570.235.1946

help@nepageeks.com
152 N. Pennsylvania Ave.

Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702
In-Shop Hours Mon - Fri 9 AM - 5 PM

Weekends Emergency Support Only

viruses Tag

28 Aug

Posted at 10:17h in Blog Post
0 Likes

You’ve likely seen news coverage of ransomware targeting large companies or hospitals. Maybe you’ve seen Homeland when Claire Danes’ character falls victim to laptop ransomware during a surveillance mission. But did you know that ransomware attackers can also target your smartphone? A smartphone, after all, is a portable computer in your palm. Take a moment to imagine being locked out of your own phone. The hackers could gain access to your saved passwords and emails. You could lose access to your contacts, notes, and images, and even your three years’ worth of effort on Candy Crush. What You Need to Know About Smartphone Ransomware Also known as mobile ransomware, these attacks infect your smartphone. Instead of stealing the actual device, the bad actors take it hostage. They typically encrypt your data and make it so you can’t do anything. It may not be as widely publicized, but there’s already a long list of smartphone ransomware programs. The list continues to grow with examples such as ScarePackage, LeakerLocker, and LockerPin. ScarePackage can infect more than 900,000 phones in a single month. And before you think, “That won’t happen on my iPhone,” know that no smartphone manufacturer is secure. The type of ransomware may vary due to the different operating systems, but you can be at risk on both Android and an iPhone. Unlike other malware, the hackers usually want you to know they’ve gained control. Typically, they will notify you on your lock screen or home screen. You’ll often see a list of demands and a deadline to comply. That said, some mobile ransomware stealthily steals your data. What To Do About Mobile Ransomware The first thing to do? Be cautious. Keep these best practices in mind always: Regularly update your device's operating system and applications to patch any security vulnerabilities. Exercise caution when downloading or installing apps from untrusted sources. Avoid clicking on suspicious links or opening email attachments from unknown senders. Enable app and system updates to ensure you have the latest security patches. If you become a ransomware victim, try to disconnect your device from the internet. Turning off Wi-Fi and mobile data limits communication with the attacker’s server. Avoid paying the ransom. It’s tempting but not recommended. You are counting on hackers to keep their word and provide the encryption key. You can find decryption tools online for less complex ransomware. If the ransomware came from a malicious app, immediately delete that app if you can. What you can do will depend on the specific ransomware variety. In general, it's best to seek professional help. Work with an IT expert who can remove ransomware without further compromising your device. We can also help you restore clean, unaffected backups. Contact us today at 570-235-1946 or by filling out a contact form....

07 Aug

Posted at 09:00h in Blog Post
0 Likes

Boost Your Email Impact With These Smart Strategies Boost your email impact with smart strategies. Most small businesses rely on email as their preferred form of communication. Either internally or externally to clients, customers and suppliers, email is the go-to format we’d be lost without. Our love affair with it is no surprise – it’s quick, simple and provides a paper trail. But its convenience doesn’t always mean relaxed. In fact, poor email communication can hurt your reputation and cost you customers. Here’s how to be smart with your business email: Manage your inbox Your inbox is only for items you still need to access. Once you’re finished with an email, you should delete it or archive it. If you were to imagine your inbox as physical letters, you’d never let it grow to a 6-foot high stack of chaos. Instead, you’d either throw them out or do the filing. It’s not hard to identify which ones to keep for reference, so create inbox folders to sort them accordingly. As emails arrive and are actioned, move them to the relevant folder or the delete bin. Read more about maintaining business email inboxes here. Write professional messages Stepping across the line from casual to careless is easy if you skip the basic elements of good business writing. Grammar will always be important and the sentence structure of your language hasn’t changed. All email programs include a spell-checker, many of which draw attention to errors immediately, so there’s really no excuse. Typing in all CAPS is seen as yelling, and breaking your text into paragraphs makes your message so much more readable. One last thing before you click send, quickly glance over your email to make sure your tone is appropriate and no mistakes have snuck through. Embrace the subject line Many emails are missed because the subject line was empty or meant nothing to the receiver. Writing these attention-grabbing nuggets can be tricky, but if you simply summarize the message, you’ll do fine. Just remember to keep them under 5-8 words so they fit on mobile displays. Be smart with attachments Keep attachments small – under 2MB – as they can clog up the email server. For larger attachments, share the file location as a link using cloud storage. When you’re sent an attachment you’d like to keep, save the file and then delete the email. And as always, be careful with unexpected attachments, especially from unknown senders. It’s more important than ever to scan all attachments with an antivirus before opening. Keep your CC/BCC under control The carbon copy (CC) and blind carbon copy (BCC) let you send the email to additional stakeholders, more as an FYI than anything else. As a rule, use BCC if you’re using an email list or privacy is an issue. But before you add extra people to the email, make sure the email IS relevant to them. There’s nothing worse than being stuck in a pointless email chain! Call us at 570.235.1946 or visit our Contact Page for help with your business email....