• Article

Researchers at digital risk protection company CybelAngel recently tracked bad actors targeting French hospitals by analyzing conversations on the dark web.

It discovered how cybercriminals plan healthcare-related fraud, ransomware and other attacks by obtaining stolen credentials, leaked database files and other materials from specialized sources in the cybercrime underground.

Continue reading →

Microsoft has released the KB5001396 update preview which, among other things, bring the new News and interests taskbar feature that the company is rolling out to Windows 10.

Microsoft has, as is the norm, released a preview of next month's Patch Tuesday updates and it brings more than just the new taskbar feature that Microsoft has been drumming up excitement about. The non-security update also includes a host of fixes and improvements.

Continue reading →

We've already written about the release of Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21364 and some of the great new features and options it includes. But it seems that Microsoft forgot to mention a change that was introduced in this particular version of the operating system.

As such, the company has published updated release notes for build 21364 of Windows 10, notifying users that Aero Shake -- the feature that lets you grab a window by the title bar and 'shake' it to minimize all other windows -- is undergoing something of a change.

Continue reading →

The Windows taskbar has remained unchanged for years, and few people would complain about that.

However, Microsoft has been working on a big change to it which Windows Insiders have been able to test for the past few months, and which will finally begin rolling out to all users from today, although it could be a while before you get it.

Continue reading →

Do hippopotamuses really like eating balls? In real life, no. In the classic game Hungry Hungry Hippos, however, the creatures love gobbling them up. And that is why it's appropriate that Ubuntu 21.04 is named "Hirsute Hippo." Much like the hippos devouring spheres in the aforementioned game, the Ubuntu developers at Canonical are trying to eat up Linux users and gain market share.

Today, Ubuntu 21.04 "Hirsute Hippo" is finally made available. This follows a previous beta testing phase. It is a very significant version of the operating system, as it now uses Wayland by default. Canonical promises that it won't just be an improvement graphically, but for security purposes too. Sadly, with the good comes the bad. You see, Ubuntu 21.04 does not come with GNOME 40 -- the latest and greatest version of that desktop environment. At least we get a refreshed "Yaru" dark theme, though.

Continue reading →

Can artificial intelligence be deployed to slow down global warming, or is AI one of the greatest climate sinners ever? That is the interesting debate that finds (not surprisingly) representatives from the AI industry and academia on opposite sides of the issue.

While PwC and Microsoft published a report concluding that using AI could reduce world-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 4 percent in 2030, researchers from the University of Amherst Massachusetts have calculated that  training a single AI model can emit more than 626,000 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent—nearly five times the lifetime emissions of the average American car. Who is right?

Continue reading →

COVID-19 threw the spotlight on cybersecurity like never before. The unprecedented global shift to remote working and subsequent surge in cyber crime, drove a priority focus amongst business leaders to ensure a robust cybersecurity posture across every part of their newly extended network. Many organizations had to make this transition rapidly, which increased the likelihood of misconfigurations and other errors, while the drastically increased attack surface presented fresh cybersecurity challenges around remote network connections, VPN connections, phishing, and many other types of network attacks.

Ensuring adequate protection against this wave of new security threats facing every size and shape of business became paramount and challenged CISOs to balance reduced budgets and staff against the requirement for increased technology investment.

Continue reading →

You would think that getting to work for a ransomware gang would be a bit different from applying for a normal IT job.

However, after following up a post on a forum a researcher at CyberNews managed to get an interview with the Ragnar Locker ransomware operators which reveals a surprisingly corporate approach to recruitment and remuneration as well as uncovering some of how the gangs operate.

Continue reading →

Over half of organizations are considering adding one or more cloud infrastructure providers in 2021, and the extra supplier will be drawn from an alternative cloud vendor.

A new report by Accelerated Strategies and Linode shows that for small and midsized companies usage of alternative providers -- such as OVH, Linode, DigitalOcean, Hetzner, UpCloud and Equinix -- is on par with Google Cloud.

Continue reading →

In the latest build of Windows 10, Microsoft has introduced various changes and additions, but one of the most useful comes in a somewhat surprising place. It is perhaps not one of the most exciting Windows 10 utilities, but Task Manager is about to get much more useful, particularly for anyone looking to boost the performance of their system.

Microsoft has introduced a new "Eco mode" option that makes it possible to throttle process resources. This makes it easier for power users to ensure the most important apps and processes have access to CPU and memory when needed.

Continue reading →

To say I like my M1 Mac mini is an understatement. The truth is, the little computer has me absolutely in love with it. If it were both legal and socially acceptable, I might try and marry it. OK, maybe computer matrimony would be a bit much. But look, the Mac mini is powerful, inexpensive, and absolutely silent. I have yet to hear its internal fan spin up. It is wonderful.

When configuring my Mac mini, I went with the base model (8GB/256GB). Why? Well, for one, that was the cheapest. Truth be told, I was curious how well the least expensive Mac would be perform -- especially with just 8GB RAM instead of 16GB. Plus, since Mac mini supports Thunderbolt 3 SSDs, I knew I could always add that type of storage later -- why pay a premium for a non-removable internal SSD?

Continue reading →

If you want the absolute best tablet computing experience, you must get an iPad. Are there good Android tablets? Yes, but iPad is simply better. There's a reason the Android tablet market has largely dried up -- consumers don't really care about them. Trust me, folks, Apple created magic with the iPad.

While iPad can technically serve as someone's only computer without any added accessories, it does shine when you connect it to a keyboard case -- particularly one with a trackpad. With one of these cases, you essentially turn the iPad into a makeshift laptop. Like Microsoft's Surface Pro tablets, however, balancing the kickstand on your actual lap while typing on the keyboard might be a bit frustrating.

Continue reading →

It’s Wednesday, so that means it’s time for a new Windows 10 Insider build on the Dev Channel, and Build 21364 is one of the best releases in a while with exciting new features for Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) and Task Manager.

Arguably the biggest addition here is that Windows Subsystem for Linux now includes a first preview of support for GUI applications. Nicknamed WLSg, this open source feature lets you run your favorite Linux GUI apps, which makes it even more useful.

Continue reading →

As rural broadband initiatives help bridge the digital divide, communications service providers have a wealth of opportunities to add subscribers, expand territory, and grow their business. However, they will first need to address the challenges posed by IPv4 exhaustion -- and its impact on the cost of new subscriber IP addresses.

Since November 2019, when the final allocation of publicly available IPv4 addresses was made, new IPv4 addresses have been obtainable only at high open market prices. There is a virtually unlimited stock of IPv6 addresses available, but migration to the new standard is a highly complex prospect and impractical in the short term for many communications service providers. They need a more feasible and affordable way to support new subscribers.

Continue reading →

IT security teams have faced a range of challenges in the last year thanks to dramatically expanded work-from-home programs, increased BYOD use, and rising internal and third-party risks arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The latest Cyberthreat Defense Report from CyberEdge shows 86 percent of organizations experienced a successful attack, up from 81 percent the previous year, the largest year-on-year increase in six years.

Continue reading →