How 'fake' video downloads can install malware
It’s been a common Windows malware trick for years: you download some dubious video, it claims it won’t play unless you install a "codec", but the file you’re offered is a Trojan or virus. Oops.
You might think you’d never be caught out by something so obvious, but it only takes a moment, you’re not paying attention, and -- too late.
Smart TVs pose huge security risks
Over the past few years we have seen everyday items such as refrigerators, lighting and heating systems and even kettles all of a sudden becoming "smart". In fact there are now more smart items on the planet than smart humans, or in fact any type of humans, with an estimated 13.4 billion devices currently connected to the Internet. This is not necessarily a problem -- until, of course, hackers start exploiting these devices to gain access to your home or work networks.
Most people would never even suspect that their television set could be hacked, yet this is happening, in research labs at least, with greater frequency. In one recent example, security company Avast demonstrated a hack of a Vizio Smart TV enabling root access to the TV’s underlying Linux operating system. Last year I also found that this flaw involving a maliciously crafted SSID value could be exploited with a USB device. After exploiting this flaw, the attacker has access to everything connected to the home network of their victim. Avast also demonstrated what a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacker (such as an intrusive government or ISP) could learn by monitoring network traffic from the TV set.
These are the worst passwords of 2015 -- are yours on the list? If so, change them now!
While it is easy to put someone down for engaging in poor security practices, remember -- not everyone grew up with computers. In other words, for some people, modern technology and security are foreign concepts. With that said, people of all ages -- old, young, and in-between -- are guilty of doing stupid things, such as using poor passwords.
Speaking of passwords, many sites mandate specific requirements, such as using a mix of capital and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters, arguably minimizing the possibility of very weak passwords, such as "password". Sadly, people are still using poor passwords, and today, SplashData shares its list of the worst passwords of 2015. If any of your passwords are on the list, you should change them immediately, and probably go to bed without supper -- shame on you!
Why Apple's future failure is certain
Idiots will flame this post "clickbait". It's how they draw attention to themselves, to inflate their egos; others mistakenly will assign motivation to my writing—e.g., for pageviews, when I couldn't care less about them. But I do care about Apple, as a longstanding customer (starting in December 1998). As a journalist, I developed a reputation for hating the company (I don't) so long loved because my stories aren't kiss-ass fanboyism. What's that saying about being hardest on the ones you love most? Kind I am not.
Today's theme isn't new from me and repeats my analysis that Apple has strayed far from the path that brought truly, disruptive innovative products to market. In 2016, the company banks on past successes that are not long-term sustainable. We will get a glimpse after calendar fourth quarter 2015 earnings are announced on January 26th. You will want to watch iPhone and international sales, particularly emerging markets. For analysis about that and more jump to the second subhead; the next one is for idiot clickbait accusers.
Linux vulnerability puts millions of people at risk -- Android users should panic
There are so many reasons to use a Linux-based operating system. Most often, people tell me that they switched because of a dissatisfaction with Microsoft's Windows. The second most common reason people tell me that they use Linux is for security -- a lack of malware. While operating systems such as Ubuntu, Fedora and Debian are rock solid, no operating system is impervious to viruses or trojans. The moment you feel 100 percent safe, you have effectively let your guard down.
While Linux-based operating systems are arguably more secure than Windows, every so often a vulnerability pops up to bring users down to Earth. Today, a rather nasty such vulnerability rocks the Linux community, as millions are at risk. And yes, this includes the oft-denounced Android.
Self-driving cars: incrementalism vs. full autonomy
Last week, I came across an interesting piece by Jan Dawson about self-driving cars. In it, he argued that Tesla's (and possibly Apple's) approach of incremental improvements in automation was vastly superior to Google's goal of achieving full automation. His primary argument is that consumers need to purchase and experience semi-autonomous vehicles before they can trust the technology enough to purchase fully autonomous vehicles (especially given the likely cost of purchase). While this does appear to make some sense, there is a key flaw in this argument. The goals and business models of companies following these two approaches are dramatically different.
What do Tesla (and potentially Apple) want out of autonomous car technology? At least, in the short term, their goal is to sell more cars to consumers. What approach fits best with that goal? Incrementalism -- in other words, making sustaining improvements to their existing product to grow sales volumes and average selling prices. And as Jan rightly pointed out, consumers are unlikely to trust the technology behind fully autonomous cars right off the bat. Therefore, striving for incremental improvements in autonomy makes perfect sense for business models dependent on hardware sales.
Microsoft to donate '$1 billion' worth of cloud computing resources
With great profits, comes great responsibility. Nowadays, being profitable, creating jobs and selling quality products isn't enough from a publicity perspective. Take Microsoft, for example. Windows and Office has powered countless successful businesses, while the company employs thousands of folks globally. Yet, despite those things, in order to be seen as a friendly company, the Windows-maker -- and other corporations -- must be philanthropic too. You know what though? Regardless of motivation, its donations are much appreciated.
Today, Microsoft announces that it is donating "$1 billion" worth of cloud computing resources, which it claims is "measured at fair market value". True, this is not the same as donating $1 billion to the homeless or hungry, but it is still something for which to be thankful. With that said, the dollar figure is arguably subjective, as Microsoft is pretty much setting the value. Still, the potential for this donation is immense.
Your appliances and devices can now spend your money, as Amazon expands Dash Replenishment
The Internet of Things is all around us, and expanding daily. Our devices and appliances are increasingly connected, which can be both a good and a bad thing. Want to turn on the lights before you get home? You can do that. Forget to lock the door when you left? Do it from the store.
That all sounds great, and truthfully it is. However, there are problems, mostly surrounding security concerns that have plagued some products.
Qualcomm will manufacture server chips in China
Qualcomm has entered an agreement with the Chinese province of Guizhou to enter into a joint venture to develop chips for server systems.
This is the latest bold step by Qualcomm, which is keen to expand from relying on manufacturing chips for the smartphone and communications market. Though this could be seen as a risky strategy as Intel dominates the server chip domain with over 90 percent of the market, and with addition worries regarding both the Chinese economy and the global drop in technology demand, Qualcomm is pressing ahead with a $280 million dollar commitment for a 45 percent stake.
Microsoft to recall millions of Surface Pro power cords over potential fire risk [Update]
Despite getting off to a very shaky start, Microsoft’s Surface Pro is now a firmly established product that can genuinely replace not only your iPad, but your laptop too. However, there’s potentially bad news for anyone who purchased one of the company’s slates before 15 July 2015 (in Europe) or March 2015 (in the US).
Microsoft has discovered that in certain situations the Surface Pro’s power cable could overheat, making it a potential fire hazard.
Birst expands its networked BI platform
Cloud analytics specialist Birst is releasing new capabilities for its Networked BI Platform aimed at empowering end users in the enterprise to work with data effectively.
New features include Birst Mobile for Android, Collaboration, and End-User Data Preparation. The networked BI Platform is aimed at creating a network of interwoven BI instances that share a common analytical fabric, eliminating data silos to ensure collaboration and accelerate the delivery of BI across the enterprise.
Microsoft announces Minecraft: Education Edition
Going to school for many students is a total drag. In some schools, technology lags behind the "real world". Heck, I'm not an old guy, yet I had to learn the 100-year old Dewey Decimal System in elementary school -- something totally worthless nowadays. In other words, my interest in learning was negatively impacted by a lack of excitement and a failure to focus on the future. We kids knew the things we were being taught were dated.
Luckily, children have it much better these days. Between iPads, Chromebooks, and smartphones, everything is at their fingertips. Today, however, Microsoft-owned company, Mojang, announces that it is making education much more exciting with Minecraft: Education Edition. Yes, the wildly popular block-based game is being adapted for learning thanks to the purchase of third-party MinecraftEdu.
Internet of Things' rising popularity will increase security risks, business costs
We all know that the Internet of Things is growing, and more and more firms are using the new technology to take their businesses to the next level, but just how big is IoT now, and how much will it grow?
Gartner has given a few interesting predictions, including one which says that more than half of all new business processes and systems will use some form of IoT by 2020.
Enterprises keen to adopt Windows 10
A new survey of IT professionals from large organizations reveals higher than anticipated momentum for the adoption of Windows 10, with 63 percent of respondents expecting to run Windows 10 on a significant number of systems this year. The study from systems management specialist Adaptiva shows that of those IT departments that piloted Windows 10, nearly half (40 percent) have now deployed it on 50 percent or more of their systems, indicating strong confidence levels and unprecedented adoption of the new operating system.
The large scale movement to Windows 10 is fueling high demand for the new version of Microsoft Systems Center Configuration Manager (ConfigMgr), software used to distribute and update operating systems and other software. Roughly two-thirds (65 percent) of those moving to the new ConfigMgr released in December cited deployment, updating, and management of Windows 10 as their biggest motivators for upgrading. The announcement earlier this month that Windows 8 will no longer receive security patches is also thought to be accelerating the drive to Windows 10.
Samsung: Inserting the S Pen backwards will not break new Galaxy Note 5 units
As you may already know, Galaxy Note 5 has launched with a rather serious flaw: if the S Pen is inserted backwards it will get stuck and break the device's stylus detection mechanism, which, in turn, will render some of its software functionality useless. Samsung has responded quickly, advising users to "follow the instructions". As logical and simple as that may sound, it may be hard for some users to heed the advice, especially if they are, as my colleague Mark Wilson put it, "a little tired, drunk, young, or stupid".
In the meantime, Samsung has developed a new mechanism that will no longer create these kind of issues when users attempt to insert the S Pen the wrong way. And it is included in new Galaxy Note 5 units, according to the company.
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