Month: June 2016

WWDC 2016 – Expectations and Revelations

Post author By mygeex
Post date June 30, 2016
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WWDC 2016 – Expectations and Revelations

The World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) is one of Apple’s most awaited events every year. Held in San Francisco, the 2016 conference was a huge success right from the start. Entry tickets cost 1599 USD and were sold by lottery. As usual the event was preceded by a lot of speculation. Expected were the launch of the new iOS, the new OS X and the new versions of tvOS and watchOS among other things. Read on to find out what emerged …

True to form, Tim Cook and company met most of these expectations, unveiling their latest equipment at Bill Graham Auditorium during the WWDC 2016 event from June 13^th to June 17^th this year. With thirty million registered members, the event was a huge success. Tickets sold out within a short while after opening. Scholarships were awarded to 350 students. More than a 100 attendees were underage with the youngest being just 9 years old.

News about the Apple Car and Apple Watch 2 was eagerly awaited. Other highlights included Apple Music, iOS 9, and OS X EI Capitan. New MacBook and the much discussed, much awaited, larger than life Apple Television.

The event revealed…

watch OS 3

Major improvements were seen in the watchOS 3. A new version of the Apple Watch OS with improved features and promises to overcome some of the glitches and complaints of users which included speed, background updates, a dock to keep your favourite apps, and faster refresh. Another interesting new feature is the ability to swipe between apps just as you do on an iPod. Messages now have built in replies that you can select from or you can install scribble and create your own replies. Activity sharing is one more new feature in the watchOS 3.

tvOS

For those who are allergic to the Apple TV remote, Apple has introduced a new feature whereby you can use your iPhone as a remote for your Apple TV. You can also use your phone gyroscope for gaming. Siri has gained approval for Apple TV. You can now search for movies and You Tube by categories such as “high school comedies”. Video channel apps have been enhanced for ease of use. Downloading apps on your phone will automatically download them on the big screen too.

MacOS Sierra

OS X is now a thing of the past. MacOS – which is OS X with Siri – is the new Apple OS. This one is named MacOS Sierra. The focus in the new OS is continuity, Siri, and iCloud. Continuity does away with the need to enter a password every time you unlock your Mac. If you are wearing your Apple Watch, your Mac will unlock automatically when you come close. The universal clipboard is another new continuity feature which allows you to copy and paste between your Mac and iPhone. The overall Mac experience has been enhanced with tabs for multiple windows. Siri has been permitted on the mac OS. It will reside on your dock and you can use your voice to operate your Mac. You can do a lot with Siri on your Mac such as pin your results to notification, drag the results into docs, and send messages. Basically it works the same as on your iPhone. Though the full release is expected in the fall, the beta version is immediately available to developers.

Apple Music

Apple Music has been completely redesigned making it easier to use with a host of new features. The use of 3D has been enhanced in the iOS 10. The phone now wakes up merely by raising your hand. Notifications have become interactive. You can even manage them without unlocking your phone. Messaging is also possible without unlocking. There is a much bigger space for music on your lock screen. Access to widgets, music, and the camera is easier.

Siri

Siri is now being offered to developers, which bodes well for app development. Siri has also been linked to WhatsApp as has Slack. Uber and Lyft can also use Siri as can Pinintrest, MapMyRun, Skype, and Runkeeper. Quicktype has become more intelligent offering location and calendar enhancements like auto-fill and pre-fill.

Pictures and Photos

Facial recognition has been introduced and you can pin your picture to a map to know where you took the photo. You can also search your picture based on its contents such as mountains, sea-shore and so on. The picture enhancement comes bundled with Memories, a new UI.

Maps

Similar to Google, Apple maps will now suggest alternative routes based on traffic. Information about restaurants close by and turn by turn directions have also been introduced. Apple Maps is also being offered to developers among other things.

News

After a somewhat bumpy beginning, Apple hopes to enhance this feature by dividing it into sections. The topics have been revisited as have the subscriptions. You can now see subscribed content in your app.

Homekit

Like News, Homekit did not have a great start. But the new updates have enhanced this feature. There are now cameras and door locks within Homekit. It has a new name too. It’s now simply called Home. You can personalize it and keep all your accessories linked to it. Scenes, a new feature, allows you to have different scenes for bed time and day time. Siri has been linked to home. The app is available in Control Centre and you can use it on the go. So when you are close to home, it will turn on the lights, heating etc. for you even before you arrive. Voicemail transcription, another new feature transcribes your voice mail so that you can read it instead of listening to it. Spam labelling has been introduced. Links can be played inline and images will pop up from links directly. Emojis have become predictive and three times their size. Words which can be turned to Emojis will be highlighted as you type.

Summing Up…

The biggest thing that emerged, considering that the WWDC is a developers’ conference, is the new iOS 10, the enhanced MacOS, and the fact that Siri has been opened to developers. The new iOS 10 which comes out this fall, has many new features, some useful some not so useful. Same for the MacOS. A preview will be available in the next month. We are waiting for users reactions to the new features and hoping for many more in the next conference.

References

http://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/apple/apple-spaceship-campus-facts-pictures-video-info-video-3489704/

http://www.in.techradar.com/news/computing/apple/WWDC-2016-everything-on-the-gigantic-changes-Apple-announced/articleshow/52156103.cms

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The Dreaded Blue Screen of Death!!!!!!

Post author By mygeex
Post date June 30, 2016
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How Managed Care can help you avoid BSoD

If you’ve ever experienced a system crash you’ll understand the frustration that goes with it. BSoD (Blue Screen of Death) so named because of the blue screen displayed when the phenomenon occurs is a system failure of a windows PC when there is a problem with the hardware or software which causes the system to shut down. When a BSoD occurs, you could lose important data that can cost you a pretty penny to recover, not to mention the loss in business because of down time. Read on to find out how you can avoid this disaster.

Run a virus scan

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A virus in your computer can cause your software to mal-function resulting in a critical error which cannot be resolved by your OS. The only option then is to re-boot which means data in your RAM will be lost. The best thing you can do to avoid such a situation is to ensure there are no viruses in your computer. This is easily done by running periodic virus scans. If you have managed care for your business, your technician will ensure that your anti-virus software is up to speed and will run scans every time he visits.

Install all Windows and other updates

Every device your computer uses such as a mouse keyboard or printer requires software called a driver to use it. Older versions of drivers may not necessarily be compatible with new devices. This can cause problems which older versions of OS may not be capable of resolving, resulting in the dreaded BSoD. Regularly updating your hardware and software will ensure that there is no incompatibility. Upgrade to newer versions of OS as they are released. OS manufacturers usually ensure that newer versions are compatible with new software. This will help you avoid a crash and loss of valuable data.

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Uninstall unnecessary applications

We often download applications that we think may be useful but are never actually used. Some applications are downloaded simply while surfing the internet. Consider what happens when you try to run a video. You will usually be offered the latest version of Flash Player for download. Clicking on the download button will download the software which may intrude into your presentations and other media files you may have in your system. If your OS or other media applications are not compatible with the latest version of Flash, your system is likely to crash. Such situations can be avoided by regularly checking for applications that are not frequently used, and uninstalling them from your computer. Your managed care technician will check for unused applications when he visits and let you know which ones may be uninstalled.

Don’t change settings you don’t understand

Remember the days when you could not paste something you had copied from excel into word? Well now you can and it’s convenient. What we don’t realize is that the two applications have been synched to work with one another and changes to one may affect the other. This is true of many applications running on windows today. Applications often prompt us to change settings and we click yes thinking that it can do no harm even if it does no good. This is a big mistake since settings for one application can affect another in a windows set up. Your managed care technician will suggest the ideal settings for your software based on your requirements.

Computer-Geek

Make sure you have enough RAM for any applications you install

As you probably know, applications reside on your hard disk and run in the RAM of your computer. Modern applications incorporate more and more user requirements and hence require more space to run. Ensure that your machines have enough RAM to house not only the application itself, but also the data that it will be using. Consider a simple task of writing a blog. At the very least you will have a browser and MS-Word open. That’s a good deal in and of itself. In addition to this you will have the data you typed into word and the data downloaded through your browser. You will also have your OS already residing on the RAM along with any other applications such as virus scan or clean up running in the background. Quite a lot for the RAM to handle don’t you think? So it’s important to have a big RAM if you expect your computer to handle multiple tasks and still stay up to speed. Your managed care technician will let you know when you need to upgrade your RAM so that you do not run into problems.

To Sum Up…

You need

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Ransomware Will Seriously Ruin Your Day!

Post author By mygeex
Post date June 6, 2016
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dfsxdf Ransomware 101 fake-ransomware

What Ransomware is and what it can do to your business?

Alternate Titles: Understanding Ransomware and its business risks

What Cryptoware (Ransomware) can do to your business

Business Risks of Ransomware / Cryptoware

The increasing cases of ransomware threats has made it necessary for business persons to understand what it is and how it might affect their business. Quite simply ransomware is software that takes charge of your data or applications, encrypts them, and then offers you decryption solutions for a fee. That’s the reason its also called cryptoware. The risks? Well here goes…

Introduction

Ransomware is an out an out criminal activity. Its not merely an attempt to steal your data. It’s a blatant kidnapping of your computer and possibly your entire network! Not only is your data encrypted, the criminals – yes it’s a criminal activity – have access to that data and they can use it as they please! One thing to remember though is that they are after money and not the data itself. Often the data may be of no use to them.

The Threat

Cryptoware encrypts your data using code which has a key. The criminals then offer you that key for a specified amount of money or else. They will threaten to make all your data unrecoverable after some time. Your data will then be in their control and they may publish sensitive information that could harm your business. Some of these criminals even pose as law enforcement officials and threaten to prosecute you! As time passes, they’ll increase the amount of ransom and worse harm even your bootstrap software so that your machine crashes. They will warn you that your entire network may become useless unless you purchase the key from them. They will give you deadlines by which you must purchase the key or risk losing your data.

ransomware

The Impact

When ransomware targets individual machines, it affects only that one machine but when it targets your business, if even one machine is affected, it can spread quickly over the entire network. This means all data on the server and cloud plugins like

OneDrive, Dropbox and Livedrive is affected. Once a gateway is opened through one computer on a network, the data on the entire network can be encrypted and your business held to ransom.

The Consequences

Says Mitchell Berenson of Intermedia, the dilemma for a business affected by ransomware is whether to pay ransom or spend precious hours recovering data from backup – which often is slack because of lack of time in the first place! Whatever you do, you’ll face serious downtime which means lost business. The downtime is anywhere from 2 days to more than 5 days. Imagine all the customers that would turn to competitors in that time, not to mention all your employees being paid for sitting around doing nothing! Add to that the overtime you would pay your IT staff for recovery. And if your backup procedure is slack…

Some Hard Facts

Cryptoware is not limited to individuals or SMEs. It can impact big business just as easily. A survey by Intermedia found that 60% of the businesses impacted by Ransomware had 100 or more employees. 25% had more than a thousand employees. The impact began with 2 or more computers and quickly spread to over 20 in 86% of the cases. Quoting Luke Skibba – Gigabitgeek on Twitter, “After shutting down the computer of the affected user and taking her off the network, we determined she had been hit with the CryptoWall ransomware. We had 90 percent of our files be encrypted. This impacted every user in our whole company.”

Don’t Panic

Ransomware is a rapidly growing threat to businesses with even IT firms falling victim. The attacks are expected to increase in complexity. The time to take action is sooner rather than later. As they say, a penny in prevention is worth a pound in solution. Walter Chamberlee, Director (IT) from Signaturefd.com says, “Ransomware attacks are on the rise and are growing in complexity. Without the right protection measures in place, ransomware can be majorly disruptive to a business. In these cases, it’s the user downtime and the hassle for IT that’s far costlier, even if you pay the ransom.” That is not to say these attacks cannot be prevented. Managed antivirus protection can help you avoid an attack. So go for it now before it’s too late.