Connect with us

Technology

3 Ways to Boost Your Home Business’ Security Posture

blank

Published

on

blank

Remote work has been on the rise recently, but many people — especially small business owners — have been operating out of their homes for years. Technology has made it possible for almost anyone to start a successful small business and enjoy the benefits of running it from home. 

However, that same technology also comes with risks. Cybercrime is also becoming more common and not every business owner can hire a high-tech IT professional to keep things safe 24/7. 

That doesn’t mean that you need to live in constant fear of cyber threats or worry that your business could experience a data breach at any moment. While you might not be able to completely prevent a cyberattack, there are proactive steps you can take to protect the digital security of your company and your employees. Let’s take a look at a few of the options that can help boost your business’s security posture

1. Get “Smart” With Your Security

Smart home devices are nothing new, but they’re becoming more popular and more advanced. Not only do they make it easier to run your business, but they can also help you stay more comfortable at home. Though convenient, smart devices still pose security risks. It’s important to use them safely to keep your data secure.

The more smart tech items you install, the more risks you’ll experience, including things like:

  • Targeted attacks
  • Password exploitation
  • Location tracking
  • Secret recordings

You can protect yourself and your business information by having a professional install any smart technology you’re using at home, especially for your business. Additionally, make sure you use a secure network, strong passwords, two-factor authentication, and trustworthy third-party apps. If you hire workers who do their job remotely, encourage them to manage their passwords effectively and never use public Wi-Fi. 

2. Protect Your Passwords

Password protection is one of the most essential components to keeping your home business safe. Anything you have to log in to regularly should have a strong password, including your Wi-Fi network, your computer, and any sensitive documents. You can boost password security on most things by enabling two-factor authentication and avoiding using the same password more than once. 

However, for specific documents you’re sharing with others, it’s worth it to have a different strong password for each one. For example, if you’re sharing a document with a specific employee or even a client, you don’t want it to have the same password as your network, or even as other documents. Password protect individual PDFs, documents, and files, using unique credentials for each one.

It’s also important that you can safely share the password, through an additional email or message — but not in the same message as the protected document. By sharing password-protected documents, you’re less likely to experience a data breach on those particular pieces of information. As long as you implement the best practices for keeping your passwords hidden and only share them with trustworthy individuals, you’ll have greater peace of mind every time you send out a new document. 

Finally, make sure you train your employees about their personal password protection efforts. If your business is home-based and most of your workers are remote, you can’t control the security they have on their personal Wi-Fi networks or computers. However, by educating them on the importance of password protection and giving actionable advice, you’re less likely to experience a breach or data loss due to a weak employee password. 

3. Back Everything Up

No matter what type of business you run, you undoubtedly have some kind of data that’s important to its daily function and overall success. If you experience a data breach, not only can that information be compromised, but it could potentially be wiped clean from your network. 

One of the best ways to boost your security posture and ensure you don’t lose everything from a cyberattack is to ensure your data is backed up. Critical data examples include:

  • Databases
  • Financial files
  • Word processing documents
  • Accounts receivable/payable

Ideally, you should install a program that automatically backs everything up right away. If you have to do it manually, commit to backing up your data at least once a week. This is also another training and teaching opportunity for your employees, especially if they work remotely. Either make sure your data is all cloud-based so it backs up from your network, or encourage your employees to save and backup whatever they’re working on that isn’t shareable in the cloud. 

As a small business owner, you have to wear multiple hats. You probably didn’t think about how well-versed you needed to become in cybersecurity when you started your business. However, if you want to protect what you’ve worked for, being able to boost your digital security at home is essential. Keep these tips in mind to keep your business, employees, and any customer data you might have on file, as safe and secure as possible. The more precautions you have in place, the less likely it is for your business to fall victim to a cyber attack.

Artificial Intelligence

Google DeepMind Shows Off A Robot That Plays Table Tennis At A Fun “Solidly Amateur” Level

blank

Published

on

blank

Have you ever wanted to play table tennis but didn’t have anyone to play with? We have a big scientific discovery for you! Google DeepMind just showed off a robot that could give you a run for your money in a game. But don’t think you’d be beaten badly—the engineers say their robot plays at a “solidly amateur” level.

From scary faces to robo-snails that work together to Atlas, who is now retired and happy, it seems like we’re always just one step away from another amazing robotics achievement. But people can still do a lot of things that robots haven’t come close to.

In terms of speed and performance in physical tasks, engineers are still trying to make machines that can be like humans. With the creation of their table-tennis-playing robot, a team at DeepMind has taken a step toward that goal.

What the team says in their new preprint, which hasn’t been published yet in a peer-reviewed journal, is that competitive matches are often incredibly dynamic, with complicated movements, quick eye-hand coordination, and high-level strategies that change based on the opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. Pure strategy games like chess, which robots are already good at (though with… mixed results), don’t have these features. Games like table tennis do.

People who play games spend years practicing to get better. The DeepMind team wanted to make a robot that could really compete with a human opponent and make the game fun for both of them. They say that their robot is the first to reach these goals.

They came up with a library of “low-level skills” and a “high-level controller” that picks the best skill for each situation. As the team explained in their announcement of their new idea, the skill library has a number of different table tennis techniques, such as forehand and backhand serves. The controller uses descriptions of these skills along with information about how the game is going and its opponent’s skill level to choose the best skill that it can physically do.

The robot began with some information about people. It was then taught through simulations that helped it learn new skills through reinforcement learning. It continued to learn and change by playing against people. Watch the video below to see for yourself what happened.

“It’s really cool to see the robot play against players of all skill levels and styles.” Our goal was for the robot to be at an intermediate level when we started. “It really did that, all of our hard work paid off,” said Barney J. Reed, a professional table tennis coach who helped with the project. “I think the robot was even better than I thought it would be.”

The team held competitions where the robot competed against 29 people whose skills ranged from beginner to advanced+. The matches were played according to normal rules, with one important exception: the robot could not physically serve the ball.

The robot won every game it played against beginners, but it lost every game it played against advanced and advanced+ players. It won 55% of the time against opponents at an intermediate level, which led the team to believe it had reached an intermediate level of human skill.

The important thing is that all of the opponents, no matter how good they were, thought the matches were “fun” and “engaging.” They even had fun taking advantage of the robot’s flaws. The more skilled players thought that this kind of system could be better than a ball thrower as a way to train.

There probably won’t be a robot team in the Olympics any time soon, but it could be used as a training tool. Who knows what will happen in the future?

The preprint has been put on arXiv.

 

Continue Reading

Astronomy

Witness the rare celestial event of Mars and Jupiter reaching their closest proximity in the sky this week, a phenomenon that will not occur again until 2033.

blank

Published

on

blank

Mars and Jupiter will be only 0.3 degrees apart in the sky on August 14. From our point of view, this passage is very close. If you miss it, you won’t be able to see another one until 2033.

When two objects pass each other in the sky from our point of view, this is called a conjunction. Every time two planets came together, the closer one would block out the other because they would all be moving in a perfectly flat plane. The orbits of the planets are slightly different from those of the other planets, though, so they move slightly to the north and south of each other. Every time, that gap is a different size.

When two things happen close together, the results are especially stunning. Jupiter and Saturn were close enough to each other in 2020 that they could be seen in the same field of view through a telescope. This is a treat for people who like to observe the sky.

Being 0.5 degrees wide, the full moon will fit in any view that can hold the whole moon. This pair will also look good before and after the full moon.

But even with the naked eye, a close conjunction can make the sky look even more amazing. The contrast between the red of Mars and the white of Jupiter will be especially striking. However, Mars’ brightness changes a lot. When it’s at its brightest, it’s about the same brightness as Jupiter. Right now, it’s 16 times less bright. They are so bright that, unless there are clouds, you should be able to see them from all but the dirtiest cities.

Most people in the world will miss this sight, though, because they can’t see the pair of planets in the evening from anywhere on Earth. The exact time they rise depends on where you live, but it’s usually between midnight and 3 am. To see this, you will mostly need to get up before astronomical twilight starts so that you have time to get through the thickest part of the atmosphere.

For people in Europe, Africa, west Asia, and the Americas, the closest time will be 14:53 UTC, which is during the day. The mornings before and after, though, will look almost as close.

Mars and Jupiter meet about every two and a half years, but the most recent one was almost twice as far away and could only be seen in the morning. In 2029, the gaps will be just under two degrees. The next one will be even wider, at more than a degree.

When planets are close to each other, that doesn’t always mean that their distance from each other is very small. Mars has been around the Sun for 687 days, but it is now less than 100 days past its perihelion, which means it is closer than usual. Even though Jupiter is a little closer than usual, it’s not really that close. To be as close as possible to each other, Mars has to be at its farthest point, and Jupiter has to be at its closest point. So this one is not unusual.

But if you want to see something beautiful, you will have to wait more than nine years to see it again.

Continue Reading

Engineering

New concrete that doesn’t need cement could cut carbon emissions in the construction industry

blank

Published

on

blank

Even though concrete is a very common building material, it is not at all the most environmentally friendly choice. Because of this, scientists and engineers have been looking for alternatives that are better for the environment. They may have found one: concrete that doesn’t need cement.

Cement production, which is a crucial ingredient in concrete, ranks as the third most significant contributor to human-caused carbon emissions globally. Nevertheless, in recent years, a multitude of alternative techniques for producing more environmentally friendly concrete have surfaced. One proposed method involves utilizing industrial waste and steel slag as CO2-reducing additives in the concrete mixture. Another suggestion is to utilize spent coffee grounds to enhance the strength of the concrete while reducing the amount of sand required.

However, a certain company has devised a technique to produce cement-free concrete suitable for commercial enterprises.

The concrete has the potential to have a net reduction in carbon dioxide and has the ability to prevent approximately 1 metric ton of carbon emissions for every metric ton used. If this statement is accurate, the cement-free binder will serve as a noteworthy substitute for Portland cement. According to BGR, the new concrete also complies with all the industry standards of traditional cement concrete, ensuring that there is no compromise in terms of strength and durability.

While it is still in the early stages, the situation seems encouraging. C-Crete Technologies, a company specializing in materials science and holding the patents for a novel form of concrete, has utilized approximately 140 tons of this new cast-in-place (pourable) concrete in recent construction endeavors.

In September 2023, the company was granted an initial sum of almost $1 million, promptly succeeded by an additional $2 million, by the US Department of Energy to advance the progress of its technology. In addition, it has garnered numerous accolades that are facilitating its growth in operations.

The widespread adoption of cement-free concrete in future construction projects has the potential to significantly alter the environmental impact of the industry. Although C-Crete seems to be one of the few companies currently exploring these new alternatives on a large scale, it is likely that others will also start embracing them in the near future.

 

Continue Reading

Trending