Before you click that shortened URL, know the (harsh) facts. Short links, shortened URLs, tiny URLs: Whatever you call them, they’re everywhere. More than 200 link-shortening services—including the popular Bitly, TinyURL, Google URL Shortener, and Twitter’s link service—turn millions of long, unwieldy URLs into short, spiffy links. The convenience factor is clear. Sometimes you don’t …
by Lisa McComsey 
The Internet of Things connects us and our devices in amazing ways. But it can also wreak havoc on our world. If you’d never heard of the Internet of Things (IoT), you likely know it now. On Friday, October 21, a massive Distributed Denial of Service attack pummeled popular sites like Google, Twitter, PayPal, the …
by Lisa McComsey 
Clever hackers are getting so devious that even IT folks fall for their ploys. Learn how to identify and avoid social engineering attacks. Social engineers prey on human nature, attacking people’s vulnerabilities—fear, greed, naiveté, and kindness—to get what they want. And what do they want? Your money, your credentials, your intellectual property, your contact list…. It’s easier …
by Lisa McComsey 
Think creating strong passwords is a pain? It’s really not. And getting hacked is far more painful. The call to create tough-to-crack passwords gets louder every year. And still, scores of people ignore it. Case in point: Computerworld’s list of the worst, most common passwords for the last five years. Topping the chart in 2015 …
by Lisa McComsey 
It’s easy to be relaxed and unguarded when roaming around Facebook. But with the rise of malware on social media, you better amp up the vigilance. Email phishing and spear phishing attacks are a popular way for cyber scammers to spread malware. But social-media platforms pose significant threats, too. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and the like …
by Lisa McComsey 
Choosing to encrypt a website is becoming less and less of a choice for site owners. The switch to HTTPS is quickly becoming non-negotiable. Thank the big players out there for making it highly desirable—if not mandatory—for HTTP sites to go HTTPS. For example: Google has clearly stated that HTTPS is an important ranking factor. …
by Lisa McComsey 
Yes, a hacked website can happen to your school. Here, the myths, misinformation, and truths. Plus, tips for protecting yourself. If you surfed the Internet in 1994, you could probably have gone to all 3,000 websites. (And back then, a hacked website was rare.) Today, you’d be hard pressed to visit even a tiny fraction …
by Lisa McComsey 
Email phishing scams are flooding the Internet: How not to get lured in. Nearly 85 percent of American and British organizations have been victims of phishing attacks, most delivered by email (other popular vehicles include mobile devices, social media, and phone calls). Financial loss, productivity slowdown, and reputation damage are just some of the consequences …
by Lisa McComsey 
An old cybercrime that first surfaced in the late ‘80s, ransomware has re-emerged as a sinister plague. It can infect school networks—and pretty much everyone else on the planet who has access to a computer and the Internet. According to the FBI, ransomware victims in the U.S. doled out $209 million in first quarter 2016, compared …
by Lisa McComsey 
Are your endusers vulnerable to social engineering? The scammers are counting on it. You’ve gone to great lengths to protect your school network with firewalls, filters, and anti-virus software. But you’ve still got a weak link (or hundreds). It’s called your end-user. Any one of staff members or students could fall for a social-engineering scam that devastates …
by Lisa McComsey FROM OUR BLOG
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