Author: rory-admin

  • 10 things you can do today (yes today) to make your business’s network safer

    10 things you can do today (yes today) to make your business’s network safer

    There’s an onslaught of information aimed at internet safety and most of it lets be honest, falls on deaf ears.

    Most people online today feel like they’re technology savvy enough to avoid the scams out there (unfortunately at least 1 out of 6 are wrong) and even if you acknowledge tech falls outside your scope of expertise you’re still at risk.

    The good news is we have a list of 10 things you can do today even if you’re technologically challenged that will make a major impact on the network safety in your office.

    1. Confirm your backups are working. Backups are one of your best defenses against ransomware, especially if you have an archival copy which is a backup copy that’s made once and then tucked away until you need it (usually behind layers of security, like with our TechVault solution).
    2. Security awareness training for you and your employees. When we know better, we do better. Many security awareness training programs are implemented in bite size doses that are easy to squeeze into your day. It’s easier to avoid a phishing scam if you’ve seen the obvious examples through training.
    3. Speaking of phishing scams, don’t open suspicious emails. We’ve talked a lot about this topic including how to spot a phishing email, but email scams are one of the top ways hackers can infiltrate your network.
    4. Upgrade software that’s reached End of Life (EoL). If your office computers are still on Windows 7 it’s definitely time for an upgrade and technically you can still upgrade to Windows 10 for free. While other upgrades may not be free, it’s still a good idea to get rid of software that’s no longer being supported by the vendor.
    5. You should also make sure all the software you need to stay safe online is installed on your devices. Programs can go missing or just not be reinstalled if a computer needs to be wiped for whatever reason, you should make sure important software such as anti-virus detection is installed on all of your office computers.
    6. While you’re at it, it’s time to serious think about Multi-Factor Authentication. We always hear a collective groan when this topic comes up, but password managers have become much easier to use and can even make logging into the various sites you use to work easier. Here are our top picks.
    7. Remove any devices you’re no longer using from your network. Besides being a waste of electricity, devices connected to your network that aren’t being used can be vessels for infiltration if they’re not being kept up to date via patching etc. Get rid of them!
    8. Have a plan for reporting suspicious activity. Do your employees know what to do if they receive a suspicious email or their computers acting “funny”? Having a plan documented somewhere (even if the only advice is “Contact our IT service team”) can mean a cyber threat event is recorded and dealt with instead of just ignored because they didn’t know what to do.
    9. Have an office password policy guide as well. It’s a good idea to have a guide for passwords available to your employees, especially if it covers what not to do such as having your phone number or any other PII (Personal Identifying Information) as your password.
    10. Know when to ask for help. This list is a good place to start but if your business has no IT help now (or possibly worse, inadequate help) it’s a good idea to call in the experts. Calling Valley Techlogic for a free consultation is another step you can take today to improve the safety of your office network.

    Here are 5 things all Valley Techlogic Plans includes:

    5 Things Included in Valley Techlogic Plans

    Want to learn more? Reach out today for a free consultation and learn how Valley Techlogic can specifically support your business’s technology.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

  • It’s starting to feel like summer and that means rising temperatures and the potential for rolling blackouts – 3 ways to protect your devices during a power outage

    It’s starting to feel like summer and that means rising temperatures and the potential for rolling blackouts – 3 ways to protect your devices during a power outage

    While summer won’t officially start in the Northern Hemisphere until June 21st, Memorial Day week often marks the “unofficial” start of summer for many and May in general is when many states start to see rising temperatures – especially with the effects of climate changes causing record highs across the country.

    For California – and in particular the Central Valley where we’re located – rolling blackouts are a common occurrence as temperatures begin to rise, and these sudden unexpected power outages can damage expensive equipment that’s not properly protected.

    Sometimes power companies will give some notice of when an outage will be occurring in your area and in this case, we recommend unplugging what you can as that’s a surefire way to protect your equipment if an unexpected power surge were to occur.

    However, blackouts are often random and so we recommend the following preventative measures:

    1. Surge Protectors – A quality surge protector is a must have for every device on your office network, and not all surge protectors are created equal. Surge protectors always list a joule rating which tells you how much power they can absorb without failing, for computers we recommend a surge protector with a joule rating of at least a 1000.
    2. UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) – Next on the list is a UPS, this is a battery backup for your devices and for your office server in particular a must have item. When choosing a UPS, you want to ask yourself if you’re looking for something with enough power to let you safely turn your device off or if you wanted something that would keep your device online for days in an extended outage. We also created a short guide found below to what else you should look for when choosing a UPS.
    3. Power Generators – Finally power generators could be necessary for certain office scenarios, an automatic standby generator will be a big investment but if it’s mission critical your office power stay intact during a rolling blackout it could be worth it.

    Also here is our guide on what to look for in a UPS:

    UPS Choices Chart

    We’ve been talking about the power side of rolling blackouts and how an electric surge could potentially damage your devices but there’s also another thing to consider, your data.

    If a power outage occurs suddenly, anything that hasn’t been saved could be lost. If you’re a Microsoft 365 customer, you will have the benefit of the short-term backups they provide for your office documents (if you’ve ever had your computer restart while working on something and have experienced the profound relief seeing that “Recovered” documents bar you’ll know what we’re talking about).

    If you’re not a Microsoft 365 customer or you’re worried about data corruption or your service backups failing (or maybe your server Isn’t being backed up at all) we suggest talking to us about what your options are.

    We offer our clients our triple layer backup solution TechVault. Not only will we back up your onsite data, but we will also create a cloud copy that is updated every 15 minutes and an archival copy that is virtually impenetrable to bad actors.

    Want to learn more? Schedule a quick consultation with one of our sales representatives today.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

  • Is it time to call in the reinforcements? 5 benefits to co-managed IT services

    Is it time to call in the reinforcements? 5 benefits to co-managed IT services

    For many small to medium sized businesses, they have one go-to person for their IT needs. This person knows the business inside and out and whether they were in IT to start or just discovered they had an affinity for it, they are a reliable resource the rest of your team depends on when something goes wrong.

    The downside is they’re just one person. It’s a minor disruption if they call out sick or take a vacation, if they were to quit that minor disruption turns major. It’s tenuous to rely on a single person for such an important task alone.

    Even if you ran your business for years without anyone being in charge of IT, how dependent were you on technology at that point compared to now? Year over year, spending on technology for small businesses continues to grow (the average being between $10,000 to $49,000 for per year).

    Technology spending is an investment you make in your businesses future and having reliable support to utilize that investment is key to making sure that the effort, time and money spent on it is not wasted.

    The employee you have in charge of technology for your business is also an investment, and they may have felt they needed more help and support as your business has grown but may have felt unsure how to make that request. It’s difficult for employees to let their bosses know they feel overwhelmed without worrying that it’ll lead to them appearing inadequate.

    The truth is for most businesses, technology has a lot of moving parts. You most likely have a team that relies on devices to do their job and if multiple things go wrong simultaneously, one single person can’t be in two or more places at once. That’s a lot of pressure for your IT person, and a lot of downtime for the employees stuck waiting for their turn.

    You also can’t expect one person to be good at all things, your IT person may be great at fixing the company website when it’s down or troubleshooting network errors, but you could be calling in reinforcements already (at an exorbitant rate) when something outside their wheelhouse is on the fritz.

    We’ve spent a lot of time talking about why you should consider co-managed IT without outright saying it, but here’s are 5 ways co-managed IT can help your business:

    1. Access to 24/7 emergency support. It’s unfair to expect your IT person to be on call around the clock 24/7 365, but with a co-managed solution emergency support is usually included.
    2. Access to a variety of skills. A co-managed solution will have a team of people who have a varied skill set, so when you call in for support, you’ll have the right person for the job the first time (minimizing your downtime).
    3. Access to software solutions. Your co-managed provider will have access to software solutions that would otherwise be too expensive to procure for your business alone, but because they’re providing it for many clients the cost for you is much more reasonable (or even free).
    4. More hands-on deck. As we said, your IT person can’t be in two places at once. If they’re knee deep in something, we can be that extra help that you need, and they’ll appreciate.
    5. Much less expensive then bringing on an additional person. Finally, the cost of a co-managed plan is going to be much less expensive than the cost of hiring an additional person.

    Co Managed IT Services

    In fact, at Valley Techlogic we have a plan tailored for co-managed situations. If many of the things in this article rang true for you and you’d like to learn more, simply book a consultation with us today.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

  • On average, your information is shared 747 times a day according to a new study

    On average, your information is shared 747 times a day according to a new study

    We touched on data brokers and how they buy and sell your data in a previous article, but in an eye opening new study from the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) they found that for US-based users their information is shared online with for marketing purposes on average 747 times per day.

    That means about 31 times an hour or once every two minutes your information is being sold or traded for marketing purposes so corporations can make an educated guess as to your buying habits when serving you advertising.

    The study used data from a 30-day feed from Google which can be accessed by industry specific entities but is not made available to the public. While the study was aimed at European internet users, who on average have their information shared 376 times per day, the figures they discovered are startling no matter where you happen to reside.

    The ICCL is pursuing legal action against online ad agencies, describing the real-time bidding (RTB) that’s occurring as a massive data breach and a violation of European data protection laws.

    There are a mishmash of laws aimed at protecting US consumers from having their information sold for online marketing purposes, however with no single comprehensive federal law in place any consumer looking to find recourse if they feel their data has been used illicitly will discover they have an uphill battle ahead of them.

    We all skim the lengthy TOS found when signing up for a service, while putting it out of mind that the cost of many “free” services in our data, but what if the data that’s being sold goes beyond what you’re posting on social media or what you purchased from an online retailer recently?

    With data breaches being a regular occurrence, you may not even be voluntarily opting-in to sharing the information that’s currently being traded about you on the internet and it may go beyond what you would want to have shared.

    Even your private medical data can be up for grabs and being sold by data brokers, for example every year Pfizer spends $12 million buying anonymized data for marketing purposes.

    So as with our article on data brokers we want to give you some tools to protect yourself and protect your data while using the internet. This time we want to give you 3 helpful ideas that will help you discover what’s out there already and how to close the gaps:

    1. Google Alerts : Create alerts with things like your name or social media handle, that way if you’re being mentioned on the internet, you’re instantly alerted to it.
    2. HaveIBeenPwned : You can use this site to see if your email or phone number have been involved in a breach and whether it would be a good idea to update or change that information.
    3. Credit Monitoring: While we don’t want to recommend a specific site as this choice can be somewhat personal, we think credit monitoring is a good idea for everyone these days. It’s so ubiquitous now that even your bank or credit card companies you already use probably have it built into their website.

    Opt out of targeted marketing

    You also can “opt out” of personalized marketing with your Google account, while that won’t stop your information from being shared and used to try and market it to you with, it will at least make it so those ads aren’t reaching you as often. You may also be shocked to learn what they’ve already compiled about your interests.

    List of interests
    The lists that are compiled on your interests can be quite comprehensive.

    Google Isn’t the only one who offers this option, iPhone users can also opt out as well as users of social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram.

    Concerns over data protection aren’t limited to just consumers, businesses should also take steps to protect their data and that of their employees. If you’d like to learn how Valley Techlogic can help you secure your data learn more with a quick consultation.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

  • College shuttered after 157 years due to ransomware attack

    College shuttered after 157 years due to ransomware attack

    While ransomware wasn’t the only thing behind the decision to close Lincoln College, located in rural Illinois and established in 1865, it was the final blow after taking substantial financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The school, which had survived through the Spanish Flu, the Great Depression, two world wars and even a fire in 1912 will close its doors for good on May 13th, 2022.

    The ransomware attack which occurred in December 2021 crippled their recruiting and fundraising efforts for two months, not being resolved until March 2022 as a statement on the school’s website reads.

    “Furthermore, Lincoln College was a victim of a cyberattack in December 2021 that thwarted admissions activities and hindered access to all institutional data, creating an unclear picture of Fall 2022 enrollment projections. All systems required for recruitment, retention, and fundraising efforts were inoperable.

    Fortunately, no personal identifying information was exposed. Once fully restored in March 2022, the projections displayed significant enrollment shortfalls, requiring a transformational donation or partnership to sustain Lincoln College beyond the current semester.”

    The school made attempts to avoid the closure, but the efforts came too late, and we’re sorry to say they’re far from unique in being a school that was targeted by a cyberattack. According to this report over 1043 schools suffered ransomware attacks in 2021.

    Cyber criminals don’t think twice when targeting schools, hospitals, and infrastructure that’s needed by the community. We reported on the on Colonial Pipeline hack that created a major disruption at gas stations across eastern US last May.

    Schools and hospitals are appealing targets because investing in cyber security measures is not generally a priority and they often store large amounts of PII (Personal Identifying Information) in their systems.

    Many senators have taken note of this and have called on the Department of Homeland Security to instate measures that would bolster the security of our schools, especially K-12.

    A ransomware payment isn’t the only thing attackers stand to gain when they successfully infiltrate a network, here’s a chart with the way hackers “double dip” from during their attacks:

    Hacker Motivations Infographic

    In the end Lincoln College did choose to pay the ransom to gain control of their systems again, but it sadly made no difference in saving the college.

    60% of businesses close within 6 months following a ransomware attack, and only half businesses have a cyber response plan available to quickly respond to an attack. The slow response time will only add insult to injury as you try to get back on your feet and as we’ve seen in this case, it can be fatal to your business.

    Valley Techlogic can help you not only have a contingency plan in place, but also help you enact cyber security measures in your business that will prevent an attack from occurring in the first place. Learn more today through a quick consultation.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

  • Technology that you can build on, supporting your construction business through tech

    Technology that you can build on, supporting your construction business through tech

    We’re continuing from last week where we touched on how technology integrates with the field of dentistry, we want to switch gears from a business sector that helps us maintain our tooth structure to one that helps us maintain our societal structure. We’re looking at how technology can help those in the construction.

    Our construction clients are used to taking on big projects and creating comprehensive plans for tackling those projects with their teams. They aren’t always nailed down to one location, being out in the field and having employees logging in from remote offsite locations is part of their norm.

    Documentation is important for the work they do. They often have a dedicated server that keeps track of all the reports that come with having a construction business. Planning data, financials, insurance information – all of that must be available at a click of a button so they can run their business as smoothly as possible.

    If you’re in construction, ask yourself if any of these tech related items would be applicable to your business:

    1. Slow or non-existent internet on work sites. As we mentioned above, your employees aren’t logging in from one location, they go where the work is that day. You need support for your connectivity that’s flexible for the way you do business.
    2. Equipment that goes “missing”. Like us, you have expensive equipment that needs monitoring and logging. Our construction clients need solutions for making sure their equipment doesn’t “walk off” the job site. Security cameras solutions with the ability to save and review the data they collect are crucial for these clients.
    3. Regulatory compliance concerns. If you work in the government sector (or would like to) you’re probably aware of the ongoing attempt to secure our national data through CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification).

      There’s also the documentation you must do for every portion of your business, because if something goes wrong you need that documentation to back you up. If your documentation goes missing or can’t be retrieved because an outdated server has “malfunctioned”, or your backup solution was inadequate – it can spell trouble for your business.

    The long and short of it is, having a technology solution that supports your business is as crucial as having supports structures in a building to keep it from collapsing. A pillar may not look like much on it’s own but it could be the only thing keeping back a catastrophic collapse.

    At Valley Techlogic, we see ourselves as the pillar that not only keeps your technology equipment running as it should, but also keeps out any intrusions to your business (17.7% of all cyber attacks are aimed at your business model which is second only to the financial sector).

    Here is a chart with 5 ways Valley Techlogic specifically supports our construction clients:

    5 Ways VTL Supports Your Construction Business

    Still on the fence? Why not have a conversation with us directly, book a quick consultation with us here.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

  • Bridging the technical gap, how technology can bring your dental practice into the future

    Bridging the technical gap, how technology can bring your dental practice into the future

    Dental practitioners are not technology novices, new technologies emerge all the time that help aid patients in the care of their teeth and in advancing restoration processes to combat the effects of tooth decay (just look at the use of lasers for repairing cavities).

    However, we see all the time that our dental practice owning clients will still be stuck in the past when it comes to the rest of their technology.

    If you’re a dentist, ask yourself if the following is true:

    1. Patient records aren’t as organized as you’d like them to be, you’re either still using the old tried and true (and also slow and cluttered) filing cabinet method, or you made the digital leap but don’t have a system for protecting confidentiality. Did you know dentists can also be subject to HIPAA rules?
    2. You have an office server but it’s ancient, well past the 5-year recommend life span for a server and running a copy of Windows server that’s no longer supported by Microsoft. Anything older than Windows Server 2019 is subject to the downsides of no longer being a supported operating system (including increased cybersecurity risks).
    3. Your own system and/or your employee’s workstations are sluggish, you often hear your office assistants tell patients “Sorry, this system is just so slow!” as they’re trying to check them out after a procedure or cleaning. This is frustrating for your employees, and your patients.

    It doesn’t have to be this way. We know as a dental office owner you’re no stranger to bringing on new technologies that can improve the way you do business. Making investments in the technology you use will make your dental practice more efficient, improve the safety of your clients’ records protecting you from liability, and help you accomplish goals you may have for growing your dental practice.

    Unlike the tools you use to practice your trade, you may be a little unsure where to start. Your clients come to you for your expertise in helping them protect their teeth because you’re a trusted expert. So why wouldn’t you reach out to an expert yourself as you navigate these investments in your business?

    The move from more analogue methods, such as the trusted filing cabinet system, may be intimidating, but think of the time it will save pulling up client records and the space you will reclaim in your office.

    New servers and workstations are large investments, but the downtime that occurs when these methods just fail (and they will) is substantial. Can you afford to be potentially stuck for weeks or even months if your office server that houses everything about your business suddenly goes kaput?

    We don’t want to sound gloom and doom, but help is out there to make informed choices about these issues before they become a problem.

    Valley Techlogic can help your dental practice; we have experience with the intricacies of your business and the concerns dental providers have when addressing these complex topics.

    We can help you bring your business into compliance with HIPAA, so as you grow your business your patients can feel confident their private information is protected at your practice. Below is a chart with some HIPAA rules specifically for dentists:

    Dentist need to follow HIPAA too

    If you’d like to learn more about Valley Techlogic can be a partner in technology for your dental practice, schedule a free consultation today.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

  • We have updated our most popular resource for 2022 and have an offer you won’t want to pass up

    We have updated our most popular resource for 2022 and have an offer you won’t want to pass up

    As an IT service provider, we’re passionate about cybersecurity because we see the effects having inadequate coverage can have on businesses first hand.

    The devastation that can occur after a cyber attack is staggering, we’ve given you the statistics before, such as:

    1. The cost of cybercrime is predicted to hit $10.5 trillion by 2025
    2. Cryptojacking cases quadrupled in 2021, but the hackers don’t make very much (less than $6 per day), however that doesn’t stop them from trying to gain access to your machines
    3. It takes on average 287 for cybersecurity teams to detect and contain a data breach
    4. Phishing is involved in 36% of data breaches (can you identify the signs of a phishing email?)
    5. DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) attacks are skyrocketing, with 9.75 million occurring in 2021

    That’s why we’re thrilled to announce the release of our Tech Tip Card Deck, our deck contains 56 tips for getting your cybersecurity house in order with custom art representing each tip. Best of all, the deck is absolutely free to business owners in our area.

    Beyond providing comprehensive technical support, we also want to support our community in staying safe online. If you’re a business owner in Central Valley and would like to have a set of our card deck for yourself, simply visit TechTipCards.com and request one today and we’ll get it shipped out to you ASAP.

    We don’t believe technology has to be intimidating, each bite sized tip featured in the deck is easy to understand and easy to implement and will create real results for the online safety of yourself, your employees, and your business.

    To up the offer even more, we have updated our most popular for 2022 and are also offering it to you right here, right now. Simply grab it below.

     

    Valley Techlogics Cybersecurity Checklist
    Click to grab the full size version.

    Both of these are just a small showcase of what’s in store, we know for most people repetition is the key to success. We plan to deliver weekly content including thought provoking reports, eye catching resources that can even be customized for your office, and tech advice that can greatly impact and improve your use of technology within your business.

    If you’d like to learn more, again visit TechTipCards.com or reach out to us for a free consultation today.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

  • When the business is you, how data brokers create and sell detailed information based on your browsing history

    When the business is you, how data brokers create and sell detailed information based on your browsing history

    This week, John Oliver of “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” aired an eye-opening segment on the world of data brokers and how easy it is to create a very detailed profile about an individual simply from their online browsing history. We suggest watching that segment (which can be found on YouTube) but we also wanted to touch base on this topic ourselves and explain what happens, why this happens, and what you can do to browse safely (and privately) online.

    There are really five clear ways data brokers capture your information online. The first is browser cookies. A cookie is a piece of information that a website stores on your device that it can than retrieve at a later time. Most websites you visit now ask you to give them permission to store cookies and most of us do so without thinking about it because the process of declining can be complicated (or perhaps you won’t be allowed on the site without doing so).

    Data brokers both buy these cookies and also place cookies on your devices themselves, which allows them to offer you highly targeted advertising. We have two solutions to this once, Chrome and Firefox both have “Do Not Track” options which will not allow the cookies to track you from site to site. There’s also a browser extension called Ghostery which gives you the option of blocking trackers.

    The second way data brokers are able to obtain information about you is through mobile applications. Many mobile applications that are “free” are not really free, you’re paying for them through the wealth of information that’s gained about you, such as your GPS data or even your private pictures and videos on your device (as many of these applications ask for “permission” for every service on your phone).

    The solution to this one is to always research the applications you download on your phone, and never give them more permissions than they need. That “white noise” application you downloaded does not need permission to your location data for instance.

    The third way may seem obvious if you stop to think about it, social media. Data brokers will scrape social media sites for information about you to “complete” their profiles on you. The easiest way to combat this is to think twice about what you’re sharing online, information such as your birthdate or where you work not only put you at risk for receiving very targeted spam – it’s also a cyber security hazard.

    The fourth way is just public records. Court documents, census data, property records, vehicle registration records, marriage and divorce records are all public and all available to data brokers at their leisure. The best way to combat this one is to address the other ones we’ve mentioned so they cannot use this information combined with the above to create a highly detailed information package on you (a singular piece of data is less useful than a full picture). You can also sign up for alerts from Google so if your name is mentioned on the web you’ll be notified.

    The fifth way may surprise you, but it’s your credit card company. Data brokers are able to buy your “anonymized” credit card data directly from your credit card company. They can then combine this data with receipts they may have accessed in other ways and your social media posts “Look at what I just bought!” and voila, data brokers now know how you’re spending your money (and what they should try to sell you next).

    There Isn’t a good way to combat the last one and it illustrates the point the best, we need more restrictions on how our data is used and who is allowed to collect it. Some states are leading the way with this, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) which gives consumers more control over their online data (and the ability to remove it).

    We’ve created this chart to give you five things you can do RIGHT NOW to protect your privacy online.

    Small Version of The Privacy Tips Chart
    Click to grab the full size version.

    While there are steps we can take to protect ourselves, more needs to be done to protect our privacy as we browse online. Privacy is also a concern for business owners and the businesses they run, if you would like to learn more about how Valley Techlogic can help schedule a consultation today.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

  • Common tax return scams to watch out for in 2022

    Common tax return scams to watch out for in 2022

    The due date for filing your taxes is just 10 days away as of writing, and as tax filers scramble to gather needed information to finish (or start) their filing – scammers are looking for ways to take advantage of the mad dash that occurs for many Americans every year.

    The IRS has put together a compilation of scams they’re seeing this year, and they mention that scams may not be limited to the virtual space. Scammers may also call, mail or even show up to your door in person. So, it’s a good idea to be extra vigilant when protecting your PII (personal identifying information).

    The “Tax Transcript” scam is one that commonly targets businesses, many employees will use their business email when they sign up to do their taxes and may expect communication from the IRS to come there, but scammers will send fake communications with malware attached instead. Users may click without even thinking twice (especially as email scams of this nature can be very convincing). See below for an example.

    IRS Scam Email Example
    IRS Tax Email Scam Example. Credit: https://www.irs.gov/

    IRS scam calls are also another common tactic. It’s a good time to reiterate that the IRS will NEVER call you asking for personal information. This news segment found on YouTube shows a scammer in action, these calls may increase as we get closer and closer to the filing deadline. You shouldn’t give out your personal information even if they have things like your address or full name (scammers will often do some research on you before calling).

    Another scam aimed at businesses is one where the scammer will pose as a member of the accounting department where you work, they know many people will not question a call or email coming from a work authority. It may be a good idea if you’re a business owner to send out an email or have your accountant contact your employees to mention that like the IRS you will NEVER call or email unprompted requesting private information.

    Stolen Identity Refund Fraud or SIRF is a very lucrative business, 2.8 million false returns were filed in 2018 with a potential worth of $16 billion dollars. It’s important to guard the PII information criminals need to file a false tax return on your behalf. Here are 5 steps you can take to safeguard your information:

    1. The easiest? Have a good spam filter enabled on your email, that way many of these phishing scams won’t even make it to your inbox.
    2. Check emails for signs it’s a phishing scam, we wrote an article on what to look for. Two standouts are an email domain that doesn’t match the sender (an IRS email won’t come from a Gmail account) or links that when you hover on them don’t match where they say they go.
    3. Check with the purported sender, if the email looks like it’s coming from within your office network, but the email contents just don’t seem right – follow your gut and follow up with your department.
    4. If you receive a call from a number you don’t recognize claiming to be the IRS or the authorities, try Googling the number. Many people will share information about experiences with scam numbers online as a way to warn others.
    5. If you’ve already given your PII to a scammer, contact the major credit bureaus to freeze your credit and contact the IRS to report it ASAP. The IRS has steps in place for helping victims of identity theft, the sooner you act the sooner you can put a stop to the scammer’s activity under your identity.

    Employee training is the best defense for business owners who want to prevent scams such as these ones as well as other cyber threats from effecting their business. Valley Techlogic offers security awareness training as well as top of line cyber security defense systems as part of all of our technology packages. Learn more today.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

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