March 2022
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Windows 11: Many issues are now fixed. We still recommend sticking with Windows 10 for business use for a bit longer. We have had clients use Windows 11 without issues for many current applications, including QuickBooks.
Windows 11 Needs a Facelift – coming changes.
The Windows 11 Subsystem for Android allows running Android Apps from the Amazon Appstore in Windows 11.
The First Windows 11 Feature Update will be coming around September 2022. The preview shows many of the complaints about Windows 11 are being addressed.
You’ll need a Microsoft account to set up future versions of Windows 11 Pro.
Window 10 version 20H2 will be supported until May. Prior versions are unsupported. The upgrade to the current Windows 10 21H2 version is free and recommended.
MacOS 12.3 is coming – probably in March.
Microsoft for Nonprofits Program is changing – more limited on-premise product offerings.
With Wi-Fi 7 near, consumers expected to bypass Wi-Fi 6E
The next-generation tech is expected to support a max theoretical throughput of at least 30Gbps, compared to Wi-Fi 6 and 6E’s 9.6Gbps, according to the Wi-Fi Alliance, which makes the specification.
Spinal implant gets paralyzed people up and walking.
Software modeling and feedback help provide a computer-controlled stride.
Facial recognition firm Clearview AI tells investors it’s seeking massive expansion beyond the current use by law enforcement, causing privacy concerns. No federal law regulates how facial recognition should be used. …“almost everyone in the world will be identifiable”. ClearView is researching several new technologies that could identify someone based on how they walk, detect their location from a photo or scan their fingerprints from afar.
License plate scanners are causing controversy in some towns.
Flock Safety, the industry leader, says its systems have been installed in 1,400 cities across 40 states and now capture data from more than a billion cars and trucks every month.
Health Sites Let Ads Track Visitors Without Telling Them.
Privacy policies didn’t tell the whole story about third-party tools gathering personal information from the sites of medical and genetic-testing companies.
Russia, Ukraine and social media.
5G CELLULAR
T-Mobile is offering “5G” home internet service in Visalia for $50/Month. Speed is 30-100 MB depending on reception.
If you’re looking for the best 4G or 5G data speeds, you’ll need to install outdoor directional antennas to your hotspot or a cell phone signal booster with a directional antenna.
One of the most accurate sources of cell tower locations is CellMapper.net, which uses a crowdsourced database of 4G and 5G tower locations. Use an Android app to locate the cell tower nearest to you.
None of the three leading carriers has a cell tower map published online.
There are four major flavors of 5G, each with very different performance characteristics. When your local carrier claims they offer 5G, more often than not, it’s low-band. That’s fine, except it’s not much better than 4G LTE. AT&T 5GE is just some technical changes on its existing 4G LTE. Verizon’s 5G Nationwide cannibalizes its 4G LTE bandwidth.
“…your monthly bill will probably go up, perhaps significantly, at least after introductory 5G rates expire.”
AT&T is shutting down its 3G network on February 22, while T-Mobile will continue operating its 3G network until July 1, 2022. Verizon’s 3G will stick around through the end of 2022 but will grow increasingly unreliable.
The changeover to 5G also will affect services that piggyback on wireless signals, such as home security systems and SOS buttons in vehicles. The 3G wireless used in older cars and alarm services will need to be upgraded or replaced. This is keeping alarm companies very busy right now.
Cars made in the last decade, even some in the 2021 model year, were built with their connected services running on 3G. That includes things like in-nav traffic and location data, WiFi hotspots, emergency call services, remote lock/unlock functions, smartphone app connectivity, voice assistants, and even concierge services. Cars affected are listed in this article.
Sprint has now been rebranded as T-Mobile, but Sprint customers will continue to use the Sprint network for now.
T-Mobile to stop ‘most reliable 5G’ claim after AT&T, Verizon challenge.
Comcast told to stop Xfinity Mobile ad claims for unlimited 5G, best price. Speeds are reduced to 3G after a 20GB data threshold (with Charter and Comcast both riding on Verizon’s network).
SECURITY
CISA and FBI warn of potential data wiping attacks – spillover from attacks on Ukraine.
The list of measures organizations should take as an immediate defense against such attacks includes:
- Setting antivirus and antimalware programs to conduct regular scans.
- Enabling strong spam filters to prevent phishing emails from reaching end users.
- Filtering network traffic.
- Keeping software updated.
- Requiring multi-factor authentication. Use unique, long passphrases where MFA is not an option.
CISA government website lists many useful and free cybersecurity tools.
What should you do if you clicked?
The typical danger when clicking through a phishing lure is entering a username and password into a site that isn’t what it looks like.
Determine exactly what information you just handed that attacker. Was it merely your username and not your password? Was it sensitive information such as a credit card? Act accordingly.
If you are (foolishly) using that same password in more than one place, change those, too.
And next time there is a Super Bowl ad that entices you to “just click,” – just don’t.
The Coinbase Super Bowl ad tempted many to open a link (QR code) to a completely unknown site.
Coinbase’s bouncing QR code Super Bowl ad was so popular it crashed the app. (Coinbase QR code ad).
Collecting on Ransomware Cyber Insurance:
“…cyber insurance vendors are so hammered with claims that it’s taking a long time for them to react.
…like all insurance companies, your vendor will do everything possible under the sun to find a way not to pay up. It’s all in the “fine print,” Insurers are demanding that organizations follow specific practices regarding security, reporting, and more. … some insurers require organizations to employ multi-factor authentication (MFA) and pass cyber audits. And if anything was inaccurate, you’re going to get denied,
If you’re not familiar with the NIST 800 series policies, get familiar because a lot of cyber insurance carriers are doing reviews that are thoroughly based on those standards and recommendations,”
Organizations using Microsoft Legacy Authentication (username and password) face a 53 times higher ratio of threats than modern (more secure) authentication methods.
- More than 99 percent of password spray attacks use legacy authentication protocols.
- More than 97 percent of credential stuffing attacks use legacy authentication.
- Azure AD accounts in organizations with disabled legacy authentication experience 67% fewer compromises.
Google sees a 50% security boost for 150M users who have enabled two-factor authentication.
You can take a Security Checkup to see if your account has the correct 2FA settings enabled,
NVIDIA confirms data was stolen in a recent cyberattack.
HUMOR
TORIAN GROUP
Those on managed services will notice a change to the notification when a reboot is needed after updates are installed. It will now look like this:
If you select No, you will be reminded again in a few hours. Pick a convenient time to restart so the update process can be completed. This notice only occurs if you are not logged out during the after-hours update process. We won’t restart your computer automatically if it has programs open that may lose data.
By Tim Torian