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Microsoft Office Update Available To Only Windows 10 Users

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There are big changes coming to MS Office which you need to be aware of, given how widely used “Office” is in most companies.

First, the headline change:  When MS Office 2019 is released, it will only run on Windows 10.  If you’ve still got machines on older operating systems, and you want to keep your productivity suite up to date, then you’ll need to upgrade those older systems.

Also, be aware that when Office 2019 ships, it will only have “Click-to-Run” technology.  No MSI, although Office Server will have an MSI deployment option.

In terms of software support, the company had this to say:

“Office 2019 will provide five years of mainstream support and approximately two years of extended support.  This is an exception to our ‘Fixed Lifecycle Policy’ to align with the support period for Office 2016.  Extended support will end 10/14/2025.”

The Office 2019 bundle will include the following apps:

Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Outlook

Skype for Business

Additionally, server versions of SharePoint and Exchange will be available.

In conjunction with the announcement above, the company also announced service extensions for Windows 10, and changes to the system requirements for people who use Office 365 ProPlus, the company’s online office suite.

Beginning on January 14, 2020, Office 365 ProPlus will no longer be supported on Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2016, or any Windows 10 LTSC (Long Term Servicing Channel) release.  Windows 10 support (versions 1511, 1607, 1703, and 1709) will get an additional six months of support for both enterprise and education customers.

Although these changes will no doubt inconvenience some users, overall, they have to be judged as a positive.  Microsoft has been taking a number of meaningful steps in recent years to streamline and simplify their product support, and these latest changes are very much in keeping with that.

Some Smartwatches May Be Able To Diagnose Diabetes

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That smartwatch you’re wearing might save your life.  Literally.

A new study conducted by the University of California San Francisco, and a healthcare startup called Cardiogram revealed that smartwatches and other wearables were able to detect diabetes in previously diagnosed patients an impressive 85 percent of the time.

The study monitored health statistics of more than 14,000 smartwatch wearers (both Android and Apple) over the course of several months.  All health data that was collected was fed into a deep neural network which compared the collected data to samples taken from people both with, and without diabetes.

Obviously, while 85 percent is good, it falls short of greatness.  Then again, the AI routine (dubbed “DeepHeart”) is still in its infancy and is all but certain to continue improving over time.

That’s important, given how many people in America have diabetes.  It is estimated that there are more than 100 million Americans who either have the disease or who are prediabetic, and many of these haven’t been diagnosed yet.

Given these results, and in a bid to further improve DeepHeart’s accuracy, the company plans to incorporate the AI into the next update of its app on both iOS and Android platforms.

All that to say, if you currently have and wear a smartwatch or other wearable, it may help you in ways you can’t even begin to imagine.  This is the bleeding edge of a segment of the market that is only just beginning to emerge.  At this point, it’s so new that it would be difficult even to say it’s in its infancy.  Although we can’t know for certain what new revelations and advances wearable technology will bring to the medical field, based on what we’ve seen so far, we can say there will be a bunch of them, and they’ll all be exciting.

If you’ve been considering getting one but haven’t yet, this is a pretty solid reason to do so.

Microsoft is Adding Much Needed Feature To Windows Defender

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Microsoft is getting tough on so-called “registry cleaners”, and it’s about time.  The company recently announced a planned change to Windows Defender (the anti-malware program that comes standard with every Windows installation).  The change will see to the deletion of an increasing number of these registry cleaners.  It’s a great move, and the company deserves credit for it, but there’s a catch.  This type of software has been around for decades. So the move, as welcome as it is, comes very late in the game.

It’s overwhelmingly likely that you’ve seen these programs in action.  They’re usually free downloads (though there are a few web based services too) that scan your system to find problems with your registry that the software claims are causing performance issues and slowing your machine down.

There are two major problems with this:  First, the software tends to be light on details, refusing to provide much information about exactly why the “problems” that have been identified are impacting system performance.  Worse, the software often incorrectly identifies critical system files and registry entries as being problematic. So of course, when they are deleted, they actually create many more problems than they solve.

Second, in order to actually fix the problems that have been identified, you’ve got to buy the premium version of the package.  The result is that you’re losing money, and the software often breaks your system.  Not a pretty picture.

This latest move by Microsoft builds on action they took back in 2016, when the company started penalizing the makers of such registry cleaners if their software didn’t provide adequate information. This missing information included why the problems they found needed to be fixed in the first place, and if they utilized a high pressure up-sell technique.

Ultimately, those moves proved to be insufficient, so Microsoft decided to take things to the next level.  Now, they’re simply going to start deleting these no- or low-value programs.  Late or not, that’s one less headache for you, and a very good thing.

Malware Makers Testing Vulnerability Of Meltdown And Spectre

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Security researchers from around the web are reporting finding an increasing number of instances of proof of concept (PoC) code that incorporates the recently discovered Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities.

If you somehow missed those earlier reports, Spectre and Meltdown are a pair of critical security flaws recently discovered in literally every Intel chip set made over the last decade.  Exploiting these vulnerabilities would give a hacker root-level access to the impacted system.

Since the discovery, the chip giant has been scrambling to fix the issue. However, their first attempt to do so caused so many system problems for people who installed the patch that the company is now recommending that users avoid it until they can come up with a better solution.

Unfortunately, that leaves you between the proverbial rock and a hard place.  Installing the patch will protect you, but cause you to experience system reboots several times a day and seriously degraded performance.  Not installing it leaves you at the mercy of the hackers.

So far, at least, it appears that most of the proof of concept code found is the result of security researchers playing with the exploits.  This includes testing them, seeing how they work, and how to prevent them.  That said, the researchers point out that it’s all but certain that some of the PoC examples were created by teams of hackers who plan to use them in their next round of attacks.

To make matters worse, Mozilla has confirmed that the Spectre flaw can be executed remotely by inserting commands into Javascript.  Given that, plus the increased appearance of PoC code fragments, it seems it’s just a matter of time before we see the first ever Spectre-based hack.  The clock is ticking.

If your Point Of Sale Uses Oracle, Update Now

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Oracle is currently the third-largest provider of POS (Point of Sale) software on the market today, which means that there’s a fairly good chance you’re using an Oracle POS system.  If you are, there’s trouble ahead.  A recently discovered security flaw could put your system at risk.

Oracle has already identified and patched the security flaw, but there’s a problem.  Since POS systems are deemed “mission critical” by most businesses, System Administrators rarely schedule maintenance for them on fears that an unstable patch or update could cause undue downtime for the company.  Because of that, it will likely be a month or more before the new update finds its way to all 300,000 of the at-risk systems.

As security flaws go, this one is fairly nasty, too, as it allows a hacker to collect configuration files from any vulnerable Micros POS system.  This data can then be used to grant the hacker full, unrestricted access to the POS system,  as well as the database and server it feeds information to.

Most hackers attacking a POS would be content with simply collecting credit card details for resale on the Dark Web However, with this exploit, any sort of malware could be installed to use against the company later.

Even worse, a hacker need not be in close proximity to the device in question.  A carefully crafted HTTP request could trigger the security flaw and open the door.  Of course, if a hacker is in close proximity to the system, then there are many easier ways to infect it.  One only needs to distract the sales clerk long enough to attach a simple Raspberry Pi board equipped to run the exploit code and the damage is done.

The bottom line is, if you use an Oracle POS, make installing the latest security patch a priority.  You’ll be vulnerable until you do.

700,000 Potentially Malicious Apps Removed From Google Last Year

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Google recently released their Play Store stats for 2017.  The results are both encouraging and disheartening.  Overall, Google caught and removed more than 700,000 malicious apps from the Play Store, minimizing their impact on the company’s massive Android user base.

That’s unquestionably good news, but it comes with a bit of a dark side.  That figure represents a staggering 70 percent increase in the number of apps removed compared with 2016 figures.  The hackers are not only relentless in their efforts, but they’re picking up the pace dramatically.

Last year, Google made a significant change, putting Play Store security under the umbrella of the Google Play Project.  This system is driven by “smart” detection software that automatically scans and provides alerts for any software that exhibits questionable behavior and gets better on its own thanks to Machine Learning protocols.

So far, that approach seems to be working pretty well.  It’s not without its flaws, of course.  Google found itself in the news a few times last year when some malicious apps managed to slip through their impressive detection mechanisms, and got downloaded by several thousand users.  Even so, it’s clear that the company is committed to the process and takes the security of its users very seriously.  Given today’s digital landscape, that’s important.  That means something.

As for Google’s plans for 2018:

More of the same.  Continued, incremental improvements in the Google Play Project, continued support for the Zero-Day initiative, and keeping a watchful eye on all things security-related.  The company is by no means perfect, but it’s nice to know that we’ve got such a large company out there, fighting back.

Of course, it still falls to each individual user to be careful what apps you install on your various devices.  No matter what Google does in the coming year, due diligence is still your last, best defense.

iPhone Throttling Issue To Be Addressed In Upcoming Update

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Recently, Apple found itself in hot water with its normally adoring user base. This happened when it became known that the company was intentionally throttling (slowing down) the speed of older iPhones.

The company’s intentions were good.  They clearly meant well.  The move was designed to even out performance in older equipment.  As cellphone batteries age, they tend to lose charge more quickly.  What was happening was that people with older equipment would drop from 20% battery to 0% in the blink of an eye, causing their old phones to simply shut down at inopportune moments.  Apple’s strategy was simply designed to help keep that from happening.

Well-intentioned or not, the company didn’t formally announce the change, and it was discovered by chance by security researchers.  Needless to say, the legions of people who still use older iPhones were not amused and the company has faced backlash from an angry user base since.

Apparently, the backlash got bad enough that they listened.  Apple just announced that as of the next OS update, version 11.3, the OS will include a toggle switch that will allow users to choose whether or not to throttle their  phones to extend battery life.

This is the latest in a series of moves the company has made to get back in the good graces of its users.  Previous efforts have included a public apology and an offer to reduce its fee for battery replacement to just $29.

This has been a PR disaster for the company.  It probably won’t hurt their bottom line much, but perception matters. While the company has been trying bravely to save face, the simple truth is that this was a self-inflicted and avoidable wound.

There’s a lesson here for businesses of all shapes and sizes.  Transparency matters, and if you’re going to do something that directly impacts large segments of your user base, be upfront about it and give them a viable choice.

Performance Issues Plague PC’s Updated With Spectre Patch

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Recently a critical flaw was found inside every Intel chip made during the last decade.  The flaw makes two different exploits possible.  These exploits have been dubbed “Meltdown” and “Spectre.”

The flaws are incredibly severe, and make it possible for a hacker to gain complete, unfettered access to the targeted PC or laptop.  Although no instances of the exploit have yet been found in the wild, now that both are commonly known, it’s only a matter of time before that happens.

Based on that, and given the severity of the flaw, Intel scrambled to release an update, but here’s the catch:  The update would hurt system performance, lowering it by as much as 23%.

In the end, it didn’t matter.  To ignore the problem was simply not an option, so the company scrambled to get a fix ready and has since released it.  Unfortunately, the fix has proved to be even more problematic than was originally estimated.  In addition to degrading machine performance, it also interferes with a variety of maintenance activities and leads to an inordinate number of system reboots.

Initially, Intel advised its customers to proceed with the download in order to protect their systems, even in light of the performance degradation.  However, as the number of complaints have grown, the company reversed course and has now advised against downloading its latest update, asking users to wait for a revision to be published.

At this point, the company has not given an ETA on when the revised firmware update will be ready, but until it is, you’re placed in an awkward position.  Waiting for the update means exposing your company to risk, should a hacker target one of the machines on your network with the exploit.  Proceeding with the current firmware update means you’ll suffer performance issues, leaving you stuck between a rock and a hard place, at least for the short term.

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