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Windows 10 will Block ‘Unwanted’ Apps

The unwanted apps feature has been turned off by default but starting very shortly it will be turned on. It sounds good in theory – the trick will be what Windows 10 defines as unwanted, and whether you agree.These unwanted apps are referred to as PUAs (potentially unwanted applications), the blocking of which is considered to be a security feature. PUAs are essentially low level malware – they carry out functions which are annoying but not technically illegal. This article from Bleepin...

Windows 10 Basic Tips

Despite Windows 7 being out of support since January 2020 there are still people transitioning out of it and into Windows 10. If you’re still using Windows 7…please don’t. Seriously though, it’s a security issue at this stage. At the very least you should not use a Windows 7 computer for internet banking. When I say out of support, what I mean is that Microsoft is no longer releasing security updates, so every nefarious hacker and his dog will be looking for a way in, and Microsoft ...

The New Windows Update and the Value of Restarts

Another Windows update has been released this week – the 21H1 update. This is not a major update, we’re expecting a much larger one around October. You probably won’t notice much difference in terms of functions. Here are the changes listed in this article from The VergeWindows Hello multicamera support to set the default as the external camera when both external and internal Windows Hello cameras are present.Windows Defender Application Guard performance improvements including optimi...

Attacks via Email – The Waikato DHB

No doubt you’ve all seen the news articles about the security breach suffered by Waikato Hospital this week. When it first happened Simon said his bet was that it had come in via an email, and that seems to be the case (Check out this article from Stuff).The reason we’re not surprised about this is that emails are one of the most common sources of cyber security breaches for individuals, and increasingly commonly, businesses as well. In this case they suspect an email attachment, but li...

Help! My Inbox is Chaos

Is your email inbox a gigantic mess? Email has become an exercise in constant management. It’s like trying to keep your kitchen clean – if you don’t do it regularly it soon turns into a terrible nightmare. We see inboxes all the time with many thousands of emails where the user has just totally given up.It can be a simple matter of getting set up, so we would like to offer to help. Come to our office for a half hour session with Gina during May for the discounted rate of $40 and we’ll ge...

Massive International Shortage of Chips for Routers

As a result of the disruptions to the supply chain last year and the increased demand for home internet, a big shortage of routers is about to hit. So far the suppliers have enough on hand but they’ve been advised of wait times of up to 60 weeks for more. Check out the details hereThe chips are used in a whole stack of computing and communications equipment but since selling to Apple for iPhones is worth more to the supplies than selling them to companies that make routers, the routers wi...

Another Facebook Data Breach

Another Facebook data breach has occurred – apparently the personal details of about 533 million users worldwide were hacked some time ago but we’re just learning about this particular batch now.It isn’t the first time that Facebook has been breached in this way. Facebook was quick to point out that they’ve improved security since the breach occurred but it’s such a ripe target that my guess is that it’s bound to happen again eventually.Has your data been hacked?The easiest way to ch...

Easter Leave for Employers and Employees

An employee can only required to work on a public holiday if it’s written into their employment agreement and it’s a day they would usually work. Otherwise, an employee can be asked to work on a public holiday, but they don’t have to agree.If an employee works on a public holidaythey must get paid at least time and a halfif the public holiday falls on what is a normal working day for them, they must also get a paid day off at a later date....