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Waze Launches Outreach Campaign To Support Small Businesses

Posted in Commentary with tags on November 24, 2020 by itnerd

It has been a challenging year for the small business community, with many companies having to reduce staff numbers or pause operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the forthcoming holiday season, owners have an opportunity to try and rebuild their businesses. So today, Waze, the platform bringing together communities on and off the road, has announced a new initiative to help small businesses get back on their feet. 

Launching this week in advance of Small Business Saturday and running until January 7 2021, Waze is offering business owners an opportunity to contribute information, including address, contact details, and opening and closing hours via a simple form, that will then be added to Waze map by Waze’s volunteer community of Map Editors. This information will help Waze users nationwide easily navigate to these store locations using the most up-to-date information, encouraging them to shop local during the holiday season. 

This campaign builds on Waze’s COVID-19 response as part of a strategic effort to find ways to leverage its products and map to better serve underserved communities, and to enable employees, users, and partners to give back to the organizations they care about.

If you are a small business owner who’d like your information on Waze updated – or for businesses that are not yet mapped on Waze – please complete this form. 

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India Bans More Chinese Apps

Posted in Commentary with tags , on November 24, 2020 by itnerd

India is not done banning Chinese apps. The world’s second largest internet market, which has banned over 175 apps with links to the neighboring nation in recent months, said on Tuesday it was banning an additional 43 such apps.

Like with the previous orders, India cited cybersecurity concerns to block these apps. “This action was taken based on the inputs regarding these apps for engaging in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order,” said India’s IT Ministry in a statement. The ministry said it issued the order to block these apps “based on the comprehensive reports received from Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center, Ministry of Home Affairs.” The apps that have been banned include popular short video service Snack Video, which had surged to the top of the chart in recent months, as well as e-commerce app AliExpress, delivery app Lalamove, and shopping app Taobao Live. At this point, there doesn’t appear to be any Chinese app left in the top 500 apps used in India.

Oh boy. I think it’s safe to say that you can expect a response from China as this is pretty much an “F-U” to China. And that’s likely to be an instant response.

This should be fun to watch.

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Watch Dogs: Legion – Toronto Adventure Is Live!

Posted in Commentary with tags on November 24, 2020 by itnerd

Ubisoft would like to announce that the Watch Dogs: Legion – Toronto Adventure is now live! If you’re looking for more Watch Dogs action and fancy exploring interesting locations in Toronto and solving questions to form your own IRL resistance, you’re in luck.

Starting today until December 31st, put yourselves in the shoes of a resistance recruiter, tasked with exploring various locations in Toronto to virtually recruit unique individuals into the resistance. The Watch Dogs: Legion – Toronto Adventure will put your knowledge and wits to the test as you explore Toronto and meet some of Watch Dogs: Legion’s many characters with their own personality and story.

You’ll need the Adventure Lab mobile app available for iOS and Android along with the QR code below.

*Please note that it is safe for players to participate as long as they abide by social distancing guidelines and wear a mask. There is no requirement to enter a business or interact with others to play the Adventure.

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Kevin Smith’s Iconic ‘Mooby’s’ Pop-Up Restaurant Launches On SkipTheDishes

Posted in Commentary with tags on November 24, 2020 by itnerd

After a successful in-person launch, Kevin Smith’s first Canadian pop-up of Mooby’s is making their full menu available for delivery exclusively through SkipTheDishes starting this Thursday, November 26! 

The socially distanced pop-up has been wildly popular since opening – they’ve even added additional pickup time slots to accommodate fans! And now, Mooby’s, the fictional fast-food chain featured in cult classics including Dogma, Clerks II and the Jay and Silent Bob franchise, will be delivering to areas in Etobicoke, Downtown Toronto, Hamilton, Newmarket and other areas of the GTA.

The menu will feature a variety of beef and vegan options including fan favourites from the franchise, including the Cow Tipper and Hater Totz. Kevin Smith and the Kitchen Hub team have also collaborated to bring some menu items with Canadian flare. These delicious meals will be cooked by Toronto’s popular upscale barbecue restaurant, The Carbon Bar. 

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One-third Of Gamers Suffered Online Gaming Account Hack: Atlas VPN

Posted in Commentary with tags on November 24, 2020 by itnerd

According to data presented by the Atlas VPN team, 38% of gamers have been hacked at least once  in the past while playing computer games. 

However, that is not the only privacy concern the gamers reported as part of the online abuse. A total of 34% of gamers also had their personal information shared on an online game without their consent. 

A significant amount of gamers also experience psychological attacks while playing computer games. The number one online abuse concern reported by 64% of gamers was trolling. A total of 57% of gamers also said they were bullied and subjected to hate speech, 47% of gamers received threats in the past, while 40% experienced unwanted sexual contact.

Toxicity is the biggest downside to multiplayer games

Many gamers are intimidated by multiplayer games and would rather stick to themselves than have to endure other online players. However, some would reconsider playing multiplayer games if game developers fixed specific problems.

The majority of gamers agree that disruptive behavior is the number one problem of multiplayer games. A total of 33% of male and female respondents believe eliminating toxicity would make them reconsider joining multiplayer games.

Some aspects of multiplayer games are more important to one gender than the other. For example, females felt strongly about game violence, with 30% of female gamers and only 10% of male gamers saying limiting violence in games would change their minds about playing multiplayer games. 

Males, however, are more concerned about a number of microtransactions. Over one-fifth of males (21%) believe limiting microtransactions in the game would change their minds, while the same is true for only 8% of females.

To read the full article, head over to: https://atlasvpn.com/blog/one-third-of-gamers-suffered-online-gaming-account-hack

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TikTok Improves Accessibility With A New PhotoSensitivity Feature

Posted in Commentary with tags on November 24, 2020 by itnerd

TikTok has a new photosensitivity feature that they are announcing today to make TikTok more safe and inclusive for all people, especially those who live with epilepsy. The feature is a result of conversations they have had with epilepsy advocates and leading epilepsy organizations in the US, Canada, Europe, Japan, and South Korea, including the Epilepsy Foundation, Epilepsy Toronto, Epilepsy Society, Epilepsy Ireland, Korea Bureau for Epilepsy and the Japan Epilepsy Association, to spread the word about the new feature and bring awareness to epilepsy in general.

TikTok is rolling out the feature in the coming weeks. You can read more about it here.

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Sharp Canada Donates $50,000 Worth Of Technology For Education To Five Ontario Schools

Posted in Commentary with tags on November 24, 2020 by itnerd

Five Ontario schools in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) have received $50,000 worth of technology from Sharp Electronics of Canada as part of its Sharp@School pilot program. The company is providing calculators, collaboration and professional displays and air purifiers to ensure students at elementary and high schools have equitable access to tools for learning and to help with student success.

The participating schools include Monarch Park Collegiate Institute, Lakeshore Collegiate Institute, Etobicoke School of the Arts and James S. Bell Junior Middle Sports and Wellness Academy in the Toronto District School Board (TDSB); and Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Elementary School in the York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB).  

In many cases, access to technology depends on students’ ability to bring their own devices to school. Providing calculators to students in need will help them be successful and reduce distractions from phones. Sharp’s EL243SB calculators will support numeracy programs in Grade 3 and above and EL501XBWH and ELW516XGBSL scientific calculator models will support high school students as they learn complex functions in Grade 9 and throughout their high school careers. Sharp has donated almost 2,000 calculators to the schools.

During the pandemic, students have been asked to minimize what they bring to school and to reduce the number of items they share for safety reasons. “By having that resource in their classroom, students no longer have to worry about bringing their own or sharing with others,” added Michailidis.  

The donation of a Sharp AQUOS Board® collaboration display will provide students at Lakeshore Collegiate Institute with the chance to work together on a large digital canvas, creating opportunities for creativity and collaboration. 

In other schools, professional displays will be used to share announcements and student accomplishments and improve access to information for the student body. For mathematics departments, teachers will use the displays to share locations of extra help for students in need and math challenges/solved problems of the week.

Sharp has also donated air purifiers for use in classrooms without windows. 

To learn more about the Sharp@School initiative and specific donation details, visit https://sharpsimplybetterliving.ca/2020/11/23/inaugural-sharpschool-program-helps-five-ontario-schools-improve-access-to-technology/

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Digital Defense, Inc. Discloses cPanel & WHM Vulnerability

Posted in Commentary with tags on November 24, 2020 by itnerd

Digital Defense, Inc., a leader in vulnerability and threat management solutions, today announced that its Vulnerability Research Team (VRT) uncovered a previously undisclosed vulnerability affecting the cPanel & WebHost Manager (WHM) web hosting platform. cPanel &WHM version 11.90.0.5 (90.0 Build 5) exhibits a two-factor authentication bypass flaw, vulnerable to brute force attack, resulting in a scenario where an attacker with knowledge of or access to valid credentials could bypass two-factor authentication protections on an account. Digital Defense’s internal testing demonstrated that an attack can be accomplished in minutes.

cPanel & WHM is a suite of tools built for Linux OS that allows hosting providers and users the ability to automate server management and web hosting tasks while simplifying the process of website hosting for the end user. Serving the global hosting community for over 20 years, cPanel touts having over 70 million domains launched on servers using cPanel & WHM to date.

What You Can Do

cPanel’s recent advisory provides more details about the updates that have been released, which should be applied: https://news.cpanel.com/cpanel-tsr-2020-0007-full-disclosure/. For additional information, customers should contact cPanel directly.

Digital Defense Research Methodology and Practices

The Digital Defense VRT regularly works with organizations promoting the responsible disclosure of zero-day vulnerabilities. The expertise of the VRT, when coupled with the company’s next generation hybrid cloud platform, Frontline Vulnerability Manager, enables early detection capabilities. When zero-days are discovered and internally validated, the VRT immediately contacts the affected vendor to notify the organization of the new finding(s) and assists, where possible, with the vendor’s remediation actions.

To view Digital Defense’s zero-day advisories to date, please visit: https://www.digitaldefense.com/vulnerability-research-team/vulnerability-research/.

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Ubisoft Serves Up A Roadmap Of The Upcoming Rainbow Six Esports Events

Posted in Commentary with tags on November 23, 2020 by itnerd

With so much going on in the realm of Rainbow Six Esports, here is a summary of updates on the most anticipated upcoming events! The full update on the roadmap for the upcoming R6:S events is available here on Ubisoft.com.

  • North-American League Finals: The Canada Division Finals and relegation match will be held online from December 11th to 13th 2020. More details will be shared by the region in the coming weeks for this event as well as updates regarding US Division Finals.
  • SIX INVITATIONAL 2021:  Ubisoft is thrilled to announce that the fifth edition of the Six Invitational will happen in late February 2021. We have all been longing for a clash of the regions, a truly international tournament to determine which team and region is the best this season. All of us at Ubisoft are excited and hard at work to offer the best experience possible for our pro teams and viewers. The Six Invitational 2021 will gather 20 teams across the 4 main regions of the Rainbow Six Esports circuit, competing offline, in Europe and following strict sanitary safety measures. For safety reasons, there will be no audience on site. As unveiled during the Six Invitational 2020, the competition will now feature 20 teams battling it out to be crowned World Champions. 16 teams will qualify for the Six Invitational 2021 based on their ranking in the Global Points standings, while four additional slots – one per region – will be up for grabs through Open Qualifiers that will be held in December 2020.  
  • RAINBOW SIX WORLD CUP: Announcing the Rainbow Six World Cup last September was an exciting moment for all esports teams at Ubisoft. This competition will be a unique opportunity for local Rainbow Six communities around the world to share their love, pride and unconditional support to the team that will represent their country or region on the worldwide stage.  Considering the uncertainty around the evolution of the pandemic around the world in the coming months, they felt that they needed to take a step back and assess what they wanted to offer to the wider Siege family with the World Cup. Looking at learnings from other entertainment industries and considering that the World Cup is an independent layer of competition with no impact on the regular Rainbow Six Esports circuit, they took the difficult decision to postpone the Rainbow Six World Cup to 2022.   

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Sonos Shares Holiday Promos And Giving Tuesday Announcement

Posted in Commentary with tags on November 23, 2020 by itnerd

Sonos reached out to share some holiday news from Sonos – including a Giving Tuesday initiative and new Cyber Monday one day only offer. 

As part of Sonos’ efforts to promote the power of music bringing positive change, this Giving Tuesday (Dec 1) the company is: 

  • Donating 10% of its Giving Tuesday profits (up to $230K CAD) through Sonos.com to participating nonprofits around the world. New partners include SMASH Seattle, Music Heals Us, Jazz Foundation of America, and Guitars for Vets as part of it’s Soundwavesprogram. 
  • Dedicating 100% of its ad space on Sonos Radio to nonprofit organizations to give them a platform to raise awareness for their causes during a time when many are encountering severe funding constraints. This initiative will continue beyond Giving Tuesday as Sonos has committed to dedicating 5% of its ad space to nonprofits that align with Sonos’ social impact mission moving forward.

On a separate note – here’s a reminder about Sonos’ great savings for the holiday season.

Cyber Monday (**Nov 30 only**)

  • Save $150 on Five ($449) and Amp ($649)
  • Save $70 on One ($179) and One SL ($159)

Save on Brilliant Sound (Nov 22-30)

  • Save $150 on Move ($349), Beam ($349), and Sub ($749) 

Treat Yourself (Dec 4-13)

  • Save $50 on One ($199) and One SL ($179) between Dec 4 – 13

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