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modern-day communication

Modern-Day Communication, The Dangers Behind It

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When it comes to IT security solutions, there are a large number of threats facing us. Modern-day communication technology has opened up a massive amount of potential for people; however, it also poses a significant threat in terms of security. Threats are increasingly advanced as time passes by, and this is endangering the safety and security of our data and private information. That’s why we have come up with this blog. We want to bring light to the dangers of modern security and how you can get professional support to avoid these risks.

How Advanced Modern-Day Communication Systems Endanger Our Data

Modern-day communication systems have transformed how we live our lives. However, these modern technologies have opened us up to a great deal of risk with our security. Many employees are at significant risk by using modern communication technology because they don’t understand the danger.

Fortunately, though, our team is on hand to help you learn more about these threats. We’ll also discuss what makes internet communication risky and how you can protect yourself against these threats.

Employees are Spending More Time on Technology

A critical risk for people is that we are all spending more time on our electronic devices. Technology is a constant part of our lives. People spend more time on technology and the internet than ever before. That means the risk posed for their security is also growing.

Internet security has never been more important, simply because we are all spending more time on devices. By spending more time on communications software, we are putting ourselves at a greater risk of losing our data to hackers and security breaches. Unfortunately, criminal methods used to get access to our data are becoming more sophisticated. It’s not easy knowing a genuine link from a dangerous or malicious link intended to harm us.

How Hackers Trick us into Exposing Our Devices

Hackers are becoming increasingly aware that their old tactics aren’t working as well as they once did. Yet, with the rise of advanced security systems, many hackers face new challenges to continue their devious ways. Now they are turning to communications systems for opportunities.

This tactic is something that has taken the world by surprise, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. Indeed, with the arrival of the pandemic, the world switched to online shopping almost overnight. As such, hackers quickly took advantage of this new opportunity for gaining access to personal data. This shift represents a severe security risk that is putting people at risk today.

Fake Delivery Messages: The Most Common Security Challenge

The most notable of these scams at present are the fake delivery messages. These scams have become incredibly common, and because so many of us have been ordering products online, it can be easy to fall into this trap. Indeed, most fake delivery messages require users to follow a link to “reschedule” an order that failed to arrive. But, of course, these ungenuine links are taking us directly to websites that are malicious in some manner.

In some cases, they merely request us to pay a small sum of money and nothing more. But this is the lesser of many evils. Other scams include collecting personal data and even compiling card details, leading you to a substantial loss of money. As such, the risk posed by these fake delivery messages is staggering.

Email Attachment and Social Media Communication Security Scams

Another common scam that people should be aware of when it comes to communication security is email risk. Indeed, hackers are becoming increasingly crafty with the phishing and malware emails they are sending. These emails, designed to fool people into thinking that they’re sent from a legitimate sender, encourage the reader to visit the linked site. In turn, this can lead to malware or phishing software downloaded onto the device. Naturally, this can cause you a great deal of distress.

Another common form of this scam is from hacked social media accounts. If you get a strange message from a friend or contact on social media, especially if it links to an external video or website, you might find that it takes you somewhere that infects your device.

Final Thoughts About Modern-day Communication

In any of these scenarios, the risks posed by communication security challenges are very much real. When using any communication technologies, be aware of the potential risks you could be facing. If you need any help in regards to internet security feel free to contact us.

clicking fake links

Clicking Fake Links, The Horror Behind It!

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When it comes to using the internet, you know how things can go wrong. We all like to think that our online activities are safe and protected. However, the reality is that hacking methods are increasingly creative to get people to clicking fake links. As such, today, we’re here to draw attention to the horror stories that occur when people fall for bogus email links and the best tips for fake link prevention.

What Are the Dangers for Business Owners Clicking on Fake links?

An increasing number of businesses are targeted daily to trick them into clicking fake email links. Hacking methods are getting more and more creative. As such, recognizing which email links are legitimate and which are not can be incredibly difficult – and as such, you should always be alert when using communications software to make sure you don’t fall into these traps. Fake links come with numerous associated dangers. That’s why, today, we’ll be looking at a few of the implications that falling for these traps can have.

Loss of Personal Data

You must protect your data at all costs. Personal data includes information such as your name, address, date of birth, and banking info. Hackers use this personal data to target you. Your stolen information can create fake identification and credit cards. This data is also commonly sold on the dark web to bidders who collect personal data of this type. Consequences associated with the loss of personal data are irritating and a nuisance. However, if hackers use your data for false identification, the consequences for you could be severe. After a breach, you may find yourself in thousands of dollars of debt. Or, quite possibly, your bank account drained. As such, fake links prevention is imperative for protecting yourself from personal data losses.

Financial Data Losses

Financial losses are the most common, as this is the primary goal of the hackers. One of the most common forms of fake email links is the increase in home deliveries resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. This trick is a relatively simple scam. Hackers will send texts to thousands of random phone numbers. These texts inform the reader that their delivery failed, and a small redelivery fee is needed to reschedule. This form of fraud is usually opportunistic and low-value. However, some hackers will gather financial data and hack bank accounts or take out loans. This scam, in turn, gives criminals full access to your money. It’s easy to see where the risk lies. Another potential threat from clicking on fake links is that the website could download malware onto your device. Malware can gather data about your personal and financial information. Once again, hackers use the breached data to access your financial records. As we’ve seen, this can lead to substantial losses. Whether the information is volunteered readily or taken by force, these are risky situations to correct. As such, awareness of the best fake link prevention strategies is everyone’s goal.

How to Avoid Fake Links

Fake links are, unfortunately, all too common. Hackers are using these tactics more regularly, and they are also becoming more creative in their attempts. For the average employee, fake link prevention is increasingly difficult. Recognizing these dangerous email links is a genuine challenge for many people. Being aware of avoiding dangerous email links and protecting your precious personal and financial data is more crucial than ever. There is a lot of pressure on employees these days. Luckily, our team is on hand to give you a few tips to help you avoid falling prey to malicious hackers. First of all, before clicking any links in messages, emails, or on social media, make sure to check the URL to ensure it looks legitimate. Hackers use this common tactic to convince people to click on a fraudulent link. Often, this will be something as simple as changing the domain from .com to .xyz or .club, or something along these lines. Many people won’t recognize this subtle change, so it’s always worth checking before clicking unknown links. Next, check the link’s source. If you have any doubts about the sender’s legitimacy, navigate to the supposed firm and send a request to their official customer support team. They should be happy to answer whether the email address is a legitimate one. As a final protection, make sure you have the best defence in place for your device! Having anti-virus software and an updated firewall is crucial protection. Don’t leave this to chance. If you have any questions and need help please contact us. We are happy to help!

Remote workforce necessities.

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Seven things to help ensure the health, safety and success of your mobile workforce.

 

Many companies are rotating and/or keeping their workforce at home to facilitate social-distancing and to keep their workforce healthy. However, it’s not as simple as leaving your employees at home, letting them fire up their personal laptops, and getting to work. Review the following seven things to help ensure the health, safety and success of your mobile workforce.

1. Secure Remote Access

Employees should not have open access to everything on their work systems from their personal computers. This keeps company data protected. In order to be productive through this pandemic, however, employers will need to provide a secure connection utilizing VPN or remote access software. These solutions will mirror the employee’s work desktop without housing all of the data on the individual’s personal system, allowing them to seamlessly continue work.

2. File Sharing Capabilities

While people will be working in isolation, they must still be able to collaborate. File sharing/group editing software will be critical to moving forward on creative or documentation projects through real-time editing, commenting, and versioning. Software like Dropbox for Business, Microsoft Teams/Sharepoint or Google Documents help fill this need.

3. Enterprise Level Antivirus

Basic home-level antivirus is not sufficient, particularly in secured industries. Extend your enterprise-level antivirus to home systems that will have access to your network in order to create an added layer of protection. You may also consider deploying firewalls on top of individual’s home networks to create the same secure connection employees experience in your office.

4. Video Conferencing

Meetings must go on while people work remotely; however, voice-only leaves much to be desired in terms of tone and context. We highly recommend putting in place video conferencing options. You can implement something as simple as Google Duo/FaceTime, or something more feature intensive, like Zoom or GoToMeeting.

5. Messaging Software

You can’t just spin your chair around to talk to your co-worker when working remote, yet it’s not efficient to always pick up the phone. We recommend implementing a messaging software like Microsoft Teams or Slack to open communication channels and allow employees to continue to interact quickly and accurately. Utilizing these tools, you can set up one-on-one conversations or set up channels to facilitate team communication.

6. Phone

A strong VoIP solution will allow employees to take their office phone numbers remotely on their cellphones without giving out their cellphone numbers. Office calls will transfer seamlessly to the employee’s cellphones, voice mails will be sent via email, and the employee can dial-out using a phone application to maintain office functionality.

7. Review your remote access policy.

Put in place a clear policy that acknowledges that your company monitors whatever they do while connected. Employees should be encouraged to act as if they are on site even while working remotely and reminded that punishments for doing something illegal/against company policy will apply.

Contact us today at (800) 710-4010 to speak to a member of our team about your business needs and see how ICS can help you keep your IT infrastructure safe.

Employee Passwords

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Solid password practices can protect your data from intruders.

Protecting your business data is essential to keeping your company in business. While your employees are your greatest asset, they can also be your greatest liability. This is especially the case when it comes to how employees are using passwords. Passwords are the keys that open doors to stored data. The more employees that have those keys, the more vulnerable that data becomes. It is vital that your employees are using strong passwords that they can remember.

There is power in numbers.

Passwords can be easily cracked by hackers, especially if you don’t use solid password-creation practices. The best passwords contain both uppercase and lowercase letters, as well as numbers and special characters. You should also avoid using easily guessed words or alphanumeric combinations, such as the names of significant others, children, pets, birth dates, addresses, and similar information that can be easily guessed by someone looking at your social media profiles or through a Google search. Rather than using a short password, it is recommended that end users create passphrases – or a short sentence containing an assortment of characters.

Keep your passwords somewhere safe.

The safest place to keep a password is in your head. Unfortunately, people cannot always remember them. It is not a good idea to keep passwords written down unless they are well hidden. End users should avoid keeping sticky notes or other memos containing passwords with computers. A good method of storage is to keep passwords stored either within a password manager or by keeping them on file with your organization’s IT department.

Keep your passwords updated.

It is a good practice to renew your passwords once or twice a year. Changing passwords too often may create more work for system administrators, since they are more likely to be forgotten or lost. You should also change your passwords any time that you feel as though your system has been compromised or is likely to be compromised.

Contact us today at (800) 710-4010 to speak to a member of our team about your business needs and how we can help you keep your data secure.

The Benefits of IT Consulting

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There are benefits to utilizing IT Consulting in Los Angeles.

If you have ever been to an outdated office, you know the telltale sign of falling behind — clunky, obsolete technology. With new developments breaking in the world of business technology every day, staying on top of the market isn’t easy. It takes proactive effort and insider knowledge. That’s why so many business leaders invest heavily in IT consulting in Los Angeles.

If you’re looking for an edge to keep you as competitive as possible, or just want to make life a lot easier on your team without breaking your budget, a dependable consulting team could be your ticket to peace of mind. To understand why, you only need to know about the three ways that these professionals revolutionize client approaches to technology.

The Three T‘s

IT consulting in Los Angeles is a broad field, and it encompasses dozens of individual services. To get at the basic value of using it, though, there are three core advantages you should consider:

Troubleshooting — The most commonly used area of service, troubleshooting is all about solving everyday problems. Whether it’s a malfunctioning piece of hardware or user error in applying a new program, issues that arise as employees go about their daily work are easy to solve with IT pros readily available.

Time — Every second a system is down, or an employee is unable to work, you lose money. IT consulting in Los Angeles helps you cut back downtime and ensure smooth, efficient service for your customers. It also keeps you from needing a full-time crew on your payroll to manage problems your consultant can easily address.

Technology — One of the biggest advantages to IT help is right there in the name: your consultant can help you pick out the right technology to support your goals. That way, you never have to be the office that’s stuck using yesterday’s solutions to address today’s market challenges and opportunities.

Find out how IT consulting in Los Angeles can help your company. Contact us today at (800) 710-4010 to speak to a member of our team about your business needs. 

The Remote IT Advantage

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Remote IT support in Los Angeles is more important than ever.

Even before the onset of a global pandemic, the trend across countless industries was toward online systems. As the economy grapples with the shockwaves of coronavirus, understanding the role of technology and remote IT support in Los Angeles has only become more critical for savvy professionals and leaders that want to stay ahead and keep their employees operating efficiently.

Whether you’re just now investing in upgrades because of a work-from-home setup or just want to stay at the forefront of progress, it’s vital to take advantage of today’s resources. To help you make the most of a tough global situation, let’s take a look at the role remote IT support in Los Angeles plays in breaking down barriers to effective business.

It’s All About Overcoming Challenges

Technology will always have obstacles to overcome. Small snags, uncooperative systems, and user errors can bring business to a crawl, even if everyone working is trying their best. The simple reality is that no person without the right knowledge can solve for every potential challenge alone.

This is where remote IT support in Los Angeles shines. In the past, getting past these issues meant needing on-site specialists to head over to someone’s desk and investigate the root of the problem. With so many employees working from home, however, it’s not always an option to just deal with the machine in-person.

That’s not something unique to the COVID-19 lockdown, either. Even once the pandemic passes, global footprints and other remote work will continue to grow to meet market demands. When you have IT professionals that you and your team can call for help at any time, it’s easy to troubleshoot effectively and feel confident at every level in your organization. Plus, remote partners are often more affordable than a full on-site team, leaving more room in your budget to expand while being flexible enough to keep your systems in shape.

Contact us today at (800) 710-4010 to speak to a member of our team about your business needs and see how remote IT can help you.

Adapting to Covid-19

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ICS provides essential services to businesses in the wake of Covid-19.

Covid-19 has taken a toll on businesses across the globe. Suggested social distancing guidelines have created the need for changing the dynamics of the traditional office landscape. Businesses have to deal with the challenge of maintaining a healthy work environment and operations in order to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus. International Computing Services Inc. can help you keep your employees safe and productive during these critical times.

If you have employees that will need to work from home, ICS can help you make that happen with the implementation of remote workstations. Our technicians can set up your employees’ devices with security options and remote access tools that allow safe remote data access and video conferencing. We also can provide your company with computers or tablets to allow remote access.

While it remains unclear as how long businesses will be impacted by the pandemic, you can count on ICS to deliver the solutions you need to help you keep your essential operations functioning. At International Computing Services Inc., we take care of your IT so that you can focus on your business.

Contact us today at (800) 710-4010 to speak to a member of our team about your business needs.

 

IT for your business.

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Finding a dedicated specialist to take care of IT for your business needs can be hard.

There are hundreds of specialists out there who have the ability to provide you with competent services. Competent is fine, but you need someone who can take care of a wide array of issues in a fast and efficient manner. ICS is here to help you. When it comes to providing exceptional custom IT services in Los Angeles, you can feel confident that our talented specialists will be able to help you. For your convenience, we offer on-site and remote assistance.

Having access to technology that works properly is vital for your business. If you do not have the proper infrastructure and network available, you are doing yourself a disservice.  When you have our specialists assisting you with your IT needs, it gives you the freedom to focus on building your business and serving your customers. Additionally, having another company taking care of your IT needs means you will not have to spend as much money on a full-time IT staff that you have to manage in-house.

Contact us today at (800) 710-4010 to speak to a member of our team about your business needs. We can help you with cloud computing, networking, and employee support services.