Software updates ​are a way for ​software​ developers to fine-tune a product to make it the best it can be. They offer small, frequent improvements rather than major changes. Unlike a software upgrade, updates ​need the existing ​software ​program we’re using to work. Updates ​sometimes run automatically in the background.

What is software update?

An update is new, improved, or fixed software, which replaces older versions of the same software.

For example, updating our operating system brings it up-to-data with the latest drivers, system utilities, and security software. Update are often provided by the software publisher free of additional charge. We’re probably no stranger to those little pop-up windows. They tell us software updates are available for our computer, laptop, or mobile device.

We might be tempted to click on that “Remind me later” button. Don’t do it. Or, at least don’t put off updating our software for long.

Software updates are important to our digital safety and cyber security. The sooner we update, the sooner we’ll feel confident our device is more secure-until the next update reminder.

Why are software updates so important? There are a lot of reasons. Here are some points important to update software regularly.

1. Software updates do a lot of things: Software updates offer plenty of benefits. It’s all about revisions. These might include repairing security holes that have been discovered and fixing or removing computer bugs. Updates can add new features to our devices and remove outdated ones.

While we’re at it, it’s a good idea to make sure our operating system is running the latest version.

2. Updates help patch security flaws: Hackers love security flaws, also known as software vulnerabilities. A software vulnerability is a security hole or weakness found in a software program or operating system. Hackers can take advantage of the weakness by writing code to target the vulnerability. The code is packaged into malware-short for malicious software.

An exploit sometimes can infect our computer with no action on our part other than viewing a rogue website, opening a compromised message, or playing infected media.

What happens next? The malware can steal data saved on our device or allow the attacker to gain over our computer and encrypt our files.

Software updates often include software patches. They cover the security holes to keep hackers out.

3. Software updates help protect our data: ​We probably keep a lot of documents and personal information on our devices. Our personally identifiable information-from emails to bank account information-is valuable to cybercriminals.

They can use it to commit crimes in our name or sell it on the dark web to enable others to commit crimes. If it’s a ransomware attack, they might encrypt our data. We might have to pay a ransom for an encryption key to get it back. Or, worse, we might pay a ransom and not get it back.

Updating our software and operating systems helps keep hackers out.

4. It’s not all about us: Ok, cybersecurity is mostly about us, but we’ve got other people to think about, too. If our device gets a virus, we could pass it on to our friends, family, and business associates. That’s why we want to keep our software and systems updated.

A trusted security program such as norton 360tm can help keep our devices secure. And that can potentially help all those people we interact with online. But it’s also important to know anti-virus protection isn’t enough to protect our devices against all cyber threats.

5. We deserve the latest and greatest: Updates not only patch security holes, but they can also add new features and improve existing ones. We don’t want to fall behind the times, right?

In that way, software updates really are all about us. Our software program may get a new shot of stability-no more crashing. Or an update might boost program performance-more speed. We deserve no less.

We could ignore those reminders to update our software, but we might be missing out on a lot, starting with our cybersecurity.

Another option? If we’re still not keen on clicking “update now”, we may be able to configure our devices to update automatically. If so, our problem is solved.

​Benefits of software upgrade:

• Lastest security patch. New software tackles/ prevents the latest security vulnerabilities.
• Improve stability. The new software improves the ability to remain unchanged over time and in different conditions.
• Being trustworthy
• Well structured
• Enjoy new features
• Benefits of pricing
• Keep hardware healthy
• Enhanced user interface.

How to update our software?

Keeping our software up to date is a crucial practice in Internet safety. Most software updates automatically by default, but we should know how to check the updates and being the process ourselves. Knowing how to keep our software updated can improve our computer’s stability and security and let us know about new features, helping us be an informed and empowered user.

Keeping your operating system updated is one of the most important steps in protecting ourselves from viruses, malware, and other Internet security threats.

Windows 10

In Windows 10, you decide when and how to get the latest updates to keep your device running smoothly and securely. To manage your options and see available updates, select Check for Windows updates. Or select the Start button, and then go to Settings  > Update & Security   > Windows Update.

It may take a moment for windows to search for updates. Once it does, if there are any updates available it will prompt us to install them.

It may take a while to install all the updates. It’s safe to leave the computer and do something else while it finishes. Once it’s done, windows will probably prompt us to restart the computer. If we need to do anything else after this, windows will prompt us; otherwise, we’re up to date!

Mac OS

1. Choose System Preferences from the Apple menu , then click Software Update to check for updates.
2. If any updates are available, click the Update Now button to install them. Or click “More info” to see details about each update and select specific updates to install. You might be asked to enter your administrator password.
   
   
   
3. When Software Update says that your Mac is up to date, the installed version of macOS and all of its apps are also up to date. That includes Safari, Music, Photos, Books, Messages, Mail, Calendar, and FaceTime.
4. To automatically install future updates, including for apps that you got from the App Store, select “Automatically keep my Mac up to date.” Your Mac will notify you when updates require it to restart, so you can always choose to install those later.

Benefits of upgrading systems

1. Don’t get left behind: ​Software that is not moving forward could be sliding backward. Remember that competitors are upgrading. Be the leader.
2. New options available: ​With an upgrade new, innovative enhancements are added, often based on consumer feedback, needs, and wishes.
3. Security: ​Upgrades may have new security capabilities, and will prevent you from lagging behind on security if old versions of the software are retired.
4. ROI: ​Any good vendor is going to want to see its customers thrive. Future products and platforms are meant to be sold to you, so the upgrades implemented now are meant to benefits you and your bottom line. Upgrades.
   
   ​Should= Success.
   
5. Technical support: ​You may have become completely competent with your old software, but a new upgrade might re-engage the desire or need for increased training and support from your vendor, potentially uncovering new, better systems and methods.

So, Stay tuned with us for more updates and leaks about the IT industries. Thank you!

Most, but not all, cybercrime is committed by cybercriminals or hackers
who want to make money. Cybercrime is carried out by individuals or organizations.

What is Cybercrime?

When we hear the word “cybercriminal” or “hacker” what image comes to our mind? Is it a sketchy guy, perhaps wearing a dark hoodie, camped out in a dank basement somewhere, typing away furiously?

While that image is in the public consciousness thanks to movies and TV, the real picture of a cybercriminal is much different: cybercrime is incredibly organized and professionalized.

Cybercriminals buy and sell malware online (generally on the dark web) while also trading in services that test how robust a virus is, business intelligence dashboards to track malware deployment, and tech support (that’s right-crooks can contact a criminal helpline to troubleshoot their illegal hacking server or other malfeasance!).

The professionalization and proliferation of cybercrime add up to countless costs in damages every year, impacting individuals, businesses, and even governments. Experts estimate that cybercrime damages will reach $6 trillion annually by 2021, making it one of the most lucrative criminal enterprises.

As the Internet of Things (IoT) evolves and smart devices become more popular, cybercriminals benefit from a much broader attack surface-increased opportunities to penetrate security measures, gain unauthorized access, and commit crimes.

Common examples of Cybercrime.

As mentioned, cybercriminals range from individuals to criminal organizations to state-sponsored actors. Just as the type of criminal varies, so do their crimes and the methods they use to break the law.

From a single hacker who managed to hack into the US stock market to North Korean state-sponsored groups that propagated ransomware on a massive scale, there are a staggering amount of cybercriminals active every day. Moreover, expert skills are no longer required to become a cybercrook.

Malware:

Computer viruses are the granddaddy of cybercrime; probably the first kind of it we became aware of. Viruses infect computer systems, destroying files, messing with the overall functionalily, and self-replicating to jump to other devices and systems.

Viruses are actually a form of malware, which encompasses all kinds of malicious software: any code or programs written and distributed to do damage, steal data, make money for their owner, and generally ruin our day. This includes ransomware, which can lock up our files until we pay a ransom to decrypt them, and adware, which spams with ads.

Identity theft and other fraud:

While identity theft is not exclusively a cybercrime, these days it’s much more likely to happen through technology. In fact, identity fraud happens every two seconds in America today.

If a hacker wants to commit identity theft or credit card fraud, they first need to access enough of their victim’s personal data to fuel the crime.

Phishing:

Cybercrooks use “bait” in the form of fraudulent messages to lure victims to fake sites where they unwittingly enter personal information like usernames, passwords, or bank details.

Pharming:

Taking it one step deeper than phishing, pharming uses malware to reroute unsuspecting internet surfers to fake versions of websites, where they unknowingly enter their personal details.

Keylogging:

This type of malware (or to be more specific spyware) secretly logs everything we type, capturing our account information and other personal details.

Sniffing:

If we’re connected to an unsecured, unencrypted public Wi-Fi network, hackers can steal our data by “sniffing” our internet traffic with special tools (unless we have a VPN, of course).

While hackers have many ways to steal personal data, there are also some good ways we can prevent identity theft. Avoid accessing our personal accounts (especially online banking) on public Wi-Fi, and consider setting up a monitoring service to make sure our online accounts haven’t been breached.

Cyber bullying:

Cyberbullying refers to all kinds of online harassment, including stalking, sexual harassment, doxing (exposing someone’s personal information, like their physical address, online without their consent), and framing (breaking into someone’s social media and making fake posts on their behalf).

Crypto jacking:

Cryptojacking us when hackers break into our device and use it to mine cryptocurrency without our knowledge or consent. Cryptominers do this by using JavaScript to infect our device after we visit an infected website. This can cause performance issues and high electric bills for us- and earn big profits for the crypto jackers.

Cyber extortion:

Cyber extortion is just what it sounds like- a digital version of the nightmare that is extortion. One of the most common forms is ransomware when hackers infect our computer with malware that encrypts all our files until we pay them a ransom to unlock them. Cyberextortion can also refer to blackmailing victims using their personal info, photos, and video; or threatening businesses using methods like botnet-driven DDOS attacks.

No matter the type of cybercrime, we can help protect ourselves by installing a strong antivirus program like Avast Free Antivirus. Avast will block malicious links, suspicious websites, harmful downloads, and various other threats. Cybercriminals don’t like to work too hard-if they can’t access our machine or personal data, they’re likely to move on to the next (easier) victim. So give ourselves a strong layer of defense and fight back against cybercrooks.

Where does cybercrime come from?

Although the internet is only about 30 years old, experts consider the 1834 hack the first cybercrime in history. Two thieves were able to infiltrate the French Telegraph System and gain access to financial markets, committing data theft.

Other early cybercrimes, beginning in the late 1800s and first half of the 20th century, saw hackers focus on the telephone systems, just two years after phones were invented, teenage boys broke into Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone company and caused mischief by misdirecting calls. Phone hacking, or phreaking, later became popular in the 1960s to 1980s.

Email: Though social media may be one of the most popular ways to use the internet these days, email is still the most prevalent delivery method for cybercrime. Not only that, email fraud is the second-costliest cybercrime, according to the FBI. Email fraud encompasses phishing attempts, malware in the form of sketchy attachments or links, as well as some forms of digital extortion, ransomware, and exploit kits.

The dark web: The deep web refers to all parts of the internet (sites, e-shops, forums, etc.) that are not accessible by a regular search engine like Google or Bing. A subset of the deep web is the dark web, or darknet, which requires a special browser, such as Tor, to access it. Although the dark web is not itself illegal, the anonymity it affords makes it a hotbed for criminal activity.

On the dark web, cybercriminals can exchange the most dangerous and odious commodities our society has to offer: malware, drugs, weapons, child pornography, and even contract killing. The dark web is also where information, like stolen passwords or credit card numbers, gets bought and sold. That’s why if we’re a victim of a data breach, it can sometimes take a few days (or even longer) until someone the stolen data and tries to access our account.

Who’s most at risk?

As mentioned cybercriminals can target individuals, businesses, and governments. And at the risk of sounding alarmist, none of those groups are any more or less safe from threats than the others. Cyber fraudsters are pretty indiscriminate when it comes to choosing their victims. Luckily, we have some proven strategies for preventing cybercrime.

How to recognize if we’ve been a victim of cybercrime?

While it can sometimes be hard to recognize if we’ve been the victim of a cybercrime, some crimes do leave clear signs:

Malware infection: our machine might start running slowly and sending us various error messages.

Phishing or pharming attack: We’ll find suspicious charges on our credit card or other compromised accounts.

Keylogger: We may see strange icons or our messages might start adding duplicate text.

Botnet: If our computer becomes involved in a botnet, it may be hard to recognize at all.

Crypto jacking: We’ll see increased electric bills.

Broadly speaking, sudden decreases in performance or strange behavior from our PC, tablet, or mobile indicates that we may have been the target of a cybercrime.

If we think we’ve been a victim, we should definitely take the time to report cybercrime. If we’re in the US, the government has some resources that can help us: they suggest contacting the Internet Crime Complaint Center, the Federal Trade Commission, or the Department of Justice, depending on the nature of the crime. If our identity was stolen, we should especially make sure to report the identity theft, including using the resources on IdentityTheft.gov.

If we’re outside the US, look for similar organizations in our country to report cybercrime.

How cyber crime works?

Cybercriminals may infect computers with viruses and malware to damage devices or stop them from working. They may also use malware to delete or steal data. Cybercrime that uses computers to commit other crimes may involve using computers or networks to spread malware, illegal information, or illegal images.

What are the apps related to cybercrime?

Mobile apps: New frontier for cybercrime

Types:

1. Click Fraudster
2. Malicious Downloader
3. Spying Tools

Technique:

1. Mobile devices are abused via clicking online ads without users’ knowledge(pay-per-click).
2. Downloads other malicious files and apps
3. Tracks user’s location via monitoring GPS data and sends this to a third party.

How to protect people from cybercrime?

Here are some ways to protect people from cyber crime:

1. Make sure your PC is secure. Keep up with system and software security updates.
2. If someone calls you (it might even be on behalf of your bank) and asks you to provide personal data, do not take any action. Your bank will ask you to provide this information over the phone.
3. Never send your username, password, PIN, account information. No bank will ever request for you to send personal information over e-mail.
4. Be cautious where you log into your bank. Never use public Wi-Fi for banking.
5. Visit the bank by typing the address.
6. Check your account regularly.
7. Put your digital sign only for orders you have started yourself.

How to protect yourself.

• Never click on links or open messages, from people you don’t know, and double-check those from people you know.
• Stick to trusted and secure websites and use unique passwords for every site you visit.
• Make sure your passwords are complex i.e. incorporate text, numbers, and special characters.
• Protect all your devices with the latest software from a reputable security solutions provider.

How to prevent cybercrime?

The best way to protect ourselves against cybercrime is to exercise sensible digital habits. Here are some common-sense browsing habits that will help us defend ourselves daily:

1. Keep your software updated
2. Enable your system firewall
3. Use antivirus and anti-malware software
4. Use different/strong passwords
5. Activate your email’s anti-spam blocking feature
6. Use 2FA for all your online services
7. Encrypt your local hard disk
8. Shop only from secure and well-known websites
9. Use a WHOIS private service
10. Use a private- secured DNS server
11. Use a VPN
12. Encrypt your email
13. Monitor your children’s online activities.

Conclusion

Though not all people are victims of cybercrimes, they are still at risk. Crimes done behind the computer are the 21st century’s problem. With technology increasing, criminals don’t have to rob banks, nor do they have to be outside in order to commit any crime.

So, Stay tuned with us for more updates and leaks about the IT industries. Thank you!

WhatsApp has published additional information on the changes of the policy, underlining the data shared with Facebook does not include anything from personal chats or groups, and only relates to chats with businesses, and that the app still has end-to-end encryption:

However, many people are still turning to Signal and Telegram, searching to replace WhatsApp as their chat app

Signal is a cross-platform encrypted messaging service that has recently seen an enormous increase in use and downloads so that the company had to add new servers to accommodate the growing number of users. Reportedly, the week between January 6th and January 10th seems to hold the record of weekly or even monthly installs in Signal’s history. The app offers chat features such as groups, message reactions, and even video calls.

Here you can see a comparison done by Forbes using Apple’s App Privacy labels. It might give you a picture of the alleged data that these apps collect about you:

Get Signal Private Messenger from the App Store | Google Play

So, Stay tuned with us for more updates and leaks about the IT industries. Thank you!

About three years ago, WhatsApp introduced this option with the promise that it will “help operate, provide, improve, understand, customize, support and market it services and offerings,” but users could opt out from this trial.

Unfortunately, this has become mandatory this year, so those who don’t comply won’t be able to use WhatsApp starting February 8. Well, it looks like Facebook’s decision had drastic repercussions for its customer database.

Telegram, a similar messenger service with a lot less users, has just announced a surge in the number of active users immediately after Facebook’s announcement. First, the founder of the company, Pavel Durov, pointed out that Telegram surpassed 500 million monthly in the first week of January 2021..

More importantly, soon after WhatsApp announced the new changes, Telegram reported a massive surge in number of users. No less than 25 million users joined Telegram in the last 72 hours, Durov said in a post. According to him, most of them are coming from Asia (38%), Europe (27%), and Latin America (21%).

Apparently, this is an important increase compared to last year, when “just” 1.5 million users signed up every day. Durov went on to say that while Telegram had surges of downloads before, “this time is different.”

So, Stay tuned with us for more updates and leaks about the IT industries. Thank you!

In past years, OnePlus has used its T-series of phones as a half-step between its numbered flagships. They typically feature modest improvements in similarly designed phones. Last year, for example, the OnePlus 7T featured a higher 90Hz refresh rate compared to the OnePlus 7 and added a third camera to the rear of the device.

OnePlus’ own software suggests that the OnePlus 8T will look similar to the OnePlus 8 from the front, but leaked renders published by PriceBaba — based on information provided by leaker OnLeaks — show a different rear camera layout featuring four rear sensors compared to the three the OnePlus 8 had, thanks to an additional 2-megapixel portrait sensor.

PriceBaba also reports that the phone will have a 120Hz refresh rate compared to the 90Hz display on the OnePlus 8. The phone’s battery will reportedly be a little bigger at 4,500mAh compared to 4,300mAh last time around, but it could charge at a maximum of 65W rather than 30W.

Last year, we saw an OnePlus 7T Pro announced as well as the OnePlus 7T, but this year there are conflicting reports about whether we’ll see an additional OnePlus 8T-branded device.

It’s been a busy year for OnePlus. As well as releasing the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro earlier this year, the company also launched a new mid-range device called the OnePlus Nord in Europe and India, and there are reports that there could be another Nord device on the way that will release in the US. If this device actually exists, the OnePlus 8T might not be the only device the company announces in October.

So, Stay tuned with us for more updates and leaks about the mobile and IT industries. Thank you!

The latest version of iOS comes packed with a bunch of features and changes. Not all of these are very important, but there are some huge ones here.

Home Screen Changes

The home screen is seeing the most number of changes with iOS 14.

App Library

There is a new App Library at the end of the app pages. This is a collection of all your apps organised automatically by iOS. It has a universal search up top, and categories of apps that you can go through to find apps easily. Moreover, it shows up apps that you’ve recently installed so you can get to them faster. Also, you can quickly launch apps through the App Library if you want, which is great.

Hide App Pages

With iOS 14, you can now hide app pages from your iPhone. This is great for people who install a lot of apps on their iPhones. You can simply get into edit mode and then hide the app pages you don’t want to see.

Widgets

Widgets are getting a bunch of improvements with iOS 14. For one, they are now redesigned and come in multiple sizes, which is nice. However, more importantly, you can now place widgets on the home screen as well.

There’s also a new widget called ‘Smart Stack’. With Smart Stack you can swipe along to view different widgets if you want. However it also uses machine learning to learn which widget you need at what time. So, in the morning you might see your news, your calendar can show up through the day, and more. It sounds pretty interesting.

Compact Call Screens

This is extremely useful for me. iOS 14 shows up incoming calls as a small banner on the top of the screen instead of taking over the entire display. Anyone who has ever played PUBG on an iPhone only to have a call come in will know that this feature is a godsend.

Picture in Picture

iOS now also supports picture in picture. This is a feature that Android phones have had for a long time now. However, it’s great to have it on iPhones as well. It’s unclear which apps this will work with, but it definitely works with the TV app.

You can drag the PiP window around, pinch to zoom, etc. Moreover, you can swipe it to the side to hide the video and continue playing the audio. That’s pretty awesome and I can see YouTube making a good use of that feature.

Siri Redesign and Improvements

Remember how Google now has a compact Assistant? Well, Siri is going the same route. iOS 14 has a compact Siri that doesn’t take over your entire screen when you invoke it. It now also has 20x more facts than it did 3 years back. Plus, you can now even send audio messages with Siri if you want. So far, the feature is known to work with iMessage, but it could make its way to WhatsApp and other messaging apps as well.

Messages

The Messages app is getting features that were already rumoured for it. Notably, you can now mention people in groups, and give inline replies in group chats. You can also choose to only get notifications for group messages when someone mentions you in them, which sounds useful.

There’s also a new conversation pinning feature in Messages which I’m excited about. It’s basically what apps like WhatsApp and Telegram have had for a long time, but it’s nice to have it on iMessage as well.

Other than these features, Apple announced a new Translate app, more Memoji stickers, age options for Memojis, etc. There are also improvements in the Maps app, including EV routing and cycling support. Also, there’s a new App Clip feature that works a lot like Instant Apps.

iOS 14 Release Date

While Apple didn’t announce a specific release date for iOS 14, the company has released a developer beta today. A public beta will follow in July, and a stable release should be sometime after the launch of the iPhone 12 this fall.

In the online event, Apple will preview the future of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS. Apple will also release developer betas at the same time.

This year, Apple says it will hold a full online schedule of keynote and sessions. Apple said it will be sharing more details in the coming weeks. Clearly, Apple had to shake things up significantly as it has not announced a firm date for the keynote — just that the new WWDC will happen sometime in June.

Craig Federighi, Apple SVP Software Engineering, teases the event: “With all of the new products and technologies we’ve been working on, WWDC 2020 is going to be big”.

Apple also said it will contribute $1 million to local San Jose organizations to help offset the economic hit to the city from WWDC not being held at a physical location.

Apple says it will share more details about its plans “between now and June”.

WWDC 2020 begins on June 22 and will be accessible using the Apple Developer App (download) and the Developer website for free for all developers. Also, if you’re interested in entering the Swift Student Challenge, you can send in your entry till May 17, 11:59PM PDT on this link.