Tag: apple

  • On June 24th, 2021 Microsoft introduced Windows 11, a free upgrade to Windows 10

    On June 24th, 2021 Microsoft introduced Windows 11, a free upgrade to Windows 10

    Yesterday, June 24th 2021 Microsoft unveiled Windows 11. While they struggled to get the live stream going (it went down several times during the unveiling) Windows 11 itself still had an impressive range of features, many of which we think will shake the PC industry as we know it.

    To start, they revealed that Windows 11 will be faster than past versions and updates will be 40% smaller. These features are a nod to what came later in the stream in our opinion. Faster and more agile seems to be the name of the game with Windows 11.

    Windows 11 will have many user adaptive features, including window “snapping” that will allow users to arrange their desktop environment exactly how they like. They showcased grids that had even 4 or 5 squares of varying sizes. If you dock your laptop to a second monitor then remove it, it will even “remember” your setup when you plug it back in.

    Also, in the same vein is the new widgets feature that will show users a custom set of data specific to them and how they’re using their device. If you’re sensing that Microsoft is aiming to bridge the gap between PC and mobile devices with Windows 11, you wouldn’t be wrong. With it’s slick appearance widgets seem to be a much improved version of the the “Interest feature” that was released to Windows 10 in April.

    Windows 11 Widgets

    Speaking of bridging the gap between PC and mobile devices, one of the biggest ways Microsoft is aiming to do that is by allowing Android applications to downloaded and used on Windows 11 PCs. We plan to do a deep dive on this later on when more is known, but Android applications will be available in the Microsoft store powered by Amazon’s Appstore.

    The combined efforts of these two tech behemoths seems like a move squarely aimed at taking a piece of Google’s mobile pie – and a large pie at that with the Android phone market making up 72% of the market share as of 2021.

    Converting mobile users to PC seems to have been a concerted effort of Microsoft for a while now and it will be interesting to see what effort merging their various services together (Xbox will also be more accessible through Windows 11 with the addition of Xbox Game Pass for PC being expanded upon) will have on those efforts.

    They also plan on making the Microsoft store more accessible for developers, who if they bring their own eCommerce solution will not even have to share a cut with Microsoft.

    We haven’t even touched on Microsoft 11’s appearance, which seems much sleeker and perhaps slight Apple-esque with the slim task bar with centered icons. One of those center icons was a built in Microphone mute button, which Microsoft used as a segue to announce Teams as a built in Windows 11 integration.

    Microsoft Teams Windows 11

    With that we only assume Microsoft is moving away from Skype and trying to make a move that again takes aim at a competitor, namely Zoom. Teams will even work across non-Microsoft platforms including iOS. We’re eager to see what features are added to Teams as not too much was showcased in this demo.

    There’s not currently a release date set for Windows 11 other than later this year, but the speculation is it will be released sometime in October which would fall in line with Microsoft’s typical major update release schedule.

    We’ll be following this topic closely, as a Microsoft partner new Window’s releases can be both an exciting yet daunting prospect for our customers. If your business needs assistance in getting your office “Windows 11 ready”, we can help. Schedule a free consultation here.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these tech articles from the last week.

    This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

  • The ransomware attack crippling a major repair firm that no one’s talking about

    The ransomware attack crippling a major repair firm that no one’s talking about

    Dell, Lenovo, even Apple brand computer and device repairs might be seeing major repair delays at the moment as a top repair firm they use was hit by a ransomware attack that ground their operations to a complete halt.

    This has been seemingly squashed as a news worthy event for the moment but we think customers should be made aware that if they send their desktop or laptop in for a repair at this time they face major delays in getting it back. In fact, there may be a delay in even getting a box to send the machine back in as even shipping has also been affected by this ransomware.

    Reported briefly by ItWire, this attack aimed at the security firm Symantec has taken down a number of systems across the country. From the attackers’ view point they were able to disable one of the end point protections allowing access, and to make matters worse the software was up to date at the time, leading to major questions as to how this was able to occur at all.

    CSAT, used by Dell, Lenovo, Apple and more was hit just over a week ago and customers have been facing problems ever since.

    We haven’t been able to confirm that any customer data was leaked, however, according to the ItWire article a number of screenshots of computer directories were placed online.

    If the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that governs in the UK applied in this case, these companies should have reported any exposed customer data within 72 hours. It’s possible no customer data was leaked but the scope of this apparent ransomware has us questioning whether that’s true.

    We’re uncertain if business support class customers are facing the same delays as home users however as with most things there may be a trickle-down effect.

    The ransomware that allowed this to occur was called NetWalker and it’s been responsible for 10 major breaches just this year. It’s clear to us ransomware as a service is not going anywhere soon when the payouts are so lucrative.

    Released in April 2019, the average payout on a NetWalker attack is $175,000 in bitcoin following each successful campaign. One of the highest payouts was $1.14 million from the University of California. It’s estimated the NetWalker ransomware gang has made $25 million in all.

    This latest attack shows that it’s not only a loss of data and having to pay a hefty sum that come as side effects from being hit with ransomware, the affected security firm and repair firm are also experiencing a major loss of credibility with customers that they may never fully recover from.

    You may think your business is too small to be hit with a ransomware attack, but the fact is ransomware as a service has made orchestrating these attacks easier than ever. Even a small payout of a few thousand dollars may be worth it to some individuals with low moral standing just looking for some quick cash.

    Or maybe they’re not interested in your money at all, maybe they’re interested in your data which may be more lucrative for them. Also, many hackers commit their attacks just for the thrill of it and will think nothing of dismantling your technology operations and leaving you stranded.

    We don’t think this should happen to anyone; we can help businesses located in the Central Valley beef up their cyber security provisions to stop ransomware gangs in their tracks.

    VTL Cyber Security

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these tech articles from the last week.

    This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

    Looking for IT Services in Fresno, Modesto, Stockton, Ceres, Atwater, Merced, Visalia or Lodi? We cover all these areas and more!

     

  • Tech Scalpers and How to Get What You’re Looking For

    Tech Scalpers and How to Get What You’re Looking For

    We’ve all experienced it at some point, you’re looking to buy something that was just released, perhaps as a Christmas gift or just for yourself and can’t find it in the regular channels. You know where you can find it? eBay or some other reseller site – usually for an inflated price.

    Those who enjoy gaming are experiencing it right now. Trying to find the NVidia RTX 3080 card? Gone. Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and Series S as well as Sony PlayStation 5 buyers had a similarly frustrating time trying to get their pre-orders in. Nintendo has been accused for years of “artificial” shortages.

    Is it a lack of stock or is the demand really that great? How much of it is resellers swooping in, buying up all the stock and reselling it for artificially inflated pricing?

    What should you do if the item you’re looking for is out of stock, and how do you avoid being one of many who won’t get their hands on the tech item they’re looking for?

    One thing that appears to be new is the advent of items targeted by bots to buy up all the product for resellers. To say they have an unfair advantage when it comes to making a purchase quickly is an understatement.

    It’s clear more needs to be done to combat the unfairness of scalpers swooping in, and buying limits need to be more strictly enforced on tech items. What are some ways you can still get what you’re looking for anyways?

    1. Be aware of the sales date and be on the website early, websites will often crash in the wake of a launch but most retailers have queuing systems in place so the earlier you’re on there, the more likely you’ll be able to get what you’re looking for.
    2. As a general rule, do NOT refresh your page when you’re in a queue. If you refresh the page most times you will be moved to the back of the queue (it’s the same as getting out of line).
    3. Figure out which retailers are going to have the item you’re looking for and queue up for multiple sites to give yourself a better chance. Just be sure to jump off the additional ones once you’ve purchased your item.
    4. If it seems like your order didn’t go through, don’t despair. Many times, an order that looks like it didn’t go through actually did. Keep this in mind if you go to try and buy it again.
    5. If you did miss the item, instead of buying it from a reseller (and thereby validating the practice) find out when the next launch date it. For popular items it’s probably sooner than you think.

    NVidia, Microsoft and Sony could take a page from companies like Apple who seem to have the buying process down. Apple has scaled up their production for every new launch and those who want their products have no trouble buying them with ease. Nothing is more frustrating to a potential buyer than to have cash in hand ready to buy and end up leaving empty handed.

    They may find if they don’t solve these stock issues more aggressively, that these same buyers will move on to different products.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these tech articles from the last week.

    This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

    Looking for IT Services in Fresno, Modesto, Stockton, Ceres, Atwater, Merced, Visalia or Lodi? We cover all these areas and more!