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Target’s tale: Lesson learned or will you be burned?

Written by: March Thaler

Turn back the clock to late last year. At the height of theshutterstock_125177096-300x255 holiday season, between November 27 and December 15, hackers certainly gave new meaning to the term “hit the bull’s-eye!”

Cybercriminals toyed with retail giant Target, known for the circular red and white logo that symbolizes its name. Information from 40 million guest debit and credit card accounts was stolen – or so it was thought. The initial estimate, already among the largest in U.S. corporate history, turned out to be a fraction of the total. Today, it ranges from 70 million to 110 million, depending on reports.

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Internet Access – Serious Business in Dangerous Times [Free eBook]

Written by: Christina Goggi

Do you know just how dangerous the Internet is? Have you been scared WebMonitor_EBook_340x340-2-300x300(or even scarred) by enormous charges from your Internet Service Provider for bandwidth usage? Are you trying to figure out why so many of your users seem to be busy all the time, but never get anything done? Have you dealt with complaints from the business or customers about how slow the website is, or why does it take so long to send or receive an email? If you can answer yes to even one of those questions, we may have the answer for you in their latest eBook, The Most Dangerous Sites on the Internet!

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How Much Does Facebook Cost You Each Month?

Written by: Christina Goggi on October 8, 2013

Nobody wants to be a buzzkill, and the Facebook-costs-300x201owners and management of small to mid-sized businesses probably have a couple of dozen more important things to do at any one point in time than to police their employees’ Internet usage. But have you ever stopped to consider just how much does Facebook cost you each month? Whether you pay a fixed monthly fee for bandwidth or a variable cost depending upon usage, it’s not just bandwidth that we’re talking about. Facebook and other non-business uses of the company’s Internet connectivity can add up quickly and cost you far more than you ever realized, impacting productivity and morale to bandwidth utilization. Let’s look at each one in a bit more detail.

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Porn in Parliament – Also in Your Office?

It is not the first time that online pornography has stirred controversy in the UK. The recent government’s decision to automatically opt-in home users to onlineporn adult websites was quite controversial with many people saying that it is not up to the government to decide what websites people can visit at home. It’s funny how, within only a matter of few weeks, official figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show that there have been thousands of blocked attempts to access pornographic websites. The official version is that users typically end up on these websites accidentally, they come up as pop-ups from other websites and that automatically refreshing websites will generate more hits per user – a feeble attempt to wipe egg off their face.

Why does this happen

It’s difficult to pass judgement on this issue. My view is that when someone is in their office, bored or tired after a long day, and having ‘exhausted’ their energy on Facebook, they might think that a quick peek at a ‘naughty’ website will not harm anyone? It’s also fair to say that most users probably already know that a web filtering solution is in place, and that their internet activity is monitored, so most of these are more likely than not deliberate attempts to access blocked online material. A user might come across an adult website while researching other topics, but the sheer number of attempts detailed in the statistics simply does not add up to this conclusion. When a specific website is visited, then it indicates intent to do so; however that’s up to the reader to judge

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What’s New in GFI WebMonitor®

David Attard, Product Manager for GFI david-attard-300x199WebMonitor, talks about what’s new in GFI WebMonitor 2013.

Q: What’s special about the latest version of GFI WebMonitor?

A: We have enabled web filtering using agents in the latest version of GFI WebMonitor. Basically, a small version of the GFI WebMonitor server is installed on business assets such as laptops and notebooks. This enables the administrator to monitor and block web activity on assets that are not connected to the corporate network. A lot of employees have a company laptop that they take home with them or on their travels. Since these are company owned, we recommend that they are protected even when ‘roaming’, that is away from the office. The level of protection for company assets is the same with the GFI WebMonitor agent whether they are on the network or not.

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