#1 Disease Infecting Most Medical Practices

Your medical or healthcare practice is in grave danger, and you probably don’t even know it.  Any random thief can spend less than $100 and get the keys to your network. The breach could cost you millions and make your patients run for the hills. The same kind of attack cost Target $162 million.  Home […]

The Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles, California was recent hit with ransomware and paid 40 bitcoins, the equivalent of $16,664, to get their network back. When the attack occurred on February 5, the hospital immediately informed IT security and law enforcement agencies.  While the computer network was locked down, however, the hospital had to […]

As Apple developed HealthKit, the Federal Trade Commission raised concerns about what would happen to users’ data. Commissioners became satisfied that Apple’s privacy policy would prevent app developers from sharing info with third parties. Craig Petronella, who heads up Petronella Technology Group, Inc., in Wake County, says there are still steps that should be taken […]

The North Carolina Department of Information Technology which oversees the state’s cybersecurity insisted in a statement that their sites are not vulnerable. They also said when they became aware of the issue, they developed a plan to address the concerns. They are not aware of any information being compromised, according to the state and that […]

With Black Friday approaching, shoppers are urged to be cautious about credit card purchases after several data breaches in the past year. It started at Target last year where a security breach was believed to have involved 40 million credit card and debit card accounts. Other large retail stores like Home Depot have also been […]

For the cybersecurity story, I reached out to multiple sources to connect with businesses that might have experienced a breach. Everyone (except franchisees that are associated with national breaches) declined to talk because they didn’t want to be associated with such a story. When I looked at the 12-page list of businesses that have reported […]

Knowing what data owners have and where it is located will allow them to explore their risks, related state and federal regulations, and designate a privacy officer at the company. The plan should also include some simple workforce education on how data breaches come about and what can be done to prevent them. In addition, […]

In light of recent credit card security breaches, retailers are keeping tabs on credit card security. Target was hit with a credit card security breach earlier this year and Home Depot is investigating a possible breach. Craig Petronella, president of Petronella Computer Consultants, said hackers are getting better at infiltrating systems. “They’re really exploiting the […]

Cybercrime has reached an all-time high, affecting business, the government and everyday people. And security experts say it’s going to take a concerted effort to get ahead of cyber criminals. Craig Petronella, with Raleigh-based Petronella Technology Group, is an Internet security consultant and author of several books on cyber issues. He says there are thousands […]

Craig Petronella, president of Petronella Technology Group, has seen three small businesses hit with the CryptoLocker since October, and each company has spent about $300 to save their data. Petronella learned about CryptoLocker after Jerry Hall, who owns Total Systems Heating & Cooling in Spring Lake with his wife, Brenda, shared his concerns about a […]

Q: I have an older Dell desktop running XP. Disk partition C: has a capacity of about 60 GB and is getting full. Disk partition Backup (D:) has a capacity of about 18 GB and is 99 percent empty. Can I safely move some of the free 18 GB in D: for use? Can I […]

If you’re shopping for the tech enthusiast on your list this holiday season, the options are likely to overwhelm you. Among the swarm of new gadgets this year are dozens of new super-light laptops, tablets, mini tablets and smartphones, all of which offer consumers an upgrade to the sluggish systems they have in their pockets […]

Q: I have been getting the Windows notification for an update called “Security Update for Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Service Pack 1 Redistributable Package (KB2538242).” I run the update and get a notification that it installed, but within a minute, I get the notification to install it again. Why is this happening, and what can […]

Over the past few weeks, several readers wrote in to say they took our experts’ advice in doing a bit of spring cleaning on their desktops and laptops. But they also had a few questions. Q: I was intrigued about your comments regarding disabling Javascript and would like further clarification on them. I had always […]

Stump the Geeks Q: I’m looking to buy a new computer. Intel has new second-generation core chips, but I don’t know what the various specs really do for a computer. For instance, the i5 is 3 GHz with a 6-MB L3 cache, while the i7 is 2.7 GHz with 8 MB of L3 cache. So […]

Redmond Channel Partner RALEIGH, N.C., April 28, 2011 /Redmond Channel Partner/ — Petronella Computer Consultants Inc. faced the ultimate break-fix problem. Company President Craig Petronella got a call from one of his biggest managed services customers on the evening of Saturday, April 16, that a tornado had destroyed the customer’s offices. Severe storms ripped through […]

RALEIGH, N.C., April 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Late on Saturday, April 16, 2011, Petronella Computer Consultants, Inc. (www.petronellacomputer.com), a North Carolina-based managed IT computer network support services company, received a call for help. The business of one of their largest clients had been destroyed in one of the tornadoes that had ravaged the state that […]