Navigate teams in a flash with these handy shortcuts

By on August 27, 2021 in Blog, Microsoft, Remote working, Tips & tricks

If you’re one of the 250 million monthly users of Teams, you’ll be aware of its many options for meetings, chats and file sharing.

However, what you may not be aware of is the sheer number of shortcuts available to you from within the Command Box or through keyboard shortcuts. In fact, the Command Box at the top of the page does much more than just traditional searches, but responds to a whole array of different instructions for those in the know.

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Get your business secure online with Cyber Essentials

By on August 23, 2021 in Blog, Security, Topical, Web privacy

A new government-backed scheme has been launched to help businesses keep their data safe from hackers and demonstrate a commitment to cybersecurity.

Cyber Essentials offers two levels of certification, so businesses can learn all about the most common attacks and ways of protecting themselves from becoming the next victims. The courses have been designed to protect firms against the typical attacks they’re most likely to face, rather than any large-scale, state-sponsored hacks – more the burglar trying your front door to see if it has been left unlocked than an Oceans 11-style heist.

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Hacker steals $600 billion in cryptocurrency “for fun”

By on August 16, 2021 in Blog, Security, Topical, Web privacy

A hacker thought to be behind one of the largest cryptocurrency heists ever recorded has gone on record to explain why they did it – saying simply it was for fun.

Some $600 million was stolen from Poly Network – an American decentralised finance (DeFi) platform offering peer-to-peer cryptocurrency trading without the need for middlemen – earlier this month. However, the company managed to quickly get $342 million back by pleading with the hacker for its safe return – a figure that has since gone up to $427 million. In return, Poly Network has sent a $500,000 bug bounty to the individual it dubbed ‘Mr White Hat’.

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Landline cables to be cut by 2025

By on August 2, 2021 in Blog, Infrastructure, Telecoms and mobile data

The copper wires that connect landlines across the country are to be replaced, with an internet alternative taking over within the next four years.

PTSN (the Public Switched Telephone Network) has, in one guise or another, been used for landline telephony for generations. However, the copper wire technology on which it relies has long since been superseded by fibre-optic cables, such as those which carry superfast broadband connections. Copper cables provide a much lower quality connection and the PTSN equipment is becoming increasingly costly to run and maintain – necessitating this change.

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Major outage prompts firms to consider disaster recovery for websites

By on July 28, 2021 in Blog, Disaster recovery, Topical

A recent outage affecting numerous high-profile websites has put the need for disaster recovery into stark focus.

An issue with cloud computing provider Fastly caused some of the biggest websites to suffer outages earlier this month. Among those affected were the BBC, Amazon, PayPal, The Times, The Guardian, Reddit, Twitch and even the UK government’s gov.uk site.

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Unions call for crackdown on out-of-hours emails

By on July 23, 2021 in Blog, General, Topical

Bosses have been warned not to routinely call or email staff outside of regular office hours, to avoid causing burnout or mental health issues.

With over a third of UK workers doing at least some of their job from home last year, and many companies considering a ‘hybrid’ form of working from now on, businesses are having to look at how they manage the changing face of day-to-day work.

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5 top tips for Google Chrome

By on July 16, 2021 in Blog, Google, Tips & tricks

Google’s Chrome browser is, by some distance, the world’s most popular way of accessing the web. However, not many people are aware of all the handy tricks it’s capable of. If you’re one of the many millions using Chrome every day, here’s how to make your life that little bit easier.

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Microsoft lets developers into Windows 11

By on July 9, 2021 in Blog, Microsoft, New technology

The first Windows Insider Preview has launched for Windows 11 – letting developers get their hands on some (but not all) of the new OS’s features ahead of its official launch.

Though Microsoft’s own developers are still working on certain designs and features behind the scenes, many of those which were announced in its launch event last month will now be opened up to those signed onto the testing programme. Feedback from participants will go into refining Windows 11 ahead of its full roll-out.

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Hacking, fraud and computer misuse offences rocket during the pandemic

By on July 2, 2021 in Blog, Security, Web privacy

Cybercrime has thrived during the pandemic, amid reports that the number of hacking, fraud and computer misuse offences rose sharply during the last year’s lockdowns.

Figures from the Crime Service for England and Wales Report, compiled by the Office for National Statistics, show fraud offences for the year to March 2021 increased by 24%, to 4.6 million. Computer misuse, meanwhile, rose by 85% to 1.7 million offences.

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