Archive for January, 2023

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Elon Musk Says Twitter Has Too Many Ads… And He’s Going To Fix That… How’s That Going To Work?

Posted in Commentary with tags on January 22, 2023 by itnerd

So let’s recap.

Twitter got taken over by Elon Musk. That sent a lot of advertisers to the exits. And with those advertisers went money that Elon desperately needs to keep Twitter afloat. But even with all of that, there are apparently too many ads according to Elon:

So maybe I am missing something, but Twitter Blue was supposed to have less ads than just having a free Twitter account. And now Elon is going to have another tier above that so that you will see zero ads. So if I’m an advertiser and I read this, precisely what incentive do I have to advertise on Twitter? I know that Elon wants Twitter’s income to come from sources other than ads, but this seems to be one of his short sighted moves that will drive away the cash that he needs in the short and medium terms to keep Twitter afloat.

This seems to be another of Elon’s “Ready, fire, aim” moments that will end badly for him methinks. And like a lot of other moves like this, it will likely end badly for him.

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UK’s NCSC Finds Ransomware And Phishing Amongst The Biggest Threats To The Charity Sector

Posted in Commentary on January 21, 2023 by itnerd

The UK’s NCSC’s latest report has found that phishing and ransomware are amongst the biggest threats to the charity sector:

The report, published by the NCSC in association with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, explains why charities might be targeted and the challenges they face when compared to business and government organisations. For example, charities are more likely to rely on staff using their own IT (also known as Bring your own Device or BYOD), and these are harder to secure than devices that are owned (and managed) by the organisation itself.

It includes case studies from the sector to bring the report to life, as well as key statistics from the DCMS’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey. Crucially, it also directs readers to a range of online resources, so you can put in place the necessary measures to protect your charity and donors. These resources include the new Funded Cyber Essentials Programme, which offers eligible charities free support to put protections in place.

Given the times that we currently live in where the most vulnerable need help from charities, this is not good news:

Dr. Darren Williams, CEO and Founder, BlackFog had this to say:

Phishing and more specifically spear phishing is the tool of choice for most cyber gangs in order to breach an organization and launch a ransomware attack. As we have seen from this year’s annual statistics (https://www.blackfog.com/2022-ransomware-attack-report/), ransomware continues to break new records each month, with 2022 ending with a record number of attacks and an overall  29% increase over 2021. We continue to see specific sectors such as education and government become the most targeted, with charities falling into the same category as they are seen as low-hanging fruit without adequate resources for protection, both in terms of skilled cyber professionals as well as cybersecurity technology. Since the goal of any attack is to breach an organization and steal valuable information, charities pose a very high risk as they are gatekeepers to many high-net-worth individuals’ details which can then be leveraged for extortion. This is similar to the way such individuals were targeted in an attack on Daylesford in the UK last year, where high net-worth individuals’ details were leaked online. Like any organization, charities need to look carefully at how they are protecting their data and what they are doing in terms of anti-data exfiltration generally. 

Hopefully this spurs the charity sector to do what they can to make themselves less of a target. And hopefully the U.K. government pitches in because they truly can’t do this alone.

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T-Mobile Pwned By Hackers…. Yet Again

Posted in Commentary with tags on January 21, 2023 by itnerd

T-Mobile recently revealed in an SEC filing that a hacker stole the personal data of 37 million customers. TechCrunch has the story:

The telecom giant said that the “bad actor” started stealing the data, which includes “name, billing address, email, phone number, date of birth, T-Mobile account number and information such as the number of lines on the account and plan features,” since November 25.

In the SEC filing, T-Mobile said it detected the breach more than a month later, on January 5, and that within a day it had fixed the problem that the hacker was exploiting.

The hackers, according to T-Mobile, didn’t breach any company system but rather abused an application programming interface, or API.

“Our investigation is still ongoing, but the malicious activity appears to be fully contained at this time, and there is currently no evidence that the bad actor was able to breach or compromise our systems or our network,” the company wrote.

For those keeping score at home, this is the 8th time that T-Mobile has been pwned by hackers. That’s not a good track record.

Edward Roberts, VP Marketing of Neosec had this to say:

“This incident looks like another example of APIs being attacked and highlights the need for organizations to protect this vast and exponentially growing attack surface. APIs by their nature carry an organization’s crown jewels — its data. More organizations are creating and deploying APIs and this API traffic is estimated to be over 80% of all traffic on the internet. Unfortunately, gathering data by scraping a vulnerable API is now a path to a low and slow data breach. It’s alarming that today many organization’s don’t even have an inventory of their APIs let alone know if they are vulnerable. But more important is knowing if there is any abusive traffic on your APIs. Knowing that someone is scraping an API for data is essential.” 

Given that this has happened so often to T-Mobile, they clearly have a whole lot of work to do so that customers can feel that their personal information is being handled in a safe and secure manner.

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What’s In My Tech Sling Bag – The 2023 Edition

Posted in Products with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on January 20, 2023 by itnerd

Often when I get a phone call from a client from a client to assist them with some sort of tech issue, I need to grab a handful of things that I know that I will usually need on a job and go. For years, I’ve sort of scrambled to find what I need on a moment’s notice, and that came to a head when I lost my Victorinox Cyber Tool. Thus I decided that I needed to do something different and have a bag that has the most commonly used items that I need when I go see a client. That way I know where everything is, and I can get out of the house quicker. Not to mention reduce my chances of losing something. I decided on a sling bag as that is compact enough to fit inside a backpack or a laptop bag, but holds everything that I need. This is the sling bag in question:

The is the tomtoc Explorer-H02 EDC Sling Bag in the 8 inch size which has an outer compartment that holds miscellaneous items, a compartment in the back that holds one item that I will get to in a moment, and a middle compartment that holds the majority of my gear. Because it is a sling bag, it goes over my shoulder which is handy if I am just using it by itself. But it will also fit inside my laptop bag or backpack. Another plus is that it will fit some of my EDC should the need arise. Be it my sunglasses, AirPods Pro or anything like that.

As for what’s inside of it, here’s the current list.

I’ve got an Apple AirTag in it so that if I misplace it, I can find it easily. It’s inside a Belkin AirTag holder which makes sure that I can attach it to a loop inside the sling bag.

In the back compartment is this GearAid HeroClip. What this is for is to allow me to hook, hang, and carry my gear. I have it because if I have to use a public restroom, there is often no place to hang a jacket, or the sling bag, or a laptop bag. Thus making this piece of kit extremely handy. I got the large size to make sure that I could hang anything that I needed as it has a 100 pound weight limit.

I also carry some Woosh Screen shine and a microfibre cloth as I never know when I might need to clean a computer’s screen or keyboard. Be it mine or somebody else’s. This stuff works really well and it’s currently my go to for my computer cleaning needs.

I carry two cables with me at all times. The first is an Anker USB-C cable that does power delivery, as well as a RollingSquare InCharge XL which is my one cable to rule them all. I say that because it will cover any use case that I may need when at a client’s location as it is good for data transfer and for charging.

On the right is a replacement Victorinox Cyber Tool as I find this to be extremely handy to do everything from open boxes to disassembling computers. On the left is a 1TB NVMe that I use to transfer data at a customer’s site. This is something that I built myself so let me explain what went into building this. I started with a SABRENT 1TB SSD Rocket NVMe m.2 4.0, Gen4 PCIe M.2 SSD which is one of the fastest drives that the company makes, then I got my hands on this four pack of thermal pads from Amazon as NVMe SSDs tend to get hot, and I wanted to make sure that it didn’t nuke itself while I was using it. I also got my hands on this enclosure from Amazon that did USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 10Gbps transfer speeds. That’s more than fast enough for my needs. Plus it’s made of metal so it will dissipate heat. Putting it together was a bit tricky as I wrapped the thermal pads around the SSD which made sliding it together a tight fit. But by using the thermal pads, I can be assured that the heat that the SSD generates would be transferred to the case and then dissipated from there. I will say the case does get hot when it is used for extended periods of time, but that does not concern me given the care that I have taken to put this together.

The next thing in my sling bag is this Ugreen Nexode 100W USB charger. This allows me to provide power to my MacBook Pro or customer’s computer, tablet, or phone should the need arise. And you would be surprised how often that happens. Because this adapter is 100W and doesn’t take up a lot of real estate, I am covered for almost any charging related issue.

If I am away from a AC outlet and I need to top off my iPhone, or a phone belonging to someone else, I have this Jackery Mini charger along with the RollingSquare InCharge X which between the two of them allow me to charge any smartphone to past 50% at the very least.

Finally, I have the Bic 2 in 1 Pen. This is a lightweight pen plus stylus for any capacitive touch screen device which is handy for an iPad or iPhone. I have an emergency pen as part of my EDC, but it doesn’t hurt to have another one in my sling bag.

I have a CR2032 battery in this sling bag. Why? I can’t count the number of times that I have come across a PC with a dead clock battery, and then had to find a battery either at a corner store or a local “The Source” store in a panic. Thus I keep one in my possession at all times.

So that’s what is inside my tech sling bag. This works for me, but I would be interested in hearing from you in terms of what you think I should add to it or change. Please leave a comment below and share your thoughts.

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Google Becomes The Latest Tech Company To Axe Thousands Of Jobs

Posted in Commentary with tags on January 20, 2023 by itnerd

Following on the heels of Microsoft, Google has announced via a blog post that was based on an email sent by CEO Sundar Pichai that the company will be slashing 12000 jobs:

Over the past two years we’ve seen periods of dramatic growth. To match and fuel that growth, we hired for a different economic reality than the one we face today.

The email also reads like Google is really trying hard not to be perceived as handling this the way that Elon Musk’s handling Twitter layoffs. But other than that, the email is a bit of a rallying cry to those who remain as I am sure that some of them will be heading to exits as well.

Expect more stories like this to come in the days and weeks ahead.

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Twitter Officially Bans Third Party Clients And Dooms Itself In the Process

Posted in Commentary with tags on January 20, 2023 by itnerd

Engadget last night reported that Twitter has banned third party clients in a move that likely will send many fleeing from the platform and dooming the platform to extinction:

The “restrictions” section of Twitter’s developer agreement was updated Thursday with a clause banning “use or access the Licensed Materials to create or attempt to create a substitute or similar service or product to the Twitter Applications.” The addition is the only substantive change to the 5,000-word agreement.

The change confirms what the makers of many popular Twitter clients have suspected in recent days: that third-party Twitter services are no longer permitted under Elon Musk’s leadership.

Now if you really want to go into the weeds as to why I think this will doom Twitter to extinction, you can read this writeup on the subject. But here’s the TL:DR for those who want me to get to the point:

Taking away choice from individuals is a sure way to drive them off the platform. But it’s worse if you’re a business. That’s because you may use a third party app to do a deep level of social media monitoring. As in what is the sentiment of your customers? Or are there issues that are trending related to you that you need to address? Even how stuff appears on Twitter is controlled by third party apps that businesses use. That sort of functionality isn’t going to be found in the native Twitter app and businesses would be less than pleased about being forced off the social media tools that they use. In fact, it seems to me that the number of Tweets from brands appearing on Twitter seems to have fallen sharply since this whole thing started. Now that’s just anecdotal to be clear. But if this is actually fact, then Elon has a huge problem on his hands. Revoking these APIs might be the final straw for businesses and advertisers who didn’t immediately head to the exits when Elon took over Twitter. Those businesses and advertisers will quit Twitter, depriving Elon of money and send Twitter into a death spiral that there will be no recovery from.

Elon Musk is about to find out that this move is the wrong one to make. And the day of reckoning is coming very soon with a rather hefty interest payment due at the end of the month with no sign that he can cut that cheque among other issues like advertisers heading to the exits and the potential of governments taking enforcement actions against Twitter. Thus the only conclusion that you can come to is that Twitter is doomed. It’s now a matter of when and not if at this point.

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The Hisense U68HF Fire TV Comes to Canada

Posted in Commentary with tags on January 19, 2023 by itnerd

Hisense is bringing more choice to Canadian consumers by adding new Amazon Fire TV products to its innovative TV line-up.

Now available exclusively at Amazon.ca, the Hisense U68HF is the company’s first smart television with Amazon’s Fire TV built in. The 50- and 58-inch TV models offer Fire TV’s content-forward experience alongside the always-available intelligence of Alexa, delivering a truly immersive and powerful smart TV to Hisense Canada TV customers. Creating even more robust audio and visual experiences and making it accessible to the masses, the U68HF features Hisense’s proprietary 4K ULED technology, Quantum Dot colour, Dolby Vision HDR, HDR10/HDR10+, a 60Hz variable refresh rate, 240 motion rate and 600 nit peak brightness.

With Fire TV built in, the Hisense U68HF offers consumers a world of entertainment from apps like Prime Video, Netflix and Disney+. Subscription may be required. Plus, stream for free with CBC Gem and more. Customers also benefit from Fire TV’s expansive features including: 

  • Alexa Voice Remote, allowing users to use their voice to search and launch more than 100 apps, change channels, search for titles, play music or control other devices in their smart home.
  • Integration with smart home devices, including doorbells, cameras and more, and the ability to view video feeds from compatible doorbells and smart home cameras with features like Live View Picture-in-Picture.
  • Game Mode Plus, which decreases input lag, reduces response time and frame-rate issues on next-generation game consoles via HDMI connectivity, 60Hz Variable Refresh Rate and Auto Low Latency Mode.

Available exclusively on amazon.ca, the 50″ U68HF is available for $649.99 with a larger 58″ model available for $799.99.

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Bring Your Own License Now supported With Nutanix On OVHcloud

Posted in Commentary with tags on January 19, 2023 by itnerd

OVHcloud who has recently received the Nutanix EMEA Service Provider of the Year partner award, continues to enrich its Nutanix on OVHcloud solution by adding a BYOL offer in addition to existing packaged offerings. Current Nutanix customers and partners can now bring their Nutanix Cloud Platform* licenses onto OVHcloud dedicated and Nutanix-qualified High Grade HCI Intel servers benefiting from license portability and application migration transparency. Their Nutanix hyperconverged environment (HCI) is pre-deployed in just a few hours and ready to be used with their personalized infrastructure.

Nutanix on OVHcloud solution enables faster application migration from on-premises to the cloud all the while benefiting from OVHcloud infrastructure. Thanks to a low carbon footprint and best-in class PUE & WUE indexes, OVHcloud infrastructure stands out by its overall sustainability including a circular approach where the server lifecycle is thoroughly optimized. Furthermore, OVHcloud datacenters comply with high security and data protection standards.

With this new offering, OVHcloud can fulfill users’ needs, from addressing seasonal infrastructure peaks in-demand to building a Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP), all the while providing a cost-effective solution. Just like the Nutanix on OVHcloud packaged offer, the BYOL offer is comprised of 27 variants of dedicated and Nutanix-qualified High Grade HCI Intel processor-based servers and includes in/out traffic, which contributes to improved OPEX for significant savings when compared to non-HCI IaaS. 

Nutanix on OVHcloud solution is a scalable and ready-to-use HCI platform, in packaged offer and now also in BYOL offer, based on OVHcloud dedicated Nutanix-qualified Private Cloud infrastructures. It is now available for online ordering across EMEA and Canada with datacenters located in Canada, France, Germany and UK.

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More Than Half of Canadian TV Streamers Now Stream Ad-Supported TV: Roku Study

Posted in Commentary with tags on January 19, 2023 by itnerd

Today, Roku revealed the results of its third annual Video-on-Demand (VOD) Evolution study, examining Canadian TV streaming behaviours and trends. According to the study, three quarters (76 per cent) of Canadians are TV streamers, and ad-supported TV is on the rise with over half (52 per cent) tuning in.

The current macro-economic situation seems to have had an impact on Canadian TV households, with 18 per cent planning to cancel or downgrade their cable/satellite package in the next 12 months, and 47 per cent of respondents looking to make some changes to the selection of TV streaming services they use.

Streaming shifts and the FlexiVOD emergence in Canada 

Whether they’re downgrading from paid to free, upgrading from free to paid, or even resubscribing to services, TV streamers are on the move. With more services available than ever before, consumers carefully pick and choose what they pay for. This FlexiVOD trend is likely influenced by the fact that 57 per cent of TV streamers feel they have less disposable income than before.

When it comes to content, live TV is winning popularity, with 49 per cent of Canadians watching live TV such as sports and other key events on demand through TV streaming. This is a significant increase from 30 per cent using VOD services to stream live TV in 2020.

The rise of ad-supported TV: A deeper dive 

As ad-supported TV popularity grows, Canadian TV streamers are spending five hours per week with it (an increase of 14 per cent year-over-year, which also includes BVOD). The majority (76 per cent) are also taking measurable actions such as searching for more information, visiting the brand, adding to basket, and more after seeing the ads.

When it comes to consumer preferences for TV advertising, nearly half (48 per cent) of streamers under 35 say they prefer when the tone of a TV ad matches the program in which they see it; and 47 per cent say they’re more likely to pay attention to ads that reflect or are relevant to their mood. Some Canadians are also interested in engaging with ad formats such as QR codes.

Additional insights: 

  • 29 per cent of streamers are “Cord Nevers,” i.e., consumers who have never paid for cable.
  • The average age of monthly TV streamers is 44.
  • More streamers are collectively watching programming with subtitles – 86 per cent of anglophone streamers and 64 per cent of francophone streamers – compared to dubbed content.

To learn more about the study, and to download the full report, please click here.

About Roku’s VOD Evolution Canada Survey

Roku’s 2023 Video on Demand (VOD) Evolution study examined Canadian TV streaming behaviour and trends. This is Roku’s third study of Canadians’ TV streaming habits, and an update to its research in 2020 and 2021. Like those, this study is based on the results of an online survey of Canadian adults aged 18+ who use the internet and watched TV at least once in the last month. Fuse Insights research commissioned by Roku took place between July and August 2022, with a sample size of 2,001 Canadians nationally representative by age, gender, and geography.

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Tango Card Launches Dramatically Expanded Global Catalog and Capabilities  

Posted in Commentary with tags on January 19, 2023 by itnerd

Tango Card, a global leader in rewards, incentives, and payment fulfillment has dramatically increased the number of countries and currencies able to benefit from the global reach of its streamlined and secure digital gift card delivery system.

During the last two years, Tango Card has been building the systems and processes enabling it to be the true global provider of rewards and incentives to B2B buyers. With today’s launch and announcement, Tango Card offers more than 1,000 popular e-gift card brands, prepaid cards and charitable donation options across more than 80 countries and 20 currencies. With this fully global expansion, Tango Card’s service is now accessible to 97 percent of the world’s population.

Tango Card’s global selection of gift cards is delivered via a technology first, tested, and proven Rewards as a Service (RaaS®) API. And is used for a variety of use cases, including employee recognition, marketing incentives, customer acquisition, customer loyalty, and a variety of payment disbursements. Gift cards are delivered digitally and arrive in the local currency of the recipient. Tango Card then supports these recipients with the best recipient support in the business.  

This global launch is the first of many developments planned for Tango Card in 2023, including multiple feature rollouts, a complete rebranding and further expansions aimed at solidifying the company’s position as the global gift card leader

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