Linux Mint 19.3 'Tricia' is coming -- here's what we know

The upcoming version of Linux Mint will be named Tricia. Why is this? Well, the developers always name the releases after women. For major version-number updates, such as going from 18 to 19, they even change the first letter of the woman's name. For instance, version 18 had "S" names, such as Sonya and Sylvia, while 19 has had "T" names, such as Tara, Tessa, and Tina. And now, we have Tricia. Beyond the name, there is not a ton to know, but the Linux Mint developers have shared a bit. For instance, there will be three available desktop environments… [Continue Reading]

Hackers breach security at Web.com, Network Solutions and Register.com, accessing private customer info

Domain name registrar Web.com has revealed that it fell victim to a data breach earlier in the year. Two of the company's subsidiaries, Network Solutions and Register.com were also attacked by the hackers at the same time. The incidents took place back in late August, but were only discovered a couple of weeks ago. The attackers were able to access personal details of customers, but Web.com does not say how many people are affected -- although it is likely to run into the millions. Web.com explains that "contact details such as name, address, phone numbers, email address and information about… [Continue Reading]

Automated solution helps speed up response to phishing emails

As cybercriminals become more sophisticated, spotting phishing emails is increasingly difficult. Even if a user reports something suspicious to the IT security team it can take time to analyze it before others can be warned. Security automation specialist LogicHub is launching its Autonomous Phishing Triage, which automatically and accurately analyzes and classifies emails with 97 percent accuracy, reducing the number of alerts requiring human analysis by 75 percent or more. "The triage of reported phishing emails is one of the most time-consuming tasks for SOC and incident response teams," says Kumar Saurabh, CEO and co-founder of LogicHub. "It is critical… [Continue Reading]

Urban Armor Gear (UAG) launches rugged Monarch and Plasma cases for Google Pixel 4 and 4 XL

Google's latest smartphone, the Pixel 4, is an excellent device. As per my review (found here), I absolutely recommend it to Android users. While the $799 starting price for the Pixel 4 series of smartphones isn’t as high as some other flagships, let’s be honest -- it is still a lot of money. It is for this reason that you should definitely put it in a protective case. Urban Armor Gear has two such rugged options for you -- the Monarch and Plasma. Not only will they keep your Pixel 4 or 4XL safe, but they look very attractive too.… [Continue Reading]

GDPR is changing consumer trust and data security across Europe

According to the results of a new survey, 74 percent of organizations say that since GDPR was introduced in 2018 it has had a beneficial impact on consumer trust, and 73 percent claim it has boosted their data security. The study from Check Point questioned 1,000 CTOs, CIOs, IT and security managers from organizations in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. It shows that GDPR is delivering a strong positive effect overall for European businesses. Significant progress has been made across Europe towards GDPR compliance. 53 percent of respondents say their organization has set up a GDPR working group,… [Continue Reading]

Twitter bans all political ads, and the world waits to see if Facebook will follow suit

Jack Dorsey has announced that Twitter is implementing a ban on all political advertising on its network. The move comes after Facebook said it would not ban political ads, but Dorsey believes that the ability to reach a large audience with political messages "should be earned, not bought". While the ban is a global one, the impact is likely to be felt most strongly in the US where spending on political campaigning is huge -- and whoever spends the most money has a tendency to fare better. The manager of the Trump 2020 campaign, Brad Parscale, has dismissed Twitter's decision… [Continue Reading]

Dynabook unveils thinner, lighter, and faster Tecra A40 Windows 10 laptop

If you need a Windows laptop, there are plenty of great brands from which to choose. Unfortunately, one brand is no longer available -- Toshiba. Thankfully, its notebook computers live on under a new company name -- Dynabook. You know what? As that Shakespeare dude once wrote, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." And yeah, the same can be said about Dynabook. Name aside, these are the same computers that many consumers have loved. The Tecra line of business-class laptops has long been admired by in-the-know consumers, and now, Dynabook has refreshed one of the models.… [Continue Reading]

Howard Stern and SiriusXM finally come to Google Assistant

I recently converted my home from Amazon Alexa to Google Assistant. Why did I do this? Well, after comparing them both, I found Google's results were better. Not to mention, there are many nuances that make me prefer the search giant's offering. For instance, if I ask for a baseball score, it also shares the sound of a crowd cheering and the crack of the bat hitting a ball. I even prefer the confirmation sounds it makes. When I ask Google to turn off my lamp, for instance, it responds with a more pleasant tone than Alexa does. And so,… [Continue Reading]

IBM launches mobile video streaming for business communication

With modern businesses often spread across multiple locations, effective ways of keeping in touch with a dispersed workforce are always welcome. IBM Watson Media is launching its new IBM Video Streaming mobile application, a mobile broadcasting tool that offers enterprise businesses an end-to-end, security-rich solution for live mobile video streaming to iOS and Android devices. This is an extension of the company's existing Enterprise Video Streaming solution, a live and on-demand streaming platform which connects global employees on desktop and laptop computers. Using the app any employee can seamlessly create high quality, live broadcasts for global audiences straight from their… [Continue Reading]

Cybercriminals use enterprise-grade tools to mount phishing attacks

We know that cybercrime is increasingly a very serious business and a new report from Akamai Technologies reveals that enterprise-based development and deployment strategies are being used to create phishing attacks. Tools such as phishing as a service (PaaS) are being used to leverage some of the world's largest tech brands, with 42.63 percent of domains observed targeting Microsoft, PayPal, DHL, and Dropbox. The report also shows that phishing is no longer just an email-based threat, but has expanded to include social media and mobile devices, creating a wide-reaching problem that touches all industries. This evolving methodology continues to morph into… [Continue Reading]

New intelligence tool measures the impact of workplace communications

In today's business environment staff are more likely than ever to be physically separated from each other, whether they are operating in the field or working from home. This presents a challenge for enterprises needing to keep everyone in the loop. Until now there hasn't been an effective way to measure the impact of workplace communication other than subjective measures like surveys. Now though communications platform SocialChorus is launching a new tool to measure the effectiveness of employee communications. Called Analyze, it gives the entire enterprise, from communications teams to executives, a single, data-driven picture of how internal communications is… [Continue Reading]

The state of stolen credentials on the Dark Web

Every time there's a major data breach it adds to the pool of stolen details available on the Dark Web, but exactly what is out there? To find out, ImmuniWeb has been analyzing the quality and quantity of stolen credentials accessible on the Dark Web originating from Fortune 500 companies in 10 different industries around the world. The technology sector has, perhaps not surprisingly, the most stolen credentials out there at just over five million. Financial businesses are just behind at just under five million, there's then a big drop to healthcare in third place with only 1.9 million sets… [Continue Reading]

Apple's macOS Catalina 10.15.1 update adds AirPods Pro support, new Siri privacy options and gender-neutral emoji

Apple only released Catalina three weeks ago, and already there is a fairly significant update available -- macOS Catalina 10.15.1. With this release, Apple adds support for the newly announced AirPods Pro as well as fixing a number of bugs. There are also new HomeKit options, enhanced privacy in Siri, and the arrival of more than 70 new or updated emoji, including gender-neutral options. See also: Apple announces AirPods Pro for professional music listeners Apple warns users to upgrade their old iPhones and iPads or face GPS and time issues Apple releases macOS 10.15 Catalina -- and it's breaking some… [Continue Reading]

Keeping the DevOps balance between security and speed [Q&A]

With DevOps gaining in popularity at many companies, the tension between speed and security is an ongoing issue. This tension exists because the common perception is that security slows down agile development and the CI/CD pipeline. We spoke to Manish Gupta CEO of continuous application security platform ShiftLeft to discuss the dynamics within DevOps that create this tension and how IT organizations can achieve both speed and security. BN: What role does automation play in terms of converting security requirements into code? MG: DevOps adoption is growing at such a rapid pace in large part because much of what IT… [Continue Reading]

Microsoft releases Windows 10 20H1 Build 19013 with more ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

With October coming to a close it won’t be long until the Windows 10 November 2019 Update -- 19H2 -- starts to roll out to users. That’s more of a service pack than a feature update however. If you want new features, it’s builds on the 20H1 branch that you’ll likely be more interested in. This week’s new flight, Build 19013, comes with more kaomoji and a welcome update to Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) 2. Kaomoji, for the uninitiated, are faces with expressions made by combining different characters. The best known of these is the shruggie: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ but there… [Continue Reading]

Linksys unveils MX10 Velop intelligent mesh Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) system

Google recently launched its latest home Wi-Fi product -- Nest Wifi. It looks like a great networking solution for those that want to utilize mesh to extend coverage in their home. Hell, it even has Google Assistant built in! You know what it doesn't have though? Wi-Fi 6. What exactly is Wi-Fi 6? It is the official name for 802.11ax -- the latest and greatest wireless networking standard. Despite Wi-Fi 6 devices being fairly rare, it is still strange that the search giant chose to not include it. Oh well. Google isn't the only game in town. TP-Link, for instance,… [Continue Reading]

Fedora 31 is here -- download the world's best desktop Linux distribution now

Is Fedora popular? Well, is any desktop Linux distribution truly popular in the grand scheme of things? I mean, look, Windows holds an insurmountable lead in the desktop operating system space -- it cannot be denied. Amongst Linux distributions, however, yes, Fedora is very popular comparatively. Why do people choose it over other distros, such as Ubuntu, MX Linux, or Manjaro? It's simple -- Fedora is a no-nonsense operating system with a genuine focus on free and open source software. Not to mention, it is fairly bleeding edge while remaining stable. So, yeah, Fedora is wonderful. Today, however, the Linux… [Continue Reading]