Piccone IT Consulting

08/26/2025

08/19/2025

Tech Tip Tuesday!!!

08/13/2025

🚨 Computer Alert! 🚨 Getting a pop-up saying your PC is infected with a virus? DON'T click it! This is a classic scareware trick by hackers trying to sneak malware onto your device. Even if it looks like a legit system or Microsoft alert, stay calm and take these steps:

1️⃣ Close your browser (avoid clicking "X," "Close," or "Cancel" on the pop-up).
2️⃣ Use Task Manager (Ctrl + Alt + Delete on PC or Command + Option + Esc on Mac) to shut down the alert.
3️⃣ Contact your IT team (like us!) to perform a legitimate scan and ensure your device is safe.

Stay secure online! 🔒💻

08/12/2025

08/08/2025

05/09/2023

Why you want to cover up your we**am:

Here’s a disturbing but very real tactic for hackers: spying on you via your device’s camera. Some simply watch you for fun. Others attempt to catch incriminating photos and then blackmail you by threatening to release the photos or video (that they have) to all your Facebook friends, LinkedIn connections or e-mail address book (which they might also have) unless you pay a ransom.

If you pay, guess what? You just identified yourself as someone who will pay for extortion, putting a target on your back. Plus, they still have your photos so they can come back and ask for more because they know you care.

As always, follow the various security strategies we’ve been sending you via these tips. As a backup, you can buy stickers that cover your camera with a slider so you can uncover it when you want to actually use it to take a picture or join a web meeting. These are really inexpensive and can be found on Amazon for under $10. Search for “we**am cover slider.” Have questions about cyber security or some other IT-related issues? Give us a call at 717-781-2011/443-992-4664.

05/02/2023

There are thousands of hackers who get up every morning with one goal in mind: to find a new vulnerability in a commonly installed software (like Adobe, Microsoft Office, Chrome, QuickBooks, etc.) to gain access to millions of their users.
That’s why these companies frequently issue patches and updates for known security flaws, and once a known vulnerability is announced via a patch, hackers get to work like crazy trying to figure out how to use the vulnerability and access those users who are lazy about installing updates. That’s why it’s important to update installed software programs as soon as possible.
Of course, if you’re a client of ours, we’re monitoring your network for these updates and installing them for you, but your home computers, smartphone and other devices that may not be under our protection will require you to be diligent about updates and patches.
Have questions about cyber security or some other IT-related issues? Give us a call at 717-781-2011.

04/25/2023

Are you too small to get hacked?

Earlier this year, our security team had to help a small, two-person law firm. They thought they were too small to be hacked. Not only did the hackers get into their network, they destroyed all their backups and deployed ransomware.

The ransom was $44,000. Why would they ask this firm for $44,000 when they are asking other companies for $250,000? Because this happened to be the amount the firm had in their bank account.

When hackers get into your computer, they aren’t going to immediately deploy ransomware. They are going to wait. They are going to get access to all your data. If they can get access to your QuickBooks file or your bank account, they are going to use that information to help them figure out how much you can pay.

If the ransom had been $250,000, the firm would have had to go out of business. But with it being the amount they had in the bank…the decision to pay the ransom was much harder to deal with.

What can you do about this? Make sure you have some type of advanced security solution in place to be able to see if an attacker is already in your environment looking at everything you and your team are doing on your computers.

Have questions about cyber security or some other IT-related issues? Give us a call at 717-781-2011 or visit us at picconeit.com.

03/28/2023

So, you’re in the car on the way home from Starbucks, basking in the glow of consuming your triple-shot, low-foam, extra-hot pumpkin-spice latte, when you suddenly realize your laptop has gone missing. You drive back like the caffeinated lunatic you are, only to discover no one has turned it in. What do you do? That depends on what precautions you have (or haven’t!) taken.
First, if you’ve properly encrypted your data, password-protected the access to your device and shut down and logged off all key applications, you’ve got a bit more time to respond. But the first thing to do, whether or not you’ve taken those precautionary measures, is to notify your IT department (us) that you’ve lost your device. That will allow us to change passwords and lock access to applications and data a thief may gain access to via your unprotected laptop. We can also remotely wipe your device to make sure no one will be able to gain access to the data stored on your computer. (Which is also why it’s critical to back up your data on a daily basis!)
Next, change all the passwords to every website you log in to, starting with any sites that contain financial data (your bank account) or company data. If your laptop contained medical records, financial information or other sensitive data (like social security numbers, birthdays, etc.), then you need to contact a qualified attorney to understand what you may be required to do by law to notify individuals who may be affected. Quite simply, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so make sure you’re engaging us to encrypt and back up your data, as well as put remote monitoring software on all mobile devices. Set a pin-code lock or password requirement to access a device after 10 minutes of inactivity and get into the habit of logging out of websites when you’re done using them.
Have questions about cyber security or some other IT-related issues? Give us a call at (717) 781-2011 or (443) 992-4664.