XFER Blog

Love them or hate them, cutesy little acronyms like this just don’t have a place in business communications. However, for some people, they’ve become so habitual that they almost can’t help but use them everywhere. In light of this lack of meaning, one artist and tinkerer has devised a way to judge whether or not the “LOL” is sincere.

The idea of hot desking, or foregoing the traditional assigned workstation office organization method, is increasing in popularity, and for good reason. There might be several pros and cons to it, but people are generally finding that the benefits outweigh the costs. Let’s go over how you can implement hot desking to save money and improve operations.

Identity can be a complex thing to discuss, but in terms of security, it’s fairly straightforward. You either are who you say you are, or you’re not. With the metaverse taking off, individuals will need to be careful about how they are authenticating their accounts and identities, but what does this mean for businesses?

Love it or hate it, remote work is here to stay—particularly now that many people have experienced it for themselves and have no intention of giving it up. However, many employers are going to want their employees back in the office to some degree. How can a balance be struck between these two sides? We posit that a hybrid work environment will play a role.

It can be too easy to think about hackers and cybercriminals in an almost abstract way, diminishing them to little more than a faceless entity at a keyboard. Naturally, this is far from the truth. Let’s examine the reality of the cybercrime industry, which actually does as much harm to the perpetrators as it does to the people they scam...if not more.

With plenty of benefits to be had from both in-house and remote operations, many companies have been working to take advantage of a hybrid approach to business. While this approach has proven greatly beneficial to businesses in assorted ways, there are a few drawbacks that need to be addressed. One major one: a lack of inclusivity.

There are struggles that the workplace inherently presents to most people (whether that workplace is in the traditional office space or in the home) that can lead to the too-familiar-to-some feelings of burnout. As these struggles aren’t likely going to go away at any point (never mind anytime soon), it is important that you have strategies to help minimize their impacts.

Looking back at the past few years, it’s little wonder that many people have become more concerned about their health—particularly when it comes to the workplace and spending extended amounts of time in the vicinity of other people. This makes it important that you do everything you can to make your workplace a healthier and safer-feeling place to work… but how?

Passwords have been a staple in data security and user authentication for many, many years… to the point where the idea of using a password has become nearly synonymous with the concept of security. However, data has increasingly shown that alternative options are in fact more secure. Let’s examine some of these passwordless authentication methods, and their pros and cons.

Remote work has become more legitimate than ever before to the point that people can now work effectively anywhere and not just their homes. This brings up an interesting question, however, as this trend means that one could effectively work while they’re on a vacation. 

It can be said that most of 2020 and the first couple of months of 2021 have been difficult for most people. Not billionaires, of course, but most other people have found the past year difficult on some level. That’s why it isn’t surprising to hear people talk about workplace burnout. Today, we’ll define burnout and what is being said about it. 

With the holidays approaching, and with the global pandemic still underway, online shopping is going to be under even more demand than usual in 2020. With all of these transactions online, it would stand to reason that people would be more keen to follow best security practices than ever before. This week, we take a look at how people are staying secure online and whether or not the need for speed outweighs their security and privacy efforts.

There is no denying that gifts are a major part of the typical festivities around this time of year, so it only seems that having some ideas as to what you’d like to receive to share with others is a helpful contribution. As our way of helping, we’ve decided to share a few tech-based suggestions that would find a welcome home in any home office or remote workspace.

After a long period, punctuated by no shortness of user demand, Chromebooks can now finally support Windows applications. Well, in a manner of speaking. Let’s examine the process that now allows a user access to the applications once denied to ChromeOS users, to consider if it is worth using after all.

Business leadership is an important trait for more than just a business’ leader by title. It is something that should be present at every level, encouraged by the individual at the top. To do so, it helps to ask your team the right questions to put them in a mindset of responsibility for the business’ well-being. Here, we’ve shared some of these questions to get you started.

In the office, there are certain courtesies that most people follow, simply to make sure that the environment remains a peaceful and effective place to work. Working at home (as many have) makes many of these courtesies redundant. As many return to the office, resuming these manners will be important. Let’s go over some of the biggest shifts that your employees should remember as they head back to the office.

A lot is made about data breaches and hackers, but I think you’d be surprised to find out that over 80 percent of cyberattacks are the result of stolen authentication credentials. This has led many security-minded IT administrators to try and find a better way than the old username & password strategy that we’ve all been using for as long as there have been user accounts. One organization that is actively making waves trying to replace the username/password combo is Microsoft. They are at the forefront of the move to passwordless authentication.

Collaboration—one of the more popular workplace buzzwords you hear nowadays, it serves a very important function for any successful business. Therefore, establishing healthy collaborative processes should be considered a priority in any establishment’s operations.

When someone starts talking about social engineering, people often get confused. They think we’re talking about cloning. While having two of something you love may not be terrible, the social engineering we routinely cite is much, much worse. Social engineering is the act of using social interactions to get people to make cybersecurity mistakes. Today, we’ll take a look at social engineering and how it can have a negative effect on your business. 

Today’s business is much more collaborative than it was in the past. This means that there are a lot more communications to manage. Small businesses may use technology to try and bridge the gaps and large businesses use it to manage huge and complicated workflows. Today, we take a look at the average business’ internal communications, and which tools are best for increased productivity.