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We’re all familiar with USB. After all we’ve been using it with our computers since 1996, and now with mobile devices too.

Yes… it’s really been that long.

Without USB it would be harder to connect different types of devices, charge them, and transfer data.

Of course, USB has changed and improved over the years. And there’s another new improvement due in the next few months.

What makes this one fun is that you won’t need to buy any new USB accessories or cables.

The USB Promoter Group, which is the industry body that drives USB improvements, recently announced the planned release of USB 4 2.0.

What’s exciting about that, you ask?

This will actually allow you to double the speeds of data transfer on cables you already own – so long as they’re no more than a couple of years old.

This new standard will see a maximum data transfer performance of up to 80GBps. That’s gigabytes per second.

It means displays will perform better and data will transfer faster. Great news to improve productivity in your business.

The USB Promoter Group is made up of tech giants like Microsoft, Apple, HP, and Intel.

Its primary job is to develop USB capabilities to meet the demand of the current market and to extend support for more platform types.

We expect to have an update on USB 4 2.0 in around November.

If you want improved productivity and performance in your business before the end of the year, contact us. There are always ways to make things faster in every business.

Cyber criminals have a reputation for constantly coming up with new ways to scam us into handing over login details or sensitive data.

And while you might think your team would spot an attempted attack, you could be surprised. We’ve seen a lot of intelligent people – including many business leaders – caught out over the years.

One of the latest scams is very retro… and that seems to be why people are falling for it.

Cyber criminals have gone back to basics. They’re sending USB drives in the post.

The packaging and branding on the drives suggests they’re from Microsoft (they are not).

The story is there’s an updated version of Microsoft Office Professional Plus on the drive and it needs to be installed straightaway.

Of course, this is a complete lie. Microsoft has confirmed that these packages aren’t genuine. It’s warning people it would never send out unsolicited packages.

If you plug the drive into your computer it will detect a “virus” and ask you to call a support line.

The scammers at the other end will pretend to remove the virus, gaining your trust. And then they’ll ask for payment details to help complete your subscription setup.

It’s old fashioned, but we can see how the mixture of the physical USB, the belief it’s from Microsoft and the fake support line would be compelling for someone who’s busy and just wants to get back to work.

We’re expecting elaborate, clever attacks through our email. Our guard is down with this mix of events.

Play it safe and warn everyone in your business about this scam.

This is also a good time to review the software and staff training you use to protect your business. You need the right combination of the two… we can help with that.

Get in touch!

There are hundreds of thousands of browser extensions designed to help us to save time, be more productive, and personalise our online experience.

And while the majority of them do what they’re supposed to, some are not designed to help you at all…

If you’re unfortunate enough to download a malicious browser extension without realising, it could harm your productivity and even flood your work with unwanted advertising.

This is known as adware. It’s a form of malware (malicious software) that’s designed to bombard you with unwanted adverts.

It can also change your search engine and send you to affiliate pages when you’re making purchases. These activities generate revenue for the extension’s creators.

In a recent report from a cyber security company, it revealed more than 4 million of its customers have been attacked by adware hiding in browser extensions over the last couple of years.

And often people didn’t realise they were under attack.

There’s a darker scenario where these malicious extensions are hiding actual malware which can infect your computer.

This can lead to sensitive data such as your logins or even payment details being stolen. And of course malware can spread across an entire network.

To keep your business and its data safe from the risk of malicious browser extensions, it’s important you only ever download them from reliable and trusted sources.

Read reviews and look at ratings. If a browser seems too good to be true it probably is.

As the business owner, you might also look into controlling which extensions can be installed by your team.

We can help with this, as well as looking at up-to-date software protection and (fun) security training for your team.

Back in May, we heard there would soon be a successor to the password – the Passkey.

Now, we’re hearing that Apple will start rolling out Passkeys in the next few months in iOS 16. And we’re excited.

Though it’s caused a bit of confusion. Apple is going to great lengths to market the Passkey, and understandably, people have assumed that it’s a feature exclusive to Apple.

That’s not the case!

In fact, Passkeys will be used in a joint effort to boost online security by Apple, Microsoft and Google. The reason Apple is promoting this new feature so hard is to get the message out there.

Microsoft and Google are also keen to spread the word so that people understand how Passkeys work.

The more people take advantage of Passkeys, the safer our businesses are online.

Passkeys – otherwise known as FIDO authentication – work by letting you log into an app or website with just your username and your pre-authenticated device, most probably your phone.

Your device generates a cryptographic token, which makes the second part of a cryptographic key pair. When the pair matches, you’re allowed access to the app or website.

What that means in practice is when you’re logging in, you just use your phone to prove its really you. You’ll just unlock it using your face, fingerprint or PIN.

So long as your phone is within Bluetooth range of your computer it will work.

And without needing a password… bliss…

It’s a far more secure way to access apps and keep your accounts safe from cyber criminals. You never see your cryptographic token, so it takes away a lot of the danger of having your login credentials stolen.

Cyber criminals will be unable to use their normal tactics – such phishing emails, brute force attacks, or key loggers – to steal your credentials.

They’ll need your physical device, making remote hacking much less likely.

If you use Windows Hello, you’ll see that Passkeys are already supported. And it won’t be long until all three tech giants roll out support across their entire product range.

Before then, if you’d like any help or advice on keeping your apps and accounts safer, just give us a call!

Phishing scams are one of the biggest security threats to your business right now.

A massive 83% of organisations said they suffered successful attacks last year. And with just under a third of phishing emails being opened, the chances that someone in your business will be fooled are high.

But to make matters more difficult, cyber criminals have borrowed a technique from ransomware groups that is designed to panic people into taking action and giving away their login details.

This new kind of phishing attack begins like most others.

You get an email alerting you to potentially suspicious activity on your account. It might say someone is trying to login from a different location or device and the attempt has been blocked.

You’re then asked to click a link to verify your email address and password. That’s worrying enough, right?

But what makes this phishing attack even more dangerous, is the countdown timer that appears on screen.

Typically, it’s set at one hour, and you’re asked to confirm your details before the countdown ends, otherwise your account will be deleted. Yes, deleted! That catches a lot of people’s attention.

This is a powerful manipulation tactic designed to scare people into taking immediate action – and think later.

In reality, if that countdown hits zero nothing will happen. But watching the seconds count down can give you a sense of urgency that makes you forget to check whether an email is the real deal or not.

The page you’re entering your details on is fake. Criminals will steal your details and login to your real account. That’s a major problem you don’t ever want your business to face.

You’ll be at risk of data theft, financial loss, or malware, as well as potentially putting other accounts at risk (if you’ve reused your password).

Your login details may even be sold on the dark web, giving other cyber criminals the opportunity to break into your account.

Here are some basic phishing protections for you and your team.

• Look at the email address the email was sent from. Make sure the spelling and grammar are both correct, and hover over links to see what website address they are trying to send you to.
• If you think you’ve fallen for this kind of scam, it’s important you change your login details immediately. Don’t click a link in an email – type in the website address in your browser.
• We’d also recommend using a password manager. This is software that creates long and strong random passwords that are impossible to guess for every account you have.
• It will store these passwords for you. And autofill login boxes to save you time (yes, password managers detect when they’re being asked to fill in details on a different page, such as a fake phishing page).

Share this article with your whole team right now!

And if anyone ever clicks a link they’re not sure about, ask us how to keep your business safe.

Using a cloud server to drive your business’s technology is a smart idea. The benefits are huge!

You can use as little or as much storage as you need, without having to worry about limitations or huge bills. Perfect for growing businesses.

Your team can access any data anywhere. Cloud servers were made for the hybrid work world we have today.

And you don’t need to use lots of your office space to house big servers and other equipment.

But when you’re using a cloud server, you must make sure it’s properly secured.

A recent report has revealed cloud servers are increasingly being used as an entry point for cyber criminals to launch attacks.

A huge 41% of businesses that have been hacked revealed their cloud server was how cyber criminals got in.

Scarily, this figure is rising 10% year on year.

Why? Often, it’s because companies don’t invest as much into the security of their cloud servers as they should.

In technology as in life, you really do get what you pay for. Many of the free cloud servers available don’t provide the same level of security and encryption that paid-for services do. Often they are less reliable as well.

It’s vital that your business does full research when choosing a cloud server to make sure it meets all your requirements and is as safe as possible.

Better still, ask an expert to do this research for you (we can help).

We also recommend a few standard security measures are always followed.

Give all of your team a password manager to encourage them to generate separate long random passwords for every login they have.

The beauty of password managers is they’ll remember these passwords and even autofill the login boxes. That means better security and greater convenience in one package.

You should also provide regular cyber security training for everyone in your business. Business emails are the second most likely place an attack will start.

The first line of defence should always be a human asking themselves “wait, does this look right?”

It’s never possible to prevent 100% of attacks. But if you take all the right steps to keep your business safe your chances of suffering a successful attack go down dramatically.

If you’d like help choosing the right cloud server for your business, we can advise you – get in touch.