October 2019
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Windows 10, version 1703 reaches end of life on November 12. It was originally released in April 2017. Security and other updates will no longer be provided for this and earlier versions.
Windows 10 Release information and support dates.
As mentioned last month, If you have already installed Windows 10 version 1903, the next version (1909) will be much easier to install.
Users of Windows 7 Pro devices will get messages regarding end of support for Windows 7 (support ends January 14 2020), Devices that are domain-joined as a part of an IT-managed infrastructure will not receive the notifications.
If you absolutely have to keep Windows 7, extended support is available from Microsoft for a price. Purchasing it is somewhat complex. Contact us for details.
Microsoft will provide security updates for Office 365 ProPlus on Windows 7 through January 2023. However, Office 365 ProPlus won’t receive any new features updates if it is on Windows 7.
Office 2013 clients’ connections to commercial Office 365 services will not be supported after October 13, 2020.
Check for attacks on your Microsoft Office 365 Account using Azure sign-in history.
Go to https://mysignins.microsoft.com/ to see which devices are logging in (or failing to login) with your account. This is a way to find out if hackers are attacking you.
Microsoft 365 Business for Nonprofits. Microsoft is providing up to 10 donated seats of Microsoft 365 Business for all eligible nonprofits.
Microsoft will extend support for OneNote 2016 and begin adding new features again. This is a reversal of a previous announcement. We recommend using the desktop version of OneNote where possible if you are on a network. If you are on Office 365, you are eligible to install (or keep) OneNote 2016.
Office 365 users may be getting emails with “MyAnalytics”. You can turn this off by going to your online account, All Apps, find “MyAnalytics” in the app menu, then select feature settings (gear icon in the top right) and turn off the email notifications.
If your Google Home or Google Home Mini has recently stopped working, Google will likely replace it.
Xbox has announced a feature that lets you play any of the Xbox One games on your console remotely on an Android phone or tablet.
Google has added a new way to quickly create calendar entries when using a browser.
If you open a browser to “cal.new” or “meeting.new,” you’ll find it takes you to a blank Google Calendar entry. It’s a small feature, but it means you don’t have to open up your entire calendar if you just want to add a single meeting.
The iPhone 11 is virtually indistinguishable from the iPhone XS, its predecessor.
Apple TV is live
Apple TV $4.99 per month, but if you’ve made a recent Apple purchase, you may get one full year of free trial service applied automatically. All Apple TV+ content is in 4K.
AT&T’s eagerness to convert HBO customers to HBO Max rapidly has caused some to wonder if HBO will stick around. It will, at least for now. Pricing HBO Max at $14.99 per month — the same as HBO Now (the standalone version of the legacy HBO product). “It wouldn’t make much sense for customers to continue to subscribe to regular HBO through their cable operator.”
Verizon introduces new unlimited plans.
Thousands Of Swedes Are Inserting Microchips Under Their Skin.
The chips are designed to speed up users’ daily routines and make their lives more convenient — accessing their homes, offices and gyms is as easy as swiping their hands against digital readers.
They also can be used to store emergency contact details, social media profiles or e-tickets for events and rail journeys within Sweden. Is ‘Biochipping’ A Good Idea?
TikTok is a video sharing app that is becoming popular with kids.
SECURITY
Alexa and Google Home devices leveraged to phish and eavesdrop on users, again
Both of these attacks exploit the fact that while Amazon and Google verify and vet Alexa and Google Home apps when they are submitted, they do not do the same for subsequent app updates.
Google Pixel 4 Face Unlock works if eyes are shut
Your phone can also be unlocked by someone else if it’s held up to your face, even if your eyes are closed.
Sensitive US Army data exposed by online leak
Travel reservation data regarding Army personnel was exposed. The data leak is the latest in a series to hit travel companies. Choice Hotels, Intercontinental, Radisson, Chinese hotel chain Huazhu, Hyatt, Hilton, Teletext Holidays and many others have all lost data or been hit by hackers.
There are several vulnerabilities in the Horde web email software that allow hackers to near-invisibly steal the contents of a victim’s inbox.
A Senate Commerce Committee investigation released Oct. 17 attributed nearly two years’ worth of data breaches at the Consumer Product Safety Commission to “incompetence and mismanagement.”
By Tim Torian