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What is Malvertising?

Uncategorized / February 22, 2024 / , , , , , , , , ,

Malvertising, short for malicious advertising, refers to the practice of using online ads to spread malware. Cybercriminals embed malware within seemingly harmless ads, which are then displayed on legitimate websites. When users click on these ads, they unwittingly download malware onto their devices, putting their personal information and sensitive data at risk. Bad actors are pairing these efforts with SEO Poisoning to falsely promote malicious websites to higher ranks in search engine results. SEO poisoning relies on users believing the results closest to the top of a search result are the most credible.

“Throughout 2023, adversaries such as LUNAR SPIDER regularly abused Google advertisements to ensure their malicious ads appeared at the top of search result pages. Threat actors such as SolarMarker operators regularly used SEO poisoning throughout 2023.” – Crowdstrike Annual Threat Report

The Dangers of Malvertising

Malvertising poses a significant threat to businesses of all sizes.

  1. Data Breaches: Malvertising can lead to data breaches, exposing sensitive information such as customer data, financial records, and intellectual property.
  1. Financial Losses: A successful malvertising attack can result in financial losses due to theft, ransom demands, or damage to business operations.
  2. Reputation Damage: A data breach caused by malvertising can tarnish a company’s reputation and erode customer trust, leading to a loss of business and credibility.

Rolle IT Protects clients from Malvertising threats.

  1. Ad Filtering: Ad filtering services block malicious ads from being displayed on your website or network.
  2. Timely Software Updates: Ensuring that all software, including web browsers, plugins, and security software, is regularly updated with the latest patches and security fixes.
  3. Employee Training : Train employees to recognize the signs of malvertising and avoid clicking on suspicious ads or links.
  4. Establish Secure Connections: Encourage employees to use secure connections, such as virtual private networks (VPNs), when accessing the internet, especially on public Wi-Fi networks.
  5. Monitor Network Traffic: Monitor network traffic for signs of unusual activity or unauthorized access, which may indicate a malvertising attack in progress.
  6. Endpoint Protection: Install and maintain endpoint protection solutions, such as antivirus software and intrusion detection systems, to detect and block malware infections.

Malvertising is a pervasive threat that can have serious consequences for businesses. By taking proactive measures to protect against malvertising, businesses can safeguard their data, finances, and reputation from harm. By staying vigilant and implementing robust security measures, businesses can minimize the risk of falling victim to malvertising attacks.

Speed up your business internet. Contact a professional.

Managed Service Provider, Technology / March 30, 2023 / , , , , , , , ,

Having fast internet in the workplace is more important than ever before. From connectivity to remote work and virtual meetings, almost everything we do online relies on a strong and reliable internet connection. Professional IT services can ensure that your internet speed is appropriate for your business needs. Faster Internet means:

  1. Increased Productivity

One of the most significant benefits of having fast internet is increased productivity. Slow internet speeds are frustrating and can cause delays in completing tasks. With a fast internet connection, you can quickly load web pages, download files, and upload documents, allowing you to work more efficiently.

  1. Better Streaming Quality

Streaming has become an integral part of our daily work lives, whether it’s streaming podcasts as associates work, or streaming music on Spotify, or the lobby TV’s video streaming service. With a slow internet connection, streaming can be frustrating, with buffering and lagging, making it difficult to use and frustrating your clients.

  1. Seamless Video Conferences

    A fast internet connection ensures that video conferencing is seamless and allows you to communicate effectively with colleagues and clients. This can significantly improve your productivity and ensure that you can conduct business effectively.

    For example, if you’re working on a project that requires you to upload large files to a shared drive, a fast internet connection can significantly reduce the time it takes to complete the task. This, in turn, allows you to focus on other important tasks and increase your overall productivity.

    Remote work and virtual meetings have become the norm in today’s business world, and having a fast internet connection is crucial for seamless video conferencing. With slow internet speeds, video calls can lag and freeze, making it difficult to communicate effectively, and distracting from your message.

    1. Reliable Connections

    Having a solid internet and infrastructure connection ensures that you will never miss an email, or important notification.

    Reliable internet can ensure that you see all your emails by providing a stable and uninterrupted connection to your email server. When you have a reliable internet connection, you can be confident that your email client will be able to connect to the server and retrieve all your messages.

    If your internet connection is unreliable, you may experience issues with receiving or sending emails. For example, if your connection drops in the middle of downloading your emails, you may miss some messages. Likewise, if your connection is slow, it may take a long time for your email client to retrieve your messages, or you may experience time-outs that prevent you from accessing your emails.

    To ensure that you receive all your emails, your IT provider should also make sure that your email settings are configured correctly.

      What can you do? Contract with an IT professional.

      Among other your IT professional should make sure that you are receiving the speed that’s optimal for your needs, optimize your network devices and configuration, install network monitoring tools and provide network security.

      Rolle IT supports companies nationwide and is located on the Space Coast. Rolle IT is a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business.

        Cybersecurity Basics Checklist

        Business, Security, Small Business, Technology, Wifi / March 23, 2023 / , , ,

        If you work in a hybrid position, it’s likely that you are at higher risk for becoming the victim of a cyber-attack. Connecting to your work network at home or at the local coffee spot or having your work applications on a personal phone can leave you and your data vulnerable. There are dozens of ways that users can be left open to digital attacks, and the opportunity for cyber-crime evolves every day as technology changes. Here are some ways that you can protect yourself and your data.

        1. Use strong and unique passwords: It is essential to use strong and unique passwords for each of your online accounts. A strong password should be at least 12 characters long, contain a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
        2. Enable two-factor authentication: Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security to your accounts. It requires you to provide an additional piece of information, such as a code sent to your phone, before you can access your account.
        3. Be cautious of phishing scams: Phishing scams are a common tactic used by cybercriminals to steal your personal information. They usually come in the form of an email or text message that appears to be from a trusted source, asking you to provide sensitive information. Be cautious when opening emails or clicking links: Don’t open emails or click links from unknown sources, as they may contain malware.
        4. Keep your software updated: Keeping your software updated, including your operating system and antivirus software, is crucial to protect against known vulnerabilities and exploits.
        5. Use a firewall: A firewall can help block unauthorized access to your network.
        6. Secure your home network: Make sure to change the default username and password on your router, use strong encryption methods such as WPA2, and turn off remote management.
        7. Limit your personal information online: Be cautious of the information you share online, especially on social media platforms. Cybercriminals can use this information to steal your identity or commit fraud.
        8. Backup your data: Regularly backup your important data to an external hard drive or cloud storage. This will ensure that you have access to your data in case of a cyber attack or system failure.
        9. Use a Secure Network: When using public Wi-Fi use a virtual private network (VPN) to encrypt your internet traffic and hide your IP address, making it difficult for cybercriminals to intercept your data.
        10. Use a password manager: A password manager can help you generate and store strong and unique passwords for all your accounts.

        Rolle IT helps businesses secure their data and puts best practices in place to protect users and companies. User Focused IT Consulting.

        5 Ways a MSP Will Benefit Your Business

        Agile Methodologies, Managed Service Provider, Security, Technology / March 7, 2023 / , , , , ,

        Originally Posted by Aimee Iorio. A Managed Service Provider (MSP) remotely manages your business’ IT needs to save you time and money. Services offered can include network security, 24/7 remote monitoring, backups, updates, and will be curated for your business or project. By outsourcing this work to an IT company, you can rest assured that data breaches or hacks are mitigated.  

        1. The Amount of Time and Money Spent on Managing Your Own System

        Managing your business’ infrastructure is a complex and time-consuming undertaking. The time you spend managing your technology limits the time you have to use the skills you possess to increase the company’s value. A technology expert is required to be fully effective in protecting your business’ assets. Acquiring an expert of your own is a costly job position to fill and can still be limiting. A MSP ensures all technology is running smoothly; increasing the efficiency of your employees and when there is an issue the turnaround time is fast. Managed service providers can replace the need for an IT department, saving thousands of dollars a year. Time is valuable; leave it up to a team of experts to take care of your technology needs.

        2. Customized Services to Fit Your Needs

        One of the greatest features of having a managed IT service is that it gives your business the resources of a complete IT department. Your business may need a variety of services or only one or two. Curating a set of services to be the most beneficial for your business is important to increase the efficiency and productivity of your business. Every business will have a different set of needs and these needs will change with company growth; a MSP will be their every step of the way.

        3. Reduced Downtime

        Downtime, due to technology issues and errors, equates to loss of money. Updates, bugs, and viruses can cause complete loss of productivity for hours or even up to days. A MSP ensures updates are done after business hours and security checks are done as frequently as requested to avoid any downtime. If a problem does arise, they are fixed quickly so you can be back to doing what you do best.

        4. Knowing Your Information and Assets are Protected

        Ensuring your confidential information and assets are protected is crucial. A MSP can provide proactive and comprehensive security, monitoring, and management. Antivirus solutions are critical in protecting the most valuable parts of your business. By outsourcing these tasks to experts, you can be assured you are protecting your business in every way.

        5. Adding Value to Your Business

        When you find the managed service provider that fits your needs, you will be increasing the value of your business. The valuable time you spend updating your technology or dealing with system errors will be restored and now will be spent on growing your business. The right MSP will ensure your technology is always up and running to ensure efficiency and productivity is at an all time high.

        Looking for a managed service provider? Rolle IT offers a wide range of IT services to our partners 24 hours a day. We are user focused and focus on adding real value to your business. We even created PRODesk which is a curated package that fits many business’ needs.

        PRODesk includes a remote service desk, antivirus, patch management, mail filtering, a service desk call center, backup storage, and website filtering. Learn more about PRODesk here.