Software vulnerabilities are up -- but it's not Microsoft's fault
The number of software vulnerabilities has increased over the last year, but the majority of them are in non-Microsoft products.
This is a key finding of the latest Vulnerability Review from Flexera Software, which in 2015 recorded 6,081 vulnerabilities in 2,484 products from 263 vendors. This compares to 2014's figures of 15,698 vulnerabilities in 3,907 products from 514 vendors.
PETYA ransomware targets enterprise users via the cloud and overwrites MBRs
Crypto-ransomware is the malware du jour, and the likes of TelsaCrypt 4 and KeRanger are just some of the names to hit the headlines recently. One of the latest examples of ransomware, PETYA, is taking a slightly different and more worrying approach -- it not only targets enterprise users, but also encrypts entire hard drives rather than just a selection of files.
PETYA -- also known as RANSOM_PETYA.A -- goes to some lengths to make sure that victims know that their computers are infected, overwriting the MBR (Master Boot Record) to display a ransom note during the boot process. The malware uses a "military grade encryption algorithm" to lock users out of their files, and victims are directed to venture onto the dark web using the Tor browser to make a Bitcoin ransom payment.
UK start up seeks to make online software research easier
According to Google's Consumer Barometer Report 53 percent of people compare products, prices and features online before buying.
This is even more true of B2B buyers, with 89 percent saying they use the web as part of their research process.
China praises hacker who tried to steal US military secrets
Tensions could be set to mount between the US and China after the Communist government's Global Times newspaper praised Su Bin, the Chinese "government soldier" who pled guilty to trying to steal military secrets from US defense contractors.
Despite the Chinese government having previously said that it does not support cybercrime or online espionage, the state newspaper used an editorial to say "Su Bin deserves respect whether guilty or innocent". The hack was designed to gather data about, amongst other things, the F-22 and F-35 fighter jets and C-17 military transport aircraft.
Best Windows apps this week
One-hundred and seventy-three in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps and games released for Windows 8.x and Windows 10 in the past seven days.
The Spring Sale is currently underway offering discounts on dozens of popular Windows 10 games, as well as movies and TV shows. You find links to it when you open the Windows Store games and movies & TV categories.
Best practices for securing your website
The web seems like a dangerous place lately, doesn’t it? We’re constantly hearing about some new piece of malware, or a website that was hacked and defaced, or a new vulnerability in what was once thought to be a secure protocol. I wouldn’t blame you for being paranoid -- after all, to hear the media tell it, your site’s under attack by criminals and ne’erdowells from all sides.
Here’s the thing -- if you’ve taken all the necessary steps to keep your site safe, you actually don’t have a whole lot to worry about. And that’s where we come in. Today, we’re going to talk about some best practices for securing your site, and protecting it against everything from infected clients to ignorant users. Let’s get started.
TCL announces 4K Roku TV models
With the release of the Roku 4, 4K arrived on the tiny set-top boxes. The company has also announced partnerships with set makers to create smart TVs using the Roku platform to power them. The new standard isn't prevalent, but it's coming around as more and more content becomes available.
This partnership was announced back in January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Now it is coming to fruition, six new models are set to begin shipping.
A different take on what DevOps is
For the last couple of years I’ve been struggling a bit with the idea of DevOps. At the root of it was my own lack of clarity about what it is. My question remained unanswered and it wasn’t for the want of trying.
I went to conferences, attended talks, read articles and met with people in our business. I gathered logically inconsistent lists of things that it was and wasn’t. In the end, I concluded that there isn’t a consensus, so I had to work out what DevOps means to me.
Google Maps for iOS adds taxi services to route options
Less than a month after its last update, Google has rolled out Google Maps for iOS 4.17. The big news here is the addition of taxi services when comparing route options for six countries, including the US, UK and India.
Supported taxi services include Uber, plus 99Taxis (Brazil), Ola Cabs (India), Hailo (UK and Spain), mytaxi (Germany and Spain), and Gett (UK).
Tech industry sides with Apple in San Bernadino iPhone case
The tech industry is on Apple’s side when it comes to the dispute with FBI over the unlocking of the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone.
This was, once again, confirmed through a research done by security vendor AlienVault. According to the company’s survey, which polled 1,500 IT security professionals, 33 percent support FBI, while the rest think unlocking the phone will do nothing but weaken overall product security.
Microsoft kills Tay, its racist, sexist, Holocaust-denying, Trump-loving AI bot
Proving that artificial intelligence has the potential to go horrendously wrong, Microsoft has been forced to pull the plug on Tay, its artificial intelligence-powered chat bot that had been unleashed on Twitter. Initially designed as an exercise in engaging millennials, it didn’t take long for Tay to go rogue -- albeit with a little help from a number of hardcore users.
Microsoft was almost certainly proud of bagging itself a verified account on Twitter for Tay, but it really didn’t take long for things to turn sour. Twitter users quickly learned that the very nature of an AI bot meant that it was ripe for moulding, and it was a mere matter of hours before the bot had been transformed from a mild-mannered female Twitter user into a Nazi-loving racist who hates feminists and loves Hitler... and Donald Trump.
Game Fire 5 gets Windows 10 support, new optimization engine
Smart PC Utilities has shipped Game Fire 5, the latest edition of its PC gaming performance booster.
This release brings official support for Windows 10 -- both 32 and 64-bit editions -- but finally sees Windows XP support dropped.
A new optimization engine can examine and tweak even more components, including services, processes, scheduled tasks and Registry settings (only some of these are available in the free build).
Losing customer trust is a major concern for DDoS targets
The loss of trust and confidence of customers is the most damaging consequence of a DDoS (distributed denial of service) attack, a new survey by Corero Network Security says.
In the annual survey, entitled DDoS Impact Survey, losing trust is the most damaging consequence for 50 percent of those surveyed, followed by lost revenue, for 34 percent. The surveyed include IT decision makers (ITDMs), network operators and security experts that were present at the recently held RSA 2016 conference.
Google partners with Microsoft and other email providers to bolster Gmail encryption
If you are an email user, there is a very good chance you use Google's ubiquitous Gmail service. While there are countless other options, such as Outlook, AOL, Yahoo and more, the search giant's offering is quite popular. It is easy to see why -- it is easy to use, secure, and can double as a Google account for things such as Play access on the wildly popular Android.
Today, Google announces that it is making Gmail even more secure. With so much talk about enryption in the news nowadays, the search giant is enhancing its email service with improved TLS encryption. How is it doing this? By working with other email providers, such as Microsoft to make sure encrypted emails remain that way in transmission.
Docker comes to Mac and Windows
Today is the third birthday of the Docker containerization system and to celebrate the company is launching a beta program for Mac and Windows versions of its software.
It offers an integrated, easy-to-deploy environment for building, assembling, and shipping applications from Mac or Windows as well as having many improvements over Docker Toolbox.
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