Data Back-Up Strategies for Your Business

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Do you backup data? One would hope you do, and can’t imagine you don’t, but sad to say, many find data backup overwhelming and tedious so they nix it. One of the problems with getting a small businesses to secure data is they think they need to load up thumbdrives, DVDs or tape devices manually. This is in fact tedious and overwhelming.

I’ve got news for you, data backup is easy. With onsite software/hardware and offsite cloud based servers, business data backupis a complete no brainer.

There are many databackup options. New PCs often come bundled with backup options. Microsoft Windows 7 comes with “Windows Restore/Back Up” accessible via the Control Panel, and Macs offer a data protection option called Time Machine. You can buy an external hard drive to copy your files too, or invest in a remote backup service.

I suggest backing up twice on local drives and once in the cloud.

Cloud backup options include Mozy, and Carbonite among others.

Mozy online backup costs $6 per month to back up 50 gigabytes of data on one computer, or $110.00 a year for 125 gigabytes on up to three computers. Mozy offers an easy to use interface and quick, effortless backups of every file type, including files on external drives. If you have over 110 gigabytes, though, it gets pricey.

Carbonite online backup offers unlimited storage from one computer for under $5 per month. Carbonite is inexpensive with an easy-to-use interface that allows you to access your data via an iPhone app, which is very cool. Unfortunately, Carbonite won’t back up external drives, backing up certain media, like videos, is slow, and you have to manually check your folders to make sure everything has successfully been backed up. Also, certain files like software programs with a variety of unusual file extensions, have to be zipped beforehand, since Carbonite won’t back up the individual files with odd extensions.

Local drives: For many small businesses 1-2 TB is all the backup you need. Install a secondary 2TB drive and for $20 install Goodsync. Goodsync automatically backs up your data locally from an internal drive to many external drives.

Goodsync automatically syncs my internal E: drive and external F: drive every two hours. I do this because, while all my data is stored in the cloud, if my internal drive does crash, downloading it all would be a chore, plus, I’d need a drive to download it anyway.

The cloud is ideal for mitigating major data losscatastrophes, but not practical for accessing data on a daily basis.

Robert Siciliano personal and small business security specialist toADT Small Business Security discussingADT Pulse on Fox News. Disclosures

5 Must Have Small Business Security Tools

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Security Alarm System: No matter what kind of business you are in, there is something of value within your facility that a criminal will fence for drugs. Everything from products you sell, to warehouse items, maintenance tools, phone systems, office furniture, computers and the company safe.

Security Cameras: Whether you are protecting the perimeter of the property from vandals or thieves or protecting the inventory from theft, or even the cash register from sweethearting or robbery, security cameras are an essential component to any small business security system.

Business Continuity: Having a data backup locally is essential. Having a data backup in the cloud is fundamental. And having a backup for all your network operations either at a remote facility or accessible in the cloud is an insurance policy no small business should do without.

Secure Information Technology: A comprehensive information security plan that involves encrypting all sensitive data, ongoing critical security patches, antivirus protection, antispyware, firewalls (both software and hardware) and a secure Internet gateway are critical to preventing costly data breaches.

Secure Mobile Fleet: Managing digital devices such as mobile phones, tablets, thumbdrives and any other portable device that stores or communicates data can be the equivalent of herding cats if not done right. IT managers must have security policies in place to deal with and manage devices attached to the network in some way. Many security vendors provide comprehensive solutions to keep track of, lock down, and secure devices.

Robert Siciliano personal and small business security specialist toADT Small Business Security discussingADT Pulse on Fox News. Disclosures

Prevent Someone From Slipping You a Micky

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Some call it a Mickey or a roofie but technically they are known as Rohypnoll, Ketamine or GHB. These are drugsdesigned in specific quantities that when taken can cause temporary loss of memory and in some cases cause a person to black out.

Most often the drugs are in pill form but can be ground into a powder that is tasteless and odorless however Rohypnoll has been redesigned to turn blue when in contact with fluids and GHB may be salty to the taste.

When the drugs are dropped in someone’s drink whether it be water or a cocktail they won’t taste it going down. They’re fast acting drugs that in the right quantity will send a person to another dimension within an hour.

The ease in which it is to drop a powder into a drink coupled with the control that a bad person can have over another is what makes this such an attractive crime to many evil doers.  I did a segment on the Tyra Banks show where we set up an actor in a bar who “hit” on 3 different woman we west up to go to a bar. Our actor approached all three of these woman who made it very easy for our actor to either slip them a roofie and or get them to his car where he had duct tape, ropes and other tools to restrain.

The most effective ways to prevent yourself from getting drugged include common sense tactics such as:

Get your own drink: Never let anyone get you a drink. Even if they insist.They can buy you a drink, but you need to get if from the bartender.

Cover your drink with your hand: This means never putting it down and walking away. It also means being somewhat obsessed with having your hand over the opening of the glass or the mouth of a bottle.

Invest in drink detection tools or devices that prevent a Mickey from being inserted here.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing ADT Pulse on Fox News.

5 Tips To Secure Online Shopping This President’s Day

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Making a purchase online around Presidents day? Keep in mind criminals are working hard to intercept your credit card numbers in various way.

#1 SCAM: Black-Hat SEO: Criminals create fake websites and then use the same techniques as legitimate online businesses regarding search engine optimization, marketing, and online advertising via Google AdWords. They use keywords to boost rankings on Internet searches, causing their spoofed websites to appear alongside legitimate websites. These same processes are also used to infect unsuspecting users with malware.

SOLUTION: Do business with known sites. Use the exiting e-tailers you’ve done business with. Otherwise install a “SiteAdvisor” that scans websites looking for malware.

#2 SCAM Phishing: emails offering high-end products for low prices. The same applies to any offers received through tweets, or messages sent within social media.

SOLUTION: Common sense says that whenever you receive an unsolicited email offer, you ought to automatically be suspicious. Delete.

# 3. SCAM: Domain squatting: When what looks like a trusted website sends you an email looking like a familiar domain, beware of cybersquatting and typosquatting, in which the address only resembles the legitimate domain, but is a trap.

SOLUTION: Make sure you’ve been taken to the correct URL for the retailer.

#4 SCAM: Unsecured sites. Scammers generally don’t take the time to create secure websites.

SOLUTION: When placing an order online, always look for “https://” in the address bar, signifying that a page is secure. Note that an image of a closed padlock also indicates that a website is secure.

5. SCAM: eBay email scammers. It’s difficult to tell a real eBay email offer from a fake one.

SOLUTION: If you are seeking deals on eBay, go directly to the site itself, and don’t bother responding to emails. If a deal in an email is legitimate, you can find it by searching eBay.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist toHome Security Source discussing home security and identity theft on TBS Movie and a Makeover.

Hey, Psst, Wanna Buy A Lifetime of Toilet Paper?

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I’ve seen lots and lots of scams over the years and many of them involve penny stocks, contractor scams, cash gifting, investment scams, black money and the list goes on. And with each scam you see the question is always asked “How is it that someone could fall for that?” And with some scams it is actually feasible that there is many potential victims for said scam.

A “Toilet paper” scam, well, I guess, could target everyone? Right?

In this particular scam the targets were those who own septic tanks. The ruse was that the federal government is now requiring by law that if you own a septic tank that you need to buy a special toilet paper.

The Miami Herald reported “In phone pitches, salespeople claimed the company was affiliated with the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. One product, the $199 Septic Remedy treatment, would eliminate the need to have their tanks pumped, the company claimed.

Victims were also told that they needed special soap, detergent and toilet paper or their septic tanks would not pass federal inspection. But the EPA does not regulate septic tank products, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”

This scam isn’t entirely impossible to believe. And the fact is there are house hold products such as special soap, detergent and toilet paper that is in fact better for the environment and without doing the research probably better for a septic, I can see how these scammer could make a mint on the sales of these products.

Anytime anyone ever calls you, sends an email, snail mail or knocks on your door, do your research. Don’t just automatically believe what someone says, especially if there is money involved.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing identity theft on YouTube.

Redefining Privacy Today

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Privacy is really -and only- what you say or do within your own home with the shades down that is (generally legal) and between you and your love-ones that is not being communicated, recorded, broadcasted or reproduced in any way online or in a public forum.

In the past 5 years we have learned that everything from the websites we visit, the apps we download, the social networks we belong to, and the mobile phones we carry, pretty much know everything about us down to the text messages we send and receive.

Privacy is a very hot topic and probably one of the most misunderstood since the turn of the century. Over the past decade a battle has been fought by three very distinctive groups and they are as follows:

#1 Privacy advocates: These are your everyday well meaning and well informed people all the way up to privacy professionals who, day in and day out preach the absolutes of privacy and why we need it. They are evangelists of the issues and tell anyone and everyone the importance of privacy whether they want to hear it or not.

#2 Sales, marketers, advertisers, SMB and big business who stand to gain from knowing every last details about what you like, don’t like, who your friends are, your income, and basically your over all demographics defined in 33 bits of data. They offer us all the free stuff we can consume online and build communities that tie us all together. They track us and sell our data and sell advertising targeted directly at you.

#3 The Cattle: These are your everyday people that just go with the herd and aren’t all that concerned about privacy but might care just a little bit. They are more concerned about living happily ever after with as little friction as possible. Ultimately they want to use all the services and websites we have today and don’t want to pay for them if they don’t have to.

Most people are in the herd, which is why privacy is becoming a very different ideal today than it was a decade ago. It’s perfectly OK to fight for your privacy and insist on it by those you do business with. But know that it’s often the decisions and choices we make, (like checking a little ‘I agree’ box) which is why we are where we are today.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing identity theft on YouTube.

Woman Scammed of 400K

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Police are warning elderly and those who have elderly parents that not all scams are done online. Some are executed using good ole’ snail mail and the telephone.

An “80-year-old woman received a letter in the mail claiming she had been awarded a large amount of money, but was required to pay fees and complete paperwork before the money would be released. According to police, the woman, without the knowledge of her children, started sending money. She started receiving notices indicating she would be awarded more money, and the scam went on for about a year. She sent about $400,000, police said.”

Scams like these are extremely easy and very lucrative for criminals. Elderly or those in your life that may be considered naïve are often the target because of their gullible nature. But other times it’s the time and culture they were raised in. There are numerous ways in which criminals pull at the heart strings of their victims to get them to open their bank accounts. Often it’s the same people who are targeted over and over again.

The most effective way to prevent these crimes from happening to all those concerned is to get better control over the release of funds from any of their financial accounts. Meaning if they have a big bank account set it up so two signatures are required for a check to be written. If the person is concerned they don’t want to be inconvenienced with every check they write then set up two accounts. One with a little money and one account with more funds effectively locked down.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing ADT Pulse on Fox News.

5 More Online Security Tips for Valentine’s Day

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A scammer typically contacts a target and strives to project an image of someone who has it all together financially and socially, claiming to be a successful entrepreneur or something similar. Or scammers may claim to be facing adversity, claiming they are widowed, down on their luck, or, like many, simply lonely. This is a strategy that has worked in the past.

Follow these tips to prevent getting scammed:

#1 Unless this person becomes an actual significant other, never give out personal information like passwords, credit card numbers or Social Security numbers.

#2 Know that bad guys lie, a lot. And they will keep up the ruse until they have what they need or until you are in a vulnerable place. Pay attention to their intentions.

#3 Get their name, address, previous address, home phone, cell phone, place of birth, birth date, where they work, license plate and if you can squeeze it out of them, and I kid you not, get their Social Security number and do a background check.

#4 Go online and Google search every bit of information about them you have acquired. You want to know as much about this person as possible. Search name, phone, email and screen name. The goal is to look for truth and lies. If you see inconsistencies, or red flags that can’t be easily explained, run really fast.

#5 Never open attachments from anyone you don’t know well. And if you can avoid it, don’t click on links they send. Scammers will think nothing of sending you a virus to infect your PC and steal your identity.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist toHome Security Source discussingInternet Predators on Fox Boston

Protect Privacy Shopping After Holiday Bargains

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To my dismay, every time I buy something from a new online retailer, I have to register to create yet another user account, which means yet another password, and yet another company that may lose or sell my data or send me spam.

Fortunately, there are steps we can take in order to stay secure and protect our privacy:

1. Privatize your contact information by using a junk email address specifically for online purchases, and then forward purchase confirmations to your primary email. Use a Google Voice number when you don’t wish to give out your home or cell phone numbers.

2. Only provide personal information when absolutely essential, and provide the minimum of information needed to complete a transaction. When you do disclose this data, whether to make a purchase or for any other reason, first ensure that you know exactly who is requesting the information, and why they need it.

3. Create strong passwords using combinations of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Use long, strong, unique passwords for each individual account, and use a password manager to store those passwords in the cloud and allow access across various devices. Separate passwords for every account help to thwart cybercriminals. Never use the same password twice.

4. Own your online presence by setting any available privacy and security options according to your comfort level regarding information sharing. It’s okay to limit the information you share, and who you share it with. Keep an eye out for little boxes that need to be unchecked to avoid additional marketing communications.

5. Make an effort to keep yourself informed and current by checking trusted websites for the latest threats and newest ways to stay safe online. Encourage friends, family, and colleagues to be web-wise by sharing this information.

6. Think before you act. Be wary of communications that implore you to act immediately, offer something that sounds too good to be true, or ask for personal information.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing identity theft on YouTube.

Basic Security Tips When Providing Free Wi-Fi at Your Business

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Wi-Fi: freedom to connect wherever and whenever. And there is no better Wi-Fi than free Wi-Fi, unless we are talking “secure Wi-Fi” which usually isn’t free. Wi-Fi is great for bringing in customers and it’s a great promotional tool that creates customer loyalty. Merchants such as hotels, coffee shops, burger joints and just about anyplace with a store front, chairs and tables is offering free Wi-Fi.

But what about all the Wi-Fi security threats?

More and more internet savvy people realize that there is less and less anonymity on the web. This means that a criminal who operates from home or work can be detected via his IP address much easier. One way to avoid detection is to show up you’re your place of business and blend in with the connected crowd.

Criminals use free Wi-Fi for:

Pirating: Downloading stolen music, movies and software via Peer to Peer programs is big and costing the entertainment industry billions. The RIAA and MPAA don’t like this and will often crack down on whoever is connected to the IP address associated with the illegal downloading.

Child Porn: The long arm of the law is often spending time in chat rooms posing as the young and vulnerable and chatting it up with pedophiles who exchange in child pornography.  Wouldn’t be cool if the FBI to came knocking.

Hacking: Hackers will hack others on the free Wi-Fi network in order to steal usernames, passwords and account information.

Secure Wi-Fi

Creating a secure Wi-Fi that requires a user name and password to join. This may not prevent all kinds of e-crimes but it’s a start to improve your Wi-Fi network security. Charging even a dollar may get a credit card number on file and would mostly eliminate anonymity.

Web filtering: Your IT security vendor has tools similar to what a corporation may have in place that filters out known websites and prevents the sharing of Peer to Peer files.

Confirm you are on a business account: Many small businesses may set up under a personal account because it might be a bit cheaper. But that personal account doesn’t enjoy some of the protection and indemnities that a business account would.

Robert Siciliano personal and small business security specialist toADT Small Business Security discussingADT Pulse on Fox News. Disclosures