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BlueCross BlueShield Announces August 5th Data Breach Discovery

Tustin, CA - The most interesting part of this BlueCross BlueShield announcement is not that they found the breach on August 5th.  What is interesting when you read further into the announcement is that they say “Our investigation further revealed [...]

2017-09-18T00:38:04-07:00September 10th, 2015|

This just in on Apple Watch Sales at #2

In my household we have purchased three Apple Watches.  I like mine, but it does have a few quirks.  It is in the first generation so that is to be expected. 3.6 million Apple Watches shipped in Q2 2015, says [...]

2023-08-10T23:55:46-07:00August 28th, 2015|

Will the Lowly Battery Finally Get a Moore’s Law Upgrade?

Battery technology has not kept up with computing power, storage densities and communication speed increases that all follow something similar to Moore’s Law that states computing power will double every 18 months.  The sad truth is that batteries have not really come very far in 50 plus years.  Alternatives are needed whether it is your iPhone or a Tesla.

2023-08-11T00:03:04-07:00August 26th, 2015|

Eight Reasons You Feel Like a Hostage to IT

Over the years we have seen many new clients come to Alvaka Networks feeling like they are hostages to Information Technology.  IT Hostages feel this way for many different reasons.  Most often the person feeling this way is the CFO, Controller, CEO, COO, IT manager or an IT technician for the most part in that order in terms of frequency.

Why do you feel that way?

2015-07-07T21:31:37-07:00July 7th, 2015|

Do You Accept Credit Cards? If Yes, Read This….

VISA just released this Security Alert.  It affects everyone who uses a Point-of-Sale (POS) terminal to accept credit card payments.  If you use that small device by your register to slide cards in order to accept payment you may be at risk.

VISA has identified malicious code that can allow hackers to gain access to the credit card information you are receiving through these POS terminals.  Some of the service providers who maintain these devices are not following good security practices and

2019-07-16T21:17:59-07:00June 24th, 2015|

Multimedia Just Got a New Life and a New Jump-Off-the-Page Twist

I love technology for its constant change and innovation.  Today I learned about a new technology that blends with traditional print to blow my mind.  I am sure it will do so for you, too.  That technology is called Print2life.  The technology let’s an advertiser create a traditional print ad for a magazine, newspaper, direct mail piece, door hanger, product label, etc.  But with Print2life technology you can hold your phone over the advertising image and scan the print advertisement.  After a couple of seconds the advertisement pops up on your...

2024-03-14T00:18:22-07:00June 24th, 2015|

Did You Think the OPM Breach Could Be This Bad? I Didn’t

These are some serious allegations.  Read the whole story for the chilling insight and alleged incompetency.  Here are some choice quotes:

"From my perspective, OPM compromised this information more than three years ago," he added. "And my take on the current breach is 'so what's new?'"

In fact, the breach was unprecedented in its breadth and scope: "Security-wise, this may be the worst breach of personally identifying information ever,"

2026-04-15T04:45:39-07:00June 18th, 2015|

Oli’s Top Five Computing Threats for the Second Half of 2015

I was recently asked to be part of a webinar moderated by Elliott Markowitz, The VAR Guy.  Elliott wanted me to share my thoughts on the top threats facing small to mid-size businesses.  My answer is not scientifically derived, but based upon what I am seeing most often in the past two years of IT and security management in my world.  I am seeing the top threats from these five areas:

1.    Ransomware – Organized crime groups that encrypt all your important files and hold your data hostage until you pay....

2023-08-11T01:19:23-07:00June 11th, 2015|