SMART Blog

Think about all the things you’ve experienced thanks to the rapid innovation of technology. We can all agree that technology is cool. Today, we have $10 drones, mugs that keep your coffee warm, and LEDs everywhere. 

So what’s next? 

In the relatively short time it has been around, social media has fully ingrained itself into our lives, personally, professionally, and socially. While there are considerable benefits to be had in all of these areas, it is also undeniable that social media can easily become overwhelming and negatively impact us. For this reason, occasionally taking a break from social media isn’t a bad idea. Let’s go over a few ways to make this break as successful and effective as possible.

How important do you consider security for your personal and private data on your web-connected accounts? If you don’t think about it often, you should be; countless entities out there—including major enterprises and providers you trust—do not respect your data privacy and security. Let’s discuss how some large companies take advantage of your data and some of the questions you should consider when trusting these companies with your data.

The modern workplace wouldn’t exist as it does without the advent of wireless Internet or Wi-Fi. Understanding how your wireless router works can be incredibly helpful for any business owner, and it can help you get even more out of your wireless connection. Today, we want to share some information about wireless routers that can help you use them more effectively.

The topic of net neutrality has had a tumultuous past few years, with steps forward canceled out by steps taken back. However, new efforts are being considered to restore the policies that made net neutrality what it was in the first place.

Have you ever heard of the “man-in-the-middle” attack or MitM? It’s a situation where your data is stolen by an onlooker who situates themselves in the right place at the right time. Data interception is a very real thing that your business should be prepared to fight against. Let’s discuss some strategies you can use to counter these sneaky attacks.

A business experiencing a network bottleneck is having a bad day, especially since the ability to share data is so important to many industries today. That said, today’s resource-intensive technologies can easily eat through an organization’s bandwidth and create these kinds of network slowdowns.

Let’s talk about what can be done to reduce these bottlenecks, if not eliminate them outright.

We all depend on the Internet. For most of us who have been using it since the mid-90s, we’ve seen a massive change in its use. Today, silent continuous connectivity has replaced the dial-up tones of the late 90s and early 2000s. In today’s blog, we thought we’d discuss how Internet connectivity speeds have changed over the past 30 years. 

Both the router and modem are crucial components of any wireless network, yet many people are unsure about the distinct roles they play in a personal or organizational Internet connection. Let’s break down the function of each device and how they work together to support your network.

The Internet is right along with electricity as a completely essential part of doing business. Today, we take a look at the central metric of Internet usage: Bandwidth.

Were you among the 55.3 percent of employees who took their work devices on the road during this past holiday season? Chances are that if you have employees who find it difficult to complete their duties in the office, they’ll take it home with them over the holidays to make sure they don’t fall behind. Yet, they could potentially be exposing important data to risk, even if it means getting a little bit of work done here and there in the meantime.

We all know how important an Internet connection is to the success of your business. It takes an exceptionally powerful cabling protocol to ensure that your business’s Internet connection remains constant. While many businesses take advantage of big cable companies like Time Warner Cable and Comcast for their Internet needs, a select few have the option of Google Fiber.

For a technology that’s so commonplace, Wi-Fi rarely receives an update unless a catastrophic new threat becomes a major issue. Most recently, the KRACK vulnerability exposed serious shortcomings regarding WPA2 connections--a technology that has been in place since 2004. A new version of this technology called WPA3 has been introduced to combat the most recent threats and vulnerabilities, improving security considerably.

With the growing popularity of Cyber Monday sales and the growth of all types of eCommerce, your employees are likely tempted to shop during work hours. To add to the attraction, there are a lot of promotions exclusively available to online shoppers that take place during business hours of operations. Many companies allow occasional use of company time for personal use. However, some employees are going to take advantage of this generosity and abuse the privilege.

Hackers put a lot of thought and effort into coming up with new ways to fool the unsuspecting consumer, especially during the holiday season. Here are some recent scams you should watch for.

When you think about the stock market, one vibrant image that comes to mind is the chaotic trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange, with traders climbing over each other and barking orders. Today, the NYSE trading floor is much more subdued, a testimony to just how much technology has changed the financial marketplace.

The Internet has ushered in an era of productivity and connectivity only previously dreamed of. But like every great tool, it can be used for darker purposes. Unfortunately, the Internet is also used for illegal activity, like drug trafficking or selling data on the black market.

When one thinks about the Internet of Things (IoT), smart homes, smart cars, and mobile devices come to mind. While innovations like these are fueling the excitement behind the IoT, it’s actually the smaller, behind-the-scenes IoT devices that are poised to bring about the most significant change to our connected society.

Have you ever wondered how hackers become hackers in the first place? How are tools readily available to them? Business owners might be reluctant to find out that hacking has become easier than ever over the past decade. This is partly due to the increased sophistication of the black market known to some as the Darknet.

"Free WiFi Zone." You see the sign advertised in the window of a new coffee shop. You've got a lot of work to do and you want a change of scenery, so you pack up your laptop and pay them a visit. The coffee is great, but the WiFi service is lousy. In fact, the spotty WiFi service is so poor that you get frustrated and leave, vowing to never shop there again.