Latest Technology News

Security: plug in a Razer mouse or keyboard and gain admin privileges in Windows 10

Razer mouse

A worrying security flaw has been discovered in Razer Synapse software which can be exploited to gain administrator privileges in Windows 10. What is particularly concerning about this vulnerability -- aside from the fact that there is no patch available yet -- is that exploitation is possible by simply plugging in a Razer mouse, keyboard or dongle.

Pretty much the only thing that isn't disturbing about this security hole is that it is a local privilege escalation (LPE) vulnerability, meaning an attacker would need physical access to a system to exploit it. Nonetheless, the zero-day can be taken advantage of by anyone splashing out a few bucks on a cheap Razer peripheral.

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Going digital: Common sense for successful businesses

innovation lightbulb moment

Inevitably, the world will change once we have fully emerged from lockdown. With a heightened sense of hygiene and further concerns about workplace safety, employers will need to look closely at ways to reduce contact and move towards what is being touted as the Low Touch Economy. But how can this happen with as little disruption to business as possible?

One of the key ways to help aid in this transition is to embrace digital. Going digital has long been presented as a choice for companies -- now, it’s less a choice and more a necessity to remain relevant and to keep up with the modern age. We take a look at some of the methods business owners will need to adapt for their companies to embrace the "new normal", with a focus on digital saviors.

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With the rise of zero trust, is the VPN really dead? [Q&A]

VPN tiles

As a big chunk of the world suddenly started to work from home during the pandemic, many companies turned to VPNs as a means of securing remote access.

However, as more systems are now in the cloud and secured using zero trust network access (ZTNA) is the age of the VPN over? We spoke to Robert Byrne, field strategist at One Identity to find out.

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Lexar HADES RGB DDR4 desktop memory is designed for PC gamers and creators

For those of you that build your own desktop computers, you know that choosing the right brand really matters. For instance, if you opt for an unknown company for your RAM, power supply, or storage, there is a very good chance you will run into problems. This is why I always recommend sticking with reputable brands -- saving a few bucks is never worth it if you end up having to troubleshoot crashes.

Lexar is a trustworthy company that has been around for a long time. The company is most known for its quality memory products. Today, Lexar launches beautiful new DDR4 memory that both creators and gamers should absolutely adore. Called "HADES," the RAM comes equipped with attractive RGB heat spreaders and is offered in both 3200MHz and 3600MHz speeds.

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Microsoft quietly releases Windows Server 2022 with up to a decade of support

Microsoft headquarters

When it comes to operating systems from Microsoft, the focus is very much on the launch of Windows 11 later this year. But this is not the only OS to come out of Redmond.

The company has just released Windows Server 2022, LTSC (Long Term Servicing Channel) edition which has support for five years as standard, and a decade of extended support. Microsoft has in fact released, with very little in the way of trumpeting, three editions of this latest version of Windows Server -- Standard, Datacenter and Datacenter: Azure Edition.

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Student deal alert: Kubuntu Focus XE Linux laptop gets huge back-to-school price cut

Summer is quickly coming to a close, and before you know it, the school season will begin. Many parents are understandably excited to get their children out of the house and back to school. At the same time, their kids are likely dreading their return to education. I mean, learning is cool and all, but nothing beats summer fun in the sun.

Of course, the end of the summer means back-to-school shopping is now in full effect, and many students will be needing a new computer for their studies. A laptop is ideal for portability, but should you choose Windows or Mac? My suggestion is to go in a different direction -- Linux! An operating system based on the open source kernel can better prepare a child for the future.

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Why cloud adoption requires an organization-wide culture change

Cloud

In the space of a year, society has transformed beyond recognition because of COVID-19 and cloud-first for most organizations is now an imperative. To this point, by the end of 2021, 67 percent of all enterprise infrastructure will be cloud-based. But what does this mean for organizational culture, will it change -- and should it change? After all, now cloud adoption is greater than just the IT department. Whether it be a heavier reliance on the accounting team, closer collaboration with the business teams, or better information sharing with the internal IT team, cloud changes the dynamics of team interactions.

Today, an organization's existing culture can strongly predict the potential for cloud success; likewise cloud adoption does have the potential to also alter the company’s culture. It can dramatically change the day-to-day work of individual IT team members, but with the willingness to adjust employee skillsets, a wide range of opportunities can become available as a result of cloud.

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Einstein's Fridge: Who knew the history of thermodynamics was so much like high school?

Almost 50 years ago I had the misfortune to take two statistics classes at the same time. One was a required introduction to statistics and the other was econometrics. Don’t ask why I took them both -- I don’t remember. But I do remember one day in the Intro to Statistics class when another student asked about this distribution plot (above).

 "What was it? What did it indicate? What could it be used for?" they asked. "It’s nothing," said the TA. "It’s useless." But I had seen that shape before, in econometrics, where they called it a split normal distribution. that was said to be good for displaying time-series data. So not useless at all.

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How Artificial Intelligence is set to revolutionize industries

There’s no denying that technology has been the key to evolution for almost every industry. From transport to gaming, sports to healthcare, improvements to processes and capabilities have been attributed to rapidly innovating technology. This is particularly prominent in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). What was once reserved for sci-fi movies is now actively a part of our everyday lives, and it’s set to pave the future -- perhaps autonomously!

In this article, we take a look at how AI is set to ignite several key industries.

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Value of personal data increases 1,800 percent in 20 years

Man with cash

If you use the internet it's almost impossible to avoid exposing at least some of your personal information to the sites you use. What you may not be aware of is just how valuable this personal data is to businesses.

New research from marketing specialist MIQ Digital shows that in 2001 an average user generated around $1.97 (£1.45) worth of Google Ads revenue, in 2021 this is up to $35.40 (£26), an 1,800 percent increase.

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Best Windows apps this week

Four-hundred-fifty-two 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 the first official ISO image of its upcoming operating system Windows 11. It is not the final version but the latest Insider Preview version that you get at this point.

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Ensuring compliance takes a front seat when using collaboration tools [Q&A]

Collaboration

One effect of the pandemic shift to working from home has been a surge in the use of collaboration platforms. Microsoft Teams alone just exceeded 250 million monthly active users.

But a new whitepaper from Theta Lake and Osterman Research, Archiving And Data Protection With Microsoft Teams, brings to light the strengths and weaknesses of native archiving and data protection in Microsoft Teams and why firms look to third-party solutions to address coverage gaps.

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Debian-based SparkyLinux 6.0 'Po Tolo' can make your old PC feel like new again!

There are a lot of Linux-based operating systems these days, and if you have some free time, I suggest trying as many as you can. Think of it like fruit -- apples are great, but you shouldn't stop after just tasting that. The world is full of different choices, such as mangoes, bananas, and oranges. The same can be said of Linux -- even if you really like, say, Ubuntu, you should also test Fedora, Mageia, and more.

Today, yet another distro hits a major milestone; SparkyLinux achieves version 6.0. Code-named "Po Tolo," it is a rolling release operating system that is based on the brand-new Debian 11 "Bullseye." Sparky aims to be easy on system resources, with choices of three main desktop environments -- LXQt, KDE, and Xfce. This lightweight operating system can breathe new life into aging computers. SparkyLinux even still supports older 32-bit processors.

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Microsoft releases Windows 11 Build 22000.160 with a new Clock app

If you want to do a fresh Windows 11 install you can now grab ISO files for Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.132.

That isn’t the latest version however, as Microsoft today rolls out Build 22000.160 to everyone in the Dev and Beta Channels with some useful additions, including a new Clock app with Focus Sessions.

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Microsoft releases first Windows 11 ISO files so you can do a clean install or in-place upgrade

Windows 11 laptop

Windows 11 is set to be released later in the year, but you can already run it now as part of the Windows Insider Program.

If you would like to try out the new operating system in a virtualized environment, or on a spare PC, the good news is the tech giant has made ISO files for Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.132 available to download now.

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