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The default file system for Windows 11 may soon be changing to a new offering designed with high-end servers in mind, but there’s still a long way to go yet.

For more than three decades, Windows machines have used NTFS for all things storage, including internal drives as well as external drives such as USB sticks.

However release notes for the latest build of Windows 11 (version 25276), detail support for the Resilient File System (ReFS).

Windows ReFS vs NTFS

ReFS was first introduced with Windows Server 2012, and it’s clearly designed with large amounts of data in mind. Windows Latest notes that NTFS is limited to 256 terabytes (which frankly is more than enough for you or I), but there are some instances where businesses and data centers may need more than this. ReFS raises the limit to 35 petabytes (over 35,000 terabytes). 

The Resilient FS promises to be more resilient in that it can detect and repair corruptions while remaining online, and it’s also designed with scalability in mind.

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“ReFS is designed to support extremely large data sets - millions of terabytes - without negatively impacting performance, achieving greater scale than prior file systems," Microsoft noted.

There are some drawbacks, though, especially when it comes to using ReFS for the computers that consumers may end up using. For now, at least, it’s unable to support system compression, encryption, and removable media. 

While it could be years before ReFS comes to our home (if at all), its support in Windows 11 may indicated it trickling down into some high-end business machines as it expands outside the realms of servers, but right now, NTFS has nothing to worry about.

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Via Windows Latest

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How to Watch, Stream Super Bowl 2023 From Anywhere - CNET

Super Bowl 57 will take place in Arizona on Sunday, Feb. 12 on Fox.

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These fitness apps will help you take your workouts to the next level.

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A change coming with Android 14 will impose restrictions on the apps that smartphone users can install on their devices, even if they’re sideloading software rather than installing it through the Play Store. 

Google’s change should help stop the spread of malware that takes advantage of exploits found in older builds of its Android OS, though if you’re a frequent sideloader it may make it a little harder to use non-Play Store apps.

The yearly release of the latest Android version – or the latest iOS build from Apple, or Windows OS from Microsoft – doesn’t just bring new features for the best Android smartphones to take advantage of. They also include new hidden security tools that make it tough for hackers to break into your device. Eventually, hackers will find a way through the protections, but by that point, Google will have hopefully moved well beyond even Android 14 to a version of its OS that is still uncracked.

However, finding flaws in ancient Android OS builds isn’t useless. Hackers can create apps that specifically target these older versions of Google’s OS, and can then exploit its flaws to bypass some of the protections on your smartphone if you install it on your device.

Thankfully Google is able to put a stop to a lot of this by putting restrictions on new and updated apps that are available through the Play Store. Right now, newly listed Play Store smartphone apps must target Android 12 or later (or Android 11 and later if they are built for WearOS) to be allowed into Google’s official app store.

Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) will soon be the earliest build Android apps can target (Image credit: Google)

The big update seemingly coming to Android (via 9to5Google) is that these app restrictions will no longer only exist for Play Store apps. A change in Android 14’s code will mean that users looking to install apps that aren’t available through the Play Store (such as by sideloading APK files) will be blocked from the action if the file targets too old a version of Android.

Initially, the change will only block users from installing apps from Android’s earliest builds, but eventually, sideloaders will be restricted from installing applications that support Android 5 or earlier. So if there’s a non-Google Play Store app you love that’s built on a very old version of Android, you might want to encourage the developer to give it an update before Android 14 rolls out.

That said, you will still be able to install the old app, it’ll just take a few extra steps with a command shell. While this certainly makes the process more tedious it’ll likely greatly reduce the chance someone accidentally sideloads malware onto their hardware as you’ll need to think twice before installing an app.

Over time we expect Google will introduce restrictions that lock users to even later builds of Android. But in the fight against malicious software this strategy seems like a great middle ground that balances security with the freedom that has attracted many users to the platform.

If you don’t mind having your downloads restricted further in the search for a more secure OS, you might want to pick up one of the best iPhones, which are much, much harder to sideload apps onto.

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Staying in for Valentine's Day? Order These Lavish Eats and Make It Special - CNET

These delicious Valentine's Day splurges require no reservations.

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Google Sued by US Department of Justice for Second Time Over Ad Dominance - CNET

The DOJ and eight states are calling for Google to break up its ad business.

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A new study has identified 2023 as a huge turning point for 5G IoT (Internet of Things) connections globally, and the next three years are set to see those come into their own.

Juniper Research estimates that, already, there are 17 million 5G IoT connections worldwide this year, however the figure is set to expand by 1,100% over the next three years to the point that 116 million connections will be active in 2026.

The research anticipates that the healthcare sector and smart city services will make up the bulk of these connections.

IoT over 5G

Besides these two major categories, other IoT areas include the automotive industry, and mobile broadband and smart homes. However, Juniper reckons that healthcare and smart cities will account for almost two-thirds of IoT devices by 2026.

It cites the ultra-low latency and high bandwidth typical of 5G connections as some of the key driving factors behind the substantial growth that have been forecasted. 

Of the predicted 116 million connections, the research study indicates that 60 million shall come from smart city connections. Transportation networks, both road and rail, are set to benefit from the improvements that 5G can deliver over 4G technology.

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Juniper also noted the inefficiencies in our healthcare systems that were uncovered during the pandemic, pinpointing a need for modernization. Real-time, remote monitoring of connected ambulances and other emergency services is one such upgrade that has been suggested.

The rollout of 5G IoT connections has, so far, been less impressive. Moving forward, research co-author, Olivia Williams, indicated the need to invest in high-return areas before expanding more widely:

“5G will enable more efficient and dynamic healthcare provision that was not feasible with 4G or Wi-Fi. However, healthcare providers must first implement 5G in areas which provide a strong return on investment; most notably connected emergency services.”

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5 Ways to Help Lock Down Your Data After PayPal's Data Breach - CNET

PayPal is the latest company to investigate a digital breach. You can't prevent these incidents, but here are ways to protect yourself online.

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As Russia’s military was bombarding Ukraine, back at home, Russian companies were being bombarded with Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks - with such incidents against Russian entities reaching new highs in 2022.

Figures from Rostelecom, Russia's biggest ISP, claim there were 21.5 million DDoS attacks carried out against some 600 organizations in the country in 2022. 

Most of the attacks happened in and around Moscow, where the majority of these companies are headquartered. None of the bigger sectors seems to have been spared, with firms in telecom, retail, finance, and the public sector, all experiencing attacks.

Attacking the public sector

The public sector was the most targeted, seeingalmost a third (30%) of all incidents (up 12x year-on-year). Financial institutions took up a quarter of all attacks (25%), followed by education (16%).

The biggest attack was 760 GB/sec, Rostelecom further said, claiming it was almost double in destructive power, compared to last year’s biggest attack. The longest attack, however, lasted almost three months. 

Most of the attacks started in March, which coincides with the invasion of Ukraine, which started on February 24. The attacks culminated in May, the firm later said. Based on the IP addresses used, the company concluded that the origin of majority of the attacks was in the United States. 

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While DDoS attacks made up the vast majority of all attacks (roughly 80%), there were other types of cyberattacks, as well. Vulnerable websites were also on the radar of western hackers, which abused the flaws to launch arbitrary command execution attacks (10%), path traversal (4%), local file inclusion (3%), SQL injection (3%), and cross-site scripting (1%).

Since the war between Russia and Ukraine began, hackers and hacktivists from all sides have entered the fray, and have been quite active. 

Among them was Conti, one of the biggest ransomware operators, which enraged its affiliates (mostly Ukrainians) after openly siding with the Russian government. Conti later backtracked on its statement but the damage had already been done, with one hacker deciding to leak multiple source code versions as well as hundreds of thousands of chat lines between its members.

• Here's our rundown of the best endpoint protection right now

Via: BleepingComputer

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Cyberattack on PayPal Exposes User Social Security Numbers - CNET

Cybercriminals used a credential-stuffing attack to crack user accounts, the company says.

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Sensitive data belonging to the FanDuel users was compromised in the recent MailChimp data breach, the of sports betting site has told customers.

An email sent to FanDuel customers confirmed their full names and email addresses were accessed as a consequence of the MailChimp cyberattack, and warning them to stay vigilant against potential phishing attacks. 

"Recently, we were informed by a third-party technology vendor that sends transactional emails on behalf of its clients like FanDuel that they had experienced a security breach within their system that impacted several of their clients," BleepingComputer cited a FanDuel 'Notice of Third-Party Vendor Security Incident'. 

Passwords are safe

"On Sunday evening, the vendor confirmed that FanDuel customer names and email addresses were acquired by an unauthorized actor. No customer passwords, financial account information, or other personal information was acquired in this incident."

While FanDuel didn’t name the vendor in the notification, it later confirmed to media that it was referring to MailChimp.

The company also added that as this wasn’t a breach of its own internal systems, sensitive information including “passwords, financial account information, or other personal information” was not accessed. 

While just getting people’s names and emails might not be much, it’s enough for a phishing attack which could be more devastating, and could result in people losing access to valuable accounts, private data, and possibly even money from their devices and endpoints. Now, FanDuel is warning its users to keep both eyes open:

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"Remain vigilant against email "phishing" attempts claiming an issue with your FanDuel account that requires providing personal or private information to resolve the problem," the notification further claims. "FanDuel will never email customers directly and request personal information to resolve an issue."

FanDuel also urged its customers to regularly update their passwords, and to make sure those passwords are strong and not used on other platforms at the same time. Furthermore, it told everyone to activate multi-factor authentication (MFA) if they hand’t already done so.

• Check out the best ID theft protection solutions 

Via: BleepingComputer

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COVID-19 Vaccines You Can Drink, Snort or Inhale Could Be the Future - CNET

Researchers are calling for vaccine types that better protect us against infection, not just severe disease. But more money and data are needed to widen their scope.

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WhatsApp is currently developing a way for users to send images in their original resolution without impacting quality.

WABetaInfo, which discovered the feature, reports users will be able to choose photo quality via a new Settings menu located in the app’s drawing tool. The current version of WhatsApp does allow you to choose “Best Quality” prior to sending images to keep the resolution high, but it still compresses files – just to a lesser extent in order to provide a fast data transfer time. But still, having that newfound level of control will be especially helpful in situations where the quality of a photo is important, as WABetaInfo points out. Not much else is known about the feature, but it’s probably safe to say sending images in their original resolution will most likely increase data transfer time, download time, and the amount of space needed on a device to store said files.

As stated earlier, the original image resolution feature is in development so it won’t be a part of any upcoming WhatsApp betas or launch anytime soon. It’s also worth pointing out that the update was discovered on the Android version of WhatsApp with no mention of whether or not the original image resolution feature will arrive for iOS.

Incoming shortcuts

WABetaInfo also uncovered new shortcuts for WhatsApp mobile. These shortcuts will allow group chat admins “to quickly and easily perform actions… [and] simplify some interactions with group members”. The full extent of this feature is unknown, but according to one example, admins can choose to highlight phone numbers whenever someone joins or leaves a group chat. Additionally, admins can create a new context menu for themselves for certain actions like privately calling chat participants or adding them to their contacts. 

These shortcuts will be especially helpful when dealing with massive groups. Back in November 2022, WhatsApp launched Communities: large-scale chats that can house 1024 participants. With chats that big, admins need all the tools they can get to manage everything. This shortcut feature will definitely be a major boon for them.

And unlike the original image quality feature, the shortcuts are currently available for both Android and iOS through their respective WhatsApp betas. Unfortunately for iPhone owners, the TestFlight program for WhatsApp is no longer accepting newcomers. If you’re already a participant, you can just download the beta, no problem. Android users can still join the Google Play Store beta program, however.

2023 is slated to be a big year for WhatsApp. January alone has seen WABetaInfo reveal a ton of beta features for the messaging app like the ability to record statuses with your voice and a revamped chat transfer that removes Google Drive from the equation. Be sure to check out TechRadar’s recent WhatsApp beta coverage. 

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'Star Wars: The Bad Batch' S2 Schedule: When Does Episode 5 Come to Disney Plus? - CNET

The CGI animated Star Wars series is rolling out each week until March.

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Samsung has patched two vulnerabilities in its mobile app marketplace that could have allowed threat actors to install any app on a target mobile device without the device owner’s knowledge or consent.

Cybersecurity researchers from the NCC Group discovered the vulnerabilities in late December 2022 and tipped Samsung off, with the company issuing a patch (version 4.5.49.8) on January 1 2023.

Now, almost a month after the flaw was addressed, the researchers published technical details and a proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit code.

Installing malicious apps

The first flaw is tracked as CVE-2023-21433, an improper access control flaw that can be used to install apps on the target endpoint. The second flaw, tracked as CVE-2023-21434, is described as an improper input validation vulnerability, which can be used to execute malicious JavaScript on the targeted device. 

While local access is required in the exploiting of both vulnerabilities, for skilled criminals that’s a non-issue, it was said. The researchers demonstrated the flaws by having the app install Pokemon Go, a globally popular geolocation game based on the world of Pokemon. 

While Pokemon Go is a benign app, the flaws could have been used for more sinister goals, the researchers confirmed. In fact, threat actors could have used them to access sensitive information or crash mobile apps. 

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It also needs to be mentioned that Samsung devices running Android 13 are not vulnerable to the flaw, even if their device still carries an older, vulnerable version of the Galaxy Store. 

This is due to additional security measures introduced in the latest version of the popular mobile OS. 

However, according to figures from AppBrain, just 7% of all Android devices are sporting the latest version, while unsupported versions of Android (9.0 Pie and older) make up roughly 27% of the entire Android market share. 

• Here's our list of the best endpoint protection services right now

Via: BleepingComputer

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