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Researchers from US Carnegie Mellon University have concluded that quadcopter drones produce much less greenhouse gas emissions than traditional alternatives for last-mile delivery.  The Problem  The point of the research was to shine a light on the energy productivity of freight transportation, which has traditionally been a real challenge in an overwhelmingly petroleum-powered transport sector where medium and heavy…

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A new report from Kaspersky says that millions of people may be at risk from adware hiding in browser extensions, and from malware, adware, and riskware disguised as browser extensions. The advice is to protect devices from malicious browser plugins by only downloading them from trusted sources, and to always check reviews and ratings.

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Here’s a simple tip using Notepad to check if your antivirus is working as it should: – Open Notepad. – Type X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H* into notepad. – Save the file as either e.g., test.exe or test.bat (cyber criminals often exploit bat as well as exe files to launch malicious scripts). – Scan the file with your antivirus and if it detects…

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In this insight, we look at what Microsoft Azure is, plus what it offers businesses.  Azure  Microsoft Azure (formerly Windows Azure) is Microsoft’s public cloud computing platform. Public cloud refers to cloud computing services offered over the public Internet and available to anyone, i.e. the services are shared with multiple customers rather than just controlled and used by one…

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Advanced, an IT supplier to the NHS, has been hit by a ransomware attack that could take a month to recover from.  What Happened?  Birmingham-based ‘Advance’ provides digital services to the NHS such as patient check-in and NHS 111. The company’s Adastra software works with 85 per cent of NHS 111 services.  Advanced reported spotting a hack at 07:00…

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New privacy features being rolled out this month mean that WhatsApp users can now leave group chats silently.   Three New Privacy Features  WhatsApp has announced the introduction of three new privacy features: Leave Groups Silently, Choose Who Can See When You’re Online, and Screenshot Blocking For View Once Messages.  Leave Groups Silently – For users of group chats. Now,…

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Communications regulator Ofcom has opened an investigation to make sure that telecoms providers are complying with rules to ensure that there is always uninterrupted access to 999 calls.  Investigation Into Compliance With General Condition A3.2(b)  The new investigation will essentially decide whether providers are operating in a way that meets with General Condition A3.2(b), which relates to the General Conditions of…

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Apple’s Vice President of the environment, Lisa Jackson, has announced that all iPhones will be powered by renewable energy by 2030.  Acquiring Renewable Energy From Wind Farm  The announcement was made in Australia while celebrating the company’s 40th anniversary there. It is understood that, in line with this announcement, Apple will be acquiring renewable energy from a new Australian…

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A security company task force Sophos X-Ops has reported to Black Hat USA 2022 in Las Vegas that ransomware gangs are competing for resources, leading to a trend of victims being attacked by multiple gangs over a short space of time. It even suggested that collaboration between ransomware gangs is possible. The advice to businesses is to patch early…

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With so many of us using WhatsApp for important business matters, it makes sense to backup chats either on Google Drive or iCloud Drive. Here’s how: To make a Google Drive backup: – Open WhatsApp and Tap More options (the three dots). – Select Settings > Chats > Chat backup > Back up to Google Drive. – Select a…

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