http://www.symantec.com/connect/sites/default/files/pcAnywhere%20Security%20Recommendations%20WP_01_23_Final.pdf

The danger is that someone so inclined could potentially access your computer through vulnerabilities exposed from old source code, and gain full access to your computer, files and your network.

To sum it up, disabling pcAnywhere is a surefire way to protect yourself and your company.

If you have questions about this or any other security issue in the Greenville or Upstate SC area, please call upon Homeland Secure IT, we can help set your mind at ease.  864.990.4748

National Cyber Alert System

Technical Cyber Security Alert TA12-024A

“Anonymous” DDoS Activity

Original release date: January 24, 2012

Last revised: –

Source: US-CERT

Overview

US-CERT has received information from multiple sources about

coordinated distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks with

targets that included U.S. government agency and entertainment

industry websites. The loosely affiliated collective “Anonymous”

allegedly promoted the attacks in response to the shutdown of the

file hosting site MegaUpload and in protest of proposed U.S.

legislation concerning online trafficking in copyrighted

intellectual property and counterfeit goods (Stop Online Piracy

Act, or SOPA, and Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic

Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act, or PIPA).

I. Description

US-CERT has evidence of two types of DDoS attacks: One using HTTP

GET requests and another using a simple UDP flood.

The Low Orbit Ion Cannon (LOIC) is a denial-of-service attack tool

associated with previous Anonymous activity. US-CERT has reviewed

at least two implementations of LOIC. One variant is written in

JavaScript and is designed to be used from a web browser. An

attacker can access this variant of LOIC on a website and select

targets, specify an optional message, throttle attack traffic, and

monitor attack progress. A binary variant of LOIC includes the

ability to join a botnet to allow nodes to be controlled via IRC or

RSS command channels (the “HiveMind” feature).

The following is a sample of LOIC traffic recorded in a web server

log:

“GET /?id=1327014400570&msg=We%20Are%20Legion! HTTP/1.1″ 200

99406 “hxxp://pastehtml.com/view/blafp1ly1.html” “Mozilla/5.0

(Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:9.0.1) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/9.0.1″

The following sites have been identified in HTTP referrer headers

of suspected LOIC traffic. This list may not be complete. Please do

not visit any of the links as they may still host functioning LOIC

or other malicious code.

“hxxp://3g.bamatea.com/loic.html”

“hxxp://anonymouse.org/cgi-bin/anon-www.cgi/”

“hxxp://chatimpacto.org/Loic/”

“hxxp://cybercrime.hostzi.com/Ym90bmV0/loic/”

“hxxp://event.seeho.co.kr/loic.html”

“hxxp://pastehtml.com/view/bl3weewxq.html”

“hxxp://pastehtml.com/view/bl7qhhp5c.html”

“hxxp://pastehtml.com/view/blafp1ly1.html”

“hxxp://pastehtml.com/view/blakyjwbi.html”

“hxxp://pastehtml.com/view/blal5t64j.html”

“hxxp://pastehtml.com/view/blaoyp0qs.html”

“hxxp://www.lcnongjipeijian.com/loic.html”

“hxxp://www.rotterproxy.info/browse.php/704521df/ccc21Oi8/

vY3liZXJ/jcmltZS5/ob3N0emk/uY29tL1l/tOTBibVY/wL2xvaWM/v/b5/

fnorefer”

“hxxp://www.tandycollection.co.kr/loic.html”

“hxxp://www.zgon.cn/loic.html”

“hxxp://zgon.cn/loic.html”

“hxxp://www.turbytoy.com.ar/admin/archivos/hive.html”

The following are the A records for the referrer sites as of

January, 20, 2012:

3g[.]bamatea[.]com                A    218[.]5[.]113[.]218

cybercrime[.]hostzi[.]com         A    31[.]170[.]161[.]36

event[.]seeho[.]co[.]kr           A    210[.]207[.]87[.]195

chatimpacto[.]org                 A    66[.]96[.]160[.]151

anonymouse[.]org                  A    193[.]200[.]150[.]125

pastehtml[.]com                   A    88[.]90[.]29[.]58

lcnongjipeijian[.]com             A    49[.]247[.]252[.]105

www[.]rotterproxy[.]info          A    208[.]94[.]245[.]131

www[.]tandycollection[.]co[.]kr   A    121[.]254[.]168[.]87

www[.]zgon[.]cn                   A    59[.]54[.]54[.]204

www[.]turbytoy[.]com[.]ar         A    190[.]228[.]29[.]84

The HTTP requests contained an “id” value based on UNIX time and

user-defined “msg” value, for example:

GET /?id=1327014189930&msg=%C2%A1%C2%A1NO%20NOS%20GUSTA%20LA%20

Other “msg” examples:

msg=%C2%A1%C2%A1NO%20NOS%20GUSTA%20LA%20

msg=:)

msg=:D

msg=Somos%20Legion!!!

msg=Somos%20legi%C3%B3n!

msg=Stop%20S.O.P.A%20:)%20%E2%99%AB%E2%99%AB HTTP/1.1″ 200 99406

“http://pastehtml.com/view/bl7qhhp5c.html”

msg=We%20Are%20Legion!

msg=gh

msg=open%20megaupload

msg=que%20sepan%20los%20nacidos%20y%20los%20que%20van%20a%20nacer

%20que%20nacimos%20para%20vencer%20y%20no%20para%20ser%20vencidos

msg=stop%20SOPA!!

msg=We%20are%20Anonymous.%20We%20are%20Legion.%20We%20do%20not%20

forgive.%20We%20do%20not%20forget.%20Expect%20us!

The “msg” field can be arbitrarily set by the attacker.

As of January 20, 20012, US-CERT has observed another attack that

consists of UDP packets on ports 25 and 80. The packets contained a

message followed by variable amounts of padding, for example:

66:6c:6f:6f:64:00:00:00:00:00:00:00:00:00 | flood………

Target selection, timing, and other attack activity is often

coordinated through social media sites or online forums.

US-CERT is continuing research efforts and will provide additional

data as it becomes available.

II. Solution

There are a number of mitigation strategies available for dealing

with DDoS attacks, depending on the type of attack as well as the

target network infrastructure. In general, the best practice

defense for mitigating DDoS attacks involves advanced preparation.

* Develop a checklist or Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to

follow in the event of a DDoS attack. One critical point in a

checklist or SOP is to have contact information for your ISP and

hosting providers. Identify who should be contacted during a

DDoS, what processes should be followed, what information is

needed, and what actions will be taken during the attack with

each entity.

* The ISP or hosting provider may provide DDoS mitigation services.

Ensure your staff is aware of the provisions of your service

level agreement (SLA).

* Maintain contact information for firewall teams, IDS teams,

network teams and ensure that it is current and readily available.

* Identify critical services that must be maintained during an

attack as well as their priority. Services should be prioritized

beforehand to identify what resources can be turned off or

blocked as needed to limit the effects of the attack. Also,

ensure that critical systems have sufficient capacity to

withstand a DDoS attack.

* Have current network diagrams, IT infrastructure details, and

asset inventories. This will assist in determining actions and

priorities as the attack progresses.

* Understand your current environment and have a baseline of daily

network traffic volume, type, and performance. This will allow

staff to better identify the type of attack, the point of attack,

and the attack vector used. Also, identify any existing

bottlenecks and remediation actions if required.

* Harden the configuration settings of your network, operating

systems, and applications by disabling services and applications

not required for a system to perform its intended function.

* Implement a bogon block list at the network boundary.

* Employ service screening on edge routers wherever possible in

order to decrease the load on stateful security devices such as

firewalls.

* Separate or compartmentalize critical services:

* Separate public and private services

* Separate intranet, extranet, and internet services

* Create single purpose servers for each service such as HTTP,

FTP, and DNS

* Review the US-CERT Cyber Security Tip Understanding

Denial-of-Service Attacks.

III. References

* Cyber Security Tip ST04-015 -

<http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/ST04-015.html>

* Anonymous&apos;s response to the seizure of MegaUpload according to

CNN -

<http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/19/technology/megaupload_shutdown/index.htm>

* The Internet Strikes Back #OpMegaupload -

<http://anonops.blogspot.com/2012/01/internet-strikes-back-opmegaupload.html>

* Twitter Post from the author of the JavaScript based LOIC code -

<http://www.twitter.com/#!/mendes_rs>

* Anonymous Operations tweets on Twitter -

<http://twitter.com/#!/anonops>

* @Megaupload Tweets on Twitter -

<http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%2523Megaupload>

* LOIC DDoS Analysis and Detection -

<http://blog.spiderlabs.com/2011/01/loic-ddos-analysis-and-detection.html>

* Impact of Operation Payback according to CNN -

<http://money.cnn.com/2010/12/08/news/companies/mastercard_wiki/index.htm>

* OperationPayback messages on YouTube -

<http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=operationpayback>

* The Bogon Reference – Team Cymru -

<http://www.team-cymru.org/Services/Bogons/>

____________________________________________________________________

The most recent version of this document can be found at:

<http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA12-024A.html>

____________________________________________________________________

Feedback can be directed to US-CERT Technical Staff. Please send

email to <cert@cert.org> with “TA12-024A Feedback INFO#919868″ in

the subject.

____________________________________________________________________

For instructions on subscribing to or unsubscribing from this

mailing list, visit <http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/signup.html>.

____________________________________________________________________

Produced 2012 by US-CERT, a government organization.

Terms of use:

<http://www.us-cert.gov/legal.html>

____________________________________________________________________

Revision History

January 24, 2012: Initial release

If you require assistance with DDoS or any other security need for your Greenville or Upstate SC business, please call upon us at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com

You found that if you reboot that firewall (pull the plug on the thing since there is no power supply) that YOU get back online right away, but then later that day, someone else on the network is now having trouble accessing websites so you reboot the firewall and all is well, for a while.

What could it be? It MUST be the firewall going bad since that fixes it.

Before jumping to that conclusion and just replacing the device, think back. Has your company grown? Maybe you have added a few new employees, or, maybe you have added tablets or other connected devices.

What could be happening here is that you have added one too many devices to your network and exceeded the number of seats that your firewall appliance supports. When you originally purchased that device, a technician counted the number of computers, servers and connected devices and said “You need a 25 user firewall and it will cost $xxx.xx”, to which you agreed and promptly forgot about.

Now, flash forward to today and your 12 users and a server have grown to 15 users, two servers and many people have iPads or Android tablets or phones, taking you past the 25 user limit.  The last person to connect once you go over the limit will generally be denied access to websites by the firewall, as a warning that you have exceeded the license terms, and it probably won’t “reset” just by turning that computer off, you will have to reboot the firewall to free unused seats up.

So what are you going to do about it? I guess you could tell the employees to stop connecting their personal phones to your network, or you could replace the firewall with a cheap router that has no limitations.

Both will work, but are bad ideas.

The real solution is to correct the licensing issue. Determine how many connected devices you have within your network, and estimate how many you will need for the next year, then talk to a vendor who can provide the proper licenses and apply those for you. Don’t forget to include VoIP and security systems, even copiers and connected printers, as they may require a seat too.

If you are experiencing rapid growth, consider upgrading to an unlimited license.

Just a note – If you have an old device, say 4-5 years old, now may be the time to consider upgrading the entire device to the latest technology at the same time you correct the user limitation!

Should you require help with this, Homeland Secure IT offers sales and support of most major brands of firewalls. We partner with Cisco, WatchGuard, SonicWALL, TrendNet, D-Link, NetGear and more! Call us for more information in the Greenville / Upstate SC area – 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com

Actually click HERE

It is quoted below  in its entirety but can be found here.

I’ll be posting about the new WatchGuard XTM 33 designed for Small/Medium businesses, and may be ideal for retailers!

Should you wish to purchase a WatchGuard product, receive more information or support, please call us at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com… We are a WatchGuard partner!

—

Social Media Release:
WatchGuard Lists PCI Pitfalls for Retailers

NEW YORK (January 16, 2012) – WatchGuard Technologies

Highlights / News Facts:

Businesses that process, transmit or store cardholder data must implement security controls as defined by the latest PCI DSS standard. The following are the nine common PCI DSS compliance pitfalls that many retailers fall into and tips to avoid them.

• 1) Faulty firewall installation or configuration
  Many DIY (do it yourself) projects are easy; properly configuring a firewall is not one of them. According to WatchGuard research, a majority of small business security breaches are the result of improperly configured firewalls. Best practice: Use security certified technicians or trained resellers to ensure firewall configurations are proper and up to date; regularly audit firewall configurations as people and IT resources constantly change.
• 2) Relying on vendor supplied defaults for system passwords
  Not only is it critical to change vendor supplied default passwords, be sure to use something other than “password” as a password. According to a recently published research report, the most common passwords are: 1) password, 2) 123456, 3) 12345678, 4) qwerty, 5) abc123, 6) monkey, 7) 1234567, letmein, 9) trustno1, and 10) dragon. Best practice: Change vendor settings and utilize strong passwords.
• 3) Failing to utilize IPS to protect stored cardholder data
  There are multiple ways to help protect stored cardholder data. One key technology that is often overlooked is IPS (intrusion prevention systems). IPS is to hackers as anti-virus is to viruses. IPS keeps hackers out and helps cardholder data stay safe. Best practice: Make sure intrusion prevention systems (IPS) are up and running.
• 4) Not encrypting transmission of cardholder data across open, public networks
  Encryption is a key component to PCI DSS compliance. A common problem occurs in the transmission of credit card data, which is often done in unencrypted email. Best practice: Use encryption everywhere, and especially in email systems where any type of sensitive information may be transmitted.
• 5) Failing to use and regularly update anti-virus software or programs
  Unlike desktop/endpoint anti-virus (AV), gateway anti-virus stops threats right at the entry point of a network. Using gateway AV adds an additional layer of defense at the primary point of attack, and because it functions at the gateway, users see no degradation of performance on their local computer. Best practice: Use gateway AV in addition to endpoint AV for maximum defense in depth.
• 6) Not maintaining secure systems and applications
  Many businesses do a good job at maintaining secure systems, however what is often overlooked in today’s social media business world is application security. Most firewalls are incapable of distinguishing a web application from a website. Because of this, crafty cyber-crooks create web applications as a way to sneak past the firewall and steal cardholder data. Best practice: To gain control over web applications, businesses utilize the latest generation of UTMs and firewalls that include application control.
• 7) Providing access to cardholder data to those who do not need to know
  About 80 percent of security violations happen from within an organization. In order to reduce that figure, businesses should use the “least privilege rule,” which parallels the same concept of “need to know.” Users should be granted the minimum necessary permissions and privileges that are required for them to accomplish their jobs. When employees have access to data that they should not, bad things often result. Best practice: Use RBAC (role based access controls), separation of duties and other forms of “least privilege” to make sure data is restricted to those who absolutely must have access to it.
• Forgetting to track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data
  Unfortunately, many businesses take a “fire and forget” approach to network security; once the firewall is set, they forget to check the reports. Many security breaches can me mitigated early on simply by checking reports and logs on a regular basis. Best practice: Establish a routine of checking logs and reports to spot trouble before it blossoms into headline security news.
• 9) Not having an information security policy
  In order to meet PCI compliance, businesses must create an information security policy that is up to date, and that addresses the security requirements as proscribed by PCI DSS. This should also include operational security, system usage, security management and other related policies. Best practice: Get IT, HR and other business stakeholders to regularly review information security policies.

Keywords:

PCI DSS, Network Security, Firewall, Cardholder Data, Passwords, Encryption, IPS, Anti-Virus, Application Control, Next-Generation UTM, Policy

Quote:

• “The PCI DSS standard is a model that many businesses – even non-retailers can look to in order to maintain best security practices,” said Eric Aarrestad, Vice President at WatchGuard Technologies. “The devil is in the details when it comes to security. Hopefully, this quick list helps remind businesses owners and IT management that little things can make a big difference in preventing data loss.”

The email included the following information:

1. This is a company-wide project focused on technically positioning our customer base for advanced HSI products and increased speeds.
2. The communication is handled via a browser message that will alert only those customers with older docsis 1 or 1.1 modems and asking them swap.
3. Replaced at no cost to the customer, including customer owned modems. See sample screenshot image below…
4. The customer will communicate with us via phone at 877.739.0427 or use the browser link to expedite the delivery.
5. All modems will be sent via mail to the mailing address on the account. (again, at no cost to the customer)
6. The modems will be mailed as a self install kit from a central distribution center.

Here’s the link: https://connect.charter.com/replacemodem/

If you have any questions about Charter internet, phone or television, either home or business, please call us at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com

Hughes probably has the highest market penetration, and those using it have been quick to complain about caps and upload speed.

This is where ViaSat comes in. They revealed their home satellite system at CES and Engadget has a pretty good write-up with a video that tells more about the 12 Mbps down/3 Mbps up service that runs $50.oo per month.

What is left out is what types of data caps they may have.

Well, it appears, that someone at the RIAA has been doing a little illegal downloading of their own, though the RIAA claims it was not them.

Here’s more information:

http://torrentfreak.com/riaa-someone-else-is-pirating-through-out-ip-addresses-111221/

So secure those access points, and disable unused network jacks in public locations to keep from receiving a nasty-gram because someone else is using your internet connection to download.

If you need help securing your business or home, we can help in the Greenville / Upstate, SC area. We can even help the RIAA.  Call us at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com

Wow!!

Are you sure you and your friends don’t work for the RIAA? Maybe Sony or Universal? Maybe you’re both just really good at covering your tracks. Either way, congratulations, neither you or your friends and family returned any results from our crawlers. Tonight, you can jump into bed, open up Netflix or iTunes and sleep comfortably knowing that you’ve been a well-behaved, law-abiding internet user. But remember, there’s always tomorrow.
There’s… always… tomorrow…

—

You Have Downloaded keeps tabs on who downloads what from torent sites. If I had a large company using one IP address, I would be checking that site regularly, in spite of having firewalls, filters, policies in place, just to make sure someone didn’t come knocking at my door because of one bad person on the network, or maybe because of a wireless access point that was not secured.

Charter Ups Broadband Speeds Again, Bumps Top Tier to 100 Mbps –

DiGeronimo says DSL is Basically Archaic

Original Publication Date: 12/1/2011

Original News Source: Multichannel News

By Todd Spangler — Multichannel News, 12/1/2011 3:00:00 PM

Looking to kick more sand in the face of DSL, Charter Communications is increasing connection speeds of its three top broadband tiers — Express, Plus and Ultra, which will now provide downloads of up to 100 Megabits per second — at no additional cost for subscribers.

The speed boosts are the MSO’s fourth in the last three years. The faster speeds will take effect in markets with DOCSIS 3.0 technology deployed, which represents approximately 95% of Charter’s service area.

“As customers share multiple devices on a single connection, we want to send a very strong message: DSL is basically archaic,” said Rich DiGeronimo, Charter’s senior vice president of product and strategy.

Charter is increasing Internet Express downstream speeds from 12 Mbps to up to 15 Mbps, and increasing upstream speeds from 1 Mbps to up to 3 Mbps. Internet Plus downstream speeds are being increased from 18 Mbps to up to 30 Mbps, and upstream speeds are being increased from 2 Mbps to up to 4 Mbps.

In addition, Charter’s fastest residential offering is increasing from 60 Mbps to 100 Mbps — with Ultra100 providing 100 Mbps downstream and 5 Mbps upstream. Charter’s Internet Lite tier will remain 3 Mbps down.

The midlevel Plus tier, at 30/4, is now faster than the fastest AT&T U-verse Internet service available. Charter’s footprint overlap with AT&T is 60%, although U-verse is not available in all of those areas.

“We believe we have an advantage in this space,” DiGeronimo said. “The thirst for speed is only growing.”

Charter is offering Express for $19.99 per month for 12 months to new customers, Plus for $29.99 per month. Ultra100 is $40 more per month than the Express tier.

“We’re not asking for more money. It’s really about differentiation,” DiGeronimo said. About 90% of Charter’s broadband customers take either Express and Plus service.

Charter’s broadband services are subject to different usage thresholds. Customers with Lite and Express tiers are allotted at 100 Gigabytes of bandwidth usage per month, while those on the Plus and Max services have a threshold of 250 GB per month. The Ultra100 tier will be capped at 500 GB per month; previously, the Ultra60 tier did not have a maximum usage limit. Charter currently does not charge overage fees for those who exceed the thresholds; however, users’ accounts may be suspended for repeated violations.

Charter also is increasing speeds for business customers, bumping up commercial Internet speeds at no cost for two of its most popular services, Charter Business Internet Essentials16 and 25. The speed increase will take place in approximately 95% of Charter’s service areas nationwide.

Specifically, the speed increases are: Internet Essetials16, with download speeds of 16 megabits per second (Mbps) and upload speeds of 2 Mbps, will increase to up to 20 Mbps download and up to 3 Mbps upload; and Internet Essentials25, with download speeds of 25 Mbps and upload speeds of 3 Mbps, will increase to up to 30 Mbps download and up to 4 Mbps upload — which the MSO notes is at least 6 times faster than 5 Mbps DSL service and 20 times faster than T1 lines. Charter’s fastest commercial offerings, Pro50 and Pro100, remain the same, providing up to 50 Mbps download/5 Mbps upload and up to 100 Mbps download/5 Mbps upload, respectively.

—

Homeland Secure IT loves Charter! We help Greenville & Upstate South Carolina individuals & businesses get connected with high speed internet all the time and Charter, especially Charter Business, has the highest customer satisfaction of any of the ISPs we work with. If you are feeling the need for speed, email us at info@homelandsecureit.com or call 864.990.4748 and we can assist you in the search for the best service and the best price!

TP-Link TL-MR3020 3G Wireless N Router

TP-Link just announced a new product in their stable of connectivity devices called the TL-MR3020 Portable 3G/3.75G Wireless N Router.

This little gadget will allow you to plug your USB 3G modem into and it in turn lets multiple Wi-Fi devices to share that connection!

Sure, there are other devices out there that do the same thing, but this one has some distinctive features, such as a firewall with port forwarding & port triggering, UPnP, Parental Controls, Access Schedules, MAC address filtering and a 3G/WAN failover function!

With one of these and your 3G USB modem, your iPad, Android tablet, X-Box, notebook computer and any other Wi-Fi device can be connected to the internet wherever you are! This could be the perfect camping or tailgating companion. It could make for backup connectivity for your business as well.

These are priced at under 40 dollars and they are compatible with over 120 UMTS/HSPA/EVDO 3G USB modems. If you need more information or want to get one, give us a call at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com

Titanium Internet Security 2012 includes everything you would expect in an anti-virus package with a few extras…

• Blocks email and image spam
• Blocks and finds malicious links in emails and IMs
• Blocks downloads and access to malicious websites
• Fake AV cleaner – eliminates malware posing as antivirus software
• Protects from viruses, spyware, worms, trojans, botnets and rootkits
• Utilizes the Trend Micro Smart Protection Network to proactively stop threats before they reach you
• Prevents unauthorized changes to your applications
• Skinable interface (allows customizing Trend with a favorite photo or image)
• Windows Firewall Booster
• Protect your children – restrict internet content and set access schedule for your kids with Parental Controls
• Maximize your PC’s performance – System Tuner improves PC performance by cleaning up browser history, cookies, temporary files, registries and more
• Protect and defend your data from loss and theft with Data Theft Prevention to keep information like credit card numbers and passwords safe
• Secure Erase – shreds computer files with sensitive information to keep it from being easily recovered
• Includes SafeSync – secure online backup with sync, sharing and mobile access (2 GB cloud backup)
• Includes a  copy of Trend Micro Smart Surfing for Mac

So how can you score such great anti-virus for yourself or your business?  Homeland Secure IT is a partner with Trend Micro and recommends this product as well as sells it and installs it.  The suggested retail price is only 49.99 for the first year, with renewals generally costing less. You can call us at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com for more information.

However, since this is the Thanksgiving season, and we want to give you our thanks for supporting us this year, we are going to give away one copy of this software, and maybe a couple copies if the interest is high enough.

We will draw on December 1st and announce the winner on our blog, Twitter, Facebook and Linked In.

You enter by subscribing to our mailing lists HERE, subscribe to this blog, LIKE us or link us on Facebook, Mention us on Twitter, or give us a Google Review, or otherwise connecting with us.

Here’s a list of how you can connect with us!

For every way you reach out to us, we count that as an entry. So if you join our mailing list, leave a review on Google, post a link on twitter and like us on Facebook, that is FOUR entries !  If you have already connected because you love us, or because you wanted to win something like the X-Box we gaveaway, don’t worry, you are STILL in our list and need do nothing.

The winner who is selected must be able to come pick up the item at our office in Greenville, SC. We will not ship it to you.  If you do not want it, or you do not claim it within 7 days, we will pick another winner!

Good luck!

Whatever you do - Don't panic...

You’ve been hearing about it for a while now, but the time is has finally come for the first nationwide Emergency Alert System (EAS) test.

It is scheduled for November 9th, 2011 at 2pm Eastern and will last a few minutes.

You can get the full scoop on this event on the FCC site.

Of course, many conspiracy theorists can give you other reasons for the test, my favorite of which is that the Government is testing their ability to control of all media outlets, even phone lines, cell phones, and the internet itself. (As has been done in other countries).

The following letter comes from Charter, and while their email distribution from them is normally marked with a non-disclosure, this one was specifically authorized FOR distribution:

INTERNAL NEWS ALERT

Re:         Charter to Participate in First Ever Nationwide EAS Test

This Wednesday, November 9, 2011 at 2:00pm EST, a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) will be conducted. Similar to local EAS tests conducted on a regular basis in our area, the national test will also include all broadcast TV stations, radio stations and video providers, including cable and satellite operators at the same time. As a result, all Charter systems nationwide will be participating in the test.

However…unlike the local EAS tests that usually last approximately 30 seconds, the nationwide test may last up to three and a half minutes.

This national EAS test will be conducted jointly by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through its Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS), the three federal agencies that have EAS management responsibilities.

Although the EAS has been in existence for over 15 years, there has never been an end-to-end, nationwide test of the system. The nationwide test is being conducted to verify the reliability of the EAS system and its effectiveness in alerting the public on a national scale.

The upcoming national test is critical to ensuring that the EAS works as designed. As recent disasters here at home and in Japan have reminded us, a reliable and effective emergency alert and warning system is key to ensuring the public’s safety during times of emergency.

Charter is currently in the process of preparing for the national test on November 9. We are providing a message to our customers in their bill statement (see below), and will utilize Weather Channel crawls, DCT messaging, .com and .net posts and cross channel TV commercials to provide our customers with awareness of the test. We will also be training our customer care team to effectively manage any increase in the number of calls we receive as a result of the test.

OCTOBER CUSTOMER STATEMENT MESSAGE:

The first nationwide test of the U.S. Emergency Alert System will occur at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on November 9, 2011, and it will interrupt programming on all channels from all service providers for a few minutes. Visit www.fcc.gov/pshs for more information.

Offsite, online, cloud backup for your business

Homeland Secure IT encourages the use of backup solutions to complete your disaster readiness plan. One of our recommendations is to implement remote, cloud based backup. Even if you have existing onsite backup, it gives you an extra layer of protection.

We partner with some of the biggest and most trusted names in offsite, cloud based backup providers such as (locally owned) Servosity, Mozy Pro and of course, Symantec.

Below, Symantec.cloud counters some of the most common objections to backing up your data offsite:

“My data won’t be secure”

• With Symantec Backup Exec.cloud, your data is secured during transit using 128 bit SSL encryption and stored using 256 bit AES encryption when at rest in Symantec’s highly secure, enterprise-class facilities.

“Online Backup will drain my bandwidth”

• After your initial backup, Symantec Backup Exec.cloud uses block level, incremental backup and performs backup of file changes only.
• Symantec Backup Exec.cloud uses bandwidth throttling to minimize impacts to your business productivity.

“It will be too difficult to manage”

• Automate backups to run on a schedule, or to backup when file modifications occur.
• Let us manage your backups for you!
• It’s easy to administer yourself – hassle free set up in just three steps.

“Backup is too expensive”

• BE.cloud offers usage-based pricing with no per-user licensing fees
• Subscription fee includes support, maintenance, and enhancements.
• With this solution there is no need to pay for resources to manage and maintain the backup system or for off-site tape storage.

“We don’t really need backup, we use removable drives and discs”

• What happens if the drive/disc is damaged, fails, is lost or stolen?
• How often are you performing backup? – Using removable drives and discs is a manual process that requires time – your time – to manage them. What could you be doing if this process was automated? Would your backup happen more regularly than it does now?
• Are there PCs or laptops that aren’t protected by using this method?
• What would happen to your productivity if one of these machines suffered a disaster/hardware failure? Would your workers lose data they need to do their jobs effectively? Would you lose any customer records, business or financial information?

“We want to manage our backup onsite”

• On-premise backup solutions can be expensive and require someone (perhaps you) to maintain them.
• On-premise backup solutions place the burden of security, storage and tape/disc vaulting on you. They also expose you to the risk of losing equipment and data in the event of a local natural disaster. - Use online backup with your existing on-premise solution to address off-site protection!
• Online backup replaces large upfront investments with predictable subscription based pricing. Managed virtually onsite using a web browser, you can not only manage and monitor the backup of machines at your location, but also at remote offices and on the machines of your mobile workers.

If you would like to know more about backing up to the cloud, or would like to discuss your backup / disaster recovery plan, please call 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com today.  We provide complete service and sales of physical, onsite backup systems, from tape to disk in addition to cloud solutions.

Fortunately, none of our equipment even looks at name servers other than our own in-house server.  But does yours?

First, let’s look at what DNS is….

The simple explanation is: DNS stands for “Domain Name System”, and its function translates common names you enter into your web browser, like “www.google.com, or www.HomelandSecureIT.com” into their IP addresses, kind of like calling 411 and asking for a phone number from a name.

It also functions in the other direction, performing reverse DNS lookups, from an IP address to a hostname.

If you are using a home router or an inexpensive business router which handles DHCP (oh that’s another acronym we will talk about at a later date), giving out IP addresses dynamically to computers and devices that connect, then that device will also give out the DNS server/s these devices should use to do name resolution.

Some servers are handling DHCP and they too may give out DNS servers other than themselves, and even if they ARE a DNS server, they may simply be forwarding lookups to your ISP.

And some devices may be set static, with DNS servers entered manually.

In most of these cases, you may have been given a set of DNS servers to enter when you initially configured your router/server/device.  If your ISP updates the servers and gives you new IPs, you need to reprogram these devices.

The consequences if you do not update these settings? SLOW resolution of names to IPs… Where you enter www.somesitehere.com and hit return and your browser just hangs there doing nothing for a loooooong time, or you get warnings that the site was not found.

When your ISP gives you new servers, it is best to go ahead and update your devices at that moment in time, or else you will forget about it and one day not be able to get to your favorite website causing a “face-palm” and a wasted 15 minutes on the phone because you forgot to write down those IP addresses, or can’t get to your cloud based email.

If you need help in Greenville or Upstate SC let us know….  Call 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com

If you are currently using BPOS, you should have received an email by now, if not, you should visit the Microsoft Online Services transition center web site for more information.

As a Microsoft partner, Homeland Secure IT can help you establish cloud solutions through Microsoft’s Office 356. Please let us know if we can offer any information or support by calling 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com

Apple iPhone

Smartphones: Whether it is an Android, iPhone or even a Windows based phone, you cannot survive without one. These devices provide instant communication with your clients through email, text message and phone, along with the ability to browse the web and select from tens of thousands of applications to assist in your business. Your clients will not wait for you to get to your office to respond to an email. Even a quick, “I’m driving, will respond as soon as it is safe” auto-response is better than no response. The cost of a typical phone can range from 100 to 300 dollars per phone depending on features and term of contract from the carrier of your choice.

Square Credit Card Reader

Credit Card Processing: If you expect to get paid, then you need to accept every form of payment possible, including plastic. Yes, you will lose a little bit on the sale, but you will gain an instant payment. If you are just getting started, without purchasing a machine or paying a monthly charge, you can accept credit cards anywhere you have a cell signal using the Square credit card application with your smart phone and the free reader device that they provide to you. No per-swipe fee, and less than 3.0% charge. Fast, secure, and in your account the next business day. Find it in your phones’s marketplace.

Reliable & Fast Internet: There are a lot of choices these days for fast internet, from DSL to cable to fiber, and the old tried and true T1 standard, but some businesses may find that a wireless broadband internet plan may be enough for them. We recommend Charter Business in most situations, but that varies depending upon what is available at the business location. One advantage to using a cellular based broadband internet connection is that you can take it with you, which is great for businesses that are not tied to one specific location. Typical 4G plans will provide over 5 meg down and up to 2 meg up. Verizon Wireless offers the MiFi devices for around 50 dollars with 5GB plans for 50 dollars per month.

IP Surveillance Cameras

IP surveillance: Sure it sounds like the CIA, but IP security cameras at your business will decrease loss of inventory, increase productivity, and may provide an insurance savings. You can even keep tabs on your employees using a smartphone or any web browser to view these camera. Recordings can be reviewed after events occur, and most systems can email you when there is movement in a particular location. Prices range from $150 for a single entry level camera into the $2000 range to cover an entire business. You can install yourself, or get an IT provider to handle this for you for the most professional results.

Email: This is a no-brainer, but many small businesses will cut corners here. A Hotmail account will work for sure, but who wants AcmeWidgetCo@hotmail.com on their business cards. At the very least, your business should use a service that allows for linking a domain to your mail, such as Google Apps (Gmail) or Microsoft Office 365. This gives you a professional appearance, and provides for important features such as linking of your smartphones, sharing of calendars between users and so much more. Microsoft Office 365 costs about 5 dollars per person per month and gives you up to 20GB of storage.

Anti-Virus & Security: Far too often this is overlooked, or taken for granted. A business that is vulnerable to viruses or malware is a business that could experience costly downtime and repairs, not to mention, open yourself up for compliance violations and potential fines or legal issues depending upon the field you are in. The components of a secure network are as simple as a quality firewall like those offered from Cisco, Watchguard or SonicWall, an anti-virus software package from Trend Micro or Symantec, and taking the time to apply updates to the Operating System (Windows, Mac, etc) and support software (Microsoft Office, Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash, JAVA).

Backup: When disaster strikes, you need to be prepared for it. Having backups of your important files will insure you are not out of business when a computer or server fails. Backups technology can be as simple as an external USB drive or remote backup solution, or on the other end of the spectrum, as complicated as auto-loader tape drives. One thing is for sure, ANY attempt to backup your data is better than none. For automated cloud backup solutions, consider Servosity or Mozy Pro.

Here at Homeland Secure IT, we utilize a vast array of technology and we also help many small and medium businesses and even home offices stay up to date. If we can help you with decisions regarding your Greenville or Upstate technology infrastructure, please call us at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com. We offer sales, service, repair and consultation of everything from computers to VoIP.

What is your “must have” business technology? I would love to hear about it.  VoIP phone systems? iPad, Android or Windows based tablet computers? A favorite app (We love TiKL & Waze)?

The theft doesn’t look like your typical smash and grab either, because the thieve/s appear to have known the layout and went to great lengths to avoid detection. They entered through a skylight, after cutting power to the store, cutting video surveillance wires and disconnecting the alarm system backup power. A newspaper article about the break in and theft can be found here.

As a small business owner, I know the devastation the proprietor of the music store must be feeling, and I sincerely hope the perpetrator/s is/are caught and the equipment returned, and that there was insurance covering that inventory.

However, as a supplier and consultant in the security field, I have to wonder about a few details and offer some suggestions.

The article states the power was cut.  That would not normally matter to an alarm system, as it has a backup battery.  Now if the phone lines were cut before the power, then the system could not dial out.  UNLESS the alarm system has a cellular backup system as our home and our office both have.  This costs a few dollars more, but in the event of a power failure and loss of telephone connectivity, it can make the difference between the system working or not.

Dropping through a skylight SHOULD have been picked up by motion.  Was it not functioning? Was the system unable to call out?  The alarm should have sounded and strobe lights in equipped should have been flashing.  Pulling the battery on the alarm would have then silenced it, but not before it dialed out on the cellular backup system if it used that, or VoIP if the internet were not disabled too.

Which brings us to video surveillance. Obviously, no system is perfect, but many modern systems are capable of alerting staff of intrusion before it happens.  If you walk into my yard at my home, or come into the parking lot of our businesses, still shots will be emailed to me.  This functionality is easy to configure and helps let you know about sketchy things taking place. If I receive email at 10pm on a Saturday then I am going to be paying special attention to it, watching in real-time.

But what if someone were to manage to disable the internet connections? Wouldn’t that disable the ability to notify anyone?  Not necessarily. Businesses can consider secondary internet services, such as wireless broadband internet (3g/4g) for their video surveillance.  Total cost, 450/year and doubles as a failover for the business internet.

What if the power were cut to the building? The video surveillance system should be on an UPS (un-interruptable power supply) to keep it running for many hours. Our system is on an inexpensive UPS which will keep the DVR and the cameras functional for about 72 hours.  Total cost, 350 dollars.

WHAT IF (Lots of what if’s here!) the bad guys managed to actually get in without being detected… Couldn’t they just take the Digital Video Recorder?  Yes, they could, if it were not in a hardened enclosure.  But, there are ways to deal with that too. All video up until the time the DVR went offline can be synced to a remote location.

We have opted to sync our video to multiple machines, so if the DVR were physically destroyed or taken, the video would still be elsewhere.

If you would like to discuss how to better protect your Greenville /Upstate SC business or home, give us a call… 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com.  We offer CCTV, IP Video, Surveillance systems,  DVRs and NVRs. We can also help plan for failover systems, such as UPS and cellular / 3g/4g wireless backups.

FCC Test My ISP Study

I have been participating in the SamKnows / Test My ISP program that the FCC has undertaken in an effort to better understand what internet providers are offering, and what consumers are ultimately getting.

The first report has been released and it sure doesn’t look good for DSL technology!  If you have DSL based internet (AT&T U-Verse included), then you may want to consider cable because you are very likely NOT getting what you are paying for.

The report can be found here http://www.fcc.gov/measuring-broadband-america

The cable providers did well, in many cases providing better service than you are paying for, and Charter Cable held its own. Verizon fiber was the clear winner, give MORE than 100%!

Again, DSL fell flat in throughput, both up and down and latency was so high that it would make using VoIP (Voice over IP), and other packet intensive two-way communication means almost unusable.

If you would like to participate in this study, you can sign up at http://www.SamKnows.com.

How does it work? You will be sent a “whitebox”, which is a little router you replace your current router with, and it does tests throughout the day, measuring upload and download speed, latency, etc. You won’t even know it is there. For the paranoid types, yes, it COULD be sending some of your private data out to some centralized monitoring facility, but, that is highly unlikely. I did some packet captures on mine and didn’t see much data being sent at all.

If you are in the Greenville or Upstate SC area and would like to discuss how your business or even your home can use Charter home or Charter Business to save money and get faster internet speeds, phone and cable TV, then please email us at info@homelandsecureit.com or call 864.990.4748

Here’s a look at our site for July 1st until August 1st broken down by browser and platform:

Homeland Secure IT Browser Stats

Other than the super-high bounce rate, we see some important information…

Internet Explorer running Microsoft Windows is just darn popular! Followed by Firefox and then Chrome, also on Windows…   In fact, they account for about 80 percent of all traffic…

Up next is Safari & Firefox on the Mac…  And then down a bit is Chrome on the Mac.  Mac is the apparent source of 9.38% of traffic to our site (And less than 5% of our business).

The iPad viewers and the Android viewers accounted for 2% and 1.2% respectively… So a number of people were sitting on the toilet while surfing our site.

Here’s a further break down of mobile user specs:

Homeland Secure IT mobile browser info

iPad, iPhone & iPod dominates this category for sure, with Android 2nd, and Blackberry 3rd…   Windows made a horrible showing… And what’s up with Palm? Someone is using that? hehe

I compared these stats to July 2010 and found Android usage has come up considerably, but iPad maintained a steady lead even then.

Looking at the percentage of Windows versus other platforms, Windows has lost only a two percentage points in a year, and those were taken up by mobile devices.

It will be interesting to see what this looks like in another year. I’m guessing mobile device usage will continue to grow, maybe even at an accelerated rate due to the large numbers of new tablets being introduced, and smartphones replacing older cell phones…

What are your experiences with your own website/s?

We don't just sell D-Link products, we know how to make them work within your environment!

Everyone is familiar with Cisco products, but not everyone may realize there are alternatives which can affect your bottom line drastically while providing an identical feature set and experience.

D-Link is a leader in the field and their products can often times go head-to-head with Cisco.

D-Link offers:

• Wireless network equipment, like access points, managed wireless switches for large scale deployments, and cloud managed systems. D-Link offers a solution for your small office or your large university campus and everything in between. Need wireless roaming of VoIP systems or to connect buildings and networks together wirelessly? They’ve got that covered.
• SAN – Network storage systems that can use your existing LAN infrastructure and compete nicely with NAS (Network Attached Storage). These work with VMWare and other virtual environments, as well as with applications like ProTools!
• Firewalls and routers, for the small or medium business to the large enterprise.
• Switches, from a single inexpensive switch to managed to stackable for your enterprise that can have a master replaced without taking the entire stack down. 10/100, gigabit, even 10GBE.

This system will monitor up to 500 cameras simultaneously, some owned by the city and some private, at a centralized data center. At that center, software will be in place that can identify “suspicious” behavior and allow monitoring employees to deploy emergency personnel rapidly. Another feature of the software is that it is able to pinpoint where gunshots originate from.

What do you think about this type of network? It is used elsewhere with great success, and recently an art thief in San Francisco was caught thanks to a similar setup.

If your business has an IP surveillance system, would you be willing to offer your feed to a government agency for this type of centralized monitoring endeavor?

Homeland Secure IT Alert

Homeland Secure IT Alert for Wednesday, July 21st, 2011

The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team has issued their recommendations for protection against network intrusions.  I have included the entire document below, but the most current version of the document can be found here.  Please keep in mind that these recommendations are not related to any one platform. These are “Best Practices” regardless of whether your business uses Microsoft, Linux or Mac OS X or whether your organization relies upon cloud computing instead of localized servers.

—

National Cyber Alert System
Technical Cyber Security Alert TA11-200A

Last updated July 20, 2011

—

Should your Greenville or Upstate SC based business or organization require assistance with this, please contact us at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com. We offer firewalls and security appliances from our partners such as Cisco, WatchGuard, SonicWALL, and more!

Homeland Secure IT Alert

I wonder if anyone was paying attention?  If you did not secure your wireless access point after that, then maybe THIS will encourage you to do so…

A dispute with neighbors turned ugly back in 2009, and one man used the wireless access point of one neighbor to make it appear as if they were downloading child porn and more. The article says the man hacked into the access point, but chances are good, at least at first, he did not have to do any “hacking” at all.

Read more here:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/web/07/13/wifi.hacking.neighbor.sentenced.wired/index.html?hpt=te_bn15

Secure those APs kiddies! If you are running a business, you should be even more concerned.  Want to add a little extra protection? Remove the broadcast of SSID, sure it will not matter to someone who is intent on getting in, but it does at least make it a little less visible to the casual observer.

Should you require help in the Greenville / Upstate SC area, please call us at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com

From: abuse@charter.net <abuse@charter.net>
Subject: [xxxxxxxx xxxxxxx] Notice of Copyright Infringement
To: user@someaddy.com
Date: Saturday, July 22, 2011, 5:51 PM
Dear Charter Internet Subscriber:

Charter Communications (“Charter”) has been notified by a copyright owner, or its authorized agent, that your Internet account may have been involved in the exchange of unauthorized copies of copyrighted material (e.g., music, movies, or software).  We are enclosing a copy of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notice that Charter received from the copyright holder which includes the specific allegation.

Under the DMCA, copyright owners have the right to notify Charter’s register agent if they believe that a Charter customer has infringed on their work(s).  When Charter receives a complaint notice from a copyright owner, Charter will notify the identifiable customer of the alleged infringement by providing them a copy of the submitted DMCA notice.  As required by law, Charter may determine that the customer is a repeat copyright infringer and reserves the right to suspend or terminate the accounts of repeat copyright infringers.

It is possible that this activity has occurred without your permission or knowledge by an unauthorized user, a minor who may not fully understand the copyright laws, or even as a result of a computer virus.  However, as the named subscriber on the account, you may be held responsible for any misuse of your account.  Please be aware that using Charter’s service to engage in any form of copyright infringement is expressly prohibited by Charter’s Acceptable Use Policy and that repeat copyright infringement, or violations of any other Charter policy, may result in the suspension or termination of your service.  You may view Charter’s rules and policies, including Charter’s Acceptable Use Policy, under the policies section of charter.com.

We ask that you take immediate action to stop the exchange of any infringing material. For additional information regarding copyright infringement and for a list of frequently asked questions, please visit charter.com/dmca.

If you have questions about this letter, you may contact us at 1-866-229-7286.  Representatives will be available to take your call Monday through Friday 8am – 8pm, Saturday and Sunday 8am – 5pm (CST).

Sincerely,

Charter Communications Security Resolution Team
http://www.charter.com/security

— The following material was provided to us as evidence —

Following that was a list of music that was downloaded…   And below that was the following attachment:

I am contacting you on behalf of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) — the trade association whose member music companies create, manufacture, and distribute approximately 85% of all legitimate music sold in the United States.
If you are an Internet Service Provider (ISP), you have received this letter because we have identified a user on your network reproducing or distributing an unauthorized copy of a copyrighted sound recording.  This letter constitutes notice to you that this user may be liable for infringing activity occurring on your network.

If you are an Internet subscriber (user), you have received this letter because your Internet account was used to illegally copy and/or distribute copyrighted music over the Internet through a peer to peer application.

Distributing copyrighted works on a peer to peer system is a public activity visible by other users on that network, including the RIAA.  An historic 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision affirmed that uploading and downloading copyrighted works without the copyright owner’s permission is clearly illegal.  You may be liable for the illegal activity occurring on your computer.

To avoid legal consequences, a user should immediately delete and disable access to the unauthorized music on your computer.  Learn how at the “About Music Copyright Notices” section of www.riaa.com.  That section also contains practical information about:

- How you were identified and why illegal downloading is not anonymous
- What next steps to take
- Where to get legal music online

We encourage Internet subscribers to visit the website www.musicunited.org, which contains valuable information about what is legal and what is not when it comes to copying music.  It also links to some of the more popular online music services where fans can go to listen to and/or purchase their favorite songs.

We have attached below the details of the illegal file-sharing, including the time, date, and a sampling of the music shared.  We assert that the information in this notice is accurate, based upon the data available to us.  We have a good faith belief that this activity is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.  Under penalty of perjury, we submit that the RIAA is authorized to act on behalf of its member companies in matters involving the infringement of their sound recordings, including enforcing their copyrights and common law rights on the Internet.  This letter does not constitute a waiver of any of our member’s rights, and all such rights are expressly reserved.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.  If you have any questions, please visit the “About Music Copyright Notices” section of www.riaa.com.

Sincerely,
Jeremy Landis
Recording Industry Association of America
1025 F Street, NW, 10th Floor

This type of letter is not uncommon at all!

We have been contacted by friends and clients over the past several years who received similar letters and emails. They get much worse. One client was told that they owed thousands of dollars for a list of songs they had supposedly illegally downloaded (60 year olds normally don’t download boy band songs, but none-the-less)…

In just about ever case, a quick assessment of the situation revealed what was really going on. An unsecured access point in the home/business was being used by persons unknown to do this dirty deed.

If you get a letter or email that says similar to the above, here is what I would suggest:

• Make sure you have no illegal / unlicensed music or movies on your systems. If particular works are noted as “evidence”, search your computers for those and make sure you OWN the original hard copy of that song or movie.
• Check for any unsecured access points. Sometimes a person will buy an inexpensive router/access point, never intending on using the access point, however that AP may have come enabled and unprotected by default, which was the norm up until a couple years ago. Disable it, or secure it!
• Check computers for any P2P software which could be installed, perhaps by rogue apps, intentionally by children, or if you happened to purchase a used computer, it may have come loaded on it. Uninstall it. Kazaa and Limewire were installed automatically with some software bundles and though they did not automatically start downloading songs, if ever your computers were searched, it may come off looking as if you at one time may have intended to or actually engaged in illegal file share.  Bit Torrent apps need to go away too.  Yes, I realize there are legitimate uses for them, but try explaining that to the media cops.
• Check your machines to insure they are not exploited by various malware / root kits (it may be worth hiring a professional to do this)… We have seen machines exploited and then used as file sharing hubs, where the unknowing owner has 1000s of songs they never downloaded sitting on their computer.
• Talk to your children and explain that saving $1.00 for a music download could end up costing much more!
• If you are downloading or have been downloading music that you have not been paying for, then chances are, you know it is wrong. Nothing is free in this world. You don’t get the latest Gaga tunes for free, no matter what the magic application you downloaded says.

If your letter was the warning as you saw above, you likely need do anything other than what I have outlined. If you get a more threatening letter, then seeking legal advice may be the next step for you. You will need to look for someone who knows copyright law.

Should you find yourself in this situation and just want to talk to someone in the Upstate or Greenville area about what to do, or need help in securing your network or computers, please do not hesitate to call us at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com