Analysts who have been following the development of Windows 11 generally have good things to say about the redesign of the interface. There is one aspect of the new OS that's been raising hackles and causing analysts to sound alarm bells. That has to do with the new software's browser controls. Microsoft faced a chorus of accusations of unfair competition...
MS Paint has had a long and interesting history. It is one of the oldest apps bundled with Windows and has been present for literally decades. Microsoft made plans to retire Paint and replace it with Paint 3D. When the company actually began moving toward retiring Paint they faced an unexpected uproar from their massive user base. It seems that...
We're beginning to see increasing collaboration between giant tech companies and government agencies around the world. In the UK the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) launched its Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) back in April of 2020. The agency has received nearly 7 million reports since its launch. These include more than 50,500 reported scams and in excess of 97,500...
The magnetic stripe on the back of credit and debit cards has been a standard feature for as long as most people can remember. MasterCard recently made a rather surprising announcement concerning those stripes and are planning to phase them out of most markets beginning in 2024. The company will no longer require US-based companies to issue chip cards with...
Over the last couple of years ransomware has become the malware of choice for hackers around the world. It's easy to understand why. Hackers using malware win in two different ways. If they successfully breach a corporation they can steal copies of important files and sell them on the black market. They can simultaneously demand a fat payout from the...
Version 12.5 of iCloud for Windows is now out and features a small but important upgrade. The new version adds password access and management features. These allow users to manage passwords that have been saved in the iCloud from a Windows-based machine. The management features you will find here are pretty bare bones which makes it similar to Apple's Chrome...
Facebook has recently announced an important addition to its Facebook Messenger app. Most popular communications platforms utilize end-to-end encryption (E2EE). These include Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and even Facebook's WhatsApp. Until recently Facebook's Messenger app was a notable holdout. Although popular it simply wasn't as secure as the others mentioned above. Facebook has now changed that by finally adding E2EE to...
A NAS manufacturer based in Taiwan called Synology recently issued a warning to its customers relating to the StealthWorker botnet. This botnet has been targeting a wide range of NAS (Network Attached Storage) devices using simple brute force tactics. Anytime the botnet succeeds in breaching the security of a NAS it will deploy a ransomware payload to encrypt any files...
If you're worried about ransomware attacks know that help is on the way. The CISA (Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency) has announced a partnership with some of the biggest names in tech. The specific purpose of this collaborative effort called the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative is to put an end to ransomware and other serious cyber threats. In recent years...
Retailers, hospitals and financial institutions tend to be the targets of choice for the hackers of the world. Of course they're not the only targets. The simple truth is that any company can find itself in the cross hairs of a hacker. The most recent victim is Taiwanese motherboard manufacturer Gigabyte. In addition to shutting down manufacturing operations in Taiwan...
