As the need for technology in the workplace continues to rise, so do the attempts of would-be phishers. They’re constantly crafting ways to use fake emails and clever scams to try and gain access to your company’s network or your personal information.

A recent report published by Software Advice, who surveyed employees to explore their awareness of phishing attacks, reveals some startling statistics.

Here are some of the key findings and tips to ensure you and your coworkers don’t fall victim to these scams.

About 39 percent of employees still open emails that they suspect might be fraudulent or contain malware.

Understand the goals of phishing attempts. Fraudulent emails often seek to:

• Infect your computer with spyware that can record your Internet activities or allow hackers access to your computer.
• Obtain and access your personal information such as credit card numbers, passwords and account numbers.

Only 36 percent of employees said they are “very confident” that they could recognize and resist a phishing attack.

Learn to recognize suspicious email. Here are a few tips to start:

• Look for misspellings and bad grammar. Legitimate emails from professional organizations are usually well written.
• Be aware of threats or requests for urgency. Cybercriminals often use threats that your security has been compromised and try to scare you into taking urgent action.
• Don’t click on suspicious links. If you see a link in an email, hover your cursor over it first to reveal the web address. Often it’s a series of cryptic numbers that looks nothing like the company website.

Just 39 percent of employees said they receive ongoing security awareness training or advice at their work more than once per year.

Look for opportunities to learn more about cyber security and share your knowledge.

• Read the news. Sadly, it’s full of stories about phishing scam victims. Share these examples and discuss ways you and your colleagues can avoid similar mistakes.
• If you’re a tech-savvy person, share your knowledge of phishing and network security with those who may not be.

Phishing attempts will continue to evolve. While it’s important to keep up-to-date with the latest in cyber security awareness, it’s also best to have technical controls in place. For more information on how to protect your company’s network or to implement security solutions, give us a call! We’d be happy to help.

From tracking your workout to navigating through rush hour, smartphone technology can do some amazing things. Unfortunately, providing unlimited battery life is not one of them.

So it’s up to software, settings and you to stretch out the limited battery life for as long as possible. Here are some simple tips and tricks you can use:

1. Dim the screen brightness. The display rapidly consumes battery. Most phones include an auto-brightness feature that automatically adjusts the screen's brightness as needed. However, you can save even more power by adjusting to the lowest level yourself.

2. Shorten the screen timeout. This setting controls how long your phone's screen stays lit after receiving input, such as a tap. Save power by setting your timeout to the shortest available time.

3. Turn off Bluetooth when not in use. Bluetooth can do some amazing things, but even if you’re not using it, it’s a huge battery sucker.

4. Avoid extreme temperatures. Smart phones are designed to perform well in a range of temperatures, but exposing them to extremely high or low temperatures can damage battery capacity.

5. Choose location services wisely. Many apps have the ability to monitor your location. You can either disable this feature all together if it’s not needed, or some will allow you to use location services only while using the app.

6. Close Apps that you’re not using. Don't leave apps running in the background if you don’t plan to use them for a while.

7. Turn vibrate off. Your phones vibrate features use much more power than playing a ringtone.

8. Turn off non-essential notifications. Every time an app sends you an alert or other type of notification, it’s consuming energy.

9. Check for mail less often. Unless you need email messages instantly, change your phone settings to only push email every so often.

10. Power Saving Mode. Some phones have a power-saving feature, which a manages the phone's various power-sapping features for you. Doesn’t get any easier than that!

If you’re like most people these days, you rely on your smartphone throughout the day (and night!). Hopefully these power-saving tips will help you get in that much more time between charges.

When DataVizion was founded in 2001, we were purely a professional enterprise services organization. Over the years we continued to expand, and now — in addition to our services — we offer a long (and growing) list of the latest in technology products and wireless solutions.

In the past five years alone, we’ve experienced triple-digit growth. That meant adding several new team members and, while we enjoy each other’s company, we needed more space. In August, we moved our headquarters to a larger location here in Lincoln, Nebraska, and opened up a satellite location in Omaha.

Growth has also meant the need to update our website and tell you about our new offerings. And, because we love what we do and the industry changes so rapidly, we’re introducing this blog where we’ll share the latest in industry news, technology tips and tricks, security updates and new product features.

Please take some time to browse our updated site and check back often to read our blog. We also invite you to stop by our offices any time. We’ll be happy to tell you more about what we do and how we can help you build a better connection for your organization.