In an unsigned post on the Windows Insider blog, the company announced that it will make “a small number of additions to the compatible processor list … but otherwise will maintain the minimum system requirements as originally set.” Also: Microsoft leaves a loophole for those wanting to run Windows 11 on ‘unsupported’ hardware The company also said it’s releasing a new version of its compatibility checker for members of the Windows Insider Program and will make that tool generally available “in the coming weeks”: The core requirements to run Windows 11 are unchanged from those that were revealed as part of the original announcement: A PC will need a minimum of 4GB of memory and 64GB of storage; UEFI secure boot must be enabled; the graphics card must be compatible with DirectX 12 or later, with a WDDM 2....

Apple started offering the Apple-branded ‘Polishing Cloth’ after its big “Unleashed” event, where it unveiled a new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, the new Apple Silicon M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, and its new new AirPods. Though the cloth didn’t get a showing at the conference, its $19 price tag caught the attention of many tech observers and has been the subject of a fair number of jokes. SEE: MacBook Pro launch: Things you may have missed However, Apple does have fairly stringent recommendations when it comes to cleaning the screens on Apple devices....

“Yodel has experienced a cyber incident that has caused some disruption. We are servicing customers but tracking is currently impacted,” a Yodel spokesperson told ZDNet. “As soon as we detected the incident, we launched an investigation, led by our internal IT division and supported by an external IT forensics group. We are working to restore tracking as quickly as we can and have engaged with all relevant authorities,” they added....

Under the terms of the deal, Momentive shareholders will receive 0.225 shares of Zendesk stock for each share of Momentive stock, a ratio which represents an implied value of approximately $28 per outstanding share of Momentive stock based on the 15-day volume weighted average price of Zendesk common stock up to and including 26 October 2021. Subject to regulatory approval, the deal is anticipated to be finalised in the first half of next year....

With a well-designed interface and all the tools you need to be productive and entertained, Zorin OS makes a strong case for the best distribution for all types of users, whether you’re a fan of open-source or not. Also: 8 things you can on Linux that you can’t do on MacOS or Windows One of the features that sets Zorin OS apart from so many other Linux distributions is the recently introduced Windows App Support....

This week, the Minerva Labs cybersecurity team, working with MalwareHunterTeam, said that Purple Fox is being disguised through a file named “Telegram Desktop.exe.” Those that believe they are installing the popular messaging service are, instead, becoming laden with the malware – and the infection process has made it more difficult to detect. First discovered in 2018, Purple Fox has been spread through a variety of means, including phishing emails, malicious links, and exploit kits....

In its demo focused on 5G NR-Light, also known as RedCap in 3GPP, Qualcomm illustrated how a gNodeB could provide wide-area 5G IoT coverage to devices in range that experience difficulties communicating to the wide-area 5G network due to power limitation and penetration loss. For example, Qualcomm said the introduction of sidelink to 5G NR-Light is allowing sensors to communicate directly to a relay on a truck at a much lower transmit power and achieve extended coverage....

CQ partnered with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and its innovation laboratory IDB Lab, which has been actively investing in blockchain technology to support social and economic applications in Latin America and the Caribbean. Specifically, IDB Lab has developed LACChain, a blockchain platform leveraged by more than 50 organizations in the region for use cases ranging from cross-border e-money payments to exchanging data between different countries’ customs administrations. SEE: What is quantum computing?...

The company found that at least 77 state and municipal governments, 1,043 schools, and 1,203 healthcare providers were impacted by a ransomware incident last year. The attacks also led to 118 data breaches, exposing troves of sensitive information. Emsisoft noted that while the numbers are still high, the 77 local governments attacked represents a decrease compared to 2020 and 2019, both of which saw 113 governments hit. In 2021, ransomware groups targeted smaller counties and towns instead of bigger cities like New Orleans, Baltimore, and Atlanta....

Watch my conversation with Bomberger above, or read a few of the highlights below. Beth Mauder: Steve, what are some best practices to prevent from falling victim to a ransomware attack? Steve Bomberger: I think it’s pretty obvious these days that we’re all living in a digital and connected world. So to your point, businesses of all shapes and sizes, all industries are being affected by ransomware and other malware attacks....

Last week, security company Avast released three decryptors, including ones for those affected by the AtomSilo, LockFile and Babuk ransomware. Cybersecurity firm Trustwave released a decryptor for the BlackByte ransomware two weeks ago. Allan Liska, a ransomware expert with the Recorded Future security company, told ZDNet that while it often feels as though security teams are losing the fight against ransomware, there is progress being seen. “Since August, by my count, we have seen decryptors for BlackMatter, REvil, AtomSilo, Babuk, LockFile, BlackByte, Prometheus and Ragnarok (I’m probably missing some others),” Liska said....

Ransomware attacks have long been a major cybersecurity issue for organisations around the world, affecting computer networks running critical infrastructure, hospitals, businesses and more. Some of the most significant ransomware events of the past year have hit targets in the United States, including the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, which restricted gas supplies for large parts of the country – and resulted in a ransom payment of millions of dollars being paid to cyber criminals....

That’s because while built-up areas cross their collective fingers and hope their name appears on a suburb list to get fibre-to-the-node upgrades, there remains part of NBN’s remit on fixed wireless and satellite services. And for those people, the absolute theoretical best is 50Mbps, but the practical baseline is 25Mbps. So disappointing was the NBN satellite service in the early years, that Labor, the party that purchased the satellites when it created the NBN, called for a review of the technology in 2017....

As many as 53% of SMBs surveyed in the latest report are spending more than $1.2 million annually on the cloud. That’s up from 38% last year. In this case, SMBs refer to companies with 1,000 or fewer employees. The eleventh annual Flexera report surveyed 753 tech and business professionals from around the world in late 2021. Cloud spending is up for organizations of all sizes, the report shows. As many as 8% of all respondents spend more than $60 million, and more than half spend over $2....

Specifically, the policy includes AU$23 million to raise awareness of the eSafety Commissioner’s support for Australian schools, provide training programs for teachers, improve online safety resources for schools, and enhance support for schools with external online safety providers. It also includes an additional AU$10 million for the eSafety Commission to further expand coordination with other regulatory and law enforcement agencies, ensuring victims “tell-us-once” and are supported with the right service....

SambaNova has made the news for a number of reasons: high-profile founders, a series of funding rounds propelling it into unicorn territory, impressive AI chip technology and unconventional choices in packaging it. The company is now executing on its goal – to enable AI disruption in the enterprise. SambaNova just announced its GPT-as-a-service offering, its ELEVAITE membership program for customers, and is working with one of the biggest banks in Europe to build what it claims will be Europe’s fastest AI supercomputer....

Specs Set Up I don’t recommend setting up the QN90B solo; I enlisted my partner to help me screw in the mount and shift the TV on our TV stand. You wouldn’t think a razor-thin TV measuring only one inch in width would weigh that much, but the TV weighs over 50 pounds. That said, from unboxing to placement, it took only 20 minutes. Samsung’s UI/UX One of the first features I noticed about the display was that motion smoothing was on, giving every movement on-screen a soap opera-like effect, but it also provided the 3-dimensional depth Samsung mentioned....

The report [PDF] said Samsung’s greenhouse gas emissions rose by 5% year-on-year, releasing 3.2 tonnes of CO₂e (CO₂ equivalent) per 100 million won in revenue, due to the company expanding the operations of its semiconductor production line and product output. With the emissions increase, Samsung fell short of its emissions target for 2020 of 1.55 tonnes of CO₂e per 100 million won, which is a 70% reduction from 5.17 tonnes of CO₂e per 100 million won in 2008....

CEOs JH Han and Kyung Kye-hyun will each continue to head the Device Experience and Device Solution divisions, respectively, the company said in its year’s end reshuffle announcement. Samsung said it was maintaining their posts considering the current “harsh business reality”. The tech giant is seeing its earnings drop from the lowered demand for memory chips and consumer electronics, which were at all-time highs during the pandemic. Samsung experienced its first annual profit drop in three years during the third quarter and analysts expect the company to post similar results in the fourth quarter....

Available in either 13.3-inch or 15.6-inch screen sizes with 12th-generation Intel Core i5 or Core i7 processors and up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD storage, there’s plenty of choice with the Galaxy Book2 Pro 360. We took the 15.6-inch Core i7 16GB/512GB model, which costs £1,249 in the UK or $1,349.99 in the US (with a 1TB SSD), for a (360-degree) spin. If thin, light and minimalist are must-have features for you, then despite its 15....