ThreatLocker Unveils New Managed Detection and Response (MDR) Service with the World

Posted in Commentary with tags on April 8, 2024 by itnerd

 ThreatLocker, a pioneer in least privilege endpoint protection technologies, announced the launch of their MDR service with the Cyber Hero Team at Zero Trust World 2024. 

ThreatLocker understands the importance of preemptively blocking cybersecurity threats with a default deny baseline. Adding detection and response capabilities allows customers to stay secure while alerting them of suspicious or potentially malicious activity happening in their environment.  

Products including Allowlisting, Ringfencing, and Network Control in the ThreatLocker Endpoint Protection Platform block attempted bad actions on a device, and ThreatLocker Detect (formerly known as ThreatLocker Ops) will alert organizations of said attempts. The MDR service is made possible by the near-instant response of the ThreatLocker Cyber Hero Team when they directly notify a customer of a malicious attempt and ensure the security of their infrastructure.  

In addition to providing a prompt notification via the Cyber Hero Support Team, ThreatLocker Detect policies can be curated to completely isolate a machine from the rest of the environment or go as far as implementing an advanced lockdown to stop all software and network traffic from running. 

In a live demonstration at Zero Trust World 2024, ThreatLocker showcased the response speed of the Cyber Hero Team in locking down a machine after an attacker connected to a remote server, tried to run IP Scanning tools, and attempted to disable security tools.   

The attacker was challenged with a QR code. When they didn’t respond and continued taking additional bad actions, such as attempting to disable ThreatLocker service, the attacker’s attempts were thwarted with ThreatLocker default deny, and the machine was locked down. The Cyber Heroes responded within a minute during the live presentation.   

The new additions by ThreatLocker satisfy cyber insurance regulations on implementing Zero Trust MDR strategies to prevent modern-day attacks.  

ThreatLocker will roll out its new products to new and existing partners. It currently protects over one million endpoints globally. 

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Mother’s Day gift ideas: Epson has you covered for spring cleaning solutions & beyond

Posted in Commentary with tags on April 8, 2024 by itnerd

May is just around the corner, which means Canadians are on the hunt for the perfect gift to celebrate mom. This Mother’s Day, mom deserves more than just a scented candle as an afterthought gift, she deserves an investment product that she can use for years to come. From crafting and DIY to spring cleaning support, Epson’s star-class lineup of EcoTank printers and photo scanners has you covered this Mother’s Day.

A good quality printer is a must for any mother looking to get organized. The Epson EcoTank ET-2850 Supertank Printer (MSRP: $399.99 CAD) has high-capacity ink tanks, impressive print quality and hands-free voice-activated printing that can help mom and the whole family with printing tasks big and small. From bills and receipts to permission slips and homework assignments, there’s always something that needs to be scanned or printed in a busy household. Plus, with up to 2 years of ink in the box, mom doesn’t have to worry about any last-minute trips to the store.

Perfect for the moms with a knack for crafting, the EcoTank Photo ET-8550 Printer (MSRP: $1099.99 CAD) and the EcoTank Photo ET-8500 Printer (MSRP: $999.99 CAD) can print lab-quality, wide-format colour photos, graphics and everyday documents. Transform mom’s DIY projects into high-quality creations using a printer capable of handling thick cardstock and various media up to 1.3 mm thick. This includes tasks like organizing family cookbooks filled with years of recipes and crafting personalized vacation scrapbooks with family inside jokes.

If your mom leans more towards interior decorating and has a treasure trove of photos stored on her hard drive, Epson’s photo printers offer the perfect solution. They can effortlessly print borderless pictures up to 8.5″ x 11″, allowing moms to incorporate more family photographs into their home décor.

With Epson’s lineup of photo printers, everyone in the family can join in on some quality bonding while helping mom with her latest project.

Speaking of photographs, Epson has the perfect gift idea for the mom with a photo collection spanning across generations. The FastFoto FF-680W Wireless High-speed Photo Scanning System (MSRP: $799.99 CAD) is the ideal scanner for moms looking to clean out old photos collecting dust in boxes. The FastFoto scanner can easily restore, save, organize and share photos, postcards, documents and more! 

Mom can get the whole family involved to digitize photos together, reminiscing on memories and learning about family history along the way. The FastFoto can easily scan thousands of photos as fast as one photo per second at 300 dpi, and help restore old photos with its powerful colour restoration, red-eye reduction and image enhancement technology. The FastFoto can also automatically scans both sides of a photo, so you can eternalize the image and any dates or messages on the back written by loved ones.

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SAP Concur and Mastercard Announce Partnership to Simplify Expense Reports

Posted in Commentary with tags on April 8, 2024 by itnerd

How much do employees dread the expense report? In a past SAP Concur Global Business Travel Survey, nearly one out of four business travellers said they’d rather have a cavity filled at the dentist than fill out an expense report.  

The expense reconciliation process can be lengthy, especially when organizations rely on manual processes. Nearly all travel decision makers say that rising complexity in the travel and expense (T&E) landscape requires new processes and mindsets, according to a Mastercard survey. This is creating a shift in how businesses approach T&E, with 90 per cent of surveyed travel decision makers predicting that the future of T&E is the convergence of payment and expense management. Concur can help businesses reimagine their expense management process and use technology to make their employees’ lives easier.   

SAP is announcing a new partnership with Mastercard, a global technology company in the payments industry, to simplify the expense process. Through a new integration, purchases made on Mastercard corporate cards are captured and automatically populated in Concur Expense; users are alerted immediately if additional information is needed. With real-time spend data, customers can achieve compliance while users can enjoy an improved experience with automated expense creation. What’s more, customers can continue banking with preferred partners and utilizing existing card programs.   

The integration will be available to select customers globally starting in the second quarter 2024. As part of the new partnership, SAP is also working with Mastercard to provide travel and finance managers with the power to set spending controls and restrictions to help encourage expense policy compliance.  

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Bell Fibe TV PVR Storage Cut To 60 Days…. WTF?

Posted in Commentary with tags on April 7, 2024 by itnerd

It’s almost as if Bell wants to anger its customers rather than keep them. I say that because Bell is going to cut the amount of time that Bell Fibe TV customers get to store recordings in Bell’s Cloud PVR service. It used to be one year which for comparisons sake was the same as competitor Rogers does. But now according to this, it’s going to 60 days. And here’s what someone from Bell had to say about that:

A representative says the company anticipates “minimal impact” to customers since viewing of “nearly all” recordings takes place within 60 days

I bet that while Rogers in the same Toronto Star article said that they have no plans to change what they do, you can bet that they’ll be watching to see what sort of blow back that Bell gets. If it’s none, Rogers will copy what Bell does and go from one year to 60 days. If there’s significant blow back from Bell customers, they will laugh as Bell takes the heat. But I’m digressing here. The fact is that Bell is really making themselves harder and harder to chose as a telco. Sure their fibre technology, if you can get it, is top shelf. But their customer service frankly sucks, and then to top it off they do stuff like this. At some point this will come back to bite them at some point. The question in my mind, is when will that happen.

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Sunbird AKA Nothing Chats Appears to Be Back From The Dead…. Why?

Posted in Commentary with tags on April 7, 2024 by itnerd

You might remember that Nothing who makes some interesting phones came out with an iMessage on Android app called Nothing Chats late last year. That was really an app that was made by company called Sunbird and it was pulled very quickly after launch when it was discovered that it was a security nightmare. Then Sunbird itself was shut down, likely because of the bad press.

Today it seems that Sunbird has risen from the grave:

Sunbird Messaging today announced the relaunch of its beta app. The relaunch is the culmination of comprehensive enhancements to Sunbird’s backend infrastructure following an exhaustive evaluation, a process detailed in a recent update on the company’s website, which can be found here.

And they also take a few shots at Apple over their shutdown of another iMessage on Android app:

Apple’s decision in December to shut down a different unified messaging app brought to light security and privacy concerns stemming from their unauthorized access to iMessage. The app shut down by Apple was reverse engineering the iMessage protocol to disguise itself as a genuine iMessage client, a method that significantly differs from Sunbird’s approach. Instead, Sunbird’s platform provides a bridge between Android and Apple users, enabling secure communication within Apple’s ecosystem.

Beyond differentiating itself from a technical standpoint, Sunbird also addresses broader social and regulatory challenges. The app helps resolve antitrust scrutiny faced by tech giants, creating an inclusive ecosystem that welcomes millions of Android users to the Apple network in a safe and secure way. This expansion not only benefits consumers by breaking down communication barriers but also supports Apple in demonstrating its commitment to interoperability and competition.

In case you’re wondering, that app that they are referring to is Beeper. Here’s a link to catch up on that drama. But in any case, Sunbird put out a technical explanation of what happened with their app and how they fixed it. If you have some time to kill, you can read that here. And the Sunbird app is only available to those on their waitlist which if you really must join it, can be found here. But frankly it’s not worth your time to join this waitlist. I say that because every iMessage on Android solution has been a dumpster fire that Apple shuts down shortly after its launched. And quite honestly, if you’re an Android user, and you really want to use iMessage, my advice to you is to bite the bullet and buy an iPhone. Because even though the US Justice Department is suing Apple for anti trust reasons, buying an iPhone is the only way you’re going to get iMessage. Besides, every single one of these iMessage on Android apps is a security risk to some degree or another. Do you really want to be part of that?

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You Can Now Submit A Claim In The Canadian “Batterygate” Settlement

Posted in Commentary with tags on April 6, 2024 by itnerd

You can now submit a claim for the Canadian iPhone Power Management Class Action Settlement, if you owned or purchased the following iPhones:

  • iPhone 6
  • iPhone 6 Plus
  • iPhone 6s
  • iPhone 6s Plus
  • iPhone SE
  • iPhone 7
  • iPhone 7 Plus

Running iOS 10.2.1 or later (for iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, or SE) and/or iOS 11.2 or later (for iPhone 7 or 7 Plus) installed or downloaded, before December 21, 2017. According to the website:

The Claim Form requires each Class Member to provide, among other things, the Class Member’s name, mailing address, iPhone serial number and a declaration under oath by the Class Member stating that (i) their iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, or SE iPhone ran iOS version 10.2.1 or later (for iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, and SE) or iOS version 11.2 or later (for iPhone 7 and 7 Plus) before December 21, 2017, and (ii) they experienced diminished performance on that device after the relevant iOS version was installed or downloaded.

If that’s you, you need to visit smartphoneperformancesettlement.ca, click on “submit a claim”, then fill out the information. A confirmation email will be sent to you once it has been submitted. You have until September 2, 2024 to submit a claim. And if you are deemed eligible, you could receive compensation ranging from $17.50 to $150.

Apple denies any wrongdoing as part of this settlement.

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I Had To Deal With The Aftermath Of A Facebook #Scam… Here’s How You Can Avoid Being A Victim

Posted in Commentary with tags , on April 6, 2024 by itnerd

Yesterday I was preparing my first coffee of the day when I got a phone call from a client who was in a panic. Here’s why she was in a panic.

The client has a Facebook account and she went to reset her password. However Facebook never sent her a verification code as per this document despite the many ways and times that she tried to get one. So as a result of that she needed help. Thus she Googled for a tech support number for Facebook. As a result she found a number and phoned it. The people at the other end said that they needed ID to prove who she was. She then sent them a photo of her drivers licence. They then said she would hear back from them in 48 hrs. When that didn’t happen she realized that she had fallen for a scam and called me.

I’m going to stop right here and dissect this.

Let’s start with the fact that Facebook doesn’t have any public facing support at all. And there is no phone number that you can phone to get help with Facebook. So what that does is it creates a vacuum where scammers can fill that void to run any number of scams. How do that do that? Well, the scammers use a technique called SEO poisoning to make sure that their results are at the top of the list of the Google search engine because they know that humans are likely to pick something that is the first six or seven items in a results list on Google. Here’s an example of what I am talking about:

Every single link in this picture leads to a scammer. I know this because I tested this myself. And all a scammer has to do next is wait for the calls to come in. And when they do, they can execute their scam.

So what was the scam in this case? Given that they didn’t according to her ask for money and simply wanted her ID, I suspect that identity theft is their endgame here. I say that because that drivers license is worth a lot of money on the dark web. And you can do all sorts of things with a drivers license. Such as get a cell phone account with any carrier in Canada for example. Or open a bank account. Or perhaps even get a loan. And it would leave the victim of this on the hook.

So this is clearly a bad situation. But before I tell you how to avoid being in this situation, let me tell you about what you should do if you find yourself in this situation. And frequent readers will find some of this information familiar.

  • You need to report it to your local police who can then give you additional directions. Beyond that, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has a website for scam reporting, while the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center is the place to go if you’re in Canada. Other counties have similar organizations for reporting scams. 
  • I strongly recommend that you sign up for credit monitoring via Trans Union and Equifax right away. That way you can get an alert if someone tries to do something like take out a loan or tries to get a cell phone in your name, and take action to protect yourself.

One thing to keep in mind is that you’re also highly likely to be the target of scams going forward as now the scammers have your personal information. Which means that they can craft scams that are more convincing and be more likely to succeed. Which means that you really need to be on guard.

So, how can you avoid getting scammed? In the case of Facebook, the only way to get help with Facebook is at https://www.facebook.com/help. As I said earlier, Facebook has no public facing support organization. Nor do they have any phone number that you can call. Also, I should mention that there are circumstances where Facebook may ask you for ID. Those circumstances are listed here. Finally, here’s an unconventional method for getting help with Facebook. Phone a tech savvy millennial. Often they can assist you with things like account lockouts and the like which will help you to avoid this situation.

Pro Tip: If they try to phone “Facebook” for help, you’ve got the wrong millennial.

Hopefully this helps you to avoid a Facebook scam. If you have any questions about this, please leave a comment below and I will do my best to get back to you.

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Samsung Launches The All-New Bespoke AI Lineup

Posted in Commentary with tags on April 5, 2024 by itnerd

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced its latest home appliance lineup at a series of special launch events, ‘Welcome to ‘BESPOKE AI’, held in New York City, Seoul and Paris. Samsung shared its vision for enhancing the holistic home experience through interconnectivity among its products, showcasing how artificial intelligence (AI) enhances the performance of appliances.

Bespoke AI Appliances Sync to Create New Experiences in Various Home Spaces

With built-in Wi-Fi, internal cameras, AI chips and compatibility with the SmartThings application, Samsung’s latest Bespoke AI appliances come with enhanced features and connectivity to lay the foundation for a truly smart home. Also, the new AI Home, a connected 7-inch LCD display that has been added to multiple products, provides intuitive, easy access and control over the whole connected ecosystem.

The AI Home includes 3D Map View, a feature that provides users with a full 3D view of the house, allowing them to easily locate and control their connected appliances Users can also receive calls coming to their phones through the AI Home, allowing them to answer calls while, for example, continuing the housework they were doing. Moreover, the AI Home makes housework more enjoyable as well. Users can play their favourite songs, watch videos on the Internet app, or refer to recipes on the screen while they are cooking.

At the BESPOKE AI event, Samsung also showcased the new feature ‘Calm Onboarding’, which makes it easier for users to join Samsung’s connected life. It frees users from having to go through the hassle of product registration, as it directly registers products purchased under a Samsung Account at Samsung.com onto the SmartThings app with the same account.

To provide assurance to users as they step into the era of hyper-connected home appliances driven by technological advancement, Samsung also highlighted its comprehensive Knox security platform that protects all user data located on the connected appliances. In fact, the 4-Door French Door Refrigerator with AI Family Hub™ has been verified to the ‘Diamond’ level by UL Solutions for its IoT security capabilities. UL Solutions is a leading global safety science company . Other Family Hub models applying the same technology, have also achieved the same verification.

AI Expands Spectrum of Features to Samsung Home Appliances

The 4-Door French Door French Door Refrigerator with AI Family Hub™ is the primary control center for all things food, connecting the refrigerator to other appliances in the home. The AI Family Hub™+, which is the large LCD screen in the front right panel of the refrigerator, is the key to intuitive AI experience, where users can view recommended recipes and play music and videos for kitchen entertainment. The 4-Door French Door Refrigerator with AI Family Hub™ comes with AI Vision Inside which uses an internal camera to identify 33 fresh food items that go in and out of the fridge. The recognized food items are listed and managed on the Family Hub™ display and can also be checked on the SmartThings app.

The Bespoke AI Laundry Combo™, is the All-in-One washer and dryer, providing the advantages of two separate appliances while freeing up valuable space. It comes with various AI features, such as remembering the periodic and seasonal needs of users and recommending the optimal cycle for the wash. With AI Opti Wash & Dry™, the Bespoke AI Laundry Combo™ intelligently adjusts the washing and drying performance for each load and senses the weight of the laundry to dispense the appropriate amount of water and detergent. It also detects the fabric and monitors the level of soiling during a cycle. If necessary, it adds more detergent and varies the washing time. It then adjusts the drying process to suit the weight and fabric type of users’ laundry. After finishing the cycle, users can monitor how much energy and water were consumed through the report provided on the Smart Things App.

Another unique appliance introduced only at the New York event was the Bespoke Slide-in Range with AI Home. This product is a multi-functional induction range that also comes with various fun factors. It comes with an Internal Oven Camera that lets users see inside the oven from remote places, like on the TV from the living room, or even from outside the home through Smart Things on their mobile phones. With this, users can even get a short time-lapse video clip with the highlight of the cooking process that they can share on social media.

Advancing the Future of Appliances

Samsung is not only dedicated to presenting a better home experience, but also committed to creating more innovative and efficient products.

It continues to upgrade Wi-fi connected appliances in the market and already in users’ homes through software updates and the further development of Smart Things. Users can enjoy new features, including energy saving features, even with the models they already own. Smart Forward, announced for the first time at the event, is a service that provides the newest features, security patches, and upgrades through regular software updates. Users will be able to check available updated information and receive notifications from the SmartThings App.

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Tips and information from Nikon Canada: How to Prepare for The Solar Eclipse

Posted in Commentary with tags on April 5, 2024 by itnerd

With parts of Canada in the path of Monday’s solar eclipse, many are excited to photograph and/or record it. However, there are important steps you need to take in order to properly protect your equipment, as well as your eyes.

Nikon Canada has a two-part video series available that includes all you need to know to properly (and safely) capture this exciting event:

How to Prepare for The Solar Eclipse – Part 1: 

In this video, Nathan from Nikon will show you what kind of lenses, filter, and other accessories you will need to capture the eclipse.
*Please note there is an option for French captioning for this video under Settings.

A few important considerations from Nikon Canada:

  • The solar filter must be placed in FRONT of any telescope, camera lens or mirror.
  • It should NEVER be used behind an eyepiece, viewfinder or lens, including any drop-in filters found on lenses.
  • Do NOT point the camera at the sun when the lens is NOT protected by a filter that is specifically designed for SOLAR VIEWING.
  • Even if you are wearing solar observing glasses, do NOT look through a viewfinder of a camera if the lens is not protected by a solar viewing filter.

You can find additional resources on how to record the eclipse on Nikon.ca here: https://en.nikon.ca/learn-and-explore/s/solar+eclipse.html  

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Car Companies Are Not Doing Enough To Stop Car Theft

Posted in Commentary with tags on April 5, 2024 by itnerd

Car theft in Canada in general, Toronto specifically, is completely out of control. It’s to the point where everyone I know either has had a car stolen, or knows someone who has had a car stolen. And the thing is, while there are calls for the police to do more, it’s really the car companies who need to do more.

Now I am pretty sure that I know what the car companies will say. They comply with laws requiring the use of engine immobilizers within their products since 2007. That’s nice. But given the fact that in 2023, a car in Toronto was stolen every 40 minutes on average, they’re clearly not working. What is clear is that key reprogramming, CANBUS attacks, relay attacks and the like are more effective than engine immobilizers. If you’re not clear on what any of that means, this will help you get up to speed.

So you’d think that car companies would say that what they’re doing isn’t working. So they have to up their game. Well, the cynic in me says that they’re not going to do anything to improve things on this front because they have a financial incentive not to. As in if your car gets stolen, they get to sell you a new car. I hate saying that, but in pretty much any other industry, if you have a security issue that affects your customers, you fix it and you make things better for your customers. I don’t see that happening with the car industry. Thus what I would argue is that the Federal Government needs to force car companies to do the right thing. Which is to replace engine immobilizers with something more secure. Maybe it’s two factor authentication? Maybe it’s making it harder for the attacks that are out there to execute? Maybe it’s higher levels of encryption? Nothing when it comes to security is perfect. But if you do things that reduce the likelihood that something bad will happen to as close to zero as possible, you’re winning. Unfortunately that’s not the world we live in because at present, it seems that any bipedal primate with opposible thumbs can steal a car. And that’s totally on the car makers. Not the owners of the car, not the police, and not the government.

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