small and medium business – Page 16 – Computer Security Articles

Russia is losing the cyberwar against Ukraine, too

May 2, 2022 admin Security, small and medium business, windows

Credit to Author: Preston Gralla| Date: Mon, 02 May 2022 03:00:00 -0700

When Russia launched its all-out attack against Ukraine in February, the world expected the invaders to roll over the country quickly. That didn’t happen, and Ukraine today, though still under assault, has so far thwarted Russia’s ambitions to conquer it.

Russia has also been fighting a quieter war against Ukraine, a cyberwar, deploying what had been considered the most feared state-sponsored hackers in the world. And in the same way that Ukraine has fended off Russia’s military might, it’s been winning the cyberwar as well.

In that cyberwar, as always, the terrain is primarily Windows, because it represents the largest and most vulnerable attack surface in the world. The facts about what exactly is going on have been shadowy. But there’s plenty of evidence that Ukraine may keep the upper hand.

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ComputerWorld Independent

12 Android settings that'll strengthen your security

April 22, 2022 admin Android, Mobile, Mobile Security, Security, small and medium business

Credit to Author: JR Raphael| Date: Fri, 22 Apr 2022 02:50:00 -0700

You might not know it from all the panic-inducing headlines out there, but Android is actually packed with practical and powerful security options. Some are activated by default and protecting you whether you realize it or not, while others are more out of the way but equally deserving of your attention.

So stop wasting your time worrying about the Android malware monster du jour and which security company is using it to scare you into an unnecessary subscription, and take a moment instead to look through these far more impactful Android settings — ranging from core system-level elements to some more advanced and easily overlooked options.

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ComputerWorld Independent

April's Patch Tuesday: a lot of large, diverse and urgent updates

April 15, 2022 admin microsoft, Microsoft Office, Security, small and medium business, windows

Credit to Author: Greg Lambert| Date: Fri, 15 Apr 2022 10:40:00 -0700

This week’s Patch Tuesday release was huge, diverse, risky, and urgent, with late update arrivals for Microsoft browsers (CVE-2022-1364) and two zero-day vulnerabilities affecting Windows (CVE-2022-26809 and CVE-2022-24500). Fortunately, Microsoft has not released any patches for Microsoft Exchange, but this month we do have to deal with more Adobe (PDF) printing related vulnerabilities and associated testing efforts. We have added the Windows and Adobe updates to our “Patch Now” schedule, and will be watching closely to see what happens with any further Microsoft Office updates.

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ComputerWorld Independent

Apple has good privacy arguments, but critics aren't listening

April 13, 2022 admin apple, Mobile, privacy, Security, small and medium business

Credit to Author: Jonny Evans| Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2022 09:41:00 -0700

Apple CEO Tim Cook this week warned that regulators are on the edge of making poor decisions that will impact our future during a passionate speech in defense of personal privacy and his company’s business models at the Global Privacy Summit in Washington DC.

Neither good nor evil

The thrust of Cook’s argument is that privacy and security are essential building blocks of trust for a technologically advanced society. But that huge potential is being constrained by surveillance and insecurity.

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ComputerWorld Independent

Apple quietly stops meaningful auto-updates in iOS

April 5, 2022 admin apple, Mobile, Security, small and medium business

Credit to Author: Evan Schuman| Date: Tue, 05 Apr 2022 09:14:00 -0700

In the mobile world pitting Apple’s iOS devices against Google’s Android devices, Apple has historically had one distinct advantage: patches and updates.

Given the fragmented nature of Android (hundreds of handset manufacturers versus just one for iOS), it is simply far easier for Apple to quickly and efficiently push out updates in a way that allows a large percentage of users get updates quickly. That has been true regardless of whether its new functionality or a critical security patch.

So what’s the problem? Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, has quietly said that Apple has dramatically slowed down auto updates — by as much as a month.

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ComputerWorld Independent

What are the best VPN services for conflict zones?

March 14, 2022 admin 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 admin 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 admin 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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