Microsoft Ignite 2017: What’s new
For Microsoft fans, the company’s biggest IT conference, Ignite 2017, has revealed many exciting updates, especially for teachers, students, and professionals. We’ve gathered information that’ll surely ignite your interest. Good news for schools and educators Microsoft recently rolled out Microsoft 365 for Education, which combines Office 365 for Education, Windows 10, Enterprise Mobility and Security, and even Minecraft: Education Edition — a game that teaches kids how to code. This new bundle will provide more advanced tools for learning, increase classroom communication capabilities, and improve security. Note that Office 365 for Education is already free and this will not change. However, the new Microsoft 365 for Education is equipped with more educational apps such as 3D and data virtualization tools, plus Microsoft Teams. While this makes it more tempting to use, all the goodies come with a cost — a per-user, per-month subscription. In terms of hardware, Microsoft’s Windows 10 S laptops, which are already aimed at school users, will come with free Minecraft Education, Office 365 for Education, and Microsoft Teams — all for a price starting as low as $189. What’s new for business people Microsoft is targeting “firstline workers” such as clerks and sales reps with a new enterprise plan called “Microsoft 365 F1.” This software bundle combines Office 365, Windows 10, Enterprise Mobility and Security, and Microsoft Staffhub to enhance employee productivity. The company also partners with hardware providers and has come up with Windows 10 S laptops for businesses. These ultra-slim laptops have enhanced security since they only run apps from the Window Store. But the glamor of it all is their wallet-friendly pricing. HP Stream 14 Pro, Acer Aspire 1, Acer Swift 1, and Lenovo V330 ranges from $275 to $349. The first model is available now, while the rest will be released later this year and in February for Lenovo. Goodbye Skype for Business Microsoft officially announced that it will phase out Skype for Business and focus instead on developing “Microsoft Teams,” a communication tool the company launched earlier to compete with Slack. This is not as dreadful as it may sound, since Skype and Teams share similar architecture, meaning we’ll probably get a better collaboration tool that still retains some of the Skype features we know and love. New software and gadgets are exciting, yet in reality, not everyone can rush out to buy a new product every time it comes out. A more practical way would be to make use of what you already have. And you can do so with the help of our IT staff; they’ll be more than happy to help you maximize the performance of your current Microsoft software and hardware, or deploy new solutions if you wish. Call us today! Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.
Who are the ShadowBrokers?
The WannaCry ransomware strain was created by amateurs who copied and pasted security vulnerabilities from a famous hacker group. It’s no longer a threat if you have updated your computer, but as evidenced by a recent announcement, the hacker group will continue to release dangerous security exploits for anyone to use. Who are the ShadowBrokers? There are several theories about who the members of this hacker group are — from National Security Agency (NSA) employees to Russian operatives — but all these theories are based on unreliable information. All we know for sure is that the ShadowBrokers are using social media to sell a seemingly endless trove of cybersecurity secrets. What are they selling? The ShadowBrokers’ first auction was in August of 2016, promising in broken English that the highest bidder would receive security vulnerabilities on par with government cyber weapons. Over the year that followed, the ShadowBrokers used auctions, crowdfunding, and direct sales to release vulnerabilities that all seemed to come from the NSA. In April of 2017, the fifth release went public and was characterized by one security expert as “the most damaging thing I’ve seen in the last several years.” It included the ETERNALBLUE Windows vulnerability that allowed WannaCry to infect over 300,000 computers in a single day. The September 2017 release In a recent announcement, the ShadowBrokers announced a subscription service that will include access to bi-monthly security exploit releases. The first package included an NSA exploit named UNITEDRAKE, which allows hackers to remotely monitor or control a computer running any of the following versions of Microsoft’s operating system: Windows XP Windows Vista Windows Server 2003/2008/2012 Windows 7 (if no updates have been installed) Windows 8 The UNITEDRAKE exploit can secretly record audio from your microphone, video from your webcam and anything that is typed while you are logged in. It can also remove itself from the target computer leaving no signs of a breach. How to protect yourself from ShadowBrokers releases To date, all the known NSA security exploits and ShadowBrokers releases have targeted older and outdated versions of software. The best thing you can do to protect your computers is keep your operating systems and software applications patched with the most recent vendor updates. Advanced network monitoring can detect suspicious activity, but that requires a significant amount of time and IT expertise. Small- and medium-sized businesses usually don’t have the resources to handle 24×7 network supervision, but our team can help. If you need help securing your business and its information from cyber threats, give us a call today. Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.