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Hard Drives in Copiers: Why Your Personal Information may be at Risk

Posted by South City Computer
Photo taken by MMN-o

Copy Machine

Although Copy Machines seem harmless they alone can leek personal information and cause serious trouble. John Juntunen of Digital Copier Security said: “Nearly every copier built since 2002 contains one of these, a hard drive.” Exactly like the hard drive in a computer the hard drive in a copier, saves everything whether it was copied, emailed, or scanned. That means all medical documents, birth certificates or other important/personal documents are stored in your copy machine’s memory and if found in the wrong hands can cause you serious troubles.

How to Defend Your Information

Copiers along with MFDs (Multi-Function Device [such as a device that is a fax machine, photocopier and printer all in one]) store data. Most copiers and MFDs are often found in business settings along with public locations while also being available for the house.

If you have a personal copier there are two real dangers of having your information stolen: 1. Disposing of your copier or MFD without removing or wiping its hard drive. 2. Someone gaining access to your wifi network and to your copier/MFD. If your copier/MFD is old or broken and you are considering throwing it away or selling ALWAYS REMOVE/WIPE THE HARD DRIVE there could potentially be important and private information stored on it. If you need your copier’s/MFD’s hard drive wiped bring it in to South City Computer and we will do it for you!  The second one can only happen if your copier/MFD is connected to your network because it is wireless.  To ensure no one gaining access to your network, set up a secure password (if  not having one already).

If you are going to use a public photocopier, be very cautious about what you are going to copy. There is no telling whether the photocopier deletes all the information stored on it so always be cautious if the information you are photocopying could or could not be harmful information if it was accessible by others.

If you are using a copier at a business not only should the concern of disposing of your copier without wiping the hard drive and via the network but also have a concern of who has actual contact with the copier, for example: coworkers, customers, etc. Although seeming unlikely just by removing the hard drive and using a free software program to scan the hard drive, could download all the files off of it. If your copier is used often throughout your work there could be essential business information leaked if your copy machine’s hard drive is left unprotected.

Click here to view the video by CBS.

If you or your business ever need a copier or MFD hard drive erased, call us at: 314-400-7918

Windows 8 Start Menu Guide

Posted by South City Computer

Created by Top Gold, Copywrited, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/With Microsoft’s release of Windows 8 there have been a lot of questions and complaints concerning the most bold new feature, the Start Menu. The Start Menu which replaces the desktop at the start of your computer is considered “innovative” and “incredible” but also is giving users a hard time. We here at South City Computer made a guide for those who are struggling with this new feature, so to help you navigate it better.

 

Start Button:

Microsoft although wanting to switch up the way your computer starts still they did not entirely throw out the desktop which users are accustomed to.  By hitting the Start Button you are transported directly to the Desktop. The Start Button is the picture above but on a key located to the left of the spacebar. The Start Button, if hit while on the Desktop will transport you back to the Start Menu.

The Start Button is the first part of the keyboard shortcut to a lot of the new Windows 8 features, and by holding it down along with hitting another key can access some of the new features. Here are some useful Windows 8 keyboard shortcuts:

  • (Start+D)= Go to desktop
  • (Start+Tab )=Multitasking Menu
  • (Start+Q)= Search Apps
  • (Start+F)= Search Files
  • (Start+I)= Settings
  • (Start+Prnt Scrn)= Screen shot

Start Menu:

The biggest change in the new OS is the addition of the Start Menu which has a sleek design geared toward touch-screen, and mobile devices. While the Start Menu certainly looks good it can be confusing to navigate and understand with the Live Tiles especially.

Live Tiles:

The Live Tiles are essentially applications that are “pinned” to your Start Menu and run even when not in use. They tend not to take up to much room and are apps like: Facebook, Twitter, etc. The Live apps are on the Start Menu and usually have moving pictures or something along those lines going around the box. For example, the Netflix app will have recommended movies or shows fading in and out. Live apps differ from their desktop counterpart which can bring up a lot of confusion; the Live app version of Skype (a program that can be used to video call and instant message) can be opened from the Start Menu and functions differently from the desktop version of Skype.

“Pinning” Programs to the Start Menu:

While Live Tiles can be downloaded from the Windows Store they are not the only thing that can be on the Start Menu. While on the desktop by right-clicking a program you can “pin” it to the start menu, in doing this when you are on the Start Menu you can click the program you pinned and instead of it opening as a live tile Windows opens the program on the desktop.

Multitasking with Windows 8:

Although the all new Live Tiles can be difficult, they offer a very useful way to multi-task. When having multiple apps open, by dragging your mouse to the top left corner of your screen then dragging it down the left side of the screen or hitting Start+Tab, either way a menu showing all open apps should appear. From being able to see all open apps you can “snap” an app to the side of the screen of your choice, you can do this either by right-clicking and selecting “Snap Left” or “Snap Right” or you can click the app and drag it your preferred side. For example say the Desktop and a free photo editing app downloaded from the Windows Store are both open from the left menu I snap the desktop to the left side and the photo editor to the right side now from here you can find a picture from either your Facebook page or in your Pictures folder via the Desktop. When finding the picture you wanted, you can then select the picture from the photo editor and begin editing now being able to see both the new and the old picture. While editing a photo is just one example there are plenty of other ways to multi-task, like researching and writing a paper on one screen or even watching a movie while video calling a friend.

Windows 8 is still pretty new even for being over a year old, although it may be frustrating we here at South City Computer hope this helped with some the new features. If you have any computer problems or questions call our number: 314-400-7918

Local Computer Repair Shops vs. Big Buisness Computer Repair

Posted by South City Computer

Usually for customers bigger businesses means better, for example big business clothing stores may be more cost effective than local clothing stores. This idea of “bigger is better” may be true in various retail stores but in the field of computers it is actually quite the opposite. With some big businesses that offer computer repair services, like Best Buy, why shop local?

Price:

Even with the idea of bigger meaning cheaper in all actuality most local computer repair shops pricing is more cost effective than a lot of big businesses. How? Well big businesses although usually already having enough money are always alright with making more. While here at South City Computer we strive to keep the prices reasonable and affordable.

Customer Service:

Generally at big businesses they advertise their customer service yet haven’t we all gotten stuck on hold for much longer than we ever wanted to be? At local computer repair shops, matters of business are much more timely and more accommodating about your busy schedule. In accommodating to your schedule we repair your computer and fix your computer problems in a timely manner typically quicker than most big businesses. Also at most local computer repair shops rarely if ever would you encounter a machine instead of a real person to talk to.

Skill:

At big businesses there are many employees who may not actually be very skilled nor really want to fix your computer but instead sell you another one. While here at South City Computer we have dedicated support technicians who are willing to dedicate a lot of time and effort into making sure that your problem is fixed.

If you ever have computer problems or questions feel free to call South City Computer:  314-400-7918

Data Loss Can Cause Major Issues

Posted by South City Computer

Did you know that data loss has become increasingly more common since 2008? The Open Security Foundation has recorded the increase of data loss incidents since 2008, claiming that it has become a major problem for some businesses.

What is Data Loss?

Data Loss is when data that someone has stored, whether it be a person or a business, when data gets destroyed or fails without the person or business having a backup storage of the data and without being able to restore the data. Data loss can primarily be catastrophic to businesses that store a lot of data especially if that information is critical to their business.

Data Loss Affects Businesses

One of the more publicly known data loss incidents was TJX’s (the retailer owning such stores like Marshalls and T.J Maxx) loss of 94 million people’s information including credit card and customer identity. TJX lost an estimated $256mil+ along with hackers successfully gaining access to 45 million customers’ information.

Another well know data loss was Sony, in late April of 2011 the PlayStation Network (PSN) was hacked. Hackers obtained personal information including Credit Cards. Post-Breach Sony closed down both PlayStation Network and Sony Online Entertainment. The Poneman institute (research center with focus on data protection and data privacy) estimated that Sony may have to pay up to and/or beyond $2 billion.

How to deal with Data Loss:

  • Data Recovery- In a data recovery shops can attempt to recover lost data but without a previously arranged data backup plan, often data recovery will involve reinstalling of applications, files, etc.
  • Data Backup Plan- Here at South City Computer we can set up a data backup plan, that will support your choice data.

If your data is ever lost or you would like to set up a data backup plan please call us or leave us a message on our website .

Sources:

  • http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2011/0504/Data-theft-Top-5-most-expensive-data-breaches/1.-tie-Sony-to-be-determined
  • http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Top-seven-data-loss-issues

What is Defragmenting and Why You Should Do It

Posted by South City Computer

In HDD’s ,or hard disk drives, spinning platters hold your data saved on it. When data ,such as a photo or a word document, is first written on the drive it is in order on the platter making access to it speedy. A hard drive becomes fragmented when the file gets spread apart on the drive losing it’s order and quick access. Fragmentation when your data on your hard drive constantly change, let’s say you save files A,B, and C, you then deleted B and save file D then file D takes as much of the space it can where file B was but that space didn’t have enough room(files D is much bigger then B). Now this file D is cut up with file C in between it. That is fragmentation

Defragmentation puts these files that have been fragmented and puts them back in their place. This makes the file much faster when trying to open, the same as when it was first created. Solid state drives or SSD’s do not need defragmentation due to them not having the spinning platters that HDD’s have. Windows 8 often defragments itself but other operating system such as Windows XP do not. Having your hard drive defragged speeds up your system very much and will improve user experience. At South City Computer our computer techs can defragment your hardrive for you, scheadule a tech desk visit today! 314-400-7918

Windows XP Reaches the Dusk of It’s Existence

Posted by South City Computer

Windows XP LogoIn 2001, Microsoft release what some might argue was their greatest operating system of all time: Windows XP. Windows XP brought in great advances over it’s predecessor, Windows 2000. It brought Windows away from just home desktop computers, and extended it to laptops, and even servers. Then in 2006, Microsoft released what some might argue was their worst operating system of all time: Windows Vista. The tremendous failure that this system was among consumers gave new life to Windows XP, extending the long-term support period all the way into 2014. This makes XP the longest supported OS Microsoft has ever released.

All good things must come to an end, though, and in this case XP has been replaced by other, better things. Windows 7 brought modern sharing and network capabilities to the operating system, along with a file permissions system that rivals that from UNIX systems. This means that the time for XP is over.

Support for Windows XP ends on April 8, 2014

So what does that mean?
Well, the short answer is you need to upgrade. The long answer is Microsoft will no longer be releasing critical security updates for Windows XP. It’s just a matter of time until somebody finds a big vulnerability in XP and starts cracking into any computer running XP. And when support ends, nobody is going to do anything about it.

Protecting yourself is simple, just upgrade to a newer system: Windows 7 or 8. Be careful, though as upgrading comes with risks of data loss. If you are afraid that you might accidentally get rid of something you need to keep, consider leaving the upgrade to an expert. You can come in to our computer store in the Lindenwood Park neighborhood, for example. When we upgrade computers, we always make sure that the data is safe and sound outside of the computer itself.

Snapchat Hacked Private User Data Stolen

Posted by South City Computer

As many social networks are now becoming something like an archive of your life. You can scroll down, and down, and down, all the way back to the day you created your account. Snapchat’s main feature is that it does the exact opposite of this, your photo messages to others stay for only a set amount of time, with a maximum of 10 seconds. What about your information though? You may not remember when you signed up, but you were asked for your phone number. The purpose of this is so that your account can be linked to your mobile device, making it easier for others to find you. But this information doesn’t disappear after 10 seconds, it stays around forever. And this, of course, means that it can be hacked.

And in Snapchat’s case that it will be hacked. On December 31, 2013, the hackers released 4.6 million usernames in a downloadable file on their website. In the statement from the hackers they said

Our motivation behind the release was to raise the public awareness around the issue, and also put public pressure on Snapchat to get this exploit fixed. It is understandable that tech startups have limited resources but security and privacy should not be a secondary goal. Security matters as much as user experience does.

We used a modified version of gibsonsec’s exploit/method. Snapchat
could have easily avoided that disclosure by replying to Gibsonsec’s private communications, yet they didn’t. Even long after that disclosure, Snapchat was reluctant to taking the necessary steps to secure user data. Once we started scraping on a large scale, they decided to implement very minor obstacles, which were still far from enough. Even now the exploit persists. It is still possible to scrape this data on a large scale. Their latest changes are still not too hard to circumvent.

We wanted to minimize spam and abuse that may arise from this release. Our main goal is to raise public awareness on how reckless many internet companies are with user information. It is a secondary goal for them, and that should not be the case. You wouldn’t want to eat at a restaurant that spends millions on decoration, but barely anything on cleanliness.

Following their statement, the last two digits from every phone number have been hidden in the lists, so you don’t have to worry about the use of this for spam, however, it shows what else Snapchat might be hiding away in their servers. It’s possible that they have archived every single photo you have sent and are keeping it on a server just as insecure as the one your user data is on.

So maybe it is good that Snapchat got hacked, because it is without a doubt that they will hear about this and need to take some action. Hopefully, that action will be to lock down their servers and invest in some penetration testing to make sure that your stuff is guarded.

How to Avoid Yahoo Malware and Other Types of Malware

Posted by South City Computer

Image for google warning about malware.In the beginning of 2014 Yahoo’s ads contained malicious software (malware) which infected an estimated 2 million users computers. It was estimated that almost 27,000 computers using Yahoo were infected an hour. The computers that were infected through Yahoo, were using up a massive chunk of the computers resources as bit coin slaves, where without the users knowledge the computers were mining bit coins thus harboring a lot of the computers capability. Although malware today is very common especially through email and the Internet; there are still ways to defend your computer.

What is malware?

Malware is a term that is short for “malicious software” which is meant to harm your computer. Malware includes: spyware, trojan horses, and computer viruses. malware can be downloaded or installed unintentionally or unknowingly by the user through the Internet or via email.

What does malware do?

Malware infects the computer and can lead to the attacker accessing content on the computer, leaving the user susceptible to Identity Theft and other financial and personal information being seen. With malware undetected the computer can have certain operations disrupted along with being used to store unidentified data. Certain malware like spyware can be used to spy on the user’s action for marketing.

How to defend from malware:

  • Keep your computer up to date.  Make sure your computer is automatically updating itself.  Make sure  check for updates is set to run when you have the computer turned on, not at 3am like the default setting.
  • Make sure you have antivirus/anti-malware installed.  Microsoft provides free of charge antivirus and malware built in if you download and activate it.  The issue with commercial subscriptions is that you forget to pay and they expire, putting you at risk.
  • Be careful of spam emails. Emails that seems sketchy or are otherwise unexpected may contain malware. View header of email, also clicking to check who the sender of the email is can help you decide whether to open it or not.
  • Heed computer warnings. Often if entering a dangerous website your computer may already be letting you know. Computers may also display a message saying that certain files may be harmful to your computer if opened.
  • Bring computer to local computer shop. Bringing your computer to South City Computer or another local computer repair shop to be scanned for malware. You could schedule a Tech Desk visit in order to have your computer scanned while you wait.  Call or Send us a message through our website.

Malware is becoming very common now which now there are many anti-virus and anti-malware softwares available for download. Also bringing your computer into South City Computer or another local computer repair shop to be scanned for malware can see if you already have malware and can be removed.

Call:  314-400-7918

Sources: http://www.businessinsider.com/yahoo-malware-turned-european-computers-into-bitcoin-slaves-2014-1

 

Companies with Free WiFi, Watching You

Posted by South City Computer

Over the past decade, WiFi has made a major appearance in public places. But as cellular data has become more and more prevalent in the past couple years, one starts to wonder why exactly retailers are so big about having WiFi. The truth is that retailers who provide free WiFi in public places aren’t just providing internet access because they want to be nice to you. They are using it to track you.

When you connect your Android or iPhone, or any device, to a WiFi network, it transmits a unique identifier known as the MAC Address. While this address doesn’t necessarily provide any information about your device or your person, it is completely unique. Retailers can track when and for how long a device is connected to their network, and therefore determine your habits.

The best way to explain how this information might be useful to a retailer is through an example.
Let’s say you’re paying a visit to the Lindenwood Park neighborhood and you connect your phone to a free WiFi network provided by a local computer store. That computer store could gather data about how often you visit, and how long. By combining information about how long you are there with the known radius of the WiFi network, the computer shop could gather data about what you are doing. This information is not used to creep on you, but rather to determine what the best way to market to you is. If it was determined that you regularly connect to the WiFi while visiting a nearby restaurant, the store might consider taking out an ad on a table tent.

This form of tracking has potential to be beneficial to both consumers and retailers alike. However, retailers have not established standards regarding informing consumers about what exactly they track and how they plan to use it. Until this happens, one may want to disable the WiFi on his or her device when away from home. AVG has also developed a “Do Not Track” app that will do this for you automatically.

Xbox One Owners Tricked into Ruining their Xbox’s

Posted by South City Computer

If you think your Xbox One might be backwards compatible with an Xbox360 or if you’ve seen any posts online about how to play Xbox 360 games on your Xbox One then you’d better think again.

Did you know that hundreds of Xbox One owners have turned their Xbox One’s into a brick by trying a hack that advertised making their Xbox One compatible with Xbox360 games? The unfortunate truth is that the Xbox One will never be compatible due to the different architectures of the computer itself. The Xbox One is built to be connected to the network and to stream games. It does not have the horsepower to play the Xbox 360 games natively. But that hasn’t stopped some people from trying this hack. We highly recommend you do NOT do this as it will ruin your gaming console. But I thought I’d share it with you so you don’t try this at home.

Again, this is for demonstration purposes and is NOT SOMETHING YOU SHOULD DO!!! THIS WILL BRICK YOUR XBOX ONE!!!

  1. Go to the system menu
  2. Press LB,RT,LT,RT in order quickly
  3. Select the developer console
  4. Check the “enable devkit” box
  5. Change the sandbox ID to “freezone.reboot”
  6. Select “Reset Home Console”

After a user completes these steps the gaming console goes into an infinite loop rebooting itself. There is no way to fix it.

Xbox team member Larry Hryb took to Twitter in an attempt to stop the prank from spreading further: “To be clear there is no way to make your Xbox One backwards compatible & performing steps to attempt this could make your console inoperable”.

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