Hackers, Virus Developers to abolish computer, mobile attacks!

By Rachid Elaafer
April 18. 2015 4:39PM
TECH TALK: Hackers, virus developers to abolish computer, mobile device attacks

Hackers and virus developers have declared they will abolish computer and mobile device attacks? Wow!

Business owners and computer users no longer should worry about, viruses, spywares and cybercrime damaging or stealing confidential information from their devices.

Since, it’s April…well, April Fools!!!

Seriously, securing your computer is something you should never want to fool around with. At this time of the year, I highly recommend taking a closer look at your computer and mobile security to ensure that you never fall into the hands of hackers, because you neglected to invest in securing your devices.

You may believe the data stored on computer or mobile device is secured or irrelevant to someone to use or try to gain access to. “You don’t know what you don’t know,” I am pretty sure you heard the phrase before. The basic information about you like your name and address is worth money for marketing companies.

Unfortunately, we treat our computers and mobile devices the same way we do with our cars, home appliances, etc. We don’t maintain them on a regular basis or have them checked by professional until it breaks or stops working.

Sometimes we forget to change the oil in our cars until after the due date, but it’s not a big deal, right?

Your system or handheld devices are more important, they contain information about you, your family and your business, whether you realize it or not. When it comes to your computers and mobile devices, you need to have them checked on a regular basis, and yes it cost a little more but identity theft, and not knowing if someone has your info and using it outweighs the cost.

Let’s face it, you either going to “pay now” and have your devices secured and maintained or “pay later” when you have a real problem and most often too late.

What most of us don’t realize is that when your computer or mobile device is infected or hacked, you can certainly have it cleaned up and fixed, BUT what was stolen (the electronic information) from it will not be brought back and worse, you don’t know who has it and where.

Technology has become so complex to develop but so easy to use in the eye of a consumer. Just like medications, the medicines you couldn’t get before without a prescription is readily available now over the counter, but the side effect of using some of the medicines isn’t discovered ‘till years later, when people become ill.

Just to name few: Loss of hearing and eyesight due to high definition graphics, amplified sounds (kids with headsets every day), strong radio waves from Wi-Fi and mobile devices, lack of social skills (101) addiction to cell phones and games. However, the benefits gained are undeniable as well.

Similarly to technology, the cool and advance technology we used see in movies are now in the market, but some of the side effects are still unknown or hasn’t been published. The impact of technology on our social, mental, physical and environmental health can be devastating if we don’t check ourselves.

— Rachid Elaafer is the owner of IT Solutions Provider LLC in Medford Square.

http://medford.wickedlocal.com/article/20150418/NEWS/150418614

Windows XP and Office 2003 End of Life

On April 8, 2014 Microsoft will no longer be supporting the

Operating system Windows XP and Office 2003

If your organization is currently running either Windows XP or Office 2003 on one or more computers in your office, you need to know about a dangerous security threat to your organization that must be addressed within the next few weeks. Please take a moment to read this important announcement.

Mr.Elaafer, CEO of IT Solutions Provider, LLC and your local Microsoft Certified Professional. As such, we are aggressively attempting to reach all businesses within the Greater Boston Area that use Microsoft XP and Office 2003 to alert you to a serious security risk to your organization, and inform you about what you need to do now to protect your company.

Microsoft has officially announced that it will retire support on the XP operating system and Office 2003 software suite on April 8, 2014. That means any computer or server with these software programs installed will be completely exposed to serious hacker attacks aimed at taking control of your network, stealing data, crashing your system and inflicting a host of other business-crippling problems you do NOT want to have to deal with.

This is such a serious threat that all companies housing financial and medical information are being required by law to upgrade any and all computer systems running XP or Office 2003 because firewalls and anti-virus software will NOT be sufficient to completely protect them (or you).

Unless you are planning on replacing these systems, cyber criminals are getting ready to attack any PC/Server or Application that is outdated, you MUST upgrade any servers or workstations running these programs.

We can run a Microsoft Risk Assessment and Migration Plan to Shows You The Easiest, Most Budget-Friendly Way To Upgrade

As a local Microsoft Certified Professional, my company has committed to helping businesses in the city of Medford and surrounding by offering a Microsoft Risk Assessment and Migration Plan.

Although the “switching hour” is still several months away, if you’re one of the over 500 million individuals and businesses still running Windows XP and or Office 2003, here are seven good reason you will want to put “Upgrading to a New Operating System/Microsoft Office” at the top of your 2014 “To Do” list.

1.  Tons of Viruses:  There is a huge library of viruses aimed at Windows XP and Office 2003 and once April 8, 2014 arrives; limited Anti-Virus support will be available.
2. Old and Outdated:  Believe it or not, Windows XP is nearly 12 years old.  The first iPod was released the same year as Windows XP.  In a world where the 5th iPhone has been released, no one should be left using an operating system that predates the first iPod.
3. Lease Secure:  Windows XP is the least secure operating system by far.  All other platforms, including Linux, all versions of Mac OS X, Windows 7 and Windows 8 are more secure than Windows XP by a huge margin.
4. Built for a Simpler Time:  Windows XP was created for a simpler world of technology.  It was formatted to fit to a screen only 640 pixels wide and it showcased IE Internet Explorer as a new product.  Today, most screens have a higher resolution. The internet was a different place when XP was developed.  Smart phones were non-existent, laptops were a luxury and tablet computers were science fiction.
5. No more Band-Aids:  There are only so many band-aid fixes that can be put on top of each other, updates and patches will not be available by Microsoft.
6. Support is Ending:  All support of Windows XP and Office 2003 will end on April 8, 2014.  It’s best to replace your systems now while you can still plan ahead.
7. Malware Everywhere:  You can continue to use XP, but with more Malware, malicious software that disrupts systems than ever, XP is by far the most vulnerable platform to connect to the internet.