Binary Code
Computers and other electronic devices store information as Binary Code (which is a series of 1s and 0s that might look like this: 10101001 01101100 11001010).
Network Topology Map
A Network Topology Map is a diagram of a computer network's components, including network access points and connections between its various parts.
Fake Anti-Virus Software
Fake Anti-Virus Software - also known as 'scareware' - is designed to trick you into buying worthless anti-virus protection that you do not need.
Domain Name System
The Domain Name System (DNS) is like the ‘telephone book’ of the Web – it translates a website's name into its corresponding numerical IP address on the Internet.
Social Engineering
A Phishing e-mail is an attempt to trick the recipient into giving up information, such as account, credit card or password information.
Data Encryption
Data Encryption is the intentional scrambling of information into unreadable form - until it is later converted back into its original form by the intended recipient.
Botnet, or Compromised Computers
A Botnet is a collection of computers compromised by a malware attack that can be controlled remotely (via the Internet) to attack websites, send out spam emails, etc.
Distributed Denial of Service Attack
A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attack can use a botnet to force a website, network or other resource to shut down by overloading it with requests for data.
USB Flash Drive
A USB Flash Drive, aka a 'stick drive' or 'thumb drive' is a portable data storage device which connects to a computer's USB port to send and receive data.
Electronic vs. Static Media
Static Media is something like a book, magazine or printed photo, while Electronic or Digital Media (websites, digital photos, etc.) requires power to be viewed.
Administrative Access
A user with Administrative Rights has unrestricted power to create, modify or delete files, folders, settings and programs on a particular computer.
Computer Security Tip of the Week
Scott Aurnou – HTTPS is essentially an encrypted version of the Internet which allows you to connect to and use many of the websites you visit more securely.
Helpful websites referenced in this video include:
HTTPS Everywhere: https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
If you enjoyed this video, you can see more on TheSecurityAdvocate YouTube channel (and subscribe if you like).
By Scott Aurnou
Cyber criminals hackers and scammers use ‘phishing‘ attacks to steal your personal, financial and/or log in information. This can be done in a few ways, including via email or text message (referred to as ‘smishing‘).
These attacks often contain links to websites that look genuine but are just there to steal your account log in information or host malware that will attack your computer or mobile device. If it’s an email, it can also include an attachment – needless to say, opening it won’t lead to anything good. Some of these attacks are actually very well crafted. Some not so much. And some border on the ridiculous. Each month at The Security Advocate, we will present a number of examples, along with explanations of what to look out for to avoid falling victim to one of the scams.
Phishing emails will generally try to either frighten or tempt the recipient into clicking on the links in the message (and triggering the attack). This is an example of the latter, with an organization you’ve never dealt with before offering top-flight electronics at prices that are literally too good to be true. Another red flag is that the email address listed at the ‘send’ field doesn’t match the site name (‘ZBiddy’) found in the message. Hopefully that would be enough to keep you from clicking but, if you’re curious, you can hover over a given web link with your computer’s cursor and the destination web address will appear on the lower left of your screen. If that address doesn’t match the link displayed, don’t click on it.
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Computer Security Tip of the Week
Scott Aurnou – Vulnerability assessments and pentesting are very important early steps to protecting your business’ computer network. Learn more about these basic risk management techniques here.
If you enjoyed this video, you can see more on TheSecurityAdvocate YouTube channel (and subscribe if you like).
By Scott Aurnou
While threats to smartphones and tablets are only increasing as hackers and cyber criminals get more creative, taking a few basic (and relatively easy) steps will go a long way towards securing your device. Here are eight suggestions:
1) Don’t jailbreak or root your phone or tablet. ‘Jailbreaking’ or ‘rooting’ a mobile device refers to overriding the manufacturer’s settings – including disabling the device’s security settings and future updates – to allow it to download and use apps and other features that are normally not enabled on the device (‘jailbreaking’ refers to the process as it applies to an Apple iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad and ‘rooting’ is much the same for a smartphone or tablet running the Android mobile operating system). The vast majority of mobile malware affects these devices since their security systems are badly compromised by the jailbreaking or rooting process and they should never be connected to a business computer network.
2) Update your software. Updates to your mobile operating system and any apps on your smartphone or tablet often include security fixes and should be downloaded as soon as they’re available. There are notable differences between the various mobile operating systems and their updating procedures and it’s a good idea to be familiar with them so you know what to expect.
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