No courage: Microsoft still requires audio jack port in Windows phones

Apple said it took "courage" to remove the audio jack port from the iPhone 7 and replace it with wireless audio. Microsoft hasn't yet mustered the courage to cut the aging port.Microsoft has retained the headphone jack as a minimum hardware requirement for Windows 10 Mobile smartphones. The company declined to comment if it would make the headphone jack an optional port.The headphone jack port isn't a requirement for other Windows devices, including laptops, desktops, tablets, or IoT devices.Apple gave several reasons for removing the port, saying it was old technology, and it blocked the integration of newer technologies in the already compact iPhone 7.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Major cybercrime network Avalanche dismantled in global takedown

Law enforcement agencies have dismantled a major cybercriminal network responsible for malware-based attacks that have been harassing victims across the globe for years.The network, called Avalanche, operated as many as 500,000 infected computers on a daily basis and was responsible for delivering malware through phishing email attacks. Avalanche has been active since at least 2009, but on Thursday, authorities in the U.S. and Europe announced they had arrested five suspects allegedly involved with it.Avalanche has been found distributing more 20 different malware families including GozNym, a banking Trojan designed to steal user credentials, and Teslacrypt, a notorious ransomware. Europol estimated the network has caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damages across the world.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Major cybercrime network Avalanche dismantled in global takedown

Law enforcement agencies have dismantled a major cybercriminal network responsible for malware-based attacks that have been harassing victims across the globe for years.The network, called Avalanche, operated as many as 500,000 infected computers on a daily basis and was responsible for delivering malware through phishing email attacks. Avalanche has been active since at least 2009, but on Thursday, authorities in the U.S. and Europe announced they had arrested five suspects allegedly involved with it.Avalanche has been found distributing more 20 different malware families including GozNym, a banking Trojan designed to steal user credentials, and Teslacrypt, a notorious ransomware. Europol estimated the network has caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damages across the world.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Worth Reading: 4G and 5G Mobile Backhaul

The aim of LTE was to make anytime, anywhere services a reality. To achieve this, LTE increased capacity, improved coverage and provided high-speed mobile data. Demand for data has since increased beyond all expectations and today there is a tidal wave of traffic on mobile networks. This growth has been driven by the availability of rich multimedia content and consumers using their mobile devices to run multiple, always up services including streaming video, internet applications and connection to sensors in their homes and cars. This growth shows no sign of slowing down and the industry consensus forecasts that traffic on mobile networks is going to continue growing dramatically for the rest of this decade. —ECI

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Windows Phone users give Microsoft CEO an earful

After spending $7 billion for the Nokia smartphone business, Microsoft has a dying platform on its hands, and shareholders want answers from CEO Satya Nadella. Rather than push the Lumia line, Microsoft has cut back its smartphone hardware to a smaller number of devices, markets and carriers. And the company has made more of an effort to get its own apps on iOS and Android rather than its own platform. Needless to say, Microsoft shareholders wanted to know why. GeekWire reports shareholders at the annual meeting gave Nadella an earful over it. One shareholder wanted to know why the nifty Microsoft Pix app (it is very nice) is only on iPhone and Android and not on Windows Phone. The same is true for Microsoft Outlook. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Joe Belfiore returns to Microsoft to put more ads in Windows 10

Joe Belfiore, the executive previously leading the Windows Phone charge (or what there was of it), has returned to Microsoft after a year-long trip around the world. And his new mission is to put more ads in Windows 10. About a year ago, Belfiore announced he was taking a one-year sabbatical to sail around the world with his kids in a program called Semester At Sea, an educational cruise program run by the University of Virginia. The cruise went around the world, making stops at every continent except Antarctica. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Best practices for lowering cyber insurance costs and cyber risk

Although vendor-written, this contributed piece does not advocate a position that is particular to the author’s employer and has been edited and approved by Network World editors.

With cybersecurity threats on the rise, companies are increasingly taking advantage of cybersecurity insurance. And while cyber insurance can be worth it, it’ll cost you. Last year, U.S. insurers earned $1B in cyber premiums.  You can minimize your premiums by showing your insurance company you’re actively mitigating cyber risks, which is a win-win: lower your risk and secure a more cost-effective insurance plan.

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Electoral college should ignore Lessig

Reading this exchange between law profs disappoints me. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

The decision Bush v Gore cites the same principle as Lessig, that our system is based on "one person one vote". But it uses that argument to explain why votes should not be changed once they are cast:
Having once granted the right to vote on equal terms, the State may not, by later arbitrary and disparate treatment, value one person's vote over that of another.
Lessig cites the principle of "one person one vote", but in a new and novel way. He applies in an arbitrary way that devalues some of the votes that have already been cast. Specifically, he claims that votes cast for state electors should now be re-valued as direct votes for a candidate.

The United States isn't a union of people. It's a union of states. It says so right in the name. Compromises between the power of the states and power of the people have been with us for forever. That's why states get two Senators regardless of size, but Representatives to the House are assigned proportional to population. The Presidential Continue reading

Best practices for lowering cyber insurance costs and cyber risk

Although vendor-written, this contributed piece does not advocate a position that is particular to the author’s employer and has been edited and approved by Network World editors.With cybersecurity threats on the rise, companies are increasingly taking advantage of cybersecurity insurance. And while cyber insurance can be worth it, it’ll cost you. Last year, U.S. insurers earned $1B in cyber premiums.  You can minimize your premiums by showing your insurance company you’re actively mitigating cyber risks, which is a win-win: lower your risk and secure a more cost-effective insurance plan.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Best practices for lowering cyber insurance costs and cyber risk

Although vendor-written, this contributed piece does not advocate a position that is particular to the author’s employer and has been edited and approved by Network World editors.With cybersecurity threats on the rise, companies are increasingly taking advantage of cybersecurity insurance. And while cyber insurance can be worth it, it’ll cost you. Last year, U.S. insurers earned $1B in cyber premiums.  You can minimize your premiums by showing your insurance company you’re actively mitigating cyber risks, which is a win-win: lower your risk and secure a more cost-effective insurance plan.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The mysteries of the GPU in Apple’s iPhone 7 are unlocked

Users have praised the performance of Apple's A10 Fusion chip in the iPhone 7, but its underlying graphics architecture may not be so new after all.The GPU in the iPhone 7 uses a custom version of the PowerVR GT7600 GPU, which is based on the same graphics processor architecture as in last year's iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, according to an analysis by The Linley Group, which specializes in semiconductors.Apple has claimed that the A10 Fusion CPU is two times faster than its predecessor, the A9, and the GPU about 50 percent faster.Benchmarking has revealed a mixed bag for A10 Fusion GPU's performance, according to the analyst firm. Some benchmarks supported Apple's GPU performance gain claims, and others fell way off. But the high levels of GPU performance are only temporary.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Data-wiping malware strikes Saudi government agencies

Saudi Arabia's government agencies were hit with a cyberattack that security researchers are blaming on a worm-like malware that can wipe computer systems, destroying data.Several government bodies and vital installations suffered the attack, disrupting their servers, the country's Saudi Press Agency said on Thursday. The transportation sector was among the agencies hit by an actor from outside the country, the press agency said.Security firms say the attack involved malware called Shamoon or Disttrack that was previously found targeting a Saudi Arabian oil company four years ago. That attack disabled 30,000 computers.  To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Data-wiping malware strikes Saudi government agencies

Saudi Arabia's government agencies were hit with a cyberattack that security researchers are blaming on a worm-like malware that can wipe computer systems, destroying data.Several government bodies and vital installations suffered the attack, disrupting their servers, the country's Saudi Press Agency said on Thursday. The transportation sector was among the agencies hit by an actor from outside the country, the press agency said.Security firms say the attack involved malware called Shamoon or Disttrack that was previously found targeting a Saudi Arabian oil company four years ago. That attack disabled 30,000 computers.  To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Who’s responsible for data compliance? 25% of executives don’t know

According to the 2016 State of Compliance survey conducted by data management and integration provider Liaison Technologies, one-quarter of top executives are unclear who in their organization is responsible for compliance. And nearly half (47 percent) of respondents to the survey of 479 senior and C-level executives said they don't know which compliance standards apply to their organizations.“As leaders in the compliance domain we thought it was important to share our findings on how U.S. companies perceive their regulatory obligations—and examine ways to help improve their compliance postures,” Hmong Vang, chief trust officer with Liaison, said in a statement. “What we found was rather concerning."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Firefox recovers from near-death experience

Mozilla's Firefox backed further from the brink last month, and Mac owners continued to abandon Apple's Safari, new data released today showed.Also, last month, Microsoft lost another 23 million Internet Explorer and Edge users.According to analytics vendor Net Applications, Firefox's user share -- an estimate of the proportion of all personal computer users who ran that browser -- climbed eight-tenths of a percentage point last month to finish at 11.9%, its highest mark since December 2015. In the last three months, Firefox has regained 4.2 points, recovering from a near-death experience when in August it recorded a user share of just 7.7%.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Who’s responsible for data compliance? 25% of executives don’t know

According to the 2016 State of Compliance survey conducted by data management and integration provider Liaison Technologies, one-quarter of top executives are unclear who in their organization is responsible for compliance. And nearly half (47 percent) of respondents to the survey of 479 senior and C-level executives said they don't know which compliance standards apply to their organizations.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

American Heart Association looks for cure in the cloud

LAS VEGAS -- Executives at the American Heart Association are betting that the cures for heart disease, stroke and diabetes lie in the cloud.The heart association (AHA), a nonprofit organization that funds research on heart disease and promotes public health policies, is working with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to set up a cloud-based system where scientists from around the world can store, share and analyze research data.Making that data available in the cloud could accelerate research and lead to a cure for cardiovascular disease, which is the top cause of death worldwide. American Heart Association Nancy Brown is CEO of the American Heart Association.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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