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Communication

To blog or not to blog?

Friday, May 24th, 2013

Over the past fifteen years the word “blog” has become part of our daily vocabulary and most of us visit some form of blog on a daily basis. In some cases we’re not even aware of the fact that it’s a blog. Since the emergence of blogs in the late 1990’s their appearance and functions changed and developed.

A Blog (combination of the words “web” and “log”) is a website that contains stories and updates in reverse chronological order–the most recent entries appear at the top of the front page, and you browse backwards to move through the past articles.

A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability of readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important contribution to the popularity of many blogs. Through the sharing of information the blogger builds a relationship with his readers or followers and a virtual community of like minded people with similar interests is cultivated.

The emergence of blogs changed the face & future of journalism to a large extent. Suddenly anyone with access to a pc, was able to publish their opinions and writings. Most blogging platforms are extremely user friendly and makes it easy for individuals without web design experience to have their blog at no cost whatsoever.

Initially blogs were about personal experiences and maintained by a single person as a form of self expression or commentary on certain topics. These blogs were initially made possible by sites like Open Diary, Live Journal and Blogger. By the late 2000’s the focus shifted from blogs as personal diaries to full blown, edited and moderated digital magazines. “Multi-author blogs” started developing, with posts written by large numbers of authors and professionally edited.

As the purpose of blogs shifted through the years, so did their format. Now we also have a scaled down version of the original blog format, the microblog. Microblogs consist of short commentaries or content, and photos, videos or other multimedia. Twitter and Tumblr are two of the more popular examples of microblogging and are especially useful when it comes to realtime updates of important global events.

If you’re feeling inspired and would like to create a blog for your department, you don’t have to look far. You can host your department’s blog locally on the university’s own WordPress platform. For more information, click here.

[SOURCE: www.howtogeek.com & www.wikipedia.org]

Tags: blog
Posted in Communication, Connectivity | Comments Off on To blog or not to blog?

Beware of SIM card swap fraud

Friday, February 22nd, 2013

Although it is a known scam, when it hits one of your colleagues, it makes you aware that there are very real dangers out there. A SIM card swap fraud occurs when criminals obtain and utilise a replacement SIM card to acquire security messages and one-time passwords (OTP) sent to you by the bank. Using the OTP, criminals are able to change, add beneficiaries and transfer money out of your account using your personal information that they would have obtained through phishing. One of our colleagues lost R20 000 over the holidays and asked us to warn other staff as well:

How does a SIM swap scam work?

The SIM swap takes place after the fraudsters have received a your bank logon details as a result of the you responding to, for example, a Phishing e-mail. (this is why phishing e-mails are so dangerous and you should never ever respond or click on links contained in these phishing e-mails.)
Once the fraudsters have the your cell phone number and other personal information, the fraudster can pose as you, requesting a new SIM card from a cellular service provider.
The cellular service provider transfers the your SIM card identity to the new SIM card, cancelling your old SIM card in the process.
The result is that there is no signal on the old SIM card, which means the you cannot receive / make phone calls or send SMS messages. (This ought to be the first sign of something wrong, so if you get “SIMCARD INVALID” error on your cell phone)
The SMS authorisation reference number, which is normally sent to the client, reaches the fraudster instead of you, the legitimate owner, and the fraudster is able to make once-off payments and create beneficiaries fraudulently

What should I do if I suspect an unlawful SIM swap?

If you fall prey to an unlawful SIM swap, or suspect that you have, contact your cellular service provider for assistance.
Also contact the internet banking helpdesk to request that your internet banking access be suspended with immediate effect. This will prevent fraudsters from gaining access and transacting on your accounts.

What can I do to prevent SIM swap fraud?

Protect your information – all your information.
Do not disclose your ID number on websites unless you have verified the legitimacy of the site. The bank already knows your ID number and will not require you to give it to us again.
Do not disclose your cell number on websites unless you have verified the legitimacy of the site. Phishing sites often request for information such as ID Number, email address and email address password, physical address, etc.
Always make sure that your contact details on Internet banking are valid and correct. You know when your details have changed, so when you are ready, you can update the information on Internet banking or at a local bank branch.

[INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY DAVID WILES]

Tags: cell phone, phishing, security
Posted in Communication, Security | Comments Off on Beware of SIM card swap fraud

Keep your cell phone secure

Friday, February 22nd, 2013

These days your smartphone is just as powerful as your laptop or pc a few years back. You store more personal and work information on your device and it’s always connected to the internet.

It’s exactly this convenience that puts you as a smartphone user at risk. Cooltech, iAfrica’s tech section, has a few ideas to minimise risk and ensure your personal information stays, well, personal and safe from malware and cybercriminals and other security risks.

Set up a password

Your first line of defense is to simply set up a password on your phone. Most cellphone providers allow you to type in a pin number each time you switch on your phone or after a period on inactivity.

Install security software

Since smart phones are no longer just for storing phone numbers and sms’s, but also bankdetails, they’re also an easy and perfect target for cybercriminals.

Consider installing anti virus software to protect your device against malware. F-Secure, Norton and other large security software vendors each have their own version for the main smartphone platforms.

Activate the remote wipe function

The biggest risk is the the theft or loss of your device. Rather than worry about a stranger snooping through your information, activate the remore wipe function.

This function will allow you, by means of an internet connection, to delete your photos, business contacts and e-mails when you suspect you might not be able to recover your phone.

Some manufacturers like BlackBerry and Apple offer the remote wipe function and location applications for their latest devices, while third party applications are available for other platforms.

Download safe and approved applications

The temptation to download a free, unofficial application on your iPhone or Android instead of purchasing one through iStore, is big, but do you really want to take the risk and expose your phone to malware. Rather stick legitimate sources where proper quality control is done and applications don’t come with added nasty surprises.

Backup your data

As we’ve already established, a substantial amount of your life is on your smart phone – e-mail, phone contacts, documents, photos and much more. Just as you back up your computer (hopefully!), do the same with your cell phone so you won’t lose everything if you lose your phone. Many smartphones allow you to make a thorough backup from your device to your pc or at least sync the most important data and settings to an online service. Many smartphones allow you to make a comprehensive backup of your device to a computer, or to sync your most critical data and settings to an online service.

Tags: cell phone, security
Posted in Communication, Connectivity, Security | 2 Comments »

Skype users targeted by ransomware

Friday, October 12th, 2012

Skype users are being targeted by a round of ransomware that is being sent around as a message from contacts.

The message reads “lol is this your new profile pic?”, which is followed by a link. If the Skype users clicks on the link, a zip file containing an executable that infects the computer system.

The system is the locked down and displays a message demanding money.

More about the Skype ransomware.

SOURCE: www.mybroadband.co.za

Tags: ransomware, skype
Posted in Communication, Security | Comments Off on Skype users targeted by ransomware

Why the (Ex)change?

Friday, July 27th, 2012

We recently upgraded all Stellenbosch University users from Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 to Exchange Server 2010. Many of you wanted to know why there was a need to change from the previous version to something different and new. Believe it or not, the new version has quite a few advantages – at the back end and for you as a regular Outlook user.

The most obvious difference between the old and new versions can be seen in Webmail. The new Webmail (otherwise knows as the Outlook WebApp) has a new look and feel and some handy new functionality.

Webmail 2010 provides the same conversation view and experience as your Outlook 2010.

Messages are displayed in threads so that all the messages on a particular topic are grouped. No more searching for a previous message to check what the response is referring to. When a new message in a thread comes in, the whole thread gets moved chronologically to the date/time of the new message. Conversation view has its benefits and drawbacks, but if you don’t like it, you can turn it off. Just right-click Arrange By, scroll down to Conversations, and deselect Show Messages In Conversations.

With 2010, you can forward an email message as an attachment. This can come in handy if you need to forward a message to someone but don’t necessarily want the person to open it immediately. You can create an original message where you can tell the person about the attachment.

Previously Internet Explorer was the preferred browser for Webmail. With Firefox you got a “light” version of Webmail instead. 2010 supports the complete, premium experience on Mac OS X with Safari as well as with Firefox.

Another feature is the ability to open up a shared calendar and view it side by side with your own calendar. This is invaluable if you need to make plans that include coordinating your schedule with someone else’s. You can share your calendar with other users of your Exchange 2010 server.

Other advantages in Outlook 2010 are mail tips. This feature will warn you if you use “reply all” to a very large group or if you send sensitive material. Mail tips will also let you know if you are sending an email to someone who has his or her “Out of office” or email auto-reply on.

Moderated transport allows allows distribution lists and mailboxes to be moderated by a non-admin user such as a manager who has to approve messages before they are delivered.

One of the biggest advantage of all these is the lower storage cost. The Exchange Server 2010 database engine is up to 70% more efficient than Exchange Server 2007 in terms of disk read/write performance. This makes it possible to deploy much larger databases, with much larger mailbox quotas, on much larger disks.

This in turn means more space for you. All staff members now have a mailbox limit of 1GB, effectively doubling the space available to you from your Exchange 2007 mailbox.

Want to know more?

Posted in Communication, E-mail | 2 Comments »

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