If there’s only one lesson we can learn from watching Amazon and Wal-Mart over the past two decades, it’s that data collection and analytics are keys to success in today’s optimized world. The “The Internet of Things” is all about gathering more data from the world around us, analyzing it, and using that data to empower our decisions.

Best of all, the devices that enable this new era of computing are available and affordable today. Here are some of the most popular options. 

Intel Compute Stick – All you need is an HDMI TV or monitor and a power supply. When you add a keyboard and mouse, the Intel Compute Stick can replace a desktop or laptop….  however, it’s a bit underpowered for that role. Over 60% of Compute Sticks in the wild are deployed as non-traditional devices, used for digital signage, kiosks, data collection, and more. These are available in retail with Windows 10 starting at $99.

Raspberry Pi 3 – The wildly popular $35 Raspberry Pi is a small yet powerful computer designed to teach young students about software development. It’s not a complete device like the compute stick – you’ll need to supply your own memory card, case, and power supply – nor is it “PC compatible”. However, it does support several versions of Linux, and Microsoft has recently started releasing the embedded version of Windows 10 for these devices.

Raspberry Pi generated a lot of buzz last November when a new $5 edition – called Raspberry PI Zero – was released on the cover of a magazine.

Arduino – For hobbyists, makers, and mad scientists, the Arduino is an excellent microcontroller-based prototyping platform. To take advantage of it, you would have to be comfortable developing low-level software — but for cheap devices that can do one job and do it well, you can’t beat the price and flexibility.

Edison – Sometimes you need a bit of logic and flexibility behind those devices. Intel’s Edison is a System on a Chip, wrapping the power of a computer from 1996 into a package smaller than your camera’s memory card. When integrated with Arduino break-out boards, you can combine your prototyped projects with the power of the cloud, opening up collected data to the latest analytic tools.

We’re not going to get political here… but when the elected leader of the free world speaks out against the very concept of maintaining passwords, you know that they’re on the way out. [Read President Obama’s OP-ED at the Wall Street Journal.]

Nobody likes passwords. They’re needlessly complex, you have to change them once every few months, and you need remember a different password for every site you log in to. While technology vendors have done a great job fortifying their products against hackers and viruses, passwords have always been one of the weakest links of the security chain.

Two factor authentication – also known as 2FA – is the most likely replacement for passwords over the next 10 years. The concept is simple: Two simple credentials are generally more secure than one complex credential. We’re already seeing this with chip-and-PIN credit cards. The credit card and the PIN need to be paired up in order to be effective, and while it may be possible to steal either the PIN or the card without alerting the owner, it’s extremely hard to capture both.

For home users of Windows 10, 2FA is usually implemented through physical possession of your device and either a PIN or a biometric factor, such as your fingerprint or infrared photography of your face. Once Windows verifies your identity, it can log in to sites that support Microsoft Passport automatically – no need to juggle usernames and passwords.

Smartphone authentication apps are quickly becoming a favorite tool for authentication – some apps constantly generate secure one-time-passwords, while others communicate with internet services, using your unlocked screen and requests to confirm that you are who you say you are.

RWA can enable similar methods of 2-factor authentication for your business over Windows 10, Office 365, and Azure AD. The combination of 2FA and Single Sign On can provide the security your company needs without the passwords. As a Certified Microsoft Partner, we’re ready to support you in your journey to the cloud and beyond. Contact us today for more information on our latest service offerings.

If you’ve ever thought that modern password requirements were needlessly complex and even less secure than coming up with your own passwords, then you’re in good company.

NIST, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, released a preview of their new digital authentication guidelines, and you can expect these recommendations to filter down to websites and applications you use on a daily basis. Here’s a summary…

At least 8 letters, but no limits.

The specifications state that maximum password length limitations will need to be at least 64 characters long.

Emoji-compatible

You’ll be free to use any letter, number, or Unicode symbol they like, including emoji. ?

Passwords will be checked against a bad list.

At least 100,000 bad passwords will be in these lists, including “Password123” “wordPass123” and “ChangeMe.”

You won’t be told what to do.

Half-page instructions telling you how to make a complex password will go away, and you’ll only get a warning if it’s too easy to guess.

You will be encouraged to use long phrases, as passwords like “CloudHorse55Banjo” tend to be far more secure and memorable than short but complex passwords such as “P@s$W0rd!”

The problem with requiring specific rules about letters, numbers, and capitalization, is that many people will cope with these restrictions by writing the password down on a note and taping it to the monitor.

No more password hints.

… because it’s almost as bad as taping your password to the screen.

Visit NIST SP 800-63-3 for more information.

If you’re looking to go beyond passwords, RWA can enable 2-factor authentication for your business over Windows 10, Office 365, and Azure AD. As a Certified Microsoft Partner, we’re ready to support you in your journey to the cloud and beyond. Contact us today for more information on our latest service offerings.

Among numerous new features, Windows 10 will bring a significant change to traditional WiFi connectivity. Rather than relying on publicly posted passwords, WiFi Sense connects you to a network of millions of Wireless Access Points distributed all over the world.

This new feature is enabled by default during setup. Once WiFi Sense connects to your social media accounts, whenever your friends share a WiFi network, it will be copied and stored in your own copy of Windows. When you visit that location in the future, you’ll  have automatic internet access.

If you’re a business owner, you’re probably starting to worry…  WiFi Sense is a massive database that contains millions of WiFi passwords and Microsoft IDs, possibly including your own. If their devices are not managed, there’s a chance your employees might enable WiFi Sense on their phones and laptops, and you may already be providing internet access to people you’ve never met in a neighboring office.

That said, Microsoft issued the following assurances:
• WiFi Sense only provides access to the Internet.
• WiFi passwords are encrypted and will not be visible to WiFi Sense users.
• WiFi Sense only shares with friends, not friends of friends.

If you’d like to opt-out on your traditional or home WiFi access point, append the phrase “_optout” to your SSID name.