10 Dec
It's just email, right? So what if someone gets your password. What can they do beyond spam friends, right? With access to your primary email account, hackers can often gain access to many parts of your personal life. Bank accounts, credit card accounts, order stuff from places like Amazon and other vendors which may have your card information stored. Two factor authentication helps ensure that even if someone intercepts your passwords, they can't get into your accounts without your cellphone (or at the very least you know when someone is trying to gain access). It's a minor inconvenience to occasionally have to 'reauthorize' your computer for an account – but it's worth the protection provided by it. Enable two-factor authentication on as many accounts as you can… Share with your friends!
Here's Everywhere You Should Enable Two-Factor Authentication Right Now
lifehac.kr
Two-factor authentication is one of the best things you can do to make sure your accounts don't get hacked. We've talked about it a bit before, but here's a list of all the popular services that offer it, and where you should go to turn it on right now.
9 Dec
This is what 'hard drives' in laptops will look like before long – and they'll be much faster. For now? They're too expensive – but over time SSD prices will drop dramatically… Much less likely to be damaged by bumps and drops and use less power…. I hope the prices drop soon. Until then, if you're looking for a way to boost the performance of your computer, talk to us about upgrading to a hybrid drive. Often for less than $200 you can give your laptop or desktop a big boost in performance.
Timeline Photos
Samsung announces the first 1TB mSATA SSD with its new 840 EVO drive for notebooks. All we can say is it's about time! http://www.maximumpc.com/samsung_launches_first_1tb_msata_ssd_high_capacity_ultrabooks_cant_be_far_behind2013
6 Dec
This is huge. ZeroAccess is one of the more prolific and virulent infections on the Internet, causing all sorts of damage and enabling many different fraud schemes. Taking down a botnet is no easy task given how widespread and resilient they are. Of course there are more that will crop up – but this is a big win for the White Hats…
Microsoft and partners take down ZeroAccess botnet
nakedsecurity.sophos.com
Microsoft, in conjunction with Europol and the FBI, have successfully taken down the click fraud servers used by ZeroAccess, disrupting one of the world's largest and most resilient botnets.
4 Dec
*ALWAYS* a risk if you login to your accounts at a public terminal. This is why 2-Factor authentication exists. Facebook, Yahoo, GMail, and Twitter all support it now. Have you enabled it?
2 million Facebook, Gmail and Twitter passwords stolen in massive hack
money.cnn.com
Two million passwords have been stolen, compromising accounts at Facebook, Gmail, Twitter, Yahoo and ADP.
3 Dec
If you have a D-Link router – upgrade! This was a really bad security hole… Share with your friends!
D-Link patches "Joel's Backdoor" security hole in its SoHo routers
nakedsecurity.sophos.com
Good idea to check if this applies to you…
27 Nov
Ever wished you had a tiny desktop that was still powerful for all but serious 3D gaming? Well here you go!
Timeline Photos
Zotac, a manufacturer that specializes in small form factor hardware, announced the Zbox Nano AQ01 today. It's about the size of Intel's NUC, but it sports a quad-core AMD APU, DisplayPort, a 2.5-inch drive bay, USB 3.0, wifi, and other niceties. You can get a "Plus" version with RAM and a hard drive pre-installed. The price and release date are TBA. http://www.maximumpc.com/zotac_introduces_first_zbox_nano_wield_quad_core_processor2013
22 Nov
Be careful what you click! Zbot/Zeus is a nasty infection! Share with your friends!
Spam from an anti-virus company claiming to be a security patch? It's Zbot/Zeus malware…
nakedsecurity.sophos.com
A spam campaign that seems to originate from a whole raft of different security and anti-virus companies… …is actually an effort to trick to into installing a new variant of Zbot/Zeus onto y…
19 Nov
Looking to upgrade or build a computer for the holidays – not sure where to start? Give us a call or visit! Huge sales on parts going on right now and we'll pass those savings on to you!
Amazon's Running a Sale on Everything You Need to Build a PC [Deals]
lifehacker.com
If you've always wanted to build a computer, or you just need to upgrade your current rig, Amazon is running a great sale today only on a variety of PC components to get you started. In addition to the great prices, if you spend $1,000 or more on eligible items, they'll throw in a $75 Amazon gift ca…
17 Nov
With FB changing how they handle privacy and security almost monthly – it's always a good idea to review the current settings to ensure your account is as private as you want it to be…
How to Lockdown Your Facebook Account For Maximum Privacy and Security
facecrooks.com
Recent studies show that privacy concerns are very much on the minds of Facebook users. Part of being a responsible member of any online community is educating yourself and your loved ones on how to properly configure the privacy and security settings offered by the platform. The fact that Facebook…
13 Nov
We're excited to announce that we can now support Macs as part of our My ITXpert service (http://myitxpert.biz/). To celebrate, we're offering 3 months free when you sign up for one year! Shout out to Poythress Studio for being one of our first Mac ITXpert customers! If you're looking for holiday portraits or photography, Stacey can work wonders! (http://poythressstudio.com/)
12 Nov
A lot of our customers will ask about hard drive failures and how often they happen. Like alternators in cars… a lot. Here is a look at some failure statistics.
How Long Your Hard Drive Is Likely to Last
lifehac.kr
No physical storage medium lasts forever, and as you probably already know, hard drives in particular can die rather unexpectedly. But how long can you expect your drive to live? 5 years? 50? Backblaze has crunched some numbers to find hard drive failure rates.
6 Nov
Microsoft has released an emergency FixIt to prevent infection from TIFF image files embedded in Word documents. Always be careful opening attachments that you weren't expecting! Share with your friends and install this FixIt to protect yourself until the official patch is released
Timeline Photos
Microsoft has issued an emergency fix for a zero-day vulnerability in its Microsoft Office suite. It affects multiple versions of Windows, so make sure that you're inoculated: http://www.maximumpc.com/microsoft_rolls_out_emergency_fix_zero_day_vulnerability_office2013
4 Nov
We just had to break the bad news to two of our clients that their systems had been infected with the CryptoLocker virus, which encrypted MANY of their files (pictures, documents, etc.) and that if they paid a $300-$1000 ransom they MIGHT be able to get them back (which we don't recommend doing). We can clean the virus off, but once the files are encrypted – without a backup system in place – the files are gone. This threat is VERY real, even if you have anti-virus software installed (which ironically when it cleans off the virus – wipes out a critical file needed to decrypt your files if you pay the ransom).
If you are using a computer today that has ANY amount of data on it you can't do without, you NEED to have a sound strategy in place to not only protect against infection, but also to protect your data. An external drive is NOT enough (they'll encrypt that too).
Our My ITXpert Premier customers not only get preventative maintenance and support, they also get award winning anti-virus AND secure offline backup to protect their data from this type of threat.
Protect yourself for less than $1 a day! http://myitxpert.biz/
31 Oct
We will be closed this Thursday and Friday. We'll be open Monday at 8AM! We will still be checking voicemail and email if you need to contact us. Have a great weekend!
30 Oct
We're seeing a spike in customer calls due to sluggish computer performance and network problems. So far they have all been due to recent virus infections, so it looks like a new threat is making inroads. Be careful what you open/click and ensure your anti-virus and key applications like your browser (IE, Firefox, Chrome), Adobe Reader and Flash, and Oracle Java are up to date!