2 Dog Digital

10/14/2026

I've never quite understood golf.

You hit a perfectly good ball, spend half the afternoon looking for it, and somehow call that relaxing.

Personally, I prefer fetch. At least somebody gets excited when the ball comes back.

But I do understand supporting a good cause. And this one's close to home.

⛳ 𝗜'𝗺 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝟮 𝗗𝗼𝗴 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗥𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗳 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁!

Raleigh Crime Stoppershelps people share information about crimes anonymously, giving our community another way to help law enforcement solve cases.

Our very own Ami DePierro serves as Vice President of Raleigh CrimeStoppers, so you might say we're a little personally invested in seeing this organization succeed.

And here's where I'd like to have a word with my fellow Raleigh businesses.

𝗪𝗲'𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁!

There are opportunities for businesses to get involved, support the work of Raleigh CrimeStoppers, and enjoy a day on the golf course.

And don't worry if your golf game is questionable. I've seen my humans throw a ball. Let's just say there's a reason I'm the one who retrieves it.

Take a look at the tournament and sponsorship opportunities:

https://raleighcrimestoppers.org/golf-tournament-outing-2026/

𝓓𝓸𝓽𝓽𝓲𝓮 🐾

10/01/2026

Well, Michael, you’ve gone and said something that will make my humans awfully happy.

“IT manageable for our business.”

That’s pretty much the goal around here.

Answer the phone. Fix the problem. Explain things in regular human language. Try not to make anyone learn what DNS stands for unless they actually want to. (Ami DePierro probably wants to. Ami asks questions.)

Thank you for trusting our pack with your business, Michael, and for taking the time to leave such a kind review. We’re mighty glad you found us. 💙

𝓓𝓸𝓽𝓽𝓲𝓮🐾

09/30/2026

Well, sugar, this is why we don’t wait for somebody to call and say, “I think I clicked something.”

Because sometimes 𝗻𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴.

Our software stack spotted suspicious activity with one of our clients, so we called her.

Our tech logged in and found her partway through a device code phishing attack.

She hadn’t finished it yet.

Here’s the particularly rude part of this scam: if the victim keeps going, they can eventually end up on 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁’𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲 and enter a code the criminal gave them.

Now, I don’t know who decided phishing needed to get this clever, but I’d like a word.

Digit, meanwhile, has boiled the whole thing down to:

“𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺.”

I still hate it when that dog makes a good point.

We wrote about what happened and how device code phishing works, because this is one of those scams people need to know exists 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 it lands in front of them.

Go read it. Digit and I will keep an eye on things around here.

𝓓𝓸𝓽𝓽𝓲𝓮 🐾

Device code phishing can use Microsoft’s real login page and get past MFA. Learn how the attack works and how businesses can reduce the risk.

09/29/2026

Ya'll, if your keyboard has enough crumbs in it to qualify as a snack drawer, we need to have a little talk.

Rich has been having this talk with Ami DePierro for years. Apparently, “stop eating at your desk” is one of those marital conversations that never actually reaches a conclusion.

And we won’t discuss the coffee incidents.

You can clean your keyboard without sending an emergency ticket to your IT company afterward.

First, turn the computer off (or unplug the keyboard).

Turn it upside down and gently tap it to shake loose the crumbs, dog hair, and evidence of lunches past.

Use compressed air in short bursts between the keys. Keep the can upright. We are removing debris, not pressure-washing the thing.

For the keys and surface, use a microfiber cloth lightly dampened with 70% isopropyl alcohol. Lightly dampened, y’all. Nothing should be dripping.

And please don’t spray cleaner directly onto the keyboard. Electronics and surprise baths have never been particularly good friends.

If something is wedged under a key and won’t come out easily, don’t start prying at it with whatever happens to be sitting on your desk. That’s about the point where a five-minute cleaning job becomes a support ticket.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have questions about what I just found under Ami’s space bar.

Richard DePierro, you may have a point.

𝓓𝓸𝓽𝓽𝓲𝓮 🐾

09/21/2026

Well, y’all, apparently we have 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐬 in the house.

Richard DePierro and Ami DePierro have been named 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐌𝐒𝐏 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 for the Southeast. 💙

I’ve watched these two build 2 Dog Digital for more than ten years. There have been long days, late nights, plenty of “well, THAT didn’t go according to plan,” and a whole lot of figuring things out as they went.

So seeing them recognized like this? I’m pretty darn proud.

There is, however, a small problem.

Digit heard the word 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧 and immediately assumed everyone was talking about him.

He is a Great Dane, so I can see how the confusion happened.

The “legend in his own mind” part is harder to explain.

🐾 𝓓𝓸𝓽𝓽𝓲𝓮

09/18/2026

Three days.

Three whole days that connection issue had been carrying on before Kimberlee called our humans.

Now, I’m a patient little Southern lady (Oh if you could see Digit's face right now, but I digress), but three days of your business being disrupted is enough. At some point we quit sweet-talking the technology and send Richard DePierro after it.

He jumped in, found the problem, and got them back up and running.

Kimberlee says he “fixed the issue immediately.”

I’d like to point out that nobody mentioned how much supervision I provided, but I suppose there’s only so much room in a Google review.

Thank you, Kimberlee, for trusting our crew when you needed help. And thank you for the five stars. I personally think they look lovely on us.

09/17/2026

So apparently you don’t even have to know how to build ransomware anymore.

You can outsource that.

I’ll give the criminals this: they do keep up with technology.

It’s called Ransomware as a Service (RaaS). Someone else builds the ransomware, criminals use it, and they share the money if a victim pays.

I asked Digit why they’d bother with a small business.

I got The Look.

Turns out, they don’t necessarily have to be looking for your business. They’re looking for one they can get into.

Well. That’s considerably less comforting.

Digit explains what RaaS means for small businesses in this week’s Digest, including what you can do to make your business a harder place to get into.

And yes, he talks about backups.

That dog really does have one favorite subject......

Ransomware as a Service makes cybercrime easier to scale. Learn how RaaS works, why small businesses get hit, and how to reduce your risk.

09/10/2026

Well, Jerry, you’ve done it now.

You gave Digit five stars AND said 2 Dog Digital solved a problem others couldn’t or wouldn’t.

He is going to be absolutely insufferable. 😂

In all seriousness, reviews like this mean a whole lot to our little pack. Our team likes a stubborn problem, especially the kind that has already made everybody else throw up their hands.

Thank you, Jerry, for trusting us with yours and for taking the time to tell people about your experience.

And yes, Digit, you may put this one on the refrigerator...

🐾 𝓓𝓸𝓽𝓽𝓲𝓮

09/09/2026

Y'all, when someone leaves your company, you do remember to take away the digital keys too, right?

Because returning the laptop is lovely, but it doesn't do much good if their email still works, they know the shared password, and three vendor portals still think they work there.

And before anybody says, "Oh, Susan would never do anything..."

I believe you. Susan may be an absolute peach.

Susan also doesn't need access to your business anymore.

That's the part Digit gets rather particular about. He's a retired Gunny. Apparently "but we trust Susan" is not an approved security procedure.

Our latest blog covers what should actually happen when an employee leaves, including the accounts and access businesses tend to forget.

And yes, there's a checklist. Because Digit loves a checklist almost as much as Ami loves the idea of getting cake when somebody leaves. 🎂

𝓓𝓸𝓽𝓽𝓲𝓮 🐾

09/08/2026

I’ve been told this is apparently an important part of IT training.

“Have you tried turning it off and on again?”

And wouldn’t you know it, sometimes it actually works.

Printers are particularly fond of having little existential crises. A stuck print job, a lost connection, or some mysterious disagreement with your computer can sometimes be fixed with one very sophisticated technical procedure:
𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.

Before you start clicking buttons you’ve never clicked before, changing settings you don’t understand, or unplugging cords you may never identify again, try that first.

Apparently, Rich DePierro and Ami DePierro used to watch a television program where this was considered sound IT advice.

I’m beginning to suspect it may have been educational programming.

𝓓𝓸𝓽𝓽𝓲𝓮 🐾