One of our customers almost became a victim to one of these scams, so we decided we need to give you the information on all of these scams to keep you from becoming a victim.  All of these are similar such as a misspelled email address or website URL, but all have different tactics they use to attack their victims.  Some tactics are very general and target a LOT of people and companies, while others are more targeted to certain companies or certain job functions within a company.

Phishing is an attempt by hackers to obtain personal information such as credit card information, usernames, passwords, and any other personal information through emails by acting as a trustworthy entity.  These emails are mass produced and they will try to convince you with threats to click on a link to take you to a fake website to fill out information, that normal trustworthy companies wouldn’t ask for, or open an infected attachment.  Once you open the infected attachment, the hackers will attempt to take over your computer and retrieve all personal information.  Another way is cloning a website and putting it on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Google+) to get you to fill out information, then all the information is sent to the attackers, not the true company.

Spear phishing is a form of phishing, but unlike phishing, an email is only sent out to one person or a few highly selected individuals.  Before the attackers send out these selected emails, they do their “homework” on the individual(s).  They find out all the information they need by looking into profiles of these selected individuals on social media, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.  The attackers will then craft an email that appears to be from a trusted person/company, the From email address of the email will have a typo, and trick the recipient into sending money or clicking on a link to exploit money from them that way.  Exs- From: itarchitechs.com (legit) From: itarchitects.com OR From: itarchitehcs.com (not legit).  This type of phishing is a very successful one with a 91% success rate.  

Typosquatting is another form of phishing, however with this one it is the user that types in the wrong URL and accidentally goes to malware infected site.  Hackers take the time to register popular domains that get mistyped and infect those misspelled websites with malware.   For example, you wanted to go to our website www.itarchitechs.com, but you accidentally typed www.itarchitects.com, well that site hackers have taken over and try to get you to fill out personal information and/or try to get you to send money.

Whaling is another type of phishing and is sent to senior executives in a business or high profile target person to try to get them to disclose personal or corporate information.  These emails are crafted to look like it is a customer complaint, a serious executive issue or even a legal matter.  These kinds of emails are scams that appear to come from legitimate authority personal like the FBI or a lawyer, but they are from hackers.  Inside these emails they try to get you to click on a link to view the document and fill in information or click on a website URL that was customized by them to get your information.

Pharming is similar to phishing, but with pharming hackers hijack or poison the DNS servers which redirects your internet browser to infected sites or servers.  A malicious code is installed on a computer or server which redirects you to a fraudulent website, without your knowledge.  What this means is if you typed in Google, your browser takes you to “Gogle”, a fraudulent site.  To spot a fake website, look for spelling mistakes and if it has http, instead of https (this is important for purchasing, but not for a regular site) and if the website URL ends in anything besides .com and .org.  If you purchase anything from a site under the fake “Gogle”, then hackers are getting all of your confidential information.

All of these phishing scams can be realistic and hard to detect, but remember these few tips.

• Hover your mouse over the URL to see if the hyperlinked address matches the address displayed. 

• If the email is asking for personal information, asking you to send money to cover expenses, has poor grammar or misspelled words, or the offer is too good to be true, please delete it.

• If the email is threatening or intimidating you from the IRS, the bank, or any other government agency, it is a scam please delete.

We know how you are busy during the day and just want to get through those emails, but please take your time and look at the email and determine if any of these tips listed above are in that email.  If your gut is telling you not to click on anything within the email, listen to your gut.  If you are not 100% sure, please ask your IT personnel or team if the email(s) are safe to open.

The holiday season is right around the corner and nearly 22% of all Americans will shop online to purchase gifts for the holidays.

Here are a few tips to keep yourself safe while shopping:

1.) No shopping on free public Wi-Fi - Hackers love this time of year.  Too many people can't resist from being connected, so they connect to free Wi-Fi.  On free public Wi-Fi hackers can get tons of information and passwords.

2.) Try shopping from apps - Apps that come from Apple or Google stores have an extra layer of protection compared to your cell phone web browser.  If not shopping from apps and using your computer, make sure to look for the lock symbol in the URL bar.  Websites that start with https:// will reassure you its secure. 

3.) Don't use the same password - When signing up for accounts online, please don't use the same password.  If you use the same email address to open these accounts, please use a different password for each account you open.  If you get hacked and use the same email and password combination, then it is easier for them to get access to all those accounts.

4.) Use credit cards when purchasing - When shopping online you should only use credit cards, not debit cards.  It is easier to resolve a suspicious purchase with your credit card company compared to your bank.

5.) Avoid saving credit card information - It seems easier and more convenient to save your credit card information on the retailers site, but it is too risky!  If it's not stored on their site, then it can't be stolen.  Retail stores are more susceptible to getting hacked, due to the plethora of information they have.

6.) Avoid email offers - If you receive an email with an offer or promo code in it, then go to the retailer's website and check out the offers there.  Please don't click on any offer or promo code.  You should copy and paste the promo code into the retailer's website.

Do you get frustrated with your one monitor (laptop/tablet) screen when trying to combine or compare several documents?  When you have to minimize one document to open up another one? Or click from one tab to the next to find what you are looking for?  There is a simple solution to all this frustration...Dual Monitors.  Having dual monitors on your desk will make your life less stressful and more productive.  It has been proven that dual monitors increases productivity by 20 to 30 percent.

You can still use your tablet/laptop/monitor, but pair it up with a big monitor and your options are endless.  

Imagine:

• comparing several documents side by side in full at the same time, instead of scrolling across and down to see it all.
• being able to drag and drop from one screen to the other screen
• looking at the whole excel spreadsheet, instead of half of it
• looking at several internet pages on the same screen or side-by-side across multiple monitors

Our team utilizes dual monitors.  Our desks contain a big (24") monitor (or two) and a tablet/laptop connected together.  On our big monitor(s) we can have a couple of Word documents or any programs open with the ability to move one of the documents/programs over onto the tablet or monitor.  On our tablets or one of the monitors, we keep our VoIP phone system software and Microsoft Lync (Skype) open at all time to determine who is on the phone, who is not, who is in an IM/Audio/Video conversation with others, and for one-click collaboration capabilities.  It helps immensely with productivity and frustration levels.  Plus, if you are using a tablet or laptop, it gives you the option to be portable too.

Another way dual monitors can help is if you struggle to see documents on a screen that is too small.  If you use dual big monitors, you can change the resolution of the screens and the font sizes and still be able to see a large portion of the document/program a lot easier.

Once you go to a dual monitor setup, you will notice that it's hard to be productive with a single monitor.  You are able to accomplish more tasks at a faster pace when you utilize dual monitor setup.

It took only six months for Windows 10 to pass up Windows XP and Windows 8.1.  By the end of January the number of PC's that installed Windows 10 was 11.9%, where XP had an 11.4% installation after six months.  The crazy part is back in December, both XP and 8.1 were still ahead of 10.  However, Windows 7 holds the all-time record with 52.5% of the PC's around the world.  Windows 10 holds a record though, the fastest-adopted version of Windows ever, installed on more than 200 million devices!  Microsoft is still allowing you to download Windows 10 for free for anyone running on Windows 7 or 8.1.  Windows is hoping to have Windows 10 on 1 billion devices by 2018.  The scary part is that one out of ten computers are still using Windows XP and those computers are not getting any updates or support.  Those computers are a ticking time bomb.  To learn more about how Windows 10 surpassed XP and 8.1, please read the article that is attached.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/02/technology/windows-10/index.html  

The smartphone and the tablet markets are converging with the PC and laptop markets.  In addition to Microsoft's recent offerings and its near-term promises, HP has unveiled its newest smartphone/laptop/desktop, well actually a phablet.  The Elite X3 smartphone can be hooked up to accessories (mouse, keyboard, and monitor) and be used as a Windows 10 PC.  Microsoft's Continuum software recognizes how the phone is being used and automatically adjusts the interface.  The phone is a good size and has a dual SIM slot and dual front-facing speakers, plus a 16-megapixel camera.  HP hasn't announced how much the Elite X3 will be or if the accessories come with or sold separately, but they say the pricing is competitive with other smartphones.  To learn more about the Elite X3, please read the article that is attached. 

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2016/02/21/its-a-phone-its-a-pc-its-hps-new-elite-x3-phablet/?mod=WSJ_TechWSJD_productReviews

Staying up-to-date on the next horizon of technology is how we help our customers ENJOY IT!  Please contact us at 314-802-9777 or find more information about Monthly Support of All IT on our website. 

Microsoft Lync took on the look and feel of Skype.  There are two versions of Skype, free consumer we all know and Skype for Business.  Skype for Business isn't free, but what it has to offer it is worth paying for.  The new Skype has the capability to have large conference calls up to 250 people, where the free version only allows up to 25.  Another benefit of Skype for Business is that it is being integrated into Office 365.  Why is this so big?  You will be able to use Outlook directly with Skype for Business's IM, voice, video features, and being able to click on a contact and have a conversation or schedule a meeting. Plus, Outlook will save all your conversations in the meeting history.  There are many advantages of using Skype for Business, to learn more about it, please read the article that is attached.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2920337/skype-vs-skype-for-business-who-can-stick-with-the-free-app-who-needs-to-upgrade.html

To find out about other collaboration tools, please visit our phone system page on our website.

With the population in the world continuously increasing, the farmers have to figure out how to meet those demands.  Some farmers have turned to Big Data to help them figure out how to increase a better yield of crops.  These farmers collect yield data, soil scans, satellite images and drone images in order to identify the way they should change how they treat the fields to improve yields.  Not every farmer feels it's for them.  But in the long run the more you know the more you get out of it.  To learn more about how farmers are using technology and data to help them increase their production, please read the article that is attached.

http://www.inc.com/jenna-broughton/how-farmers-are-harvesting-big-data.html

Farms are not known to be hubs of technology, but if it is helping a farmer, imagine what data analysis might do for other industries.  We can assist you in learning more about how you can leverage data to help your company prosper.  Please go to our Software and Databases page on our website to learn more. 

Google Glass appeared to have ended, but come to find out "the journey doesn't end here".  They have a Google for Work program that includes Google Glass being used in healthcare.  Several doctors are on the team of experimenters who are using Google glass within operations.  During their procedure they were able to bring up scans, detailed 3D images of the heart and of blood vessels, all by using voice commands.  Google is wanting to enable all medical personnel who arrive at a scene of an accident to be able to use Google Glass to help assist their patient more easily with the use of communication to their colleagues.  At first, Google Glass was going to be used for just training, but they have found through the doctors who are part of the experiment team that it works great with all aspects of their field.  To learn more about how Google Glass is helping the medical field, please read the article that is attached.  

http://www.zdnet.com/article/the-doctor-can-see-you-now-the-surgeons-using-google-glass-in-the-operating-theatre/

"Ag-tech" isn't new to farmer, but has it helped the farmers?  Yes it has!  Now they are trying to find ways to make it more appealing to the younger generation and more profitable.  With the younger generation getting out of the farming industry, the farming industry is trying to find new ways to make it "easier" to farm with the right tech tools.  For small farms, mobile phones are a powerful tools.  Smartphones can improve communications and provide access to information, such as pricing of crops.  To really get technology onto farms, the farmer has to be the one in control of the innovation.  If they are told what to put on their farms, instead of being advised, farmers won't be acceptable to it.  There also needs to be a mixture of hi-tech and low-tech solutions.  To learn more about how ag-tech is helping farmers, please read the article that is attached.

http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/nov/13/seven-things-agricultural-technology-farming-farmers-mobile-phones

Many states have adopted the "hands free" talking, while driving a vehicle. With that new law, people have turned to wireless Bluetooth devices.  These devices are wonderful to have to be able to keep connected, but there are numerous security risks that come with these devices.  Some of the risks that can happen are: ability to eavesdrop on conversation, ability to crash the device and drain batteries.  We use Bluetooth devices quite often, since our technicians are on the road to service our customers.  We have established a rule to not talk about certain highly sensitive information over the Bluetooth device.  When we are not using our device, we make sure to turn off the Bluetooth.  In the article, it mentions improvements to the devices may be coming.  Until then, please keep in mind not to discuss important data over them and to remember to turn it off when not in use.  Convenience is the polar opposite of security.  To learn more about the risk, please read the article that is attached. 

http://www.inc.com/joseph-steinberg/are-your-bluetooth-devices-secure-maybe-not.html