Blue Ridge Technology

Chrome extensions are great for boosting productivity and saving time. But if they’re not the real deal, you could be at risk from malware. Watch our latest tech update to stay protected. We’re living in a golden age of device capabilities, aren’t we? Think about all the things your smartphone can do like it’s nothing, that 20 or 30 years ago would’ve required a separate piece of bulky, specialized (not to mention expensive!) hardware. We carry mini supercomputers in our pockets that serve as calculators, still and video cameras, gaming consoles, internet browsers, video playback devices, communication hubs, and more. There’s just one thing that still gets in the way of a truly seamless tech experience: compatibility. Compatibility Is Holding Us Back What do we mean by compatibility, exactly? Well, our various devices don’t always play nicely with each other. The go-to example is blue bubbles vs. green bubbles in the group chat, but this kind of incompatibility really shows up in the b...

Stop and think about your first laptop: professionals over the age of 40 remember the days when laptops were absolute monsters in terms of size — but with extremely limited performance (compared to their desktop counterparts) and just terrible battery life. It’s amazing how far laptop technology has come since it hit the mainstream in the 90s: today’s laptops are widely capable in terms of performance, capable of matching all but the most extreme performance desktops. And battery life is so much better than it used to be. Even in 2008, most laptop batteries fizzled out after around 4 hours , and four years prior you couldn’t expect more than three . Today, it’s possible to get a sub-$1000 PC laptop with an advertised battery life of 13+ hours . And if you’re a Mac fan, you can do even better: the 2023 M3 Max MacBook Pro 16 boasts 21 hours of battery life! But no matter how long that battery lasts when you first power up, it’s only a matter of time before you start getting diminishing ...

Microsoft and Samsung team up to boost work phone security If the way your team members access work resources from their smartphones keeps you up at night, we’ve got good news: Microsoft and Samsung are teaming up to give a massive security boost to the smartphones people use at work. But of course there’s a catch: you have to use the right phones. Here’s what you need to know about this smarter way to secure your company’s data and digital assets. The Breakthrough: On-Device Attestation We won’t get too technical here, don’t worry— but the technology breakthrough underlying this change is something called on-device attestation. We’ve talked about passkeys and other advanced authentication methods before, and this is sort of like those, only even more intense. Basically, with on-device attestation, companies can see more deeply into the software and firmware on a phone to identify possible compromises, hacks, or other threats. There are other attestation tools out there, but they all r...

Charging in public places? Watch out for “juice jacking” “Juice jacking” has been in the news lately. Do you know what this threat is, and how to stay safe? And just how much of a threat is it, anyway? Here’s everything you need to know about how to keep your devices safe, even when traveling. What Is Juice Jacking? Juice jacking refers to a type of cyberattack that happens when people charge their devices. USB ports and chargers are the new standard; practically every new phone charges via USB-C, and so do many modern laptops. Juice jacking is a somewhat sophisticated technique where the bad guys compromise or hack a USB port that looks like a charger, like a charging station at an airport. When you plug into the compromised port, you may or may not get charged up. But if the hack is successful, you may also pick up malware or other nasty elements. How Does It Work? Unfortunately, USB ports and cables do more than just send electricity through to your battery. They also carry data. (i...

Don’t forget your phone when you think about cyber security Cybersecurity is such a huge focus these days, both here at Blue Ridge Technology and in the broader business world. But given how connected our lives are these days, it’s easy to have blind spots in the way we think about staying safe. For many people, their smartphone is one of these blind spots. It’s a super powerful device, but it can do a ton of damage in the right situations. Your Smartphone Is the Skeleton Key to Your Digital Life So why do we say your smartphone can do so much damage? Because your phone is almost like a skeleton key to, well, everything in your digital life. If you use your phone like most people do, it has access to most of your most secure, most personal information. It also has direct access to certain work information — maybe even protected or sensitive data, depending on how you configure access. In your personal life, someone gaining access to your phone could do damage. They might gain access to...

Are you using Teams to share sensitive data? We love Microsoft Teams as a collaboration, chat, and video calling hub. The way it integrates deeply with everything else in Microsoft 365 is nearly miraculous when it works as it should, and the tool is one of the biggest influences on making our new way of working work well. But did you know that Microsoft Teams has a dark side? Don’t get us wrong: the app is well built and generally secure. But there are risks you should be aware of, mostly centering on how your employees use the app. Here’s what you need to know. What Are People Sharing? Understanding the risks of Teams starts with understanding what people are sharing on the app. Sensitive, Confidential, and Critical Information Recent research found that around half of employees admit to sharing sensitive company information on Teams. To be honest, we think that number is a little low. After all, Teams is specifically designed for sharing information within a company, so there’s no su...

Two thirds of remote workers are using faulty tech Does your company have any workers who work remotely some or all the time? Your at-home or remote workforce can be a powerful contributor, and many love the flexibility of ditching the commute or being able to spend lunch breaks with pets or loved ones. Yet an increase in acceptance of remote work has led to a new round of logistical and practical concerns for business leaders like you. One that you might not think of? What happens when company tech breaks at home. A new report reveals that as many as 67% of remote workers fail to report damaged or broken technology to their employer. It’s a little weird that this is the case, but what’s more alarming is that this can turn into a security concern for your business. Here’s what you need to know. 67% of At-Home Employees Don’t Report Broken Tech If you’re working in the office and your keyboard stops working, what do you do? You request a new one. What if the reason your keyboard stopped...

Time for a Work from Home Review? As we finally get to a place where the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be winding down (or at least toward endemic status), many businesses are reassessing their emergency work-from-home plans. If you opened up to remote and/or hybrid work for the first time due to the pandemic, your teams might be wondering what’s next. Maybe you’re wondering that yourself! Do your teams hate working from home, or do they love it? Are they eager to come back to the office, or will they quit if you require it? We’ll provide some key answers here, plus top strategies for supporting your at-home or hybrid workers long-term. Desire for Remote and Hybrid Work Has Never Been Stronger So, what do your employees want? Polling your employees can offer insights, of course. But some might be reticent to tell you how they really feel. And there’s already some good research out there that can give you a hint about what they’re thinking. According to a wide-ranging FlexJobs survey co...