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If your Windows 10 PC (ex: laptop) has a built-in touchpad, you may want to enable or disable on demand. The TouchPad Disable Zone feature allows you to enable or disable the touchpad by double tapping on the corner zone (top left) of the touchpad. If the touchpad is enabled, you can double tap on the top left corner of the touchpad to disable it. If the touchpad is disabled, you can double tap on the top left corner of the touchpad to enable it. This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable the TouchPad Disable Zone feature to double tap to enable or disable touchpad for your account in Windows 10. Read more… ... read more

If your Windows 10 PC (ex: laptop) has a built-in touchpad, you may want to enable or disable the tapping feature (aka: Tap to Click) as needed. Tapping means quickly touching and then lifting your finger off the touchpad surface. When tapping is enabled, a tap on the touchpad performs the actions of the left mouse button. When tapping is disabled, the touchpad buttons are the only way to click from the touchpad. This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable touchpad tapping (aka: Tap to Click) on demand for your account in Windows 10. Read more… ... read more

The FBI has created an excellent National Cybersecurity Awareness Month security awareness page: https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/national-cybersecurity-awareness-month-100119 THEME = Own IT. Secure IT. Protect IT. Cyber Safety Tips – All computer users should keep systems and software up to date and use a good anti-virus program. These programs are not foolproof, however, and computer users themselves often help cybercriminals get through these safeguards. To avoid inadvertently downloading malicious code that can harm your network or giving a criminal money or valuable information, the FBI recommends these tips: Examine the email address and URLs in all correspondence. Scammers often mimic a legitimate site or email address by using a slight variation in spelling. If an unsolicited text message or email asks you to update, check, or verify your account information, do not follow the link provided in the message itself or call the phone numbers provided in the message. Go to the company’s website to log into your account or call the phone number listed on the official website to see if something does in fact need your attention. Do not open any attachments unless you are expecting the file, document, or invoice ... read more

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MS identified a printing problem: Windows 10 1903 KB4522016 Cumulative Update Breaks Printing Looks like MS has re-released an out-of-band update to fix a couple of problems. October 3, 2019—KB4524150 (OS Build 16299.1421) “IMPORTANT This is a required security update that expands the out-of-band update dated September 23, 2019. This security update includes the Internet Explorer scripting engine security vulnerability (CVE-2019-1367) mitigation and corrects a recent printing issue some users have experienced. Customers using Windows Update or Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) will be offered this update automatically. To help secure your devices, we recommend that you install this update as soon as a possible and restart your PC to fully apply the mitigations. Like all cumulative updates, this update supersedes any preceding update. Note This update does not replace the upcoming October 2019 monthly update, which is scheduled to release on October 8, 2019.“ ... read more

Para registrarte sigue este link : AzureSphereMeetup Microsoft Azure Sphere es una plataforma que permite a los desarrolladores crear dispositivos ultra seguros listos para ser conectados a nuestra Internet de las cosas. El módulo Azure Sphere se compone de un microcontrolador, un sistema operativo basado en Linux y un servicio de seguridad basado en la nube. Con muchos informes de dispositivos domésticos inteligentes no seguros y vulnerables que se publican a una velocidad asombrosa, es necesaria una placa que pueda reemplazar esos dispositivos. El módulo tiene 16 MB de almacenamiento flash, 4 MB de SRAM, un procesador Arm Cortex-A7 para aplicaciones de baja potencia y dos procesadores Arm Cortex-M4F para procesamiento en tiempo real, junto con Wi-Fi incorporado y la seguridad de Microsoft Plutón subsistema. Las E / S como SPI, I2C y hasta 27 pines GPIO permiten que otros sensores y microcontroladores se interconecten fácilmente. Si quieres descubrir el nuevo buque insignia de Microsoft, no olvides acompañarnos el próximo dia 19. Te esperamos!! Para registrarte sigue este link : AzureSphereMeetup ... read more

The SANS ISC shares an interesting & in-depth analysis of how a “Lost Files” Ransomware attack used same fake email message a former virus was packaged in years ago. https://isc.sans.edu/forums/diary/LostFiles+Ransomware/25382/ Malware developers don’t reinvent the wheel and re-use code published here and there. I spotted a ransomware which looked like a former Microsoft based email attack. Once processed, files are renamed with the extension ‘.Lost_Files_Encrypt‘. Apparently, the ransomware started to scan for SMB services (TCP/445) on random IP addresses after the initial infection. Probably trying to infect host vulnerable to EternalBlue. ... read more

Windows 10 1903 KB4522016 Cumulative Update Breaks Printing Shortly after the release of the “optional” cumulative release for Windows 10 1903, reports came in that there was a big problem with HP printers being unable to print. It turns out that the problem is a bit more extensive. Of course, Microsoft’s “work around is to: try again reboot the printer install newer (r older) driver They promise a more permanent fix “as part of an upcoming release”. ... read more

My new Pluralsight course on C++ Standard Library containers is LIVE! In this course, you’ll learn how to use some important containers implemented in the C++ Standard Library, with a combination of theoretical introduction using slides, and practical C++ implementation code, including analyzing and fixing some common bugs. Comparing the memory layout of std::list vs. std::vector. C++ Standard Library implementations offer high-quality well-tested and highly-optimized standard containers, that are very powerful tools when developing software written in C++. In particular, I’ll discuss std::vector (which is a Standard Library workhorse), std::array, and std::list, including how to use them, discussing their pros and cons, and giving some guidance on picking one or the other, based on the problem at hand. Other containers (e.g. std::map) will be the topic of follow-up courses. No prior knowledge of C++ Standard Library containers is required. You only need a basic knowledge of C++ language features. Working on the implementation of a case-insensitive string search. Containers and algorithms are kind of like “bread and butter”, so in this course you’ll also learn ... read more

Annually October is “National Cybersecurity Awareness Month” with key links below https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/current-activity/2019/09/30/prepare-national-cybersecurity-awareness-month https://staysafeonline.org/ This year’s theme, “Own IT. Secure IT. Protect IT.,” focuses on promoting personal accountability and positive behavior when it comes to cybersecurity.   CISA encourages organizations to see the NCSAM 2019 webpage and the NCSAM 2019 Toolkit for ways to participate in and promote NCSAM.     ... read more

While fighting computer crime is always challenging, violent crime and property crime fell in 2018 from 2017 levels as noted in full report below https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2018-crime-statistics-released-093019 Both violent crime and property crime fell in 2018 from the previous year, according to the FBI’s annual crime statistics released today. Violent crime declined 3.3 percent between 2017 and 2018. Property crime decreased 6.3 percent during the same time period, according to Crime in the United States, 2018, the annual crime statistics report produced by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program. FULL REPORThttps://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2018/crime-in-the-u.s.-2018 ... read more

This PC Magazine article shares over twenty highly advanced Facebook features for power users https://www.pcmag.com/feature/324797/22-hidden-facebook-features-only-power-users-know Facebook boasts one of the world’s most complex and multi-faceted websites. It rivals many standalone software apps with the sheer amount of personalization, tweaks, and tinkering available to visitors. In fact, there are so many things you can do on Facebook.com that you can’t know about all the official, baked-in, easily accessible functions just a few clicks away. Read on to awaken your inner social superstar. ... read more

Yeah, nah. Last I checked our mail server was nowhere near Germany ... read more

OneDrive is a cloud-based storage service where you can view, browse, upload, and share the files you saved online to OneDrive. OneDrive runs on the trusted Microsoft cloud, which has many security measures in place to keep your files safe. But Microsoft understands that some people want more protection for their most important and sensitive files, which is why they are introducing Personal Vault. Personal Vault is a protected area in OneDrive where you can store your most important or sensitive files and photos without sacrificing the convenience of anywhere access. Personal Vault adds to the robust privacy and security that OneDrive currently offers, including file encryption at rest and in transit, suspicious activity monitoring, ransomware detection and recovery, mass file deletion notification and recovery, virus scanning on download for known threats, and version history for all file types. You will need to set up Personal Vault separately on each device where you want to use it. Just enter a PIN, or use your fingerprint, face, or a code delivered by email or SMS1 to unlock and access your files—no need to remember multiple passwords. Additionally, Personal Vault can be unlocked with the Microsoft Authenticator app. Whichever way you choose, ... read more

OneDrive is a cloud-based storage service where you can view, browse, upload, and share the files you saved online to OneDrive. OneDrive runs on the trusted Microsoft cloud, which has many security measures in place to keep your files safe. But Microsoft understands that some people want more protection for their most important and sensitive files, which is why they are introducing Personal Vault. Personal Vault is a protected area in OneDrive where you can store your most important or sensitive files and photos without sacrificing the convenience of anywhere access. Personal Vault adds to the robust privacy and security that OneDrive currently offers, including file encryption at rest and in transit, suspicious activity monitoring, ransomware detection and recovery, mass file deletion notification and recovery, virus scanning on download for known threats, and version history for all file types. You will need to set up Personal Vault separately on each device where you want to use it. Just enter a PIN, or use your fingerprint, face, or a code delivered by email or SMS1 to unlock and access your files—no need to remember multiple passwords. Additionally, Personal Vault can be unlocked with the Microsoft Authenticator app. Whichever way you choose, ... read more

OneDrive is a cloud-based storage service where you can view, browse, upload, and share the files you saved online to OneDrive. OneDrive runs on the trusted Microsoft cloud, which has many security measures in place to keep your files safe. But Microsoft understands that some people want more protection for their most important and sensitive files, which is why they are introducing Personal Vault. Personal Vault is a protected area in OneDrive where you can store your most important or sensitive files and photos without sacrificing the convenience of anywhere access. Personal Vault adds to the robust privacy and security that OneDrive currently offers, including file encryption at rest and in transit, suspicious activity monitoring, ransomware detection and recovery, mass file deletion notification and recovery, virus scanning on download for known threats, and version history for all file types. You will need to set up Personal Vault separately on each device where you want to use it. Just enter a PIN, or use your fingerprint, face, or a code delivered by email or SMS1 to unlock and access your files—no need to remember multiple passwords. Additionally, Personal Vault can be unlocked with the Microsoft Authenticator app. Whichever way you choose, ... read more

The SANS ISC warns of a botnet called Polycon which may manipulate VOIP phones & their Auto-configuration File settings (CFG) https://isc.sans.edu/forums/diary/New+Scans+for+Polycom+Autoconfiguration+Files/25366/ One of my honeypots detected a bot looking for Polycom master provisioning files. Such files are called by default ‘000000000000.cfg’ and contain interesting information to perform provisioning of VoIP phones. Normally, this file is renamed with the MAC address of the phone but the name can be left intact. If phone can’t find its own MAC address-based configuration, it will pull the default file. Such configuration files contain very sensitive information about internal networks and should never be publicly available. ... read more

Security Mailer Volume 19 Number 39Balsam#2019MVP Browsers- urgent Chrome update Cisco Security Advisories Linux updates Microsoft Security updates released Emergency update for Internet Explorer 0-day Cumulative update for Windows 10 1903 File extension types banned in OWA New fileless malware General Security covers last week vulnerabilities ... read more

The Receive-Job Keep parameter is required if you want the data contained in the job to remain available. if you don’t use the –Keep parameter (a switch) the data will be deleted.   Its a pain to remember to use the Keep parameter. I’ve been working with jobs a lot just recently and the number of times I had to rerun jobs because I forgot to use Keep doesn’t bear thinking about.   I finally got round to adding it to the default parameter values. This line in my profile $PSDefaultParameterValues = @{‘Install-Module:Scope’=’AllUsers’; ‘Update-Module:Scope’=’AllUsers’; ‘Receive-Job:Keep’ = $true}   ensures I won’t forget ever again. Because Keep is a switch you have to set the value to true. ... read more

Had a great day at PowerShell Day UK 2019. The PowerShell Day UK 2019 slides and code for my session are available at https://github.com/RichardSiddaway/PSDay2019. ... read more

OneDrive is a cloud-based storage service where you can view, browse, upload, and share the files you saved online to OneDrive. OneDrive runs on the trusted Microsoft cloud, which has many security measures in place to keep your files safe. But Microsoft understands that some people want more protection for their most important and sensitive files, which is why they are introducing Personal Vault. Personal Vault is a protected area in OneDrive where you can store your most important or sensitive files and photos without sacrificing the convenience of anywhere access. Personal Vault adds to the robust privacy and security that OneDrive currently offers, including file encryption at rest and in transit, suspicious activity monitoring, ransomware detection and recovery, mass file deletion notification and recovery, virus scanning on download for known threats, and version history for all file types. You will need to set up Personal Vault separately on each device where you want to use it. Just enter a PIN, or use your fingerprint, face, or a code delivered by email or SMS1 to unlock and access your files—no need to remember multiple passwords. Additionally, Personal Vault can be unlocked with the Microsoft Authenticator app. Whichever way you choose, ... read more

If your Windows 10 PC (ex: laptop) has a built-in touchpad, you may need to adjust the touchpad sensitivity for your needs. Touchpad sensitivity is how much pressure must be applied on the touchpad before it responds. If your pointer is moving or clicking erratically or to easily, decreasing sensitivity may help. If you have to press too hard to operate the touchpad or the touchpad does not always respond to your taps, increasing the sensitivity may hay help. This tutorial will show you how to adjust the touchpad sensitivity for your account in Windows 10. Read more… ... read more

DoorDash confirms data breach affected 4.9 million customers, workers and merchants The food delivery company said in a blog post Thursday that 4.9 million customers, delivery workers and merchants had their information stolen by hackers. The breach happened on May 4, the company said, but added that customers who joined after April 5, 2018 are not affected by the breach.   ... read more

September 26, 2019—KB4517211 (OS Build 18362.387)