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Why Watermarks Work
Watermarks are effective for a lot of the same reasons that a billboard often is: it’s a concise and clear message, printed in a very in-your-face-way. The big difference is that sometimes, a watermarked document can almost literally be in someone’s face. This works to your advantage. A watermark is really difficult not to see, so if you need someone to know that a document is confidential, having it display how CONFIDENTIAL it is will likely catch their eye and respect the need for discretion. Oftentimes, legal requirements or security obligations make the addition of a watermark on certain documents a necessity.

In short, a watermark is a quick and easy way to share the nature of the information in a document, whether it is just a DRAFT or if it happens to be an INVOICE that requires immediate attention. Essentially any message you need to convey can be incorporated into a watermark.

Creating a Watermark in Word
Microsoft has made it fairly easy to set a watermark into your documents. If you’re using Word 2016:

• Open the document that you need to add the watermark to, whether it is completed or still needs to be edited.
• Access the Design tab and select Watermark.
• You now have the option to either select from Word’s collection or add a custom piece of text or image to use. If using one of Word’s, simply make your selection from their menu.
• If adding a custom watermark, instead select Custom Watermark.
• Select either Picture or Text, and then insert the text or the image file that you want to use. Word allows you to tweak it further from there as well.

Whatever your purpose, whether it’s sharing a message or customizing your official company materials, a watermark does the trick. What other tips would you like us to go over? Leave your suggestions in the comments!

Nigelthorn’s Method of Attack
When scrolling on Facebook, a user may see what appears to be a link to a YouTube video, but is actually a fake. This fraudulent video will then inform the user that in order for it to be played, an extension from the Chrome Web Store, called “Nigelify,” has to be installed. In reality, installing the extension allows the malware into the user’s system.

In order to fool its way past the Chrome Web Store defenses, Nigelthorn’s code is implanted into an extension that has already passed the Web Store’s checks. The first extension to be infected was one called “Nigelify,” which would replace all the pictures on the page a user was viewing with images of Nigel Thornberry, a late 1990’s/early 2000’s cartoon character who has found new life as a meme.

Once Nigelthorn is installed, it can have various effects on the infected system. For instance, not only will this attack vector steal the data that is available through Facebook, it will also share itself via Facebook Messenger, or by tagging the original victim’s friends. This makes it very effective at spreading from victim to victim, as all it takes it to infect the next person in line is for them to install the infected extension as well.

Nigelthorn has also been found to use other common tools that are found in malware in order to accomplish the goal of its developer, including cryptomining and YouTube manipulation for financial gain.

Getting Rid of Nigelthorn (and Avoiding It in the First Place)
What’s worse is that once Nigelthorn has been installed, it is notoriously hard to get rid of. If you have inadvertently installed Nigelthorn, it will automatically close the extensions panel, preventing you from uninstalling it. This means that removing it will likely require you to uninstall Chrome. If you are unlucky enough to be infected, you should change your Google and Facebook credentials in case they were stolen by the malware.

As for avoiding Nigelthorn, the surest is to not click on the link. As long as the user in question knows not to click on fishy links or install additional extensions willy-nilly, using Chrome is still workably safe.

For more information about potential threats to your business’ cybersecurity, and how to stop them, keep reading out blogs, and don’t hesitate to call us at (888) 945-9434 for more help.

The Current State of Wireless Charging
Wireless charging is pretty common nowadays. Some mobile devices are already equipped with wireless charging… at least, while they are placed on a special charging pad. This kind of defeats the purpose of wireless charging, but there are efforts being made to remove this from the equation. A company called Ossia seeks to implement wireless charging that can be done from a distance through a method called trickle charging.

This type of power delivery depends on radio frequencies to send both data and power to the connected device. Thanks to this method, Ossia has developed new conduits that eliminate the need for charging pads and cater to the new devices under its Cota line. Rather than the device having to be physically connected to the power source, the signal can charge the device while keeping it connected to the wireless network.

Ossia’s new charging system can also be used to charge up AA batteries that can be charged without being connected to anything. There are even ceiling tiles that can be used to send out this signal to your devices.

But Is It a Good Thing?
While this might be a convenient way to take advantage of your technology without having to keep it plugged in all the time, how can you know what the ramifications of using this technology will be? If your device is always charging, what kind of damage could this do to your battery in the long run? Overcharging might not be a concern any longer, but modern batteries can still suffer from extended periods of charging. This comes from what makes the battery itself.

Lithium-ion batteries have three components that they need to use: a positive and negative electrode (made of a lithium-based compound and carbon graphite, respectively) and an electrolyte. The lithium ions flow from the positive electrode to the negative through the electrolyte. While the power is being used, the ions flow back to the positive electrode.

This process eventually wears away the electrolyte that allows for this flow of ions. This prevents them from ever functioning at optimal efficiency again. Since the ions aren’t able to move, the battery doesn’t work as well as it would have in the past. Ultimately, every battery has a number of charge cycles that it can handle before it’s just not effective anymore.

Since wireless charging would eat away at the battery constantly, the lifespan of the battery itself would be directly affected. Some believe that the battery constantly being at full charge would optimize its efficiency in the long run, though. Another argument focuses on whether or not a fully-charged device would be worth the cost of a replacement battery, which ultimately is up to the user to decide.

What are your thoughts on wireless charging? Let us know in the comments.