Category Archives: Blog

Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

The Advantages of VoIP for Businesses

Voice over IP, or VoIP, has become increasingly popular among business owners. However, many business owners ask if VoIP is viable in a landscape where many voice systems are either no longer supported or cost a fortune to upgrade.

Your business relies on a consistent and secure communication network. Therefore, choosing the right voice over IP solution is crucial for your business. Here are three things to look for when trying to find a voice over IP solution for your business.

Quality of Service – One of the biggest issues with traditional phone systems is the inconsistent quality of the calls. With VoIP, calls are routed through your internet, so distance no longer matters, and the quality of your calls is far superior.

Costs – VoIP may be more expensive than a standard phone system in some cases. However, in many cases, the overall costs of using VoIP will be offset because you will no longer need to pay for the line costs, physical hardware, and hourly labor associated with your current phone system.

Flexibility – VoIP can create flexible networks, changing how employees work and the business operates. In addition to offering internal telephony, VoIP systems allow you to connect multiple offices, make cheap international calls, or even integrate it with your video conferencing solution.

Voice over IP has become increasingly popular among business owners as a viable option to traditional phone systems. VoIP offers many benefits, such as superior call quality, cost savings, and flexibility. In a landscape where many voice systems are either no longer supported or cost a fortune to upgrade, VoIP is a great choice for businesses that need a reliable and flexible communication network.

If you’re wondering whether VoIP is right for your business, the answer is an emphatic yes. If you are considering upgrading your telecommunications infrastructure or are looking for a VoIP solution to improve employee productivity, give our team a call. We are glad to help.

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Updated Malware Attacks Point of Sale Devices

This year, security experts have found three updated versions of Prilex malware that target point-of-sale systems.

In 2014, Prilex was a type of malware that targeted ATMs. It switched to PoS (point of sale) devices in 2016, but it wasn’t until 2020 that the malware reached its peak. After that, it faded away in 2021.

Analysts at Kaspersky say that Prilex is back, and it looks like a more advanced and dangerous version of the malware has resurfaced this time. The latest version of this malware can create EMV (Europay, MasterCard, and Visa) cryptograms, which VISA introduced as a transaction validation system to help find and stop payment fraud.

The Kaspersky report explains that it lets threat actors use EMV cryptograms to do “GHOST transactions” with credit cards protected by CHIP and PIN technology.

The infection starts when a spear phishing email pretending to be from a technician from a PoS vendor says that the company needs to update its PoS software. Next, the fake technician goes to the target’s location and installs a malicious upgrade on the PoS terminals. The attackers could also tell the victim to install the AnyDesk remote access tool on their computer and then use it to replace the PoS firmware with a version that has been tampered with.

After the machine is infected, the operators will check to see if the target does enough financial transactions to be worth their time.

The new version of Prilex has a backdoor for communication. The backdoor can do many different things, like open files, run commands, end processes, change the registry, and record the screen. Once the information is encrypted and saved locally on the infected computer, the malware sends periodic requests to the control server.

Kaspersky concluded that the Prilex group knows a lot about how credit and debit card transactions work and how software used for payment processing works. This knowledge allows attackers to keep updating their tools until they find a way to get around the authorization policies and carry out their attacks.

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Create a Secure Environment for Remote Workers

Having remote workers in your business is a great way to expand cost-effectiveness and helps your business grow. But, unfortunately, many businesses have issued remote workers limited access to the network to protect important information. Knowing this, hackers are finding creative ways to access networks and steal vital information.

It is important to ensure your remote workers have proper security protections in place not only to protect their personal devices but also to secure networks and data. Here are three ways to help protect your remote workers:

Define Acceptable Usage Policies: First and foremost, it’s important to have clearly defined policies for your work-from-home employees. These policies should address the use of internet browsers, hardware, and recording devices. Then, create clear rules and enforce the policies.

Use encrypted email: Email is the most common form of business communication people use to communicate remotely. Unfortunately, it is also a favorite method of hackers to sneak peeks at sensitive information and compromise your company’s security. Fortunately, solutions exist that can help you eliminate this risk. Encrypted email is a type of email that only the sender and the recipient can read. This ensures that if the email falls into the wrong hands, the hacker will not be able to read its contents.

Use Virtual Private Networks: Virtual Private Networks allow your remote workers to safely connect to your networks without exposing your network to the risk from their devices. VPNs create a secure tunnel between your networks and remote workers. VPNs provide excellent protection and are a very cost-effective solution.

Employers are quickly learning the benefits of having remote workers. With the right security in place, it’s a great way to expand your business and cut costs. However, with hackers getting more creative in their attack methods, it’s important to ensure your remote workers have the proper protections in place. By using these secure means of communicating and protecting your networks, you can feel confident that you can protect your valuable data from prying eyes.

 

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Google Unveils New Products at Pixel Event 2022

During a press event in New York City, Google unveiled the new Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro devices, the brand-new Pixel Watch, and a teaser for a forthcoming 2023 Pixel Tablet. Although the devices are similar to those from last year, there seemed to be some welcomed improvements, like additional camera functions, a better screen and battery, and an upgraded Google Tensor processor.

Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro

With its 6.3-inch display, face recognition as an alternative unlocking method, and Google’s G2 Tensor processor, the Pixel 7 boasts enhanced AI-driven capabilities. These capabilities include the ability to see a menu while making a call, have emoji ideas suggested to you based on your voice, and have audio messages transcribed in Google’s Messages app.

The Pixel 7 new camera features include Cinematic Blur, Guided Frame via voice assistant for individuals who have limited vision, and a pretty neat feature called Photo Unblur, which effectively unblurs old photographs.

The Pixel 7 is available in three colors: obsidian, snow, and lemongrass. The device is available for preorder and has a starting price of $599.

The Pixel 7 Pro offers many of the same features included in the base model, with a few improvements over the display, weight, and battery life. Still, the camera is what significantly distinguishes the 7 Pro from the base model. The 30x telephoto lens on the Pixel 7 Pro works with cutting-edge software to provide clear images at all zoom levels. Additionally, the 7 Pro includes a Macro Focus feature that enables you to snap close-up pictures with HDR+ quality for detailed photos.

At its base price of $899, the Pixel 7 Pro is available in obsidian, snow, and hazel colors. Like the base Pixel 7, the Pixel 7 Pro is available for preorder.

Google Watch

The Google Pixel Watch comes with new health-tracking functions, such as a heart rate sensor, ECG monitoring, and sleep tracking, which keep with the current trend toward smartwatches and other wearable electronic devices.

The Pixel Watch starts at $349 for the WiFi-only device and $399 for the WiFi plus LTE model. Preorders for the watch are currently available.

Google Tablet

We didn’t receive much information on the Pixel Tablet because it won’t be available until 2023, but Google revealed some information.

The Pixel Tablet will function with a speaker dock that doubles as a charging station and will use the same G2 Tensor technology that drives the Pixel 7. Based on the fact that the Pixel Tablet is being marketed as a smart home manager and creative tool, we can probably expect some cool features to be announced before its release next year.

The Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, and Pixel Watch’s improved AI-driven functionalities will certainly change the way we use our smart devices. Although the Google Pixel Tablet will not be available until 2023, there is no doubt that these new Google gadgets will cause a stir in the technological world.

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Microsoft Edge Improves Performance

Engineers at Microsoft recently announced performance improvements for their Edge browser.  A blog post that the company published recently explained how.

A blog post from the company explained how:

“Beginning with Microsoft Edge 102 on Windows, Microsoft Edge automatically compresses disk caches on devices that meet eligibility checks, to ensure the compression will be beneficial without degrading performance.

This ensures compression of these caches largely improves performance and overall user experience.

One way we can maximize cache usage while minimizing disk usage is by leveraging compression to save disk space for the cached content.  Since the contents in these cache(s) are often highly compressible, compression results in increasing the likelihood that the requested resource can be fetched from the disk.”

In our view, this is a great move.  Many people set up their systems with a large disk cache, allowing their web browser to store vast amounts of information for faster recall later.

The problem is that disk space is not unlimited, and if it’s at a premium on your system, compression neatly solves the problem.  The system can still store vast amounts of web data so it can be recalled more quickly later but until that happens, it saves on space by compressing it.

This change comes on the heels of another that the company rolled out some months ago. That change introduced improvements to the way the Edge browser used memory and CPU power.  In that case, the company “put unused browser tabs to sleep” which resulted in an average reduction of CPU usage of 37 percent while simultaneously reducing memory usage by 32 percent.  Those are solid numbers.

Best of all, the company says they’re still not done.  On deck are improvements to the Edge browser’s security, which will include features that should help to minimize the risk of undiscovered zero-day vulnerabilities from being exploited.

Kudos to Microsoft.  These are excellent changes that greatly improve the browser.

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