Technology Advisor Blog

Yesterday afternoon users across the country lost Internet access for about two hours.  Some users had intermittent outages and slow downs, and some lost connectivity altogether.  All our clients with Comcast Internet were affected and we were on the phone non-stop talking to businesses who were disrupted by the outage.  The map above from downdetector.com shows the impact was nationwide.

Here's an awesome Microsoft Windows feature you probably didn't know about.  The Windows Steps Recorder can be used to record your screens and document the steps taken for a specific computer task. With this feature, you can create how-to documents or document problems for you or someone else to refer to later.  If you're trying to help someone solve a computer problem, this is also an easy way for them to show you what they're having trouble with - identifying the exact steps.  What a great tool!

A new wireless security vulnerability related to WPA2 encryption puts almost every WIFI device at risk for hijacking and eavesdropping.  This was the major headline yesterday and we've been busy updating security on our managed clients.  

If you just got a new computer you might think its a good idea to sell or donate your old computer.  Why not make a few bucks or do a good deed?  

The US Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights July #Cybersecurity update reminds you to train your workforce so they don't get caught by a phish!  This statement is specifically targeted to healthcare "covered entities" but really applies to all businesses and computer users.

Stay alert when reading through your email.  Our Cybersecurity advice focuses on "layers" of security, and even with all the technology in place to protect you, the "bad actors" will always resort to new tricks.  End user education and vigilance are key.

Modern technology enables us to accomplish so much, but when there's a disruption, we're reminded of our dependence, and it's painful!  Last Thursday and Friday, many users were affected by delays in sending and receiving emails.   The systems at Rackspace, one of the leading cloud providers in the world, became overloaded and disrupted services for many users, including a number of Ekaru clients.

Ekaru, recently donated socks to Boston Healthcare for the Homeless.  As a "Thank You" to all clients who returned a customer satisfaction card last month, we have donated 126 pairs of socks.  

A robust spam filter is an essential part of any business cybersecurity plan.  Almost 90% of all mail is spam, and a lot of spam contains viruses, such as the recent WannaCry Ransomware attack.  No spam filter is perfect, and in some cases, mail you don't want gets through (false negatives), and mail you do want, gets blocked (false positives).  

With Cybersecurity threats in the news with lots of technology gloom and doom, its fun to consider the light side of technology.  Google's latest Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) experiment turns your rough drawings and scribbles into beautiful icons with their new application AutoDraw.