Posted in Commentary with tags LG on October 10, 2023 by itnerd
Today, LG Electronics Canada (LG) is launching the LG OLED evo M3 Series, the world’s first and only OLED TVs with 4K 120Hz wireless connectivity in Canada. The LG OLED evo M3 TVs are completely free of cables, with the exception of the power cord, and feature the world’s first wireless connectivity solution capable of real-time video and audio transmission at 4K 120Hz between the Zero Connect box and the screen.
As LG celebrates the 10th anniversary of technological and design advancement in OLED innovation, the LG OLED evo M3 Series takes the company’s leadership in the premium TV segment to the next level. Available at launch at Best Buy in Canada, LG OLED evo M3 Series models are available in 77-inch and 83-inch screen sizes.
The TVs come with the Zero Connect Box, which allows for AV transmission at 4K resolution (3,840 x 2,160 pixels) and a 120Hz refresh rate, for a distance of up to 10 metres between itself and the screen. The Zero Connect Box supports a range of connectivity options, including HDMI 2.1, USB, RF, LAN and Bluetooth – making it easy to connect various devices or peripherals, from gaming consoles to set-top boxes.
To ensure the seamless transmission of image and sound, the box identifies the optimal transmission path and has an adjustable antenna that can be positioned according to the screen’s location. As the Zero Connect technology eliminates the need to have cables and devices in close proximity to the screen, users are able to enjoy the immersion offered by an ultra-large screen in a clutter-free space.
The LG OLED evo M3 Series also boasts the company’s chic, ultra-modern Gallery Design, which provides a seamless, flush-to-wall mount, eliminating the need to place a cabinet or table directly underneath the TV.
In addition to elevated design and strong performance, the LG OLED evo M3 is powered by artificial intelligence. LG’s exclusive α9 AI Processor Gen6 drives the native 120Hz refresh rate, Brightness Booster Max, and AI technology that senses what the user is watching to select the best picture and sound settings—for an immersive viewing experience.
For today’s gamer, the LG OLED evo M3 TVs are packed with the features needed to compete, such as blazing-fast 0.1 millisecond response rate, plus NVIDIA G-Sync compatibility, AMD FreeSync Premium and variable refresh rate support for a smoother, clearer picture. Whether users game on consoles or on the cloud, the LG Game Dashboard and Game Optimizer put the control at their fingertips.
Other features of the LG OLED evo M3 TVs include:
The latest Alpha series processor utilizes LG’s most sophisticated AI-assisted Deep Learning technology to ensure outstanding picture and sound quality.
AI Picture Pro now offers improved upscaling for better clarity and enhanced dynamic tone mapping, which helps reveal the depth and detail in every frame. AI Picture Pro also integrates a picture processing technology that detects and refines important objects, such as people’s faces, to give them a more lifelike HDR quality.
In addition to fine-tuning image reproduction, the α9 AI Processor Gen6 powers LG’s AI Sound Pro, a feature that helps viewers get swept up in the on-screen action by delivering virtual 9.1.2 surround sound from the TVs’ built-in speaker system.
AI Concierge provides each user with a curated list of content choices based on their past usage and search inquiries. It also suggests useful settings, options and modes (including the Family Care setting, Eye Comfort mode, Multi-View mode, clock setting, Bluetooth speaker connection, and mute sound) for a customized viewing and user experience.
LG OLED evo M3 Series TVs are now available for purchase at Best Buy.
Posted in Commentary with tags Hacked on October 10, 2023 by itnerd
While doing some research on clear web breach forums, VPN Mentor recently stumbled upon a file containing the personally identifying information of nearly 8,000 employees of Decathlon which is a chain of sporting goods stores. After a preliminary investigation, it was found that the data exposed on the forum appeared to match the data described in findings from a third party breach in 2021 involving Decathlon’s employees.
The breach shared on the forum exposed full names, phone numbers, email addresses and more.
Akira is rapidly rising as one of the fastest-growing ransomware groups due to its utilization of double extortion strategies, a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) distribution approach and distinctive payment methods. According to Trend Micro, Akira’s ties can be traced back to the now-defunct Conti ransomware family.
Canada is the top 3rd country affected by successful RaaS and extortion attacks in the first and second quarters of 2023, just behind U.S. and the U.K. As ransomware actors continue to advance their tactics, creating more sophisticated strains and causing financial and reputational damage to businesses, organizations must enhance their cybersecurity defenses to effectively combat these evolving threats.
Recent Akira activities:
June 2023: a mere three months following the initial discovery of Akira, the ransomware group encompasses Linux systems within its list of targeted systems.
August 2023: Akira focuses on Cisco VPN accounts lacking multifactor authentication (MFA)
September 2023: An analysis of Akira variant Megazord is released.
This variant encrypts files with the “POWERRANGES” file extension and shares a ransom note, titled “powerranges.txt,” directing victims to get in touch with the ransomware actor through the TOX messenger.
September 6th 2023: Akira ransomware operators take advantage of CVE-2023-20269, a previously undisclosed security flaw, in two of their product offerings, specifically targeting the remote access VPN feature within the Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) software.
Trend Micro has a report on Akira that you can read to gain further insight.
LinkedIn recently launched their Global Trends Report that shares data insights about labour-market trends and how they are impacting candidates, employees and workplaces.
Some of the key findings include:
Between August 2022 and August 2023, hiring rates in Canada remained down by -24%
Employee confidence in career development is declining worldwide, with Canadian respondents expressing less confidence in their prospects to progress their careers in the past year. HR professionals are emerging as strategic leaders, with 9 out of 10 stating that their roles have become more strategic.
Job posts mentioning AI or generative AI have more than double globally in the last two years, with applications growing 17% faster compares to non-AI related posts.
These findings highlight the transformative impact of AI on the job market and the crucial role of HR professionals in guiding organizations through this transition. With AI becoming a vital tool in HR’s toolkit, it enables them to emphasize human aspects such as strengthening relationships with candidates and colleagues, ultimately contributing to a stronger company culture.
LinkedIn is also piloting new generative AI tools, including Recruiter 2024, which simplifies hiring processes by providing high-quality candidate recommendations from an extensive pool based on natural language search prompts. Additionally, LinkedIn Learning offers AI-powered coaching to help individuals upskill in essential areas.
Posted in Commentary with tags Google on October 10, 2023 by itnerd
The news is out from Google this morning Demand Gen will enter global general availability for all advertisers.
YouTube & Google announced the beta for Demand Gen back at Cannes – unveiling it as a new ads campaign type for social marketers. Since then, global brands and agencies like Samsung Germany and pHd Media have used this solution to uplevel their approach to social.
Their findings: Neither Google nor YouTube are markedly social platforms but the interconnected networks provide performance and results that are better for social buyers. It’s because of the unparalleled reach (read: billions of users a month) across multiple surfaces and screens, plus thecontent that viewers seek out, and the singular nature of how this ecosystem is where consumers turn to first to engage during critical moments of consideration – from brand letters in Gmail to creator recommendations on YouTube and Shorts.
According to data presented by the Atlas VPN team, based on data from Freedom House, only 17% of internet users have access to a truly free internet. Generally, conditions online for human rights have deteriorated for the 13th year, with the highest declines occurring in Iran, followed by the Philippines, Belarus, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua.
Internet users in China suffer the most, facing the most severe content limitation and government censorship for the ninth year in a row. In contrast, Icelandic users enjoy the most online liberty worldwide for the fifth consecutive year.
As per the findings, 36% of internet users worldwide do not have access to internet freedom, characterized by high infrastructural, economic, and political obstacles to access; limits on content, including the filtering and blocking of websites; as well as violations on the right to freedom of expression using legal and extralegal repercussions.
Elsewhere, the internet is partially free to 35% of its users. Countries such as Hungary and Colombia are good examples of this category. Both boast open internet access but also face threats, such as cyberattacks on media outlets or policies that impede the operations of opposition groups, journalists, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).
Meanwhile, only 17% of the global internet population enjoys the internet without significant restrictions. Researchers observed little-to-no critical internet controls exerted in Costa Rica, Germany, Estonia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Argentina, the United States, and Taiwan, to name a few.
Websites blocked by governments reach record-high
Researchers observed that conventional forms of censorship are becoming increasingly popular among repressive governments, especially in cases where AI-powered moderation tools fail to keep up with a sudden surge of criticism and dissent.
The most popular form of such internet control is the forced removal of content, which is employed across 45 countries. Speech that concentrates on political, social, or religious topics is especially targeted despite being protected according to international human rights standards.
Furthermore, a record-high of 41 national governments blocked websites that host similar content. For example, the Belarusian government, which has aided Moscow’s military aggression, has blocked more than 9,000 websites, including several independent news sites maintained by Belarusian journalists working in exile.
The report also states that 22 governments took actionto regulate or outright ban content on social media platforms to silence dissent. One example of this was observed during nationwide protests across Iran in September 2022. Iran intermittently restricted internet connectivity and blocked WhatsApp and Instagram, the only international social media platforms accessible in the country. In addition, 19 countries also banned VPN tools to prevent bypassing such censorship.
During the study’s coverage period, 16 countries restricted internet connectivity. One was Sudan, where authorities limited internet access in the aftermath of the 2021 military coup, cutting off communication routes for the opposition and hiding evidence of human rights violations perpetrated against them.
EnGenius has announced the launch of its latest product, the XG60-FIT gateway, a solution designed specifically for small businesses’ security and networking needs. With the XG60-FIT gateway, small businesses can efficiently manage remote worker networks and branch locations, ensuring secure communication and data protection without needing dedicated IT teams.
Robust Cybersecurity and Seamless Network Performance
The XG60-FIT gateway provides dependable connectivity, efficient security, and easy management. This robust connectivity solution offers high throughput performance and real-time protection for businesses’ networks, allowing for collaboration and secure data sharing. Its innovative approach to simplicity makes VPN setup a breeze, enabling quick and secure connections between branches or remote workers with just a few clicks. To enhance network reliability, the gateway features dual-WAN ports for load balancing and failover support, with cellular WAN serving as a backup connection in case of WAN failures. Additionally, it offers multiple gigabit ports and a PoE+ port to power Wi-Fi access points, delivering high-performance Wi-Fi for small businesses, branch offices, and WFH employees.
Surefire Approach to Installation and Network Management
The gateway can be effortlessly managed through the FitXpress platform, offering business owners and IT beginners a centralized and user-friendly network management system. With FitXpress, businesses can conveniently install, configure, and remotely monitor the gateway and other EnGenius network devices via the web portal and app from anywhere, anytime. This all-inclusive solution enhances network security, efficiency, and management convenience for small businesses.
EnGenius recognizes the critical need for simple solutions targeted at small business and their growth. The XG60-FIT gateway offers exceptional value and delivers efficient security and performance capabilities for small companies, chain stores, and branch offices, ensuring they have the tools necessary to thrive and for long-term success.
Key Features of XG60-FIT
Auto-VPN for self-healing and quick network deployment.
High-throughput and secure site-to-site VPN/ client VPN.
Dual-GbE WAN and Dual-GbE LAN for maximum performance.
Flexible connectivity through dual-WAN load balancing.
WAN failover and cellular failover ensure uninterrupted connectivity.
Stateful firewall with high-efficiency filtering and inspection to enhance security.
Passthrough and routing options for existing network gateway or router.
Dual-core 2.1 GHz processor for greater speed and power.
4x GbE Ports and 1x SFP uplink with seamless connectivity.
Cloud-based management unifies EnGenius Fit Gateways, Wi-Fi Access Points, and Switches.
Centralized and remote management through the FitXpress web portal or app.
Posted in Commentary on October 10, 2023 by itnerd
When I last wrote about Rogers and the fact that their email system which is powered by Yahoo has been anything but fully functional for months, I served up this fix that works if you subscribe to Microsoft Office 365. But that fix doesn’t help the vast majority of their users who aren’t subscribers to Microsoft Office 365. And what makes it worse is that Rogers tech support people have been clearly told to parrot the company line. Which is that webmail is an acceptable way to get your email.
Fun fact: That’s not true. Sure you can use webmail to grab your email in a pinch. But for daily usage, webmail is far from optimal.
I did promise to keep you updated on this issue because neither Rogers or Yahoo have seemed to want to do so. The thing is, neither company has had anything to say about this for months. Thus no updates from me.
I have to assume that Rogers isn’t getting email access from Yahoo for free. Thus I cannot understand why one of Canada’s largest telcos isn’t advocating for their customers to get Yahoo to address this. After all, if Rogers is paying Yahoo for this service, and not getting what they are paying for, Rogers has the right to express its displeasure and demand a resolution. Now it is entirely possible that Rogers is doing this behind the scenes and their efforts are falling on deaf ears on the Yahoo side of the fence. But there’s the possibility that Rogers simply does not care and letting their users who for whatever reason decided to use Rogers email offering twist in the wind for months because this isn’t a top of mind issue for Rogers. After all, they could argue that it’s not like their Internet offering has been down for months. It’s just email and there’s a workaround in place. Suboptimal as it is. I would like to think that isn’t the case. But I’ve been around long enough to know that this is a distinct possibility. But let’s say that this is the case, that’s a poor reflection on Rogers as clearly they don’t have their customer’s interests in mind. Now Rogers is free to prove me wrong on that by serving up a statement on this issue that I will repost the second that I get it. And that statement should include what the issue is, and when they are going to resolve it. Or what is standing in their way in terms of getting it resolved. But I have the feeling that Rogers won’t be serving up that statement as they don’t seem to be that sort of company any more.
Let’s go back to the fact that Rogers may not be getting the time of day from Yahoo. The cynic in me wonders if that’s due to the fact that when you use webmail, Yahoo bombards you with ads that they presumably make money from. And that for non-Rogers users, Yahoo offers a paid service that among other things gets rid of those ads. Thus I wonder if Yahoo wants to get paid by Rogers for the loss of that ad revenue which users won’t see if they they use a third party email client like Outlook, and Rogers simply said that they were not going pay up. If that were the case, you’d think Rogers would disclose that as it would make Yahoo look like the bad guy. Though I can also see why Rogers wouldn’t want to do that as well as that might hurt their negotiating position.
The bottom line is this. Rogers nor Yahoo seem interested in addressing this issue for any Rogers customer who has issues with their Rogers supplied email. That leaves said users with one option. Which is to abandon Rogers email offering and use something else. The majority of my reasons can be found in this article. And at this point, I suggest that there is no other option for Rogers email users who cannot get email in the manner that they want to receive it. It is clear that Rogers email users are on their own, and perhaps should follow the advice of this person who posted to the Rogers community forum about this situation:
Maybe if enough people follow this advice, this will get fixed by Rogers and Yahoo.
LG OLED evo M3 Series TV Is Now Available
Posted in Commentary with tags LG on October 10, 2023 by itnerdToday, LG Electronics Canada (LG) is launching the LG OLED evo M3 Series, the world’s first and only OLED TVs with 4K 120Hz wireless connectivity in Canada. The LG OLED evo M3 TVs are completely free of cables, with the exception of the power cord, and feature the world’s first wireless connectivity solution capable of real-time video and audio transmission at 4K 120Hz between the Zero Connect box and the screen.
As LG celebrates the 10th anniversary of technological and design advancement in OLED innovation, the LG OLED evo M3 Series takes the company’s leadership in the premium TV segment to the next level. Available at launch at Best Buy in Canada, LG OLED evo M3 Series models are available in 77-inch and 83-inch screen sizes.
The TVs come with the Zero Connect Box, which allows for AV transmission at 4K resolution (3,840 x 2,160 pixels) and a 120Hz refresh rate, for a distance of up to 10 metres between itself and the screen. The Zero Connect Box supports a range of connectivity options, including HDMI 2.1, USB, RF, LAN and Bluetooth – making it easy to connect various devices or peripherals, from gaming consoles to set-top boxes.
To ensure the seamless transmission of image and sound, the box identifies the optimal transmission path and has an adjustable antenna that can be positioned according to the screen’s location. As the Zero Connect technology eliminates the need to have cables and devices in close proximity to the screen, users are able to enjoy the immersion offered by an ultra-large screen in a clutter-free space.
The LG OLED evo M3 Series also boasts the company’s chic, ultra-modern Gallery Design, which provides a seamless, flush-to-wall mount, eliminating the need to place a cabinet or table directly underneath the TV.
In addition to elevated design and strong performance, the LG OLED evo M3 is powered by artificial intelligence. LG’s exclusive α9 AI Processor Gen6 drives the native 120Hz refresh rate, Brightness Booster Max, and AI technology that senses what the user is watching to select the best picture and sound settings—for an immersive viewing experience.
For today’s gamer, the LG OLED evo M3 TVs are packed with the features needed to compete, such as blazing-fast 0.1 millisecond response rate, plus NVIDIA G-Sync compatibility, AMD FreeSync Premium and variable refresh rate support for a smoother, clearer picture. Whether users game on consoles or on the cloud, the LG Game Dashboard and Game Optimizer put the control at their fingertips.
Other features of the LG OLED evo M3 TVs include:
LG OLED evo M3 Series TVs are now available for purchase at Best Buy.
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