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What you need to know about the Heartbleed Bug

Technology plays a major role in every business. So when something new comes along that threatens that technology and thus threatens your business, you need answers. And fast!

This is the case with the Heartbleed bug. It is the name you hear every time you turn on the news. And you have a few questions. What is it, how does it affect me, and how can I protect myself? Well, that is why you have us! At Working Nets, we provide top-notch information technology services to companies who don’t require an IT department, but do need reliable assistance when challenges arise.

What is the Heartbleed Bug?

Disclosed just a few days ago, the Heartbleed bug affects the technology used to encrypt sensitive information: OpenSSL.

“This compromises the secret keys used to identify the service providers and to encrypt the traffic, the names and passwords of the users and the actual content,” according to the Heartbleed.com. “This allows attackers to eavesdrop on communications, steal data directly from the services and users and to impersonate services and users.”

How does the Heartbleed Bug affect me?

According to Heartbleed.com, roughly two-thirds of all active websites run OpenSSL. Whoa! It could affect sites you log into on a daily basis — email, social networks, and so much more.

Click Here for a full list of the sites believed to be affected.

Larger companies are already addressing the issue, patching security holes. The issue is with smaller sites, warns Heartbleed.com. These sites typically do not have the full-time, in-house IT staff needed to address an issue as large as the Heartbleed bug.

How can I protect myself from the Heartbleed Bug?

Now this is the tricky part. All you can really do is sit and wait for these websites to patch the security holes. And if you are thinking about changing your passwords, don’t. If the bug hasn’t been fixed, changing your old password to a new password won’t do any good. It would just make your new password susceptible to the bug.

“The fact is if you change your password now, and the service hasn’t been patched, then there is a risk that an attacker can steal your current credentials and use them to compromise your account,” said AlienVault Labs Director Jaime Blasco.

What you can do, in the future, is make sure you do not use the same password for multiple sites and services. This ensures that if one site is compromised, all of your information isn’t at risk.

If you have any questions about the Heartbleed Bug and how it could affect your business, please contact Working Nets by calling (443) 992-7394 or visit WorkingNets.com today!

Welcome to Working Nets – your virtual IT Department!

You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.

Source:

Heartbleed bug: Check which sites have been patched

How to protect yourself against the Heartbleed bug

Three questions about the ‘Heartbleed’ Bug

Dealing with a Computer Virus: Avoid the Horror Stories with Managed IT Services

Anyone with even the smallest amount of computer knowledge has a rough understanding of what a computer virus is. And we all know that Dealing with a Computer Virus can be a real nightmare, especially for business owners. This is because computer viruses are designed to corrupt programs and files. They embed themselves into the code of software, sitting and waiting until the program is installed and executed. Once this happens, the virus can quickly spread, infecting other applications and files on your computer.

In the end, a computer virus can cause your computer to crash, delete important files, or even render your computer inoperable. All of these are bad news for business owners, resulting in costly downtime. However, the scariest news of all may be how most computers become infected.

It is believed that close to 75% of all viruses are contracted through friendly means, which means that the virus came from a friend, co-worker, client, or other friendly individual. And as more and more computers are connected to the Internet every day, the risk of contracting a computer viruses every time you download software or accept an attachment in an e-mail also grows.

To help prevent your computer from contracting a virus, consider installing virus protection software. However, it is not just enough to install the software, you must also keep it up to date.

Additional tips to help you avoid the effects of computer viruses include:

  1. Never open an email or attachment from a suspicious address or name you do not recognize.
  2. Stay up to date on your virus software updates.
  3. Always back up your files.
  4. Act fast if your computer is ever infected.
  5. Trust Working Nets and Avoid the Horror Stories with Managed IT Services!

The virus protection we offer at Working Nets is top-notch and consistently updated, ensuring your business remains safe. We know computer and network performance is crucial to the success of your business. We were founded to provide small businesses, like yours, with expert information technology support.

If you have any questions, please contact Working Nets by calling (443) 992-7394 or visit WorkingNets.com today! You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.

Cybersecurity News: Microsoft PCs are infected before reaching Consumers

It has not been a good couple of weeks for Microsoft. First, they discovered that Hackers had found a Security Hole in Internet Explorer. Now, the computer company has discovered that many of their PCs and laptops made in China were embedded with malicious software before ever reaching the consumer. The computer virus allows hackers to switch on a microphone or Webcam, record keystrokes, and access login credentials and online bank accounts.

And because computer companies rely on such a long and complex supply line, the malicious software could have been uploaded at any point, something Richard Domingues Boscovich, the assistant general counsel for the Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit, called “especially disturbing.”

“It’s one of the toughest cybersecurity challenges out there,” said Tom Kellermann, vice president of cybersecurity at Trend Micro. “There’s not really a solution unless you start to only build computers in the USA again.”

This isn’t the first time this has happened either. In 2008, the Defense Department and Federal Aviation Administration unknowingly purchased counterfeit Cisco routers, which were pre-loaded malicious software. FBI investigators found the routers allowed hackers to “gain access to otherwise secure systems.”

Then in May, the Senate Armed Services Committee released  a report citing 1,800 cases of counterfeit electronics from China, electronics used in the Air Force’s largest cargo plane and Special Operation helicopters.

“Companies are in a competitive dogfight to make products cheaper and hit the market faster,” said Scott Aken, a former FBI special agent who dealt with cyber counterintelligence. “They’re not spending time or money to ensure those products they are sourcing from overseas are devoid of counterfeits.”

So what are consumers to do?

Boscovich offers this simple advice: Consumers can often spot dangerous counterfeit technology if the deal “appears too good to be true.”

“However, sometimes people just can’t tell, making the exploitation of a broken supply chain an especially dangerous vehicle for infecting people with malware.”

If you have any questions about Cybersecurity, please contact Working Nets by calling (443) 992-7394 or visit WorkingNets.com today!

Welcome to Working Nets – your virtual IT Department!

At Working Nets, we support your business by providing top-notch Information Technology (I.T.) services to companies like yours: Companies that don’t need full-time I.T. services, but do need someone to turn to, when they are having a problem. We provide services like Network Design, Monitoring and Maintenance. We troubleshoot technical issues when they arise, and give you options for solving them. We help you use your technology investment to achieve your business goals.

At Working Nets, our focus is on your needs!

You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.

Sources:

Pre-Infected PCs Expose Flaws In Global Supply Chain