Transcend Networks, Inc.

The 30-Minute IT Check Every Small Business Should Do Once a Month

Craig Fouts — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 18:48:57 +0000

Article Summary: Most IT problems don't appear out of nowhere. Backups quietly stop running, updates sit unfinished for weeks, and old staff accounts stay switched on for months. A short check once a month catches these while they're still cheap to fix. This post covers the six things to look at.

Most business owners only look at their IT when something has already gone wrong. A file won't open, a laptop won't start, or an invoice gets paid into a scammer's account. Fixing it at that point costs more than preventing it would have.

Almost none of it happens without warning. The backup that fails when you finally need it had been failing for weeks. The account a scammer used belonged to someone who left last year. Thirty minutes a month is usually enough to catch that kind of thing.

Why a monthly look is worth the time

Verizon's 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report found that 31% of breaches started with attackers exploiting unpatched software. That makes unpatched software the most common way in, ahead of stolen passwords. The same report found the median time to fully fix a known problem has risen to 43 days.

Most attacks use a problem that was already known, with a fix already available. Nobody had installed it yet.

The check

1. Updates

Check whether Windows updates are installing on your computers, or sitting at "restart required" week after week. Do the same for phones and for the software you use most, like your browser and your accounting app. If people keep clicking "remind me later," that's something to fix.

2. Backups

Open your backup tool and look at the last few runs. You want recent successful backups, not a list of errors. Then check when anyone last restored a file from it. If it's never been tested, you don't know whether it works.

3. Who has access

Pull up the list of user accounts in Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace and read through it. Every name should be someone who still works for you. Look for people who left, contractors who finished months ago, and shared logins like "office" or "admin" that several people use. Switch off anything you don't need.

4. Multi-factor authentication

Check that MFA is switched on, and that it's on for everyone, not just the people who set it up first. Pay closest attention to admin accounts and anyone who handles money. Microsoft's research shows MFA blocks more than 99.2% of account compromise attacks.

5. Devices

Look at what's connected to your systems. If there's a laptop or phone you don't recognize, find out whose it is. While you're there, check that laptops are encrypted and that any phone with company email on it has a passcode or fingerprint lock.

6. Subscription and licenses

Open your billing page and read what you're paying for. Businesses regularly pay for licenses belonging to people who left, or for two tools that do the same job. It's also how you find software somebody signed up for without telling anyone.

Make it a routine

Put it on the calendar for a fixed day, like the first Monday of the month, and assign it to the same person each time. That's you or whoever handles the admin side.

Keep a running note of what you checked and what you found. After a few months, you'll see whether the same problem keeps coming back. If it does, it needs fixing properly instead of clearing each time.

Thirty minutes only works if you don't stop to fix things along the way. Write down what you find and deal with it afterward.

Who fixes what

Most of it is small, like a laptop that needs restarting, a license to cancel, or an account to switch off. Handle those yourself.

Send the rest to your IT provider: backups that keep failing, MFA that won't turn on for someone, a device nobody recognizes, or updates that fail on the same machine every month. Those usually mean there's a bigger problem behind them.

What this check doesn't do

It isn't monitoring. Transcend Networks provides tools that watch your systems all day and flag things you'd never spot from a monthly glance.

The check covers what those tools can't know. You know who left, which subscriptions you approved, and whose laptop is whose.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should a small business check its IT?

For most small businesses, once a month is enough for this list. Backups are worth a quick look more often if losing a day's work would seriously hurt, since that's the item most likely to fail quietly.

Who should do it?

You or whoever runs the admin side of the business. Most of the list needs no technical skill, just someone who knows who works there and what the business pays for.

What if I don't know where to find any of this?

Ask your IT provider, or reach out to us to walk you through it once and write down where each thing lives. Many will also send you a monthly summary covering most of it.

Isn't this my IT provider's job?

They handle the monitoring, the patching, and the fixing. The check is the part that depends on knowing your business, like who left last month or which subscription nobody approved.

If I only have ten minutes, what matters most?

Backups and updates. Without working backups you can lose everything you've stored, and unpatched software is now the most common way attackers get in.

Does this apply if everything we use is in the cloud?

Yes. Cloud tools still need updated devices, working backups, MFA switched on, and access lists that match who actually works for you.

Article used with permission from The Technology Press.

The post The 30-Minute IT Check Every Small Business Should Do Once a Month appeared first on Transcend Networks, Inc..

What to Do in Case of a Cyberattack (Step by Step)

John Penrod — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 19:03:30 +0000

If a cyberattack hits your business, what you do in the first hour really matters.

It's also the easiest time to make a costly mistake, like turning off the wrong machine, deleting evidence, or replying from an email account the attacker is already reading.

The steps below tell you what to do, in order, so you're not guessing in the moment.

Doing these steps doesn’t require technical knowledge.

Before anything else: don't make it worse

Before you touch anything, avoid these:

Don't turn the affected computer off, if you can avoid it. Disconnecting it from the network is better, because powering it down can wipe evidence that helps work out what happened.

Don't delete anything. Leave the ransom note, the suspicious email, and any alerts exactly where they are. They're what your IT team and investigators will need.

Don't pay a ransom on the spot.

Don't use the hacked email or accounts to talk about the attack. If an attacker is in your inbox, they can read those messages. Switch to phone calls or a different account.

The step by step

Work through these in order, starting the moment you notice something's wrong.

Disconnect the affected devices from the network. Unplug the network cable and turn off Wi-Fi on anything that looks affected. This stops the problem spreading to other computers and to your backups. CISA's guidance is to isolate devices rather than power them off where you can, and to shut a device down only if you can't get it off the network any other way.
Call your IT provider straight away, by phone. Don't email, in case the attacker is watching your inbox. If you have cyber insurance, call them next, because many policies require you to involve their incident team early.
Leave the evidence alone. Don't wipe, reinstall, or tidy up the affected machines yet. Screenshots of the ransom note or suspicious emails are useful, but keep the originals too.
If money was sent, call your bank immediately. Ask them to recall the transfer and freeze it if they can. With wire and bank fraud, acting in the first few hours makes the biggest difference.
Reset passwords from a clean device, and turn on multi-factor authentication. Start with email and any admin accounts, and use a device you know isn't affected.
Report it. That can help you recover, and it's sometimes legally required. Where to report depends on your country.

Where to report it

Where you report depends on where you are:

United States: file with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), and report to CISA.

United Kingdom: report through the NCSC and to Action Fraud.

If money was wired to a scammer, report it fast.

The FBI says reporting wire fraud to IC3 within 72 hours gives its Recovery Asset Team the best chance of clawing it back, and that team recovers funds in about 70% of the cases reported in time.

If personal data about your customers or staff was exposed, you may be legally required to notify a regulator and the people affected, sometimes within 72 hours.

The rules depend on where you operate, like GDPR in the UK and Europe, state breach-notification laws in the US, and the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme in Australia.

Ask your lawyer or IT provider early so you don't miss a deadline.

Should you pay the ransom?

If it's ransomware, the big question is whether to pay.

The FBI does not recommend it. Paying doesn't guarantee you get your files back, it marks you as a business that pays, and the money funds more attacks.

It's ultimately your decision, but it's one to make with law enforcement, your IT or incident-response team, and your insurer, not alone in the first panicked hour.

Sometimes a free decryption tool already exists for the exact ransomware that hit you, which is one more reason to get the experts involved before you pay anyone.

The best time to prepare is before it happens

All of this is far easier if you've decided some of it in advance. You don't need a thick binder, just a simple plan that covers:

Who to call first (your IT provider, your insurer) and their numbers, kept somewhere you can reach without your main systems.

Where your backups are, and proof they've been tested by restoring from them.

Which accounts and devices matter most, so you know what to protect first.

A single page covering those is enough for most small businesses, and it'll save you a lot of scrambling if the day ever comes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the first thing to do in a cyberattack?

Disconnect the affected devices from the network, by unplugging the network cable and turning off Wi-Fi, then call your IT provider by phone. Getting the device off the network stops the problem spreading while you get help.

Should I turn off the computer if I get ransomware?

If you can, disconnect it from the network instead of powering it off. Shutting it down can wipe evidence stored in memory that helps work out what happened. Only power a device off if you can't get it off the network any other way.

Should I pay the ransom?

The FBI does not recommend it. Paying doesn't guarantee you get your data back, and it funds more attacks. Make that decision with law enforcement, your IT or incident-response team, and your insurer, and check whether a free decryption tool already exists first.

We wired money to a scammer. What do we do?

Call your bank immediately and ask them to recall the transfer. If you're in the US, report it to the FBI's IC3 within 72 hours, because reported quickly, their Recovery Asset Team recovers the money in about 70% of cases. In other countries, contact your bank and your national reporting service straight away.

Who do I report a cyberattack to?>

In the US, the FBI's IC3 and CISA. In the UK, the NCSC and Action Fraud. In Australia, ReportCyber. Also tell your cyber insurer, and check whether you have a legal duty to notify a regulator if personal data was exposed.

Article used with permission from The Technology Press.

The post What to Do in Case of a Cyberattack (Step by Step) appeared first on Transcend Networks, Inc..

Tech For Humans Newsletter

Craig Fouts — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 16:27:05 +0000

You've probably scanned a few QR codes this week without thinking twice. Maybe a parking meter or a restaurant menu.

Hackers have noticed how casual we've become about it, and they've built an entire new scam around it.

In today's email, I'm showing you how "quishing" works and the 3 habits that will keep your team out of it.

You'll also find a 30-second Outlook fix that stops spam meetings from cluttering your calendar, a wild stat about how few small businesses have cyber insurance, and a gadget you’ll want to have in your office.

So grab your favorite beverage, get comfy, and let’s dig in.

THE BIG IDEA

Quishing: The New Phishing Scam

A few years ago, scanning a QR code felt suspicious. Today, you probably scan three or four a day without thinking about it... parking meters, restaurant menus, conference badges, charging stations, etc.

And because of that, there's now an entire category of attack called "quishing," which is just phishing delivered through a QR code instead of an email link.

The FBI started issuing public warnings about it in 2024. Since then, reported attacks have jumped over 600%, and small businesses are getting hit harder than anyone.

Think about what happens when a phishing email lands in your inbox.

Your email provider scans it for known threats, and your IT setup flags suspicious links.

But none of that exists with a QR code. You point your phone at a square of black-and-white dots, and you have no idea where it's about to send you until you're already there.

By the time the fake Microsoft 365 login page loads on your phone, you've also stepped outside your company's security stack.

And your personal phone isn't running the same protections as your work laptop.

So these attacks usually arrive in one of three ways.

Someone prints a fake QR sticker and slaps it over the real one on a parking meter, EV charger, or restaurant menu.

An attacker embeds a QR code inside a PDF attachment. The code slips past email filters that only scan text links.

Or a flyer, business card, or conference poster sends you to a fake landing page that drops malware on your phone or steals your login.

Three habits will keep your team safer:

Treat every QR code like an unknown link.If a code arrives in an email, a PDF, or a text message, don't scan it. Go to the company's real website yourself and find what you need from there.
Make accounts payable a QR-free zone.Any invoice, payment portal, or "click here to verify" that arrives as a QR code is a hard no. Your team should only pay through known logins they type into the browser themselves, never through a code embedded in a document.
Look for tampering on physical codes.Before you scan a QR in the wild, check if it's a sticker laid over another sticker. Run your fingernail along the edge. If it peels, walk away. Genuine QR codes are usually printed onto the surface, not stuck on top.

If you'd like us to check whether your team's phones and email gateway are set up to flag malicious QR codes, just reply to this email. We'll take a look.

JOHN'S TECH TIP

Stop Spam Meetings From Auto-Filling Your Calendar

By default, Outlook adds every meeting invite to your calendar the moment it arrives, even before you've responded. Turn off "Auto-process invitations" in Outlook settings so nothing lands on your calendar until you accept it.

THE LATEST NEWS

🔓 Same Crew That Hit ADT Just Stole Data on 275 Million Students

ShinyHunters (the same group behind the ADT breach) broke into Instructure, the company behind Canvas, the learning management system used by 41% of US higher education and a chunk of K-12. They claim 275 million individuals’ data stolen across nearly 9,000 schools.

🤖 Anthropic Drops 10 Pre-Built AI Agents for Financial Services

Anthropic released ten ready-to-run Claude agents that handle pitchbooks, KYC screening, month-end close, and seven other workflows that typically eat up junior analyst hours. The agents work inside Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Outlook, with full audit trails for compliance. JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Citi, and AIG are already using them in production.

🔋 80% of Top AI Users Say They're Doing Work They Couldn't Do a Year Ago

Microsoft published its 2026 Work Trend Index, based on trillions of productivity signals and a survey of 20,000 workers across 10 countries. 49% of Microsoft 365 Copilot conversations now handle the kind of thinking work that used to require deep expertise, and 80% of the most advanced users say they're producing work they couldn't have a year ago.

THE INTERESTING STATISTIC

Only 17% of Small Businesses Have Cyber Insurance, and the Average Claim in 2025 Was $79,000

According to industry research, only 17% of small businesses have cyber insurance, and 64% say they're not familiar with what it covers.

Meanwhile, the average small business cyber claim in 2025 came in at $79,000, the kind of bill that can end the business for a small team.

Most owners don't buy it because the policies feel confusing, premiums climbed roughly 14% over the past year, and brokers rarely explain in plain English what's covered.

The upside most owners miss is that insurers actively reward you for the security basics.

Multi-factor authentication, endpoint protection, and offline backups can knock 20-40% off your premium.

So the same things that protect your business from attack also make insurance affordable. If you've never quoted cyber insurance, it's worth 30 minutes to get a baseline.

If you are in the market for a cyber insurance policy or want to determine whether your security posture aligns with your current policy, we are happy to offer a free consultation.

THE GADGET OF THE MONTH

The Synology BeeStation is a plug-and-play personal cloud server about the size of a router.

Plug it in, set up an account, and your whole team gets private storage they can use through phone, desktop, and web apps that work just like the services you're paying for now.

The 4TB version runs around $300 (no monthly fees), and because the files live on a device in your office (not on someone else's server), you stop trusting sensitive client data to a third party.

It pays for itself inside the first year for most small teams, and faster if you've got more than a few users.

THE BOOK OF THE MONTH

If you've ever felt like every business book skips the part where running a company breaks you a little, The Hard Thing About Hard Things is the book to read.

Ben Horowitz (cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley's biggest venture firms) wrote it after running a company that came within 30 days of bankruptcy more than once.

The whole book is built around the moments business books usually skip. Firing a friend, laying off half your team, calling an investor with bad news, keeping your head when everything is on fire at the same time.

It's not a feel-good book. It's the one you'll wish you'd read before your hardest week as an owner.

DID YOU KNOW?

When the founders of Google built their search engine in 1996 as a Stanford project, they named it BackRub because it analyzed the web's "back links."

Thanks for reading!

The Transcend Networks team and I put this newsletter together to share tech advice that’s actually useful, and (hopefully) even fun to read 🙂

When we’re not writing these, we’re helping businesses like yours become more secure and stay productive without all the tech headaches.

If you ever need a professional opinion on anything IT-related, simply hit reply and let me know.

We're here to help 🙂

Get Your Free IT Consultation

The post Tech For Humans Newsletter appeared first on Transcend Networks, Inc..

Speedboats vs. Cruise Ships: The Hidden SMB Advantage in the AI Era

Craig Fouts — Fri, 29 May 2026 19:37:59 +0000

Why your small business can move faster, adapt smarter, and outmaneuver the corporate giants, if you act now.

Every week, another headline screams about AI. Another tool. Another "must-have" integration. Another warning that you're already behind. If you're leading a small business, stretched thin, wearing every hat, AI can feel like one more complex system thrown onto an already overflowing plate. Here's the truth: that feeling is costing you a once-in-a-generation opportunity.

Despite its science-fiction branding, AI is not magic; it's a fundamental shift in how businesses handle information. Think of it less like a robot takeover and more like the leap from paper ledgers to digital spreadsheets. That transition sped up calculations. This one allows you to organize ideas, automate repetitive tasks, and process information with mathematical precision, without immediately adding hours to your day or people to your payroll.

Below, we break down seven strategic takeaways every small business owner needs to understand right now, while the window is still open.

I. You Are the Speedboat. They Are the Cruise Ship.

There's a persistent myth that Fortune 500 companies will "win" the AI race because of their massive budgets and dedicated teams. That's not how this plays out, at least not yet.

Large corporations are weighed down by layers of management, legal review committees, procurement cycles, and board approvals. Integrating any new technology takes them years. Your small business? You can decide to adopt a new AI tool in the morning and have it running by the afternoon.

Right now, AI is reliable enough to be transformative but uncommon enough to deliver a massive operational edge. This window will not stay open forever.

This is what we call the Temporary Gap. Eventually, AI capabilities will become a baseline commodity, table stakes just to compete. But right now, the businesses that move are building advantages their slower competitors will spend years trying to close. The speedboat window is open. The question is whether you'll use it.

II. Don't Buy a Ferrari Just to Listen to the Radio

Most Common Mistake

Using AI only to draft a quick email or write a clever social post is like buying a Ferrari and never taking it out of second gear. The engine was built for far more. The real value lies in what we call Human-Augmented AI, where the machine provides raw processing power and the human provides strategic judgment.

Think of it like the construction industry's adoption of the excavator. The worker still decides what to dig, where, and why. The machine just makes it possible to do in an hour what once took a crew a week.

Minutes

AI can now predict complex 3D molecular structures, a task that once took scientists years of manual research.

80 hrs

Microsoft used AI to screen 32 million materials for a new battery, completing roughly 250 years of chemistry work in under a week.

Your business doesn't need to cure diseases or discover battery materials. But the same class of engine that does those things is available to you for a few dollars a month. Use it accordingly.

III. Decouple Growth from Headcount

In the traditional model, doubling your revenue usually meant doubling your staff. AI dismantles that equation entirely, and it does so at a scale that makes the math impossible to ignore.

Consider the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of a single employee. A $50,000 salary becomes roughly $70,000 when you factor in payroll taxes, insurance, benefits, and equipment. Now compare two firms competing for the same market:

THE OLD MODEL

3 Staff @ ~$70K TCO = $210K/yr

Growth is linear, limited by human hours. High overhead. High risk of "knowledge drain" when someone leaves.

THE AI-AUGMENTED MODEL

3 Staff + 1 AI Agent @ $3.6K/yr

By automating booking, marketing, and expense processing, the firm saves ~$146,000/year vs. hiring more staff, while doubling output capacity

AI is the Great Equalizer. It gives small firms access to capabilities that used to require entire departments; for pennies on the dollar, a few minutes at a time.

IV. Chatbots Talk. Agents Have Digital Hands.

Most business owners have encountered the basic chatbot model; you open a window, type a question, get an answer, and then manually copy it somewhere useful. That workflow has a name: the Copy-Paste Sandwich. You're the bread on both sides, doing the moving. It's a different form of manual labor.

The real frontier is the AI Agent, an AI that doesn't just advise, but executes. An agent has been given permission to use software tools: it can log into your accounting software, send an email, update a CRM record, or process an invoice, all without you touching a keyboard.

🧠

The Brain

The core language model (LLM) that plans, reasons, and decides next steps.

📚

The Memory

RAG technology lets the agent reference your documents — handbooks, SOPs, pricing — for accurate, fact-based answers.

🤝

The Tools

APIs give the agent "digital hands": the ability to act inside your software systems, not just talk about them.

Agents operate in a continuous loop: perceive a task, reason through the rules, act, then reflect and self-correct if something went wrong. That self-correction capability is what separates a true agent from a basic automation script.

V. It's Not a Librarian. It's a Probability Engine.

Critical Risk Alert

One of the most dangerous mistakes a business owner can make is treating AI like a digital encyclopedia that "knows" things. It doesn't look up facts; it predicts which words are most likely to follow one another based on patterns learned from billions of examples.

This is why AI hallucinates. When it doesn't have reliable data, it doesn't say "I don't know"; it generates a statistically plausible answer that may be entirely fabricated. This isn't a bug that will be patched. It's a feature of how the technology works.

In 2024, Air Canada was held legally responsible when its chatbot invented a bereavement refund policy that didn't exist, and a customer relied on it. The company paid the price.

The non-negotiable rule: Human-in-the-Loop. Any critical action, such as wiring funds, signing a contract, or sending a formal communication, must be reviewed and approved by a human before it is executed. AI augments your judgment. It does not replace it.

VI. Stop Chatting. Start Programming.

Vague prompts produce generic, forgettable output. If you ask AI to "write an email about a refund," you'll get something that sounds like it was written by a committee. To get professional-grade results, shift from Conversation Mode to Programmer Mode using the C.G.R.F. Framework:

The C.G.R.F. Framework — Master Prompt Template

CONTEXT - Role: [e.g., Senior Account Manager] · Audience: [e.g., long-term client] · Background: [paste the relevant facts]

GOAL - What outcome do you need? [e.g., "Deny the refund request while preserving the client relationship"]

RULES - Tone: [e.g., firm but empathetic] · Length: [e.g., under 150 words] · Constraints: [e.g., "Do not use the word 'unfortunately'"]

FORMAT - What should the output look like? [e.g., a professional email, a bullet-point brief, a script]

Bonus move: Add "Think step-by-step and explain your reasoning before giving the final answer" to any rule set. This "Chain of Thought" prompt forces the AI to show its work, dramatically reducing logic errors on complex tasks like invoice auditing, contract review, or multi-step calculations.

VII. The Jevons Paradox: Measure Capacity, Not Hours

When most business owners implement AI, they ask: "How much time will this save me?" That's the wrong question. If you save four hours and use them to check email, your revenue doesn't move.

The right question is: "How much capacity has this created?"

The Jevons Paradox teaches us that as a resource becomes cheaper, we should naturally consume more of it. AI makes intelligence cheap. The winning strategy is to dramatically increase your consumption of that intelligence.

TIME-SAVED THINKING

An architect reduces proposal writing from 4 hours to 30 minutes. Still sends 2 proposals/week. Revenue stays flat.

CAPACITY-CRAFTED THINKING

Same architect reinvests that time to send 10 proposals/week.

Potential revenue quintuples; same team, same cost structure.

The bottleneck has been removed. Now it's a question of whether you have the vision to run through the opening.

The Permanent Asset

We are witnessing a workforce shift, from Doers to Managers. Your team will spend less time on repetitive execution and more time overseeing the digital workers that handle the 24/7 grind. And unlike a human hire, an AI agent represents a permanent asset: zero turnover, no benefits cost, no knowledge drain, no burnout.

The question is no longer whether AI will reshape your industry. It already has. The only question left is whether you'll be the one leading that transformation in your market or the one scrambling to catch up after the speedboat has already sailed.

Building Your Speedboat?

Transcend Networks helps small and mid-sized businesses create secure, AI-ready environments that enable innovation, protect critical data, and reduce risk as AI becomes part of everyday business operations.

Schedule a Free Strategy Call

The post Speedboats vs. Cruise Ships: The Hidden SMB Advantage in the AI Era appeared first on Transcend Networks, Inc..

5 Security Layers You’re Likely Missing (and How to Add Them)

John Penrod — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 18:13:33 +0000

Most small businesses in North Georgia aren’t falling short because they don’t care. They’re falling short because they didn’t build their security strategy as one coordinated system. They added tools over time to solve immediate problems, a new threat here, a client request there.

On paper, that can look like strong coverage. In reality, it often creates a patchwork of products that don’t fully work together. Some areas overlap. Others get overlooked.

And when security isn’t intentionally designed as a system, the weaknesses don’t show up during routine support tickets. They show up when something slips through and turns into a disruptive, expensive problem.

Why “Layers” Matter More in 2026

In 2026, your small business security can’t rely on a single control that’s “mostly on”. It must be layered because attackers don’t politely line up at your firewall anymore. They come in through whichever gap is easiest today.

The real story is how quickly the landscape is changing.

The World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026 says “AI is anticipated to be the most significant driver of change in cybersecurity… according to 94% of survey respondents.”

That’s more than a headline. It means phishing becomes more convincing, automation becomes more affordable, and “spray and pray” attacks become more targeted and effective. If your security model depends on one or two layers catching everything, you’re essentially betting against scale.

The NordLayer MSP trends report highlights that active enforcement of foundational security measures is becoming the standard. It also points to a future where you are expected to actively enforce foundational security measures, not just check a compliance box.

It also highlights that regular cyber risk assessments will become essential for identifying gaps before attackers do. In other words, the market is shifting toward consistent security baselines and proactive oversight, rather than best-effort protection.

And the easiest way to keep layers practical and not chaotic, is to think in outcomes, not tools.

A Simple Way to Think About Your Security Coverage

The easiest way to spot gaps in your security is to stop thinking in products and start thinking in outcomes.

A practical way to structure this is the NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0, which groups security into six core areas: Govern, Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover.

Here’s a simple translation for your business:

Govern: Who owns security decisions? What’s considered standard? What qualifies as an exception?
Identify: Do you know what you’re protecting?
Protect: What controls are in place to reduce the likelihood of compromise?
Detect: How quickly can you recognize that something is wrong?
Respond: What happens next? Who is responsible, how fast do they act, and how is communication handled?
Recover: How do you restore operations and demonstrate that systems are fully back to normal?

Most small business security stacks are strong in Protect. Many are okay in Identify. The missing layers usually live in Govern, Detect, Respond, and Recover.

The 5 Security Layers MSPs Commonly Miss

At Transcend Networks, we strengthen these five areas, and your business's security becomes more consistent, more defensible, and far less reliant on luck. Phishing-Resistant Authentication.

Phishing-Resistant Authentication

Basic multifactor authentication (MFA) is a good start, but it’s not the finish line.

The common gap is inconsistent enforcement and authentication methods that can still be tricked by modern phishing.

How to add it:

Make strong authentication mandatory for every account that touches sensitive systems
Remove “easy bypass” sign-in options and outdated methods
Use risk-based step-up rules for unusual sign-ins

Device Trust & Usage Policies

Most IT systems manage endpoints. Far fewer have a clearly defined and consistently enforced standard for what qualifies as a “trusted” device, or a defined response when a device falls short.

How to add it:

Set a minimum device baseline
Put Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) boundaries in writing
Block or limit access when devices fall out of compliance instead of relying on reminders

Email & User Risk Controls

Email remains the front door for most cyberattacks. If you’re relying on user training alone to stop phishing and credential theft, you’re betting on perfect attention.

The real gap is the absence of built-in safety rails, controls that flag risky senders, block lookalike domains, limit account takeover impact, and reduce the damage from common mistakes.

How to add it:

Implement controls that reduce exposure, such as link and attachment filtering, impersonation protection, and clear labeling of external senders
Make reporting easy and judgment-free
Establish simple, consistent process rules for high-risk actions

Continuous Vulnerability & Patch Coverage

“Patching is managed” often really means “patching is attempted.” The real gap is proof, clear visibility into what’s missing, what failed, and which exceptions are quietly accumulating over time.

How to add it:

Set patch SLAs by severity and stick to them
Cover third-party apps and common drivers/firmware, not just the operating system
Maintain an exceptions register so exceptions don’t become permanent

Detection & Response Readiness

Most environments generate alerts. What’s often missing is a consistent, repeatable process for turning those alerts into action.

How to add it:

Define your minimum viable monitoring baseline
Establish triage rules that clearly separate “urgent now” from “track and review”
Create simple, practical runbooks for common scenarios
Test recovery procedures in real-world conditions

The Security Baseline for 2026

When you strengthen these five layers—phishing-resistant authentication, device trust, email risk controls, verified patch coverage, and real detection and response readiness—you establish a repeatable, measurable baseline you can be confident in.

Start with the weakest layer in your business environment. Standardize it. Validate that it’s working. Then move to the next.

If you’d like help identifying your gaps and building a more consistent security baseline for your business, contact us today for a security strategy consultation. We’ll help you assess your current stack, prioritize improvements, and create a practical roadmap that strengthens protection without adding unnecessary complexity.

Article used with permission from The Technology Press.

The post 5 Security Layers You’re Likely Missing (and How to Add Them) appeared first on Transcend Networks, Inc..

Tech For Humans Newletter

Craig Fouts — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 20:45:43 +0000

Over the next 1-2 years, the way we trust information on the internet is going to fundamentally change.

With AI making it effortless to generate incredibly realistic fake documents, emails, and deepfakes, "seeing is believing" is no longer a valid business strategy.

Soon, proving that your content is real will be just as critical as protecting it.

In today’s email, I’m showing you why AI content verification is about to become the new antivirus software.

You’ll also find a hidden privacy shield in your web browser, a reality check on invoice automation, and a tiny gadget that puts a 100-inch screen in your laptop bag.

So grab your favorite beverage, get comfy, and let’s dig in.

THE BIG IDEA

The Coming AI Content Verification War

For the past thirty years, cybersecurity has focused almost entirely on keeping the bad guys out.

We built firewalls to block unauthorized access and antivirus software to stop malicious code.

That’s going to change.

Cybercriminals have evolved past simply breaching networks.

They are now using AI to convincingly clone your identity, forge your invoices, and fabricate your data.

Within the next 1-2 years, we can expect the tech industry to launch a massive counter-offensive, which will properly start the era of mandatory AI content verification.

Think back to the early 2000s, when having antivirus software went from a "nice to have" to an absolute necessity.

We are at that exact threshold right now with digital authenticity.

Because AI has made it trivial and practically free to clone a CEO’s voice, forge a legal contract, or generate a hyper-realistic fake news story about a competitor, "seeing is believing" is no longer a viable business strategy.

To combat this, major browsers, email providers, and software platforms are rapidly adopting "authenticity watermarks".

Since detecting AI forgeries is becoming nearly impossible, this system takes the opposite approach by explicitly proving that content is authentic.

Soon, when you create a document, record a video, or send an invoice, your software will embed an invisible cryptographic signature tied to your verified identity.

The business impact of this will be massive.

In the near future, if your digital documents don't carry one of these cryptographic signatures proving a verified human at your company generated them, client spam filters, banks, and web browsers could flag them as suspicious or fraudulent by default.

Preparing your business for this change means understanding that proving who created a file will soon be just as critical as the contents of the file itself.

How do you feel about all this?

JOHN'S TECH TIP

AI-Assisted Software Updates

Before blindly clicking "Update" on software patches, try asking an AI tool like ChatGPT or Copilot to summarize the release notes so you know exactly what's changing and whether it could impact your workflow or existing systems. This is especially useful for IT admins managing updates across multiple machines or enterprise environments. A 30-second AI summary can save hours of unexpected troubleshooting down the road!

THE LATEST NEWS

🤖 Microsoft Rolls Out AI Content Verification

Microsoft is testing new watermarks and cryptographic signatures to prove which content is real, which is AI-generated, and which has been tampered with to combat the rise of deepfakes.

🧾The Invoice Automation Gap

A 2026 invoice-automation report shows more companies than ever are using AI in accounts payable workflows. However, 68% of firms still manually key in invoice data, highlighting a massive efficiency gap that small businesses need to close.

🌐 Europe Accelerates Mandatory E-Invoicing

The shift toward e-invoicing in Europe is accelerating rapidly, with 2026 marking a major turning point. Governments across the EU are moving toward real-time reporting, structured invoice formats, and mandatory digital systems.

INTERESTING STATISTIC

AI Phishing Success Rates Are Skyrocketing

According to recent academic risk analyses, AI-generated phishing emails achieve a staggering 54% click-through rate, compared to just 12% for traditional human-crafted emails.

For decades, IT departments trained employees to spot scams by looking for obvious red flags: terrible grammar, misspelled words, and generic greetings like "Dear Customer."

AI has completely eliminated those errors, allowing hackers to instantly generate flawlessly written, highly persuasive emails.

More than that, cybercriminals are now using AI to rapidly scrape your employees' LinkedIn profiles and company websites to craft hyper-personalized messages that reference their actual job titles and coworkers.

So as always, stay vigilant!

THE GADGET OF THE MONTH

If you travel for client pitches or need to set up a presentation in a room without a TV, the Kodak Luma 350 Smart Pocket Projector is an absolute lifesaver.

It’s a tiny, battery-powered projector that easily fits in your laptop bag alongside your mouse, yet it can throw a sharp, bright 100‑inch screen onto a blank wall from just a few feet away.

It features built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, meaning you can wirelessly mirror your laptop or phone screen without hunting for the right HDMI dongle, making you look incredibly prepared and professional in any environment.

THE BOOK OF THE MONTH

While written by a surgeon, The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande is arguably one of the most effective books on building bulletproof business and IT processes.

Gawande explains how the simple, analog act of using a checklist prevents massive, unforced errors in highly complex, high-pressure environments.

He argues that the knowledge to do the job often exists, but the discipline to execute it flawlessly every single time is what fails.

It is a must-read for any business owner looking to standardize their operations and eliminate costly mistakes.

DID YOU KNOW?

Wi-Fi was nearly branded "FlankSpeed" (naval term for maximum speed) before marketing chose the catchier name.

Thanks for reading!

The Transcend Networks team and I put this newsletter together to share tech advice that’s actually useful, and (hopefully) even fun to read 🙂

When we’re not writing these, we’re helping businesses like yours become more secure and stay productive without all the tech headaches.

If you ever need a professional opinion on anything IT related, simply hit reply and let me know.

We're here to help 🙂

Get Your Free IT Consultation

The post Tech For Humans Newletter appeared first on Transcend Networks, Inc..

Managing Cloud Waste as You Scale

Craig Fouts — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 21:11:23 +0000

Article Summary: Unchecked cloud resource management transforms the cloud’s promise of agility into a source of bloated and unpredictable spending known as “cloud waste” that eats into your bottom line. As such, business leaders need to adopt FinOps strategies that treat cloud spend as a business variable that requires continuous cost optimization to identify and eliminate waste. The goal is to ensure that each dollar is directly spent on initiatives that power your business objectives instead of just vanishing into unused resources.

When you first move your data and computing resources to the cloud, the bills often seem manageable. But as your business grows, a worrying trend can appear. Your cloud expenses start climbing faster than your revenue. This is not just normal growth, it is a phenomenon called cloud waste, the hidden drain on your budget hiding in your monthly cloud invoice.

Cloud waste happens when you spend money on resources that do not add value to your business. Examples include underused servers, storage for completed or abandoned projects, and development or testing environments left active over the weekend. It is like keeping every piece of equipment in your factory running all the time, even when it is not needed.

The cloud makes it easy to spin up resources on demand, but the same flexibility can make it easy to forget to turn them off. Most providers use a pay-as-you-go model, so the billing meter is always running. The team at Transcend Networks understands that cloud waste is not just about saving money. Every dollar you save can be reinvested in innovation, stronger security, or your team.

The Hidden Sources of Your Leaking Budget

Cloud waste can be surprisingly easy to overlook. A common example is over-provisioning. You launch a virtual server for a project, thinking you might need a larger instance just to be safe, and then forget to scale it down. That server keeps running and billing you every hour, month after month.

Orphaned resources are another common drain, especially in companies with many projects or large teams. When a project ends, do you remember to delete the storage disks, load balancers, or IP addresses that were used? Often, they stay active indefinitely. Idle resources, like databases or containers that are set up but rarely accessed, quietly add up over time.

According to a 2025 report by VMWare that drew responses from over 1,800 global IT leaders, about 49% of the respondents believe that more than 25% of their public cloud expenditure is wasted, while 31% believe that waste exceeds 50%. Only 6% of the respondents believe they are not wasting any cloud spend.

The FinOps Mindset: Your Financial Control Panel

Fixing this level of cloud waste requires more than a one-time audit. It requires a cultural shift known as FinOps, i.e., the practice of bringing financial accountability to the variable spend model of the cloud. It is a collaborative effort where finance, technology, and business teams work together to make data-driven spending decisions.

A FinOps strategy turns cloud cost from a static IT expense into a dynamic, managed business variable. The goal is not to minimize cost at all costs, but to maximize business value from every cloud dollar spent.

Gaining Visibility: The Non-Negotiable First Step

You can’t manage what you don’t measure, so start with the native tools your cloud provider offers. Explore their cost management consoles and take these steps to create accountability and track what’s driving expenses:

Use tagging consistently to make filtering, organizing, and tracking costs easier.
Assign every resource to a project, department, and owner.
Consider third-party cloud cost optimization tools for deeper insights. They can automatically spot waste, recommend right-sizing actions, and consolidate data into a single dashboard if you’re using multiple cloud providers.

Implementing Practical Optimization Tactics

Once you have visibility, you can act, and the easiest place to start is with the low-hanging fruit. For example:

Automatically schedule non-production environments like development and testing to turn off during nights and weekends.
Implement storage lifecycle policies to move old data to lower-cost archival tiers or delete it after a set period.
Adjust the size of your servers by checking how much they are actually used. If the CPU is used less than 20% of the time, the server is larger than necessary, replace it with a smaller, more affordable option.

Leveraging Commitments for Strategic Savings

Cloud providers offer substantial discounts, like AWS Savings Plans or Azure Reserved Instances, when you commit to using a consistent level of resources for one to three years. For predictable workloads, these commitments are the most effective way to reduce unnecessary spending at full list price.

The key is to make these purchases after you have right-sized your environment. Committing to an oversized instance just locks in waste. Optimize first, then commit.

Making Optimization a Continuous Cycle

Managing cloud costs is not a one-time project, it’s an ongoing cycle of learning, optimizing, and operating. Set up regular check-ins, monthly or quarterly, where stakeholders review cloud spending against budgets and business goals.

Give your teams access to their own cost data. When developers can see the real-time impact of their architectural decisions, they become strong partners in reducing waste.

Scale Smarter, Not Just Bigger

The cloud offers elastic efficiency, but managing waste ensures you capture that benefit fully. It frees up capital to invest in your real business goals instead of letting it disappear into unnecessary cloud spend.

As you plan for growth in 2026, make cost intelligence a core part of your strategy. Use data to guide provisioning decisions and set up automated controls to prevent waste before it starts.

Reach out today for a cloud waste assessment, and we’ll help you build a sustainable FinOps practice.

Article FAQ

What is the most common type of cloud waste?

The most common type of cloud waste is idle or underutilized compute resources, such as virtual machines, containers, or databases, that are running but not actively serving a meaningful workload, often left on accidentally or “just in case.”

Can cloud waste really make a big difference to my bottom line?

Absolutely. Industry reports consistently show that enterprises waste an average of 30% of their cloud spend. For a growing small business, reclaiming even 15–20% of your cloud bill can translate to thousands of dollars annually for reinvestment.

Are reserved instances always the right choice to save money?

They are excellent for stable, predictable workloads running 24/7. However, they are not ideal for spiky, experimental, or short-term projects. The key is to analyze your usage patterns for at least a month before making a commitment.

Is automating shutdowns safe for my production systems?

Automation should be applied cautiously to production. Focus initial automation efforts on non-production environments (development, testing, staging). For production, use scaling policies that automatically add/remove capacity based on real-time demand (like auto-scaling groups), which is safer than blanket shutdowns.

Article used with permission from The Technology Press.

The post Managing Cloud Waste as You Scale appeared first on Transcend Networks, Inc..

Tech For Humans Newsletter

Craig Fouts — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 21:57:50 +0000

There is one specific task that every business owner tries to put off for as long as possible.

I’m talking about replacing your company hardware.

Buying new computers is painful. It’s expensive, setting them up takes time, and moving all your files over is a hassle nobody enjoys.

While hardware does eventually wear out, most business laptops die earlier than they should because of a few bad habits.

In today’s email, I’m sharing 5 simple things you (and your team) can do to squeeze an extra year or two out of your company machines.

You’ll also find a fun mouse trick to declutter your screen, a scary statistic about customer trust, and a book recommendation that might change how you run your client meetings.

So grab your favorite beverage of choice, get comfy, and let’s dig in.

THE BIG IDEA

5 "Hidden" Habits
That Kill Modern Laptops

A good business laptop should easily last four or five years.

But we often see them failing around the two-year mark.

It is rarely a manufacturing defect. It is usually the result of physical wear and tear that accumulates from how we open, carry, and charge these devices every day.

Here are the 5 most common mistakes that shorten the life of your hardware, and how to fix them:

1. Stop opening it from the corner

This is the #1 killer of modern thin-and-light laptops.

When you lift the lid by one corner, you are twisting the delicate display assembly.

Over time, this torque snaps the hinge or cracks the internal screen layers. Always open the lid from the center, right where the webcam is.

2. The "Hot Bag" Syndrome

Modern laptops (especially those with "Instant On" features) often wake up from Sleep mode while bouncing around in a backpack.

If a laptop wakes up inside a padded bag, it has zero airflow. It cooks itself.

If you are commuting for more than 20 minutes, fully shut down the laptop. Do not just close the lid.

3. The 15% Storage Rule

Solid State Drives (SSDs) are fast, but they need "breathing room" to manage data efficiently.

If you fill your drive to 99% capacity, the drive has to work 10x hard just to save a simple file, which wears out the memory cells significantly faster.

Aim to keep at least 15-20% of your hard drive empty to prolong its lifespan.

4. Relieve the "Port Tension"

The charging port is now soldered directly to the main motherboard on most laptops.

If you sit with your laptop while it’s charging and the cable is pulled tight or bent at a sharp 90-degree angle, you are putting physical stress on the motherboard.

Give your charging cable some slack. If the port feels "wobbly," get it checked immediately before it shorts out the board.

5. Be careful with "Clamshell Mode"

Many people plug their laptop into a dock and work with the lid closed.

However, many laptops vent heat through the keyboard or the hinge area. If you run heavy software with the lid closed, you might be trapping heat that degrades the battery and CPU.

Check where your vents are. If in doubt, keep the laptop slightly open, even when using an external monitor.

These small adjustments cost nothing, but they can save you thousands in premature hardware replacements.

JOHN'S TECH TIP

AI to Tame Your Email Threads

Use AI email assistants built into tools like Gmail and Outlook to generate quick summaries of long threads so you can see key decisions and action items at a glance. Pair that with an inbox‑agnostic AI tool (like forwarding a thread to a general AI assistant) to get concise recaps and suggested follow‑up replies you can edit instead of writing from scratch.

THE LATEST NEWS

💊 AI-Designed Medicine Goes Mainstream

We hear a lot about AI writing emails or faking photos, but the real revolution is happening in healthcare. Insilico Medicine just hit a massive milestone by listing on the stock market, proving that AI-driven drug discovery is a real, viable business. They use AI to simulate how molecules fight disease, cutting years off the research process.

⚠️ The "Scam Center" Economy is Here

A new report lists organized scam centers as a top threat for 2026. The report predicts a sharp rise in "AI-driven" fraud, where scammers use tools to automate attacks on a massive scale. If anyone asks for money or login details urgently, assume it's a scam until you verify it yourself.

📅 Microsoft 365 Updates: Voice & Speed

Microsoft is finally fixing two common headaches for business owners. First, Copilot's "Voice Input" is now smarter; you can dictate brain dumps, and the AI will format them into structured documents automatically. Second, for anyone juggling multiple businesses, the new "Multi-Tenant" update finally makes switching between Teams accounts seamless.

THE INTERESTING STATISTIC

55% of Consumers Would Leave You After a Breach

We often talk about the financial cost of a cyberattack: paying for IT recovery, legal fees, or ransomware.

But the hidden cost is much higher... Reputation.

According to a recent study, 55% of consumers say they would stop doing business with a company that suffered a data breach.

For a business, trust is everything.

Your clients trust you with their data, their plans, and their money. Protecting your network is both an IT task, and a marketing strategy to keep your customer base.

THE GADGET OF THE MONTH

If you carry a laptop charger, a phone charger, and a tablet charger in your bag, you know how heavy (and tangled) things get.

There is a new type of charger tech called GaN (Gallium Nitride) that makes chargers much smaller and cooler.

The UGREEN Nexode 100W is tiny, about the size of a standard phone plug, but it has enough power to fast-charge a laptop and a smartphone at the same time. It has foldable prongs, fits in your pocket, and replaces that heavy brick you’ve been lugging around.

THE BOOK OF THE MONTH

Will Guidara is the former co-owner of Eleven Madison Park, which was named the #1 restaurant in the world.

In his book, Unreasonable Hospitality, he explains that they didn't get there just by serving good food. He got there by going to extreme lengths to make guests feel seen and cared for.

While the story is about fine dining, the lessons are essential for anyone who deals with clients.

Guidara argues that in a world where everyone offers a "good product," the only way to truly win is by how you make people feel. It’s a great read on how to turn a transaction into a relationship.

DID YOU KNOW?

For nearly 20 years, the launch code for US nuclear missiles was apparently set to just 00000000 so it could be entered quickly in an emergency.

Thanks for reading!

The Transcend Networks team and I put this newsletter together to share tech advice that’s actually useful, and (hopefully) even fun to read 🙂

When we’re not writing these, we’re helping businesses like yours become more secure and stay productive without all the tech headaches.

If you ever need a professional opinion on anything IT related, simply hit reply and let me know.

We're here to help 🙂

Schedule Your Free IT Consultation

The post Tech For Humans Newsletter appeared first on Transcend Networks, Inc..

The Server Refresh Deadline: Why Windows Server 2016’s End of Support Should Drive Your Cloud Migration Plan

Craig Fouts — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 21:59:51 +0000

Time moves fast in the world of technology, and operating systems that once felt cutting-edge are becoming obsolete. With Microsoft having set the deadline for Windows Server 2016 End of Support to January 12, 2027, the clock is ticking for businesses that use this operating system.

Once support ends, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates or patches, leaving your business systems vulnerable. It’s not just about missing new features, continuing to use unsupported software significantly increases the risk of cyberattacks.

If your systems are still on Windows Server 2016, now is the time to plan your upgrade. With about a year until support ends, waiting until the last minute can lead to rushed decisions and higher costs.

Understanding the Security Implications

When support ends, the protection provided by security updates and patches disappears, as Microsoft will no longer fix bugs or vulnerabilities. Hackers often target unsupported systems, knowing any new exploits will go unpatched and open the door to attacks.

Legacy systems put IT administrators in a tough spot. Without vendor support, defending against threats becomes nearly impossible, compliance with industry regulations is compromised, and running unsupported software can lead to failed audits.

Additionally, customer data on servers running this operating system is vulnerable to theft and ransomware. The cost of a breach far outweighs the cost of upgrading. Using unsupported systems is like driving a faulty, uninsured car, failure is inevitable. The question isn’t if it will happen, but when.

The Case for Cloud Migration

With the end-of-support deadline approaching, businesses face a choice: either purchase new physical servers running the latest Windows Server editions or migrate their infrastructure to the cloud. Investing in new hardware and software comes with substantial upfront costs and locks you into that capacity for five years, the typical span of mainstream support for Windows Server, plus an additional five years for Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) releases.

On the other hand, a cloud migration strategy offers a more flexible alternative. Platforms such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon’s AWS cloud services allow you to select virtualized computing resources such as servers and storage, which can scale as needed. On these platforms, you only pay for what you use, transforming your IT spending from capital expenditure to operating expense.

The cloud provides greater reliability and disaster recovery, eliminating concerns about hard drive failures in your server rack. Cloud providers handle the management and upgrades of the physical infrastructure, freeing your IT team to focus on driving business growth.

Analyze Your Current Workloads

Before moving to the cloud, it’s essential to know what you’re working with. Take inventory of all applications running on your Windows Server 2016 machines. While some are cloud-ready, others may need updates or reconfiguration.

Identify which workloads are critical to your daily operations and prioritize them in your migration plan. You may also discover applications you no longer need, making this an ideal time to streamline and clean up your environment.

When in doubt, consult with your software vendors to confirm compatibility, as they might have specific requirements for newer operating systems. Gathering this information early helps you to avoid surprises during the actual migration.

Create a Phased Migration Plan

When transitioning to a new system, moving everything at once is risky; ‘big bang’ migrations often cause downtime and confusion. The best approach is a phased migration to manage risk effectively. Begin with low-impact workloads to test the process, then proceed to medium and high-impact workloads once you’re confident everything runs smoothly.

Set a realistic timeline that beats the server upgrade deadline by a significant margin, and then work backward from the end-of-support date. This approach allows for plenty of buffer time for testing and troubleshooting, since rushing migrations often results in mistakes and security gaps.

Communicate the schedule to your staff clearly, they need to know when maintenance windows will occur, so that they can also manage their workflows effectively. Managing expectations is just as important as managing servers, and you don’t want to get in your own way. A smooth transition requires everyone to be informed and on the same page.

Test and Validate

Once you migrate a workload, it’s essential to verify that it functions as expected. Key questions to ask include: Does the application launch correctly? Can users access their data without permission errors? Testing is the most critical phase of any migration.

After migration, run extensive performance benchmarks to compare the new system with the old one. The cloud should offer equal or better speed, and if things are slow, you might need to adjust resources. Optimization will be a normal part of the migration process, until you find the perfect balance that works for you.

The summarized steps for a successful migration include: ·

Audit all current hardware and software assets
Choose between an on-premise upgrade or a cloud migration
Back up all data securely before making changes
Test applications thoroughly in the new environment
Do not declare victory until users confirm everything is working.

The Cost of Doing Nothing

Ignoring the end of support deadline is not a viable strategy. Some businesses hope to delay until the last minute and then rush a migration, but this is extremely risky. Cybercriminals constantly target outdated, vulnerable systems, often using automated bots to scan for weaknesses.

If you continue using Windows Server 2016 past the extended support dates, you may need to purchase 'Extended Security Updates.' While Microsoft offers this service, it is extremely costly, and the price rises each year, making it more a penalty for delay than a sustainable long-term solution.

Act Now to Modernize Your Infrastructure

If your business still relies on Windows Server 2016, the end of support marks a pivotal moment for your IT strategy, upgrading your technology stack is no longer optional. Whether you choose new hardware or a cloud solution, decisive action is required.

Take this opportunity to enhance your legacy system’s security and efficiency, ensuring your modern business runs on a modern infrastructure. Don’t let time compromise your data’s safety, plan your migration today and safeguard your future.

Concerned about the approaching Windows Server 2016 end-of-support deadline? We specialize in smooth migrations to the cloud and modern server environments. Let us take care of the technical heavy lifting, contact us today to begin your upgrade plan.

Article used with permission from The Technology Press.

The post The Server Refresh Deadline: Why Windows Server 2016’s End of Support Should Drive Your Cloud Migration Plan appeared first on Transcend Networks, Inc..

Tech for Humans Newsletter

Craig Fouts — Mon, 29 Dec 2025 21:10:06 +0000

Happy Holidays! If you receive a smart thermostat, a Wi-Fi printer, or even a fancy coffee maker as a gift this holiday season, this email is for you.

IT experts call these devices the "Internet of Things" (IoT), and while they make life easier, they are becoming a massive target for hackers.

Ignored smart devices can open doors into your network. One weak camera password can give a cyber-criminal access to your entire business, expose sensitive data, or even let ransomware spread through your systems.

Don't panic though. In today’s email, I’ll show you three simple steps to lock these devices down without needing a degree in computer science.

You’ll also learn how to protect your data in the event of a stolen laptop, why a vertical mouse might fix your wrist pain, and the science behind why some ideas stick while others fail.

So grab your favorite beverage of choice, get comfy, and let’s dig in.

THE BIG IDEA

Is Your Smart Coffee Machine Secretly Spying on You?

IoT (Internet of Things) devices are everyday smart gadgets connected to the internet to make your business life easier.

I'm talking about smart thermostats, security cameras, Wi-Fi printers, voice assistants, smart lighting, and even the smart fridge in the breakroom.

They automate tasks and improve efficiency (which is great), but they also are potential entry points for cybercriminals.

The reality is that many of these gadgets come with weak security.

People tend to overlook them in their security plans because they see them as appliances, not computers.

The problem is… hackers use these to access business networks more often than you’d like to know.

No need to panic though, as you can lock them down effectively with these three steps:

Change Default Passwords Immediately.

Most devices come with factory settings like "admin" and "password." Hackers have lists of these for almost every manufacturer out there.

Change these to strong, unique passwords the moment you take the device out of the box. Use a password manager so you don't have to remember them all.
Isolate IoT Devices on a Separate Network.

This is the single most important step. Do not connect your smart lights or breakroom TV to the same Wi-Fi network as your accounting software and client files.

Create a separate "Guest" or "IoT" network on your router. This acts like a quarantine zone. If a hacker gets into your smart coffee machine, they are trapped there and can't jump over to your servers or laptops.
Keep Software and Firmware Updated.

Manufacturers find security holes constantly and release updates to fix them. However, unlike your laptop, your printer won't always tell you when it needs an update.

You need to check the settings regularly or turn on automatic updates if the option exists.

Bonus Tip: If you aren't using a feature, turn it off. Does your printer really need "remote access" enabled so you can print from another country? Probably not.

Disabling unused features gives hackers less options for them to hack into your network.

SANTA JOHN'S TECH TIP

Lock IT Down: Why BitLocker Matters

If you have travel plans this holiday season, BitLocker helps protect your business data by encrypting your entire drive. So, if a laptop is lost or stolen, your information stays secure and unreadable.

Turn it on by going to Settings → Privacy & Security → Device Encryption (or BitLocker) and be sure to securely save your recovery key in a safe location. Without it you will not be able to recover your data.

THE LATEST NEWS

🗣️ Hidden Code Reveals ChatGPT Ads

Code strings found in the latest Android beta version of ChatGPT suggest that OpenAI is experimenting with a new "marketplace" ad feature. While nothing is live for the public yet, the leaked "bazaar" and "search ad" labels hint that contextual product suggestions might be coming to your chats in the future.

🤝 Google and AWS Finally Play Nice

In a rare move, Google Cloud and AWS are collaborating to simplify networking between their platforms. This new "Cross-Cloud Network" means businesses using both services can finally move data between them easily, without the usual connection headaches or complex workarounds.

🧠 AI Tools for Mental Health

SonderMind has launched a new suite of clinically backed AI tools designed to assist therapists rather than replace them. The AI handles heavy admin tasks like note-taking and even helps generate treatment plans. It frees up clinicians to focus on the patient, but it begs the question: Would you trust a treatment plan put together by AI?

THE INTERESTING STATISTIC

75% of Organizations Hit by IoT-Related Breaches in The Last 12 Months

According to the State of IoT Adoption 2025 Report by Eseye, a staggering 75% of organizations experienced an IoT-related security breach in the last 12 months.

These connected devices have become the definitive weak link in corporate networks, often providing hackers with easy backdoors simply because default passwords aren't changed or firmware remains outdated.

We actually saw a massive real-world example of this recently with the BadBox 2.0 botnet.

Disclosed by Google and security partners in 2025, this botnet infected over 10 million IoT devices, including smart TVs, digital picture frames, and even in-car infotainment systems.

Cybercriminals used these compromised devices to launch large-scale attacks and hijack accounts, causing damage far beyond just the devices themselves.

We’ve also seen hackers break into smart security cameras, like Ring devices, by exploiting reused credentials to spy on premises.

These incidents underscore that unsecured devices can compromise your entire business.

THE GADGET OF THE MONTH

If wrist pain or discomfort from traditional mice is slowing you down, the Logitech Lift Vertical Mouse offers an ergonomic solution designed for business owners and office workers.

Its unique “handshake” design keeps your hand and wrist in a natural, neutral position, dramatically reducing strain during extended computer use.

It connects effortlessly via Bluetooth, works on multiple devices, and fits medium and small hands perfectly. It’s a small affordable investment that saves you from experiencing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome down the road.

THE BOOK OF THE MONTH

Ever wonder why some business ideas, slogans, or strategies seem to catch on like wildfire while others fizzle out and are forgotten?

Made to Stick breaks down the science behind what makes ideas memorable and effective.

The Heath brothers explain the six principles of “sticky” ideas: simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotion, and stories. They offer practical steps you can apply to your marketing or leadership communications right away, whether you’re pitching a new product or rallying your staff around a vision.

DID YOU KNOW?

The first webcam was invented at Cambridge University to monitor a coffee pot. Researchers were tired of wasting trips walking down the hall to an empty pot, so they set up a camera to check the coffee levels remotely.

Thanks for reading!

My team and I wish you a safe and happy holiday season. 🙂

May the New Year bring you and your businesses much success and continued growth!

If you ever need a professional opinion on anything IT related, simply hit reply and let me know.

The Transcend Networks Team is here to help 🙂

The post Tech for Humans Newsletter appeared first on Transcend Networks, Inc..