Technology

Despite an increase in the number of companies hit by mobile attacks that led to compromises, four in 10 businesses sacrificed security to meet profit goals or avoid &cumbersome& security processes, according to Verizonthird annual Mobile Security Index 2020.

It showed that 43% of organizations sacrificed security.More typical reasons for companies exposing themselves to risk, such as lack of budget and IT expertise, trailed &way behind& things such as expediency (62%), convenience (52%) and profitability targets (46%). Lack of budget and IT expertise were only cited by 27% and 26% of respondents, respectively.

To read this article in full, please click here

With new products on the way, Applehighly respected operations teams may never have faced such complex challenges as it struggles to maintain some production at factories and partners across the world as the coronavirus bites.

Apple's missed expectations

These teams are world class. Apple is famed for its ability to manage its complex multinational supply chain, but the teams must find themselves deeply challenged by what's become an ever-moving situation.

Apple recently warned it would miss expectations in the quarter, and the OECD warns the global economy will experience a sharp downturn as the virus proliferates internationally.

To read this article in full, please click here

Windows 7 users who missed the operating system's mid-January support deadline weren't in any hurry last month to dump the operating system.

According to data published Sunday by American analytics company Net Applications, Windows 7 shed just four-tenths of a percentage point in February, ending the month at 25.2%. Windows 7 accounted for 28.6% of the personal computers running the Microsoft OS.

(The percentage of Windows PCs is larger than the percentage of all personal computers because Windows does not power every system. In February, Windows was the OS of 88.2% of the world's personal computers -- an increase of just one-tenth of a point. Of the rest, all but a tiny fraction ran macOS, Linux or Chrome OS, in decreasing order.)

To read this article in full, please click here

Firefox took a significant turn for the worse last month, falling three times its average share loss over the past year and dropping to a level not seen since 2005.

According to data published Sunday by web metrics vendor Net Applications, Firefox's share in February sank to 7.6%, down six-tenths of a percentage point. It was the eighth month in the last 12 in which Firefox spilled users and the third largest downturn during that stretch.

The last time Firefox recorded a share that low was in September 2005, when it also posted a 7.6% marker. At the time, Firefox was still chipping away at Internet Explorer (IE), Microsoft's then-keystone of browsers, as it slowly grew to become a legitimate threat to Redmond. IE accounted for an astounding 86.8% of global share in September 2005.

To read this article in full, please click here

After a network manager unexpectedly tightens up the rules for passwords and forces the expiration of all user passwords on the main application system, calls flood into the help desk, reports a pilot fish on the scene. They&re having trouble because of the new complexity rules.

One of the calls:

User: I can&t seem to change my password.

Help desk tech: Your new password needs to contain letters, numbers and punctuation. Do not use any words such as you&d find in a dictionary.

User: OK. (Pause.) No, it still won&t let me change it.

Tech: What is the password you are trying to use?

User: April.

Tech: &April& is a word.

To read this article in full, please click here