Manjaro Linux 32-bit is dead

We have had 64-bit processors in the mainstream for many years now, but for some reason, developers have continued to maintain 32-bit versions of operating systems. This includes Microsoft, who still supports 32-bit Windows 10 in 2020 (although the company plans to wind that down). Thankfully, many Linux distributions such as Fedora, Tails, and Linux Mint have killed off their 32-bit versions, choosing to instead focus on 64-bit. And now, another major Linux distribution follows suit. You see, as of today, Manjaro Linux 32-bit is dead. This is a very wise move, as 32-bit computers are obsolete and maintaining a 32-bit variant… [Continue Reading]

YouTube TV gets a massive price hike, but I'm not canceling

When I first cut the cord and switched my television service to YouTube TV, the price was a very manageable $35 per month. Then the monthly charge went to up $40 and ultimately landed at $50. When it hit the $50 mark I became nervous, as it was approaching cable TV pricing. Sadly, today, the price jumps once again, this time to $65. Uh oh. At this new price, YouTube TV is definitely more expensive than cable TV would be for me. In fact, if I was to switch back to cable TV, I wouldn't only save money, but I… [Continue Reading]

Firefox 78 and Firefox 78 ESR unveil new privacy protection features

Mozilla has released Firefox 78.0, the latest in a long line of major updates to the veteran browser. Available for Windows, macOS and Linux, the new release is joined by Firefox ESR 78.0, the first major update of the Extended Support Release browser since Firefox 68 last year. The release sees the Privacy Protections screen renamed to Protections Dashboard. It also gains two new features: the ability to track the number of resolved breaches directly from the dashboard itself, plus an option to check to see if any saved passwords have been exposed in a data breach. Type about:protections to… [Continue Reading]

Samsung releases 870 QVO 2.5-inch SATA SSD with up to 8TB capacity

M.2 PCIe solid state drives are definitely preferable to 2.5-inch SATA variants, but there is a big problem -- the majority of active computers in the world don't have M.2 slots! In other words, even though M.2 PCIe drives are faster, if they aren't compatible with a user's computer, it is a moot point. Ultimately, 2.5-inch SATA SSDs are here to stay for many years. Thankfully, there is no shortage of manufacturers willing to produce SATA solid state drives. One of the most notable is Samsung. Its drives are well respected by enthusiasts and regular computer users thanks to reliability,… [Continue Reading]

Lockdown highlights UK broadband problems

While many people are happily working from home during the pandemic, for others a switch to remote working has thrown the deficiencies of their home internet connections into perspective. UK comparison site Uswitch has found that people have been performing 44,000 searches per month in the hope of fixing their broadband issues. The top 10 searches are all related to technical issues and two thirds (62 percent) of all searches are related to speed. The report finds the top 10 searches for broadband issues in the UK are: Broadband Speed -- 22,000 searches per month Improve Latency -- 6,600 searches… [Continue Reading]

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac is the first and only Mac data recovery app compatible with T2 chips

The T2 chip included in more recent Macs helps to boost security in a number of ways. As well as preventing unsigned software from booting, the chip also secures the entire boot process and handles drive encryption. But T2 chip can also cause headaches for owners of such machines. The security built into the chip forces users to perform some system repairs -- such as the Touch ID sensor -- with Apple rather than a third party. It can also cause huge problems when it comes to data recovery; that is, unless you're using EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac.… [Continue Reading]

After switching to ARM, expect Apple to buy TSMC too

Readers have been asking me to comment on Apple’s decision, announced at last week’s World Wide Developers’ Conference, to start switching to Apple-designed ARM processors for its Macintosh computers. I usually don’t like to do second-day (or, in the case, second-week) stories unless I can add something new to the discussion. Oddly, I usually can and that’s the case here, where Apple’s move to ARM has a big-picture strategy component that is absolutely vital to the company’s continued success. It also doesn’t seem to be covered yet anywhere but here. Forget all the talk about Apple moving to ARM because… [Continue Reading]

TEAMGROUP unveils CARDEA Ceramic C440 M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 gaming SSD

The transition to PCIe 4.0 is in full effect, with more and more new motherboards having the new standard. You can thank AMD for that, by the way, as Intel is dragging its feet and still embracing the older PCIe 3.0. Oh well. That really shouldn't come as a surprise, as AMD is the leader these days. One of the best aspects of PCIe 4.0 is faster solid state drives. For instance, today, TEAMGROUP unveils a new M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD. Called "CARDEA Ceramic C440," this speedy gaming-focused SSD features a ceramic heatsink -- a very unique cooling option for… [Continue Reading]

TLS certificates are a top security concern for businesses

A new study by machine identity protection specialists Venafi of the opinions of 550 chief information officers (CIOs) from the US, UK, France, Germany and Australia finds that 75 percent name TLS certificates as their top concern. TLS certificates act as machine identities, safeguarding the flow of sensitive data to trusted machines and, thanks to the acceleration of digital transformation, the number of machine identities is rising. At the same time though cybercriminals are targeting machine identities, including TLS keys and certificates, and their capabilities, such as the encrypted traffic they enable, to use in attacks. The findings show that… [Continue Reading]

96 percent of developers believe security harms productivity

In a new survey of over 165 developers, AppSec and DevOps professionals, application security automation company ShiftLeft finds that 96 percent of developers believe the disconnect between developer and security workflows inhibits developer productivity. When asked to prioritize, application security professionals rank creating developer-friendly security workflows as their top priority, even higher than protecting applications in production environments. As organizations demand applications be built and delivered at an ever-increasing rate, enhancing developer productivity while also enhancing security is critical. The survey reveals that performing security scans too late in the software development lifecycle (89.7 percent) and lack of remediation guidance (87.7… [Continue Reading]

THEVIC20 is a full size re-imagined version of Commodore's 'wonder computer' from the 1980s

Commodore’s VIC-20, the family-targeted successor to the PET, was announced in 1980 and became the first computer to sell over one million units. If you grew up in the 1980s, it’s possible you owned one of these, and then maybe moved on to its follow-up, the Commodore 64. If you miss this "wonder computer", the good news is you can now buy a modern version of it, and unlike many other similar retro revivals this one is full size. Developed by Retro Games Ltd. and distributed by Koch Media, THEVIC20 has a full working keyboard, comes with an updated micro… [Continue Reading]

Microsoft Edge caught importing data from other browsers without permission

Microsoft may be eager for everyone to switch to the new Chromium-based version of Edge, but there are a few issues that may put people off. There have been reports that the update that adds the browser to Windows 10 is causing computers to slow down, but there are also more worrying privacy-related reports. Eagle-eyed folk installing the browser have noticed that Edge is grabbing data such as bookmarks from other installed browsers before permission has been granted to import such data. See also: The KB4559309 update for Windows 10 could be slowing down your computer Get back deleted data… [Continue Reading]

The KB4559309 update for Windows 10 could be slowing down your computer

Microsoft recently started to push out the new, Chromium-based version of Edge to all Windows 10 user via the KB4559309 update. But in addition to bringing a new browser, the update brought problems for some people. Rather than leading to crashes or restarts, or causing error messages like some previous problematic updates have done, some people are complaining that their computers are noticeably slower after installing KB4559309. See also: Get back deleted data with Microsoft's new Windows File Recovery tool Microsoft has removed the option to defer feature updates in Windows 10 May 2020 Update June update for Windows 10… [Continue Reading]

Belkin unveils the small and powerful Thunderbolt 3 Dock Core

If your laptop has Thunderbolt 3, a compatible dock can transform it into a desktop. With only one cable connecting the notebook to the dock, you can then connect multiple peripherals and storage solutions, such as USB mice, keyboards, and external hard drives -- all whole charging. While they tend to be pricier than normal USB docks, they are totally worth it. Today, Belkin unveils a new such product called "Dock Core" that it claims is "the world's first Thunderbolt-certified, dual-powered dock." What does that mean, exactly? This Thunderbolt 3 Dock Core is bus-powered, meaning that it can be powered… [Continue Reading]

The New York Times ditches Apple News

Apple News is an interesting concept -- a news aggregation service that supplies a selection of human-curated articles to owners of Apple devices (such as iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Pro), for free. For a monthly fee, those same users can opt into Apple News+, which provides unlimited access to hundreds of publications, including newspapers and magazines. While Apple News is obviously great for, well... Apple, it is also a big win for news readers, as they can discover interesting articles through the beautifully designed app. Unfortunately, Apple News isn't necessarily good for news publishers, as they lose the direct connection… [Continue Reading]

Calendar invites used to hide phishing links

The Cofense Phishing Defense Center (PDC) has unearthed a new phishing campaign in multiple enterprise email environments protected by Proofpoint and Microsoft that delivers .ics calendar invite attachments containing phishing links in the body. The researchers assume that the attackers believe putting the URL inside a calendar invite would help the messages to avoid automated analysis. The email carries a subject line of 'Fraud Detection from Message Center' in order to attract curious users. The sender display name is 'Walker', but the email address appears to be legitimate, possibly indicating a compromised account belonging to a school district. Cofense has… [Continue Reading]

1Password launches tool to guard against credential stuffing

Reuse of the same or similar passwords across accounts makes life easier for cybercriminals as they are able to try multiple servers using credentials exposed in breaches -- so called 'credential stuffing'. Enterprise password manager 1Password is launching a new reporting tool for its users that allows them to swiftly identify compromised accounts and take action to protect the enterprise by alerting users to create new secure passwords. IT administrators enrolled in 1Password Business and 1Password Teams can quickly create a domain breach report which checks all company email addresses against a list of nearly 10 billion compromised accounts provided… [Continue Reading]