LSeven Solutions Blog

There are those in the technology world that argue that professional sports are of marginal importance. Grown men and women, getting paid vast sums of money by fat-cats that make the average successful business owner look like a pauper, to play games that millions of children play everyday. However, according to a poll taken by CNN/USA Today/Gallup, nearly two-thirds of American respondents admitted to being sports fans. In other nations around the world, the sports that fans follow may differ, but percentages are similar to, or exceed those in the U.S.

Halloween is a time to conjure up things that give people the creeps. Scary sounds are just one way to send shivers up the spine. Sounds like, howling werewolves, zombie groans, chainsaws, and bloodcurdling screams are enough to make you want to run and hide. Yet, there’s one sound that’s the most terrifying of them all, and it’s coming from your server room!

One of the most storied competitions in the technology industry comes from Apple vs Microsoft. For the past 35 years, they went back and forth by offering consumers their own twist on similar technologies. The latest chapter in this story comes from Microsoft’s new Surface Book, which aims to compete directly with Apple’s MacBook Pro.

We live in an exciting time of computing where more is happening wirelessly than ever before. Although, we’re still a long way off from having networking wires and cables become entirely obsolete, which means that it’s in your best interest to know how to deal with your cables as efficiently as possible.

The chances are actually very high that your organization will be targeted if you don’t take action to stop it. Here are three reasons, according to StaySafeOnline.org, that the small business is a key component of a hacker’s hit list.

Small Businesses Are More Exposed
While large enterprises have the funds and personnel available to enact strict security protocol and regulations, the small business doesn’t. Instead, they rely on their staff’s limited knowledge of cybersecurity to protect their data. It’s reported that 71 percent of security breaches are small businesses, which you wouldn’t be able to tell from the attention given to recent high-profile hacks, like Target and Sony.

Small Businesses Have Sensitive Data
Believe it or not, it doesn’t take much to attract hackers to a business. They understand the true value of data, and even a few credentials or records are enough to attract unwanted attention from these criminals. The typical small business has employee records that hold personal information, financial records like credit card numbers, and some even have health records on file that are in high demand. Hackers take this information and sell it on the black market, which make it a lucrative source of revenue for criminals.

Small Businesses Are Vulnerable to Phishing Attacks
Hackers don’t want to take any risks that they don’t have to. Small businesses are often targeted by spear phishing tactics, which is when a hacker attempts to steal credentials by posing as someone with authority. Hackers will often take on the identity of an organization’s IT technician or vendor in order to acquire credentials for internal network access. This, in turn, leads to hacking activity that’s difficult to trace, and is ultimately much safer than other hacking methods.

The good news about these common weaknesses and shortcomings of small businesses is that it doesn’t have to be challenging to protect your business from hackers. All it takes is some proactive monitoring and a quality security solution from L7 Solutions. By actively monitoring your organization’s network for potential weaknesses in your infrastructure, it becomes much more plausible to keep threats out of your system. Hackers love to take advantage of weaknesses in the source code of operating systems and applications, but if you apply the proper patches, you can dramatically increase your network’s security presence.

Similarly, you want a quality security solution, like a Unified Threat Management (UTM), which can protect your network from all manners of threats found on the Internet. By blocking threats through a combination of a firewall, antivirus, spam blocker, and content filter, you can keep dangerous entities out of your network and destroy those that make it through your defenses. Give us a call at (954) 573-1300 to learn more.

The Internet of Things can increase efficiency, but at what cost? The Internet of Things isn’t a phenomenon that’s exclusive to the business sector; rather, all users will probably take advantage of at least one Internet of Things device at some point or another. Considering the fact that Internet-connected cars, houses, thermostats, smart watches, fitness trackers, baby monitors, and other appliances are increasing in popularity, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that hackers can take advantage of these devices in order to mess with the lives of innocent people.

As mentioned, there are other types of malware that target ATMs almost exclusively, including a backdoor called Ploutus. Just like GreenDispenser, Ploutus originated in Mexico, and allowed criminals to steal money from ATMs by sending commands through the PIN pad or through a keyboard. Later versions allowed hackers to send a text message to the ATM to distribute cash. While this ATM malware originated in Mexico, it’s suggested by Ploutus’s English localization that it was designed for use in other countries.

Basically, when your accounts are hacked, criminals will often attempt to sell this information on the Dark Web; a place where only those on the anonymity network, Tor, can access. Most information that’s stolen consists of personal identifiable information and financial data, but hackers will often be content with making off with anything they possibly can. The most common industries targeted by these hackers are healthcare, government, retail, and education, but it should be mentioned that all businesses are susceptible to data theft of any kind.

In case you’re unfamiliar with Uber (it’s not yet available in every city), Uber is a technologies company which provides services for taxis and for-hire vehicles by allowing passengers to request trips to the closest for-hire Uber driver, through its mobile app. What makes the ride-hailing app unique is that it can turn anyone with a car and a smartphone into an Uber driver, allowing them to easily make extra income on the side by providing rides to Uber users. Plus, all transactions are handled via the app so that drivers don’t have to risk carrying cash.

IT expenses have a tendency to wreak havoc on a budget when they’re not planned for, especially when something major happens like a server going down. Plus, IT problems seem to happen at the worst possible time, like in the middle of the day, which leads to expensive downtime for your staff. One of the best ways to get a grip on unforeseen IT expenses is to implement technologies and IT services that are intentionally designed to aid your company’s budget.

Preparing your business for disaster recovery is a difficult task, and certainly one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. There are so many variables that need to be taken into consideration before implementing a solid, fool-proof plan. Here are three questions you should ask yourself when considering the state of your current backup and disaster recovery solution, or preparing to implement a new one.

Ransomware is one of the most devastating computer viruses in today’s computing landscape. You may have heard of one of its most famous variations, Cryptolocker. It received a lot of attention when it dramatically hit the scene two short years ago. Thankfully, the threat from CryptoLocker has decreased after the GameOver Zeus botnet was taken down last year. Although, now we’ve got a new, more contagious strain of this ransomware to deal with known as Cryptowall.

Millennials may be looked down upon in the average workplace for a number of reasons that are entirely subjective, whether it be that they’re spoiled rotten or just plain rude. But in today’s workplace based around technology, millennials have a huge advantage, and have even given long-time CIOs a run for their money when it comes to technology management.

If you feel that there’s an increase in ransomware activity, don’t worry; it’s not just you. Hackers are now taking greater advantage of ransomware, a threat that locks down files and returns them in exchange for a payment. This is wreaking havoc on the computing world. Even the FBI has acknowledged the threat, and has issued a warning that the most likely type of cyber extortion users will encounter is probably going to be DDoS attacks.

With so much nasty content just begging to get viewed on the Internet, it’s understandable why a content filter needs to be integrated into your company’s web viewing protocol. Still, it should be understood that your content filter isn’t going to keep all questionable content away from prying eyes. Therefore, the only way you can really know with certainty that your Internet users aren’t doing anything sketchy is to actively monitor their activity, and check for any suspicious websites.

Cloud computing is already heavily utilized in the business world. Companies that were looking to add mobility, collaborative capacities, and overall flexibility, have rolled out cloud computing platforms for their business and it’s resulted in quite a few benefits. In fact, according to a 2014 survey, about 70 percent of enterprise-level companies have instituted some sort of IaaS, PaaS, or SaaS solution. As more companies implement cloud solutions for critical business functions, owners of smaller businesses are asking us the inevitable question, “Is the cloud right for my business?”

Privacy Controversy
One of the biggest problems that most users have with Windows 10 is how the default settings are set to provide certain information to Cortana and Microsoft, in exchange for enhanced services and features. Granted, if you’re using the free versions of Gmail, Google Drive, or even Google Chrome, your information is already being collected by Google, so you’re no stranger to having your information collected as it is. It’s up to you to decide whether or not you want to expose this info to Microsoft. For reference, by default, it collects:

By now you’ve heard of managed services: Technology-related services that allow businesses to get the IT support they need without taking on the often large and unexpected expenses that usually accompany them. This allows a business the ability to budget a flat fee for their technology support each month, and address IT support needs that include communication, application deployment, and the proactive support of the business’ IT infrastructure. The overall managed services industry has seen immense growth as businesses look to cut their support costs, while continuing to build onto their IT infrastructure.

If you’ve not yet heard of AR technology or experienced it, don’t worry, you will. Wikipedia defines AR technology as:

A live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data.

It seems like just yesterday that the world adopted 4G as the accepted model of wireless technology communication, but it’s still important to look toward the future and push for greater heights. Wireless technology has permeated society to the point where it’s steeped with smartphones and other mobile devices. So, what’s next in the wireless game?