Naked Security: Fake News is Real

Bot armies of fake followers are the footsoldiers of fake news

16 AUG 2017                                                                                                                                by Taylor Amerding

Interesting Article describing how Fake News is being distributed to make it look like the Real Thing! Makes sense that you would want the widest distribution that you can achieve. This report discusses an Indiana University research report that confirms it.

And now comes a team of researchers from Indiana University who say they have the data to confirm it. In a paper titled “The Spread of Fake News by Social Bots,” they reported that an analysis of 14m social media messages regarding 400,000 claims on Twitter during and following the 2016 US presidential campaign and election provided, “evidence that social bots play a key role in the spread of fake news. Accounts that actively spread misinformation are significantly more likely to be bots”.

Click on the link above to learn more…

Robot Revolution: It's on!

MattV this morning sent out an email from The Sun:

ROBOSTOP Facebook shuts off AI experiment after two robots begin speaking in their OWN language only they can understand

Experts have called the incident exciting but also incredibly scary

By James Beal and Andy Jehring   1st August 2017, 12:03 am   Updated: 1st August 2017, 6:38 am

If you think that we are under control of our technology innovations, think again. Hollywood has a habit of coming up with ideas about futuristic events that might happen and then suddenly technology catches up and makes it real. Here is the scary part of Artificial Intelligence (AI), to have machines begin to create, communicate without any type of control or intervention. This article brings up the notion of military bots getting out of control. That is really scary.

I don’t know if this bothers you as it does me but I get chills just thinking about an out of control machine bringing violence and devastation on mankind. We have enough problems with humans becoming unhinged to create another problem that could escalate into this direction. What are your thoughts?

Greensburg Hempfield Area Library offering how to learn to borrow eBooks for Free!

Learn how to download and read free eBooks from the Greensburg Hempfield Area Library on your eReader, tablet, or smartphone. Bring your device and your library card to this free workshop.
If you don't have a library card, bring your photo ID with your current local address, and we will issue you a card so you can use this wonderful service.
Space is limited, please call the Library's reference department at 724-837-5620, extension 3 to reserve your spot or use the links below. Wireless Internet will be provided.

Hempfield Township Supervisors Office

• Wednesday, July 19, 1PM - Register Online
• Wednesday, August 16, 1PM - Register Online

Youngwood Public Library

• Thursday, July 20, 6PM - Register Online
• Thursday, August 17, 6PM - Register Online

Greensburg Hempfield Area Library

• Saturday, July 22, 10AM - Register Online
• Saturday, August 19, 10AM - Register Online

TechSmith Partner Renewal

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Naked Security: Google joins the efforts to halt the spread of fake news

• By Alison Booth, nakedsecurity.sophos.com
• View Original
• April 13th, 2017

Earlier this week, Google rolled out a new tool to help users around the globe differentiate between real and fake news. Tested on news stories in a handful of countries over recent months, the “Fact Check” tag adds additional information to some of the technology giant’s search and news results. As a Google blog post explains:

This label identifies articles that include information fact checked by news publishers and fact-checking organizations… so people can make more informed judgments

The snippet that’s added reveals the claim and who made it, along with the name of the organization that checked it and what they concluded.

Read on…

IFTTT: 18 Applets for the news

For anyone that likes automating their electronics is much as they can, IFTTT is an application that probably is at the heart of how they do it. IFTTT is a platform for automating some of the test performed by smart devices around your home, but the company has also been working with news organizations to connect with their readers.

To highlight that work, IFTTT has launched a new collection of “Applets for News.”

So what is an Applet. IFTTT’s CEO Linden Tibbets explained that it represents the evolution of what used to be called recipes.

“We’re able to include much more functionality into an Applet, because Applets are both more advanced, and at the same time we made sure they were simpler — Applets are simply the switch [to multiple actions],” Tibbets said.

That might be hard to wrap your head around if you’ve never used an Applet before, so let’s get concrete. The news collection includes Applets created by publishers and by IFTTT itself, and it allows users to do things like automatically send to Slack trending business articles from The New York Times, or save to Instapaper hot stories from the world news subreddit or get an email any time TechCrunch writes about a specific company.

“A lot of media and news organizations are starting to come around to the realization that it’s not just about driving people to one destination, or to web and mobile,” Tibbets said. “It’s really about having a presence across every surface area where people are interested in consuming news.”

Another Sci-Fi item becomes a real thing!

So Back to the Future fans here is another item seen in the movies that is going to be available soon on the market. Nike is bringing us the self-lacing sneaker and they will be available for you to purchase on November 28th or this year. The HyperAdapt 1.0 will be available for "experience & purchase" starting on the 28th of November, but only in select Nike locations in the US. Pricing is still unknown, but expect a "high price tag," according to a Wired feature on the shoe's development.

Yahoo reports confirms data breach on 500 million accounts

Are you using Yahoo Mail or any of their other services? Stop now and change your password and security questions. Yahoo confirmed a data breach that includes logins, names, logins, birthdays, and security questions. What is worse is that the breach happened in late 2014. The Verge has a posting of what you should consider changing here. What should we learn from this and other recent breaches? Take a look at Health Care Info Security posting. And now you have to wonder how that will affect the Yahoo/Verizon deal. All-in-all not a good situation.

Are you ready for Evernnote Plan changes

By looking at how bright this image is it kind of tells you that Evernote is hesitant and letting you know exactly what their plans are and letting you keep able to actually read what it is that are your options. The biggest thing that struck me is that with the basic plan you can only sync across two devices. Very few of us in this day of age have only two devices that they're working with but I'm sure there are some of you out there that are falling into this category. So, Evernote has fallen into the category of giving you a taste of their product with the free plan to move you into their pay for plans to make it actually functional.

While I don't bemoan the fact that they are trying to become viable, I can't help but be glad that I long ago moved over to using Microsoft's OneNote. OneNote gives me all the integrations with the rest of Microsoft's products and operating systems and allows me to share the information across as many devices as I care to. While in theory OneNote is still a paid for product it does come with every one of Microsoft Office suites. LEARN MORE ABOUT BASIC

Granted that $34.99 per year for the plus package and $69.99 per year for the premium package really isn't that expensive for what you're getting. But the basic package you really don't get much of anything. If you buy into the plus package at $34.99 per year then you are not limited to the number of devices that you can use the program on. You get 1 GB of storage capacity and you can access your notebooks without being online, forward emails into Evernote and you get customer support but only through email communication. LEARN MORE ABOUT PLUS

The premium package for $69.99 per year, takes you up to 10 GB of storage, adds customer support through live chat, allows you to search for text in PDF's, search for text in attached office documents, allows you to imitate PDFs, gives you the ability to scan and digitize business cards, provides the opportunity for presenting your notes, gives you an audit trail allowing you to browse the history of your notes and does a cross referencing so that you can see related notes and content. LEARN MORE ABOUT PREMIUM

So if you want a closer look at the pricing listed below click here and it will take you to Evernote's pricing page. For me, I am going to be sticking with Microsoft's OneNote program.

SharePoint for iOS mobile app is now available

So part of this month’s Office 365 newsletter discussed that the iOS app is now available for access to your SharePoint site. Here is the Microsoft posting discussing this and below is a video running though the functions of this new application. Enjoy!

Office 365 Newsletter just showed up

If you are a subscriber to Microsoft Office 365 you may want to take a quick glance at some of the new features have just been added to your subscription. Now, you may not have everything that is shown here because of your subscription level, but this may give you a reason to update if you don't have these options available to you.

I'm a big proponent in using Skype for business so I was real happy one I was able to get my hands on an E5 license of Office 365 to try out the web conference features that are built into this subscription. 8 vital online meeting features

Microsoft Office Store has all sorts of add in functions to make your life easier both in your mobile devices as well as your PC. It is probably worth a visit to it every so often to make sure that you haven't missed anything that might be useful to you.

For a complete list of the Office 365 updates that are relevant to your subscription, read the action and awareness notifications in the Message Center.

The Office 365 Admin app allows you to remain informed on the go.

Should Smart Watches like the Apple Watch be considered a handheld device?

Yesterday I posted an article about Smart Watches being distracting to drivers and today I found an article at Appleinsider.com that reports that an Apple Watch owner was just fined in Quebec for operating his new Apple Watch while in the driver’s seat (report from CTV Montreal). The driver stated that he was using the watch’s built in music app to control his iPhone that was connected to his car’s stereo.

The ticket cited Section 439.1 of the Quebec Highway Safety Code, which reads, "No person may, while driving a road vehicle, use a hand-held device that includes a telephone function." Use of Bluetooth accessories, like headsets and hands-free equipment, is allowed. A literal interpretation could find Macesin not technically in violation of the statute, as the "handheld device" in this equation — Macesin's iPhone — was stowed in a bag and therefore unreachable.

My belief is that it is as much of a handheld device as a phone, being in this case an screen extension of the phone control. Just glancing at the watch to see what time it is, is one thing, but actually going through the menus and choosing options is another. What do you think?

The FBI reported that a researcher hacked commercial plane causing it to “climb”

The FBI reported that an aviation computer security researcher told the FBI that he had taken control of at least one commercial airliner. The FBI filed a warrant in New York State Federal Court. According to the affidavit the researcher Chris Roberts told the FBI that he:

connected to other systems on the airplane network after he exploited/gained access to, or "hacked" the [in-flight entertainment] system. He stated that he then overwrote code on the airplane’s Thrust Management Computer while aboard a flight. He stated that he successfully commanded the system he had accessed to issue the climb command. He stated that he thereby caused one of the airplane engines to climb resulting in a lateral or sideways movement of the plane during one of these flights. He also stated that he used Vortex software after compromising/exploiting or "hacking" the airplane’s networks. He used the software to monitor traffic from the cockpit system.

Roberts was detained and questioned by the FBI in April after he landed on a United Airlines flight from Denver to Syracuse. Roberts tweeted a joke about taking control of the plane while on the flight. The stupidity of some individuals never fail to amaze me. Roberts has not been arrested or charged with a crime as of this posting but he has been banned from flying with United Airlines.

Naked Security 60 Second Video Review

Microsoft announces six different versions of Windows 10

There will be six versions released, with Windows 10 Home, Windows 10 Mobile, Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise, Windows 10 Pro, Windows 10 Enterprise, and Windows 10 Education. As you can see, most people will opt for Home or Professional. Here is a quick run down from Mary Jo Foley:

Windows 10 Home: The consumer-focused desktop edition. This will include the core Windows 10 features, such as the Edge browser, Continuum tablet-mode for touch-capable devices; Cortana integration; free Photos, Maps, Mail, Calendar; Music and Video apps; and Windows Hello face-recognition/iris/fingerprint log-in for devices that support those technologies. On devices with screen sizes of 10.1 inches or less, users also will get Universal Office apps for free, once they are available.

Windows 10 Mobile: This is the SKU for Windows Phones and small Intel- and ARM-based tablets. ("Small" means between three and 7.99 inches in size.) This SKU will include the core Windows 10 features; free Universal Office apps once they are available; and support for Continuum for Phone, allowing customers to use phones as PCs connected to larger screens (but only on new devices supporting certain screen resolutions).

Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise: This is a version of Windows 10 Mobile for volume licensing customers only. According to the blog post, this SKU incorporates the latest security and feature updates to Windows 10 once they are available. There's no word if users will be able to delay these updates in order to test/stagger their delivery, which is offered under Windows Update for Business.

Windows 10 Pro: A desktop version of Windows 10 for mobile workers, tech enthusiasts and other power users. This version is one of at least two -- the other being Windows 10 Enterprise -- that will allow users to opt for Windows Update for Business. Windows Update for Business will allow admins to opt to not receive all feature and security updates from Microsoft immediately after they are available.

Windows 10 Enterprise: This is the Enterprise version of Windows 10 that is available to volume-licensing customers. This version is not part of Microsoft's first-year-free upgrade offer, but those with volume-licensing Software Assurance customers will be able to move to this version as part of their licensing terms. The Enterprise version customers get access to the Long Term Servicing Branch of Windows 10 -- which allows them to opt to receive security fixes only and no new features as Microsoft rolls them out.

Windows 10 Education: This is the version for staff, administrators, students and teachers, and will be available through academic Volume Licensing. Microsoft officials say there will be paths for schools and students to upgrade from Windows 10 Home and Pro, but don't yet provide details on that front.

Rep Ted Lieu (D-CA)–I like his take on privacy rights

Take a look at Cory Doctorow’s post discussing his take on putting backdoors into cryptography programs. We do live in a world where we need to acquire as much information about those who would like to harm our country, however, we can’t allow that to overstep our basic rights. This is worth a read….

http://boingboing.net/2015/05/01/computer-scientistcongressman.html

Sophos products and the Bash vulnerability (Shellshock)

• Article ID: 121444
• Updated: 26 Sep 2014

In the light of the recent Bash vulnerability known as "Shellshock" (CVE-2014-6271 and CVE-2014-7169), we have reviewed its products to understand if any are at risk.

As far as we are aware, none of our products can be exploited by means of this bug.

As a matter of good security practice, we will be updating the various Sophos-supplied versions of Bash as soon as a stable and effective patch is available from the Bash maintainers.

For more information, see our Naked Security post: http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2014/09/25/bash-shellshock-vulnerability-what-you-need-to-know/

If you need more information or guidance, then please contact technical support.

CNet is reporting that Bash bug is “Bigger than Heartblead”

CNet writers Claire Reilly and Steven Musil just reported that a quarter of a century old vulnerability known as the Bash or Shellshock bug could cause major havoc. This is a big deal because it can cause problems with almost all installed system that have Internet access.

See more about this problem at: read more

How do you keep up on the News that you are interested in?

One of the rules that are part of my mantra in choosing the tools that I use on a daily basis is that it must be available to be used on any device that I pick up. I don't like having to go to one specific device to be able to use any one application. So what I'm looking at a solution, that solution must be available on my phone, on my tablets, my computers, in Android, iOS, Windows or Mac OS. What good is a tool if it is not available to you when and where you want to use it?

So when Google got rid of its Google reader program I had to go looking for an alternative. I came upon an app called Feedly. At the time it was perfect because it pulled all my RSS feeds from Google Reader so I didn’t have to set them up again. Other great features let you group them so that if you are looking for specific information it is easier to go to the group to see what information flows in. It allows you to see just the unread posts and provides the number of articles in each group and feed.

So what is an RSS feed? RSS stands for Rich Site Summary and is a format for delivering regularly changing web content.  It is great for collecting posting from sites that weblogs or are news services. So if the information source has made its content available in RSS format you can then subscribe to that site using a program that consolidates the feeds you have subscribed to. This saves you time from having to visit each site individually. I personally subscribe to a narrow range of topics including local news sources, IT topics, Business Management, Sales Management and Photography. Almost any subject has someone producing information that you can subscribe to in this manner.

One of the aspects of Feedly that I use a lot is the share function. This allows me to grab the posting and store it for future use in other applications to make it easier for me to use it. I use Instapaper for my long term storage documents, Pocket for my short term subjects and sometimes OneNote depending on the subject matter. Other share functions that you can use include GooglePlus, LinkedIn and of course email. So this program allows to me to sift though a large amount of information very quickly and share or save it very simply as well.

I hope this brief explanation helps you and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate contacting me.

Is Radio Shack on its deathbed?

A mainstay in my early geek life, Radio Shack was always a constant source of electrical parts for many of my electronics experiments. Boing Boing’s  David Pescovitz posted that Radio Shack is on its deathbed: $62 million in cash left which apparently isn’t even enough to close the 1,100 stores it needs to shut down to stay on life support.

The problem is that Radio Shack stores have been out of date for modern times. Unless you need electronic parts, all the rest of the products that were inventories appeared to be out of date and just not “with it”.

It’s a pity to say goodbye to an old friend but the times are rolling on.