ComputerWorld – Page 55 – PossibleThreat Articles

Four large tech companies — Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook are under investigation in the U.S. for allegedly anticompetitive behavior. These antitrust investigations on both the federal and state levels are aimed at uncovering the practices these companies engage in to eliminate competition. In this episode of TECH(feed), Juliet discusses the House investigation into big tech and how Congress plans to investigate potential wrongdoing by these companies.

ComputerWorld Independent

Now let me guess your password

September 16, 2019 0 Comments Security

Credit to Author: Sharky| Date: Mon, 16 Sep 2019 03:00:00 -0700

This pilot fish IT guy gets a call from an irate client one day complaining (incorrectly) that we had changed his administrative password on his Windows 2000 server without his knowledge.

“As I walked him through the logon process, I asked if the username in the login prompt was ‘Administrator,’ says fish. “His reply: “Oh, do I need to change that?”

Feed the Shark! Send me your true tales of IT life at sharky@computerworld.com. You can also subscribe to the Daily Shark Newsletter.

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ComputerWorld Independent

Mozilla previews Firefox VPN, will charge for service at some point

September 12, 2019 0 Comments Browsers, Security

Credit to Author: Gregg Keizer| Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2019 13:09:00 -0700

Mozilla this week resurrected its Test Pilot preview program, offering Firefox users a free VPN-like service to encrypt browser-to-site-and-back transmissions over public networks.

“The Firefox Private Network is an extension which provides a secure, encrypted path to the web to protect your connection and your personal information anywhere and everywhere you use your Firefox browser,” wrote Marissa Wood, vice president of product, in a post to the Mozilla blog.

The free service is available immediately, but only to U.S.-based users running the desktop version of Firefox. A Firefox account – typically used for syncing copies of the browser on multiple devices – and an accompanying add-on are required.

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ComputerWorld Independent

Heads up: Microsoft is back to snooping with this month’s Win7 and 8.1 'security-only' patches

September 12, 2019 0 Comments Microsoft, Privacy, Security, Windows

Credit to Author: Woody Leonhard| Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2019 09:32:00 -0700

Two months ago, the July Win7 security-only patch was found to install telemetry software, triggered by newly installed scheduled tasks called ProgramDataUpdater, Microsoft Compatibility Appraiser, and AitAgent. As best I can tell, Microsoft never admitted that its security-only patch dropped a telemetry component.

The August security-only update didn’t include that bit of snooping, so it looked like the July snooping was a one-off aberration.

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ComputerWorld Independent

Throwback Thursday: Let’s get an expert opinion

September 12, 2019 0 Comments Security

Credit to Author: Sharky| Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2019 03:00:00 -0700

Card-reader door locks are installed at this pilot fish’s company, and she’s tasked with setting up the software, configuring the locks and assigning employee access and times.

A VP gives her a handwritten sheet of paper with the employee door access and times, reports fish. Then he promptly takes a one-week vacation.

“The day the system goes live, the employees are standing in front of me yelling because their cards won’t let them in the door they want to use. They now have to use the main door instead.

“The VP comes along hearing all the complaints, then starts yelling at me that this is not the way it should be set up.

“I pull out his handwritten instructions. He looks at it and says, ‘That’s not my handwriting!’”

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ComputerWorld Independent

Windows 10 1909: What's in it for enterprises?

September 11, 2019 0 Comments IT Strategy, Security, Windows

Credit to Author: Gregg Keizer| Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2019 14:51:00 -0700

This fall's update for Windows 10 may not include a raft of new features, but it does offer something even more important to enterprise IT: extended support that should make future upgrades easier to manage.

ComputerWorld Independent

Lemonade is changing the way we insure our homes

September 11, 2019 0 Comments Security

Credit to Author: DealPost Team| Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2019 07:05:00 -0700

Your home can be broken into or destroyed by a natural disaster when you least expect it. When that happens, how will you get back on your feet? Ideally, you would’ve been paying homeowner’s or renter’s insurance to cover your losses. Unfortunately, it can take weeks or even months to receive your money after filing a claim.

Lemonade is here to save the day in less than a day. With rates starting as low as $5/mo for renter’s insurance and $25/mo for homeowner’s insurance, you can rest assured that your property claims can be approved and reimbursed within seconds.

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ComputerWorld Independent

How to set up Microsoft Teams for security and compliance

September 11, 2019 0 Comments Security, Windows

These are the security and compliance decisions you need to make when deploying Microsoft Teams.

ComputerWorld Independent

How to take full advantage of Android 10's privacy-reclaiming powers

September 10, 2019 0 Comments Android, Mobile, Operating Systems, Security, Software

Credit to Author: JR Raphael| Date: Tue, 10 Sep 2019 08:23:00 -0700

Well, gang, it’s here. In case you’ve been hibernating over the past week (or maybe just, ahem, on an unfortunately timed week off), Google brought Android 10 into this wacky ol’ world of ours this past Tuesday.

There’s really only so much to say about the Android 10 basics at this point — because, quite frankly, it’s the same software we’ve seen evolving in plain view over the past several months.

Yes, Android 10 has new gestures for getting around your phone. Yes, it has a new system-wide switch for making the entire operating system dark. And yes, it has a nifty new Focus Mode for limiting distractions on an app-by-app basis.

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ComputerWorld Independent

Heads up: A free, working exploit for BlueKeep just hit

September 6, 2019 0 Comments PCs, Security, Windows

Credit to Author: Woody Leonhard| Date: Fri, 06 Sep 2019 11:33:00 -0700

There’s been a lot of discussion about BlueKeep, its ramifications and various strategies for blocking it. In a nutshell, it’s a security hole in the Windows Remote Desktop Protocol that allows a malicious program to enter your machine – if you have Remote Dekstop turned on, it’s accessible directly from the internet, and you haven’t installed the May patches.

Two weeks ago, Susan Bradley posted a CSO article that details ways admins can avoid using RDP. I’ve seen reams of advice about blocking ports, disabling services, setting authentication levels, deploying voodoo dolls, reading chicken entrails…, but the simplest way for almost everybody to avoid the problem is to install the May (or later) Windows patches.

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