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Amazon Corretto is a production-ready distribution of OpenJDK, while the preview release version, Corretto 8 corresponds to Java 8, which installation binaries are currently available for Linux, macOS, and Windows.

Corretto is designed as a drop-in replacement for all Java SE distributions, except in cases where a user is using features not included in OpenJDK, (for instance, Java Flight Recorder) or workloads running on non-HotSpot JVMs.

The open source Corretto distribution of OpenJDK is currently in beta, and preview builds can be downloaded from aws.amazon.com/corretto, with long-term support promise by Amazon, and quarterly updates including bug fixes and security patches.

Amazon will provide security updates at no cost until 2023, and up to Corretto 11. It will include targeted backports from newer releases, as well as newly-developed enhancements from the OpenJDK community.

And the process will involve testing on thousands of Amazon Web services, which will ensure that fixes are released within days of solving the issues.

While Oracle's changes in Java support, the removal of the free long term support (LTS) for Java, have got Amazon customers worried as they'd have to pay for LTS version in order to run workloads.

Amazon has re-affirmed long term support for Java in Amazon Linux, and perhaps this will be followed up with the beta release of Amazon Corretto.

Amazon Corretto, the production-ready distribution of OpenJDK now in open beta



Google has been battling with what it calls the most complex and sophisticated ad fraud operations for years, now the company claims to have obtained a legal backing for takedown of the click-fraud operators.

Working in conjunction with the cyber security firm, White Ops, Google have identified one of the most complex ad fraud operations seen to date, 3ve: A creative and sophisticated threat; haven published a white paper about the ad fraud operation, and steps it took to protect its clients.

3ve (pronounced “Eve”), is an ad fraud operation which evolved in 2017 from a modest, low-level botnet into a sophisticated larger operation that employed a broad set of tactics to run ad fraud. It operated at a significant scale, which at its peak, controls over 1 million IPs from residential malware infections and corporate IP spaces primarily in North America and Europe.

Google discovered that 3ve comprised of three unique sub-operations that have evolved rapidly, with sophisticated tactics to exploit data centers, computers infected with malware, spoofed fraudulent domains, and fake websites.

Through a working group, comprising of about 20 partners, Google seeks to broaden the investigation, and to engage directly with stakeholders to work towards a mutually beneficial outcome.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York has announced charges against this fraud operation, which takedown marks a major milestone in the industry’s fight against ad fraud.

Google records a huge win in fight against global Ad fraud operations



Facebook's experiment with breaking news services, like the "Trending Topics" had raised controversy in reactions to the removal of human moderators, leaving it solely to AI algorithm, which opened door for misinformation and fake news campaigns.

Now, the social media giant is making another bet with local news, as it launches Today In, a feature that breaks local news and information to users based on their geographic location.

It offers a dedicated section which curates and aggregates relevant stories for local sources in a concise form in the News Feed, allowing users to catch up with the news, events, and discussions happening in the community.

While the company’s interest in promoting local news, was as a result of users consistency in demanding to see more local happenings on Facebook, which will help it understand the issues that matter in communities and how they affect users lives.

Albeit, the great bane remains the concerns about misinformation, privacy, and the meddling of government-backed agencies with “fake news” campaigns.

Facebook has also launched its first international test in Australia, with more testing in communities located in places that have low supply of local news and information, by supplementing with relevant content from surrounding areas.

The local news service has been in testing since last January in some U.S. cities, and is now rolling out to more than 400 cities in the United States.

Facebook's local news service, Today In rolling out to over 400 U.S. cities



Before now, the predominant recommendation has been to watch out for a green padlock when transacting with any website, as the presence of HTTPS lends to the credibility of the site, but not anymore.

While the Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is a combination of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol with the SSL/TLS Protocol to enable data encryption and secure identification of a given server, but now even the bad actors adhere to it, which means you'll need to check for more than one sign to know if a website is legit.

As the number of websites supporting HTTPS over encrypted SSL/TLS connections have skyrocketed over the past year, with over 70 percent of web traffic now encrypted, both on computers and mobile devices, even Google has gone ahead to remove the green padlock on its browser, Chrome, citing that HTTPS is now so normal that you don't need to see it anymore.

The proliferation of HTTPS means there's no one rule to protect you from the bad actors on the internet today, so you have to be savvier than ever before to avoid the scams.

It is advisable to check for more than one sign to be sure that a website is legitimate, including making sure the site's URL is actually correct, and as a rule of thumb, type out the URL into the browser instead of following a link from a mail. Also, when using password managers and security software, ensure they are up to date.

The green lock is supposed to show that information sent from your browser is encrypted, and that is all, but doesn't say anything about the legitimacy of the site, as scammers can trick you into entering your sensitive information with a green padlock on their sites too.

That's not to say that HTTPS isn't useful, because transmitting valuable information that anyone could intercept and read is also a bad idea, but a lot of people just don't know the lock means another specific thing, they've been sold over the years that it means a 'safe' website.

Why just HTTPS green padlock isn't enough and neither makes a Safe Website



The countdown to the end of the password has begun, as Google toes the line of security key mechanisms; while this is not actual killing of the password, as it's still tied to pretty strict requirements.

Titan Security Key is a phishing-resistant two-factor authentication (2FA) devices developed by Google that help protect high-value enterprise users from the most sophisticated attacks. It works with most popular browsers, with support from growing ecosystem of services on the FIDO standards, and only available via the Google Store or through a Google Cloud representative.

While Microsoft had also introduced same security mechanism, with its Account holders requiring to signing in with their face or a security key instead of the regular password, which feature makes use of the Windows Hello biometric security or a physical security key.

Google's new Titan Security Key costs only $50 and brings extra security to your Google accounts, including services like Facebook, Dropbox and others, with each key firmware stored in a secure element, preventing anyone to modify or extract the private data in the key which is authenticated with the Google service.

The downside to a physical key, however is that it is liable to get lost, which situation may mean been locked out from your online activities, though Google has assured that there are backups with an extra key that can help you gain access to your account, as the recovery process take days.

But still, the inconvenience remains the bane, just like any kind of two-factor authentication is complicated; that’s the price to pay for keeping your account safe.

Although Google wants the security keys to be available for all, they can only be worth the trouble for administrators and highly placed individuals that are susceptible to targeted attacks, as the many requirements will be tiresome for the average user with little to nothing to spare.

Titan Security Key: Google looks to alternative Mechanisms to the regular Password



The embattled smartphone pioneer, BlackBerry is looking to refocus its strategy on providing core security solutions by the acquisition of Cylance, with the highly rated anti-malware service giving it an edge to cover more verticals.

While BlackBerry offered $1.4 billion dollars for the outright purchase of Cylance, the machine-learning based anti-malware company will be pivotal in the company's drive to provide security for endpoint infrastructures, including automobiles, medical facilities, and critical IoT devices.

Albeit, the company's reputation suffered a huge setback as a result of its early availing of the global decryption key for its consumer devices to the Canadian federal police, and making it possible for them to decrypt text messages sent between BlackBerry handsets.

BlackBerry, however has assured that none of the current enterprise software products will have a global decryption key.

The acquisition of Cylance's anti-malware service is potentially a big win for the company, as the proprietary machine learning technology developed by Cylance is very different from the encryption backdoor it had deployed on its consumer handsets.

But skeptics are concerned about the possibility of another compromise on the part of BlackBerry, as the saying goes that a track record of cooperation by anyone points to possible future cooperation and deliberately created vulnerability will inevitably result to a compromise.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been notorious for demanding such backdoor access from tech companies, with the widely circulated case of the FBI seeking to break into the iPhone of Syed Farook.

Apple CEO, Tim Cook refuted the demand stating that granting a backdoor access to the iPhone for the federal government to access encrypted data would create "chilling" implications that could undermine the privacy of all users.

BlackBerry will have an uphill task in proving to the consumers that it has their security and privacy at heart, and more than just a prove, they'll have to assure them of total safety from the government.

BlackBerry refocus on core security solutions with Cylance and Spark platform



Are you trying to figure out which video format is ‘best’ suitable for encoding your video? Whether you’re unfamiliar with video formats in general, which may seem like a very difficult decision – but it actually isn’t that complicated a task.

Here are Factors to Consider When Deciding on a Video Format

When deciding on a format, you should first consider the impact it will have on your videos overall output, and particularly, these three factors should be weighed in with the final decisions:

  • Compatibility


It goes without saying that you need to choose a format that will be compatible with the device or platform you want to use in watching the video. Ideally the device will have hardware support (i.e. hardware acceleration) for the format, as software decoding is processor-intensive and require a lot of power.

  • Compression


The format will affect the file size, because the video codec (which is part of the format) determines the compression that is used. Newer codecs typically have better compression rates, and can compress videos to smaller file sizes while maintaining their quality.

  • Features


Some videos may have other features included in the video, and the container (which is also part of the format) needs to support them. Among the more popular features in videos are menus, captions, chapters, and streaming support.

How Will the Video Be Used?

  • Uploading to online video platforms


The format should generally follow the recommended settings of the platform (e.g. YouTube’s recommended settings). That will ensure that it isn’t transcoded internally by the platform – which could affect its quality.

  • Distributing to multiple users


If you’re sharing the video file among many people, compatibility is the main factor to consider. As such a format such as MP4 with H.264 which has near-universal compatibility is normally best.

  • Burning on a video DVD


Video DVDs use the MPEG-2 format to encode videos, making your decision easy. While there are some newer DVD players that support other formats, MPEG-2 is the reliable choice.

  • Storing in a limited amount of space


If storage space is at a premium, you should try to encode it in a format that offers good compression. Nowadays MP4 or MKV with HEVC (H.265) is the common option, but you should check that it is compatible with your device.

Keep in mind that after you encode your video you can convert it using tools such as Movavi Video Converter to convert WebM to MP4 or to and from any other formats. Try to store the original version of the video however, especially if you feel you may need to convert it to a different format later.

Generally speaking in most cases nowadays MP4 with H.264 is a ‘safe’ format, though if H.265 is compatible – it is a better option. That may not always be the case however, and new formats may be introduced that supplant one or the other, or both.

How to Decide the Best Video Format for Encoding your Videos



Microsoft is certainly at a crossroad with its digital assistant, Cortana with the likes of Amazon's Alexa already making huge strides into the booming market for smart speakers, as have also Apple's Siri and Google Home.

While the company has been courting Amazon's Alexa, with the purported integration of the respective digital assistants, Alexa and Cortana, and haven announced the milestone of the two assistants serving as skills in their respective platforms.

But recent occurrence within Microsoft shows that things aren't quite working as anticipated, as the company has gone ahead to downgrade Cortana’s importance by moving it from the AI and Research Division to the Experiences segment.

And Javier Soltero, who has been saddled with Cortana development at Microsoft, announcing earlier in the month about leaving the company; also, another big wig in the Cortana team also left few weeks before Soltero’s announcement, the over a decade veteran Samuel Moreau, design director of Cortana and its AI technology, left to the Expedia Group.

The signals may not actually portend the end of Cortana as a standalone digital assistant, rather it will most likely become less important to Microsoft, just like other similar products that's relegated behind the scenes.

Meanwhile, Google’s smart speaker have been surging in sales, even as analysts predicted that it will outsell Amazon’s Echo for the first quarter of 2018, with about 3.2 million units to Amazon’s 2.5 million sales.

Microsoft's Cortana smart speaker, the Harman Kardon Invoke recorded rather too low a margin sales to be measured; and though Apple isn't a player in the smart speaker market, Siri is visibly domineering on the mobile front as it’s essentially a cult following with iPhone.

Why Microsoft's digital assistant, Cortana appears to be losing its luster



LinkedIn is prepping a feature called Student Voices, which aims at attracting younger audience to the platform, while students will be able to post short-form videos to their Campus Playlist.

The new feature will mimic Snapchat Stories, with slideshows which appears atop the LinkedIn home screen, though no photos is currently allowed, and it will be available only for university students in the United States at launch.

The feature is currently in testing and will be rolling out to college students in the US, and as youngsters love to use short videos to capture moments, LinkedIn is hoping to recapture this very active demographics with the shared experiences to help create a community.



LinkedIn's main aim is to get students to share their academic experiences like internships, career talks and projects to show off to recruiters as part of their personal brand.

Also, LinkedIn will create a set of hashtags like #OnCampus, based on the student’s activities so that other students can follow them on the network, and having these videos on their profile can help the students prepare for life after graduation, and help potential employers learn more about them.

LinkedIn is pushing hard at attracting more young people to the network with its Learning service, with such offerings like video tutorials and courses, and recently including contents from third-party providers, like: Treehouse and the Harvard Business School.

And the network is gradually shifting from the static web tool for professionals seeking jobs, which was its primary function at launch, to a more dynamic and interactive platform for learning; an innovation hub where skills can be harnessed and redeployed for growth and entrepreneurship.

LinkedIn aims to attract younger audience to the platform with Student Voices



Microsoft has introduced new security measures for its Account holders requiring signing in with face or a security key instead of the regular password, which feature makes use of the Windows Hello biometric security or a physical security key.

The move is Microsoft’s attempt to make it pretty easy for users with poor password management and to reduce the incidence of account hacking due to weak passwords, by allowing users to sign into its services without requiring a username or password.

For the feature to work, you must be running the Windows 10 October 2018 Update and using Microsoft’s Edge browser, with your security key compatible with the FIDO2 CTAP specification which technology powers the new security measures.

Albeit, this is not actual killing of the password, as it comes with some pretty strict requirements, though lots of individual still don’t bother using a password manager, and most passwords are terribly poor.

The process isn't quite a take-on the common two-factor authentication, whereby a user has to first enter a username and password, before a message is sent to phone for completion of log-in, as it works minus the initial factors.

This new capability is implemented using Windows Hello and FIDO2 specifications, and based on Windows 10 built-in secure enclave, known as hardware trusted platform module (TPM) or a software TPM.

Unlike the password, FIDO2 protects user credentials using public/private key encryption, while the private key is stored securely on the device and can only be used after it has been unlocked using a local gesture like biometric or PIN.

And with more browsers and platforms supporting the WebAuthn and FIDO2 standards, the password-less experience — which is now only available on Microsoft Edge and Windows 10 — will be a possible experience everywhere!

Microsoft introduces Account sign in using face or security key without password

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