Category Archives: Websites

Cloud Computing, IT Consulting, IT Outsource, IT Support, Managed IT Services, Websites

Software Firewalls

 

A firewall is one of the most important pieces to a computer network, no matter how big or small. Everyone should have a firewall.

In this post we will be talking about software firewalls, later in the future we will talk about hardware firewalls.

A software firewall is a program, which runs in the background on a client’s computer. Some are very basic and easy to use. Some are complex and more powerful. For home users we absolutely recommend a yearly subscription based Internet security suite. Some names to look out for are Kaspersky, ESET and Avira.

Most software firewall companies also make enterprise editions of their software, which allow IT personnel to manage firewall rules and configurations from one computer, taking the configuration and management responsibility away from the user.

The software firewall operates by inspecting the network data that is incoming to the computer, as well as outgoing from the computer. If the firewall detects the data has been altered or if appears malicious, the software blocks it, effectively preventing any form of an attack.

Firewalls operate from a set of rules. The administrator can make a specific rule in the firewall to block a specific website, a specific application or to prevent two computers on the same network from communicating with each other, for whatever reason. Just as one can block certain actions, one can specifically allow a certain action. Sometimes when connecting to a printer with advanced features, the administrator may need to alter the firewall rules to allow certain data through, to access the printer’s features.

Home user based software firewalls have become very easy to use and to configure over the past few years. Not only can they prevent malicious items and websites from infecting your computer, but they now come bundled with more tools to prevent phishing scam websites from opening, as well as some encryption tools to safe guard your sensitive data.

Should you want more information on software-based firewalls, feel free to contact Group 4 Networks.

 

About Group 4 Networks – IT Consulting

We provide Toronto and GTA businesses with IT Support, IT Consulting and Managed IT Services at a fraction of the cost that they would pay a low-level full time IT Manager. Our team eliminates the hassle of dealing with the single knowledge and abilities of a lone “computer guy.”  What makes us unique is that we proactively manage our customer’s computer networks to eliminate many of the headaches and hassles of using computers to run a business.

We guarantee our customers a response within 60 minutes or less and are the only IT service provider in the region that offers a 60-Day 100% no hassle money back guarantee on our flat rate all inclusive service plans.

Read more: http://virtual-desktop.co#ixzz33Vxc8EUs

IT Consulting, IT Outsource, IT Support, Toronto IT Support, Uncategorized, Websites

BlackShades Info

Broken Internet Security
Broken Internet Security

As we have mentioned before, lately Internet security issues are on the rise and malicious hackers are making it very difficult to keep people on Internet safe from web attacks.

The latest in cyber security news brings a piece of malware that could potentially ruin lives. This malware is called “BlackShades”. BlackShades is a tool used by hackers to take complete control of your computer, just as if they were sitting in front it. The difference with BlackShades is that it can actually be bought, for a low price of $40!

BlackShades is similar to other remote desktop support applications which IT department’s use. However, BlackShades can do more than traditional remote desktop applications, for example it access devices on the victims computer, such as their webcam. This is a definite invasion of ones privacy. At the same time BlackShades can also track keystrokes as the victim is typing on the computer. With this, the attacker could gain easy access to personal information, because the victim’s password was recorded, as they were typing it.

How does one get infected with BlackShades? The same way as with any other virus.

The victims email account might have an email from someone with an attachment in the email message. Most of the time the attachment is a .zip file – a compressed file. However, inside the .zip file is a Windows program, an executable. The victim would open the file, and then it happens, the computer gets infected. However the victim will not see anything happening on the screen. The backdoor is a hidden application, running in the background. Once the computer is affected, the victim may not even suspect the infection, as BlackShades is hard to detect.

Some symptoms of BlackShades are,

  • Your cursor moves erratically without you touching it or your monitor turns off during use
  • The webcam “in use” light turns on when the camera is not in use by the user. If a Skype call is not in progress the webcam light should remain turned off.
  • Usernames and passwords for online accounts have been compromised
  • Computer files become encrypted without warning and ask for a password when attempting to open the file

To prevent infection from the BlackShades info backdoor – avoid opening emails from known and unknown people if they have .zip or .exe attachments in the message. Avoid links from suspicious accounts on social media as well, such as Twitter and Facebook. It is very easy to disguise a link and to direct it to download the virus. Finally, make sure your antivirus is updated and ensure the antivirus subscription is paid for, if you use applications such as Kaspersky or ESET.

If you need more information about BlackShades and Internet security in general, feel free to contact Group 4 Networks.

 

About Group 4 Networks

We provide Toronto and GTA businesses with IT Support, IT Consulting and Managed IT Services at a fraction of the cost that they would pay a low-level full time IT Manager. Our team eliminates the hassle of dealing with the single knowledge and abilities of a lone “computer guy.”  What makes us unique is that we proactively manage our customer’s computer networks to eliminate many of the headaches and hassles of using computers to run a business.

We guarantee our customers a response within 60 minutes or less and are the only IT service provider in the region that offers a 60-Day 100% no hassle money back guarantee on our flat rate all inclusive service plans.

Cloud Computing, IT Consulting, IT Outsource, IT Support, Toronto IT Support, Websites

eBay Compromised

eBay Compromised - We can help youInternet security attacks seem to be very popular, especially for the past few weeks. This time the victim is a company known for allowing users to buy and sell things online.

eBay has faced an intrusion by hackers. The hackers have stolen confidential information detailing all of eBay users, including their personal information. The personal information stolen contains names, addresses, usernames, and passwords. The passwords cannot be easily read as they are encrypted.

eBay is advising all of its users to change their passwords as soon as possible, to keep the integrity of their account in place.

PayPal has posted a warning on their press site was well, click here to read the posting.

 

Should you want more information about the eBay breach or more information about internet security in general, don’t hesitate to contact Group 4 Networks.

About Group 4 Networks – eBay Compromised, IT Consulting

We provide Toronto and GTA businesses with IT Support, IT Consulting and Managed IT Services at a fraction of the cost that they would pay a low-level full time IT Manager. Our team eliminates the hassle of dealing with the single knowledge and abilities of a lone “computer guy.”  What makes us unique is that we proactively manage our customer’s computer networks to eliminate many of the headaches and hassles of using computers to run a business.

We guarantee our customers a response within 60 minutes or less and are the only IT service provider in the region that offers a 60-Day 100% no hassle money back guarantee on our flat rate all inclusive service plans.

Cloud Computing, IT Consulting, IT Support, Managed IT Services, Uncategorized, Websites

Heartbleed bug

 

Heartbleed was the popular word of the internet last week, and it still is. What exactly is heartbleed though?

Heartbleed is a major bug within the authentication system for website which use OpenSSL to authenticate website logins. The problem is, a great majority of the internet uses OpenSSL as their authentication system.

The fix against this bug is to update the OpenSSL software on webservers. Major websites like Yahoo, Facebook, Google and plenty of others were affected, however they quickly patched the bug. After the fix is applied, users should change their passwords and make it complex.

Upon the discovery of this bug, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) temporarily suspended their online portion of the website. However, today it is reported that on average 900 Canadian social insurance numbers were stolen using the heartbleed bug.

How does heartbleed work though? Take a look at the image below. heartbleedexplained

 

 

 

 

To get more information on the heartbleed bug, visit http://heartbleed.com/

To test some websites, to see if they are currently affected with the heartbleed bug, visit https://filippo.io and enter the website address you wish to test.

In an upcoming article we will talk about password managers and how to choose a strong password and why you should do so.

If you would like more info on passwords, heartbleed, or internet security in general, feel free to contact Group 4 Networks.

About Group 4 Networks

We provide Toronto and GTA businesses with IT Support, IT Consulting and Managed IT Services at a fraction of the cost that they would pay a low-level full time IT Manager. Our team eliminates the hassle of dealing with the single knowledge and abilities of a lone “computer guy.”  What makes us unique is that we proactively manage our customer’s computer networks to eliminate many of the headaches and hassles of using computers to run a business.

We guarantee our customers a response within 60 minutes or less and are the only IT service provider in the region that offers a 60-Day 100% no hassle money back guarantee on our flat rate all inclusive service plans.

 

Cloud Computing, IT Consulting, IT Support, Uncategorized, Websites

Managing Passwords 101

pass

 

A good, strong, complex password is what is needed on the internet these days to prevent your account from being compromised. Most, if not all websites encrypt the passwords for user accounts when it’s stored in their database. An encrypted password cannot just be read as a normal word or sentence. The password appear as gibberish. Even if a hacker would get their hand on your encrypted password, it takes considerable amount of computer power to decipher the password. This is where password complexity comes in. If a password included the use of special characters such as $, @, &, %, numbers, letters with capitals, it’d be way harder to decipher.

For example: “blogpost” as a password is weak, it has no complexity, it could be cracked, and guessed within minutes. However, “Bl0gp0$t” is harder to decipher as there are a lot more variations of the password which the cracker would have to guess.

Password managers such as Keepass are great tools. A password managers sole purpose is to remember your usernames, passwords for specific sites. They also have builtin tools such as random password generators, which create complex, meaningless passwords which get stored in the database.

From the manager you search for which website you’d like to login to, and you could copy and paste the credentials into your browser.

Password managers are secure, and you’d only need to remember one password, the manager will remember the rest. Some other managers besides Keepass are LastPass, 1Password, and DashLane

If you’d like more info on password complexity, feel free to contact Group 4 Networks.

About Group 4 Networks

We provide Toronto and GTA businesses with IT Support, IT Consulting and Managed IT Services at a fraction of the cost that they would pay a low-level full time IT Manager. Our team eliminates the hassle of dealing with the single knowledge and abilities of a lone “computer guy.”  What makes us unique is that we proactively manage our customer’s computer networks to eliminate many of the headaches and hassles of using computers to run a business.

We guarantee our customers a response within 60 minutes or less and are the only IT service provider in the region that offers a 60-Day 100% no hassle money back guarantee on our flat rate all inclusive service plans.