Author: rory-admin

DDoS Attack or Not? Yesterday’s Outage Left Many Systems Down for Hours

Yesterday, an outage stemming from T-Mobile left many major systems down. Affected websites included T-Mobile itself, Instagram, Comcast, Sprint and Chase Bank. Was it a massive DDoS attack or just a server misconfiguration as they’re claiming?

First, it’s probably a good idea to explain what a DDoS attack or Distributed Denial-of-Service attack is and what it aims to do.

A DDoS attack is a cyber attack where the perpetrator or group of perpetrators seeks to make a server or network unavailable by attacking its connection to the internet. They typically do this by flooding the affected systems with traffic, overloading them and causing them to go down.

These attacks can happen to a single computer, an office, or even on a global scale. The website https://digitalattackmap.com/ attempts to track these DDoS attacks on a global level, however it’s somewhat controversial among cyber security experts as they question the veracity of it’s data.

Many time these outages are made apparent by the website https://downdetector.com/ which accurately tracked the cascading wave of websites that went down in yesterdays event.

Down Detector is a reliable source for tracking whether the connection issues you’re having are stemming from your network or the website or service you’re trying to access is truly down.

So, was yesterday’s event a DDoS attack or just an error? The public will probably never know. However as cyber crime continues to ramp up – purported to be a $6 trillion dollar industry by 2021 – it’s a good idea to have the best protections in place so you and your business don’t fall victim.

A DDoS attack aimed at your systems may expose other vulnerabilities, and the downtime alone can be costly. If your IT team isn’t adequately prepared to defend against this or any of the other varieties of cyber attacks plaguing the technology market, it might be time for a new team.

This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT 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.

Looking for IT Services in Fresno, Modesto, Stockton, Ceres, Atwater, Merced, Visalia or Lodi? We cover all these areas and more!

June 17, 2020
Ransomware and Small Businesses: Why Some of Them Just Pay It

One of the biggest misconceptions among small business owners is that their company is too small to be the target of many cyber crime events – including ransomware. Statistically, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

In 2019 205,280 businesses submitted files that were victim to a ransomware attack, and 71% of those attacks were aimed at small to medium sized businesses. The average payout was $41,198, but many payments are significantly higher. Could your business withstand losing a lump sum of money right now?

Luckily for many businesses the use of prevention tools and having a proactive tech team means you won’t have to, but what if you’re not so lucky? Why do some businesses just pay the ransomware?

For many businesses their computer systems are directly tied to their day to day operations. So, if your files are being held by a hacker (or many times a group of hackers) you’re basically shut down. As a business you require your day to day operations to remain sustainable, but for many the margin for sustainability and being out of business is razor thin.

This means their business won’t survive an extended downtime while they wait for authorities to try to get their files back (if they ever do). So, they just pay the ransom.

Another scenario is if you’re in a sector where client confidentiality is paramount (think healthcare or finance), then the leaking of those details and the fines incurred will also put you out of business.

When it comes to ransomware the best method of protection is prevention. This means making sure your computers remain up to date – as of this posting there is a dangerous worm targeting Windows machines that haven’t been updated (learn more here.) It also means having a comprehensive security suite protecting all the machines attached to your network (even mobile ones!).

Finally, the best means of protection is having a good IT team backing your business – and backing up your important files! Your tech team will often be able to restore from backup if you DO get hit by ransomware despite having the other methods of protection in place. Their backup could literally save your business.

If you’re in the Central Valley and don’t feel 100% confident your business will be protected in the event of a ransomware attack, reach out to us today.

This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT 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.

Looking for IT Services in Fresno, Modesto, Stockton, Ceres, Atwater, Merced, Visalia or Lodi? We cover all these areas and more!

June 10, 2020
Zoom is Restricting End to End Encryption to Paid Users, What Does it Mean for You?

Last week, Zoom confirmed that it will only be offering end to end encryption to paid users. So, what does that mean and what should you do about it?

End to end encryption is a type of encryption that makes it so only the people communicating can read the messages, or in the case of Zoom see or hear the video. This means you can rest assured that your video call is completely private.

Zoom has been in the news frequently for their security issues, most famously in the case of Zoom bombers (this was where uninvited guests would drop into private calls and spam them). They have been releasing updates at a breakneck pace to tackle these issues as they come up, but some users may still be a little wary of their security while using the service.

This hasn’t lessened their popularity though. With 200 million daily users and a valuation of 1 billion dollars, Zoom has grown miles ahead of the competition largely because they are a free service.

But now that end to end encryption is a paid for feature, how will this effect their popularity? How many users will pay to have this protection?

The reason they’ve cited for making this feature paid is because they want to help law enforcement. With end to end encryption enabled, law enforcement cannot view the streams. Bad actors using Zoom for illegal activities probably won’t want their payment information tied to the site, and with no end to end encryption they’ll be stopped dead in their tracks from using the service as a means for their criminal activity.

How do you know if as a business owner you should you pursue this paid for feature? It depends on a couple of things, if you’re conducting meetings involving private information such as payment details or other secure information you may want that extra layer of security. If you’re not it may not be necessary.

Also, it’s important to keep in mind you cannot dial into an encrypted call with a phone. If you frequently have users that use their cellphone to reach your Zoom meetings this feature may not be a good fit.

It’s best to evaluate how you use Zoom and what’s discussed in your meetings, and then go from there to decide if end to end encryption is something your business needs for conducting your meetings.

This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT 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.

Looking for IT Services in Fresno, Modesto, Stockton, Ceres, Atwater, Merced, Visalia or Lodi? We cover all these areas and more!

June 7, 2020
Risks with Implementing New Technology in Your Business
If you own or operate a business chances are, you’re constantly looking for new ways to improve your processes or become more optimized and efficient. If you run a restaurant this may mean reducing your menu, if you’re manufacturing company owner you may always be on the lookout for new or better hardware.

What about your technology? Let’s face it, every sector of business these days liberally uses technology both in and out of the sales process. Computers that power your workforce, printers that help you invoice clients, your own laptop that may help you brainstorm new business ideas at 3 A.M.

Technology is interwoven into our success, but what are the risks associated with implementing a new technology? Either one that’s just new to you or new as a whole. Here’s our list:
- Integration Issues: New technology always has a learning curve, and you may not find out until you’ve already deployed it that it’s not a good fit for your business.It’s important to research a new technology thoroughly before jumping in feet first.
- Customer Support Issues: You’re probably aware of how to contact support with any current software or hardware products you have, you also know how quickly they’ll respond to your issue from past experience.With new technology you’ll have to figure out the best way to reach their customer support and over time, learn how responsive they are to you.
- Deficient Products: Every new technology involves a trial period where you’re figuring out if it’s a good fit, and that includes learning whether it’s a good product in general.In every business there will be periods of buyers remorse with a product that just wasn’t a good fit in the end.
- Training: Training your employees to use the new technology shouldn’t be a deterrent for making necessary upgrades, but it is something to keep in mind especially if you know your business is going to be really busy.Try to schedule upgrades during slower periods to accommodate a necessary learning period.
- Scalability: Finally, the technology you’re after may be a good fit in every other way but will it scale to your businesses needs? Are there any limitations on number of users or concurrent sessions for an example often seen in software.It’s imperative that you find these things out before deploying anything new.
As with most things, if you’re a business owner your IT team should be able to answer all these questions and more for you when they’re implementing something new. If they’re not, maybe it’s time for a new IT team?

This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT 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.

Looking for IT Support in Fresno, Modesto, Stockton, Ceres, Atwater, Merced, Visalia or Lodi? We cover all these areas and more!
June 3, 2020
Is Your Internet Provider Keeping You Safe?

In terms of internet security, we often think of what we as individuals can do, like good password security or not opening email attachments. Or what companies who hold our data can do, like notifying us of a breach or having their own measures in place to avoid one in the first place. When it comes to our internet providers, we often think about the internet speeds they provide us and having consistent uptime.

What about security though? What measures are in places (or not) to keep us safe while using the very thing that connects us all together?

At the beginning of April, sites like Facebook and Google came to a grinding halt for hours. It wasn’t a hack or a bug, it was a problem with the internet data routing standard known as Border Gateway Protocol, or BGP.

BGP disruptions usually happen by accident, but they can also be caused by large-scale spying or data interception. Denial of service attacks can be another culprit.

BGP is like the map the internet uses to connect everything. All our traffic is routed through gateways to various hubs around the world. Or it should be that straightforward. In reality, every ISP provider can decide which routes to take, and not all of them are good.

Cloudflare, who specializes in Internet Security among other things, has launched the website ISBGPSafeYet. Using this website will test your ISP by offering a legitimate route and an invalid route to load two pages.

If it catches the invalid route and only loads the page offered by the legitimate route, then your ISP has BGP protections in place. If it loads both they fail.

While we can’t change the problems with BGP overnight, public awareness is always a good thing. If your ISP fails the test, reach out to them and give them your opinion! Together we can make the internet a safer place for us all to use.

This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT 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.

May 27, 2020
What to Look for in a Work from Home Job – and Scams to Avoid
As a service provider we normally tailor our content towards businesses, but as an IT company I feel it’s important to touch on public safety issues and advice from time to time. Now more than ever people are working from home, and jobs of that nature may become more prevalent in our society as a result of the current pandemic.

Why does allowing employees to work from home make sense for an employer? The first reason is reduced overhead, office buildings and all the expenses associated with them can really add up. The second reason is flexibility, as has been recently highlighted, the more mobile your workforce the more successful you can be given any kind of situation. Third is employee satisfaction, many people are just happier working from home and that can translate to increased motivation towards their job duties.

What types of jobs can typically be performed from home? Here are our top 10.
1. Virtual Assistant
2. Medical Transcriptionist
3. Translator
4. Web Developer
5. Travel Agent
6. Freelance Writer
7. Social Media Manager
8. Data Entry
9. Call Center Representative
10. Blogger
This is by no means an exhaustive list but hopefully provides a jumping off point for those looking to work from home. However, there is one pitfall to looking for a work from home job, and that is scams. Historically work from jobs have been plagued by scams and now more than ever you must be careful. What can you do to avoid a scam when looking for a work from home job?
- Research – You must do a lot of research into the position, and if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.
- Ask for References – Ask to speak to others who already work from the company and can share their experience.
- Finally, really be careful if they ask you to shell out any money to start, a lot of scams in this sector really begin with a high “startup” cost being the gateway to working.
Working from home can be a life changing event for many people, just do your due diligence and get your resume out there!

This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT 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.
May 6, 2020
Tips for Using Zoom Safely

Most of us are finding ourselves working from home either altogether or at least part of the time, and with that change also comes conducting work meetings from home. While we all probably had at least an awareness of video client tools such as Microsoft Teams and Skype, a new contender came through and became the working from home meeting tool du jour – I’m talking of course about Zoom.

Zoom has added 2.22 million users so far in 2020 (the previous year they gained 1.99 million for the entire year). Unfortunately, with such unprecedent growth also comes growing pains in the form of unauthorized users jumping onto calls and even cyber security issues. So how can you use Zoom safely, and what led to it becoming such a popular option in the first place?

Unlike many of its competitors Zoom allows you to see multiple participants at once, rather than one at a time while they’re talking. It also has the unique functionality of allowing users to join from a browser which lets participants avoid downloading the client if they don’t wish to or are unable to.

You can also host an unlimited number of meetings with up to 100 participants with only the free client (up to 500 participants and concurrent meetings being paid features). Screensharing is also possible and a nice feature.

With that said there have been some draw backs, call quality may be somewhat unpredictable compared to more seasoned products in this arena (although I think it would suffice to say they’ve all had some troubles in these heretofore unheard-of times). Users have also reported issues with scheduling and adding meetings to their calendars. The biggest issues though, have been in the avenue of security.

Starting with so called “Zoom Bombers” – which have been one of the most publicized issues – it is described as having uninvited users join your private video call and start spamming unsavory materials either in the chat or via voice and/or video.

Many of these intruders gained access via businesses posting the video chat link to their public social media accounts. The best method of protection against this by far is adding a password to your Zoom chats and not posting them publicly.

It’s also come to light that there are some critical cyber security issues with Zoom, especially regarding user data. 500,000 Zoom user accounts and passwords were recently found for sale on the dark web due to a data breach by a cyber security firm.

This serves as a good reminder to keep your passwords varied, change them periodically and use a password manager. You can check the whimsically named site https://haveibeenpwned.com/ to see if you’ve been a victim to this breach or any others.

Suffice to say despite its faults Zoom is probably here to stay for the foreseeable future, especially as the country’s workforce continues to work from home. Taking some necessary steps will keep your work meetings intruder free and safe.

This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT 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 X at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

April 16, 2020
10 Tips for Staying Safe Online When Working from Home
In light of the ongoing health crisis many of us are placed in the unusual position of working from home. While you may have concerns about keeping up your usual level of productivity and being able to communicate effectively with your coworkers while working in separate places there may be one issue flying under the radar, how do you stay safe online while working from home?

It’s unfortunately not a given, in many work places you have an IT team that maintains (or should!) a high level of security for your office computers and network. These same measures are not in place on your home network or on your home computer.

With so many of us working from home hackers may be seeing this as an opportunity to access your company’s private data via unsecured personal computers and home networks. These 10 tips will prevent this from happening.
1. Don’t reuse passwords. If you’re able to choose your own work passwords it’s important they’re varied, if hackers get access to one of your accounts and you use the same password for everything then they have access to all of them.
2. Practice good password safety. It’s imperative that passwords for your work accounts follow good password safety practices. Hackers may be able to use your work accounts to access the rest of your company’s data. If you set your own password make sure it follows the rules of 16 characters in length, mixing characters and avoiding dictionary words if possible.
  Also destroy any written copies of your password, real life phishing exists! Use a password manager like LastPass instead.
3. Secure your home network. It’s shocking how many home networks don’t have a password at all, or if they do it’s a single word with no mixed characters or even your router’s default password.
  This is not a good idea! Hackers can use your network to access your home machine, and from there it may be game over. Like the tip above practice good password safety when it comes to your router’s password.
4. Enable 2-factor authentication if it’s available to you. Many laptops these days feature security measures such as facial recognition or fingerprint readers that will help keep your device safe. Don’t forget to enable the same feature on your phone!
5. Speaking of 2-factor authentication. You may find that your workplace uses 2-factor authentication to secure the applications you use on a daily basis to do your job, if they don’t bring it up! This will further prevent people from accessing your company data.
6. Install updates. At work your IT team is probably installing updates for you, on your home device you’re responsible for doing so. In general, you shouldn’t be ignoring updates but while accessing your company accounts it’s even more important.
7. Practice good online safety. The security measures enabled on your company network may prevent a total takeover in the case of someone accidentally downloading malware, this is not so at home.
  Don’t open attachments from senders you don’t know. Be careful which websites you visit, and always have your firewall enabled!
8. Be careful with public networks. During this time, it might be tempting to get out and at least work outside at a café or somewhere with public Wi-Fi. However, this public Wi-Fi may leave your machine vulnerable, especially if you’re not practicing some of the safety measures above.
9. Make sure your work is backed up. You’ll probably need some help from your IT team for this one but ensure the work you’re doing is backed up to your office servers or saved in some way. Recovering lost data from your home machine alone may be more difficult.
10. Last but not least, use an anti-virus software. Find out which anti-virus software your company IT team recommends, or if you need a recommendation reach out to us. It’s extremely important for staying safe online.
We hope these tips help. For those not working remotely or for tips on staying safe while in public right now, we recommend referring to the CDC Website for the most up to date information: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT provider in Atwater, CA. You can visit us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/valleytechlogic.
March 16, 2020
2020 is Here – Here’s your Technology and Cybersecurity Forecast

It’s 2020 and the start of a new decade. Technology has changed a lot since the beginning of the last decade. Inexpensive computer options like Raspberry Pi and Chromebook became available, the first iPad was released.

Computing also got a lot faster, the first 8 core processors were released, solid state drives became a lot more widespread, and graphic cards reached new heights for computer gamers shattering the previously achievable FPS (frames per second) and ushering in a new era of high-end gaming.

The previous decade also brought new records on cybersecurity issues but unfortunately not in a positive light. Malware became more sophisticated and harder to track, ransomware became widespread (it’s estimated it cost the US $7.5 billion in 2019). So, what’s on the horizon for 2020 and beyond in the realms of technology and cybersecurity?

As wearable technology advances increase, we will see even more of it aimed at integrating tech with the world around us. Augmented reality devices will probably become more accessible and affordable. Sensor technology will continue to increase which will have a positive effect on healthcare and our ability to detect health scares before they advance to something serious (see watches now aimed at keeping track of our blood pressure and heart rate).

Needless to say it will be something to look out for as our society becomes more dependent on the IoT (Internet of Things), for good and for bad.

What about the field of cybersecurity? While it’s probably true hackers won’t stop trying to gain access to our private information – especially as it pertains to our financials – even the most layman user of technology is becoming keen to protecting their privacy.

Consumers will demand corporations be made accountable for leaks of private data and businesses not wanting to shoulder the financial burden of an attack (or the bad press) will utilize the tools available to thwart would be bad actors in their tracks.

On that front we can help. At Valley Techlogic we are on a mission to have the most comprehensive and effective cybersecurity tools available to protect our clients. We also offer 24/7 help desk so no matter when you have a problem, we’re on it.

If you’re in the Central Valley or surrounding area reach out today for a free security audit and begin this new decade tackling your business’s technology needs.

This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT provider in Atwater, CA. You can visit us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/valleytechlogic.

January 3, 2020
Windows 7 End of Life: Upgrade your existing machine or start fresh?
January 14^th, 2020 looms ever closer and you may be scrambling for a solution to one problem: Does it make sense to upgrade your existing machine or purchase a new one?

I can’t say for certain which one is the better option for you or your business, but one thing is for certain, remaining on Windows 7 after support ends is a dangerously ill-advised idea.

Windows 10 released July 29, 2015, so chances are if your machine is still running Windows 7 it’s older than the 3 years I personally recommend a machine be replaced by. We know this is not always feasible so here are the minimum specs we recommend for an upgrade to Windows 10:
- In my experience your machine will need at least 8 GBs of ram to run Windows 10 relatively smoothly, but ideally it will have at least 16 GBs at this point in time so it has enough power to run the operating system and all the processes you may use day to day.
  Something else to consider is whether your ram is soldered (very common in laptops), if it is an upgrade will not be possible.
- Your CPU is something else to consider when upgrading or buying, here at Valley TechLogic we recommend Intel CPU’s and more specifically at least Core i-5 or Core i-7, both will run Windows 10 effectively but Core i-7 will be much more future proof.
- A Solid State Drive, many older machines still use highly failure prone mechanical hard drives. A solid state drive will be less prone to hardware failure and it loads much faster. On average solid state drives load 5 to 20 times faster than a mechanical drive.
- You may also need to purchase the Windows 10 license, at the present time that will run you $199.99 for a Pro license (what we recommend in a business setting).
- There also may be a cost to having these upgrades performed for you if you don’t currently have an all encompassing Managed IT Plan in place (learn more here). This cost can really add up if you own a business with more than one outdated machine.
Depending on your situation the costs associated with upgrading an existing machine may not make sense in the long run. Purchasing a new machine is an investment, and when done thoughtfully it will last many years into the future.

It’s also possible to transfer your existing computer files from the old machine to the new one – even system settings – making the switch painless.

Here at Valley Techlogic we work with our customers to come up with a solution that makes sense for their business, whether they’re upgrading existing computers with new hardware or helping them purchase a new one through our affiliates.

We work to minimize downtime and through our comprehensive Managed IT Department plan upgrading is a covered project. If you’re in the Central Valley reach out today to see if we can help you with this end of life event, or any other IT projects you may have coming up.

This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT provider in Atwater, CA. You can visit us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/valleytechlogic .
December 12, 2019