Blue Ridge Technology

This is the latest trend in phishing attacks If you use Microsoft Outlook as your email service at work, you’ve probably noticed a weird quirk it has. Most of the time, if an email has an image in it, Outlook automatically blocks that image from loading. It tends to make fancy emails look broken, and it’s easy to bypass (usually you can load the images in just a click or two). Have you ever wondered what this image blocking business was all about? Turns out Microsoft has a good reason to do this. And the attack they’re trying to protect against is on the rise again. Here’s what you need to know about how seemingly innocent images can be used to attack your company and steal your data. Why Outlook Blocks Images So why does Outlook block those images? Well, it’s not just trying to ruin the look of every single marketing email you receive. It’s trying to keep you safe. There are two main ways that images could do damage: tracking pixels and bad links. Tracking pixels Images in email can d...

Browse with confidence: Microsoft Edge’s security boost If your organization uses PCs, chances are someone (maybe even everyone) is using Microsoft Edge. That’s the new default web browser in Windows 10 and 11, so unless you’ve opted for something else (like Chrome or Firefox), you’re probably using it. Microsoft has made two recent changes to Edge that we think you need to know about. One of them is a very good thing, while the other? Let’s just say we’re turning that one off around here. Here’s what you need to know. The Good: Microsoft Edge’s Enhanced Security Mode First up is something we’re excited about: Microsoft Edge now has an enhanced security mode that we think is perfect for most businesses. This new enhancement is still being rolled out and tested, so you might not see it yet. But if and when you do, we think turning it on makes a whole lot of sense. This new security mode puts in place extra protections and adapts dynamically based on your browsing habits. If you’re on l...

RIP Windows Server 2012 Windows Server 2012 Is Almost Dead. Here’s What You Need to Know. Microsoft recently announced that two of its most popular business products, Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2, are reaching end-of-life status. That’s a big deal if you’re still using Windows Server 2012 anywhere in your business. In today’s post we’ll explain what this end of support announcement means, what the implications are for your team, and what you need to do in the next couple of months. Windows Server 2012 Reaching End of Support: What It Means First up, what does this announcement mean? Simply put: on October 10, 2023, Microsoft will no longer support Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2. That means that if something goes wrong, Microsoft will not help you anymore. Of course, servers running this OS went out of warranty years ago—so what we’re really talking about is if something goes wrong in the OS itself . Every piece of software and operating system has fla...

Is your business data at risk? Don’t take chances with old tech What does your business do with old hardware when it reaches end of life? We’re talking about old computers, external drives, servers— anything that has the capability of storing data. Do you know what happens to this old tech at your business? If not, you might want to investigate—because improperly disposing of old hardware could put your data at risk. Where Old Hardware Goes to Die (or Live Again) The first thing to discuss is what actually happens to your old hardware when it no longer serves any purpose at your business. Often that hardware still has some monetary value, so it often gets sold. Even if you don’t sell your old hardware yourself, some other entity might do it for you. (You might not even be aware that that “electronics recycling firm” is reselling their usable salvage!) Sometimes hardware really has no use and ends up in dumps or being stripped for parts and resellable metals. But often if there’s any li...

One day it could save your business This week on the blog, we’re talking about something that could be vital to your business’s continued existence: data backups. Now before you close this tab and move on with your day, hold on: we get it. Data backup and recovery isn’t the most interesting topic in the world—not anywhere close. But in terms of business importance, it’s right up there at the top of the list. Consider these 3 reasons why your business absolutely needs to be backing up data. But first—what’s a data backup anyway? What Is a Data Backup? A data backup is any copy of the data on a device or system that can be used to restore information and functionality if the device or system stops functioning (whether due to theft, sabotage, failure, disaster, or any other scenario). At home, data backups usually live on an external hard drive sitting in a drawer, or they live on a consumer-oriented cloud service (like iCloud, Google Drive, Carbonite, and so forth). At work, data backups...

The final curtain call for Windows 10: What you need to know Right now, Windows users are living in a time of transition. For the time being, both Windows 10 and Windows 11 are available, and Microsoft is still supporting the older version even as it invests in the newer one. However, Windows 10’s days are numbered, and Microsoft recently made a significant announcement: the tech giant will not be releasing any more major or feature updates for Windows 10 . This is big news, but it isn’t reason to panic. In this week’s post, we’ll tell you: What this announcement means What it doesn’t mean in terms of device security What the right move for your organization looks like Let’s dive into what exactly “no more feature updates” means. Microsoft’s Windows 10 Announcement Explained Microsoft’s recent announcement means that 2H22 (the major update that came out in the second half of 2022) would be the last major release for the Windows 10 operating system. What that means for you and your team...

Windows 11 optional update: Why it’s better to wait Microsoft recently announced an optional update to Windows 11. It isn’t the first one, and it won’t be the last. If you’re an Apple user (whether at home or at work), you might know about Apple’s relatively famous beta program, where users can try out the next version of iOS, iPadOS, or MacOS before it’s released. These optional updates and betas promise new, exciting features. But is it a good idea to install them on your work devices? Quick answer: almost always no. Here’s what you need to know about these prerelease updates — and how you can make sure your work machines stay up to date safely. How Windows Updates Work in Windows 11 Before we explain why the optional update usually isn’t a good idea, we need to explain how Windows Updates work. With older versions of Windows, the Windows Update utility had quite a reputation. It’d take over your computer, sometimes for hours at a time, to install an update to the operating system. U...