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Malware On The ISS? More than Once Apparently. – OMA Comp

OMA-Comp-ISS-Malware-Story-11-14-2013According to security experts, it seems that a Russian astronaut mistakenly brought a virus onto the ISS recently, causing a breach in it’s security. How many times has this happened? According to Security Expert Eugene Kaspersky, a lot. A study also showed that a joint venture between American and Israeli forced helped create a virus to damage Iran’s nuclear agenda. This virus not only did it’s job, but is still doing it – there have been millions of infections all over the world.  Let’s hope they learn to scan those drives before taking them into space next time.

Do you think you need an update of your malware protection plan?

OMA Comp can get you set up in no time, leaving you anxious-free and confident in your systems’ security.

Ransomware and What To Watch Out For – OMA Comp

OMA-Comp-Blog-Post-11-13-2013With the ever-intense shopping season right around the corner, it’s also the perfect time for hackers and cyber-thieves to hunt, and now lock you out of for your sensitive information that cost you hundreds in repair/retrieval. The latest thing to wreak havoc across the internet is a form of malware known as ransomware– yes, you read that right. Sweeping helpless consumers across the world the last couple of weeks, Black Friday could be a potential goldmine for these wrong-doers.

A rather new form of malware, ransomware typically arrives in the form of an email made to look like something legitimate using social engineering, causing the user to think it’s a trustworthy message. There is a zip file attached where the user then opens it, allowing the encryption software to run on their computer. Before you even know what you’ve obliviously initiated, it’s far too late. Your computer brings up a lock-out screen telling you have a certain amount of time to pay a fee or you will lose you data. Reports are stating that prices are falling anywhere between $300 and $2000. Only after you pay the fee will you get your files back, but some reports claim that even then you’ll be out of luck. If it came down to this the only savior in such an event would to have a backup somewhere, but many users don’t use any form of backup whatsoever.

Anti-Virus companies try their hardest at keeping up with the newest tactics and devices as to update their software as often as possible, but sometimes it’s just not enough. You need to keep your malware software up to date as to have the latest version, keeping the latest and most dangerous viruses at bay. Telling the difference between a legitimate email and a fake one is becoming increasingly difficult as well, so it’s important you leave any messages you don’t know about alone and leave it to the Anti-virus and Anti-Mal ware software to clear out.

OMA Comp uses only the best software and hardware when it comes to protecting your computer and your files. Daily backups and a proper security setup are the best protection against such an event, so be sure you’re in good shape for a day’s worth of online shopping. The last thing you would want to happen is to open that email thinking it was from a major department store, only to find out it was fake with a digital ransom minutes later. Are you thinking of something you’d like done to your system to better prepare yourself? OMA Comp can do it all so call today!

Amp Up Your Social Media Marketing Strategy

OMA-Comp-Social-Media-MarketingSocial Marketing is a cost effective method to advertise your business and routinely stay in touch with customers or clients outside of the standard points of contact. There are a few key points that need to be cared for and taken advantage of to make social media marketing work for your business.
Search Engine Results

The best way to begin marketing using social media is to gain ranking in search engine results. In a perfect world, when a potential customer or client types in any combination of key words to search for your type of business in your area, your website will be the top result that shows up in the search engine. Next, let’s say your social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter are loaded with content that is updated frequently. Not only will you have your website show up on a search engine as a top result but now your social media websites will show up as top results as well. By keeping social media websites updated often, it allows for the business to create dominance on search engine results.
Social Media as Two Way Communication
Using social media allows clients and customers to stay up to date on current productions, trends and sales specials going on with your business. It allows people to communicate directly with the business by asking questions about products or promotions. It is important to view social media sites multiple times throughout the day to keep the lines of communication open to avoid delays in responding to questions.

Last But Not Least…Gain Followers
An effective way to gain followers to your social media websites is to leave a laptop or tablet at the front desk. Ask customers to log into frequently used social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter and ask them to “follow” or “like” your social media pages. You will find that the majority of your customers will happily do so as it will allow them to connect with your business much easier. Ultimately, your connections to people will grow very quickly as your social media marketing will ultimately drive more traffic to your business.

Pinterest and It’s Gain in Popularity

pinterest_badge_redPinterest is gaining speed on the train of social media very recently behind Facebook and Twitter. Starting in 2009, Pinterest is a website that allows users to share photos on “Pinboards.” Users can organize their photos based on themes they choose such as food, clothing, home decor, etc.

With the know-how, Pinterest can be an extremely useful and profitable marketing tool for businesses as a lot of referral traffic can be obtained through the site.

Why Pinterest Is So Appealing

People are visual-based creatures and they like to see beautiful photos that catch their interest. People are more likely to post photos of things that strike their interest and will share these images with their friends via their individual Pinboards. The trick to effectively use Pinterest for marketing is to share captivating photos and allow users to share the photos.

At this point, you may be wondering how Pinterest will drive referrals and traffic to your business. Each photo is a link to the source of the image — i.e. to the business website thus leading potential customers directly to the site to gain more information.

Professional & High Quality Photos Are Important

The quality of your photo can make or break driving traffic to your website. If you are posting photos that are of low quality with poor lighting, most Pinterest users will pass over your photo. Using only high quality photos is vital to capturing customers. The image should appear professional with each space shown clean and organized. The size of the image is also important because the image needs to be easily accessable by potential customers. Keep the resolution of the photo around 800 x 1000 pixels.

Build Pinboards For Your Business and Keep Customers Coming Back

If your business is selling a product, there is no excuse for you not to create a Pinterest page with Pinboards to assist with selling your products. The first step is to create an attractive account with attractive pin boards. This could take some time but it will be well worth it in the end once you notice an increase in customers. Keep in mind that people tend to be more inclined to follow an individual versus a business as an individual tends to be more believable unless the brand is well-known. Create your Pinterest board under your own name to increase your followers.
As you gain followers, you can create Pinboards that are in relation to your product or idea. For example, if you are selling skincare products, then you should create Pinboards with titles “DIY Skincare,” “Moisturizers” or “Healthy Skin Diets.” You can then pin images back to your website that are related to these ideas.
With millions of users on Pinterest daily, gaining new customers is quite easy. Keep in mind that people are on Pinterest to discover and learn new things so take advantage of this and make this wonderful marketing tool work for your business.

Social Media and Handling Negative Comments About your Business PART 4 of 4

By checking and answering to your clients you are creating good bonds and providing great customer service for your clients.OMA-Comp-Positive-Feedback

Since social media is extremely public these days, you are letting your clients see how good of a job you are doing for other people. With showing people how good you are doing through social media you are establishing a good brand reputation and showing that your company is a social business.

Everyone likes to think that they run a terrific business, but that is not true every business has its flaws. By being open minded to your customer complaints allows you to notice problems that you wouldn’t have noticed on your own.

Noticing your business’s problems can help prevent issues in the future.

 Remember…

Social media can help your business blossom. Acknowledgment of rational criticisms can be benign by making your reputation grow and making your business out to be social.

What can you say about feedback on social media? How do you respond and why? Let us know!