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XFER Blog

XFER Blog

XFER has been serving the Livonia area since 1994, providing IT Support such as technical helpdesk support, computer support, and consulting to small and medium-sized businesses.

These Police Officers Called for Backup... and it was Infected with Ransomware

These Police Officers Called for Backup... and it was Infected with Ransomware

The police exist to serve, protect, and enforce the law, but who can we turn to if even the cops are made victim of a cyberattack? This is the question the residents of Cockrell, Texas have to answer, as their police department fell victim to a ransomware attack known as the Osiris Ransomware.

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How a Single Data Breach Can Cost You Millions of Dollars

How a Single Data Breach Can Cost You Millions of Dollars

With all of the major data breaches making the news these days, it’s not very surprising when you hear about a new one. However, what is surprising is just how much the average cost per breach has skyrocketed in recent years. The cost of data breaches is up 29 percent since 2013, which equates to roughly $4 million per data breach.

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Threat Spotlight: How to Stop Brute Force Attacks

Threat Spotlight: How to Stop Brute Force Attacks

Hackers of all shapes and sizes use brute force attacks to gain access into accounts and infrastructures, but do you know how they work and what your business can do to protect against them? Failing to understand brute force attacks could put sensitive information in the crosshairs of hackers, and leave it vulnerable to ongoing attacks.

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Alert: New Petya Ransomware Spreads via Fake Online Resumes

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Next time you see an unsolicited resume in your email, it’s worth scrutinizing before you just click on it. It could be a nasty new ransomware called Petya.

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Do You Use Steam for PC Gaming? Watch Out for this New Malware!

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Malware has traditionally targeted industries that are exceptionally profitable. For example, hackers like to target retailers for their wealth of financial credentials. One of the most profitable industries, entertainment, is also subject to similar torment, including Steam, the PC gamer’s most valuable tool for gaming binges.

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Prevent Being Taken By Familiarizing Yourself With These 4 Social Engineering Tips

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Did you know that some of the most successful hackers actually know very little about computer coding? In many cases, a hacker simply tricking someone into handing over their personal information works out even better for them. This is a tactic known as social engineering, and the only way to defend against it is to stay one step ahead of the hacker’s devious plans.

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Botnets Go Mobile, Making the Internet Less Safe

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Hackers are notorious for exploiting technology for their benefit, but users often forget that mobile devices are exploited just as often as desktops and workstations; perhaps more so, due to their higher exposure to wireless networks that may not be secure. One of the greatest threats to mobile devices is the botnet, which is designed to enslave a device and have it turn on its owner (and the entire Internet).

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Alert: How Hackers are Scamming Users With Fake IT Support Hotline

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There’s a wicked string of malware on the Internet that locks users out of their browser and directs them to call a phone number. That phone number reaches hackers who have set up a subterfuge as an IT support company. If this happens to you, even if you are in the middle of something important, do not call the phone number.

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The Wolfman is an Executable Virus and 3 Other Monster/Malware Comparisons

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It’s the time of year when we reflect on scary things. For an IT company, it doesn’t get much scarier than an organization’s network getting slammed with a malicious computer virus. There are a variety of really bad viruses out there, each one with its own unique ability to cause some scary results. The way we see it, each computer virus is kind of like a classic monster.

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10 of the Most Dangerous Domains on the Web

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The Internet is chuck full of malicious activity, but sometimes the difference between legitimate and illegitimate websites is so fine that it’s nigh impossible to discern the two. Well, we might be in luck; as it turns out, around 95 percent of the dangerous websites on the Internet can be identified by the top-level domains they use.

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CryptoLocker Strikes Again: This Time, It Hits Gamers Where It Hurts

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Can you believe it’s already been two years since Cryptolocker, a particularly nasty strain of ransomware, was released into the online environment? By encrypting files on a victim’s computer, and forcing them to pay a fee for their safe return, Cryptolocker has been a significant threat to both business and personal environments. Now, however, a particular strain of Cryptolocker is making gamers look like cybersecurity rookies.

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Where Hackers Go to Shop for Malware

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You might recall how the Silk Road, an illegal online drug market, was recently shut down. Similar to the Silk Road, there’s another distributor of sensitive information out there; this one dealing with zero-day vulnerabilities. These types of cyber threats sell for top-dollar, and hackers are willing to pay in order to access your network.

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Understanding How Advanced Malware Can Harm Your Business

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There are a lot of different threats out there: Viruses, malware, spyware, adware, the list goes on. While all of these threats are certainly problematic, some are more dangerous than others. In particular, advanced malware can be exceptionally devastating if they manage to inflict damage on your technology.

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Are Your Employees Watching Porn At Work?

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Here’s a statistic that’s going to shock business owners. We hope you’re sitting down for this because we were blown away when we first heard it. Did you know that 70 percent of all online porn access happens during business hours? What does this mean for your company?

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How to Remove the Super Dangerous Superfish App from Your PC

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As seen by the recent Superfish app debacle, software that comes preinstalled on a new PC shouldn’t always be trusted. Most of the time, the innate software on a device can be trusted; but the Superfish application is an exception. This app, which came preinstalled on new Lenovo PCs between the months of September and December of 2014, can potentially compromise the security of your machine.

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Warning: Cryptowall 2.0 Ransomware is as Bad as They Come

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Be advised, there's a new digital threat on the scene that you and your employees need to be aware of. Known as Cryptowall 2.0, it's a wicked virus that has the potential to encrypt and steal your files, making it the scariest thing to hit your front door this Halloween season.

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Russian “Sandworm” Hack Reveals 5-Year Cyber Espionage Campaign

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A cyber espionage campaign called "Sandworm" has been discovered recently. The hacking attack, said to be based in Russia, has been targeting government leaders and organizations since as early as 2009. The researchers responsible for the discovery, iSight Partners, came to this conclusion after examining the code used in the campaign.

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Alert: Don’t Get Hit with Shellshock by the New Bash Bug

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A new malicious threat in the technical marketplace has just been discovered. The bug, dubbed the Bash bug, or "shellshock," is on the loose for users of Unix-based operating systems, like Linux or Mac OS X. It allows the execution of arbitrary code on affected systems, and could potentially be very dangerous for your business. In fact, CNet is calling it "bigger than Heartbleed."

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USB Software is Bad to the Bone, Literally

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USB devices have long been a staple of the technology world, but are notoriously vulnerable to exploitation from hackers and malware. As malware grows more and more sophisticated, you can no longer trust simple antivirus scans to protect your business.

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Warning: Protect Yourself from Cryptolocker and GameOver Zeus Now!

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It has been two weeks since the National Communications Association warned the world about the GameOver Zeus and Cryptolocker ransomware, and if you haven't taken steps to avoid these threats, it's not too late - if you haven't been infected yet, do so as soon as possible. Otherwise, your network will be vulnerable, and so will your banking credentials.

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