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Ferrum Technology Services Blog

Ferrum Technology Services has been serving the Elgin area since 2007, providing IT Support such as technical helpdesk support, computer support, and consulting to small and medium-sized businesses.

Your Password Can Probably be Cracked Faster Than You’d Think

Your Password Can Probably be Cracked Faster Than You’d Think

Whether you’re talking about identity theft, data breaches, or any other form of cybercrime, one of the leading causes of successful cyberattacks is the use of insufficiently secure passwords. Just how easy is it for someone to bypass such a password? Let’s consider the facts.

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Internet of Things Security: Important for Home and Business Networks

Internet of Things Security: Important for Home and Business Networks

The Internet of Things is pervasive in the way that many devices which you might not expect to be connected are, in fact, connected to the Internet. Smart speakers, smartphones, smart appliances, you name it, could potentially be a security threat if left unchecked. This doesn’t just go for businesses, either; even consumer smart devices could leave users vulnerable.

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The Risks of Poor Cybersecurity Hygiene Are Too Great to Ignore

The Risks of Poor Cybersecurity Hygiene Are Too Great to Ignore

Small businesses NEED to take cybersecurity seriously. 

We can’t stress this enough—it doesn’t matter what industry you are in, it doesn’t matter how small you are—your business faces serious risk if you aren’t taking proper precautions.

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Security Pain Points Every Organization Needs to Confront

Security Pain Points Every Organization Needs to Confront

Over a quarter of all data breaches happen to small businesses. The cost of a data breach, well, it sure isn’t worth it. To keep your business’ data and infrastructure free of threats and relatively secure, small businesses will need a combination of useful technology tools and well-designed strategies. Let’s take a look at several steps your small business can take to secure itself from digital theft.

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Yes, Your Antivirus Needs to Be Updated… Here’s Why

Yes, Your Antivirus Needs to Be Updated… Here’s Why

Antivirus solutions are often thought of as something you implement, then forget about as time goes on. The issue with this is that, while you might forget that the antivirus is protecting you, hackers are not, and they are always on the lookout for ways to get around your systems, whether that is straight through your protections or a more roundabout approach.

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Are You a Cybercrime Target?

Are You a Cybercrime Target?

We focus a lot of our attention on securing our clients’ computing infrastructures from the large amount of threats that are out there. We look to legitimately protect the entire network and infrastructure with our tools and expertise. The hackers, on the other hand, understand that they are more apt to be successful if they target certain users of your organization. Let’s look at a potential profile of someone that a savvy hacker would like to target.

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Don’t Fall Behind on Your Cybersecurity

Don’t Fall Behind on Your Cybersecurity

Any business that uses information technology needs to be considerate of its security. It’s also important for these businesses to remember that this security is always being innovated upon to better protect their organizations and their users.

Let’s consider why this constant innovation needs to be something that your organization emulates where its cybersecurity policies and processes are concerned.

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Apple Devices Have a Significant Vulnerability (So Here’s How to Fix It)

Apple Devices Have a Significant Vulnerability (So Here’s How to Fix It)

Do you remember the “Hello, I’m a Mac, and I’m a PC” commercials that aired from 2006 to 2009? These ads, which featured actors Justin Long and John Hodgeman as Mac and PC, respectively, were put out by Apple to promote their line of computers, highlighting the advantages that Macs had over the PC. One advantage the ads referenced repeatedly was the idea that Macs “don’t get viruses,” something that research conducted by Elastic Security Labs has disproved beyond any doubt.

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The Basics of a Secure Network

The Basics of a Secure Network

Unfortunately, some businesses have had to learn the hard way in order to pay attention to their business’ cybersecurity efforts. These cautionary tales aren’t lost on many business owners, but in some cases, they are still ignored. That’s where we come in. Today, we thought we would go through some basic things that any organization needs to know to keep their business safe. 

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Here’s What to Know About Cyber Insurance

Here’s What to Know About Cyber Insurance

Whether you like it or not, organizations are going to get hacked. It’s the cruel truth. There are just so many individuals and organizations looking to gain unauthorized access and siphon off data and money from businesses, that it is basically impossible to go long stretches of time to not have to confront it in some way. With the threat landscape what it is, companies now offer cyber insurance. Let’s take a quick look at cyber insurance and what you need to know about it.

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Different Scams Impact Different Audiences, Which Means You Need to Prepare for All of Them

Different Scams Impact Different Audiences, Which Means You Need to Prepare for All of Them

Back during the holiday season, the Federal Trade Commission shared some data that showed that members of Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z are all more likely to fall for online shopping scams than those over the age of 60…and not by a little, either. Those under that age are apparently 86 percent more likely to fall for these scams. 

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Paying Attention to Your Cybersecurity Is Just Good Risk Management

Paying Attention to Your Cybersecurity Is Just Good Risk Management

Small businesses have plenty of problems as it is without the added stress that poor security practices can bring about. Small businesses often overlook security because they deem themselves too small to be of any value to a hacker, but this outlook is short-sighted and irresponsible at best. Let’s go over why you’ll need to make security a priority for your business.

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The Password Manager Boosts Organizational Security

The Password Manager Boosts Organizational Security

There are so many threats out there that there are positions dedicated within companies to protecting network infrastructures and managing cybersecurity strategy. This alone should be enough to get you to take it seriously. With your employees controlling the “keys to the castle,” i.e., passwords, you need to make sure that you have a solid password strategy in place so as to not inadvertently put your company at risk.

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What You Can Do to Preserve Security With Remote Work in Play

What You Can Do to Preserve Security With Remote Work in Play

Remote work is now more common than it has ever been before, so we want to ensure that you are informed about the security implications of switching from in-house operations to remote or hybrid operations. Let’s discuss some practical ways you can implement remote work security policies and procedures.

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Will Blockchain Technology Improve Security?

Will Blockchain Technology Improve Security?

The blockchain is a technology that has really taken off in the past couple of years, with many people asking if the same technology behind cryptocurrencies can be applied to other uses and applications. Let’s consider how the blockchain might be used outside of cryptocurrency and in various industries—particularly for security—in the future.

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Today’s Businesses Shouldn’t Go Without a VPN

Today’s Businesses Shouldn’t Go Without a VPN

Let me ask you a question: how do you balance the prevalence of remote work with the fact that a lot of company resources should only be stored on-site? A VPN—or virtual private network—provides the answer for many businesses. Let’s examine what a VPN actually is, and how it helps to protect your business’ data as you access it from outside of your business’ secure network.

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Email Encryption Keeps Prying Eyes Off of Your Messages

Email Encryption Keeps Prying Eyes Off of Your Messages

Email is crucial to the success of any business, but it also might contain sensitive information that is meant for the eyes of your organization—and its clients—only. Most modern email platforms give you tools you need to secure your email solution, so let’s go over how you might enable these features and what they look like.

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What You Need to Do to Better Secure Your Cloud-Hosted Data

What You Need to Do to Better Secure Your Cloud-Hosted Data

The cloud has become a hugely popular resource for businesses of all sizes to lean on for a multitude of needs, many using it for some form of data storage. While using the cloud for this means, however, it is wise for you to do everything available to secure the data you’ve stored there. Let’s go over a few things that we recommend you do to help protect your data.

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You’ve Been the Victim of a Cyberattack: What Do You Do Now?

You’ve Been the Victim of a Cyberattack: What Do You Do Now?

If you find yourself in a position where your business has been hacked, it can be devastating for productivity and efficiency, not to mention the security of your company’s assets—personnel or otherwise. It’s quite easy for even seasoned professionals to expose themselves to these attacks, so how should you respond if you’re the one who has been hacked? That’s what we’re going to discuss today.

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4 Security Topics to Keep In Mind During the Onboarding Process for New Hires

4 Security Topics to Keep In Mind During the Onboarding Process for New Hires

All companies have policies in place which govern how their employees use their technology, so it makes sense that any new employees should be onboarded in accordance with these expectations. Let’s go over how you can make sure your new employees know and understand your organization’s policies as they relate to business technology.

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