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Donna Aplin
In part one of this cloud solution article we introduced the the Internet of Things and explored how this concept might be used to improve processes for industry by allowing data to be transmitted between devices in several locations via the cloud. We came up with the idea of taking electronic equipment with associated data output and adding connectivity to it, enabling management and reporting of that data. It would also offer scope for control of said devices remotely, opening up possibilities for engineering support and maintenance without the need for someone to be on site. We thought that Raspberry Pis (mini PC’s) would be the ideal hardware component, that could be used alongside a controller device, adding an element of ‘Smart’ functionality to the equipment or machinery it was attached to. Here we look at the practical implementation of such a solution.
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ESP Projects
In a previous article, S.O.L.I.D Principles are mentioned but offers no further explanation to what they are. Worry not, for this article aims to cover what they are and what makes them so wonderful.
S.O.L.I.D Principles are an acronym for a design pattern that is adopted in computer science. Whose aim is to make the development of software systems more readable, flexible and easier to maintain in the long run. While they apply to any object orientated language, they can also be heavily utilised in agile methodologies.
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Donna Aplin
Internet of Things
Many of you will have no doubt come across the term ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT). This is the term applied for the connection of devices (not just computers) over the internet, allowing them to communicate and share information. As a concept, this is something that has been bandied about for many years but its only recently that, due to progressions in technology, has really started to gain momentum.
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Ian Barwick
Last week, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced that it had launched a dedicated
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ESP Projects
What is TypeScript?
‘TypeScript is a typed superset of JavaScript that compiles to plain JavaScript.‘ While that all sounds very fancy, it pretty much boils down to JavaScript, but with lots of added juicy bits.
The Juicy Bits
Recently, new versions of JavaScript became available, but are not currently supported by all major browsers. TypeScript allows us to leverage all the new benefits by allowing developers to write client-side logic in a similar way to server-side logic.
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Donna Aplin
As many of you are now aware the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), which is replacing the current Directive, will take full effect for all Member States on the 28th May 2018. That’s 216 days, 17 hours, 50 minutes and 8….7….6….5….4….3….seconds away. Although there are many articles being published regarding this regulation, there are still many grey areas around GDPR compliance, what must be done, how and where responsibility lies.
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Donna Aplin
In May 2018 the European General Data Protection Regulation will come into force. Organisations that don’t comply with these regulations could face crippling fines and very harmful publicity.
There already are regulations about how we protect sensitive data and these are wrapped up in the 1995 data protection directive, which the Information Commissioner enforces.
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Matthew James
A recent discovery of a flaw in WPA2 encryption means that no wifi network is completely secure.
TLDR:-
- WPA2 – Previously the only widely available wireless encryption protocol to not be hacked has been exploited
- The hack is not device specific
- Fixes are being released, and updates should plug this security hole.
- ESP is proactively pushing updates to hardware as they become available
A Fuller rendition:-
As widely published in the popular press, Monday 16th October saw the announcement of a flaw and proof of exploit on WPA2 Wifi networks. The original source for this was https://www.krackattacks.com of particular interest to you may be the FAQ section, I have copied a selection of the most relevant questions for our clients at the bottom of the page below.
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Matthew James
As announced in a recent post on Microsofts Techcommunity There is now a dedicated training center for use with office 365.
With the recent surge in migrations to the Office 365 platform we are sure that this is a resource that many of you out there will find very useful. Currently it houses a vast array of tutorials, information, tricks and tips and this can only be set to grow as Microsoft adds more features and applications to the quickly expanding online offering.
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Matthew James
In there never ending march into the future there are always thresholds beyond which software applications cannot tread. Such a threshold has come for the venerable Office 2007 Office Suite as it quickly approaches the end of Microsofts support
As from October 10th, Microsoft will no longer be producing updates or bug fixes for Office 2007. Any vulnerabilities that are found in the suite of application from here forward will remain unpatched, which in itself is reason enough to update to one of the newer suites. Beyond this, Microsoft have also announced that from the 30th Office 2007 will no longer be able to connect to the Office 365 hosted email platform, providing even more of a spur for anyone still operating the suite with the cloud service. If you do currently use office 2007 with hosted email you will find yourself to decide between 2 avenues with regards to accessing your email, either to upgrade, or fall back on accessing your email via the online portal at office.com
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Donna Aplin
Every day over 200 billion emails are sent, people use email to conduct business and to communicate with family and friends. But the question not many people think about; Is your email secure?
The truth is, emails are no more private than a plain old postcard.
Who have you given access to?
Recently the service Unroll.me came under a lot of attention and some well-deserved flack over the recent article dropped by the New York Times look at Uber, which detailed Unroll.me selling inbox data of their users. Unroll.me helps users manage their email subscriptions, which for a lot of people is something that sounds really useful to help manage their inbox. However, Unroll.me has been found to be selling data to Uber, particularly anonymised data detailing ride receipts from Uber and Lyft.
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ESP Projects
What is Office 365?
It essentially began as an online version of the collaborative Microsoft Exchange solution, which enables organisations to share email, calendar appointments and contacts with other staff members. There are now lots of other useful services thrown into Office 365 including Instant Messaging, voice & video calling and a website creation tool. Specifically, you get:
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ESP Projects
One of the most frequent technical support issues we receive here at ESP Projects is the problem of sending large files over email or sending lots of smaller attachments at once.
What really happens after you press send?
Your email is sent on either to your server or to your internet service provider for processing. Just like the mail system, once it has been dropped in the box, it is dealt with by third party carriers until it reaches its destination.
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Donna Aplin
5:12pm: We have been made aware of an issue whereby a small number of customers are experiencing issues accessing their websites. The issue was first raised at 4:57pm on Friday 28th July 2017. Our engineers are looking into the issue and further updates will be posted at 5:57pm.
5:49pm: ESP engineers are onsite at our data centre working on the issue. A number of customers have had their service fully restored but a small number are yet to be resolved. A further update will be due at 6:49pm
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Matthew James
Possible Issues With Office 365 Portal today – we will continue to update this as news becomes available
10:00am:- We are getting early indications that there is a wide spread issue with the Office 365 portal log in. When attempting log to log in, users are getting sent back to login screen even after inserting correct details. Microsoft is aware of the issue and are working on resolving this.
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ESP Projects
When you put a logo in an email you only need it to be a few centimetres high. Similarly, when you visit a website, you want images to appear quickly and not have to wait for them to download. You need smaller images both ‘on the page’ and in terms of ‘file size’. This is where image compression comes in. Compressing images can also help save disk space.
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ESP Projects
Tell us a bit about yourself
I’ve been a programmer commercially for around 5 years and learning for the last 8. I’ve worked across a number of different platforms, including; health and wellbeing, the financial sector and freelance web development. I went to Huddersfield University Where I gained a First-Class Degree and an award for Best Overall Performance on A Final Year Project.
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Jason Francis
An intranet is a private network that utilises technologies that are normally seen as internet technologies but is operated in an isolated fashion from the rest of the public internet. OK, that seems like a bit of technical jargon, so what is an intranet really? Effectively, it’s an internal website that provides staff with a central place to share and read information.
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Matthew James
Due to the recent large-scale cyber attack on the NHS, a lot of people are asking the question ‘what is ransomware?’ So we felt it was best to update our post from last year with some more specific information.
What is Ransomware?
Ransomware is a type of computer software that blocks access to data using encryption technology and displays messages requesting actions (usually payment) to get it back, hence the name ‘ransom’.
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ESP Projects
With an increasingly small range of funds available, Charities, often overworked in this age of austerity, are being forced to work harder for the grants and donations they need to keep ticking. Digital marketing for charities hasn’t always been easy, but now, more than ever before, it is an essential task. Publicity, positive image and getting a message across are all getting more difficult to achieve in an ever more competitive environment, with different charities online vying for attention.
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