to educate yourself about online security, what steps you should take, and what exactly it is.

For example, here’s a great article written in the middle of February about how different age groups react to Facebook changes, and if they take steps to minimize who can view their personal data. It’s kind of interesting to see that the younger generations take more steps to secure their profiles than their parents, yet you still see people with reputation damaging pictures that can be viewed by anyone.

2. Take matters into your own hands
Many people already know their personal information online is at risk, but there are further things you should do to minimize any dangers:

1. Don’t rely on websites to keep you secure - Websites like Facebook are companies. They exist to make money. How do they do it? Often by selling information you have given them access to. That’s not saying site owners don’t look out for their customers’ best interests – many do. What you need to do though is look at all the sites you have accounts with and ensure your information is secure to the level you are happy with.
2. Provide the least amount of information possible - Think about the last time you joined a social network, or mailing list. You likely were asked to provide your name, address, birthday, etc. Did you know that you don’t have to provide all the information requested? Most sites only require your name and birthday, the rest is optional – usually used to provide better service or targeted ads. Many sites will put an asterisk beside required information to let you know that you have to supply this.
3. Think twice before signing up – It’s a good idea when signing up for a new account to think twice. Do you really need this account? Or can you get by without it?
4. Use separate email accounts and passwords - Setting up different email accounts is a good idea. One should be for personal use, so the address is given only to people you know. Another could be for all of your online accounts, with a final one strictly for password recovery. It would be best to make the addresses as different as possible. Beyond that you should have separate passwords for each account and every service. This will limit hackers from being able to gain access to multiple accounts.
5. Secure your browsing – Almost every website that asks users to sign up for accounts offers a secure version of the site. Enter https://www. before the site address, e.g., https://www.facebook.com. https is a secure communications protocol that ensures one is communicating directly with the website – you’re actually looking at Facebook, not a phishing site designed to steal passwords.

3. Encourage others to think
It’s not enough to just take action yourself. Encouraging colleagues, friends and family to also take steps to protect their online information and identities, is worthwhile. There are many great ways to help spread the word about safety, including the National Cyber Security website, which has information on Internet related security. Check it out, and share it!

If you would like to learn about how we can help you keep your information and data safe online, please contact us today for a comprehensive solution!

Imagine you are in the airport waiting for a flight when you look down only to discover that your laptop is missing. This isn't a great thought, especially since many of us have important files and programs that we can't afford to lose. The problem is, if your device has gone missing, the chances of you recovering it are slim. The good news is that there is a possible solution that lets you track your device.

Prey is an Open Source - free - program that you can install on your computer or mobile device and track it when it's missing, or been stolen.

How it works First you have to download the software - from here - onto your computer (Windows, Mac or Linux are supported), and sign up for an account. You have a couple of options here: You can either sign up for an account with Prey and access a control panel through the website, or install it as a standalone which is recommended for advanced users as it requires some server configuration.

If you chose to go with the Web option you sign up for an account and install the software then register your main device along with extra ones like an Android, or your iOS device. Once you have downloaded Prey and linked them together, you are ready.

For mobiles, you can send these a text (from the Web Control Panel) which will initiate the established options you have pre-set for when your phone goes missing.

How Prey finds your device's location depends on the device. For laptops, it can turn-on your Wi-Fi connection and try to connect to the nearest access points. It can take the IP address of each Wi-Fi access point and from there get an approximate location - in some areas as close as 200 feet. On your phone, it turns on the GPS (if available) and tries to connect to Wi-Fi networks in range. These two combined can generate a fairly accurate location.

All this tracking information is sent to your inbox in the form of a report, which can be tailored to meet your needs.

What makes this program different from other similar ones is that it can be installed across multiple platforms and managed from one account. It's also free, which makes it even more attractive. There is also a Pro version which allows you to track more devices, for a monthly fee (USD$5 for 3 devices up to USD$399 a month for 500 devices).

Prey is just one of the many device tracking programs, and installing one may be a good idea, to give you a greater chance of retrieval if your phone or computer is lost or stolen. Do you use one already? If so, which one? If you would like to learn more about Prey and the other device tracking programs please let us know, we may have a great solution for you.

For many, social media is a deeply ingrained part of daily life. For companies it's become an integral part of their marketing and communications strategy. Because of this, the security of these services is something users expect. 99% of the time. However, there are breaches that can cause trouble for users.

It only took one month for the first major security breach of a social network, and this time it happened to Twitter. On the first of February, Twitter announced on their blog that slightly over 250,000 accounts had been compromised.

At this time, Twitter doesn't know who is responsible for the attack but according to the blog post they know that, "The attackers may have had access to limited user information – usernames, email addresses, session tokens and encrypted/salted versions of passwords."

Yes, the hackers did get access to passwords, although the company noted that they got the 'encrypted/salted' versions, this means they didn't actually get the passwords themselves. To get the account passwords they would have to decrypt the information first, something many hacker's don't bother with.

What does this mean for my company? If you or your company has a Twitter account, you would have already have received an email if your account was breached. While 250,000 sounds like a high number, keep in mind that there are over 72 million active accounts (users who post more than once a week).

While this is a drop in the proverbial bucket, it's still a security threat that you should act upon. At the very least you should take steps to change your password. You can do this by logging into Twitter and pressing the cog in the top right of the tool bar. Select Settings followed by Password. Enter your current password, followed by a new password and verify it. Press Save changes and you are done.

It is a good idea to pick a completely new password, one with numbers, letters and if possible special characters like !, $ or ^. At the very least, it should be different from any other passwords you use.

Looking to learn more about the security breach or if Twitter is right for your business? Give us a shout, we'd be happy to talk social media with you.

Last week we posted part one of our three part article on how to improve your IT revenue and maximize resources in the current business economy. For those who missed it: The article covered ways you can maximize resources you already have by being an outside thinker, always looking around and using facts to help determine your actions. This week, we look at the internal aspect of your IT solutions and what you can do to save costs.

Here's how you can maximize your internal IT costs.

Use VoIP and similar digital solutions Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has been around for a number of years and many companies, large and small, have integrated it into their offices. Because VoIP uses an Internet connection to send and receive phone calls, there's no need for expensive cabling and switchboards. Aside from lower overheads, many VoIP providers offer calling rates at a fraction of what most telephone providers charge. So, companies that make lots of long-distance calls can really benefit with VoIP.

While many businesses have integrated VoIP solutions, most don't go beyond that. If you use a fax machine, did you know that you can either digitize that and ditch the fax machine, integrate it with most modern email programs or use your VoIP connection to transmit fax data.

If you have a sales force who is constantly on the road or giving presentations, why not look into a Web conferencing system. Many systems, like Microsoft's Lync, allow users to hold conferences and share documents or presentations without having to leave the office.

Invest in the cloud One of the hottest current trends is the cloud. Currently there are two major types of cloud operations: Cloud storage and cloud based applications. All companies need to store documents. If they go with physical solutions like hard drives, backup tapes etc., it can get very expensive, very quickly. Cloud storage allows you to store all your documents off site, often at a fraction of the cost of physical storage solutions. Beyond that, you will have access to your documents as long as you have an Internet connection.

Cloud based applications come in many varieties, with the most popular being based around the office suite, or a hybrid of storage and application. Solutions like Google Drive which takes Google's office suite and combines it with a storage and sharing solution, is completely based in the cloud. The goal of Google Drive and other solutions, like Microsoft Office, is largely to provide a platform that enables easy collaboration and sharing at a fraction of the cost of more traditional solutions.

Integrating cloud based solutions can often times save you a ton of money, not only in operating costs but also long-term maintenance. As these services depend on a data connection and not sheer computing power, you won't have to replace your machines in order to upgrade to new software. This means lower costs all round.

Work with an MSP While this may seem counter-intuitive - why would a company want to pay to save money? Managed Service Providers (MSP) usually charge a monthly fee and offer a full service solution that aims to keep your systems running. Through preventative monitoring and ensuring systems are running, IT costs are often reduced in the long run. Beyond that, the chances of a major service outage are drastically reduced. Should anything happen to your business MSPs can have you up and running more quickly. allowing you to minimize potential downtime losses.

There are literally thousands of ways you can save money on IT and maximize your resources, and often experts like us can help you extend savings even further. So, why not give us a call and see what we can do. Also, stay tuned for part three of this article, covering how to save money on tech systems that your customers interact with.

For as long as computers have been able to connect to the Internet, there have been security flaws and the two go hand-in-hand. Companies do their best to shore up security problems, and some do better than others. There's one popular Internet based program that has had a slew of security issues in the past year, prompting many experts to suggest you should disable it.

That program is Java - a programming language and application that allows developers to create web applications, and users to view much of the visual content and animations on the Internet. The problem isn't with the programming language per se, but with the application developed by Oracle Systems.

Oracle released an update to Java - Java 7, Update 10 - in December, but it was found to have some serious security flaws. These issues were quickly spotted by hacker groups who released exploit kits - software making it easy to exploit Java 7's security weaknesses - giving them full security privileges. This exposed any computer running Java 7 to potential malware and attack. Because Java runs at the browser level, every OS could be targeted. To make matters worse, 30 security flaws were patched back in September, after nearly 1 billion computers were found to be at risk.

It's this string of security red flags that had the US Department of Homeland Security issue a warning that users should disable Java on their browsers. In response to this, Oracle updated Java again,  to Java 7, Update 11 on January 12, and noted that the security flaw had been fixed. Many experts, including those at the Department of Homeland Security, aren't convinced though, and are still suggesting that users disable Java because new vulnerabilities will likely be discovered.

How do I disable Java? Chrome users

1. Open Chrome and enter Chrome://plugins/ in a blank tab's URL bar.
2. Find Java (TM).
3. Click Disable.
4. Restart Chrome.

Firefox users

1. Open Firefox and click Tools from the menu bar at the top of the screen.
2. Select Add-ons followed by Plugins.
3. Find the Java plug-in, it's usually called Java Applet Plug-in (Mac) or Java(TM) (Windows) and click Disable.
4. Close and restart Firefox.

Safari users

1. Open Safari and click File followed by Preferences.
2. Click the Security tab.
3. Uncheck the box that says Enable Java.
4. Close and restart Safari.

Internet Explorer users There is no way for you to disable Java in the browser, you will instead have to completely disable Java from your computer. This can be done by following the steps on the Java website.

If you do disable Java, some websites will no longer work. This can be a bit of an annoyance, but in all honesty, security of your systems is more important, not to mention the potential costs of dealing with a massive malware infection. Besides that, many websites no longer use Java, so you can probably get by without it. At the very least, we recommend you go download the latest update from the Java website and apply it to all computers.

One issue that we need to be clear on is that these security flaws are part of the Java plug-in. You may see something called JavaScript. While the name sounds similar, they are different. JavaScript is largely used in HTML documents, and allows them to function, and is secure. If you do run across it, it's best to leave the script alone.

If you would like to learn more about this update, you can visit an excellent FAQ here. Before you do update, or disable Java, we recommend you contact us. We can help advise you on what steps to take next if you use Java.

For users of Windows systems the threat of a security breach is an ever-present one that has many security experts constantly worrying. The thing is, many systems are secure enough from outside attacks, and many scammers know this. As a result, scammers have switched tactics and have taken to masquerading as Windows technicians, hoping to get users to give up their credit cards.

These scams have long been a part of the Windows environment. Despite users being fully aware of these attacks, some people still falling into the trap.

These deceptions generally follow the same formula: A person calls you pretending to be from the Windows technical team at Microsoft. The scammer usually tells you that they need to renew their software protection licenses to keep their computer running.

Most of the time, these scammers spread the conversation out over a number of phone calls and emails, the goal being to gain the trust of the user. Once trust is established, or the user seems interested enough, the scammer will offer a seeming sweet deal: They will offer a service that will make your computer run like new, usually for a seemingly reasonable price.

The scammer will then use remote PC support software to show you 'problems' your computer is having. They will usually show you the Windows Event Viewer - a part of the OS that shows errors, usually harmless, that your computer has generated. The scammer will then convince the user that these errors are harmful, and if you have paid, they will make it look like they are cleaning your computer.

If you give them your credit card number, you will likely see ridiculous charges, or even have people trying to access your accounts.

What's being done? Governments are aware of this increasingly common trend, and some organizations, like the FTC, have taken measures to shut down scammers. This article from ars technica gives a good overview of what exactly the FTC is doing, while another article provides a first-hand account of how the scammers operate.

What can we do? While action is being taken, these scams are still continuing. From what we can tell, they likely won't stop in the near future. To ensure you don't fall prey to this trickery, these five tips should help you identify when an attempted scam is at play:

1. Microsoft doesn't call people.
2. Windows Event Manager is a log of errors for ALL programs.
3. Microsoft employees will never ask for your passwords.
4. Most of these scammers operate out of call centers in India, but bill from the US.
5. Microsoft employees won't usually ask you to install software that's not made by Microsoft.

As a rule of thumb: If you get an unsolicited call about your computers and IT security, it's likely not genuine. If these criminals provide you with a website, do a quick Google search to see if there have been any scam reports. You can also join the No-Call Registry if you are in the United States. To learn more about these scams, please contact us.

When it comes to security most businesses take adequate steps to ensure their networks and systems are secure from the majority of attacks. The major problem with this is that many don't look beyond what they already do, and this is where security issues can harm them. One such security threat comes from social media. Your employees are likely using these platforms right now, and if you're happy about that then it's a good idea to develop a policy that ensures your business remains secure.

Here are five things you should integrate in a social media policy to ensure social media is conducted in a secure manner.

• Log in using HTTPS - HTTPS is a type of transfer protocol that ensures the data is transferred in a more secure manner between networks. Many websites like Facebook, Google, etc. support HTTPS, and you should ensure that you use it. To use HTTPS, you simply put an S at the end of the usual http address in the URL bar of your browser. I.e., https://facebook.com will open a more secure version of Facebook. By using HTTPS you can eliminate Man-in-the-Middle attacks and other similar types of phishing.
• Don't share personal information - This might seem like a no-brainer to some, but there are still users out there who love to share their personal information. It's important to remember that social media is all about being social. Most information you share can be viewed by others. The last thing you want is a hacker getting a hold of all of your contact info, etc. It's a good idea to limit your contact information and never give it out over social media.
• Update privacy settings - Social media sites, and the companies who run them, love to tinker with security settings on a fairly regular basis. This has led to a number of users being caught unaware of their security settings. It's a good idea to ensure that all of your profile information is private.
• Watch what you click on - Take a look at any service and you'll notice that the vast majority of content contains links. This is where hackers are starting to target, by placing malicious software connected to links, or hijacking accounts and sending links to users to get them to click on them. Tactics like these need to be highlighted, and you should tell your employees not to click on any suspicious links. If they receive links from friends that seem uncharacteristic, it's a good idea to not click on them.
• If you don't know them, they aren't your friend - Yes, social media is about connecting with people. However, when it comes to personal accounts, you should encourage your employees to be judicious in who they connect with. In general, if they don't know the person who has just tried to add them to their network then it's advisable not to do so.

The five tips above are just a few things you should include in a social media use policy in the office. It's important to have a solid policy if you want to ensure that your network and data remain safe from potential threats from social media. Looking to learn more about safety and security of your networks? Contact us, we may be able to help.