If you’re like most people, you may have more than a dozen passwords that you need to remember for work-related projects, online banking, social media accounts and more. Having strong passwords can help deter cyber crime, but when you’re creating a long string of random letters, numbers and symbols for multiple accounts – and changing them frequently to stay secure — what’s the best way to keep track of them all?
“One of the biggest mistakes people make is using the same password everywhere, or relying on browsers like Chrome to store passwords securely,” said Michael Cocanower, founder and president of Phoenix-based itSynergy. “With the browsers, anyone can dig around in the settings and pull up a list of all of the saved passwords, and in some cases, even click a button to show the passwords in clear text.”
Cocanower, who has been recognized nationally and locally for his IT expertise, conducts a free, monthly 15-minute webinar series, “Hacking the Human,” on the second Thursday of every month. The next topic on Thursday, February 9 covers Password Management. Interested participants should register at http://www.itsynergy.com/webinar prior to the start of the webinar at 11:30 a.m.
“There are a lot of options for remembering passwords, but I’ll be sharing the solution that I think is the best password management system,” Cocanower said. “I’ll provide step-by-step instructions, much like a cooking show, and in 15 minutes, you’ll be able to purchase and download the ‘ingredients’ needed and follow the steps exactly to have a functioning password management system.”
The “Hacking the Human” webinars are geared towards non-technical end users in business at any level in the company. Each webinar provides useful tips to ward off cyberattacks and more complex social engineering schemes that result in theft and corporate espionage.
More webinars are planned after February 9, including:
March 9 – Avoiding Income Tax Fraud
Have you gotten everything to your accountant yet to get your taxes filed? Have you already filed? If not, thieves are actively trying to beat you to the finish line by filing fake tax returns with your information seeking an invalid refund. This is just one example of several that the bad guys are using to try to use you to perpetrate fraud against taxing authorities. Learn the steps you need to take to protect yourself from these scams and not become the latest statistic.
April 13 – Social Engineering
Social engineering is the technique bad guys use that causes you to extend an open invitation to them to hack you. Think you would never do such a thing? You’d be surprised at some of the techniques thieves use and how successful they are. Michael Cocanower will share several common social engineering techniques and teach you how to recognize and avoid them. You’ll leave with a whole new perspective on the world…
May 11 – Summer Vacation Tips
Kids just about out of school? Time to gas up the car and head out on the open road for the iconic summer vacation? Before everyone piles into the car, spend 15 minutes to learn about keeping yourself, your family, and your technology safe during summer vacation. Michael Cocanower will cover things like protecting your privacy, getting Internet access while traveling, and what to watch out for as you travel. So before heading out, make sure to get a tune-up, check your brakes, and attend this webinar to make sure your technology runs just as reliably as anything else!
June 8 – Protecting Your Electronic Assets
More and more, the most valuable thing a company has is no longer physical, like machinery or buildings, but it is their information, including documents, spreadsheets, PDF files and more. If that information were to fall in the wrong hands, it could be potentially disastrous for an organization. Learn some of the latest technologies available to help you maintain control of your data even when it leaves your organization. Want to be able to revoke access to a file you emailed to someone? Want to allow them to open the file but not print it? Want to keep them from copying and pasting the data to a file they control? All possible and relatively easy to do with the right tools – register today to learn more.
For more information, call itSynergy at (602) 297-2400 or visit www.itsynergy.com.
About Michael Cocanower, Founder and President of itSynergy
He has his black belt in the Kung Sul division of Hwa Rang Do, a Korean martial art, so it’s fitting that Michael Cocanower’s passion is helping small and medium-sized businesses defend themselves against malicious cyber intruders. A Phoenix native, Cocanower founded itSynergy in 1997, and under his leadership, the company has experienced exponential revenue growth. A long-standing Microsoft Partner, itSynergy provides strategic technology management services for small and mid-sized organizations on a fixed monthly fee. Cocanower has received numerous awards and widespread industry recognition throughout his career, including being named one of 20/20 Visionaries in Channel Pro Network magazine’s May 2016 issue. The magazine regularly turns to him for input on current IT trends, and called him a “shrewd and articulate observer of the SMB market.” In addition, the Arizona chapter of Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) recently appointed Cocanower to the board of directors as membership chair.
