Technology Articles from MPA Networks

Spectre and Meltdown: Valuable Lessons for Your IT Security Team

February 12th, 2018 by admin

White lock icon on a backdrop of code snippets

At the end of 2017, the world learned about Spectre and Meltdown: two far-reaching security threats that exploit how CPUs work to expose protected information on nearly every recent PC, server and smartphone. Hackers can use these exploits to do things...

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Posted in: Cyber and Data Security

Four Security Threats Your Company Could Face in 2018

January 16th, 2018 by admin

Close up view of network Ethernet cables plugged into ports on a switch/router

Hot off the tail of the massive 2017 Equifax breach that exposed personal information of 143 million customers, businesses are on high alert concerning IT security in 2018. While the IT security industry has been successful in mitigating and cracking...

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Posted in: Cyber and Data Security

Screen Mirroring Mini-Guide

September 19th, 2017 by admin

Conference room with dark wood table, black and silver chairs, a speaker phone, and a tv display on the far wall

Setting up your conference room for wireless screen mirroring is the answer to employees sharing in a collective groan when it's time to connect a computer or mobile device to show a presentation. While setting up the conference room television or projector...

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Posted in: Hardware and Software

Avoiding Disaster: Overheating Computers

April 5th, 2017 by admin

Shiny, red fire extinguisher with a yelling cartoon face on the side

If one of your office computers always seems to shut down or slow to a crawl at the busiest of times, you may have a case of overheating on your hands—especially if IT can't find anything wrong on the software level. Performance hiccups might seem like...

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Posted in: Hardware and Software

Mac- and Linux-Based Malware Targets Biomedical Industry

March 14th, 2017 by admin

Skull and crossbones symbol drawn with 1s and 0s

The malware infection, discovered in late January, that's been hiding out on Mac and Linux devices for more than two years doesn't mean the security floodgates are open, but it is a reminder that these devices aren't invincible. Apple is calling this...

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Posted in: Cyber and Data Security

Digital Sticky Notes: A Time-Saver for Your Entire Team

February 15th, 2017 by admin

Stylized depiction of nine sticky notes in various colors

It's a familiar sighting in the workplace: the employee with half a dozen sticky notes attached to their computer monitor. While not the most confidential or elegant solution, these employees are on to something. Fortunately, technology has stepped in...

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Posted in: Cyber and Data Security

Using Snap and Split-Screen Modes for Increased Productivity

February 1st, 2017 by admin

Stylized sliding drawers stacked one atop the other, in blue and gray

Multi-tasking wizards have a secret: Modern operating systems offer a handy technique for managing multiple windows while maximizing available screen space, significantly increasing productivity. Depending on the OS, this feature may be referred to as...

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Posted in: Hardware and Software

Boost Productivity and Security with Google's Cloud Applications

January 11th, 2017 by admin

Color logo of Google Drive(tm)

For anyone unfamiliar with the Google Applications platform, Google Docs et al. are a Cloud-based spin on mainstay office suite programs that can help your staff work better together. With a zero-dollar price tag (compared with Microsoft Office's...

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Posted in: Hardware and Software

A Primer on Phishing Attacks

December 21st, 2016 by admin

Credit cards with a lock resting on top of them

Phishing attacks are a dangerous and devastating method hackers use to steal personal information and accounts—primarily by striking the user instead of the machine. According to the APWG Phishing Activity Trends Report, the first quarter of 2016 saw...

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Posted in: Cyber and Data Security

Low Battery Life: Bringing Productivity to a Halt

October 26th, 2016 by admin

Stylized graphic of a AA battery with a green cape flying through the air

Work-disrupting messages like “please connect charger” and “plug in or find another power source” can be a huge source of frustration—not to mention a major productivity killer—for employees on the go. Nobody wants to see their phone battery go belly-up...

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Posted in: Hardware and Software

Think Manually Running Hard Drive Defragmentation Is a Big Deal? Think Again

October 19th, 2016 by admin

Open hard drive sitting on a table with its internals exposed

Good news: Your IT staff can stop running regular hard drive defragmentation on your office computers. Improvements in technology have rendered this decade-old practice largely irrelevant. One less thing to worry about, as far as we’re concerned. Hard...

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Posted in: Hardware and Software

Troubleshooting Step 1: Reboot

October 12th, 2016 by admin

Stylized graphic of two power buttons side-by-side, the one on the right one lit up in blue

While modern computers are much more stable than their ancestors, trying to get work done on a slow, malfunctioning computer is still a business world rite of passage. Troubleshooting bad behavior on your work computer can, of course, be a tedious...

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Posted in: Hardware and Software

How To Select a Second Monitor

August 24th, 2016 by admin

White office desktop with 2 Dell monitors and an Apple keyboard around a coffee cup

Secondary monitors have incredible potential to increase productivity in the workplace. It might not seem like much, but minimizing, maximizing, and arranging application windows on a single computer monitor can take up a significant amount of time....

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Posted in: Hardware and Software

Data Sanitization: Are You Erasing Your Old PCs COMPLETELY?

June 7th, 2016 by admin

Sepia-tinted close up of an eraser on the back of a pencil

One of our pet peeves with some of our new customers is that once we come in to upgrade their IT network, they're careless about disposing their old hardware—specifically, their PC hard drives. They think that by simply deleting their existing files—email,...

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Posted in: Cyber and Data Security, Hardware and Software

Are Macs “Ransomware-Proof”? Not Anymore

March 23rd, 2016 by admin

Clip art of a hacker in a purple shirt using a blue computer

Since Apple famously introduced the Macintosh over three decades ago, Mac users have been confident that their computers are virtually immune to ransomware and other malware threats which plague their Windows counterparts. But those days are over. ...

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Posted in: Cyber and Data Security, Hardware and Software

Macs Are Here to Stay. How Well Are You Managing Them?

December 16th, 2015 by admin

Apple monitor, keyboard, mouse, and iPhone resting on a wooden desk

Before you take your teenage kids to see the new Steve Jobs biopic, ask them what Jobs' first successful product was. Don't be surprised if they answer "the iPod"! For most of their generation, the original Macintosh is ancient history. Today's Mac...

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Posted in: Hardware and Software

Blurring the Lines: Hybrid Devices in the Workplace

December 10th, 2015 by admin

Wooden desk with a gray MacBook Pro, Apple display, iPad, and Mac peripherals sitting on it

Apple announced the iPad Pro in September of 2015. Microsoft announced the Surface Book just a month later. Both devices are blurring the lines between tablets and laptops, offering interesting new opportunities for technology use in the workplace and...

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Posted in: Hardware and Software

The “Redirect to SMB” Bug: New Windows, Same Danger

October 6th, 2015 by admin

Icon of a bug with the red, green, blue, yellow Windows logo on its carapace

The big news out of Microsoft over the past couple of months is the much-ballyhooed release of Windows 10. While “Win10” finally addresses those annoying shortcomings of its predecessor Windows 8 (as we've discussed), it still hasn't corrected a dangerous...

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Posted in: Cyber and Data Security

Increase Productivity with Cloud Systems

December 23rd, 2014 by admin

Blue inked drawing of various icons with arrows pointing to a cloud

Cloud-based applications have the potential to increase productivity for your business. By de-localizing your computing resources, your employees can benefit from ease of access, broader device compatibility, and reliance on local hardware. IT Managed...

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Posted in: Hardware and Software