Month: January 2021

Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace (formerly G Suite): Which productivity suite is best for your business?

(Google updated the name of its G Suite service to Google Workspace in October 2020 and added one new plan to its lineup. This article has been updated to include details of the new plan.)

Both Microsoft and Google would like to be your one-stop shop for business productivity software. Their respective subscription offerings, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, tick all the top-level boxes on your company’s communications and productivity checklist. Each suite includes the following features:

  • Business email and shared calendaring services attached to custom domains
  • Online storage, with shared space for collaboration and a large allotment of personal storage space for each user account
  • Productivity apps for creating and collaborating on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations
  • Corporate communication tools, including messaging, online meetings, and video conferencing
  • A management interface, with advanced features such as compliance and archiving for enterprise customers as well as security features including two-factor authentication
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SonicWall says it was hacked using zero-days in its own products

Networking device maker SonicWall said on Friday night that it is investigating a security breach of its internal network after detecting what it described as a “coordinated attack.”

In a short statement posted on its knowledgebase portal, the company said that “highly sophisticated threat actors” targeted its internal systems by “exploiting probable zero-day vulnerabilities on certain SonicWall secure remote access products.”

The company listed NetExtender VPN clients and the Secure Mobile Access (SMA) gateways as impacted:

  • NetExtender VPN client version 10.x (released in 2020) utilized to connect to SMA 100 series appliances and SonicWall firewalls.
  • Secure Mobile Access (SMA) version 10.x running on SMA 200, SMA 210, SMA 400, SMA 410 physical appliances, and the SMA 500v virtual appliance.

SonicWall said that the newer SMA 1000 series is not impacted as that particular product series is using a different VPN client than NetExtender.

Patches for the zero-day vulnerabilities are

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Vodafone unveils ‘instant’ Wi-Fi


By

Published: 22 Jan 2021 16:35

Vodafone has launched Gigacube B818, a wireless mobile router for consumers and businesses that turns the operator’s 4G network into a Wi-Fi network.

The device is being marketed as a flexible alternative to “standard broadband” that allows customers to benefit from high-speed internet access in areas without fixed-line broadband. Connecting up to 64 devices, the Gigacube B818 is said to be “perfect” for busy digital households and small businesses.

Capable of handling maximum speeds of up to 1.6Gbps download and 150Mbps upload, the device has a Wi-Fi range of 250 metres and can offer customers up to 300GB of data per month.

Vodafone said it wants to tap into extended lockdown periods that will not only see increased remote working, but also a spike in home learning as UK schools are closed for an indefinite period. At a time when families are primarily

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Interview with Chase CIO Rohan Amin on managing Chase's $4B tech budget, API integrations, and this year's rise in digital mortgage applications and banking (Mary Ann Azevedo/FinLedger)


Mary Ann Azevedo / FinLedger:

Interview with Chase CIO Rohan Amin on managing Chase’s $4B tech budget, API integrations, and this year’s rise in digital mortgage applications and banking  —  Chase CIO shares what the firm learned through the pandemic as well as his views on APIs, working with startups & the future of retail banking… Read More

Microsoft: Here’s how our new password-monitoring system actually works

Just as Google starts rolling out new password protection features in Chrome 88, Microsoft has revealed the inner workings of its password monitor features in its Chromium-based Edge browser. 

The stable version of Microsoft Edge version 88 gained the Password Monitor feature, which Microsoft announced in March 2020. 

Not to be confused with a password manager, this is Microsoft’s alert for passwords that have been exposed in data breaches and leaked online. Google added a feature to Chrome in 2019; Mozilla started testing its password breach alert service in 2018. 

SEE: Network security policy (TechRepublic Premium)

Browser makers are keen to get us to sign-in, but how do you get users to sign in to a browser when there’s no perceived value beyond syncing browsers across desktop and mobile? Security, or more specifically, a security service that alerts the users to a password that’s been leaked online

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Building an RTX3080 gaming PC

I don’t have time for much gaming anymore, but fortunately I know plenty of people that do. The other day, a friend said that they’d managed to get hold of a Gigabyte GeForce RTX3080 graphics card.

A beast. And it should be for the $950 it cost.

These things are hard to get hold of, and it’s not the kind of card that you shove into any old system. So, she wanted some advice on what else to buy.

The only limit: No spending more than $2,000 (excluding the money already paid for the GTX3080), and the processor had to be an Intel chip (not my decision, but makes it a bit easier for me).

That should be possible. With change for at least a pizza when it’s done.

Must read: Best RAM 2021: Top memory upgrades for your PC

Note that the parts I’ve listed here DO NOT

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