Nobody likes to pay sales tax and until recently, most of us shopped online to avoid our local sales tax.
Nearly one year ago, the Supreme Court ruled that out-of-state retailers must collect sales tax on internet sales. 

One retailer many of us use for those “have to have” gadgets is B&H Photo Videoin New York City. This past week they announced a new credit card called Payboo. This is a traditional credit card that has one extra feature: when you buy anything from B&H and use the Payboo card, they will instantly refund you the sales tax before you finish the purchase. And at B&H, instant means instant – no expiring points, credits, or coupons to worry about. This new Payboo card provides an additional discount equal to your sales tax rate, and B&H will still collect and remit state sales tax in accordance with state sales tax laws and regulations.

​While none of us needs another credit card, this may be worth it.

Travelers might finally be getting a break from the ever-frustrating airport security rules. Thanks to the introduction of new carry-on baggage scanners called CT (Computed Tomography), travelers won’t have to take electronics or liquids out of their bags. The TSA announced the rollout of this new technology, which would ultimately cut down on long security lines and make the airport experience much smoother.

The new machines can create 3D images of a bag’s contents and automatically detect and scan items you are currently required to remove. This includes electronic devices like laptops and even liquids. According to Bloomberg Government, 300 of these new machines have been ordered by the TSA so far, and they will begin to appear in airports this summer. Eventually, the goal is to replace all current X-ray machines with these new CT scanners. The TSA has been testing these machines since 2017, and once airport employees become comfortable operating the new equipment, shorter security lines are expected.
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The list of airports that will receive the new CT machines has not yet been released, though they are currently being used at the following airports:

• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
• Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI)
• Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
• Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG)
• Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW)
• Houston Hobby Airport (HOU)
• Indianapolis International Airport (IND)
• John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
• Logan International Airport (BOS)
• Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
• Oakland International Airport (OAK)
• Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
• St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL)
• Washington-Dulles International Airport (IAD)

 

When you’re on the road, Starbuck’s ‘third space’ idea can become compelling. You might want to get out of your hotel room for a change of atmosphere, or you might need a better cup of coffee. And you probably still need to get online with something other than your phone, and coffee shops mean Wi-Fi as much as caffeine.

If you pick the big chains, the Wi-Fi is pretty reliable. If you choose a smaller shop, the coffee is often far tastier, but the wireless can be hit and miss. A journalist writing about this problem, went into a little coffee place in Seattle to get out of the rain and catch up on some work over a weekend, his phone warned him that it could connect to the Wi-Fi but not to the internet.

He had the same problem when he connected his laptop to the coffee shop Wi-Fi. It’s not always possible to diagnose what’s wrong with a Wi-Fi connection; often the bandwidth is overloaded by the number of people connected to free Wi-Fi, or the router isn’t correctly configured to hand out IP addresses to devices. That means waiting for a few people to leave or asking the staff to restart the router.

But frequently, the problem with networks is DNS; the wi-fi router is probably using the DNS server of the ISP to which it’s connected. Switch to a public DNS service like Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1, and you should get connected – and probably find websites a bit more responsive, too.

In Windows 10, click the network indicator in the taskbar to open the network menu and choose Change adapter options to open the Network Connections control panel with the list of network hardware you can use. Right-click on the wi-fi connection and select Properties. Click on Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and choose Properties again, then click to fill in your DNS details. Fill in 1.1.1.1 to use the Cloudflare service; you can use 1.1.1.0 for the alternative DNS server if you want Cloudflare as the fallback, or 8.8.8.8 to use Google’s DNS service.

You can do the same thing on a Mac. Choose System Preferences / Network and select your wi-fi connection, then click Advanced and choose the DNS tab. Again, fill in 1.1.1.1 to use the Cloudflare service; you can use 1.1.1.0 for the alternative DNS server if you want Cloudflare as the fallback, or 8.8.8.8 to use Google’s DNS service. 
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On an iPad, look under Settings / Wi-Fi and tap next to the Wi-Fi network name. Scroll down and select the Configure DNS option, then tap Manual and fill in the addresses. Then you can get back to your coffee and  on with some work.

Amazon has plans to establish a constellation of 3,236 satellites in low Earth orbit to patch up areas with poor or no internet connectivity.

Amazon's planned push into satellite-delivered broadband is taking shape under Project Kuiper, details of which appear in three documents filed with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) last month. Kuiper Systems LLC filed the reports.  

The documents reveal Amazon plans to put 3,236 satellites at three different altitudes. There would be 784 satellites orbiting at an altitude of 367 miles; 1,296 satellites at 379 miles; and 1,156 satellites at 391miles.  
An Amazon spokesperson confirmed the existence of Amazon's satellite broadband ambitions, noting that it was a "long-term project that envisions serving tens of millions of people who lack basic access to broadband internet.”

The company is also planning to partner with other companies to bring the project to reality.  

That could make companies in the space-broadband race, like SpaceX and OneWeb, potential rivals or partners. The FCC in November authorized SpaceX to deploy and operate 7,000 satellites in very low Earth orbit to deliver broadband. 

OneWeb, which has $2 billion in backing from the likes of Airbus, Coca Cola, Softbank, and Virgin, in February, launched six satellites with the same ambition. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin space venture already has a contract to launch satellites for OneWeb and TeleSat. 

Meanwhile, Facebook, Boeing, and LeoSat have revealed plans to beam the internet from space. Alongside SpaceX's FCC authorization, the regulator also authorized spectrum in the US for both TeleSat's and LeoSat's space broadband systems.   

Should Amazon's plans come to fruition, its satellites would provide about 95% of the world's population with coverage between latitudes 56ºN to 56ºS. The two parallels circle the Earth at about the latitude of Sweden and below Australia.  

Amazon will still need to get approval from the FCC and other regulators around the world to move forward with Project Kuiper. 

Satellite internet today is typically costly. However, there is hope that satellites in low Earth orbit will be cheaper and offer lower latency.
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Amazon said it would "of course look at all options" when asked whether Bezos' Blue Origin would have the edge over others for launching the Kuiper constellation.

Two hikers missing for five days on California’s Mount Baldy have been found alive after rescuers tracked their footprints to their camp, according to authorities.

Eric Desplinter and Gabrielle Wallace had gone hiking in the San Gabriel Mountains in San Bernardino County, California, on Saturday, April 6th and were expected to return that night. But when the two hadn't returned by 8 p.m., friends reported the two missing.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff said late Wednesday the two had been rescued after days of desperate searching over a 30 square mile area.

Authorities said rescuers found two sets of footprints in Cucamonga Canyon Wednesday at which point they alerted a search-and-rescue helicopter to fly over the area. The rescue team spotted Desplinter, 33, and Wallace, 31, at a campfire and lifted them to safety late Wednesday.

The pair lost the trail and when they tried to descend through a valley, it "was more treacherous than we thought," Desplinter said.

Desplinter was an experienced hiker, but authorities previously said the two had limited supplies of food and water.

The campers rationed what little food they had and drank water through a LifeStraw. This technology can filter dirty water. The ability to stay hydrated was one of the mitigating factors rescuers said helped to make the recovery a success.

LifeStraw products use a hollow fiber membrane. These membranes have microscopic pores that trap contaminants. Bacteria and parasites are bigger than the pores in the filter. Water can pass through, but contaminants larger than 0.2 microns remain trapped. Some LifeStraw products use a two-stage filtration process. In addition to the hollow fiber membrane, a carbon capsule absorbs chemicals like chlorine, pesticides, and even heavy metals like lead.
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"Eric and Gabrielle will be flown to the Mt. Baldy Fire Station where they will be reunited with their families and loved ones," the sheriff's office said in a statement.

Volvo announced that it would use cameras installed inside its vehicles to monitor driver behavior and intervene if the driver appears to be drunk or distracted. It’s a risky move by an automaker, even one with a reputation for safety like Volvo, which could raise concerns among privacy advocates. 

Volvo’s in-car cameras will monitor eye movements to gauge driver distraction or intoxication. If a driver looks away for some time, such as at a smartphone, or fails to keep their hands on the steering wheel, a representative from Volvo’s on-call assistance centers will call them to check in. Drivers who aren’t watching the road, or even have their eyes closed, will be warned as well. If they don’t respond, the car will slow and also stop. The system will roll-out to all Volvo cars by early 2020. 

This follows Volvo’s recent announcement that it will be limiting the top speed on all of its vehicles to 180 km/h (112 mph) in a bid to reduce traffic fatalities. Volvo is framing these new policies as crucial components in its Vision 2020goal, in which no one is killed or seriously injured in a Volvo vehicle by 2020. Over the years, the company built its reputation on safety and quirky designs, and today’s announcement is meant to underline that.

“When it comes to safety, our aim is to avoid accidents altogether rather than limit the impact when an accident is imminent and unavoidable,” Henrik Green, senior vice president for research and development at Volvo Car Group, said in a statement. “In this case, cameras will monitor for behavior that may lead to serious injury or death.”

The use of in-car cameras to monitor drivers is not entirely unprecedented. Cadillac uses infrared cameras facing the driver to power its advanced driver assist system, Super Cruise. The camera tracks the driver’s eye movements, allowing for a “hands-free” driving experience. If the driver’s attention wanders, Super Cruise uses an escalating series of audible and vibrating alerts to ensure the driver keeps their eyes on the road.

As camera use increases in the name of safety, there’s a real chance they can be misused to invade privacy. At an event in Sweden, the company preemptively dismissed this criticism by likening it to early objection to seatbelt laws. 

A spokesperson for Volvo did not immediately respond to questions about the storage of video footage or whether law enforcement could have access to it. Automakers are already collecting lots of information from your car today, but mostly for vehicle analytics. 
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GM has said that the camera in its Cadillac cars isn’t recording anything; it’s just a buffered video feed to make sure Super Cruise works as it should.

Currently, 3.9 million Americans work remotely, which marks a 115% increase from 2005. Estimates indicate that more than one-third of employees will work remotely in the next ten years. The desire for greater flexibility and work/life balance is partially responsible for this trend, in addition to an ever-increasing number of businesses that are based entirely online. With cloud and mobile technologies making it easier than ever before to communicate and collaborate regardless of location, organizations are embracing remote work as a way to cut costs and satisfy employee demand.

Despite the productivity and cost-saving benefits of remote work, the concept introduces serious cybersecurity risks that have the potential to devastate entire businesses. For example, if an employee logs on to their email via a coffee shop’s public Wi-Fi, that individual runs the risk of sending their work emails, customer information and other business data directly to hackers rather than to the Wi-Fi connection point.
Small and medium businesses (SMBs) are particularly vulnerable to remote work security risks, as they usually have fewer resources to prevent or recover from cyber-attacks proactively.

Here are five best practices that will help establish the proper level of control over cybersecurity threats.

Enforce Basic Cybersecurity Hygiene.An organization's cybersecurity is only as strong as its weakest link, and all it takes is one employee – even a well-intentioned one – to cause that chain to break. Enforce cybersecurity best practices such as using strong passwords, not sharing passwords across multiple accounts, implementing two-factor authentication (often free) and accessing sensitive files only from trusted devices and VPNs. Also, some simple and inexpensive employee cybersecurity awareness training can ensure employees are familiar with the most common and current attack schemes and educated on how to handle a situation if they think a cybersecurity incident has occurred.

Reign in 'Shadow IT.'Shadow IT refers to computer systems, applications or devices being used without explicit organizational knowledge or approval. For example, do any of your employees access their work email from their personal cell phone? Attempting to completely shut down Shadow IT isn't realistic, nor is it necessarily helpful to your business. However, it's essential to identify any apps or devices that could pose the highest risk. Clearly communicate which products or services are forbidden and explain why so your employees don't feel unjustly blocked and circumvent the rules. Also, consider putting processes into place that allow your IT team to quickly approve or disapprove new applications in which employees express interest.

Organize Back-End Technologies. Cloud-based apps can be a godsend for ensuring a seamless work environment for remote employees, and many also provide the invaluable service of backing up all of the data being generated outside an office's walls. Services such as G Suite or Microsoft Office 365, for instance, can allow employees to create, edit, organize, share and automatically back up documents, spreadsheets, presentations and more, no matter their location or device. Consider migrating some or even all of your file storage to a trusted cloud provider to optimize flexibility and more efficiently manage, secure and backup your business data.

Duplicate Storage.With its infinite scalability and relative affordability, cloud technology can be an ideal data storage resource. However, rather than relying entirely on the cloud or trusting your employees to only use secure cloud services with automatic backup capabilities, duplicate your most critical business data, so at least one copy is kept separate from cloud data centers and stored offline via encrypted backup tapes. This is an essential action to protect your business from the impact of a ransom attack, where a hacker blocks access to your systems or data until a ransom is paid.
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Get Cyber Insurance.Cyber insurance is an important, final step for protecting your business against the dangers of employees working remotely. Considering the significant financial demands many SMBs face as a result of a security incident, look for plans that cover immediate business costs (e.g., lost revenue due to the interruption of business, ransom, regulatory or legal fines). Also, be sure to implement coverage that includes such crisis response services such as coaching and guidance on how to respond to a breach.

The next big feature update for Windows 10 is right around the corner, which means it's decision time for businesses that are still planning their upgrade strategy. Here's why this update might be different from its predecessors.

Windows 10 is nearly four years old. In a bygone era, its replacement would have been delivered last year, and early adopters would be eagerly awaiting Windows 11 Service Pack 1.

But those old days are gone for good. In the Windows-as-a-Service era, those every-three-years "big bang" releases have vanished, replaced by a rolling succession of smaller but still significant feature updates that now arrive every six months.

Since the launch of Windows 10 in July 2015, Microsoft has released six feature updates, each of which is the equivalent of a full Windows upgrade. A seventh, version 1903, is due for release any day. But this one is different from the rest.

Windows 10 version 1903 is the first update since Microsoft changed its support lifecycle late last year. The version 1903 update will have an 18-month support cycle for all editions, whereas the version 1909 release, due in October, will get a longer, 30-month support cycle for Enterprise and Education editions. (All Windows 10 Pro installations will be supported for 18 months, and Windows 10 Home cannot defer updates.)

The upshot of this new release cadence is that enterprise customers who want to minimize the disruption of Windows 10 feature updates will target those end-of-year releases. And if Microsoft is smart, they'll treat the H1 version as a significant update, with the H2 release smoothing the rough edges in its immediate predecessor and introducing minimal new features.

That strategy should make the fall 2019 update more appealing to enterprise customers, especially given that it will be the last Windows 10 update before the end of Windows 7 supportin January 2020.

So, what's new in version 1903? Here’s a list of a few of the most interesting new features:

          •  Windows Sandbox uses built-in virtualization to create a "safe" desktop where you can try out an
             untrusted program or visit a suspicious website without risking the integrity of your PC. When you
             close the sandbox, every trace of those actions is wiped out, and the next session starts fresh.

          • The default Start menu layout has been made cleaner, Cortana and Windows Search are now
​            separated, and there's a shiny new Windows Light theme.

        •  Several old-style management controls have now been moved into new Settings pages. Most notable  
           is the addition of a drag-and-drop interface for installing new fonts, but you'll also find improvements
           in the Search Indexing interface and the modern printing dialog box, as well as options for setting a
           manual IP address and DNS server settings for a wired Ethernet adapter.

But that list focuses mostly on visible parts of the user experience and doesn't include some of the equally substantive under-the-hood improvements.

For example, Microsoft has moved Start to its own process, called StartMenuExperienceHost.exe, and also changed the process, so it no longer suspends. Separating this process from the rest of the shell should make it faster and more reliable. If this change works as expected, you'll notice much snappier performance.
Microsoft continues to polish the update process, adding more notifications and, reportedly, giving you the option to postpone updates for up to 35 days on a PC running Windows 10 Home edition. 

One longstanding annoyance is reportedly fixed in this update. In current Windows 10 builds, if you adjust the display brightness and then plug in (or unplug) the charger, the brightness changes back to the default setting; as of version 1903, Windows now remembers your custom brightness setting as preferred, regardless of whether you're running on battery or AC power.

In sum, version 1903 contains enough new stuff to earn its status as a major feature update. As always, you can manually update immediately, or you can wait till Microsoft releases the update to your PC, a process that might take a month or two. And, of course, you always have the option to watch and wait as Microsoft fixes the inevitable glitches and hiccups in those first few months. For more details, click here.

For those organizations that have already made the move to Windows 10, there's plenty of time to refine the strategy for dealing with these updates. For those who are yet to begin the upgrade from Windows 7, the alarms are starting to sound in earnest.

Networks today are subject to many threats including ransomware, cryptocurrency-miner threats, or state-sponsored hackers.

In line with other security industry pros, Microsoft has confirmed in its 24th annual security intelligence report that ransomware has taken a backseat to pesky cryptocurrency miners. 

But the company also warns that supply-chain attacks are on the rise. These are where an attacker uses a supplier or business partner to spread an infection. 

Past examples include the NotPetya not-ransomware outbreakthat caused over a billion dollars in losses for global firms and the Dofoil BitTorrent attacks. 
    
"Supply-chain attacks are insidious because they take advantage of the trust that users and IT departments place in the software they use," Microsoft warns in the report. 

"The compromised software is often signed and certified by the vendor, and may give no indication that anything is wrong, which makes it significantly more difficult to detect the infection. They can damage the relationship between supply chains and their customers, whether the latter are corporate or home users.

"By poisoning software and undermining delivery or update infrastructures, supply-chain attacks can affect the integrity and security of goods and services that organizations provide."

While attacks are changing and Windows 10 built-in security is improving, the company's advice to customers remains the same. However, there are conflicting data about the best approach to staying secure.  
Microsoft recommends only using software from trusted sources, though this 'security hygiene' measure could be undermined in a supply-chain attack. 

The company also recommends "rapidly applying the latest updates to your operating systems and applications, and immediately deploying critical security updates for OS, browsers, and email."

Deploying patches quickly is generally a good idea. However, Microsoft recently revealed that vulnerabilities in its software are most likely to be exploited as a zero-daybefore the company has even had a chance to release a patch. 

However, its other tips don't present obvious security conflicts.  

"Deploy a secure email gateway that has advanced threat protection capabilities for defending against modern phishing variants," Microsoft warns, adding that businesses should "Enable host anti-malware and network defenses to get near real-time blocking responses from the cloud (if available in your solution)." 

The other important measures organizations should take include implementing access controls, and teaching employees to be suspect of messages that ask them to divulge sensitive information. 

Microsoft also recommends keeping "destruction-resistant backups of your critical systems and data" and using cloud storage services for online backups. 
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"For data that is on premises, regularly back up important data using the 3-2-1 rule. Keep three backups of your data, on two different storage types, and at least one backup offsite," says Microsoft.

Every month, thousands of retail websites are targeted by cybercriminals, who insert a small piece of malicious code that allows them to snatch customers’ credit card information. The hacking technique is called formjacking, and it’s the virtual equivalent of putting a device on an ATM to skim debit card numbers.
Affecting an average of 4,800 websites per month, formjacking is one of the newest favorite ways for hackers to steal personal data, according to security company Symantec’s annual Internet Security Threat Report.

Small and medium-sized businesses are still the most prominent targets of formjacking, according to Symantec, but in recent months, high profile brands including British Airways and Ticketmaster have also fallen victim to attacks. Symantec said it blocked more than 3.7 million formjacking attacks on websites in 2018, with one-third of those happening during the holiday shopping season.

“Formjacking represents a serious threat for both businesses and consumers,” Greg Clark, CEO of Symantec, said in a statement. “Consumers have no way to know if they are visiting an infected online retailer without using a comprehensive security solution, leaving their valuable personal and financial information vulnerable to potentially devastating identity theft.”

As returns diminish on older hacking techniques, formjacking has become a lucrative choice for cyber crooks, though it’s impossible to quantify the amount stolen from every formjacking attack in 2018. Symantec estimates criminals were able to steal “tens of millions of dollars” by using credit card information or selling the numbers on the dark web for around $45 each.

Meanwhile, instances of ransomware declined 20% overall for the first time since 2013, according to Symantec. One primary reason for this is the decreased value of cryptocurrency, which hackers use to demand payments.

Of course, hackers are expert shape-shifters and are always looking for new, sophisticated ways to sneak up and steal private information. Security experts recommend staying on top of threats by using antivirus software and by checking to make sure any website where you enter your credit card information has a lock icon next to the domain, indicating it’s a secure server.
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Hackers have also been known to go old school, too, by sending targets phishing emails as a way to socially engineer them into sending personal information. But companies are increasingly on the lookout for these dangerous messages. Google even developed a phishing quizto help web users better identify potentially dangerous emails.