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What would you do if your personal data was held to ransom by cybercriminals? Without ransomware protection, you could fall victim to a range of different ransomware attacks. This article explores types of ransomware and famous examples of ransomware attacks. Read on as we discuss: What is ransomware? Types of ransomware 10 ransomware examples Ways to spot a ransomware email Using a ransomware decryptor find more :  what is ransomware protection

Windows 8.1 displays pop-up help tips by default to educate users on where to access functions such as the Charms and Start button. Although useful, the help tips can be annoying to experienced users who have performed a clean install of the operating system. To disable these tips, either change the registry settings associated with the help tips or edit the associated settings from the group policy editor. After altering the settings, you need to reboot your system for the changes to take effect. Regedit Step 1 Type "Regedit" (without the quotation marks) from the Windows 8.1 Start screen, and press "Enter." Step 2 Select "Yes" if prompted to confirm that you want to allow the program to make changes to your computer. Step 3 Click the small triangle next to "HKEY_Current_User" to open this root key, and then open the "Software" key. Step 4 Open the "Policies" key, and then open "Microsoft." Step 5 O

Each type of information system platform (e.g., workstations, servers, storage area network, switches, firewalls, routers, virtualization, or cloud computing) that makes up the information technology infrastructure has its own unique vulnerabilities. Security architecture is fundamental to enforcing security policies that can be applied at different layers for each type of system platform. This architecture is based on how the enterprise will handle each of the following: Allowable and disallowable services and protocols Vulnerability scanning Patch management Firmware or software upgrades A security professional then sets standards for safeguards and controls for each platform. When designing the security architecture, a security architect or engineer should take the stance of an attacker to eliminate major vulnerabilities or reduce risks at each of the various platforms. This would entail a network engineer or security professional to use the same methods and tools that

Network software, which operates over a network rather than on an individual computer, may perform tasks that supplement, enable or replace end-user software. Network-based antivirus software supplements desktop antivirus software. Network messaging server software enables end-user computers to send instant messages back and forth. And server application software, such as Customer Relationship Management software, replaces end-user contact management software. All network software shares the common goal of increasing productivity and improving security for network users. Types Network-based versions of desktop software exist for numerous software types, with the greatest number of varieties concentrated in areas such as communications and security. Network software for communications includes email, instant message, teleconferencing and video conferencing applications. Network software for security includes antivirus, spam filtering, firewall and data-access management applications

Networking tools for Windows are typically command-line programs or desktop applications. Under Windows 10, there’s a third format: apps that you download from the online Microsoft Store. Here we’re highlighting 10 networking tools that are available in the Microsoft Store and can be pinned as tile icons on the Windows 10 Start menu for convenient access. They’re all useful, and they’re all free. All My LAN lists your network's IP address, its profile name, and its maximum upload and download speeds. The amount of data that has been sent and received over the network is depicted in two line charts. By moving a slider, you can adjust the charts to represent the amount of data that was transmitted throughout the current day or up to the last 30 days. The charts can be combined to view as one chart. This app can also scan for any multicast DNS services or UPnP devices that are connected to your network. Clicking the name of a found device or service pulls up information about i

Before you learn how to use L0phtCrack with Win2K, it helps to understand how password cracking works in NT, and then extend that process to Win2K. (If you are already an expert NT password cracker, feel free to skip ahead.) NT stores a hash, but not the clear text password, of each user's password in the domain controller’s SAM database. If you're not familiar with the SAM, it is a Registry hive file found in %systemroot%\system32\config. Using your administrator authority, L0phtCrack pulls the hashes from the SAM and cracks the hashes by exploiting weaknesses in NT’s hashing algorithm. To crack a password hash, L0phtCrack first performs a dictionary attack by iterating through a list of common words. L0phtCrack hashes each word in the list and compares that hash to the hash from the SAM. If the hashes match, L0phtCrack has the password. Once L0phtCrack exhausts the dictionary, it iterates through the word list again using a hybrid attack that adds combinations of a few cha

Network software, which operates over a network rather than on an individual computer, may perform tasks that supplement, enable or replace end-user software. Network-based antivirus software supplements desktop antivirus software. Network messaging server software enables end-user computers to send instant messages back and forth. And server application software, such as Customer Relationship Management software, replaces end-user contact management software. All network software shares the common goal of increasing productivity and improving security for network users. Although computer networks began to emerge in the 1970s, network-based software did not begin to spread widely until personal computers became commonplace in home and office settings in the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, the advent of the visual browser for the Internet in the mid 1990s marked the true turning point for network software because it effectively changed the definition of network from a tool usefu

You might want to acquaint yourself with The Most Misunderstood Windows Setting of All Time. It’s the best written document on the relevant background for LMCompatibilityLevel. Review the NTLMv1 Known Problems and Workarounds for the most comprehensive resource available for the various problems associated with NTLMv1 being turned off. Note that NTLMv1 use can result from misconfigurations in a great number of places. And those misconfigurations can happen anywhere in the “authentication chain”. Misconfigurations can happen on the client endpoint, on a member server that provides the service the endpoint connects to, or any domain controller leveraged by the two. Most misconfiguration comes down to one of two things: the Windows LMCompatibilityLevel or browser configuration. If you are looking for the quickest way forward, we’d suggest using group policy to set a LMCompatibilityLevel=5 (“Send NTLMv2 response only. Refuse LM & NTLM.”) across all your computers. Doing this w

Microsoft Outlook is one of the most common business email clients. If you have recently begun work at a business that uses Microsoft Outlook, you may be wondering how to accomplish certain basic functions such as changing a password, as the menu option for doing so likely differs from the web mail account that you may be using at home. This article discusses the steps needed to change an email password in Microsoft Outlook. Step 1 Click "Tools" in Outlook, then click "Account Settings." Step 2 Click the "E-mail" tab if it is not already on top. Click the email account that you would like to change the password for, then click "Change." Step 3 Click inside the "Password" box, and type the new password for the email account. Click the "Remember password" box if you would like Outlook to remember your password. Step 4 Click the "More Settings" button if you a different password for your outgoing email serv

Applies LAN technology to address user needs; determines the department's information management needs for the acquisition of add‑on hardware and software; reviews product comparisons and makes recommendations for the acquisition of software and hardware to support the network; prepares requests for the acquisition of hardware and software; confers with vendors to devise plans for installation projects; oversees the installation of hardware and software systems; provides assignments and technical direction to lower level network technicians engaged in hardware installation and hardware and software first echelon maintenance; performs application and operating system product installations; develops preliminary configuration for add‑on hardware and software; monitors network performance; ensures response time is within acceptable limits; provides problem resolution for user problems from beginning to end; identifies and refers unusual or difficult network problems to the maintenance

The art of networking is no easy feat. And as networking jobs encompass more than just networking, it’s not going to get any easier. It’s going to be about embracing advancements in data gathering, automation, and programming languages. In fact, it’s going to look a lot like DevOps. Here are five skills you can develop to meet the changing tides of the networking industry. Learn a Language It never hurts to learn a new programming language. To keep up with automation, network engineers need methods and tools to programmatically control equipment. This is where languages can come into play. If your organization is using software-defined networking (SDN), keep in mind the networks offer interfaces to scan and monitor automatically. Fully understanding the language these programs are speaking gives you an upper hand. Automation tools like Chef can handle some of the grunt work, freeing up time for your networking pros. But admins should still understand the process of writing their

To design and build a two-tier campus network architecture is everything like a three-tier hierarchical design and maximizes performance, network availability, and the ability to scale the network design. It is common to campus networks where the aggregation or distribution layer is merged with the core layer to create a unique and fully functional network for a good sized campus. However, many small enterprise networks do not grow significantly larger over time. Therefore, a two-tier hierarchical design where the core and distribution layers are collapsed into one layer is often more practical. A “collapsed core” is when the distribution layer and core layer functions are implemented by a single device. The primary motivation for the collapsed core design is reducing network cost, while maintaining most of the benefits of the three-tier hierarchical model.. To design and build a two-tier campus network architecture, a number of considerations must be taken into account. A key hea

Internet security has a pretty high priority in our technology filled world. The safety of your private information and the safety of your computer should always be a primary concern. Browser-based email providers, such as Yahoo!, AOL and Hotmail, have spam and junk mail filters to keep your privacy and computer safe. By viewing the spam or junk mail settings and filters your email provider has in place, you can find out your level of security and make adjustments as needed. Step 1 Open your Web browser and go to the webpage of your email provider. Step 2 Log into your email account. Step 3 Find "Settings" or "Options" on the main screen of your email page. Typically, this is located on the right-hand side towards the top. Some email services have it located on the left. Step 4 Select "Spam" or "Junk" mail settings from the Settings or Options menu. Step 5 View the filter settings if they are available from your email provider. Th

A LAN (local area network) interconnects several computers using Ethernet technology. As technology advances, networking capabilities have begun shipping as a standard feature on most motherboards. Onboard LAN is a specialized chipset on the motherboard designed to handle networking responsibilities for the computer, such as home networking and Internet connectivity Local Area Networking Local area networks connect several computers within a limited physical proximity via Ethernet cables or wireless Ethernet, such as in homes, schools or businesses. In early computers, this capability was not a standard feature and required the installation of a network interface card (NIC). NIC installation was necessary until LANs became more common, requiring more efficient and less expensive networking capabilities. Onboard LAN controllers support numerous built-in hardware and software enhancements for networking, such as power management and input/output (I/O) scalability. Onboard LAN As t

This is actually a tweak. NoLMHash is the name of the Registry value (on Windows XP and Server 2003) or key (Windows 2000) that you set to turn on this tweak. In Group Policy on Windows XP and higher, the setting is called "Network Security: Do not store LAN Manager hash value on next password change." Using this setting, you can turn off creation of LM hashes across a domain or system. Ideally, this setting will never have any direct impact on security because if it does it means your domain controller has been hacked; but just in case, we recommend disabling storage of LM hashes. In most cases, the primary benefit of this setting is that it breaks compatibility with Windows 9x. NOTE:  If bad guys have access to your password hashes, you have already been hacked. Cracking hashes will not give them any additional access on the domain where they came from. Cracking hashes will only allow them to access other domains where the same users are using the same passwords

In many cases, once a Wireless router has been installed, we find a place in our home for it and forget about it. As long as all our devices are set up and connected via the Wi-fi network, that’s all that matters, right? Wrong! Probably many of you don’t realize, but the Internet router is one of the most important devices in our home. It’s the gateway to our Internet access and also prone to exploits by cybercriminals who can sneak into our devices and get access to our system. Let’s not forget that we live in the age of data breaches, ransomware attacks, and many other online threats. Thus, you should be worried about the security of your home network and take all the needed security measures to increase Wifi security. The only measure most people use to protect their home network is to set up a password and prevent neighbors and other people from taking control of your data. But we have to be more serious about security and do more than just setting a simple password. A serio

A quick rundown of IP addresses and binary To understand subnetting, you should first understand the decimal and binary structure of an IP address. Let’s start with the basics. Here’s what an IP address looks like: 192.168.1.20 An IPv4 address is a 32-bit number. To make addresses more straightforward, they are divided into four 8-bit numbers — or octets — separated by a decimal point. These octets range in number from zero to 255. How to define the network portion of a subnet IP address During the early stages of the internet, organizations assigned IP addresses like crazy until we nearly ran out. Luckily, the designers of IP addressing came up with a way to end this wasteful practice: Dividing networks using subnetting. The process of taking an extensive network and splitting into smaller networks is known as subnetting — and it’s freeing up more public IPv4 addresses. There are two parts to an IP address: The network portion and the host portion. It’s like the address