Carbonite blasts an email for all users to reset their password.

Yes this is a real email from Carbonite. We urge all of our customers to change their passwords as soon as they can. This action is being taken proactively and at this time there is no evidence to indicate that your account or data have been compromised. Your backups are safe and your regular backup schedule will continue.

What Happened

As part of ongoing security monitoring, Carbonite recently became aware of unauthorized attempts to access a number of Carbonite accounts. This activity appears to be the result of a third party attacker using compromised email addresses and passwords obtained from other companies that were previously attacked. The attackers then tried to use the stolen information to access Carbonite accounts. Based on our security reviews, there is no evidence to suggest that Carbonite has been hacked or compromised.

What Information Was Involved

While Carbonite will continue to monitor and investigate the matter, we have determined that some usernames and passwords are involved. Additionally, for some accounts, other personal information may have been exposed.

What Carbonite Is Doing

Use the link that Carbonite emailed to you to reset your password. We highly recommend using "strong" unique passwords for Carbonite and all online accounts. If you use the same or similar passwords on other online services, we recommend that you set new passwords on those accounts as well.

Samsung smart TVs to start putting ads on top of things people are watching.

Samsung is quietly adding ads onto its smart TVs to try and boost revenues – even after people have bought the sets.The company has already added new “tile ads” to the menus in its premium Internet connected televisions. The move will even affect existing smart TVs since they can be updated with a software update over the Internet.

The ads sit on the TVs’ home screen, alongside the normal apps like YouTube or Netflix, and link out to external content. As such they are likely to prove unpopular among users, and might also draw the attention of regulators and networks.

It comes after Samsung got drawn into controversy over a policy that appeared to allow its TVs to listen in on everything people said in their living rooms. The company replied that the policy had been clumsily written.

Increasing the number of ads will help Samsung increase its revenues even after people have bought their TVs. Though Samsung already has some deals in place, like taking part of the revenues from people watching Netflix on their TVs, it has struggled to generate revenues on top of the money it gets from selling hardware.

The move is being made to try and counteract slowing growth in the TV industry, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news. Though Samsung is dominant in that market, selling 20% of units according to analysts, market share is declining because it is largely saturated.

Why every business should use a battery backup on their computers.

Lightning season is upon us. Can you and your customers afford the risks of not having a battery backup?

June, July and August produce the highest number of lightning incidents each year in the US, ranging from Florida and Texas to Pennsylvania and Illinois. Lightning can strike without warning; it’s that type of unpredictability which increases the severe risk to business networks.

Damage can range from costly downtime to major data loss and extensive electrical damage. Here are some key rebuttals to common misconceptions about power protection...

We’ve been operating for years with no apparent damage from lightning.
It’s estimated that 95% of electronic system failures are due to repeated degradation of equipment, often referred to as “electronic rust”. It is imperative to replace old equipment before it fails!


I already have surge suppressors for our electronics.
Surge suppressors should be part of a total system approach, but are not effective enough on their own. Protect computer systems and network equipment with UPS hardware. Look for UPS with extended runtime to account for the potential of a power outage following a lightning incident.


How do I know which battery backup to get?
There is no "one size fits all" for battery backups. Businesses need to take many factors into consideration, including: current and future load profile trends; up time requirements; pure power needs.

Ready to protect your systems? Call IES at 781-816-9437 or email estimates@iesadvisors.com and we can build a custom solution to fit your needs.