But if you’d like to kick start your iPhone to do the cleanup now instead of later, the trick is to “rent” a movie from the iTunes store. You must ensure that the movie you wish to rent has a larger file than the space available on your phone. This will prompt your iPhone to automatically clean up your storage and make more room to fit the movie file.

Read the full article for more details on this trick. For reference, we had one of our technicians here at Optfinity try it out on her iPhone. Her storage increased by over 1.3GB. (Note that it may take your phone a few minutes to fully clean up its storage) Contact Optfinity if you’re still having problems with storage space or you just have questions or concerns regarding any tech issue.

As per this advisory note United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), a large number of products made by Symantec are affected (24 products) across multiple platforms (OSX, Windows, and Linux), and the severity of these vulnerabilities (remote code execution at root or SYSTEM privilege) make this a very serious event. A remote, unauthenticated attacker may be able to run arbitrary code at root or SYSTEM privileges by taking advantage of these vulnerabilities. Some of the vulnerabilities require no user interaction and are network-aware, which could result in a wormable-event.

US-CERT encourages users and network administrators to patch Symantec or Norton antivirus products immediately. While there has been no evidence of exploitation, the ease of attack, widespread nature of the products, and severity of the exploit may make this vulnerability a popular target.

Exploitable security holes in security software are a serious problem. Malicious attackers know that you’re likely to be running popular security products, just like you’re likely to have Windows and Adobe Flash installed. That, combined with the fact that your anti-virus product is running at a low-level on your computer with powerful privileges, can make for a noxious cocktail.

So, patch your anti-virus software and – if you’re a security vendor – try to iron out any vulnerabilities in your software *before* a malicious hacker or a Google employee uncovers them.

Check out Symantec’s SYM16-008 and SYM16-010 security advisories for more details of the available patches.

Think this can’t happen to you? The report which part of this article is based on states that these types of trojans account for some 70 percent of all malware. So there are a lot of people out there wanting access to your personal life.

There are many reasons besides voyeurism and blackmail for these hacks. They can also view personal information lying around within sight of the camera or listen to you on phone calls giving out passwords, codes, credit card information, etc. So take the simple step and protect yourself. Read the full article for more ways to secure your computer and contact Optfinity if you still have questions or if you want a free webcam cover of your own.

“The javascript runs as soon as the page (HTML attachment) is loaded and intercepts all posts to PayPal.com and diverts them to the actual phishing page to accept all your details, if you are unwise enough to fall for this trick.”

So other than being fooled into clicking on what seems like a legitimate link, just go directly to the website and ensure you have two-step verification enabled. So far, this is your surest bet to not be sucked down the rabbit hole of a phisher.

Why is this helpful? You can ensure your privacy when utilizing a public computer at a library, café, or other public space; you can open multiple account websites that limit you to one registered account at a time, e.g. Google; you can outsmart paywalls on websites that limit the number of articles you can read for free in a given month.

Read the full article to learn exactly how to access this mode on whichever web browser you use. And remember, incognito does not mean true privacy. Websites can still capture your IP address, ISPs, and your actions can still be tracked. The article also teaches you how to truly go private if that is what you wish.

Still not sure you’re doing it right or are wanting to be as private as possible, especially at work? Time to contact Optfinity and we can help ensure everything you do is private, secure, and safe! Our advice and assessments are always free to clients and potential clients!

Do you keep spending money on parts, replacements, fixes, and touch-ups or do you just bite the bullet and buy a new one? For many of us, when it comes to our cars, the answer is simple: buy a new car once it becomes cheaper than throwing good money after bad on the old one; or sometimes the answer is just to get a new one because we want the newest and shiniest toy in our garage.

Unfortunately, phone systems are not as flashy as cars, so the decision is a bit harder to make for many businesses.

Many owners and decision makers will opt for constant fixes because it’s easier than having to throw down what may seem like a lot of money for a new system. But when you add up all those repair costs, most often it is far more expensive than just upgrading.

Problem is for many small and medium sized businesses, they do not have in-house IT support and expertise to help them make this call or find the best fit for their company’s needs.

This is where having an external IT provider, like Optfinity, will help you in the short and long term. Not only can we provide you with free assessments, we also offer flat rate fees for our clients, so you don’t have to worry about those hourly rates many technicians will charge. And when it comes to buying new equipment, you can be sure we will recommend what is best for your business and not for our bottom line.

Phone systems been giving you some problems lately and not sure what to do? Contact Optfinity today and we’ll let you know what your options are, for free!

But don’t be fooled into a false sense of security just because your business is small. You and your company probably have hundreds, if not thousands, of clients’ information stored away in your systems. Hackers would love nothing more than to breach your systems and make a profit off of any holes in your security.

How do you protect yourself? By limiting what websites your employees can access, ensuring strong passwords are utilized, and always keeping all systems up-to-date on all patches, updates, and software upgrades. Two-step verification also is a great way to beef up your security.

If any of what you’ve just read sounds like a foreign language, or you just aren’t sure how secure your systems are, contact us at Optfinity and we will gladly complete a free assessment for you.

Not only is it important for you as a user to ensure all of your systems are secured by implementing software patches and security updates as soon as they are available, but if you’re a website owner, it is even more important to ensure you are keeping your site secured!

Do you use a strong password which includes capital letters, numbers, and special characters such as !#*? If not, then your accounts may be easily accessed by hackers looking to do damage to the clients that visit your site. If your site has been hacked, you could be opening your clients up to attacks on their computers and servers, even possibly ransomware.

Don’t be the weak point that allows your clients and guests to be hacked. Ensure your sites and servers are secure and protected. Contact Optfinity today for a free consultation and assessment!

The Impact of Ransom Attacks

We’ve been sharing many articles and stories about different ransomware viruses that are out there as well as the companies that have fallen victim.

If you think this can’t happen to you and your business, you may be in for a very expensive lesson.

On May 9th, 2016, a neighbor of ours in our building stopped by asking for assistance because all of his data was encrypted as he was a victim of ransomware. We are now in talks with him to bring him on board and assist him with trying to restore his systems without needing to pay the ransom, which the FBI urges everyone not to do.

How should your Organization Respond to Ransom Attacks?

Just as the US does not negotiate with terrorists or pay ransoms because if they did it would just encourage more attacks, the same goes for these types of smaller-scale cyber-attacks.

Every time a business, hospital, or other organization pays the ransom, it just reinforces the success of their criminal activities.

What should you do?

Contact the FBI. If you’re a victim and work with your IT support services to help retrieve your data. Before you are a victim, you should do the following two things:

Prevention: Prepare using both “awareness training for employees and robust technical prevention controls,” including access controls, updated anti-malware tools and ensuring admin-level accounts remain locked down.

Backup/restoration: Create “a solid business continuity plan” for dealing with a ransomware attack. Include backup up data, verifying backups’ integrity as well as ensuring backups aren’t connected to systems or networks that they’re backing up.

How OptfinITy Can Help 

If you currently do not have an IT support provider or are not sure of their capabilities, contact us at Optfinity and we will do a free assessment for you to ensure your systems are properly set-up and protected. Don’t wait till after it happens like our neighbor! It will cost more and you run the risk of losing weeks, months, or even years of data!!