Blue Ridge Technology

Security Backups Is your backup system defending your organization against ransomware, or is it just another target? We tend to think of automatic emergency backups as a strong line of defense against all sorts of threats. That’s pretty much right: backups should provide this kind of defense, and in fact we recommend such systems to our clients and have helped many businesses set up and maintain backup and disaster recovery (BDR) solutions. But BDR systems have a dark side and can even become vulnerabilities themselves without proper care. Here’s what you need to know. What Are Backup Systems and BDR? First, some definitions. Backup systems store copies of files, information, and even entire systems somewhere else, not attached to your main network. This could be an off-site server or even a tape-based system, but these days the most common solution for small businesses is a cloud backup. Backup and disaster recovery refers not just to the servers or the stuff stored on them, but to t...

Corrupt Word Attachments May Be a Scam Sigh… here we go again. The scammers keep innovating, and so we keep having to say it: there’s another new phishing tactic on the rise, and this one’s a stinker. This new phishing tactic has been getting past spam filters and tricking professionals worldwide, taking advantage of both human nature and advancing “good” tech to fool you and attack your business. Here’s what you need to know about how scammers are using corrupted file attachments to attack businesses like yours. How It Starts: A Corrupted Word File (or Similar) This new attack starts with a corrupted file, often a Microsoft Word document file (.docx). It looks like a real file, and it may even seem like it was sent by someone or some entity you trust. Now, if you’ve been at this a while, you already know the old advice not to trust email attachments. But that advice was largely about executables, those .exe files that would not-so-subtly install new malicious software onto your system...

Spoiler Alert: It’s Mostly Don’ts Public Wi-Fi is really something, isn’t it? 30 years ago it was the stuff of sci-fi: a wireless connection you can access throughout much of any major city that offers you just about whatever of the world’s information you ask for. Today, we take it for granted. Perhaps too much for granted. The thing is, public Wi-Fi, as magical as it might seem, has a dark side. And using it for business work? It’s pretty risky. So this week we’re giving you a guide of do’s and don’ts: if you find yourself out and about and you need to get a little work done, here’s how to stay safe. The Problem with Public Wi-Fi The big problem with public Wi-Fi is that it’s insecure. You can’t be sure whether what you’re doing is safe from prying eyes, or even that your connection won’t lead to some kind of compromise. See, public Wi-Fi networks — at least the ones that don’t require any kind of authentication — are completely, horrendously insecure: it’s built right into the syste...