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If you’ve ever had the misfortune of seeing the dreaded Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) on your computer, you know just how frustrating it can be. It’s that moment when your screen turns an ominous shade of blue, and you’re left wondering what went wrong and how much work you’ve just lost.

For businesses, these crashes are more than just annoying – they can be disruptive and cost money.

Recent research highlights just how common BSODs have become, with one in 200 devices crashing under normal use. And it gets worse. During the recent CrowdStrike outage, that number shot up to one in ten devices.

While the tech industry seems to be hit the hardest, with more than 15% of devices affected monthly, even sectors like healthcare and retail, which are less prone to these crashes, still get about 8-10% of devices displaying the dreaded blue screen.

So, what’s causing all these crashes? And more importantly, how can you reduce the risk of them happening in your business?

The good news is that about half of these incidents are avoidable.

The bad news is that many businesses simply don’t have the tools or strategies in place to prevent them.

One of the key takeaways from the study is that many BSODs are linked to a few common issues. Problematic hardware, poorly managed Windows updates, and misconfigured drivers for things like graphics cards, networks, and audio systems are among the top culprits.

When these aren’t working properly, it can lead to system instability, which often manifests as a BSOD.

For business owners, this means taking a proactive approach to IT management is crucial.

Instead of waiting for something to go wrong and then scrambling to fix it, businesses should focus on identifying potential problem areas before they lead to a crash. By monitoring the health of your devices and making sure that updates and drivers are properly managed, you can significantly reduce the likelihood of BSODs disrupting your operations.

The research suggests that with the right preventative measures, businesses could cut the number of BSOD incidents in half, reducing the occurrence to about one in 400 devices. This not only minimises downtime but also frees up your IT team to focus on more strategic tasks rather than constantly putting out fires.

Unfortunately, many businesses lack the necessary tools to identify these risks early on. In fact, most companies don’t even know which of their devices are at risk right now, let alone which ones might crash in the future.

To move from a reactive approach to a proactive one, invest in tools that can provide insights into your IT systems. These tools allow you to make data-driven decisions, which can reduce costs, relieve employee stress, and ultimately increase productivity.

Better still, get experts to do it for you. Our approach is proactive IT management. This prevents problems before they can interrupt your work.

Let us keep your business crash-free. Get in touch.

With the end of support for Windows 10 just over a year away, many business owners are starting to wonder why they haven’t upgraded to Windows 11 yet. Are you one of them?

Research shows that most businesses could make the switch, but a surprising number are still holding back. This despite the upgrade being free and easy.

A recent survey of more than 750,000 Windows 10 systems found that 88% are on hardware that’s fully capable of moving to Windows 11.

Yet, 82% of businesses haven’t taken the plunge.

This is worrying, especially with the clock ticking down to the deadline in October 2025. After then, Windows 10 won’t get any more free updates, including all-important security patches. That could leave your business exposed to risks.

So, what’s the hold-up? For many, it’s the fear of disrupting business operations. Upgrading an entire business’s operating system might sound like a hassle, with concerns about downtime or technical headaches.

But the truth is, upgrading to Windows 11 can be a lot easier than you think, especially with expert assistance (contact us if we can help you with this).

And there’s more to it than just avoiding the risks of sticking with an outdated system. Windows 11 comes with so many benefits:

• Better security to keep your business safe from modern threats
• Improved performance to boost productivity
• And a sleek, intuitive interface that makes work easier for your team

Plus, if you are using newer hardware, Windows 11 will let you make the most of it.

The upgrade from Windows 10 to 11 is free if your devices meet the requirements.

With so many advantages and the deadline fast approaching, there’s no reason to wait.

We help make all upgrades as easy as possible. Let’s jump on a call and we’ll tell you about our extensive preparation, when we schedule upgrades, how we train your team – and answer all your questions.

Our goal is to get you up and running on Windows 11 without disrupting your daily operations. Let’s talk.

If you've installed version 24H2 of Windows 11 for your business, you might have noticed an annoying glitch in File Explorer.

File Explorer is that familiar window you use to browse your files and folders. Normally, it’s straightforward – but some people are running into issues with the “See more” menu after downloading this update.

The menu, which is marked by three little dots, usually pops up below your mouse cursor, giving you options like “Select All” or “View Properties”.

But thanks to a recent bug, the “See more” menu is flying up to the top of the screen, often disappearing out of sight. And if you’re using File Explorer in full-screen mode, some menu options might not even be visible.

Frustrating, to say the least.

Luckily, there’s a simple workaround: Just make sure you’re running File Explorer in windowed mode where it shares the screen with other applications. To do this, click the square icon in the top-right corner (next to the “X” you’d click to close it).

You can then resize the File Explorer window, allowing you to use the “See more” menu, even if it’s still misbehaving.

The good news is that Microsoft are aware of the problem. They’re working on a fix.

Little glitches like this can be a nuisance when you and your team are trying to get things done.

Can we help you squeeze more productivity out of your applications? Get in touch.

How cautious are you and your team with online security? You know about phishing scams, dodgy downloads, and not clicking suspicious links, right?

But an even sneakier new malware (that’s malicious software) wants to frustrate you into giving up your Google login details.

The malware doesn’t have a catchy name yet, but it’s part of a larger threat known as “Amadey”, and it’s been on the rise since August.

It forces your PC into something called “kiosk mode” (a setting often used on public computers that only lets you access one window). This allows it to lock your browser in full screen mode, hiding all your usual navigation buttons like the address bar and menus. Then you get sent to a fake Google password reset page.

Normally, you’d just hit the Esc or F11 keys to get out of full screen mode, right? Well, not this time. It won’t work if the malware has infected your PC. It wants to confuse you into thinking you must enter your password to solve the problem.

The password reset page will look like a real Google page. But the second you type in your details, they’ll be stolen by a second piece of malware hiding in the background, falling right into the hands of cyber criminals.

Pretty scary stuff.

But here’s the good news: You can break free without giving up your details.

If your browser gets stuck in full screen mode, try hitting ALT+TAB to switch tasks, or ALT+F4 to force the window to close. Otherwise, try closing it through your task manager (CTRL+ALT+DELETE).

If all else fails, just restart your PC by holding down the power button or unplugging it, then get an expert (like us) to look at the malware.

Prevention is always the best approach, though. Be wary if your computer starts behaving strangely, especially if your browser suddenly goes into full screen mode and won’t let you navigate away.

Avoid clicking on suspicious links or downloading attachments you aren’t sure about. And as tempting as it might be to get past an annoying screen, never enter your password unless you’re 100% sure the website is legit.

If you’d like us to teach your team how to avoid the latest scams, we can help. Get in touch.

Email has become an essential tool for any successful business, but as the saying goes, "with great power comes great responsibility".

As a business owner, it’s your responsibility to make sure your emails are secure. It’s one of the key ways to stop your business data falling into the wrong hands.

Business Email Compromise (or BEC) is a growing threat. And if you become a target, it could cost you – big time.

So, what exactly is a BEC attack?

In simple terms, it’s where scammers pose as people high up in the business, like CEOs, executives, and IT staff. The goal is to trick your employees into sharing sensitive information or sending money. Research shows that nearly 90% of BEC attacks are set up this way.

It’s easy to see how someone might quickly respond without a second thought, especially when they trust the sender.

BEC attacks have spiked dramatically this year, especially over the third quarter. Researchers have analysed 1.8 billion emails worldwide, discovering a shocking 208 million malicious emails among them. And of these malicious emails, more than half (58%) were BEC attempts.

The figures make it clear: BEC scams are now the biggest email threat to businesses.

Another thing worth noting? Most BEC scams target employees lower in the business, who might be less likely to question authority or be less aware of cyber threats.

Although BEC attacks are common, it’s also important to remember that scammers still use other methods too. This includes commercial spam and phishing attacks, which are designed to trick people into sharing personal information, like login details.

In fact, the combined effect of these types of scams now overshadows traditional ransomware and malware attacks.

Luckily, it isn’t complicated or expensive to protect your business.

Simply make sure that all members of your team are trained to think twice about every email they receive.
If an email asks for sensitive information or a financial transaction – especially if it feels urgent – your employees should know to stop and check with someone before they action anything.

If you need help making sure your business is secure, get in touch.

When someone leaves your business, you might be so wrapped up in the rush of everyday tasks, you forget to delete their login details.

It’s easy to overlook. You’ll get around to it later, right?

But unused login details could be a ticking time bomb for security breaches, leaving the doors wide open to cyber criminals. It can also be an unnecessary drain on your budget if you’re paying for old subscriptions you no longer need.

A recent report found that almost half of businesses had accounts that were no longer actively managed.

If you’ve forgotten about an account, you’re not monitoring it. And this leaves your business vulnerable to attacks.

These risks aren’t just hypothetical, either. Many cloud security breaches happen because unused login details and accounts have been compromised.

So, what do you need to do?

Take the time to audit all accounts and login details used by your business. Make sure you no longer have accounts open for ex-employees (and check that their access has been fully revoked, not just left inactive).

The same goes for any software or service that you’ve stopped using in your business. You might not realise you’re still paying for a service you haven’t touched in months – or even years.

Going forward, make sure you have a clear process for when people leave, and regularly review the applications and services your business uses.

If you’re not sure where to start, let us help you perform a security review and make sure you’re not leaving your business exposed to unnecessary threats. Get in touch.