Multiple Locations and Collaboration? No Problem
Multiple Locations and Collaboration? No Problem I want to highlight a ways that we achieve collaboration in diffuse, decentralized work environments in the SMB space. Companies with multiple location. Usually, there is a main hub of activity, the mothership if you will. The main, original office. Then we have one or more satellite offices which serve as staging locations or hubs of operations in different regions, or even as overflow workspace. The difficult thing for some of our clients in this scenario is exactly how to work efficiently and securely. With more and more companies outsourcing more and more resources to the cloud, this issue can sometimes be overcome with a cloud file sharing & collaboration service such as sharepoint or onedrive or dropbox or box or google drive, or one of a thousand other solutions. This is a good solution, if you are only worried about file collaboration, and the footprint of the data isn’t too heavy. But what happens if your company needs to operate within regulatory compliance, protect the sensitive nature of your data, your files are just too big, or rather we are sharing out access to an application? This is when we get into the murky world of VPNs, S2S VPNs, Software-based remote access, and virtually hosting servers in the cloud. There are multiple ways to solve situations like these. And the right solution needs to balance efficiency and your budget. There may be multiple “right” solutions to your issue, but which one is the “most right” for your company? If you have not implemented this sort of a solution in your network yet, and you think you could benefit from reduced risk of downtime, it might be time to give us a call. This is where having an experienced managed it services provider on your side can make all the difference. Call us now for a free analysis and quote on your infrastructure upgrade needs. TRA Consulting is your number one IT Services in Los Angeles. If you are looking for IT Support Los Angeles, and you haven’t found IT Consulting Los Angeles, give us a call. You might be located in Orange County, and it might be important to you to find IT Services Orange County. If that is the case, be assured we are centrally located to all of Orange County. Call the number one Managed IT Services Los Angeles for all your Managed IT Service Providers needs. Share This : Facebook Twitter Youtube Linkedin Recent Post May 5, 2025 Multiple Locations and Collaboration? No Problem February 24, 2021 Cybersecurity February 24, 2021 Artificial Intelligence Recent Post Artificial Intelligence Cybersecurity TRA Consulting Uncategorized
Balancing Humans And Society
There are no shortage of philosophies when it comes to computer and network security. Keeping data secure and private should be the number one priority for all those philosophies. One thing that is usually missing from these philosophies are the human component. As IT Technicians, most of the time we forget that the users we help are just trying to do their job with minimum amount of interruption. Users most of the time will prefer efficiency over security when it comes to their computer system. If a security measure stands in their way, clever users can find a way around it. An example is when computers started to become popular, yet they were not as mobile as they are now, hospitals started having computers on carts so that doctors could have access to patient’s digital records when the doctor visited them in the hospital room. However, doctors forgot to lock the computer when they walked away, leaving the patient’s health records exposed to anyone passing by. The hospitals IT Staff responded by adding proximity sensors to the carts that will lock the computer when the doctor walks away. This meant that the doctor would have to type in the computer password (if they remembered it) again when they returned, even if they only left for a very short time. To prevent it from locking, the doctors would put their coffee cup on top of the sensor, thus preventing the computer from locking if they moved away. This took security back to square one. Listening to the Doctor’s feedback and some education on the IT staff’s part was crucial to solving this issue. In an office setting, it’s common for users to forget their passwords, especially if the Sys Admin have stringent rules like password change every 90 days, along with high complexity requirements. Getting calls about resetting passwords, on top of other usual calls can amount to a lot of unnecessary calls. Even on the user’s side, they want to avoid calling the sys admin to get their password reset. A common way users prevent forgotten passwords is to write it down on a post-it note and keeping it somewhere secure (like taping it to the lower right quadrant of the monitor). Frivolity aside, this is a security risk for that system. If this is at a reception desk, anyone who walks in can get a glimpse at the login credentials. For a hacker, this is enough to get in to their system and do what they please. There are ways around this issue, like a fingerprint scanner, or having a facial recognition software on the computer to make sure only the person that is assigned to that computer can unlock it. This can be expensive, like needing to buy software, accessories, or even upgrade the whole system. However, the financial benefits of having a secure computer are on a long-term basis. Skimping on security solutions and ignoring the human element can be an atrocious combination for a company. Being aware of both and knowing how to strike a balance is key to protecting from outside threats as well from unintentional internal ones. TRA consulting not only focuses on Home Personal security, but also in SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) security. Our goal is to provide full IT support to growing small businesses who are too small to have a full time IT staff, yet big enough that they need one. We have many highly satisfied customers in the Long Beach, Orange County, San Diego, Southbay, and Los Angeles area. Contact us today, and let us take care of all of your computer security needs. Our prices are reasonable and our services are top notch. Call us today for a free consultation!
Windows 10 Preview
Windows 10 is slated to come out later this year, with the goal of not just superseding the oft maligned windows 8 (and windows 8.1), but actually replacing it. Microsoft will offer Windows 10 as a free upgrade to users with devices. This is good for consumers who love their device and want to try the new Windows 10 without having to buy a new one. One of the new features of the new Windows OS are a new redesigned browser that replaces Internet Explorer, called Microsoft Edge. Microsoft Edge is a minimalist internet browser that touts faster browsing speed, increased readability, and the ability to write and draw on a touch screen without the need of a stylus. This is great for tablet and windows users who do not want to get an expensive stylus to go with the handheld. Cortana is also being embedded in many features of windows, similar to what she was able to do in Windows phones. You can ask her questions and she will answer, whether they are things that can be found on the internet or windows options, like how do I project a screen (answer: Windows key + P). It is still not known whether she is an upgraded version of the Windows Phone Cortana or if it’s just her but ported to Windows 10. One of the more exciting features that Windows 10 promises is the integration of the HoloLens with the Windows 10 and its apps. HoloLens is an augmented reality head set that merges everyday surroundings with holograms which the user can interact with. Those Holograms can be in the form of windows apps, which the user can control using their hands (a la Kinect), voice, and even gaze. The new Windows Store is revamped, allowing apps to work in all Windows platforms. This makes it easier for Developers to have their apps be accessible to all one billion windows devices. Before, a windows phone app would only work on (certain) windows phones, but now it can work on Tablets, Desktops, Laptops, Surface, and even Xbox One and HoloLens. Not only can windows apps run on all windows platforms, but iOS and Android apps can be run on windows, as long as the app is ported by the developer. Microsoft is working on making it easier for developers to do that, which would be a win-win if it works: Windows App store grows and becomes competitive, and developers have their apps available to an extra billion devices with minimal effort. TRA consulting, we not only focus on Home Computer security, but also in SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) security. Our goal is to provide full IT support to growing small businesses who are too small to have a full time IT staff, yet big enough that they need one. We have many highly satisfied customers in the Long Beach, Orange County, Southbay, and Los Angeles area. Contact us today, and let us take care of all of your computer security needs. Our prices are reasonable and our services are top notch.
You’re Doing It Wrong
The list of the worst password for 2014 just came out, and it looks like the people’s favorite worst passwords are still at the top: “password” and 123456”. Other winners (or losers) are ‘12345’ (#3), ‘qwerty’ (#5), ‘abc123’ (#14), ‘football’ (#10), and my favorite ‘letmein’ (#13). In my career as an IT professional, I’ve seen many devices like routers, AP’s and firewalls that have default passwords such as ‘password’ , ‘abc123’ and ‘admin’ (curiously, not on the list), but never have I been tempted to leave that password once the device goes live. It’s like leaving your house key under the ‘Welcome’ rug in front of the door. Even though passwords are one of the easiest methods to authenticate, some people just don’t take them seriously. Now, I don’t mean that you should have to memorize a 16-character long randomly generated alphanumerical password for every account that you have (though I do know a system administrator that does something like that). Even though having such a strict password policy will dramatically reduce the number of unauthorized access, it’s just begging for the Sys-Admin to be flooded with requests for password changes. Giving users free range to create their own passwords will lead to the above mention passwords, which are begging to get hacked. There is a middle ground that lets users create their own passwords but they are subject to some complexity requirements. The complexity requirements usually include having a mix of numbers, characters, symbols, and UPPER and lower case letters. The reason why is this makes the password less likely to be hacked by using a Dictionary attack. This type of attack includes trying every word in the dictionary, as well as frequently used passwords, like the ones in the top 25 worst passwords of the year. If you have any of those password in the list, you’ve got an increased chance of getting your account broken into. Sure there are other ways to authenticate besides passwords. Laptops and mobile devices now have finger print readers, facial recognition software, and even the popular smart card readers. However, all these things you cannot customize yourself. Your fingerprints will not change much over your lifetime, and neither will your face. Maybe that’s a good thing, but if such authentication method gets compromised, it could become a liability. However, passwords are easily replaceable, can be made to fit the user, and ultimately they are the last line of defense in cybersecurity. At TRA consulting, our philosophy is to be proactive when it comes to desktop and network security. We combine end point tools which can monitor, alert, patch, script, and have the ability to provide remote support. All these tools and more can help you keep your computer and network safe at a fraction of the price of a full-time IT staff. We have many satisfied customers in the Long Beach, Orange County, Southbay, Greater Los Angeles Area, San Diego, Arizona, and Midwest. Our Motto is “Maximum Satisfaction, Minimum Fuss”. Call us today for a free consultation!
The Threat Within
What’s the biggest threat to a company’s network security? Viruses? Hackers? Worms? The NSA? It’s none of the above. The weakest point are the users. That’s right, the same people that you trust to use the computers that you want to protect are the ones that are putting it at risk, according to a recent study by the Ponemon Institute. 78% of companies that took part in this study blame their employees for being careless or negligent when following the company’s security policies. Think about it; no matter how secure a computer is (within reason, otherwise the user cannot do their job) the user is the one making security decisions every minute they spend in front of that computer. “Should I click on this Facebook banner ad?”, “This email looks official, let me download the attachment and unzip it”, “Looks like I won the Lottery, even though I’ve never played” Email is one of the most likely vectors to get a computer infected. Some estimates say that 90% of all email traveling through the internet is spam. Even though that statistic is probably overblown, the amount of spam out there keeps growing by the day. A lot of that spam is not just trying to sell you prescription pills or knockoff watches, but they are also trying to get your personal information and/or delivering an infection. The worst thing is that they spammers are getting smarter and making some of their emails more and more difficult to tell from the real deal. This method of spamming is called Phishing, which is very common and can even evade most spam detectors. Educating the users is the best solution to keep computer and networks safe. There are many ways to keep a network safe with different devices and programs that will do an excellent job. However, at the end of the day, it’s the user who holds the power with their keyboard and mice to keep the computer out of dangerous situations. Now that companies are beginning to realize just how important is for their employees to be aware of the responsibility they have keeping the company safe from intrusion, it’s up to the company to find a way to better educate the employees at staying safe. This does not mean that traditional methods of security need to go out the window; these two philosophies are complimentary, not orthogonal, to each other. Spending money in security is not the waste of money a lot of SMB’s (and even some big corporations) think it is. In fact, it’s the opposite; it helps the business to not lose money. Just like the saying, there is more than one way to skin a cat, there is more than one approach towards network security. Whatever your philosophy is, making sure it is well implemented is the biggest hurdle. At TRA consulting, our philosophy is to be proactive when it comes to desktop and network security. We combine end point tools which can monitor, alert, patch, script, and have the ability to provide remote support. All these tools and more can help you keep your computer and network safe at a fraction of the price of a full-time IT staff. We have many satisfied customers in the Long Beach, Orange County, Southbay, Greater Los Angeles Area, San Diego, Arizona, and Midwest. Our Motto is “Maximum Satisfaction, Minimum Fuss”. Call us today for a free consultation!
Beware of the Predator
As if there weren’t enough challenges for growing small and medium size businesses, there is another one to add to their list: Enterprise level malware software at affordable prices. Up to recently, the majority of Data breaches have been targeted at big corporation (Target, Staples, Home Depot, etc.), however now the targets have shifted to smaller companies due to the commercialization of similar malware/keyloggers. Predator Pain and Limitless are two keylogging malware programs that can be bought from underground markets for cheap prices and can be used to attack and spy on anyone. The majority of targets of these keylogging software has been small and medium size businesses, as shown by TrendMicro research. Even though the software can be bought for an inexpensive amount, it is not a rudimentary in its execution. It can steal web (including banking) and email credentials, as well as reconfigure the email account so that it send the victim’s emails directly to the hacker. It can also capture keystrokes and screen shots of the computer. On top of that, it will encrypt all the communications between the infected computer and the criminal’s computer. The method that criminals use to infect the computers is usually a drive-by download or phishing. Once the computer is infected, the malware will start collecting data, keystrokes and screenshots of the computer. If you are infected with this keylogger, what can you do? Well, there is not much out there in the form of removal of this specific malware. A quick google search for “How to remove Predator Pain” reveals very little on how to properly remove this nasty keylogger. In fact, a lot of the results are about how to use the keylogger and where to get it (paid or free). The only one I was able to find is a bit complicated, and it includes editing the registry, something the average user is not recommended to do, as it could lead to even more problems. There are tools out there that can help get rid of this and other nasty malwares, like Malwarebyes, Spybot, SuperAntiSpyware, but the best solution is prevention. Just like the saying, an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure. At TRA Consulting we specialize in IT Managed services geared for Small and Medium size businesses (SMB’s). We take care of all their IT needs, including but not limited to: Desktop support, server administration, Cloud Services integration, Network Administration/Security, etc. With all the threats out there in the cyber-world, having us in your corner is one of the better decisions a growing business can do. . We have many highly satisfied customers in the Southern California area, including San Diego, Long Beach, Orange County, Southbay, and Los Angeles area. Contact us today, and let us take care of all of your computer security needs. Don’t let security threats stifle your business’s growth. Our prices are reasonable and our services are top notch. Call us today for a free consultation. At TRA Consulting, our motto is “Maximum Satisfaction, Minimum Fuss”
Beware of the Predator
As if there weren’t enough challenges for growing small and medium size businesses, there is another one to add to their list: Enterprise level malware software at affordable prices. Up to recently, the majority of Data breaches have been targeted at big corporation (Target, Staples, Home Depot, etc.), however now the targets have shifted to smaller companies due to the commercialization of similar malware/keyloggers. Predator Pain and Limitless are two keylogging malware programs that can be bought from underground markets for cheap prices and can be used to attack and spy on anyone. The majority of targets of these keylogging software has been small and medium size businesses, as shown by TrendMicro research. Even though the software can be bought for an inexpensive amount, it is not a rudimentary in its execution. It can steal web (including banking) and email credentials, as well as reconfigure the email account so that it send the victim’s emails directly to the hacker. It can also capture keystrokes and screen shots of the computer. On top of that, it will encrypt all the communications between the infected computer and the criminal’s computer. The method that criminals use to infect the computers is usually a drive-by download or phishing. Once the computer is infected, the malware will start collecting data, keystrokes and screenshots of the computer. If you are infected with this keylogger, what can you do? Well, there is not much out there in the form of removal of this specific malware. A quick google search for “How to remove Predator Pain” reveals very little on how to properly remove this nasty keylogger. In fact, a lot of the results are about how to use the keylogger and where to get it (paid or free). The only one I was able to find is a bit complicated, and it includes editing the registry, something the average user is not recommended to do, as it could lead to even more problems. There are tools out there that can help get rid of this and other nasty malwares, like Malwarebyes, Spybot, SuperAntiSpyware, but the best solution is prevention. Just like the saying, an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure. At TRA Consulting we specialize in IT Managed services geared for Small and Medium size businesses (SMB’s). We take care of all their IT needs, including but not limited to: Desktop support, server administration, Cloud Services integration, Network Administration/Security, etc. With all the threats out there in the cyber-world, having us in your corner is one of the better decisions a growing business can do. . We have many highly satisfied customers in the Southern California area, including San Diego, Long Beach, Orange County, Southbay, and Los Angeles area. Contact us today, and let us take care of all of your computer security needs. Don’t let security threats stifle your business’s growth. Our prices are reasonable and our services are top notch. Call us today for a free consultation. At TRA Consulting, our motto is “Maximum Satisfaction, Minimum Fuss”
POODLE in the middle
Looks like the trend of security flaws in encryption protocols continues. Heartbleed, Bash Shellshock, and now POODLE. POODLE stands for Padding Oracle On Downgraded Legacy Encryption. This basically means that on encrypted HTTPS connections, applications like browsers will be forced to default down from TLS to SSL 3.0 even when the application supports all the versions of TLS. SSL 3.0 has been shown to be vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks since about 15 years ago. However, many applications and servers still use it because they have not adopted the TLS standard for encryption. An example of this is Internet Explorer 6. Many servers still allow browsers to connect using SSL 3.0, like IE 6, which cannot support TLS. If servers or websites dropped connections that did not support TLS encryption, the applications that only had SSL 3.0 would be dropped as well. Even though the majority of currently browsers support TLS, there are still some people who use older browsers. Even newer browsers use the SSL 3.0 protocol as backup, and this is the mechanism that the POODLE attack uses to hack a computer. In order for a hacker to be able to listen in and intercept your private data with the POODLE attack, they have to be within the same network as you, usually in a public Wi-Fi setting, and then have to inject malicious JavaScript code in your computer from visiting a compromised website, then they can start their man-in-the-middle attack to intercept your cookies and other data. Browsers like Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox have already patched this flaw by using the mechanism of TLS_FALLBACK_SCSV, which prevents the automatic fallback down to SSL 3.0. Google engineers are the ones that found the POODLE Vulnerability, which will effectively kill any future use (finally!) of SSL 3.0. Chrome will go beyond patching this vulnerability and will get rid of SSL 3.0 from their browser in the next version of the browser (good riddance!). Internet Explorer released a fixit to Even Sony is patching this on their PS3 and PS4 consoles, permanently getting rid of SSL 3.0 as a form of encryption. There are still some servers (websites) that still rely on SSL 3.0 to authenticate with the clients, but this is slowly getting patched. Even OpenSSL (which was victim of the Hearbleed bug earlier this year) has patched their code with the included the TLS_FALLBACK_SCSV mechanism. However, the good news regarding POODLE vulnerability stop there. There is a Variant that affects TLS connections as well, but that’s a topic for another blog post. TRA consulting not only focuses on Home Personal security, but also in SMB (Small to Medium size Businesses) security. Our goal is to provide full IT support to growing small businesses who are too small to have a full time IT staff, yet big enough that they need one. We have many highly satisfied customers in the Long Beach, Orange County, South bay, and Los Angeles area. Contact us today, and let us take care of all of your computer security needs. Our prices are reasonable and our services are top notch. Our motto is “minimum fuss, maximum satisfaction”. Call us Today!!
Haunted by the OLE bugs
Unix/Linux platforms are not the only ones haunted by the old buggy code demon (daemon?). Bash Shellshock was the very serious flaw in the command shell Bash, which runs inside most of Unix/Linux devices, that affected millions of computer and devices around the world. This vulnerability allowed an intruder to take over the whole device, not just intercepting its communication. Windows experienced a similar situation with the SChannel Vulnerability that was discovered last week, popularly named “Winshock’ by security experts. This vulnerability is a deficiency in the usage of the TLS/SSL protocol, similar to the Heartbleed bug of a few months ago. The difference this time is that, although Microsoft has already patched this flaw for most of Windows Operating Systems, I will not be releasing a patch for Windows XP. Though some security experts do not consider this to be as big a threat as the Heartbleed bug, and even though there have not been any exploits in the wild due to Microsoft being very scant about the details of the vulnerability, it all point to it not being trivial. In fact, there are many cases of the patch that Microsoft released to have created other problems in desktops and servers that have downloaded and installed it. According to reports, it breaks the TLS 1.2, and it slows SQL servers almost to a crawl. But most importantly, Microsoft has kept it up in the windows updates catalog. Incredibly, this is not the first one of the patches that has been botched. TRA consulting not only focuses on Home Personal security, but also in SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) security. Our goal is to provide full IT support to growing small businesses who are too small to have a full time IT staff, yet big enough that they need one. We have many highly satisfied customers in the Long Beach, Orange County, South bay, and Los Angeles area. Contact us today, and let us take care of all of your computer security needs. Our prices are reasonable and our services are top notch. Our motto is “minimum fuss, maximum satisfaction”. One of the scariest bug out there in the past few months is the Windows OLE Vulnerability, which had gone unnoticed for almost 20 years (brings back memories of Bash Shellshock, doesn’t it?). This bug has been part of Internet Explorer since IE 3.0, and went unnoticed until recently. If this bug was found by Microsoft, which constantly searches for vulnerabilities and releases updates and patches on a weekly basis for all of their supported systems, who’s to say what other bugs are out there that can be exploited that have gone yet unnoticed by security experts? It’s been said in jest that “the only secure computer is the one that is unplugged, locked in a safe, and buried 20 feet underground in a secret location”. As optimistic as that sentence makes the world of computer security sound, it is not that bad as long as you take simple precautions. Knowing what to do, or consulting someone who knows what they are doing, (like TRA Consulting) will save you from future headaches. Call us Today!!
Bash Full of Surprises
Bash full of surprises Just when you thought that vulnerabilities could not get worse than the Heartbleed bug, (a serious vulnerability in the OpenSSL implementation of SSL cryptography, which can render a computer connected to the internet susceptible to have its communication intercepted by a third party, even when using a VPN) Shellshock bash rears its ugly head. Bash is a command shell program that runs in UNIX and Linux devices. It’s been around long before the internet became what it is today, and currently it is inside more that 70% of devices that are connected to internet. Servers, computer, network devices, and android mobile devices all a form of Unix/Linux that uses Bash at its core. How bad can this vulnerability be, compared to Heartbleed? With the Heartbleed bug, OpenSSL was used by about two thirds of the webservers all over the world. That made them vulnerable to have their communications snooped on, which means an attacker could look at the data transmitted and steal passwords and other data. With the Bash ‘Shellshock’, it’s a whole ‘nother beast. In this case, an attacker could actually take over any device running Bash. Not just snoop and get data from it, but actually control it from afar. This vulnerability affects UNIX and Linux systems, which includes Macintosh computers, Android devices, and many webservers around the world. This does not mean that your Mac computer or your Android Tablet can be easily hacked and taken over from anywhere. It would be necessary for the device to be in a public network and the attacker would have to know which network you are on in order to be able to take over your network connected device. The most likely targets of this exploit would be web servers. The bug is estimated to have been created in 1992, 22 years ago, by an open-source enthusiast who maintained Bash after its original creator, Brian J. Fox, moved on to other things. Open source software has the advantage of having many knowledgeable programmers look over the same code and make sure that it is safe. If there is a bug, they report it and it gets patched. However, all the programmers are doing it as a hobby in their spare time. This does not mean that they cannot create new secure and quality code. It just means that some of the old code might go unchecked because the glory is in creating new and innovative software, rather than the difficult task of debugging older code. TRA focuses on Medium size and SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) security. Our goal is to provide full IT support to growing small businesses who are too small to have a full time IT staff, yet big enough that they need one on a recurring basis. We have many highly satisfied customers in the Long Beach, Orange County, Southbay, and Los Angeles area. Contact us today, and let us take care of all of your computer and network security needs. Our prices are reasonable and our services are top notch. Call us today!