Ask a businessperson where their office is located and the likely answer is “everywhere.” They’re working from home, staying in the loop while traveling, and catching up on email between sales calls. For productivity’s sake, many companies give their employees – and...
Portland IT Support Articles & Business Tech News
Cybersecurity, M365, Managed IT Services, AI, & Technology Trends for Portland Businesses
Tips to Improve Your Cybersecurity in 2018
2018 is right around the corner, and here are our top five tips for things you can do to improve your cybersecurity in the new year. Cybersecurity has been the most critical issue in 2017, and that’s not going to change. If you haven’t begun addressing your...
Microsoft Windows 10: Update Issues with “Fall Creator”
Microsoft regularly releases annual updates to their current operating system, this year it is known as the Fall Creators update (Build 1709). As more machines are being updated with this release SpireTech’s support specialists have noticed a trend in calls reporting...
3 Security Advantages of Managed IT Services
Managed IT services, or outsourced remote network management, can help your business in many ways. It’s a cost effective way of having your IT infrastructure monitored and maintained by experts instead of hiring an IT director. Or, it can free up your IT director and...
Defend against ransomware using system design
Earlier this year, the world experienced a new and highly-destructive type of ransomware. The novel aspects of WannaCry and Petya were not skills as ransomware, but the combination of commonplace ransomware tactics paired with worm capability to improve...
Stick with Security: Segment your network and monitor
Who’s coming in and what’s going out? Businesses that want to stick with security build commonsense monitoring into their brick-and-mortar operations. Whether it’s a key card reader at the door or a burglar alarm activated at night, careful companies keep an eye on...
When Is a Simple Data Backup Not Enough?
You know you need data backup, but when do you need a business continuity solution? If you’ve been paying attention to the news, you’ll know that massive global ransomware attacks are only growing in scale and frequency. These attacks and other threats and accidents...
The dark web: What your business needs to know
You’ve heard about the “dark web” and wondered how it affects businesses – including small businesses. That was one of the topics addressed at an FTC conference earlier this year on identity theft. Recent headlines about high-profile data breaches have added even...
Businesses beware: Researchers spot bug in Wi-Fi network encryption
used with permission from FTC.gov., by Phoebe Rouge You’ve read recent news stories about a vulnerability discovered in the WPA2 encryption standard. (Some reports refer to it as KRACK – Key Reinstallation Attack.) Should this be of concern to your business? Yes. Does...
SpireTech expands Sophos partnership
As you may be aware, the software company Kaspersky has recently been a heated topic of discussion in the media and amongst the IT security community. Last month U.S. government agencies were told to use other security solutions. SpireTech, as are most IT...
Are social logins safe to use?
Used with permission from Norton by Symantec By now you’ve noticed you typically have two options to log in to an online account. One is the traditional username and password combination. The other is the social login, which uses your credentials for a social...
A Short Guide to Data Security Practices for Your Business
Much has been said about data security practices and cybersecurity measures that businesses should follow. All the information and recommendations out there can be confusing and overwhelming. Large data breaches and multiple scary ransomware attacks have dominated the...
SpireTech Has Moved Temporarily
SpireTech Has Moved Temporarily – but just to the other side the street! Following the dumpster fire in July, which damaged the lower levels of the building where SpireTech occupies the top floor, we have relocated our “people space” to another building in the same...
Kaspersky AntiVirus Notice
SpireTech has been monitoring developments relative to security questions being raised about Kaspersky Anti-Virus software, including the US federal government’s restrictions for federal agencies announced on September 13, 2017. SpireTech is currently...
7 tips to prevent ransomware
Used with permission from Norton by Symantec Malicious software that uses encryption to hold data for ransom has become wildly successful over the last few years. The purpose of this software is to extort money from the victims with promises of restoring encrypted...
Why bother with updates and upgrades?
When was the last time you thought about software updates and hardware upgraes? For many, updating software and hardware is not a priority because “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. However, it’s clear that today’s cyber attacks prey on vulnerabilities present in old...
