While the holidays are a time for family and celebrating, that does not mean that scammers won’t try to spoil all that holiday cheer! With each year, the threats online have only increased, and it has become such a large issue for unsuspecting consumers that the US Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued a statement, asking consumers to be more aware of their online surroundings; “…[CISA] encourages users to be aware of potential holiday scams and malicious cyber campaigns, particularly when browsing or shopping online,” said CISA. Therefore, making sure you are knowledgeable in simple cybersecurity tactics can ensure that scammers and other malicious online threats cannot steal your holiday cheer! The Scammer’s Holiday Christmas time is fun for everyone, including the criminals, unfortunately. BleepingComputer reported on a scam last year that targeted Amazon shoppers! This online scam was designed to appear to be an Order Confirmation email telling the recipient that their order had shipped and to click for more details regarding the order From BleepingComputer If the recipient clicked “Order Details” a Word document would be downloaded, asking the user to “Enable Content”. If done, the document would execute code that would keylog and steal anything the user typed, stealing personal information! Making sure you are aware of your online surroundings is vital to making sure your personal information is not leaked online or stolen! Protecting Yourself Online The holiday season is the perfect time for scammers to take advantage of unsuspecting consumers. Many people who shop online are unaware of the risks and are unaware of the signs of a trap. Here are some helpful tips from CISA to make sure you stay safe online: Avoid clicking on suspicious emails and email attachments ( Using Caution with Email Attachments and Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Scams). Use caution when shopping online (Shopping Safely Online). Verify a charity’s authenticity before making donations. Review the Federal Trade Commission’s page on Charity Scams for more information. While each of these helpful tips are from CISA, if that is not enough to make you believe, Hammett Technologies also fully endorses each of these statements! Criminals will do whatever they can to steal your personal information over the holiday season. Therefore, remaining aware and cautious while you shop online will not only save you a lot of stress, it will save your money too! If you have any questions regarding anything above, please feel free to give us a call, or visit the What We Do page to learn more! We are happy to assist you, or your company, with all your cybersecurity needs!
Its no denying that Windows Defender has come a long way since its debut in 2006. When it was first revealed, Windows Defender was a laughable attempt at an antivirus solution, however, Microsoft, with the release of Windows 10, had started to show neglect for the free antivirus solution. After a while, Microsoft was able to create a competitive, free, antivirus solution for its customers. Although, what they didn’t consider was how often their updates affect other areas of their operating system. Shooting Themselves in the Foot While patching an error within Windows Defender, Microsoft unknowingly gave themselves another, equally worrisome problem to deal with. The update to Windows Defender on September 16th was to patch out a coding flaw that would send an error to users when a file system was scanned and needed repair. However, when the update was pushed out to users, it was discovered that both the quick scan and full scan options were broken. Most of the time, when running a full or quick scan on your machine, you can expect to wait anywhere between 15 minutes to 4 hours, depending on how much used space you have. However, users were reporting that, after the update, when running a quick or full scan on their machines, Windows Defender would scan only a small amount of their files before completing. However, if you still wish to run a scan on your machine, or need to run a scan, there is a workaround. By running a Custom Scan, you can specify which drive you wish Windows Defender to inspect, and the scan should run and complete normally. What You Need to Do Reported by numerous other sites, such as Forbes and BleepingComputer, Microsoft has already released a fix for the issue! So, while it can be said that they broke Windows Defender, they also fixed it within a day, showing they are capable of maintaining their antivirus solution. The update should automatically trigger for users, but to be sure, make certain you manually check for updates! Furthermore, it is important that those who are using Windows Defender as their antivirus solution do not adopt the policy of not updating their machines. Microsoft is usually upfront and honest about errors that occur with their operating system due to updates while following up that honesty with a quick response time to get a patch out to all users. It is important to remember that not updating your machine is usually worse than dealing with the occasional breakage that may occur. That said, waiting a day or two before updating, to make sure the update is clean of bugs and errors, is always a wise route to take!
In 2017, Equifax had just suffered a massive data breach, resulting in the theft of over half of all American adults’ personal information. Now, 2 years later, Equifax will pay a total of $700 million in fines for laws they broke and their negligent handling of consumer data. Reuters stated that of the $700 million, Equifax is set to pay $300 million in damages to consumers, a number that could climb as high as $425 million depending on how many people claim damages. LifeHacker has outlined exactly what to expect if you were a part of the 147 million Americans who had their data stolen. If you were to file a claim now, expect one of the following outcomes: 1. Free credit monitoring for four years through Experian, or six years through Equifax. However, if you already have credit monitoring for the next six months, you could file a claim for the sum of $125 cash. 2. Up to $20,000 cash if you can prove damages due to the data breach. However, to claim, let alone obtain such a large sum of money will require that you are able to prove without a doubt that you suffered damages directly related to the Equifax data breach. 3. Identity restoration services for free for the next seven years. Chief Executive Mark Begor from Equifax said that he expects the $425 million would be enough to ensure all those who suffered damages would be financially compensated. However, US consumer advocates voiced several concerns regarding the supposed “substantial” amount. Ed Mierzwinski of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group regarded the fine as “…a parking ticket, not a penalty.” He also finds the number of hoops consumers must jump through, in order to be compensated for Equifax’s negligent handling of consumer sensitive information, ridiculous. Concerns about the short-sightedness of these “penalties and fines” is also on the minds of some. Chi Chi Wu, the attorney for the National Consumer Law Center stated that “The settlement provides some compensation right now, but the risk of identity theft is forever.” Many believe Equifax has been “let off the hook” for the largest data breach in American history, a viewpoint hard to argue with. After reading this, you are probably wondering yourself if your information had been compromised due to the breach. Well, the good news is that I can provide you the link to the website but can promise nothing in terms of the outcome of your discovery! Equifax has provided a website for consumers to review their data information. If you are a business owner and are worried about the security and safety of your business’s sensitive information, contact Hammett Technologies! We are experts in data security and can guarantee the safety and security of all your company’s sensitive information! Click here to learn how we can help your company stay secure!