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How to Lower Your IT Costs

October 9, 2025October 14, 2016

In the continued push to reduce overspending, increase workplace efficiency, and develop a fiscally sound work model, companies often neglect working toward lowering their IT costs. Whether your business has an in-house IT department or you outsource your IT work to another company, there are precautions you can take to avoid overpaying and being sold services you can’t benefit from.
One of the most valuable pieces of advice for companies shopping for IT services or attempting to make the most out of their internal IT teams without breaking the bank is to favor regular maintenance and proactive monitoring versus waiting to fix a problem when it occurs.

How to Protect Your E-commerce Website from Hackers and Fraud

October 9, 2025September 8, 2016

The customer journey is a long but rewarding process, so when your e-commerce website prospects finally become customers and reach your checkout page, you want to make sure things go smoothly. You’ve done a lot to get your visitors to the checkout page, from providing high-resolution images and accurate product descriptions to a responsive design and smooth customer experience, but there’s one critical conversion element every e-commerce site needs.
Security. Specifically, customer security.

Most online stores require the same kind of information, all of which fall under either the personal or financial category. This data includes things like credit card numbers, full names, physical mailing addresses, email addresses, and more. The information a customer is required to provide to conclude an online transaction can be devastating if lost, which is what has happened to many online retail stores who have had their security breached by malware and hackers.
According to the Global Fraud Attack Index for 2016 Q2, “there were 27 attacks for every 1,000 transactions conducted in 2015 Q4, which is 11% higher than reported in 2015 Q3 and a 215% increase from 2015 Q1.” Between Q4 of 2105 and Q1 of 2016, the attack rate was higher than 4X for digital goods and doubled for luxury goods.
Whether or not customer information has been stolen or simply lost, your security and recovery plan should be able to address malicious hackers and fraud. Providing top-notch security for your e-commerce site is the best way to give your customers peace of mind, retain their business, and grow yourself as a respected, trustworthy online store.
Proactive security is necessary for the prolonged protection of your website and your customer transactions. We’ve detailed five actionable tips below to securing your site against fraud and hackers.

HummingBad infects over 10 Million android devices

HummingBad Malware Infects Over 10-Million Android Devices

October 9, 2025August 25, 2016

More than 10 million Android phones have been infected with an annoying little piece of malware called HummingBad.
This malware looks to exploit a device’s data by stealing and selling it. While its tactics are fairly run-of-the-mill for malware—drive-by-download, data theft, etc.—HummingBad goes a step further by attempting to root itself.

Gaining “root access” to a device allows malicious users to gain administrative-level control capable of overriding any Android subsystems. Hackers exploit this mode of infection to cause the most damage, and to make their malware difficult to remove. Once HummingBad has rooted itself, it can force the user to click on ads and download apps, but there’s a little more to this malware than that.

Top 10 Security Risks Faced by Companies Adopting Cloud Computing

October 9, 2025August 12, 2016

The cloud has been a miracle to many businesses as they merge or migrate their data to the off-site storage service. See, the beauty of the cloud is all about its accessibility. Companies can manage or access data from anywhere they are, putting key information at their fingertips without a trip to the office.

Though we previously covered some of the benefits of migrating to the cloud, it’s become apparent that some companies are making that switch with only half the facts. Here’s a look at the top ten security risks that comes with migrating to the cloud.

How Outdated IT Assets Can Lead to Security Problems

October 9, 2025August 11, 2016

Most of us know the value of keeping our software updated. This includes having the latest virus definitions installed and our operating systems and programs patched against the latest bugs. It’s really just standard practice to update these things.
Why?
It keeps our computers and networks running smoothly while ensuring any security vulnerabilities are fixed before someone can take advantage of them. If you don’t update your software, those weak points in your network security—a popular program or bug-filled browser—could be used by hackers to infect your system with malware. And if outdated software presents a security risk, imagine what kind of damage antiquated hardware can do to your security efforts.
Old hardware can create vulnerabilities that cyber criminals can take advantage of to breach systems. Not only do you have to worry about individuals creating windows of opportunity, but now there’s the chance that by simply using your software or equipment—because it’s outdated—could be creating weak spots for hackers to exploit in your network security.

New Mobile Threats to Business Apps

October 9, 2025June 23, 2016

Mobile apps have made the lives of employees everywhere infinitely better, and more efficient, as enterprises lean towards virtual offices and establish BYOD policies. Apps designed for the business sector or that improve productivity have steadily risen over the last couple of years. The disadvantage to relying on these helpful apps to get work done lies in their inherent vulnerability to security threats such as malware.

A growing trend in malware development is to create apps capable of impersonating legitimate apps, and using this ‘bait-and-switch’ technique to trick unsuspecting employees and CEOs into downloading the fake app whose real purpose is to deliver malware. The threat of business-spoofing apps has been a real challenge for enterprises as even very popular mobile applications have been impersonated, including:

Are Passwords Going the Way of the Dinosaurs?

October 9, 2025June 10, 2016

Passwords are one of the most common methods for securing sensitive information across networks. However, recent trends in the IT community have shown an increasing interest in multi-factor authentication—solutions that go well beyond the password.
We covered the essential elements of two-factor authentication in a previous blog post, but the question remains: why have passwords fallen out of favor?
The answer is threefold.

How to impement Bring Your Own Device policy

How to Implement Your Own BYOD Policy

October 9, 2025May 26, 2016

BYOD, or Bring Your Own Device, allows employees to work from and access company data from their smartphones and tablets. Many businesses have begun adopting BYOD policies as it gives their employees not only a sense of freedom but because it also saves the company money on tech costs. Telecommuting has risen in popularity with both employers and workers, and a BYOD policy offers a way to ease that transition and make the process more effective.
Although BYOD seems straightforward, there are a few integral factors that must be taken into account in its implementation; namely, security and efficiency. There’s also the matter of making the policy worthwhile to employees in the first place.

Many enterprises expand their BYOD policy to include all personal devices employees elect to use for connecting to the corporate networks. This means proper utilization—establishing clear and effective security protocols—is paramount to developing an all-encompassing solution to how these devices should be used, and how the company can ensure that device and its use are not abused or compromised.

How to Deal with the Rising Threat of Ransomware

October 9, 2025May 12, 2016

Ransomware is on the rise, and its targets range from individuals to government and law enforcement agencies. Hacking and generally malicious cyber activity has always been lucrative for cyber terrorists who often use stolen information to commit identity fraud, or sell sensitive information to third parties. Ransomware is the latest form of malware to capitalize on the potential gains of cybercrime by requesting that victims pay to have their own computers or files unlocked for use.
That’s right. They ask you to pay your own ransom.

To better understand this growing threat, let’s look at what ransomware is and what it means to those it targets.

content filters keeps employees productive

Why Content Filtering Keeps Employees Productive

October 9, 2025March 17, 2016

Keeping employees productive means no wasted resources. It means a more efficient work place where deadlines are met. Better productivity doesn’t only benefit the CEOs and their bottom line, either; it’s also good for the employees. Feeling a sense of accomplishment and feeling productive can help foster better work ethic and a positive self-image.

Having days where we feel lazy or have gotten distracted at work can lead to feeling worse about ourselves and can even cost us our jobs. We feel good when we finish a task on time or ahead of schedule, so it makes sense to form habits at work that contribute to that general sense of accomplishment. With so many offices relying on computers, the internet can prove to be one of the largest obstacles in the way of our productivity. This is where content filtering comes in.