Welcome to every Cleveland baseball fan’s favorite day of the year- the home opener! The Indians are off to a strong start against top competition, and hopefully that’s a sign of good things to come for the 2026 season. By the time you read this (thanks to the wonders of modern technology), I’ll already be sitting in my seat at Progressive Field. It’s 10:15AM as I’m putting the wraps on this week’s edition, but I’ll schedule it to send at 3:30, as I do most Fridays. I hope you enjoy this week’s trove of info, with topics including AI security, remote IT support, security deadly sins, tumbleweeds, and more.
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AI Security Concerns
Microsoft recently released a patch (security update) for an issue effecting Excel and its usage of Co-Pilot. You can read more about it if you want the technical details, but in this case, a hacker could program Co-Pilot to send Excel data into the outside world (or as the article states “cause Co-Pilot Agent mode to exfiltrate data via unintended network egress…”). Basically, this is a reminder that you need to be aware of the ramifications of using an AI agent, and your company should have some sort of acceptable usage protocols in place.
Remote Support
Some 90% of the support work that our engineering team performs is of the remote variety. If we need to be onsite, we’re happy to do so, but it’s typically not necessary. And while the majority of our clients are based in the Cleveland area, we do have clients with a physical presence ranging from Fort Lauderdale to Las Vegas, and plenty of places in between. That said, we’ve never had the opportunity to fix a Microsoft Outlook issue for somebody in space!
Simple Cyber
I came across two separate articles highlighting big security risks with simple fixes. The first was all about the number of unused but still active laptops that are floating around; unless you’re deactivating these devices and getting them back from former employees or contractors, they can still be used to access your network. Huge issue. And while not mentioned in the article, this goes hand in hand with the idea of removing former users from your network and active directory. If they leave, cut off their access!
The second piece refers to the seven deadly cybersecurity sins of a small business. Included are the idea that you aren’t a target (you are, regardless of your size or what data you might have), and the fact that cheap doesn’t equate with good, when it comes to securing your network.
Thinking and Reasoning
Research shows that our attention spans are 1/3 as long as they were in 2004, smartphones are effecting our ability to concentrate, and new research shows a “significant negative correlation between frequent A.I. tool usage and critical thinking abilities.” Came across an interesting op/ed about our ability to think and reason. (sorry if the link is behind a freewall- it wasn’t when I clicked on it, but it’s the NYT and those typically are).
Your Viewing Pleasure
If you’re looking for some interesting viewing options on this holiday weekend, I have quick, feature length, and binge worthy.
For the quick option (and I’ve had articles about this in the past, although not video), you can learn about theDelaware River mud that’s used to rub major league baseballs.
For feature length, I learned that Along Came Polly is now available on Netflix. This is one that I’ll watch, any time it happens to be on the late night tv listings, and it’s always good for a laugh.
And finally, if you’re looking for something binge-worthy, season two of Your Friends and Neighbors starts tonight on Apple TV. If you haven’t already caught season one, go do it, and then start season two!
Random Things
I never watched westerns as a kid, so I think everything I ever learned about tumbleweeds was from watching Bugs Bunny, Wile Coyote, and Yosemite Sam. Turns out they (tumbleweeds, not Warner Bros. characters) came here from Russia. And they can be a real problem. Who knew?
A couple of years back while we were visiting our son in NYC, I had a bit of a GI issue and became very familiar with numerous bathrooms throughout the city. That said, I’ve only been in one of the 13 that appears on this list of the best ones (and that was at Oxomoco. For dinner- not because it happened to be there when I needed it.)
I love it when an epic fail turns into a great marketing or social media opportunity (see the crane mfg whose device was used to break into the Louvre last year). In this case, tons of KitKat bars were recently stolen in Europe, and many companies took the opportunity to have a little fun…
That’s all for this week. Tribe and Cubs for three this weekend (I always liked the Cubs, but ever since they beat us in the 2016 World Series, I just can’t root for them any longer), and while I’m completely out of the running, I’ll probably watch a little bit of basketball. Can’t stand that Team Up North and don’t care about any of the others, so I guess I’ll pull for the other Big10 team.
Leaving you with a Seinfeld clip that just showed up from my son, as he and his fiancee are sending their “save the date” announcements this morning. Priceless!
Go Tribe!
Abbey