Why Generation Z are the fully digital pioneers [Q&A]
The Center for Generational Kinetics and WordPress platform WP Engine recently released a study looking at the digital habits of Europeans born between 1996-2015.
It shows that Generation Z has become the most internet-dependent generation, but what does this mean both for the Gen Zers themselves and the wider digital community? We spoke to Fabio Torlini, EMEA MD at WP Engine to find out.
Microsoft is looking into Windows 10 slow boot and performance problems after KB4559309 Edge update
What's that you say? There's a Windows 10 update that's causing problems? Get outta here! Just over a month ago, we wrote about KB4559309 -- the automatic update that gives everyone the Chromium-based version of Microsoft Edge -- and complaints that it was causing systems to slow down.
Well it seems that it wasn't just a few isolated cases. Microsoft has now been hit with enough people complaining about performance issues and slow booting, that the company has been forced to launch an investigation. It is also asking for more feedback from anyone experiencing the slow-down problem or a general reduction in system performance.
Google Nearby Share for Android and Chromebooks is a copy of Apple AirDrop
When all of your devices are Apple, you can live quite happily knowing that everything works well together. When I owned a MacBook Pro, for instance, it was wonderful to get my text messages and phone calls on my laptop -- I didn't need to run and find my iPhone. The same goes for iPad -- I can get my iPhone calls and texts on the Apple tablet too. When my friends and family are nearby, and they use iPhone, I can easily share things with them using AirDrop.
If you aren't familiar, AirDrop uses a mixture of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to allow you to wirelessly share things like files, photos, URLs, and more with other nearby Apple devices -- no need for an internet connection. This isn't just helpful for sharing with others, but with yourself too. When you want to transfer photos from your iPhone to your Mac, for example, you can use AirDrop instead of a USB to lightning cable. Many have wanted Google to copy AirDrop, and now, the search giant has thankfully done exactly that. Called "Nearby Share," it is coming to both Android devices and Chromebooks.
Apple updates 27-inch iMac, but it uses old-school x86_64 Intel processors -- not ARM
The future of computing is ARM, not x86. Apple is once again a trailblazer, as it is eventually transitioning all of its Mac computers to its own ARM-based "Apple Silicon," ditching Intel entirely. True, Microsoft is also using ARM a bit with Windows, but that company's indecisive behaviors and previous failure with Windows RT has left consumers a bit nervous. Apple was correct to just pull off the band-aid and dive right into the ARM waters.
Well, mostly. Apple has a two-year plan to move Mac to ARM entirely, but in the interim, it will still sell Intel-based machines. In fact, today, Apple updates its popular 27-inch iMac, but it still uses old-school x86_64 Intel processors and not the new Apple Silicon. With that said, the 27-inch iMac can now be configured with a 10-core processor for the first time, and solid state drives are now standard -- you can even opt for an 8TB SSD. The webcam has been bumped up to 1080p, which is great for those working from home. It even gets the T2 Security Chip and improved speakers.
How to manage remote teams and keep your company secure
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?
Visits to high risk apps and websites increase 161 percent
There's been a huge shift to remote working this year, but new data shows that there has also been a 161 percent increase in visits to high-risk apps and websites as personal use of managed devices has nearly doubled.
The study from cloud security company Netskope finds that 64 percent of workers are now remote. Along with this increase in remote work has come an 80 percent increase in the use of collaboration apps as remote workers seek to remain connected with their colleagues
Never forget another password with Bitwarden 1.20
The twin dilemma: how to create strong, secure passwords without forgetting them? The solution is obvious: make use of a password manager. They’re common as muck these days, but our favorite by far is the brilliant Bitwarden.
A quick precis of why we love Bitwarden: it has all the features you’d expect in a good password manager -- easy and convenient to use, while locking your sensitive data away in a watertight vault using end-to-end 256-bit AES encryption that ensures it remains private. There’s 2FA support for extra security, and it works across all your devices: desktop, mobile and browser.
Enterprise IT staff spend one month a year managing identity and access
Anyone who's worked on a help desk or in tech support will know that a high percentage of requests relate to granting access to systems or resetting passwords.
In fact IT personnel expend a full month of work (21 days) each year on mundane identity and access management (IAM) tasks such as resetting passwords and tracking app usage, according to a study by password management company 1Password.
ISPs are hit hardest by COVID-19 disruption
We've already seen how lockdowns have been affecting internet speeds around the world, but what other impact has the pandemic been having on the web?
A new Internet Performance Report from ThousandEyes looks at the availability and performance of internet-related networks, including those of Internet Service Providers (ISPs), public cloud, Content Delivery Network (CDN) and Domain Name System (DNS) providers.
Malware attacks using machine identities continue to increase
Malware attacks using machine identities doubled from 2018 to 2019 and have increased eight fold over the last decade.
New threat analysis from machine identity management company Venafi looks at security incidents and third-party reports in the public domain, including high-profile campaigns such as, TrickBot, Skidmap, Kerberods and CryptoSink.
How lockdown has affected global broadband speeds
Average broadband speeds during COVID-19 lockdown measures that limited people's activities dropped by an average of 6.31 percent globally, according to a new report.
Internet advice site Cable.co.uk analyzed data from the Oxford Coronavirus Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT), and over 364 million broadband speed tests courtesy of M-Lab to compare average internet speeds in 114 countries both during and outside of their most stringent COVID-19 lockdown periods.
Money (That's what email attackers want)
A new report from email security and cyber resilience company Mimecast, released to coincide with this year's virtual Black Hat conference, reveals that threat actors are motivated by monetary gain more than stealing data or intellectual property.
It also finds that COVID-19 continues to be a major theme in current attacks, especially in certain sectors, and that opportunistic and malware-based campaigns are being launched at volumes never seen before, with manufacturing, retail/wholesale, finance/insurance, and media and publishing being the hardest hit.
First time SOC staff frustrated by routine tasks
Half of first-time security analysts working in Security Operations Centers (SOCs) plan to leave after just three months in the job, according to a study from SIRP Labs.
None of them plan to remain in their current role for longer than 18 months, and of all the 250 security analysts interviewed nearly half (48 percent) are considering leaving their role, within 11 months. The average amount of time spent in the same post is just 30 months.
Using the HOSTS file to block Windows 10 telemetry? Microsoft now flags it as a severe security risk
The telemetry features that are built into Windows 10 have people falling into one of a few camps. There are those who don't even know what telemetry is, those who know but don’t care that Microsoft is gathering data from their computer, and those who know what it is and consider it to be a massive invasion of privacy.
For anyone who counts themselves in this last group, there are numerous settings, tools and techniques that can be used to block telemetry in Windows 10. One of the more ingenious is making use of the HOSTS file (used to resolve hostnames), but now Microsoft has updated its Defender tool so this is detected as a "severe" risk, specifically "SettingsModifier:Win32/HostsFileHijack".
Alexa, play a podcast on Pandora
Podcasts have been steadily gaining in popularity over the last several years, but thanks to COVID-19, it feels like interest has exploded recently. After all, people are stuck indoors -- whether unemployed or working from home -- and listening to a podcast is a great way to pass the time. Don't forget, Spotify recently paid Joe Rogan $100 million to get his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, on its platform exclusively.
Pandora may not be the most popular platform for listening to podcasts, but some people do, in fact, use it for that purpose. If you are one of those people, I have great news -- you can now start and listen to your favorite podcasts on Pandora using Amazon Alexa.
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