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ComputerWorldIndependent

Dump Windows 7 already! Jeez!

Credit to Author: Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols| Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2020 07:00:00 -0800

Why am I still writing about Windows 7? It’s dead, Jim! The tombstone reads, “June 22, 2009 – January 14, 2020.” It was a good run, but unless you’re shelling out some serious coin for Windows 7 Extended Security Updates (ESU), you shouldn’t be running Windows 7.

But many of you are. According to the best survey of who’s running what, the U.S. government’s Digital Analytics Program (DAP), on Feb. 14, weeks after Win7’s end of life, just over one in 20 of Windows users was still using Windows 7! Oh, come on! More than 5%! A dead and buried OS! Get with the program!

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ComputerWorldIndependent

Mobile security: Worse than you thought

Credit to Author: Evan Schuman| Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2020 03:00:00 -0800

Many security professionals have long held that the words “mobile security” are an oxymoron. True or not, with today’s mobile usage soaring in enterprises, that viewpoint may become irrelevant. It’s a reasonable estimate that 2020 knowledge workers use mobile devices to either supplement or handle much of their work 98% of the time. Laptops still have a role (OK, if you want to get literal, I suppose a laptop can be considered mobile), but that’s only because of their larger screens and keyboards. I’d give mobile players maybe three more years before that becomes moot.

That means that security on mobile needs to become a top priority. To date, that usually has been addressed with enterprise-grade mobile VPNs, antivirus and more secure communication methods (such as Signal). But in the latest Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report — always a worthwhile read — Verizon eloquently argues that aside from wireless, the form factor of mobile in and of itself poses security risks.

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ComputerWorldIndependent

How blockchain could help block fake news

Credit to Author: Lucas Mearian| Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2020 03:00:00 -0800

In 2018, a video of former President Barrack Obama surfaced on YouTube explaining how easily technology could be used to manipulate video and create fake news. It got more than 7.2 million views.

In the video, Obama explains how we live in dangerous times when “enemies” can make anyone say anything at any point in time. Moments later, it’s revealed that the video was itself faked.

Whether its news articles, images or video, fake and misleading content has proliferated across the internet over the past five or so years. One possible solution to the problem now being proposed would standardize how content is delivered online, with anything outside those standards not trusted.

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ComputerWorldIndependent

Microsoft springs last-minute demand on buyers of Windows 7 after-expiration support

Credit to Author: Gregg Keizer| Date: Sat, 15 Feb 2020 05:35:00 -0800

Microsoft this week threw a wrench into the workings of its long-touted Windows 7 post-retirement support, telling IT administrators that there was a brand new prerequisite that must be installed before they can download the patches they’d already paid for.

The last-minute requirement was titled “Extended Security Updates Licensing Preparation Package” and identified as KB4538483 in Microsoft’s numerical format.

The licensing prep package can be downloaded manually from the Microsoft Update Catalog. It should also appear in WSUS (Windows Server Update Services), the patch management platform used by many commercial customers. It will not, however, be automatically delivered through the Windows Update service, which some very small businesses rely on to provide them necessary patches.

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ComputerWorldIndependent

MIT researchers say mobile voting app piloted in U.S. is rife with vulnerabilities

Credit to Author: Lucas Mearian| Date: Thu, 13 Feb 2020 13:30:00 -0800

Elections officials in numerous states have piloted various mobile voting applications as a method of expanding access to the polls, but MIT researchers say one of the more popular apps has security vulnerabilities that could open it up to tampering by bad actors.

The MIT analysis of the application, called Voatz, highlighted a number of weaknesses that could allow hackers to “alter, stop, or expose how an individual user has voted.”

Additionally, the researchers found that Voatz’s use of Palo Alto-based vendor Jumio for voter identification and verification poses potential privacy issues for users.

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ComputerWorldIndependent

A large – but manageable – February Patch Tuesday brings critical browser updates

Credit to Author: Greg Lambert| Date: Thu, 13 Feb 2020 03:00:00 -0800

With 99 reported vulnerabilities and patches to both Microsoft browsers, Office and Windows, this month’s Patch Tuesday update is not as large an administrative burden as you might initially think. We’ve rated the browser updates as a “Patch Now” update due to issues with the Chakra engine, but both Office and Windows can be scheduled according to a regular patch cadence. Unfortunately, we have another Adobe Flash update to deploy, but no critical development updates for February.

You can find more information in our helpful infographic here.

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ComputerWorldIndependent

BlackBerry says its new Digital Workplace eliminates need for VPN, VDI

Credit to Author: Lucas Mearian| Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2020 13:18:00 -0800

BlackBerry has unveiled its Digital Workplace platform, a web portal and workspace for secure online and offline access to corporate on-premise or cloud content,  including Microsoft Office 365 resources.

Digital Workplace, announced last week, integrates a secure browser-based workspace sold by Awingu, a Belgium company that penned a partnership with BlackBerry in 2018. Businesses can access their legacy Windows, Linux, SaaS or internal web apps, desktops and files inside of Awingu’s secure managed browser. Awingu’s unified workspace runs Windows, Linux, web and intranet apps.

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