by John Mamon | Jan 18, 2021 | IT Service Blog
How often should you change your passwords? We all know we should be changing our passwords, but how often is “often” enough? Some people never change their passwords, and even worse, recycle the same (or similar) passwords for almost all of their online accounts. This is a dangerous practice that can lead to security breaches, identity theft, and more.
Passwords are, unfortunately, often neglected by everyday people. We have enough to worry about on a daily basis without adding password security, right? The problem is that security breaches and cybercrime are on the rise. If you think it can’t happen to you, it most certainly can! Every year, thousands of Americans are victims of cybercrime and identity theft and fraud, costing billions in damages.
Protecting your passwords and personal information starts with securing passwords. Your passwords are your first line of defense against intrusion, and there are some rules to follow for best password practices. Let’s take a closer look at some important password guidelines that can help you take back control of your internet passwords.
When Should You Change Your Password?
After A Security Breach: With massive breaches like the Capital One and Target breaches in recent years, consumers have been put at risk from hackers halfway across the globe and on domestic soil. When a company declares they’ve experienced a data breach, you’ll want to change your password as soon as possible to protect your information. If your info has been compromised, you’ll typically be alerted by the company.
If You Suspect Unauthorized Access: Don’t wait until there’s glaring evidence of unauthorized access of your account(s). By that time, it’s usually too late. If you suspect someone is attempting or has attempted to access one or more of your accounts, change your passwords ASAP. It’s always better to take preventative measures than to wait until the damage is done.
If You Discover Malware or Other Phishing Software: A virus can put your computer at risk and leave your personal information exposed. If you discover such software on your computer after a scan, change your passwords immediately; preferably from a different device until you’re certain the virus has been removed.
Shared Access: Lots of people share access to accounts like Netflix and other media services. Some even share access to a joint bank account and access the info via web or mobile app. If you share access with someone you’re no longer in contact with, change your password as soon as possible. It’s best to not trust anyone outside of your circle of trusted people with your passwords. Ex-spouses or significant others, friends, and previous colleagues shouldn’t have access to any of your accounts.
Logging In At Public Places: Using an unsecured network to log in to your accounts is a good way to have your password stolen. If you visit the library or use a public network, change your password afterward.
Conclusion
Managing passwords is a responsibility that falls on both us as individuals and businesses. Without proper password habits, it’s far easier to fall victim to cybercrime and identity theft; each of which costs the nation billions in damages every year. Take control of your passwords with a password management and better protect your personal information and your identity.
Are you interested in learning more on how an MSP could help your organization stay safe? Give us a call at 678-389-6200 or visit mPoweredIT.com.
by John Mamon | Dec 22, 2020 | IT Service Blog
MSP stands for Managed Services Provider. That can mean different things to different people because the breadth of services can vary from one MSP to the next MSP.
A Cloud Services Provider (CSP) is a third-party company which offers a cloud-based platform, infrastructure, and application or storage services. Businesses of all sizes are embracing cloud technology because of the unprecedented flexibility, scalability, security and overall cost savings. Adopting a cloud-based IT network is fast becoming necessary to keep a competitive edge.
But, there is a new term being used called TSP – or Total Solutions Provider. TSP generally indicates that the provider offers end-to-end technology services for small businesses; IT services, of course, but also cloud services, low voltage cabling, voice over IP services, web development and everything in-between.
mPowered IT’s Embrace Cloud Services makes it easy and affordable to transition to a cloud-based network so your business can immediately reap the benefits. Are you ready for better IT support? Call us now at 678-389-6200 or contact us online.
by John Mamon | Dec 18, 2020 | IT Service Blog
You have personal, identifiable information on your policyholders, and other data that’s very valuable to hackers. If you don’t have proactive security measures in place to protect your IT network, it’s only a matter of time before it will be attacked. Here’s what you need to protect your insurance agency:
- Get Real Security – the mPowered IT Enforce Managed Security program protects your entire network against any type of threat, attack shutdown or outage – saving you downtime, loss of revenue, lawsuits, and possible collapse. All for one low monthly fee.
- Add Layers of Protection – to outwit cyber criminals who spend each day devising new ways to attack systems, you can’t simply rely on a firewall and passwords. You need layers of security that are actively monitored, managed and updated.
- Get a Penetration Test – Ever wondered how vulnerable your business systems are to hacking? The only way to know is a penetration test or “ethical hacking” where our experts tests your computer network from a hacker’s perspective.
mPowered IT is your proactive security team, fully equipped to provide the best prevention against whatever destruction cyber thieves are thinking up next. Ready for IT support? Call us now at 678-389-6200 or visit our website to learn more.
Ready for Better IT Support? Call us now at 678-389-6200 or
by John Mamon | Dec 14, 2020 | IT Service Blog
Businesses often take the privacy and security of email for granted. But if there’s only one thing you take away from this information, it should be that email is the prime target for hackers and data thieves. There are hundreds of threats out there at any moment, and each of them have the potential to steal information, take control of your computer and network, and even damage your brand reputation. Below are 4 of the 13 email threats you should know about.
- Conversation Hijacking – Conversation Hijacking attacks are when hackers manage to replicate legitimate email threads between people to make it seem as though the victim is the one sending the messages back and forth. Make sure you have Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) in place to keep the bad guys out of your email tenant.
- Account Takeover – Account takeover is when malicious third party attackers successfully gain access to a user’s account and credentials. Once the account is compromised, hackers monitor and track activity to learn how the company does business, the email signatures they use, and the way financial transaction are handled. This helps them launch successful attacks, including harvesting additional login credentials for other accounts. MFA is the best answer for this threat.
- Data Exfiltration – Data exfiltration is the unauthorized transfer of data from a computer or other device. It can be conducted manually via physical access to a computer and as an automated process using malicious programming on the internet or a network. Attacks are typically targeted, with the objective of gaining access to a network or machine to locate and copy specific data. There are specific monitoring tools that can watch for suspicious data movement.
- Lateral Phishing – With lateral phishing, attackers use recently hijacked accounts to send phishing emails to unsuspecting recipients to spread the attack more broadly. Because these attacks come from a legitimate email account and appear to be from a trusted colleague or partner, they tend to have a high success rate. MFA is crucial to minimizing this threat.
Click here to download the 9 other ways you can improve the privacy and security of your emails.
by John Mamon | Dec 3, 2020 | IT Service Blog
Businesses often take the privacy and security of email for granted. But if there’s only one thing you take away from this information, it should be that email is the prime target for hackers and data thieves. There are hundreds of threats out there at any moment, and each of them have the potential to steal information, take control of your computer and network, and even damage your brand reputation. Below are 3 of the 13 email threats you should know about.
- Blackmail – Obtaining money, goods, or services from an individual through threat of revealing embarrassing, incriminating, or socially damaging information is defined as blackmail. Generally, blackmail is different from other theft crimes because the perpetrator may want power or a favor rather than money, but in the case of email threats, it is usually money the bad guys are after. These are typically the most obvious of the threats. A 3rd party SPAM service and SAT are good counter punches.
- Business Email Compromise (BEC) – Generally, BEC is used to describe the many different threats listed here. Sometimes, BEC is used to specify a type of email cybercrime scam in which an attacker targets businesses to defraud the company. Different types of BEC are CEO Fraud, Account Compromise, False Invoice Scheme, Attorney Impersonation and Data Theft. Once again, this is closely related to Spear Phishing, so make sure you have SAT in place.
- URL Phishing – URL Phishing attacks are attacks where cyber criminals will obtain sensitive information for malicious use, such as usernames, passwords or banking details. Cybercriminals catch their prey by creating a fake website that appears to be legitimate. SAT helps, as does
using a DNS proxy service.
Click here to download the 10 other ways you can improve the privacy and security of your emails.
by John Mamon | Dec 1, 2020 | IT Service Blog
Businesses often take the privacy and security of email for granted. But if there’s only one thing you take away from this information, it should be that email is the prime target for hackers and data thieves. There are hundreds of threats out there at any moment, and each of them have the potential to steal information, take control of your computer and network, and even damage your brand reputation. Below are 3 of the 13 email threats you should know about.
- Spam – Email spam is also known as junk mail. Spam emails are sent out in mass quantities by spammers and cyber criminals that are looking to make money, obtain information or spread malicious code onto the recipient’s computer. Having a good 3rd party SPAM filter in place is critical. This service can often be bundled with advanced email security.
- Domain Impersonation – Domain impersonation, or domain spoofing, is when a hacker uses a fake web domain or email address to impersonate an organization or one of its employees. This threat is closely related and sometimes used in conjunction with Spear Phishing. SAT can help
here as well.
- Brand Impersonation – Brand impersonation is designed to impersonate a company or a brand to trick their victims into responding and disclosing personal or otherwise sensitive information. Common types of brand impersonation include service impersonation and brand hijacking. This threat is similar to Scamming, so advanced email security can help here too.
Click here to download the 10 other ways you can improve the privacy and security of your emails.
