Confession time! How many of you manage your computer and online passwords in any of the following ways:

Use the same/similar password for everything
Keep all your passwords written on a slip of paper
Change your password by incrementing the number by 1
Keep a spreadsheet with all your passwords on your desktop

We see it all the time and have heard every reason you can think of as to why it’s “fine”. The most common of which is “I don’t have any data a hacker would want”. Nothing could be further from the truth! Have you ever thought about what a hacker could do with just your email password? With just access to your email, a hacker only needs to click the “I forgot my password” button for any of your accounts and will instantly have the keys to the kingdom.

Congratulations to our winner, Susan Fuchs of Christie Engineering, P.C., the lucky recipient of a Work-From-Home Starter Kit!

QUESTION:  What 1998 movie is the first movie to feature two actors who previously played Batman?

ANSWER:  Out of Sight (George Clooney & Michael Keaton)

With the explosion of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, the list of things to hack has also exploded. If one takes a moment to consider the potential risks, it can be eye opening and downright scary—just in time for Halloween. Peruse the Internet a bit and you will find real hacking examples that include pacemakers, children’s teddy bears, baby monitors, vehicles, security cameras, and more.

After the kids have finished trick-or-treating on Halloween, it will be time to walk around the house before going to bed and reset the clocks on all your appliances and alarms. Or will it? With so many “smart” devices, manually adjusting your clocks is quickly becoming a thing of the past.

If you have ever wondered when the world would finally begin looking like the futuristic movie Back to the Future 2, then you are in for a treat! Researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology have completed testing on their new humanoid robot named “WALK-MAN.” This robot has been engineered to be lightweight, sturdy, and have hands that are like human hands (it can move its fingers).

Why would it need to have these traits? Because this robot will be going where humans cannot…into disasters! WALK-MAN was tested in a simulated industrial plant that had been damaged by an earthquake.

A mantra of security that the IT professionals at IT Radix recite often is that when it comes to protection of a network and/or of data, layers of security is the answer. Some might say, it is the best answer.

We are fortunate to have one of the area’s most preeminent business and cybersecurity insurance firms as a client.

That is the question! A lot of people wonder whether it is best to shut down your computer when not in use, and most articles you read will go into extended detail one way or the other. However, IT Radix likes to get to the point: you decide!

The great thing with computers nowadays is that not only can they withstand a tremendous amount of use, they also attempt to help its own lifespan by using the hibernate function.

In the past few years, the practice of monitoring personal property via software applications has grown dramatically. Most of us know what a “Ring” doorbell is. Many young parents check on their preschool children in daycare centers via video, right from their mobile phones.

I started my technology career at Exxon back in the late 1980s. While Exxon was not on the bleeding edge of most computer technologies, it turns out they were on the bleeding edge of something—cybersecurity. In general, they were a conservative and cautious bunch which naturally resulted in a high cybersecurity awareness level.