When the leader of the social media universe and the director of the FBI both do something, perhaps you should too. Covering the camera and microphone on your laptop with tape is a very simple way of preventing a hacker from having insight into your personal life.

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.

A common anti-phishing tactic might not protect you anymore. Spammers are getting craftier with how they can capture and steal your data. Fraudsters in these particular attacks are using JavaScript to send users to a legitimate PayPal site while sending their credentials to a different domain that hosts a phishing page:

“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.

Almost any web browser that you use will come pre-equipped with a property known as “incognito mode”, or “private browsing”. This option allows the user to hide their activities from other users on a shared computer.

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!

Just like owning a car that may be a bit old and worn down, we understand the complexities of a phone system in your office.

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!

Large companies like Target are often the target of hackers for their immense trove of data including over 40 million consumers’ personal information. There is an obvious reason why they would be attacked on a regular basis for the sheer volume and potential value of the stolen data.

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.

Two TV stations affiliated with the CBS network are experiencing malvertising attack campaigns which are targeting visitors to their websites. KMOV in St. Louis and WBTV in Charlotte, N.C. are the affected sites.

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 shared many articles about ransomware viruses and their victims.

If you think this can’t happen to your business, you may face an expensive lesson.

On May 9th, 2016, a neighbor asked for help because his data was encrypted by ransomware. We’re now helping him restore his systems without paying the ransom, as the FBI advises.

How should your Organization Respond to Ransom Attacks?

Just as the US doesn’t negotiate with terrorists, the same applies to smaller-scale cyber-attacks.

Paying the ransom reinforces the success of criminal activities.

What should you do?

Contact the FBI and work with IT support to retrieve your data. Before becoming a victim, do the following:

1. Prevention: Use awareness training and robust technical controls, including access controls, updated anti-malware tools, and locked-down admin accounts.
2. 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!

We have previously featured two-step verification for your Google and Yahoo! accounts. In this new article we are providing step-by-step instructions on how to apply this security feature to your PayPal account as well.

This, more so than the other two, might be even more important as it usually directly links to your credit card and bank account information.

While there are many, many risks to your email accounts (and especially Google as there are some pay functions that Google links to), nothing is more risky than allowing hackers to easily get their hands on your banking information.

So follow the steps provided and ensure that your PayPal accounts are safe from outside attacks! Still confused or need extra help? Contact our experts directly at info@optfinity.com and we’ll gladly assist in any way we can!

A vulnerability recently discovered could allow hackers to track your real time movements while using the navigation app known as Waze. It is a community-based traffic and navigation app that is available on most smart phones.

While the plus side is it allows drivers to share traffic and road information with one another, the downside is your current location can be tracked.

With some reverse engineering of the app’s communication protocols once the hacker has intercepted the communication between a user’s phone and Waze’s servers, they can issue commands directly to Waze’s servers. They then can create fake traffic jams to reroute users or monitor their every move.

Good news is you’re only vulnerable while you’re in your vehicle and actively running the app on your phone. As a precaution, you may want to consider setting your app to invisible mode so your phone is not broadcasting its information to the app.

This will need to be done every time you turn on your phone. It’s recommended that you disable location-sharing on all mobile devices to prevent these types of hacks.