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  • Firefox Moves Closer to Password-Free Browsers

    Firefox Moves Closer to Password-Free Browsers

    On Wednesday, Mozilla released its Firefox 60 browser, moving a step closer to password-free login for several websites. Equipped with WebAuthn, this new standard in authentication technology does away with several passwords to reduce phishing attacks.

    The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and FIDO Alliance jointly developed WebAuthn, which has been years in the making. It is a secure login standard that relies on physical authentication devices, such as biometrics and USB tokens, instead of passwords to grant website access. That’s because reliance on passwords has been identified as one of the “weakest links” in web security.

    Passwords have been the de facto method of logging in anywhere on the Internet. However, it gets problematic when login credentials are re-used on multiple websites. And even with combinations of characters, uppercase and numbers, passwords often do not provide sufficient cybersecurity. Using phishing scams, criminals have resorted to creating fake websites to weasel out login details and personal information from unsuspecting users.

    Tech experts pointed out that passwords will still be relevant, and a post-password future is still far from happening. Fortunately, WebAuthn is a nudge towards making sites more secure and resistant to data breaches and password theft.

    Physical authentication keys are nothing new as numerous tech firms with the need for tight cybersecurity already have their own drivers in place. The type of authentication is currently implemented on Google and Facebook and allows easy login through a YubiKey token. As an open-source code with commonly available libraries, WebAuthn lets other developers implement password-free logins across the web.   

    Although Mozilla is the first to come out with the WebAuthn support, Google and Microsoft will add the function to their updated flagship browsers in the coming months. The move is expected to be an improvement to web authentication, compared to prior attempts. Moreover, WebAuthn is capable of supporting older authentication hardware so early adopters don’t have to go back to square one.

  • Microsoft and Red Hat Team Up to Offer OpenShift on Azure

    Microsoft and Red Hat Team Up to Offer OpenShift on Azure

    Microsoft and Red Hat have announced their collaboration in offering the first jointly managed OpenShift on Azure, the former’s public cloud. At the Red Hat Summit that opened on Tuesday, the teamup will allow enterprise developers to run container-based applications across on-premises and public clouds.

    Red Hat OpenShift, the company’s Kubernetes container application platform, has been identified as the industry’s most comprehensive solution. With its availability on Azure, container management will become easier since it will be a fully managed service by Microsoft and Red Hat.

    So, how does container application platform works? Runtime components, such as files, environment variables, and libraries needed in executing an application, are distributed into so-called containers. They use fewer resources since app containers can share with the host’s operating system in order to run, unlike virtual machines that have their own OS.

    Red Hat president Paul Cormier pointed out that several organizations often have a mixture of on-premises and public cloud footprint for their IT operations. Its partnership with Microsoft gives customers the opportunity to tap into an innovative hybrid cloud platform without making major adjustments in their existing operations.

    During the summit, Burr Sutter of Red Hat demonstrated how users can load-balance across a hybrid cloud comprised of an on-site rack, Azure in Texas, and Amazon Web Services in Ohio. He showed that the task could be done automatically and in real time using Kubernetes.

    As more companies turn to containerized applications as part of the digital transformation, the demand for managed services around containers is also increasing, observed Red Hat vice president Mike Ferris. Red Hat OpenShift on Azure gives enterprises the flexibility to move workloads around and across on- and off-premises, such as the public cloud. Moreover, OpenShift customers no longer need to manage Kubernetes themselves – a strategy that Microsoft has been nudging on.

    Other advantages of the collaboration to developers include faster connections with enhanced security under hybrid networking, and access to managed services like Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Machine Learning, and Azure SQL DB. Thanks to available extensive technology platforms, OpenShift customers can now build cloud-native apps and update existing ones. There will be an overarching support for containerized applications, operating systems, infrastructure, and orchestrator.

    “Microsoft and Red Hat are aligned in our vision to deliver simplicity, choice, and flexibility to enterprise developers building cloud-native applications,” said Scott Guthrie, Microsoft’s executive vice president for cloud and enterprise. “Today, we’re combining both companies’ leadership in Kubernetes, hybrid cloud, and enterprise operating systems to simplify the complex process of container management, with an industry-first solution on Azure.”

    The rollout of the collaboration will happen in two phases, with support for the OpenShift Container Platform and Red Hat Enterprise Linux on Azure. Meanwhile, the jointly developed and managed Red Hat OpenShift on Azure is slated for preview in the coming months.

  • Publishers Express Discontent Over Google’s GDPR Plan

    Publishers Express Discontent Over Google’s GDPR Plan

    A group of international publishers is dissatisfied over Google’s compliance strategy for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) privacy rules. Set to take effect on May 25, the rules require companies to gain explicit consent for personal data collection and use for ad targeting.

    The trade groups, namely, Digital Content Next, European Publishers Council, News Media Alliance, and News Media Association, published an open letter addressed to Google CEO Sundar Pichai on April 30. In it, they criticized the tech giant for passing on an unreasonable burden to them in exchange for continued access to its advertising services.

    Google outlined its consent plan on its AdWords blog in late March. However, the publishers protested that the plan was revealed too late and encumbered them with the bulk of the compliance responsibilities. As publishers using Google ad services, they have to obtain consent directly from EU users. They expressed their discontent in the open letter:

    “As the major provider of digital advertising services to publishers, we find it especially troubling that you would wait until the last minute before the GDPR comes into force to announce these terms, as publishers have now little time to assess the legality or fairness of your proposal and how best to consider its impact on their own GDPR compliance plans, which have been underway for a long time.” 

    Under the new privacy framework, there are stricter consent requirements for processing personal data collected from EU users. It protects the rights of EU citizens regarding how their data can be used. The law will also impose hefty fines and significant legal liabilities for noncompliance or mishandling of user data, which will likely fall on the publishers’ shoulders.

    However, the groups pointed out that Google’s singular approach in ensuring compliance from its publishers and advertisers is inaccurate. They added that it only protects Google’s existing business model, given its dominance in online advertising.

    According to the group, Google wants to identify itself as a data controller and asks publishers to share their gathered data. For its other ad services like Google Analytics, the company considers itself a data processor but with extensive rights over gathered information.

    The publishers underscored the lack of transparency under the compliance plan. They are wary of Google’s reluctance to provide specific information about its planned use of data, a must in obtaining legal consent under GDPR.

    But Google pointed out that it will only use the data for testing algorithms, enhancing user experiences, and improving the accuracy of its ad forecasting system.  Google clarified in a statement:

    “Because we make decisions on data processing to help publishers optimize ad revenue, we will operate as a controller across our publisher products in line with GDPR requirements, but this designation does not give us any additional rights to their data.”

    The tech giant also added that the draft on guidance consent was released in December and continues to be revised, prompting Google to put out the new ad policy only this year.

  • Microsoft Warns of Rising Tech Support Scams, Calls for Industry-Wide Cooperation

    Microsoft Warns of Rising Tech Support Scams, Calls for Industry-Wide Cooperation

    Incidents of tech support scams targeting susceptible PC users are increasing, Microsoft warned. The company received 153,000 reported complaints from consumers in 2017, 24 percent higher than the prior year, according to its detailed security report released on Friday.

    Tech support scams reported to Microsoft

    Image via Microsoft cloud blog

    Reported incidents came from 183 countries, suggesting a widespread global problem. Of those who fell prey to the scam, roughly 15 percent lost money averaging between $200 and $400. There were cases of victims paying significantly more. In December 2017, Microsoft was notified of a tech support fraud in the Netherlands that resulted in the financial loss of €189,000, or about $109,000.

    Called social engineering attacks, scammers use a variety of ways to initiate the fraud. Cybercriminals send phishing emails, display strategic online ads or full-screen error messages, install malware, or place unsolicited phone calls to convince victims that their systems or devices have been compromised.

    Once victims contact the call center for help, a fake technical support specialist instructs them to install remote administration tools (RATs). This allows fraudsters to have complete control over the device and unrestricted access to sensitive information. They make changes inside the device and point out system errors to convince victims of the ‘problem’. This then prompts unsuspecting consumers to pay for the removal of fake or nonexistent malware.

    According to Microsoft, the widespread problem is not limited to its platform but has affected users of MacOS, iOS, and Android systems as well. The FBI received 11,000 tech support fraud complaints in 2017 from 85 countries. Of these, claimed losses amounted to approximately $15 million, representing an 86 percent increase compared to prior year.  

    The FBI also noticed an emerging trend: re-targeting past victims of tech support fraud. Scammers pose as government officials or law enforcement and offer assistance in recovering losses in exchange for fees. Other fraudsters act as collection services and threaten the victim with legal action for nonpayment of outstanding tech support fees. Some criminals use obtained personal information to commit additional fraud, such as unauthorized bank transfers or opening of new accounts for unlawful payments.  

    Microsoft expressed concern over tech support scams that bypass secure platforms like Windows 10 easily and coerce users into giving unrestricted access to their devices. Because the problem is far-reaching, the company called for industry-wide collaboration and law enforcement partnership. Microsoft continues to form partnerships with web hosting providers, telecom networks, browser developers, antivirus solutions, and financial networks in detecting tech support scammers.  

    The graphic below shows how the scam usual works.

    Image via Microsoft cloud blog

    Customers, on the other hand, can protect and empower themselves through education. Be wary of error or warning messages with phone numbers or emails with malicious attachments. Shut down your device once you receive a pop-up message or locked screen. If you have been a victim, notify your bank to reverse the charges and change all your passwords. Uninstall any application used during the tech support and run a virus scan for remaining malware.

    [Featured image via Pixabay]

  • Google Cloud Introduces VPC Flow Logs, Allows Users to Collect Network Telemetry at Various Levels

    Google Cloud Introduces VPC Flow Logs, Allows Users to Collect Network Telemetry at Various Levels

    Last Thursday, Google introduced a new feature to its Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) users for tracking network operations between their servers in the Google Cloud. Called VPC Flow Logs, the tool logs and monitors all network flows sent from and received by the virtual machines (VM) inside a VPC in five-second intervals.

    The new feature is set to improve monitoring by Google Cloud Platform (GCP) admins and increase transparency in the VPC network, including traffic between Google Cloud regions. It is similar to Cisco’s NetFlow “but with additional features,” as explained in the company’s blog post.  

    According to Google,“It also allows you to collect network telemetry at various levels. You can choose to collect telemetry for a particular VPC network or subnet or drill down further to monitor a specific VM Instance or virtual interface.” 

    Aside from capturing telemetry data at each level, VPC Flow Logs can also track internal VPC traffic, flows between a VPC and on-premise deployments, flows between servers and any Internet endpoint, and exchange between servers and Google services.

    Users can then export the collected data to Stackdriver Logging or BigQuery if they opt to keep it on the Google Cloud server. They can also use Cloud Pub/Sub in exporting the logs to other real-time analytics or security platforms. Moreover, VPC Flow Logs has integrated with two leading logging and analytics platforms, Cisco Stealthwatch and Sumo Logic. The data updates every five seconds without any effect on the performance of deployed applications.

    VPC Flow Logs lets network operators gain more insight about the network, as well as debug and troubleshoot app-related issues. The tool allows them to optimize network usage with more available information about global traffic. It also allows GCP admins to perform network forensics in investigating suspicious behavior, such as traffic from unusual sources or substantial volumes of data migration.

    [Featured image via Google Cloud website]

  • Microsoft is Now Offering AI Certification Courses, Job-Ready Skills and Real-World Experience Included

    Microsoft is Now Offering AI Certification Courses, Job-Ready Skills and Real-World Experience Included

    Professionals wanting to polish their skills or add machine learning to their resume can now do so via the Microsoft Professional Program. Recognizing the need for companies to train their employees in the latest AI trends, the software giant is now offering a series of courses to the public that comes with “a digitally shareable, résumé-worthy credential.”

    The new program is called the Microsoft Professional Program for AI where, as promised by Microsoft, participants will get “job-ready skills and real-world experience.” The seminar is targeted to engineers who want to improve their data science and artificial intelligence skills.

    The online courses will be under the guidance of expert instructors as well as hands-on labs. The AI program consists of nine skills where each skill is estimated to take between eight and 16 hours for participants to complete. There is also a final project that each student must complete to pass the course.

    The program emphasizes hands-on learning where students are taught “how to work with data to build and train machine learning models that power interactive bots.” In addition, the series covers a variety of topics that are relevant in today’s workplace such as ethics in AI, using Python as the programming language for manipulating data and different types of machine learning models and how to create them.

    However, participants do not have to complete each segment in one go. Students can opt to complete each module within three months while the final project has a six-week deadline. Each segment or course is only offered four times in one year.

    Enrollees earn credit for finishing a course or segment. Should they require it, they can get Verified Certificates from edX.org.

    AI skills are becoming increasingly useful in today’s workplace. As explained by Microsoft  Research AI assistant director:

    “AI is increasingly important in how our products and services are designed and delivered and that is true for our customers as well. Fundamentally, we are all interested in developing talent that is able to build, understand and design systems that have AI as a central component.”

    For employees, getting AI certified is time well spent. With salaries for AI professionals going through the roof it should be considered a worthwhile investment in their future earning potential.

    [Featured image via Microsoft]

  • Microsoft to Ban Language It Finds Offensive on Private Accounts

    Microsoft to Ban Language It Finds Offensive on Private Accounts

    Microsoft users might want to take a closer look at the company’s update to its service agreement. Set to take effect this May, privacy experts are alarmed about the changes seem to suggest that Microsoft will now have the right to review user content even without prior consent.

    The questionable changes were first reported on by Jonathan Corbett at the Professional Troublemaker site. Microsoft warned against the use of offensive language as well as the sharing of inappropriate content. The company stated that violating the modified rules could result in the closure of a user’s Microsoft account.

    “In the Code of Conduct section, we’ve clarified that use of offensive language and fraudulent activity is prohibited. We’ve also clarified that violation of the Code of Conduct through Xbox Services may result in suspensions or bans from participation in Xbox Services, including forfeiture of content licenses, Xbox Gold Membership time, and Microsoft account balances associated with the account.”

    But what worried privacy experts, even more, is that aside from banning users from the company’s services, using offensive language can even be used by Microsoft as grounds to conduct an investigation and go through the user’s private data. As pointed out by Corbett, the term “offensive language” is a bit too ambiguous and its definition can vary greatly between different people.

    “Enforcement. If you violate these Terms, we may stop providing Services to you or we may close your Microsoft account. We may also block delivery of a communication (like email, file sharing or instant message) to or from the Services in an effort to enforce these Terms or we may remove or refuse to publish Your Content for any reason. When investigating alleged violations of these Terms, Microsoft reserves the right to review Your Content in order to resolve the issue. However, we cannot monitor the entire Services and make no attempt to do so.”

    The updated rules could be particularly problematic for users of Microsoft’s gaming service Xbox Live. This is because, within gaming circles, trash-talking is normal among players.

    This was pointed out by Corbett who couldn’t help but ask, “If I call someone a mean name in Xbox Live, not only will they cancel my account, but also confiscate any funds I’ve deposited in my account?”

    Aside from Xbox Live, the updated agreement will also cover users of other Microsoft services such as Skype and Office. Given the scope, Corbett fears that the amended terms would allow any Microsoft staff to pry open anyone’s private data such as Skype call recordings as long as they are “investigating” something.

    At the moment, Microsoft declined to comment on the issues raised related to the amended agreement.

  • Dropbox’s Initial Public Offering is Priced at $21, Company Market Cap Reaches $9.1 Billion

    Dropbox’s Initial Public Offering is Priced at $21, Company Market Cap Reaches $9.1 Billion

    Investors, especially those who specialize in picking tech stocks, will now have one additional company to consider as an investment option. A decade after its founding, Dropbox is now a publicly traded company starting Friday, March 23, 2018.

    The San Francisco-based firm successfully hosted its IPO on Thursday where investors bought Dropbox share at $21. Popular for its cloud-based files storage and syncing service, the company was able to raise a whopping $750 million from the event.

    The IPO price of $21 per share is already way above the $16 to $18 price range previously proposed by the company earlier this month. The final price was even higher than the latest estimate when Dropbox raised it to between $18 and $20 in its regulatory document filed on Wednesday.

    At its current share price, Dropbox is now a publicly traded behemoth with a market capitalization of $9.1 billion. However, this amount still falls short compared to the $10 billion valuation it received during its last round of private funding in 2014.

    Of course, many are fearful that the tech company’s valuation trend will go downhill after its IPO, which seem to hound some tech listings. For instance, investors had to wait for almost a year before Snapchat’s shares rebounded and started trading above its June 2017 IPO price of $17 per share. This is a turn off for short-term investors who do not wish to hold on to a share for too long.

    But most investors remain upbeat on Dropbox’s future earning potential. The company is already cash flow positive and performed well last year. Its sales are on the rise, garnering a massive $1.11 billion in revenues for 2017 alone. The figure represents a 30 percent increase compared to 2016’s performance.

    [Featured image via Dropbox]

  • Intel to Make Chip With Built-In Spectre & Meltdown Malware Protection

    Intel to Make Chip With Built-In Spectre & Meltdown Malware Protection

    In January of this year, the revelation of memory-related vulnerabilities known as Spectre and Meltdown rocked the entire computing world—everyone had been sitting on top of a potential landmine for decades that hackers could have taken advantage of. After the initial shock wore off, various chip manufacturers immediately came up with a host of fixes and updates to deal with the discovered bugs. However, Intel is going a step further by redesigning its future processors to be completely Spectre/Meltdown-proof.

    The chip maker announced that its next-generation processors have been redesigned to incorporate new levels of protection against the Spectre variants. The assurance was made by Intel CEO Brian Krzanich who confirmed that the upcoming products will address these vulnerabilities through “partitioning.”

    As explained by Krzanich, this partitioning can be viewed as an extra layer of protection between running applications, which effectively addresses Spectre-like vulnerability issues. The redesigns will be implemented in the upcoming 8th-generation Core chips as well as Xeon Scalable “Cascade Lake” processors.

    “Think of this partitioning as additional ‘protective walls’ between applications and user privilege levels to create an obstacle for bad actors,” the Intel CEO explained in a blog post.

    It is not yet clear if the redesigns and the introduction of partitioning into its processors are going to negatively affect their computing speeds. However, Krzanich’s post seems to hint that performance might not be a big issue at all as he assured that Intel’s “goal is to offer not only the best performance but also the best secure performance.”

    Krzanich also gave assurance for those who are currently using older models of Intel processors. According to the CEO, the company’s processors launched in the past five years are now 100 percent protected against Meltdown and Spectre through software updates and fixes.

    Convincing the public about the safety of its products is critical for Intel at this moment. Recently, the chip maker was slapped with 30 class-action suits related to the vulnerabilities and was even criticized for trying to downplay the impact of the potential threat of Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities.

    [Featured image via Intel]

  • Mozilla Launches Firefox Quantum for Enterprise, IT Professionals Can Now Try Beta Version

    Mozilla Launches Firefox Quantum for Enterprise, IT Professionals Can Now Try Beta Version

    Firefox Quantum for Enterprise has now entered the Beta stage. This is the final step before Mozilla can officially release what is being touted as the latest and best version of the popular open-source browser, but with a few improvements specifically for business users.

    This beta version of Mozilla’s browser is expected to meet the increasing demand for enterprise workflows utilized by companies that have started to move away from conventional applications in lieu of cloud applications.

    Firefox Quantum has been designed particularly for IT professionals. However, home users shouldn’t worry that they’re missing out. The new browser will function more or less like the standard one. However, what sets Quantum apart is how easily it can be configured and dispensed across a business’ IT infrastructure.

    Quantum comes integrated with controls that allow administrators to send out pre-configured versions of Firefox. This means IT administrators can disable any features that could cause a security breach. They can even configure a default proxy or set-up Quantum with a select array of bookmarks and add-ons.

    Mozilla’s enterprise-geared browser is powered by its new engine. It utilizes an algorithm written in Rust, the company’s own system programming language, which enables it to run in parallel across several CPU cores, thereby boosting its performance and speed. This also allows Quantum to run different web apps simultaneously and still have enough RAM to continue running traditional apps like Word.

    Even though Mozilla has introduced all these changes and upgrades, users are still assured that their privacy remains sacrosanct. The company emphasized this core principle again in its press release, which stated that “Firefox does not track user activity to target advertising as other browsers do.”

    To that end, users and administrators can turn on Tracking Protection to disable the invisible scripts that follow users as they move through different websites. Turning this feature off also makes the browser run faster, even cutting loading time by half in select sites.

    Firefox Quantum for Enterprise can now be downloaded. IT professionals who want to experience the browser’s new features should join its beta run.

  • Ghostery Goes Open Source, Reveals Two Proposed Revenue Streams

    Ghostery Goes Open Source, Reveals Two Proposed Revenue Streams

    Ad-blocker Ghostery published its entire programming code on Thursday. By going open source, the company aims to clear the air on its old business model and invite others to contribute to its continuing development.

    “As a privacy product, especially one designed to give users a look behind the scenes at what data companies are collecting and doing with it, we thought it was important to give our users a look under the hood,” Ghostery’s product manager Jeffrey Tillman said.

    This unprecedented move was Ghostery’s response to conspiracy theories hounding the company. Before its acquisition by web browser Cliqz last year, previous owner Evidon earned money for Ghostery by selling users’ data. Software users chose to disclose information on ad trackers they encountered, but the compiled information was sold to eCommerce sites to help them discover why loading times slowed down.

    Ghostery’s old business model was contradictory—a privacy-focused tool selling user data—and confused its users. “It was never a really great fit for Ghostery the consumer product,” Tillman admitted.

    Recently, Ghostery announced two revenue streams as its new business model. First is Ghostery Insights, a paid analytics service for researchers to gather more data about the tracker ecosystem. Likewise, the analytics tool will aid web developers in quantifying the effect of trackers on site performance, such as loading speeds.

    Meanwhile, Ghostery Rewards is an affiliate marketing program designed for its users. They can choose to sign up for the service wherein users will receive relevant promotional offers, a tamer version of aggressive web ads. There will still be advertisements, but only those worthwhile and interesting to Ghostery users.

    Of course, affiliate programs are nothing new as many publications and bloggers already use them to generate revenue. However, Ghostery’s decided to make its program distinctly different from that of its main rival Adblock Plus. Unlike Ghostery Rewards, Adblock has an “acceptable ads program” that shows ads that may not be relevant to the user. As long as advertisers meet certain criteria and agree to split some of their ad revenue, Adblock lets them through.

    Exposing Ghostery’s code to the public makes it more vulnerable for software developers to sidestep the ad blocker’s system. But Tillman isn’t losing sleep over it.

    “There will always be a cat-and-mouse game with advertisers that are trying to find new ways to evade our technology but, if anything, going open-source should empower our community of contributors to help keep Ghostery ahead of the curve,” Tillman pointed out.

    [Featured image via YouTube]

  • Salesforce Improves Einstein Analytics to Make it Easier for Customers to Extract Data

    Salesforce Improves Einstein Analytics to Make it Easier for Customers to Extract Data

    A lot of people find it challenging to use the different analytics tools at their disposal. But Salesforce hopes to change all that by making it possible for businesses to extract data by using conventional conversational language.

    Salesforce has been developing and filling artificial-intelligence features into its system so that users will be able to utilize their marketing and sales data to the fullest. The company introduced Einstein Analytics in June 2017. Now it has made improvements that allow the service to accept natural-language inquiries, thereby making it easier to use.

    Dubbed “Conversational Queries,” the feature recognizes popular phrases the user is typing and provides an automated method to develop queries and access data. For instance, a sales executive can type “show top accounts by yearly profit” into the Salesforce dashboard and it will immediately generate a report. Marketers previously had to set up the parameters and fields to get the data they need. Now Einstein Analytics can even suggest possible search terms to use, as well as the correct output vehicle, like a graph or a map.

    Technical users have used similar tools effectively for building queries, but it does require extensive knowledge on how to extract the data you need and fashion it into a specific query. By simplifying the system and using plain language to make queries, more people can access key analytics.

    According to VP of Product for Einstein Analytics Amruta Moktali, “Conversational Queries offers a new way to explore data and get answers to questions faster, eliminating clicks and the training required to create and drill down into charts.”

    There’s no question that enterprise tech is focusing on improving AI and machine-learning but for certain services, like customer-relationship management, ensuring that people can use the technology without having to hire a data scientist or going back to school is more critical.

    Salesforce’s Einstein Analytics is currently available in beta.

    [Featured image via Salesforce]

  • Dropbox Announces Plans to Integrate Google G Suite Tools into Its Platform

    Dropbox Announces Plans to Integrate Google G Suite Tools into Its Platform

    One of the minor inconveniences plaguing the modern day workplace is the proliferation of different apps and tools that might not be totally compatible with each other. Thankfully, users of both Dropbox and Google Suite will have it easier in the near future as cross-platform integration is in the works.

    Dropbox recently announced that it plans to partner with Google to integrate G Suite tools to its file sharing and storage service. This is a smart move for the company as it would greatly improve the functionality and ease of use for its service considering that 50 percent of Dropbox users also maintain a G Suite account.

    This partnership will allow Dropbox users to easily access useful G Suite features once the integration is completed. For instance, they will be able to open and edit compatible files such as Google Slides, Sheets or Docs directly from Dropbox. For Dropbox Business administrators, the partnership will also allow them to manage Google Docs, Slides and Sheet that are in Dropbox.

    On the other hand, G Suite users will also be able to open, edit and even create Google Docs in Dropbox. They can also make the same kind of file manipulations for other G Suite files such as Google Sheets and Slides.

    “We want to make it easy for our users to work across devices with the tools they love,” explained Dropbox Vice President of Engineering Tony Lee, reflecting the trend of intercompany cooperation to make their different products work seamlessly with each other. Dropbox also partnered with Microsoft in a similar arrangement a few years back.

    The recent weeks have been eventful for the San Francisco-based file hosting and syncing company. Just last week, Dropbox went public in a bid to raise $500 million in fresh funding to finance its latest R&D efforts.

    [Featured image via Dropbox]

  • Google Rolls Out Hangouts Chat, Set to Compete with Slack and Microsoft Teams

    Google Rolls Out Hangouts Chat, Set to Compete with Slack and Microsoft Teams

    It seems that Google is seriously eyeing a bigger slice of the workplace communications market. Recently, the company announced that Hangouts Chat is now rolling out to the general public which puts it on a collision course with rival Slack and Microsoft Teams.

    Hangouts Chat was first announced in March of 2017 and was previously available as part of an Early Adopter Program. However, the feature is now making its way to all users over the course of seven days starting yesterday.

    Google is positioning Hangouts Chat as the perfect tool to handle the communication needs of companies especially those that require team members from different parts of the globe to collaborate. The feature, which can be accessed by all G Suite users, supports 28 languages while each room can even accommodate up to 8,000 members.

    Chat also allows plenty of customization options so that companies can tweak the tool to suit their specific needs. For instance, developers may build bots or integrate their services into the feature. The feature is also compatible with Google’s existing ecosystem of partners making it easier for the tool to be integrated with other workplace collaboration apps such as Xero, RingCentral, UberConference, Salesforce, Zenefits, Zoom.ai, Jira, Trello, Wrike, and Kayak.

    Of course, Hangouts Chat is very compatible with Google’s own suite of products and workplace tools. From Chat, users can easily start Hangouts Meet video conferences as well as document and file sharing.

    The rise of online jobs, as well as teams of workers opting to work remotely, has spawned a new segment of services catering to the collaborative and communication needs of modern day businesses. As a newcomer, Hangouts Chat needs to put more effort to catch up with more established players in the market. At the moment, Microsoft Teams has a 37 percent share of the global market collaboration software while rival Slack has 5 percent share.

  • Google Chrome’s New Adblocker is Now in Effect

    Google Chrome’s New Adblocker is Now in Effect

    One of the perks of living in the internet age is that virtually everyone has access to an unimaginable amount of information with just a few taps on a keyboard. However, such perk also comes with a particular type of vexation that every netizen has to endure—the barrage of annoying ads. They have been practically inescapable and have the tendency to pop up unexpectedly, interfering with your browsing experience.

    But finally, Google Chrome is giving its users a cool new way of dealing with these annoying ads. The world’s most popular browser got a new update on Thursday that blocks unwanted ads.

    Of course, selling digital advertising is how Google earns most of its revenue so don’t expect all the ads to disappear anytime soon. However, the new feature should be enough to weed out the most annoying ones.

    For instance, CNN reported that on a desktop PC, the new Chrome feature will prevent pop-up ads, those that auto-play videos with sound, those large sticky ads that take over the bottom portion of a screen but refuses to budge, and those ads that shamelessly take over the browser. Meanwhile, the upgraded mobile version of the browser is now calibrated to block full-screen scroll over ads, those with flashing animation and those ads that are displayed even before the content is loaded.

    To determine whether an ad is annoying or not, Google is just adapting the standards set by the Coalition for Better Ads, an industry trade group composed of tech firms like Facebook and Google. The company will sample a few pages of a website and, based on their experience, the firm will grade the site as having passed, failed or be given a warning.

    If publishers reach a certain number of violations, they will earn a failing grade. They will be given 30 days to rectify the problem and then request another evaluation. If they don’t correct the issues noted, then Google will block ads placed on their sites.

    As a Chrome user, you will be alerted if Google is blocking the ads on the site you are viewing. For desktop users, the notification will appear near the address box. For Android users, the notification will be displayed at the bottom of the screen. For those who don’t mind the distraction, there is also an option to turn off the ad-blocking feature and continue surfing the web as usual.

    Chrome’s new ad filter feature works on PCs running Mac, Linux, Windows as well as Chrome OS. The feature will also run on Android mobile devices as well but Google has not yet revealed when the ad blocking feature will be available for iOS devices.

  • Is Your Company Wasting Money on the Cloud?

    Is Your Company Wasting Money on the Cloud?

    There’s no denying that cloud technology is the way to go for businesses that want to run more efficiently. Thanks to the cloud, numerous business processes can run smoothly and an untold amount of data can be stored. The technology has become so vital that companies are set to spend more money on the cloud in 2018 than the previous year. Conversely, businesses are also wasting a lot of money on it, too.

    Cloud Spending on the Rise

    RightScale recently came out with the results of a survey they conducted among almost a thousand technology specialists. According to the cloud delivery specialist, enterprises (or companies with more than a thousand employees) are spending more on the cloud. The report reveals that 26 percent of companies are allocating more than $6 million annually to spend on the public cloud. About 26 percent of companies also admit they currently spending around $1.2 to $6 million for cloud services.

    That number is expected to increase this year, with 71 percent of enterprises admitting they will increase their cloud budget by more than 20 percent. Meanwhile, 20 percent of companies plan to double what they previously spent on the cloud.

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    And it’s not just large corporations that are shelling out money on this technology. Small and medium-sized companies spend an average of $120 thousand on cloud providers per year.

    Respondents in the RightScale survey use multiple cloud servers to run their applications. Some companies use about five different servers while experimenting with at least one more. Amazon remains the top provider of public cloud services, with AWS user numbers rising to 64 percent market share in 2018 as opposed to last year’s 57 percent. Azure and Google Cloud also saw a boost. Azure is up to 45 from 34 percent while Google Cloud saw an increase from 15 to 18 percent. IBM Cloud also rose from 8 to 10 percent.

    What Companies are Doing Wrong

    While different sectors view the increase in cloud spending in a positive light, the RightScale survey also implies that one-third of the money spent is wasted. Survey participants projected 30 percent wasted spending but RightScale has pegged the exact amount of waste to be nearer to 35 percent. So if an enterprise is paying their service cloud provider about $6 million annually, more than $2 million of that money goes to wasted or unused.

    Image result for right scale survey cloud spending

    The RightScale report does not clearly pinpoint or discuss what companies are doing wrong. However, it’s clear that the eagerness of companies to utilize the cloud has contributed to the wasted spending. For instance, people subscribe or buy cloud services for their department or for their own duties. This has led to identical accounts being created for the same services.

    The cloud’s reputation as being easy to use and affordable has also caused companies to become complacent about their budget. Businesses tend to be more open about expanding their cloud usage.

    There’s also the very fluid pricing structure used by cloud providers. Rates depend on supply and demand, so as the demand for data rises, so does the cost.

    How to Stop Wasting Money on Cloud Services

    Enterprises are aware of how much money is being wasted on the cloud and how easily this uncontrolled spending can end in disaster. Most admit that improving how they utilize the service is now their top priority.

    There are other strategies that companies can take to make cloud usage more beneficial and save money.

    • Determine and Stop Abandoned Applications: The ease that applications are developed or run on the cloud has led to numerous abandoned apps. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean they have been disabled. Some are still running inside different cloud service environments (ex. SaaS) despite companies not using them anymore. Determining these forgotten apps and decommissioning them can save companies some serious money.
    • Picking the Appropriate Storage Model: Businesses are demanding data at an increasing rate due to cheap cloud storage options. But problems arise when the administrator chooses the wrong storage model. Remember that every data is different. Some are accessed more often while others are rarely used. The former needs to be stored somewhere where it can be retrieved quickly. This usually means a more expensive storage model. Meanwhile, older data or those that are rarely accessed can be stored in the more affordable storage tiers.
    • Schedule Server Use: There’s no reason to maintain all cloud instances running constantly, especially when applications are mostly used during specific periods. It’s better to set an automated schedule that turns off cloud services during off-peak hours. There are numerous scheduling tools that companies can use for this.

    Is your company’s budget evaporating into the cloud? Now is as good a time as any to run an audit to find out how you can use data services more efficiently to cut down on your operations cost.

    [Featured image via Pixabay]

  • Intel Releases Xeon D-2100 Processor for Edge Computing

    Intel Releases Xeon D-2100 Processor for Edge Computing

    As technologies like automation, linked sensors, self-driving cars, and the Internet of Things (IoT) become more mainstream, new chip designs are needed. Intel is looking to answer those demands with the Xeon D-2100 processor. This new System-on-Chip (SoC) processor is designed specifically for edge computing, allowing devices to process data instead of sending it to the cloud.

    The Silicon Valley giant described its newest processor as building on the innovation and performance of the Xeon Scalable program. The Xeon D-2100 processor is expected to meet the distinct power and space requirements that edge computing demands. The chip can handle analytics, computing, data security, networking, and storage.

    Sandra Rivera, Intel’s Network Platforms Group’s Senior Vice President and General Manager, explained that in order to take advantage of the opportunities opened up by 5G and cloud networks, service providers have to enhance their data center and edge structure. Otherwise, they won’t be able to meet the demands of end users and their smart devices.

    Rivera added that the D-2100 processor makes it possible for “service providers and enterprises to deliver the maximum amount of compute intelligence at the edge of the web tier while expending the least power.”

    Intel’s new processors will also allow for CoSPs to provide high-performing, improved networking services with optimized performance using less power when using virtual customer premise equipment (vCPE) like encryption services and VPNs.

    The Xeon D-2100 processor is comprised of as much as 18 “Skylake-server” generation Xeon cores and QuickAssist Technology. It comes with around 100Gps of integrated cryptography, encryption, and decryption acceleration. Intel also gave assurances that the new processors will carry enhanced system software that safeguards against “Meltdown” and “Spectre” security exploits.

    Intel believes the new chip will be especially valuable in conjunction with 5G technologies, like virtual reality apps that are currently being developed for mobile devices. The company is also confident it will be helpful for use in communications networks like VPNs and wide area networks.  

  • Apple & Cisco Team Up to Offer Cybersecurity Insurance

    Apple & Cisco Team Up to Offer Cybersecurity Insurance

    Apple and Cisco are forging a new path in their partnership. The two companies announced on Monday that they are working with insurance company Allianz and Aon, a premier risk evaluator, to assist their customers in having the best cyber protection around.

    The goal of this new endeavor is to provide businesses a practical way to deal with cybersecurity risks caused by malware and ransomware. And what better way to do this than by integrating the best in cyber insurance and security technology, the most secure devices, and the premier experts in cybersecurity domain.

    It should be emphasized that Apple and Cisco are not directly selling insurance, but their deal with Allianz and Aon will ensure that businesses can avail of improved conditions in their cyber insurance coverage. This could mean lower, or even zero, deductibles. But for a business to avail of such a package, it has to be using specific Apple hardware and Cisco’s Ransomware Defense platform.

    Allianz reportedly found that that the two companies’ products can provide businesses with a “superior level of security.” Apple has confidently pointed out that the amalgamation of its software, services, and hardware in its iOS devices ensure that it has some of the most secure products on the market. Meanwhile, Cisco boasts of a platform that can block malicious internet websites. It also has email security and endpoint protection.

    On Aon’s part, its cybersecurity experts will assess the current security environment of its prospective clients and make recommendations on how to shore up their cyber defenses. And in case businesses who participate in this deal are attacked by malware, they will have access to Aon and Cisco’s Incident Response teams.

    This is not the first time that Apple and Cisco partnered up. The two companies worked together in 2015 when Cisco enhanced its software and networking gear for iOS devices and apps. This led to a number of optimizations for iOS 10 that gave iPad and iPhone users a smoother time on Cisco apps.

  • Google to Launch Cloud-Based Digital Store, Teams Up with Mobleiron

    Google to Launch Cloud-Based Digital Store, Teams Up with Mobleiron

    Google is trying its best to catch up to its competitors in the cloud computing industry, especially the current market leader Amazon Web Services (AWS). In a recent announcement, the search engine giant—and one of the top players in the cloud segment—revealed that it will launch a digital store offering a slew of white-label cloud-based software products for use by companies and organizations.

    Google will launch the online store in a joint venture with MobileIron, a company that offers cybersecurity tools for cell phones. Google also plans to bring Orbitera’s commerce platform to the deal while MobileIron will capitalize on its expertise in app distribution, analytics, and security to make the project work.

    With the new online store in place, a company will be able to purchase cloud services for eventual distribution to its employees while, at the same time, keep its corporate data secure. The platform, which is expected to roll out later this year, will be accessed through mobile telecom providers.

    In its online post, Google promised a host of advantages that the online cloud store could bring to resellers, enterprises, OEMs, and ISVs. For instance, customers can customize bundles, customize branding for both the marketplace and its customers, offer one centralize bill for various services, enjoy a more secure cloud access as well as analyze usage data to see when apps are being used.

    In 2016, Orbitera was acquired by Google in a deal estimated to be worth around $100 million, a move that could help Google compete against cloud rivals AWS and Microsoft Azure. Orbitera created a buying and selling platform for cloud-based software.

    News on MobileIron’s partnership with Google was positively received by the market. MobileIron shares climbed as high as 14 percent or a high of $4.60 during Tuesday’s trading until it eventually settled $4.62 by afternoon’s close.

    [Featured image via Pixabay]

  • Microsoft Edge Browser Will Soon be Available on Apple iPad

    Microsoft Edge Browser Will Soon be Available on Apple iPad

    Edge, Microsoft’s latest browser that replaced the venerable Internet Explorer, could be coming to iPad soon. According to reports, an iPad version of the browser is in the works and a beta is likely to happen by February.

    The Microsoft Edge browser was already available on Android devices and iPhones since last year. In fact, it is doing quite well on the iOS platform as one of its top 5 utility apps. However, what is notably missing, is the iPad support for the browser. But that gap is about to be remedied soon if reports are correct.

    In a Twitter post, Microsoft Edge product manager Sean Lyndersay revealed that an iPad version of the browser is now in the product testing stage. What’s even more exciting for iPad users is that a beta testing of the app, which anyone with iPad can participate in, will likely happen by February.

    “Shh, don’t tell anyone, but the iPad version is in internal testing and looking great,” Lyndersay wrote. “It’ll take a little longer to bake, so we’re going to roll out it to our TestFlight users early next month and get feedback from them before making it widely available. Thanks for using Edge!”

    Microsoft has been pretty aggressive in marketing the Edge browser. The company recently raised some eyebrows when it released ads early this year touting the superiority of the new browser over its rivals.

    “Microsoft Edge is up to 48 percent faster than Google Chrome,” Microsoft said in a recent 30-second ad highlighting its superiority over the Google Chrome browser in terms of speed. The ad then concluded that it is “the faster way to get things done on the web.”

    In another ad, Microsoft claimed superiority over Chrome in terms of browsing security. “Microsoft Edge blocks 18 percent more phishing sites than Google Chrome,” the ad claimed. It then concluded that using Edge is “the safer way to get things done on the web.”

    It is understandable why Window would specifically target Chrome in its marketing. Google’s browser remains the most popular browser to this day, owning an enviable 50 percent of the market.

    [Featured image via Pixabay]

  • Alphabet Takes Aim at Cybercrime with its Launch of ‘Chronicle’

    Alphabet Takes Aim at Cybercrime with its Launch of ‘Chronicle’

    As internet users are becoming more aware of online threats, cybersecurity is becoming a serious challenge for internet firms as they scramble for ways to dampen their users’ fears over online vulnerability. To take advantage of this need for more secure online systems, Alphabet, Google’s parent firm, has put up a new independent company with the goal of providing cybersecurity solutions to big businesses.

    Alphabet’s new cybersecurity firm is called Chronicle, which will offer state-of-art technology to boost companies’ online security. In particular, the firm will be using machine learning technology to help firms in the detection, tracking and blocking cybersecurity attacks.

    In a post, Chronicle CEO Stephen Gillett explains that it is the new company’s goal to help businesses address potential blind spots in their online security with its mix of technologies. He believes that Chronicle will give businesses the upper hand against cybercrime:

    “Add in some machine learning and better search capabilities, and we think we’ll be able to help organizations see their full security picture in much higher fidelity than they currently can. We hope that by making this mix of technologies available to more companies at affordable prices, we can give ‘the good guys’ an advantage and help us all turn the tide against cybercrime.”

    According to Gillett, Chronicle is in a unique position to help the security issues of other companies. First, the company will be running on “fast, powerful, highly-scalable infrastructure” giving it enormous processing power. This means that retrieval and analysis of a large amount of data can be done in mere minutes rather than days, a useful capability in detecting and blocking cyberattacks.

    Another advantage Chronicle has is in storage. Due to its infrastructure advantage, Gillett promised that the firm can provide a massive amount of storage to companies that need it at a lower cost.

    Gillett is confident that Chronicle can adequately meet any cybersecurity threat proactively. In his post, he wrote that “None of us have to settle for cybercrime being a fact of life, or for a reactive, expensive existence of cleanup and damage control.”

    [Featured image via Pixabay]