Technology has touched nearly everyone over the past decade or so. More is done using technology than ever before. In this week’s blog, we go beyond individual uses of technology and discuss how technology is going to be used to improve infrastructure and the delivery of services that we take for granted. Smarter and More Efficient Cities The rapid urbanization we see today demands smarter solutions to address the growing challenges of building and managing urban infrastructure. This is where technology comes in. Technology plays a crucial role in creating smart cities that are sustainable, efficient, and responsive. Through the Internet of Things (IoT), sensors and connectivity enable real-time monitoring such as traffic flow, energy consumption, waste management, and public safety. These data-driven insights empower city planners to make informed decisions, optimize resource allocation, and enhance the quality of urban life. Intelligent Transportation Systems Transportation infrastructure is undergoing a remarkable transformation thanks to technology. Intelligent transportation systems use advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and real-time data analytics to enhance the efficiency, safety, and sustainability of transportation networks. From smart traffic management systems that alleviate congestion to the development of autonomous vehicles that reduce accidents and fuel consumption, technology is revolutionizing the way we move people and goods. Sustainable Energy Infrastructure The future of infrastructure heavily relies on sustainable energy sources, and technology plays a pivotal role in enabling this transition. Renewable energy generation, such as solar and wind power, is becoming increasingly affordable and accessible, thanks to advancements in technology. Moreover, smart grids and energy storage systems allow for efficient distribution and utilization of renewable energy, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and minimizing environmental impact. Resilient Infrastructure In an era of increasing climate change and natural disasters, resilient infrastructure is of utmost importance. Technology equips us with the tools to design, build, and manage infrastructure that can withstand and recover from adverse events. Through predictive analytics, remote sensing, and real-time monitoring, technology enables early detection of potential risks, allowing for proactive measures to mitigate damages, ensure public safety, and minimize disruption. Advanced Construction Techniques The construction industry is not immune to the transformative power of technology. Emerging technologies such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), robotics, and 3D printing are revolutionizing the way we design and construct infrastructure. BIM facilitates collaboration, reduces errors, and improves efficiency throughout the entire construction process. Meanwhile, robotics and 3D printing enable faster, more precise construction, reducing costs and increasing sustainability. Technology will shape the future of our culture, including the way we go about improving efficiency in all walks of life. If you would like to have a conversation about how technology can push your business forward as it is pushing infrastructure forward, give the IT professionals at GeekBox IT a call today at (336) 790-1000.
You might think that adding additional security measures can only benefit your business, and this is true in most circumstances, save one: security exhaustion. If you don’t make it easy for your employees to adhere to your security policies, then you could inadvertently be making them perform slower than usual and your solutions could be getting in the way of their work.
When it comes to security, it can be challenging to keep up with shifting best practices. For instance, the use of a virtual private network has long been a staple to secure remote operations, and any decent IT service provider would recommend its use. However, this advice is changing with the growth of zero-trust access protocols. Let’s compare these two security options to consider why this is. Defining Virtual Private Networking and Zero-Trust Access In order to properly compare these two security tools, it is important that we establish what each of them is meant to accomplish. Virtual Private Networking, or the use of a VPN, creates a protected connection between two network endpoints via encryption. Let’s say you were stuck in an airport during a layover, but you had your work laptop with you. By using the VPN, you could connect back to your business’ infrastructure in order to access the data you need, without your activity being visible to others who may be snooping on the airport’s wireless network. Zero-Trust Access is a strategy in and of itself that turns the principle of least privilege into an actionable approach, requiring comprehensive verification at each and every step of any business process. Fundamentally, the thesis of zero-trust is that everything and everyone is a threat until they are confirmed not to be—with this confirmation regularly verified throughout the user’s processes. These two methods take very different approaches to securing your business. With the VPN, the focus is on keeping threats out, without particularly restricting the activities of those who have been authenticated. Zero-trust access, on the other hand, provides access to only what an authenticated user requires to fulfill their responsibilities. What Does a VPN Do Compared to Zero-Trust Access? Let’s break down different aspects that you need to keep in mind in terms of what each option provides. Breach Containment Should a breach occur, a VPN may help prevent the attacker from accessing more than what the VPN itself was directing toward, whereas a properly-configured zero-trust implementation will limit the breach specifically to the device, service, or application. Cloud Support Generally speaking, a VPN is hosted on-premise, although cloud options do exist. Zero-trust is typically hosted in the cloud, meaning that it works well in cloud-hosted applications. Functionality This is the crux of our discussion. All a VPN does is create a secure means of accessing different networks. Comparatively, zero-trust access does the same, but also restricts access within these networks based on predetermined policies. Remote Support With remote work being more prevalent than it has been in the past, ensuring a means of accessing the workplace securely is a more pressing need. A VPN enables remote workers to do so, while a zero-trust network does the same, but does so on a more granular level. Security Strength While the VPN does a great job of protecting data while it is being sent between two separate networks, that protection stops once each network is reached. The zero-trust network provides excellent security at every point, for every resource. These comparisons make it pretty clear that both offer sincere benefits to a business’ security, and that both should have a welcome place in your business security infrastructure. That being said, it is also understandable why today’s security experts are predicting […]
Google Docs has been a worthy competitor to the ubiquitous Microsoft Word since the search engine giant launched the service in 2006. Since then, it’s been used by personal accounts and businesses as a fantastic alternative to the Microsoft Office suite. Google was able to beat Microsoft to the punch with a nearly fully-featured, browser-based document editor that allowed incredibly easy collaboration and sharing capabilities. However, there’s one little hang-up that people often run into when using Google Docs, and we’re going to show you how to overcome it.
The Windows Clipboard Offers Far More Utility Historically, the Windows Clipboard had a one-and-done level of functionality. You could copy one clip into it and use it for the rest of the time you were on the computer… provided you never copied anything else. If you did, your original clip was lost. Nowadays, the Clipboard is far more capable than just this. Today, multiple clips can be stored and selected from—and what’s more, these clips can be stored in your Clipboard permanently, potentially making it far more convenient for you to replicate content that you come back to on a regular basis, from multiple devices. To view the complete Clipboard, press Windows Key + V. A window will open that displays all of the clips you’ve taken during your session. You can also identify anything you want to persist after your device restarts by selecting the three-dot icon on any copied content and selecting Pin. This is great if there’s any boilerplate you regularly need to paste into an email or document template, and it ensures that this content will be there until you actively delete it from your Clipboard. Focus Sessions Allow You to Eliminate Distractions For all the benefits that technology and its inherent connectivity bring, it does have one pretty significant drawback: it makes it far more difficult to focus on any one task, with all the reminders and notifications for other things that need to be done popping up and dinging, breaking your concentration. To address this, Windows 11 offers a feature called Focus sessions, which effectively puts the operating system into Do Not Disturb, muting notifications for a time that you determine. To start a session, search for clock in the Search box and access the Clock app. There, you’ll see the Focus sessions option, where you can set a duration for your focus session. If the session is 30 minutes or less, no breaks will be factored in, but longer sessions will have breaks automatically incorporated into your session unless you check the Skip breaks option. Click Start focus session to get down to business. You can even link your Spotify account to play music during your session, as well as set long-term goals for its use. Microsoft Teams is Accessible Via the Taskbar Many organizations have formalized the use of Teams as their internal communications platform of choice, which makes the decision to incorporate a quick-access tool for it into Windows 11 sound like a smart decision. The operating system now incorporates a simple version of Teams in the taskbar itself, allowing you to repeat your most recent activity on the platform—all you have to do is click the icon or press Windows Key + C. From there, you can start a video call via the Meet option or a text conversation via Chat. If these options aren’t enough, you can also Open Microsoft Teams properly via this easy-access menu. We hope these capabilities help you throughout your workday, along with the other tools that Windows 11 makes available to you! For assistance in other ways that your technology can work harder for you, give us a call at (336) 790-1000 today.
You Can’t Flub Your Cybersecurity Awareness Cybersecurity is something that you can’t just ignore. It’s not going to ignore you—cybercriminals target the people who think they aren’t a target in the first place. Most businesses these days have at least some level of cybersecurity-based compliance regulations to meet and follow. Some can come from the state, some can come from the industry you are in, some apply based on the type of information you work with, and some can come directly from your business insurance provider. One of the biggest mistakes I see business owners and C-levels make is that they have overconfidence in their own cybersecurity. Most business owners are the least secure people I know (and I don’t mean that in an insulting way; CEOs and entrepreneurs, in general, are just wired to be efficient, and cybersecurity practices can feel like a big roadblock to efficiency.) Heck, I lose sleep at night when I suspect that the owner of a company we work with refuses to use multi-factor authentication, but I catch myself longing to turn that feature off because of the extra couple of seconds it adds to getting into an account every day. The point is, even as a leader, you can’t skimp on security. In fact, you should be the shining example of it in your organization. You Have to Know If You Are Compliant or Not Depending on the regulations your organization needs to meet, you likely have a laundry list of tasks to check off quarterly or yearly. For many organizations, a part of that might include a regular penetration test. A penetration test is a very specific set of tasks that involve an ethical hacker attempting to break into your business network using a variety of different ways. There are multiple phases that include reconnaissance, scanning for vulnerabilities and other weaknesses, getting in and attempting to steal, change or delete data, staying within the network undetected for a period of time, and looking for non-technical ways to exploit your organization, such as social engineering. It’s not a small feat, and it’s far from the typical quick network audit or port sniffer scan and things that a technician might do to solve a problem or investigate an issue. Don’t confuse the small stuff with a penetration test. I’ve talked to business owners in the past who were convinced their network was secure because a third-party ran some network audit tools that came back with devices that were out of date and fixed them. While that’s important to do, and something we do regularly, and maintain for our clients, it’s a long way from an actual penetration test. Let’s Make Sense of Your Cybersecurity, Together Protecting your business from modern-day threats and meeting regulatory requirements is a challenge if you try to do it by yourself. Let GeekBox IT be your trusted IT partner and keep your business operating smoothly. Get started today by calling (336) 790-1000.
Have you ever wanted to put a YouTube video on repeat for an inordinately long amount of time, perhaps looping on a kiosk or on a conference room tv in the background? There are several ways to do this, including a feature built into YouTube itself and third-party websites. Let’s take a look at both options.
Understanding Your Business Requirements Technology professionals play a crucial role in helping businesses identify their unique technology requirements. By conducting in-depth consultations and understanding the specific goals and challenges within your industry, these experts can develop a comprehensive understanding of your business needs. Whether you require software applications, hardware infrastructure, or cloud-based platforms, technology professionals can conduct a thorough analysis of your requirements and recommend the most suitable options. Getting the Right Technology The technology marketplace is brimming with a vast array of options, making it overwhelming for business owners and decision-makers to evaluate and choose the right technology solutions. Technology professionals possess a deep knowledge of current technological trends, industry standards, and emerging innovations. They stay up-to-date with the latest advancements, ensuring they can guide businesses toward the most relevant and effective technology options. Choosing the Right Vendors Choosing the right technology vendor is a critical step in the process of finding the technology your business needs. Technology professionals have established relationships with various vendors and possess extensive experience in assessing their capabilities. They can help streamline the vendor evaluation process by comparing offerings and completing due diligence. By leaning on their expertise, businesses can confidently select vendors that align with their requirements, budget, and long-term goals. Customize Technology to Your Business’ Needs Every business has its own unique processes and workflows. Technology professionals understand this and can help tailor technology solutions to fit seamlessly within your existing infrastructure. They possess the technical skills to customize software, develop applications, and integrate normally disconnected systems. By ensuring smooth integration and customization, technology professionals can maximize the value of the chosen technology and minimize disruptions.xc Ensure You Have the Right Support Technology professionals provide ongoing support and maintenance services to ensure smooth operation and optimal performance of your technology solutions. From troubleshooting technical issues to applying necessary updates and patches, these experts are dedicated to keeping your technology infrastructure running smoothly. They can also provide training to your employees, ensuring they have the necessary skills to utilize the technology effectively. Your business needs the right technology consulting, procurement, and support to get the tools needed to point your business in the right direction. Our knowledgeable technicians can help you get and manage all the technology you use on a daily basis. Give us a call today at (336) 790-1000 to learn more about how we can help your business.
Viruses and malware are bad. Ransomware is crippling. Data breaches in some cases can more or less shut down a business. We talk about these threats all the time, but for most people, they are just scary-sounding buzzwords. Today, we want to talk about the more personalized threats that are much more cunning, and in some ways, much more dangerous.
The right collaboration tools can be game-changing for business, but only if they are appropriately configured and integrated with intention into your infrastructure. Today, we are bringing you four common mistakes that businesses make with their collaboration tool security that could hold you back from getting the most from our solutions.