Computer Forensics IT Support Security ediscovery. June Fargo Road, Suite 105 Richmond, Virginia

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1 1 of 5 7/2/2014 1:32 PM 8814 Fargo Road, Suite 105 Richmond, Virginia Computer Forensics IT Support Security ediscovery June 2014 by Kara Mueller Primary Help Desk Tech The CRYPTOWALL virus has been making the rounds these past few weeks infecting numerous computers across the globe. Once your computer is infected School's out for the summer and that means a lot of kids will be spending more time than usual browsing the web, chatting on social media, and using any of their many internet enabled devices. While parents certainly hope that everything their children are doing online is safe and age-appropriate, it's not difficult for kids to stumble upon media that is not appropriate, intentionally or not. Setting up Parental Controls for your family in one (or more!) of the following ways can be a great tool to help ensure your children are safe online.

2 2 of 5 7/2/2014 1:32 PM with this virus, it begins to encrypt Microsoft Office files and pictures on your computer, then files on network drives your computer is connected to. The key to decrypt these files is held ransom by a scammer who asks that you pay upwards of $500 to unlock the files (this will not work). The Durham, NH Police Department was recently infected by this very virus. When a computer is infected, there are a few signs to look for. First, you might notice that Office, PDF and image files are suddenly becoming inaccessible. Ones you can open will appear to contain a jumble of numbers, letters and symbols. Eventually you will see alerts on your computer asking for payment to unlock your files. If you notice any of these things happening, shut down your computer immediately (especially if you are on a business network) and call a professional like Seltek to help. Prevention is critical to combating this destructive virus! 1.Make sure you have a backup system in place (for both your company and your home) and that backups are done regularly. A quick search online for parental control software for PC will yield many results. One such software suite is AVG Family Safety (from the makers of the AVG antivirus). This program can be installed multiple computers and controlled by mom or dad from any web browser, smartphone or tablet. This program allows you to monitor chat rooms, web searches and social networking activities. Websites can be disallowed if they are known to have inappropriate content. Different restrictions can be set for different computers/users (you might want a teenaged child to have less restrictions than a younger sibling). Using a software suite such as You can even setup alerts by text or on web usage, and you can schedule times when the internet may and may not be used. As of today, AVG Family Safety is $49.99 for one year / 3 computers (you may add more if needed). If you're in the market for a solution such as this, a few other popular software suites to consider are NetNanny and Norton Family. Windows 7 & 8 also have built in parental controls. You can control access to games, allow/block certain programs, and set time limits. These can be setup through the control panel: Windows 8 Parental Control Setup Instructions Windows 7 Parental Control Setup Instructions

3 3 of 5 7/2/2014 1:32 PM 2. Make sure your antivirus is running and up to date. 3. Never open suspicious links in both personal and work . This virus is known to disguise itself as an incoming fax , outstanding invoice or voic , among other things. If you are ever unsure whether Articles of Interest Traveling abroad with electronic devices How to text from your laptop Best Practices for Businesses Using Facebook Video game consoles, such as the Playstation 3 and 4 and the Xbox all have built-in parental controls. You can restrict playback of games and dvds with specified ratings, web browsing (yes, game consoles have web browsers!), and chat usage. Playstation 3 Parental Controls / Playstation 4 Parental Controls XBOX Parental Controls Nintendo Parental Controls Stay Connected Sources for Parental Control Article: Internet Safety Toms Guide Restrictions are built right into the iphone and ipad, you just need to turn them on. In the Settings app, choose the General category, then Restrictions. Here you can disable or enable in-app purchases (such as those for games), disable songs from playing that are flagged as having explicit lyrics and disallow movies with certain ratings, disable installing apps, picture taking, and more. You'll need to enter a passcode, which will prevent anyone from removing the restrictions you setup. Android devices have a similar option built in as well - adding a restricted profile. This works very similarly to ios restrictions. Here's a how to guide to help you with the process

4 4 of 5 7/2/2014 1:32 PM Of course, the built in settings are limited and there are a variety of apps out there that can do so much more. For example, a new app called MamaBear (for Android and ios) gives you some powerful tools such as locating the person using the device and getting alerts when they get to school or home, social media activity monitoring, even determining if the device was in a vehicle traveling above the speed limit! The app is still currently in production so there may be some bugs, but it is currently open and free to the public. A less invasive app making the rounds is Screen Time (currently only on Android). This app monitors device and internet time usage, and will report what times of day the device was used through a remote control app just for parents. You may setup curfews, and best of all, children can be rewarded with usage time if they complete tasks like household chores. A word of caution about any types of parental controls - your kids might try to get around them (and determined, tech savvy individuals may succeed!). When implementing such a product or app in your home, it is wise to check periodically to ensure the product is up to date and working properly. Research a product before buying it and read reviews to see what others have to say about the effectiveness of whichever option you choose. For help with problems or have other IT related issues, contact... Seltek x13 wendy@seltekinc.com Fargo Road Suite 105 Richmond, VA 23229

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