Could smudge marks on your touchscreen monitors leave you vulnerable to a security breach?  According to a University of Pennsylvania study it’s true!  Researchers took photos of the smudge trails left on various touchscreens, digitally increased the contrast and found they could unlock secure touchscreens 92% of the time! 

I just checked out my new, totally cool android phone and sure enough, there are my paw prints leaving a “smudge trail” where I unlock the unit.  My phone is no big security breach, but this could affect touchscreen interfaces such as bank machines, voting machines, or any other public or industrial touchscreen requiring a graphical pattern password. 

Did you know that many modern control systems are now being designed for a minimum 30-year lifespan?  Hmmm. 

Many early systems are still going strong that were installed in the ’90s, ’80s and even some from the 1970s.  But you probably already knew that since so many of you send us your controllers for repairs.

The weaker links in these older systems are the operator terminals, disk drives, power supplies, keyboards, and CRT’s as they often have mechanical or electrical parts that simply wear out.  Many of these units can be repaired and if not, replaced with refurbs or updated, drop-in replacements. 

We love to help you with your industrial electronic emergencies.  A recent customer panic situation went like this:  Suddenly the Allen Bradley monitor screen went blank during production on the line the plant relied on day in and day out to process solvents. 

The Plant Electrician smelled burnt components in the vent of the monitor but he could not repair the monitor on site.  What to do?!

He remembered ACS Industrial had quickly repaired an Okuma servo drive for them before.  Could they also repair Allen Bradley monitors?  A quick call to ACS got him just the answer he was looking for.  Yes, ACS does repair Allen Bradley monitors and they could provide rush service.  The monitor was back on the line in less than a week!