Computer Security Companies: What Can They Offer Your Business?

Computer security companies are not numerous, especially outside the major cities, but they have a great deal to offer any organisation that takes information security seriously. Different companies have different emphases: one security consulting firm may concentrate on penetration testing and information security audits, while another information security company may tend to focus more on Active Directory security configuration or managed security services. But one thing that all computer security companies have in common is expertise in information security, of which computer security is only one part.

So what exactly can a computer company offer to your business? Depending on your needs and resources, you may prefer either a managed security solution (where security is outsourced to the selected information firm) or a consultancy arrangement (where the computer security firm audits your existing status and makes recommendations, while your in-house team is responsible for all computer security work). Managed security services include functions such as:

· Round-the-clock monitoring of your network, with intrusion detection and incident response services. · Regular security audits and penetration testing. · Firewall configuration and ongoing management.

For smaller businesses that have no dedicated in-house IT team, the managed security solution is the obvious choice. But even for larger organisations with their own computing department, it can still be preferable to outsource this function to computer security firms. This is because computing security, as against the general IT function, can be highly specialised, and not all teams will have the full range of knowledge and experience required. This is where managed security solutions can bring real value to an organisation.

In addition, the field of IT security is constantly evolving, with new threats and new technologies on a regular basis. Specialised security companies are more likely to stay current with developments, and are more likely to have access to the software and procedures needed to deal with new security situations.

A further reason for outsourcing your firm's information security to outside companies is the fact that this solution can often be cheaper than hiring an in-house team, due to economies of scale. A computer company will be able to leverage the same software and consultants for several clients, and will have standardised procedures for use over several projects. Hence the cost of these resources will be spread over several clients, so that each client pays far less than the full cost for specialist software tools and human experts.

Clearly, computer security companies can provide substantial benefits to an organisation over and above their role as consulting firms. Managed solutions are a growing field, and can offer real value to small firms and even to larger firms as well.

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PCI DSS: Becoming Compliant

The PCI Security Standards Council, otherwise known as the PCI SSC is responsible for creating standards and material to support and enhance payment card data security for organizations. They have created the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). An information security standard for organizations that handles any kid of card holder information for any of the major credit card companies.

The PCI DSS is now a worldwide security standard that's purpose as explained by the PCI SSC is to "help organizations that process card payments prevent credit card fraud, hacking and various other security vulnerabilities and threats". Therefore all organizations who are storing, processing or transmitting payment card data must be PCI DSS compliment.

What Is Required To Comply With PCI Standards?

The PCI standard for merchants and payment card processors consists of 12 requirements that specify the framework for a secure payment environment. The essence as described by the PCI Security Standards Council can be viewed in three steps:

1.Assess - To begin with, identifying all the risks that may pose a threat to the cardholder data being transmitted, processed or stored by a business will be carried out. Having sight of the route that the information flows from beginning to end is also a vital aspect to consider.

2.Remediate - This stage is focussed on fixing vulnerabilities which will include scanning the network with software tools to find vulnerabilities and then a classifying and ranking of the vulnerability will take place. Prioritise from most serious to least serious. Then fixes or workarounds will be chosen that are best suited to hopefully cover all the vulnerabilities that existed.

3.Report - Reports will be carried out regularly to maintain PCI compliant. This is carried out by submitting a quarterly scan report which will be completed by a PCI SSC approved ASV.

There is also the choice of taking a self-assessment questionnaire (SAQ) that can be completed by merchants where an on-site PCE DSS assessment requirement is not required.

Why Comply With PCI Security Standards?

If you are new to the online world or just recently started selling products online then these standards will be of high importance for many reasons:

Being compliment will allow your systems to be secure and will allow customers to have trust when making purchases online. Particularly in an age where fraud is high and consumers are wary. Making your site secure and safe to protect from any future attack will help prevent any kind of breach and theft of personal consumer data that could have a negative effect on the organization or brands name. Being part of the solution, against payment card data breaches. Create the ability to improve the efficiency of the IT infrastructure and helping establish a corporate security strategy.

Who Should Meet with PCI Security Standards?

The PCI DSS applies to all entities that store, process or transmit cardholder data. The PCI DSS complience will also apply to the overall environment. Including any third parties being used that may store, process or transmit cardholder data. Third party vendors can range from software vendors, web hosting vendors, payment service providers and till and EPOS vendors to name a few.

Other aspects are currently being looked at also to help ensure safety when using consumers card information. Such as advances being made in ATM software and the companies offering full range of services that cover PCI DSS testing making consumers data safe and preventing any kind of future attack.

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Importance Of The Information Security

What is Information security?

Security means surety of not breaching personal information. It is also known as safeguard or the bail. Information security means we are protecting our self or our personal data from the unauthorized access, data modification, data disclosure or the data breaching. Information security is an essential part of the IT field or IT business.

Why information security is needed?

Information (data, file or any kind of handy document) is the life of any business organization in this today's digital world, where labor work converted into technical world and documents are converted into Data or information. Every big organization includes many departments within it like Development, Research and all that. High quality information is reached to the customer or the human via marketing, push digital marketing as well as pull digital marketing.

Now simple question comes to mind that what is the guarantee of this system that it is reliable and honest to us? This question inspires us to build an Information Security system which guarantees us of the safeguard of our Data or the information.

Information Security for the Organization

Information security is not only the matter of passwords and usernames. It includes many parts within it which are categorized in a layer system. There is major tow layers come in that.

Application Layer: This layer includes security of the client side as well as the application. Username password comes in this layer also the data breaches of any information of the organization comes in this. Network Layer: This layer includes the security on the network layer. It assures us of the security of modem, router and the big servers to not be compromised. At network layer there are lots of exploits which are performed on the application or the browser side, which has an ability to hack the database of a particular organization.

Risk Factor of not implementing an Information Security System in your Organization

Risk is higher is one organization doesn't setup an information security system in his or her company. Major risk is of administrative control. If the security is low then one can gain access over whole the system and he or she gets the administrative rights in his hand. If it happens then it can destruct whole organization as well as he can breach the data of company. He or she can take over the control of the whole organization. Administrative controls are generally known as procedural controls. Other major risk of not hiring the information security is reputation. If data breach occurs by the malicious attack from the attacker, it can affect company's share holders as well as on the financial department. It can also degrade the reputation of the organization.

Information Security Tips for the users or the clients

This was all about the organization's Security. Talking about the client side security, clients are generally the customers or the ordinary internet users. Here we have mentioned some tips and the tricks which should be given high priority to avoid the breaching.

General Tips / Internet Tips: Gaming and internet devices are connected to internet now. This should be kept in mind of all gamers and developers. So make sure about your private sensitive data like username password, game consoles and other. Everyone must use hardware as well as software technologies to protect USB devices. Keep in mind that free antivirus software doesn't give full protection so always buy a license version antivirus for online protection. Every parent should keep their eye on their child that what and which kind of activity he or she is doing online. Always be habited to keep a back up of your all important information or the data.

Awareness of Well known Attacks to users (Social Engineering Attacks):

Phishing / Fake Login Page: This is used to attack human's mind. Generally in this method attacker makes a page exactly as any of the organization. For example Attacker makes a Face book login page exactly as Real face book login page. But its URL will quite different like this nowadays people don't pay more attention to the URL like faacebook.com or facebo0k.com and they just log in into their account. In this case this phishing or the fake page login helps the attacker to get the email ids and the passwords of the users. One time hard work but after that it gives mass usernames and passwords to the attacker. Fake Programs: In this attack fake programs are generated which can be in a form of executable files. Lay out, the design of the program and the name of the program is created in such a way that it can take a place in human mind. If it is delivered to use it will ask for the one time authentication and it will ask for the ID and password of a particular account. User provides it to the software and he/she things now he/she is able to use the software. But it won't happen like that. Once Id password are provided to the software it will immediately sent to the attacker or the creator of that fake tool and thus it gets compromised. There are many tools available on the internet like yahoo hacker, Gmail password hacker, and face book hacker. Key loggers: Key loggers are the advance technique used worldwide now days for hacking sensitive information. They are the simple tools which records every keystrokes of the keyboard. One a victim has opened real accounts his/her id password will be recorded. And in the case of the remote key logger, the recorded id password will be sent to particular mail of the attacker.

Mobile Banking and Mobile Security Tips: Mobile banking always uses wireless technology. Organization should implement 2 factors or 2 way authentication system in their organization in which if attacker got passed in attacking the 1st factor, he or she will still need the personal information to gain access over Victim's whole account. Organization should implement the monitoring system on the high transaction. So any terror attack is going to be happen and if there will be any financial transaction going to be take place, it can be detected.

To put in a nutshell, Information security is an essential part of the organization to protect their organization. Every big or small company should have a network administrator or the security engineer. It also affects on the reputation of the organization.

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Tips To Stay Anonymous Online

Most people nowadays have exposed themselves on a whole new level on the World Wide Web and they need tips to stay anonymous online if they want to protect themselves from potentially fraudulent transactions and dealings. It's important for people nowadays to be very wary of the level of personal information they give out on various sites, most especially on social networking sites.

Identity theft and being involved in fraudulent transactions are the main consequences of having too much available personal information online. It's important to be highly selective of the kind of information you will put out there. Even if these sites promise high security, it's still very important to know these tips to stay anonymous online in order to be safe.

1. Limit Social Networking Accounts: Most people nowadays have accounts in just basically every social network site available such as Facebook, Twitter, and so on. Try to have accounts on the sites that you deem would benefit you the most, socially wise and protection-wise. Don't just create accounts in various social networking sites just because the rest of the world is doing it.

2. Hold Back on Posting Important Personal Information: Even though these sites such as Facebook and Twitter are highly credible sites, users should still limit their accounts in these kinds of sites. More importantly, if you have to tweet or update your status, be as vague as possible and do not include any personal information that could be a safety hazard for you such as posting your exact location, your cellphone number, your bank account information, and even personal information of your family and friends. In addition, these social networking sites have privacy settings in order to provide more protection make sure to maximize this option and keep your profile as private as possible from the general public.

3. Stick to the Basics: If you can altogether do without these social networking sites then the better for your safety. You can just do with just having an e-mail account but you still have to make sure that you aren't entertaining or replying to dubious or shady e-mails. Most of these are just spam mails that are out to get your personal information or to give your computer a virus.

4. Keep Your Blog Private: Blogs are all in the rage nowadays and these sites are the perfect avenues to completely give out important information with regards to your personal life. If you're not that comfortable in making your identity known to the World Wide Web, you can stay as an anonymous blogger. Make sure to not indicate any information about your identity such as your name and where you come from and never post personal pictures of either yourself or those who are close to you.

There are a lot of other tips to stay anonymous online but the most important of which is to just lessen your time on the Internet. Most people who are basically dependent on the Internet for their everyday lives are the ones who are much easier prey for different kinds of Internet-related crimes. Better to stay away and lessen your time spent on the Internet in order to altogether avoid any kind of Internet-related crimes.

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Secure Your Laptop and Sensitive Data While Travelling

Nowadays, traveling abroad with without any access to an World-wide-web connection is practically unheard of. Increasing number of travel-friendly laptops is being released, and smart phones as well as other handheld devices make World wide web access a cinch. But how do you store all of user names and passwords and backup your data safely? With hackers and petty thieves at every turn and new security issues arising regularly, traveling securely whilst protecting your laptop and sensitive details is becoming an art. There are increasing numbers of internet password storage services getting available, which allow you to store a database of your user names and passwords online.

Sometimes these services also allow you to store image scans of official documents (like passports) for posterity, that may be a very good added-value benefit. Some are free, though others carry a monthly or annual charge for their services Some secure online services use a 2-factor authentication approach, that is probably the most secure ways to access sensitive online documents and services. Paypal for example, offers a security key that is a device the size of a credit card and prices $5.

It generates a rotating password every 30 seconds, and you desire this password along with your normal 1 to entry your Paypal account. An choice to storing your user names and passwords online is to house them on your laptop or other local device. You will find no cost services which allow you to do just that inside an encrypted local database, just like KeePassX and Password Safe. Storing your data on your laptop isn't infallible either; due to the fact if your laptop is stolen or searched, then unprotected facts can also be accessed.

Alternately if your laptop will be the only place you store this information, then theft or damage can leave you stranded. Of course, you're also advised to back up your laptop regularly and to hold the backups in separate places, so the disappearance of the laptop does not also mean the evaporation of your own information and documents too. There are various methods you'll be able to back up your electronic files. For example, you will find a couple of backups: the very first is often a 1GB USB drive that is protected utilizing TrueCrypt hidden folders. It's used to store really significant documents, pictures, and files; As for the second backup there is a CrashPlan, an on-line backup assistance whereby the totally free version lets you use other computers as backup destinations.

CrashPlan automatically sends your updated files over for ones other computer. Alternate backup ways include burning CDs or DVDs (and even mailing them home periodically in case you don't would like to carry them with you), utilizing an external hard drive which you hold separate from your laptop (this will be the preferred technique of many travelers), taking advantage of on the internet storage options, or even connecting remotely to a personal computer at house to that you just can download your files. No 1 backup or storage product or service is perfect for everybody. Your own travel style, habits, and preferences will dictate which technique works most effective for you.

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Protection From Virus Programs - A User-Friendly Guide

Generally, there is no such thing as the best antivirus software, but one can make their choice and can select the best features by seeking the right information. Before downloading computer virus removal software, it is crucial to acknowledge its features, since numerous antivirus options are available online. Choosing the best one in order to match your system's requirements is important. To get the best deal, look for the online vendor's information, antivirus certifications, agency reviews and other possible sources. Mentioned below are a few user-friendly features, which your antivirus program should possess as follows:

A better antivirus program possibly comes with comprehensive online and offline technical support, which implies that the vendor should provide relevant information to its customers. It may be knowledge-based facts, tutorials or user forums. Customers ought to seek answers to their questions through any possible medium, and get the maximum requirement of time, money and PC system resources from the company to get the best antivirus deals.

Users require their virus protection to be easily usable so the best solution is to have the default configuration accepted. Even though it can be easily used by other users, its advanced features can also match advanced users.

A computer virus removal should automatically perform the updating function and should keep virus definitions in your PC in check. A frequently updated program generally gives the best possible outputs.

An antivirus program must provide a few sets of features for the better functioning of your PC as mentioned below:

1 - List of compatible versions with the operating system.

2 - Resources specifying system usability of the antivirus program.

3 - Comprehensive features that set additional strength to the antivirus solution.

An effective antivirus program should protect your PC from various possible threats. It can be just any form of virus, from worms, Trojans, spyware, key loggers, adware, root kits, password stealers, phishing attacks to spam and other possible harmful threats.

Your antivirus program should be compatible with your PC's requirements. It must meet hardware and software requirements.

Good computer virus removal software should be promptly and easily installed. It should be clean, easy and instantly in use. An antivirus program should deliver effective results that don't really go wrong in safeguarding the security of your system.

The best antivirus program must deliver you the best security and usability with a minimal outlay of your time, money or your PC system resources, as virus threats can destroy the privacy of your PC and generate nuisances for online users.

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