AI Bracketology + Virtual Victories with Valor Pro
Buzzer-Beaters and Bracket Busters At Archway Computer, we’re obviously all about cybersecurity, but this time of year we can’t resist the allure of March Madness! Even though my beloved UCLA Bruins didn’t hit the court this year (huge props to our women’s team for making it to the Sweet 16!), the tournament has been a […]
Script to Screen with ChatGPT + Cybertruck Chronicles
Script to Screen in an AI Flash Imagine crafting a professional-grade video in less time than it takes to brew your morning coffee. Dive into the future of video creation with the ChatGPT Veed.io plugin, where your words transform into cinematic magic faster than you can say “Action!” The process is simple: you provide the video instructions, […]
DMARC Directives + Travel Triumphs
DMARC: Your Email Security Sidekick DMARC, a vital email authentication tool, is now a mandatory requirement by major email providers like Gmail and Yahoo Mail. This new regulation ensures that emails sent from your domain are authenticated, protecting your communications from being classified as spam or fraudulent. DMARC complements SPF and DKIM protocols, adding an extra […]
Aerial Adventures + Dual Display Delights
Turbulent Thrills: A Go-Around Adventure Strap in for this one! Recently, I experienced the adrenaline rush of a go-around maneuver on my flight. For those unfamiliar, a go-around is an aborted landing of an aircraft that’s already on final approach, not just thrilling; it’s a testament to the incredible safety protocols in aviation. And guess […]
Policy Protectors + Microsoft Mastery
Policy Protectors: Crafting Cyber Safeguards Greetings, digital defenders and insurance aficionados! This week, we’re diving into a cyber conundrum. Our VP of Customer Support, SueAnn, noticed a sharp insight has unveiled a startling trend among independent insurance agencies – a glaring absence of cyber insurance policies and procedures. It’s like having a firewall with holes! […]
Season’s Greetings from Brad Ruben and Archway Computer
To Our Valued Brad’s Blog Readers, As we approach the holiday season and year-end, I wanted to express our sincere gratitude for being part of our newsletter
Catalyit Live Lounge + The Formidable iPhone 14
Catalyit is It!All the agency tech guidance you need… in one place. Meet our friends, Catalyit. Much like the team at Archway Computer
HEX-it + Unveil the Dual-Screen Delight
HEX-it Stage Left Tired of trudging through the digital Dark Ages? It’s time to break free from the clutches of the past and journey towards a brighter, more integrated future. In case you missed it, Applied Systems is discontinuing offering and supporting the Applied Microsoft Hosted Exchange email service. Bid adieu to your antiquated email system, […]
5 Ways To Protect Your Independent Insurance Agency From Cyberattacks
With the rise in targeted cyberattacks against small to medium sized businesses, ensuring your independent insurance agency is protected from cyber criminals
Sleep TipzZz + For the (Obsession) of the Game
I am minorly sleep-obsessed; without my proper 8 hours, I am literally in zombie-mode. But the cruel irony of sleep is the more you worry about it
Embracing the Generational Gap + Sweatpants Style
I consider myself to be a pretty ‘in-the-know’ guy, but I’ll admit: sometimes when I see my millennial kids, I have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about.
Completing My First 5K + How To Hide From Google
For those of you who have been following along with my running journey the past few months, I’m incredibly proud to announce that I completed my Couch to 5K
Windows ‘Free’ Trials + A+ in iPhone
Even though I consider myself an A+ student in ‘iPhone 101’, the folks at Apple continue to surprise me with new features, settings, and time-saving hacks. Here are some of my favorites I recently learned:
Brad’s Back + Fully Charged
Not going to lie, the past few weeks have been crazy, in the best way possible! Between work, family, and what seems like a never ending amount of activities to do now that the world is opening up again, I think we can all agree that life is moving much faster now.
Brad’s Book Club + The 2 Million Dollar Password
Recently my family called me out for being ‘that guy’ who always can always find an excuse to bring up his Tesla.
What is Remote IT? Learn How It Can Revolutionize Your Insurance Agency
Prospective independent insurance agency clients often ask us, “If you’re located in California, how can you fix something if I need someone onsite?
Authenticity in 60 Seconds or Less + Welcoming Back The Middle Seat
Do you remember the old days, when YouTube was the only video sharing game in town?
The Next Generation of Tidy + Brad’s Bad Trip
Spending so much time at home lately makes me really appreciate my longstanding preference for a clean house. There’s nothing like walking into a room
Spring has Sprung + Lessons from Lockdown
I gotta say, using all this time inside to install a few upgrades is really starting to pay off now that we can occasionally leave the house again…my new Sensi Touch smart thermostat is equipped with geo-fencing so it turns climate control off as soon as I leave my driveway…very 2025.
New Normal, Same Busted Bracket
Things finally appear to be getting back to normal after some truly crazy times in the past year or so. One indication of better times ahead is the arrival of a different type of Madness altogether….that’s right, March Madness is now in full swing!
Exchange Hack Aftermath + Google Maps Everything
A Time for Vigilance The ripple effects of the recent Exchange server hack that compromised thousands of major networks are only beginning to become apparent
30,000 U.S. Microsoft Exchange Server Email Software Hack
If your agency is using an exchange server or a Hosted Exchange server (not Office 365 or Gmail) – you may need our help. Patch immediately, as it may already be too late.
The Future is Back on Schedule
You’ve probably noticed I don’t have a whole lot to say about COVID in this space, and that’s mostly because there’s certainly enough information on the subject out there without me also throwing my years of study at YouTube University into the discussion.
The Labor-Saving Lifestyle
Let’s start off with what’s important: my new profile picture turned out great. Home office is coming along nicely, and I even put on pants with my spiffy suit jacket just for the photo.
Blast From The Past + The Encouraged Eavesdropping Experience
Have you ever overheard an especially interesting conversation? I was once in a restaurant back in the before times when I started to hear some snippets
Virtual Vigilance + Amazon – The Live Experience
If you’re using a SonicWall firewall, heads up–the manufacturer has released an urgent security notice about an exploitable vulnerability in VPN products.
Applied Science + Taking Notes Online
Greats of the human race from daVinci to Edison have sworn by the pocket notebook, so when I’m feeling inventive (or forgetful) jotting things down really helps lock them into my mind. Being a dedicated tech geek, I opt for Apple Notepad instead of analog tree slices, especially with the number of features it brings to the table…this piece from PCMag details some of the slickest.
A Year for the eBooks
There’s never been a better time to get and stay informed than the present, and so I’m proud to announce a strong start to 2021 with our new eBook!
Life is Greater When You’re Grateful
Stocking Up, Taking Stock I´m 54 years old here in 2020, and I´m still holding out hope for a better year than last. 53 was a challenging year in my personal life…among other bouts of adversity, my wife spent some time in the hospital and our home burned to the ground in the 2018 California wildfires. […]
Self (Employment) Quarantining: Setting Up Your New Home Office
No Place Like Home Office If it´s all fake news, nobody told Facebook. Along with House Zuckerberg, a veritable Mount Rushmore of Big Tech–Google, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft–have announced in the last few days that the majority of their employees in their respective tech hubs will be working from home in the midst of the developing outbreak. […]
WIndows 7 Options, AppliedNet and Apps
The End of Windows 7 If you haven’t heard Windows 7 is going end of life on January 14, 2020. You can read about it here. But you have options. Many are using this as an opportunity to replace their computers. Some, depending on when you purchased your PC are entitled to a free upgrade. Others […]
Bose Falls Even More Silent + Advice from Archway
The Best Get Better? There will always be a bit of that excited kid showing off a new toy on the schoolyard the very next day within my spirit
Office 365 Marches On
Outdated Office Microsoft has been absolutely nailing its online productivity suite for years now, and it’s more powerful than ever before. How powerful, you ask? So much so that even the company itself acknowledges its traditional desktop Office as an inferior product, sort of like when you’re at the movies and the guy at the concession […]
Enhanced VoIP and Password Protection and Brad eats Crow!
From an Anonymous Reader Last week I passed on some information on managing saved passwords in your browser for the sake of convenience
Smart Streamlining Your Agency and the Source of My Savvy
Attachment Issues It’s a question I hear all the time should we attach everything to the agency management system or not?
Brilliant Buys and Savvy Sales
Home Shopping Season If you’re on the fence about selling your house this year, maybe you should consider making up you mind by the end of the month. According to Zillow, May is the best time of the year to have your property on the market, as on average homes sell two weeks faster and […]
Brad’s 23rd Century Retirement Plan
One Day at a Time (for 279 Years) I’ve started looking into retirement options before it’s too late–or at least, that’s what I set out to do recently. Apparently if I want to maintain my standard of living after I punch the digital clock for the last time, I’ll be putting in full shifts on […]
The Future We Were Promised and Super Keyboard
Where’s My Jetpack? We were told as children that in the future people would be wearing jetpacks and jumpsuits
Video Vigilance and 14K Chairs
Video Vigilance It’s amazing how the Internet and the proliferation of WiFi have transformed the face of home security. Where once it was a planned Saturday afternoon of watching a burly stranger come into your home and weave a web of wires, now it’s a simple matter of mounting a few cameras, possibly downloading an […]
Maximizing Your Time (and Your iPhone)
It’s Happening! This week marks the grand debut of the newest flagship lifestyle device from Apple, the hotly anticipated iPhone X. I’m sure even if you haven’t heard about its’ all glass display, wireless charging capabilities, and FaceID user authentication, you may have caught wind of its price tag of one thousand dollars–wait, press release […]
5 Days in Las Vegas
Tale of Two Cities It’s just about impossible to avoid the latest attack to grip our nation, particularly with last week’s AppliedNet event emanating from Las Vegas. It was particularly sobering to me because the city is typically a bustling neon playground for older children such as myself, and to have it torn apart by […]
Equifax Hack Aftermath
Damage Control I would say by now I’m sure you’ve heard all about the big Equifax hack that has left millions of social security numbers and other critical personal data vulnerable, but the media coverage for what may be the biggest digital security compromise in the modern era has been remarkably light. Not that running […]
LA Drivers on Expired Drugs
Empire State Strikes Back It might be too little, too late, but I do at least find it encouraging that governments are at least attempting to catch up with the cybercrime epidemic with state-level security legislation. New York is lighting the way with a bill known as NYCR500, which applies to all agencies that transact […]
A Pirate’s Life for You
Dante’s Infirmary Well, I certainly had a mixed bag of a weekend. It started out on a real down note when our dog Dante was attacked by a pack of coyotes right in our backyard…he did the best he could to defend himself, but by the time I heard what was going on and ran out to […]
Secretly Saving the World
What Do I Think I’m Doing? In case you didn’t know, this newsletter is a labor of love…any extra exposure or new clients we pull in by rambling about the wonders of the modern world are just a bonus. Another thing we love doing that more directly keeps the lights on around there is developing […]
DocuSign of the Times: This Week’s Big Cyberattack
Disastrous Deja Vu *sigh* I had really hoped to lead off with better news this week. Popular digital verification service DocuSign was just the latest victim of the cyberattacks that appear to be ramping up with the recent proliferation of hacker tools. This latest attack centers around phishing emails, or messages that appear to be […]
About that Global Cyberattack
Warning Shot Heard ‘Round the World Sheez, I step out of the office for a few days and a massive cyberattack affects government utilities and services in dozens of countries around the world. I’m not saying the two are related, but then again no one has ever seen me and Batman in the same room. Anyway, the […]
Underwear And Politics
Serenity Now You know, I try to avoid discussions on the subject, but it seems every possible human interaction leads to an open forum on politics these days. I can’t get through so much as a supermarket checkout line without the clerk relaying the latest memes from Twitter, and I get it…I do. It is […]