Miscellaneous Tech News
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Microsoft's December update for Windows 10 is causing performance woes on some PCs
Complaints include unusually high CPU and RAM usage, and even blue screen errors.
Unfortunately for some Windows 10 users, this month's cumulative update is causing headaches, and it does not appear as though a fix is in sight. Those affected by whatever is going on report a range of performance symptoms, such as long load times for certain programs, and jumps in resource usage.
Otherwise known as a Patch Tuesday update, these kinds of cumulative patches are doled out to Windows PCs on the second Tuesday of every month. In this case, December 8. Users started complaining of issues almost right away. -
How tech can just about save Christmas Day
Christmas 2020 is not what any of us would have planned. Covid-19 restrictions and travel bans suddenly imposed on the UK have left millions of Brits cut off from one another and facing a potentially depressing Christmas Day.
These may be hard times, but technology can help. It has its flaws. It’s not accessible to everybody. But the BBC Tech team has pulled together some ideas for digital solutions to aid us in this bleak, midwinter moment. Zoom, Facetime, Google Meet and others might seem an obvious alternative when meeting in-person isn’t possible, but not everyone finds these virtual gatherings rejuvenating. Thanks to the pandemic, many of us have spent long hours on work-based video conferences during the year, notes Sascha Miller, who is involved in the Germ Defence project, which provides information about Covid-19. “It’s actually quite intense,” she notes. Christmas Day video calls might be best kept short and sweet but scattered throughout the day, she suggests. -
Signal: Cellebrite claimed to have cracked chat app's encryption
Israeli security firm Cellebrite has claimed that it can decrypt messages from Signal's highly secure chat and voice-call app, boasting that it could disrupt communications from "gang members, drug dealers and even protesters".
A blog on its website detailing how it did it has since been altered. According to one cyber-security expert, the claims sounded "believable". But others, including Signal's founder, have dismissed them as being risible. The BBC has contacted Cellebrite and Signal for comment. Highly encrypted apps such as Signal and Telegram have become popular among people keen to keep their messages private. The adoption rates have worried law enforcement agencies, who feel they are hampering their ability to investigate crimes. "Apps like these make parsing data for forensic analysis extremely difficult," writes Cellebrite. -
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GoDaddy wins our 2020 award for most evil company email
What’s the cruelest prank you can make on employees who are struggling during a global pandemic when millions of people have lost their jobs or lives? GoDaddy — a web domain registrar once best known for its sexist advertisements — tried to find out when it sent employees a fake email informing them they’d receive a $650 holiday bonus.
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@Danp said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
GoDaddy wins our 2020 award for most evil company email
What’s the cruelest prank you can make on employees who are struggling during a global pandemic when millions of people have lost their jobs or lives? GoDaddy — a web domain registrar once best known for its sexist advertisements — tried to find out when it sent employees a fake email informing them they’d receive a $650 holiday bonus.
There is nothing cruel about doing a phishing test. Using monetary rewards is also quite common.
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@IRJ said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
There is nothing cruel about doing a phishing test. Using monetary rewards is also quite common.
True... However, I can see where employees would be upset, given the time of year, the fact that we are in the middle of a pandemic, people are suffering, etc.
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damn.. this is a double edge situation.
I think it's really important to keep people well appear of the extremely real looking phishing attacks that are out there, and something like this, praying on people's woes.
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Health to be on cyber-security's front line in 2021
Covid-19 catapulted the health sector to the forefront of cyber-security in 2020, but the next year is likely to see the dangers continue and evolve.
Threats from nation states and criminals to the health system are a growing concern.The huge logistical challenge of rolling out vaccines faces the risk of disruption to complex supply chains. And criminal ransomware poses a threat at a time when the pandemic has increased our reliance on technology. The distribution of the various coronavirus vaccines may bring relief, but it also brings with it a major challenge: many of those involved have not had to think hard about security in the past. The complex global supply chain for vaccines ranges from factories in one country to internet-connected fridges in another. -
Brexit deal mentions Netscape browser and Mozilla Mail
References to decades-old computer software are included in the new Brexit agreement, including a description of Netscape Communicator and Mozilla Mail as being "modern" services.
Experts believe officials must have copied and pasted chunks of text from old legislation into the document. The references are on page 921 of the trade deal, in a section on encryption technology. It also recommends using systems that are now vulnerable to cyber-attacks. The text cites "modern e-mail software packages including Outlook, Mozilla Mail as well as Netscape Communicator 4.x." The latter two are now defunct - the last major release of Netscape Communicator was in 1997. The document also recommends using 1024-bit RSA encryption and the SHA-1 hashing algorithm, which are both outdated and vulnerable to cyber-attacks. -
Redefining manual driver updates
Beginning November 5th, 2020, you will see a clear distinction between automatic and manual updates in Windows Update, completing the transformation of driver servicing that we began earlier this year.
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@black3dynamite said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
https://meshcentral2.blogspot.com/2020/12/meshcentral-meshcentral-router-for-macos.html
Good timing with the sudden surge in Mac purchasing! Heck, even I am about to get one. Me, of all people!
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BBC News - Adobe Flash Player is finally laid to rest
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-55497353 -
@scottalanmiller said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
BBC News - Adobe Flash Player is finally laid to rest
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-55497353Finally!
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Multiple customers noticing that Slack is down.
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@scottalanmiller said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
Multiple customers noticing that Slack is down.
We are experiencing the same thing too.
