ATECH MSP Blog

For our Tech Terms, we sometimes dig into the inner workings of your computer or other technology hardware, but sometimes we like to dig into details of new or emerging technology that’s taking the industry by storm. Today, we’re doing just that by discussing what a blockchain is and how it works.

There’s no denying that the numbers on an IT invoice can be intimidating, to say the least. However, when making important decisions about your IT, you need to also look deeper than the numbers, to what you are actually going to gain by making one investment over another. This is the difference between comparing cost and comparing value.

Twitter is recommending that all 336 million users change their passwords as soon as possible due to the discovery of an internal security flaw. While the issue has been fixed and no data breach seems to have taken place, Twitter is clearly taking this situation seriously.

From Anakin being the possession of Watto the Toydarian junk dealer in the Phantom Menace--to Luke, Han, Leia, and Chewy being stuck warding off the Dianoga inside a trash compactor in the first Death Star in the original--to Rey picking junk off the crashed Star Destroyer and selling them to the Crolute Unkar Plutt on Jakku in The Force Awakens--Star Wars lore is filled with junk technology. If the back room of your business is starting to look like Watto’s shop, you may need to adjust your disposal strategies.

Paper is expensive, but it’s not like you didn’t know that already. In addition to the costs that frivolous paper usage can have to your business, there’s also the environmental impact to consider. Making a few changes around the office can help to reduce your dependence on paper to conduct business, as we’ll review in this week’s tip!

Ever since its announcement, Android’s latest operating system, 8.0 Oreo, has been making waves in the industry. So far, however, only select devices have the opportunity to use it. This doesn’t mean that you can’t take the opportunity to prepare for it, though. Here are some of the most important things to know about Android 8.0 Oreo, as well as Android 8.1. But first, let’s take a look at how much Android 8.0 is currently being used.

Anyone that has lost their smartphone knows it is a rather traumatic experience. Not only is your entire life on the phone, likely so is your work. With smartphones becoming a major part of doing business, and their use for business purposes, a lost device can cause major headaches. Today, we will go over some strategies you can implement to mitigate the damage if/when you or one of your employees loses a device with sensitive company information on it.

It doesn’t matter how large your company is, or how much information technology that you have to maintain and collect, keeping it organized can be challenging. With any company with a lot of different and important operations, it’s crucial that you have processes put into place that documents where and how each of your moving parts is being used. To this end, having a way to inventory your technology can be helpful for keeping track of where your devices, and more importantly, your data is.

Wireless charging is a true conundrum. Sure, it’s a brilliant idea. On the surface, there are no drawbacks. No more charging cords or adapters, unless you count the one that will always be plugged into the wall. Today we take a look at wireless charging, why it hasn’t taken over yet, and future options that will let us really charge our devices wirelessly. 

Social media was created with the intent of staying in touch with others, but it comes with nasty repercussions. It comes at significant risk to both your personal and professional security. How can you make sure that your social media usage isn’t putting your organization at risk of compromisation or worse? The first thing that you want to take into account is awareness.

If there’s one piece of computer hardware that almost everyone knows about, it would have to be the hard drive. However, it is not so easy to say that everyone knows what it does, how it works, or even the differences between the two types. That’s why we’re exploring hard drives for this week’s Tech Term!

Your data is valuable, and therefore, it has to be protected. One of the best ways to protect your data from any type of threat is by implementing a strong backup program. But how do you go about putting in a backup platform that makes sense for your business. Today, we will talk about enterprise data backup and how to take reliable backups.

It makes sense that your organization would want the best security possible and to mitigate the risks that it faces, whether they are physical or virtual. However, there is no definition for “perfect” security, as there isn’t one solution that can completely meet all of your business’ specific needs. As a result, you want to set realistic goals for yourself so that security doesn’t become difficult to gauge.

A reliable pair of headphones is swiftly becoming an office necessity, and wireless capabilities have improved enough to make a wireless set comparable to its wired counterpart. However, there are plenty of other considerations for you to make when selecting a pair to help boost your productivity. For this week’s tip, we’ll review some of these deliberations.

Ransomware can target all kinds of entities, but one of the most devastating attacks in recent memory was launched against Atlanta, Georgia earlier this year. Atlanta suffered from an incredibly sustained and powerful ransomware attack that disabled much of the municipal government.

It’s the end of the day, and you’re faced with a dilemma - shut down your workstation, or simply put it to sleep for the night? This is a topic that is debated quite often. We’ll compare the positive and negative aspects of both approaches to identify which is the better option.

The applications on a mobile device allow us to use that device in a number of ways, from productivity, to entertainment, to networking. However, despite the efforts of Google to keep out the riff raff, the Google Play Store has plenty of malware available to download in the guise of a desired app. Today, we’ll review a few tricks to help you spot them before pressing ‘Install.’

IT is important for more than just businesses. Governments and other similar organizations that handle top-secret information or important operations should also dedicate considerable resources to guaranteeing security and efficiency to the best of their ability. In the wake of so many dangerous entities, governments are having trouble keeping up with the latest trends, often at their own expense. What can your business learn from this development?

A slow Internet connection should be the least of our worries, but somehow, this most minor of inconveniences can be one of the most frustrating experiences in modern computing. Fortunately, there are a few ways to potentially improve your connection. At the very least, they might help to explain why your connection suffers.

Words are always changing to meet the needs of the times. As they grow in usage, new words are added to dictionaries on a daily basis. Today’s Tech Term, dongle, is one of these words. Have you ever heard it being used before? It might sound a bit silly at first, but dongle is a word that is used in technology more often than you might think.