Posts Tagged ‘Security’
Description of ‘Security’ Tag:
Security
Friday, June 3rd, 2011
Technology has been a blessing for most by helping to increase productivity, amplify communication and simplify everyday tasks. However technology also presents certain challenges and is not always used in a positive way. Security is a major focus for most companies and has remained a necessity since the security dangers are more present than ever. As of late companies around the world have been experiencing a high frequency of security intrusions, most notably are the recent Sony Attacks.
from http://www.Google.com, June 2011
In the past couple of months three entirely separate Sony Services have been hacked, Sony Pictures, Sony Ericsson, and Sony PSN. As damaging as these security mishaps may be they are also engaging companies to strengthen their core security and continually brace themselves against individuals or groups who use technology as a negative force. There will always be someone in the world trying to take advantage or discover shortcuts to get what they want. Even as security tightens there will be loopholes to find and ways to overcome security hurdles. Common security problems that persist despite security efforts are identity theft, fraud, account hijacking, spamming, and malicious data corruption.
In a recent Google Blog Post, Google detailed some of their latest security features. To prevent or at least attempt to prevent accounts from being hijacked they are introducing their new Two-Step-Verification process. Google began offering this new feature on June 1, 2011. Accounts are often hijacked when a user is tricked into sharing their password or other personal information with the use of malware and phishing scams. These scams aim to acquire user information in order to steal an individual’s identity, acquire financial data, or to spread spam.
Google states that they just recently uncovered a phishing scam that originated from China. This discovery provided even more reinforcement behind the new security option. As their security increases Google continues to become more efficient at identifying and eliminating fraudulent scams. In order to provide users with more protection Google suggests that all users turn on the Two-Factor-Authentication. This process requires a user to obtain a secondary password from their mobile device before being able to access their account. The process is used to confirm the identity of a user every 30 days and or every time a user accesses their account from an unrecognized device.
How Two-Factor-Authentication Works:
Two-Factor-Authentication provides another layer of account security and operates using something you know (password) with something you have (mobile device). In order to use this feature a user must have a phone available upon signing on and a backup phone number in the event that the primary is lost.
- Enter your username and password
- After the verification code is sent to your mobile device enter it into the access code prompt window.
- If you choose the “remember this verification for this computer for 30 days” option you will not be asked for a second authentication for 30 days unless you access your account from a different device.
- Press the verify button and access your account as usual.
How to Activate 2-Factor-Verification:
- Go to “Accounts Settings Page”
- Click on the using “2-Step-Verification” Link
- Enter primary phone number
- Add a backup phone number (Mobile or Landline-only used if the primary phone is disconnected or unavailable).
- Record the backup codes that are provided (each user gets 10 codes, these codes are emergency codes that can be used if you are unable to access your phone).
In addition to the 2-step process Google has also outlined several other security precautions that users can take to ensure their account safety. To view these suggestions visit the Google Blog.
To learn more about account protection visit the Google Safety Center!
Thanks for Reading have a Great Day!
Dustin
CDTek.com
Tags: 2 factor authentication, Google, google account, Hack, password, Security, security enhancement, user protection
Posted in Google, Google Apps, Security | No Comments »
Friday, May 6th, 2011
The need to save money has always been present but in recent years that need has grown to be the primary concern for most businesses. There are a number of ways that a business can attempt to save money however the trick is to do so while avoiding a loss in company quality and customer connection. Living up to or developing the company brand should always be emphasized even while cutting costs. It can be tough for businesses to maintain their present status while making these adjustments which is why it might be a good idea to consider starting with smaller reductions like using free alternative software applications.
from http://www.openoffice.org/ May 2011
Free software or freeware probably won’t solve any major financial dilemmas that company may be facing but it could be a good place to start. Below is a list of free software that has the potential to save businesses a few dollars while maintaining the quality that their customers have come to expect from them.
Security Software:
Security is crucial for all businesses, whether it’s for Anti-virus or Data encryption it is one of the aspects that should never be neglected regardless of the financial standing of a company. Security programs can be pricy and even pricier when purchasing multiple licenses for an entire office. Most companies feel that in order to have effective security they need to purchase from a well known and expensive provider, which is always the case. Sure, it would be nice to have the best security program available but company funds don’t always allow that. Depending on the type of company and the data that they are responsible for, it’s not unreasonable to utilize free basic security programs. Some of the free security applications that provide basic protection include:
Easy to use security application that helps defend your computer against spyware, viruses, worms, Trojans, and other malicious software.
Free for users who already have a Comcast account. Helps protect your personal information, includes Norton Security Suite to protect against viruses and also has Secure Backup and Identity Guard.
Offers basic Anti-virus and Anti-spyware protection.
Offers basic Anti-virus and Anti-spyware protection.
Provides basic protection from viruses, spyware and offers a password protector.
Office Software:
Most businesses utilize some form of office or word processing software for their every day business activity. Most people are familiar with Microsoft Office however most of the features that Office provides aren’t exactly necessary for everyday use. Several alternative options for Microsoft Office that manage to provide the same primary functions include:
Lets users create documents, spreadsheets, drawings, presentations, and forms all online. Google Documents also provides the opportunity for multiple users to collaborate on the same document in real time.
Very similar to Microsoft Word without the price tag.
This software suite offers free word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases, and more. OpenOffice is probably the best known free alternative that is easy to use and completely free.
Storage Software:
Instead of buying extra hard drive space, offline backups or newer computers a good alternative for extra space is cloud storage. Although you can find good deals on cloud storage for multiple computers the free storage websites shouldn’t be overlooked. Some of the data backup sites that offer limited online storage for free include:
Offers a free 25 GB of online storage with the option to purchase more.
Offers a free 5 GB of online storage with the option to purchase more.
Offers a free 5 GB of online storage with the option to purchase more and saving plans for multiple users.
Free basic version online backup drive or one year trial for their professional version.
Operating Systems:
Free operating systems can save a company a lot of money. It is a common misconception that people are stuck with either Windows or the Mac operating systems but in reality there are many free alternatives available like Linux which is completely open source.
One of the most popular free operating systems, fast, secure, and easy to use alternative.
In addition to those mentioned there is a ton of other freeware applications on the internet that can be used for many purposes and provide financial benefits. Choosing a free alternative requires companies to devote some time to finding the appropriate replacement and be willing to utilize software that may not be as popular as the ones from Microsoft, Kaspersky, and Carbonite.
It is often faster and easier for businesses to spend money in order to get something done which makes it hard to break the cycle of spending. However once a business does get out of that routine they will begin to find more and more alternatives to save money. Again free software is a great place to start for any business trying to reduce some financial pressure. Starting with free software alternatives may seem small but can provide significant savings for most companies. With that being said it’s also very important that when considering free software that you do your research and download only from reputable websites.
Have any free software suggestion? Share them below.
Thanks for Reading have a Great Day!
Dustin
CDTek.com
Tags: business, company spending, free software alternatives, freeware, money, saving money, Security, software, Storage
Posted in Business Tools, Finance, Small Business Tips | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010
 Hello and welcome to Chesapeake Digital Technology´s blog. We’re an information technology firm in Maryland. We provide two primary services, Internet Marketing / SEO and Technical Support for business.
Picture your corporate network. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Fortune 500 company or a medium sized business. You have a network with computers, printers, etc all coming together to make your business function well. You have some important stuff on there, right? Client lists, pricing, billing info, etc. Well, there are people out there who want your data and they will take it by force. Among the arsenal at your disposal for defense are an IPS and an IDS. Here’s how they break down.
IDS – Intrusion Detection System
An IDS monitors network traffic. It can be hardware or software based, but regardless, it scans all the data that goes in and comes out of your network. The big thing here is logging. An IDS is not designed to stop attackers or suspicious data packets from entering your network. Rather, it is designed to track them and let you know where they came from, where they were delivered, and plenty more information.
Open Source Options
AIDE
Bro NIDS
OSSEC HIDS
Prelude Hybrid IDS
Snort
Suricata
IPS – Intrusion Prevention System
An IPS, or Intrusion Prevention System, is a great start to network defense. An IPS employs several methods for protection, but the key difference here from an IDS is that the IPS will analyze all relevant data AND keep the packets out of your network. They key is placement on your network. An IPS setup in the DMZ (demilitarized zone – special area between the Internet and your local network) can work wonders for network security.
Solutions
Cisco Security Agent (originally by Okena formerly named StormWatch Agent)
Denyhosts
Fail2ban
Mcafee Entercept
So there it is. Talk about these options with your IT people and see if they are right for you. Remember, an IPS will cost you more, but it will also take care of some of your security concerns.
-Josh
CDTeK
Tags: business, data, IDS, internet, IPS, network, Security, support
Posted in Security | No Comments »
Friday, October 29th, 2010
 Hello and welcome to Chesapeake Digital Technology´s blog. We’re an information technology firm in Maryland. We provide two primary services, Internet Marketing / SEOand Technical Support for business.
Anyone will tell you that a lot of business is done on the go these days. You’re out at a meeting or just traveling for work and you need to get some stuff done. Mobile devices go a long way in enhancing human productivity. However, it can get complicated when half of your staff wants one device and the others are splintered. It will be a nightmare for your IT department.
An important part of planning is setting up a standard for your business. Just like anything else, you need to have a framework in place to facilitate these areas of your company. It’s best to let the IT department work their magic here, but you definitely have input.
Stick with something that everyone can get their work done on. For some companies, it’s Apple’s iPhone. For others, RIM’s Blackberry line gets the job done. Both have perks and drawbacks for different types of businesses. Meet with your staff, if your company is small enough, or take a poll to see what your employees NEED, not want.
By establishing a standard for smartphones in your organization, you will prevent a lot of IT headaches. At the same time, you’ll squash the deluge of requests for personal phones or special requests for cutting edge tech.
-Josh
CDtek
Tags: business, IT, Mobile, Planning, Security, Small Business, tech
Posted in Internet | No Comments »
Friday, October 8th, 2010
 Hello and welcome to Chesapeake Digital Technology´s blog. We’re an information technology firm in Maryland. We provide two primary services, Internet Marketing / SEOand Technical Support for business.
Most business people use smart phones. You need them to stay connected to the world and deliver to your consumers. It could be email, the web, or any number of online services. Many users have Blackberries, and that’s what brings us to this discussion. Recently, the Blackberry backup service was cracked. Now, there are a few things you should know about why what happened matters to you.
The Good: The main benefit of this crack is that you can now get to backup data even if you’ve lost your password. Your Blackberry can be cracked and the data restored. Your IT crew will often keep tools like this around. I know one professional who uses a Linux crack to break administrator passwords when people get locked out of their PCs and do not recall their administrator password.
The Bad: Your Blackberry could now be vulnerable to attacks from cyber criminals. This is the classic debacle. While a new hack can help you out, the big risk of attack can create a lot of reasons to flee a particular service.
The Question: Should you stick with Blackberry? The reasons have been building up for a while now to leave the service backed by RIM. Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android OS are valuable options that are often more powerful than Blackberry’s tools. In addition to productivity, the hardware in general is often more accepted publicly as user-friendly.
-Josh
CDtek.com
Tags: blackberry, internet, mobile device, Security, WWW
Posted in Business Tools | No Comments »
Friday, September 10th, 2010
 Hello and welcome to Chesapeake Digital Technology´s blog. We’re an information technology firm in Maryland. We provide 2 services, Internet Marketing / SEO and Technical Support to small and medium business. Okay, so you know how shipping ports work, right? Ships come into certain ones, while others are reserved for other types of traffic. This is analogous to how ports work when talking about exchanging data via the Web or your local network. Now, a good firewall will block the superfluous ones for you, but you might find you need to fine-tune it a bit. There’s also a great chance you’ll never have to deal with any of this. That’s what IT people are for right? Well, in the likely chance you’re going to be making decisions affecting those people, and the rest of the company, here are a few ports to know.
Port 110/25: POP/SMTP (E-Mail)
These ports are designed to have e-mail exchanges funneled through it. I won’t get into how traffic is sorted, but suffice it to say that this is the port universally agreed upon to get email. Make sure it is left open. POP and SMTP are two different ways to fetch email, and either one might be in use for your email client.
Port 443: SSL (Secure Web Connection)
We’re all seen the little lock, castle, whatever at the bottom of our browser when we go to check our bank account info. This means that the connection is secure, because the data being sent back and forth is encrypted. Port 443 is reserved for this, so make sure it is open, or you won’t be able to go anywhere that requires a name and password.
Port 80: HTTP (Web Browsing)
Straightforward web browsing is relegated to Port 80. All of your connections, usually just Internet surfing, that use HTTP go through here. If this port is closed, you won’t be able to get outside of your network for Web access. Good for tight lockdowns, bad for just about everything else.
-Josh
CDtek
Tags: blog, firewall, internet, mac, networking, PC, port, Security, TCP ports, web
Posted in Internet | No Comments »
Thursday, August 26th, 2010
 Hello and welcome to Chesapeake Digital Technology´s blog. We’re an information technology firm in Maryland providing two services, Internet Marketing / SEO and Technical Support to small and medium business.
Your small business has graduated to a medium-sized business. Congratulations! Now that you have a lot more employees, you also have a lot more business being done. The old ways of preventing people from accessing certain data or, worse, not putting precautions in place won’t work anymore. You’ve got to put up walls to make sure that no one gets greedy and goes looking through private data. If you’re running a Windows environment, which the odds say you are, then Security Groups, a part of Active Directory, are a good place to start. Your network administrator will be responsible for rolling this out, but this will give you a good idea of how this works.
Security Groups are a logical organization of users on your network. These groups are good for setting users apart as needed. The easiest way to do this is sorting by department. However, you can sort these groups in any way you like. Now, the best part of this is that you can tailor your security measures to these groups. This includes access lists and control restrictions.
Another great use for Security Groups is rolling out new policies. You can determine which groups get which updates when. This is good when you don’t know how an update could potentially affect a network. You can deploy to these custom groups beforehand. Several popular solutions are Microsoft Active Directory for a Microsoft Windows or mixed Windows, Unix, Linux environment, Likewise Open for Unix / Linux/ Mac environment, or Centrify Suite for Unix / Linux/ Mac environment.
-Josh
CDTek
Tags: Information Technology, Medium Business, Security, Tips
Posted in Business Tools, Computers | No Comments »
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