by Felicien | May 1, 2018 | Education
Moving to “the cloud” is good business sense – the cloud makes financial sense as opposed to the costly real estate involved with server expansion and never-ending data needs. But how can you protect yourself and your data in something you can’t see, touch, or control?
“Change is scary.”
It’s a phrase often uttered in response to big news that means change on the grand scale; something big is looming. The reference to change being “scary” really has to do with human nature and the fear of the unknown. But are we really afraid of the unknown? Or is this more to do with apprehension over something we don’t yet fully understand?
You’ll pay a small fortune to a therapist to get the answers to all of those questions, but the bottom line really is just that change makes us nervous for all of those reasons. When the discussion turns to the cloud, this intangible and invisible “thing” that is ever-evolving and so adaptable that it’s seemingly different for everyone, our collective guard is up.
The reality is that the cloud is only invisible to us – these storage servers do physically exist somewhere, using another entity’s real estate and power supply. Hired staff maintain and protect these servers on your behalf. The cloud is scalable based on your needs, meaning you can secure more or less storage space as your business needs change. Win-win-win, right?
Yes and no.
Myth: I’m paying someone else to store my data, so the burden of security is on them.
Fact: It’s your data being stored in the cloud, so you still need to think about security. You have a duty to protect the information of customers and clients, and if there is a data breach or other cybersecurity vulnerability, there is still a liability.
Myth: Cloud providers are super high-tech and impenetrable.
Fact: Your data is stored on third-party servers and accessed via an Internet connection. Any reputable cloud solution provider employs incredibly strict security measures and keeps abreast of the latest cybersecurity news – so you don’t have to. That doesn’t mean, though, that you don’t need to worry about secure access and taking every precaution you can to prevent unauthorized access through a breach on your end.
Myth: My cloud solution knows what they’re doing, so I don’t have to.
Fact: You are paying an expert to provide you a service, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need to be aware or your team doesn’t need to be knowledgeable. More importantly, why would you not want to know how your cloud provider is protecting you – and your data. Would you be concerned if servers were stored in an unlocked and unguarded facility? What about if your data was backed up on hard drives that sat exposed to the elements or accessible to anyone? Or worse – if your data wasn’t being backed up at all? That’s like letting your staff keep passwords to their network or cloud access on a notepad on their desktop for the world to see! Don’t let human error be responsible for a breach – keep informed.
Did you know that more than half of organizations, especially those classified as “small and medium businesses (SMBs)”, that experience a data loss, whether from cybersecurity breach or not – result in a catastrophic impact and aren’t able to recover? That means if there is a data breach, the odds aren’t in your favor to recover at all.
The most important thing to remember is that a 100% cybersecurity guarantee isn’t possible, but that every business can take steps to make sure they’re protected, and so is their cloud service access. How can you make sure your data is secure?
Establish a formal process with your team.
Does each member of your team understand their responsibility as it relates to security measures? Maybe – but the only way to make sure every team member is taking every precaution is to define what measures are in place and what steps need to be taken to protect the brand, the organization, and its data.
Ensure the formal process is part of the new team member onboarding so that all staff have the information and understand what is expected – including executives.
Follow the latest security best practices.
Is your network secure? If your IT staff is in-house, make sure there is a process for continuing education. If your organization outsources your managed processes, make sure your trusted partner is employing these same best practices and communicates needs with your organization timely and clearly.
Are passwords complex? Do passwords contain a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, plus numbers and symbols? Are passwords routinely changed? Passwords shouldn’t be reused in multiple locations, either, and should be unique to users.
Is data backed up? As many as 20% of back-ups are incomplete or corrupt, and some systems are fundamentally flawed. If your organization backs-up your own data, even a fraction of your stored data, make sure it’s stored in a secured location with these same best practices above.
Are desktop workstations, mobile access machines, and remote technology all equipped with the latest in active antivirus software?
Proactivity and consistency.
This is probably the most important part of any cybersecurity process.
Does your organization provide ongoing training to team members to make sure security measures are kept updated and consistent? Operator error is the most common cause of a data breach!
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Never are these words truer than in the case of data security! Protecting your data is essentially protecting yourself from cybercriminals who seek to access your data for illicit gain. Proactive protective safeguards, consistently deployed, really will go the farthest in terms of protecting your organization’s future.
Is the cloud right for you? You may not have a choice. Recent estimates show that costs and other factors will require organizations to use the cloud in some manner within the next five years and that the next decade will see a massive migration to the cloud to leverage the technology and the many benefits that cloud services can offer.
Are you considering a move to the cloud but aren’t sure if it’s right for you? Prepare now, and when the time comes for you to make the change, it won’t seem so scary. Is the sky the limit on potential? Nah – we say there’s no limit!
by Felicien | May 1, 2018 | Education
As a parent, it can be difficult to keep up with the latest potential technology dangers facing our children. So, I was thankful to find the following information about one of today’s very popular Internet games – is your child playing Fortnite Battle Royale? Should you be worried? You might want to get up to speed on it.
More than 40 million children and adults play Fortnite Battle Royale, and it appears that many are obsessed with it. Fortnite was released last year (2017) by Epic Games. There are two different versions: Fortnite: Save the World and Fortnite: Battle Royale.
Fortnite: Battle Royale is the one that’s popular with children. It’s marketed as a free-to-play game on PS4, Xbox One, PC and iOS devices, but there are also paid versions. It’s one of the first games that let kids play together across numerous platforms. So, your child can be playing on an Xbox and compete with another person on their PC.
So, how popular is this internet game? The developer, Epic Games, rakes in over $1 million a day from Fortnite. And they are getting ready to release an Android version that they say could make $50 million by the end of the year.
What Is Fortnite Battle Royale?
It’s described as a mass online brawl. It begins with one hundred players leaping out of a plane onto an island where they are left fighting with one another, and they fight to the death. This doesn’t sound like something children should be playing does it?
The fighters run around the island looking for weapons like rifles, grenade launchers and crossbows that are hidden in buildings and amongst the landscape. They compete to find these armaments, so they can survive.
They also compete to collect items, so they can build structures to hide in or use for defense. As these resources are collected, the area they compete in is reduced, so the remaining players are forced to fight closer together. Essentially, if you kill everyone else, you win.
Fortnite Battle Royale is a multiplayer game, and in reality, kids are really competing against other kids (or adults). Players can chat with one another over text or headsets. Although Battle Royale is a violent game, humor is part of its appeal. Kids can dress their players in silly costumes and have them perform funny dance moves. They can team up with their friends’ players to fight in duo or squad modes. Up to 100 can play at a time, until one-by-one they’re eliminated and only one survives.
Is this game really for children? How does this prepare a young person to live in a civilized society? It doesn’t. Even though it doesn’t depict blood and gore, it’s simply too violent for children. This is a game for adults, disguised for kids.
Why Is It So Popular?
It’s free (unless you want to use one of the paid versions).
It’s silly and humorous, even though the intent is to kill everyone.
It uses bright, almost cartoon-like graphics and comes with loads of funny items and outfits like dinosaur costumes and space suits.
It has a cult appeal because it uses a variety of dance moves that are popular with kids.
New features, play modes and items are added to the game on a weekly basis. This keeps kids’ attention and wets their desire to try them out. They like to “show off” their new gear to other players.
It appeals to children’s desire to be socially connected with their peers because they can chat and play at the same time. Children are forming real Fortnite teams and spending time together after school playing the game together.
It’s also a huge hit with video game YouTubers. They broadcast videos of themselves playing the game. What this means is that you have adults playing the game with your children. This is another reason to question whether your child should be doing this.
What Should You Do?
Check out the game for yourself. Only you can decide if it’s appropriate for your children. If you decide it’s okay for them to play, consider limiting the time they do so. When they comply, tell them that you’ll allow them to play another game tomorrow. The reward system usually works with kids. The games can last longer than 20 minutes if they succeed in “staying alive,” so keep this in mind.
Also, keep in mind that this game can be very stressful for children. They’ll always be worried that their character is going to be killed. Sit nearby and watch as they play. When you see how stressful this really is, you may decide it’s not something they should be doing.
If they play on a game console, there are parental controls you can apply. You can turn off the chat settings for the game if you’re worried about who they’re talking to. You can also limit how much time they can play. It’s wise to do this before they get “hooked” on it.
If your kids are allowed to purchase the paid versions, talk to them about spending limits and make sure they ask you before making any in-app purchases.
Also, teach them that it’s dangerous for them to share personal information with other players they don’t know, or with strangers online.
As always, try to keep the lines of communication open with your children regarding the online games they play, and their internet habits.
by Felicien | May 1, 2018 | Education
Is Chromium, the next browser from Google, trying to take over for Chrome?
At a recent I/O developer conference, Google’s senior VP of products, Sundar Pichai, announced that Google Chrome now has over 1 billion active users. Though Microsoft has pushed their Edge browser hard, consumers simply like Chrome better. So, why mess with perfection?
The Chromium browser project actually does not attempt to improve upon Chrome. It is an open-source browser that works more as a shell or window manager for the Internet instead of as a standard browser. The tabs work more as a title bar for desktop applications and are designed to manage groups of applications.
Chromium’s Quick Search Box simplifies the way people access the Internet, including their personal content. The Chromium OS combines these two common activities to make navigation faster and more intuitive.
How Chrome Differs from Chromium
Google has taken the basics of Chrome and added some important open-source bits that may attract those who love and use open source programs. A few of these include:
Adobe Flash (PPAPI). Chrome includes this Flash plug-in that gets automatically updated each time Chrome is updated. In order to experience the best in games and graphics, computers need the latest version of Flash. Their sandboxed Pepper API (PPAPI) plug-in can be installed on Chromium, but this is not done automatically.
Support for AAC, MP3, and H.264. Both browsers include the basic codecs, such as WAV, Opus, Vorbis, Theora, VP8, and VP9. Chrome provides licensed codecs giving users access to a wider range of media and content.
Extension Restrictions. These days, many extensions have been released that can actually harm your computer and zap resources. With Chrome, all extensions that are not found in the Chrome Web Store are automatically disabled. A recent investigation found that some rogue extensions can highjack your computer’s resources and use them to mine cryptocurrencies. This will cause your computer to slow way down and behave in unusual ways.
Updating Google regularly. Both Windows and Mac users have an app running in the background that keeps Chrome always up to date. Chromium lacks this convenient feature.
Security Sandbox. One of the best features of Chrome and Chromium is that these browsers have the security sandbox enabled by default. A few browsers, including some Linux programs, will disable Chromium’s security sandbox, which can cause random issues.
Why Build Another Web Browser?
Google’s developers designed Chromium in an effort to build a better, safer, more reliable way for users to surf the web. By allowing developers all over the world to work on the project, they felt that Google Chrome could be significantly improved upon. However, this hasn’t happened.
Chromium is still largely misunderstood by the masses and has not generated the global interest that other open source products have. For instance, the Linux operating system has become a very trustworthy program that is used today by about half of all Internet servers. It’s reliable and secure. A number of programmers and developers will always be fans of Linux no matter what. It remains freely distributable, allowing anyone to create a distribution for any purpose.
A large community of developers worldwide worked on Linux for many years and their hard work produced an amazing family of free, open-source operating systems. These programs are used in education, business, finance, video games, and supercomputers, among others. Linux set the bar high for open-source software collaborations.
Today, users can still get excellent support from these developers. Companies like Red Hat and SUSE still offer commercial support as well. The dream for Chromium was that global developers would continually improve upon the program until it far surpassed other browsers on the market.
Why Chrome is Preferred
Today, in spite of the many good browser choices available to users, Chrome is hard to beat. This may add to Chromium’s lackluster appeal. Below, are a few of the reasons why Chrome users say they will continue to use this browser over Chromium and others:
Extensions and apps are integrated seamlessly. Firefox takes months to add a new app or extension for new sites, programs, and content.
Ease of use and installation. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to install and use Chrome. It has a very clean, organized design that takes away the confusion that new users may experience. That makes it perfect for groups like the elderly who need programs that work without much ado.
Bookmarks and favorites can be quickly transferred to a new computer, phone or tablet. Chromium and Firefox both use a more disorganized system of transferring your bookmarks that can be painfully inconsistent.
Lack of understanding is another hurdle for Chromium. Because it is not a standard web browser, users may get confused about exactly how to manage applications and programs.
Efficiency and speed. Today, people expect to assert almost no effort when using the computer. They want everything to work seamlessly without additional effort or education. The need to be user-friendly is a giant obstacle to overcome when creating new apps, computers, programs, etc.
Getting Started with Chromium
Chromium is still a good option for those who are looking for open-source software and who want to avoid closed-source bits. Linux distributions may incorporate Chromium instead of Firefox simply because it’s so much like Chrome, yet offers good open-source attributes. Of course, Chrome still offers a better Flash player and a few other good features. For instance, using Chrome on Linux, users can now stream Netflix videos, an attractive quality for those who love Netflix. Chromium does not offer support for HTML5 video content.
Despite its drawbacks, numerous users including developers are working on Chromium. Getting involved in this project is easy. New users might begin by visiting forums and developer discussion groups. There, you can meet some like-minded individuals and get up to speed. You can also get involved by volunteering to help with testing. Chromium developers are looking for reduced test cases that improve web compatibility.
There is always a wide range of issues from translation problems to file bugs that developers can help with. Submitting patches can be extremely helpful. In the end, Google’s hope is that Chromium will become a fast, responsive program that is secure and dependable. It remains to be seen whether this will happen or not. Though Google is a trusted brand globally speaking, the company does sometimes create an “Edsel” when it comes to new programs, software, products, and apps.
by Felicien | Apr 30, 2018 | Education
“Hey Cortana, remind me to contact Bill at Acme to set up that sales meeting.”
More business people are relying on their voice assistants and AI chatbots to help them save time and effort, according to market research firm Spiceworks. After surveying more than 500 technology professionals throughout North America and Europe, they found that 40% of large businesses and 15% of smaller ones will now be using voice-assist technology to improve their business efficiencies.
Right now, Microsoft Cortana is the most commonly used AI assistant for businesses, at 49 percent – and 14% of businesses are using AI chatbots, with their Microsoft collaboration tools like Slack and Teams. This is probably because it’s so accessible and is integrated into Windows 10. Apple’s Siri isn’t far behind at 47 percent – it’s integrated into iOS and macOS.
Some of the tasks respondents use voice assist for include:
Voice-to-text dictation
Employee calendar management
Customer service purposes
Helpdesk management tasks
Sales and marketing
New Players in the Business Voice-Assist Marketplace.
Integrating voice assistants in the enterprise market is unleashing new use cases for the technology. In November 2017, Amazon launched their Alexa for Business platform, which lets businesses to create their own Alexa skills.
IBM recently launched their Watson Assistant for businesses. They plan to license it to enterprises so they can build customized, interactive tasks into their own products and services. The Watson Assistant is more focused on customization and privacy than are Google and Amazon. This might give IBM a competitive edge in the business marketplace.
Watson allows for better-tailored voice interactions and eliminates the need for a universal wake-up word like “Hey Siri” or “Alexa.” Plus, you can train the assistant using your own datasets. This makes it easier to set actions and commands.
The Watson Assistant also gives each user control over their personal data. It doesn’t pool users’ information and allows each person to control which Watson-powered devices and applications can access their data via the IBM cloud. The technology then learns and remembers each user’s preferences.
IBM is introducing their Watson Assistant to hotels, hospitals, banks, offices, restaurants, connected cars, and more. They’ve partnered Harmon where they’re using the Watson Assistant in a Maserati concept car. The Munich airport is also using IBM’s Watson Assistant to power a robot that provides directions to travelers. And Chameleon Technologies is using it to control temperatures in homes based on residents’ daily schedules.
What Voice Assist Will Demand from Your IT Professionals.
As voice assist becomes increasingly mainstream in the workplace, IT departments will face many challenges. As it stands now, the various forms of voice assist, machine learning and artificial intelligence operate on multiple platforms, operating systems, apps, and hardware. This will make it difficult to harness their potential without considerable investment in resources and expertise. Not only will IT professionals need to have a complete grasp of its functionality and how to integrate it with networks and legacy systems, but they must also define and implement strategies for using it, and provide training and education for an entire pool of users in the enterprise. As voice assist becomes more interactive and “personal,” IT professionals will need to combine their technical skills along with strategic and interpersonal capabilities to achieve greater success.Adoption of the technology is moving slowly but is predicted to pick up as the power of voice achieves a new level yet to be discovered. Those businesses that stay informed and ready for and prepared for change will be better positioned to take advantage of its benefits. Some of these benefits include increased productivity and sales, more and better innovations, improved collaboration, and the ability to increase global market share.
Deep Learning
Voice assistant providers are improving recognition capabilities through the power of deep learning, a form of artificial intelligence (similar to facial-recognition technology). Deep learning goes a step farther than machine learning that is based on algorithms and historical data.It will be able to predict a pattern of speech based on previous content without training by compiling vast amounts of data from the Internet. Voice assistants will be capable of taking meeting notes with much more accuracy. And, they’ll be able to identify different voices in a room to transcribe who said what.
Deep learning will be better at translating foreign languages. Imagine how this could fuel the growth of a global business, and the ability for more seamless collaboration. Right now, voice assist is a bit “robotic,” but eventually it will be more conversational in tone and respond more accurately due to deep learning.
But, Don’t Fire Your Administrative Assistant Just Yet.Those who aren’t using them say it’s because they don’t see a use for them, that the cost is holding them back, and they worry about security issues. They also worry about technology distracting their employees and that it could negatively affect productivity.
Although voice assistants and chatbots are helpful in the workplace, the technology still needs improvement. 59% said that it can misunderstand requests and 30% said that it is inaccurate when executing commands. And, 29% said that it can’t distinguish their voice from others.
Other than using them for simple tasks, voice assist has yet to become widely used in the workplace. If you have a lot of employees in one area, the technology won’t work for you. It has difficulty deciphering commands with there are simultaneous conversations taking place. But, as the technology improves, more will be willing to use it.
Is your business ready to meet the demands that voice assistants and future technology advancements will surely bring? If your small or mid-sized business is struggling to manage your existing IT systems, or you can’t keep up with IT security concerns, it’s time to consider partnering with a Technology Solutions Provider. In this way, you’ll be prepared for what’s coming next in the world of voice-assist, and other technologies that can help you better compete in your marketplace, improve productivity and ultimately your profitability.
by Felicien | Apr 30, 2018 | Education
Your relationship with the Internet started out so well! Long before you realized it, sites like Facebook and Google were tracking your every move and keeping records on you to you use against you. Fight back!
It may have started with an American Online disc promising 40 hours of free time, or it may have started with your university email account and use was limited to time spent in the school library. Perhaps it was with odd-duck Juno, connecting to download new email messages and then only dialing back in to re-connect for a quick send-and-receive, and no real time spent “online”. Or it may have started after “AOL” was unlimited and free, and you weren’t among those who had to create a brand-new email address every time you needed to score more free time from a new disc – seriously, those things were everywhere!
No matter how it started, we’re all in the same boat today. Well, unless you’re still connecting from a university library computer anonymously and your home life is spent in a cabin in the mountains somewhere living the life unplugged. Side note: There’s a reason people pay to travel to the most remote locations in the world – unplugged – for a back-to-the-basics experience, sometimes all the way to staying in a tent in a sleeping bag and fishing or foraging for food. It’s ironic how we’ll consider paying for this as a vacation, given the access we have to modern amenities like running water, indoor plumbing, air conditioning, and maybe a Keurig.
Are we on information overload? Are we overwhelmed with data and addicted to being busy? Well, yes to both – but that’s not the real reason we revert to rustic living. It’s the feeling of control over everything in your immediate world and being in charge of your destiny. It’s knowing the unknown doesn’t live in some dark room halfway around the globe, waiting to steal your credit card information or plant malware on your laptop through one innocent but careless action on your part. We’re going to skip the part about possible bears or wild animals on that extreme camping expedition analogy we’re making here.
Back in the real world, where Google and Facebook exist, we now know that those are just two of the major organizations who use the information gathered from us online to benefit them. Yes, the fine print we accept without reading vaguely indicates the information they collect will be used to cater our online experiences to our preferences, etc., but no matter how you look at it, the primary benefactor in that data collection isn’t us. Google collects the data to serve us advertisements, deliver sponsored search results which are really ads that charge the advertiser a premium to show their search result at the top – from which, again, Google benefits. We’re not saying this is a bad thing – oh, no! But at the same time, we need to be incredibly cautious about what information we do share. After all, knowledge is power. We already know Google is in an extremely powerful position, being the exception and the rule, depending on the circumstances.
Now that we’re learning more about the Internet and how organizations are using data to target consumers – us – and we’re learning the unfortunate side effects – for us – about the relationships these organizations have with other major organizations who are willing to pay for our information. All so they, in turn, can then target us with more advertising and messaging. We refer back to the earlier comment about information overload.
The question we face is, what can we do? How can we take back control of life in the world where we connect to the Internet every single day, whether it’s to check email, post a status to Facebook, share an image on Instagram, or use Google to search for a recipe?
We’ll tell you.
There are steps you can take to see what information Google has collected on you. We warn you, before you follow these steps, be prepared to understand Google has far more information than you realize, and it can feel like an intrusion. It may feel like the last time you went to a physical ATM – way back in the day – and were worried about that guy behind you who wasn’t at least 4 feet back, and you were worried he’d see your PIN and rob you.
For Google:
Log into your personal Google Account. You already have one if you’ve read this far. Chances are you’re already signed in. How to know? This is simple: go to https://www.google.com/ and look in the upper right corner. If there is the avatar you’ve chosen or an image you recognize, you’re signed in. If not, there will be a blue rectangle that says “Sign In”.
Once you’re logged in, visit this link: Google Maps Timeline.
This pulls up Google Maps and may give you a dialogue box with a brief introduction: “Explore your timeline”, with the text under this that “Only you can see your timeline”.
“What’s Location History?” wants to tell you that you’re about to see a personalized map of all the places you’ve been with your logged-in devices. This is where you’re promised better commute options and improved search results.
You’re next promised control, with the option to delete anything you prefer.
Clicking through will take you to a page where Google tells you what it thinks your home address and work address are. These may be blank.
At the bottom left, there is a blue button: “Manage Location History”.
This is your option to delete the data Google has collected from your usages and stored.
For Facebook:
Log into your personal Facebook Account.
Once logged in, there will be a drop-down menu in the upper right corner that just looks like a triangle pointing down. Click this to see the drop-down menu.
Select “Settings”.
In the left navigation menu, select “General”.
In the center panel, you’ll see a series of items – probably about a half dozen, depending on the latest iteration of Facebook. Underneath these menu items, you’ll see an option to “Download a copy of your Facebook data.”
Depending on your Facebook tenure and activity, this can take a very long time to download. Clicking this text will take you to a page with a green button that reads “Start My Archive”. You will probably be prompted for your password again at this point.
Facebook will happily email you when your archive is complete – it’s ok, they already know your email address, remember?
This is not necessarily related to all those personality quizzes some Facebook users love about “Which Harry Potter Character Are You?” or “What Color Is Your Aura?” or “What Type of Dog Breed Are You?”, and the data that is collected through this – by the way, it’s typically your email address and your list of friends. With the news of Facebook selling information on over 80 million of its users recently, there is a large movement to #DeleteFacebook, but we’re not sure jumping ship is the answer.
Updating activity on Facebook isn’t as straightforward as it is on Google, but at least now you know what is being collected from you now from both and how to handle it. As we mentioned, knowledge is power, and the more power you can take back, the more control you have over your digital destiny.
