2021 the end of Adobe Flash Player

If you have been using the Internet for a long time you will remember websites having flashy pictures and videos, this occurred because of Adobe Flash Player. Flash Player was used on a lot of sites, so many that Google included it in Chrome, but soon it will be a distant memory much like AOL’s dial-up service.

The company Adobe has set a firm date of January 12^th 2021 as the official end of life (EOL).

If you recently updated Flash Player, you will have a version that will provide warnings to uninstall the application. Like all software updates to security are released, but this will be the last version/security update being released. Over the past few years Flash Player has been vulnerable to attacks on holes found in the code.

Adobe will be making every effort to warn users to remove the software.

What will most likely happen. If you go to a website and they have an ad created using Flash Player, the ad will detect your browser will view a Flash video. What you do not realize is embedded in the ad could be malicious software to attack your computer. Home users, be sure to remove Flash Player.

Businesses, if one computer on your network is running Flash Player after January 12, you risk your entire network and data to be potentially compromised. Be sure your IT consultant or IT staff remove Flash Player before this date.

With our Managed Service plans for home and businesses, we have the ability to remove outdated software as well as ensure computers and servers are update to date.

P.S. Also, if you’ve not received my eBook on a few important IT Security Basics, request it here for free.

Do You Know Your Top 5 Security Threats?

Half the battle for privacy and data security can be won simply by knowing what the enemy is up to…

Hackers target the most vulnerable…

Companies have discovered the cost efficiency of the work-from-home model, while data thieves have busied themselves by stealing from naive employees!

Here are the TOP 5 SECURITY THREATS you need to be aware of…

1. PHISHING (Sending you emails designed to take over your computer).
   
   I agree, this is a major threat. Even the trained security professional can’t always tell what’s real, and what’s an attack.
   
   The good news…when destructive software hits your computer we can usually see it with the right detection technology in place.
   
2. RANSOMWARE – taking your computer hostage.
   
   Again, I agree this is a major threat. The media has made us somewhat numb to it… however, don’t be fooled.
   
   Hackers can easily hit you with a ransom request if you’re not well protected against them.
   
3. CLOUD VULNERABILITIES…well, cloud isn’t an attack or threat.
   
   Most of the attacks (over 50%) over the past 12 months involved the cloud.
   
   The fact is, people falsely believe they don’t need greater protection because they are in the cloud. Your phone, laptop, or desktop (when using the cloud) is the place hackers will attack.
   
   Remember, your data is not encrypted when working on it – the end node is a key part of your network and must be protected.
4. GDPR – again this isn’t an attack or threat either – it’s a new law from our friends in Europe… 

Compliance in general has changed the way we look at security – in many cases its lulled small business owners into a false sense of security.

Being PCI, HIPAA, or GDPR compliant, in no way says, your data is safe. Check the boxes, then assess risk, finally, secure the data.

CRYPTO-MINING. This one is an attack…having your computer taken over to process cryptocurrency illegally.

Crypto-mining will eat up your bandwidth, computing power…even point to you as the perp!

Crypto-miners take over systems and use them for their crime…make sure this doesn’t happen to you. Some simple tests can tell us if your system is being used for this type of crime.

P.S. To sign up for our news and tips sign up here.