Amicus IT, LLC

Amicus IT, LLC Amicus IT specializes in managed IT services and cybersecurity for small and Medium Businesses.

If your business website runs on WordPress, here’s a quick check for you 🔎There’s a popular plugin called Quiz and Surve...
05/31/2026

If your business website runs on WordPress, here’s a quick check for you 🔎

There’s a popular plugin called Quiz and Survey Master (QSM).

It’s used by more than 40,000 websites to create quizzes, surveys and forms without needing any coding.

Unfortunately, versions 10.3.1 and older were recently found to have a serious security flaw.

The issue is what’s known as an SQL injection vulnerability.

SQL is the language used to talk to a website’s database, the part that stores things like user accounts, submissions, and other important data.

An SQL injection flaw means someone can sneak malicious commands into that database.

In this case, any logged-in user, even someone with a basic subscriber account, could potentially inject commands into the system.

That could allow actions like:

🚫 Accessing sensitive data�
🚫 Extracting information from the database�
🚫 Manipulating content

The vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2025-67987, and it was fixed in version 10.3.2.

The latest version available is 10.3.5, which is the safest bet.

Based on WordPress.org data, just over half of websites using QSM are on version 10.3. That means a large number are likely still vulnerable.

That’s potentially tens of thousands of sites.

Right now, there’s no confirmed evidence of this flaw being actively exploited. But once a vulnerability is public, attackers often start scanning the internet looking for unpatched sites.

👉 If your site uses this plugin, the solution is straightforward: Update it immediately 👈

More broadly, this is a reminder of something I say often to business owners: WordPress itself isn’t usually the weak link. It’s the plugins.

Every plugin you install adds functionality but also adds potential risk.

If you’re not actively using a plugin or theme, it shouldn’t just be deactivated. It should be deleted from the server completely.

Websites aren’t a set and forget asset. They’re part of your digital infrastructure.

If they’re vulnerable, they can become an entry point into your wider systems. Especially if admin accounts reuse passwords across services.

❓ When was the last time someone checked which plugins your website is running and whether they’re fully up to date?

If you’ve ever tried to get an AI tool to understand a whole project instead of just one document, you’ll appreciate thi...
05/30/2026

If you’ve ever tried to get an AI tool to understand a whole project instead of just one document, you’ll appreciate this…

Microsoft has introduced something called Copilot Agents in OneDrive.

And this is where AI starts to feel a bit more useful for real-world business work 🤖

Here’s the problem it’s trying to solve.

Normally, if you ask Copilot to summarize or analyze something, you’re doing it one file at a time. One Word document. One spreadsheet. One PowerPoint.

But projects don’t live in one file.

They live across proposals, meeting notes, budgets, timelines, research documents, and email summaries.

With OneDrive Agents, you can now select up to 20 related files and bundle them together into what’s saved as a .agent file.

Instead of asking: “Summarize this file…”

You can ask: “What deadlines are coming up across this whole project?”

“Where are the risks?”�

“What did we agree in the last three meetings?”

And it has the context of all the selected files, not just one.

The agent behaves like other AI tools. It can summarize, answer questions, surface key points. But it’s operating with a broader understanding.

Even better, these agents are saved as files inside OneDrive.

That means you can share the .agent file with colleagues. They don’t need to recreate the setup themselves. You’re all working from the same AI “view” of the project.

As projects evolve, you can add or remove documents from the agent or refine the instructions it uses.

It stays aligned with the latest information instead of becoming outdated.

Right now, this feature is available to people with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license accessing OneDrive via the web.

It’s clearly still evolving. Microsoft is asking for feedback, which suggests it’s watching closely to see how businesses use it.

From a business owner’s perspective, the real value is reducing the time spent hunting across folders, trying to piece together context.

If AI can help you understand a whole project in one place instead of ten separate files, that’s meaningful productivity.

🤔 The question is, would you trust an AI agent to interpret multiple important documents at once, or would you still prefer to read everything yourself?

05/29/2026

Still relying on Windows 10 with Extended Security Updates?

Your safety net has an end date and it’s approaching fast.

When it disappears, so does your protection.

If Windows 10 is still part of your business setup, now’s the time to start thinking ahead…

05/27/2026

Too many pop-ups breaking your concentration? Windows 11 Focus hides notifications so you can get more work done…

If you receive a message saying a large Apple Pay payment has been blocked and you need to call a number urgently… STOP ...
05/26/2026

If you receive a message saying a large Apple Pay payment has been blocked and you need to call a number urgently…

STOP 🚩

There’s a new scam circulating that targets Apple users, and it’s very convincing.

The email or text usually claims that a high-value purchase has been attempted using your Apple Pay details.

It might mention suspicious activity, a blocked transaction, or even a fake case number. The branding looks polished. The formatting feels official.

Really? The phone number in the message connects you directly to scammers.

The tactic is simple.

Create anxiety about losing a significant amount of money, then offer a quick solution 😱

When people believe their account is under threat, they’re more likely to act without double-checking.

Once on the phone, the criminals typically try to gather your Apple ID login details, verification codes sent to your device, or card information.

With that, they can attempt to take control of your account ⚠️

Here are a few important facts:

Apple does not send fraud alerts asking you to call a number included in an email or text message.

It also doesn’t use aggressive language suggesting your account will be locked if you don’t respond immediately.

That kind of urgency is a common phishing technique 🎣

If you ever receive something like this, check the sender’s email address carefully.

It may look genuine at first glance, but small spelling errors or unusual domain names often give it away.

Generic greetings like “Hello {Name}” instead of your actual name are another warning sign.

It’s also worth remembering that if a payment really were suspicious, your bank would normally step in automatically.

Banks tend to block unusual transactions and contact you directly through official channels.

You would approve a legitimate payment, not scramble to stop it via a random phone number in a text.

If you’re unsure, don’t use any contact details from the message 🚫

Instead, go directly to Apple’s official website yourself and use the support options there.

Or check your purchase history on your device: Settings > Tap your name > Media & Purchases > View Account > Purchase History

That will show you whether any genuine transactions have taken place.

Scammers are becoming more sophisticated. They’re using better branding, cleaner layouts, and fewer obvious mistakes.

That makes it even more important to slow down and verify before responding.

❓ If someone in your business received a message like this, would they know to ignore the phone number and check through official channels instead?

Do you use an Android phone for work?This is worth a couple of minutes of your attention 📱 Security researchers have unc...
05/24/2026

Do you use an Android phone for work?

This is worth a couple of minutes of your attention 📱

Security researchers have uncovered a new piece of Android malware that can track almost everything you do on your phone.

And I don’t mean just basic tracking.

We’re talking about:

👉 PIN entries�
👉 Login credentials�
👉 Messages�
👉 Banking app activity

The clever (and worrying) part is how it spreads 🦠

The app is called TrustBastion.

It pretends to be a security tool. Victims see pop-ups or adverts claiming their phone is infected with malware or scam messages.

The “solution”? Install this app to clean things up.

That fear tactic works more often than you’d think 😱

At first glance, the app looks harmless. But it’s what’s known as a dropper.

That means the app itself doesn’t contain the malicious code straight away. Instead, it downloads it after installation.

Once installed, it shows a fake “update” screen that looks very similar to official Android or Google Play messages.

If you agree, a manipulated APK file (that’s the installation package format Android uses) is downloaded in the background.

But the download doesn’t come from some obviously shady server. It comes from Hugging Face, a well-known developer and AI platform with a strong reputation.

Because the infrastructure looks legitimate, many security tools don’t immediately flag it as suspicious. The attackers are effectively hiding behind a trusted name.

After installation, the malware requests extensive permissions and pretends to be a system component called “Phone Security”.

It then asks for Accessibility permissions.

Accessibility features are designed to help users with disabilities. But when misused, they give apps the ability to read what’s on your screen, log what you type, and overlay content on top of other apps.

That means this malware can:

⚠️ Capture PIN codes and unlock patterns�
⚠️ Overlay fake login screens on top of real banking apps�
⚠️ Intercept payment details and messages

The stolen data is sent back to the attackers’ servers, and the malware can even receive updates or new instructions.

To make detection harder, the criminals are using something called server-side polymorphism.

That means they generate slightly modified versions of the malware every 15 minutes.

Within a month, researchers found more than 6,000 variants.

Why?

Because traditional antivirus tools often look for known “signatures”. If the file keeps changing slightly, it’s much harder to block.

So, what should you take from this?

First: Only install apps from the Google Play Store.

Second: Be extremely cautious of apps that claim to clean or secure your phone while asking for deep system permissions.

Third: Only enable Accessibility access if you fully understand why the app needs it.

And don’t assume that because something is hosted on a reputable platform, it’s automatically safe.

If your business allows staff to access email, banking or cloud systems from their phone

If you spend a big chunk of your week inside Microsoft Teams, small changes can make a surprisingly big difference.There...
05/23/2026

If you spend a big chunk of your week inside Microsoft Teams, small changes can make a surprisingly big difference.

There are a few new features on the way that are worth knowing about, especially if meetings and collaboration are part of your daily routine.

Let’s start with the one I think many people will love 💛

You’ll soon be able to hide the entire meeting control toolbar.

You know the bar at the top or bottom of a Teams meeting with mute, camera, share screen, leave, and so on?

That can now be completely hidden, giving you more screen space during meetings.

If you’re presenting, reviewing a spreadsheet, or looking at detailed content, that extra space matters. It feels cleaner and less cluttered.

And this isn’t just a one-time setting. If you choose to hide it, that preference sticks across meetings.

Worried you’ll lose control?

You won’t.

You can bring the toolbar back instantly by hovering your mouse or pressing the Tab key.

Keyboard shortcuts for things like mute still work whether the bar is visible or not.

It’s a small tweak, but it makes Teams feel less intrusive and more focused.

There’s also an upgrade coming to the image viewer 🔎

If someone shares multiple images in a chat, you’ll be able to scroll through all of them in one place.

Even better, the viewer will show the original message header so you can jump straight back to where that image was posted.

If you’ve ever scrolled endlessly trying to find that screenshot from last week, this will help 📸

Another subtle improvement: Your recently used emojis will sync across Windows and mobile.

It sounds minor, but if you use the same handful of emojis regularly (and most of us do), not having to re-find them saves time and friction 🤩

For those who share code snippets in Teams, there are also improvements to code blocks.

Better keyboard navigation, line numbers, and the ability to set the code language more easily.

That makes technical collaboration smoother and reduces confusion when discussing specific lines.

When tools get slightly easier to use every day, productivity improves without anyone noticing why.

❓ If you and your people live in Teams, which would you value more, cleaner meetings, faster navigation, or smarter collaboration features?

The Start menu is one of those things people don’t often think about, unless it changes 😄Windows 11 has rolled out a red...
05/22/2026

The Start menu is one of those things people don’t often think about, unless it changes 😄

Windows 11 has rolled out a redesigned Start menu, and more devices are now seeing it automatically.

If it hasn’t appeared on yours yet, it likely will soon.

But this isn’t a radical overhaul. It’s more of a tidy-up than a revolution 😅

Microsoft says it wanted to keep the original “Start” promise: A place where you begin your work. But it also wanted it to feel quicker, calmer, and more personal.

So, what’s different?

At the top, you still have a search bar. That’s intentional. Microsoft wants search to be the fastest way to jump straight to an app, file, or setting.

Below that, you’ve got your pinned apps, the shortcuts you choose to keep there.

Then comes the part people have strong opinions about… the Recommended section.

This shows suggested files and apps based on what you’ve been working on. Microsoft says it added this because people wanted smarter suggestions that learn in real time.

But you can now turn it off 🚫

If you don’t like the Recommended feed, you can disable it in: Settings > Personalization > Start.

There’s a toggle for showing recommended files and recent items.

The catch is that this also switches off recent items in File Explorer and in the taskbar’s right-click menus. It’s not completely isolated.

Another noticeable change is how all your apps are displayed.

Instead of digging into a long alphabetical list and scrolling endlessly, there’s now a category view. It groups apps together and prioritizes the ones you use most.

Microsoft admits it wanted this to feel a bit more like a smartphone layout 📲
Quicker visual scanning, less marathon scrolling.

Whether you like that or not will probably come down to personal preference.

There’s also an optional Phone Link panel that slides in from the side when you need it and stays hidden when you don’t. It’s designed to make your connected phone feel closer to your desktop without cluttering the interface.

Now, here’s the honest bit.

If you already disliked the current Windows 11 Start menu, this probably won’t change your mind. It’s an evolution, not a throwback to Windows 7.

And no, you still can’t move the taskbar. Microsoft says that would break the UI flow and animations, which hasn’t silenced the debate 🤫

The bigger question is practical: Does this make it faster for your team to find what they need?

Because when someone wastes 30 seconds hunting for an app, ten times a day, across twenty employees… that adds up.

💬 When you use your PC, do you mostly click pinned apps, or do you rely on search to find everything?

05/20/2026

If your business suddenly lost access to its data, what would happen?

It’s one of those questions that rarely comes up in day-to-day conversations.

Everything works, the systems are running, and it’s easy to assume recovery would be straightforward if something ever went wrong.

But the reality often depends on how systems are set up behind the scenes…

05/19/2026

Always hunting for the same files? You can pin them as Favorites in Windows 11 and keep them one click away…

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