Update Your Firefox Plugins

Update Your Firefox Plugins

If you're a Mozilla Firefox browser user, like me, be sure to regularly check if you have the latest plugins. 

Plugins are third-party browser add-ons, like Adobe Flash Player, which provide additional features. 

To check the plugin status in Firefox, do this:

1. Open Firefox
2. Click the three horizontal bars at upper right
3. Click the Add-ons icon
4. In the next window, at left, click the Plugins icon
5. At the top of this window, click the link "Check to see if your plugins are up to date"

Firefox will now check for you, then notify you what is and is not current. I recommend updating any plugin that's not current. It's a security risk to not do so.

When finished updating your plugins, close Firefox, then re-open it, and check the plugins again, just to be sure you got all the updates. 

Thanks for reading. Your feedback is appreciated!

Aloha, Sam

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Watch Out for Ransomware Attacks - They're Nasty!

I'll start out bluntly with a reminder: Please don’t click on any emails or attachments you don't recognize, and avoid suspicious websites altogether.

This is an especially important practice because there is a type of widespread cyber attack using ransomware schemes to bilk uses out of money once their computers are hijacked and locked by the hacker. 

The problem begins when the victim clicks on an infected advertisement, email, or attachment, or visits an infected website. Once the victim’s device is infected with the ransomware, the victim’s files become encrypted. In most cases, once the victim pays a ransom fee, he or she regains access to the files that were encrypted. 

The financial impact to victims goes beyond the ransom fee itself, which is typically between $200 and $10,000. Many victims incur additional costs associated with network mitigation, network countermeasures, loss of productivity, legal fees, IT services, and/or the purchase of credit monitoring services for employees or customers. 

Again, be very, very careful these days especially about emails, websites, or phone calls offering computer tech support, no matter how official the offer sounds. 

You can read the full article, which I summarized above, here: 

http://www.ic3.gov/media/2015/150623.aspx

If you suspect your computer is infected by ANY malicious sfotware, unplug if from the Internet immediately and request trusted LOCAL tech support.

Thanks for reading. Your feedback is appreciated!

Aloha, Sam

You can subscribe to email tips by visiting www.kokuadigital.com and entering your name, email, and "add to email list" in the request form, then click Send. 

The Myth of the Impervious Mac

The Myth of the Impervious Mac

What's the issue?
Conventional thinking in computer user land - and rightly so for awhile now - is that Macs are unlikely to be infected by viruses. 

That thinking must now change. 

I can attest to working on four infected Macs in the last week prior to writing this article (June 2015). Mac users must start being more Internet-security savvy and protect their computers with security software and best practices.  

Why is this happening?
The infections I cleaned up targeted browser weak points and/or enticed the users to download software - social networking type of exploits. 

In one case the client I helped had downloaded software that launched a webpage prompting her to call a number for tech support. When someone with a thick foreign accent at a call center answered, she was immediately suspicious. When that person asked to remotely connect to her computer, she hung up. Then she called for our help to remove the infection. 

Another client was not so fortunate. She fell for the scam and allowed them remote access to her computer. After she realized the danger and disconnected the remote tech, she called us. I removed 51 infections on her Mac, including some Trojan viruses.

How to not fall victim to tech support scams?
In one of my previous blog posts, linked here, I explained how to be careful about requesting computer tech support. Be suspicious of anyone offering tech support online or calling you. And be very careful about downloading software on your computer. When in doubt, don't do it, or at least spend some time researching it. 

I recommend taking these protective measures on your Mac:

• Back up all important data at once and do so frequently.
• Make sure you have all Apple updates installed, and keep up with doing this.
• Try using Firefox instead of Safari and keep it updated.
• Create an admin account on your Mac, password protect it, then demote your usual account to standard user level and password protect it.
• Install an antivirus program like Sophos, Avast, or AVG and scan you entire Mac; do the scan weekly, or at least monthly.
• Make sure you are behind a hardware firewall in your home or business network.
• Keep up with Mac-specific security news.

Here are some additional Mac-specific security tips, which are a little more techie, such as enabling the Firewall and turning on Vault (to encrypt).

In Sum
Sorry to say it, but Mac users can no longer relax in thinking that Windows systems are the focal point for hackers. It's open season on everyone now. Be careful, and protect yourself the best you can. It's all we can really do, except for limiting computer use on the Internet, which of course, is an option given how much we use our smartphones these days for web and email. I wrote on this subject in this blog post.

Update 5/27/16... here's a post that references the hows and whys of Mac infections...


Thanks for reading,
Sam

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Windows 10 - Upgrade Optional, Can Wait And See

Here's an alert for Windows 7 and 8 users: Soon, if you haven't already, you may see a little Windows Start icon in your system tray at the lower right of your screen. 

While this image may resemble a spyware program, it is the notice Microsoft is foisting on its Windows 7 and 8 users to promote upgrading to Windows 10. I want to let you know that you DO NOT have to feel any pressure to upgrade to Windows 10, in spite of whatever buzz Microsoft is creating. 

Customers currently running the Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 operating systems have a full year to take advantage of the free Windows 10 download, available from 29 July 2015.

(If you want the notification mentioned above to go away, here's a techie reference for how to do this.)

In my opinion, you SHOULD NOT download Windows 10 without careful consideration of how it will affect your current programs, printer installation, network connections, etc. 

If you have a computer running Windows 7 or 8 that you want to tinker with, then by all means, download the upgrade. Just be aware it could not go well. (After all, this may be one giant beta test on the public.) Or it could go perfectly fine and delight you. But it's a risk. 

In my opinion, businesses especially should play the wait and see game. 

I'll provide more info as this issue unfolds. 

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Microsoft Windows Updates - June 9, 2015

Microsoft has released eight updates to address vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows. 

Exploitation of some of these vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution or elevation of privileges.

I recommend you close all your open programs and check for Microsoft Windows Updates asap, then install them. 

Here's how to install updates in Windows 7:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/install-windows-updates

Here's how in Windows 8:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/windows-update-faq

You should be notified to reboot your computer so the updates can be installed. I recommend checking for updates a second time just after the first batch is installed to ensure you have acquired all the updates. 

And while you're in update mode, I suggest updating your security software as well. 

Refence: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/security/ms15-jun.aspx

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Google Chrome Browser Security Update - 43.0.2357.65

Google has released another update to its Chrome browser, now version 43.0.2357.65.

This update applies to Windows, Mac, and Linux to address multiple vulnerabilities. 

Per Google, exploitation of one of these vulnerabilities may allow a remote attacker to take control of an affected system.

I recommend updating Google Chrome if you have it.

To update the browser: 

1. Open Google Chrome.
2. Click at upper right on the three horizontal bars.
3. Click Help, About Google Chrome near the bottom.
4. Chrome will then check for updates and install if any.

While you're in the update mode, I suggest you check for OS (Operating System) updates for Windows, Mac, or Linux, whichever you are running (on all computers you own); and update your AV (Anti Virus) software.

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Be Careful Which Data You Store on the Internet

Be Careful Which Data You Store on the Internet

What's the issue?
Photos, videos, emails, documents, spreadsheets, etc. - all the stuff you create on your digital devices and post or store on the Internet - are accessible to other people, and not just people you've shared them with. 

The internet is a public network and as such is a tempting target for hackers. Whether it's called the Web, the Net, or the Cloud, all services are running on a public platform.  

Cloud storage companies that host your email, your personal or company files, your precious pictures of family, etc. are usually doing their best to limit access to authorized users only, i.e. those users having passwords or other means of authentication. 

But the potential to score some valuable confidential data is very tempting. So cyberthieves are thriving by exploiting weak points in software all across the internet. 

Why is software so vulnerable?
Software - whether a web browser, PDF reader, email program, cloud application, etc. - is inherently insecure the moment it's released, whether it's a free or paid version. 

Computer code is too complicated to be perfectly debugged. That's why all software companies and programmers issue fixes, patches, updates, etc. for their programs. There's no way around it. 

Given this fact, and the growing opportunity and enthusiasm for cybercrime, we users must be suspicious from the outset whenever we do anything online, especially posting, storing, and sharing our data.  

How to improve protection of your data?
First decide what's confidential. Usually this includes anything you don't want others to see besides yourself or trusted people. Confidential data can range from the obvious - a bank account number - to the seemingly innocuous, such as a carefree photo taken of you at the beach. Data is like a gun; its potential for good or ill depends on the intent of the person wielding it.

If you are running a business and need to store confidential data online for staff access make sure there is strong encryption during the transmission and storage of the data. (I will write more about encryption in a subsequent article.)

When should you take action?
As soon as possible, take stock of the data you store online. 

After you determine which files you consider confidential, decide your risk tolerance for storing those files online. Translation: If the site storing the files got hacked, how vulnerable would you feel? 

And this begs the question: Why are you storing any confidential data online? (There are secure ways of storing passwords, data, account info, etc. using websites like lastpass.com)

Where can you find more info on this topic?
Here's an article posted on a Boston University page outlining the concerns of storing data in the cloud and which addresses the importance of encryption. 

Who can help?
If this all seems too technical but you are concerned and want to be better protected, you may want to hire an IT consultant. This is an especially good investment if you are responsible for data security in an office environment. 

In Sum
We don't leave our car doors unlocked or windows rolled down in public parking lots. We don't leave our home doors and windows unsecured when we're on vacation. We have some common sense in these areas. In this new digital age, we need to develop common sense concerning our private data. Not doing so can be very damaging to our finances, our identity, and our reputation. 

Thanks for reading.
-Sam