Monday, December 02, 2013

Cyber Monday and Online Shopping Security Tips



With the online holiday shopping season upon us, please keep these tips in mind to help protect yourself from identity theft and other malicious activity on Cyber Monday, and throughout the year:

-Look for “https” before you click “Purchase.” Before you submit your online transaction, make sure that the webpage address begins with “https.” The “s” stands for secure, and indicates that communication with the webpage is encrypted.  A padlock or key icon in the browser’s status bar is another indicator.  Also, make sure your browser is current and up-to-date. 

-Do not respond to pop-ups.  When a window pops up promising you cash, bargains, or gift cards in exchange for your response to a survey or other questions, close it by pressing Control + F4 on Windows devices, or Command + W for Macs.
-Be alert for potential charity donation scams. Cyber criminals try to take advantage of people’s generosity during the holiday season and can use fake charity requests as a means to gain access to your information or computer/device. Think before clicking on emails requesting donations. Don’t give your financial or personal information over email or text.   Contribute by navigating to the trusted address of the charity, never through a link in an email.  To check if an organization is eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions, visit the IRS website.

For more information check http://msisac.cisecurity.org/newsletters/2013-11.cfm

Your Technology Advisor,
Virtual October Helpdesk Team

Monday, August 05, 2013

:Managed Services

Mention "outsourcing" and you get a very negative feeling. Mention "proactive" and get an entirely different feeling. The concept of Managed Services is something that Virtual October has been offering since 2005. See our latest offering at http://www.virtualoctober.com

:Patch Management

Patches and updates to Microsoft Windows PC's in a network environment used to be laxed and "as needed". I remember the philosophy only 10 years ago with NT machines that you stayed exactly 1 Service Pack behind Microsoft.
Today patches are still coming out as fast as they ever did. But installing them to a network of computers is difficult, even for networks with as few as 5 PC's. "If you leave the updates up to the end users," Says Alan Feldman, President of Virtual October, Inc. ,"you're asking for more headaches."
With new software tools running on your network, now there is a way to only approve those patches and updates that you are sure work. Now keeping your server and network computers up to date has never been easier. Ask us today how our Preventative Maintenance Packages will work for you.

Monday, January 25, 2010

:Become a Fan

Become a Fan on Facebook and you can download a custom Virtual October desktop background image for your computer for FREE. Just search for Virtual October.