Experts say that the car you currently own is far less expensive to operate than a new one. Is this also true when it comes to computers? The car adage is demonstrably true, provided maintenance has been performed on a regular basis. Be that as it may, years of squeaks, rattles, dings, dents and spills […]
Tag Archives: security
I recently had a chat with a colleague who recounted his recent experience with a computer he recovered from a local electronics recycling center. His story was a bit shocking and I thought it really deserved a write-up. Electronics waste is a huge burden to local governments around the world. The pace of advancement in […]
More information has been trickling out regarding the massive Target PCI breach that took place during the 2013 Christmas shopping season. Forensic researchers first learned that hackers penetrated Target’s network by means of a business transaction portal. It appears that Fazio Mechanical Services was the source. Fazio is a Pittsburgh-area nationwide mechanical contractor that services […]
The “CryptoLocker” virus has been making a great deal of noise lately. Though we at Thom Infotech have not personally encountered it, we know others who have. We’ve written this post to help you to understand and defend against the CryptoLocker virus. What is it? CryptoLocker is an insidious twist on the all-too-familiar virus or […]
As of this writing there are roughly four useble business weeks left in the current year. As 2013 winds down, businesses should consider performing needed upgrades sooner rather than later. At the risk of creating a lengthy blog post I’m planning to provide 179 reasons to upgrade before January 2014. First, we should discuss the […]
There is welcome news for web developers this week as WordPress now offers automatic updates to the uber-popular web development platform. Starting out as a blogging tool, WordPress has morphed into a full website development ecosystem. Like many, this author has embraced WordPress due to its simplicity, flexibility, and easy search engine optimization. The importance […]
It has been said that the most difficult interface to secure is the one between the chair and the keyboard. This bit of “nerd humor” actually has its basis in fact. Art Gross has written a very informative post titled “Your employees will cause your next HIPAA breach” concerning the most common cause of HIPAA […]
I’m sure you’ve seen this, and I hope you haven’t fallen for it. Nevertheless, it must work because the bad guys keep doing it. The term is “Trendjacking”, and it refers to spammers and malware authors using current trends to trick you into opening malicious email messages. Trendjacking threats are a growing concern for computer […]
According to the LA Times, five workers and a student research assistant were fired in the wake of a patient privacy breach affecting the patient medical records of 14 patients. According to a statement released by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the 14 patient records were “inappropriately accessed” between June 18 and June 24. Four of those […]
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced last week that the managed care company WellPoint, Inc. had agreed to pay a fine of $1.7 million to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) privacy and security rules. Like nearly all HHS fines, this case sends […]