Starting 16 January 2021, Flash Player is officially dead and any current installations will block the playing of any Flash content. Adobe ceased to support Adobe Flash Player as of 31 December 2020 and all download pages from their website have been taken down. Why is this happening? Adobe Flash Player is a legacy multi-media... Continue Reading →
WhatsApp Privacy Policy Changes
This week Facebook owned WhatsApp messenger will start to ask users to accept a new set of privacy policies that, depending on where you live, will enforce the sharing of data between WhatsApp and other Facebook companies. The previous policies (June 2020) offered an option to opt out of sharing data with Facebook companies. This... Continue Reading →
A Review of 2020
As we come to the end of 2020, is is customary to review what has happened in the previous 12 months and learn from any events that happened. At the beginning of 2020, no one could have foreseen the chaos that the novel coronavirus COVID-19 would bring. While the start of it was in China... Continue Reading →
COVID-19 Vaccine Scam
Updated 16 January 2021 Never let a good crisis go to waste - at least this is what Cyber criminals and Scammers have been doing all this year in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. There have been multiple scams and cyber attacks relating to the pandemic (we will review some of them in our 2020... Continue Reading →
UK Covid19 Contact Tracing Apps Go Live
This is an update to our earlier blog "New UK Coronavirus Test & Trace App in Trial". On 12 September 2020 the UK Government for England and Wales announced that their Coronavirus contact tracing app will go live on 24 September 2020. The devolved government in Wales will also use the same app. The UK App... Continue Reading →
Purchasing Services Online – A Pocket Guide
How many times have you been browsing a service online that requires a subscription to continue viewing? I can name quite a few: NetflixMicrosoft Office/365SpotifyAmazon PrimeGoogle's YouTube Premium. Online Services Most online services, like the above, will offer a trial period for free and then expect you to sign-up to a subscription service to continue... Continue Reading →
Digital Identities
When you are walking about town, or on the Internet, how do you identity that you are you and not some imposter? Current Forms of ID We should all carry some form of physical identification (e.g. a photo driving licence) that can prove who we are, our age and where we live. In the UK... Continue Reading →
The Human Firewall
The first line of defence for any network to repel a cyber attack is often considered the security software on the perimeter of the network - namely the firewalls, and other monitoring software. While a properly configured security framework is essential for any company network, as well as home/small office network, the human element cannot... Continue Reading →
Keeping Safe Online – A Pocket Guide
Being online these days, especially in the current environment when so many people are working from home and outside the protection of the company network, we all need to be extra vigilant that we don't click on a link to malware. This blog is going to go through a number of tips to keep you... Continue Reading →
Securing your Remote Desktop
This is an extension to my blog Productive and Secure Remote Working and Cyber Security during a Pandemic where I just want to describe an emerging cyber threat relating to home working and in particular remote desktop access. When we are in the office we are protected by a number of systems and firewalls. Our individual PC's... Continue Reading →
Productive and Secure Remote Working
Over the past few weeks, we have all had to consider working from home (no need to say why unless you have been living under a rock). This guidance post is about how you can work from home securely and productively. Setting up the Environment Ideally you need a room you can yourself up in,... Continue Reading →
Cyber Security during a Pandemic
Just about everyone on the planet knows now that we have a COVID19 (Coronavirus) pandemic on our hands. However, cyber criminals are taking advantage of this current crisis, and people's fears, to spread malware. I will post a list of validated and legitimate news sources at the end of this blog. What are Cyber Criminals... Continue Reading →