How to Avoid File Format Lock-In

How to Avoid File Format Lock-In

Software applications come and go. They create their own files, often in proprietary formats. Later on, their publishers may go out of business or stop supporting that app. The application will keep running for the time being, until an operating system upgrade breaks it. Then you can be stuck with unreadable files.

Watch For the Warning Signs

Whenever you use an application that works with a private file format, you need to be careful. If it’s a hugely popular format like Photoshop’s native files, you’re OK, since other developers have created software that will work with it. You aren’t dependent on any vendor even if the format’s technically proprietary. But in other cases, the application is the only way to read the files. If it stops working, you’re stuck.

When possible, you should work with formats that have broad support. Ideally, this means ones with published specifications that anyone can implement. Sometimes, though, you have to use an application that locks you in. You need to be careful.

Keep Your Information Safe

These applications usually support some kind of export format. If they didn’t, they’d be on their own island, with no way to give data to anyone else’s software. At a minimum, they’ll probably let you print to a PDF file. This isn’t ideal; you can’t easily edit a PDF, and you lose the underlying file structure. At least you have the information in a human-readable form.

Software of this kind often supports an interchange format. That’s an improvement, since it will give you the information in a way that other applications can import and do things with. The exported files might be huge and inefficient, but they protect you against the worst-case situation.

If you create a lot of files, exporting them all gets tedious. An automated script, run regularly, can be the best way to make sure you have a backup against data decay. The best situation is to avoid getting locked into an obscure file format, but if you have to, you should give yourself an emergency exit.

We can help you to avoid putting your files at risk. Contact us to learn more.

How To ALWAYS Remember Unique Passwords

How To ALWAYS Remember Unique Passwords

These days, it is important to realize that EVERYONE is a potential target for hackers. It is not wise to forego your cyber safety because you don’t think you have anything worth taking.

Hackers can get access to your snapchat photos that you thought were long gone, they can track and steal your packages on your Amazon account, they can even see your location and your children’s locations if you have a smartphone. They can weasel their way into your phone and personal computer, they can attack at home or at work. The easiest way they can do this is by tricking you into giving up your passwords.

It is recommended by most cybersecurity experts that you change your password every 4 months, or 3 times a year. It is also recommended that you use a capital letter, a number and an uncommon character such as ‘$’.  This can be a lot to keep up with, especially if you use a different password for every account.

A lot of systems require you to change your password every 4 months to keep your access. Because of these frequent changes, too many people make the decision to write their passwords down in a notebook or, even worse, in a file on their computer.

It is important to pick a password you can remember easily that will also keep your information safe. A fun idea is to make your password a goal, resolution, something you need to remember, or even a personal mantra. Here are some good ideas:

  • L0seTenP0unds
  • Save$500!
  • icAnD0Anything
  • SaraOwesMe$10

Think about how many times you type your password in a day, not only will you be staying safe, you’ll be staying motivated!

Here at WheelHouse IT, we are passionate about maintaining your cyber safety. Your peace of mind is our top priority. Take the time to contact us about your cybersecurity needs so we can work together to protect you, your business, and your family.

Crypto-currency Mining: The New Threat

Crypto-currency Mining: The New Threat

There’s a new bad guy in town to go with malware, ransomware, and spyware. It doesn’t steal information, just computing power. It’s illicit crypto-currency mining.

“Mining” may need a bit of an explanation. Crypto-currencies like Bitcoin need to grow over time. The way it happens is by running very processor-intensive code which generates new Bitcoins or Monero or whatever the unit of currency may be. That’s called mining.

People dedicate whole server farms to this activity. Other, less honest people use someone else’s computers to do the work for them. They rely on the usual tricks, such as phishing email and security holes in Web servers, to plant their software. It then runs quietly, crediting the generated currency to the intruder.

This kind of malware doesn’t necessarily steal data, but it’s bad for the victim in several ways:

  • It uses up processing power, slowing down the machine’s intended functions.
  • It increases electrical power consumption, since active processing draws more electricity than waiting for something to happen.
  • It can make the system less stable and cause crashes.
  • It’s very hard to be sure it isn’t also stealing data, so an incident has to be investigated as a security breach.
  • Even if it isn’t stealing data, it could be a conduit for installing other malware.

The Cost of Mining

One computer will generate just a few cents a day in crypto-currency, but a botnet of thousands of machines can add up to a significant amount of money, especially since the victims pay the electric bill.

Incidents of this kind have been happening at least since 2014, but lately they’ve been increasing at a high rate. Recently a hospital in Tennessee was hit by mining malware.

IoT devices are favorite targets, since many of them are easy to compromise and people aren’t likely to notice. The attack methods are mostly the same ones used for other forms of malware, and the security precautions are the same: Be careful with email, create difficult passwords, use anti-malware software, patch applications and operating systems regularly, and so on.

Mining software is usually harder to detect than other malware, since it doesn’t do obvious damage and doesn’t need to send a lot of information back. Listing processes by the amount of computing resources they use will reveal that something odd is going on. It’s one more thing to guard against in a world full of online threats.

Contact us to learn how we can help keep your systems safe in a dangerous Internet.

Tips To Ensure Cyber Security

Automating CyberSecurity

Good cyber security is no doubt an issue that companies and IT experts are grappling with on a regular basis.

Even so, the bottom line is that there are security loopholes posing a risk to existing systems and they need to be closed. For that reason, continuous research on emerging threats and how to mitigate them is critical in securing systems within an enterprise.

Here are a few tips that will help you enhance the security of your systems to guard against possible cyber threats:

Tighten The Security and Remain Vigilant

In most cases, end users are the primary targets of almost every hacker planning to gain access to an entity’s network system. The reason is that it is often difficult to control the documents that each user downloads or every email they choose to open. Each of these actions can introduce harmful malware in the systems in use if workers an enterprise fail to remain vigilant.

Therefore, in-house IT experts, as well as providers of these services, should take the responsibility of educating staff of the dangers of clicking every document or email they receive. On the other hand, end users should adopt a culture of vigilance every time they access the company’s network, to foster successful implementation of this tip.

Ensure Proper Disposal of Sensitive or Confidential Documents

Hackers will use every tactic to try and access the network infrastructure, including going through the trash, otherwise known as dumpster diving. In that case, improper disposal of documents bearing sensitive information as well as CDs and USB drives leaves systems prone to cybersecurity threats too. Hence, shredding confidential documents is advisable.

Also, ensure proper destruction of any physical media you plan to dispose before discarding the same. That way you will protect your network infrastructure from such hackers.

Beware of Exposing Sensitive Information in Shared Meeting Areas

When a consultative meeting or any forum of this kind comes to an end, it is wise to clear the meeting area of anything that may fall into the hands of anyone with selfish motives.

Gathering all copies of graphs and presentations that remain behind and opting to trash such details elsewhere, other than using the trash bins available in conference rooms, are some of the precautions to observe.

If you’re interested in more cybersecurity tips, contact us today!

How Managed Security Services Can Benefit a Business

How Managed Security Services Can Benefit a Business

Having a quality and reliable network is a requirement in order for any business to be successful today. Managed security services can help.

For those organizations that have a network established, making sure that it is properly secured is very important as it will help to protect company and customer data.

For those that are looking to improve the security of their network and IT systems, hiring a managed security services provider would be very beneficial. A managed IT security services provider can provide your organization with a range of services to help protect your data.

Establishment of Security System

When you hire a managed IT security services provider, the first thing that the company will do is help you to establish a new security system. The security services provider will be able to enhance your existing network to ensure it is as secure as possible.

This part of the process will include establishing a multi-layered security service, creating a variety of access controls, and creating a system that will be very difficult for an unauthorized individual to access.

This will greatly enhance the overall protection that you have in place, which will reduce the risks of being hacked by an outside threat.

Monitoring

Beyond establishing a new security system on your network, a managed IT security service will also help by monitoring your network.

The company will be able to complete 24/7 real-time monitoring to identify who is accessing your network or if any suspicious activity is taking place.

The organization will also be able to continue to update your security systems in place based on changes in technology and outside hacking threats.

If you are interested in improving the security of your network, you should contact us to learn more about the products and services we provide as well as how we can help your organization.