Articles by Jack M. Germain

Stand-alone automation platforms and low-code software tools in recent years have enabled vendors to increase sales of products designed for specific roles and functions directly to business users Often, this puts IT management at arm's length from enforcing governance and security standards....

Hours before Russia began its Ukraine invasion on Feb. 24, Microsoft found a new malware package, which it dubbed "FoxBlade." As more concerns about malware fallout from the war spread, several cybersecurity firms announced protective measures for potential victims Microsoft's Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) detected a new round of offensive and...

A surge in the use of the new marketing channel called social commerce requires online retailers to adapt their selling strategies to succeed. For that new marketing platform to get results for sellers, however, brands must recognize that traditional e-commerce and social media marketing are not the same Years of research optimized the e-commerce c...

ExTiX is a Linux distribution that knows where it is going but falls short of being there yet. It is, however, well on its way The ExTiX developers published a new release, Jan 15. The new version, ExTiX 22.1, features the Deepin desktop environment and can be run from RAM as a handy portable Linux platform....

One bad consumer experience can cause a customer to stop using a product, which is why the customer journey revolution is taking center stage at smart businesses While customer experience analytics can rescue businesses struggling to effectively manage their customer journeys, real-time insights are needed to help brands correct their CX difficulti...

With Russian military forces invading Ukraine, Atlas VPN is offering journalists in that war zone heightened online security using its virtual private network (VPN) free of charge The company on Thursday announced its support to journalists and media personnel in Ukraine. Media representatives in Ukraine needing a premium VPN subscription should e...

Government agencies have discovered a deadlier new home and office network device killer malware that replaces weaker VPNFilter code U.S. and U.K. governments published a joint report Wednesday detailing a new malware strain developed by Russia's military cyber unit deployed in the wild since 2019 and used to remotely compromise network devices, pr...

The power of open-source software and the flexibility of Linux computing consume a significant share of news space each month Increasing numbers of technical jobs continue to go unfilled due to a lack of Linux skills. Many of those vacant jobs no doubt make it more difficult to stem the tide of cyberattacks by digital criminals who do not lack the ...

In Neal Stephenson's popular 1992 sci-fi novel "Snow Crash," the author introduced the term metaverse to portray a futuristic world where people interacted in virtual 3D worlds using avatars. While his avatar-laced society is a familiar playing field for virtual game fans, few others but forward-looking marketers envisioned much usefulness in the realities of e-commerce...

Russian state-sponsored cybercriminals lurked for the last two years in numerous U.S Cleared Defense Contractors' (CDC) networks stealing sensitive, unclassified information along with proprietary and export-controlled technology The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and National Securit...

The 15.6" Desklab portable IPS 4K touchscreen monitor is a solid choice to consider if you are looking for a high-performance second display that you can easily take with you This is not a brand-new product. Rather, it is the latest iteration of monitor configurations based on an innovative concept released about two years ago....

Social commerce made a big splash during the pandemic, and market watchers expect it to grow exponentially over the next few years. As businesses prepare their strategies to move forward in 2022, they should consider the impact of key social commerce trends The traditional commerce model involves finding details about a product online or through ad...

Cybersecurity awareness is not just a necessity for businesses and internet-facing organizations. Consumers, especially lonely hearts experiencing life's so-called golden years, are prime targets for romance scams and fraud assaults Research shows that romance scams are at an all-time high. Even younger folks who share too much about their affairs ...

Linux patents are getting more defensive as the Open Invention Network expands its licensing options. Meanwhile, are you ready for mandated options for a software bill of materials (SOBM)? Government and industry support is growing for this requirement One of the newest free Linux options for enterprise use has a successful first. Read on to learn ...

Many vendors are missing a goldmine in personalizing customer experience because they are not thinking "inside the box." A proprietary combination of software and on-demand printers from marketing automation firm UnDigital personalizes the unboxing experience This relatively new technology is turning e-commerce delivery packages into a marketing ...

The widespread belief is that finger, face, and voice authentication are the epitome of security. But those technologies are not as safe as we think, according to nVIAsoft officials, who point out that conventional biometric systems like face, voice, and fingerprint recognition have easily exploitable security loopholes The New York-based startup...

Brace yourself; 2022 promises to bring expanded cyber confrontations as ransomware attacks gain the high ground A dangerous increase in ransomware attacks last year caused devastating compromises to government organizations, critical infrastructure, and businesses. Much of the increase resulted from cybercriminals becoming increasingly innovative a...

The need to allure younger shoppers today is redefining marketing strategies for retailers who know that growing a youthful base of loyal customers is an essential process for long-term success. However, the digital road to converting younger shoppers to adopt a new brand or favorite merchandise depot is often marred with bumps and detours Some of ...

Canonical is pushing the limits on its MLOps platform to automate the full lifecycle of feature engineering, training, and release workflows for machine learning (ML) models The Canonical Data Platform team on Tuesday announced the release of its MLOps platform Charmed Kubeflow 1.4. The new free release enables data science teams to securely colla...

Cybersecurity researchers uncovered a vicious new threat that disguises itself as legitimate system software. Cyber experts must exhaust rigorous analysis to find it in action With Linux kernel 5.12, you can update firmware without rebooting. The last refinement in the LibreOffice 7 series paves the way for a new set of features when Series 8 arriv...