Security

This year, for NCAM, I’ll be focusing on types of social engineering and how we can detect and thwart them. There are a lot of new techniques designed to trick the human, and it’s important to use this annual opportunity to share some of this information. Before we settle in… Continue reading »

As if we don’t have enough excitement with the beginning of a new year, please take a few minutes before the semester gets into full swing and update your devices. This is good advice for any device, which can benefit from software updates and regular power-off/power-on cycles, but there are… Continue reading »

Welcome to NCSAM week 2! This week we’ll take an in-depth look at three of the most common social engineering attacks, and the characteristics that aid in correctly identifying them. But before we reach that three-way fork, what do these have in common? All phishing attacks are an attempt to… Continue reading »

Apple and Google Most recently, both Apple and Google have released updates for many of their products. Apple has new versions of IOS for iPhone and iPad, as well as new MacOS updates for their computers. Google has advised its users to update the Chrome browser as soon as possible. Continue reading »

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month. NCSAM is a public awareness campaign to encourage everyone to protect their computers and identities.  This week: EMAIL. Avoid these common mistakes. -Hit Send then wish you hadn’t?- Did you know that gmail has an “unsend” function? To be honest it’s… Continue reading »

Data breaches and identity theft rarely involve hackers rappelling from a ceiling’s skylight, deftly avoiding laser detection systems to infiltrate computers and servers; often they simply fool a community member with a generic mass produced phishing email.   Phishing isn’t relegated to just e-mail! Cybercriminals will also launch phishing attacks… Continue reading »

Many people are aware that security is important on a computer but most people forget that their smartphone is a full computer as well.  And, since you carry that smartphone around with you and can easily lose it, security is as important on your phone as it is on your computer. Continue reading »

This week:  How to keep your data safe when your accounts at major sites are compromised.  Yahoo!, Dropbox, MySpace, Pandora, LinkedIn…these are just a few of the sites which have had data breaches. How do you keep your own data safe?  To start it is important to have strong and… Continue reading »

When you are reading e-mail or browsing online, be on the lookout for suspicious links and deceptive web pages, which are major sources of malware. Also be careful when selecting browser plugins, apps, or other downloadable files since they can introduce new vulnerabilities. Here are some suggestions to make your… Continue reading »

With an increasing amount of sensitive data being stored on personal devices, the value and mobility of smartphones, tablets, and laptops make them appealing and easy targets. These simple tips will help you be prepared in case your laptop is stolen or your smartphone is missing. It is essential to… Continue reading »

Another round of phishing has arrived in many Inboxes over the weekend.  The body of the email contains the follow: “Your email account has used 90% of its allowable storage space. Once your account exceeds the allowable storage space you will be unable to receive any email. ” The from… Continue reading »

People are frequently more vulnerable when traveling because a break from their regular routine or encounters with unfamiliar situations often result in less cautious behavior. And of course the locations you travel to may have higher rates of theft than Williamstown Ma. These five tips can help you protect yourself… Continue reading »

On February 9th, Safe Internet Day, Google announced two new security features to Gmail that will roll out to Google Apps customers in the coming weeks. First, users who receive a message from―or are composing a message to―someone whose email service doesn’t support an encrypted connection (TLS) will soon see… Continue reading »

Educause has created an Annual Campus Security Awareness Campaign. Piggybacking on this program, OIT will present monthly security posts designed to help the Williams community work with technology in a safe and efficient manner. January’s edition (a few days late) is on online privacy. There are many precautions end users… Continue reading »

Starting Feb 1 all Remote Desktop Protocol connections (typically Remote Desktop for PC and VNC for Macs) will need to use the Cisco VPN. If you are in an Administrative office you are likely already doing this. But if you connect to your office computer without running the VPN client… Continue reading »

We have been receiving reports of many receiving these scam emails. You can simply delete the message. How can you easily tell this is a scam? The From address does not make sense. The subject line does not follow OIT standards. If you hover your mouse over the Click here link… Continue reading »

Contacted out of the blue? Sound too good to be true? Pause and think about it. Online financial scams are the same scams that have been perpetrated for years just made easier through the use of email and social media. Unsolicited email is the starting point for many scams. Before… Continue reading »

All students, faculty and staff at Williams use data which needs to be protected. Information like SSNs, account numbers and passwords have monetary value to thieves. You may also have access to information that is protected by law. Find out what you need to be cognizant of and what to… Continue reading »

Two factor authentication is a way to double lock your account. Instead of relying on one level of security (your password) it also requires something you have, like your cell phone or printed codes. Together these two things ensure that the person attempting to log onto your account is really… Continue reading »