Is anyone looking out for YOUR security?

Do You Know Who Is Watching Your World?

Ever get that creepy feeling that someone is watching you or following you? Cautiously glancing over your shoulder, you expect to see a shadowy figure duck into the shadows, but there isn’t anyone there…or is there?

That’s the thing with the insecure internet.  We are allowed a unique full-color view of the world and mountains of information with the simple click of our mouse.  The world is literally at our fingertips, from the ‘safety’ and comfort of our own home or office.

But consider this – If we can see out, others can see in.  It’s not a pleasant thought, but is a simple fact.  To date, we have relied upon anti-virus software to keep spying eyes blocked from viewing our world.  Many people still use a ‘light’ free version, easily downloaded from the internet.  While that used to be good protection, it’s not nearly enough anymore.

A very nasty variant of the CryptoLocker Malware is on the rise. It arrives to your computer through an email message, usually as an attachment labeled something like ‘Fax Attached’ or ‘Your package was delivered’.  It may also be disguised as a link to a website.

When CryptoLocker installs, it confines all the files on your computer behind an evil prison wall.  It then demands an online credit card payment from you to “free” your files.  DO NOT RELINQUISH YOUR CREDIT CARD INFORMATION!  The hackers will certainly capture the several hundred or thousand dollars “Ransom” – but wait!  There’s more.  In addition, they will capture your credit card payment information, only to offer it for sale on the black market.

We have seen an extremely high number instances of this nasty malware recently- Four security-threatening cases in one week!!

In many instances, regular anti-virus will not stop this Malware. Fortunately, these businesses did employ offsite backup with the ‘unlimited revisions’ feature.  This allowed our technology engineers to restore their business data.  These businesses were able to fully recover from this Trojan’s invasive threats.

There are some techniques and methods for locking down your computer and improving your security so you will likely avoid these kinds of malware infections.

In most cases, we recommend Application Whitelisting. 

One of these techniques, Whitelisting, utilizes a user-defined list of specific programs (applications) which are allowed to run on your computer. All other programs are refused. This layer of safety is activated by enabling Software Restriction Policies that are built into Windows Operating System and some 3rd party security applications.  This feature is well-suited to office environments, as employees typically utilize a ‘known’ set of programs to perform their job.

Call us for more information on security for your business or to enable Application Whitelisting in your office: 541-494-2099.

As a general practice, DO NOT open attachments or click on links inside an email from ANYONE unless you are specifically expecting the email.  Even then, exercise extreme caution!

Please take this seriously. Without the proper data backup, you are at great risk to lose all your business documents, databases and spreadsheets with one simple click. Can your business afford that?  Most cannot.

If you’re unsure about your data backups or office security, we’re happy to take a look.  We’ll even test your backup to bring you peace of mind.  Just give us a call.

Eric