Beware of “Sextortion” Email Scams
What is a "Sextortion" Email Scam? "Sextortion" email scams are a form of "social engineering" designed to trick or entice a user into: clicking on a link, installing mal-ware, paying a ransom, or other behavior (that a victim would not typically engage in without...
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Free DNS Security Protections for Home Use
Our computers and mobile devices find resources on the Internet using a naming system we call DNS (Domain Name System). DNS converts the names we humans use to browse the web (ex. www.AVAREN.com) and converts them to the IP addresses our computers use to communicate...
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Using “Out of Band” Transmission Methods When Transmitting Account Logons to Coworkers or Family
Occasionally it can become necessary to transmit confidential information (such as account user-names and passwords) to co-workers or family members via electronic means. Because of concerns related to account hacking and ghosting (ghosting being where a hacker...
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Malicious Emails Disguised as Shipping Notifications
Email scammers never seem to rest when looking for ways to bypass business spam filters. Sometimes their intent is to encrypt files while holding them for ransom ($$), other times their intent is to simply wreak havoc. Either way, computer users today must be adept at...
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Beware Tricky Virus Links in Emails
No matter how great the spam filter a business employs, the occasional malicious email will still make it through to end users. A decent analogy might be that of a battle of tug-o-war between good and bad actors. The bad actors develop a new kind of spam intended to...
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Another Fake Invoice Scam
The invoice below was sent in by a client for verification. Although it looks very much like like an invoice; if one reads the fine print it becomes clear that it is actually a solicitation for a website listing on a relatively obscure internet directory. The internet...
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Which Type of Microsoft Office Should a Business Buy Today?
Which Type of Microsoft Office Should a Business Buy Today? Last update - 9/7/18 Office Home & Business Retail ($229/Approx) Office 365 "Business Plus" Subscription ($9.95/Mo)* Email Registration Requirement Changes to the e-mail...
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4 Types of Social Engineering Used Every Day
4 Types of Social Engineering Used Every Day Article by Calyptix Security. August 28th, 2017 Persuasion is part of life. We all try to persuade friends and loved ones to act in a certain way, usually with the best of intentions. Social engineering is when...
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Online Profile Scams
I was recently contacted (via an online platform) by a person I had known for close to 30 years. He was telling me about a HUD program where citizens could apply to receive cash (up to 150,000), and were not obligated to pay it back. I was puzzled as on the one hand...
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Should You Pay Invoices from IDNS?
IDNS is a supposed technology company that sends businesses unsolicited invoices (they refer to them as only as notifications although they look like an invoice) for domain registrations and other services. The invoiced services (example shown below) are...
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