Category Archives: Post

Microsoft Teams 101

Teams is a great tool for real-time collaboration.  It allows your office to call, chat and meet one place. Chats are persistent and can be secured to limit access.

Multiple GPU Best Performance

Workstation class laptops usually have two GPUs. The onboard Intel integrated GPU and a dedicated NVIDIA  graphics card. When this is the case you need to make sure that your high-performance applications use the NVidia GPU, rather than the low-performance Intel integrated GPU. To ensure optimal application performance make the following adjustment:

Connect a mouse to your iPad

Beginning with iOS 13 you can connect a Bluetooth mouse or Bluetooth keyboard & mouse combo to your iPad. Here are the steps: Go to settings > Accessibility > AssistiveTouch > Devices > Bluetooth Devices Place your device in pairing mode and select it from the iPad menu. Go back to AssistiveTouch and turn it on.

Identifying Nefarious Links

In order to protect yourself on the Internet, you need to be proficient at locating and identifying domain names. This is because, emails and attachments can be used to redirect you to sites that are loaded with bad content. Make sure you can: Verify the email sender. Verify any link contained in the message or within an attachment… Read More »

Grandparent Scam with a Twist

The “Grandparent Scam” is a particularly disturbing scam perpetrated on the elderly. The criminal contacts the Grandparent, pretending to be a grandchild in trouble with the law or in desperate need of cash for a medical bill. They then claim that the matter cannot be discussed with other family members (red flag). Victims report receiving calls late at… Read More »

Relative Paths and Linked Files

Applications like InDesign and AutoCAD interlink files as you create content. This allows teams to share workloads, provides more efficient file storage and adds greater stability to the software platforms. These linked files can create an issue when multiple entities work on the same file or when content is moved to a new location. The solution to this… Read More »

KeePass Touch

This is the mobile version of Keepass, our recommended desktop password management tool. You can use iTunes on your PC or Mac to transfer your password database to your iOS device periodically. This will give you mobile access to your passwords without ever placing them at risk in the cloud. This can also serve as a backup location… Read More »

Grammarly

Grammarly is a writing assistant that can spell-check your web-based content as you write. It can be loaded as a firefox browser plugin for free. It offers advanced functionality, with a monthly subscription, to evaluate your writing in the areas of tone, engagement, clarity, and grammar.

Common Fonts

When creating an e-mail signature in Outlook or sharing a word or excel file, it is important to remember that fonts are not common across all platforms. If you use a font that does not on exist on the recipient’s device, your signature or files appearance will change as the font you selected is replaced with a default… Read More »

The Edge of WiFi

When you have a weak wireless signal, you can try and boost it in a couple of ways: Make sure the wireless access point (WAP) closest to you is not obstructed. Clear away any dense objects within a foot of the device. You might also reposition it to boost the signal. Make sure your device in not in… Read More »

VidAngel

Ever want to watch a movie with your kids without them getting too scared or without the profanity and sexual scenes? This subscription based app works with your existing streaming apps. It can filter out content with very granular options.

Positive Pay

A business may be held liable for all or a substantial portion of any loss when checks are stolen or altered. Positive Pay is an automated check fraud detection service offered by most banks. It matches the payee, check number and dollar amount of each check presented for payment against a list of checks issued from your accounting… Read More »

Avoiding Cyber Fraud

Tips, from the FBI, to avoid becoming a victim of cyber fraud: Do Not Do not give unknown, unverified persons remote access to devices or accounts. Do not communicate with unsolicited email senders. Do not act in haste. Criminals create a sense of urgency to produce fear and lure the victim into immediate action.

The Traveling WiFi Circus

Whether you are in a hotel, airport or a coffee shop, WiFi can be spotty. The most common cause is the requirement for you to agree to an acceptable use policy on each device. This must be done before you can connect to your email or VPN. To do this, launch your browser and go to a new… Read More »

iOS 13 Preview

Apple announced the new features of iOS 13 More here… Do not be the first to upgrade. Turn off Automatic Updates: Settings > General > Software Update > Automatic Updates > Off

Real ID

Your current Illinois driver’s license will not be accepted at airports, military bases and secure federal facilities after Oct. 1, 2020. You can obtain a REAL ID card or use a passport after that time. To see what documents you need to apply for a REAL ID, visit the REAL ID Interactive Checklist. All Driver Services facilities are… Read More »

This icon can ruin your iOS

Hackers are using the familiar Apple settings icon to trick users into hacking their own iOS devices. As I discussed in a previous post, this can permanently destroy your device. If you ever see the settings icon and a request to install, confirm or cancel, do not click any response presented. Rather, you should immediately close your app.… Read More »

USPS helps criminals read your mail

The U.S. Postal Service just fixed a security weakness that allowed anyone who has an account at usps.com to view account details for some 60 million other users, and in some cases to modify account details on their behalf. This would have been less of an issue before they released their latest service called Informed Delivery, which allows users… Read More »

Gift Card Scam

The Internet Crime Complaint Center received an increase in the number of Business complaints requesting false requests to purchase gift cards. The victims receive either a spoofed email, a spoofed phone call or a spoofed text from a person in authority requesting the victim purchase multiple gift cards for personal or business reasons.

Office 365’s New Look

Office has a new look if you are on Office 365. One advantage that Office 365 offers is real-time access to the ever growing list of features that the product receives on an ongoing basis. Microsoft has also released its on-premise version of Office 2019

Facebook 90M Hacked

Attackers exploited a vulnerability in Facebook’s code that impacted “View As” a feature that lets people see what their own profile looks like to someone else. This allowed them to steal Facebook access tokens which they could then use to take over people’s accounts.

5G is here.

The next generation of cellular known as 5G is being rolled out on October 1. Verizon is first in the world to provide a commercial 5G service, with plans for rapid broadband internet, and 5G mobility service More Here …

FBI: Remote Desktop Compromised

Remote administration tools, such as Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), as an attack vector has been on the rise since mid-late 2016 with the rise of dark markets selling RDP Access. Malicious cyber actors have developed methods of identifying and exploiting vulnerable RDP sessions over the Internet to compromise identities, steal login credentials, and ransom other sensitive information.

High Quality Voice Calls

Your iPhone is capable of making higher quality voice calls with VoLTE. The quality improvement comes from increasing the bandwidth used to carry your voice, relative to a traditional cellular call. To enable this go to Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Enable LTE > Select Voice & Data

OneNote

OneNote is a virtual notebook, with incredible search capabilities, that synchronizes across all your devices and between multiple users in real time. A universal platform, it works on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Online. Everything is stored as a separate element so markups can be removed, files or images can be saved or moved. Pages are a limitless… Read More »

Drones as a service

Capturing a unique perspective of a project is easier than ever with the use of a drone. Services such as Droners.io connect you with pilots from around the country, making capturing those images very easy and affordable. Costs range from $40-$150 depending on the scope of your project.

Security Awareness Training

Today the greatest threat to company security is the email vector. KnowBe4 provides security awareness training and simulated phishing attacks to test employee response to manage the continuing problem of social engineering.

Amazon Prices

Did you know that prices on Amazon change hourly. CamelCamelCamel.com tracks prices and can send alerts when they are at their lowest. Browser Plug-ins help simplify the service.

Never use Online Password Services

There are a multitude of services that are built specifically for storing your passwords. I’d like to briefly delve into why it is foolish to use any of them. First of all, there are specific instances of these sites being hacked, for obvious reasons. If you store all the gold in one bank, that’s where the robbers are… Read More »

Fake Security Alerts

Should you get a pop-up like this one. Do not follow the advice in the window, and in particular, do not call the number in the window. Just close the browser immediately. DO NOT click on any part of the window, as this can trigger a virus installation. If the pop-up is preventing you from closing the browser,… Read More »

SketchUp Make is Illegal

Sketchup Make is a free version of SketchUp, however, the license is not for commercial use. Employees of our clients will often unknowingly request that we install software that has similar limitations. These requests are not intended to do harm, but they can be costly.

FBI: Internet-Connected Toys

Consumer Notice: Internet-Connected Toys Could Present Privacy and Contact Concerns for Children The FBI encourages consumers to consider cyber security prior to introducing smart, interactive, internet-connected toys into their homes or trusted environments. Smart toys and entertainment devices for children are increasingly incorporating technologies that learn

Server Storage

When specifying storage for a server-class machine, it’s important to understand that the drives within the system will be running 24/7 for the next 4-5 years. Because of this, the equipment used must be highly reliable. In order to enhance this reliability and fault tolerance, as well as the performance, various RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) configurations… Read More »

Family Internet Safety

Keeping your family safe on the Internet is a moving target. The Internet brings technology into our lives, but like the Gutenberg Press, its original purpose has been corrupted. If left unchecked, it will influence the very character of your children. To this end, I have a number of technologies and insights that can aid you in protecting… Read More »

KeePass

Passwords should never be stored in clear text, Excel or in the cloud. These are easy targets for viruses and hackers. KeePass is an open-source program that will store your passwords in an encrypted file on your Mac or PC. A pin or password is used to access your data. You can also load this directly to a… Read More »

IFIXIT

A great website that walks you through complicated repairs. They have detailed manuals and sell tools and parts to fix may items including iOS devices.

Doceri

Doceri allows you to mirror and control any PC or Mac from a wirelessly connected iPad.  It is also an interactive whiteboard that can be used to create a presentation, insert images, save and edit and record a screencast video that can be saved and shared. It works with any software as the makeups are actually being done… Read More »