Security Articles

over the shoulder POV of someone checking email on phone and laptop
SEP Tips | 4 min read

Gutting the Phish: How to Spot the Signs of a Phishing Email

Do you remember that Nigerian prince? The one who emailed you in desperation telling you that if you just sent him your bank account, he would transfer you a certain percentage of his vast fortune. After a while, it became part of the cultural zeitgeist, and everyone knew that no prince just wanted to give […]

Floppy Disc on a desk.
Maintenance | 4 min read

Think Software Maintenance is Expensive? Here’s Why It’s Worth the Investment.

The world of software and software development moves at lightning speed. Every day, new tools are introduced. Languages and frameworks are upgraded. App store requirements change. Operating systems are updated. New hardware is announced. So, what happens if the software world evolves but your software codebase doesn’t? Development Tools Chain Reaction Development tools continue to […]

security lock symbol over person typing on laptop
SEP Tips | 7 min read

5 Tips to Strengthen Your Computer Security and Online Presence in 2023

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center 2021 Data Breach Report, there were 1,862 data breaches in 2021. While 2020 saw a total of 1,108 data breaches. AKA computer security is no joke! But where do you even start? SEP’s Junior Sys Admin team compiled their top tips for Computer Security Day. See our top five […]

Programming | 4 min read

Connecting Ruby to a Google Spreadsheet With a Service Account

Ever wanted to connect your ruby app to a Google Spreadsheet? Yeah. Me too. I find myself writing ruby scripts and console apps all the time. Many times needing a simple way to store or pull data. Databases are good at that (storing data). But, sometimes a spreadsheet is a more natural place to put […]

Embedded & IoT | 11 min read

Security in the Age of the Internet of Things

Originally published on my personal blog. The Internet of Things is big. No, really big. No, even bigger than that. How big? My colleague Brad Boyer explains it better than I could (and handily defines the thing part of IoT, too). Go read it – I’ll wait. Welcome back! Security is hard. No, really hard. […]

General Info | 3 min read

Passwords, P@55w0rD$, Schmasswords

I have too many passwords.  I admit that I don’t always use a unique password on websites that I rate low on my ‘do I care if I get hacked’ radar.  And, unless forced, I’m terrible at remembering to change them from time to time.  On the plus side, I don’t keep passwords on post-it […]