IT Services Info & News | Ascensha

Does your company have a computer and internet use policy? Policy creation is often a long, tedious process, yet every organization must have rules in place to protect company computers from viruses, spamware, and other online nasties. Large companies have ample resources to develop and update computer use policies, but for the Small to Medium Size Business (SMB) owner, this task often detracts from far more pressing business issues. Fortunately, Joe Kennedy, author of The Small Business Owner’s Manual, has compiled the following basic set of rules for company computer use:

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Do your employees know how to avoid malvertising? This new form of malware has online publishers worried. Malvertising, a portmanteau of malware and advertising, has been popping up even on respected news sites, such as the New York Times Online.  Like all malware, malvertising installs programs designed to harm the host computer or its software. Hackers buy advertising from online publishers, and then post advertisements warning visitors that their anti-virus protection is out of date. Nieve web surfers will click on the warning, and voila, spyware or other forms of malware are installed on their machines.

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In “Catch Me If You Can,” Leonardo DiCaprio plays Frank Abegnale, Jr, arguably one of the most successful social engineering criminals in American history. Abegnale passed more than $4 million in bad checks in his youth. He successfully posed as a doctor, lawyer, and airline pilot—and all before the age of 21. What allowed this minor to get whatever he wanted? Limitless charm and sharp powers of observation. Those same qualities are the keys today’s social engineer criminals use to slip through lock-tight security barriers. These days, having served six years in prison, Abegnale is helping the FBI catch modern cybercriminals. He has said, “What I did in my youth is hundreds of times easier today. Technology breeds crime.” This article will explain how to protect yourself and your company against social engineer hackers.

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In an attempt to raise awareness, I mentioned in the previous post that scareware threats are growing at an alarming rate. In addition, we discussed its implications, including establishing what it is and how it operates. Today, however, I’d like to point you to a couple of practical tips for guarding yourself and your organization against possible malware threats — putting the chains on scareware, so to speak.

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There’s been a recent development in the information security realm, and it’s not exactly a positive one. According to security experts, the last half of 2009 marks the massive growth of fake security software, also known as “scareware,” and now one of the Internet’s most profitable scams. As of November, security researchers pointed to more than 1 million web sites redirecting to the malicious software. What’s particularly unsettling, however, is that many unknowing victims are being directed to the sites via major search engines like Google and Yahoo. (more…)

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