Information Technology

Tech Specs: Number of servers: 1,700+ | Number of server locations: 60+Plan typeCost2 years$4.99/mo.1 year$5.99/mo.1 month$9.99/mo.If you’re on a strict budget, ProtonVPN offers a free VPN service for school. There are versions of ProtonVPN you can pay for with the above pricing structure, or you can opt for the free version. It uses an encrypted VPN tunnel to keep information safe while hiding your browsing history with a 10-Gbps server network. One unique feature is ProtonVPN’s ability to protect against Internet censorship, allowing you to access any websites you want. There is also the VPN Accelerator that delivers up to a 400% increase in VPN speeds to quickly get you what you need. Read the review: ProtonVPN review More

Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto Google is rolling out what it calls client-side encryption (CSE), giving Workspace customers the ability to use their own encryption to shield their data before it reaches Google’s servers.  With client-side encryption (CSE) enabled, the email body, attachments, and inline images are encrypted. The email header, subject, timestamps, and recipients lists are […] More

There is a misconception that all hacking is illegal. However, hacking is simply identifying weaknesses in a device — whether it is a PC, smartphone, or another physical object — and software, including apps, and attempting to exploit them.This could include a computer network, old tech equipment, or a website’s backend control system. Hacking, in itself, doesn’t automatically mean unauthorized entry. There are companies out there that ask for ethical hackers to test their software for weaknesses and will reward them financially for their findings.It is only when a hacker uses their skills for unauthorized and criminal purposes, theft, or destruction that it becomes illegal. This could include breaking into a network to deploy malware or stealing confidential information. More

There are three main types of split tunneling: URL-based, app-based, and inverseURL-based split tunneling targets traffic being routed to specific URLs, encrypting only that traffic. This type of setup could be configured to encrypt all traffic directed toward your bank’s website, your office’s sign-in and HR pages, or your medical providers’ portal. Any traffic tied to a specific URL can be filtered in this way, while traffic to any unspecified URLs remains on your standard connection. Many VPNs offer a browser extension to help users set which URLs will be encrypted.App-based split tunneling is nearly identical to the URL-based variety, but it filters the traffic of specific apps, rather than specific URLs. A few coordinating examples would be logging into your bank’s mobile app, accessing your company’s Slack, or using your medical insurance providers’ telehealth software. An app-based split tunneling setup will encrypt any traffic associated with those apps, while less sensitive data, like your TikTok scrolling, would stay unencrypted. It’s particularly useful for use with mobile device VPN installations.Inverse split tunneling is best for people that want nearly all of their traffic encrypted. The above two options leave your traffic unencrypted unless you specifically add it to their encryption lists. Inverse split tunneling does the opposite by encrypting everything on your system by default. Anything you don’t want encrypted will then need to be specified. To continue the above examples, your banking, work, and medical traffic would automatically be encrypted, while your TikTok activity would need to be manually set to use an unencrypted connection.  More

Image: Getty Protecting against phishing, malware and other cyber threats is a difficult cybersecurity challenge for any organization — but when your business has over 20,000 employees and runs a service used by almost a billion people, the challenge is even tougher. But that’s precisely the challenge that’s facing LinkedIn: the world’s largest professional network […] More

Image: Ivan Pantic/Getty Images Facebook parent Meta has announced a raft of new security support initiatives, including Instagram’s new account support service that helps users who’ve had their accounts compromised.   Instagram has rolled out the page — instagram.com/hacked — where users can go if they can’t log in to their account. Whatever the cause, be it […] More

Australia has released a series of guides it says are designed to help small and midsize businesses (SMBs) safeguard their cloud environments and against common cybersecurity incidents. These include technical guidelines for multi-factor authentication and patch management. The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) on Friday said it had developed the Small Business Cloud Security Guides in recognition that SMBs might not have the resources to understand the complexities of operating online or responding to potential cyber risks. The government agency said the guides would help these businesses understand such risks as well as how to work with managed service providers or their own IT teams to ensure a robust cyber hygiene. The cloud security guides were developed with Microsoft, said ACSC’s head Abigail Bradshaw, who added that working with both public and private organisations helped establish Australia as “a hard target” for cybercriminals. The government agency said it received more than 76,000 cybercrime reports in the past year, which translated to one in every 7 minutes. This was up 13% from the previous financial year, when one cybercrime case was reported every 8 minutes. Alexi Boyd, CEO of Australia’s Council of Small Business Organisations, noted: “A cybercrime can be devastating and can cause significant financial loss for a small business. On average, cyber incidents cost small businesses over $39,000. These guides are designed to help businesses secure their systems and data.”The SMB guides highlight the “Essential Eight” principles to secure environments using Microsoft 365, but are not designed to help organisations reach “a particular maturity level”, said ACSC. The guides include technical examples of multi-factor authentication, patch management, and application control. The documents are developed for SMBs using Microsoft 365 as a SaaS (software-as-a-service), with devices configured with Microsoft Intune. The technical guides also use low cost or free solutions where possible, though, many security configuration options are not available in entry-level Microsoft 365 subscriptions, according to ACSC.To adopt the technical examples, organisations will need subscriptions to Microsoft 365 Business Premium or the equivalent.RELATED COVERAGE More

For longer than some of you have been alive, I’ve been preaching the gospel of using more secure desktop operating systems. You see, Windows has been insecure since 1985’s Windows 1.0, really an MS-DOS extension, rolled out the door. Then, as now, there were more secure options. Then it was Unix desktop operating systems. Today […] More