https://www.atomic.computer/ Recent content on atomic.computer Hugo -- gohugo.io en-us Thu, 26 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0600 https://www.atomic.computer/services/cybersecurity-services/ Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0600 https://www.atomic.computer/services/cybersecurity-services/ A breach doesn’t just cost money — it costs trust. Whether you need to meet compliance requirements, protect customer data, or simply sleep better at night, we help you get there with a security program that actually works. Security Audits & Compliance Know where you stand. We assess your cloud infrastructure, applications, and processes against the standards that matter to your business — SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, ISO 27001. You get a clear report: here’s what’s good, here’s what’s not, and here’s exactly how to fix it — prioritized by what puts your business at the most risk. https://www.atomic.computer/services/infrastructure-and-cloud/ Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0600 https://www.atomic.computer/services/infrastructure-and-cloud/ Your infrastructure should save you money, not drain it. Whether you’re overpaying for cloud, struggling with slow deployments, or flying blind without monitoring — we fix that. Cloud Cost Reduction Most businesses overpay for cloud by 5-10x. We audit your AWS or GCP environment and find the waste — oversized instances, unused resources, managed services you don’t need, and architectural choices that made sense once but don’t anymore. You get a clear breakdown of what you’re spending, what you should be spending, and a plan to close the gap. https://www.atomic.computer/services/web-and-ecommerce-development/ Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0600 https://www.atomic.computer/services/web-and-ecommerce-development/ Whether you’re launching something new or improving what you have, we build software that grows with your business — not against it. Shopify Development Faster stores, higher conversions. We build custom Shopify themes and apps focused on speed, usability, and maintainability. From new store launches to platform migrations, we handle the technical side so you can focus on selling. Custom theme development (Liquid) Shopify app development and integrations Migrations from WooCommerce, Magento, and BigCommerce Shopify Plus: checkout customization, B2B, multi-currency Performance and conversion optimization WordPress & WooCommerce The platform that powers 40% of the web, done right. https://www.atomic.computer/services/free-educational-software/ Thu, 26 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0600 https://www.atomic.computer/services/free-educational-software/ Every kid learns differently. Some need to see it. Some need to build it with their hands. Some need the lesson wrapped in a game before it clicks. We know this firsthand. As parents of kids with different learning needs, we’ve lived the gap between what’s available and what actually works. Most educational software is either too generic, loaded with ads, or gated behind a subscription. The kids who need the most help often get the least. https://www.atomic.computer/blog/building-a-high-performance-woocommerce-discount-engine/ Mon, 23 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0600 https://www.atomic.computer/blog/building-a-high-performance-woocommerce-discount-engine/ When this client came to us, their $10M/year WooCommerce store was running on a cPanel server with no optimizations. The site was slow, but nobody could tell them why. The instinct was to throw more hardware at it. We didn’t do that. We moved them to Google Cloud Platform first, not because they needed cloud long-term, but because we needed visibility and the cPanel setup didn’t afford us that. We set up Datadog with APM tracing so we could see exactly where every millisecond was going. https://www.atomic.computer/blog/insider-threat-detection-engineering-90-day-engagement/ Fri, 20 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0600 https://www.atomic.computer/blog/insider-threat-detection-engineering-90-day-engagement/ A financial services company called us with a problem that nobody likes to talk about: their own people stole from them. Multiple employees — across different roles and access levels — had been quietly exfiltrating data. Customer information, intellectual property, the works. They were planning to leave and start a competing business. The individuals performed similar actions within tight timeframes and departed simultaneously. Not exactly Ocean’s Eleven — my kids do a better job hiding evidence when cookies go missing from the jar. https://www.atomic.computer/blog/cloud-to-baremetal/ Wed, 18 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0600 https://www.atomic.computer/blog/cloud-to-baremetal/ Cloud providers solved a real problem: they gave small teams access to infrastructure without hiring an ops team. But for established businesses with predictable workloads, the math stopped making sense a long time ago. You’re paying a premium for flexibility you no longer need. We’ve done this migration ourselves. We moved a high-revenue ecommerce operation from Google Cloud to bare metal — and we’ll tell you exactly how it went. https://www.atomic.computer/blog/self-hosting-btcpayserver-on-gcp-with-terraform/ Sun, 07 Dec 2025 12:00:00 -0600 https://www.atomic.computer/blog/self-hosting-btcpayserver-on-gcp-with-terraform/ We recently helped a client add Bitcoin payments to their WooCommerce store using BTCPay Server. Rather than use a hosted solution, they wanted full control over their payment infrastructure. Here’s how we built it. Why Self-Host? BTCPay Server is open-source payment processing software that lets you accept Bitcoin without third-party fees or custody. You can use hosted options like Voltage or Luna Node, but self-hosting gives you: No transaction fees beyond network costs Full custody of funds (keys never leave your server) Privacy for you and your customers Control over uptime and infrastructure The tradeoff is complexity. https://www.atomic.computer/blog/how-load-balancers-work/ Mon, 05 Aug 2024 19:21:54 -0500 https://www.atomic.computer/blog/how-load-balancers-work/ Imagine a busy store where many customers arrive at the same time to get help. To manage the crowd efficiently, the store uses a system to distribute customers to different available clerks. This system is like a load balancer for a web application. Load Balancer Analogy Without a Load Balancer (Single Queue): All customers stand in a single line. One clerk at a time helps the next customer in line. If a clerk is busy, customers have to wait longer, even if other clerks are available. https://www.atomic.computer/blog/creating-a-security-program-for-startups/ Sat, 11 Nov 2023 22:34:16 -0600 https://www.atomic.computer/blog/creating-a-security-program-for-startups/ 1. Embrace Single Sign-On (SSO) SSO simplifies access and enhances security. Decide on an IdP (Identity Provider) early on and use that provider with every vendor your business integrates with. Some examples of IdPs are Google Workspace, Auth0 and Microsoft just to name a few. 2. Insist on Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Implement MFA wherever possible, avoiding SMS-based methods due to their vulnerability to SIM swapping attacks. For enhanced security, consider hardware factor authentication options such as biometric scanners, including Touch ID or fingerprint recognition, and physical security keys like YubiKey. https://www.atomic.computer/contact/ Fri, 10 Nov 2023 19:51:46 -0600 https://www.atomic.computer/contact/ Get In Touch Have a question or want to talk through a project? We typically respond within one business day. Schedule a call Email us No commitment, no sales pitch — just a conversation about what you’re working on and how we can help. https://www.atomic.computer/blog/devops-consulting/ Fri, 10 Nov 2023 16:51:45 -0600 https://www.atomic.computer/blog/devops-consulting/ We help teams ship faster, more reliably, and more securely. With over two decades of infrastructure experience, we bring DevSecOps practices to your CI/CD pipelines with security built in from the start. What We Do Container Orchestration Kubernetes - cluster design, deployment, and optimization on EKS and GKE Docker - containerization strategy, image optimization, security hardening Migration - moving workloads from VMs to containers with minimal disruption CI/CD Pipelines Pipeline design and implementation (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins) Automated testing and deployment workflows Infrastructure as Code with Terraform and Pulumi Security scanning integrated into pipelines (SAST, dependency scanning, secret detection) Monitoring & Observability Datadog implementation and optimization Custom dashboards and alerting strategies Log aggregation and analysis Performance monitoring and APM Security event monitoring and anomaly detection Cloud Infrastructure AWS and GCP architecture and optimization Cost reduction strategies Multi-cloud and hybrid deployments Disaster recovery planning Our Approach We don’t just set things up and leave. https://www.atomic.computer/blog/wordpress-vs-static-site-generators/ Fri, 10 Nov 2023 11:21:11 -0600 https://www.atomic.computer/blog/wordpress-vs-static-site-generators/ In a digital world where every business needs an online presence, the debate between using traditional Content Management Systems like WordPress and Static Site Generators is relevant more than ever. While WordPress powers a significant portion of the web, security vulnerabilities and maintenance burdens often outweigh its benefits. In contrast, Static Site Generators such as Hugo offer a streamlined approach to establishing a web presence, with notable advantages in security and operational simplicity. https://www.atomic.computer/about/ Thu, 09 Nov 2023 12:00:00 -0600 https://www.atomic.computer/about/ I’m Adam, a security engineer and infrastructure architect with over two decades in the industry. I started at a computer repair shop in Illinois and worked my way through systems engineering, software engineering, DevOps, and into security. Infrastructure knowledge and a hacker’s mindset overlap more than most people think. Where I’ve Worked Etsy / Six years on the security team (Senior to Staff). Led incident response in GCP, built cloud security alerting, deployed CrowdStrike across the fleet, and helped architect the datacenter-to-GCP migration. https://www.atomic.computer/blog/cybersecurity-training/ Thu, 09 Nov 2023 12:00:00 -0600 https://www.atomic.computer/blog/cybersecurity-training/ Security tools are only as effective as the people using them. We deliver cybersecurity training that sticks—practical, engaging, and tailored to how your team actually works. Training Programs Security Awareness for Teams Not everyone needs to think like a hacker, but everyone needs to recognize a threat when they see one. Our awareness training covers: Phishing recognition and response Password hygiene and credential management Social engineering tactics and red flags Safe handling of sensitive data Incident reporting—what to do when something feels off We skip the scare tactics and focus on building genuine understanding. https://www.atomic.computer/blog/shopify-development/ Thu, 09 Nov 2023 12:00:00 -0600 https://www.atomic.computer/blog/shopify-development/ Shopify powers millions of ecommerce businesses, from early-stage brands to global retailers. We provide custom Shopify development services focused on performance, usability, and long-term maintainability—so your store scales as your business grows. Shopify Development Services Custom Shopify Theme Development Fully custom Shopify themes built with Liquid Theme customization and refactoring Mobile-first, responsive layouts Conversion-focused UX and accessibility best practices We build themes that load fast, adapt cleanly across devices, and are easy to maintain as your catalog and marketing needs evolve. https://www.atomic.computer/blog/wordpress-development/ Thu, 09 Nov 2023 12:00:00 -0600 https://www.atomic.computer/blog/wordpress-development/ WordPress powers over 40% of the web. We build WordPress sites that are fast, secure, and easy to maintain. What We Build Custom Themes Bespoke theme development from scratch Theme customization and child themes Responsive, mobile-first design Accessibility-compliant builds Plugin Development Custom plugins for specific business needs Plugin customization and extensions API integrations WooCommerce extensions WooCommerce Store setup and configuration Custom checkout flows Payment gateway integration Inventory and shipping solutions Performance & Security Every WordPress site we deliver includes: https://www.atomic.computer/blog/custom-web-development/ Wed, 08 Nov 2023 00:03:00 -0600 https://www.atomic.computer/blog/custom-web-development/ When off-the-shelf solutions don’t fit, we build custom. Web applications, APIs, mobile apps - whatever your business needs. Technologies Ruby on Rails Our go-to for rapid web application development: SaaS platforms eCommerce (beyond WordPress/WooCommerce) Internal business tools API backends Python & Django For data-intensive applications: Machine learning integrations Data pipelines and dashboards Scientific computing applications API development Golang When performance is critical: High-throughput APIs Microservices CLI tools System utilities PHP For custom applications outside WordPress: https://www.atomic.computer/blog/cloud-security-consulting/ Mon, 06 Nov 2023 12:11:48 -0600 https://www.atomic.computer/blog/cloud-security-consulting/ We’ve been securing cloud infrastructure since before it was called “the cloud.” Two decades of systems engineering experience informs everything we do. Security Audits Comprehensive assessment of your cloud environment against industry standards and best practices: Configuration review - IAM policies, network security, encryption settings Compliance mapping - SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, ISO 27001 Risk assessment - identifying vulnerabilities and prioritizing remediation Documentation - detailed findings with actionable recommendations We audit AWS and GCP environments.