Archive for May 3, 2018

Twitter Says Change Your Password After “bug” Exposes Passwords

Posted in Commentary with tags on May 3, 2018 by itnerd

Twitter is suggesting that all Twitter users update their passwords following a “bug” that exposed some passwords in plaintext on its internal networ:

When you set a password for your Twitter account, we use technology that masks it so no one at the company can see it. We recently identified a bug that stored passwords unmasked in an internal log. We have fixed the bug, and our investigation shows no indication of breach or misuse by anyone.

Out of an abundance of caution, we ask that you consider changing your password on all services where you’ve used this password. You can change your Twitter password anytime by going to the password settings page.

That’s a bit of a #fail. The only saving grace is that these passwords were exposed internally. Thus the risk level SHOULD be low. But you should change your password just in case because these days you never know.

 

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Tech Conferences Move North To Toronto Because Of Trump Turmoil

Posted in Commentary with tags on May 3, 2018 by itnerd

The Collision Conference, one of North America’s most influential technology gatherings, tweeted this on Tuesday:

Collision, which typically boasts 25,000 attendees, will be coming to Toronto Canada in 2019. And it will be staying for another 2 years past that. The video with PM Justin Trudeau clearly takes some thinly veiled shots at the US and the Trump administration. Something that won’t go unnoticed by said administration. And the thing is that Collision is not alone in coming north. At least two other major technology conferences have recently made the decision to relocate to Canada. They are lured in part by Toronto’s burgeoning tech sector, but also driven by travel restrictions imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Policies that have left organizers scrambling to accommodate those who can’t visit the United States. That’s going to cost the US some cash, which will also likely not go unnoticed. 

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I love the fact that these people are coming here as it will put Canada on the map and we’ll make some money. But at the same time, I fear what a reactionary and anything but a stable genius will do when this hits his desk. That could be a problem. But in the meantime, welcome to Canada all those who come here for these conferences.

 

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Is Windows 10 April 2018 Update Killing Chrome Or Vice Versa?

Posted in Commentary with tags , on May 3, 2018 by itnerd

Chrome users who updated to Windows 10 April 2018 update are complaining in places like Reddit that Microsoft’s latest update is causing Chrome to freeze and hang. The only way to restore control is to either reboot, or put the device to sleep and wake it up. Right now there is no fix, though a bug report has been filed. So we’ll see if a new version of Chrome or a update to Windows 10 is punted out to the world to address this.

While that is not the only issue that seems to be affecting users of this Windows 10 Update, it is the worst one. If you are affected by issues with this update, Neowin has a article called Windows 10 April 2018 Update problems: how to fix them that may be of assistance.

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Is Cambridge Analytica Really Shutting Down?

Posted in Commentary with tags on May 3, 2018 by itnerd

Yesterday the news broke that Cambridge Analytica was shutting down. That seemed like a bombshell at the time. But is it shutting down? Or is it really rebranding itself. The Register suggests the latter might be in play:

Though Cambridge Analytica said it is pulling the plug in the US and UK, there is already some indication that the outfit – which has a non-trivial organizational structure – is more or less just going to rebrand under a different banner.

The UK’s official registrar of businesses and organizations, Companies House, lists an active company called Emerdata Limited, headquartered at the same offices as SCL Elections and run by much of the same management and investors as Cambridge Analytica. It even describes itself as a “data processing, hosting and related activities” organization.

For instance, Dr Alexander Taylor was appointed a director of Emerdata on March 28. That’s Cambridge Analytica’s acting CEO and data wizard Dr Alexander Taylor. Julian Wheatland is an Emerdata director who is also a director within the SCL network of organizations.

Jennifer and Rebekah Mercer are directors of Emerdata, and are the daughters of ultra-wealthy businessman Robert Mercer who created and bankrolled Cambridge Analytica. Billionaire Bob has given tens of millions of dollars to rightwing political efforts. Jennifer and Rebekah also had a hand in Cambridge Anal.

Emerdata was founded in mid-2017, but has been rather active since Cambridge Analytica hit the headlines earlier this year, including official filings as recent as yesterday.

So, it seems the shutdown may be less a business catastrophe than a marketing exercise.

Hmmm…. That’s crafty. This bears observation and further investigation to see if this is fact and not fiction. Stay tuned for further updates on this over the coming days.

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