WiFi Security: Assessment of threats in wireless networks
08/03/2024Wifi connectivity has gone from being limited to restricted environments to becoming omnipresent in virtually every aspect of our daily lives. The ability to connect to the Internet from anywhere, be it at home, in a café, at work, in public spaces, or even in-flight, has enhanced the convenience in our daily lives. Moreover, the expansion of Wifi networks and the use of new manufacturing technologies now allow the interconnection of devices, leading to the significant rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) and providing users with more comprehensive control over their digital environments. However, this proliferation of Wifi networks has also given rise to new threats that require careful evaluation and effective security strategies to ensure secure and risk-free Wifi connections for our data and information. Common Wifi security threats include data interception Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attacks One of the fundamental challenges in Wifi security is preventing MITM attacks, where an intruder inserts themselves into the communication between two parties, compromising the integrity and confidentiality of sensitive data such as passwords and financial information. Spoofing of access points Hackers can create fake Wifi networks that mimic legitimate ones to attract unsuspecting users. Once connected to these malicious networks, our data can be captured by cybercriminals who may sell or misuse it for illicit purposes. Tips for achieving a secure Wifi connection: Strengthen authentication and use security protocols Prioritize strong encryption for networks to protect confidential information transmitted through it. WPA (Wifi Protected Access) encryption uses stronger algorithms than its predecessor, WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), making it more difficult for hackers to intercept and decipher data. Advanced security protocols like WPA3 provide individualized data encryption and advanced two-factor authentication (2FA) methods, adding an extra layer of security by requiring additional verification. Device management Properly manage and monitor devices connected to Wifi networks to minimize risks associated with the large number of connected devices in homes and businesses. Regularly update the router firmware and all connected devices to address potential vulnerabilities. Segmentation of the network to separate critical devices from less secure ones also helps mitigate the risk of threat propagation. Secure Router Configuration The router secure configuration is what will ensure the robustness and overall security of a wireless network. The router, being the first point of contact for devices connected to the Internet, acts as the first line of defence against potential attacks. For this reason, it is important to understand that the proper configuration of the router not only guarantees a stable and efficient connection but also establishes a protected environment that safeguards the integrity and privacy of our data. How to configure the router securely? To ensure a correct and secure configuration of the router, it is recommended to: Change the default username and password of the router, as these are easily accessible to attackers. Use strong passwords containing a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters. Disable remote administration to prevent cybercriminals from accessing the router externally. Enable WPA2 or WPA3 encryption instead of the outdated WEP for enhanced network security. Optionally, disable SSID broadcast to make the network less visible and harder to detect by hackers. Keep the router firmware updated to address vulnerabilities and improve overall device security. By following these steps, you will strengthen the security of your wireless network and reduce the chances of experiencing unwanted attacks or intrusions.
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Goodbye to airplane mode
29/11/2022The European Union has announced that not far away it will be not longer be mandatory to activate airplane mode on mobile phones when we travel by plane. The reason is the installation of a new special device on the aircrafts that will enhance 5G coverage on board, making it totally safe to be connected to the internet on board an aircraft. When these new devices are installed, we will be able to transmit all kinds of streaming content in mid-flight and send and receive calls, messages, emails, play online... "The sky is no longer the limit when it comes to high-speed, high-capacity connections. The 5G connection offers innovative services for people and growth opportunities for European businesses," said Thierry Breton, Internal Market Commissioner for Europe. Confirmed, then, the arrival of 5G to airplanes, now the question is to know if the airlines will charge for the service.
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Google announces the closure of Street View
03/11/2022The independent Google Street View application will stop working next March, as Google has reported. They also has confirmed that the service will remain active within Google Maps. At this moment, Street View works in parallel as an independent App in the Google and Apple stores and also as an integrated functionality of Google Maps, a duplication that is no longer considered necessary and for these reason it will disappear as an application next year, on march 21th. Street View allows users to explore, through real images, towns and cities of more than 65 countries, providing them panoramic views at ground level, and the possibility to choose which segments of the road they want to explore. The images that Google uses for this service are taken by vehicles, cars and tricycles, equipped with up to nine cameras. This vehicles just move around the world, taking the photos and generating three-dimensional data that are used on top of the images, in this case from Satellite, of each place.
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The new version of the Internet satellite service Starlink V2 will eliminate coverage dead zones around the world
12/09/2022SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that next year, the second version of the internet satellite service, Starlink V2, will be up and running. The main novelty respect to the first version will be that Starlink V2 are going to be capable to transmit the internet directly to smartphones. This service, has explained SpaceX, will thus eliminate dead coverage zones, so will be able to guarantee internet connection in any corner of the world, although in its launch it will only be possible to make calls and send text messages, without being able to rival, for the moment, with broadband speed. In order to use Starlink services, an special antenna kit will continue to be necessary.
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Google will retire Hangouts in November
04/07/2022From today, all Hangouts users when they open the messaging app, will see a message inviting them to switch to Chat. The reason is that continuing with its plans to migrate all its users to this tool, Google has confirmed that Hangouts will not be longer operational this coming November. As they has explained on its official blog, users who still use Hangouts in Gmail will automatically switch to Chat, The change includes the transfer of conversations, history and contacts. Those who access Hangouts through the web or the mobile application must carry out this transfer with the help of Takeout, Google's data download tool.
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Madrid taxis already accept payment with cryptocurrencies
24/05/2022From this month of May, Madrid taxi users will be able to pay in cryptocurrencies. The possibility of this new means of payment comes after the agreement between the taxi sector and the Woonkly company, which has distributed dataphones to all taxi drivers so that payment with cryptocurrencies can be made. Madrid is the first city in Spain to introduce this means of payment in taxis, which is also contemplated by various municipalities in the United Kingdom and the Scandinavian countries. At the moment, the cryptocurrencies accepted in Madrid taxis are Ethereum, Bitcoin BEP2, Woonkly Power, Binance Coin, Cardano, Avalanche, Binance USD, Polkadot, USD Coin, Tether and Wrapped BN. The technology of the dataphones that are prepared to print the proof of the operation once the payment has been made, belongs to Waynance, a firm from Alicante, whose payment gateway has become the first universal payment system for cryptocurrencies. It allows payments done from any payment platform (POS, e-commerce, etc.), with any cryptocurrency, through any decentralized wallet and, above all, instantly.
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The use of magnetic tapes to store data is growing
11/05/2022Although cloud storage continues to be a growing resource for many companies to promote hybrid work environments, for security reasons, many other companies have decided not only to return to hard drives, SD cards or pen drives, but even to magnetic tapes. According to the Swedish firm Sweclockers, storage on this format skyrocketed in 2021 and grew, compared to the data recorded in the previous year, by 35%. Being a format that is not connected to the internet and therefore free from the threats of ransomware and malware, magnetic tapes are increasing their popularity again and companies such IBM, HP or Seagate/Quantum have already launched updated versions of these tapes on the market that include Linear Tape-Open (LTO) technology and high storage capacity, according to the current needs of companies. The main difference from other digital storage media is that magnetic tapes can only read and write data sequentially, and this cannot be done simultaneously.
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Google Maps will use AI to update store hours
14/04/2022Google Maps will update the hours of more than 20 million businesses around the world in the next six months. To do this, they will use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and a self-developed machine learning model, which identifies shop hours that are not updated. Through this system, the AI will update the hours according to itsel predictions based on parameters such the last update of the shop's profile, the hours of nearby stores and the busiest hours in that location. In addition, the algorithm will take datas from Google Business, information from the store's website, if it has one, and images from Street View. In some countries, Google will also use Google Duplex conversational AI technology to make calls with the quality of a human voice to the stores and confirm their opening hours. In this list of countries, France will be the only European country where the telephone verification will be carried out. The rest of the countries are Argentina, Australia, Chile, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru and the United States.
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WhatsApp improves security in its desktop version
14/03/2022In accordance with the growing use of WhatsApp in the desktop version and with the aim of guaranteeing users maximum security, Meta has announced that has implemented in this app, a new security layer called Code Verify that acts as an open source browser extension verifying automatically the authenticity of the web code of this application. According to Meta, which has offered this utility to other services to use it, Code Verify allows web browsers to verify that the resources they obtain have not been tampered with. "When someone uses Code Verify, the extension automatically compares the code that is executed in WhatsApp Web with the version of the code verified by WhatsApp and published in CloudFlare", has said the company, who also explains that if any violation or inconsistency is detected , the user will receives a notification, immediately. This new WhatsApp code verification, which Meta has confirmed does not record metadata or user data or share information with the application, will be available in the official browser extension stores for Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Mozilla Firefox.
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Fear of China spying on athletes' smartphones during the Beijing Olympics
21/01/2022A few weeks before the start of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, February 4 to 20, the media in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom have confirmed that the Olympic committees of their countries have asked their athletes not to take their Smartphones and computers with them. The reason, they said, is the fear of Chinese espionage. For these reason, both sports organizations will equip all their athletes and other support personnel with new devices so that they can be connected during their stay in China, without exposing their personal data at risk. The decision by the Netherlands Committee was known in an interview in the Volkskrant newspaper, which appeared earlier this week. Geert Slot, the spokesman for the Netherlands Olympic Committee, explained that "Cybersecurity has become a much bigger topic in recent years, and China is a very special case." In addition to the Netherlands and England, Australia is known to have made a similar recommendation to its athletes, and also the United States.
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Makeup causes failures in facial recognition systems
22/09/2021A research from the Ben-Gurion University of Israel has concluded that makeup reduces the effectiveness of facial recognition mechanisms. During the tests, the researchers used the ArcFace facial detection system, and they determined an effectiveness of 47,6% in people who did not use make up and 33,7% in those who did. They also confirm that applying makeup in specific face areas that algorithms analyze, the effectiveness of the facial recognition system is significantly altered and only 1.22% persons were recognized. In addition, the researchers from the Israeli university also did the test digitally, making up some photographs of the volunteers and the result was that the system was not able to recognize any of the faces. According to all these results, the researchers believe that the current level of development of facial detection systems is still below the realistic threshold.
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Windows 11 ready and with 10 days to roll back to the previous version if you do not like it
14/07/2021Everything is ready so users can begin to install Windows 11 before the end of the year with the great added novelty that if once the update is installed but it does not convince you, you can roll back to the previous version. Microsoft said that Windows 10 users who upgrade to Windows 11 will have 10 days to easily roll back that update. After that 10-day grace period you will need to back up your data and do a 'clean install' to move back to Windows 10. The possibility of upgrading to Windows 11 will depend on the compatibility of the computer with the new version, although in a document of questions and answers for the commercial ones, Microsoft indicates that most of the Windows 10 computers that at the moment are commercialized fulfill the minimum requirements to do it. In the same document, Microsoft explains that Windows 11 maintains the performance and security of Windows 10 "with a redesigned and refreshed look and feel," and new tools, sounds and applications. It is also confirmed that Windows 10 support will be maintained until October 14, 2025.
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How to sign a PDF document with electronic signature?
24/06/2021When a document needs to be signed by one or more people, the usual thing, until now, has been to print it and stamp by hand the necessary signatures to validate or make its content official. This requires paper, printer, ink, but above all access to the document by all signatories, which is not always easy due to geographical location, availability, timing, etc. With teleworking on the rise and a growing globalization of business, these drawbacks have become more evident than ever, although they have found a quick and effective solution in electronic signatures. What is an electronic signature for? The electronic signature is a digital validation system for documents that unequivocally identifies the signatory. The electronic signature is assimilated to the handwritten signature and therefore its digital stamping on a document gives it the same validity, as it would have had with a handwritten signature. What are the advantages of electronic signatures? Electronic signatures simplify document management processes that require the validation of documents such as pdf signatures, facilitating remote signing by one or more people regardless of where they are located, or the situation or time of day they receive them. This flexibility contributes to the efficiency and agility of this type of procedure and being a secure signature system, it is suitable and useful in many areas related to business management, administrative management, e-commerce, informed consent and many other procedures. In addition to the versatility, practicality and security of the online PDF signature, we must also point out, as a great advantage of this process, its contribution to paperless. How to sign electronically? The electronic signature is easy to implement through tools specifically designed to guarantee not only the correct validation of the cryptographic signature or signatures included in a PDF document, but also that it cannot be altered and that all the necessary signatures required by each situation can be added. Within the framework of this type of tool, the most advanced ones, in addition to being compatible with any browser and accessible from any type of device - computer, tablet, Smartphone,... -, make it easy to convert PDF any Word, Excel, JPG, PowerPoint... file for signing. They also allow users to request a verifiable digital signature, view the properties of the digital signature and send the document directly by email to the signatories and once signed, forward it to all parties to download it. In addition, to guarantee the privacy of the documents and the security of the online signatures, these transfers are made through encrypted files with TLS encryption. Also, when we sign documents using this type of tool, they offer the option of including a LTV (Long Term Validation) time stamp that certifies the validity of the signature in the long term. For all these reasons, tools for signing PDF documents with electronic signatures are now a must for companies and businesses in all areas where process optimization, security and sustainability are a priority.
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