October 31st marked a triumphant day for the travel and technology industries. That’s when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released new rules loosening prohibitions on airline passengers using personal electronic devices from “gate to gate” — during taxiing, takeoff, landing, and flight below 10,000 feet.

The October 1st rollout of federal health insurance exchanges has suffered from numerous technological glitches. However, another negative outcome — phishing scams disguised as official-looking enrollment emails — isn’t the fault of the government or its IT contractors.

One drawback of a timid hurricane season like 2013’s is that the critical importance of remote backup, disaster recovery (DR), and business continuity (BC) plans tend to recede from the spotlight.

On October 17th, one year after overhauling its flagship operating system (OS) with Windows 8, Microsoft released Windows 8.1. For Windows 8 users, the upgrade is free; new converts can buy it as a stand-alone product or baked into new devices on October 18th.

As we described in a previous blog entry, CryptoLocker, a relatively new “ransomware” virus, began making the rounds several months ago. But a particularly virulent strain of the infection popped up in mid-September, affecting individuals and business owners alike.

A recent online survey conducted by Balboa Capital reveals that 45% of small to medium-sized business owners are not familiar with Section 179 of the United States Internal Revenue Code, which allows companies to write off up to $500,000 worth of qualifying new or used equipment purchased or financed during the 2013 calendar year.

With new HIPAA regulations going into effect on September 23rd, and the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare,” beginning its official rollout on October 1st, the health-care landscape has never looked more confusing.

While technology has undoubtedly improved our lives in countless ways, the lesser-known reality is that it's made us less safe in many ways, as well. Consider recent revelations rocking the tech world: hackers breaking into “smart” home automation systems, and worries about the iPhone 5S’ fingerprint sensor putting individual privacy at risk.

There is continuing growth in reports of infection by the CryptoLocker malware, which actually encrypts your files and will not release them unless you pay the ransom.  The ransom was formerly $100 but now $300.  CryptoLocker is unlike the commonly-seen "FBI" or similarly-known malware that merely threatens to lock your data - CryptoLocker actually does it, and once encrypted, antivirus/antimalware products cannot correct this.