How to preview URLs to avoid dangerous links Do you know the difference between a link and a URL? The link is the text you see in an email or on a webpage, and the URL is the underlying address that you will be redirected to once you click. Hackers can easily disguise the link…
There’s a 75% chance that *your* Social Security Number was leaked. What should you do? The story starts with a company called National Public Data, which gathered and aggregated data about you, me and the rest of the US population, then sold it to companies who wanted to target us for sales. They did a…
Operating with your Microsoft 365 account This series of articles will help you access and use your Microsoft 365 account that your organization has made available to you. Article Index: Using Multi-Factor Authentication Reset your password This article is a work in progress. Articles will be added as warranted. If you have questions…
Don’t log in! Would you log into the Microsoft 365 online website in this image? Did you spot the problem? This article helps you identify fake websites and gives you one more reason to get a password manager. More info: What is a URL? Mozilla.org How to check if a website is legit Chase…
Microsoft will stop support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025 If you are still running the Microsoft Windows 10 operating system, you have 14 months to make a decision. After that date there will be no security updates, patches, and no further technical support from Microsoft. This article will help you to plan…
Consider the following situation: Someone you’ve communicated with before sends you a personalized but unsolicited email with an attachment. You check the return email and confirm that it came from the person’s legitimate email address. Even though you were not expecting the email, you open the attachment anyway. The Microsoft Office document prompts you to…
Please update your various devices/systems. There have been some recent challenges to the security of Windows and the Chrome browser: A Windows Wifi takeover attack can allow a hacker access to your computer through Wi-Fi without your knowledge or interaction. Chrome has patched 4 zero-day attacks in just two weeks. Most devices will automatically update…
Get your computer issue resolved faster… these 9 important details will help identify the problem. Sometimes computers don’t do what we expect them to do. OK, perhaps more than sometimes. When they don’t, you want to get the problem resolved as quickly as possible. That’s where we, HDF & Associates, come in. We would like…
Privacy simplified. With the free DuckDuckGo browser You share your most intimate secrets with your search engine: medical, financial, and personal issues, along with all your day-to-day concerns. All that personal information should be private, but – on Google – it’s not. On Google, your searches are tracked, stored, and packaged up into a data…
Malware, phishing, ransomware… so many terms. Do you know what they all mean? We all know that our computers are under attack, and we most likely know many of the types of these attacks. But there are probably several types that you are not aware of, leaving you vulnerable. Please review this short list of…
A reboot a week keeps the doctor away Would you like to prevent most of your computer problems with a simple procedure that takes all of 3 minutes once a week? Would you do it? It’s as easy as rebooting your computer… in fact, it *IS* rebooting your computer. To find out why rebooting…
Do you know how to protect yourself online? Two minutes to find out! So, the holidays are over and you’re back at work. Are you focused, or will you fall into one of the many online traps? This quiz will remind you of the most important points to keep you safe! Please take two…
You want to find out if its naughty or nice… This is the time of year to be extra careful with emails. We are often busy with deadlines during the holidays which can lead us to rush more than normal. This could allow us to miss scams that we ordinarily would catch. Be careful, read…
Don’t click on that ad! Stay away from sketchy websites if you don’t want to get infected. Sounds familiar, right? But does that mean that legitimate sites are always safe? Unfortunately, no. The risk comes from the ads embedded in the sites that may infect your computer. But, how could a legitimate site embed a…
Who is responsible for your computer’s security? You can expect your IT support folks (if you have them) to put security layers in place to protect you and your equipment, but if you bypass that security…. then who is responsible? Yes, it is vital to install and maintain an antivirus solution on your device(s), and…
What to look out for Tech support scams are attempts by scammers to use scare tactics to trick you into fake technical support services to supposedly fix device or software problems that don’t exist. At best, the scammers are trying to get you to pay them to “fix” a nonexistent problem with your device or…
Patches are available for zero-day Apple security vulnerabilities Apple has released iOS security updates for both new and old devices, starting with iPhone 6s. These updates contain no new features but will protect you against multiple zero-day vulnerabilities which Apple claims have already been actively exploited. For more information, please read the rest of this…
If possible, limit a business email to a single topic Many people find it frustrating to receive emails with multiple topics. They may not be ready to respond to each topic at the same time, leading to potentially fractured email chains. And if they don’t address each topic, how do you file it? This…
If your Windows computer locks up, try the Emergency Restart. If your Windows computer is not responding, there is one last option to try before pressing and holding the power button (OK, two last options if you are a client of HDF and can call us for help): Try using the Emergency Restart. This article…
Review your passwords (at least the important ones) A recent study that reviewed 15 billion passwords found that the top 10 most popular passwords still include “123456” and “qwerty”. Before you gloat, thinking that you’re too smart to use one of those, ask yourself if “Diane2021!” is that much better? Remember, hackers have plenty of…
Get clean, unbiased, untracked search results through any browser with DuckDuckGo If two people enter the same search term in Google, would you expect them to get the same results? This article provides the answer and explains how Google’s tracking system skews each person’s results. It also provides details of an alternative search engine…
LastPass, one of the biggest online credential managers was breached. Should this scare you away from online credential managers? No Should this scare you away from LastPass? Yes Please read this article to learn what to look for in a credential manager and why you should get one now. More info: Secret Key: What is…
How to clean your laptop without damaging it Does your laptop look like it should have crime scene tape across it? Over time your spiffy new laptop will get a little grimy. You will want to be careful when you clean it to not damage the sensitive electronics and display. There are many sites…
It’s time to get a Password Manager What if you could get into all your accounts with one click, using any of your devices, and have a unique, very long complex password for each account? Does this sound too good to be true? A password manager lets you follow the best security measures without having…
This is the season to be merry and enjoy the special people in our lives. But, since this is also a spending season, we must be even more vigilant about our purchases. This article provides tips from the FBI on how to be careful. More info: ‘Tis the season for holiday scams FBI Ho, ho,…
Passwords stored in your browser are not safe. Wait, what? Saving passwords in your browser is a weak link. When you enter a password while using Chrome, it prompts you to save the password. You click “OK”, because now you don’t have to worry about entering the password for that site again. You may…
Please update your various devices/systems. Major vulnerabilities have been discovered in several systems, including Windows, Mac, and Chrome. We suggest that you update your systems ASAP to protect yourself. This article has answers… More info: Update Windows HDF InfoLine Update your browser HDF InfoLine TAKE HOME MESSAGE Please keep your devices up-to-date to remain…
What are computer cookies, and what do I need to know about them? Should I be worried about cookie notices on websites? Are they tracking me? Is my computer infected? This article has answers… More info: What are Cookies and how do they work? Dale McManus Youtube video How to delete Cookies HDF InfoLine…
Those so-called “Security” questions are punching holes in your account defenses Let’s say your friend puts a high-security deadbolt on his front door. He then writes “Only for my mother” on an envelope, puts the key in it and tapes it on the door. Would you feel comfortable storing your family silver at his…
There’s more at risk than just your email… Its important to protect the confidential information in our mail box, but there is an even greater danger to you if hackers get into your email account. Do you know what it is? What if I give you a hint: “forgot my password”? This article provides…
Be extra careful with MS Office documents A security hole has been discovered in Windows which allows hackers to bypass protection measures by configuring a malicious MS Office document (Word, Excel, etc.) and tricking you into opening it. Microsoft has not yet fixed the vulnerability, so we need to be extra vigilant about receiving…
Your browser needs to be kept up-to-date Your browser is arguably the most vulnerable piece of software on your computer or phone, since you use it regularly to access the Internet. Browser developers are constantly providing new features to keep you as a customer and to win new ones. This constant addition of new…
This is a dangerous time. Keep your eyes open. Along with the egregious physical attack on the ground in Ukraine, cyber-attacks are flying back and forth between the combatants. Unfortunately, these cyber-attacks are not limited to Russia and Ukraine. Parties trying for a peaceful resolution using sanctions are also viable victims in this battle.…
There is more to using a search engine then just typing in words… Entering a search word or phrase in a search engine is easy. But does the most relevant (to you) page show up in the first page of results? Do you spend too much time rummaging through the pages and pages of results…
Unused site accounts can come back to haunt you How many old, abandoned accounts do you have? If you are like most of us, there are plenty of sites you have signed into, and for one reason or another are no longer interested in. Why not just forget about them, and let them gather…
Two minutes = better habits! With the holidays, family gatherings and celebrations behind us, it’s time to focus on work and, hopefully, remember some of the best practices we’ve learned. Please take two minutes to review the questions in this quiz to help you start the year productively and safely. More information: After reading…
Whatever they offer you, don’t feed the plants. This next month and a half is a very busy time for those of us shopping for gifts. It’s also an increasingly busy season for hackers. What better time to slip in traps then when we are spending a lot of money and are put off…
Do not rely on flash drives to protect your data USB flash drives are ubiquitous. We all have several of them that we use to quickly store data, or to transport data from one computer to another. Unfortunately, like all forms of digital storage, flash drives can break or corrupt your data, typically at…
Microsoft will start pushing out Windows 11 on October 5. Please do NOT allow your computer to upgrade to Windows 11 for now. There will certainly be some initial issues, incompatibilities, and confusion. We don’t need to be the guinea pigs on this one. On your office computers, we encourage you strongly to not…
Can you undo that email you just sent? Have you ever wanted to retract an email? Perhaps you replied in haste and now you’ve changed your mind, or you replied to an email when you really wanted to forward it to someone else… You’ve already sent the email, and you’re staring at the screen,…
How to work with SharePoint libraries This series of articles will help you configure and access SharePoint libraries that your organization has made available to you. Article Index: Sync based on a library link Stop syncing a library Receive a link to a file (specific) Receive a link to a folder (specific) Receive a…
What is that new widget on my taskbar? Microsoft has silently rolled out a new widget that will show up on your taskbar in Windows 10. By default, it will show the current weather with both an icon and a text description. If you hover over or click on the widget, the full window…
Please patch your Dell computer Dell has identified a security vulnerability in a driver installed on Dell computers going back to 2009. The fix is simple, and we strongly encourage you to follow the steps in this article to remediate this problem on all your Dell computers (office and home). If you don’t have…
Did Outlook stop working for you? Microsoft pushed out an update to Outlook which prevents users from viewing or creating emails. They are working on a fix and may have already resolved the problem by the time you read this. If you are still having problems, please close and restart Outlook. If that does…
Select from those apps approved by your company The cloud provides many free IT apps to share and collaborate with your friends and colleagues, including Dropbox, Slack, Google Drive, iCloud, etc. If your company has not authorized their use for company data, then they are unapproved and you shouldn’t be storing work data there.…
Update your Dell BIOS and device drivers The Dell Command | Update (DCU) app (or the alternate “Dell Update” app) allows you to discover and install driver, BIOS and firmware updates on your system. The app allows you to keep your system up to date by automatically interrogating your system and comparing it to…
You’ve received an invitation link to a SharePoint folder from another organization. How do you accept? SharePoint is (among other things) an online file sharing system. Typically, it is setup for members of an organization. It has security measures in place to protect the files from other users, especially those outside the organization. However,…
Dark Mode may be easier on your eyes Dark Mode is all the rage these day. By reversing the dark and light elements of the page you may reduce eye strain, lessen battery demand, and help you sleep at night. If you wish to enable it, this article walks you through the steps to…
Using the Outlook program installed on your computer Virtually all email accounts can be accessed through a web browser. Using an installed version of Outlook on your computer, however, will provide more features, offline access and easier handling. This article will direct you to tutorials giving you step-by-step instructions to add your email account…
Watch out for fake package delivery messages You’re busy trying to meet deadlines. An email pops up with a package delivery notice, you quickly review it and click the link asking for more information. That’s all it takes to install malware on your computer. Even with all the pressure on us these days, we…
Save space and remove security risks Just as the Coasters sang so many years ago: “Take out the papers and the trash…. or you don’t get no spendin’ cash…”, we sometimes need to be reminded of this simple task. Yes, your computer has trash deposits that regularly need to be emptied. Take a moment…
A plan to use SharePoint and OneDrive to store and access your company data O365, Microsoft’s cloud based services solution, provides two applications (apps) for storing and accessing your data: SharePoint and OneDrive. This article (including posts) will introduce you to these applications and guide you as use them effectively and efficiently to store…
Please update your Chrome browser. A ‘High Severity’ zero-day vulnerability was discovered that is already active in the wild. A vulnerability was discovered in the Chrome browser just days before Halloween. Please take the 2 minutes you will need to make sure your version is up-to-date, so you don’t end up with a ‘trick’…
Sync your O365 emails to your personal device Easily take your Microsoft Office 365 (O365) email with you by syncing it to your personal device: Android phone, iPhone, iPad, tablet, etc. The information in your mailbox will stay up to date with your copy of the mailbox in the cloud (and on your computer).…
HDF’s email filtering system: What you need to know. HDF offers additional email protection through SolarWinds Mail Assure. Mail Assure filters our clients’ email before it arrives at their email server, blocking SPAM and viruses before they can reach our mailboxes. If you are interested in getting more email protection, or are unsure if…
Microsoft has released its new browser Microsoft has (fairly) silently pushed out the new version of it’s browser: Edge. You may have noticed the new “e” logo on your task bar, or worse yet, you may have noticed that your default browser was changed… without your permission. This article tells you everything you need…
How hackers breached Twitter – and what WE can learn from it On July 15th, Tweets were sent from 45 different accounts including those of Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Obama, Apple and others. The attack did not crack any software or hardware security systems. They got access to the accounts by merely asking for…
Your computer stops responding… You’re typing on a Word document, and all of a sudden your cursor stops moving and your computer becomes unresponsive. You’ve just launched your browser and nothing is happening on your screen. You try to click it again, but the computer isn’t responding to anything you do. You left your computer…
Webex Tips for participating in a meeting This article will help prepare you to participant in Webex meetings by testing your computer and by guiding you to avoid some difficulties. While joining a meeting is very straight-forward, you may want to make sure that your computer’s camera, video, speakers and mic are configured correctly before…
The MS Office AutoSave feature can save you from disaster Have you ever forgotten to save a document and lost your work? Or the computer froze up before you could save that half-written report you’ve been working on for two hours? Microsoft’s AutoSave function was created to protect you from these events. But you…
Work remotely without feeling remote. Microsoft Teams is a hub for teamwork. It allows you to easily pull together individuals, no matter where they are, to share information, work collaboratively, and bridge their physical divide… be it the distance to their office down the hall, or to their home where they have been sequestered…
Access company resources and work productively from home If you are going to be working from home due to the spread of COVID-19, we provide a few guidelines to prepare you for it, especially for those of you who have not done so before, or have not done so for an extended period. You may…
IF KEEPING WINDOWS UP TO DATE WERE AS EASY AS REBOOTING ONCE A WEEK, WOULD YOU DO IT? Keep your Windows 10 computer running smoothly by making sure it gets updated at times convenient to you… if you don’t pay attention you may be putting your company’s data and your identity at risk. Fortunately, once…
Confirm the link BEFORE you click! We all know that underlined text represents a link to a file or page. Sometimes that text shows you the address of that item… or does it? The address displayed does not always reflect the actual address of the link, so *always* confirm the link address before clicking!…
Two minutes = safer habits! With the holiday celebrations, family gatherings and perhaps some much needed rest from work pervading your thoughts, you’re probably not thinking about cybersecurity. However, I encourage you to set aside just two minutes to take this security quiz to help you start the new year with safer online habits.…
Some of your credentials are most likely on the dark web! With all of the breaches that have happened over the last several years, I can almost guarantee that some of your credentials have ended up on the dark web. If they have, then you need to change those passwords… yesterday! With one click…
Please update your Chrome browser. A ‘High Severity’ zero-day exploit was discovered that is already active in the wild. On Halloween, when kids were dressing up to score some candy and scare their friends, Google engineers generated their own fear when they released information about two security issues with the popular Chrome browser. One…
Use a Formula to Create Unique and Secure Passwords Are you using the same password for multiple sites? Please read this article to determine if creating a simple formula may help you create unique and secure passwords for each of your accounts. You know that we should create unique passwords for each account, but with…
Get your computer issue resolved faster… these important details will help identify the problem. This InfoLine article has been updated. Please refer to the new version at: https://hdf.net/help-us-help-you Please do *NOT* force your computer off by pressing and holding the power button If your computer is “acting up”, please contact us before forcing it off. …
Phishing cybercriminals are still out there… but now they are customizing the attacks! Be on the lookout for customized Phishing emails! Cybercriminals have been taking the time to research your organization and craft customized emails to impersonate specific people to trick you into sending them money, credentials or identity information. These are called Spear…
Please protect your Windows 7 computer by keeping it patched. Even though Windows 7 was released back in 2009, it still receives patches to keep it protected against new vulnerabilities. The operating system lets you know when new patches are available by displaying one or more of the icons shown below (see “What to look…
Please keep your computer running, but reboot it every couple of days to keep it running optimally. We all know that the first thing most IT support folks will ask you to do to resolve a problem is to reboot your computer (You did reboot before you called, didn’t you?). But did you realize that…
So, you’ve left your server in the office behind and you’re now connecting using Azure O365 Cloud by HDF. What now? This article is designed to help you understand the new Azure O365 Cloud by HDF, a compilation of services provided by Microsoft. This article only applies to those who use this new network. …
Explaining why software keeps needing to be patched. I was out to dinner with some friends the other night when the topic of Viruses came up. A friend asked why we need to keep patching our OS. Wouldn’t all the holes be patched eventually? I explained that despite the thousands of person hours that go into…
You are not safe from email attacks just because you work for a small business. Since most businesses are of the small to medium size, and since email attacks are so easy to implement, criminals are focusing more of their time on you. If you are a client, you have HDF & Associates implementing security…
One of Microsoft’s most successful operating systems is gradually approaching the end of its lifecycle : in 1.5 years’ time, Windows 7’s extended support will finally expire. For all customers with Windows 7 PCs, this means there will be no security updates, patches, and no more technical support from Microsoft as of January 14, 2020. More…
Please help us to help you and your organization: Be EXTRA vigilant with your computer activities! Computer researchers have recently found out that the main chip in most modern computers—the CPU—has two hardware bugs. They are really design flaws in the hardware that has been there for years. This is a big deal because it…
Please check your Windows computer to make sure you are getting critical Microsoft patches. A dangerous virus has been spreading rapidly. Because of a flaw in most Microsoft operating systems, this virus is able to attack without assistance, and if you are not protected you could lose access to all data files on your computer.…
