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Macro Systems Blog

Macro Systems has been serving the Metro Washington, DC area since 1997, providing IT Support such as technical helpdesk support, computer support and consulting to small and medium-sized businesses.

A List of this Year’s Most Catastrophic Hacks

A List of this Year’s Most Catastrophic Hacks

Every business owner must contemplate how to approach network security. This is especially true with the continuously-growing list of threats that face their organization’s network from simply being connected to the Internet. It may sound like an overstatement, but when considering what some huge corporations have dealt with very recently, it becomes evident that figuring out how to approach cybersecurity is one of the most vital considerations any business owner has to make.

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Your Printers Could Be Putting Your Business at Risk of Malware: What You Must Know About Faxploit

Your Printers Could Be Putting Your Business at Risk of Malware: What You Must Know About Faxploit

Like every other piece of equipment on your network, printers require careful configuration and regular maintenance to ensure that they aren’t placing your data and users at risk. Security researchers recently discovered two enormous vulnerabilities in HP Officejet All-in-One printers that make it very, very easy for hackers to spread malware and gain acquire to an organization’s network.

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Identifying the Many Types of Hackers

Identifying the Many Types of Hackers

Chances are you've heard the term “hacker” before. A favorite character trope of Hollywood films and television dramas, these cybercriminals have appeared in movies like Die Hard and shows like Mr. Robot with varying degrees of accuracy. Let's examine what the term 'hacker' means and the different kinds of them that lurk in the real world. 

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When Dealing With Cryptocurrency, Beware of Cybercriminals

When Dealing With Cryptocurrency, Beware of Cybercriminals

Cryptocurrencies are one of the most popular uses of blockchain technology; although their values seem to have decreased a little since the volatile growth they experienced a few months ago, that has not stopped people from seeking them out. Naturally, where there’s money to be made, there's going to be cybercriminals nearby.

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Alert: Users of 7-Zip Should Immediately Upgrade to the Latest Version

Alert: Users of 7-Zip Should Immediately Upgrade to the Latest Version

One of the latest vulnerabilities in open-source software can be found in 7zip, a file archiver and decompresser. 7zip has been found to have several security vulnerabilities which have software developers rushing to fix their products. The damage done extends far beyond 7zip, reaching both people who use 7zip itself, and developers who have used the technology in the creation of their own tools and software.

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Threat Spotlight: Brute-Force Attacks and How to Defend Against Them

Threat Spotlight: Brute-Force Attacks and How to Defend Against Them

One of the most popular methods of online hacking attacks involves what’s called a brute force attack. This is when a hacker overwhelms a login system with multiple attempts until the hacker is able to log in and access the system. They are dangerous attacks that could expose not just sensitive information, but also leave you vulnerable to ongoing hacks.

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Alert: Newfound Vulnerability Proves Windows to Not Be as Secure as Previously Thought

Alert: Newfound Vulnerability Proves Windows to Not Be as Secure as Previously Thought

A vulnerability has been uncovered in all Windows systems - one that’s described as “probably the widest impact in the history of Windows.” Coined BadTunnel, the vulnerability could provide attackers a route directly past the defenses of a system to set up a man-in-the-middle style attack.

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Be on the Lookout Executives, Hackers are Targeting You!

Be on the Lookout Executives, Hackers are Targeting You!

Let’s say that you’re walking down the hallway of your office when you bypass a team member from accounting. They tell you that the wire transfer you requested has been completed successfully, but you don’t remember ever asking for such a thing. You take a look through your books and see that a ton of money was sent to some random stranger who took on your identity.

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Don’t Let Hollywood Fool You Into Thinking Hackers are the Good Guys

Don’t Let Hollywood Fool You Into Thinking Hackers are the Good Guys

There’s no question about it; hackers make things difficult for businesses of all industries and sizes. They go out of their way to steal data and turn a profit off of it, as well as misrepresent organizations and individuals. The business environment is chaotic enough without hackers mucking everything up. However, the recent hacking attacks behind the group Anonymous have evolved the persona of the typical hacker into something very different.

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Why Hackers Want You to Vote in the Upcoming Election

Why Hackers Want You to Vote in the Upcoming Election

Tomorrow is the big day--the day when the American people cast their votes for the next President of the United States. While there may still be a few undecided voters out there, something that they may not be considering includes the machines that they will be using to cast their ballots. It turns out that there may be a major problem with some voting systems in the form of weak cyber security.

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Tip of the Week: 5 Best Security Practices Hackers Hate

Tip of the Week: 5 Best Security Practices Hackers Hate

Hackers are always trying to come up with new ways to steal or corrupt sensitive data. If you don’t take the opportunity to protect your systems, you could be staring down a major data loss incident or security discrepancy. Here are five ways that you can protect your business’s infrastructure from hackers waiting to steal your data.

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Honor Among Hackers? Not for Those Who Hack Hospitals

Honor Among Hackers? Not for Those Who Hack Hospitals

It’s safe to say that hacking is a frowned-upon practice, but that hasn’t stopped cyber criminals from attempting to turn a profit off of it. This practice has led them to target nonconventional organizations, including hospitals and other healthcare facilities. However, just because a hacker can target a hospital, does this mean that they should? This is a topic of some debate amongst hackers, whom, believe it or not, actually do have some sort of ethical standards.

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What’s a Rootkit Hack and How Can You Stop It?

What’s a Rootkit Hack and How Can You Stop It?

There are many types of online threats that the average business owner needs to understand and be prepared for. The problem here is that no two threats are alike, and they all perform different functions. One thing that all threats have in common is that they want to disrupt your operations in any way possible. To help you better prepare your organization for these threats, we’ll discuss a particularly dangerous malware: the rootkit hack.

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Tip of the Week: How You Can Beat These 4 Common Scams

Tip of the Week: How You Can Beat These 4 Common Scams

Cybersecurity is one of the most important aspects of running a business. Therefore, here are some of the best ways that your employees can contribute to your company’s technology security practices.

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9 Types of Hackers You Need to Know About

9 Types of Hackers You Need to Know About

When you hear the term “hacker,” what do you imagine? You likely see what many see, a lone user hunched over a computer, creating chaos for chaos’ sake. However, this is a dangerously narrow view of those who qualify as “hackers.”

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How to Identify a Phishing Attack

How to Identify a Phishing Attack

Cybercriminals are constantly looking for new and creative methods to steal data and information from businesses. While spam has been around for a while, phishing emails have increased in popularity because they are more effective at achieving the desired endgame. How can you ensure that phishing scams don’t harm your business in the future?

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Virginia To Update Voting Machines

Virginia To Update Voting Machines

The 2016 United States presidential election was an ugly one for several reasons, including the accusation that hacked voting machines could have altered the outcome of the election significantly. Fortunately, there are steps being taken to alleviate the worries that third parties might alter the outcome of such important events.

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Alert: Homeland Security Finds U.S. Power Grid Vulnerable to CrashOverride Malware

Alert: Homeland Security Finds U.S. Power Grid Vulnerable to CrashOverride Malware

On June 12th, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a warning to power grid operators and electric utilities concerning a newly surfaced malware called CrashOverride (aka Industroyer). Only, it’s not entirely new. The world has seen this before and the fallout from it is concerning.

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How Much Does Stolen Data Go For? Less Than You Might Think

How Much Does Stolen Data Go For? Less Than You Might Think

How much do you think a criminal would pay for your company’s sensitive data that’s been stolen by hackers? As it turns out, your data may not be worth as much as you may think, and that’s a bad thing for you and your business.

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Social Media: The Most Effective Tool for Phishing Scams

Social Media: The Most Effective Tool for Phishing Scams

One thing that both fishing and phishing have in common is the use of lures. With the right lure, the chance of successfully catching the target improves. When it comes to the digital lures seen in phishing scams, research shows that social media is the most effective.

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