Blog – Brain Trust Technologies LLC

Protect your Facebook data with these 3 steps

April 9, 2018 admin Social Media 2018april9socialmedia_c, data, facebook, information, privacy, protection, security, social media

Facebook users woke up to a nightmare when they heard that the social media giant and associated app developers were selling their sensitive data to companies, like Cambridge Analytica, without their consent. So if you’re concerned about being one of the 50 million users whose data have already been sold, you should check out the following 3 tips.

Download your Facebook data

The thought of a complete stranger going through your account is pretty disturbing. Yet, you’re probably curious about the amount of information you uploaded to your social media sites over the years. Fortunately, Facebook allows you to download a copy of all your data. You simply have to log in to its web version and…

On the site’s main navigation, click on the down button right next to the Quick Help icon
A menu will pop up and you’ll find Settings right above the Log Out option
Click on Settings and you’ll automatically be redirected to General
Within the General page, press Download a copy of your Facebook Data
It will redirect you to a different page where you’ll need to press Start My Archive button to proceed with the download process

Once that’s done, you’ll be able to see an archive of all your Facebook activity, such as the statuses you’ve posted, messages you’ve sent, and ads you’ve clicked on.

Change your privacy settings

After going through all your data, you might realize that everything you shared is harmless. But, that doesn’t mean it won’t end up in the hands of cybercriminals who can use it against you.

We suggest going back to the Settings page and clicking on Privacy. That’s where you can modify whether you want your posts to be seen by the public or only by your friends. You can even control who’s allowed to send you friend requests, view your friends list, and most importantly, decide whether search engines are allowed to link to your profile.

Check or delete apps

You know those personality quizzes that you and your friends always had a ball answering? Apparently, Cambridge Analytica gathered all the responses from one of those app developers. Luckily, you can stop them from further accessing your profile. In Settings, click on Apps to see all the apps linked to your profile. Beside each one, you can choose Edit Settings to review its authorizations or click Remove to completely get rid of it.

Your recent love-hate relationship with Facebook has you second-guessing. If you want to take data security up a notch, we can always provide more tips and tools, and even assess your current level of security. Just give us a call and we’ll take care of your privacy so you don’t wind up breaking up with your favorite social media site.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Gearing up for phishing scams in tax season

March 29, 2018 admin Security 2018march29security_c, confidential, cyberthreat, data, information, phishing, scam, security

Paying and filing taxes is already annoying without the threat of refund fraud or identity theft. But phishing schemes, especially during tax season, have become so widespread that you’ve probably already received spoofed emails or calls during the last few years. To maintain the security of your business, you and your employees need to be extra cautious with the emails you receive at tax time.

Phishing baits to watch out for

Phishing attacks often consist of fabricated or compromised emails sent to finance/payroll or human resources employees that are made to look like they’re from an executive in your company. The message might contain a request to forward employee records, including their W-2 forms, but that’s not all…

Another common scheme, which doesn’t only happen during tax season, involves getting a call from a person declaring to be an IRS employee. And no, caller IDs won’t save you because they can forge that, too. The phisher will inform you that you owe them cash from back taxes and they will threaten legal action if you don’t pay via credit card at that instant.

Always remember, the IRS will never contact you on the phone to let you know that you owe them money. And they certainly won’t threaten you or demand payment over the phone. If they really need to notify you of such matters, they’ll use the postal service and will give you a chance to discuss payment terms.

Standard protection protocols

Don’t worry, the usual security measures against these phishing scams are pretty easy to integrate into your business. Begin by developing a policy that bans the request of private details through email. If an employee ever requires such info, they should get in touch with the person directly, follow your established protocols for the transfer of sensitive information, and minimize the number of people involved in the transaction.

Taking security a step further

Data loss prevention (DLP) systems are also valuable weapons against these types of phishing attacks. They evaluate traffic going in and out of your company, such as web usage, emails and instant messages, and virtually anything sent on your network. DLP systems can filter out private details, including Social Security numbers, and stop them from being sent out.

But beware, DLP systems come with a minor drawback, as they can also block legitimate traffic, like when your accounting department sends tax info to your CPA. Fortunately, an MSP like us can properly segregate the good and the bad traffic to avoid confusing and/or frustrating your employees.

Phishing schemes may be a normal occurrence during tax season, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do anything about it. Don’t let the vulnerabilities in your business, particularly the human element, fall prey to cybercriminals. Send us a message right away and we’ll conduct an assessment of the security of your business, as well as design a risk management plan to help counter future complications.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Why your phone has slow internet speed

March 26, 2018 admin Hardware 2018march26hardware_c, cache, internet speed, mobile phone, network, router, wifi

In today’s world, staying connected means having strong internet and a high-speed phone. But you may discover that your internet-based apps are loading much slower after using your phone for months. Learn four reasons why your phone’s internet is lagging.

Router location

One simple yet overlooked reason why your WiFi-connected phone may be experiencing internet lag is because of your router’s location. Although WiFi has a range of up to 230 feet, the farther away you are from the router, the weaker the WiFi signal. Large objects like doors and walls situated in between you and the router can also weaken the WiFi signal.

It is recommended to place your router in a central location, preferably away from concrete and masonry walls or other big objects like a chimney. As the router signal radiates from all four sides, blocking any side with big objects will impact your WiFi’s signal quality and as a result your phone’s internet speed.

WiFi Noise

Did you know that home electronic appliances emit wireless signals at a frequency similar to your router’s (2.4 GHz)? So before deciding on your router’s location, determine whether there are any wireless devices nearby, as they emit signals that can interfere with your router’s signal. For example, even if the ideal location for your router is at the center of your house, you shouldn’t place it there if there’s a cordless phone nearby.

You can also set your router on a 5.0-GHz band, as this frequency is less prone to interference from other appliances. But before you start tuning it, make sure your phone supports 5.0 GHz; otherwise, it won’t be able to connect to the router.

Slow Network

Another reason for your phone’s slow internet is because of fluctuating network speed. Ask yourself these two questions to know the exact cause of this problem:
How many people are connecting to the router?
What are they doing over the internet?

You should increase your router’s internet bandwidth speed if you discover you have many users and all of them are either streaming movies, or downloading computer games or software updates. This will allow every phone to enjoy faster internet speed.

If you’re outdoors, and you’re connected to a public WiFi, consider using your mobile data instead. You won’t have to share your internet when you use mobile data, enabling you to experience faster connectivity at all times as long as you have a high-speed data plan.

Too much cache

Last, you should check your phone’s cache if fixing your router, network, and positioning doesn’t improve your phone’s internet speed. Cache is a component in your phone that saves data from earlier searches in order to increase the speed of similar searches in the future. Although your phone becomes more efficient for that particular search, it also makes your phone much slower when you do other things that require the internet.

You can clear out your cache manually or use a cache cleaner app to thoroughly get rid of useless cache and optimize your phone’s internet speed. If you decide to download a cache cleaner app, make sure that it is reputable and trustworthy so you don’t accidentally download a malware-infiltrated app instead.

There are more reasons to your phone’s lagging internet speed. If your business relies heavily on fast mobile internet speed and you’re unable to fix the sluggish connection, call our experts today. We’re always ready to help you.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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