Mac users: It's time to wake up and smell the vulnerabilities

Are you one of the millions of Mac users under the impression that your digital security is guaranteed simply due to the fact that you’re using a Mac? Then I’ve got some news for you that you may not want to hear: the popular and long-standing myth that Mac users are immune to security vulnerabilities is just that -- a myth. This myth largely derives from the fact that the global Windows market share dwarfs that of macOS. Hackers and cybercriminals would much rather target an operating system that serves nearly 90 percent of users worldwide than one that accounts for less than 10 percent.

The truth is that Macs are still very much susceptible to vulnerabilities that can be exploited by cybercriminals, or even by developers of apps you may use on a daily basis. So if you’re a Mac user who has been lulled into a false sense of security, it’s time for you to wake up and realize that your security is by no means guaranteed on a Mac. That’s the hard reality of it, and the sooner you come to grips with it, the sooner you can start taking steps to protect your digital security and personal privacy on your Mac.

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Google lets Android users non-verbally contact emergency services by phone

If you ever find yourself in an emergency situation, you can just call 911 for help, right? Well, usually, but not always. In some situations, you may be unable to communicate verbally. God forbid, but what if you are kidnapped and forcefully gagged by an assailant? Maybe an intruder is in your home and you are hiding in a closet -- calling 911 might alert the bad person of your location. Hell, maybe you have a brain incident, such as a stroke, that causes you to lose verbal skills. As you can see, calling for help isn't always so easy.

Today, Google announces a brilliant new Android feature that is certain to save lives. Starting with Pixel smartphones, users will be able to initiate an audio call to emergency services where the phone verbally communicates for you. In other words, by just tapping the on-screen buttons, a 911 operator will be told the general nature of the emergency and your location. Cool, right? This should prove indispensable for those that find themselves in a non-verbal situation.

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New platform helps automate security operations

AI security

Speed of response is critical for security teams, which is why many companies employ Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR) tools.

Security automation platform LogicHub is looking to take SOAR a step further with the launch of a SOAR+ platform offers autonomous detection and response, advanced analytics and machine learning to automate decision making with accuracy across disparate security operations.

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New solution uses backup data to find vulnerabilities

Folders magnified

Finding and addressing vulnerabilities is a major headache for businesses, left unattended they can lead to cyberattacks and data breaches.

Data management company Cohesity is looking to make detection easier with a new application that uses backup data to assess the vulnerabilities, or risk posture, of an enterprise's IT environment.

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25 percent of security analysts' time is wasted on false positives

Malware alert

Security analysts in US enterprises spend around a quarter of their time chasing false positives because security alerts or indicators of compromise (IOCs) are erroneous.

This is among the findings of research carried out by Exabeam and the Ponemon Institute which also shows that security teams must evaluate and respond to nearly 4,000 security alerts per week.

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Google celebrates 100 million monthly Files users by introducing new features

Google's Files app is a very important tool. Not only does it find duplicate and junk files so the user can delete them, but it also lets the users share files to nearby devices without internet access. These features are particularly important in low-income areas and third-world counties, where phones often come with very little storage and internet access is limited or non-existent.

Today, Google announces that its Files app has achieved 100 million monthly users. Wow! That is impressive. To celebrate this milestone, Google is unveiling some new features for the mobile app.

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85 percent of enterprise web traffic is cloud services

Cloud

A new study based on aggregated, anonymized data from millions of global users reveals that cloud services now account for 85 percent of all enterprise web traffic.

The report from cloud security company Netskope also reveals that heavy use of cloud services is often driven by multiple instances of cloud service usage across an organization.

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Cisco to pay $8.6 million for supplying the US government with software known to be insecure

Cisco has agreed to pay $8.6 million to settle a claim that it sold video surveillance software to the American government even though it was aware it contained security vulnerabilities.

A total of fifteen US states filed a case under the False Claims Act after Homeland Security, the Secret Service, the Army, the Navy, the Marines, the Air Force and the Federal Emergency Management Agency all purchased flawed software from Cisco. Rather than improving security as desired, the complainants said that Cisco's software actually made systems less secure.

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Lost in the world of endless scrolling

Can you help me? I seem to be lost. I was surfing the Internet for funny cat videos and I stumbled onto this "web page." Or, at least, I thought it was a page. Now, I’m not so sure. I’ve been scrolling for a while now, but I can’t seem to find a way out. Every time I think I’ve reached the end, I find myself in yet another "page." Yet I have no recollection of clicking a link or taking any direct action. It just sort of…happened.

I think I remember where I started from. There was this link to a story about kittens. Or maybe it was baby tiger cubs. I’m not too sure anymore. In fact, my memory of just where I’ve been or even how I got to this point is a little fuzzy.

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Closing the complexity gap in device management

plugging a gap

The device landscape is becoming increasingly complex, as the proliferation of platforms, manufacturers and ownership options intersects with the need to track, manage and secure these devices in an ever-changing risk environment.

Piece by piece, IT teams have picked up new devices and solution-specific tools to manage and track each device or pain point as it arises. Over time, organizations may develop entirely different teams to oversee similar management tasks for different platforms. While these specialized tools are effective individually, as the device landscape and management tasks expand, the net result of these devices and siloed tools is a "complexity gap" that outpaces the staff needed to manage them all.

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Four ways your boss can access your private data

employee snoop

Privacy is a currency these days. With social media, target advertising, and constant connectivity, it’s harder than ever to keep elements of your private life truly private. This crisis of privacy becomes especially concerning in the context of the workplace.

In the old days, it was easy to keep your work life and your personal life entirely separate. Today, those boundaries are blurrier than they used to be, and that fact has led to a big question for many employees: how much of my private data can my boss access?

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Microsoft releases Windows 10 20H1 Build 18950 and teases forthcoming 'Cloud download' feature

Microsoft released two Windows 10 20H1 builds to Insiders last week --18947, which was pushed out accidentally to all Insiders and sported an ugly revamped Start menu without Live titles, and 18945, which rolled out as expected and came with welcome improvements to Cortana, Windows Subsystem for Linux, and File Explorer.

Today we’re back to how things usually run, with a new build for Insiders on the Fast ring.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 is actually a really exciting Android tablet

Android tablets have fallen out of favor with consumers, and that's sad. Things have gotten so bad for this device type that Google -- the maker of Android -- has even pulled the plug on making them. Yikes! That is as ominous as it gets, folks. Why did this happen? Well, I blame the influx of cheap no-name tablets from China that crowded the market. Not to mention, smartphones started getting ridiculously large, making tablets a bit redundant. Ultimately, Android tablets became synonymous with crap. With the exception of Samsung and Huawei, quality tablets running Google's mobile OS have been few and far between.

Today, Samsung announces its latest Android tablet, and you know what? It is actually very exciting. Called "Galaxy Tab S6," it is just 5.7mm thin and has a 10.5-inch Super AMOLED screen. The device is outfitted with some really cool technology too. For instance, it has an in-display fingerprint reader and a dual-camera setup on the rear -- one of the lenses is "ultra wide." It features an octa-core processor with either 6GB or 8GB of RAM -- depending on configuration. Storage is either 128GB or 256GB, and yes, you can increase that using micro SD. The super-cool DeX feature, which can essentially transform the tablet into a desktop/laptop experience, is also included.

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Flexera helps businesses tackle vulnerabilities more quickly

Installing...

In the modern world it's vital for businesses to know what software they have, and where vulnerabilities lie. Flexera already assists IT and security teams to do this with its Software Vulnerability Manager, and it's now launching new modules to help address threats.

It's produced two new modules for SVM. The first of these is the Vendor Patch Module, which allows organizations to take advantage of insights and mitigate them more quickly, by using comprehensive patch coverage -- with more than 1,000 out-of-the-box patches. Additionally, the Vendor Patch Module delivers details to help companies more easily create over 1,000 additional patches.

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Jaybird VISTA wireless headphones make Apple AirPods look like trash

AirPods are trash. Yeah, I know, they are very popular and Apple sells a ton of them, but that doesn't mean they are good. Look, the iPhone-maker could do much better than a set of rigid hard plastic things that you shove in your ear. They cause me, and others, severe ear canal pain. It doesn't have to be that way either -- Apple could very easily design them with replaceable tips to provide a customized experience. But no, Tim Cook and company would rather not. Oh well.

Thankfully, there are other companies willing to acknowledge that not everyone has the same size ear holes. Jaybird, for instance, makes many comfortable wireless headphones with replaceable tips. Their focus is on both performance and comfort -- what a concept! Today, the company launches its latest product, and it is clearly an AirPods-killer. Yeah, calling a product that competes with Apple a "killer" is a bit of a cliché, but hey, facts are facts.

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