Staff blog
Occasional thoughts on tech. Nothing formal.
Posts open on the live tkc.io blog while the new site is under construction.
All posts
- Shortages Continue
The Neverending Chip Shortage It's August 2026 and the tech industry is still hurting from a chip shortage that is not slated to end any time soon. It's due to a mix of issues from manufacturing pivots due to AI and ongo…
- Mac Malware Sites
AppleInsider's Andrew Orr has an informative article on a new way to get your Mac infected. This newer variant is trying to catch users off-guard by delivering its payload via Mac Script Editor. Mac users can avoid this …
- What’s Going on with US Pricing and Availability?
If you’ve bought a new computer in 2025, you likely noticed that the price was higher than expected. Worse, it may not have been available at all. Fluctuating equipment pricing has led to shortages and hoarding. It’s aff…
- The Microsoft / Crowdstrike Outage
Microsoft systems were CrowdStricken this week.…
- "Our" AI Generated Holiday Card
We didn't use it but here is what the image generation AI by Playground came up with.…
- What is a BEC Attack and Why Should You Care?
BEC stands for Business Email Compromise. And we promise that it's the last acronym that we'll us in this blog post. Everyday, spam filters deal with an onslaught of emails that are either: a) Definitely fake b) Possibly…
- Beware of Fake Support
CEO scams, phishing emails, fake texts...the companies that we work with are always on the lookout. But managed service providers can be part of the problem. We've been diligent about letting users know but it pays to re…
- Cybersecurity: 5 Weaknesses That Hackers Exploit
NOT AS EASY AS "SET IT AND FORGET IT" Keeping your business safe isn't a one-time thing and it's not just a matter of adding firewalls and antivirus software. Cybercriminals take advantage of all sorts of vulnerabilities…
- Remote Users and Security Updates
With everyone settling into work from their home digs, it’s important to make sure that the attitudes surrounding good computer security aren't falling by the wayside.…
- Top 5 Five Tips for Coronavirus IT
As a 100% cloud based company, we have a long history of helping clients transition to remote work. Over the last month, we've supported hundreds of users who were suddenly working from home. For many, it was easy. They …
- We've Got Some Fancy Masks
Our confinement hasn't changed our approach to technical support. We try to do it with a little flair.…
- Coronavirus IT Update - Remote Workers and Covid-19
Coronavirus: what have learned these first few weeks.…
- Pricing: How IT Vendors Get it Wrong
Companies like ours use a lot of web-based technology. When the tools work well, there is a huge payoff in productivity. When they don't, it's a nightmare and that puts in the same boat as our clients: how much are you w…
- Secure Passwords
Okay. I think we're good. If you'd like to give your passwords are checkup, the cloud password management company Bitwarden has a fun site for you. Of note, the password you enter isn't sent to their site. It uses comput…
- In Our Neighborhood: Salon Lavender
We recently had the pleasure of working on a wireless project for our new neighbor, Salon Lavender. As they mention on their Facebook page, "Lavender is a botanical, holistic salon providing quality hair care and color t…
- What Happened to Our Facebook Page?
Years ago, we didn't have a Facebook page. In 2017, we started an experiment. Basically, we wanted to research the traffic type and influence that Facebook had on our business. As a security driven company, this was risk…
- Dropbox Rebrands. Google Rebuilds.
Good news, business users. Dropbox and Google Drive are finally competing on cloud file sync. Back in April of 2016, Dropbox posted this “A Revolutionary New Way to Access All Your Files.” It was a first look at their “P…
- Smishing: It's Phishing for Your Phone.
Next time you get an SMS, you might want to think twice before clicking a link in it. SMS-based phishing has been on the uptick. It's email brethren often hits your spam filter but who's filtering your text messages? Smi…
- Boost Your iPhone®'s Privacy
The fine folks at the DuckDuckGo Twitter account posted a great guide to iPhone security practices. The infographic covers basic common sense steps you can take to protect your privacy, along with some tips for more adva…
- New Company Car
Our VW Jetta isn't cutting it lately so we've been searching for an iconic vehicle to represent us. Waiting on a site visit by one of out team members? Did we say 15 minutes? Please be patient as our acquisition--while i…
- Cinco de Mayo
We celebrated in the best way we could think of: attending the soft opening of Portland food truck El Corazon's new restaurant.…
- Play with a 1991 Mac® Online
Thanks to a tip by John Gruber, we've been playing around with an online version of a Mac® from 1991. Back then: The Mac® OS was mostly black and white You had to click and hold the mouse button to select anything The OS…
- Why Does the US Lag Behind in Fiber?
Fiber optic deployment in the US lags behind many other countries. Current estimates show about only 24% of the US is serviced by fiber. Our Portland, Maine HQ is in a state that is typically ranked in the bottom when it…
- We Support Girls Who Code
"Computing skills are the most sought-after in the US job market, with demand growing 3X the national average. Computing is where the jobs are -- and where they will be in the future -- and yet our girls are being left b…
- Chocolate Nerds
At tkc.io, we have zero tolerance for body shaming. That’s why you can imagine the squeals of delight at the office when we learned that chocolate-for-breakfast not only improves brain function, but also keeps us svelte!…
- We Are OK
All of us--our friends, our clients and our employees--are tremendously sad but safe. A big thank you to everyone for checking in. The Niçois have a profoundly resilient history.…
- Windows 10 Revert to Windows 7?
"I'm going to chuck this thing in the river" - Actual Client Quote Things were working fine. Then one morning, everything went to hell. At the end of July, Microsoft will be ending its controversial, semi-forced upgrade …
- Our office manager is...
...horribly lazy.…
- Bad Day at The Office
For now, we've moved all meetings to the coffee shop next door. Anyone have a spare room? NOTE: This was an April Fools day joke. We didn't actually get evicted. NOTE 2: We even went so far as to change the locks.…
- Our Traditional Saint Patrick's Workday
Years ago we started the tradition of moving our office to The Snug for the holiday. 2016 is no different. Feel free to stop by.…
- A Beginner's Guide to Malware
Spyware. Malware. Ransomware. There are a lot of different names for viruses today. Let's start with the terms. Spyware Spyware is a creepy virus that is designed to pull information from your computer. Spyware is design…
- We Took the Afternoon Off
Some teams build up camaraderie with ropes courses and afterwork shindigs. Not us. We build it by watching beer ferment. Recently, we shut down for the afternoon to get a behind the scenes tour of one of Maine's favorite…
- Google Apps for Work. Small Business.
Our business runs on Google Apps for Work. Well. At least our email. We have a soft spot for the stability and simplicity of the platform even though we work with Office 365 almost equally. We don't spend a lot of time e…
- Should We Be "On The Cloud?"
We create new ways for our clients to access information from offices, airports and homes. We do this by connecting cloud services with more traditional office IT software (yeah, we're looking at you Quickbooks Enterpris…
- 5 Free Websites You Should Be Using
Some of our favorite web services are utterly free (though you might have to cope with an ad or two). Here are five solutions that we use everyday, from photo editing to PDF creation to text editing. While not as powerfu…
- TKC Announces New CEO
As we've grown, we've found that we needed fresh direction and coordination. Today, we are happy to announce our new CEO, Jerry McLusky. Jerry comes to TKC from several Silicon Valley startups after a recent move to Main…
- Our St Patrick's Day at the Office
Stout and remotes. Today's guests: Sully and a giant pint of Guinness.…
- Free Post-Its
You probably recognize these little guys. Some folks still have stacks. Others have run out. If you're in the latter category, don't freak out! We'll send more. For free. Just send us a message by clicking here.…
- #badweathermaggedon
Yeah, we shut down when the weather gets bad but that doesn't prevent us from having fun.…
- Google Sells Domains Now
Who is this Google company and why are competitors so wary? Maybe it's because they're doing it the right way.…
- New Year. New Service. More Cats.
We're always looking for ways to speed up websites but people love eye candy. And cats doing crazy things.…
- Holiday Schedule for TKC
Hi all. Our offices will be closed Dec 24th through the 26th. Back in on the 29th. Emergency staff is still available (though they may arrive via Lyft, half loopy on eggnog). Have fun! Image by Howard Lewis Ship…
- Our New Office Space? Haunted.
Yep, our new office is haunted.…
- 2014's Holiday Cards
We make our own holiday cards and they aren't what you'd call "typical."…
- Online Project Management with Podio
Podio is a cloud-based project management tool that we use and adore. It's like Facebook for projects (though you could still share your funny cat GIFs and baby photos if you wanted to).…
- "No Coding Knowledge Necessary"
The Grid aims to conquer the hassle of coding a beautiful and professional website with the use of artificial intelligence. Huh.…
- Back To Dongles We Go: Google's Security Key.
Dongle is a funny word except to the people who need them to make critical software work. At least the Google one, if lost, doesn't freeze your email.…
- Public Wifi: Still Risky
In a recent story on Medium, Maurits Martijn had his mind (and passwords) blown by a hacker.…
- New Site, New Blog
We decided that it was time to put up a little something about our company.…