Computer Safety & News

CISA highlights two back-to-back Google Chrome v80 security updates which usually apply automatically.

https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/current-activity/2020/02/25/google-releases-security-updates-chrome

Google has released Chrome version 80.0.3987.122 for Windows, Mac, and Linux. This version addresses vulnerabilities that an attacker could exploit to take control of an affected system. CISA encourages users and administrators to review the Chrome Release and apply the necessary updates.

https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/current-activity/2020/02/21/google-releases-security-updates-chrome

Google has released Chrome version 80.0.3987.116 for Windows, Mac, and Linux. This version addresses vulnerabilities that an attacker could exploit to take control of an affected system. CISA encourages users and administrators to review the Chrome Release and apply the necessary updates.

Ars takes the new Opera R2020 browser for a spin & it bundles in some advanced UI features that Firefox and Chrome don’t have currently.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/02/browser-review-opera-r2020-and-opera-touch-are-well-worth-a-look/

When the topic of Web browsers comes up, most people only think of Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and whatever Microsoft’s doing this week. (Just kidding, Microsoft—the new Edge is unironically great!) But today, we’re going to look at perennial bridesmaid Opera, which released a new version codenamed R2020 this Tuesday.  Opera offers a free VPN with unlimited bandwidth to anyone who wants to use one. On the plus side, it’s free and reasonably fast.

We’ve been briefly excited by lesser-known browsers many times in the last 20 years, only to eventually gravitate back to the most comfortable of the big, common options. But the tide may be turning for lesser-known options like Opera. Using the same Chromium open source browser upstream as Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge do, there aren’t likely to be many compatibility surprises—at least for Windows and Mac users.

The Good

• • Opera feels both fast and familiar (enough) for anyone accustomed to Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, or Firefox
  • First-rate Linux installation and update experience
  • The stand-out features feel immediately useful—Snapshot, VPN, Workspaces, pinned Messengers, and My Flow all fit very neatly and obviously into our existing workflows
  • Chromium upstream base means sites render familiarly and accurately to Chrome or Edge users
  • Battery saver feature makes bloated sites feel less bloated and wasteful, even on a desktop

The Bad

• • Unit and currency conversion is still a little wonky and limited
  • DRM is completely non-functional on Linux

The Ugly

• • Many Linux users won’t care about broken DRM for philosophical reasons—but they won’t use a non-Libre browser, for the same philosophical reasons

Windows Central reviews best Windows 10 “YouTube to MP3 Converters” which must be in accordance with proper digital copyright legal requirements

https://www.windowscentral.com/best-youtube-mp3-converters-windows

YouTube has an almost infinite library of music, podcasts, and audio to listen to. Sometimes, you want to grab an audio source and place it into a video or listen to it offline. To do so, you’ll need a YouTube to MP3 converter. These allow you to download audio from a YouTube video so you can use it elsewhere. As a quick note, make sure that you have permission to use any of the audio you download.

For Windows 10 corrupted system files, Windows Central shares an excellent guide to possibly fix this issue using the System File Checker tool.

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-use-sfc-scannow-command-fix-problems-windows-10

QUOTE: On Windows 10, when you start noticing random errors, problems booting up, or features not working as expected, there’s a good chance that one or multiple system files might have gone missing or corrupted for unknown reasons. Usually, problems with system files could occur as a result of an issue installing a system update, driver, or application, or while making changes to the installation manually.

If you happen to come across this issue, you can use the Windows 10 System File Checker (SFC), which is a command-line tool designed to scan the integrity and restore missing or corrupted system files with working replacements.  In this Windows 10 guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to use the System File Checker tool to repair damaged system files automatically or manually if the tool refuses to work.

• How to repair Windows 10 with SFC
• How to repair Windows 10 with SFC offline
• How to repair Windows 10 manually without SFC

FireFox v73’s “DOH” by default rollout can help improve & and privacy while browsing

https://gizmodo.com/mozilla-rolls-out-encrypted-browsing-by-default-for-u-s-1841907206

Firefox continues push to bring DNS over HTTPS by default for US users

Today, Mozilla is flipping on the switch to turn on encrypted DNS over HTTPS for U.S. users by default. If you’re unfamiliar with the tech, the pitch is this feature will help prevent internet service providers from tracking the sites you go to.

DNS over HTTPS (DoH) is meant to address the inherent privacy vulnerabilities in how you surf the web. The Domain Name Service (DNS) is, in Mozilla’s words, “one of the oldest parts of internet architecture” and one that hasn’t seen a lot of changes in the past 30 years. This plays into tracking because when you go to a URL, your browser needs to look up the site’s corresponding IP address. It does that via the DNS. But, even if the site you’re visiting is encrypted via HTTPS, the DNS lookup is done over plain text. That means ISPs—or other entities—can, if they so choose, easily figure out what websites you’ve gone to and build up a profile of your browsing habits. DoH is meant to circumvent that by ensuring the DNS lookup is also encrypted. It won’t necessarily stop tracking wholesale, but it will make it more difficult.

John Maxwell shares excellent article on leadership challenges associated with 5 different generations in workplace & innovative approaches for unity & productivity

There are Five Generations in Today’s Workforce. Are you Ready to Lead Them All?

For the first time in our nation’s history, we have five generations collaborating together in the same workforce. This convergence presents stunning opportunities for innovation with so many different perspectives together under one roof. But it also reveals significant challenges in communication, engagement and, most importantly, leadership. One of the core principles of our beliefs is that we need to lead people the way they need to be led.
***
1. The Greatest Generation … born before 1946
2. Baby Boomers … 1946-1964
3. Generation X … 1965-1980
4. Millennials (aka GEN “Y”) … 1981-1997
5. Generation Z … after 1997

https://redmondmag.com/articles/2020/02/21/dell-sells-rsa-assets-for-2-billion.aspx

Dell’s RSA security solutions businesses, including the RSA Conference, were bought by a consortium of companies for about $2 billion, according to Tuesday announcements.  The RSA purchase was led by Symphony Technology Group (STG), the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and AlpInvest Partners, according to an STG announcement, which described the deal as a “definitive agreement.” In an all-cash deal, the consortium will be acquiring “RSA Archer, RSA NetWitness Platform, RSA SecurID, RSA Fraud and Risk Intelligence and RSA Conference” after regulatory approvals.

The annual 2020 RSA Conference is a chance to preview new security offerings & discuss latest trends in malware attacks.  The timeframe will be FEB 24-28 2020 in San Francisco

https://www.pcmag.com/news/what-to-expect-at-rsac-2020

https://www.rsaconference.com/usa

The Moscone Center here will soon be filled with security industry vendors and potential clients for the RSA Conference. The annual show largely focuses on show floor deals and lengthy discussions of enterprise security technology, but there are many fascinating and frightening presentations to look forward to as well.    Previous shows have hosted a US attorney general, the head of the FBI, and others, and RSA 2020 will feature a keynote from Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Christopher C. Krebs. 

Google Chrome in version 80 has introduced a new word or phrase link feature, that users should carefully evaluate to avoid privacy website tracking exposures

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/privacy-concerns-raised-over-new-google-chrome-feature/

With the release of Google Chrome 80, Google quietly slipped in a new feature that allows users to create a link directly to a specific word or phrase on a page. A Brave Browser researcher, though, sees this as a potential privacy risk and is concerned Google added it too quickly. In February 2019, we reported about a new web feature created by Google called ‘Scroll To Text Fragment‘ that allows users to create links to a specific word on a web page and automatically highlight it.   Brave Browser security researcher Peter Snyder, though, thinks this feature introduces privacy risks that Google did not address before making the feature live.

Lenovo & other vendors are moving to more advanced INTEL CPU chip sets that feature improved battery life & performance & smaller state-of-art “form factors”

https://www.pcmag.com/news/lenovo-updates-thinkpads-with-10th-gen-chips

 Lenovo is the latest to do so with a refresh of its ThinkPad range of laptops.   ThinkPad T laptops, which is Lenovo’s most successful ThinkPad series and referred to as the “premium business workhorse.” New hardware features in the T14, T14s, and T15 models include 10th gen Core i5, i7, and vPro Intel processors and up to 4K resolution displays with brightness maxing out at 500 nits. Lenovo also upgraded all laptops to Wi-Fi 6 connectivity and both the T14 and T15 models include Nvidia GeForce MX330 graphics with 2GB of dedicated GDDR5 memory.