The development of IoT devices has brought with it a plethora of conveniences. Smart cameras are especially popular among people who want to check in on their pets when they’re not around or are worried about home security.  Unfortunately, the very device you chose to enhance security may be infringing on your privacy. A slew of recent news stories support this. A lawsuit claimed Amazon employees and contractors could access customer videos to train algorithms without user consent. Smart home manufacturer Wyze courted controversy on multiple occasions, including a vulnerability that allo ..read more

In an ideal world, once you install an SSL certificate, you should be able to forget about it, safe in the knowledge that your site will remain secured until it’s time to renew. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Even when there’s nothing wrong with the SSL itself, there are myriad technical server-side or browser issues that can cause it not to work properly, resulting in error messages for people trying to reach your site.  A common one is the SSL handshake failed error code 525. If you’ve ever encountered this error, whether you’re a website owner or just someone trying to visi ..read more

SSL has become an intrinsic part of securing all areas of our online lives, even if we aren’t always aware of those powerful encryption certificates continually doing their thing in the background. They aren’t just critical when using a desktop or laptop computer, but mobile devices too.  This should be no surprise, seeing as many people conduct online business using a mobile device. In fact, according to Oberlo, smartphones are the most popular digital device worldwide, with Apple leading the way when it comes to global market share at 29.27%. If you’re one of those many Apple iPhone use ..read more

At some point, most people with a computer have likely interacted with a command line interface. If you haven’t, here are the basics. With a program called a shell, you can execute tasks by entering a specific line of text known as a command.  It’s an old-school way of using a computer. However, some users prefer to use commands for specific tasks as it can actually speed up certain processes, allowing them to interact directly with the system rather than clicking around their computer’s graphical user interface.  In this article, we’ll go through key Windows commands related to the ..read more

SSL encryption is among the most foolproof ways to secure your site, but what if you could strengthen it even further? A few years back, certificate pinning was a practice often used to enhance the security of an SSL security. People believed it helped mitigate the risks of cyber threats like man-in-the-middle attacks and certificate misissuance, making it more difficult for hackers to use SSL certificates in their attacks.  Nowadays, however, cert pinning isn’t considered best practice, with many industry professionals discouraging it entirely. Read on to find out why. The SSL chain of ..read more

Knowledge of search engine optimization (SEO) and how to implement it is a must for any small business or entrepreneur doing business online. Whether you’ve heard of it before or it’s a new term for you, it can be hard to know where to start. This beginner’s guide should put you in the right direction. Read on to learn what SEO is, how it works, and how to implement it on your site.  What is SEO? As the name basically reveals, SEO is a way of optimizing your site for search engines. Why is that necessary? Well, search engines, such as Google, use particular factors to measure how high web ..read more

There are many important considerations you must take when running a small business, one of which is website security. While many might launch a website and promptly forget about it, it isn’t wise — particularly if your business has an online component. Keep your small business website safe and secure by following these seven best practices.   1. Update software regularly It might not seem like a big deal, but out-of-date website software can leave you at risk of a security breach. Software updates often come with patches and fixes for known vulnerabilities. If you don’t regularly up ..read more

Taking transactions from customers is a big responsibility, especially when it comes to issues like security, privacy, and customer protection. This is why The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council, comprised of leading credit card companies, including Mastercard and Visa, created the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). All companies that take card payments, whether online or off, must be PCI compliant. Read on to find out what that means for you.  What is PCI compliance? PCI compliance means ensuring your store adheres to the security standards set out by ..read more

The first example of phishing was recorded in 1995 when hackers impersonated AOL staff and messaged users, asking them to share their passwords. Nearly 30 years later, this notorious type of cyber attack shows no sign of letting up.  It is estimated that around 3.4 billion spam emails are sent daily. Furthermore, according to a survey of 300 North American cybersecurity professionals, between the fourth quarter of 2022 and the end of 2023, there was a 1,265% increase in phishing emails sent. Not good. Now that you’re suitably concerned let’s dig deeper into phishing — what it is, what it ..read more

If you have a website or simply use the Internet, you’ve probably experienced DNS forwarding, even if you didn’t realize it. It’s a key mechanism of online networks to keep things running smoothly and efficiently. But like most aspects of using the Internet, it’s all happening in the background, so you’re not even aware of it.  So what exactly does it do? If you’ve been wondering, “what is DNS forwarding?” you’ve come to the right place. Read on to find out. What is DNS? To understand DNS forwarding, first, you need to understand the Domain Name System (DNS). As you might have gathered b ..read more