If you are running a small business or organization, you can’t afford to be spending money on anything that isn’t directly boosting awareness or increasing revenue. While paying for ad space on websites with high amounts of traffic is a great way to get your name out there, it is important to be wary of fraudulent websites. These websites will appear to be good options but are in fact phony websites stuffed with keywords which make their site rank high on Google.

Ad fraud is a killer for small organizations and continues to put thousands out of business by draining them of their advertising budget and leaving them with no return on their investment. A recent article from entrepreneur.com provides a few suggestions on how to avoid becoming a victim of ad fraud.

1. Always question the sources of traffic when purchasing ad space. A great way to do this is to run buying tests using third-party verification for both non-human and invalid traffic to make sure you are not being scammed and throwing away your money.
2. Always work directly with advertisers and make sure it’s someone you can talk to, ensuring that it’s a real person. Many scams will hide their identities and it is therefore recommended to only deal with advertisers who can prove their identities.
3. Use AI which can help you fight ad fraud by filtering fraudulent IP addresses, cleaning spam bots, monitoring site traffic, and detecting sophisticated click fraud. AI is the most effective defense mechanism you can use to fight ad fraud due to its capability to analyze complex data and its self-learning mode.

It seems the list goes on and on for the types of scams on the internet these days, and with the ever-increasing dependence on technology, it is extremely important to be aware of the threats your organization faces. If you have any questions about how to keep your organization secure, don’t hesitate to give us a call at 703-790-0400 or visit us on our website at www.optfinity.com.

It seems there is an app for almost everything today, and your business or organization should be no exception. Having a mobile app for your business establishes credibility and gives people another way to interact with your organization. Perhaps your organization already has in place a responsive website that allows for an optimal user experience on every device and you’re thinking why create an app? A recent article answers this question and illustrates the importance of creating a mobile app for your organization.

Due to the increasing number of smart phone users, mobile apps provide an easy-to-use alternative to your website since they are built specifically for mobile devices and touch navigation. Therefore, your app can be used as a fun, interactive platform to engage with those interested in your organization.

Since the number of mobile apps continues to grow, having one for your organization gives a boost to your organization’s credibility and will allow you to keep up with or even set yourself apart from the competition. People spend way more time on their phones than their other devices such as laptops or computers. Therefore, if you direct someone to your app to answer any questions they may have about your organization, you already have the upper hand on an organization with only a website because they will be able to access your information instantly from wherever they are.

You can also use your app to give clients a more personalized experience by giving them the option to enable receiving notifications that will keep them in the loop with what’s going on in your business or organization. For example, you could send them notifications about upcoming events or special promotions. Instead of sending a promotional announcement via email and risking it being sent to junk or deleted, the same brief notification would show up on their smart phone screen ensuring they would see it.

As always, OptfinITy is here to assist your business or organization with its IT needs and we do create Mobile apps. If you have any questions about our mobile app development services, feel free to give us a call at 703-790-0400 or visit us on our website at www.optfinity.com.

While entering a coffee shop, a restaurant, or even the mall, the first thing many people do is connect to the WiFi network. People connect to public WiFi networks constantly to allow for better functionality on their devices or to allow them to continue to access the internet and email from devices that don’t use data such as laptops. While this is undeniably convenient, if you are not taking the right precautions while connecting to public WiFi you are putting your information and data at risk. A smallbusiness.com article provides some suggested precautions to take before and while you are connected to public WiFi.

1. Make sure you’re connected to the right network- Pretty much everywhere you go there are going to be a variety of network options to choose from. You need to make sure you are connecting to the one that’s secure. It’s very easy and common for cybercriminals to set up malicious networks that will give them immediate access to your information once you connect. Also make sure you are using that organizations network and not something that looks like it.  For example, PANERA might be a real one while Panerawifi is not.
2. Refrain from making online purchases- Yes, it can be tempting to jump on that flash sale. However, when you purchase something on a public network, your credit card information, even if encrypted, will be sent through the airwaves where it has a chance to be intercepted.
3. Don’t log into anything, but if necessary, make sure its encrypted- Cybercriminals are always lurking around on public WiFi networks, and it is not uncommon to have your password stolen after logging into any type of account.
4. Use different passwords- Regarding number three above, if your password is stolen, you don’t want it to be your password for everything. Since this obviously gives a cybercriminal the key to all your accounts and information, you want to have different and complex passwords for each one.
5. Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN)- Although setting one up can be complicated, it is well worth it since it will essentially turn your public internet session into a private one. VPNs are commonly used by businesses to allow their employees to connect to their office networks and work securely from a remote location.

While it can be easy to get caught up in the convenience of having access to WiFi almost everywhere we go, it is important to remember that these networks are public, and therefore, anything you wouldn’t want other people to see should not be done while using these networks. If you have any questions about VPNs or WiFi security give us a call here at OptfinITy at 703-790-0400 or visit us on our website at www.optfinity.com.

We use passwords for everything. Our email, social media, bank accounts, and many other online platforms require passwords for access. Since passwords are needed for so many things, many people choose to go with easy-to-remember passwords, or use one password for everything. While it may be convenient to not have to memorize a bunch of passwords or forget the composition of a complex one, you are essentially leaving all your personal information out in the open if you create weak passwords. A recent article from smallbusiness.com gives some basic do’s and don’ts for password creation as well as addresses the issue of forgetting your complex password.

Here are some of those items:

1. Don’t use a simple pattern. Example: “qwertyuiop” or “asdfghjk”
2. Don’t use a favorite sports team. If you must, substitute characters for letters.
3. Use your birthyear at the end of a phrase but don’t use it alone.
4. Never use your children’s names.
5. Don’t use swear words and phrases, hobbies, famous athletes, car brands, or movie names.

What you should be doing is ensuring that:

1. All passwords have at least eight characters or more and contain a mix of character types.
2. Your password is changed often…at least once a month for bank and other financial related logins or that it is adequately complex using a password tool.

An easy trick to create unique, strong passwords, is to come up with a phrase that you will remember such as “I eat 4 tacos for lunch daily.” You can take the first letter from each word in the phrase, turn the “four” into a number, and you have your base password: ie4tfld. Then, to create unique passwords for your different accounts, use the first and last letters of the account you are signing into and insert them in the beginning and end of the base password. Capitalize the first or last letter and you have a strong, unique password for every site. For example, your password for your Netflix account would be nie4tfldX, and your password for your Hulu account would be Hie4tfldu.

As always, OptfinITy is here to answer any questions regarding technology for your business or organization. If you have any doubts about password strength or protection don’t hesitate to give us a call at 703-790-0400, or visit us on our website at www.optfinity.com.

Whether you like it or not, Google has the ability to track where you are at all times if you are using any of their apps on your smart phone.  Although there are benefits to having your location known, such as the ability to quickly get directions to a restaurant nearby or check the local weather, you may prefer your privacy over these convenient features.

Google offered the option to pause your location history which they said meant your location will no longer be stored, but it turns out that many Google apps such as maps and weather will continue to store time-stamped location data without your permission even while the pause your location history setting is activated.

To prevent the ongoing collection of location data, there is another setting you will need to deactivate that you may have never noticed before which is called “Web & App Activity.” This setting is enabled by default, and you would never know by reading its description that it affects the collection of location data, but rather that it is only related to your search engine results.

By pausing these settings you will miss out on the positive features that come along with them such as personalized web browsing with suggestions based on your current location and browsing history, but you can also feel at ease knowing that Google isn’t creating a time stamp for every move you make on your smart phone.

If you have any questions about how the location services are being used on your mobile device, or want to learn more about network privacy and security, give OptfinITy a call at 703-790-0400 or visit our website at www.optfinity.com.

While you have probably heard about bitcoin, you may not be familiar with a new type of cybercrime on the rise called cryptojacking.

What is Cryptojacking?

Cryptojacking is essentially when a cybercriminal uses someone else’s computer or web browser without their permission to develop cryptocurrency. They usually infiltrate their victim’s system through a phishing email or an infected website and then utilize the infected machine for a long period of time before people notice.

What can you do to protect yourself?

A few recommendations include:

1. Make your employees aware of cryptojacking. Remind them to not open strange or suspicious emails and never open attachments or click on links they aren’t expecting to receive.
2. Install ad blockers, specifically ones that have the capability to block cryptomining scripts.
3. Maintain and monitor browser extensions and keep your web filtering tools up to date.

As mentioned above, it can be difficult to know when a hacker is cryptomining on your computer or website so be sure to keep on the lookout for a variety of red flags including:

1. A sudden high number of help desk complaints regarding slow computer performance.
2. Overheating Systems.
3. File changes on your web server or changes to pages on your website.

This is only the beginning for cryptomining given that the amount of money to be made via illegal cryptomines is extremely high and requires little technical skill. You don’t want your organization to be responsible for exposing visitors to your website to cryptomining script, so if you want to learn more about how to keep yourself and your organization protected, don’t hesitate to give us a call at 703-790-0400 or visit us on the web at www.optfinity.com.

Do you own or manage a small business or organization?

If so, it is important to acknowledge the increasing risk of becoming a cyberattack victim. Data from a recent CNET article shows that since 2011 the percentage of cyberattacks that occurred in small businesses has risen from 20% to almost 50%!

Another troubling statistic is that although 60% of small businesses don’t survive  a cyberattack, only 53% of surveyed small businesses make cybersecurity a priority. Don’t let your organization become a statistic. Make cybersecurity a priority!

A few suggested precautions to take to protect your organization include:

1. Update and backup EVERYTHING regularly. This includes apps that you don’t use or haven’t used in a long time, for these can be the most vulnerable to an attack.
2. Be sure all passwords are strong and never reused. Also, never click on links from strange or suspicious emails and implement better security systems for email
3. Your employees should follow the above-mentioned precautions and your organization should have a cyberattack response plan in the case of a breach.
4. Don’t be afraid to ask for help with your cybersecurity needs. It’s better to be safe than sorry!

If you have any questions or concerns regarding keeping your business secure and safe, feel free to give us a call at 703-790-0400 and ask about our managed IT services and 24 x 7 help desk, or visit us on our website at www.optfinity.com.

In today’s day in age it is imperative that new businesses and organizations start off on the right foot when it comes to intertwining technology with all other aspects of their business.

A recent CNET article gives guidelines to follow while deciding on the type of web hosting provider that will be the best fit for your organization.

Your first course of action will be deciding which type of server best suits your needs. Available options include shared servers, virtual private servers, dedicated servers, and cloud servers.

While mulling over these options, it is important to take into consideration the levels of speed, support, and security that you are looking for, as well as your personal knowledge of server maintenance and management while also considering the cost versus value.

What do the different types of servers offer?

1. Shared Servers– This is the cheapest option but also limits your site’s performance because you may be sharing this server with hundreds of other websites.
2. Virtual Private Servers– These are a step up from shared servers and although they also are shared with other sites, they usually deliver a higher level of performance than base level servers. However, it is recommended you are familiar with basic server maintenance and management if choosing this option or otherwise have a technology company to assist in this process
3. Dedicated Servers– These are a great option if you don’t want to compromise your performance due to sharing with other sites, but require in-depth knowledge of system management.
4. Cloud Servers– What sets these apart from the rest is they have much more flexibility and don’t need to be rebuilt or moved in the case your website all the sudden experiences a high amount of traffic. You simply would need to pay your provider more money to account for the extra traffic and management of the system

As always it is important to beware of offers that appear to be too good to be true such as unlimited storage and bandwidth for a few dollars a month. If you aren’t sure what type of server will best fit your organization’s needs, or would like some help setting it up and maintaining it, give us a call at 703-790-0400 or visit our website at www.optfinity.com.