Here are a few of the stories I’ve found interesting over the past few days.
Microsoft’s Exchange Email Server Under Attack That Makes Solarwinds Look Small
Everyone in the IT security field thought that the Solarwinds hack from a few months ago was a huge attack, and it was. But now we have a new “champion.” There has been a vulnerability in Microsoft’s Exchange server software since January, and it is estimated over 100,000 companies that have an internal email server running Exchange have been compromised. Microsoft was first made aware of the vulnerabilities in January, and it took until March before the firm issued patches. That is too long, and Microsoft even released the patches a week earlier than planned because the vulnerability was disclosed to the public. The flaw was so severe that Microsoft even issued a patch for Exchange 2010 which has been out of support without patches for a couple years now.
This is huge, and a nightmare for anyone compromised. Simply patching doesn’t fix the problem. Compromised servers can be taken over even after the patch, meaning admins need to do a lot of clean up and recovery. I’m personally very happy I’m not currently managing an Exchange server.
Chrome OS turns 10, Google Announces Chrome OS 89
I kind of can’t believe this, but Chrome OS is 10 years old. Chrome OS, which began as not much more than as a laptop that ran only the Chrome Browser, has turned into something that 95% people could probably use for 95% of their computing tasks. Chrome OS is still by no means perfect, but It has come a long way, and has turned into a mainstay in the North American education market.
On the 10th anniversary Google announced many new features in Chrome OS due to hit this year, most notably significantly better integration between Chrome OS and Android devices. This is welcome, as MacOS has incredible integration with iPhones, and Microsoft’s Windows platform has better integration with Android than Google’s own Chrome OS platform does. I’m really interested to try it.
Sonos Announces The Sonos Roam
Sonos has finally released a portable speaker. The Sonos Roam is a small Bluetooth speaker in the vein of the UE Boom, with 10 hours of battery life, USB-C charging, an optional charging dock, and even standard qi wireless charging. But, the Sonos Roamm also features integration with the Sonos ecosystem, connecting to Wifi and working with the rest of Sonos’ services. For those already in the Sonos ecosystem, this offers another option that a user can also take with them when they travel, or into the back yard. For others, this could be a gateway into the Sonos ecosystem, which is a complete whole home audio platform.
The Sonos Roam will cost $230 in Canada and will be available April 20th. That is expensive for just a Bluetooth speaker, but as a hook into the Sonos ecosystem, it is very compelling.
Disney Plus Already has 100 Million Subscribers
This doesn’t need a lot of analysis except to say that passing 100 million subscribers after only 16 months shows the power of the Disney brand, and the wealth of content under the umbrella. This is more so with the launch of the “Star” section of Disney Plus. I don’t expect this growth to slow until Disney has long passed Netflix’s subscriber base.
Microsoft Edge is Officially Dead. Long Live Microsoft Edge
Last year, Microsoft replaced its Microsoft Edge browser with a new browser, named Microsoft Edge. The new Edge is based on Chromium, the open source version of Google Chrome that many other web browsers run on. The old version of Edge was developed in house and Microsoft, and the EdgeHTML rendering engine never got much support. Microsoft continued to support what it calls Legacy Edge for about 18 months as it rolled out the new version of Edge to users, and the new version of Edge is now included in every Windows install, and is a mandatory update in Windows update.
This week’s Patch Tuesday has brought the last security update to the legacy version of Edge. It will no longer receive any security updates, and in April’s patch Tuesday Microsoft plans to remove it from windows altogether.