Recent Posts
If you would like to receive our weekly news letter click here
Tech Insight : Phew-It’s Hot! And It Affects The Web Too …
In this article, we look at how the weather can affect your Internet connection, and therefore the fortunes of the Web. Vulnerabilities Thinking beyond the router that is indoors, and protected from the weather, the rest of the infrastructure that brings your...
Featured Article : How Much Do You Know About Copyright Law?
In this article, we take a broad look at copyright and how it may apply to your business online, plus what exceptions there may be to the law. This Article Firstly, it is important to make clear that this article does not offer any definitive legal advice but merely...
Tech News : AI Designs AI Chips Better Than Humans, Says Google
AI can now design AI chips hundreds of times faster (and better) than humans. Where will this lead? A recent research paper has described how a deep reinforcement learning approach to chip ‘floorplanning’ has led to AI generating chip floorplans that are superior or...
Tech News : Millions Struggling To Pay Broadband Bills
A recent Citizens Advice survey has revealed that 2.5 million people are behind on their broadband bills, with 700,000 of these falling into the red during the Covid pandemic. Young, With Children Under 18, Or Receiving Universal Credit Most Affected The survey of...
Tech Tip – Exporting/Importing Google Chrome Bookmarks
If you’re switching devices or need to re-install Google Chrome from scratch but don’t want to lose your collection of bookmarks, here’s how to export and import them. Export - From Chrome’s ‘More’ menu (the three dots, top right) select ‘Bookmarks’ > ‘Bookmark...
Tech News : Conservative Party Gets £10,000 Data Protection Fine
The ICO has fined the Conservative Party £10,000 for sending unlawful marketing emails to people who did not want to receive them. Breach The ICO has decided that after an investigation into emails sent from the Conservative Party, in the name of Rt Hon Boris Johnson...
Tech News : Hybrid Working Could See Half of UK Businesses Cut Office Space
A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) survey has found that half of UK businesses expect to reduce the size of their office space, and one-third expect to reduce it by 30 percent. Reduce Size of Real Estate Portfolio The Occupier Survey of 258 of the UK’s largest...
Tech Insight – What Is A VPN?
In this article, we take a brief look at what a VPN is, how it works, its advantages, plus its disadvantages. What Is A VPN? A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a service that allows you to create a secure connection to another network over the Internet, thereby...
Featured Article : How Secure Is Your Software/Digital Supply Chain?
It is easy to think that cyber-attacks are likely to come from outsiders unconnected to the business, but how much do you know about the security of your digital supply chain? Software Supply Chain Risks Businesses use many different third-party software tools as part...
Tech Tip – Re-Open A Recently Closed Tab
Sometimes you can accidentally close an important browser tab. Here’s a fast and easy way to re-open that tab: - In Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, right click on the title bar of the browser (the part above the address field). - Select ‘Reopen closed tab’. -...
Suspected Cannabis Farm Turns Out To Be A Bitcoin Mining Farm
Police in Sandwell in the West Midlands recently discovered a warehouse that had been converted to an operation to illegally supply large quantities of electricity for Bitcoin mining. Same Heat & Electricity Profile as a Cannabis Farm The warehouse was raided by...
Guarding Against Rises In Router and VoIP Attacks
After a recent high profile media story highlighted how poor router security led to a police raid of the home of an innocent family, we take a look at how Wi-Fi piggybacking attacks against home and domestic targets, and VoIP hacking of businesses worldwide are...
Tech Insight – What Is Bandwidth?
In this article we take a look at what bandwidth is, ways to improve bandwidth, and we look at how bandwidth ‘throttling’ is used. Bandwidth Bandwidth refers to the maximum amount of data that can be transferred from one point to another over an internet connection in...
Featured Article : Safely Moving Your Tech Hardware
With many of us now owning tech items such as laptops, desktops, and printers, we look at the best ways to prepare tech hardware for a safe journey to a new home. Tech Owners An Aviva survey from 2020 showed that the average UK home now has 10.3 internet-enabled...
Tech Tip – Sending ‘Private’ Emails in Gmail
If you need to send an email containing private/sensitive information, you can do it in Gmail using confidential mode. Here’s how: - Open Gmail and log into your account. - In the upper-left corner of the screen, select Compose. - At the bottom of the New Message...
Tech News : Get Notified By Google If Your Passwords Are Compromised
As part of Google’s latest security updates to Chrome and Android, users will not only be alerted if any of the passwords in their Password manager are compromised but will also be given the opportunity to make a quick fix. Quick Fix – Change Password In the ongoing...
Tech News : New Privacy Features For Android 12
Google has announced the release of the first beta of Android 12 which has a range of new features including some security measures which Google hopes can match those of Apple. Design Change Announced recently at a developer conference, and on Google’s blog, the...
Featured Article – The Issue of Push Payment Fraud Reimbursement
With Barclays Bank recently publishing the figures of refunds it made to customers who fell victim to authorised push payment (APP) fraud, there have been calls for greater transparency and reform to the current (voluntary) reimbursement code. Authorised Push Payment...
Tech Insight – What Are Firewalls?
In this article, we take a brief look at what a firewall is, what types there are, and the benefits and drawbacks of firewalls. Firewall A firewall is a network security system that can monitor and control incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined...
Tech Tip – How To Delete The Last 15 Minutes of Your Search History In Google
If, for whatever reason, you have not used Incognito browsing in Google and would like a fast and easy way to delete the last 15 minutes of your search history, here’s how: - Open the Google Search app on your Android or iOS device. - Tap on your profile picture...
Tech News : Clubhouse For Android Launched In The UK
Drop-in audio conversation social network app ‘Clubhouse’ has launched its Android (beta) version for download in the UK. Clubhouse Android Launched In English-Speaking Countries San Francisco-based Clubhouse announced on May 9 that, starting in the U.S., and quickly...
Tech News : AI Keystroke Spy Tools
With AI recently in the spotlight in Europe over the need to regulate over some ‘unacceptable use’, some experts are warning of the threat of AI keystroke reading spy tools. Possibilities Companies like TypingDNA developing AI biometric verification (back in 2017)...
Featured Article : Life After Cookies
With Google recently committing to phasing out third-party cookies as Firefox and Safari have already done, we take a brief look at the possible alternatives and replacements for using cookies to track and understand user behaviour. Cookies Cookies are pieces of...
Tech Insight : What Is Patching or Patch Management?
In this article, we take a brief look at the importance of patch management in maintaining security. Patches and Patch Management Patches are the software fixes for known security vulnerabilities in software such as operating systems, third-party applications,...
Tech Tip : Using Alexa As An Intercom System
If you have Amazon Echo devices in your home (or office), the ‘Drop In’ feature allows you to use Alexa as an intercom through your Echo devices. Here’s how: - Open your Alexa app. - Tap 'Devices' (lower-right corner). - Tap 'Echo & Alexa' to display a list of...
Tech News : Google Users To Be Auto-Enrolled In Two-step Verification
In a recent blog post, Google has announced that the automatic enrolment of Google account users in Two Step Verification ‘2SV’ is coming soon. Passwords – Single Biggest Threat To Online Security In the blog post on ‘On World Password Day’ (May 6), Google’s Director...
Tech News : Old Router Risks Could Affect Millions
An investigation by consumer watchdog ‘Which?’ has highlighted how millions of people around the UK are using old routers with security flaws. The Investigation The Which? investigation surveyed 6,000 UK adults and, with the help of Red Maple Technologies, looked at...
Featured Article – 10 Programming Languages And Some Of Their Uses
In this article, we take a brief look at ten popular programming languages and what they’re used for. Recent History What we would recognise as the first computer programming languages date back to the 1940s, were very specialised and were based on mathematical...
Tech Insight – What Is ‘Business Intelligence’?
In this article we look at ‘business intelligence’, how it can be obtained, and why it’s important. Business Intelligence Business Intelligence refers to how a company/organisation can use its historical data to improving strategic decision-making and thereby provide...
Tech Tip – Add Or Remove Comments In Word
Using comments in Microsoft Word is a good way to leave feedback and reply to feedback in documents that you and your team are working on. Here’s how: - To add a comment, click the ‘Review’ tab (top of the screen). - Highlight a word in the document or place your...