The BBC reported this week that several schools on the Isle of Wight in the British Isles were hit with a string of ransomware attacks. Ransomware is a form of cybersecurity breach in which a cyber criminal either threatens to release private information to the public or block access to their data altogether until they pay some kind of ransom.

Quick Announcements:

-Microsoft has released official system requirements for Windows 11, and is teasing an October release date for a free downloadable OS upgrade for existing users. Check out our write up on Windows 11 here.

-Shortly after President Joe Biden signed his recent executive order, the FTC voted unanimously to uphold right to repair-style regulations across the country.

5G, as the fifth generation of broadband internet technology is called, was first made available to the public in 2018. Now in July of 2021, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless all tout 5G networks as new 5G compatible devices, such as the iPhone 12, become more readily available.

Microsoft presented a preliminary version of its new operating system, Windows 11, last week in a roughly forty-five minute long video announcement. This is the first official confirmation of a new operating system from Microsoft since the release of its previous operating system, Windows 10, in 2015. Windows is arguably the most widely employed operating system for both personal and business use.

Social media platforms, such as Reddit and Twitter, are abuzz this week with news of a recent update for the Google app on Android phones , which has led to widespread crashes and error messages, preventing users from utilizing the app. The severity of the problem seems to vary between phone manufacturers, with some phones receiving error messages that effectively make the app useless while others aren’t affected at all.

Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. It’s good advice, especially for small businesses trying to keep all facets of their IT infrastructure running like clockwork. But all too often companies keep going on a hope and a prayer without making provisions for potential disasters.