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Know Your Tech: Cache

If you hang out around technology professionals for any period of time, chances are that you’ve heard the word “cache” used before. The word, pronounced cash, is usually heard in the phrase, “clear the cache,” but if you don’t know what this phrase means, how can you benefit from it? Since this week’s tech term is “cache,” let’s get into the details.

What is a Cache?
Most words used in computing have meanings outside technology, so it’s natural that cache has appeared elsewhere in language before now. A cache is essentially storage that is hidden away from the general public. Maybe you have a stash of goodies in your desk that are meant for “emergencies,” or perhaps you have a cache of pens hidden away because people keep stealing them from you. Either way, it’s a collection of something that you want to keep out of sight, and it has its uses for computing as well.

A cache can also be a hardware or software function that keeps data stored somewhere hidden away for faster processing in the future. This can be anything from a cache allowing your network’s data to travel faster from point A to point B, to a web browser storing information from certain web pages so that they are loaded faster than they otherwise would be. Simply put, the cache makes computing easier and more efficient–or at least, it’s meant to.

So What Does “Clear the Cache” Mean?
Clearing the cache in a web browser is easy. All it takes is the keyboard shortcut, Ctrl+F5. What this does for your device is that it allows the website to update any information that it has stored in the cache. This includes cookies and other website data that it may have stored. How this comes into play is when a website is updated and its appearance needs to be updated in the cache. If you fail to clear it, you might not be looking at the most up-to-date version of the website. Caches are most effective when they are small, so it helps to clear it once in a while to keep it that way.

Before clearing a network cache, however, you’ll want to first make sure that any drastic changes are handled by a networking professional. COMPANYNAME would be happy to further explain the process of caching and what it means for your business. To learn more, reach out to us at PHONENUMBER.

“It Redirected Where?” — A Case Study in Security Precautions

Imagine what it would be like to discover that your website was suddenly redirecting to content that was decidedly more… adult... than what should be representing your business. For a company in Phoenix, Arizona, this was the unfortunate reality after they had let their IT administrator go.

The administrator, Tavis Tso, created a web in which he attempted to snare a client in an extortion scam. After lying to the client, claiming that he didn’t have their credentials to login to their GoDaddy domain registrar account, Tso changed the credentials to the GoDaddy accounts and created a separate Microsoft account that gave him considerable power over his target. His first steps were to block employees from accessing their email accounts and to redirect the company’s home page to a blank webpage. Tso then demanded $10,000 from the company to fix the problem that he had caused.

The company did not comply with his demands.

Once it was clear that the company wasn’t going to cooperate with Tso, the cybercriminal upped the ante. Rather than just redirecting the company’s home page to a blank site, Tso redirected all of the website’s traffic to a pornographic website. This redirect took several days to resolve.

Tso was ultimately sentenced to four years of probation, in addition to $9,145 as restitution for a count of wire fraud. While it is nice that a cybercriminal has been brought to justice, the damage done will be hard to undo, as he had considerable access to his company’s systems.

Would your business be able to recover from an incident like this? A good first step is to ensure your recovery is to reconsider the permissions of the users on your network–and more importantly, the permissions of former users. There is no reason to grant access to your IT where it is not needed, and there is no reason to keep an IT resource on your system once they are no longer part of your organization.

COMPANYNAME can help you to make these changes, as well as many others that will benefit your IT and your network security. Reach out to us at PHONENUMBER to start a discussion.