How to tackle ICOs to avoid regulatory issues
In an alarming but long-feared move, Chinese authorities announced on September 4, 2017, that from then on fundraising Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) will not be allowed to take place on the domestic market. ICO technology can be used as a tool to collect funds from backers to launch new blockchain projects.
The Chinese regulators instructed companies that have already completed their fundraising ICOs to refund the payments to their backers, and the public and financial institutions are asked to report to the authorities all suspicious fundraising activities involving ICOs and cryptocurrencies. Naturally, this development threw the Chinese blockchain community into disarray.
Satechi releases elegant Universal Vertical Aluminum Laptop Stand
If you are like me, your laptop doubles as a desktop. With notebooks being so powerful nowadays, it is often wasteful to have a dedicated desktop too. Yeah, if you are a gamer or have some hardcore video editing needs, for instance, a tower may serve you well. For everyone else, however, a laptop connected to a monitor is probably more than enough.
With a quality docking station or dock, such as the excellent OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock for Apple MacBook Pro, a single cable can charge your laptop and connect all of your accessories. Unfortunately, with this type of a solution, there is nowhere to put the laptop. In other words, the laptop just sits on the desk, taking up room, while also being vulnerable to spills. A stand can solve these issues, and today, Satechi unveils an all-new absolutely beautiful vertical variant.
VMware announces AppDefense security solution
VMware has revealed how it wants to help businesses across the world keep their data secure.
At the company’s VMworld Europe 2017 event in Barcelona earlier this week, CEO Pat Gelsinger outlined the company’s new security strategy, including how its new AppDefense tool can help enterprises of all sizes stay safe online.
Surf the web securely and anonymously with Hotspot Shield 7
When it comes to protecting yourself online -- particularly when surfing through insecure public connections -- then nothing beats a good old VPN. Virtual Private Networks create encrypted tunnels in which you can surf the web, check your email and connect to remote networks secure in the knowledge you can’t be hacked.
If you’re a Windows user, then the recently released Hotspot Shield 7.1.2 may appeal, offering a free, ad-supported (and bandwidth-limited) way of connecting via VPN.
Microsoft claims there are 330 million Edge users -- but surely this is utter nonsense
Like Internet Explorer before it -- although perhaps not to quite the same extent -- Microsoft Edge is shunned and ridiculed by most web users. Despite this, Microsoft has this week claimed that its web browser has a huge number of users. "Microsoft Edge users are active on 330 million monthly devices!" proclaims the Microsoft Edge Dev team on Twitter. (File under: You Must Be Bloody Well Joking).
The claim, made on Twitter and repeated during an Edge Summit webinar attracted some attention -- not least that of Paul Thurrott. He's not alone in wondering how on earth Microsoft came up with this number; the suggested usage figure seems out of sync with reported browser usage stats.
Peering into the future of enterprise security
How many desktops do you have out there that are still not on Microsoft Windows 10? Given the security vulnerabilities associated with earlier versions of Windows, the simple answer for most executives is too many. With new attacks like WannaCry and NotPetya appearing far too frequently, your IT teams are probably hard at work on a migration plan to move your older desktop systems to the more secure Windows 10 OS. In my company’s recent survey of nearly 500 IT professionals, nearly 80 percent of the respondents indicated that the enhanced security features of Windows 10 were the primary reason they were eager to migrate.
Still, migration takes time, and though it is comforting to know that more and more systems may be migrated over to Windows 10 each day, the lingering awareness of how many systems have yet to be migrated is reason for concern. It’s hard to be fully comfortable when you know how much of your organization is missing out on the security improvements of the new OS.
OurMine leaks 3TB of Vevo data after hacking video streaming service
Infamous hacker group OurMine has struck video streaming service Vevo. The group breached Vevo late on Thursday, gaining access to, and leaking, more than 3 terabytes of internal videos and documents.
OurMine -- more recently involved in HBO hacks and Game of Thrones leaks -- managed to get hold of office documents, videos and promotional materials. While many of the files and documents are fairly innocuous, at least some of them would be considered "sensitive" in nature.
New York State’s new financial services cybersecurity policy relies on encryption
As of August 28, certain financial services companies based in New York now have to comply with the state’s new cybersecurity requirements, known by the (very long) acronym 23 NYCRR 500. On the line for affected banks and insurers are both penalties for non-compliance and potential business loss if they continue to expose their businesses to cyber threats.
The regulations took effect March 1, but included a three-month grace period for companies to get organized before needing to meet the first wave of mandates. Companies will have ongoing deadlines over the next two years as further layers of compliance continue to take effect. Notably, affected financial services companies will need to have an encryption strategy in place by September 2018.
Autonomous cars: A delicate balancing act of tech innovation, safety and security
Two big things happened on Wednesday, September 13. First, the House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously passed the SELF Drive Act. Second, executives from BlackBerry, Cisco Jasper and AIMOTIVE took the stage at Mobile World Congress Americas to discuss autonomous cars and vehicles as a service.
In the Mobile World Congress Americas session, Barbara Peng, VP of Research for BI Intelligence, started off by asking each of the panelists for their predictions when autonomous cars would be on the road. Not one of the panelists gave an estimate, much to Barbara Peng’s frustration. But this just shows that even the people working to make driverless cars a reality knows there is too much work left to be done before they can estimate when they’ll be on the road.
Building the US cyber workforce: How Greater Washington is closing the gap
The cyber-attacks against US nuclear facilities are just the latest reminders of the crucial and persistent challenge of securing our nation’s important assets. Clearly, cyber threats are growing in number, complexity, and sophistication, underscoring the need for public and private sector entities to raise the bar on cybersecurity throughout their enterprises.
These rising threats are causing organizations and their current IT workforces to sound the alarm: not enough talent is available to properly address the myriad of cyber threats facing our nation. In fact, it is predicted that by 2022, there will be a shortfall of 1.8 million cybersecurity professionals in the US.
Google Chrome will finally let you fight back against those annoying autoplay videos
Auto-playing videos on websites. Is there anything worse? Sigh. They have caused me a lot of grief over the years. For instance, I am sitting alone quietly browsing the web at night, when all of a sudden, a loud autoplay video starts, awakening the other people in my home. Quite frankly, once I learn that a website uses this type of media, I try to avoid the site going forward -- if possible.
Today, Google announces that it will be empowering Chrome users to fight back against these annoying videos. Starting with version 63 of the web browser, users will be given the option to permanently mute audio on specific websites. Taking it a step further, version 64 will automatically block all autoplay videos with sound by default, unless the user specifically whitelists that site.
It will be easy for businesses to comply with GDPR, UK's digital minister says
UK's new Data Protection Bill, aimed to "encourage innovation while protecting privacy," was published this week. Digital minister Matthew Hancock took the opportunity to call all businesses to become compliant with GDPR before the deadline of May 25, 2018.
In an opinion piece published on City AM, Hancock said the new laws are built on the existing ones and it shouldn’t be too hard for businesses to get used to them.
Hurricanes lead to drop in malware infections
An interesting side effect of the recent hurricanes Harvey and Irma is that malware infections in the Florida and Texas areas have seen a dramatic fall.
Data released by Enigma Software Group, makers of the SpyHunter anti-malware software, shows that infections in the Houston area showed a 52.5 percent drop from the average on August 29th.
Bitcoin drops below $3,000, Ethereum falls under $200
The correction in the cryptocurrency market continues. All of the major coins are in the red once again today, pushing the market cap under the $100 billion mark. Since the beginning of September, more than $75 billion has been wiped out, partly due to China, which was-recently rumored to be seeking a Bitcoin ban.
The most valuable cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, just dipped under $3,000 on September 15 for the first time since early-August. Yesterday, it was trading for around $3,500. That is a drop of 40 percent since its $5,000 peak. Its market cap has taken a beating as well, falling under $50 billion.
Best Windows 10 apps this week
Two-hundred-and-forty-eight in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on the Windows Store in the past seven days.
Microsoft announced this week that it will give users greater privacy control by adding the full privacy statement to the setup process, and more prompts to apps requesting access to certain permissions such as contacts or the microphone.
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