PSTN/ISDN switch-off: What businesses need to know
When it comes to comms, the pace of change is increasing and with a shift to remote working and study, the need to be flexible and fast is more important than ever. In 2015, BT announced that its PSTN/ISDN lines will be turned off in 2025. Given the rapid evolution in the way we communicate, now is as good a time as any to be prepared for this.
The decision to switch off has been made largely due to both technologies becoming outdated and unable to handle the volume, speed and quality of data in today’s increasingly digital world. But what do you need to know, and how can one prepare?
Surfshark VPN Antivirus receives VB100 certification from Virus Bulletin
Surfshark is one of the best VPNs on the market for several reasons -- not just its affordable pricing and reliability. The service is cross-platform and available on all major operating systems, including Windows, macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and Android. In fact, there is even a Linux version of Surfshark (with a GUI) for Debian-based distributions and derivatives, such as Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and Pop!_OS.
Recently, Surfshark added an antivirus service at no added cost, making it even more of an incredible value. However, people were understandably hesitant to depend on a brand-new antivirus service to protect their computers and devices. Well, folks, it seems any concerns were unwarranted. You see, today, Surfshark announces it has received the coveted VB100 certification from Virus Bulletin.
The future of face-to-face meetings in a virtual world
As things are returning to normal it’s clear that businesses are keen to find their footing when it comes to defining the workplace. While the UK Government has urged Civil Servants to return to office working, others are embracing remote working on a part or full-time basis.
Recent data from the Office for National Statistics shows that the UK is getting back into the office once again. As of February, this year, there has been a decline in the percentage of people working from home -- 15 percent compared with 26 percent in January 2022. And there has been an uptake of people traveling to work over the same time period. On the other hand, the cost of living crisis is also having an impact as a survey of 1,000 UK workers revealed people were apprehensive over the associated costs of working from an office.
Bespoke machine learning is a must to tackle FaaS underworld
When it comes to fraud, you can never be too careful. Especially when you hear about the brass neck of some criminal gangs that are increasingly adopting the persona of legitimate businesses to peddle stolen credit card details and other financial information.
Fraud-as-a-service (FaaS), as it’s known, has become an industry in itself, with criminals able to provide a one-stop-shop for scammers to rip-off customers and businesses. These organized fraud rings -- often manned by career professionals who know how to bypass rules-based systems -- are becoming increasingly sophisticated.
The importance of responsible AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is growing and shows no signs of stopping -- almost. In 2020, IDC estimated global spending on the technology would more than double by 2024 to hit $110 billion. Investors feel the same enthusiasm. CB Insights reported venture capital for AI startups in Q3 2021 reached a record $17.9 billion. Yet, even in the bright light of such success, a shadow is being cast. Even as AI is exploding, trust has leveled out, and that could eventually stall its progress and acceptance if we are not careful.
Given how widely AI is being deployed, many organizations are content to look the other way; so long as there’s value, no need to ask questions. But what about transparency and responsibility? If a company can’t trust its own algorithm, why will consumers? Case in point is the Apple Card launch in 2019 in which a noticeable difference in credit lines offered to men vs. women was revealed. Turns out, a faulty AI design failed to have gender input. Further, Apple hadn’t been following the algorithm closely for bias. That’s how launches and reputations are undermined.
The password is dead -- long live the password!
As long ago as 2004 no less a figure than Bill Gates was predicting the death of the password. But here we are almost 20 years on and passwords are still the primary authentication method.
So passwords look set to be with us for a while yet, however, 90 percent of internet users are worried about getting their passwords hacked. Cybersecurity company Ping Identity has been looking at passwords and how to use them safely for both businesses and consumers.
Best Windows apps this week
Four-hundred-ninety-four in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 and 11 on the Microsoft Store and elsewhere in the past seven days.
Microsoft released a public preview of Windows Autopatch this week. The service aims to improve the updating of Windows machines with patches, drivers and firmware, and is available for Windows Enterprise E3 (and up) customers only.
Cloud security remains a top concern
A new survey of cybersecurity professionals attending this week's RSA conference shows that cloud security is their main concern.
The study by Delinea shows 37 percent think cloud security is the main cybersecurity concern of the year, followed by ransomware (19 percent) and remote workers (17 percent).
The challenges of fully remote work environments [Q&A]
Prior to the pandemic, only six percent of employees worked remotely. In tech, and specifically cyber, though that number is considerably higher.
But what benefits and challenges do high levels of remote working present? We spoke to DNSFilter CEO and co-founder, Ken Carnesi to find out.
Get 'Excel 2019 All-in-One For Dummies' ($24 value) FREE for a limited time
Excel 2019 All-In-One For Dummies offers eight books in one! It is completely updated to reflect the major changes Microsoft made to Office with the 2019 release.
From basic Excel functions, such as creating and editing worksheets, to sharing and reviewing worksheets, to editing macros with Visual Basic, it provides you with a broad scope of the most common Excel applications and functions -- including formatting worksheets, setting up formulas, protecting worksheets, importing data, charting data, and performing statistical functions.
Symbiote is an extremely dangerous, 'nearly-impossible-to-detect' Linux malware
Fans of Linux-based operating systems often cite greater security as the basis for the love of their chosen distro. Whether Linux distros have better security track records than the likes of Windows 11 and macOS because they are inherently more secure or because they are simply not targeted as much as very much open to debate, but Linux remains fallible, nonetheless.
Going some way to prove this is the Symbiote malware discovered by security researchers from BlackBerry and Intezer Labs. Symbiote is worrying for a number of reasons including the fact that it is described as "nearly-impossible-to-detect". It is also extremely dangerous piece of malware that "parasitically infects" systems, infecting all running processes and giving threat actors rootkit functionality, remote access and more.
Microsoft releases Windows 11 Build 25136 with File Explorer tabs
Earlier today, Microsoft launched new updates for two Windows 11 apps -- Notepad and Media Centre -- for Insiders in the Dev Channel.
Following that, the company announces a new Windows 11 Insider build which, along with the usual raft of fixes, brings tabs to File Explorer and updates to the Widgets feature.
New updates for Notepad and Media Player arrive for Windows 11
Microsoft has been steadily updating its apps for Windows 11, and today the software giant announces major updates for both Notepad and Windows Media Player.
Both updated apps benefit from improved performance, but there’s more to the new releases than just that.
Prioritizing levels of risk in your cybersecurity assessment
Cybersecurity is one of the most pressing issues for businesses. For the first time, it has been identified by security professionals as the single biggest risk to an organization. Cybersecurity risks come in many forms but, while businesses need to protect against all threats, some are more urgent than others.
Prioritizing the levels of risk associated with cybersecurity incidents will help you protect your business from the most pressing threats first. For example, if you have an unsupported operating system (OS) on your PCs, they are very likely to get breached, whereas your up-to-date systems pose less risk. But how do you determine the biggest risks in your business? Read on to find out how.
Security alert: Fake Windows exploits the InfoSec community with a Cobalt Strike
On May 19th, 2022, researchers identified two Proof-of-Concept exploits (malicious software) hosted by the popular software development hosting provider, GitHub. The software targeted members of the InfoSec community in an attack known as a Cobalt Strike.
The two files were disguised as Windows vulnerabilities fixed by Microsoft in April 2022. It is unknown how many people may have executed the malicious files and if any systems were compromised, but it is likely that the files will be tested in a sandbox environment so that any potential impact will be limited.
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