The sound of a blade being sharpened in Redmond could be heard this week as Microsoft issued a six-month warning for Skype for Business Online. The clock began ticking in 2019, when Microsoft insisted that the then new kid on the block, Teams, was more than ready for prime time. Teams has certainly received more than its fair share of attention in the months since, getting toys such as…
Atos shares spiked this morning after it confirmed that negotiations to purchase DXC Technology are dead in the water. An audacious bid, reported to be in the region of $10bn, was made by the French integrator-cum-outsourcer in the first week of January, representing a move away from the typical bolt-on deals Atos funds. But it wasn’t to be, Atos confirmed to the Paris stock market this morning. “The Board…
Scaleway is running a farm of Apple M1 Mac Minis in its repurposed fallout shelter beneath Paris, France. Customers seeking the M1-as-a-Service experience can order up a Mac Mini M1 and be running in under five minutes, according to the company. The cost is €0.10 per hour with a 24-hour commitment. The company claimed it could offer a “fully native Big Sur experience” with 8GB of unified RAM and…
Slack says it has identified a scaling failure in its AWS Transit Gateways (TGWs) as the reason for the chat service’s monumental outage on 4 January. As a result, Amazon’s cloud computing arm said it is “reviewing the TGW scaling algorithms”. The comms platform’s outage came at a bad time, just when people were getting back to work after the holiday period. This, said Slack in its detailed report,…
Bork!Bork!Bork! Even after a year of readers sending in photos taken of error screens they’ve seen out and about for The Reg‘s Bork column, the infamous Windows “Blue Screen of Death” has remained a mainstay. However, have you wondered why blue is the colour? Retired Microsoft engineer Dave Plummer took to his YouTube channel over the weekend to give us his view on matters. Firstly, “I never once heard…
IT teams at Asos.com face absorbing massive stock and brand data in the company’s £295m acquisition spree while at the same time finishing a global retail e-commerce system project. The day after the go-live deadline for the online fast-fashion retailer’s new Truly Global Retail (TGR), the company announced the acquisition of high-street brands Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, and HIIT from failed retail group Arcadia in a deal worth £295m….
The Linkerd project, a lightweight service mesh for Kubernetes, has formed a steering committee as it competes for developer attention with Google-sponsored Istio as well as other projects. A service mesh adds essential features like traffic management, observability, and network security to microservices running on Kubernetes. Linkerd is implemented in Rust and its original creator, Buoyant CEO William Morgan, designed it to solve the service mesh problem in the…
UK weather forecasting agency the Met Office is tendering for delivery partners to help it build its data platform over the next four years in a framework deal that could be worth £30m. The main objective of getting new suppliers on board as part of the four-year deal is to help build a common Met Office data platform, exploiting the future of data sciences, and a common approach to…
When Google Chrome 90 arrives in April, visitors to websites that depend on TLS server authentication certificates from AC Camerfirma SA, a digital certificate authority based in Madrid, Spain, will find that those sites no longer present the secure lock icon. Certificate authorities (CAs) are in the business of signing digital certificates to certify that those certs belong to the domains with which they’re associated. Such promises are part…
Outgoing VMware CEO and incoming Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has revealed he was initially approached to take a seat on the chipmaker’s board. In an appearance on the Virtually Speaking Podcast, Gelsinger said he had previously been approached about Chipzilla’s top job but declined. He was later approached with an offer to take a seat on Intel’s board, an offer that appealed to Gelsinger and which Michael Dell approved….
Think of these as different “levels” of security watching over your systems:
🔹 EDR (Endpoint Detection & Response)
Focus: Individual devices (laptops, desktops, servers)
EDR is like having a security guard on each device. It monitors activity, detects suspicious behaviour (like malware or hacking attempts), and helps respond quickly if something goes wrong.
👉 Simple way to say it:
“EDR protects the devices your team uses every day.”
🔹 MDR (Managed Detection & Response)
Focus: Outsourced expert monitoring
MDR builds on EDR by adding a team of cybersecurity experts who monitor alerts for you 24/7 and respond to threats.
👉 Simple way to say it:
“MDR gives you a security team without hiring one.”
🔹 XDR (Extended Detection & Response)
Focus: Everything working together (devices, email, network, cloud)
XDR connects multiple security tools into one system, giving a broader view of threats across your entire environment—not just devices.
👉 Simple way to say it:
“XDR sees the bigger picture across your whole IT environment.”
🔹 ITDR (Identity Threat Detection & Response)
Focus: User identities and access (logins, accounts)
ITDR protects against attacks targeting user accounts—like stolen passwords or phishing—by monitoring how identities are used and spotting unusual behaviour.
👉 Simple way to say it:
“ITDR protects your users’ identities—the front door to your systems.”
A common question we often get asked by our clients is what Anti-virus do you recommended or should you stick Microsoft Defender. While both are great at keeping your device safe, Bitdefender has some additional features that are incredibly advantageous to keep your business safe and secure.
Real-Time Protection: Bitdefender is known for its superior real-time threat detection and response capabilities, which can provide more comprehensive protection against emerging threats.
Additional Security Layers: Bitdefender includes features like ransomware protection, banking and payment protection, and network attack protection, which add extra layers of security to your digital life.
Advanced Features: Bitdefender offers a range of advanced features that Microsoft Defender lacks, such as webcam and microphone protection, a robust VPN service, and a file shredder.
To conclude I think Microsoft Defender is a solid, free option that comes pre-installed with Windows. However, if you are a business, you will need more advanced features and comprehensive protection, making Bitdefender the better choice.
This is only my opinion and not necessarily the view of the company.