Why Are Companies Still Storing Passwords In Plain Text?

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The label of Heinz Ketchup specifically calls the product “Tomato Ketchup” because when the iconic brand was introduced in 1876, there were many varieties of ketchup such as mushroom, oyster, and walnut.

July 31, 2019 Did You Know? The label of Heinz Ketchup specifically calls the product “Tomato Ketchup” because when the iconic brand was introduced in 1876, there were many varieties of ketchup such as mushroom, oyster, and walnut.   Why Are Companies Still Storing Passwords In Plain Text? Several companies have recently admitted to storing passwords in plain-text format. That’s like storing a password in Notepad and saving it as a .txt file. Passwords should be salted and hashed for security, so why isn’t that happening in 2019? Read More »   How to Disable Windows 10’s Annoying Focus Assist Notifications Windows 10’s Focus Assist feature automatically hides notifications while you’re playing games or using other full-screen applications. But Cortana loves to announce that it’s silencing notifications. Here’s how to turn off those annoying Focus Assist notifications. Read More »   How to Factory Reset a Router A factory reset wipes your router’s custom settings and returns it to a like-new state. This is an important step when troubleshooting some network problems. Factory-resetting is relatively easy, but every router is a bit different. Read More »   How to Mute Chrome’s Picture-in-Picture Videos If you’re using Google Chrome’s Picture-in-Picture (PiP) mode, an experimental flag can give you the ability to mute the video quickly. Here’s how to enable and use the mute feature for Picture-in-Picture mode. Read More »   Advertisement Get an all-inclusive business phone system with online meetings, fax and more! For as low as $19.99 a month, RingCentral can get you an all-in-one Business Phone System with unlimited phone calls w/ HD Voice, Conferencing, and Toll Free numbers to name a few. Access more functionality such as Business SMS, Online meetings and even Facing without changing systems. Have your whole office up and running in a day or less. Get a free quote now!   How to View a Desktop Site on Mobile Safari Safari is fast and optimized for mobile devices. That’s usually a good thing. But there are still a few websites that refuse to adapt to mobile Safari or provide an inferior experience on their mobile site. In times like these, you can switch to the desktop version of the website. Read More »   Daily News Roundup: Google Discloses iOS “Interactionless” Vulnerabilities Google, through its Project Zero initiative, disclosed six vulnerabilities in iOS. In each case, a hacker could execute remote code on someone’s iPhone without any interaction by the user. Apple’s iOS 12.3 fixes five of the issues. Project Zero is Google’s initiative to discover zero-day vulnerabilities and disclose them to the appropriate manufacturer, followed by a public announcement of the problem. Recently, two members of the project team described six vulnerabilities in iOS. In each case, an attacker could send a malformed message through iMessage and the code would execute as soon as the victim opened and viewed the item. The announcement included proof-of-concept code and full details for five of the vulnerabilities. Apple fully patched those five issues in iOS 12.3, so if you haven’t fully updated your devices, you should. Google withheld details of the sixth vulnerability for now as Apple hasn’t fully patched that issue yet. [ZDNet] In Other News: Samsung announces Galaxy Tab S6: The Galaxy S6 is official and the tablet has impressive specs to take on competitors. Boasting a Snapdragon 855 chipset, 6GB or 8GB of RAM, and 128GB or 256GB of storage, the tablet checks all the boxes to hit the high-end market. The Galaxy Tab S6 starts at $649 and includes an S-Pen. Samsung is also offering an optional keyboard and kickstand case for $179. [Samsung] Apple’s Credit Card launches in August: In March, Apple announced the Apple Card. The company said the credit card would come in both digital and physical forms, although the titanium card wouldn’t display any card numbers, CCV, or expiration date. Now, Apple says it will start accepting applications for the card in August. [The Verge] Wyze will offer smart plugs at insanely cheap prices: You could describe the entire Wyze business model as “smart things for cheaper than dirt.” The company is continuing that trend with upcoming smart plugs. The plugs will cost $14.99 for a two-pack, more than half the price of iClever plugs. Pre-orders ship in September. [Wyze] Chrome 76 released yesterday with new features in tow: Google took the wraps off Chrome 76 yesterday. Once you receive this update, Chrom will block Flash by default, prevent websites from detecting incognito mode, and more. You should get the update automatically, but you can force it in Chrome’s “About” dialog. [How-To Geek] Facebook wants to read your mind, but not in the usual creepy way. A few years ago, the company announced an effort to create technology that can read brain patterns and interpret thoughts without using invasive technology, like implanted electrodes. Technology like that could enable someone to communicate who otherwise can’t speak or move their limbs. The company has been experimenting with patients with electrodes implanted in their brains and made new progress in the ultimate goal. Research subjects were asked to answer out loud a list of simple multiple-choice questions ordered randomly. During that process, by monitoring brain patterns, Facebook’s algorithms correctly detected what question the patient heard 75 percent of the time and what answer they chose 61 percent of the time. The company is still many years away from a non-invasive method, but these are significant first steps. [IEEE Spectrum]   LIFESAVVY How to Use a Mood Board to Reach Your Goals Creative thinking isn’t just for people in traditionally “creative” industries. Here’s how you can incorporate mood board planning into your workflow and get a creative boost. Read More »   REVIEW GEEK Are Printer Ink Plans a Rip-Off? Surprisingly, Not Always Many inkjet printer vendors boast about how low their per-page print cost is, and it’s usually untrue. In response to growing customer concerns, printer vendors have come up with ink purchase plans they claim can save you money. Can they? Read More »   GEEK TRIVIA Which State Has The Highest Density Of Tornado Touch Downs? Florida » Texas » Kansas » Oklahoma »     Follow Us on Social Media   Advertisement Get a business phone system with online meetings, fax and more! For as low as $19.99 a month, RingCentral can get you an all-in-one Business Phone System with unlimited phone calls w/ HD Voice, Conferencing, and Toll Free numbers to name a few. Access more functionality such as Business SMS, Online meetings and even Facing without changing systems. Have your whole office up and running in a day or less. Get a free quote now!

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How to Use a Mood Board to Reach Your Goals

Tip of the Day:

Before deep cleaning your microwave, run it for five minutes with a small bowl of water inside. The resulting steam will help loosen up food splatters and gunk before you start scrubbing.

July 31, 2019 Tip of the Day Before deep cleaning your microwave, run it for five minutes with a small bowl of water inside. The resulting steam will help loosen up food splatters and gunk before you start scrubbing.   How to Use a Mood Board to Reach Your Goals Creative thinking isn’t just for people in traditionally “creative” industries. Here’s how you can incorporate mood board planning into your workflow and get a creative boost. Read More »   Follow Us on Social Media   Seriously Scorched Your Pan? Here’s How to Remove the Burnt-On Food It's easy to end up with burnt food stuck to your pots and pans. Even if you diligently watch your food on the stove, it doesn’t take long for it to burn. Here’s how to get your cookware clean. Read More »   Keep Your Water Cooler Cleaner, Longer, With This Simple Trick Water coolers need to be cleaned routinely. But you can extend the time between cleanings and keep your water safer, longer, with a simple trick every time you change the water bottle. Read More »

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Chrome 76 Arrives Today: Here's What You Need to Know

Did You Know?:

The most popular male name in the U.S. during the 1980s—ranking number one from 1980 straight through to 1989—was Michael.

July 30, 2019 Did You Know? The most popular male name in the U.S. during the 1980s—ranking number one from 1980 straight through to 1989—was Michael.   How to Enable Adobe Flash in Google Chrome 76+ Adobe Flash is going away. Google drove another nail into its coffin with Chrome 76, which blocks all Flash content on websites by default. If you still use Flash, you can re-enable it for now—but Chrome makes it annoying. Read More »   How to Get the Old Twitter Website Back Twitter.com was just updated with a new interface. Now a progressive web app, Twitter’s website is more similar to the mobile versions. But you don’t have to use the new one—you can get the classic Twitter website back in a few clicks. Read More »   What's New in Chrome 76, Arriving Today Chrome 76 hits the stable channel today, July 30. This latest release brings some serious changes to the web. Flash is now disabled by default, and websites won’t be able to detect whether you’re using incognito mode. Read More »   Windows 10 Leak Has “Cloud Download” For Reinstalling Windows Reinstalling Windows 10 might soon get easier. The leaked version of Windows 10 featuring a new Start menu design has another surprising feature: A “Cloud Download” feature for reinstalling Windows. Read More »   Advertisement Get an all-inclusive business phone system with online meetings, fax and more! For as low as $19.99 a month, RingCentral can get you an all-in-one Business Phone System with unlimited phone calls w/ HD Voice, Conferencing, and Toll Free numbers to name a few. Access more functionality such as Business SMS, Online meetings and even Facing without changing systems. Have your whole office up and running in a day or less. Get a free quote now!   How to Change the Default Font in Google Docs Google Docs uses a standard font when you create a document. If you aren’t happy with its appearance, here’s how you can change the default font instead of manually adjusting it each time. Read More »   Daily News Roundup: Capital One Was Hacked, Exposing 106 Million Customers If you applied for a Captial One credit card between 2005 and 2015, we have bad news for you. Capital One confirmed that an “outside individual” stole names, social security numbers, and other data of over 100 million credit card applicants. Unfortunately, the modern world seems like a place where we can no longer talk about “if” or “when” someone will steal our data in a hack. Instead, we’re left discussing how many times it already happened, and when the next hack will happen. In just the latest example, Captial One announced it detected an intrusion into its systems. Between March 22nd and March 23rd, the hacker managed to steal names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, dates of birth, and self-reported incomes of around 100 million Americans and 6 million Canadians. In a surprise twist, the FBI already made an arrest. The alleged hacker was caught bragging about the intrusion on a private Slack workspace and social media. When they sent a series of direct messages to another Twitter user with details about the hack, the recipient notified Capital One. The bank holding company is offering the usual band-aid of credit monitoring services to anyone affected. It promises to reach out to everyone caught in the breech to provide those services. [Ars Technica] RELATED: Will Credit Monitoring Services Protect Me After a Data Breach? In Other News: Google announces new Pixel 4 features, no press event necessary: In a somewhat unusual move, Google released a blog post detailing new features for the Pixel 4. Those features include face unlock similar to Face ID on Apple’s mobile devices and motion gestures. No word yet when the Pixel 4 will release. [Google] The latest iPadOS 13 beta includes new app icon options: The iPad home screen can look sparse given its screen size and the number of apps you’re limited to displaying. The latest iPadOS 13 addresses that with new options. You can either show 20 smaller icons on the screen or 15 larger icons. Choice is good. [The Verge] Microsoft says original HoloLens won’t receive further major OS upgrades: Microsoft is phasing out the original HoloLens, and that includes ending major OS updates. The company says the device will stay on Windows 10 October 2018 release for HoloLens, and it will reserve any future OS updates for HoloLens 2. Seems fair, it’s not like the Hololens is less than four years old and cost $3,000 out of the gate. Oh. Wait. [Thurott] Sony sold 100 million PS4 consoles: Shipments of the Playstation 4 are slowing as we reach market saturation and the early stages of the next generation of consoles. But that didn’t stop the PS4 from hitting the 100 million mark, colloquially known as a Metric ButtTonne of consoles. [CNET] Scientists created contact lenses with a zoom feature. Better yet, you make them zoom in or out by blinking your eyes twice. The contact lenses detect and respond to electrical signals generated by eye movement. It’s still early in the development process, so you won’t be buying zoom lenses for your eyes tomorrow. But the prospect of easy-to-use contact lenses with a zoom capability is tantalizing. [Engadget]   LIFESAVVY How to Let Houseguests Know It’s Time to Go Read More »   REVIEW GEEK Everything You Need to Convert Your VHS Tapes to Digital Lots of people have stacks of old VHS tapes they want to convert to digital. The process is less overwhelming than you might expect. You just need your VHS tapes, a VCR, a computer, and a capture card. Read More »   GEEK TRIVIA Unlike Water, You Cannot Sink In? Gasoline » Crude Oil » Lava » Quicksand »     Follow Us on Social Media   Advertisement Get a business phone system with online meetings, fax and more! For as low as $19.99 a month, RingCentral can get you an all-in-one Business Phone System with unlimited phone calls w/ HD Voice, Conferencing, and Toll Free numbers to name a few. Access more functionality such as Business SMS, Online meetings and even Facing without changing systems. Have your whole office up and running in a day or less. Get a free quote now!

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How to Let Houseguests Know It's Time to Go

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Wait until you’ve fully composed and proofread your email before adding the recipient’s address—that way you’ll never accidentally send an email half-written, with typos, or missing the attachments.

July 30, 2019 Tip of the Day Wait until you’ve fully composed and proofread your email before adding the recipient’s address—that way you’ll never accidentally send an email half-written, with typos, or missing the attachments.   How to Let Houseguests Know It’s Time to Go Read More »   Follow Us on Social Media   11 Tasty Summer Juicing Recipes If you're looking for a refreshing summer drink that's healthy and delicious, consider making fresh juice at home. You can invest in a good juicer for an affordable price and save money by buying fresh produce at your local farmer's market. Read More »   5 Things You Should Know Before Taking a Long-Distance Train Trip There's something romantic about train travel—long hours watching the world pass by, only interrupted by leisurely meals in the restaurant cart. Having a few drinks in the evening before returning to your sleeper cabin. Read More »

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Four Years of Windows 10: Our Favorite 15 Improvements

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All the Vietnam scenes in the film Forrest Gump were filmed on islands off the coast of South Carolina—Fripp Island and Hunting Island State Park.

July 29, 2019 Did You Know? All the Vietnam scenes in the film Forrest Gump were filmed on islands off the coast of South Carolina—Fripp Island and Hunting Island State Park.   Four Years of Windows 10: Our Favorite 15 Improvements Four years after its release, we’re all still using Windows 10. But that’s not really true: The version of Windows 10 we’re using today has seen four years of improvements. It’s packed with shiny new features and clever under-the-hood optimizations. Read More »   How to Convert a Video or Audio File Using VLC Want to convert a video or audio file to another format? VLC is all you need! It’s packed with useful features, including a quick and easy audio and video converter that’s just a few clicks away. Read More »   How to Control Your Ceiling Fans in a Smarthome A smarthome promises freedom from wall switches and pull chains. Instead, you get voice control and powerful automation. That’s how it works for smart light bulbs, anyway. Why not make your home’s ceiling fans smart, too? Read More »   How to Stream UFC 240 Holloway vs. Edgar Live Onlne UFC is in Edmonton, Alberta this time around. On Saturday, July 27 at 10:00 PM Eastern Time (US), Max Holloway tries to defend his men’s featherweight championship against challenger Frankie Edgar. Here’s how to watch. Read More »   Advertisement Get an all-inclusive business phone system with online meetings, fax and more! For as low as $19.99 a month, RingCentral can get you an all-in-one Business Phone System with unlimited phone calls w/ HD Voice, Conferencing, and Toll Free numbers to name a few. Access more functionality such as Business SMS, Online meetings and even Facing without changing systems. Have your whole office up and running in a day or less. Get a free quote now!   How to Make Your Garage Door Smart Have you ever left your home or gone to bed only to wonder if you closed the garage door? Turning around or getting out of bed isn’t fun. If you make your garage door smart, you can close it from anywhere! Here’s how. Read More »   Daily News Roundup: Fortnite World Cup Hands out $30 Million in Prizes The Fortnite World Cup is over, resulting with $30 million given out in prizes. Featuring both solo and duo divisions, Fortnite World Cup split the prizes over several winners. It created new millionaires along the way. Fortnite, in case you haven’t been on the internet for the last several years, is an online multiplayer third-person game. The most popular mode, battle royale, starts by dropping 100 players onto an island and ends when one person is left standing. You have to find weapons, items, and resources, all while the game map shrinks forcing you closer and closer to other players. The Fortnite World Cup focuses on the battle royale mode and takes place over a series of matches, whittling down players until a final person or group is standing. This year’s competition saw 16-year-old Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf win the solo championship, and in doing so, he earned 3 million dollars in a single day. All this proves once and for all that Mom was absolutely wrong when she said playing video games was a waste of time. Thanks, Mom. [TechCrunch] In Other News: You can now install Android onto your Nintendo Switch: Enthusiasts over at XDA-Developers released an Android ROM for Nintendo Switch. It should work on any model sold before 2018, but there are no guarantees, of course. The developers based the ROM on the Nvidia Shield TV’s build of LineageOS. Loading the ROM means getting Netflix on your Switch, but also comes with the risk of console bricking. So think before you leap. [XDA-Developers] UltraViolet’s shutdown is June 31st: UltraViolet fully closes its doors on June 31st. If you ever used the service to redeem digital movies, be sure to link it to a partner like VUDU before the service goes way. If you don’t, you will lose your movie collection. [CNET] Google fully replaces Voice Search with Google Assistant: Before Google Assistant, Google created Voice Search. The function was relatively simple: you’d speak to it, and it would run a Google Search. It’s a redundant feature now that Google Assistant exists, but you could still access it on the Google app, Search bar widget, or app shortcut. Now, Google is rolling out a change to replace Voce Search with Assistant fully. [9to5Google] No More Ransom Project saved victims of ransomware $108 million: The No More Ransom Project is an initiative of National High Tech Crime Unit of the Netherlands’ police, Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre, and McAfee to help victims of ransomware. The service offers free decryption for ransomware wherever it can provide decrypted keys and education for avoiding ransomware. After three years, the group has announced that thanks to those free decryption services, victims have been spared spending sending $108 million to ransomware creators. That’s a great start. [ZDNet] In 2014, Japan launched the Hayabusa2 spacecraft with the mission of reaching asteroid 162173 Ryugu. It completed that journey in June 2019 and is now studying the asteroid. While the probe is close, scientists are taking the opportunity to bring back samples from the asteroid. That process involves flying extremely close and reaching out with a collection limb. When scientists attempt the feat, they run the risk of crashing and Hayabusa2. You can watch a video (sped up ten times) of the Hayabusa2 collecting asteroid samples. It’s short, and for a moment it almost looks like the spacecraft will crash, but the attempt was successful. It’s a fantastic feat considering there is a communication lag between earth and the probe. [The Verge]   Windows 10 Will Let You Load a Custom Linux Kernel Microsoft is adding a Linux kernel to Windows 10 to power the Windows Subsystem for Linux. But, guess what: You don’t have to use Microsoft’s Linux kernel. You can build your own custom Linux kernel for Windows to use. Read More »   How to Check Available Storage on an iPhone or iPad There’s never enough storage space on your iPhone or iPad, especially when you need it the most. Before heading out for a trip or recording a long video, it’s best to check available storage space on your iOS device. Read More »   LIFESAVVY What Do Hotel Stars Actually Mean? Tonight, I'm staying in a 400-year-old Spanish castle that's been converted into a hotel. Luxurious, right? Well here's the thing: it's a two-star hotel. Read More »   How to Enable Picture-in-Picture on Chrome The Picture-in-Picture (PiP) extension for Google Chrome lets you play any video in Picture-in-Picture (PiP) mode, and it works on all platforms. PiP is a popped-out, always-on-top video player that floats on top of other windows. You can also reposition it along the screen border while you continue to surf the internet. Read More »   REVIEW GEEK The Best Apps for Browsing Reddit on an iPhone or iPad Reddit is the self-proclaimed front page of the internet whether you want cat videos or high-level physics discussion. But the web interface sucks. Thankfully iPhone and iPad users have plenty of apps as alternatives, and here are the best. Read More »   How to Make Your Google Home Quieter at Night The night has come; you’re winding down. “Hey Google, turn off all the lights” you whisper, and then regret sets in as your Google Home yells confirmation, waking everyone up. Here’s how to make Google speak quietly at night. Read More »   GEEK TRIVIA The Most Efficient Swimmer In The Animal Kingdom Is? Moray Eels » Sail Fish » Jellyfish » Blue Whales »     Follow Us on Social Media   Advertisement Get a business phone system with online meetings, fax and more! For as low as $19.99 a month, RingCentral can get you an all-in-one Business Phone System with unlimited phone calls w/ HD Voice, Conferencing, and Toll Free numbers to name a few. Access more functionality such as Business SMS, Online meetings and even Facing without changing systems. Have your whole office up and running in a day or less. Get a free quote now!

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