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...

Protect your business from a data leak with Microsoft Edge Does your business use Microsoft Edge for web browsing? It isn’t nearly as popular as Chrome, but it is the second most popular browser in use today. And because it’s full of business-friendly features, many organizations use it as the default browser for workplace PCs. If you haven’t checked it out lately, this new announcement might make Edge worth a closer look. And if you’re already an Edge organization, you’ll want to know about this new tool in Edge so you can enable it and start benefiting from greater protections. So what’s the new tool? Microsoft Edge is now better at protecting your company from data leaks. Here’s how it works — and why it matters. Data Is Everywhere — And Everything To understand data leaks we need to start with a couple of foundational truths. First, data is everywhere. Your business handles sensitive information like customer data, financial details, and perhaps even trade secrets or proprietary d...

Protect your business from a data leak with Microsoft Edge After a few years of declines, ransomware attacks came back with a vengeance in 2023 according to a new report. Here’s what we know about the resurgence, why it’s happening, and what you can do to protect yourself and your business. What We Know About a Very Bad Year The 2024 report from NCC Group reveals a troublesome spike in ransomware attacks, up 84% from the previous year. The total number of global ransomware attacks captured in the report jumped by more than 2,000 cases from 2022 to 2023: 2022: an estimated 2,531 new attacks 2023: an estimated 4,667 new attacks NCC points out that several new ransomware groups entered the “market” in 2023. While LockBit, a well-known ransomware group, still led the pack, new attackers notched a sizeable number of successful attacks. Industrial companies were the hardest hit, followed by consumer cyclicals (a category that includes automotive, entertainment, and retail). Technology compa...

Microsoft isn’t happy just boosting individual productivity. Now it’s set its sights on helping your team work better together. Watch our latest tech update to find out how. Microsoft has a new line of PC laptops that are just now arriving. They’re called Copilot+ PCs, and small business owners have good reasons to be excited about them. But not all of the marketing hype around these new machines is worth paying attention to — at least not yet. Here’s what to know. What Are Copilot+ PCs? Copilot+ PCs are Microsoft’s second-generation AI PCs, specially built with both hardware and software designs to take advantage of Microsoft's latest AI tools. They have a neural processing unit (NPU) that runs separately from the main processor and graphics chips, and there’s a dedicated Copilot key on the keyboard that instantly launches the Copilot AI assistant (Microsoft’s integrated answer to generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini). Most importantly, Copilot+ PCs are the first Win...

Are your employees reporting security issues fast enough… or even at all? In the ongoing fight for digital security and safety, your team members are your first line of defense. But what does that mean for them exactly? Hopefully they know not to open that sketchy email attachment or click that suspicious link — but what should they do when they stumble across it? Their important role as your company’s frontline defenders shouldn’t stop when they hit the “delete” button on the email in question. You need more from them — and they might not know it yet. Here’s what your team members need to know about what to do once they spot a potential threat. Overreliance on Security Tools Can Be Dangerous You might be thinking that your business is protected because you have some security tools in place already. First of all, good for you: you’ve taken the time and effort to get some level of security set up, and that’s a massively important first step. Having tools in place is way, way better tha...

More businesses are proactively investing in cyber security defenses Despite how serious the threats are, one recent study found that 50% of SMBs have no cybersecurity plan in place whatsoever . That’s fully half of all the companies out there like yours, with no plan, no coherent defense. Are you one of them? If so, it’s time to make a change — and we can help. More Businesses Investing, But Progress Is Slow-Going A large survey of small business owners in early pandemic days revealed that it used to be worse: as many as 60% of businesses had no cybersecurity plan going into the pandemic. If we got that number down to 50% by 2022, that’s progress. It means that more businesses are getting proactive about investing in cyber security defenses. But 50% is still frightfully far away from zero. That progress is taking place slowly. Comprehensive Cybersecurity Is an Investment One reason SMBs shy away from implementing robust cybersecurity measures is that doing so isn’t easy or cheap: it’...

What’s the Big Deal with Biometrics? Biometrics are a big deal. Even if they aren’t using the term biometrics, more and more digital apps and services are starting to offer some form of biometric authentication as a way of logging in. But just why is this a big deal? We’ve shared here numerous times about how bad the old username and password system is, so we won’t rehash all those details today. Just know that the old system is really, really bad, and we need a modern alternative. Biometrics could be a big part of that alternative — which is why they’re a big deal. Done right, biometrics offer us an extremely reliable system for authentication that’s far more secure than the old faithful password. Here’s what you need to know. What Are Biometrics? The term biometrics describes the practice of identifying, recognizing, or authenticating an individual using attributes unique to that individual, such as fingerprints, retina scans, or 3D face modeling, typically for security purposes. If...