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Monthly Archives: November 2018

4 Misconceptions about Tech Support Scams
Technology November 28, 2018
4 Misconceptions about Tech Support Scams

Despite being common, there are many misconceptions about tech support scams. Not knowing the truth can result in falling victim to this type of fraud. Here are four misconceptions set straight.

Tech support scams are common and costly. In 2017 alone, around 11,000 victims filed complaints with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). They reported losing nearly $15 million, which represents an 86% increase in losses compared to 2016.

Even though tech support scams are common, there are many misconceptions about them. Knowing the truth can help you become more adept at recognizing and avoiding this type of fraud. Toward that end, here are four misconceptions set straight:

  1. Tech Support Scammers Always Call

In the past, scammers frequently cold-called potential victims. They often identified themselves as tech support staff from a well-known tech company such as Microsoft. They then spun a tale of how they detected a problem on the person’s computer that should be fixed immediately, which they offered to do.

Nowadays, scammers are more apt to use other means to reach potential victims, including:

  • Pop-ups. When people visit a website, a message pops up that says their computers are infected with malware, have an expired software license, or have some other problem. The visitors are then urged to call a bogus hotline or go to a fake online tech support center to get the problem fixed.

  • Phishing emails. People receive emails that do not mention anything about their computers having a problem. Instead, some other pretense is used to try to get them to click a link. For example, security researchers found that some phishing emails were made to look like notifications from online retailers (e.g., Amazon) and professional social-networking sites (e.g., LinkedIn). Clicking the linking sent people to a malicious website that mimicked the legitimate one that supposedly sent the email. The site then deployed various scare tactics (e.g., pop-up messages saying there is a malware infection) to trick people into calling or visiting a phony tech support center.

  • Redirects to bogus tech support websites. In some cases, malicious ads (or links in other types of web content) redirect visitors to tech support scam sites. According to security researchers, these malicious ads are usually found in questionable websites, such as those that host illegal copies of media and software.

  1. If It’s Free, It Isn’t a Scam

The goal of many tech support scams is to make money. Scammers try to con you into paying for bogus software or services. Having someone notify you, out of the blue, that your computer has a serious problem, which they can fix — for a price — is a classic sign of a tech support scam.

However, you cannot assume the person is legitimate if they offer to fix the problem for free. Sometimes scammers have different goals. For example, they might want to change the settings on your computer so that it becomes part of a botnet. Or, they might want you to install their free software because it contains spyware.

  1. Baby Boomers Are Most Likely to Fall Victim to Tech Support Scams

A common misconception is that Baby Boomers are most likely to fall victim to tech support scams because they are less familiar with technology. However, a 2018 Microsoft study found that Gen Z’ers and Millennials are twice as likely to initially fall for a tech scam (e.g., click a link in a phishing email or call the number given in a pop-up) than Baby Boomers. And the Gen Z’ers and Millennials are five times more likely to lose money to tech support scammers (e.g., pay the digital con artists for bogus software or services).

The researchers attribute the higher vulnerability of Gen Z’ers and Millennials to several factors:

  • They engage in more risky online activities (e.g., use torrent sites, download movies, music, and videos) than the older generations.

  • They tend to be overconfident in their online abilities, causing them to be less cautious and more susceptible to scams. In the study, the Gen Z’ers and Millennials gave themselves high ratings in web and computer expertise.

  • They are more likely to believe that it is normal for reputable tech companies to make unsolicited contact than the older generations. In the study, 33% of the Millennials and 30% of the Gen Z’ers said unsolicited contact was normal compared to 18% of the Baby Boomers and 22% of the Gen X’ers.

  1. It’s Difficult to Defend against Tech Support Scams

Fortunately, the notion that it is hard to defend against tech support scams is a misconception rather than the truth. Besides understanding how tech support scams work, you can take some surprisingly simple measures to protect yourself.

For starters, you should not disable your web browser’s pop-up blocker. Most modern browsers automatically block pop-ups. For example, Google Chrome blocks not only pop-ups but also redirects by default. Manually disabling this functionality might result in you seeing more messages that try to scare you into calling or visiting a bogus tech support center.

Equally important, you should not visit questionable websites. Plus, you should heed the security warnings issued by your web browser and security software. These programs often flag or block content they know or suspect is unsafe. Resisting the urge to visit questionable sites and access flagged or blocked content can help reduce the number of tech support scam pop-ups and malicious ads in your web browser.

Another measure you can take is making sure your email app, web browser, and security software are being updated regularly. These programs are typically configured to automatically update, but it is a good idea to make sure that is the case. With the updates installed, they will be better able to identify and deal with security issues. For example, email apps usually include filtering tools that help weed out phishing emails. The more current the filtering tools, the more effective your email app will be at snagging phishing emails. Similarly, your browser and security software will be better able to identify unsafe content when they are updated.

You also might consider using ad blockers to eliminate the malicious ads that could send you to bogus tech support sites. These programs remove or alter all advertising content on web pages. Some ad blockers replace ads with content, such as news. Others simply leave holes where the ads would have been. However, there is one caveat with ad blockers. They might inadvertently block non-ad content, causing web pages to display improperly or not at all.

There are other, more-advanced measures you can take to protect yourself from tech support scams, such as using advanced email filtering solutions. If you would like to learn about these measures, contact us.

IoT Devices Might Not Look Like a Computer, But They Can Be Just as Dangerous
Technology November 21, 2018
IoT Devices Might Not Look Like a Computer, But They Can Be Just as Dangerous

Installing an IoT-ready security camera or outfitting a crucial production system with IoT technology can put a business in harm’s way. Learn about the security risks that IoT devices can pose and how to mitigate those risks.

On October 9, 2018, security researchers at SEC Consult revealed that millions of security cameras and other video surveillance equipment could be easily hijacked by cybercriminals. And just a few days later, numerous PlayStation 4 (PS4) owners reported that their gaming consoles were crashing after receiving a malicious message on them.

These events might seem unrelated, but they are the result of a common problem: inadequate security in devices that connect to the web, which are referred to as Internet of Things (IoT) devices. These devices connect to the Internet so that they can transmit and receive data. In some cases, products have IoT technology built into them, like security cameras and gaming consoles. In other cases, IoT technology is added to existing equipment or systems. For instance, IoT devices can be added to production processes and heating and cooling systems.

Companies are increasingly using IoT devices to monitor and control various elements in their businesses. However, many of them do not realize they need to protect those devices from cyberattacks. That’s because people usually envision computers and smartphones, not security cameras or thermostats, when thinking about cybersecurity.

Businesses taking advantage of IoT devices need to know about the security risks they can pose and how to mitigate those risks.


The Risks

IoT devices often have security vulnerabilities that make them easy targets for hackers. For example, the devices might ship with default passwords that are easy to crack or the manufacturers might issue firmware updates that are easy to spoof.

Sometimes, devices have multiple security issues. This is what the SEC Consult researchers found when they investigated the video surveillance equipment manufactured by Hangzhou Xiongmai Technology. They discovered that the company’s IoT-ready video surveillance devices have several vulnerabilities, many of which are related to a feature called the XMEye P2P Cloud.

Th XMEye feature enables device owners to view video feeds in a web browser or mobile app in real time. To take advantage of it, the owners have to create XMEye accounts. These accounts are riddled with problems, including:

  • All new accounts are admin accounts that have the default username of admin with no default password set. Device owners are not prompted to change the default username or add a password during the initial account setup process. Owners who do not change the username and add a password are leaving their accounts wide open to cyberattacks. Besides viewing video streams, hackers would be able to change the device’s configuration and issue firmware updates. Since Hangzhou Xiongmai Technology does not sign its firmware updates, cybercriminals could issue bogus updates that contain malware.

  • A second undocumented account exists. The account’s username is default and the password is tluafed (the word “default” spelled backward). Anyone logging in with this undocumented user account can view the device’s video streams.

These vulnerabilities are present in all the security cameras, digital video recorders, and network video recorders manufactured by Hangzhou Xiongmai Technology. However, the manufacturer’s name is not on any of the devices. Hangzhou Xiongmai Technology sells its devices to other companies, which put their logos on the equipment. Thus, people who have these IoT devices might not even realize they are at risk. (You can find a list of the 100+ brand names the devices are sold under on the SEC Consult researchers’ blog.)

Some manufacturers act responsibly and include security measures in their IoT devices. However, even these devices can be risky because of the actions (or inactions) of the device owners. For instance, IoT device owners might create weak account passwords or not install firmware updates. The PS4 incident provides a good example of the latter. Sony quickly released a firmware update to fix the bug that allowed the malicious message to crash the gaming console. However, users who do not have their consoles configured for automatic updates will still be at risk if they fail to manually install this update.


Help Is on the Way

Steps are being taken to address the fact that many IoT devices have security vulnerabilities. For instance, in September 2018, California became the first US state to pass an IoT security law. It mandates that IoT devices manufacturers include reasonable security features that protect the devices and any data contained in them. The law goes into effect on January 1, 2020.

Similarly, in October 2018, the UK government published the finalized “Code of Practice” for IoT security. It contains 13 guidelines for IoT device manufacturers to follow to ensure that their devices are secure by design and compliant with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).


How to Protect IoT Devices in the Meantime

Although steps are being taken to encourage IoT device manufacturers to build more secure devices, many IoT devices have been and will continue to be built with no security features in place. If these devices are not secured properly, they can put a company at risk, especially when they are connected to the network that hosts the business’s critical data and applications.

As a result, companies need to secure their IoT devices, just like they secure the computers in their IT environments. A good place to start is to:

  • Change each IoT device’s default password to a unique, strong one.

  • Disable any features that are not being used in the IoT devices.

  • Place the IoT devices behind firewalls so that they do not connect directly to the Internet.

  • Isolate IoT devices from the business network.

  • Install patches or upgrades when the manufacturer provides them.

  • Use a virtual private network (VPN) if remote access to the IoT devices is required.

  • Include IoT devices in IT policies.

If your business is using any IoT devices, we can determine whether they are posing a risk to your business and help you develop a comprehensive strategy to protect them from cybercriminals.

5 Things to Try in Windows 10 after the October 2018 Update Is Installed
Technology November 14, 2018
5 Things to Try in Windows 10 after the October 2018 Update Is Installed

The Windows 10 October 2018 Update includes many new features and enhancements. Here are five notable ones that you might find useful.

Microsoft officially released another major update for Windows 10 on October 2, 2018. Like previous updates, the Windows 10 October 2018 Update includes many new features and enhancements. Here are five notable ones you might want to try once the update is installed on your computer:


  1. Souped-Up Clipboard

The October 2018 Update soups up the Windows Clipboard with new history and syncing features. Thanks to the history feature, you can now copy and store multiple items (text and images) on the Clipboard. When you want to paste one of those items, you simply press Win+V to open up the Clipboard’s history window and select the item you want to paste. (If you are unfamiliar with keyboard shortcuts, Win+V indicates that you press the Windows key and the letter v on your keyboard at the same time.)

With the syncing feature, you can copy text and images on one Windows 10 computer and paste them on another one. This can come in handy if you regularly use multiple devices, such as a Windows 10 desktop computer and a Windows 10 laptop computer.

Before you can take advantage of the history and syncing features, though, you need to enable them in in Windows 10’s Settings app. You can find them by clicking “System” in the Settings app and selecting the “Clipboard” option.


  1. “Make text bigger” Slider

Before the October 2018 Update, you could make text bigger in Windows 10 by changing the overall scaling. This made everything bigger, including text and images. With the new “Make text bigger” slider introduced in the October 2018 Update, you can make just the text larger. The overall scaling remains the same. (You can still change the overall scaling, though, if desired.)

You can find the “Make text bigger” slider in the Settings app. After you open the app, select “Ease of Access” and click the “Display” option.


  1. Snip & Sketch App

The new Snip & Sketch app lets you capture and mark up screenshots. It combines the functionality found in Windows 10’s Snipping Tool and the Screen Sketch app (which was originally part of Windows Ink Workspace).

Snip & Sketch lets you take rectangular, freeform, and full-screen shots of items on your screen. Once created, you can use a stylus (on touch-enabled devices) or a mouse to annotate the screenshot. There are various markup tools, such as a pencil and a marker, which you can customize by changing their color and thickness.

Although Snip & Sketch was designed to replace the Snipping Tool, the Snipping Tool will still be present after the October 2018 Update is installed, according to Microsoft. In the future, though, the Snipping Tool will likely disappear from Windows 10.


  1. Your Phone App

After the October 2018 Update is installed, you will have an app named Your Phone on your Windows 10 computer. The app lets you link and sync a Google Android smartphone with your Windows 10 computer. When you do so, you can view and send Android text messages from your computer. You can also access your phone’s photos, which means you do not have to email photos to yourself to get them on your computer.

If this seems familiar, you are not having a case of de ja vu. Your Phone has been available in Microsoft’s App Store since August 2018. Plus, since the Fall Creators Update (which was released in October 2017), you have been able to link an Android phone or Apple iPhone to a Windows 10 computer in order to send web pages from your phone to your computer. This enables you to see the web pages on a larger screen without having to email yourself a link or manually search for the sites. You can continue to do this through the Your Phone app introduced in the October 2018 Update.

You can install the Your Phone app on an iPhone. However, sending web pages is pretty much all you can do at the present time. You cannot access photos or send text messages from your computer like you can with an Android phone. This might change in the future, though.


  1. Power Usage Tracking in Task Manager

You can now see how much power each app and process is consuming on your Windows 10 computer, thanks to the October 2018 Update. Two columns have been added to the “Processes” tab in Task Manager:

  • “Power Usage”, which conveys how much power each app and process is currently using

  • “Power Usage Trend”, which indicates how much power each app and process has used in the past two minutes

Task Manager does not give you an exact measurement but rather an indicator such as “Very Low” and “Low”. This information can be helpful when you want to get an idea of how much power your apps are consuming. Plus, the new power usage columns might flag when a cryptojacking script is siphoning a computer’s processing power. In this type of attack, cybercriminals steal computers’ processing power to mine cryptocurrencies.

1 Out of Every 101 Emails Is Sent by a Hacker
Technology November 7, 2018
1 Out of Every 101 Emails Is Sent by a Hacker

Does your business receive hundreds of emails each day? If so, there is a good chance some of them have been sent by hackers. Find out how to protect your business from malicious emails.


Most businesses receive hundreds of emails each day — and there is a good chance some of them have been sent by hackers. After analyzing more than 500 million emails sent in the first half of 2018, FireEye researchers found that 1 out of every 101 emails sent is malicious. Spam is not included in this count. It includes only those emails sent by cybercriminals with the express purpose of pilfering money, stealing data, or compromising systems.

The vast majority (90%) of the malicious emails do not contain any malware, but they are far from being benign. They can be just as dangerous as those containing malware.

Hackers Are Using Both Old and New Tricks in Malware-Less Emails

Not surprisingly, around 80% of the malware-less emails were phishing attacks. In this type of attack, cybercriminals try to trick recipients into performing an action, such as clicking a link that leads to a malicious website. Phishing emails are generic so that they can be sent to a large number of targets, which is why the researchers found so many of them.

The remaining 20% of the malware-less emails were impersonation scams. These highly personalized emails try to con recipients into transferring money or revealing sensitive information. Cybercriminals spend a lot of time researching their targets in order to create legitimate-looking emails. Because these emails appear to be normal traffic, it is harder for email security solutions to detect them.

One of the cybercriminals’ favorite type of impersonation email is the business email compromise (BEC) scam. In this type of attack, cybercriminals masquerade as executives, supplier representatives, and other business professionals to con companies out of money. In 2017, hackers stole more than $675 million from US businesses using BEC scams.

While the researchers found that hackers were still using old favorites like the BEC scam, they also discovered a new type of impersonation scam: impersonation emails that led to phishing sites, where login credentials were harvested or malware was uploaded to victims’ computers. By including phishing links, hackers can send out vaguer emails to a larger number of targets. Because these emails still include some personalization, the recipients are more likely to think the emails are from trusted sources and click the link compared to generic phishing attacks. As a result, the email open rate for this new type of impersonation email is similar to that for highly personalized impersonation emails, according to the researchers.

Common Ways in Which Hackers Try to Deceive Recipients

In both the new and old types of impersonation emails, the cybercriminals typically manipulate the entry in the “From” field to trick recipients into believing the messages are from legitimate senders. The techniques include:

  • Spoofing the display name of an email address (e.g., Jane Doe)

  • Spoofing the username (the portion before the @ sign) of an email address (e.g., JaneDoe@)

  • Creating and using a domain (the portion after the @ sign) that is similar to a legitimate one (e.g., @paypa1.com, @secure-paypal.com)

How to Protect Your Business from Malicious Emails

To protect your business from impersonation and phishing attacks as well as emails containing malware, you can use the stop, educate, and mitigate strategy:

Stop as many malicious emails as you can from reaching employees. To do so, you need to keep your company’s email filtering and anti-malware tools up-to-date. They can capture many phishing and malware-laden emails. You might even want to explore getting an email security solution that uses advanced technologies to catch malicious emails. In addition, make sure that employees’ email addresses and other potentially sensitive information (e.g., job titles) are not publicly available.

Educate employees so they can spot any malicious emails that reach their inboxes. While email filters often snag phishing attacks, they are not as good at stopping impersonation emails. Plus, most anti-malware software is only effective against known malware strains. Thus, it is important to educate employees about the types of malicious emails they might encounter and how to spot them (e.g., check for spoofed names in an email’s “From” field). As part of this training, be sure to inform them about the risks associated with clicking email links and opening email attachments. Plus, let them know how hackers find the information they need to personalize impersonation emails (e.g., social engineering).

Mitigate the effects of successful email attacks. Cybercriminals keep coming up with new ways to pilfer money, steal data, and compromise systems using email, so your company might fall victim to an attack despite everyone’s best efforts to prevent it. Taking a few preemptive measures might help mitigate the effects of a successful email attack. For example, since obtaining login credentials is the goal of many phishing emails, you should make sure each business account has a unique, strong password. That way, if a phishing scam provides hackers with the password for one account, they won’t be able to access any other accounts with it. Equally important, you need to perform backups regularly and make sure they can be restored. This will enable you to get your data back if an employee inadvertently initiates a ransomware attack by clicking a link in an impersonation email.

The Individual Steps

The individual steps for implementing the stop, educate, and mitigate strategy will vary depending on your business’s needs. We can help you develop and implement a comprehensive plan to defend against malicious emails.