Useful Advice
The good old days…?
What did the world wide web used to look like for you? We all arrived to it at different times; some of us earlier than others and it's without a doubt that this exciting new-fangled thing which started to gain popularity in the 1990s has had a huge influence on...
How to help, survey results & cyber attack risks
Ukraine — how to help It almost feels futile to be writing newsletters about IT while we're watching what's happening on the other side of Europe. Our thoughts are of course with everyone involved and affected, but life and work must continue where it can. If you're...
WWW (the wild wild web)
In September we mentioned we'd be looking in-depth at some of the technology changes and challenges businesses are going to face in the future. Since then, Facebook (including other services under the Zuckerberg umbrella, such as WhatsApp and Instagram) disappeared...
Planning for Remote Working, a Return to the Office, or Somewhere In Between?
So that was summer, sort of. Whilst the weather wasn't quite as good as last year at least there was a bit more we were able to do. It's been a while since we last sat down to write one of these, and generally a busy summer, although we've all managed to take a little...
Your privacy on the internet
A few people have mentioned the Gener8 pitch on Dragon's Den to us, which aired recently. The idea is you get paid for seeing adverts and theoretically take control of your data and privacy. A slightly cynical view is that if someone is willing to pay you for your...
Newsletter, Prediction 4: New views are arriving
The beginning of April is almost as important a date as the beginning of January for many: a new financial year has arrived, a clean slate, new budgets and new plans made. We thought we'd take the opportunity to consider how things might change in the future, so here...
Newsletter, Prediction 3: More, sometimes major, data breaches
The beginning of April is almost as important a date as the beginning of January for many: a new financial year has arrived, a clean slate, new budgets and new plans made. We thought we'd take the opportunity to consider how things might change in the future, so here...
Newsletter, Prediction 2: Increased focus on green tech
The beginning of April is almost as important a date as the beginning of January for many: a new financial year has arrived, a clean slate, new budgets and new plans made. We thought we'd take the opportunity to consider how things might change in the future, so here...
Newsletter, Prediction 1: Remote, shared offices will open across the country
The beginning of April is almost as important a date as the beginning of January for many: a new financial year has arrived, a clean slate, new budgets and new plans made. We thought we'd take the opportunity to consider how things might change in the future, so here...
LastPass and Last Year
Changes to LastPass and what they mean for you, and the full results from our Client Satisfaction Survey. Changes to LastPass (deadline 16 March) We've long-recommended LastPass as our preferred password management software. In short, you have a single 'master'...
Cycles of Things
We were glued to our screens in January, watching events unfold in America. The big news which captured our attention, of course, was that Joe Biden's Peloton exercise bike was to be banned from the White House for security reasons—but how is that relevant to you?...
Say “cheese”!
We’re always skeptical about simple solutions for solving complex problems. Computer security software that promises 100% protection; the revolutionary new marketing technique which is the only one you’ll ever need; the latest weight-loss method... In other words,...
Protecting against phishing & spear-phishing attacks
Phishing and spear-phishing attacks are on the rise, and remote working makes them more likely to be successful. Make sure you know what they are, and how to protect yourself. We've had direct experience of two (unsuccessful) spear-phishing attacks at EJC, one which...
A lesson in lockdown management & business continuity
What do you do when the country shuts down? When you aren’t allowed to use public transport, can’t get into work, can’t meet with colleagues or clients? And how do you get back to normal? If you’re Jo Secker, Office & IT Manager for City of London law firm Druces...
Protecting Against Phishing and Spear-Phishing Attacks
Most people have been on the receiving end of Phishing attacks. Phishing is an email-based fraud attack where the sender appears to be a trusted source that the recipient may interact with – a bank, a credit card company or a mobile phone firm are common examples. The...
Smile, you’re on camera
Facebook Portal launched last month - a new way to keep in touch with family and friends via sophisticated video conferencing technology. It also links with WhatsApp - an indication Facebook is keen for a return on the $19 billion it spent on the chat software five...
Whose Emails Do You Trust? (Ours!)
We've seen an increasing number of innocuous-looking emails with links to files stored in either Dropbox or OneDrive. Because the documents are stored on a service that most people recognise (and trust), the links appear legitimate - and in fact do take you through to...
…And Another Warning
We could probably write a newsletter every day with warnings about specific scams, but we're trying to provide general advice so you can spot them yourself. One particular style that is doing the rounds at the moment is a blackmail scam - someone apparently has a...
How to reset your lightbulb
US-based General Electric (GE) was recently mocked for sharing a video guide to reset your lightbulb. Their ‘smartbulb’ gives you features like voice activation, the ability to pick light levels, and solutions to a number of other problems you didn't know you had. If...
Goodbye to Windows 7
As of January 14th 2020 - which isn't as far away as it sounds - Microsoft is ending support, patches and updates for Windows 7. For anyone using Windows 7, this could expose them to serious security risks. It's vitally important that we make sure you're either a) not...
When to upgrade…?
How do you decide when - or perhaps just as importantly, when not - to invest in new technology? That might mean buying a new smartphone or PC, or it could be a complete restructure of your IT systems. With the news that Samsung have released a $2,000 foldable phone,...
The 2009 / 2019 10-year challenge
Social media is awash with people posting photos comparing their 2009-self to a recent picture. (No, you can't see ours.) If we were building artificial intelligence (AI) / facial recognition software it would be incredibly useful to have a documented worldwide...
Choosing and using passwords
Strong passwords are your first line of defence against intruders and imposters. The best security in the world is useless if a malicious person has a legitimate user name and password. That's why we've put together this simple guide to help you protect your security...
Expect The Unexpected
Last week you may have been affected by - or at least heard about - the O2 outage. It affected customers on O2 and GiffGaff, along with operators who use its network including Tesco Mobile: it's estimated up to 32 million people were affected. And then there's...
Understanding multifactor authentication
If we had our way, the more important something is, the more-simply it would be named. 'Passwords' are important, and easy to talk about. So are 'keys' and 'padlocks' and other physical security devices.Multifactor authentication sadly doesn't fall under the...
Putting the ‘s’ in https
On July 24th 2018, Google's Chrome browser (by far the most popular) started warning people if the website they were visiting was not secure. What does that mean for you? Visit any website in Chrome. It will either be marked as secure, or not secure, and...
Important mobile device security update
We've always recommended that you take care to protect your mobile devices, whether they are phones or tablets: at the very least you should have a swipe pattern or, better still, a PIN or biometrics (fingerprints, facial recognition etc.). We're now upgrading that...
Change your Twitter password
If you have a Twitter account, whether it's work or personal, you should log in and change the password immediately. And as you're doing that, think about whether you've used that password anywhere else. Here's why: Twitter yesterday announced that they have...
How GDPR affects you – and it will
You've hopefully heard about GDPR (The General Data Protection Regulation). In short, it's a huge update to the 1998 Data Protection Act, designed to give people more control over their data. It will come into force on 25 May 2018, after which most processing of...
Spectre and Meltdown computer chip vulnerability
You may have read about the computer chip vulnerability affecting nearly all (modern) computing devices and operating systems which was in the news at the end of last week. Should you be worried, and what should you do? Firstly, don’t panic. Although a flaw has been...

I like your newsletter because it is easy to read for non-tech people.
Hayley
Bowman
PA to Managing Director
The Anslow Partnership