Back-to-school season has finally arrived, and it won’t be long before our kids are back in the classroom, learning all sorts of different subjects. Although it’s an exciting time for our kids, this transition back to school is often difficult.
When school starts, they have additional responsibilities to keep up with to ensure future success.
As a parent, you play a vital role in your child’s success, and there are some tech strategies you can use to help give them an advantage.
Whether we like it or not, technology plays a part in our children’s education and lives, so it’s in our best interests to get familiar with the tech our kids use regularly and create guidelines to ensure they stay on task.
We’ve gathered some of our favorite back-to-school tech tips to help you prepare your children for a successful school year.
If your children have a smartphone, tablet or computer, they will likely use the Internet and visit various websites. Some of these websites may be unsecured and could download malware or a virus to their device, which can cause even bigger problems down the road. The device will likely stop working as efficiently as it should, and your family’s personal information may become compromised.
It’s imperative that you download some type of antivirus or security software.
Most web browsers offer free security features, but you can also buy enhanced security plans if you want extra protection.
You should also look into restricting certain websites and apps on your network and your children’s personal devices. You don’t want them to stumble upon a website that’s not age-appropriate or is unsecured.
Many experts agree that children ages 5 to 17 should not be on a screen for more than two hours per day. Screen overuse can lead to mental and physical health problems that could hinder your child’s development.
That being said, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry reports that, on average, children ages 8 to 12 in the United States spend four to six hours a day watching or using screens, and teens spend up to nine hours.
As the parent, it’s your responsibility to enforce guidelines around screen time usage.
While you might have been a little more lenient during the summer months, now is the time to set ground rules.
Give them a certain amount of time they’re allowed to use their devices for personal use, and make it so they can only use the screens in public areas of the house, not a bedroom. That way, you can monitor what they’re doing and how long they use their devices.
Keep in mind that you will have to follow these guidelines to a similar extent, or else your child will find your rules unfair.
Your child likely has a lot of important information and documents on their laptop or personal computer.
Make sure you’re regularly backing up their data so they don’t lose it if something happens to the hardware.
It’s also a good idea to store and save everything to a cloud storage service so they can access their homework and other important files from other devices.
Finally, check their devices to see if any software needs to be updated.
Companies are constantly releasing updates to their software to plug any cyber security holes and ensure it runs to the best of its ability.
Keeping your devices up-to-date will offer additional security and allow them to run faster.
Your children are probably very excited about the start of the school year. Help make this year is one to remember and set them on the path to success by implementing some of the above tech tips!
If you own or operate a business, you’ve probably adapted to a number of changes over the years.
As you inch closer to year-end, it’s time to figure out what still needs to be done.
One of those potential changes might be an upgrade to your business’ network infrastructure.
When you look at making updates or adjustments to your business, you’re probably doing so in an effort to bring in a greater profit than the previous year.
While updating your software or hardware might not provide an obvious benefit to your sales goals, it can help save your business quite a bit of money in the long run.
It can even boost your sales and overall productivity when the right updates are put in place. Here are four major benefits that come with updating your network infrastructure.
New technological advancements are made every day, and failing to keep up with them can hinder your business operations.
This can be seen clearly with Internet connectivity.
If your Internet speeds are slow, your employees will work at a slower pace.
Client-facing applications will also lag and can be detrimental to your customers’ satisfaction with your business.
Investing in a new network will allow you to utilize faster Internet speeds so you and your employees can work quicker with fewer interruptions; this will improve productivity and help more clients in an efficient manner.
As your business grows, your network needs to grow with it.
We talk about the importance of cyber security a lot, and it’s because one successful cyber-attack could bring irreparable harm to any business, regardless of reputation or size.
Cyberthreats are more complicated than ever before, and cybercriminals can easily navigate old and outdated networks.
Newer networks are built with more defenses to thwart would-be hackers.
Even if you’ve recently upgraded your network, you need to continually update your software.
New patches are continually released that help plug the holes cybercriminals are exploiting.
An upgraded network provides business owners with more options than they could ever dream of. You’ll have access to countless applications that will benefit your business and give you a step ahead of your competitors, but your network needs to be as strong as possible to get the most out of them.
If you upgrade your network on old infrastructure, you will put more strain on your system, and your IT person or company will have to step in to help out.
Investing in modern network infrastructure will help fix many problems in your business and will give your employees more time to be productive, including your IT specialists.
Now that you’re aware of the benefits of upgrading your network infrastructure, when should you do it?
As your business grows, your network needs to grow with it.
You will also need to upgrade if you’re experiencing any issues with your current network.
If you work in an industry that deals with sensitive client information, like a law firm, you may be legally required to keep your network up-to-date as much as possible.
Upgrading your network and keeping it up-to date-will come with many benefits and few drawbacks.
If it’s been some time since your last upgrade or update, it’s time to reevaluate your needs. And if you are not sure whether your current network needs an upgrade, our IT experts would be glad to help you examine your network infrastructure; book a 15-minutes call with one of our IT experts here.
In these recent attacks cyber criminals target victims using social media networks, specifically those individuals inside financial organizations and those who make financial transactions. These victims were then called using the phone by the attacker posing as bank employees, who then used social engineering tactics to trick the victim to install an "update" to the bank’s security module.
The victims, worried that they would lose access to their account, complied by installing a Chrome extension called Interface Online offered by Internet Security Online. The extension was available on Tuesday in the Chrome store. As it was discovered, Google took it down. This scam was first discovered in Brazil, but expect this soon in the US and Europe.
The pressure-filled phone call to the banks includes instructions on how to update the supposed security module. The victim is provided with a web address over the phone and when they click “Install,” they are redirected to the extension’s installation page, hosted in the Chrome Store. The cyber criminal keeps the victim on the line throughout the installation process and once it’s complete, has them test their access to the corporate bank account. As they enter their credentials, the data is sent to the attackers in the background.
“I’ve had the opportunity to listen to one of those calls and I must admit that they make it in a professional way,” Marinho told Threatpost.
“In my opinion, the criminals are shifting from the traditional [malicious spam] to targeted and more creative attack methods here in Brazil,” Marinho said. ‘It’s getting common to have victims reporting that they are receiving phone calls from someone pretending to be from a bank and urging the victim to do something, like installing a fake security module, this case, or asking them to type the token combination on a fake website.”
These attacks are the latest in a growing trend of fraud exploiting Chrome extensions. In the recent weeks, researchers have reported at least eight popular Chrome plugins had been hijacked and were being abused to manipulate internet traffic and serve ads in the browser.
Warn your accounting team that this is a new scam they need to watch out for. Also, ensure your company systems are managed by a professional IT service provider to monitor and maintain the network and IT systems. It is important that the provider implements comprehensive security services as part of their offering.
Reference: https://isc.sans.edu/forums/diary/BankerGoogleChromeExtensiontargetingBrazil/22722/
The Web is an incomprehensible and great plain of numerous products of the soil, however there are two sides to everything. It can likewise be a contemptible and appalling spot, with substance that could make even the most solidified criminal jump (or gaze in surprise). Keep your system sheltered by actualizing a substance sifting answer for your business.
The thing is, no one preferences restrictions set on them for anything. Utilizing the Web legitimately is about discovering the ideal mix of gainfulness and security, which is simpler said than done. An excess of limitation can get your workers down in the dumps, while a lot of flexibility could possibly prompt a coincidental malware download. Here are three substance sifting tips from QWERTY Concepts to keep your business' system safe and your representatives cheerful.
Whatever confinements you choose to force on your Web utilization strategy, it ought to be made clear and accessible to your workers what is continuously checked and what is constantly blocked. Clearly, express substance that can get your workers worked up ought to be blocked, however there are other dubious locales that can conceivably waste time, for example, Spotify, Youtube, and Facebook. Eventually, its dependent upon you, to settle on this decision, however whatever you pick, it ought to be made widespread to each one of those included. This implies not playing top choices, which can devastate confidence.
Shockingly for a few organizations, observing each client's web activity can be an overwhelming errand, and you may not have the workforce to do so. To help, you could outsource your security to QWERTY Concepts. We can set you up with a strong managed security service arrangement that can piece sites, control the amount time representatives are used logging on to specific locales, and square vindictive endeavors to get to your system with firewalls, antivirus, thread detection and a zero trust framework. It's an in with no reservations that can keep your group profitable with negligible danger to your system.
Your business simply can't afford to be carefree about your security. QWERTY Concepts can help you integrate a solution that will keep your network secure, with minimal interruptions and false positives - providing your small and medium business enterprise-class security. Give us a call at (732) 926-0112 or click here to learn about our network security solution to boost productivity and security with one simple package.
Back-to-school season has finally arrived, and it won’t be long before our kids are back in the classroom, learning all sorts of different subjects. Although it’s an exciting time for our kids, this transition back to school is often difficult.
When school starts, they have additional responsibilities to keep up with to ensure future success.
As a parent, you play a vital role in your child’s success, and there are some tech strategies you can use to help give them an advantage.
Whether we like it or not, technology plays a part in our children’s education and lives, so it’s in our best interests to get familiar with the tech our kids use regularly and create guidelines to ensure they stay on task.
We’ve gathered some of our favorite back-to-school tech tips to help you prepare your children for a successful school year.
If your children have a smartphone, tablet or computer, they will likely use the Internet and visit various websites. Some of these websites may be unsecured and could download malware or a virus to their device, which can cause even bigger problems down the road. The device will likely stop working as efficiently as it should, and your family’s personal information may become compromised.
It’s imperative that you download some type of antivirus or security software.
Most web browsers offer free security features, but you can also buy enhanced security plans if you want extra protection.
You should also look into restricting certain websites and apps on your network and your children’s personal devices. You don’t want them to stumble upon a website that’s not age-appropriate or is unsecured.
Many experts agree that children ages 5 to 17 should not be on a screen for more than two hours per day. Screen overuse can lead to mental and physical health problems that could hinder your child’s development.
That being said, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry reports that, on average, children ages 8 to 12 in the United States spend four to six hours a day watching or using screens, and teens spend up to nine hours.
As the parent, it’s your responsibility to enforce guidelines around screen time usage.
While you might have been a little more lenient during the summer months, now is the time to set ground rules.
Give them a certain amount of time they’re allowed to use their devices for personal use, and make it so they can only use the screens in public areas of the house, not a bedroom. That way, you can monitor what they’re doing and how long they use their devices.
Keep in mind that you will have to follow these guidelines to a similar extent, or else your child will find your rules unfair.
Your child likely has a lot of important information and documents on their laptop or personal computer.
Make sure you’re regularly backing up their data so they don’t lose it if something happens to the hardware.
It’s also a good idea to store and save everything to a cloud storage service so they can access their homework and other important files from other devices.
Finally, check their devices to see if any software needs to be updated.
Companies are constantly releasing updates to their software to plug any cyber security holes and ensure it runs to the best of its ability.
Keeping your devices up-to-date will offer additional security and allow them to run faster.
Your children are probably very excited about the start of the school year. Help make this year is one to remember and set them on the path to success by implementing some of the above tech tips!
