The Connection, Inc Blog

The Connection, Inc has been serving the New Jersey area since 1992, providing IT Support such as technical helpdesk support, computer support and consulting to small and medium-sized businesses.

3 Types of Regulations Your Business Should Be Aware Of

3 Types of Regulations Your Business Should Be Aware Of

Your business is likely subject to certain compliance laws and regulations depending on the type of data you collect from your clients or customers. Today, we want to emphasize the importance of your business considering regulation and compliance when managing its data and IT resources, as without doing so, you run considerable risk.

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Digital Monitoring? It’s Great and Helpful, Under the Right Circumstances

Digital Monitoring? It’s Great and Helpful, Under the Right Circumstances

Digital monitoring is a bit of a contentious topic in business, but according to a survey from Gartner, it might not be as contentious of a topic as previously thought. In fact, employees are often in favor of digital monitoring under the appropriate circumstances, as long as it doesn’t get in the way of their jobs.

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Who’s Really Hurt the Most by Card Skimmers?

Who’s Really Hurt the Most by Card Skimmers?

It probably isn’t a question you’ve put much thought to, but tell me: who do you think feels the greatest impact from card skimming schemes, where a payment card’s data is captured so a cybercriminal can make use of the card’s associated account? While it isn’t a good situation for anyone, some are impacted more than others.

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What Exactly is Personally Identifiable Information?

What Exactly is Personally Identifiable Information?

It’s incredibly important to keep your personally identifiable information secure, but what exactly constitutes PII? Today we offer a definition and suggestions or strategies to help you keep your PII safe.

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Microsoft Warns Against Password Spraying

Microsoft Warns Against Password Spraying

As time has passed, cybersecurity attacks have become another way some organizations and nations engage in warfare. You can argue that there is a war going on at all times in cyberspace while hackers—many of which are sponsored by government agencies—try to outdo security researchers at all turns. One such scenario sees customers in the United States and Israeli defense technology sectors becoming the target of “password spraying.”

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Yes, You Can Outsource Hacking

Yes, You Can Outsource Hacking

Have you ever wondered what it takes to hire a hacker to perform a specific task? Thanks to the findings of Comparitech, we can get a look into the average pricings of various hacking services that can be found on the Dark Web. While we would never condone ever taking advantage of such services, it’s a fascinating look into the business of cybercrime, and one that can give you an idea of just how easy and accessible it is for hackers to make your life difficult.

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Encryption Is a Major Key to Security

Encryption Is a Major Key to Security

The term “encryption” has found its way into the mainstream, appearing just about anywhere information security is brought up. Whether it is ransomware encrypting data or the encryption protecting your password security, it is a powerful tool that can be used for both good and evil. Let’s discuss the former and how you might use encryption in the workplace.

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4 Ways to Keep Your Mobile Devices Safe While Traveling

4 Ways to Keep Your Mobile Devices Safe While Traveling

The world might still be suffering from a pandemic, but travel is slowly starting to pick up once again. When you feel safe and comfortable traveling again, it is of critical importance that you take steps to secure your technology while out of the office—especially your mobile devices. Here are some big ways that you can prioritize security while traveling.

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Privacy Engineering is the Key to a More Secure Future

Privacy Engineering is the Key to a More Secure Future

Data privacy is a bit of a hot topic in today’s business environment, especially with high-profile hacks and ransomware attacks emerging and putting organizations at risk. In particular, the emerging concept of “privacy engineering” has a lot of businesses thinking about how they can secure their organization and future-proof their data privacy infrastructures.

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Do Google’s New Policies on User Data Privacy Indicate Larger Changes?

Do Google’s New Policies on User Data Privacy Indicate Larger Changes?

Just in case you haven’t been paying attention, online privacy has been highlighted significantly in recent years—in no small part due to the sale of our profiles by the tech giants that provide today’s most (in)famous websites… including and especially Google. Having said this, it is also important to acknowledge that some of Google’s recent policy changes could suggest that this may change at some point.

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Conduct a Security and Compliance Audit, You Won’t Regret It

Conduct a Security and Compliance Audit, You Won’t Regret It

If you are an avid reader of our blog, we are constantly saying how there are always a growing number of threats. This is true. Two-in-every-three business owners consider that their cybersecurity risks are increasing each year. The other third must not focus on them, and that is a problem. In fact, many business owners don’t give the proper respect to cyberthreats and many of those businesses pay the price. This is why every business should consider a security and compliance audit a mandatory part of their yearly IT assessment. 

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Is Security Being Sacrificed for the Sake of Convenience?

Is Security Being Sacrificed for the Sake of Convenience?

While this time of year is always huge for online retail, there is likely to be a much larger number of people turning to the Internet for their holiday purchases than usual… and, it would seem, a larger number of people taking security into consideration as they do so. Let’s examine how consumers are taking their data into their own hands and what this means for your business.

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How to Beat Cybercrime and Stay Secure

How to Beat Cybercrime and Stay Secure

Unfortunately, it is hard for the modern business to keep all of their data secure. There are just so many threats that most businesses leak data without even knowing it. There are things you can do, however. Today we will go through four considerations that can help you stay ahead of cybercriminals. 

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Cybercrime Spiking During the Pandemic

Cybercrime Spiking During the Pandemic

Keeping your network and infrastructure free from threats is always a priority, but with so many people working remotely businesses have encountered problems doing so. In fact, hackers, known for their opportunism, have been ultra-opportunistic during this period and it is causing many headaches for network administrators. Let’s take a look at some statistics that are definitely concerning as we head into the fall, where many experts expect the virus to become more problematic. 

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Do Your Privacy Practices Line Up With Your Privacy Expectations?

Do Your Privacy Practices Line Up With Your Privacy Expectations?

How concerned are you about your data privacy, as a consumer, particularly when you entrust it to another business? If you answered “very”, you aren’t alone… 87 percent of Americans consider their data privacy to be a human right. Having said that, most don’t pay near enough attention to their own security precautions. Let’s take a few moments and examine this trend.

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Why Multi-Factor Authentication is Way Better Than Passwords

Why Multi-Factor Authentication is Way Better Than Passwords

Time hasn’t been kind to the password. It’s continuously put down as one of the least secure methods of protecting systems. It’s not due to any fault of the password, though. People just have a hard time remembering long and complex passwords. To aid in security, it’s recommended that you use some sort of multi-factor authentication. While some users prefer easy SMS message two-factor authentication, there are actually many different types of multi-factor authentication available.


Multi-factor authentication is a major part of securing important information systems from potential threats. It provides a secondary layer of credentials that need to be provided in order to access sensitive data. By using multi-factor authentication, you’re making it twice as difficult for hackers to access your data, which mitigates much of the risk. By taking advantage of multi-factor authentication tactics, you can limit your data’s exposure to threats and maximize security.

Here are a few examples of how multi-factor authentication works:

  • Biometric scanning: Fingerprints, iris and retina scans, facial-recognition software, voice recognition software, hand shape, and other physical variables.
  • Location factors: GPS tracking, used in many smartphones, can be used to ensure that logins are occurring from legitimate devices rather than from illogical IP addresses.
  • Possession factors: If a user has specific devices on their person, like a key card or a smartphone, they have access to several forms of multi-factor authentication procedures.

Multi-factor Authentication Technologies
Depending on what type of authentication protocol you use, you’ll have either a hardware-based device, or a software-based security token. An example of a hardware-based security measure is a USB dongle that acts as a key to the device, while software-based tokens generate a security code that is sent to a smartphone. There are many other types of multi-factor authentication, like those that take advantage of biometrics, but due to the incredible popularity of smartphones in the business world, the most common methods of multi-factor authentication are by far SMS messages that are sent to a user’s smartphone.

Other security practices that are seen quite often are employee ID cards and GPS technology that verifies the location of the person accessing the account or building. Some people are even hardcore enough to embed smart chips in their hands, but that’s a topic to discuss another day. Basically, executives and IT professionals are doing whatever it takes to ensure that their physical and digital infrastructures remain secure from any and all trespassers.

Your business need to take advantage of the most powerful security solutions on the market if you want to ensure that your business’s assets are protected from all kinds of threats. For more information about multi-factor authentication, give us a call at (732) 291-5938.

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Can the Government Really Stop People From Sharing Netflix Passwords?

Can the Government Really Stop People From Sharing Netflix Passwords?

Do you loan out your Netflix password to friends so that they can catch up on their favorite shows? If so, you’re in violation of a recent federal court ruling, which declares that sharing a password of any kind is now a federal offense. So, if you plan on watching the new Netflix original series Stranger Things, you may want to reconsider how you plan to do so.

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Your Debit Card Chip and PIN Won’t Save You From This ATM Scam

Your Debit Card Chip and PIN Won’t Save You From This ATM Scam

Do you remember how your bank issued you a new debit or credit card with a built-in, security-enhancing chip? There are now ATMs specially designed for use with these chips. Unfortunately, the same technology that was originally meant to secure your finances can also be used against you in the form of fraudulent cash withdrawals.

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Tip of the Week: Shop Safe While Online With These 3 Common-Sense Tactics

Tip of the Week: Shop Safe While Online With These 3 Common-Sense Tactics

It seems that you can find absolutely anything while shopping online, but unfortunately, this also includes cyber threats. No deal is worth the risk of a hacking attack, but some best practices can help you stay safe while searching for that great bargain.

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Is Your Company’s Data Encrypted? It Should Be

Is Your Company’s Data Encrypted? It Should Be

Data might be the most important aspect of your organization, but how well do you protect it throughout your network? Every organization has data like personally identifiable information and financial credentials stashed away somewhere on the network, so security isn’t something that you can ignore. One of the best ways you can safeguard your data is through the use of encryption.


Encryption is a solid way of keeping hackers from using data that they’ve stolen from you to their benefit. While other security solutions like firewalls and spam blockers try to limit the number of threats that make their way onto your network, encryption focuses on being a last-ditch effort to save your data from being used against you. Encryption jumbles your data, making it difficult--if not impossible--for hackers to use. Therefore, encryption works best when combined with other security measures.

Here are three of the ways in which encryption benefits any business prioritizing data security.

Encryption Maximizes Security
Encryption is a priority for a business that wants to keep security at the max. Taking risks is simply unacceptable, and encryption has a chance to make any attempts made by a hacker a moot point. Data encryption works by scrambling your data, only unlocking it when it’s exposed to a specific security key. Hackers prefer going after data that’s easy to access, so encrypted data is sure to be an asset for your organization.

Encryption Augments Compliance
While encryption isn’t officially required by compliance laws like HIPAA, it certainly protects your interests by having it. Compliance laws generally only need your organization to implement preventative solutions like firewalls and antiviruses, but encryption is still of the utmost importance. Encryption is mainly useful for making sure that any breaches don’t result in compromised data, as hackers likely won’t be able to decrypt your data anyway.

Encryption is, More or Less, Expected
It’s understandable that you want encryption for your own data, but if you are a service-type business that provides products to clients, they are going to expect that you’ll take good care of their data, as well. For example, if you use a service like PayPal or Amazon, you expect them to use encryption to keep your payment information safe and secure. You can safely assume that your own clients will want to believe their data is safe in your hands. If their information is stolen and it’s your fault, they won’t take kindly to it, and you will lose points with them in the long run.

If you want to use encryption for your business (and you should), The Connection, Inc can help. To get started, give us a call at (732) 291-5938.

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The Connection, Inc. Celebrates 32 Years as a Trusted Technology Provider!   Since our founding in 1992, technology and the way we operate and do business has changed a lot. Companies that have adapted and aligned themselves with ...

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The Connection, Inc
51 Village CT
Hazlet, New Jersey 07730