ComputerWorld – Page 33 – PossibleThreat Articles

How to boost cybersecurity defenses using your router

March 25, 2022 0 Comments networking, Security

Credit to Author: Paul Gillin| Date: Fri, 11 Mar 2022 12:01:00 -0800

COVID-19 has made us all more aware of the need to protect our computers at home from online evil. But when was the last time you pointed your browser at your router? The little box that connects your PC and all the other devices in your home to the internet has an array security features that many people are unaware of.

After speaking to Derek Manky, chief of security insights and global threat alliances at Fortinet’s FortiGuard Labs, I logged into my Verizon FIOS router for the first time in years and discovered there were no less than 18 devices connected to it, including TVs, printers, thermostats and a half dozen Amazon Echoes. Each is a potential security vulnerability. “If you look at your home router, you’ll be surprised what you find there,” Manky said.

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ComputerWorld Independent

US, EU reach preliminary data privacy agreement

March 25, 2022 0 Comments Data privacy, regulation

Credit to Author: Michael Hill| Date: Fri, 25 Mar 2022 05:34:00 -0700

US President Biden and EU President von der Leyen say deal underscores shared values over data privacy and security surrounding transatlantic information sharing.

ComputerWorld Independent

U.S., EU reach preliminary data privacy agreement

March 25, 2022 0 Comments Data privacy, regulation

Credit to Author: Michael Hill| Date: Fri, 25 Mar 2022 05:34:00 -0700

U.S. President Biden and EU President von der Leyen say deal underscores shared values over data privacy and security surrounding trans-Atlantic information sharing.

ComputerWorld Independent

10 easy steps to make Chrome faster and more secure

March 24, 2022 0 Comments Browsers, chrome, productivity software, Security

Credit to Author: JR Raphael| Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2022 03:00:00 -0700

Gather ’round, kiddos — ’cause it’s time for a story.

Once upon a time, Chrome was a lean, mean browsing machine. It was the scrappy lightweight kid in a block filled with clunky old blobs of blubber. People had never seen a browser so fast, so thoughtfully constructed! It stripped everything down to the essentials and made the act of browsing the web both pleasant and secure — qualities that were anything but standard back in that prehistoric era.

Chrome was “minimalist in the extreme,” as The New York Times put it — with “extremely fast” page loads and a “snappy” user interface, in the words of Ars Technica. Its sandbox-centric setup and emphasis on supporting web-based applications made the program “the first true Web 2.0 browser,” as some other tech website opined.

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ComputerWorld Independent

You can't keep quiet when you're hacked anymore

March 22, 2022 0 Comments Security

Credit to Author: Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols| Date: Tue, 22 Mar 2022 03:00:00 -0700

One of the dirty little secrets of many businesses, perhaps even most, is that far more of them than ever admit to it have been hacked. Still others end up paying ransomware, but they’ve never revealed this deep, dark secret. After all, who wants to admit to the world — and their customers — that they’ve been caught with their security pants down.

Well, things are about to change. In the recently signed $1.5 trillion government funding bill were new cybersecurity laws requiring companies to quickly report data breaches and ransomware payments.

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ComputerWorld Independent

Do svidaniya, Kaspersky — goodbye

March 18, 2022 0 Comments saas, Security, software provider, Technology Industry

Credit to Author: Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols| Date: Fri, 18 Mar 2022 03:00:00 -0700

Companies and governments have, shall we say, interesting relations. Just ask any Chinese tech company in recent days. But, while they’re losing billions, companies in war-mongering countries like Russia have an even harder row to hoe. How can Russian companies support Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine?

You may say they can’t, but that just shows you haven’t studied history. When money and ethics are weighed against each other, money usually wins. For example, such American-as-apple-pie-and-baseball companies as General Motors, Ford, Coca-Cola, and IBM supported Nazi Germany during World War II.

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ComputerWorld Independent

What are the best VPN services for conflict zones?

March 14, 2022 0 Comments iOS, Mobile, Privacy, Security, small and medium business

Credit to Author: Jonny Evans| Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2022 09:56:00 -0700

There has been a rapid spike in demand for VPN services in Russia and Ukraine since the invasion began almost three weeks ago. People in both nations seek online freedoms as offline misery intensifies, and want to see through the fog of conflict.

VPN services see rapid growth in Russia

A VPN (virtual private network) service creates an encrypted tunnel between users and the servers they interact with. This helps secure the traffic to protect people from being identified, tracked, and surveilled.

Simon Migliano, Head of Research at Top10VPN, explained that Russians began seeking out VPN services before the conflict began. But demand has accelerated as it continues and authorities become more repressive there.

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ComputerWorld Independent

Do you know where your software comes from?

March 14, 2022 0 Comments Security, small and medium business, Software Development, Windows

Credit to Author: Susan Bradley| Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2022 08:56:00 -0700

Where does your software come from?

That’s one of the questions online users at AskWoody.com have asked in recent weeks. Obviously, this comes up as the world sees what’s going on in Ukraine. For many years, one security software vendor in particular was tagged as possibly having Russian ties — and as far back as 2017, the US Government banned the use of Kaspersky antivirus over fears the security software could spy on defense contractors for Russia.

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ComputerWorld Independent

Microsoft delivers a solid, low-impact Patch Tuesday

March 12, 2022 0 Comments Microsoft, Security, small and medium business, Windows

Credit to Author: Greg Lambert| Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2022 05:10:00 -0800

March brings us a solid set of updates from Microsoft for Windows, Microsoft Office, Exchange, and Edge (Chromium), but no critical issues requiring a “Patch Now” release schedule (though Microsoft Exchange will require some technical effort this month). We have published some testing guidelines, with a focus on printing, remote desktop over VPN connections, and server-based networking changes. We also recommend testing your Windows installer packages with a specific focus on roll-back and uninstall functionality.

You can find more information about the risk of deploying these Patch Tuesday updates with this useful infographic. And, if you are looking for more information on .NET updates, there is a great post from Microsoft that highlights this month’s changes.

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