IT Security Blog

IT Security As Related To the Real Estate Industry

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Information technology in general is important across basically all industries these days. But, because there are different types of sensitive information, and different ways that information can be used for you, against you, and to manipulate you, there are different sets of protection and regulation in specific circumstances.

For instance, in the real estate industry, particular care and specificity is involved in with things like regulatory agencies, protection against hacking, bankruptcy involvement, best practices from client and consumer standpoints, and being sure to pay attention to mail legitimacy.

IT security in real estate
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5 Tips for Better Web Security

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Web security is vitally important on a personal level as well as on a business level. Web security deals with money, personal relationships, social engagement, promotions, text communication, and a myriad of other aspects of professional and personal living, and that’s why it’s so important to pay attention.

To make sure that you’re doing the most that you can to protect yourself on the Internet, follow the five following tips – if you have a business site, hire a hacker, always pay attention to passwords, stay updated with all of your software, research all of the most recent web security breaches, and regularly scan your outgoing messages.

web security

Hire a Hacker

Particularly if you have a business site that has client information, you need to keep that protected. By hiring a company that specializes in finding security breaches, you will be made aware of system flaws before someone nefarious gets in and creates havoc. Whitehat hackers are on your side, and have a tremendous amount of experience in helping new companies stay secure through online methods. [Read more…]

IT Security Challenges of the Next Decade

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Photo Source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1260785

IT security has always been a concern, but as we move into bigger and better technology, what are the challenges that face us? Technology changes so fast that it isn’t possible to predict exactly how things will go down, but we can prepare for as many eventualities as possible, using current challenges as a stepping stone.

Criminals have always seen the Internet as a possibility for committing more crimes, and that’s not likely to change any time soon. So, we can reasonably expect that cyber crime of all types will increase alongside technology. [Read more…]

Europe to Enjoy Enhanced Data Service Center Security Courtesy of NTT

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Businesses – especially large multinational companies – rely heavily on data center services. With practically everyone depending on technology to carry on their businesses, this is but part of the natural progression of things. Of course, there is always the issue of security; and that’s where entities like Secode AB come into the picture. Secode AB is a company that specializes in managed security services, or MSS. As a matter of fact, they have been at the forefront of this industry in Europe for many years. They’re known for providing high quality managed data center service, and earlier this month, another big player entered the playing field. NTT Communications, which is definitely one of the most recognizable names in the world of technology, communication, management solutions, etc., has acquired Secode AB. The acquisition was announced earlier this month, although the exact terms have not been released to the public. What is important is that northern European customers who have a great need for security services for data centers will be enjoying the benefits that both companies can offer. With all the resources of NTT backing Secode AB up, businesses operating in northern Europe can be more assured of 24/7 services to deal with the ever present security threats. Some areas that are covered include intrusion detection and prevention, log management, vulnerability analysis, data-loss prevention, anti-virus and anti-spam, managed VPN/firewall, and mobile security.

This development is sure to be welcomed with open arms by concerned parties all over Europe.? Current Secode SEO Trygve Reinertsen will continue to head the new subsidiary.

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Ants Versus Worms

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antNot everyone hates worms – the natural kind, that is. I still remember classmates from grade school (even high school!) who grossed out everyone else by eating worms in their natural state. I am talking about a different kind of worm here, though; the kind that everyone hates; computer worms.

Pretty soon, we just might have ants on our side to combat the threat that worms pose year in and year out. Researchers in the field of IT security have been working on a project to combat worms, drawing their inspiration from the common ant. The Daily Tech tells the story:

Security researchers found inspiration in the common ant. Describes Wake Forest University Professor of Computer Science Errin Fulp, “In nature, we know that ants defend against threats very successfully. They can ramp up their defense rapidly, and then resume routine behavior quickly after an intruder has been stopped. We were trying to achieve that same framework in a computer system.”

WFU created digital “ants” — utilities that migrate from computer to computer over networks searching for threats. When one locates a threat, others congregate on it, using so-called “swarm intelligence”. The approach allows human researchers to quickly identify and quarantine dangerous files by watching the activity of the ants.

The implications are tremendous. Anti-virus software that is commonly used today usually take up a lot of resources, and make computers slow down. With this new technology, we just might see a whole new breed of anti-virus programs. While everything is in the research and development phase still, it does give us a bright future in terms of fighting malware!

Spyware Defined

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Spyware is any software that covertly gathers user information through the user’s Internet connection without his or her knowledge, usually for advertising purposes. Spyware applications are typically bundled as a hidden component of freeware or shareware programs that can be downloaded from the Internet; however, it should be noted that the majority of shareware and freeware applications do not come with spyware. Once installed, the spyware monitors user activity on the Internet and transmits that information in the background to someone else. Spyware can also gather information about e-mail addresses and even passwords and credit card numbers.

Spyware is similar to a Trojan horse in that users unwittingly install the product when they install something else. A common way to become a victim of spyware is to download certain peer-to-peer file swapping products that are available today.

Aside from the questions of ethics and privacy, spyware steals from the user by using the computer‘s memory resources and also by eating bandwidth as it sends information back to the spyware’s home base via the user’s Internet connection. Because spyware is using memory and system resources, the applications running in the background can lead to system crashes or general system instability.

Because spyware exists as independent executable programs, they have the ability to monitor keystrokes, scan files on the hard drive, snoop other applications, such as chat programs or word processors, install other spyware programs, read cookies, change the default home page on the Web browser, consistently relaying this information back to the spyware author who will either use it for advertising/marketing purposes or sell the information to another party.

Licensing agreements that accompany software downloads sometimes warn the user that a spyware program will be installed along with the requested software, but the licensing agreements may not always be read completely because the notice of a spyware installation is often couched in obtuse, hard-to-read legal disclaimers.

[tags]spyware,licensing,downloads,software, it security[/tags]