Cyber attacks at University of London Computer Centre

If it can happen at the University of London Computer Centre (ULCC), there is no reason that it can’t happen to your business.

Earlier this month, the ULCC was the subject of a cyber attack that could have left millions of students unable to gain access its IT services.

The centre provides support to over two million students on its open source learning platform, and services to over 300 UK institutions.

Although the centre updated students throughout the crisis, the cyber attack lasted for over four hours.

Director at Webroot, George Anderson, said that this was not an acceptable time period in most cases, suggesting that the attack was clearly designed to have maximum impact on a system that would have been at its peak usage, at around exam-time.

Anderson said;

"Hopefully this case will serve as a warning to other organisations, encouraging them to ensure that they have an effective strategy in place to make sure user experience is impacted as little as possible.”

How well is your company protected from cyber attacks? If your systems were down, would it be a minor inconvenience or a major problem?

We are here to help you keep your company systems secure – call ACE Computer Support today on 01902 375 304 to find out how our affordable solutions could help you and your company keep your systems protected.

Google driverless cars to take to the roads

OK, so we know it’s been coming for a while.  But reality is about to bite as Google is now looking to actually take their autonomous cars off the track and onto the roads.

Before we all start panicking, it is important to note that the cars aren’t actually going to be released without having a driver on board – just in case the computer says no (although we are assured that it won't!). And for now, it’s not in the UK, either.

Chris Urmson, director of Google's Self-Driving Car Project, wrote in a blog;

"This summer, a few of the prototype vehicles we've created will leave the test track and hit the familiar roads of Mountain View, California, with our safety drivers aboard.”

Urmson assured readers of the blog that Google’s self-driving cars have been expertly tested and that the computer systems behind them all work properly.

He continued;

"We've been running the vehicles through rigorous testing at our test facilities, and ensuring our software and sensors work as they're supposed to on this new vehicle.”

"We're looking forward to learning how the community perceives and interacts with the vehicles, and to uncovering challenges that are unique to a fully self-driving vehicle - e.g. where it should stop if it can't stop at its exact destination due to construction or congestion.

"In the coming years, we'd like to run small pilot programmes with our prototypes to learn what people would like to do with vehicles like this.”

Finally, he added that the Google autonomous car fleet "has logged nearly a million autonomous miles on the roads since we started the project, and recently has been self-driving about 10,000 miles a week".

The self-driving cars will go no faster than 25mph and the actual human drivers can take control at any time if they need to.

"During this next phase of our project we'll have safety drivers aboard with a removable steering wheel, accelerator pedal, and brake pedal that allow them to take over driving if needed," he concluded.

As we are, it seems that Google are very keen to gauge the public interest and reaction to the driverless cars and also, how the cars will cope in an actual “road situation”.

Follow us on Twitter @ACEComputerSup for all of the latest updates or like us onFacebook – we would love to hear your thoughts on the subject!

Top tips for using Google+ for your business part two

In part one of our special two part feature, we looked at  managing circle limits, enabling Google’s translation tool, making your page interesting and refreshing your Google+ stream regularly.

Here are some more tips to make the most of your Google+ experience and boost engagement for your company.

Explore and What's Hot streams

It is easy to become a member of many communities on Google+, but keeping up with the posts is hard work.

Because of this, many of the interesting posts in the What’s Hot and Explore sections are from communities that you may not actually belong to.

To solve this problem, show communities in the Explore tab only if you are a member so that you can get involved when you want to and hopefully your engagement will increase.

Keep comments flagged as 'spam' visible

Google will automatically identify comments that may be spam with their algorithm – the comments will appear only to the user. As many users ignore the spam section, they are not restored.

In fact, many of the comments are decent ones so it is well worth restoring them to help with engagement if you have the time.

Think in Twitter terms

Try to stick to short posts, like you do when you Tweet. Google+ allows you to post more content but remember that people don’t necessarily always want to see it.

There is a tool called Friends+Me which allows users to auto-post to both Google+ and Twitter. Twitter gets the headline and a link back to Google+ where everyone can join in a more hearty conversation.

Hangouts and mobile

At present, there is a live streaming trend, but Google’s Hangouts On Air has been around for some years – sadly, it is not easy to use for many and it is also not mobile friendly.

Have you got any hints and tips you would like to share about the way in which Google+ has enhanced your business? 

Tweet us @AceComputerSup or of course, add us to your circles on our own ACE Computer Support Google+ page! 

Top tips for using Google+ for your business - part one

When setting up social media for websites, businesses often overlook Google+, favouring Twitter and Facebook instead.

Our two part feature looks at Google+ with some top tips on how to get Google’s social network working for your business.

Refresh your Google+ stream

Sadly, at the moment, there is no way that your Google+ is automatically refreshed so you will need to keep an eye on it throughout the day. Hopefully Google will bring this feature back as the first version automatically refreshed it.

When you post, you have to tell Google whether you want it to go to Public or Extended circles.

However you choose to post will continue by default in the same way unless you change it, so if you only want your family to see your post, be mindful that you will need to change it when you post your next one.

If you are looking to increase engagement, make sure that your posts are defaulted to Public status.

Make sure your page is interesting and informative

As there is no stream on Google+, it is important to build your page so that it feels welcoming and says a lot about your businesses and what you do.

Enable the translation tool

Make use of the Google “one click” translation tool – this may well increase your engagement with foreign users on Google+.

Manage your circle limits

Keep an eye on your circle limits – use Google+ Suggestions page; this is much quicker than manually going through all of your circles looking for people to engage with.

At the same time, uncircle pages and users to make sure that you are keeping to the limit; eliminate the limit or increase it by circling users and pages.

Get in touch with us and let us know your hot tips – we would love to find out your thoughts on Google+. Do you use it to your advantage? Could it be improved?

Tweet us @AceComputerSup or of course, add us to your circles on our own ACE Computer Support Google+ page!