Xvand Technology

WebUI 2.0 is coming to Edge settings

The cybersecurity threat landscape is constantly evolving, and malware targeting Windows machines remains a serious issue. One of the latest threats, CoreWarrior, has been making waves due to its aggressive self-replication and sophisticated techniques to evade detection. 🔍 What Makes CoreWarrior Dangerous? 😮 Aggressive Replication: Creates up to 117 copies of itself within 10 minutes, each with a randomly generated name to avoid detection. 😮 Advanced Evasion Tactics: Uses a modified UPX-packed executable, resists standard unpacking, and includes VM detection capabilities to avoid running in controlled environments. 😮 Data Exfiltration & Backdoor Access: Binds listeners across a wide range of ports and communicates with multiple IPs. Uses protocols like FTP, SMTP, and POP3 for data extraction. 😮 Persistence & Surveillance: Hooks into Windows UI elements and adjusts its timing based on monitoring results to complicate analysis and stay hidden longer. Cybersecurity researchers at SonicWall identified CoreWarrior's methods, including its use of the curl command-line tool to POST data to a specific URL. This malware adapts based on network activity, making it exceptionally resilient and hard to analyze. Key Takeaway: CoreWarrior is a stark reminder of the importance of robust cybersecurity practices. Be vigilant with phishing emails, downloads, and vulnerabilities that can provide entry points for these threats. Let’s stay proactive—together. 🛡️

Windows 11 Photo App will be beneficial to your business.

New Privacy Controls Are Coming to Microsoft Teams Live Captions and Transcripts! One thing Microsoft Teams does incredibly well is live captions—they’re available to everyone, offering real-time transcriptions and recaps for all meetings. And for premium users, there’s even live caption translation, making communication easier across language barriers. But Microsoft is taking things a step further! 🎉 In a new update to the Microsoft 365 Roadmap (Feature ID: 416072), Teams meeting organizers will soon have even more control over who can copy and share live captions, transcriptions, and meeting recaps. 🛡️ Here’s the scoop: By enabling this control, meeting organizers will be able to restrict participants from copying or forwarding meeting chats, captions, transcripts, and any insights generated from meeting recaps. This option will be visible in the meeting settings as "Turn off copying and forwarding of meeting chat, live captions, and transcript," providing an extra layer of privacy for sensitive discussions. Rollout is scheduled to start in November 2024 across desktop, iOS, and Android platforms! Plus, this comes at the same time as a slew of new AI features for Microsoft 365 Copilot subscribers, including tools like Copilot Pages, prioritized inbox in Outlook, narrative builder in PowerPoint, and advanced Excel and OneDrive capabilities—taking productivity to the next level. 🚀 What do you think about the new Teams privacy controls? How will this new update help your team manage sensitive information?

By now, many of us know that passkeys offer a more secure way to protect online accounts than traditional passwords. And the shift toward passkey adoption is well underway, with big players like Apple, Google, and Microsoft backing the protocol. Adoption is also booming! Take, for example, Dashlane, which reported a 400% increase in passkey usage this year, or Amazon, where 175 million customers now use passkeys to secure their accounts. But here’s the catch: transferring your passkeys between platforms is still a challenge. For users, it’s often far from seamless, creating unnecessary friction for those who want to switch platforms or credential managers. That’s where the FIDO Alliance comes in. On Tuesday, they announced draft specifications for the Credential Exchange Protocol (CXP) and Credential Exchange Format (CXF), two new standards designed to make moving passkeys between platforms as easy and secure as possible. If adopted widely, these standards could mean a future where switching credential managers won’t require a lengthy reconfiguration of your accounts. With heavy hitters like Apple, Google, 1Password, Bitwarden, and Dashlane already on board, we’re closer than ever to an ecosystem where passkey portability is the norm. As the FIDO Alliance put it, “It is critical that users can choose the credential management platform they prefer and switch credential providers securely and without burden.” While the standards aren’t live yet, this is a promising leap toward a more secure and flexible future. Soon, you’ll be able to move your passkeys with ease—no compromises. Are you ready to leave passwords in the past? Let’s talk about how passkeys can work for your business. 🔑

Just in time for Halloween—a blast from tech’s past is back from the dead! 🖥️💀 A 1986 Macintosh Plus has been resurrected, thanks to developer Hunter Irving’s tech wizardry! With the help of a Raspberry Pi Pico W and BlueSCSI, Hunter managed to get this vintage Mac online (although, spoiler alert: it’s not exactly winning any speed races...). Irving used the Raspberry Pi Pico W to emulate an old Ethernet adapter, tricking the Mac Plus into thinking it was using original hardware. Paired with a tool called BlueSCSI, this setup provided the vintage Mac with a connection to the internet—at a speed of around 60 KB per second. While it’s exciting to see a piece of tech history come back to life, this isn’t a call to cling to outdated machines. Instead, it's a reminder of just how far technology has come. This classic Mac may be fun for experimentation, but up-to-date technology is essential for today's businesses. Today’s systems are not only faster and more secure, but they’re also designed to handle the demands of a competitive, connected world. Is any of your old tech ready to be laid to rest? 👻 My team and I can help bring in modern, efficient solutions. Reach out and let’s future-proof your tech!

Microsoft’s Snipping Tool improved with its new "Copy as Table" feature! While it’s been able to recognize text from screenshots for about a year, the upcoming version will take it to the next level. Now, you can capture table data from images and paste it directly into Excel! No more messy manual copying or relying on unreliable third-party tools. 🙌 Here’s how it works: 1. Take a screenshot of the table. 2. Select Copy as Table under the Text Actions menu. 3. Paste it straight into Excel. Easy peasy! 💡 Pro Tip: Make sure you only screenshot the table—not the whole screen—so you don’t grab extra text from menus. Though still in testing, this feature is rolling out soon! Will this make your work life a little easier? Let me know! ⬇️

A new update is on the horizon.

On this day in 2001, Microsoft launched Windows XP — a game changer in the world of computing! Windows XP combined the power of Windows 2000 with the user-friendly feel of Windows 95, making it easier than ever for people to work and play on their PCs. Its reliability and simplicity meant that XP stuck around for years—even after its official replacement in 2007, many businesses and teams kept using it because it just worked. XP laid the groundwork for so many features we now take for granted in modern systems like Windows 11—cloud integration, touch, and voice support, and improved security are all part of XP's legacy. As we celebrate the anniversary of this iconic OS, it's a great reminder of just how far technology has come. 💡 Do you hold a soft spot for Windows XP? Or are you all about the cutting-edge experience of Windows 11? Let’s hear your thoughts! 👇

Starting in December 2024, Microsoft Teams will introduce Private Moderators, allowing moderators to reply to individual attendees privately—without displaying the reply to the entire group. 🎤 This new capability will be perfect for handling sensitive questions, personal inquiries, or follow-up discussions that don't need to be shared with everyone. 💬 This update will be available across all devices, including Android, iOS, Mac, and Desktop. While it’s unclear if this will only be released on the New Teams, it might be a good time to consider migrating to the updated version for more streamlined features. 💡 What do you think? Could Private Moderators help improve communication in your meetings?