Warning! Linux is being haunted by a G-G-G-GHOST vulnerability -- are you at risk?
Recently, I declared that the Linux Desktop was dead, something that I stand by. However, Linux still dominates in the mobile device and server categories. And yes, a relatively minuscule number of people -- including myself -- will still continue to use Linux on the desktop. Why? People trust Linux-based operating systems to be safe and secure.
Because of Linux's popularity for servers and smart phones, it is imperative that it remains safe, and free from malware and vulnerabilities. Sadly, we learn today that Linux is being haunted by a g-g-g-ghost -- a ghost vulnerability, that is. Qualys explains that it is calling the vulnerability a "GHOST" because "it can be triggered by the GetHOST functions". In other words, Linux isn't as safe as we thought.
Dell Precision M3800 Mobile Workstation gains 4K, Thunderbolt 2 and Ubuntu Linux options
Dell makes damn good consumer computers, but the company really shines in the enterprise. Along with HP and Lenovo, the firm makes very solidly built and dependable workstations. Of all my years working in the corporate world, Dell has often been the brand of computers offered by the companies for which I have worked. Having dropped and abused many business-issued Dell laptops during travel, I have yet to have any issues beyond scuffs and dents -- impressive.
One of Dell's sexiest business machines is the Precision M3800 Mobile Workstation. Today, the company announces that the "thinnest and Lightest 15-Inch True Mobile Workstation" is getting some great new options that will make many professionals happy. You can now get a 4K display, Thunderbolt 2 and Ubuntu Linux to go with the Haswell Core i7 and NVIDIA Quadro K1100M.
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Stop jumping to conclusions! Lizard Squad didn't take down Facebook
Despite many reports to the contrary, there is nothing to suggest that downtime experienced by Facebook, Instagram and Tinder was anything to do with Lizard Squad. Earlier today, the three services were inaccessible for a short while and Lizard Squad took to Twitter to announce the outages.
The tweet, which read "Facebook, Instagram, Tinder, AIM, Hipchat #offline #LizardSquad" was taken as an admission of guilt and reported as such by many, many websites. Even when Facebook announced that the downtime came as a result of a system change by Facebook, site after site continued to report that Lizard Squad was to blame.
New ransomware is making the rounds via email
The "pay or lose your files" concept of ransomware seems to have taken off with hackers and crime syndicates, becoming the modern cyber equivalent of the mob shakedown. Sort of like paying "protection money".
Now a new ransomware variant has been spotted in the wild, spreading via email, just as previous ones had. The latest is being referred to by the catchy name of Trojan.DownLoad3.35539, and appears in a message as a ZIP file with hopes that unsuspecting recipients will launch it.
Delivering enterprise solutions faster via the cloud
Shifting to mobile and cloud solutions has led to expectations that software projects should be delivered faster and more efficiently.
However, according to a recent Mendix survey 71 percent of development teams are unable to keep up with demand.
Enterprise app store streamlines BYOD adoption
Businesses are turning increasingly to mobile devices as means of boosting productivity, but if employees are allowed to use their own devices for work it can be difficult to ensure they use approved apps.
Licensing and compliance specialist Flexera Software has a solution in the form of its App Portal. This is a universal enterprise app store which allows self-service delivery across platforms.
5 reasons your company won't incorporate BYOD
The debate on both sides continues: the pros and cons of incorporating the BYOD concept into the workplace. BYOD has, indeed, become a hot topic where debates on both ends of the discussion-spectrum range from 'lower business costs and happier employees' to 'security hazards and added burdens on IT departments'. Even though proponents would argue that the benefits of incorporating BYOD into business environments outweigh any risks, one only has to examine those very risks to realize their potential for harm is too concerning and cannot just be swept under the proverbial rug.
Here are five reasons your company would want to think twice before adopting a BYOD strategy:
Let's talk about SaaS
It's hard to track down the exact origins of the phrase "Software as a Service" (SaaS), although it seems that it dates as far back as 2001.
When most people think of SaaS, they think of web-enabled applications like Gmail and Salesforce, which is not surprising. The public cloud and advancing web technologies created a popular trend of building web-apps hosted by a particular vendor and delivered (streamed?) over the Internet. Subscriptions make logical sense since you never really download the software, and instead access it on demand. So instead of buying a perpetual license to *Version X* of the software, you buy a monthly/yearly/etc subscription and in exchange get an always up to date version of the software and support.
Opera 27 restores tab preview, fine-tunes navigation bar
Norwegian browser developer Opera has released Opera FINAL 27 for Windows, Mac and Linux. It’s a relatively minor first release for 2015, with just two notable new features to excite users.
These see the navigation bar tweaked for make it easier to switch between major sections of the browser, while the tab preview feature has been restored alongside a new tab-expansion button.
Facebook is the world’s favorite identity
With more and more websites requiring passwords to access them, people are looking for ways to manage their surfing that don't require multiple IDs.
Increasingly the answer they're turning to is social media and in particular Facebook. A new infographic from identity management specialist Gigya shows that the social network accounted for over 60 percent of logins in the fourth quarter of last year.
IBM is right, I am a gadfly
gad·fly (ˈɡadˌflī/) noun. 1. a fly that bites livestock, especially a horsefly, warble fly, or botfly. 2. an annoying person, especially one who provokes others into action by criticism.
Sometimes being a gadfly is exactly what’s required. That’s certainly the case with IBM and has been for the almost eight years I’ve been following this depressing story. Gadflies came up because IBM finally reacted today to my last column predicting a massive force reduction this week. They denied it, of course -- not the workforce reduction but its size, saying there won’t be even close to 110,000 workers laid off -- and they called me a gadfly, which was apparently intended as criticism, but I’m rather proud of it.
What Back to the Future II's vision of 2015 got right
Marty McFly visits the year 2015 in Back to the Future Part II, the sequel to Robert Zemeckis’ 1985 masterpiece "Back to the Future".
Now that we’ve finally hit the year portrayed in the film it’s time to give them a report card on the things they got right.
Ra is a Chrome text editor and file manager for your local storage
Chrome apps are sometimes criticized as being strictly internet-only, virtually useless if you need to work offline.
There’s some truth in that, but it’s not always the case. Ra is a Chrome-based text editor which not only works with local text files, but can double as a simple file manager.
Microsoft Q2 FY2015: The highlights
Microsoft has released its earnings report for Q2 FY2015 (that's Q4 CY2014 for everyone else), revealing figures that closely match analyst expectations. The software giant achieved $26.5 billion in revenue, with operating income coming in at $7.8 billion. Gross margin and diluted earnings per share were $16.3 billion and $0.71, respectively. However, in after-hours trading, Microsoft's shares dropped by $2, or 4.28 percent, to $45 per share.
Microsoft has delivered some good news through its earnings report concerning its Devices and Consumer part of the business. Surface revenue reached $1.1 billion at the end of the quarter, which translates to a healthy increase of 24 percent over Q2 FY2014. Lumia sales topped 10.5 million, which, again, is better than the same quarter from a year prior as well as the previous quarter, Q1 FY2015. And the list goes on.
Logitech ConferenceCam Connect for business is no Surface Hub, but it's still cool
Business tech does not have to be grey and boring. Sure, companies often put costs above sexy, and that is understandable, but employees like using fun tech. Trust me, morale is critical for success, and disgruntled or disenfranchised employees do not make for optimal productivity.
Microsoft's upcoming Surface Hub looks to be an amazing all-in-one conferencing solution, but likely to be expensive; it will require a serious commitment from an organization. What if you need something impressive, but on a smaller scale? Logitech has a solution ready to integrate with your existing displays and computers; the ConferenceCam Connect for business.