Tech Snapshot - Wrap up

On Tuesday the 8th of April, ALIA Sydney held its Tech snapshot event. It was a fabulous evening all round, there was great food, drinks and even better company!

Insight into the world of technology is somewhat daunting but Alan Chan, IT specialist from FireEye made it interesting and applicable.
He gave us insight into the real world threats facing those on a global scale and everyday people, like us. Here are some practical yet simple ways to prevent that sinking feeling when you realise that you have just be duped:

• Have software security installed on your PC.
• Update software and applications
• Windows are constantly being targeted because they hold the largest market share - you can schedule updates to run automatically.
• Use a strong password 
• Google common passwords - do not use those;
• Furthermore do not have a strong password then write it down on a post-it note and stick it under your keyboard, its like using those fake rocks with a hidden key for your front door - not very secure!
• Back-up data
• There are many ways to do this now, particularly for Libraries where a lot of sensitive information is held, we need to assess risk and the value of the information to determine how much needs to be invested whether it is to use external hard drives or the cloud, a back-up should always be done.
• Stranger danger applies in the virtual world too;
• be careful of emails from strangers or emails with strange subject lines
• many phishing emails look legitimate but banks and other similar organisations will not ask you to send usernames, passwords or account details via email.
• Do not announce travel plans on social media!

Our very own Vesna Cosic took us through her process of going from 'Card Catalogue to IT'. She is bravely pursuing further studies in Information Technology after realising that technology is not going anywhere and the only way to handle it is to embrace it.

Last but certainly not least Marilyn Taylor has and is moving 'Leichhardt Digital Direction'. They have established 2 parallel collections (digital and non-digital) and take a forward approach with E-book vendors. Marilyn advises talking directly with vendors to see if e-books can be bought, rather than just taking a contract.

Thank you to all that attended! We here at ALIA Sydney hope you had a good evening.