IT Executive news

• Consultant urges never pay ransomware demands

  24-03-2017 22:40
  
  When ransomware criminals lock up files and demand payment to decrypt them, don’t pay, was the advice a consultant gave to a group at SecureWorld.
  When there’s no risk of losing crucial data, that’s easy to say, and to make is possible requires planning, says Michael Corby, executive consultant for CGI.
  “Plan to have data available in a form that won’t be affected by ransomware – encrypted and stored separately from the production network,” he says. &ld
  
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• How Trump’s ‘extreme vetting’ hurts science and tech

  24-03-2017 22:10
  
  Details of President Donald Trump's plans for "extreme vetting" of visa applicants have emerged and they are clearly demanding. Getting a visa will require people from many countries to turn over social media handles, employment history and other information.
  These policies are a concern for technical and academic conferences on issues such as supercomputing and artificial intelligence. These conferences often draw attendees from around the globe.[ To comment on this story, visit Computerworld'
  
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• Google shuttering Talk, removing SMS support from Hangouts in new messaging shakeup

  24-03-2017 21:05
  
  Messaging has never been Google’s strong suit. Aside from the various messaging apps from Android phone makers, it also has its own problems, with numerous overlapping apps that all have similar functions: Allo, Android Messages, Hangouts, Duo, Google Voice, and Google Talk. Now, Google is taking some much-needed steps to consolidate its efforts.
  On June 26, Google will finally be closing Google Talk for good. The instant messaging service affectionately known as Gchat is one of Google&rs
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: The revolution will not be televised - it’ll be computerized

  24-03-2017 20:26
  
  Imagine that you have millions of supporters eager to help your cause. You only have a few weeks to get organized and hardly any existing systems or budget. How do you harness all the volunteer energy?This was the challenge that the Bernie Sander’s presidential campaign faced. The system developed would be used to make seventy-five million calls, launch eight million text messages, and hold more than one-hundred thousand public meetings.How did they do it? What software was used? What less
  
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• Apple: Macs and iPhones are safe from newly revealed CIA exploits

  24-03-2017 19:58
  
  The Mac and iPhone exploits described in new documents attributed to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency were patched years ago, according to Apple.WikiLeaks released a new set of files Thursday that supposedly came from the CIA. They contain details about the agency’s alleged malware and attack capabilities against iPhones and Mac computers.The documents, dated 2012 and earlier, describe several “implants” that the CIA can install in the low-level extensible firmware interfac
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: How to successfully outsource software development

  24-03-2017 19:49
  
  Software development is challenging even in the best of circumstances. When your company is considering hiring an outside firm to do your development, it is incumbent upon you and your entire staff to make sure the project comes together without stumbling over obstacles that shouldn't have become problems in the first place.Key to any technical endeavor is planning and expert analysis of where a project is headed, and how it is going to develop. While management of the process is important, plan
  
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• Microsoft delays tools for third-party Cortana integrations

  24-03-2017 19:26
  Microsoft has delayed the release of its tools for connecting other services to the Cortana virtual assistant, a decision that could cause it to lose ground in a crowded industry.The tech titan announced the Cortana Skills Kit in December of last year, saying at the time that it would be released to the public in February. As Microsoft watcher Brad Sams noted on Twitter, Microsoft missed that deadline, and the Skills Kit remains locked in a private beta with a select group of partners. Microsoft
  
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• Google Play faces cat and mouse game with sneaky Android malware

  24-03-2017 19:16
  
  What’s the best way to avoid Android malware? Downloading all your apps from the Google Play store -- where software is vetted – is perhaps the best advice.  But that doesn’t mean Google Play is perfect.Security researchers do find new Android malware lurking on Google’s official app store. That’s because hackers are coming up with sneaky ways to infiltrate the platform, despite the vetting processes that protect it."Eventually, every wall can be breached," sai
  
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• Totem streetlight poles to combine wireless with power on city streets

  24-03-2017 19:12
  
  Many companies are developing smart streetlights for cities that combine energy-efficient LED lighting with wireless communications and sensors.
  A startup called Totem Power is taking that concept a step farther by adding battery storage to each pole and an electric vehicle charging port.
  Each pole, called a Totem, would also incorporate solar cells for energy generation with LED lighting, and would communicate via 4G LTE wireless -- and eventually -- 5G wireless.
  Totem Power announced the prod
  
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• To punish Symantec, Google may distrust a third of the web's SSL certificates

  24-03-2017 18:32
  
  Google is considering a harsh punishment for repeated incidents in which Symantec or its certificate resellers improperly issued SSL certificates. A proposed plan is to force the company to replace all of its customers’ certificates and to stop recognizing the extended validation (EV) status of those that have it.According to a Netcraft survey from 2015, Symantec is responsible for about one in every three SSL certificates used on the web, making it the largest commercial certificate issue
  
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• Android device updates: A Nougat treat for the Nextbit Robin and T-Mobile HTC One M9

  24-03-2017 18:15
  
  The big reveal this week in the world of updates was Android O, which gives us a glimpse of the next generation of Google’s operating system. But for so many owners, all they want is their taste of Nougat.
  A lucky few are getting that this week, with the upstart Nextbit Robin and HTC One M9 finally getting their serving.
  Each week, we round up all the major software updates to hit the Android ecosystem, including phones and tablets on U.S. carriers, unlocked phones, smartwatches, and Andr
  
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• Why AI should augment, not replace, humans

  24-03-2017 18:00
  
  One of the more interesting exchanges from IBM Interconnect 2017 was between IBM CEO Ginny Rometty and Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff [Disclosure: IBM is a client of the author]. Benioff commented that both had recently gone to Washington to address the issue that the U.S. workforce isn’t ready for artificial intelligence (AI). Both companies have platforms that are now partnered, IBM Watson and Salesforce Einstein. The problem is twofold, both firms are currently focused on augmenting people
  
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• How CIOs are transforming their organizations for the digital era

  24-03-2017 17:49
  
  Companies are facing a digital imperative to revamp business operations to better serve customers. To accommodate these shifts, CIOs are making sweeping organizational changes, adding new key roles, setting up innovation labs and tapping modern technologies to meet strategic mandates issued by their CEOs and boards.Social, mobile, analytics and cloud (SMAC) forms the primary digital fuel for most IT organizations. But most CIOs eager to stay atop trends are also testing new products in artificia
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Sync for Genes ignites genomics on FHIR

  24-03-2017 17:46
  
  Precision medicine has the potential to improve disease treatment and prevention. Health Level Seven International (HL7) has facilitated several standards such as FHIR Genomics that envision improving outcomes by factoring in genetics and environmental context into patient care.Sync for Genes is an Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) project to ease clinical genomics into the point of care.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click her
  
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• BrandPost: Lifecycle by the Numbers

  24-03-2017 17:41
  
  Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are the most common way to establish IT service expectations. However, building the appropriate SLAs is challenge, enforcing such SLA attainment while maintaining associate cost structures is an entirely different discipline that few have mastered. It’s no wonder why SLA management is a hot topic in this quarter’s survey. Here are a few highlights:• Nearly 50% of organizations are examining their SLAs across the board in end-user support, app
  
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• How to set up two-factor authentication for your Apple ID and iCloud account

  24-03-2017 17:40
  
  If you aren’t using two-factor authentication to protect your Apple ID and iCloud account, you really should do it today. Hackers who claim to have millions of stolen iCloud credentials are demanding Apple pay a ransom or they’ll release them—and ZDNet obtained a sample set of credentials and determined they’re real.
  But guess what? Using two-factor authentication should protect you completely. It’s easy to set up, so take a minute and do it now.To read this articl
  
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• BrandPost: The Pulse Of Software Trends

  24-03-2017 17:31
  
  If you’re into all things IT like we are, then I’m sure you’re aware that Microsoft is set to end support for Windows 7 in 2020. To stay ahead of the game—and to take advantage of new business and security features—now is the time to start looking into migration to Windows 10. To help get a better idea of how IT decision makers view their migration projects, Connection recently partnered with research firm IDG to ask them about their goals and challenges related to
  
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• Three privacy tools that block your Internet provider from tracking you

  24-03-2017 17:03
  It’s on. Recently, the United States Senate saw fit to allow Internet Service Providers to sell your web browsing history and other data to third parties. The action has yet to pass the House, but if it does, it means anyone concerned about privacy will have to protect themselves against over zealous data collection from their ISP.
  Some privacy-conscious folks are already doing that—but many aren’t. If you want to keep your ISP from looking over your shoulder for data to sell
  
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• Apple’s Product(RED) iPhone and new 9.7-inch iPad now available for purchase

  24-03-2017 16:46
  
  If Apple’s shiny new red iPhone 7 caught your eye on Tuesday when it was first announced, grab your wallet—it’s now officially on sale, as of 8:01 a.m. Pacific/11:01 a.m Eastern on Friday. Also available now is the new 9.7-inch iPad, which replaces the iPad Air 2. 
  The Product(RED) iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are exactly like the existing iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, just in a new color—an aluminum red backing with a white front bezel—and Apple donates a portion of eac
  
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• 62% off Anker PowerLine+ Micro USB 6ft Premium Cable - Deal Alert

  24-03-2017 16:29
  
  With this cable, Anker boasts reinforced stress points with a 10000+ bend lifespan, double-braided nylon exterior and toughened aramid fiber core, laser-welded connectors and a worry-free 18-month warranty. The micro-USB cord is a generous 6 feet in length. Its list price on Amazon is currently discounted to just $10.99. See this deal now on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: If business is great, what’s keeping you up at night?

  24-03-2017 16:03
  
  Recent years have elevated the profile of IT leaders who have seen their roles at executive tables grow in prominence. Never before has technology — how it’s implemented, managed and engaged — mattered more to business success. The good news for IT leaders is that their businesses are benefiting in big ways from the technology knowledge and insight they bring to business strategy. The challenging news is that their technology remit continues to grow, and fast. The more the busi
  
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• Amazon undercuts the Moto G5 Plus preorders with unlocked, ad-supported model for $185

  24-03-2017 14:41
  
  The Moto G5 Plus is already one of the best budget phones of the year, with premium styling, all-day battery life and nearly stock Nougat, all at an eye-popping $230. But if you’re an Amazon Prime member, you’ll be able to get it even cheaper.
  As part of the ad-supported Prime Exclusive program, Amazon will be offering the 5.2-inch G5 Plus in two variants: 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage for $185, or 4 GB of RAM with 64 GB of internal for $240, representing discounts of $45 and $60
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Microsoft OneDrive slowness irks Linux users; Netflix supports Linux on Firefox

  24-03-2017 14:26
  
  Is Microsoft degrading OneDrive performance in Linux?Some Microsoft OneDrive users are reporting massive performance degradation on Linux, whereas everything works buttery smooth on Windows. There is no OneDrive client for Linux; you can access it only through a web browser.A user reported on Reddit that if OneDrive detects you are running Linux, the performance goes down but if you change the user-agent settings in the web browser, fooling it into thinking that you are running Windows, the perf
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Dell 5220 is a beauty and a beast

  24-03-2017 13:59
  
  When I reviewed the Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition, I concluded that it was the ‘best’ Linux laptop ever. I just found the big sister of that laptop — the Dell 5220, one of . five new Linux-powered systems that Dell recently announced. I have been using the Dell 5220 for over a week now and I have totally fallen in love with it.
  And it is not mmerely love at the first sight or just specs deep.
  Before I talk about my hands-on experience with this laptop, let’s get the spec
  
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• Bitcoin rise fuels social media scams

  24-03-2017 13:00
  
  The price of a single Bitcoin passed that of an ounce of gold for the first time this month, and scammers were quick to get in on the action with Ponzi schemes and phishing sites spread via social media.
  Victims are lured in with fake Bitcoin wallets, fake Bitcoin search services, fake surveys about Bitcoin, too-good-to-be-true money making offers, and classic pyramid scams now dressed up with Bitcoins, according to a report released this week.
  "The same characteristics that make Bitcoin attrac
  
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• Blockchain can help secure medical devices, improve patient privacy

  24-03-2017 12:44
  
  BOSTON -- Blockchain can help secure medical devices and improve patient privacy, but the key is proper implementation, according to a top security pro at Partners Healthcare.
  The downsides would include mistrust of the technology because of blockchain’s potential performance problems, and its association with ransomware and use as payment for illegal items on the Dark Web, Partners’ Deputy CISO Esmond Kane told the SecureWorld audience this week in Boston.
  On the other hand, the de
  
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• Questions to ask before choosing an automation partner

  24-03-2017 12:00
  
  As IT service providers increasingly partner with artificial intelligence vendors and automation providers, develop their own proprietary automation toolsets, or make targeted acquisitions in the AI and automation space, outsourcing customers increasingly can pursue intelligent automation in their outsourcing deals.There are a number of considerations for IT and business leaders when deciding which providers to work within the area of automation-enabled transformation. “As customers consid
  
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• Moto G5 Plus: Economy class that gets you there (with video)

  24-03-2017 12:00
  
  When I book a plane ticket, I fly economy, but I always cast an eye over the prices in the business class column. For three to four times the cost, I could get better food, more room, a more comfortable seat and more personal attention. What I wouldn't get is a faster trip. So although I'll pay a few extra bucks for a little extra legroom in coach, I forego business class, because the luxuries aren't worth all the added money.
  To an increasing extent, smartphone buyers are being asked to make s
  
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• How to transform your smartphone into a real-world Star Trek tricorder

  24-03-2017 11:00
  
  When the first flip-top phones appeared in the ‘90s, prompting amazed gasps of, “Hey, this is just like the communicator in Star Trek!” it felt like we were on the cusp of an amazing sci-fi future. These days, however, James T. Kirk’s handy interstellar mobile device looks a bit clunky—and it’s shamefully low on functionality. With no text or web capability, the communicator’s only uses are voice calls and the occasional deployment as a medium-yield tim
  
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• Angular 4 reduces footprint, adds features

  24-03-2017 11:00
  
  Angular 4.0.0, the latest upgrade to the popular JavaScript framework for mobile and desktop framework, was released by Google late yesterday afternoon.
  The upgrade features view engine improvements making Angular smaller and faster and helping developers build smaller applications. "We've made changes under to hood to what AOT-generated (ahead of time) code looks like," Stephen Fluin, a Google developer advocate for Angular, said in a bulletin received by InfoWorld close to press time. "These
  
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• How to use data scientists and machine learning in the enterprise

  24-03-2017 07:43
  
  Machine learning has become a buzzword in business technology but the implications of applying it are often overlooked.
  "The major problem is that data science is science itself, and businesses aren't very well accustomed to using scientific methods of decision making," says Jane Zavalishina, CEO of machine learning and data analytics specialists Yandex Data Factory.
  The company emerged as a spin-out from multinational technology corporation Yandex, the operator of the largest search engine in
  
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• Uber finally agrees to reveal diversity data

  24-03-2017 07:32
  
  Uber Technologies has agreed to provide next month its diversity data, which it had earlier declined to make public.Representatives of the ride hailing company will disclose the information at the PUSHTech2020 summit on April 19 in Silicon Valley.The move comes at a time when the company has run into a number of controversies, including sexism charges leveled by a former employee, the exit of some key executives and a lawsuit from self-driving car rival Waymo.The announcement follows a meeting T
  
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• Twitter considers enhanced version of TweetDeck for professionals

  24-03-2017 04:28
  
  Twitter has started surveying users to check their interest in a new enhanced version of its TweetDeck product, raising the possibility that the company is considering a paid version of its service.The move by Twitter comes in the wake of its almost flat revenue growth and a lackluster increase in the number of its users in the fourth quarter in comparison to the company's social networking peers like Facebook.A subscription-based version of its service would be in line with the strategies of so
  
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• FCC votes to let phone companies stop robocallers

  24-03-2017 01:23
  
  After at least six years of on-again, off-again efforts, the Federal Communications Commission has taken a step that will make life a lot tougher for robocallers -- and better for you.
  Yesterday, the commission voted unanimously to allow phone companies to block calls from numbers that appear to be spoofed. Robocallers use fake numbers to fool consumers into answering the call and to defeat software that blocks anonymous calls or numbers the owner of the phone has blocked.Why we hate robocallsR
  
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