Artificial Intelligence: Creepy or Helpful?

Posted by ABS Tech on July 11, 2018 with 0 Comment

Artificial intelligence and machine learning has become a hot button topic in Technology. Apple brought us Siri, Amazon brought us Alexa, and Google brought us Google Assistant. But AI capability and purpose goes far beyond your common answer to “what’s the weather like?” and “set a reminder when I arrive at home”. AI is ready to help businesses trace food from farm to store, give a guided tour through New York City, research the cure to cancer, and to secure our networks. However, AI is something many of us fear. Voices throughout the technology community have expressed their warnings of further research on AI. Stephen Hawking said Artificial Intelligence will be the end of man”. Elon Musk stated, “We are rapidly headed towards digital super intelligence that far exceeds any human”. Should we mind these warnings?

Here’s some history.

In 2011, IBM’s Watson won the game of Jeopardy against 2 top human challengers.

Not only did Watson beat top challenger’s in Jeopardy, Watson brought deep questions about our limitations as humans and the capabilities of machines.

In 2017 Facebook created two AI chatbots, which were trained to have certain likes and pretend to express some sort of grief when they lost what they wanted. In an experiment, the AI’s were challenged to speak to one another and negotiate a trade of balls and books. The results of the conversation are seen below (One AI was called Bob, the other Alice):

Bob: i can i i everything else . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Alice: balls have zero to me to me to me to me to me to me to me to me to

Bob: you i everything else . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Alice: balls have a ball to me to me to me to me to me to me to me

Bob: i i can i i i everything else . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Alice: balls have a ball to me to me to me to me to me to me to me

Bob: i . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Alice: balls have zero to me to me to me to me to me to me to me to me to

Bob: you i i i i i everything else . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Alice: balls have 0 to me to me to me to me to me to me to me to me to

Bob: you i i i everything else . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Alice: balls have zero to me to me to me to me to me to me to me to me to

What may seem like a useless conversation was actually the two bots communicating in their own language. The creators shut down the bots as they had no use to humans.

So AI is pretty smart right? But can modern AI beat the Turing test? The Turing test was a test developed by computer scientist Alan Turing (known for breaking the enigma encryption algorithm during World War II) used to distinguish whether a computer is artificially intelligent, it requires that a human being should be unable to distinguish the machine from another human being by using the replies to questions put to both.

Can you distinguish the Google Duplex AI from a human caller?

OK, Maybe this is all a little creepy.

So maybe we cease to use technology altogether until every programmer vows to never create AI again; their creepy computer voices won’t be able to laugh at us in binary as we post silly human memes across their domain. Do we smash every smartphone? Every smart speaker? Every Internet connected device? Do we stop progress? Was Elon Musk right? Those are all questions for a philosophy course. For now, there are many benefits we can gain from utilizing AI.

Apple Siri, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Microsoft Cortana serve as assistant AI’s to help keep you organized, and keep your technology working for you in very personal ways. Read more about them in my Tech Talk on smart things and privacy

Barracuda’s Sentinel AI was build to detect phishing scams so we don’t have to figure it out. It learns the patterns to the emails we send and receive and is able to determine whether a message is a spoof message to or from you.

There are many ways phishing scams can come through. And utilizing AI to assist with detecting it is the best way to avoid falling victim to it.

In conclusion, Modern AI is smart, and keeps getting smarter. The best way to stay ahead of the machines is to utilize them to your benefit.

Sources:

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30290540

https://gizmodo.com/nvidia-taught-an-ai-to-flawlessly-erase-watermarks-from-1827474196

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2018/07/10/the-economics-of-artificial-intelligence-how-cheaper-predictions-will-change-the-world/#50fdd7655a0d

https://www.ibm.com/blockchain?lnk=ushpv18c10&lnk2=learn

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/facebook-artificial-intelligence-ai-chatbot-new-language-research-openai-google-a7869706.html

https://ai.google/research/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2018/04/06/elon-musks-nightmarish-warning-ai-could-become-an-immortal-dictator-from-which-we-would-never-escape/?utm_term=.1a8fc6b6310d

Updates! Prepare the defenses!

Posted by ABS Tech on June 13, 2018 with 0 Comment

The importance of finding new ways to protect your environment from cyber-attacks is more critical everyday. There are many contenders we use to fight our cyber battles for us: antivirus is the most popular place to start, the sword of cyber security; stopping viruses in their tracks. Then there’s firewall, the fortress of your network, keeping your valuable vaults of data safe from the outside world. Then, there’s spam filters and email security, the troop of armed guards that bring your digital messenger’s back to safety. But there’s one form of security that effects the whole system that often falls into the least concern. Updates.

Updates (or patches) are the foundation of all of your security, without proper updates all defense is a waste. Your antivirus knight may be the best in all the land, but if he is still fighting with steel while your attackers are fighting with lightsabers, that steel is useless. If your firewall fortress was built with wood (which worked just fine while your attackers fought with slingshots) it won’t hold up when the raiders come with torches (not the firewall we had in mind), update to concrete.

Your operating system provides patches that often provide immunity to some of the most dangerous viruses out there. When the Intel Meltdown exploit was discovered, antivirus, and firewall had no solution to provide immunity to a possible attack through that exploit, the immunity came through in a Windows update.

Wait… Windows updates? you mean those things that make reboots take a half hour. Yes, those. As inconvenient as they may be it is critical that you allow the updates to take place and complete for the sake of the security of your network, and it is now easier than ever to assure these updates can take place with minimal disruption with Automated Business Solution’s MaxxM plans. With a MaxxM plan, ABS schedules your patches and patch reboots, so you don’t have to watch your PC wait at ‘35% complete’ for 20 minutes.

If you want to make sure your patches are always up to date on your network sign up for an Automated Busines Solutions MaxxM plan where you can get updates scheduled.

Be a smart fish in a phishing online world

Posted by ABS Tech on April 11, 2018 with 0 Comment

Phishing has become the hot topic word in security today. It is where the majority of modern malware comes from. Phishing scams according to the Microsoft Safety and Security Center are, “[E]mail messages, websites, and phone calls are designed to steal money.” What Microsoft fails to mention is sometimes information is what hackers are after since it can be held for ransom. Here are a few ways you can protect yourself against the 3 main methods of phishing.

Email Phishing

Email phishing functions in some of the most deceiving ways. Official logos can be stolen for use of malicious entities, and email addresses can be spoofed. The best way to protect against this kind of vulnerability is by using a spam filter service such as Barracuda Email Security Service. Sifting through email otherwise is much more risky. Some ways to detect phishing scams is to check that the email address matches the domain of the sender. For example: Emails from Microsoft should be from @Microsoft.com rather than a domain like @msft-support-hotmail.com. Another way to check is by hovering over links to make sure they are going to what they say they are going to. For example: if a link goes to www.absne.com and when you hover over, another url pops up, this is not a legitimate message. There are many other ways email phishing can come through. You can learn more and take a free phishing test by Dell Sonicwall here: https://www.sonicwall.com/en-us/phishing-iq-test

Website Phishing

Website Phishing is often associated with pop-ups, but it also comes through links. For example, an ad link on Facebook may lead to a page where malware may exist.To avoid falling for this hook check if there is a small ad indicator (usually labeled ad, adsense, or ads). Use the same procedure with website links as you would use in email links. Be wary of articles along the side or at the bottom of even respectable news sites or local news sites. Look out for attention grabbing phrases such as “You won’t believe what..-“ or “Kanye uses this…-” or “In just 2 days..-“ and similar language. These are designed to be click-bait pulling you to malware or ad-ridden holes of the internet.

Phone Phishing

You or someone you know may have received calls that sound like this. “Hi this is Dell tech support, we found there is a virus on your network I need to remote in to remove it”.

These calls often result in the installation of malware and a possible charge for the false service provided by a fraud service provider.

Dell, Microsoft, and other systems manufacturers will not contact you for a malware infection. If your MSP provider were to contact you in regards to an infection you would likely be working with a technician already introduced to you.

In conclusion, it is very possible to avoid phishing scams just by being a smart fish. If it gets hard to determine however never hesitate to ask your IT technician!

Privacy Matters

Posted by ABS Tech on February 13, 2018 with 0 Comment

Privacy. It’s a minimum requested to service providers when on the web. But what does privacy compromise on the internet? There are a few parts to internet privacy you may have heard of before: Cookies, Private browsing (aka incognito in Google Chrome), and VPN connections. But what does this all mean? Does it really protect you? And what is it protecting you from?

Let’s start with what information is collected

Most information collected is used to send ads that are more relevant to you that you will be more likely to click on. This information is extremely valuable and the relevance of these ads and whether they are clicked on has a direct impact on company profits. This of course is unmalicious in nature. The question is what information are they using and whether you want that information collected.

So, let’s talk about the methods used to obtain this information. Some methods are cookies, and fingerprints.

Cookies:

A cookie is a small file that a website downloads to your web browser that collects data about you. Some cookies are necessary, such as an authentication cookie that tracks whether you login or log out of their site. Other cookies are unnecessary such as third-party tracking cookies, which can be issued by a site other than the site you are visiting.

Fingerprints:

Fingerprints in this case isn’t the appendage that extends from your hand. Fingerprints are a new form of tracking technology used on the web and you may have heard little about them. Rather than installing a data file tracking data, your device is identified by operating system and a unique tracking key. This means that your use can be tracked across browsers or applications.

So how do we take some control on what data is being collected on us?

There are a few options:

1. Enable private browsing:

Private browsing clears cookies, trackers, and searches at the end of every session.

2. Disable Trackers that integrate into your Operating System and browser

Your OS plays a key role in allowing fingerprint trackers to work. If you disable tracking in your OS this can can help preserve your autonomy from fingerprint trackers.

Here are some places you can do that:

3. Use a VPN

A VPN connection (Virtual Private Network) has two possibilities that you may have heard of. One is to connect to an office’s network remotely, the other way is to connect to VPN’s designed to prevent trackers from finding your location. This also creates inconsistency in their data. A good choice for a free and fast and trusted VPN connection is Opera VPN. One detail about using this method is it can disconnect local network resources while running the VPN connection.

In conclusion, you are a valuable asset to the internet. Although there are many ways to prevent unwanted data from being tracked, tracking is necessary to use any website. It is best to conclude that your value on the internet is best spent on the applications you feel should be benefited by your presence, and making a point that you value your privacy on the internet does effect change on how the internet evolves.

Top 4 Ways to use Technology to Reach Your 2018 Business Goals

Posted by ABS Tech on December 27, 2017 with 0 Comment

2018 is almost here! Automated Business Solutions is here to provide you with some tips to make sure your office’s technology helps you reach your goals. Here are a few ideas:

1. Use productivity apps to help you meet your personal goals in the office

One of my favorite productivity apps is Forest by SeekrTech. If you’re anything like me, you may easily be distracted by your phone. When it isn’t productive for you to be using your smartphone, use Forest. With Forest, you can set a timer for how long you need to remain focused on a task outside of your smartphone. If you keep Forest open until the timer runs out you will earn credits and plant a virtual tree. These credits are exchanged to plant real trees in the world. Forest accomplishes this in partnership Trees for the Future. Using Forest makes your productivity time charitable, and rewards you for staying focused. Forest is available for iOS, Android, and now has a Chrome webapp and Firefox addon. You can find out more about Forest at the website at https://www.forestapp.cc/en/

Mindfulness meditation has proven to boost productivity and focus in the workplace and its practice is often a New Year’s resolution of its own. Headspace and Calm. are apps designed to assist with practice of mindfulness. Headspace now comes with business plans and is used by companies like Linkedin, Airbnb, Google, and Spotify. Each app walks you through guided meditations designed to relieve stress, anxiety, and to improve positivity, focus, and energy. Although each comes with a free trial, both require paid addons or subscriptions in order to continually progress with the app.

If you don’t have a personal goal yet (we won’t tell anyone) there is an app help you find vision and ease to attain it. The TED app gives you access to thousands of videos of TED talks on almost every topic. Speakers offer inspiring and visionary ideas in your area of expertise. If you need motivation, start with the TED app to set your 2018 skyrocketing.

When using your phone as a productivity tool, use the Outlook app to access your calendar, set reminders, access email from your smartphone. The Outlook app integrates with Office365 so your Outlook webapp, Outlook desktop application, and phone application will always be in sync. Just sign in with your company’s Office365 account and get moving!

2. Check your backups

When backups are initially set up they don’t operate under the policy of ‘set it and forget it’! Although your managed services provider may be getting positive backup reports they may not know that you want a new drive backed up, or that the new laptop that came in holds mission critical data. Take the time to think through where some of the most important information is being saved and have your managed services provider check to make sure those areas have backups, If its only a few files that are the most critical such as a Quickbooks file, Barracuda MSP backup may be the best solution for you, if it’s the whole network, ask about our Barracuda Backup appliances, that keep a local copy of your backups on the network and uploads to the cloud to provide high reliability and efficiency in your backups, ABS covers both solutions in our MaxxD plans. Hard drive failures don’t happen often, but when they do, give yourself the peace of mind that you have a backup.

3. Have your network evaluated for efficiency and security

Your office may be less secure than you think. Hackers and malware creators use phishing methods that, without a careful eye can deceive some of the most vigilant technology users. It’s good to have powerful antivirus on your network to combat viruses and malware but it is better to prevent malware from landing on your network. Using tools such as a Dell Sonicwall firewall or a Barracuda Essentials Email security filter can reduce the risk of malware by more than half.

4. Have toner replacements ready to go

If you’re looking for greater efficiency from your office in 2018, there is nothing more frustrating than having that efficiency interrupted by a stalled printer, this can leave a whole department down until that printer is serviced or until toner arrives. You can prevent that from happening by keeping backup toner on hand or if you have a supplies contract sign up to use a tool like FMAudit to make sure your printing supplier is aware when your toner is starting to run low or if a maintenance kit is close to expiring, That way replacements will arrive before you run out.

We hope you can reach every goal you set this coming year.

From all of us at ABS have a Happy New Year!

Tag: security