ComputerWorld – Page 118 – Computer Security Articles

Credit to Author: Lucas Mearian| Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2018 03:20:00 -0700

Blockchain could be the answer to increasingly tough anti-money laundering (AML) statutes and enterprise fraud management (EFM) requirements looming for the financial services industry.

In a report released this week by Forrester Research, blockchain’s distributed ledger technology – because it is both secure and immutable – is ideal for meeting new government requirements and serving as a trusted repository for identification purposes.

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ComputerWorld Independent

March 21, 2018 admin

Could these grain-sized computers using blockchain networks thwart counterfeiters?

Credit to Author: Lucas Mearian| Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2018 10:39:00 -0700

Within five years, IBM researchers hope to deploy granular microcomputers that, in conjunction with a blockchain electronic ledger, could be used to verify and track goods all over the world.

IBM has created a microcomputer technology called cryptographic anchors (abbreviated: crypto-anchors) and says they could be used to authenticate anything from pharmaceuticals to luxury goods, such as diamonds, from point of origin to merchant.

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ComputerWorld Independent

March 16, 2018 admin

Microsoft lifts update embargo on Windows 10

Credit to Author: Gregg Keizer| Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2018 07:51:00 -0700

Microsoft this week lifted the security update blockade on Windows 10 PCs that do not have approved antivirus software, but kept the no-patches-for-you rule in place for the more popular Windows 7.

The update roadblock was assembled in early January, when Microsoft issued mitigations against the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities. Those vulnerabilities stemmed from design flaws in virtually all modern processors made by Intel, AMD and ARM. According to Microsoft, the security updates could brick PCs equipped with antivirus (AV) software that had improperly tapped into kernel memory.

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ComputerWorld Independent

March 14, 2018 admin

Massive March Patch Tuesday relaxes antivirus restrictions, but there are problems

Credit to Author: Woody Leonhard| Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2018 06:55:00 -0700

On a scale from 1 to 10, Microsoft in March has ratcheted the patching pace up to 11. The good news is that there are no known exploits for any of the “Critical” rated security holes. (Worth repeating: There are still no known exploits for Meltdown or Spectre.) The bad news? Reports of another forced upgrade to Win10 Fall Creators Update. Still waiting for confirmation on that one.

By the numbers

As usual, Martin Binkmann on ghacks.net, has the best summary:

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ComputerWorld Independent

March 13, 2018 admin

Essential Facebook security tips for iPhone users

Credit to Author: Jonny Evans| Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2018 05:05:00 -0700

The world of grey IT means both enterprise and consumer users frequently use popular social networking service Facebook on their devices. It makes sense, then, to stay safe while using it.

Manage Facebook Security settings

First things first: Always use a complex passcode with your account and do make sure to set up two-factor authentication.

Now that you’ve done that, you’ll find Facebook’s own privacy settings live inside Privacy Shortcuts in the iOS app. Get to these by tapping the three-line icon at bottom right of the Facebook app and scrolling down to Privacy Shortcuts. The first thing you should do is run Privacy check-up (at the top of the page). Facebook will guide you through your existing settings, change them for maximum privacy, and delete any Facebook apps you’ve forgotten about or no longer use.

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ComputerWorld Independent

March 13, 2018 admin

Just one, um, great idea after another

Credit to Author: Sharky| Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2018 03:00:00 -0700

Sysadmin pilot fish is approached by the IT director, who tells fish to create an account for the director that has the same capabilities as the lead programmer’s account.

“Seems he had some kind of beef with the lead programmer,” sighs fish. “But I created the account, set the privileges and gave him the user name and password.

“Three months later, he came into my office accusing me of not complying with his directive.

“I told him that I had indeed complied with his instructions, including showing him that the login capability worked as advertised.

“He told me he couldn’t perform a certain operation when he logged in. I explained that neither could the lead programmer. Only system administrators could.

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ComputerWorld Independent

March 13, 2018 admin

Turn Automatic Update off, temporarily, in anticipation of another round of pernicious patches

Credit to Author: Woody Leonhard| Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2018 15:14:00 -0700

Microsoft has given us two messed-up patching months back to back, with January leaving blue screens and pandemonium in its wake, and February hitting the latest version of Windows 10 particularly hard. For those of you with some experience in the patching game, it’s more of the same-old same-old.

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Understand history, but don’t repeat it

By the numbers

Manage Facebook Security settings