31st March = World Backup Day! If you don't already backup your data - now is the time to start!

 

WHAT IS BACKUP? 

A backup is a second copy of all your important files — for example, your family photos, home videos, documents and emails. Instead of storing it all in one place (like your computer), you keep another copy of everything somewhere safe.

ALRIGHT, I GET IT, BUT WHY SHOULD I BACKUP?

Losing your files is way more common than you’d think. Ever lost your phone, camera or tablet? That counts. Your stuff could have been saved with a backup. One small accident or failure could destroy all the important stuff you care about.

30% of people have never backed up

113 phones lost or stolen every minute

29% of disasters are caused by accident

1 in 10 computers infected with viruses each month

SO HOW DO I BACKUP?

Most people backup their files in one of two ways: to an external drive, or somewhere on the Internet (Backblaze).

Do you need help with backing up your important data? 
Contact Donline.

Do not wait till it's too late to backup!

www.worldbackupday.com

Lloyds bank reveals IT glitch affected 447,936 customers

Almost half a million Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland customers saw other people's transactions or had their own data shared in a recent IT issue, the bank has revealed.

In a letter responding to the Treasury Select Committee's enquiries about the incident published on Friday, Lloyds Banking Group said it had affected up to 447,936 customers.

The UK banking giant seems to have compensated only some affected so far - with "goodwill payments" of £139,000 shared between 3,625 customers.

www.bbc.co.uk

Cyberattack on a Car Breathalyzer Firm Leaves Drivers Stuck

A cyberattack on a U.S. vehicle breathalyzer company has left drivers across the United States stranded and unable to start their vehicles.

The company, Intoxalock, says on its website that it is “currently experiencing downtime” after a cyberattack on March 14. Intoxalock sells breathalyzer devices that fit into vehicle ignition switches, and is used by people who are required to provide a negative alcohol breath sample to start their car.

Intoxalock spokesperson Rachael Larson confirmed to TechCrunch that the company had been hit by a cyberattack. Larson said the company took steps to “temporarily pause some of our systems as a precautionary measure.”

www.techcrunch.com

Microsoft breaks Microsoft account sign-ins in Windows 11 with latest update

 

Microsoft has broken account sign-ins in Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2 with a recent update, causing error messages in apps like OneDrive and Office.

The glitch affects sign-in operations for Microsoft accounts. Businesses using Entra ID (previously known as Azure Active Directory) for application authentication are not affected.

However, users of Microsoft Teams Free, or anyone signing into Word, Excel, OneDrive, or Microsoft 365 Copilot with a Microsoft account, may see a message along the lines of "You'll need the Internet for this. It doesn't look like you're connected to the Internet" - regardless of whether the device actually is.

According to Microsoft: "This issue occurs when the device enters a specific network connectivity state, and may resolve on its own." A restart should also fix it, provided the device is online at the time.

"If the device is restarted without an active internet connection," Microsoft cautioned, "it might return to a connectivity state where the issue can occur again."

As for a fix that doesn't involve a weary reach for the big red button – virtual or otherwise – Microsoft wrote: "We are working to release a resolution for this issue in the next few days." This sounds a lot like yet another out-of-band update to deal with whatever the company broke in the March 10 update for Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2.

www.theregister.com

Annual report reveals record £18.62 billion needed to repair local roads in England and Wales

A new report looking into the state of the roads in England and Wales has concluded that it would take 12 years of work and £18.62billion to repair all local authority-controlled tarmac in both countries.

Released on Tuesday, March 17 by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), the Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey found that although 1.9million potholes were filled in over the past 12 months (more than 5200 per day) councils simply don’t have the budget or resources to keep up with the problem.

“I think all road users would agree that the condition of our local roads has become a national disgrace,” AIA Chair, David Giles said in the report.

Think potholes are bad if you're a car driver? Try them on a motorcycle - they could cause a serious injury or worse...

www.motorcyclenews.com

Issues with Microsoft Outlook? You're not alone...

Microsoft is investigating several issues causing email synchronization and connection problems when using the classic Outlook desktop client.

• The first bug causes "Can't connect to the server" errors when creating groups in classic Outlook when Exchange Web Services (EWS) is enabled for the tenant.
• The other known issue is triggering 0x800CCC0F and 0x80070057 when synchronizing Gmail and Yahoo accounts in classic Outlook. (Donline is seeing several instances of this issue)

The Outlook team is working to identify the root cause of this known issue and will share more details once a fix is available.

www.bleepingcomputer.com

Can't give 'em away? More LiveWire motorcycle price cuts!

 

LiveWire, the first electric motorcycle from Harley-Davidson, became a standalone brand in 2021. The Milwaukee-based company announced that it would be spinning out its electric motorcycle division as its own company with a distinct lineup and a tailored retail experience.

I rode the LiveWire when it was released back in 2020. I loved it, a great bike - but the price back then was £30k - a lot of dough for a (albeit nice) one trick pony. The price dropped in Aug last year to £18,290. You can now pick one up (brand new) for £12,990 - which to be honest is a bargain!

LiveWire as a brand is doing well in the electric motorbike sector - but the numbers are paltry! Have a read of this article: "LiveWire’s 2025 financial report states that the American bikemaker sold 653 electric motorcycles in 2025 – up by 7% from 612 units in 2024".

Makes you wonder how long they can keep this up?...

www.livewire.com

The Chosen: "Reveal Jesus" - an inspiring new video!

Come and See: "Reveal Jesus" - a brand new taster video. It’s a compelling & commissioning depiction of how The Chosen has joined (and built upon) a long and storied history of global impact through Christian media projects. 

In this 7-minute film, show creator Dallas Jenkins shares how The Chosen reveals the Jesus of the Bible in a fresh, personal, and deeply authentic way that is resonating across current generations. 

“For whatever reason, this portrayal of Jesus seems to be cracking the code for people to experience a more emotional and authentic relationship with Jesus than they’ve ever had before.”

www.youtube.com

Today's Reading: the Fall from Grace

Traditional doctrine points to a sin against God, an act of disobedience, not a sin against the neighbour. And certainly, if we are to hold the doctrine of the Fall in any real sense, we must look for the great sin on a deeper and more timeless level than that of social morality.

This sin has been described by Saint Augustine as the result of Pride, of the movement whereby a creature (that is, an essentially dependent being whose principle of existence lies not in itself but in another) tries to set up on its own, to exist for itself. Such a sin requires no complex social conditions, no extended experience, no great intellectual development. From the moment a creature becomes aware of God as God and of itself as self, the terrible alternative of choosing God or self for the centre is opened to it. This sin is committed daily by young children and ignorant peasants as well as by sophisticated persons, by solitaries no less than by those who live in society: it is the fall in every individual life, and in each day of each individual life, the basic sin behind all particular sins: at this very moment you and I are either committing it, or about to commit it, or repenting it.

By C.S. Lewis - taken from The Problem of Pain

There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which every one in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else; and of which hardly any people, except Christians, ever imagine that they are guilty themselves. I have heard people admit that they are bad-tempered, or that they cannot keep their heads about girls or drink, or even that they are cowards. I do not think I have ever heard anyone who was not a Christian accuse himself of this vice. And at the same time I have very seldom met anyone, who was not a Christian, who showed the slightest mercy to it in others. There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves. And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others.

The vice I am talking of is Pride or Self-Conceit: and the virtue opposite to it, in Christian morals, is called Humility. You may remember, when I was talking about sexual morality, I warned you that the centre of Christian morals did not lie there. Well, now, we have come to the centre. According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.

By C.S. Lewis - taken from Mere Christianity

Artificial Intelligence bubble, anyone?...

The reason RAM prices went up 4x is that a massive amount of not-yet-manufactured memory was bought with money that doesn't really exist to be put into GPUs that haven't been made yet, to be installed in AI data centers that haven't been built, powered by infrastructure that may never exist, to satisfy demand that isn't actually there, in order to generate profits that are mathematically impossible. 

www.wikipedia.org

Web push notification scams and how to block them

 

Seeing pop ups similar to the above in the bottom right corner -or- filling up the right hand side of your screen? You are almost certainly seeing what is known as a Web Browser Notification Scam.

What is a Browser Notification Scam? A browser notification scam consists of fake messages that look like real notifications from websites. These scams deceive users into clicking on links that could direct them to harmful websites, phishing schemes, or malware downloads. The notifications often imitate real alerts, such as system updates, subscription confirmations, or attractive offers, making them hard to spot initially.

What is a Browser Notification? Browser notifications are messages that websites send to your device, typically showing up as pop-ups or alerts in the corner of your screen. These notifications can offer helpful information, like social media updates, reminders, or news alerts. When you visit a site that requests permission to send notifications, you’ll usually see a prompt asking if you want to allow or block these messages. While legitimate notifications can enhance your online experience, scammers have found ways to exploit this feature for malicious purposes.

Need a hand resolving this? Contact Donline.

www.trendmicro.com

Bars close and hundreds lose jobs as US firm buys Brewdog in £33m deal

 

Hundreds of people have been made redundant and dozens of bars have closed after craft beer firm Brewdog went into administration.

US beverage and medical cannabis company Tilray has bought the company's UK brewing operations, brand and 11 pubs in a £33m deal.

Administrators said the sale had preserved 733 jobs - but that 484 jobs had been lost and 38 bars had closed after they were not included in the rescue deal.

Tilray, which already owns several US craft beer brands, described the deal as a significant opportunity for growth in the UK and international markets.

The two firms are still negotiating for a deal on Brewdog's assets in the United States and Australia.

A very sad day. We always have a selection of Brewdog beers in our fridge. I really feel for those folks whose jobs are lost or at risk. Also for all those peeps who invested in the company.

www.bbc.co.uk

10 great chain lubes to avoid unsightly rust and extend the life of your bike's vital components

Chain lube is an essential maintenance spray for any motorcycle that uses a drive chain (which is the vast majority). Chain cleaning and lubrication is an important step in chain care and should be part of your life as a motorcycle owner.

Modern X-ring or O-ring chains have built-in lubricant on the inside of the rollers but you still need to make sure the outside of the chain stays lubricated, too.

You will have likely been told by someone, possibly in the social comments below the promotion of this article, possibly by an influencer, maybe even a mate down the pub that you can just use gear oil and that chain lube is a con.

And the truth is, they’re right. You can put gear oil on your chain and then enjoy it flinging off all over your bike and clothing when you ride. You can opt for not lubing at all and either wipe your chain down with non-penetrating oil every single day or put up with an unsightly orange-brown finish.

Or for the cost of a couple of pints you can buy a formulated spray that’ll potentially last you months and get on with enjoying your motorbike. It’s up to you, but I know what I’m choosing!

This is my secret: Constand central Stand, ChainMate, Chain Brush, S100 Chain Cleaner & S100 White Chain Lube Spray. A perfect chain: cleaned & lubed - with no "fling" all over the back wheel / bike / me!

www.motorcyclenews.com