BetaNews Staff

Windows 10 Home offers you a number of personalization, customization and tweaking options, but Windows 10 Professional takes things even further. Thanks to the inclusion of Group Policy Editor, not only can you tweak the hell out of the operating system, but also lock it down for ultimate security.

Group Policy Editor is unique to the Professional edition of Windows 10, and it gives you access to hundreds of settings that are either simply not available in the Home edition, or have to be implemented through awkward registry edits.

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LibreOffice has long offered itself up as a free alternative to Microsoft Office, and today a major new version has been released. LibreOffice 7.0 sees a number of key changes and improvements, not least of which is greatly improved compatibility with Microsoft's suite.

Performance improvements come courtesy of Vulkan GPU-based acceleration which lands in LibreOffice following a switch from Cairo code to Google's Skia Library. For fans of aesthetic change, there is a new look in the Sukapura icon theme -- which is the default theme for macOS users. But these are just a few of the changes in this major update.

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The shift to remote work has brought on a new set of operational and security challenges for many organizations. A majority of employees will not be returning to the office anytime soon, evidenced by Google’s recent expansion of its work from home (WFH) mandate until July 2021, along with the current state of the world in general. With the future of work now a reality, it is pivotal that organizations learn how to effectively manage remote teams securely.

There are many steps managers and organizations can take to ensure their remote workforce is operating at its best while remaining secure. The key to this whole practice is treating offsite employees the same as in-house by implementing new endpoint management, IT, and security processes that lead to the same end results that were achieved when folks were in the office. But what are the key steps managers should keep in mind to navigate these unchartered waters? What can organizations do to better manage and secure their remote workforces? 

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The growth of coronavirus cases in a number of countries has led to talk about a second wave of the pandemic. According to WHO, disturbing news is coming from China, the US, Israel, South Korea, Iran and other countries. At the same time, privacy problems are arising with new force in COVID mobile apps.

It is a common opinion that Android app users don’t know how exactly their personal data and the information transmitted by the apps are actually used. Alarm signals of privacy breaking are coming from different places around the world. If you add to that the shortcomings and even errors on the part of developers -- the threat of unauthorized access to personal information increases even more.

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Microsoft has released a key update to its Remote Desktop app for Android. The app, which allows for the remote use of computers running Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise, Windows 8.1 and 8 Enterprise and Pro, Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate, and Windows Server versions newer, now features full support for Virtual Desktops.

The update also brings the Android app in line with the iOS and macOS version, so all three versions of the app now use the underlying RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) core engine. The latest version of the app also brings support for Android TV devices, but there's even more to look forward to.

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Apple pays more attention to privacy protection issues than its competitors. Well-defined privacy policies and rather severe restrictions on what user information an app or extension can get make Apple products more secure for users.

However, from the perspective of transparency, everything was not so obvious for Apple. The latest announcement shows that the corporation is ready to take a few more steps towards increasing transparency in the field of privacy protection.

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In just four months, the United States will head into one of the most important Presidential election cycles of its history. Ensuring that eligible citizens are able to participate in the voting process will be critical.

Understandably, as COVID-19 continues to grip the nation and the world around us, American citizens are wary about turning out to vote in person, for fear of being in a crowd or lengthy line. Some startling facts drive home this point when you look at the state of Pennsylvania, for example. This year 1.8 million people have requested absentee votes, up from just 107,000 in 2016. This is further supported by a recent report commissioned by Okta, which found that 67 percent of Americans support mail-in voting to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

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With more digital communication tools available than ever before, enterprises and end users have started to demand more tailored options that can improve their experience and make it even easier to connect.

Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC) is one such tool that can enhance deployment of voice and video and tools within browsers and apps. 

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Thanks to advancements in technology, the need for human interaction -- when you shop for groceries, book a taxi, order a takeaway or watch the latest blockbuster -- has gone from necessity to nice-to-have, with self-service checkouts, apps to order cabs and kebabs, and streaming services all examples of automation that have everyday use.

Despite its influence on consumer behaviors, one of the perceived downfalls of automation is the limit it has on the reliance for humans to carry out certain tasks and jobs. A debate that has, and will, rage on for quite some time. But, with the current coronavirus pandemic, will automation become more of a necessity as we come to terms with social distancing and what life might be like in the future? Here we look at the role automation could play in the fight against COVID-19 and beyond.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of biometric technology across industries. From touchless payments at shops and restaurants to reduce the use of cash transactions to biometric-based contact tracing efforts, virtually every industry has had to readapt to meet the shift in customer and regulatory requirements.

The widespread adoption of biometrics was already underway when the coronavirus began to spread in early 2020. Now, companies are moving ahead with the installation of this technology to offer better safety, security, and efficiency to their customers. These three industries, in particular, are well-suite to see their operations advance as a result of biometric adoption.

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There is an old saying that there are no perfect solutions, only trade-offs. We have all experienced this trade-off situation in our lives at some point, when we must make a decision knowing that there is no perfect solution available and that we will be forced to compromise in some way.

This is one of the reasons why some people choose to put money in the stock market, they’re prepared to take a risk, while some people prefer to put money in savings accounts, where the payback is more predictable. The trade-off in this example is that you cannot put the same money in both places at the same time. You need to make your decision based on the existing trade-off of higher risk and return (stocks) or lower risk and return (savings account).

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As businesses start to take tentative steps out of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are still understanding what our 'new normal' is.  In the backdrop of an ongoing pandemic, we’re taking a heightened risk-based approach to living our lives and working.

Businesses and departments that were unable to work remotely shutting down during the lockdown led to a negative impact on businesses, industries, and the economy as a whole -- you only have to look at the retail and hospitality sectors to see this.  A paradigm shift has occurred, particularly with technology and its use in a post-pandemic world.

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As damaging as security threats can be, they’re also easily avoidable when you have the appropriate safeguards in place. For businesses in particular, investing in the right methods is essential.

Here are my top 7 tips for keeping your data secure.

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Despite the devastating recent outbreak of the novel coronavirus, phishing attacks continue to drag us and our businesses down. So how exactly do COVID-19 related phishing attacks work?

Cybercriminals have taken it upon themselves to wreak havoc and feed off the fears people have about the virus. Emails are being sent that ask their targets to open attachments containing information about the latest coronavirus statistics or news. Or, they claim to be from legitimate companies offering information about COVID-19.

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The advent of quantum computers will render ECC and RSA encryption algorithms obsolete, requiring companies to migrate their computing systems and PKI infrastructure to new, quantum-safe cryptographic algorithms.

This migration of PKI solutions to quantum-safe crypto algorithms will pose many major challenges for many enterprises. All existing applications and systems will need to be updated to support the new quantum-safe algorithms now being developed in response to the threats posed by quantum computers. The process of updating to new algorithms requires significant engineering work and many systems will require extensive updates.

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