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On Aug. 30, the news broke that a hacker calling himself “Comodohacker” made off with a Google authentication certificate on July 19, which allowed him to set up fraudulent Web pages under a legitimate Google domain name and harvest the personal information of anyone who visited his spoofed sites.

Read the rest of the article here from MSNBC – “Cracked Digital Certificates Endanger ‘Web of Trust’”

Scary! So the 3 things that lead to this cyber-disaster were:

(1) easy to guess passwords,

(2) lack of antivirus software and

(3) not being patched to the latest security update.

Who’s been talking about that again? That’s right, Now IT Works.  Talk to your account manager about signing up for a Blue Steel Support Program today!

Did you know that nearly four out of five technology professionals believe employees are putting their companies at risk by failing to act safely online, according to new research. In a study by anti-virus firm Sophos, 79% of the IT workers polled said that in spite of their group’s instructions, many employees continue to open unsolicited e-mail messages and attachments, and to inadvertently download spyware from Web sites.

Be prepared – don’t let disaster strike your business computer network! Contact Now IT Works to learn how to protect your business from employees downloading games or illegal software that could open your network to evil forces from the internet such as viruses or spam.

Ask about PC Crash Protection today!

• Did you know your cell phone is more likely to work in a hurricane than an earthquake? (CNN Money)

• Make sure your laptop battery is fully charged! Track Hurricane Irene online here (MSNBC Tech)

• For New England business owners – here are some safety tips for your business (Patch)

For Now IT Works customers, please check your email for the important announcement regarding protecting your business technology this weekend. And to all our readers, please stay safe!

We are pleased to announce the addition of Carlos Perez to the technical team here at Now IT Works. Starting immediately Carlos will be handling helpdesk issues, both remotely and on-site. He comes to us with extensive experience in providing helpdesk support, as well as network infrastructure management.

Many of our Blue Steel customers have already begun speaking with and meeting Carlos over the last few days. Please join us in welcoming him – we are confident he will be an asset to our team.

Please note that Now IT Works will be closed on Monday July 4th, in observance of the Independence Day holiday.

All support calls will be handled on the following business day.

Have a safe and healthy holiday weekend!

Please note that Now IT Works will be closed on Monday, May 30th, in observance of the Memorial Day holiday.

All support calls will be handled on the following business day.

Have a safe and healthy holiday weekend!

Here is a post from our archives – still relevant and designed to keep you and your passwords safe:

For those of you who still use the word ‘password’ as your password for all of your Internet logins – I have an idea that may help to make you more secure, without requiring you to remember all of the passwords.

Previously, I would help people create Excel documents that listed out all of the websites, usernames and passwords. Then we would password-protect the document with a master password. This way, users had all of their passwords in an easy-to-read document that could only be opened with a master password – this master password would be the only one they would need to remember.

Some folks liked this idea, others did not – most of them did not use this consistently.

I recently stumbled upon a new program that I think will help users with their passwords – it uses the same concept as I’ve just described, but additionally it has some really useful features.

This new program is called KeePass – you can download a free copy of this software here.

Here are a few reasons why I suggest KeePass:

(more…)

It may be April 1st but don’t be a fool by falling for any of these pranks:

• Motion-controlled email and other Web pranks from CNN Tech

• Tech-Crunch is running a series of funny but completely untrue technology stories today…

• Here is a fun list of technology companies that tried to get it on the joke today (USA Today)

• And finally, an oldie but goodie from Wired magazine: Top 10 April Fools’ Pranks for Nerds

Have a great weekend everyone!