The I-Tech News

Though there may be anxiety among those used to traditional bill paying methods regarding the safety and reliability of paying bills online, it may surprise you that online payments are safer than traditional payment methods and offer many advantages, including security, reliability, and transparency. They can be even more secure if you take a few steps to protect yourself. Here are a few reasons why paying your bills online is a secure way to manage your finances.

1. You’ll have a record of bills paid online: Whenever you pay bills over the Internet, a record is created of how much you paid, when you made the payment, and to whom the payment was made to. These records are usually available for access at any time. Aside from the convenience of having records available, if there is ever a fraudulent charge made to one of your accounts, you’ll know it.

2. You’re less likely get hacked than experience mail tampering: Research shows that identity thieves are actually more likely to obtain your sensitive financial information by tampering with your mail than hacking into your online email or bank accounts. This is another reason why online bill paying is more secure than use of traditional methods. Recent advancements have also made it possible to access your sensitive information through secure connections. To make sure you’re benefiting from them, look for “https” rather than “http” at the beginning of the URL of your web page.

3. You can easily report fraud or theft: Because you have records of all the payments you’ve made online, it’s easy to detect fraud when it occurs. Once it happens, you can easily report it to your card company or financial institution, and you’ll have all the necessary information to do so.

family paying bills

Aside from common-sense practices like remembering never to give your card or account numbers to anyone, there are a couple of ways you can protect yourself from online fraud and identity theft to make your online bill paying even more secure.

1. Check your records frequently: The first step to dealing with fraud is knowing it occurred. You’ll be able to respond to identity theft more quickly if you catch it soon after it happens. If you see signs of fraud, make sure to report it to your card company.

2. Only do business with reputable companies: If you plan on doing business with a company that’s not well known, make sure it’s reputable so that you protect yourself from fraudulent practices. Ways to determine whether or not a business is legit include searching for online reviews and getting information from the Better Business Bureau about the company.

If it’s been a while since your identity was stolen, you may still have options by reporting the issue to your bank or credit card company and discussing the matter. This, in combination with record-keeping features of online payments as well as new security measures introduced by recent technology, can make online payments a safer option than traditional methods of payment whether or not you notice fraudulent payments immediately after they are made. Payments made by mail, especially those made in cash, can be very difficult to reverse even when identity theft occurs. Making payments online is an excellent means to protect you and your money for these reasons.

There are many advantages for homeowners in pursuing security monitoring services for the safety of their home, as well as their family. A security system that’s monitored 24/7 can also offer homeowners a peace of mind that their closest assets are protected.

Most security monitoring companies utilize computers, special phone lines and professional staff to watch over a home’s security system. In almost all cases with such services, the security monitoring staff will contact the right authorities in case the alarm goes off. This includes an unwarranted breach of home, as well as instances of a fire.

Because these instances are so extreme, and the expense of security monitoring services is not always cheap, it’s imperative to conduct some research before selecting a provider. Below we offer 7 tips to help you choose the right security monitoring company.

Bullet Holes in Security

1. Inquire to the National Burglar and Alarm Association and ask them to offer you the brochure detailing the safety measures for your home security. Also ask them for the list of member organizations in your region.

2. Approach your insurance agent, neighbors, and friends for referrals. They may have benefited from similar security monitoring services in the past and may be able to offer the green light on the best way forward.

3. Call a number of security systems companies on the list given to you by the National Burglar and Alarm Association and those provided by the insurance agent, neighbors and friends. Inquire whether their employees have attained training and certification from the National Burglar and Alarm Association. Additionally, ask these companies whether they have suitable state licenses.

4. Narrow your selections to around three to four security monitoring companies. Next, contact these companies and organize for a representative to visit you when other family members are present. The representative should be conversant with your lifestyle aspects to establish the best components to be used in the security system.

5. While meeting the representative, ask them the duration they have been in business. Also inquire whether the security system company utilizes Underwriters Laboratory equipment and if the monitoring station is UL certified. Also find out whether the security monitoring station is open 24/7 and whether the company has a customer support service that operates round the clock.

6. A few other details to ask are whether or not the security monitoring unit as back-up support in case the main unit experiences power issues. Also inquire whether the monitoring centre contains in-built redundancies for its computer, power and phone lines. In case anything goes wrong, the redundancy will ensure everything is operational.

7. Lastly, ask the representative of the security monitoring company to inspect your home and come up with recommendations and a written quote. It’s also wise to ask why they made the recommendations they did. A good and straightforward explanation is a sure indication that you are dealing with an informed professional and a reliable company.

Business owners are thrilled to now be able to send documents to a variety of places without having to worry about whether or not they will be able to obtain a signature. The security of the electronic signature process is unparalleled as leading security companies have partnered with companies such as SignNow.com and other industry leaders in order to make sure that people’s information is as safe and secure as possible.

The encryption of the information contained within these documents is instantaneous once the signature has been obtained. Furthermore, people who go to trade shows and other live events can now make sure that they have security in the knowledge that the people who are purchasing goods and services can be held accountable for their purchase in the event of a credit card charge back attempt. This makes it easier for people to use mobile applications in order to conduct business.

The development of a electronic signature platform which is secure has been beneficial to companies worldwide and personal individuals longer have to worry about tracking someone down in order to secure their signature. Instead, they can focus on handling the business matters through gathering information related to a very important corporate decisions and ask for an electronic signature.

Many business owners are happy with this development because it allows them to be more effective in the pursuit of office professional matters. The easier it is for business people to handle gaining information from the individuals they are interested in doing business with, the easier it will be for them to focus on providing quality customer service. It is possible to have a document which is signed to look like it has been signed with ink in a matter of seconds. Legal precedent has been set for the signatures to be seen as legally binding agreements.

SIMPLICITY OF USAGE

People can use these programs to fill out online forms and other important documents. This is helpful for individuals who do not want to type the same information repeatedly. This is also beneficial for individuals who are trying to gather information from a wide variety of people. Having a consent form an online web site can be valuable for individuals who do not want to be accused of violating anti spam laws. Having this type of agreement with any person who has requested information leaked leading to a business proposal on other online transaction can make it easier for people to do business without having to worry about the ramifications of people implying that they are not interested in the information they have requested.

While it is still necessary to remove people from mailing lists and other necessary correspondents as requested, having an electronic signature will help business owners to avoid unnecessary complications. Understanding the simplicity are using this type of platform will also make it easier to keep customers as well as employees accountable for the documents they sign.

SPEED OF THE PROCESS

Best of all people are often satisfied with how quickly the signature process can be completed. This means that there is no longer a good way to rationalize holding them deals because of the absence of a single person from a meeting. Electronic signatures allow business to be completed professionally despite physical distance

The internet provides us with a seemingly endless amount of information about every topic imaginable. It is a valuable tool when deciding on a place to relocate, buying a house, and even arranging a moving team. Many sites are organized by metropolitan area or large city, such as San Diego. We reached out to our friends over at AllStarMove.com, a professional San Diego movers company for their advice on what are some great online tools for people to be aware of when moving. The following sites provide reliable statistics and are searchable by zip code to allow you to find local information.
City-data.com

City-data is possibly the most comprehensive website for neighborhood information. Crime statistics are specific, maps provided, weather available, and so much more for your new neighborhood. Not only does city-data offer a huge variety of statistics, it also has an active forum. This forum allows locals to give opinions and advice about very specific topics. While statistics and information are reliable, another person’s perspective can be a valuable resource.
FBI Sex Offender Registry List

This site is meant to be used to empower residents with the information to protect themselves and their children from threats to safety. Each of the 50 states maintains a site that is updated regularly and accessible through the FBI main website. Included in each entry is information about the crime, locations, and picture.
Zillow.com

Zillow is known as the largest provider of detailed real estate informatoin online. It is a great resource for anyone buying or selling a home and even those just in the browsing stages. The property value statistic alone can tell a great deal about a neighborhood, but once you are moved Zillow can still be useful. Demographic information is so incredibly detailed that it even breaks down the age of children in neighborhoods. The site also offers links to local amenities through websites they have partnered with. If you are unable to find the information about your new neighborhood on Zillow’s site, they have worked to send you in the right direction.
National Center for Education Statistics

On the National Center for Education Statistics website is a search function with information on each school in America. Detailed statistics are provided for all schools including public, private, and colleges. Additionally, libraries can be located in your new neighborhood. Some of the information for each public school provided includes; demographic, enrollment by grade, and compares stats such as teacher to student ratio to national averages. Not only is this site useful for families with school aged children, colleges and libraries are a great community resource. They are a hub for activities and can provide leads to residents new to the area.

Whether your are an IT manager or an executive, ensuring that your firm’s computer technology is robust enough to last far into the future is a never-ending challenge.

Here are some solid options to consider as you future-safe your company’s computer tech:

Move a portion if not all of your data center to cloud servers: For the longest time, it was the norm to store all of your data in-house on company servers or the corporate data center. That paradigm has certainly changed over the past few years as high level security data centers came online, providing full redundancy in the cloud at a lower cost than most companies could offer in-house. With full redundancy, your data is protected now and in the future without compromising security.

Automate servers and then wall them up: Some of the largest firms in the world have been experiencing problems with theft from their IT facilities. One firm in particular had a large government call them to tell them they had found a USB stick with most of the secret data that they protected for that client on it in the company parking lot. Having dodged a bullet, they immediately setup a building that contained servers for several clients. The difference? The servers were automated and remotely controlled by admins only. Humans are not allowed into that building. The net result was greater client acceptance of their practices and a lack of theft.

Air gap your servers where appropriate: If you cannot automate an entire section of your computer inventory, you can always look at air gapping options. Air gapping is where you physically disconnect network segments so that there is no way a certain group of people can access data on another group of computers. From a security standpoint, it makes a lot of sense for the future. When Spotify was hacked recently, out of all the damage that was done to their network, only one customer’s records were accessed by the hackers- meaning that air-gapped or not, keeping network segments and data separate will pay dividends.

Purchase rugged industrial or military spec computers: If you have industrial operations, sales reps that are constantly on the road, or an interest in having your equipment last for a long time, buying rugged computers makes sense. The components are individually chosen and selected in order to handle maximum shock, wear, and whatever extreme conditions that you might put them through. With development costs defrayed by military contracts, you also end up paying a fraction of the cost that went into creating them.

Consider a new paradigm for your network security: Several high-profile companies with sophisticated security systems have been hacked in the past few years. So often in fact, that a whole new class of software is coming onto the market. The new type of software is built into your operating system and monitors for any unauthorized access, sending a malignant virus back to any unauthorized user. The parameters for what you want to do with computers that attack your systems are variable. You can set them to provide a warning to the hacker, take over their system, or destroy the machine that hacked you.
Consider looking into it for your high security system needs.

Transition to open source software: Whenever possible, a transition to open-source software means that your investment is protected for as long as the application or operating system remains under development, which is usually a long time. You won’t need to worry as much about hardware-busting upgrades to operating systems, or incompatibility in document or file formats because a vendor has decided to move everyone who pays forward. If you want to upgrade, you merely need to download the latest version.

Is the Doorbot set to revolutionise home security procedures?

Wouldn’t it be great if you could see who was at the door before you opened it?

What about if you’re not at home but expecting a delivery? How amazing would it be if you could communicate with the delivery man to leave your package with the next door neighbour?

I guess all of this would be even harder to believe if you were able to control it with ease from your iPhone – think of it as home surveillance on the go.

Well, this dream could soon become a reality if a device known as “Doorbot” receives the $250,000 backing it needs to be launched.

At the time of writing, Doorbot is well on the way to gaining the amount of funds it needs to go live.

So what exactly can we expect from this technological advancement and does it signal a radical change in the home security and surveillance sector? This article will attempt to answer some of those questions.

First and foremost, what exactly is the Doorbot?

Doorbot is a small rectangular-shaped device that is designed to be attached to a wall next to the front door of your home – much like a regular doorbell with a camera.

It incorporates both audio and visual equipment which can be wirelessly connected to through the use of a smartphone – giving homeowners the opportunity to clear view and interact with people at their doorstep.

How does it work?

The Doorbot is powered by four AA batteries which can supposedly keep the device functioning for up to 12 months – although it all depends on how often someone calls on your doorstep.

By pressing the doorbell on the device, your connected smartphone device will receive an alert – much like an incoming phone call – where you will be given the opportunity to accept or deny the interaction with the individual at your front door.

Is it easy to install?

Apparently so. Doorbot can be attached to a wall with the use of four screws and the wireless technology means there is no complicated setup process.

Is it expensive?

Somewhat surprisingly, the Doorbot is fairly affordable for what it can offer to a homeowner. The device – which has an estimated release of July 2013 – will cost you just over £100. However, this price could be accelerated if you want to add another feature which we’ll discuss shortly!

Is it secure?

Perhaps this is the real downfall of this device. Because it’s such a sophisticated piece of equipment, the Doorbot could easily become a target for thieves or vandals – and with just four screws to undo, it wouldn’t be too much hassle to remove it.

Does it work at night?

Yes. The camera adopts infared technology which will enable you to view the visitor clearly, even in the darkest of lighting situations.

Can I open my door?

Again, yes – although it will cost you a bit more. To take advantage of this enhancement, you will need an additional piece of equipment known as Lockitron. Having this installed in sync with Doorbot will give you the opportunity to open your front door – all from your smartphone or tablet device.

The cost? Doorbot alongside Lockitron will set you back just shy of £200.

The author of this guest post, Matthew Wood, is an SEO Copywriter who develops a number of quality, unique and original pieces of content on a variety of subject matters for a considerable and impressive client list.

Over the years, the World Wide Web has been regularly inundated with ever more sophisticated and dangerous viruses. Infamous malware creations such as the Morris worm and the MyDoom virus are stark reminders of what a truly malicious viral infection can accomplish. In that spirit, here are a handful of relatively new viruses you should be aware of and take precautions against.

Hand Of Thief
A common myth regarding Linux is that it’s somehow invulnerable to viruses. The reality is that Linux isn’t infallible and has been compromised by malware in the past despite the fact that infections in the wild are generally rare. The latest threat to Linux is the “Hand of Thief” virus, a banking Trojan being sold on hacker forums for $2,000.

Flashback
Like many Linux distributions, the Mac OS X platform isn’t plagued by the same virus problems as Windows. However, we’ve seen a number of Mac-specific viruses emerge recently. The latest threat is a version of the Flashback virus, which debuted in September of 2011. The new Flashback.N installs itself by masquerading as Apple’s Software Update program and can be a pesky nuisance if not dealt with quickly.

FBI
One of many new ransomware programs making the rounds on today’s Internet, the FBI virus freezes your PC and demands cash to unlock it. After visiting insecure websites, victims find a message purportedly sent by the FBI that demands payment of a fine. Fortunately, the FBI virus is easily removed using an anti-virus program burned to a USB drive or CD-ROM.

Crytolocker
Much like the aforementioned FBI virus, Cryptolocker is a ransomware program with a unique twist. Primarily aimed at users located in the United States, it encrypts a computer’s hard drive and charges $300 for the private key to decrypt its files. If you don’t pay up within a set time frame, the private key is deleted and your files are unreadable.

Avatar
Due to their great potential for mischief and elusive nature, rootkits have quickly become the weapons of choice for hackers around the globe. Once installed, the Avatar rootkit disguises portions of its code as innocuous kernel-mode drivers so as to avoid detection. Left unchecked, it can wreak havoc by modifying all manner of Windows API programs and installing other, more dangerous malware tools.

ZeroAccess/Sirefef
Though Microsoft and its allies in law enforcement have managed to deal a major blow to the ZeroAccess rootkit, it’s still a threat that should be taken seriously. Using exploit packs and social engineering, ZeroAccess installs itself on a victim’s PC, stealthily hides its presence and then downloads additional programs for the purposes of click-fraud as well as Bitcoin mining.

BadBIOS
Though purely theoretical at this point, one virus well worth mentioning due to its recent notoriety is BadBIOS. If proven to be a legitimate infection, BadBIOS will have the notable distinction of being able to transmit data using ultra-high frequency sound waves. According to its discoverer, BadBIOS can modify firmware, BIOS settings and more. Worst of all, it appears to be incredibly difficult to isolate and eliminate.

Words of Warning
As frightening as these viruses are, they’ll inevitably be replaced by more destructive examples in the future. We’ve entered a brave new world where cyberspace attacks can have grave consequences beyond the digital realm. Cyberweapons like Stuxnet demonstrate the real-world ramifications of such programs. At the very least, staying current on the latest threats is a good way to plan an adequate defense.

It is no doubt that technology is moving ahead of time. Every other day creative and innovative internet application is being churned out into the world for consumption. Businesses have taken advantage of this and have sought to apply them in their business processes. You realize they are more efficient in business management. Talk of mobile phone for instance, it is no longer a gadget to make and receive calls but a complete package full of applications which can manage a whole business, just like a computer. Some of these applications include:

iPhone App Icons: Blue

Board Vantage

This is a mobile application that allows board of directors to hold meetings over the phone. The phone records and stores everything as if the meeting was taking place physically with a secretary. This is very convenient for large businesses. First, it saves time. The time and space which would have been used for boards’ meeting is employed much more productively. It is also cost effective because the cost of meeting over the phone is far much less than the cost of meeting physically. It is common knowledge that when a board of directors meet physically they have to pocket hefty allowances. This is not the case when they meet over the phone.
This application is secure.

Corporate Conference Event Applications

Large corporate events in today’s world thrive with a dedicated event app. Mobile event apps, like Flock by DoubleDutch.me, allows conference attendees to engage and collaborate in a whole new way. Companies can check stats and get an overall idea of the sentiment of the attendees, what they want to hear more (or less) of, whether they’re having fun, stepping up, etc. Flock allows companies to create engagement based games that award points to attendees for completing real time surveys, among other actions. Last but not least, Flock is a white-label corporate event app, so think of the branding impact and the “wow” effect attendees get from downloading an app for your company’s event!

Customer Relationship Management Applications

A customer is a very important parson in business. Management of their information is therefore very important to any business. This is an application which captures customer information and relays it to a business for action. The same system relays feedback to the customer in the same like manner after their information has been acted upon. It is time saving application because even some relay information real time.

Networking Applications

With the advent of social media, companies find it a worth investment to and install mobile networking application. It allows its employees network internally. This application is customized to reach only the employees and not outside parties because it can be very counterproductive and wasteful of company resources.

Teleconferencing Application
This is an application that allows conferences to be held over the phone. It allows everyone to enter into a conference using their phone as long as it has the application. It is time saving and convenient as it does not need space to hold conferences.

Edward Snowden shot to notoriety as the computer whiz turned whistleblower who revealed classified information about the United States government’s surveillance activities. He is hailed by some as a hero, yet dismissed by others as a traitor and criminal.

Beginnings
Edward Snowden was born in North Carolina in 1983. At 16, he moved with his family to Maryland where he went on the attend Anne Arundel Community College to earn high school credit. He did not finish, however, and later earned his GED at another college.

Years later, worked as a security guard for the National Security Agency at the University of Maryland before working in information security for the Central Intelligence Agency. He left the CIA in 2009 to work for Dell and Booz Allen Hamilton, relocating to Hawaii.

Surveillance Disclosure
In 2012 Snowden hacked and downloaded sensitive information from the National Security Agency (NSA). While with Booz Allen Hamilton he gained access to additional secret documents. By the end of the year he made contact with Glenn Greenwald of The Guardian with regard to revealing this information. In May 2013 Snowden flew to Hong Kong in anticipation of the effects of the disclosure.

While in Hong Kong he met with Greenwald, documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras and reporter Ewen MacAskill. The next month both The Guardian and The Washington Post began publishing details of Snowden’s revelations. From the documents released by Snowden and published by the journalists, it was revealed that the NSA ran a series of spying programs intercepting Internet and telephone communication from over one billion people in various countries around the world. Some of these countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Germany, participated in surveillance activity along with the NSA.

The surveillance programs were put into effect to fight terrorism and to assess the foreign policy and economic stability of other nations. According to Greenwald, the U.S. government was using counter-terrorism as an excuse to perform the surveillance as an effort to compete with other countries economically.

Aftermath
Several days after the disclosures President Obama attempted to reassure the American public that the extent of the surveillance was not as drastic as believed and that the phone calls of U.S. citizens were not being monitored. On June 14, because of the unauthorized contact and theft of government property, Edward Snowden was officially charged by the U.S. federal court with violating the Espionage Act of 1917. Weeks later he fled to Russia and was granted asylum by Vladimir Putin. This act led to a weakening of the relations between the United States and Russia.

National Security Agency director Keith B. Alexander stated that leaking this information has irreversibly damaged the national security of the United States. According to him, the release of classified information will make it more difficult for the NSA to detect future threats against the nation. The disclosure of the NSA surveillance has sparked outrage from leaders of Brazil and the European Union. Protests and petitions have taken place in support of Snowden and defense of civil liberties.

As of September 2013, Snowden remains on asylum in Russia and claims to have a job offer in the working. Vladimir Putin has stated that the United States should not insist upon the release of Snowden while they refuse to give over Russian criminals.

The media is always reporting about how terrible hackers are, but the truth is that most people are inviting hackers into their computers and devices because they don’t create strong passwords. A strong password will make it much harder for anyone to break into your computer or online services, but many people don’t know how to effectively strengthen their passwords. Here are a few tips to ensure that you have something that can effectively protect you.

Use Everything: A good password uses everything. This means that you should include numbers, uppercase and lowercase letters and special characters. While some services don’t allow you to use special characters, you can always use a combination of letters and numbers. A password like “5TGqo()3” will always be better than something like “password” or “enzo333.”

Longer Passwords: Most online services ask you to make your password at least six to eight characters long, but longer is always better if you want something strong. A longer password is harder to crack because it forces the hacker to work much harder to crack your password. Even brute strength password finders have a hard time with longer passwords.

Aim for at least 10 to 15 characters for the best password. Just make sure that you can remember it.

No Common Information: Never use common information, regular words or things that hackers can easily find or try if you want a strong password. For example, creating a password that uses your last name with a combination of numbers and special characters might seem safe. The problem is that a hacker can easily find your Twitter account, which will show him or her your real name.

It’s better to have a password that is entirely incomprehensible. If it’s hard to pronounce, then it’ll be hard to guess. If the password has something that the hacker can easily discover, then you’re just making things easier for him or her.

Different Uses: Never use the same password for different services. If someone figures out your password, then he or she might use it to access your email, blog, bank account and everything else. Making a different password for everything can avert this. You’ll be minimizing the damage without doing anything complicated.

Frequent Password Changes: Some people equate passwords to underwear because you should change them often. Changing your password every few weeks or months will make it much harder for a hacker to discover it. Not only that, but it will stop anyone who has figured out your password from accessing the online service.

Just be sure to follow the other tips above when changing the password. There’s no sense in thinking of a new password if you’ll just make it weak and simple. Not only that, but you should definitely change your password if your account was recently hacked. If your eBay password was stolen, then change it immediately. Don’t keep using the same password.

Another practical reason for doing this is that many hackers use brute force programs. These will keep guessing your password until the right combination is found. Changing your password ensures that the program won’t be able to guess it.

Conclusion
Making a strong password is essential in today’s world because everything is digital and hackers can assume your identity or make life miserable. You can guard yourself by just creating a strong password to avoid most hacking attempts.