Old City Web Services

The Importance of an SSL Certificate

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Image contains a map and a laptop with a picture of a lock on it.

The Importance of an SSL certificate.

An SSL certificate is a technology that encrypts information traveling from a website’s server to a visitors browser and vice versa. Nowadays, it isn’t unusual for people to choose to manage their finances or keep sensitive information saved on their computer. The heightened popularity of sending this type of information through emails, online forms, and online purchases has set in motion the need for a higher level of cybersecurity. As a business owner, the best way to protect the data of your website’s visitors is by purchasing an SSL certificate.

It adds security to your website.

First and foremost, the greatest importance of an SSL certificate is that it protects the information transmitted to and from your computer. It does this by encrypting the information. In other words,  it turns it into a code that hackers can't read it. The result is that all information provided through online signup forms, logins, addresses, and payments is private.

It helps with SEO.

Of course, an SSL certificate isn't the be-all-end-all as far as SEO (search engine optimization) strategies go, but it does help. In fact, it was Google (one of the top search engines) that advocated the importance of an SSL certificate. Similar to how responsive websites became vital a few years ago, SSL certificates are now the new standard.

It provides a sense of security to users.

Image contains screenshots of a secure address bar and not secure address bar.

Most search engines now mark websites without an SSL certificate as not secure.

At first, online users may not have noticed the difference between secure and not secure websites. The cosmetic difference was only a small tweak; an 's' was added to the URL of each secure page. This changed the HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) found in a URL to HTTPs (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure).  However, Google and search engines alike rapidly informed users through added imagery to address bars. Now users know that an icon of a lock in their address bar signifies a secure site.

How do I get an SSL certificate?

The easiest way to add an SSL certificate to your website is through a web firm such as Old City Web Services. Since there are an array of types of certificates, we are your best bet at purchasing and installing the correct SSL certificate for your website. Once you've decided to pull the trigger, your web firm will install the certificate to protect your pages, forms, images, videos, and any other content on your website.

Don't push off securing your website for another day. Contact us for more information.

Mission Statement

Our mission at Old City Web Services is to navigate the world of web design, web development, and advertising for our clients so that they can focus on what they do best – running their business! Our business intentions go beyond the metrics of graphics, coding, and SEO. Located on Florida’s First Coast, we run a personable home front service and consider our relationship with our clients as a partnership in their success. If you are looking to increase your business’ visibility give us a call at 904-867-4112 or contact us today.

Please share and re-post this blog.  Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information on Old City Web Services Blog.

Preparing Your Business For the New Year

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Preparing Your Business for the New Year

The New Year often prompts businesses to reflect on the past fiscal year. On the other hand, it’s also an opportune time to prepare for the months to come. Use January to realign your marketing, security, and customer service strategies. Below is a general outline of questions to ask yourself in order to succeed in preparing your business for the New Year!

Online MarketingImage contains a man pointing at papers and a laptop.

Online Advertising

What does every business have in common? That's right, advertising. Consider your online advertising strategy for the previous year. Are you happy with the results? If you aren’t, it may be time to switch up your method.

  • Where and how did you advertise? Have you met your goals?
  • Did you overspend or underspend?
  • Was the outlet you chose to advertise through the best option for your business?

If you're looking for a new outlet to advertise through, you may want to consider advertising on OldCity.com.

Website Maintenance

Don’t forget, your website is a form of online advertising too; it serves as your online storefront. Your website should be clean, welcoming, and up to date - just like your physical storefront.

  • Does it need a redesign? Is it responsive and easy to navigate?
  • Is the content (text, images, videos) up to date and accurate?
  • How old is your website and its content? Since technology and SEO requirements are always evolving, content and websites should never go longer than two or three years without being tweaked.

Print Materials

Now, review your print materials! This includes business cards, brochures, letterheads, billboards, rack cards, and all printed materials.

  • Did you rebrand last year? If so, your print materials must be modified to reflect your new brand.
  • Did your business move locations or expand to an additional location? Do your print materials have accurate business information such as addresses, phone numbers, and emails?
  • Do you have an overabundance or very few print materials left? If so, perhaps your print materials weren’t persuasive or distributed effectively.

Cyber SecurityImage contains a white keyboard.

Backup your Files

Every business should routinely backup their files. If you don’t backup files to an offline outlet, your information is susceptible to hackers, viruses, weather, and even the old age of your device. What better time than the new year to put a plan in motion or reevaluate your current strategy?

  • Are your business emails backed up?
  • Is the important information relevant to your business backed up? This can be employee information, client records, tax data, and sensitive files.
  • Is your website backed up?

The best way to protect your website and email files are by hosting them on a secure server. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to hire a huge corporation to stay secure. Our servers are in a secure facility, have backups, and can survive a category five hurricane.

Phishing Emails

In 2018, we saw a huge leap in the number of phishing emails going out. Currently, 135 million phishing emails are sent per day. It’s important that you and your staff are educated on how to avoid being tricked by a phishing email.

  • Do both you and your employees know to never click on suspicious URLs?
  • Are you aware to check for poor grammar and illegitimate email domains?
  • Do you know what to do if you come across a phishing email?
  • Are your email files on a secure server?

Read more about how to prevent being hacked and what to do if you were hacked.

Send us an email to get started on securing your email and website files.

Customer ServiceImage contains two arms shaking hands

Listen to Feedback

The best way to grow and nurture your business is by listening to feedback from both potential and repeat customers. Check your online reviews, social media engagements, reread customer emails, and ask your employees if they’ve received feedback from customers.

  • Overall, is the feedback positive or negative?
  • Are customers responding to products, prices, or staff?
  • Have you taken the steps to correct negative feedback and reinforce positive feedback?

Check Your Mission Statement

Businesses often evolve by growing, changing their line of products or services, or in the methods of which they conduct business. Therefore, the beginning of the year is a perfect time to reevaluate your mission statement and make changes that reflect the evolution of your business.

  • Does your mission reflect your business’ goal? Would your clients agree?
  • Have you changed the way you conduct business?
  • Is your client base different?
  • What is the “why” behind your business? Have your underlying philosophies changed?

To Sum it All Up

In conclusion, consider your business' successes and failures from the previous year. With the list above in mind, are there any changes you need to make to your business plan? Remember, preparing your business for the New Year can only help you prosper. Don't worry if you don't know where to start, we've got you covered and can help you solve any of the issues presented above.

Take the first step in preparing your business for the New Year and send us an email.

Mission Statement

Our mission at Old City Web Services is to navigate the world of web design, web development, and advertising for our clients so that they can focus on what they do best – running their business! Our business intentions go beyond the metrics of graphics, coding, and SEO. Located on Florida’s First Coast, we run a personable home front service and consider our relationship with our clients as a partnership in their success. If you are looking to increase your business’ visibility give us a call at 904-867-4112 or contact us today.

Sharing and re-posting this blog is encouraged. Please credit Old City Web Services when sharing. Photo credits: OldCityWebServices, Canva. Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information on Old City Web Services Blog.

Is Google Turning Into a Helicopter Parent?

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Terms you Need to Know

HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol): how we send and receive information on the web. For example, by typing "fall activities in St. Augustine," in Google's search box, you are actually sending a command to a server. In return the server fetches the information.

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer): is the technology that allows information to be encrypted between the web server and browser. An SSL Certificate can vary in cost depending on the level of security needed. If you are in need of an SSL Certificate, contact Old City Web Services today

HTTPs (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure): is a secure way to send and receive information. The information you would normally get through HTTP is encrypted through HTTPs.

 

Is Google Serious?

This past January, Google Chrome decided to become that uncool mom - who is so cautious that it is literally crippling. The number one search engine began marking websites that require sensitive information, like credit cards, social security numbers, and passwords, without the HTTPs in the URL as not-secure.

But, this crazy soccer mom, is only getting started. This October, they are taking security to the next level and will mark ANY website you interact with, that does not have HTTPs in the URL, as not-secure. So far they are defining interaction as, anything you enter into a text box, including search boxes. To promote a safer internet they are placing icons at the beginning of URLs.

Will Google Standards Effect Your Business?

A secure website undoubtedly brings users comfort while they browse your site, but, it is not detrimental to your business plan. If you are requesting sensitive information, OCWS suggests you spend the few extra bucks and become SSL certified - to protect your clients and yourself from liability. The bummer is that adding SSL Certification to your website slows down the streaming of your page, because there is an extra step in place - which encrypts information. The good news is that it is possible to only certify certain pages or forms!

If you are interested in SSL certifying your website, or individual pages, OCWS works with GeoTrust, to provide certifications for our clients. Contact us today!

Rumor has it that Google's new standard will cause search results to place HTTPs sites above HTTP sites. We have not noticed this as yet. The reliability of information on your website at large, remains to be what will predominantly effect your SEO.

A tip for success:
Create A Newsletter
One simple way to stay in-touch with your customers is to create a newsletter. It can then be sent directly to your audiences' inbox wherever they are and they will know what's going with your business. Newsletters are also an awesome way to share current specials and events with your audience.

Sharing and re-posting this blog is encouraged. Please credit Old City Web Services when sharing.
Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information on Old City Web Services Blog.

How to secure Business Electronics and Data

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Nation-wide we are becoming more enlightened and responsible in caring for our environment - recycling is a staple in every household and business. America has taken strides to be Eco-friendly and in the past few years, electronic recycling and paper shredding has moved to the forefront of our minds!

Sensible Recycling

Aaron Enos, Veteran and hero, is here to save the day, fighting for our community safety just as he fought to protect Aaron EnosAmerica. Aaron invited OCWS to his warehouse where his large electronic recycling company is, Sensible Recycling! He has been part of the scrap metal community for years, and it is clear to me that knows the procedures like the back of his hand. Get this, his service is free!

Sensible Recycling accepts most office and home electronics; computers, laptops, printers, flat screen TV’s/monitors, stereos, circuit boards and more! Once they bring your electronics to the warehouse a delicate procedure takes place that ensures your electronics are no longer item bearing. The equipment is not refurbished with Aaron and is totally cleansed. The company is interested in providing optimal destruction of hard-drives and the best means of recycling your electronics! In a few months Aaron plans to begin on-site recycling. He will travel to your business or home, with a machine allowing you to watch as your motherboards and peripheral items are destroyed! Neat, right? Did I mention they do this for free?!

Shredding Documents Securely

Shredding important client/employee/business data is crucial because they trust that you are taking the necessary steps to ensure the information is safely destroyed! Many large corporations have protocols in place for this reason exactly! According to Shred-It, small Shredding samplebusinesses have fallen behind in this department. It is necessary to securely destroy your documents if you expect to maintain trust within your community. Kill two birds with one stone.

Shred-it is a large shredding corporation with a local center in Jacksonville. They are a well-known company that provide affordable services. They perform basic paper shredding and some electronic shredding. Sensitive information comes in many forms; CD-ROMs, USB drives, uniforms, prescription bottles, badges/nametags, x-rays, and of course licenses and credit cards. This prompts Shred-It to offer media destruction and specialty shredding! After using their services, they send you a Certificate of Destruction, which ensures you are no longer at risk and that your business is compliant with privacy laws.

What is interesting is that many businesses have computer software installed to protect their clients/employees/company from world-wide hackers! Yet we are allowing the threat in our backyard to progress! Keep in mind that one of the most common ways your sensitive information can be stolen is through dumpster diving. It takes one document or hard-drive to produce valuable information in the wrong hands. Protect your community! Recycling documents and electronics is as important as locking your doors.

Businesses Beware: Electronic Destruction

Many businesses provide recycling for old electronics in the St. Augustine-Jacksonville area; however not researching these companies well-enough will cost you twice as much.

  • Businesses/residents that pay for companies to recycle electronics, can not always guarantee your information will be completely erased.
  • Even in the Northeast Florida area, companies have been called out for misusing certifications. These certifications are in place to guarantee a safe and productive memory cleaning, but many of them have no teeth.
  • One certification that is losing the communities trust is R2: which is in place to oversee brokers, where a company sends their material, and how they process it. There have been instances in our community where a company claims to be R2 certified, but are not. The misunderstanding is brought to the attention of the committee, and no steps are taken to resolve the issue.
  • NADE is an association which oversees businesses that work with paper, electronic, and data shredding. Some companies may claim to be NADE certified, but are only members of NADE, meaning that NADE does not over-see their process.

Old City Web Services suggests:
Sensible Recycling – For Electronics
Ph: (904) 327-3426
Email: aaron@sensiblerecycling.com
Address: 5530 Florida Mining Blvd. S.,
Jacksonville, FL 32257
Website: www.sensiblerecycling.com
Shred-It – For Paper/Specialty
Ph: (904) 288-8555
Address: 11606 Columbia Park Dr E
Jacksonville, FL 32258
Website: www.shredit.com

What To Do If You’ve Been Hacked

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As a business owner, you know that having a website is equally as important as having a brick and mortar store. In fact, some businesses rely solely on websites. The truth is, just as every building is susceptible to breaking and entering, so is every website. Just as technology is getting more advanced, so are hackers, and it's more important than ever to stay on top of website security and have a plan if a hacker does get into your site and cause trouble.

Ways to tell if your site has been hacked:

Unfortunately, every website is vulnerable to being attacked by hackers. You may think you're exempt if you have good security, but hackers love a good challenge. That's why it's so important to stay on top of things from your end. It starts with recognizing when your site may be hacked.

  • Something looks off - When you're looking through your website, do you see content that doesn't belong or doesn't sound like something you wrote? Does it contain weird links?
  • Performance issues - Was a page that originally took a couple of seconds to load taking an exponentially longer time? For example, is your checkout page experiencing major slowdown issues? This could be an indicator something is wrong.
  • Errors - Are you experiencing errors when your pages load or errors on your page? When hackers get into a website, it's possible for them to break the code causing errors.
  • Strange plugins - If you have a website, you're familiar with plugins. A hacker can put files on your website disguised as a plugin. If you notice any obscure plugins, it's important to take note and investigate further.
  • You've been blacklisted - One way hackers use a website is by using the website to spam other websites. If this occurs, you have the chance of being blacklisted by email lists and search engines.

How does your site get hacked?

There are many ways someone can hack into a website, some being more obvious than others. Knowing how people get into a website can help you stay on top of your game to protect your site.

  • Guessing your password - This is one of the easiest ways to break into a website. Creating easy-to-remember passwords might help you in the short-term but could lead to a big mess later on. It's important to remember to:
    • Change passwords every 90 days.
    • Use different password for each of your accounts
    • Make sure password has a variation of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols
    • Make your password lengthy. The more intricate the password, the more difficult it is to guess.
    • Keep passwords stored in a safe place.
  • Use of malware to get passwords - Hackers can install malware on any computer. Malware can get on your computer by phishing scams, spam emails, and bad websites. Hackers can also put malware on your computer if it's not protected by a firewall.
  • Your software is outdated - This is why it's so important to keep your website updated and make sure you're using the most up-to-date software possible.
  • Getting into the server you share with other sites - If you're hosted on a shared server, it is important to make sure you have a legitimate hosting company to avoid this way of being hacked.

What to do if your site has been hacked:

  • Don't panic - As unfortunate as it is, website hacking is not an uncommon experience. And it can be fixed.
  • Call us - As soon as you notice something amiss, it's important to call in your technical support. The sooner you call, the sooner we can find out what is wrong and get the problem fixed.
  • Gather any information that would help and be sure to communicate effectively - The more information we have, the easier it is to find the problem.
    • Preserve as much detail as possible about the suspected hack
      • screenshots of affected pages
      • Google notifications or other suspicious-site alerts
      • an estimate of when the problem started
  • Make sure you're doing everything you can to ensure your website's safety
    • Keep your website up-to-date with plugins, themes, and software updates
    • Choose strong passwords and change passwords regularly
    • Avoid FTP logins to your site from public WiFi
    • Ensure the security of your own PC against keyloggers and other malware by using a good antivirus software

How we can help:

At Old City Web Services, not only do we build and update websites for our clients, but we also provide technical support as well. Our clients' wellbeing is our top priority, and we are available 24/7 to help. Contact us to learn more about how we can help protect your website and keep your business running smoothly.

 

How to Prevent Getting Hacked

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Let's face it. A lot of our lives take place online these days. We can send a quick email instead of going to the post office. We can do our banking via our phone. We can build an online presence for our businesses people see before they ever set foot in our brick and mortar stores. While our dependence on technology isn't showing any signs of slowing down, it's important to stay safe online.

One of the biggest safety concerns with technology is protection against hackers and viruses. Everyone online is susceptible to safety threats. So, how can you prevent these threats and protect yourself?

Change your passwords regularly

  • Efficient and carefully constructed passwords help protect your accounts and private information. It's important to change your password at least every 90 days. It might seem inconvenient but could pay off big time.
  • Other important things to remember:
    • Use different password for each of your accounts
    • Make sure password has a variation of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols
    • Make your password lengthy. The more intricate the password, the more difficult it is to guess.
    • Keep passwords stored in a safe place.
  • For more information on password safety, read our blog: Are Your Passwords Safe?

Make sure your computer is protected

Security software is vital to the protection of your computer and the programs run on it. Not installing the proper security software is the equivalent of leaving your door unlocked. It leaves you vulnerable to thieves getting in and stealing what's important to you.

When the proper antivirus and antimalware software isn't installed, you become susceptible. Hackers create viruses and malware for different reasons. Through viruses, hackers have the ability to take control of your computer, steal information, and cripple your computer or network of computers. Malware tracks your actions such as what passwords you type, what credit card numbers you use and other sensitive information.

Just as it is important to have the right software, it's just as important to make sure that software is as up to date as possible.

Perform routine updates on your website

Like we stated in our last blog, Why Updating Your Site Matters, content management systems, such as WordPress, regularly send out updates. It is vital to your website's security that you keep up with these updates. Although your host’s servers may have tight security, a website that is behind on updates becomes vulnerable to security threats. It makes you more susceptible to hackers and viruses.

A big target of hackers is websites, such as e-commerce sites, that contain sensitive information such as credit card numbers. A website using old software has a much higher risk of being hacked.

Practical Tips to Protect Yourself

  • Be cautious if you receive emails from people you don't recognize
  • Don't click links in suspicious emails
  • Be cautious of emails that ask for sensitive information (personal information, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, etc.). Reputable companies will never ask for that type of information via an email.
  • Don't store passwords or sensitive information on your computer. In the chance that your computer is hacked, this puts you at risk for having your information used against you.
  • When using public WiFi, don't allow file-sharing. A hacker can implant bad software on your computer through this avenue
  • Make sure your email and website are hosted on secure servers

How We Can Help

Our clients' safety is a top priority at Old City Web Services. We offer website and email hosting on our own secure servers for a minimal hosting fee that includes customer service. Our staff is always available if something goes wrong. We also perform website maintenance to protect against safety threats. If our customers ever do have a security issue, our staff is just a phone call away. Contact us for a free consultation to see how we can keep you and your business safe.

 

Updating Your Website – More Important Than You Might Think

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As a business owner, you know that your website is important, but how often do you update your website? We're not just talking about making sure you have new photos and fresh content. We're talking about website updates for the back end of your website. While updates may seem like a hassle or just another thing taking time away from important projects, they're actually important and vital to the functionality and protection of your site.

Updates of any kind can seem like a hassle and waste of time when you could be doing other things. So, often times, we put updates off until later...and later...and later. We've all been there. A notification pops up on our computer or phone saying it needs to update to a new version of the software, and we think, "This software seems to work just fine." We ignore the notifications or click "Remind me later." But our devices and websites don't remind us just for fun. Technology companies don't come up with updates unless they're important.

So, why is updating your website so important?

Security

Adobe Spark(151)We cannot stress enough how important updating is for your website's security.

"With WordPress in particular, the majority of minor-version updates are to fix various security issues that have been discovered," said Jordan Hazen, technical system administrator at Old City Web Services. "WordPress can be configured to keep its core software updated automatically, and it's a good idea to have this enabled."

If you are looking to get your WordPress to update automatically, go to your Easy Updates Manager in WordPress and enable that setting. If you would like, WordPress can also send emails when a new update is available. To set up that service, go to WordPress settings and enable your Updates Notifier. It is important to note that if you do an automatic update, your site can break. If we do your site update and it breaks, we are there to fix it for you right when it happens.

Although your host's servers may have tight security, a website that is behind on updates becomes vulnerable to security threats. It makes you more susceptible to hackers and viruses. A big target of hackers is websites, such as e-commerce sites, that contain sensitive information such as credit card numbers. A website using old software has a much higher risk of being hacked. An old plugin might have stored credit card numbers in plain English while a new version would encrypt the numbers for safety. If your site got hacked, you could be subject to legal action from those whose credit cards were stolen. They could state that you did not store their information properly. So, not only is your site at risk but also the wellbeing of your company.

New Features

With new updates come new features. This is a good reminder that website updates really are there to help you and work in your favor, and they're an incentive to update to see what new cool features are available to make your work and website better overall. Each update comes out with new features unique to the update. One of the most recent updates is WordPress 4.7 which was released at the end of 2016 and presented a new default WordPress theme for 2017.

Here's a video introducing the new update:

The new features include immersive featured images, video headers, and subtle animations. The update was mainly focused on business websites. Some of the more technical features include the ability to edit shortcuts icons, the ability to add pages in your menu, the ability to add live custom CSS, and more.

Better performance

Adobe Spark(150)When you update your website, you will notice that your site's performance will improve overall. Updates often improve plugins, themes, and WordPress in general. WordPress releases updates when they know they can help things run more efficiently, so you're always working with the best tools. Think of it as car maintenance. If you have a car part that is older, it might be wearing down and not working as well as it once could. Once you put a new part in your car, you'll notice the difference in performance. Just as it is important to maintain your car along the way, it's important to make updates to your website along the way for optimum functionality.

 

Bug Fixes

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Nothing is perfect and no website is ever done. WordPress is the most popular content management system in the world, not because they did everything perfectly the first time they released the program but because they are constantly working to improve their product.  A common reason for updates is fixing something that was not working to its potential previously. These updates will also help with the functionality and speed of your website.

 

 

How we can help

Adobe Spark(149)As you can see, updating your website is crucial to its security and performance. It's important to maintain the best website you can for your business. We know that as a business owner, your to-do list is neverending. This is why we offer services to update clients' websites for them. Working with our knowledgeable team takes the guesswork out of the process and assures you that you are taking the best steps to protect and enhance your website.

If you are interested in our services, contact us to set up a free consultation and let us show you how we can help!

How to Block Pesky Emails

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Does it seem like every time you check your email, you have to wade through the sea of bogus or spam emails to get to the legitimate ones? You’re not alone. Spam can not only be annoying but dangerous as well. One wrong click, and you put yourself at risk for a virus.

A good bit of the time, a spam email is coming from a reputable domain. A domain name is the naming system for giving addresses to web servers and web pages. For example, The New York Times domain name is nytimes.com. Hackers can spoof legitimate email accounts by using a server and the right mailing software. Certain servers allow hackers to create messages, and input the "to" and "from" addresses, thus resulting in an email that appears as though it is actually from a legitimate address.

So, what do you do when this happens?

If you get a suspicious-looking email from a friend, family member, or company you normally do business with, you could simply delete that email. Remember, never open anything or click on anything that looks skeptical. It is a good idea to verify with the supposed sender first.

If you start receiving unwanted emails from an email address you do not wish to have contact you, you can block it from your email account. And it’s a lot easier than you might think.

Follow these step-by-step instructions to block those nuisance email accounts once and for all:

  • Log into the website to get Webmail: http://mail.oldcity.com/
    • Webmail is a great resource if you are having an issue with your email. Think of Webmail as your backup plan.
  • Perform maintenance if prompted
  • Click Mailbox Filters (funnel icon) at the top
  • Click Blacklist (X icon)
  • In the text box where it says “Enter each address on a new line:”, add the name of the address in all lowercase with an asterisk and @ symbol before it and click Save. Example: If the name of the spam domain is “brown”, you would enter *@brown.
    • The asterisk before @ tells your email account to block any username at that domain, and these filters apply to all mail coming in, whether or not it’s received through Webmail.

* Reminder: If you have accidentally Blacklisted an email account and wish to undo that action, simply go back to the Mailbox Filters and click Whitelist.*

By following these simple instructions, you can take the stress out of email and be on your way to a simpler, more streamlined email experience. We at Old City Web Services are always here to make our clients' lives easier. That's one reason our team came up with the Help Desk on our website. Here, you can go and watch easy-to-follow tutorials that take the guesswork out of figuring out email services.

Are Your Passwords Safe?

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It’s a new year, and for many that means New Year’s resolutions. Out with the old, in with the new they say. While this can apply to undertaking a new diet or exercise plan, it also applies to updating passwords. While changing passwords might seem inconvenient, it can save you a big headache down the road.

Having a simple password or keeping the same password for any account for an extended period leaves you vulnerable for someone to hack into your account.

According to a recent article by Forbe’s, SplashData, a password management security company, finds the world’s most common (and dangerous) passwords each year. This year's list includes some of the tried and true passwords that come up year after year, as well as some new additions.

At the top of the list are ’123456′ and ‘password.’ All but one of the numeric patterns were in last year’s top 25 oft-repeated passwords, including ’12345,’ ’12345678,’ ’1234567890,’ ’1234567,’ and ’1234.’ New this year was ’121212.’

This year’s list included ‘Password’ and variations ‘passw0rd’ and the new but predictable ‘password1.’ It also had some pretty obvious words: ‘qwerty,’ ‘login,’ ‘welcome,’ and ‘admin,’ another new one this year. Old favorites include ‘football,’ ‘princess,’ ‘solo,’ ‘abc123,’ ‘dragon,’ and ‘master.’

Other new words this year: ‘hottie,’ ‘loveme,’ ‘sunshine,’ and ‘flower.’ Oh, and ‘zaq1zaq1,’ which is what you get when you type up on the left column on a standard keyboard. (Yes, other people can figure that out.)

Staying on top of password changes protects your accounts and private information. But it’s important to remember that not all passwords are created equal. There are certain guidelines you should follow to make sure you have the most secure password possible.

So, without further ado, here are our top do’s and don’ts of creating a password:

Do:

  • Change passwords every 90 days.
  • Use different password for each of your accounts
  • Make sure password has a variation of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols
  • Make your password lengthy. The more intricate the password, the more difficult it is to guess.
  • Keep passwords stored in a safe place.

Don’t:

  • Use your personal information in passwords. (Your college, name, pet's name etc.)
  • Use the same password for each of your accounts.
  • Keep your passwords stored on an electronic device you could lose.
  • Use variations of the same password each time you change it.

So when it comes to passwords, it never hurts to change things up every once in a while and put some thought into the process. A little work right now can help give you peace of mind in protecting your online assets.

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We are Old City Web Services. We make it easy for small businesses to thrive online. Whether you need a professional website, help attracting more customers, or a fresh new look for your brand, we’ve got you covered. With over 20 years of experience, we specialize in simple, affordable solutions that work for businesses like yours. Let us handle the tech so you can focus on what you do best—running your business.

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