Computer Safety & News

 This USA Today article shares dangers of impersonation attacks actively circulating: http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/2016/04/30/dont-become-victim-facebook-impostor/83726928/ Last week a hairstylist in Los Angeles, took a break and (of course) checked his phone. He discovered a flood of messages, all from alarmed friends telling him the same thing: “You need to report this man in Greece. He’s pretending to be […]

Several office products have been implemented as noted in attached post http://www.zdnet.com/pictures/10-must-have-microsoft-apps-for-your-android-phone/ One of the most prolific developers of business-focused apps in the Google Play Store for Android is, surprise, Microsoft. In the past year, Redmond has shipped new apps for the entire Office suite, OneDrive, Microsoft Intune, and Dynamics CRM. Not to mention a […]

An interesting detailed documentation of user experiences during 1st year of this innovative device: http://mashable.com/2016/04/30/apple-watch-year-one/#uGM61qhkGgq2 This week was the official one-year anniversary of the Apple Watch. I’ve owned one for almost all of that time, and — like many tech journalists and gadget commentators — I believe it’s worth reflecting on what the Apple Watch […]

As shared below further improvements for email privacy appear to be forthcoming in future: http://thenextweb.com/insider/2016/04/29/email-bill-passing-congress-is-a-great-start-but-its-still-not-enough/ https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/part-I/chapter-121 We’re one step closer to email being treated as private communication, a distinction that would require government entities acquire a search warrant to read emails — even those older than 180 days.  The 180 day mark is currently the […]

Around July 2016, Windows 10 is slated for another major build and evaluation of preview version is shared below: http://www.computerworld.com/article/3061153/microsoft-windows/first-look-the-new-windows-10-anniversary-update-preview.html The first big update to Windows 10 will come this summer, a year after the operating system’s initial launch, with the release of what Microsoft is calling the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. The update’s exact […]

As shared in article below requests from Government entities have increased during past year: http://www.pcmag.com/news/344131/report-government-requests-for-facebook-data-on-the-rise More than half of the requests for data that Facebook received from US law enforcement agencies in the second half of 2015 contained a non-disclosure order that prohibited the company from notifying the user whose data was requested, according to […]

Within Windows 10, the Cortana search box will be standardize on use of Edge and Bing standards for a consistant and more secure user experience.  Other search and browser standards will continue to be supported outside of Cortana  https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2016/04/28/delivering-personalized-search-experiences-in-windows-10-through-cortana/ With Windows 10, we have invested in delivering comprehensive, end-to-end search capabilities that make Windows more personal, […]

An informative security bulletin for April 2016 has been issued by FBI documenting the increasing number of corporate and home ransomware attacks https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2016/april/incidents-of-ransomware-on-the-rise/incidents-of-ransomware-on-the-rise Hospitals, school districts, state and local governments, law enforcement agencies, small businesses, large businesses—these are just some of the entities impacted recently by ransomware, an insidious type of malware that encrypts, or […]

The FBI has developed a brochure of safety and risk mitigation tips for the growing threat of ransomware. https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/cyber/ransomware-brochure Prevention Considerations * Implement an awareness and training program. Because end users are targeted, employees and individuals should be made aware of the threat of ransomware and how it is delivered. * Patch operating systems, software, […]

The PCI/DSS 3.2 release are designed to improve point-of-sale and e-commerce standards.  This new version will require moving away from older and less secure TCP/IP networking protocols by June 2016.  Full compliance with 3.2 standards are set for June 2018. https://isc.sans.edu/forums/diary/New+release+of+PCI+DSS+version+32+is+available/21003/ https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/documents/PCI_DSS_v3-2_Summary_of_Changes.pdf A new version of the standard was released today, version 3.2. There are […]