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Hello, everyone! Today, we're talking about email hacking, a way people can steal your personal info easily.

How Do Hackers Get Your Email?

1. Tricking you: Hackers pretend to be someone else to get your email.
2. Public info: They find your email in directories or on social media.
3. Data breaches: Sometimes, they get emails from big online breaches.
4. Guessing: They try common words to guess your email.

Why Do Hackers Want Your Email?

1. Phishing: They use your email to trick you into sharing important info.
2. Identity theft: Your email is linked to many accounts, so they can steal your identity.
3. Spam: They send you lots of junk emails.
4. Ransomware: They can lock your computer until you pay them.

How Do Hackers Use Your Email?

1. Guessing passwords: If they guess your email password, they can see everything.
2. Tricking you: They trick you or your contacts into giving away info.
3. Sending viruses: They send harmful stuff to your computer.
4. More tricks: They use your email to fool you into sharing info.

How Do Hackers Profit from Your Email?

1. Spamming: They sell your email to spammers.
2. Phishing: Other hackers buy your email to trick you or your contacts.
3. Identity theft: They sell it to steal your personal info.

How Do Hackers Work Together?

1. Online forums: They share info, tools, and tricks.
2. Dark web: They sell your email for a higher price.
3. Ransomware: They use your email to get money.

How to Protect Your Email from Hackers:

1. Use strong passwords: Make them long and tricky.
2. Enable two-factor authentication: Adds extra security.
3. Don't click suspicious links: Be careful with unknown emails.
4. Use antivirus software: It stops harmful stuff.
5. Keep your software updated: Stay safe with the latest fixes.
6. Be careful on public Wi-Fi: It's not always safe.

In short, email hacking is a big risk. Protect yourself with strong passwords, extra security, caution with links, antivirus software, updates, and care on public Wi-Fi.

If you want to know where your company stands, ask us about our email testing program.  We will run tests through by all your employees with fake "bad emails" to see if, when and how often they potentially expose your buiness to being hacked.  In addition, we'll provide training to help bring everyone up to speed and teach them good habits when openning and processing emails as well as learning how to recognize legitimate information requests from the bad ones.

Stay safe!

Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy. They are the engines of innovation and job creation. However, small businesses often face stiff competition from larger retailers and service providers. We know, however that small businesses can easily outshine their bigger competitors.

The first advantage that small businesses have over big businesses is that they can get to know their customers on a personal level. This means that customers are more likely to visit again and again because they feel valued. Small businesses can use this advantage to build strong relationships with their customers and create a loyal customer base.

Next up, smaller companies are nimble and flexible. They can make decisions quickly without having to go through a lot of red tape. This allows them to respond quickly to changes in the market and adapt to new trends.

The third advantage that small businesses have is that they can offer personalized service. They can remember their customers’ preferences and key bits of information they give you about what’s happening in their world. This allows them to provide a level of service that larger retailers and service providers simply cannot match.

Lastly, you can be more creative than some of your bigger competitors. They can come up with unique ideas that set them apart from their competitors. This creativity allows them to develop new products and services that meet the needs of their customers.

At Floating Point Consultants, we understand the challenges that small businesses face in today’s competitive market. That’s why we offer a range of IT solutions designed specifically for small businesses. Our solutions are designed to help small businesses compete with larger retailers and service providers by providing them with the tools they need to succeed.

Those are just a handful of the many advantages you can capitalize upon. By getting to know your customers, being nimble and flexible, offering personalized service, and being creative, small businesses can not only compete successfully but also excel. At Floating Point, we are committed to helping small businesses succeed by providing them with the IT solutions they need to thrive.

Do you REALLY care?  I get it.  Data security and networking is boring stuff and it's it's not the topic of discussion at almost any cool nightspot, anywhere, ever.  No problem, WE take it seriously - and here's why.

When your server or network is not syncing time, it is typically being saved be local clock - use the following to sync with Internet time:

1. Open Command prompt with administrative Privilages
2. net stop w32time
3. w32tm /config /manualpeerlist:pool.ntp.org /syncfromflags:MANUAL
4. net start w32time
5. w32tm /resync

Trend Micro just announced that for the first time in about a dozen years, they’re raising the price of their antivirus suite.  Though it’s not our favorite news to get we suppose it could have been worse.  The increase will take effect January 2023.

While there are less expensive options out there (including “free” antivirus software), price to performance matters more than price alone.  Not all antivirus offers a full suite of protection for in-office computers, remote users, virtual machines running on your servers and those in the cloud, and for things you may not know you need, like safeguarding SaaS – aka “software as a service” which has boomed since work-from-home has become so popular.

What makes sense for an at-home family computer that mostly connects to YouTube, Amazon or a typical website compared to a complex business with servers, remote users, SasS, etc sending and receiving lots of sensitive along with business systems that cannot under any circumstances be put at risk are two totally different things.

Initially built to debloat a Windows installation but now has much more.

Runs in elevated PowerShell or elevated Terminal via:

iwr -useb https://christitus.com/win | iex

1. Installs -> Popular/Common app installations (Adobe, VLC, Zoom, etc)
2. Tweaks --> Essential/Miscellaneous.  Install/Disable  Run all / Disable all.  Top of page = preselected setups for desktop, laptop and minimal.
3. Config -> Handy Control-Panel-eque applicaiton.  Quick links to reset Win updates, access control panel, power settings, network connections, etc.
4. Updates --> Options to reset or reconfigure frequency of Windows Updates.