Category Archives: Web Wise

Be Cautious : Cryptolocker Ransomeware On The Rise

Security, Software, Web Wise
Capture

In the past month, several antivirus companies have discovered a new ransomware variant known as Cryptolocker.   Ransomware is a type of malware on the rise that holds your precious files hostage for money.

It does that by searching your computer and shares for popular file extensions and encrypts them preventing you from accessing them ever again unless you pay up.

This type of ransomware does not spread to other PCs or replicate by itself.  This program needs your interaction to do its evil work.  Ransomware needs you to launch the program on your PC.  Of course, like phishing scams, It does this by trying to trick you into opening up some random attachment from a random email.

This attachment (could be a picture, zip file or other) contains the simple script to get it started doing its havoc on your PC.


If your PC gets infected then your files will more then likely be encrypted shortly after and will not be able to access them. It is impossible to decrypt the files without the private key. 


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Why You Should Be Using LastPass Password Manager

Computer Tips, Security, Software, Web Wise

Best Password Manager for online websites Have you ever stopped and thought about how many online sites you visit that require a username and password?

According to a study by Microsoft an average user has about 25 accounts that require passwords, and alarmingly types an average of 8 passwords per day. That was several years ago and it is much greater then that today.

Because of this a slew of products are available to help you “contain” all your username and passwords for online sites and they all can be accessed by one “master” password.

Why LastPass?

I have used several similar products that provide this functionality but have found LastPass to be the best.  I have used LastPass for several years now and it “manages” over 300 sites in my LastPass “Vault”.

Yes this number of sites is probably not the norm, but when you include: forums, online stores, email accounts, health accounts, financial accounts, business accounts, social media, etc…the accounts, usernames and passwords add up rather quickly. With LastPass I only have to remember ONE single password to access any of the sites securely.

As a technology engineer and business owner where everything is in the “cloud”, security is one of the most important aspects.

Secure

No one at LastPass will ever have access to your sensitive information as it is 256-bit AES encrypted. The decryption occurs on your local device (PC, android, IOS etc..). And all data passing to the cloud uses SSL.
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GoodSync: The Ultimate Free Backup and Synchronization Software?

Computer Tips, Security, Software, Web Wise

goodsync-logoSo you want to sync your local files to your Microsoft SkyDrive or Google Drive account for free? Well then GoodSync is worth looking into and you can download the FREE version here.

After reviewing it and using the free version myself, I ended up buying the pro version as it has so many more options and is one of the better backup and synchronization programs out there I have explored.

One of the outstanding features that I use myself that others do not offer is the ability it has to sync to the cloud.

I am able to sync my local files to the cloud such as Amazon Cloud, Microsoft SkyDrive, and Google Drive.  I use two out the three cloud services I listed, but actually prefer my Google Drive due to the FREE 15GB of storage and it just makes sense as I already use Google App for Business as my business Mail Provider for free. You can find out more about Google Drive here.

The syncing is fast as they now use
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Top 5 Tips on How to Receive Your First $100 Dollar Check from Google

Computer Tips, Software, Web Wise

google-adsense

As this photo of my actual check proves, receiving free money from Google is very possible. This is actually my second check received from Google in less than two years. Is this a lot of money for two years?

It is not, but at the same time I have done little to nothing on the couple websites that are allowing Google services to run on them. Very basic content has been written and published, but the revenue from Google is paying for several hosting and domain renewal fees on sites I run.

This allows me to keep those websites running for free and as time permits I add new content or refresh the current content which will draw improve SEO and draw in more traffic, ultimately increasing the number of checks received per year from Google.

Content (text, images) is probably one of the most overlooked improvements one can make to a website. Its a service Northwoods Web Designs can offer, find more details on Web Content Writing Services here.

You’re probably asking yourself, how do you get a check from Google Inc? The answer lies within their Google AdSense program. Google’s AdSense displays ads relevant to your Website to visitors. Google cuts a check when you reach $100 in earnings.
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New Zero-Day Java Bug affects all Windows PCs and Macs

Security, Web Wise

hacker-image-blog A critical zero-day vulnerability has been found in all versions of Java, developed by Oracle.  Java is an application on your computer that can be used by many applications and including web browsers. 

This security vulnerability affects almost every computer. It allows hackers to install malware or other unwanted programs on your computer without you knowing it. They can elevate the permission on the computer which would allow them to do whatever they wanted.
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