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Showing posts with the label Ransomware

The Top 4 Social Media Tools for Your Business—In Order

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Are you hoping to launch a successful social media campaign? The process can be overwhelming: between producing content on a multitude of platforms, publishing at the right times, interacting with followers, and more, it can seem like a full-time job in itself. Aren’t there tools to make it easier? Absolutely—but now the question is, which tools do what?  Some tools are channel-specific, and others can help you manage multiple accounts from one platform (don’t you think it would be convenient to be able to tweet and respond to Facebook comments all in the same place?). Because executing a social media campaign is not an overnight process, the order in which you take your steps matters, too; and some tools are best for helping you with particular milestones. Here are some of the best social media tools, in order from campaign launch to completion:  Hootsuite  Hootsuite is known as a scheduling tool, but it also offers social listening capabilities. If you are a fledgling ...
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Understanding Ransomware Part 2: How To Prevent Ransomware Attacks

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Now that you read Part 1 , you understand what Ransomware is and why it has become the single most costly problem in the world of IT security and business data protection, let’s take a look at several simple, easy-to- deploy solutions that can prevent an unwanted and costly ransomware intrusion in your business.  Restrict User Administrative Access  This is a very simple step to take. Users should have their administrative access restricted – ideally removing the ability to install new programs without the IT team’s supervision . This will help your business avoid the most common cause of infection: users downloading infected attachments from emails.  Granted, this will not be popular with your users. If your users already have administrative rights to their workstations then you will have to drag them along kicking and screaming. That said, a past report confirms what many security professionals have long presumed: Removing administrator rights from everyday user a...
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Understanding The Impact Of Ransomware On A Small Business: Part 1

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Most large businesses have robust protections in place to prevent infection from viruses, breaches of important data, and other undesirable intrusions by outsiders. However, there is one particularly dangerous type of virus that takes advantage of the underserved and under resourced, and can either totally destroy a small business , or cost it a tremendous sum of money. It’s known as “ransomware”.  What Is Ransomware?  Ransomware is one of the latest malicious software crazes and as the name may suggest, the primary goal is to hold your important data for ransom. Generally, ransomware is unknowingly downloaded from an email with an unsuspicious attachment or can come as a payload from another malware and dropped quietly in your system by exploit kits, after which it begins replicating on the host computer.  The method by which ransomware holds your important data for ransom is simple – encryption. The virus begins encrypting your files and moving them to encrypted folder...
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How Being Proactive With Data Security Now Saves Money Later

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Data breaches are increasingly common in today's tech-based workspace. There's more money to be had stealing customer records than going in for cash, and savvy criminals now have their eyes on these valuable goods. In 2016, data breaches increased 40 percent . These breaches rack up numerous costs, from legal fees and data recovery to lost loyalty from customers. Save money by staying proactive about your security.  Firewalls Keep Threats Out  Your firewall is your first line of defense against malicious attacks. Firewalls help filter information, protecting data that you want to keep inside your security parameters, and keeping hackers at bay on the other side. This will minimize unwanted network communications. The best firewalls also alert your IT security team to any attempted breach , so you can investigate the threat early and seek out malware before it has a chance to root itself in your system. This early alert will help save you from exorbitantly costly attacks. ...
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