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Bell partners with Perplexity

Posted in Commentary with tags , on August 11, 2025 by itnerd

Bell today announced a new partnership with Perplexity, a leading AI-powered answer engine, becoming the company’s exclusive telecommunications partner in Canada. Through this partnership, eligible Bell customers will receive 12 months of complimentary access to Perplexity Pro, a premium AI research and productivity tool valued at nearly $300.

This offer marks a key milestone in Bell’s focus on delivering artificial intelligence solutions to customers in meaningful and practical ways. By bringing best-in-class AI offerings like Perplexity to Canadians over Canada’s fastest Internet1 and fastest and best 5G and 5G+ networks2, Bell is enhancing how customers search, learn, and create – whether at home or on the go. These AI experiences require powerful networks capable of handling large volumes of data in real-time, and Bell’s networks are positioned to meet that need.

Perplexity offers a conversational, AI-powered search experience that delivers fast, accurate answers with source citations – helping users save time and get to the information they need, quickly. With Perplexity Pro, customers can access leading AI models like GPT-5, Claude 4.0, and Gemini 2.5 Pro to support tasks ranging from research and writing, to content planning and data analysis. The speed and performance of Bell’s networks help accelerate this AI-driven experience, ensuring customers can fully benefit from Perplexity’s capabilities.

Launching just in time for the busy back-to-school season, this offer will give millions of Canadians the opportunity to experience the best of AI, supporting them as they return to their routines – whether they’re heading back to class, back to the office, or are simply looking to stay organized and informed.

What Perplexity Pro has to offer

Perplexity Pro is an AI-powered platform that goes beyond traditional search by synthesizing information from multiple sources and delivering real-time answers with citations. Key features include:

  • Access to top AI models: GPT-5, Claude 4.0, Gemini 2.5 Pro and others
  • 600 daily pro searches
  • Unlimited file upload and analysis
  • Image generation tools
  • Advanced summarization, citation, and research functionality
  • Early access to Comet, a new agentic browser from Perplexity

Eligible Bell Mobility customers will begin receiving their redemption codes in the coming days, while Bell Internet customers will have access starting in fall 2025. Codes will be sent via email and text, and will also be available in customers’ MyBell account.

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Surfshark launches FastTrack to deliver up to 70% faster VPN connections

Posted in Commentary with tags on August 11, 2025 by itnerd

Surfshark, a leading VPN (Virtual Private Network) provider, introduces FastTrack, an innovative technology that optimizes users’ traffic paths for improved speed and performance. Built on Nexus infrastructure, this solution routes traffic through a network of servers rather than a single VPN tunnel, boosting internet speeds by up to 70%. As a result, users can now experience enhanced VPN connectivity to Sydney, Seattle, and Vancouver.

Optimized network for better VPN speed and performance

Many people believe their internet connection follows a direct, straightforward path, just as it appears at first glance when looking at a world map. However, this is a common misconception, similar to the belief that ISPs (Internet Service Providers) will always optimize user connectivity through the best routes.

In reality, data often travels across a complex web of overground and submarine cables located around the globe. These cables define the actual physical routes that data packets take, which can be very different from what we might think. For example, due to the layout of global network infrastructure, a data packet traveling from one city to another may be routed through multiple cities, countries, or even across continents and oceans.

There’s a similar misconception about ISPs. While they generally prioritize delivering acceptable speeds, they often do not focus on optimizing the actual network routes your data follows. Instead, ISPs typically choose paths based on cost, selecting the most economical routes for them rather than the fastest or most efficient ones for user data.

How does FastTrack work?

FastTrack is built on Surfshark Nexus infrastructure, a unique multi-server routing system that connects users to an entire network of servers — rather than a single VPN tunnel — and then routes the connection to a chosen location. This also works as an additional protection layer because the user’s connection is rerouted via different hops, so no single entity can link a single IP (Internet Protocol) address with the user’s activity.

At the moment, Surfshark is releasing FastTrack to three key destinations — Sydney, Seattle, and Vancouver on macOS, with plans to expand to more destinations in the future. Users can now find enhanced locations marked with a connection route icon in the main list of all VPN locations.

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Hisense Forms Strategic Partnership with The Watershed Group

Posted in Commentary with tags on August 11, 2025 by itnerd

With a commitment to improve the customer experience and provide end-to-end service and support, Hisense Canada is partnering with The Watershed Group to distribute and install its premium range of televisions and home entertainment products across Canada.

This collaboration will encompass Hisense’s flagship home entertainment technologies, including its premium laser projector televisions, large-panel LEDs, Mini-LED TVs and its line of soundbars. Consumers will benefit from enhanced access to Hisense’s industry-leading TVs and will be supported by expert installation services to ensure optimal performance and ideal viewing.

The Watershed Group is a Canadian leader in home theatre design, full room acoustics, room isolation and in-house screen design. It provides best-in-class products and expertise to ensure customers get the best solution for their desired project.

Originally established in 1995 as The Rep Company, The Watershed Group began as a regional representative firm for the A/V channel. Driven by extensive technical expertise, The Rep Company transitioned in 1999 from a conventional rep firm to a Canadian distribution firm, quickly earning a reputation for outstanding technical support across all its represented brands. By 2011, recognizing that its name no longer accurately reflected its diversified operations and market approach, the company rebranded as The Watershed Group.

For more information, please visit hisense-canada.com. Join the conversation and connect with Hisense on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @HisenseCA, using the hashtag #HisenseCanada.

For more information on The Watershed Group, please visit www.thewatershedgroup.ca.

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AOL To Kill Dial Up Service In September…. Wait… Dial Up Is Still A Thing?

Posted in Commentary with tags on August 11, 2025 by itnerd

From the “This is still a thing?” department comes the news that AOL is finally killing their dial up service in September:

AOL routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to discontinue Dial-up Internet. This service will no longer be available in AOL plans. As a result, on September 30, 2025 this service and the associated software, the AOL Dialer software and AOL Shield browser, which are optimized for older operating systems and dial-up internet connections, will be discontinued.

This change will not affect any other benefits in your AOL plan, which you can access any time on your AOL plan dashboard. To manage or cancel your account, visit MyAccount.

Now, for those of you who are wondering why dial up is still a thing in the era of broadband, the reason is simple. There’s parts of the country that simply don’t have broadband access. Be it over cable, fibre, DSL, or even 5G due to cost or lack of infrastructure or both. Thus dial up is pretty much the only option. If you combine that with the fact that for however many people still connect to the Internet using dial up, this is pretty much the end of an era.

RIP dial up Internet.

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Air France And KLM Pwned In Supply Chain Attack

Posted in Commentary with tags on August 8, 2025 by itnerd

 Air France and KLM have disclosed that threat actors had breached a customer service platform and stolen the data of an undisclosed number of customers via a supply chain attack:

The companies, both owned by the same airline holding firm, sent out data breach notification letters to affected customers, and in a statement shared with Tweakers, KLM said the incident happened when threat actors broke into a third-party service provider.

“Unusual activity was detected on a third-party platform used by our contact centres, which led our IT security team, together with the third-party system involved, to swiftly implement corrective measures to put an end to the incident,” the company also told Cybernews.

Lidia Lopez, Strategic Research Team Lead at Outpost24, has provided the following commentary: 

“The disclosure from Air France-KLM adds to a growing list of organizations affected by a highly targeted voice phishing (vishing) campaign exploiting Salesforce environments. First reported in March 2025 and escalating in June, these attacks have now impacted companies across Europe and the US, including Adidas, Allianz Life, Chanel, Pandora, LVMH subsidiaries, Qantas — and most recently, Google.”

“The threat group, uses a phone-based social engineering scheme impersonating IT help desks to trick employees into handing over credentials or installing malicious Salesforce tools. Victims are then extorted weeks or months later by the threat group, often self-identified as ShinyHunters, with threats of public data leaks unless a Bitcoin ransom is paid.”

“This campaign reflects a broader shift: as technical defenses improve, attackers are turning to more personal, psychological methods – a trend underscored by a 442% rise in vishing attacks in 2024 alone.”

“To reduce risk, organizations should enforce SSO, monitor login activity, restrict software installs on endpoints, and apply strict access controls. These simple steps can drastically reduce both the likelihood and impact of attacks.”

This again illustrates the fact that supply chain attacks are “the new hotness” for threat actors. Which means that you as an organization need to ensure that your partners are as secure as possible so that you don’t end up like these guys. Because getting pwned like this affects real people such as yours truly who flew to and from France in 2023. Which means that my personal info might be in the wild.

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New & Tried-and-True EcoTank Printers – Upgrade Your Back-to-School and Home Office Setup

Posted in Commentary with tags on August 8, 2025 by itnerd

As back-to-school season kicks off, busy parents and students are turning to reliable brands they trust to power them through, and well beyond, the year ahead. Epson has just introduced its latest EcoTank printer— a sleek, high-performance model that doubles as a smart home office investment and an essential tool for academic success. 

 EcoTank ET-4950 Wireless All-in-One Colour Supertank Printer(MSRP: $599.99 CAD) 

The ET-4950 is the ideal all-in-one printer for busy households, perfectly suited for both students and parents. Whether you’re working from home during the day or your kids need to print homework at night, the ET-4950 delivers reliable, high-quality performance whenever you need it.  

The ET-4950 offers a modern design that fits seamlessly into any space. It provides outstanding print quality and the convenience of printing thousands of pages, including colour1, without worrying about ink levels thanks to Epson’s high-capacity ink tanks and innovative cartridge-free printing. This new model also offers auto duplex printing, copying and scanning for advanced productivity, something any student or work-from-home warrior can appreciate. 

ET-4850 Wireless Colour All-in-One Cartridge-Free Supertank Printer (MSRP: $599.99 CAD)  

The ET-4850 is a tried-and-true EcoTank printer perfect for post-secondary students. Print up to approximately 5,000 pages, eliminating the fear of running out of ink the night before a major assignment is due. This EcoTank printer is perfect for students on a budget as they can save up to 90 per cent with replacement ink bottles vs. ink cartridges 2. With premium productivity features like an Auto Document Feeder and a high-resolution flatbed scanner, this printer will benefit students long after graduation and into the workforce. 

Epson has plenty of deals throughout the back-to-school season, so be sure to check Epson.ca for weekly specials and savings!  

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Instagram’s new Maps feature exposes user locations

Posted in Commentary with tags on August 8, 2025 by itnerd

Instagram’s new Maps feature lets users share their real-time or recent location with selected followers, but it raises privacy and safety concerns. Since it’s release on August 6, social media has been buzzing with locations of high-profile people, including Shawn Mendes, who was spotted in Budapest.

Cybersecurity experts are concerned and urge to pay attention to the feature. For example, CEO of Saily, Vykintas Maknickas, comments:

“Personal safety is the number one priority. Real-time location sharing exposes your precise position down to streets and buildings. You’re losing your privacy — your residence, workplace, places you like to spend your free time become public. It can expose you to unwanted attention from stalkers, abusive exes, or others with bad intent. It’s especially dangerous for underage or high-profile users.”

“Bad actors can exploit the Maps feature to spy on others — it essentially gives a shortcut to one of the most valuable pieces of information: your location, and possibly your routine. A stalker could collect enough information to determine where you live, work or study, making “accidental” in-person meetings easy.”

“Because of these risks, it’s important to manage the feature carefully. You can turn off the Maps feature entirely or choose specific friends to share your location with — both essential steps for a less invasive experience.”

“Private accounts mean only approved followers see your updates. However, a stalker could be someone you already approved or hide behind an account pretending to be your friend. This “trusted circle” can create a false sense of security, encouraging you to share more. However, even if a handful of people can see your location, it only takes 1 screenshot for it to get public.”

“Location sharing could also be used to determine when you’re not home. For example, if your location shows that you’re on vacation, that means that no one’s home — your residence becomes a target.”

“Social engineering is also a risk. Having your current location can help bad actors to create believable scams. For example, they might send you fake messages from businesses you actually visited.”

“If you choose to post with a location tag, my biggest advice would be simple: Don’t post at the moment. Just wait until you’ve left the place, and then feel free to share your memories. Also, limit who can view your stories or posts, and don’t assume default settings have your back.”

“Review everything carefully before posting and watch your videos or photos with a critical eye — sometimes you could be surprised by what you might unintentionally reveal. And, of course, avoid tagging places you visit regularly, blur out any signs, street names, shop fronts, house numbers, or license plates that could give away your exact location.”

My advice would be to turn this feature off. Here’s instructions on how to do that. This is a potential risk to users, and risk should always be mitigated whenever possible.

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Hisense U88 Mini-LED TV Now Available in Canada

Posted in Commentary with tags on August 8, 2025 by itnerd

Unmatched picture quality, a massive colour palette and immersive audio has arrived in Canada in the Hisense U88 series, a best-in-class Mini-LED that redefines what is possible in home entertainment.

Powered by the innovative Hi-View AI Engine Pro, the U88 automatically optimizes brightness, contrast and colour in real-time so every scene looks its best without the need for manual adjustments. AI-driven enhancements sharpen details, reduce noise and improve depth, ensuring lifelike clarity whether you’re watching movies, enjoying live sports or playing video games. With peak brightness levels up to 5,000 nits and expanded local dimming zones, the U88 Series delivers deeper blacks, stunning highlights and exceptional contrast in any lighting condition. Quantum Dot technology enhances colour accuracy, producing richer, more vibrant visuals for an ultra-immersive experience.

With screen sizes from 55 inches up to 100 inches, Wi-Fi 6E for ultra-fast streaming and an 82W Dolby Atmos 4.1.2 multi-channel sound system, the U88 Series delivers the ultimate home entertainment experience — without compromise. Its features include:

  • Mini-LED Pro — Smaller LEDs means more per panel, resulting in the delivery of superior brightness, richer colours and sharper details.
  • AI TV — The Hi-View AI Engine PRO processor enhances every frame with advanced scene recognition, optimizing skin tones, graphics and contrast for lifelike visuals. It also intelligently enhances sound for a truly immersive experience.
  • Billion+ Shades of Vivid Colour — Quantum Dot wide colour gamut reproduced more than one billion colour combinations to deliver true-to-life images.
  • Game Mode Ultra — With a winning combination of technology, 165Hz Game Mode Ultra is the one to beat. A variable refresh rate from 48Hz to 165Hz ensures that any console and PC gaming will meet any opponent head on. AMD FreeSync™ Premium Pro and Auto Low Latency Mode virtually eliminate screen tearing and controller input lag.
  • Built-In Cinema Sound — Award-winning Dolby Atmos audio enhancement reveals details you’ve never noticed before. Take movie nights and gaming sessions to the next level with a 4.1.2 channel system, featuring four side speakers, two upward-firing speakers and a built-in subwoofer.

For more information, please visit hisense-canada.com. 

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Saviynt Appoints Kevin Spurway as Chief Marketing Officer

Posted in Commentary with tags on August 7, 2025 by itnerd

 Saviynt today announced the hiring of Kevin Spurway as Chief Marketing Officer. Spurway brings more than 20 years of senior-level marketing leadership in enterprise SaaS and software including as CMO for private, pre-IPO, and public U.S. companies. He joins Saviynt from Feedzai, an AI-native fraud and financial crime prevention platform.

Prior to Feedzai, Spurway was CMO at Similarweb, a SaaS market intelligence company that he joined pre-IPO and helped lead into the U.S. public markets in 2021. Before Similarweb, he spent six years as CMO of low-code application development and process automation company Appian, where he helped drive sustained high growth, and was instrumental in the company’s success as the top performing software IPO of 2017. He previously held senior marketing and corporate development positions at PTC and MicroStrategy. Spurway received his B.A. from Dartmouth College and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

To learn more about Saviynt, please visit the website.

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SecurityBridge and Microsoft Webinar Ignites a New Era of SAP Security with AI-Powered Integration

Posted in Commentary with tags on August 7, 2025 by itnerd

 SecurityBridge today announced an upcoming webinar with Microsoft Sentinel for SAP titled “Reimagining SAP Security: AI-Driven Protection with Microsoft Sentinel for SAP & SecurityBridge,” to be held on Tuesday, August 12th from 8:00 am to 9:00 am EDT. This live event will showcase how Microsoft Sentinel and SecurityBridge are enabling seamless visibility, accelerated threat response, and smarter protection for complex SAP landscapes. Registration is now open at: https://bit.ly/45klD4P

As SAP security enters a new era, this collaboration delivers more than visibility—it redefines the security operations workflow by combining Microsoft Sentinel for SAP’s centralized enterprise monitoring with SecurityBridge’s SAP-native capabilities, such as real-time threat detection, vulnerability management, and Advanced Business Application Programming (ABAP) code scanning. Together, the integration enables Security Operations Center (SOC) analysts and SAP security teams to identify threats more quickly and respond more effectively.

Presenting how this powerful integration will simplify workflows will be Martin Pankraz, Product Manager, SAP Integration & Security, Microsoft, and Holger Hügel, Product Management Director, SecurityBridge. Together, they will conduct live demonstrations of:

  • Unified SAP and enterprise security monitoring.
  • AI-driven insights from Microsoft Security Copilot.
  • Streamlined SAP vulnerability detection and remediation.

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