Some people have been reporting that their computers have been locked and that they are presented with a screen that reads something like: Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section United States Department of Justice Attention! This operating system is locked due to the violation of the federal laws of the United States of America! Following violations were detected: Your IP …
Security breach at University of Nebraska may have exposed financial records
Last week, a security breach at the University of Nebraska resulted in hackers having gained potential access to the (financial and personal) records of 650,000 students, alumni, parents and university employees. The security breach was discovered by a staff member and quickly remedied, however, at this point in time it is not known exactly what information, if any, was actually …
Google is attempting to notify DNSChanger malware victims before they lose internet connectivity
Posted over on the Google Blog, you will find an article titled, “Notifying users affected by the DNSChanger malware“. They tried this last year with limited success, but this time, they are more serious about it and the chances are good that you are, in fact, infected if you receive the message, “Your computer appears to be infected. We believe …
Hard drive stolen from Miami’s Upper Valley Medical Center #encryption #dataloss #privacy
Here’s another case of a missing device from a medical facility… “Computer hard drive missing from UVMC hospital” A man walked into a medical center, and apparently stole a hard drive that from a computer in a patient admitting area near the main lobby. The quote that gets me was “The hospital does not believe any patient personal information is …
Data Killer – Could tape & hard drive shredding & “DOD” wipes be a thing of the past?
Currently, the ONLY true way to ensure that your data is not recovered from an old hard drive is to destroy that drive by shredding it. In the video below, you will see a device that has the potential for erasing the data using the same method that was used to record that information, albeit much more powerful. It remains …
Adobe releases patches to keep your Shockwave, Flash Professional, Photoshop and Illustrator secure
When prompted to install updates for your Adobe products, please do so… A number of patches are available that will address multiple vulnerabilities. This comes from our friend and partner, WatchGuard’s blog (follow the links through for Adobe’s official explanation): Adobe Patch Day: Shockwave, Flash Professional, Photoshop, and Illustrator Updates by Corey Nachreiner Severity: High Summary: These vulnerabilities affect: Adobe Shockwave Player, …
Is your smartphone spying on you? Privacy and security experts say that it could be…
I’ve posted links on Facebook & Twitter in the past, as well as a blog post here and there about privacy and security as it applies to smartphone and mobile computer users. Did you know that for just a few dollars an app can be purchased, and even installed remotely in some cases on a smart phone that will allow …
Microsoft May Patch Tuesday brings updates to Windows, Office and more
It seems like only last month we were talking about Microsoft updates… The updates for May 2012 will include three critical bulletins aimed at plugging holes which allow remote code execution in Microsoft Windows, Office, .NET Framework and Silverlight. There are four additional security bulletins rated as “important” and a total of 23 security issues to be addressed. Read the …
What else does Homeland Secure IT do besides computers, servers and networks?
You know the elevator speech that you typical hear from people, where they pitch their services or wares to you? Mine goes something like this, “I’m John with Homeland Secure IT, and we provide small and medium businesses with computer, server and network support, service and sales here in the Upstate”. The person I am telling will usually walk away …
Russian hackers raked in 4.5 billion dollars in 2011
Thirty-six percent of the estimated $12.5 billion in ill-gotten gains by cybercriminals in 2012 can be attributed Russian-speaking hackers through various online criminal tactics according to an article over on ComputerWorld’s site. How can you help protect your business from becoming a victim? The only 100% effective way is to not be connected to the internet, however that would make …