Latest Technology News

Over the last couple of weeks, Microsoft was seemingly caught forcibly installing shortcuts to its Office web apps. Users of Microsoft Edge found that their Start menus were suddenly populated with links to Microsoft Office PWAs (progressive web apps).

But rather than being a slightly underhand way of advertising its other apps and services, Microsoft has a different explanation. The company says that the shortcuts started to appear as a result of a bug in the Edge browser, insisting it was not intentional.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has led many enterprises to fast-track their adoption of remote work technologies and many have turned to SaaS as a way to enable this.

But this has put new pressure on security teams. A new survey from SaaS security specialist AppOmni finds that of over 200 IT security specialists 90 percent have recently received additional responsibilities and two-thirds have less time to effectively manage and secure SaaS applications.

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In a new study 90 percent of participants report that cybersecurity technology is not as effective as it should be when it comes to protecting organizations from cyber risk.

However, the report from Debate Security, an independent organization bringing together industry experts to debate how the cyber market can be improved, shows considerable disagreement on evaluating cybersecurity technology efficacy and performance, with not a single common definition named by respondents.

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As we head towards a COVID Christmas it's likely that many more people will be doing their holiday shopping online.

But while this is good news for online retailers it's also an opportunity for fraudsters. This year has already seen a surge in attacks on eCommerce sites and there are certain to be more to come. We spoke to Satnam Narang, staff research engineer at Tenable to find out more about the latest vulnerabilities and how businesses can protect themselves.

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Emotet began life as a banking Trojan back in 2014 but has since evolved into something much worse -- a self-propagating platform that can deploy multiple exploits and spam campaigns.

The number one malware threat today, Emotet usually takes a break during the summer months while the developers behind it work to add new features and capabilities, and now it’s back with a new 'Windows Update' attachment.

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Some nation-state cyber adversaries and notorious ransomware gangs are deploying an arsenal of new open-sourced tools, actively exploiting corporate email systems and using online extortion to scare victims into paying ransoms.

This is one of the findings of Accenture's latest Cyber Threatscape Report. Analysts have seen attackers using a combination of off-the-shelf tooling -- including 'living off the land' tools, shared hosting infrastructure and publicly developed exploit code -- and open source penetration testing tools to carry out cyberattacks and hide their tracks.

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The end of October is a scary time of year, and it's all the more scary if you've lost valuable data. If you've been looking to invest in data recovery software, now is a great time to do so thanks to a massive sale from TogetherShare in the run-up to Halloween.

The company is not only offering a great deal by slashing 50 percent off the price of TogetherShare Data Recovery Pro for Windows, the same offer also applies to the macOS version. And if that was not incentive enough, there's also another great software tool thrown in for free.

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Window's Task Manager utility offers a handy way to see which apps and processes are using up system resources, as well as providing a means of killing off a few to help speed things up. This is something that gamers frequently do to maximize performance when running a demanding title, and Microsoft has now introduced a new way to do this via the Game Bar.

An update to the Xbox Game Bar app sees the arrival of a new Resources widget which makes it easier than ever to access a handy task manager to monitor and control how system resources are used.

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For whatever reason, I absolutely adore diminutive desktop computers. From the Apple Mac mini to the Intel NUC series, I am always fascinated by how much power can be crammed into a small form factor. Quite frankly, it is fun to have a tiny PC next to a big monitor and have friends and family marvel at the cuteness.

So when a new mini computer from Minisforum caught my eye, I knew I had to give it a go. Called "EliteMini H31G," it is a bit bigger than a traditional Intel NUC, but that is OK, as it is packing something special -- discreet NVIDIA graphics partnered with a 9th generation Intel Core processor. In other words, this little beast can handle gaming and video editing.

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Unbeknownst to Windows 10 users until now, a security vulnerability existed in Windows Setup, the process with runs when installing Feature Updates for the operating system.

The vulnerability (CVE-2020-16908) made it possible for a locally authenticated attacker to run arbitrary code with elevated system privileges. This flaw could be exploited to install software, create new user accounts, or interfere with data.

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Linux-based operating systems are generally considered to be more secure than the likes of Windows, but that does not mean they are completely without security issues. Google security researcher have issued a warning about a series of "zero-click" vulnerabilities in the Linux Bluetooth stack.

Dubbed BleedingTooth, the collection of security flaw could allow for remote code execution attacks. The issue affects Linux kernel 4.8 and higher, and can be found in the open-source BlueZ protocol stack. It has been assigned CVE-2020-12351 and a CVSS score of 8.3.

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A few days ago, Microsoft released a new cumulative update for Windows 10. The KB4579311 update was supposed to fix a range of issues with the operating system including various security problem, but -- once again – this update is proving problematic for many people.

The problems that have been reported range from failed installation with a 0x800f0988, 0x80073701 or 0x8007000d error code, to black screens, printing issues, to not being able to log into Windows 10.

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When you buy an NVMe PCIe SSD these days, it is probably going to be the 2280 form factor. That seems to be the most popular length, and for the most part, it can fit into most computers with M.2 slots. With that said, there are devices that require a smaller M.2 drive due to limitations.

The shorter 2242 form factor is rather rare, though not unheard of, and ADATA has a new ultra-compact solid state drive at that length. Called "IM2P3014," the stubby M.2 2242 NVMe PCIe Gen3x2 SSD is intended for industrial applications, but it can, of course, be used in pretty much any computer with an M.2 slot and a mounting hole for 2242 SSDs. In fact, this drive could be an absolute godsend for those that need that form factor.

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First introduced in Windows 7, and still working just fine in Windows 10, God Mode is a hidden feature that displays all of the admin tools and control options in Microsoft's operating system, on a single screen. There are actually a number of different God Modes available which offer extra functionality. We explained how to unlock them all here.

If God Mode isn’t powerful enough for you, and you want even more options, then Extended GodMode is the answer.

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Four-hundred-and-eight in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on the Microsoft Store in the past seven days.

Future versions of Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system may notify users when apps get added to the system's autostart; users may go directly to the startup apps section of the Settings app to manage these then.

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