19 Examples of Lines Hackers use for Social Engineering Attacks – Part 2 of 2

“This video is soooo funny. Just click the link and you’ll see what I’m talking about. OMG so cute!”

A personal contact approach is often used when hackers just want you to click the link. Many people don’t think twice about clicking a funny “youtube” link from a friend or relative to lift their spirits at work. But if the email address is unusual, don’t. Besides, why aren’t they sharing it with you on Twitter like usual? Continue Reading

19 Examples of Lines Hackers use for Social Engineering Attacks, Part 1

Hackers will do anything to hack your network, steal money, or gain access to sensitive data. Hackers are also incredibly lazy. While they could compete with you in single cybersecurity combat; your firewalls vs their blackhat skills, they’d rathe take the coward’s way and trick an employee into breaching security for them.

This is known as a social engineering hack; When a hacker uses phone, email, or chat to fool an employee into using their own access to expose the network to malware, wire money, or send over sensitive information. The reason it works is beacuse hackers are good at coming up with a con-artists’s line that convinces staff members that they are legitmate despite any warning signs.

The best defense against this type of attack is to know what’s coming. not only that clicking links and doing unconfirmed favors is bad, but the types of lines that hackers use and why they have worked in the past. So let’s dive right into the psychology and methods of the social hacker. Continue Reading

Windows 10 Upgrade: Here’s What You Need to Know (Time Sensitive!)

If you use Windows 10 as the operating system on your office’s computer(s), then you may have heard talk recently of upcoming updates that are anticipated to be released sometime in late May or early June. Whether you have already downloaded a Beta version of this update, or you are anticipating its release, you may naturally have questions about what this update means for you, and you may even be wondering why this update is taking place, and how it could ultimately affect you and your business. To help ensure that you are ready for the latest update to the Windows operating system when it arrives, here is an overview of everything you need to know about the Windows 10 update.

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8 Tips to Help Your Employees Avoid Social-Engineering Hacks

Phishing and other related forms of socially engineered hacking are among the biggest realistic threats to business data security. No matter how cutting-edge your firewall and virus scanning software may be, one employee checking their email or responding to a customer service ticket can still ‘invite’ ransomware and worse onto your internal business network by accident.

Social engineering hacks rely on causing the ‘human error’ factor of security breaches. They trick people using fake domain names, fake accounts that look like trusted contacts, and fake scenarios that fool or scare targets into clicking on an infected link or sharing sensitive information. This means that it is vital for every employee of every modern company to understand how social engineering hacks work and take steps to active avoid getting phished. Continue Reading

The Smart Way to Upgrade to VOIP Office Phones

For many offices and growing businesses, the idea of switching to VOIP phones can seem like a pretty big commitment. Even if VOIP is everything you’ve dreamed of and will cut the costs of wired TelCo office phones, there’s still a degree of uncertainty. You can’t help but wonder what you will do if something goes wrong with the VOIP system after you’ve already removed all your existing office phones. Will employees be forced to use personal cellphones? Will clients be lost because they can’t get in touch?

As experienced VOIP technicians, we’re familiar with all of these fears, because we assuage them on a regular basis. Upgrading to VOIP is a smooth and easy process. But you also don’t have to put all your eggs in one basket right away. For any business that wants to take the communication migration to the cloud with a little caution, we have exactly the right solution ready and waiting. Continue Reading

Top Scams to Look Out For in 2019

While many things change online, there will always be scams you need to watch out for. If you want to enjoy the best of modern technology you need to take cyber security very seriously. Scammers will look for any way to separate you from your money. When you know what they’re up to you can usually avoid their nefarious schemes. Here are some of the top scams to avoid in 2019. Continue Reading

How to Reach Your Digital Transformation With Managed IT Solutions

We hear many stories of how companies in the midst of a digital transformation are changing their business models. They may even have an executive strategy session or a series of sessions in order to identify all places in the organization where there should be digital improvements. They may even have vigorous debates about the best ways to eliminate legacy systems that are not bringing the company into the present digital age. A company’s leaders are painfully aware that a digital transformation is a journey that must include leveraging their current IT capabilities to keep up with consumer demands. Going fully digital creates a great deal of pressure on any executive team, and one of the biggest reasons is because of the high costs associated with adopting new technologies so as to complete the total transformation.  Continue Reading

October is Cyber Security Month – Protect Your Personal Networks & Devices at Home

With all of the news about hacking, you would think people would be more worried about their own personal electronic devices being hacked. But, most of us don’t think what we have is important enough for someone to hack. It is important to consider securing your own devices, because while you might not have national security issues on your computer, you do have important passwords and identity information that is stored. Businesses are already on the lookout for cyber attacks, and work to protect proprietary information. Shouldn’t you do the same for your home? Continue Reading

How Can Non-Tech Companies Continue to Thrive in a Tech-Oriented World?

When the 90’s ushered us into the digital age, cutting-edge businesses began making websites and building their digital presence. However, only in the last ten years has it become absolutely necessary for every business, no matter how non-tech, to be fully ‘digitally transformed’. What this means is that your business needs a well-made website, an interactive mobile app, online customer service, and a suite of software that supports your industry functions. Even if you are a small brick-and-mortar business with a local-only customer base, society has changed. Foot traffic and street signs are no longer the primary way people choose a business and phone lines aren’t even the leading form of customer contact anymore. Instead, your customers are using search engines and mobile apps to find the venues and services they want, they check online reviews, they investigate a business’s website, and they might even reach out through live chat, text, or email before making their decision. Continue Reading

Whaling and Spearfishing: Targeting the Top People

Most phishing email goes after mass targets. It’s not particularly well-crafted, but the senders expect that if they hit enough mailboxes, some victims will open the attachment or visit the malicious website. A growing portion, though, targets specific companies or individuals with carefully crafted messages. It’s called spearphishing. When it’s aimed at high-profile individuals or large assets, it’s also called whaling — going after really big fish. (All right, a whale isn’t really a fish.) Continue Reading