New research by Atlas VPN claims that Google’s Chrome browser has had 303 discovered vulnerabilities this year, and that an unusually high number of cumulative vulnerabilities have been spotted in the browser. The advice is to make sure that your browser is up to date, care is taken if choosing plugins, and to look out for potential phishing emails.
All posts by Paul Stradling
Tech Tip – Annotating, Signing, And Saving PDFs In Firefox
The release of Firefox 104 in August gave users the ability to annotate PDFs, e.g. sign PDFs directly in the browser, and save them. Here’s how:
– Open a PDF in Firefox, i.e. drag it into the Firefox Window, or right click on the file and select ‘Open with’ and choose Firefox.
– In the top right corner of the PDF window click on the ‘Add Free Text Annotation’ icon (a ‘T’ symbol).
– Click on the page and start writing. You can change the text colour and size.
– Also top right (a pen symbol), click on the ‘Add Link Annotation’ icon to use a virtual pen to annotate or sign a document freehand. The colour and line thickness can be adjusted.
– To save an annotated PDF, click on the ‘Download’ button in the toolbar.
– To disable annotation editing, click on the arrow symbol (top right).
If Firefox browser doesn’t yet have the annotation options:
– Type about:config in the address bar, press Enter, click on ‘Accept the risk’ and ‘Continue.’
– Look for the preference pdfjs.annotationEditorMode, click the button next to it, and change the value to 0 (zero).
– Click the tick box to confirm and restart Firefox.
Security Stop-Press : Biggest Cyber Hack In History – Australia’s ‘Optus’
A cyber-attack on Australian telecommunications provider, Optus, may have affected 10 million people, the equivalent of 40% of the country’s population! Customer data reported as stolen in the attack includes names, dates of birth, home addresses, phone, and email contacts, and even the passport and driving licence numbers of around 2.8 million people!
Following the attack, a ransom request of $1m (A$1.5m / £938,000) in cryptocurrency was made to Optus. The advice to those Australian customers affected has been to look out for signs of identity theft and for any opportunistic scammers looking to exploit the confusion in the aftermath. It is thought that the hack could lead to lead to European-style privacy laws being introduced in Australia.
Tech News : EU Makes It Easier To Sue Over AI Accidents
A new set of European Commission rules, called the AI Liability Directive, could make it easier for people injured in AI accidents to sue.
Why?
The European Commission says that the new proposals, which could become the first-ever legal framework on AI, are needed because:
– AI developers, deployers and users need clear requirements and obligations regarding specific uses of AI.
– The administrative and financial burdens for business, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), need to be minimised.
– Some AI systems create risks. For example, it’s not possible to find out why an AI system has made a decision or prediction and taken a particular action and may, therefore, be difficult to assess whether someone has been unfairly disadvantaged, such as in a hiring decision or in an application for a public benefit scheme.
– Although existing legislation provides some protection, it is not currently sufficient to address the specific challenges AI systems may bring.
What Will The Proposed New Rules Cover?
The proposed rules will:
– Address risks specifically created by AI applications.
– Propose a list of high-risk applications.
– Set clear requirements for AI systems for high-risk applications.
– Define specific obligations for AI users and providers of high-risk applications.
– Propose a conformity assessment before the AI system is put into service or placed on the market.
– Propose enforcement after such an AI system is placed in the market.
– Propose a governance structure at European and national level.
Risk-Based
The European Commission’s rules will take a risk-based approach in deciding the strength of rules that will be applied to different AI systems. For example:
– AI systems which pose an ‘unacceptable risk’, e.g. if they are considered a clear threat to the safety, livelihoods and rights of people will be banned, from social scoring by governments to toys using voice assistance that encourages dangerous behaviour.
– AI systems identified as high-risk, e.g. AI technology used in critical infrastructures, safety components of products, essential private and public services (credit scoring), law enforcement that may interfere with people’s fundamental rights, and similar will be subject to strict obligations before they can be put on the market. For example, this could include risk assessment and mitigation systems, logging of activity to ensure traceability of results, providing clear and adequate information and documentation to the user, or appropriate human oversight measures to minimise risk. Biometric identification is an example of a ‘high risk’ AI system.
In addition to the unacceptable risk and high-risk categories, the European Commission’s proposed regulatory framework for AI systems will also include two more categories:
– Limited risk – AI systems with specific transparency obligations, e.g. chatbots, where users must be made aware that they are interacting with a machine.
– Minimal, or zero risk. For example, the proposed rules will allow the free use of minimal-risk AI such as AI-enabled video games or spam filters.
Who’s In Charge of What?
Giving a high-risk AI system as an example, the European Commission says “once an AI system is on the market, authorities are in charge of market surveillance, users ensure human oversight and monitoring, and providers have a post-market monitoring system in place. Providers and users will also report serious incidents and malfunctioning.”
Also, the European Commission recognises that the fast-evolving pace of AI technology, plus the fact that AI applications should remain trustworthy even after they have been placed on the market, will mean ongoing quality and risk management by providers will be needed to future-proof the legislation.
Part Of A Wider Package
The European Commission says that the proposed new rules are part of a wider AI package, which also includes the updated Coordinated Plan on AI. It is hoped that the regulatory framework and coordinated plan will guarantee the safety and fundamental rights of people and businesses when it comes to AI and could also strengthen uptake, investment, and innovation in AI across the EU.
What Does This Mean For Your Business?
There have been concerns for some time that the introduction of AI systems, some of which could pose a high risk, is happening before adequate regulation has been put in place. The proposed new rules, which are part of a wider set of rules governing AI, will help plug the gaps in existing legislation while helping with futureproofing, provide clearer guidance to developers, deployers and users, plus provide more protection for people since many of our lives will be subject to decisions made by AI systems in the near future and beyond. The greater clarity provided by the new rules could also mean a boost for AI systems and greater uptake among businesses, and that compensation for the effects of a defective AI system can be sought form the AI-system provider or from any manufacturer that integrates an AI system into a product.
Doubtless, the legal sector will see many forthcoming precedents and case law being comprehensively extended.
Tech News : Musk Presents Humanoid Robot
Tesla and SpaceX boss Elon Musk has introduced a prototype humanoid robot named Optimus to attendees and the cameras at Tesla’s recent AI Day 2022 event.
Useful Humanoid Robot
Mr Musk told the audience that the idea behind Optimus was simply to “make a useful, humanoid robot as quickly as possible” and that Optimus has been “designed using the same discipline that they used in designing the car so that it’s possible to make the robot in high volume, at low cost, with high reliability.”
Mr Musk also said that a humanoid robot of this kind “can help millions of people,” and could help to create “a future of abundance, a future where there is no poverty, where people you can have whatever you want in terms of products and services.”
A Robot To Do What?
Mr Musk said that humanoid robots like Optimus could help transform civilisation, help solve the problem of how to make a machine that can replace a human, and to help us make the transition to a society in which robots did the work and people reaped the benefits.
It is understood that the mass market versions of the Optimus robot will first be tested by carrying out jobs in Tesla’s car factories.
Why, Really?
One of the main reasons for the idea to build a mass market robot using the same designs already used in Tesla cars and drawing upon Musk’s existing experience in AI and neural networks (from OpenAI In 2015) is to develop a future product for Tesla beyond car manufacture. Self-driving vehicles have, for example, not yet delivered, despite investment, testing, and promises over several years. As Mr Musk points out, a mass-produced version of the robot, priced at £17,900, could be ready in just three to five years and a robot business could be worth more than the car business.
What Do The Critics Say?
Some critics of Mr Musks robot direction remain sceptical and have suggested that it may be better to stay focused on projects that more closely fit with Tesla’s core business of electric cars.
Amazon’s Household Robot
It’s not only Elon Musk’s vision to move into the world of helpful robots that will save us work. Amazon recently unveiled its ‘Astro’ two-wheeled robot, designed for use about the home. Among its other possible uses, Amazon has suggested that it may be good for helping to keep an eye on owners’ homes by recognising different people and sounding an alarms/sending and alerts if there are strangers or intruders.
What Does This Mean For Your Business?
It is possible to see how a relatively affordable humanoid robot may be well placed to take over basic jobs that were designed for humans to do, and specialised robots already play an important role in many businesses. An AI robot that looks like a person adds another intriguing dimension and is a striking way for Musk to promote the futuristic image and forward-thinking view of Tesla’s (and his own) brand, thereby creating news and adding value. The robot idea, however, could more simply represent a way for Tesla to move away from reliance upon (and make more money than) the car business while drawing upon many of their existing assets and core competencies.
Featured Article : The Growth Of Low Code
After a recent Medix report noted the widescale adoption of “low-code” by business, we look at what it is, the reasons for its growth, and the pros and cons of using it.
What Is Low Code?
Low code applications are those built using visual, model-driven tools like drag-and-drop modelers, smart services, components, and pre-built connectors rather than relying on writing code.
Why Use Low-Code?
Using low-code or no-code applications offers many advantages including:
– Increasing the speed at which applications can be built and deployed – it’s faster and easier than writing code, and can accelerate digital transformation. For example, 70 per cent of users with no development experience learned low-code in 1 month (Mendix 2022).
– Cost savings. For example, low-code drag and drop ways of building apps reduces the need for developers (and their hiring costs), as a low-code platform can make everyone in the organisation more productive.
– Improving agility. Businesses can build and change the apps they need quickly and easily.
– Being able to produce apps quickly, easily, and cheaply delivers the attractive business benefits of low risk and high ROI.
– Increasing productivity and capabilities because drag-and-drop and intuitive visual UI make it easier for professional developers to increase their productivity and for those not skilled in code-writing to build all kinds of useful of apps. More apps can be built in less time using low-code.
– Low-code enables not just the development of cross-platform apps with pre-configured modules, logic, templates, connectors, but enables components to be re-used, e.g. with some customisation. This saves time and costs plus leverages existing apps.
– Better customer experiences resulting from the agility and increased speed at which apps can be deployed. This can aid customer retention and competition
– Better risk management and governance. Using low-code enables the agility that enables businesses to continue to meet regulatory requirements and deadlines.
– Increasing the scope for app development. With visual development rather than needing to learn and write code, anyone can now build native mobile applications, web applications, APIs, microservices, and more. For example, 60 per cent of apps are now built outside of the IT department. This can bring less reliance upon IT and create a better connection between the business ‘coalface’ and IT where businesses can build value-driven enterprise business applications.
Examples
Some examples of low-code application platforms (LCAP) include:
– Microsoft Power Apps.
– Mendix.
– OutSystemsor.
– Appian.
– Quickbase.
– Zoho Creator.
– Kissflow.
– Salesforce Lightning.
– Nintex.
Low-Code On The Rise
The recent Mendix’s 2022 State of Low-Code report found a rise in low-code adoption from 77 per cent in 2021 to 94 per cent this year, and Gartner has predicted that by 2025, 70 per cent of apps will be built using no-code/low-code technology.
Even Mission Critical Applications
Low-code has also seen an increase in vital business elements with four in 10 businesses now using low-code for mission-critical solutions in their business operations.
Drivers
The main drivers of this huge increase in low-code adoption include:
– The pandemic restrictions. This forced businesses into a fast digital transformation and validated the low-code value proposition. For example, retailers had to adopt low-code to develop, e.g. online shops and digital shopping pickup, thereby enabling them to survive, adapt quickly, and remain competitive. During the early lockdown periods, for example, many businesses turned to no-code and low-code to get more control over costs and to keep going, adopting low-code in areas like IT, production engineering, product design, and quality control.
– Businesses asking IT departments to create more software. For example, the increased demand for custom software to support digital transformation (which may have come about during the pandemic) has caused the emergence of citizen developers outside of IT.
– A skills gap in the tech world, i.e., problems finding IT/tech employees with the necessary coding/development skills. This has made businesses look at low-code options.
– The adoption and growth of software as a service (SaaS), e.g. SaaS providers offering capabilities that incorporate low-code development technologies.
– The need for integration of disparate software applications across the business into a cohesive system.
Disadvantages
Some of the disadvantages of low-code platforms include:
– Limited customisation and limited functionality.
– The risk of vendor lock-in.
– Security risks and limitations, e.g. from not having full control over data security or access to source code.
– Using low-code still generally requires a technical background and it can still take time and effort to learn and adapt to low-code development requirements and technologies.
What Does This Mean For Your Business?
Low-code is experiencing a massive rise in popularity among businesses due to the many benefits it offers such as making it faster, easier, and cheaper to develop and adapt apps. This is creating greater agility and productivity and is opening up opportunities for value-driven enterprise business applications to be created, not just by IT experts but by anyone in the business. Gartner’s prediction that 70 per cent of apps will be built using no-code/low-code technology by 2025 shows that low-code adoption is to continue rising for some years yet as worries about security and limited customisation are outweighed by the many benefits that it brings.
Tech Insight : A Dozen Microsoft Products You May Not Know About
In this insight, we look at a dozen Microsoft products / apps that you may not know much about, but which could be helpful to your businesses.
1. MS Dynamics CRM. Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 a flexible, customisable pay as you use CRM which has 5 million+ users. The benefits include that it seamlessly integrates with other Microsoft products, has a familiar and intuitive user interface, and offers some powerful built-in tools, e.g. LinkedIn Sales Navigator and assistant to improve productivity and efficiency.
2. Stream. This secure video sharing service allows businesses to upload and share video,s e.g. meetings and training sessions. With Stream, users can comment on videos, and tag descriptions or timecodes to any point in a video that they want to discuss. Find out more here.
3. Delve. This is an app that is used to help manage your Microsoft 365 profile, and to discover and organise the information that may be particularly interesting to you right now across Microsoft 365. Delve shows you a mix of content, both your own documents, and documents your colleagues are working on from across Microsoft 365, i.e. documents stored in OneDrive for work or school or SharePoint in Microsoft 365, or that have been shared with you as attachments in emails. Use it by selecting ‘Delve’ in the app launcher in Microsoft 365, or open delve.office.com. Find out more here.
4. Power Apps. This is a suite of apps, services, and connectors, as well as a data platform. This no-code app building tool provides a rapid development environment for business and enterprise users to build custom apps. Find out more here.
5. Whiteboard. This cloud-based, real-time, collaborative digital canvas app in Microsoft 365 integrates with Microsoft Teams and helps with brainstorming or explaining ideas and information. Users can use their keyboards or touch-screen pens to create drawings, and, for example, sticky notes or images can also be added. Find out more here.
6. Bookings. This Business and Enterprise app integrates with Microsoft 365 or Office 365 calendar and provides a fast and easy way to organise schedules and manage appointments. Find out more here.
7. Sway. This app provides a fast and easy way to create great designs and arrange content in an engaging way, e.g. for presentations, newsletters, story, and blog post writing, and more. Find out more here.
8. To Do. This to-do list app (formerly Wunderlist) allows you to make collaborative, assignable, and interactive lists which sync across devices, and can be integrated with Teams and other apps. Find out more here.
9. Power Automate. This app (previously Microsoft Flow) is an automation tool that integrates with other 365 apps and helps you to build automated processes with flows and streamline repetitive tasks and paperless processes. Power Automate uses low-code, drag-and-drop tools and hundreds of pre-built connectors that automate repetitive, mundane tasks. Find out more here.
10. SharePoint. Although the name be familiar, you may not have tried this browser-based way to create sites and share documents and information with colleagues, partners, and customers. Find out more here.
11. Viva (Engage). Launched this year, Viva is an “employee experience platform” – a workplace communication social media platform which includes news feeds, profiles, lets you post images and videos, and allows storylines and stories to connect colleagues and enable them to air their thoughts, and share their knowledge, and experience. Find out more here.
12. Forms. This app allows you to build forms, polls, and quizzes, and to send them to anyone inside or outside your organisation. Find out more here: Microsoft Forms
What Does This Mean For Your Business?
Microsoft has many different apps and products which integrate with its other more popular and widely used products. Often, we stick to a selection of apps that enable day-to-day work or the approved apps of the business. Also, many of us may not have the time to search through all the possible Microsoft apps and products available so it’s often good to see a summary of apps and what they do. It may be the case that one or more of these apps could solve a specific problem for you, may be something you’d like to look more into, and if adopted could help improve productivity.
Sustainability : Noise-Powered Camera Could Help Climate Change Science
The development of a battery-free, wireless underwater camera by MIT engineers could help to build more accurate climate models and help scientists to better understand how climate change impacts the underwater world.
Challenges
A massive 95 percent of Earth’s oceans never been observed, meaning that we have seen less of the ocean than we have the far side of the moon or the surface of Mars. This leaves a huge gap in our knowledge about the planet. Also, the complexity of undersea exploration and the high cost of powering an underwater camera for a long time whilst tethering it to a research vessel or sending another vessel to frequently recharge its batteries has seriously limited the chances of making greater progress in widespread ocean observation.
The New Camera
Engineers at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, have developed a battery-free, wireless underwater camera that is about 100,000 times more energy-efficient than other undersea cameras, and is powered by sound. The revolutionary new camera takes colour photos, even in dark underwater environments.
Uses Sound Waves For Power
The autonomous camera converts mechanical energy from sound waves traveling through water into electrical energy that powers its imaging and communications equipment. The sound it uses to power itself can come from any source e.g., a passing ship or marine life.
MIT says that, because it doesn’t need a power source, the camera can run for weeks on end before retrieval.
Also, after capturing and encoding image data, the camera again uses just sound waves to transmit data to a receiver that reconstructs the image.
The Advantages
Some of the advantages that the autonomous, battery-free, sound-powered underwater camera could bring include the ability to:
– Enable scientists to search remote parts of the ocean for new species.
– Capture images of ocean pollution or monitor the health and growth of fish raised in aquaculture farms.
– Monitor the health and growth of fish raised in aquaculture farms.
– Track ocean pollution and monitor the effects of climate change.
Tested
A prototype version of the camera has been tested in several underwater environments and has been successful in capturing high-quality images. The researchers now plan to enhance the device to optimise it for deployment in real-world settings.
What Does This Mean For Your Organisation?
We are at a point where understanding more about pressing issues like the effects of ocean pollution e.g., plastic, and the effects of climate change e.g.., on the weather is vital. Also, finding new species could help us find new medicines, food sources, or other beneficial discoveries. This is why, after so many years of literally being in the dark about a large part of the planet’s surface, a camera of this kind could be a breakthrough that could have knock-on benefits for all of us going forward. Not only does it solve a long-standing practical challenge, and could provide some incredible images, but it could be a timely development that could help power the fight against damaging climate change.
Tech Tip – Search Bookmarks And History Too From Chrome ‘Omnibox’
The combined address bar and search box in Google Chrome has been improved to allow you to search your bookmarks, history and tabs, as well as the Web. Here’s how to do it:
To activate this new feature in Chrome 105 (released in September):
– Type chrome:flags into the address bar of Chrome (also known as the ‘Omnibox’), and press enter.
– In the page that opens, click on ‘Omnibox Site Search Starter Pack.’
– Click on the menu, choose ‘Enabled’ and re-launch Chrome.
Use the following commands in the Omnibox:
– Type @bookmarks to search your bookmarks, @history to search your history, and @tabs to search your open tabs.
Featured Article : First Update for Windows 11 : What Does It Include?
With the news that as of 20 September 2022, the new Windows 11 update started its rollout in 190+ countries, we look at what it includes and how these elements could benefit your business.
The Focus
Microsoft says that the new Windows 11 22H2 update takes account of the move to flexible work, and is focused on the four key areas of:
- Making the PC easier and safer to use.
- Empowering people to be more productive.
- Making Windows the best place to connect, create and play.
- Added security, management, and flexibility to the workplace.
Examples
Examples of some of better features in the latest Windows 11 22H2 update include:
– The updated Sound Recorder App. This replacement for Voice Recorder, enables users to record a meeting or make a podcast, for example. A graphical waveform format is displayed while it is in operation (record and play audio) and users can put markers on the waveform at places of interest in the recording. The app is designed to be just a recorder, so it doesn’t have a built-in editing program, although users could use a free one, such as Audacity. The Sound Recorder App also offers Auto, Medium, High, and Best audio settings, allowing the user to choose which one is most appropriate, e.g. a higher quality setting (which takes up more space) for important recordings.
– The ability to group program icons together in start menu folders. This time-saving feature can help users to be more organised and allows users to organise their apps in the “Pinned” section as folders, rather like the feature in Windows 10 and on mobile devices – Android and iOS.
– A redesigned Task Manager with a more convenient sidebar menu rather than tabs, and the inclusion of an ‘Efficiency Mode’ button.
– The ability to drag files pinned to taskbar icons. This gives users a fast, handy way to choose which program to quickly open file with.
– The ability to drag files from the main area of the File Explorer window into the Quick Access area of the sidebar, thereby making it easier and faster reach important, and current files.
– Greater versatility and improved touch navigation for Snap Layouts to help improve productivity, and the introduction of Focus sessions and a Do Not Disturb mode to minimise distractions.
– The addition of Windows Studio Effects, with a new Windows Studio camera which incorporates Voice Focus (to filter out background noise), a background blurring tool, Eye Contact, and Automatic Framing, all of which can improve the quality of video calls.
– The addition of video-editing app Clipchamp. This enables users to cut videos, add filters and templates, and export them as 1080p files, thereby giving users much more control over their videos.
Security
The new Windows 11 update includes a number of improvements to boost security, including:
– Expanding the number of devices for which security is enabled by default. For example, devices with Intel 8th generation chipsets and higher will have virtualisation-based security (VBS) and hypervisor-protected code integrity (HVCI) enabled by default. Also, devices running Windows 11 Enterprise, will have Windows Defender Credential Guard enabled which uses virtualisation-based security to provide greater protection from operating system vulnerabilities.
– Enhanced phishing protection (Microsoft Defender SmartScreen) by automatically detecting when a user types a password into any app or website, determining in real-time if that app or site has a secure connection to a trusted site, and immediately warning the user in the moment if they need to change their password. This feature also automatically reports unsafe password usage to IT admins through the Microsoft Defender for Endpoint portal so the incident can be tracked.
– The AI-powered ‘Smart App Control’ feature, which improves security and can help smaller businesses to manage their devices and apps by preventing employees from running malicious applications by blocking untrusted or unsigned applications.
– Updated versions of popular deployment, security, and management tools (to support the release of the update), including Windows 11, version 22H2 Security Baseline (as part of the Security Compliance Toolkit), and a free 90-day evaluation of Windows 11 Enterprise for businesses to try.
More Features Being Added In October
Microsoft says that it will be updating Windows 11 with even more features in October, including:
– Enhancements to File Explorer, such as bringing tabs to File Explorer to help the user with organisation and making the new homepage in File Explorer give quick access to favourite and recent files. This will enable the pinning of important files for quick and easy access and an ‘at a glance’ view of colleagues’ actions on a user’s shared files through OneDrive and personalised suggestions based on the user’s Microsoft 365 account.
– New photo management and aesthetic features, plus making it easier to backup to OneDrive for the Photos app.
– Suggested Actions on Copy, such as copying phone numbers, future dates, and getting suggested actions like making a call with Teams or Skype or adding an event in the Calendar app.
– Adding an overflow menu button to the Taskbar so users can keep the screen less cluttered and view all overflowed apps in one space.
– The ability to share to discover and share more devices including desktops using nearby share.
– A set of new accessibility features, which include system-wide live captions to automatically generate captions from any form of audio content on Windows 11.
– Green features, such as scheduling updates at points in the day that could result in lower carbon emissions.
What Does This Mean For Your Business?
More tech commentators are now suggesting in their reviews that the improvements delivered in the Windows 11 22H2 update may enough to persuade so-far hesitant businesses that now is the time upgrade to Windows 11. The update being geared towards the needs of flexible and hybrid working and its focus on providing more tools and improvements to boost security and productivity, and to make it easier and faster for users to get things done are likely to be appealing to many businesses. Some less enthusiastic reviews of the update have suggested that it is too subtle, with some of the improvements hidden, and some expected features left out but as Microsoft has said, more features will be added in October.