Microsoft seems to be (mostly) following Apple’s OSX strategy by making its own upcoming OS “Windows 10” a free upgrade. According to Thurrott.com, “Microsoft says it will deliver the final version of Windows 10 to 190 countries sometime between June 21 and September 23, 2015.” The update will be available to existing Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 customers. Continue reading
Here at New River Computing, we like to share interesting infographics as we come across them. Our main goal is to try and disseminate intricate IT related information quickly and clearly, to as many users as possible.
This particular one deals with Phishing Attacks. We hope it helps. Stay Safe!
Reports of “Craigslist résumé” viruses have skyrocketed in recent months. Some of our clients here at New River Computing have unfortunately fallen victim to this recent outbreak. Thankfully, we’ve been successful at cleaning up the aftermath, but often the remediation process is long and arduous due to the sophistication of the malware. Continue reading
NRC’s Matt Stuart was recently interviewed for a feature on Ronaoke’s WDBJ7 about cyber-security and how you can protect yourself this Cyber Monday. Matt discussed some of the recent trends in security vulnerabilities include cold-calls from scammers falsely claiming to be Microsoft support representatives, and spoofed websites that fool users into thinking they are visiting a legitimate site. You can check out Matt’s advice on the video clip above.
Keep in mind that Microsoft, along with most other legitimate technology companies, will never call you out of the blue and ask for credit card information or access to your computer.
Fake antivirus support is a problem. We know fake “Microsoft representatives” call targeted Windows users to persuade them that their computers are inundated with warnings and errors as shown in the Windows Event Viewer, a legitimate Microsoft application that lists system information. We even watched Jerome Segura, a senior security researcher at Malwarebytes—catch some of these over-the-phone tactics on video.
Unfortunately it seems scammers still use the telephone to cold call folks pretending to work for Microsoft (or some other reputable software company) in order to convince users that their computer needs “fixing.” But as users get smarter, scammers get bolder. Recently, scammers have begun claiming that they need immediate remote access to computers in order to fix security threats. Once they convince the user to allow them remote access in order to “take care of the problem,” these savvy scammers then suggest installing fake malicious software—in order to “protect” the machine from future infections.
Just a few days ago, this happened to one of our clients. After receiving a phone call from someone claiming to be from “Microsoft Security Services,” Sally, as we’ll call her, was told that her computer had been hacked by someone in Austin, TX, and the “representative” claimed he needed to remote in to fix it right away. Continue reading
NRC’s web designer, George Probst, was asked early this year to test out a new underwater camera rig that films 360° footage. George took the Kolor Abyss 360 on his recent great white shark diving trip to Isla de Guadalupe, and was able to capture some close-up footage of great white sharks. As far as we know, this is the first published video footage of great white sharks using this technology. This new technology allows for the video to be viewed from any angle and will create an immersive experience when viewed with a head-mounted display (such as the Oculus Rift).
You can read more about George’s experience with this new technology and view the 360° videos at Exclusive 360 degree video of great white shark.
If you’re lucky enough to have a head-mounted display, let us know how the experience was. If not, you can still experience the 360° effect by clicking and dragging on the video with your mouse to change the viewing angle.
Many of you know George Probst as NRC’s graphic designer and web developer, but there’s more than marketing in his tool belt. When he’s not working, George has some interesting hobbies: running, Metallica concerts, and…shark diving. At least once a year, he ventures to Guadalupe, Mexico to swim with great white sharks.
Not only does George swim with them, but he has also developed a keen eye for their best poses through underwater photography, which was recently recognized by Yahoo’s Flickr. Continue reading
Peer-to-Peer or P2P is a method of sharing of files between two or more computers on the Internet. Users share files via P2P by using peer-to-peer applications such as Gnutella, KaZaA, iMesh, LimeWire, Morpheus, SwapNut, WinMX, AudioGalaxy, Blubster, eDonkey, BearShare etc., and list goes on and on.
How P2P Works
The P2P application takes a piece of allotted data or sometimes whole directories from your hard drive and allows other users to freely download this content, and vice versa. P2P programs are most often used to share music and videos over the Internet. Although sharing, by passing around a CD or DVD is not illegal; sharing by creating multiple copies of a copyrighted work IS illegal. Some P2P programs will share everything on your computer with anyone by default. Much of the P2P activity is automatic and its use is unmonitored. Computers running this software will be busy exchanging files whenever the machine is turned on. Using P2P software can be, and often is very dangerous. Continue reading
Over the past few weeks, several widely knows companies have been competing for top spots in many of the major news headlines but, for all the wrong reasons. Retail giant Target, to offer just one recent example, could be forced to pay millions of dollars to cover the direct damages incurred from the recent malware-related data breach that enabled cyber-criminals to steal credit card data from all Target point-of-sale systems located within the United States and Canada. While financial loss is certainly a major concern, the massive hit they will take to their reputation could be incalculable for years to come. Continue reading
***IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FROM NEW RIVER COMPUTING REGARDING THE “CRYPTOLOCKER” VIRUS***
There’s a new type of malware that has been spreading like wildfire over the past couple of months called CryptoLocker. Most security researchers are claiming that this is one of the nastiest and most successful computer viruses ever: CryptoLocker is currently infecting Windows operating systems all across the United States and in other parts of the world. The virus is part of a generically named family of malware called “ransomware,” and its main function is to encrypt your files and “hold them hostage” until you pay a fee to have them decrypted.