How to Prevent ATM Skimming

Page 3

Meet our New

Employees

Diego Aburto

Won Allen

Page 2

Is Windows 8

Right for Me?

By Bob Williams

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November, 2013

Issue 2411

What’s

Inside

I can hardly believe it is November but looking out the window at all the leaves falling, I know fall has arrived. This time of year I think of all the things we have to be thankful for. We are thankful for living in such a wonderful coun-try and for all those who serve in the military for us to be able to enjoy the free-doms we are blessed to have. We are thankful for our friends and family and we are certainly thankful for our wonderful clients!

We want you to be thankful for us too so if you know of anything we can do to improve our service to you, please send me a note or give me a call and let me know. And if you are thankful for any of our employees who have gone be-yond the norm, please let me know about that too so we can appropriately thank them.

As you read this, Claudia and I will be enjoying a week in sunny & warm Key West. With that in mind, remember, it’s always 5:00 somewhere!

Have a blessed and safe Thanksgiving!

Randy A. Rowe

President

3 “Techie” Reasons You Can Be

Thankful This Season

1. Cyber Thieves Keep A-Knockin’ But They Can’t Come In. A study presented at the Interna-

tional Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks showed that small-business net-

works are attacked every 39 seconds by some type of hacker or malicious software.

Thankfully, having the proper firewall and office network security tools can prevent even

the most determined cyber hacker from getting his hands on your network.

2. Downtime Should Be A Thing Of The Past. Thanks to monitoring and maintenance tools

that are openly available, any reputable computer company can now actually notice when

things go awry and prevent your computers from having issues. Hot fixes, patches and

security updates are generally items that, when maintained on a regular basis, keep a

network healthy and up and running. If, for some reason, your network still has some kind

of downtime, cloud-based remote management tools allow your IT professional to access

your system from anywhere, getting you up and running more quickly than ever before.

3. If Disaster Strikes, You Can Be Back Up & Running In Minutes Instead Of Days. In addition

to lost data, many businesses’ operations would be completely down for days or weeks if

a major disaster like fire, flood or theft ever occurred. Here’s where Backup & Disaster

Recovery solutions (BDR) can help you feel very thankful indeed. Most of today’s BDR

solutions include a “virtualization” component, which means an exact “picture” of your

server and computers is taken throughout the day and stored elsewhere. If you ever need

to get back up and running, your IT company simply restores that image…and you’re back

in business.

Want To Feel Thankful Instead Of Frustrated With Your Computers? Call us at 770-988-9640

to eliminate problems on your network and give you peace of mind.

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Is Windows 8 Right For Me?

By Bob Williams,

You may have heard all the chatter about the new Windows 8 operating system from Mi-

crosoft, and be wondering if you should upgrade your old XP or Windows 7 to it. If you

search on the Internet and read some opinions, you might think that Microsoft had set out to

ruin your life! Some folks may try something once, and say “they hate it!” - kind of like when

a kid first tries broccoli.

So, is it right for me? Let’s answer a few questions:

Are you still running XP? Well, you need to be upgrading to SOMETHING. Read on.

Do you always sit at a desktop to work, and have no desire to use a laptop? If yes, you

can stick with Windows 7 or wait for Windows 8.1 which will have the start button back, and an option to boot to the

desktop.

Do you want a laptop, or one that can double as a desktop computer? Laptops let you sit in your easy chair

and work or play on the computer, or let you travel, but stay connected with your office. You can still place it on a

desk and attach a keyboard, mouse, and even a large monitor, and wha-la! A desktop!

On a laptop is where the Windows 8 “Metro” screen starts to shine. You really need a touch screen to get the full

joy. The Metro interface is where all the controversy lies, but also where you may find you were born to run. That sil-

ly little mouse pad that always clicks on the wrong thing? For-getta-bout-it !!! Now you navigate around by swiping

your fingers across the screen. You flick left and right, up and down- programs dancing on and off the screen. It’s like

conducting a symphony! It does take a few hours of research and practice to learn it, but before you know it, you’ll be

navigating around like a rich little college kid.

Diego Aburto

When you call RMS, Diego usually

answers the phone. We love this be-

cause he is always so friendly and pro-

fessional Diego was an interpreter in

the past which really helps us communicate with some of our

Spanish speaking clients. When Diego saw his 2 brothers

working as System Administrators and how much they loved

their work, he decided to go to Atlanta Tech to follow in their

footsteps.

Diego was born and raised in San Jose, Costa Rica until he

was 15. He’s lived in the US for 13 years (10 in GA and 3 in

OR.) Diego has been married for 4 years to Polish born Ag-

nieszka - interesting name for a beautiful lady! Although Die-

go is a big fan of the Atlanta Falcons and Braves, his first love

is still soccer. He’s been celebrating this month since both the

US and Costa Rica teams qualified for the World Cup .

Won Allen

Won is from Emlsford, a small town in NY,

although he has lived in Georgia for the past 9

years. Prior to 2005, Won was a professional

sound engineer. To help transition from

sound waves to IP Addresses, he graduated

from DeVry University with a degree in Network System Ad-

ministration. He says two of his favorite sayings are “Never

underestimate the power of a reboot” and “Computers and

violence don’t mix…so if you think smacking the screen will fix

it …think again.”

Won is married to Audrey and has 2 children, Sun Tyler

(named Sun because he shines like one!) and Sitafa (who is

completing her Marketing Degree at Mississippi State.) He also

has a Shih Tzu /Chihuahua named Jazz. Won loves ping pong,

card games, and making good music!

Continued on Page 3

Bob Williams

RMS Service Manager

RMS’s Newest Employees

To better server our clients, RMS has hired 2 new employees and we’d like you to get to know

them. The Customer Of The Month column will return next month.

Is Windows 8 Right for Me?

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Over a billion dollars are lost each year in

the United States through “ATM Skimming”

– far more than any losses from bank rob-

beries – and it’s growing at a rate of more

than 10% every year.

ATM Skimming is a cybercrime where the

criminals steal (or “skim”) your ATM/debit

card data when you’re using a typical ATM

machine. They do this by fitting a small card

reader over the typical ATM card slot, thus

capturing your information. Additionally, the

criminals install mini cameras above or near

the ATM to capture your PIN number. The

data is then transmitted via Bluetooth to the cybercriminals somewhere

nearby. The average skimming attack usually lasts only an hour or two dur-

ing peak ATM usage times (i.e. lunch hour or after work.) Meanwhile, you

have no idea that you’ve just been had and are at risk. These cyber-criminals

will then sell the data on the cards to others so that they can either clone

your debit card or wipe out your bank account.

5 Tips To Prevent ATM Skimming

Cover your hand as you type. Obstructing the view of your pin from

any cameras will render your data useless.

Pay attention to the area around the ATM card slot. If anything looks

loose or out of place, pull to see if you can remove it.

Be aware of surroundings. Be extra careful of ATMs in dark or isolated

places.

Does the machine look different? If anything looks out of place (extra

signage, mirrors, etc.) then avoid the machine.

Notify the bank. If you find or suspect an ATM has been compromised,

notify your bank and law enforcement immediately.

How To Prevent ATM Skimming

For using at a desk, you can setup the “desktop” portion much like your Windows 7 machine, and navigate around

with a mouse. Good for getting some serious work done.

But those meanies at Microsoft took away the Start button. How can I live without that? This is the biggest

complaint of all from the repressed masses. You can live without it by setting up your most used icons on the desktop,

then switching to the Search screen to find and run any other program, as needed. And Windows 8.1 will put the Start

button back. 8.1 will be a free upgrade for Windows 8 users.

Is all this change really necessary? The purpose of the new Metro interface is to br ing consistency, usability,

and a little fun to all of your devices, from the phone to the desktop. For instance- you can update your shopping list

in One Note on your desktop, which saves to the cloud. Then when you are in the grocery store, use your phone to see

the same list and “check off” items as you grab them.

Cont. from Page 2

Shiny New Gadget of the

Month: Tile

Now it’s super easy to keep track of

stuff on the go. Just attach, stick or

drop your Tile into any item you

might lose: laptops, wallets, keys, gui-

tars, bikes—you name it. Download

and sync the app and you’ll never

have to worry about losing it again!

Pre-order this little device and you’ll

be able to:

Use Tile on as many things as you

want. Add up to 10 Tiles on an

account.

Share access to Tiles with friends,

family, and trusted coworkers.

Hear the alert notification when

your items are triggered to find. If

you can hear it, you can find it.

Use the Tile app to remember

where it last saw your Tile, so you

can easily find it right where you

left it.

Pre-order your device today at

http://www.thetileapp.com.

We Would Love To Hear From YOU!

If you have noticed an RMS associate going above and beyond the

ordinary for you either on-site or over the phone, please let us know

so we may reward them! Please e-mail me at rrowe@rmsatl.com.

Thanks!

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