1MC – July 06, 2024 – Links We Like

1MC: The general announcing system on a US Navy vessel

Cool Icon Collection
Phosper iconography

Python Version Lifecycle
Find out when your favorite version of Python goes end-of-life

Nvidia Expects To Book $12B In GPU Sales To China
Capitalism trumps politics every time

Hackers Have Access To Over 10 Billion Stolen Passwords
There’s 8 billion people in the world…do the math

Using R With a 1 Billion Row File
I don’t know; the word billion is on a roll this week

AI Open Source Tools
It wouldn’t be a blog post without mentioning AI

How Does Email Work
Great article, not too technical. If you think Outlook is email, read this

Healthcare And Data Privacy
Ads, trackers, cookies everywhere…

Admiral Rickover’s ‘Paper Reactor’ Memo
For the next time someone tells you, “Theoretically it should work.”

NSA Cybersecurity Website
Great info from America’s favorite spy gang

1MC – June 23, 2024 – Links We Like

1MC: The general announcing system on a US Navy vessel

California AI Legislative Bill
Game on between safety advocates and the big AI players. Hmmm, big business interests vs. consumer privacy and safety — game over before it starts.

Roger Federer’s Dartmouth Commencement Speech
Words of wisdom from an all-time great.

The State of the Nation’s Housing – 2024
From Harvard U.’s Joint Center for Housing Studies

Majority of Americans Support Key Covid-19 Policies
Hindsight being 20-20…

Maintaining Large Scale AI Capacity at Meta
Excellent tech article from Facebook’s AI engineering team

Los Angeles County Public Health Department Hacked
How many times do we have to say it? Don’t open suspicious email attachments! Over 200,000 people affected.

Ransomware in Healthcare
What IT leaders need to know.

1MC – June 16, 2024 – Links We Like

1MC: The general announcing system on a US Navy vessel

Cyber Insurance Claims Hit Record Highs in 2023
Healthcare leads the way followed by education, retail, and finance

The Artificial Intelligence Hype Cycle
AI has been around a long time, what’s different now is vendors figured out how to take money from you instead of the government..

Zero Trust – Building Blocks
If your business isn’t implementing zero trust — see the first link in this list and get in line to file a cyber insurance claim

NASA Releases Near Real-Time Air Quality Data

The Hollies
The 70’s, what’s not to like!

Microsoft Security Blog – Phosphorus
Anatomy of a ransomware campaign

FBI Crime Data Explorer
Don’t believe the clickbait, violent crime is at it’s lowest level in years

Speak to a Real Customer Service Person at Amazon
You simply need to learn the secret handshake

Microsoft is Changing How Outlook Security Works
Significant changes coming soon, don’t get caught unaware

Microsoft Releases June Patch Updates
51 flaws, 1 zero-day, 18 remote code vulnerabilities — update NOW!

1MC – June 09, 2024 – Links We Like

1MC: The general announcing system on a US Navy vessel

Zero Trust Networking 101
Remote Users + Remote Access = You Need To Read This

No-Defender
A utility to disable Windows Defender

2024 Microsoft Multi-cloud Risk Report
Six insights on the top multi-cloud security risks across Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud Platform

Google’s Find My Device Network
Using crowdsourced Bluetooth proximity data to locate lost devices

PIN Passwords Analysis
Before reading, try to guess the most common 4 digit password

WWDC24 June 10-14
Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference is this week!

Security Best Practices

8 Essential Cybersecurity Tips to Stay Safe Online

In today’s increasingly digital world, safeguarding your online information is critical. From social media accounts to financial data, we expose sensitive, personal information on the internet. By adopting a few key cybersecurity habits, you can significantly increase the odds to keep your data safe.

  • Use Strong, Unique Passwords: Ditch predictable passwords. Use a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols to create strong passwords. Avoid using the same password for multiple accounts.
  • Enable Two-Factor Authentication: Two-factor authentication (2FA) requires a second verification step beyond your password, (often your phone), significantly reducing the risk of unauthorized access.
  • Stay Vigilant Against Phishing Attacks: Be aware of suspicious emails, messages, or websites. Phishing attempts lure users into clicking malicious links or attachments that steal personal information. If something seems off, it probably is – avoid clicking and delete the email.
  • Keep Anti-Virus Software Up-to-Date: Anti-virus software is your digital shield, constantly evolving to combat emerging threats. Regularly updating your anti-virus ensures it has the latest defenses to protect you from the newest malware and cyberattacks.
  • Apply Operating System and Application Patches Regularly: Software updates (patches) often address critical security vulnerabilities that malicious actors exploit. Don’t postpone these updates! Set your system to update and restart automatically to streamline the process.
  • Encrypt Sensitive Data: Encryption scrambles your data, rendering it unreadable in the event of a security breach. Encrypting sensitive information like financial documents or personal records adds an extra layer of protection. Bitlocker, (Windows), and FileVault, (Mac), are free built-in tools that can encrypt your hard drive(s).
  • Secure Public Wi-Fi Connections with a VPN: Public Wi-Fi networks are breeding grounds for cyberattacks. Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to encrypt your internet traffic and safeguard your data.
  • Simplify Password Management with a Password Manager: Remembering complex, unique passwords can be a challenge. Password managers help you generate, store, and manage strong passwords for all your online accounts, simplifying security without sacrificing strength.

By incorporating these simple yet effective cybersecurity, you will significantly reduce the risk of falling victim to cyberattacks.