Exciting news for small and medium businesses! Microsoft has recently announced that its powerful AI assistant, Copilot, is now available to help businesses of all sizes work smarter and more efficiently. It is now generally available for small businesses with...
Portland IT Support Articles & Business Tech News
Cybersecurity, M365, Managed IT Services, AI, & Technology Trends for Portland Businesses
Microsoft 365 Copilot: Your Personal Assistant for Productivity
Used with permission from Microsoft Have you been overwhelmed by the amount of information and tasks you need to manage daily? Microsoft 365 Copilot could be a solution for you and your team. Copilot is a powerful tool that can help you stay on top of your work and...
The Impact of Data Breaches and BEC on Business Credibility
Data breaches are something that affect more and more businesses every year. Though the immediate effects can be catastrophic, there are long-lasting effects that remain far after the initial threat has passed. Data Breaches: A Major Threat to Trust and...
What You Need to Know About the Emerging Tech Trends for 2024
Made with AI Generative AI Generative AI is something that we are all familiar with after 2023, even if we don’t know it by name. It took the world by storm with sudden speed after OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT, Microsoft announced Copilot powered by ChatGPT, and...
The Great Phone Upgrade: What to do BEFORE Trading in Your Phone
In the grand scheme of life’s big decisions, trading in your old phone for a new one might not seem like a big deal. But let’s face it, our phones are more than just devices. We missed out on the promised flying cars of the future and got tech we bring to the bathroom...
Five Warning Signs You’re With the Wrong MSP
In the digital age, a reliable IT Managed Service Provider (MSP) makes the entire workflow of your employees’ days easier. But how can you tell if your current MSP is the wrong fit? Here are five warning signs that the company providing you with IT Services...
What is Microsoft Entra ID?
Microsoft Entra ID, formerly Azure Active Directory, is a cloud-based service that manages access to various resources of an organization. It is like a digital passport for your organization, ensuring that the right people have appropriate access to the resources they...
Six things to ask your future MSP
Your business' IT infrastructure and operations is critically important. In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, it’s more crucial than ever to thoroughly vet potential IT service vendors. At SpireTech, we’re not just another MSP. With over three decades...
Critical Zero-Day Vulnerability Affects Many Applications
A zero-day vulnerability, known as CVE-2023-5129, has been discovered in a commonly used graphics file format called WebP. A zero-day vulnerability is an exploit found in a recently released update, so recent that there aren’t patches available yet. This vulnerability...
The Hidden Dangers of Business Email Compromise
In the digital age, business email compromise (BEC) has emerged as a significant threat to companies of all sizes. BEC is a type of phishing attack where a cybercriminal impersonates a high-ranking executive to trick an employee, customer, or vendor into transferring...
Microsoft to Stop Supporting SMS 2FA
If you are aware of the dangers of an unprotected account, you might have enabled two-factor authentication (2FA) to prevent attacks from threat actors. 2FA is a security feature that requires a user to enter a code sent to their phone or email, in addition to their...
Partnering with an MSP can Help Your Business Evolve [VLMK Engineering + Design’s Story]
Our client, VLMK Engineering + Design, came to us looking for help with their phone systems in their office. As a structural and civil engineering firm, they are constantly fielding client calls, coordinating with contractors, and connecting internally to bring their projects to completion. For them, communication is important. We were able to set them up with Microsoft 365 Business Voice, a cloud-based calling solution that fits their needs and has already been happily adopted by their team.
Windows 10 End of Life Approaches, Upgrade Sooner Rather than Later
Windows 10 is approaching its end of life on October 14, 2025. Microsoft will stop releasing security patches after that date. Many clients have already upgraded to Windows 11 through the self-update mechanism provided by Microsoft or have purchased new assets and had...
QR Codes are being used in Phishing Attacks
QR codes are being used to deliver phishing links. In a phishing campaign estimated to have launched in May 2023, threat actors utilize QR codes to redirect users to a harmful location. This campaign targets someone’s Microsoft credentials and asks them to...
Surprise Announcement: Bing Chat Enterprise for Business
Microsoft launched the new version of Bing in February of 2023; on July 18, 2023, they announced Bing Chat Enterprise. Photo courtesy of Microsoft. The company cites corporate customers’ thoughts for this launch: “we’ve heard from many corporate customers who are...
Copilot Pricing, Additional Capabilities Announced by Microsoft | Updated October 2023
Photo courtesy of Microsoft At Microsoft Inspire 2023, the annual event in which Microsoft partners get a look at what is coming in the next year for Microsoft, Microsoft finally announced pricing for Copilot: $30 per user per month for users who are at subscription...
