Technology Advisor Blog

If your email isn’t working today, you’re not alone.

Security updates aren’t the most exciting topic—but they are one of the most important parts of keeping your business protected.

Right now, we’re seeing something that surprises a lot of people: about 13% of the systems in our community need a reboot.  That means critical security updates are downloaded… but not fully protecting those computers yet.

Why reboots matter more than most people realize

Each month, Microsoft releases security fixes (often called “Patch Tuesday”). Behind the scenes, we carefully test critical patches within 24 hours, then roll out additional updates over the following week. This testing and deployment process is a core part of a healthy security program.

Here’s the catch: many of those security patches don’t actually take effect until you reboot.  And we're seeing too many computers in our community that haven't been rebooted in too long.

Even more important, some patches are sequential. If the first update doesn’t fully install because the

Most of us barely notice CAPTCHA checks anymore.

You know the ones - the little box that says “I am not a robot”, or the quick image puzzle before you can move on. The little puzzle may ask you to select the images that contain traffic lights, bicycles, or crosswalks.  We see them so often that clicking through has become second nature. In fact, many people associate CAPTCHAs with extra security, not risk.

If your favorite app wouldn’t load this morning, you weren’t alone. Amazon Web Services (AWS) - the cloud backbone behind a huge slice of the internet - had a major hiccup in its US-EAST-1 (Northern Virginia) region in the early hours today. Reports began around ~3:00 a.m. ET, with recovery signs a couple hours later. By mid-morning, Amazon said the underlying issue had been fully mitigated. Still, the ripple effects were hard to miss: services like Snapchat, Zoom, Signal, Fortnite, Coinbase/Robinhood, Perplexity, and even airline sites such as Delta and United saw issues at points during the incident. DownDetector tallied millions of outage reports across the globe. The Verge

This week, we received what looked like an official Request for Proposal (RFP) email from a local business we know. It was well-written, professional, and completely believable.

Last week, I didn’t even see a suspicious voicemail notification in my inbox - and that’s the point! Our email security blocked it before it ever got to me. At first glance, the message looked pretty legitimate.  It  was well-formatted, had a sense of urgency - “Your voicemail system has received a new message.  Review it promptly to stay updated”, and looked like something that could easily trick someone into clicking.

Microsoft has officially announced that Windows 10 support will end on October 14, 2025. After that date, no more free security updates will be released. For small businesses, this isn’t just a technical detail - it’s a security and business risk. Cybercriminals often target outdated systems, and without regular patches, Windows 10 devices will quickly become vulnerable.

Ekaru, a trusted provider of managed IT and cybersecurity services, is proud to announce that we are now Generative AI Certified by Breach Secure Now (BSN). BSN is a leading provider of human-centric cybersecurity, AI awareness, and productivity training. This industry-first certification empowers our team to confidently lead clients through the complexities of AI adoption - safely, strategically, and securely.

A Real-World Wake-Up Call

Last week a 10-person machine shop in the Boston area reached out to us with an urgent challenge. They were eager to win Department of Defense contracts, but there was one major roadblock: compliance. Specifically, they needed to meet CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification) standards to even qualify.

Ransomware attacks can destroy a business in hours, yet having a local incident response team alongside national experts provides direct support when every minute counts. A nearby team delivers immediate on-site assistance, translates complex technical information, and works directly with your staff while national teams handle remote tasks.  When a local business was recently locked out of all their systems after a ransomware attack, a nationally recognized incident response team needed "boots on the ground" and we were honored to be called to help.