Google makes a statement by suing high-profile hackers

By on December 23, 2021 in Blog, Google

Google has brought legal action against 17 suspected cyber criminals, in the search giant’s first ever case launched against a botnet.

The case names Russians Dmitry Starovikov and Alexander Filippov, alongside 15 of their associates, as being behind Glupteba – a malicious botnet thought to have been in action for over a decade. During that time, Glupteba is thought to have infected over a million Windows devices, stealing personal information that could be used to commit fraud. At its peak, the botnet was thought to be reaching thousands of new devices every day.

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Log4j patched – but dangers remain

By on December 20, 2021 in Blog, Security

A ‘horrifying’ vulnerability in Apache logging library Log4j has been patched, but the threat to business is far from over.

The so-called Log4Shell vulnerability emerged at the beginning of December, when Cisco and Cloudflare identified a huge security flaw in the open source software, built to allow users to keep track of what happens within their apps.

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Beam Me Up: Hologram technology of the future reaches the present

By on December 13, 2021 in Blog, New technology

Hologram technology, the like seen in countless science fiction films and TV shows, could soon become more than a reality – but positively commonplace.

A video went viral in recent weeks showing David Nussbaum, boss of US holograms firm Portl, showcasing the technology that makes people appear in hologram form in such a way that it becomes difficult to determine which one is real and which one the avatar. In the video, Nussbaum simply walks in front of a camera, then his exact likeness in hologram is displayed, life-size, in a box to his side. Everything Nussbaum says or does is reflected in his holographic double.

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Football trumps Covid among Google search terms

By on December 6, 2021 in Blog, Google

The coronavirus pandemic may have seemed like the topic on everyone’s lips in 2021, but it wasn’t top of the pile when it came to Google searches. In fact, it appeared just once in the top 10. Instead, football ruled the roost, taking four of the ten entries – and every single one of the top three.

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Workers prepared to walk if hybrid working goes

By on December 1, 2021 in Blog, Remote working

Hybrid working has gone from becoming a ‘nice-to-have’ to essential for the majority of Brits, who are now set on keeping this more flexible approach to their working patterns.

Despite calls from some politicians and business leaders for a return to the ‘old normal’ once restrictions allow, the majority of British workers want remote working to become a permanent fixture of the workplace.

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Apple allows users to repair devices themselves

By on November 29, 2021 in Apple, Blog, Mobile devices

iPhone users could soon make repairs to broken devices themselves, after Apple revealed a new ‘self-repair’ programme.

Campaigners have long called on the technology giant to allow its users to repair their devices if they feel comfortable and able doing so. However, Apple resisted their calls for many years, claiming it was too dangerous a process and that getting a professional to do the work would result in a better finish.

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Microsoft announces green ambitions at COP26

By on November 26, 2021 in Blog, Microsoft, Topical

Microsoft has used the recent COP26 summit to outline its sustainability plans for the years ahead.

The tech giant has already made clear its ambitious plans to become fully carbon negative by 2030 – to remove more carbon than it creates every year. Furthermore, by 2050 Microsoft plans to have removed all the carbon it would have generated since it was originally founded.

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Online Safety Bill: A step in the right direction or a censor’s charter?

By on November 19, 2021 in Blog, Security, Topical, Web privacy

The UK government is considering new legislation that would force technology companies to keep users of their platforms safe from abuse.

The Online Safety Bill would force companies such as Facebook and Twitter to regulate the content shared on their platforms. It would also provide Ofcom with new powers of regulation, in a bid to stamp out behaviours described as currently being “legal but harmful” – everything from online bullying and abuse, to advocacy of self-harm and spreading misinformation.

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Cybercrime hits record levels, as hackers target Covid vaccine research

By on November 12, 2021 in Blog, Security, Web privacy

Record levels of cyber attacks were recorded last year – with unscrupulous criminals targeting organisations working on Covid-19 research.

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre recorded 777 incidents between August 2020 and September 2021, up from 723 the year before. Of these, around 20% of affected organisations had some link to the healthcare sector – including hospitals and vaccine research centres.

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5 tips to get the most from Microsoft Teams

By on November 5, 2021 in Blog, Microsoft, Tips & tricks

Microsoft continues to develop Teams as part of its “single pane of glass” vision, enabling business users to chat, share documents and join real time voice and video conferencing calls.

With over 300,000 organisations and 115 million daily users, if you’re one of them, you might want to brush up on some power user tips and get the most from the software. So here are five of our favourites to get you started.

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