The IT Experts

Defining a Twitter Thread

A Twitter Thread is pretty much what it says on the box: a chain of tweets, posted one after another, all continuing a connected train of thought. Because Twitter was founded on a principle of sound-byte sharing, this capability to string thoughts together makes a lot of sense, especially to the business trying to get their message across. Think about it—not only are you able to share a lot of information with your audience, you are able to do so in a way that encourages them to read into it, and is easily followed.

Let’s review the process of creating one of these threads.

1. Open Twitter on your preferred platform (whether that’s the website, the Android application, or the iOS application) and select Tweet. This button will be in the left-hand sidebar on the web, while it will be on the bottom right-hand corner of the application timeline.
2. Write your tweet, taking care to number it somehow to make it clear where it falls in your thread.
3. Once your tweet is completed, select the Plus (+) button at the bottom right-hand corner of your display.
4.  A new tweet box will appear, and you can continue your thoughts by repeating this process. You can also go back to your previous tweets to edit them as needed.

There is also the option for you to create a thread from one of your past tweets as well. Visit that tweet in the mobile application and select the Add another Tweet button, and repeat the process outlined above.

In this way, even a social media platform can serve your business well. For more technology tips for business success, subscribe to our blog!

Do Macs Get Viruses?

In short, the answer is yes, absolutely. Apple computers can get infected with malware like viruses and ransomware. Macs can also suffer from other typical PC problems, such as hardware failure, data loss, slowing down over time, crashes, and more. 

So where did this misinformation come from? Why do so many casual users tend to think that Macs don’t suffer from the same issues as the Windows PC?

Once place to start is Apple’s own (brilliant) advertising. You have to admit, Apple has had some very memorable advertisements over the years. In fact, one of my favorite ad campaigns may be one of the reasons that so many people think that Macs are immune to viruses. 

Check out the Mac. Vs PC commercial here.

These ads are cute and charming and feel honest enough to be true.

To Apple’s credit, no lies are being told in the ad. Swarms of new viruses are created for Windows PCs every year, and many of these viruses can’t infect Mac computers. Macs still get viruses, but there are definitely more variants out there for PC. Why is this?

PCs Vastly Outnumber Macs

In 2018, it was estimated that for every 10 active PCs on the Internet, there was only one Mac. If roughly 90% of the world runs on Microsoft Windows, it makes much more sense for hackers to develop viruses that would affect this broader target.

Most businesses use PCs. Most schools and universities use PCs. In fact, most industries tend to use PCs. Most home computing is done on PC as well. 

That isn’t to say that there is anything wrong with a Mac. Apple makes incredibly solid laptops, and extremely capable desktops. The problem lies with third-party developers. For many businesses, certain core applications don’t have Mac versions. On top of that, when compared to the PC market, Apple doesn’t have a low-end tier for hardware. Your billing department doesn’t need the same computer that your video editor would use, and there isn’t a reason to spend that kind of money on a high-end Mac when a mid-range PC will handle the workload just fine. There really isn’t anything that you can do on a $2000 MacBook that you can’t do on a $2000 Windows laptop - at that point it’s just about preference and what works for your business. On the flipside, there are some limitations to what you can do on that Mac; when it comes to easily connecting and using a business network that’s designed for PCs, and when it comes to the software mentioned above.

So, Mac Owners Do Need to Worry About Viruses?

Yes sir. Although historically, there haven’t been as many viruses targeting Macs over the years, and it’s always felt like Macs might have a slightly lower risk, that has been changing. According to a recent report by Malwarebytes, the amount of malware on Macs is actually outpacing PCs for the first time ever. It sounds like hackers are relying on the complacency of Mac users.

Malwarebytes goes on to report that there was a 400 percent increase in threats on Mac devices between 2018 and 2019. 

Mac users need to worry about the same threats, and practice the same security hygiene as any other computer user. Whether you have a Mac or PC, you need proper antivirus software, strong passwords, and common sense.

For your business, of course, you also need to protect all the endpoints on your network, prevent phishing attacks, and educate your end users. KB Technologies can help with this. Reach out to us by calling (954) 834-2800 and ask how we can help secure your network.

“Security Theater”

Coined by cybersecurity technologist Bruce Schneier in the early 2000s, “security theater” describes any security efforts that make one seem more secure but do very little to enhance security in the practical sense despite the costs associated with them. The concept is reliant upon the notion that security exists in two forms: the emotional feeling of being secure, and the quantifiable mathematical and scientific improvements that one can make to their protections.

For an example, let’s look to a personal anecdote that Schneier shared in a 2007 blog article.

In this article, Schneier shared an observation from his visit to the maternity ward after a friend’s child had just been born. The infant had been outfitted with an RFID tag bracelet, the purpose of which being cited as a preventative measure against infant theft.

However, at the time that Schneier visited the ward, infant abduction was remarkably rare.

This led Schneier to hypothesize that the bangles weren’t adopted as an actual security measure, but instead as a performance of security theater. By “protecting” an infant against “abduction,” the new parents could spend a few moments away from their baby without too much worry.

Let’s review the hospital anecdote. While they certainly weren’t free, the tags that were used to “track” the infants were available at an extraordinarily low cost. As a result, making the investment to mitigate an incredibly unlikely issue was considered more acceptable, because it improved the experience of the parents.

Schneier also cites an even more recognizable example: the tamper-resistant packaging that was introduced on over-the-counter medications in the 1980s. Poisonings were getting a lot of attention in the press at the time, and despite the statistical likelihood of an actual incident being so low and the tamper-resistant packaging not being all that tamper resistant, the impression it made was thoroughly positive.

This is because, in both cases, the performance of security theater helped to make the perceived threat level more in line with the actual threat level. Of course, while the benefits that security theater can offer are very real, so are the costs of putting on such a show.

Is Security Theater Worth the Price of Admission?

I want you to consider a very real potential outcome of these kinds of displays: what if the piece of security theater you invest your money in is actually making your real security measures less effective?

Consider what happened to Target in 2013. The company was hacked when their security teams overlooked the warning signs of a breach as they were buried in a deluge of other notifications. Let’s dive deeper into the threat of “overacting” in your security theater, starting with the situation that Target created.

Too Many Alerts

I want you to consider what happens when your company chat is a flurry of activities that ultimately don’t involve you. Eventually, you tune out the notifications to try and stay productive, right? The same thing happens with your security notifications if there are far too many of them that ultimately mean nothing. As a result, you and your team will gradually stop paying attention to them, allowing the actual threats to come in. Recruiting an MSP to assist you can help sort out these notifications, with the real threats attended to and interruptions minimized.

Too Many Password Changes

Password security is important, but believe it or not, there are some measures that are more counterproductive than anything else. Take, for instance, monthly password updates. With these requirements forced on them, your employees may resort to password patterns or keeping a written note of their password to keep track of them all. It is better to instead use a moderate password policy and supplement it with options like single-sign-on and multi-factor authentication (MFA).

Of course, passwords should be changed sometime down the line, but you have to be sure that you aren’t driving your employees into bad habits.

Insufficient User Awareness

One of the biggest reasons that user vulnerabilities are such a serious cybersecurity issue is because many users don’t know any better, as they were not effectively trained to respect cybersecurity policies. Rather than including their team in regular security-based training forums, many companies will instead devote an afternoon to a long, ineffective lecture.

KB Technologies has the means to close the gap between your security theater and your functional security. To learn more about the solutions we can offer, reach out to us today by calling (954) 834-2800.