But Macs don't get viruses ... or do they?

Today 1 in 5 consumer PCs is a Mac so they are a tasty target for hackers, spammers and criminals.

See these two brief videos for more info: Do Macs get viruses?


and this: What does a Mac threat look like?

World Cup 2010 - be aware of the scams!

Our close friends at Sophos - the IT security experts sent us this link to important information regarding scams that appear around World Cup 2010 time that you or someone you know may be exposed to.

People who usually have little or no interest in soccer may turn into soccer fiends when the world Cup starts.

And if you can change your behaviour -- quite innocently -- in "real life" because the World Cup is on, you run the risk of changing your behaviour online -- to your own risk -- at the same time.

Clicking dodgy links, running to five different little-known websites to compare odds, checking who's playing whom and when, trying to find crowd-shot video of dodgy refereeing decisions, looking up historical data to prove England really are rubbish, and more.

If you want to be prepared, read this:
http://www.sophos.com/blogs/duck/g/2010/06/10/world-cup-2010-scam-odds

5 tips to help keep your passwords secret

Treat your passwords with as much care as you treat the information that they protect.

Use strong passwords to log on to your computer and to any site where you enter your credit card number, or any financial or personal information—including social networking sites.

1. Never provide your password over e-mail or in response to an e-mail request.
2. Internet "phishing" scams use fraudulent e-mail messages to entice you to reveal your user names and passwords, steal your identity, and more.
3. Do not type passwords on computers that you do not control
• Computers such as those in Internet cafes, computer labs, kiosk systems, conferences, and airport lounges should be considered unsafe for any personal use other than anonymous Internet browsing.
• Cyber criminals can purchase keystroke logging devices which gather information typed on a computer, including passwords.
4. Don't reveal passwords to others
• Keep your passwords hidden from friends or family members (especially children) who could pass them on to other, less trustworthy individuals.
5. Protect any recorded passwords
• Don't store passwords on a file in your computer, because criminals will look there first.
• Keep your record of the passwords you use in a safe, secure place.
6. Use more than one password
• Use different passwords for different Web sites and services.

How strong is YOUR password?

Test your password with a password checker

Are you wondering if the password you created is good enough?

A password checker evaluates your password's strength automatically.

Click on the following link if you want to check your password's strength:

https://www.microsoft.com/protect/fraud/passwords/checker.aspx?WT.mc_id=Site_Link

How to Create Strong Passwords

Strong passwords are an important protection to help you protect your data.

Keys to password strength: length and complexity

An ideal password is long and has letters, punctuation, symbols, and numbers.

• Whenever possible, use at least 8 characters or more.
• The greater the variety of characters in your password, the better.
• Use the entire keyboard, not just the letters and characters you use or see most often.

Create a strong password you can remember

There are many ways to create a long, complex password. Here is one way that may make remembering it easier:

Start with a sentence or two (about 10 words total). Think of something meaningful to you.
For example take he following sentence:
"Long and complex passwords are safest. I keep mine secret." (10 words)
Turn this sentences into a row of letters. Use the first letter of each word.
= lacpasikms (10 characters)
Add complexity. Make only the letters in the first half of the alphabet uppercase.
= lACpAsIKMs (10 characters)
Add length with numbers. Put two numbers that are meaningful to you between the two sentences.
= lACpAs56IKMs (12 characters)
Add length with punctuation. Put a punctuation mark at the beginning.
= ?lACpAs56IKMs (13 characters)
Add length with symbols. Put a symbol at the end.
= ?lACpAs56IKMs" (14 characters)

Common password pitfalls to avoid

Cyber criminals use sophisticated tools that can rapidly decipher passwords.
Avoid creating passwords using:
• Dictionary words in any language.
Words in all languages are vulnerable.
• Words spelled backwards, common misspellings, and abbreviations.
• Sequences or repeated characters.
Examples: 12345678, 222222, abcdefg, or adjacent letters on your keyboard (qwerty).
• Personal information.
Your name, birthday, driver's license, passport number, or similar information.
Protect your passwords from prying eyes
The easiest way to "remember" passwords is to write them down.
It is okay to write passwords down, but keep them secure.

SCAMS - Learn All About Them

Too many businesses become victims of online and offline scams. There is a handy booklet published by the government that you are able to download for free and learn more about the scams, how they work and how you can defend against them.

The link is as follows:
http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/tag/TheLittleBlackBookOfScams08

This is what the website says about the booklet:
The little black book of scams highlights a variety of popular scams that regularly target Australian consumers and small business in areas such as fake lotteries, internet shopping, mobile phones, online banking, employment and investment opportunities. It also offers consumers tips on how to protect themselves from scams, what they can do to minimise damage if they do get scammed and how they can report a scam.

Protect your data in 3 simple ways

Here are three simple steps to ensure that when you walk away from your computer, people will not be able to see what you are working on.

1. Set up a password so you have to log on everytime you start the computer. This is the most basic protection you really should have in place - and most workplaces already have this.

You can password protect individual files, folders or the whole computer.
Create strong passwords that:
- Are at least 6 characters
- Include upper and lowercase letters
- Contain at least 1 special character (@$*>?) and/or numbers

To set up a password there are a number of ways but an easy one is to press these 3 buttons at the same time; 'Ctrl' 'Alt' and 'Delete' and click on 'Change password'

2. Set up a screensaver with password protection - this means that when you walk away from your computer a screensaver will automatically start after a preset number of minutes and when you are ready to start work again, you will have to enter in your password to be able to access your work.

To turn on your screensaver with password protection, go to the ‘Control Panel’ and look under ‘Display’. Go to the ‘Screensaver’ tab, where you will see the available options. Set the amount of minutes the system should wait before it start the screensaver when the computer is not being used. Tick the box for password protection.

3. Finally before you walk away from your computer at work or in a public place, press these 3 buttons at the same time; 'Ctrl' 'Alt' and 'Delete' and select 'Lock Computer'. In this setting all your files remain exactly as they are, but noone will be able to see them or access them while you walk away. When you come back you simply enter your password and you can continue working as before.

These are just 3 simple techniques you can use to protect your data!

Let us know if you have any other handy tips like this. Remember the team at B Technologies is here to help.

Keeping Microsoft Windows updated is easy, free and important

For Windows users, you should regularly install Microsoft suggested critical updates!

If you have a Windows operating system installed on your computer you should ensure that it is set to receive automatic updates as they are released. These updates are released as security and performance issues are identified on a regular basis, so receiving the updates is a very important process.

To ensure you have the latest updates RIGHT NOW, you can go to http://update.microsoft.com/. You will first be asked if you want to do an express or custome installation of any critical updates. I usually select 'custom' so I can review all of the available updates. By reading their descriptions I can decide whether I need them or not.

Once you have selected one of the buttons a scan of you system will start automatically which will identify all available updates to your system. You should install any critical updates and sort through the optional updates to see whether you really need them or not.

The same concept applies to any other programs THAT YOU TRUST. If you know that the program is safe, it is advisable to now and again check for any updates as these are usually released by the developers to fix any issues that have been identified or to add new features.

Remember this is all free.

How to tell if a website is truly secure or not

Someone sent me an email with some very useful information that I wanted to share with you all about the difference between http:// and https://

This is one of the ways that you can check whether a website that you are about to enter your credit card details into for example, is secure or not! So it’s this simple:

The main difference between http:// and https:// is it’s all about keeping you secure

HTTP stands for Hypertext Transport Protocol, which is just a fancy way of saying it's a protocol (a language, in a manner of speaking) for information to be passed back and forth between web servers and clients.

The important thing is the letter S which makes the difference between HTTP and HTTPS.
The S stands for "Secure".

If you visit a website or webpage, and look at the address in the web browser, it will likely begin with the following: http://

This means that the website is talking to your browser using the regular 'unsecured language. In other words, it is possible for someone to "eavesdrop" on your computer's conversation with the website. If you fill out a form on the website, someone might see the information you send to that site.

This is why you never ever enter your credit card number in an http website!

But if the web address begins with https:// that basically means your computer is talking to the website in a secure code that no one can eavesdrop on.

If a website ever asks you to enter your credit card information, you should automatically look to see if the web address begins with https://

If it doesn't, do not enter sensitive information like a credit card number.

You can also see the Wikipedia article on the subject

Clearing Your Cache and Cookies to Improve PC Security and Performance

Most browsers hold a saved copy of visited webpages. Clearing your browser's cache and/or cookies can resolve a number of problems you may be experiencing while using sites on the web. Problems that can be solved include reduced speed, security issues such as viruses or spyware and other strange behaviour of your computer. Of course it increases your privacy as well, deleting the record of what sites you have visited.

Google provides some simple instructions for clearing your cache and cookies. Remember these are different for each browser type, so to clear your cache and cookies, you can follow the steps below:

For MS Internet Explorer:
Click Tools at the top of your browser window.
Select Internet Options from the menu.
Select the General tab, if it's not already selected.
Locate the Browsing history section and click Delete.
In the Temporary Internet Files section, click Delete files If a pop-up window appears, click Yes.
In the Cookies section, click Delete cookies If a pop-up window appears, click Yes.

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For Mozilla Firefox:
Click Tools at the top of your browser window.
Click Options.
In the Private Data section, click the Settings button.
Ensure that Cache and Cookies are checked.
Click OK.

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For Safari:
Click Safari in the upper left corner of your display.
Select Reset Safari from the menu.
A pop-up box will appear. Click Reset.
Click Safari again.
Select Empty Cache from the menu.
A pop-up box will appear. Click Empty.