Archive for December 4, 2020

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Canada’s Year On TikTok: The Top 50

Posted in Commentary with tags on December 4, 2020 by itnerd

TikTok has always been about bringing people together to inspire each other and share moments of joy. It’s also a place to find your community, no matter your interests. 

Canadians used TikTok this year to highlight everything from the beauty of Canada, to Indigenous education, to emerging fashion and music stars, to random things that just makes sense like pancake cereal and a chihuahua who sings good morning. And TikTok is here for all of it!

Here’s Canada’s TikTok Top 50.

1) Vibe Check: TikTok videos Canadians loved in 2020

2020 saw an astounding number of videos go viral, entertaining millions and forever changing the lives of the creators who made them. As the year comes to a close, TikTok is celebrating the trends, creators, songs and cultural moments that have had everyone talking over the past 365 days.

  • @davidbeck05 – Who know water balloons could be so satisfying
  • @Megmartel – Four generations in one TikTok        
  • @big.bidou – This cleaning hack broke the internet     
  • @dobyandblue – Corgis: So short. So adorable.          
  • @hermes_and_madi – Good morning from this chihuahua 

2) Breakout Stars: The rising Canadian stars of 2020

Creators are the heart of TikTok, making the platform unlike any other through their creativity, commitment, and constant drive to make content that inspires so many. TikTok has become a launch pad for many creators to build their livelihoods by creating content authentic to themselves and driven by their passions. 2020 has been a tumultuous year, but for some TikTok creators, it was their time to shine. 

3) Learn Something: Most impactful Canadian creators 

2020 was full of major cultural shifts both on and off of TikTok and we are so proud of the work our community has done to raise each other up. This year, Canadian creators used TikTok as a platform to educate, spread awareness for social causes, advocate for marginalized and underrepresented communities and to celebrate the many cultures that make the TikTok community so special. We can all use a little joy in our lives, so check out how these creators are using their platform to be a force for good. You might learn something!

4) Great Outdoors: Showcasing Canada’s natural beauty

While many Canadians have spent the better part of 2020 at home, we can still travel our beautiful country from the comfort of our homes with TikTok. From majestic waterfalls on a sunny day to freshly falling snow on mountain tops, these Canadian creators are reminding us about the beauty of our home and native land.

5) Health and Wellness: 

2020 had us all practicing a little more self-care than we may have expected. These TikTok content creators inspired us to think beyond bubbles baths to practice good habits, move our bodies and nurture our minds. 

6) Home and DIY: Canadians getting creative at home and in the studio

From the kitchen to an artist’s studio, Canadians were forced to get creative from the comfort of their homes in 2020 and WOW, did they deliver. Whether breaking the internet with a new favourite breakfast or turning a blank canvas into a thumbstopping piece of art, these Canadian content creators inspired us to try something new. 

7) Glow Up: Top style and beauty trends

The world is your runway and TikTok is your wardrobe designer! TikTok has quickly become a go-to resource for all our fashion and beauty needs. With countless beauty and makeup hacks, fashion gurus and those who are on their way to be, there’s no shortage of opportunities to learn how to glow up.

8) The Playlist: Top songs

It’s been a strange and savage year for music, and the TikTok community came through in shaping the soundtrack to our lives. This 10 song playlist — featuring hits from established hitmakers, rising stars, and previously-unknown artists — is just a glimpse into some of 2020’s most defining hits that helped people from coast to coast find (or reconnect with!) their inner superstar as they danced their way through the year.

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SkipTheDishes & LCBO Team Up To Deliver Alcohol In Toronto

Posted in Commentary with tags on December 4, 2020 by itnerd

SkipTheDishes, Canada’s largest and most popular food delivery network, is excited to announce its partnership with LCBO. Launching today, and starting with 15 stores in Toronto, SkipTheDishes will begin on-demand delivery directly to customers.

Through the SkipTheDishes app or website, customers can conveniently order from over 300 best-selling wine, beer and spirits, including a selection of local products. Additionally, customers will be able to order gift bags, boxes, ice and more for delivery from their local LCBO through SkipTheDishes.

Skip drivers in Toronto are Smart Serve-certified to responsibly deliver alcohol to customers ages 19 and over and will strictly follow the AGCO’s guidelines pertaining to the sale and provision of alcohol products, ensuring that the sale of alcohol to minors , intoxicated adults, and those who appear to be purchasing alcohol for either of those individuals is prevented. If a delivery recipient fails to produce valid ID, appears to be intoxicated, or attempts to purchase for a minor or impaired individual, the delivery will be cancelled.

On-demand LCBO delivery service is available exclusively through SkipTheDishes Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 1 hour prior to store closure. Customers can check delivery zones on SkipTheDishes app or website.

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Hot Deals On iRobot i7 & i7+ Robots

Posted in Commentary on December 4, 2020 by itnerd

iRobot is serving up some more holiday deals. These new deals are now live on iRobot.ca. 

  • Roomba i7: Regular price = $749.99 CAD. Holiday promo = $549.99 CAD 
  • Roomba i7+:  Regular price = $999.99 CAD. Holiday promo = $799.99 CAD 

Check out these deals at iRobot.ca today.

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Metro Vancouver’s Transit System Pwned By Ransomware

Posted in Commentary with tags , on December 4, 2020 by itnerd

Metro Vancouver’s Transit System has admitted that it was pwned by ransomware where the bad actors wanted to get paid or they would publish the data. Here’s what Global News had to say:

Global News has obtained the ransom letter sent to TransLink amid “suspicious network activity” this week that has caused several major problems across the transit system.

TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond confirmed the attack in a media release late Thursday.

And:

Sources inside TransLink say the belief is the attacker is a high-profile hacker who is responsible for a number of similar attacks in the U.S. They believe this may be the attacker’s first successful foray into Canada.

The letter includes instructions for administrators to contact the ‘Egregor’ website using the anonymous browser Tor.

The Egregor ransomware reportedly surfaced in September, and made headlines with attacks on Barnes & Noble and Ubisoft.

The transit authority will not pay the ransom, which is the best move as you should never pay these scumbags. But it is affecting their payroll system. Their fare payment systems and some other online systems were also affected.

I would be interested to see what the transit authority does in regards to this incident as seeing as they aren’t paying the ransom, and they have also brought in a digital forensics team which he described as the “CSI squad of computers”, this might act as template as to how to handle incidents like this in the future.

UPDATE: David Masson of Darktrace had this to say on the Metro Vancouver ransomware attack:

“This ransomware attack against Translink is another wake-up call for transportation authorities that they cannot rely on humans alone to respond to fast-moving cyber-attacks.

Security teams are now outpaced by the speed of today’s malware and require autonomous technology that understands what constitutes an attack, in the heat of the moment – and stops the attack without a human in the loop. Many transportation companies across North America now use AI to respond to ransomware, and similar high speed attacks, employing technology called Autonomous Response. The AI detects early sign warning signs of a threat actor trespassing inside computer networks and is able to mount a targeted defense in a matter of seconds, before the ransomware can spread. 

Ransomware continues to be one of the most prevalent attack types that Darktrace AI responds to on a weekly basis..”

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US Working To Cut A Deal With Huawei CFO

Posted in Commentary on December 4, 2020 by itnerd

It seems that the US wants to get Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou to gut a deal with them. Here’s what CBC News had to say:

The U.S. Justice Department is talking to representatives of Meng Wanzhou about a potential deal that would allow the Chinese telecom executive to return home from Canada in exchange for signing a deferred prosecution agreement admitting criminal wrongdoing, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

In short, she’d admit to violating trade sanctions on Iran for her freedom. Also, the word on the street is this deal will encourage China to return Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor who the Chinese have held hostage since the saga began. But of course, this is all rumor as opposed to fact and we’ll have to see how this plays out. But it would be really nice to put an end to this saga.

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Review: Snap Ships Lance & Scout

Posted in Products with tags on December 4, 2020 by itnerd

We’re back with another review of Play Monster’s Snap Ships. This time 12 year old Zavier is here to review the Lance and the Scout:

To refresh your memory, Snap Ships are designed for kids ages 8 and up and go for a suggested retail price of $9.99–$39.99. To tell the epic story of the Snap Ships universe, the company behind Snap Ships which is PlayMonster has joined forces with award-winning content studio Wind Sun Sky to produce a fast-paced and edgy animated series. Season one of the series, Snap Ships Dawn of Battle launched this past Friday on YouTube with new episodes airing every Friday. But there’s more to this toy. Snap Ships is supported by an AR app which allows users to explore the vibrant world of Snap Ships. Highly detailed digital versions of the constructible toys come to life in the app and can be summoned into via Augmented Reality.

Zavier is 12 and by now is a real expert at reviewing these, so let’s see what he has to say:

The SV-51 Scout is the first build in the Lance kit. The SV-51 is a simple ship and very quick to build, a continuing theme within the kits I’ll be reviewing. I noticed it’s a lot bulkier than a lot of the other Snap Ships in my collection. I think it’s good for the most part. My only real gripe with it is how similar it looks to the Locust Support Fighter, which does look slightly better in terms of design.

The second build in the Lance kit is the SAC-Attack Craft. The SAC-Attack Craft is my favourite build out of the two. It emphasizes what I like about the Snap Ship products; the originality. The SAC-Attack Craft is so different compared to all the other Snap Ships I have. It can stand out in a collection which I think is spectacular. It also kind of reminds me of a TIE Fighter.

The second kit is the Sawfly. The first build in the set is the K.L.A.W Mineflayer. The Mindflayer is a fun ship. It looks very insect-like with the back wings and “saws.” It’s not the most aesthetically pleasing ship. It looks very menacing, which is a plus. One thing that isn’t great is its long lower claw. It’s a cool design feature but, it tips the ship off balance and makes it hard to pose. 

The second ship in the Kit is the K.L.A.W Lightscout. The Lightscout isn’t exactly my favourite ship. It doesn’t look great compared to the first build. The large claw on the left looks out of place. Granted, the Lightscout is still somewhat unique. 

Both Kits I received may have had some flaws, but I still think they’re great. The snap ships are still an amazing product and the overall quality has been upheld.

That’s a very detailed review from Zavier and I appreciate his perspective on these new Snap Ships. You can pick them up in the action aisle at Target, or at Target.com.

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Guest Post: MailerCheck Helps You To Find The Hidden Dangers In Subscriber Lists Before Sending “Christmas Greetings” Emails

Posted in Commentary with tags on December 4, 2020 by itnerd

The most important shopping holidays of the year are only a month away and it is high time newsletters, Christmas greetings, and offers are prepared to be sent out to the email subscriber list. However, there might be some dangers hidden in the email subscriber lists, especially those purchased illegally with the intention of sending out Christmas promotions. It has been determined that marketing email subscriber lists decline by 20-30 % annually while 15 % of emails are not delivered at all. Therefore, a list with older email addresses can pose a number of challenges: the chances of email deliverability decrease, the email campaign is less cost effective, and the subscribers may not even be reached. 

To get the most out of an email marketing campaign, it is important for businesses to make sure the emails are actually delivered and their accounts are not facing the risk of getting suspended on email marketing platforms. Email verification and list cleaning tool MailerCheck helps companies avoid the unnecessary dangers of an obsolete email list and is expected to improve email deliverability rates by up to 98 %. 

“The higher your email deliverability rate, the better your overall email marketing performance and impact on your subscribers. To ensure improved email performance, we created MailerCheck with a focus on quality email lists over quantity to save businesses valuable time and resources, and at the same time, make their email lists composed only of the subscribers that matter,” says Ignas Rubežius, CEO of MailerCheck.

One very real danger of sending out emails to the entire list is  email list decay which can occur for several reasons: the email account has been removed, the user or the company has changed their name and consequently their email address, or the emails a business sends have been marked as spam by the recipients. Since it is extremely time-consuming for companies to clean long email lists themselves, it is essential for them to have convenient tools for this purpose.

Since people of varying computer skill levels use email lists, MailerCheck was created with ease of use in mind, meaning it is operated with minimum efforts, thus making it accessible for all. The operation of the tool requires three steps only: uploading an email list, waiting for MailerCheck to analyse and clean it, optimizing the list as per recommendations provided by the tool. “By cleaning obsolete and inactive email subscribers and leaving the remainder of the list as viable as possible, the chances of wasting time and marketing campaign resources become significantly lower,” adds Ignas Rubežius. 

Another danger of unhygienic email lists is email bounces. Whether soft and hard (temporary or permanent respectively), they are sure to lower email deliverability rates and even incur financial loss. Statistics show that email bounce rates should be kept below 2 % to avoid inducing marketing campaign costs, and if the number is higher, it means the email subscriber list used is ineffective. A cleaned list of subscribers is more likely to contain engaged users interested in the emails sent to them, provide optimal access to valid recipients, and upkeep satisfactory delivery rates. 

A procedure, as important as email list cleaning should not be postponed to the very last minute. By preparing for the holiday season right away, companies are more likely to be successful in implementing their email marketing campaigns and effectively reaching their goals.

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Rainbow Six 2021 Invitational Open Qualifiers Are Now Open

Posted in Commentary with tags on December 4, 2020 by itnerd

Today, Ubisoft® announced that teams can now register for the four regional Open Qualifiers that will be held online in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America and compete for a chance to qualify for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six® Invitational 2021.

The fifth edition of the Six Invitational will be held in Europe in February 2021 and will gather 20 teams across the four main regions of the Rainbow Six Esports circuit, competing offline in a LAN environment following strict sanitary measures. For health and safety reasons, there will be no audience on site.

Sixteen teams have already secured their spot in the competition by earning points through regional leagues and Six Majors during the Rainbow Six Esports Season 2020. These points contributed to their ranking in the Global Points Standings and have determined their qualification for the Six Invitational.

  • BDS Esport (Europe)
  • TSM (North America)
  • Cloud9 (Asia-Pacific)
  • Ninjas In Pyjamas (Latin America)
  • DarkZero Esports (North America)
  • Team Liquid (Latin America)
  • Giants Gaming (Asia-Pacific)
  • Spacestation Gaming (North America)
  • Team oNe eSports (Latin America)
  • Virtus.pro (Europe)
  • Wildcard Gaming (Asia-Pacific)
  • Team Empire (Europe)
  • FaZe Clan (Latin America)
  • Oxygen Esports (North America)
  • G2 Esports (Europe)
  • MIBR (Latin America)

Four additional slots – one per region – are now up for the taking in the Open Qualifiers. Each regional Qualifier follows its own dedicated format. 

All details on the Qualifiers for the Six Invitational, including registration links, are available here: http://www.rainbow6.com/SI2021qualifiers

The Six Invitational 2021 prize pool cap is set at USD $3,000,000. Adding to the starting amount of USD $500,000, 30% of all revenue from the Road to S.I. 2021 Battle Pass will directly contribute to the prize pool of the competition, and any amount above the 3-million-dollar cap will be redistributed to support the Rainbow Six Esports scene in Year 6.

More than just a tournament, the Six Invitational also marks the kick-off of a new year in Rainbow Six Siege. Throughout the Six Invitational 2021, the Rainbow Six Siege community will get a glimpse at everything the development team has in store in Year 6, including a few surprises. The event will feature panels on the game and the esports scene, as well as renowned content creators from the community. 

More information on the format, dates and sanitary protocols of the Six Invitational 2021 will be shared soon.

For more information about Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six esports, please visit http://www.rainbow6.com/esports and follow us at https://twitter.com/R6esports and https://instagram.com/R6esports with the hashtag #SixInvitational.

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Cyber Threat Against COVID-19 Vaccine Supply-Chain Has Been Uncovered

Posted in Commentary with tags on December 4, 2020 by itnerd

With hopes beginning to rise around COVID-19 vaccine approval, Canadian’s should also be weary of an underlying risk arising just below the surface – cyberattacks around distribution. As you have likely seen, there are already concerns of threats gaining traction around the globe – with attacks targeting global coronavirus vaccine supply chains – calling for the need to urge cold-chain companies to remain vigilant and on high alert. IBM identified some very specific targets which illustrates that the threat is real and comes at a critical time.

Max Heinemeyer, Director of Threat Hunting for Darktrace had this to say about this attack:

2020 has seen an increase in digital supply chain attacks of this kind. Attacking the supply chain is often easier than going after the core target. This particular effort to disrupt vaccine research and development confirms that the barrier between the ‘cyber’ and ‘physical’ supply chains has all but dissolved – attacks today can start in the inbox and end up disrupting the delivery chain of a critical vaccine or service.

A single phishing attack is easy to conduct, but executing an orchestrated spear phishing campaign against high-profile targets like this shows a lot of sophistication. The attack appears broad and sophisticated – broader than typical cyber-crime campaigns that aim for quick monetization.

We can only speculate on the goals at this stage but information about the physical whereabouts of a vaccination that needs to be kept cold could be interesting for many nation states, and could potentially disrupt the cold chain.

The fact that this campaign has been ongoing for many months is concerning. Organizations need to get much better at detecting unusual digital activity at a far earlier stage, using cutting-edge defence technology – particularly artificial intelligence – across the entirety of their digital infrastructure. AI is necessary today given the sophistication and speed of the attacks that we are now witnessing, across a wide range of digital platforms and tools.

Clearly now that there is a vaccine that is close at hand, anyone involved in its distribution needs to be on guard for more of these attacks.

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“Hire Diverse Testers Initiative” Calls For Companies To Fill Software Testing Roles With Qualified BIPOC Candidates

Posted in Commentary with tags on December 4, 2020 by itnerd

The Hire Diverse Testers Initiative, brainchild of QualityWorks’ Consulting Group, an LA-Based Software Firm, is  dedicated to addressing the tech “pipeline problem” by identifying, upskilling and placing diverse candidates in testing jobs. Through the first bootcamp program, the Hire Diverse Testers project has created a team of talented and diverse individuals ready to put their newfound testing skills to work with a makeup of over 80% Black, 75% women and 12% Latinx testers. QualityWorks is now calling for companies to actively participate in the diversification of  tech by filling their software testing roles with candidates from the program.

In August of 2020, QualityWorks launched a software testing program in an effort to help close the testing skills gaps and increase representation and diversity in the technology industry. The decision to create the program was ignited by the increasing number of trained professionals being laid off due to the economic impact of the pandemic. The call for applicants from the BIPOC community  attracted close to 200 university-trained professionals with up to 10 years of valuable professional experience in industries such as  Banking and Finance, IT Support, Media and Entertainment, Engineering and Computer.  Through rigorous screening, the top candidates were selected and have undergone an intensive bootcamp to build fundamental and practical skills in testing.

The initiative promises to provide project ready testers that have not only built core testing skills but also the fundamentals of agile, communication, collaboration.  Candidates will also receive 6 months of customized technical mentorship by senior testers to meet the specific project needs of each company that joins the initiative. This eliminates the hassle of onboarding and significantly reduces the headache and high costs of a lengthy recruitment process. 

Interested recruiters and companies may email sales@qualityworkscg.com or sign up to learn more.

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