In the show, Marcello Sukhdeo talks about four things to practice to stay protected from ransomware, also, some new features coming in iOS11 that will free up storage space and a new cool AI app from Microsoft to tell visually impaired users who they are snapping a picture of.

 

Show Notes

 

Ransomware

 

We have been hearing a lot about ransomware in the last few months. The ransomware WannaCry alone, affected more than 230,000 computers in over 150 countries and then more recently there was Petya.

 

According to a survey done by Guidance Software of IT and security professionals, ransomware attacks in 2017 have not lessened since 2016. In fact, ransomware isn't going anywhere, it is here to stay, so the best thing to do is protect yourself.

 

1. Social media security

 

Make sure your profiles are private and only share them with people you actually know and try not to share too much personal information online.

 

2. Be careful with your emails

 

Don't open emails from people you don't know without scanning them first for malware. Even if an email looks legitimate, be careful. The best thing to do is not click on anything that is inside of an email from someone you don't personally know.

 

3. Be serious about passwords

 

Make sure your passwords are complex to protect your data.

 

4. Keep Windows updated

 

Both Petya and WannaCry used vulnerabilities in computers that hadn't updated their Windows operating system. Turn on automatic update on your computer so as to get the latest patches from Microsoft.

 

New features in iOS11 to free up space

 

Running out of storage space on our devices, especially the iPhone and iPad is a bummer.

 

But with iOS 11, which is coming later this fall, Apple is moving to free up space on iOS devices. This new iOS will come with the new feature of Offload unused apps.

 

If you like to download lots of apps but don’t really use them often, then with iOS 11, these apps will automatically be removed without deleting the documents and data of the apps.

 

Another way to free up space is to use the storage management section. Here, you will see a breakdown of your storage by apps, photos, mail, etc. By scrolling down, you will see the space occupied by each app and it will also display the last used time, so you can easily uninstall an app if you have not used it in a while.

 

Also, there will be recommendations on how to free up space:

 

iCloud Photo Library: iOS 11 offers to automatically upload your entire photo library to iCloud, saving you space on your iOS device.

 

“Recently Deleted” Album:  Pictures removed from the iOS Photos app remain in the “Recently Deleted” album. iOS 11 gives you the option of deleting this album permanently with one tap.

 

Auto Delete Old Conversations: This option can remove all iMessage messages and attachments sent or received more than a year ago.

 

Review Personal Videos: This option lists all the videos taking up valuable space on your device, then gives you the option to delete them.

 

Messages on iCloud: All your iMessages and attachments can be uploaded to iCloud to save space on your device. (This option also displays the amount of space you’ll save by uploading them to iCloud.)

 

For more than 20 years, JPEG served as the popular image format. With iOS 11, Apple replaces JPEG with High Efficiency Image Format, or HEIF. This new format looks better and is roughly half the size of JPEG. This means you can store twice as many photos in the same space.

 

Seeing AI

 

Microsoft has released Seeing AI, an app that describes the world for the visually impaired. With this app, users can point their phone’s camera at a person and it’ll say who they are and how they’re feeling. They can also point it at a product and it’ll tell them what it is.

 

Starting this week, the app is available to download for free in the US on iOS. At this time, there is no word yet on when it’ll come to Android or other countries.

 

Seeing AI doesn’t just perform the basic task of optical character recognition technology, but also directs the user — it tells them to move the camera left or right to get the target in shot.

Tech Bytes

 

Apple recently announced that it is adding PayPal as a new payment method to the App Store, iTunes Store, iBookstore and Apple Music services. This means Apple users will be able to add PayPal to their Apple ID in order to buy apps, music, movies and TV shows.

 

This payment method has been launched in Mexico, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. The company says it will be launching in other regions in the coming weeks, including the United States.

 

Microsoft is officially ending support for its mobile OS, Windows Phone 8.1. This means that users will no longer receive updates. With the end of Windows Phone 8.1, Microsoft is closing the chapter on the Windows Phone brand after running with it over three generations starting in 2010. While the company initially drew praise for its novel approach to the mobile OS, a lack of compelling devices across price points, crucial features and popular third-party apps led to its slow demise.

 

And finally, Gangnam Style, the video that was released in 2012, has been unseated as the most viewed video on YouTube where it sat on the top for the last five years with 2.894 billion views. The most viewed video on YouTube is Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth's music video for "See You Again," which has 2.895 billion views currently.