If you still use Windows 7, you are far from alone. In fact, nearly 40 percent of the world’s PCs still run Windows 7. While it has already been widely publicized that Microsoft will end its support for Windows 7 in January of 2020, there is a lesser known detail that Windows 7 users need to pay attention to. This detail, according to an itnews.com article, is whether or not you have security updates enabled for your system.

If you are regularly blocking Windows security updates, which isn’t a good idea in the first place, you will not want to block the one that was sent out in March. The reason it is important to not block this one in particular is because if you fail to implement this update by July 16^th, 2019, your Windows 7 support will stop in July, six months sooner than the established support deadline.

As always, OptfinITy is here to answer any of your technology related questions. If you have any concerns about this Windows 7 update or any other questions or concerns relating to technology, don’t hesitate to give us a call at 703-790-0400, visit us on our website at www.optfinity.com,  or send us an email at info@optfinity.com.

If your organization hasn’t switched to the cloud yet, now is the time. According to a recent smallbiztrends.com article, small businesses that have switched to the cloud have been able to cut costs and increase profits, as well as improve overall efficiency and security. The cloud allows businesses to operate from any location at any time, making them more appealing to do business with, resulting in increased sales and growth. The ability to work remotely also leads to increased productivity by allowing co-workers to collaborate on tasks from different locations. Users of the cloud also enjoy the peace of mind that comes with the ability to automatically back up their data in a safe location, allowing their business to bounce back more quickly in the event of a data breach. These automatic backups also are money savers since they take away any incentive to pay criminals in the event of a ransomware attack. Finally, using the cloud is cheaper since expenses such as software licensing, upgrade fees, and server maintenance are avoided.

OptfinITy is a strong advocate and user of the cloud, so if you have any questions about moving your organization to the cloud don’t hesitate to give us a call at 703-790-0400, send us an email at info@optfinity.com or visit us on our website at www.optfinity.com.

It’s always exciting to buy a new laptop and having the latest technology at your fingertips, but you should not overlook the threats that exist and take the necessary precautions to protect your investment. A recent itnews.com article provides a few good ways to ensure your new laptop maintains the highest level of performance possible.

The first thing you should do is install trusted security software to prevent your computer from being infected with malware and viruses. Although macOS and Windows come with built-in security features, the best way to secure your device is to invest in software dedicated to cybersecurity.

Secondly, you should strongly consider using a VPN while connecting to public Wi-Fi. If you don’t use a VPN, you are risking having incoming and outgoing information intercepted by cybercriminals lurking on the network.

Last, but not least, be sure to constantly back up all your data. This is the most crucial action you can take to be sure that even in the event of your laptop being compromised, you won’t even need to consider spending copious amounts of time and money trying to get your data back.

If you are in the process of purchasing a new laptop or need help making the purchase or have recently invested in a new one and aren’t sure about the best ways to keep it secure, don’t hesitate to give us a call at 703-790-0400 or send us an email at info@optfinity.com.

While it is important to maintain a high level of cybersecurity for your organization to protect your customer’s data, it is equally as important to ensure the vendors you are doing business with are demonstrating the same commitment to security. A recent article provides some of the threats associated with third-party hacks and how to prevent the negative consequences that come with these breaches.

According to a survey conducted by the Ponemon Institute, more than half of the organizations who experienced a data breach resulted from vendor breaches. However, only 35 percent of organizations had documented specifically which third parties they were sharing sensitive information with, and only 18 percent knew if those vendors were in turn sharing that same information with other parties.

The reason these statistics are alarming is because customers do not care how their data was stolen. They care about who they trusted their information with in the first place. Therefore, organizations who don’t know with whom their data is being shared with or are not sure about the cybersecurity standards of their vendors are putting themselves at risk of not only being breached but also risk being sued by their clients.

Organizations can protect themselves from supply chain breaches by evaluating the cybersecurity policies of their vendors and ensuring that they are performing self-assessments and purchasing cyber insurance. They can also audit their vendors by performing penetration tests, which check to see where data is being held and how well protected it is.

As a company who works with smaller businesses and organizations, OptfinITy understands the importance of data security across all vendors and is always happy to answer any questions you may have related to cybersecurity. If you have any questions or concerns, give us a call at 703-790-0400 or send us an email at info@optfinity.com.

Without a doubt, artificial intelligence (AI) has already increased business productivity and will continue to do so in the future. However, if in the wrong hands, AI can be used to execute cyberattacks more efficiently than ever seen before, and we can expect to see more automated attacks in the next few years. A recent entrepreneur.com article covers some of the ways cybercriminals will use AI to carry out catastrophic cyberattacks and how to best prepare your organization.

The first area of security that AI is already assisting malicious hackers with is password guessing. Hackers can use AI to locate previously stolen passwords and use them to hack into other accounts, or even predict people’s future passwords.

The second form of AI that is increasingly becoming more of an issue is the use of malicious bots. In less than 15 seconds, bots can take full control of a network, scan for employee workstations and begin stealing data, making it difficult for an IT team to fix the issue before it’s too late. Chatbots can also be manipulated to steal personal information, which is already a problem in dating apps and websites.

It is important that organizations act now to limit their exposure to AI cyberattacks. A couple recommendations include moving critical assets to a secure cloud platform and implementing a strong password policy. It is also important to have a plan in place for when a disaster strikes, and finally, consider using a Managed Service Provider that offers 24×7 network monitoring. Fortunately, OptfinITy offers this as part of our services and we are always happy to answer any of your questions or concerns regarding IT. If you have any questions, give us a call at 703-790-0400, send us an email at info@optfinity.com or visit our website at www.optfinity.com.

There have been many ransomware attacks in the news over the past year involving major cities including San Diego and Atlanta, but the latest reported attack reminds us that smaller jurisdictions are susceptible as well. A recent statescoop.com article reported that the Jackson County, Georgia, a county of merely 60,000 residents, was hit with a ransomware attack and ended up paying the $400,000 ransom.

In the aftermath of the attack the county’s agencies were locked out of most of their systems and forced to carry out their operations on paper. After consulting with cybersecurity experts, the county manager made the decision to pay the ransom rather than rebuild the county’s networks, which would have ended up costing more time and money than paying the ransom itself.

This recent attack should serve as a reminder to small business owners on the importance of cybersecurity. Although you hear mainly about data breaches occurring in larger companies or cities such as Marriott or Atlanta, these attacks can target smaller businesses as well and can be even more catastrophic. If you have any questions or concerns about ransomware or cybersecurity infrastructure for your organization, don’t hesitate to give us a call at 703-790-0400, shoot us an email at info@optfinity.com or visit us on our website at www.optfinity.com.

Has your password been stolen in the past? If so, it can still affect you in the present if you haven’t switched up your login info. While it is constantly preached that people refrain from reusing usernames and passwords, people continue to do so, putting their accounts and information at risk. A recent CNET article reports that Google Chrome users will now be provided a warning when they are putting themselves at risk.

Chrome’s new extension will monitor publicly leaked password databases and check against its own database for matches. If the user’s email address and username match with what is found in the database, Chrome will recommend a change of login credentials, leaving no excuse to fall victim to a hack due to a repeat password.

Considering that 65% of people polled in a recent survey reported reusing passwords across different accounts, this new extension should serve as a great reminder of the dangers that come with using repeat passwords. As always, OptfinITy is happy to answer any questions you may have. If you have any questions or concerns about safe password practices or technology in general, don’t hesitate to give us a call at 703-790-0400, visit us on our website at www.optfinity.com or shoot us an email at info@optfinity.com.

With people conducting more online transactions than ever before, it important for people to be wary of online scams. Whether it’s business related or a personal transaction, people unfortunately have a bad habit of being too trusting of the internet. A recent CNET article provides four good ways to avoid becoming the victim of an online scam.

1. Check merchant or buyer score- This information will display the level of credibility held by the person you are doing business with.
2. Confirm payment has been received- If you are the seller, make sure the money is in your account before shipping the item. If it is requested that you ship your item before payment is received, report the buyer to the proper authorities.
3. Double check addresses- Make sure the sender’s email address matches the company’s official email address found on its website. If they don’t match, it’s a major red flag and you should consider doing business elsewhere. You can also find out who owns the account by searching the address on Whois.
4. Cross reference photos- You can use images.google.com, tineye.com or pixsy.com to find out if the image on the person’s social media with whom you are conducting business with belongs to them.

If you realize you have fallen victim to a scam, immediately contact the carrier and try to cancel the shipment. If it has already been shipped, contact the local police department in the jurisdiction of the recipient, file a report, and request that the police retrieve the item. Finally, file a complaint on the FBI’s website, which will help law enforcement catch repeat offenders. If you have any questions about safely conducting online transactions, feel free to send us an email at info@optfinity.com or give us a call at 703-790-0400.

The dark web, to say the least, is a very shady place. It’s the unindexed part of the internet that cannot be accessed via search engines and is swarming with criminal activity. While the dark web itself is not illegal, it’s a popular place to conduct illegal transactions on the web since user’s location and identity remain anonymous. It’s not uncommon for stolen personal information such as bank account numbers and social security numbers, or driver license or passport information to be sold on the dark web at low prices. A recent entrepreneur.com article explains why the dark web should be a concern for small businesses and ways to deal with these threats.

First and foremost, the dark web should be such a high concern for small businesses due to the rapid rate at which sensitive information can be bought and sold. For example, if your organization experiences a data breach and customer credit card information is stolen, it can be bought and sold by criminals before you even notice your data has been breached. This obviously can lead to a lack of trust your customers have towards your organization and could possibly lead to lawsuits as well.

Even if you know that you’ve experienced a data breach and think your stolen information is somewhere on the dark web, good luck finding it. The dark web is full of websites constantly changing addresses and extremely messy and volatile. Small businesses that attempt to manually search the dark web for their stolen information usually end up exposing themselves to even greater threats.

There are, however, ways small organizations can address the threat of their information winding up on the dark web. In addition to implementing training exercises and educating employees on good cyber habits such as not using the same password across multiple accounts or clicking on phishing emails, it is recommended to deploy dark web monitoring response tools, which alert companies when any activity associated with sensitive data is found on the dark web. With the information provided by these tools, organizations can decide which information to monitor. This information may also alert organizations of breaches sooner as well as shorten disaster recovery response times.

As always, OptfinITy has tools and solutions available if this is a concern of yours or your organization.  Feel free to give us a call at 703-790-0400 or send us an email at info@optfinity.com if you have any questions or concerns regarding the security of your data and how to best keep it off the dark web.

Still using Windows 7? Now may be the time to upgrade. Beginning January 14^th, 2020 Microsoft will no longer offer support or security updates for Windows 7. This means that any issues with Windows 7, including security holes will not be able to be fixed by Microsoft after that date.

While other software company’s antivirus tools may still be available, they won’t be enough to stop larger threats, and although not right away, these will gradually stop supporting Windows 7 as well. To give an idea of the expected timeline for support to end, Microsoft’s support for Windows XP ended in April of 2014. However, Chrome didn’t stop supporting it until April of 2016, and Mozilla Firefox didn’t stop until June 2018.

There is also a chance that new hardware will no longer work on your system since manufacturers will stop creating hardware drivers for out-of-date operating systems. In fact, the latest Intel CPU platforms already do not support Windows 7 or 8.1, although the operating systems technically remain on “extended support.”

It’s no secret when Microsoft ends their support for its software products. They have a well-defined life cycle and recommend upgrading to newer versions to maintain the highest level of security possible. Therefore, to best protect yourself from security breaches, it is recommended that you upgrade as soon as possible. If you have any questions or concerns about upgrading or Windows in general, feel free to give us a call at 703-790-0400, or shoot us an email at info@optfinity.com.