Why cybersecurity is an essential part of any enterprise’s security plan
Online, hooked up, plugged in and "on the cloud". Whether it is your own personal information such as saved passwords or credit card information or if it is your client's’ personal information, so much of our personal lives can now be easily accessed just with a little Wi-Fi. With our new found accessibility -- everything at the click of a button -- our lives have become all that much more convenient, and our businesses and assets have become all that much more vulnerable. Cybercrime has boomed over the last decade and has become a real problem for businesses, large and small alike.
In the U. S. alone, more than 35,000 computer security incidents happen each day, and that is only the reported attacks. Many more attacks happen but go unreported as businesses aren’t legally required to report some types of attacks. According to PwC’s 2015 US State of Cybercrime Survey, a total of 79 percent of respondents detected a security incident in the past year. The security firm Gemalto estimated that in 2015 alone, more than 700 million data records were compromised, but unfortunately only 37 percent of organizations have implemented a dedicated cyber incident response plan.
6 IoT devices you may not have considered
The Internet of Things, or IoT, seems to be the big headline in tech news lately.
Perhaps you’ve heard of smart remotes, outlets, thermostats or alarm systems, but with all the recent development in this area, there are probably quite a few devices that you haven’t yet considered. Here are six worth adding to your tech radar.
Employees' bad security habits put businesses in danger
Employees have poor security practices and use completely unsecured private devices for work, putting their organizations at huge risk of cyber-attacks, a new report by WinMagic says. After polling workers in the UK, the report says more than four in ten (42 percent) use private devices for work, accessing corporate data and e-mail accounts.
More than half (52 percent) use private accounts, including enterprise file sharing services (EFSS), which they use to either store or access corporate files. Only a third (34 percent) say they had never done so. Laptops, smartphones and USB devices are the top three personal devices used for work, and Hotmail, Gmail and Dropbox are the top three online services used by employees.
Would a Trump administration allow Google to sell Motorola to Lenovo?
I don't want to start an argument about politics. My sentiment this lovely day derives from what the incoming White House is, not what so many people here in California want it to be. I wonder: If Google bought Motorola during a Trump presidency, rather than Obama regime, would later sale to Lenovo be allowed or closing of the Texas phone-assembly factory about 18 months after opening?
The question arises from a pique of sadness as I look at the FedEx tracking information for two Motorola phones purchased directly from Lenovo. City of origin: Wuhan, China. My last Moto came from the Lone Star State, here in the USA. I pine for what might have been, remembering my excitement about Google's $12.5 billion Motorola Mobility acquisition, in August 2011. My opinion expressed then remains: "The acquisition is bold for its risks, which are no less great than the benefits". I was no fan of the later sale to Lenovo.
How to change your Google Play store account country
There's lots of information available on how to change the country associated with a Google Play account, but nothing works for me. I have been unable to switch to the US store despite following the recommended methods to the letter. Everything is in order, but when I open the Google Play app on my Android smartphone afterwards I still see my local store. And I am not alone.
For one reason or another, lots of fellow Android users want to change their Google account country to get access to a different Play store, but only few succeed. But I have found a method that actually gets the job done, and it involves Family Library. I have tested it on two different Google accounts and Android devices and, yes, it worked like a charm. Here is what you need to know.
Optimizing your website for Google's mobile-first index
Google have begun rolling out their new mobile-first index. This update will prioritize the mobile version of your website for its ranking signals, falling back on the desktop version when there is no mobile content. In short, this means Google will create and rank its search listings based on the mobile version of content (even for listings that are shown to desktop users).
If you have neglected mobile SEO in the past, it’s now more important than ever that you up your game. Here are 10 tips to future-proof your website, and make sure it succeeds in the new mobile-first index.
Points mean prizes in gamified DDoS platform
Gamification is increasingly used by business as a means of enhancing the usability of software. But now it seems hackers are exploiting the technique too.
Researchers at threat protection company Forcepoint have uncovered a DDoS package being shared on Turkish hacking forums employing a gamified approach.
What's real about Fake News
I’m here nominally to address the problem of what’s being called Fake News. At its core this is as labeled -- news that is fake; news that isn’t news; deceptive content intended not to inform or convince but to manipulate and make trouble. It’s a huge problem, we’re told, that will require new algorithms and tons of cloud to fix. But I’m not so sure. You see the key to keeping fake news out is to put real news in.
The recent Fake News tempest has got me thinking about what I do and don’t do right here in this simplest of all corners of the Internet. I’m just one man and a keyboard. For 19 years I’ve been pumping out this stuff generally by myself and for the most part without the support of advertising revenue, either. Did you ever wonder how I make my living? It’s not from that PayPal Donate button, which brings in about $200 per year.
Best Windows 10 apps this week
Two-hundred-and-eight in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on Windows Store in the past seven days.
The latest Insider Preview of Windows 10 brought along with it three new Edge extensions. Check out Ebates, Intel TrueKey and Read & Write if you run an Insider build of Windows 10.
Windows Update Blocker disables OS updates on demand
Freeware developer Sordum has unveiled Windows Update Blocker, a free tool for disabling Windows Updates.
At first glance, the program doesn’t seem very interesting. Launch it, select "Enable" or "Disable" and click "Apply Now" to make the change. No surprises there.
Samsung could be about to issue an OTA update to kill all Galaxy Note7 handsets
Unless you've been living under a rock, the disastrous launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note7 cannot have escaped you. We've already seen the company pushing out updates in some countries to prevent the phones from fully charging in the hope that this will convince owners to take advantage of the exchange or refund program.
Now reports suggest that a new OTA update could be on its way to handset owners in the US. Rather than just limiting charging, the word is that the update will prevent charging completely, rendering the phone useless.
Many of UK's NHS trusts continue to rely on Windows XP
Nine in ten NHS trusts still rely on Windows XP, even though Microsoft stopped supporting the platform with new patches and security fixes a year and a half ago.
This information was released by Citrix, and it is based on a Freedom of Information (FoI) request. Out of 63 trusts Citrix reached out to 43 responded, and 90 percent say they still use Windows XP.
IDC was so wrong about Windows Phone
I laughed so hard and so often at IDC's smartphone forecast, my response took nine days to write -- okay, to even start it. The future isn't my chuckable -- that data looks reasonably believable enough -- but the past. Because 2016 was supposed to be the year that Microsoft's mobile OS rose from the ashes of Symbian to surpass iOS and to challenge Android.
In 2011, IDC forecast that Windows Phone global smartphone OS market share would top 20 percent in 2015. The analyst firm reiterated the platform's No. 2 status for 2016 in 2012 as well. Not that I ever believed the ridiculous forecasts, writing: "If Windows Phone is No. 2 by 2015, I'll kiss Steve Ballmer's feet" and "If Windows Phone is No. 2 by 2016, I'll clean Steve Ballmer's toilet". The CEO's later retirement let me lose from those obligations had I been wrong. I was confident in my analysis being truer.
Managing collaboration tools in the enterprise
Most companies have some sort of electronic communications policy. It’s probably been updated ad-hoc over the last few years to include new communications applications, but often lacks the enforcement tools that companies initially used when email first came about. With Facebook looking to take center stage in business communications with Workplace it’s time for organizations to start taking the governance of social and collaboration platforms more seriously.
For heavily regulated industries, such as financial services, the initial driving force behind managing data communications more effectively was compliance with a myriad of acronym loaded legislation from MiFID II (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II) to MAR (Market Abuse Regulation). But there was a significant upside for firms achieving compliance -- improved security and reduced exposure to internal fraud and litigation.
Malwarebytes 3.0 aims to replace your antivirus
Malwarebytes has released Malwarebytes 3.0, a new package which combines its anti-malware, anti-exploit, anti-ransomware and web protection technologies. You won’t see most of these in the free version, unfortunately. That’s still strictly on-demand anti-malware only, although the new product does allow you to check out the new features with a 14-day Malwarebytes Premium trial.
Both the free and Premium builds see major performance improvements, with scan speeds up to 4x faster than the previous editions.
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