You know those lazy, dog days of summer that we normally enjoy during August?  Yeah, well, those days didn’t happen for me.  Here is a synopsis of what did happen:

In August our friends at knowbe4.com sent notice of a massive WebAd Poisoning.  The abbreviated story goes like this:  The same cybercrime lowlifes that infected the Yahoo website a few weeks ago have struck again, this time infecting sites like DrudgeReport.com and Weather.com. Both sites have hundreds of millions of visitors per month, and were serving poisoned web ads which either dropped CryptoWall ransomware or infected the PC with adware.

Internet users typically do not understand the mechanics of modern ad networks. Once an ad network is subverted, hundreds of millions of poisoned ads are displayed in real-time. Many of these ads initiate a drive-by attack without the user having to do anything. The attack does a few redirects, kicks in a U.S. and Canada-focused Exploit Kit which checks for vulnerabilities (usually in Flash) and can infect the workstation literally in seconds.

The solution:  get rid of flash or install an ad blocker.  If you currently have a monthly maintenance contract with Comp-U-Talk, then we have already installed an ad blocker for you, you are safe.  For the others, we recommend installation of AdBlock Plus, which is a free utility available at www.adblockplus.org.  You will need to install for each user and for every browser used.  In English:  If Joe & Mary are sharing a computer and have separate logins, then Joe will need to install and Mary will need to install.  If Joe mostly uses Chrome and occasionally uses Internet Explorer, he will need to install in both browsers.  If you would like to explore the feasibility of having Comp-U-Talk proactively maintain your computers (as opposed to reactively) please reach out to me via email or phone call (541-756-8770).

There is a change to credit card technology coming in October.  This is no big deal for the carrier of a credit card.  It is a big deal for businesses that accept credit cards.  The change is called EMV.  That stands for Europay, MasterCard and Visa.  This global standard is being implemented to improve security and limit fraud.   For the busines it means new credit card readers and dorking with credit card merchants to get everything configured and implemented correctly.  After some tedious research, I found a company which I believe is going to make this transition nearly painless.  I’ll be finalizing the process, hopefully by September 10.  If you would like to piggy-back on my experiences, please reach out to me via email or phone call (541-756-8770) and I will help you out.

Lots of people have been asking if Comp-U-Talk can manage their phones systems.  This past month I made initial contact with two vendors who have good reputations in the VOIP (Voice Over IP, aka internet phones) arena.  Our sample phone arrived yesterday.  We will be running it thru the gauntlet this coming month and be reporting back soon.  If this is something you would like to be kept abreast of, please reach out to me via email or phone call (541-756-8770). 

And sadly, Colby has decided to leave the Comp-U-Talk family in order to be closer to his real family in Washington.  That creates a job opening for someone with strong moral fibers and a love of all things computer.  If that is you or someone you know please drop by the store and pick up an application.

Surf Safe,

~Janet