TechBytes

71% of ransomware attacks target small-to-medium sized businesses.

Average ransom demand: $116,324

How would this affect your business?

So… what is ransomware?

Ransomware is a form of malware that encrypts a victim’s files.

At the end of the process, the files cannot be decrypted without a mathematical key known only by the attacker.

The attacker then demands a ransom to release access to this data back to the victim.

And why are SMBs targeted?

Typically, these companies spend much less on securing their computing systems and information than larger firms.

This makes it easier for malicious actors to compromise their systems.

Attackers will also use extortion campaigns, duping victims to download ransomware malware or droppers that will infect the compromised machine with ransomware.

The top three vertical markets that are targeted include: healthcare, professional services, and financial institutions.

Got it. But how does PremierePC mitigate these risks?

PremierePC handles all IT related matters; think of us as your personal IT department.

We are well versed in how to educate clients, mitigate risks, and stay up to date on the latest developments in IT, including ransomware attacks.

We make sure there are no open RDP ports for brute force attacks.

We also keep your data backed up in the cloud. In the event of an attack, we can potentially access your data in the cloud without having to pay the ransom.

Contact PremierePC today to better understand your environment and increase your security stack.

Eager to clean out your inbox but don’t want an influx of replies right before your week ends?

Microsoft Outlook offers delayed and scheduled email sending!

Delays can be applied to single messages or you can create rules to delay the delivery of all messages.

Delay the delivery of a single message in the Outlook desktop app

1. While composing a message, select the More options arrow from the Tags group in the Ribbon.
   

2. Under Delivery options, select the Do not deliver before check box, and then click the delivery date and time you want.
   
3. Click Close.
4. When you’re done composing your email message, select Send.

After you click Send, the message remains in the Outbox folder until the delivery time.

If you decide later that you want to send the message immediately, do the following:

1. Switch to the Outbox folder.
2. Open the delayed message.
3. Select the More options arrow from the Tags group in the Ribbon.

   

4. Under Delivery options, clear the Do not deliver before check box.

5. Click Close and send.

1. Over 6,000 new computer viruses are created and released every month. 90% of emails contain some form of malware!

2. The Firefox logo isn’t a fox… it’s a red panda!

3. Samsung is 38 years and 1 month older than Apple.

4. One Petabyte (PB) = 1024 (TB). To put this in perspective, a 50PB hard drive could hold the entire written works of mankind from the beginning of recorded history in all languages.

5. Alexa is always listening to your conversations. Alexa stores all of your dialogue history in the cloud to improve the Alexa experience.

6. On average, people read 10% slower from a screen than from paper.

7. The first computer mouse was made in 1964 by Doug Engelbart. It was rectangular and made from wood!

8. On average, there is only one reply per 12 million spam emails sent.

9. Surgeons that grew up playing video games more than three hours per week make 37% fewer errors and have a 42% faster completion rate when performing laparoscopic surgery and suturing.

10. NASA’s internet speed is 91 GB per second.

11. Until 2010, carrier pigeons were faster than the internet.

12. In 1971, the first ever computer virus was developed. Named Creeper, it was made as an experiment just to see how it spread between computers. The virus simply displayed the message: “I’m the creeper, catch me if you can!”

MFA, Multi-Factor Authentication, is a security enhancement that requires two or more different forms of authentication to gain access to an account. These forms can be something you know (your password or pin), something you have (a smart card or key), or something you are (your fingerprint or eye scan).

MFA is a hot topic these days in the IT world. With hacking attempts consistently on the rise, it is becoming increasingly more important to secure online accounts and data as much as possible.

Last year, internal Microsoft users who enabled MFA blocked around 99.9% of automated attacks against their Microsoft account.

So we know MFA is important and effective, but what do the experts say about how to use MFA?

Microsoft is urging users to stop using SMS text and voice calls for MFA.

Experts know that telephone networks are prone to security issues:

• SMS and voice calls are transmitted in cleartext and can easily be intercepted by the bad guys.
• There are also readily available phishing tools that can quickly grab SMS-based one-time codes.
• Phone network employees can also be tricked into transferring phone numbers to a bad guy’s SIM card, called SIM swapping, allowing attackers to receive the MFA codes on behalf of their victims.

A more secure option includes app-based MFA, like Microsoft’s Authenticator app.

The most secure option includes hardware security keys.

But always keep in mind, some type of MFA is better than no MFA.