Ubuntu Linux 20.10 Groovy Gorilla Beta is coming soon

The popular Ubuntu Linux gets two new versions a year, with one coming in April, and the other in October. Its version numbering scheme is based on year (YY), a period, and the month (MM). For instance, the most recent stable version was released this past April and it is numbered as 20.04. In addition, Canonical (the operating system's owner) assigns names -- sequentially and alphabetically. The alphanumeric code name is always based on two words starting with the same sequential letter -- an adjective followed by an animal name. The aforementioned 20.04 is named "Focal Fossa." Obviously, the next… [Continue Reading]

Forget Microsoft's Surface Duo, Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold2 is the foldable smartphone you want -- if you can afford it

The launch of the original Galaxy Fold, Samsung’s revolutionary folding smartphone, was nothing short of a disaster with the company being forced to postpone things after models sent out to reviewers were found to be "problematic" and in need of design improvements. Pre-orders in the US even had to be cancelled, which didn’t go down at all well. Samsung eventually fixed the problems and released the Fold, although problems remained. Today the South Korean tech giant announces a completely re-engineered successor, the Galaxy Z Fold2. SEE ALSO: Surface Duo, Microsoft's foldable two-screen Android phone, is available to pre-order today 5… [Continue Reading]

Cut in TLS certificate life could lead to greater risk of outages

As of September 1st, all publicly trusted TLS certificates must have a lifespan of 398 days or less -- roughly half the previous life. According to security experts from Venafi, a provider of machine identity management, this latest change is an indication that machine identity lifetimes will continue to shrink. Certificate lifetimes have been steadily getting shorter over the last decade. Before 2011 certificate lifespans were 8–10 years (96 months), this came down to 60 months in 2012, 39 in 2015, 27 in 2018 and now to 13 in 2020. Apple, Google, and Mozilla are set to reject publicly rooted… [Continue Reading]

COVID-19 accelerates cloud migration plans

More than half of respondents to a new survey are either accelerating their cloud adoption timeline or moving forward as planned during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this number goes up to 59 percent among respondents considering VMware Cloud on AWS. The study from multi-cloud data service provider Faction finds that among those organizations where COVID-19 has paused or canceled cloud adoption, the top factors cited are budget pressures (75 percent) along with staffing shortages and macro-economic uncertainty (each named by 41 percent of respondents). Interest in VMware Cloud on AWS continues to be strong with 25 percent of respondents planning… [Continue Reading]

Phishing attacks surge during the pandemic

In yet another example of cybercriminals exploiting world events, the frequency of phishing threats has risen considerably since the start of the pandemic, with companies experiencing an average of 1,185 attacks every month. New research from GreatHorn reveals that more than half (53 percent) of over 300 IT professionals surveyed by Cybersecurity Insiders say they had witnessed an increase in phishing activity since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report also shows that 38 percent of respondents report that a co-worker has fallen victim to an attack within the last year. As a result, 15 percent of organizations are now… [Continue Reading]

Google Web Designer 9 adds powerful image-processing tools, custom keyboard shortcuts

Google has released Google Web Designer 9.0, the third major update of its HTML-5 content-producing tool for Windows, Mac, and Linux in just over a year. The tool is particularly popular among web advertisers thanks to its user-friendly WYSIWYG user interface and time-saving tools such as syntax highlighting and code auto-completion. Version 9.0 introduces a host of useful new tools, including an eyedropper for easy color picking, several image-processing tools, support for masking, and the ability to set up custom keyboard shortcuts. Users gain the ability to view and edit all the default shortcuts with Google Web Designer as of… [Continue Reading]

Microsoft blocks the installation of Windows 10 version 2004 on laptops with LTE modems

Microsoft is blocking the installation of Windows 10 version 2004 on laptops with LTE modems. The company is investigating why the May 2020 Update is causing connectivity problems for some systems with such modems. Microsoft has acknowledged that "certain WWAN LTE modems might not be able to connect after waking from sleep" and has implemented a block on the update to prevent more people from suffering connectivity issues. The company has also issued advice for anyone who has already installed Windows 10 version 2004. See also: Microsoft pushes out KB4023057 yet again to force Windows 10 feature updates Microsoft releases… [Continue Reading]