Category: Technology

Fujifilm has had a great year, but it doesn’t seem to be over yet. According to some strong rumors, she is planning to launch Fujifilm X-T5 next month – and the mid-range multifunction camera is likely to be the most exciting camera of the year.

The source of this speculation is, as always, reliable Fuji rumors (Opens in a new tab), with the site claiming that Fujifilm “will announce the Fujifilm XT5 in November” and that the camera will also ship in the same month. There is a degree of certainty about these claims that is rarely misplaced.

So why is the X-T5 the biggest camera launch this year? After all, we’ve seen some pretty cool newcomers since January – and two of them were model Fujifilm X-H2S and the Fujifilm X-H2. throw in Canon EOS R7 And the Canon EOS R10 for still images and Panasonic Lumix GH6 and the Sony FX30 for video, and it’s already been a big 10 months for an industry apparently beset by supply chain problems.

The great potential of the X-T5 is that, of all the major launches this year, it could be the best fit for photographers. Since there aren’t any major spec leaks for the X-T5, the word “can” does a lot of effort in this sentence. But the promise is crystal clear when you look at the models XT is likely to borrow its talents from.

Present Fujifilm X-T4 Continue to rise in our guide to best photography cameras. When it launched in 2020, our review stated that “no other camera in this class matches the low-light performance of the X-T4 or resolved detail”. That claim will now be contested by the Canon EOS R7, but the X-T4 remains a good value for its $1,699/£1,549/AU$2,999 price tag.

But the X-T5 is likely to bring significant changes, including a new sensor. according to Fuji rumors (Opens in a new tab)This wouldn’t be the “stacked” APS-C chip in the X-H2S, but the 40MP chip inside the X-H2. It’s good news; We’re wrapping up our testing of the X-H2 and (spoiler alert) it sets a new standard for APS-C sensors.

So how will the X-T5 differ from the X-H2, which costs $1,999 / £1,899 / AU$3,399 (body only)? The main differences appear to be in the controls and the more amateurish setup of the X-T5. The X-T5 is expected to adopt Fujifilm retro discs to change settings such as ISO and shutter speed, rather than the X-H2’s ‘PASM’ (Program, Auto, Shutter, Manual) approach.

The mid-range X-T5 is also sure to be less inclined to do better than the X-H2 in some key areas. Expect to see dual SD card slots, instead of the faster and more expensive CFexpress, as well as a smaller grip, a poor electronic viewfinder (maybe 3.68 million dots in the X-T4), limited video recording times, and the lack of an optional battery grip. All of these things should theoretically get the X-T5 in the ballpark for the X-T4’s launch price of $1,699/£1,549/AU$2,999.

This combination of features won’t make the Fujifilm X-T5 completely unique. But the trump card compared to its competitors is likely to be the variety of high-quality glass available from Fujifilm, and increasingly from third-party brands …

The glass is greener

Choosing the right camera should always include looking at the system’s lenses to see if they are the best match for the subjects you want to photograph. Sony continues to offer the best range of glass for full-frame cameras, and Fujifilm is now moving into pole position for APS-C cameras.

The range of lenses available for X-mount certainly isn’t ideal – there’s a gap on the longer end of some telephoto primes like the XF300mm f/4, XF400mm f/4 or XF500mm f/5.6. More importantly for the X-T5, the system still needs more “Mark II” lenses like the recent XF56mm f/1.2 R WR to make the most of its 40MP resolution, even if You are called Fuji (Opens in a new tab) That 20 lenses present can derive “maximum benefit” from their extra detail.

However, some major X-series primes have now been updated – including the XF23mm f/1.4 R LM WR and the XF33mm f/1.4 R LM WR. More importantly, X-mount has now been opened up to allow third-party manufacturers to fill in some of the gaps, or offer cheaper alternatives to Fuji’s own lenses. For example, Viltrox recently launched an excellent XF13mm f/1.4 lens for astrophotography, while Sigma launched things with its three main lenses.

Here the Fujifilm X-T5 could have an advantage over one of its closest competitors, the Canon EOS R7. The EOS R7 is an excellent camera with great autofocus – an area the X-T5 may struggle to match – making it one of the Best wildlife camera about its price. But it’s also hampered by a lack of original lenses, combined with Canon’s baffling decision to keep its RF mount closed to third-party manufacturers.

With Sony seemingly uninterested in making a mid-range mirrorless camera for photographers — even if a hybrid version of the Sony FX30 is now likely — the X-T5 might be as close as we get to a workhorse focused on still images at an affordable price. price this year.

As always, the proof will be in the test, and there are plenty of ways Fujifilm can snatch the mid-level of jaw-dropping jaws with the X-T5. But if you’re a keen photographer in the market for a new camera, November could end the year with an unexpected loud bang.

Microsoft has made the latest version of I visit Premium range of solid-state drives (SSDs) cloud storage Available for public sale.

The company announced the release of its latest Azure Premium SSD v2 storage at the Ignite event, next Invitational preview release in May 2022 (Opens in a new tab).

The new range of high-capacity enterprise drives are designed to deliver the lowest latency for “performance-critical workloads,” while also allowing storage expansion up to 64TB (TiB).

Microsoft Azure Premium v2 improvements

Microsoft claims to have achieved “under milliseconds” latency with the new drives, delivering 80,000 input/output operations per second (IOPS) – a 60% improvement over Azure Premium V1.

Data transfers should also be extremely fast, with a guaranteed base transfer rate of 125 megabytes per second (MBPS) across all drives under the new specification, and a maximum throughput of 1,200 megabytes per second — a 33% overall improvement over the V1.

Increases in storage capacity may also be of interest to Azure Premium SSD v1 users who feel limited to a maximum of 32 TB available.

Microsoft claims that the overall performance increases in the new drive range will suit a number of workloads and productivity purposes, ranging from database software Such as SQL Server and Oracle Analytics, virtual machines (Virtual machines) and games.

The company is also looking to prosecute enterprise customers who may not immediately need the benefits of Azure Premium V2, promising that companies may provide storage capacity, IOPS, and productivity “based on their workload requirements.”

This new set of drivers could make it attractive even to small businesses that may continue to see steady growth, while helping large businesses at the same time. Reduce cloud costs during the recession.

was discovered that Android devices They are designed to leak some user data when connected to a new Wi-Fi network, and even best vpn Services cannot be stopped.

mullvad vpn I identified a shuffle during a recent security audit, where I reported a data leak also when the “Block connections without VPN (or secure VPN)” and/or “VPN always on” options are enabled.

The data disclosed during the connection check includes real people data IP addressesDNS lookups, HTTPS and NTP traffic.

However, the leak does not appear to be a malfunction. In response to the provider’s questions, Google clarified that both features work as intended.

Android is characterized by deceiving VPN users

a vpn It is a tool that people use, among other things, to encrypt their internet traffic while masking their real IP location. This allows access to censored sites, avoids bandwidth throttling and secures online anonymity – the last point is especially important on public Wi-Fi connections.

However, some wireless networks (such as hotel Wi-Fi or public transportation, for example) may require that the connection be verified before the connection is established. This is exactly what happens on these occasions Android VPN Services Some traffic details are leaked, whether or not the option to block unprotected connections is activated.

Mullvad VPN wrote in a Blog Posts (Opens in a new tab). “However, this can be a privacy concern for some users with certain threat models.”

next request mulvad (Opens in a new tab) For an additional option to disable these connection checks when “Secure VPN” is turned on, Google’s developers explained that the leak is actually a design choice.

Specifically, the company claims that some VPN apps rely on these checks to function properly. The developers also said there are other exemptions that could be more serious, such as those applied to some premium apps. They also believe that the impact on users’ privacy is minimal.

After taking into account the points raised by Google, Mullvad still believes that the proposed additional feature may be useful to users. Most importantly, the provider makes contact with the tech giant at least Be more transparent about its features.

Even if you are fine with some of the traffic exiting the VPN tunnel, we believe the setting name (“Block Connections Without VPN”) and Android documentation (Opens in a new tab) Those around it are misleading. The impression the user gets is that no phone traffic will leave except through the VPN.”

What are the risks for Android users?

According to Google, privacy risks are essentially non-existent for most people. However, Mullvad argues that the exposed metadata may be enough for experienced hackers to de-anonymize this information and track users.

“The connection scan traffic can be observed and analyzed by the controlling party of the connection scan server and any entity that monitors network traffic,” he explained. secure vpn Provider.

Even if the message content reveals nothing more than “some connected Android device,” the metadata (which includes the source IP address) can be used to derive more information, especially if combined with data such as Wi-Fi access point locations. “

This may not be suitable for ordinary users, but it may negatively affect those for whom privacy is paramount. After all, it is possible that they have turned on the VPN security feature exactly for this reason.

Pro radar technology You contacted Google for more information, but did not receive an immediate response.

Companies are slowly moving away from open source softwareNew research shows, due to growing concerns about security risks that come from open source components.

default The giant VMware recently released a report indicating that the number of companies wanting to deploy open source software in production environments has fallen from 95% last year to 90% this year.

The two biggest concerns that are forcing companies to look elsewhere are the ability to identify and address vulnerabilities in open source software. In fact, reliance on the community to address flaws and vulnerabilities tops the list (61%), followed by increased security risks (53%), and a lack of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for patches from the community (fifty percent).

To address this issue, companies want to see improvements in packaging security, as open source software packaging is essential to securing the supply chain, the report claims.

Apparently, there are too many tools, too many manual tasks, and too many teams working on packaging in most companies, making the process slow, inefficient, and risky.

When asked about the capabilities of software packages that would improve security, nearly two-thirds (60%) would appreciate immediate access to reliable security patches for applications or runtimes, dependencies and OS components, while half (55%) would like a central view of all scans, because it would Simplify security audits. Half (51%) also want to automate CVE and anti-viral screening for each container.

While open source software remains an indispensable part of every project, this isn’t the first time that security questions have been raised. Last June, cybersecurity firm Snyk, in conjunction with the Linux Foundation, published a report claiming that open source software poses a “significant security risk”.

Based on a survey of more than 550 participants, as well as data from 1.3 billion open source projects via Snyk Open Source, the report indicates that two out of five companies (41%) are not confident in the security of their open source code.

The average application development project was found to have 49 vulnerabilities, as well as 80 direct dependencies. Normally, it now takes 110 days to address a vulnerability in an open source project, up from 49 days four years ago.

A large percentage (43 percent) of all business devices are still unable to upgrade to Windows 11 Due to hardware requirements imposed by Microsoft, according to the new Research (Opens in a new tab) Published by the IT management company Lansweeper.

Pro radar technology previously mentioned In March 2022, the number of millions of business computer They were not eligible to upgrade to Windows 11, in part because Treatments lacking Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 (Opens in a new tab) Compatibility, a feature required by Windows 11.

Lansweeper claims that the situation has eased since we Covered Its latest report, in which the percentage of devices removing CPU and TPM requirements increased by 12%. At this level of growth, all devices should be compatible with Windows 11 by 2026.

Windows 11 in the workplace

However, Lansweeper still found that only 57% of the devices tested had CPUs that met Microsoft’s requirements. More than a third (35%) of workstations The tested ones are not compatible with the TPM or have been disabled, while virtual machines Worse case – with only 1% support or TPM enabled.

Furthermore, the level of growth of Windows-11-compatible devices experienced by Lansweeper is still less than the Windows 10 end-of-life deadline: October 14, 2025. On this date, Windows 10 will stop receiving critical security and feature updates.

This is significant, given that 82% of all Windows devices are still running Windows 10. The steady growth rate of compatible devices is not guaranteed, and any devices still running the previous version of the operating system will become increasingly vulnerable to infection. Malware And the ransomware attacks.

This is a big part of why so many cyberattacks are targeted Health Care And the educational institutions. Organizations neglect to update operating systems, usually to preserve software or Database A solution that “just works” and thus becomes easy targets for malicious threat actors who value their sensitive personal data.

Only 3% of all Windows users use Windows 11. By comparison, 1% of users are still using the 21-year-old Windows XP, so it’s fair to say that companies are still unaware of why they should invest in new hardware.

As counterproductive as it may seem, especially in downturns, organizations are advised to update the hardware that powers their business for long-term confidence in their security posture, and to look to save money in other areas, such as software Solution.

Microsoft announced a file Microsoft 365 An app called Microsoft Places that will look to “improve” the management of mixed workplaces.

When presenting the app at an Ignite event, the company explained that the idea was to inform team members when colleagues would come to the office, and to suggest if it might be a good idea to hold certain meetings in person.

It also raised Smart Summary, a feature that will use artificial intelligence to analyze meeting recordings in order to assign tasks to team members, take minutes, and share “personal insights.” Smart Summary will be available as part of the new Teams Premium package.

Microsoft Places and Hybrid Work

The introduction of Microsoft Places, the company claims, is backed by survey data. According to the last company Work direction indicator (Opens in a new tab)More than 80% of employees go to the office in order to meet and collaborate with each other.

Microsoft believes that a software solution is needed to bridge the gap between the pre-pandemic world of current physical work and the allowance for remote work caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Places claims, it will provide accurate insight into the workplace, and tips on how offices can benefit from remodeling as businesses adapt to it. Hybrid work environments.

Other features will include an “updated” conference reservation system, as well as insights for business leaders to assess how office space is being used, and how best to approach mixed business policy.

But the employees who became comfortable with them video conferencing There is no need to despair. Microsoft claims that Places is being developed for “[connect] virtual and physical spaces”, and to make offices safer and more transparent after the onset of the pandemic.

While at least some allowances for remote work are stuck in many workplaces, the transparency in office spaces that Microsoft wants to offer with places may renew employee confidence in office environments, with a renewed focus on employee safety.

But discussion of the tool’s long-term impact on business practices will have to wait. As of now, Microsoft Places will “soon be available in preview.”

The Gotham Knights cinematic launch trailer has just been dropped, like a hooded ranger, on a fool in a dark alley. While the visuals and story sound great, I’m still not convinced that four bats are better than one.

The trailer introduces every member of the Bat family, Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, and Redhood. One by one, the trailer shows them in the back streets of bleak, neon-lit Gotham, taking out thugs, gangs and criminals.

But it is not only their combat skills that are on display. Each member of the bat family also suffers from their deepest fears while on a crusade around the Dark City – “Friend, Unfit, Replaceable” are just some of the self-doubts Robin encounters. It’s a great addition to the cinematic trailer because it shows how these superheroes and people who play sports are more than just masks.

It seems that this insight into each member’s psyche will be an integral part of the game’s storytelling. Especially since spoiler alert, it doesn’t look like Batman will hit any criminals in Gotham KnightsNot from under a tombstone, at least. So it felt like Gotham Knights would see the team of four fight their way through their villains and their emotions while coming to terms with the loss of Batman.

But the question remains whether introducing four very different heroes and rangers works well for a series known for being one character. Can WB games synergize characters who have vastly different personalities? I’m not sure, but I think they should still rely on Batman for help.

crazy life

It would be a lie to say the Gotham Knights game was smooth. WB Games made some questionable decisions, – I can’t help but immediately think of the Living the Vida Loca incident.

A few days ago, video game critic Janet Garcia released a video for the Gotham Knights showing Batgirl fighting in a prison brawl, as it seems out of nowhere that a female cover of Ricky Martin’s Living the Vida Loca begins playing a mid-fight scene. The popular combat music worked great in Guardians of the Galaxy, but that didn’t make it to me in Gotham Knights. Instead of a great fight scene, I could only see a cheap attempt to please a female audience.

It’s not just Batgirl who had a questionable introduction. When I found out that they offered the magic of Redhood, I was completely confused. Redhood is one of my favorite DC characters. The point of his character, like most members of the bat family, is that he has no superpowers, only impeccable archery, close combat experience and, of course, a stylish red helmet. I understand that Redhood is resurrected from the dead in the comics, so the truth can stretch when it comes to his character. However, being able to summon magical platforms in the air seems like a useful game mechanic, rather than a natural extension of his character.

breath with taste

Not all news is bad. The movie trailer just released is proof of that. The direction of the story looks promising. Each character featured has a famously complex relationship with Bruce Wayne or Batman, so exploring this in Gotham Knights could mean we get a better understanding of who these characters are without the looming shadow of the Caped Crusader.

I hope WB Games don’t try to do too much. Each of these characters will lead to an interesting lead for the game set in Gotham. Especially Nightwing and Redhood, who have a lot of material written about them. But the combination of four of these characters may muddy the waters.

It’s often a little more, and Arkham Games are a great example of this. You know where you stand when it comes to Batman’s goal and morals. But in Gotham Knights, you have stark contrasts. First, Nightwing honors Bruce’s legacy by continuing his work fighting criminals, while making a name out of Batman’s shadow. Instead, there’s Redhood, which is incredibly complex. As a vigilante, he ostensibly rejects Batman’s ideals of non-lethal justice, since he has no problem putting a bullet into someone’s skull. These two alone are completely different, and it will be interesting to see how WB Games brings all four members of the bat family together in one game.

plural Password manager LastPass has announced that it is about to enter the metaverse. At this year’s Meta Connect event, brought together by Facebook parent company Meta, the company made its 2D Progressive Web App available on the Quest App Store, marking the beginning of a new phase for the company.

This is the step that makes LastPass The first of its kind to offer a Meta Quest app. In a press release, the company said the achievement marked the password manager’s transformation into a “key security service for VR users.” As Meta continues to expand the VR ecosystem, LastPass hopes to “prove its relevance” to business, educational, production, and entertainment environments.

With the new Meta Quest app, LastPass users can access things like login details, payment cards, and personal information like addresses, without having to remove VR- Headset. Pro radar technology LastPass asked about the security of users’ passwords on the VR headset, and whether additional authentication would be required.

In response, we were told: “If customers have [multi-factor authentication (MFA)] It’s enabled on their account, then they’ll still have to authenticate through this method – whether it’s LastPass Authenticator or another MFA option. There is no additional Face ID or Touch ID on the current device. We suggest customers add an unlock pattern to their device and/or app to sign in.”

The free versions of LastPass allow users to store unlimited passwords, with access from a single type of device. Premium plans (billed at £2.60 / $3 a month, annually), unlock access to multiple devices, and bring in some extras like dark web monitoring and 1GB of encrypted file storage. Both membership types – free and paid – can use the Meta Quest app as part of their plans.

LastPass CEO Karim Tuba explained that “universal access to your login information, personal information, and data about you should be the expectation, no matter what device you’re using.” Many companies are already blurring the boundaries between work and home accounts, but that will soon change with the inclusion of a new digital presence.

The company’s commitment to the metaverse appears very strong, with further plans to provide autosave and fill for the Meta Quest browser as early as 2023, when it becomes the “first cross-device password manager” to offer native integration.

So far, no other password managers have expressed their commitment to offering metaverse apps, but it’s likely an inevitable move. in another place, NordPass has already done its own research (Opens in a new tab) About how customers intend to use the metaverse.

It appears that the anti-brute force mechanism that Microsoft has implemented Windows 11 It has been working for less than a month, as the company decided to expand it to all other supported versions of the operating system.

In an announcement, Microsoft explained that IT administrators can now configure their systems to automatically block these types of attacks against local administrator accounts through group policy.

“In an effort to prevent further brutal attacks/attempts of force, we are implementing account closures for administrator accounts,” Microsoft said. “Beginning with October 11, 2022 or later cumulative updates for Windows, a local policy will be available to enable local administrator account lockouts.”

Test features with Windows 11

Microsoft first introduced the change in late September, with Insider Preview Build 25206, by enabling the SMB authentication rate selector by default. A couple of other settings have been tweaked to make these attacks “less effective” as well.

“The SMB server service now defaults by two seconds between each incoming NTLM authentication failure,” said Ned Pyle, principal program manager at Microsoft Windows Server engineering group, at the time.

This means that if an attacker previously sent 300 brute force attempts per second from a client for 5 minutes (90,000 The password (Opens in a new tab)), the same number of attempts would now take a minimum of 50 hours.”

In other words, with the feature turned on, there is a delay between each unsuccessful NTLM authentication attempt, which makes SMB server More resilient service in the face of brute force attacks.

To turn on the feature, IT administrators must search Local Computer PolicyComputer ConfigurationWindows SettingsSecurity SettingsAccount PoliciesAccount Lockout Policies for the “Allow administrator account to be closed” policy.

Alongside this change, Microsoft has also changed how all local administrator passwords are set up, requiring at least three of the four basic character types – lowercase letters, uppercase letters, numbers, and symbols.

Across Computer (Opens in a new tab)

shred Computer (Opens in a new tab) Reports, Microsoft confirmed that Windows 11 22H2 The update is blocked from some PCs due to compatibility issues with the security feature, which is that the upgrade breaks Windows Hello. It appears that gremlin in the works affects not only biometric logins – such as a webcam that uses facial recognition – but also PIN entry.

In the Dashboard Status Update, Microsoft explain (Opens in a new tab): “Windows Hello Sign-in may not work as expected after upgrading to Windows 11, version 22H2 on devices using Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in Security.”

Microsoft has also made it clear that there should be no issues on PCs that install 22H2 and then on Enable windows hello.

Analysis: Don’t force the update, the solution is at hand

As noted, there is a PC compatibility comment that would be affected, but the good news is that this will be lifted soon, as the bug has been fixed in patch KB5017389.

This is a preview update from September that just saw its full release for October, and while it’s rolling out now, Microsoft notes: “The protection hold is expected to be removed in mid-October 2022.”

So, it should happen any day now, and the blocked Windows 11 PCs will be able to get the 22H2 update. In the meantime, Microsoft recommends that you wait and don’t try to force an update manually before removing this compatibility hold.

Windows 11 22H2 has seen more than its fair share of bugs, you may remember, including Some bad problems with printers And the A headache for those with Nvidia graphics cards oh and Happens with some Intel based computers. For those who have encountered errors, check out our guide to How to fix common Windows 11 problems.