Enterprises struggle to patch endpoints against critical vulnerabilities

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Less than half of organizations can patch vulnerable systems swiftly enough to protect against critical threats and zero-day attacks, and 81 percent have suffered at least one data breach in the last two years.

A new report from cyber hygiene platform Automox cites the pace of digital transformation and modern workforce evolution, difficulty in patching systems belonging to mobile employees and remote offices, inefficient patch testing, lack of visibility into endpoints, and insufficient staffing in SecOps and IT operations as inhibitors to patching.

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Microsoft, Facebook, Slack and others support #BuildforCOVID19 Global Online Hackathon

Coronavirus

There are numerous technology companies that have agreed to offer their services for free as the world tries to tackle the coronavirus crisis, and others who have taken steps to reduce their strain on the internet. Tomorrow, #BuildforCOVID19 Global Online Hackathon kicks off, with many of the big names from the world of tech coming together to tackle some of the problems COVID-19 presents.

There are also numerous partners from the health community, including the World Health Organization, and the aim is to come up with software solutions that can be used to improve health and hygiene, help with social isolation, assist in education, and help businesses stay afloat.

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Microsoft is pausing all but essential security updates for Windows 10

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Microsoft is putting Windows 10 into coronavirus lockdown. The company has announced that from May it will only be releasing security updates for the operating system, as it puts all optional updates on pause.

New versions of Edge have already been put on hold and it is little surprise that, in light of coronavirus, Microsoft is choosing to focus its energy on the updates that matter the most. The decision means that no more so-called "optional C and D releases" will be release from May.

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Pornhub Premium is now free globally so you can enjoy self-isolating from coronavirus

PornHub

With a huge proportion of the world now in lockdown as governments take steps to stop the spread of coronavirus, millions of people are seeking ways to entertain themselves at home... and Pornhub has come up with a solution.

Having previously made its premium services available for free in Italy, Spain and France, the site says that it wants to "lend a hand". Looking to give people "an enjoyable way to pass the time", Pornhub Premium is now available to everyone around the world for free... for a while, at least.

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Google will lower YouTube video quality worldwide due to Coronavirus -- here's how to get around that

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With so many people self-isolating due to the Coronavirus, the internet is getting hammered. No, people are not learning new things en masse on Wikipedia. Instead, they are doing exactly what you'd expect -- watching streaming video from services like Netflix. Look, there is nothing wrong with enjoying a little entertainment -- especially when it can take your mind off a global pandemic. The problem, unfortunately, is that high definition and 4K video use up a lot of bandwidth.

You see, if enough people watch high-quality video all at once, the internet could slow down and become unusable. And so, in some parts of the world, such as Europe, services like YouTube and Netflix are providing lower-quality video streams (480p) to reduce the overall impact on the internet. Sadly, Google has now decided to do this globally with YouTube -- including in the USA -- for at least a month. Ugh. Thankfully, there is an easy way to get around that.

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Threat actors turn to automation tools to boost their campaigns

Robot hacker

Automation is having an impact on almost every industry, but it's not just in the world of legitimate commerce that its presence is being felt. A new report from Recorded Future shows criminal enterprises are turning to automation tools too.

Indeed the criminal underground has created an ecosystem of tools and resources allowing threat actors to both operationalize and monetize their campaigns increasingly quickly.

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Internet Archive creates a National Emergency Library with over 1.4 million books you can borrow immediately

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If you’re stuck at home as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Internet Archive has some good news for you. It has taken the step of suspending waitlists for books in its lending library, so you can gain immediate access to them.

There are over 1.4 million titles available to read, with more being added regularly.

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Plugable USBC-E2500 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet adapter now available for work from home and remote access needs

pLUGABLE-25G (3)

Back in January, we told you about an exciting new product from Plugable. Called "USBC-E2500," it is a 2.5 Gigabit USB-C Ethernet adapter. What makes it particularly cool is that while it is USB-C, it comes with an attached USB-C to USB-A adapter, meaning it is very versatile. Such a product is quite timely with so many people working from home nowadays due to COVID-19. After all, hardwired Ethernet is ideal for an optimal connection when connecting remotely.

Sadly, many laptops don't have Ethernet ports these days. By having both USB-C and USB-A, USBC-E2500 is guaranteed to work with any Windows 10 or macOS computer. In fact, it will even work with Linux. Best of all, you get 2.5 Gigabit rather than standard Gigabit. Even if you don't have the need for 2.5G today, it may come in handy tomorrow.

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VPNs are tracking and recording their users

VPN

With more people working from home due to the COVID-19 crisis, it's concerning to find that top VPNs are recording their users and potentially leaking their data according to new research.

Comparison site VPNpro analyzed 114 VPNs and found that, of those, 102 have websites with trackers on them and 26 of those websites have 10 or more trackers. Many of these trackers involve third parties with reputations for not respecting user privacy.

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UK fintech Revolut officially launches its banking app in the US

Revolut

Having amassed millions of customers in Europe, the British fintech Revolut is bringing its banking app and debit cards to the US.

The official launch comes after nine months of beta testing and has been facilitated by Revolut's partnership with Metropolitan Commercial Bank (MCB). While Revolut is not a bank, it offers many services including the ability to receive salary payments to your account, fee-free currency exchange, and a polished mobile app for easy money management.

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Click-fraud malware found lurking in more than 50 Play Store apps

Google Play icon

Researchers at Check Point have identified an auto-clicker malware family operating inside the Google’s Play Store.

Disguised in over 56 applications and downloaded over 1,000,000 times globally, the malware -- dubbed 'Tekya' -- commits mobile ad fraud by imitating the actions of a user, clicking ads and banners from ad agencies like Google's AdMob, AppLovin', Facebook, and Unity.

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Colorize your old black and white photos automatically -- for free!

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MyHeritage offers a handy online tool called MyHeritage In Color which automatically colorizes old black and white photos in seconds -- and does an amazing job of it.

Users without a paid plan are normally limited to colorizing just 10 photos, but MyHeritage is making the service free, and unlimited, for one month because -- you guessed it -- the coronavirus.

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Law enforcement agencies struggle to get to grips with digital intelligence

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Law enforcement agencies have a growing reliance on digital intelligence with some 90 percent of cases now involving some form of digital device or cloud service.

A new report from digital intelligence solutions specialist Cellebrite collected date from over 2,000 law enforcement agency personnel, in over 110 countries to compile a report benchmarking the sector's day-to-day challenges.

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There's a simple fix for the Windows Defender bug in Windows 10

Windows Defender on a laptop

Yesterday we wrote about a bug in Windows Defender, seemingly introduced by a recent update. Only affecting Windows 10, the bug causes some virus scans to fail, and in others a somewhat unhelpful message informs users that there were unspecified "items skipped during scan".

The error message goes on to make reference to scanning exclusions as well as network scanning settings, and it is here that a simple solution has been found.

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Microsoft warns that hackers are exploiting two unpatched Windows bugs

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Microsoft has warned that all versions of Windows feature critical unpatched RCE vulnerabilities. The security problems stem from the Windows Adobe Type Manager Library, and relates to the parsing of fonts.

The company is working on a fix which will be released when the next Patch Tuesday rolls around -- but for Windows 7 users, despite the critical nature of the bugs, it is only those who have paid for an ESU licence that will get the security update. There is a bit of good news, however. While the vulnerability is yet to be patched, there is a workaround available that will do the job for the time being.

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