🏠 We have Fort Knox at home: Facial recognition and 3D surveillance are just the first steps for Silicon Valley tech elites turning their homes into military-grade fortresses. The startup Sauron (named after the villain in “The Lord of the Rings”) uses drones to create a “deterrence pod” that projects a searchlight to scare off trespassers. Boy, I could’ve used that when Chilean gangs targeted my home and the Phoenix SWAT team saved the day.
Update your PC - New Windows fix patches 55 bugs and major vulnerabilities
Microsoft released another round of updates on what is commonly known as Patch Tuesday. The November edition is a significant one, as it fixes several zero-day exploits. No more passwords? Microsoft says you can ditch yours and use one of these secure methods instead.
The bug fixes are aimed towards a slew of Microsoft products that include the Edge browser, Microsoft Office, Visual Studio, Exchange Server, Windows Kernel, and Windows Defender. In total, 55 vulnerabilities are patched, of which six have been classified as critical.
This patch fixes fewer issues than last month, which corrected almost 80 vulnerabilities, and is half the amount from November 2019. That has caused the Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) to worryingly ponder if Microsoft is sitting with a backlog of patches.
Here’s the backstory
Of the 55 corrections released in this update, six are critical. Hackers could use several of the flaws to breach computers and steal personal information. Here are some of the highlights:
- CVE-2021-43209 and CVE-2021-43208 both deal with flaws in the 3D Viewer in Windows. In the patch notes, Microsoft explained that “an attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.” It is a Remote Code Execution vulnerability meaning that a hacker can run any code on the affected system.
- CVE-2021-38631 and CVE-2021-41371 correct a problem with the Windows Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). Attackers can use the flaw to extract personal information or locally force the leaking of information.
- CVE-2021-42292 impacts Microsoft Excel and has already been exploited by hackers. It serves as an entry point for attackers to bypass security controls. This patch is specifically for the Windows version of Excel, and there isn’t a patch for the Mac version yet.
- CVE-2021-42321 has also been actively used by hackers and is present in Microsoft Exchange Server. While hackers need to be authenticated for the exploit to be used, a flaw in the command validation can lead to a Remote Code Execution.
What you can do about it
It should be commonplace for you by now, but you must always keep your operating system and software up to date. Just like the latest update, most patch any security flaws that could lead to your computer suffering from a breach.
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Here’s how to update your Windows PC:
Is that a T. rex in my living room? Use Google to see dinos in the real world
“We have a T. Rex!” Thanks to a new partnership between Google and Universal that lets you add dinosaurs to the real world using AR technology, that famous line from “Jurassic Park” has never been more fitting. RELATED: 5 of our favorite AR apps.
300,000-year-old face
Of our oldest human ancestor, revealed. A graphics expert 3D-scanned a skull to create a realistic render. Found in Morocco, the remains proved humans evolved 100,000 years earlier than we thought. Check out the pic of the handsome fellow here.
The second Neuralink brain chip patient is doing well: “Alex” is using design software to create 3D objects and play the first-person shooter game Counter-Strike, all with his mind. The next frontier? Connecting the brain chip to the physical world, such as fully controlled robotic arms. Incredible stuff.
🤖 AI is coming to our military in a big way: Palantir’s mixed-reality headsets let soldiers see the battlefield in 3D, while new software can spot hidden cargo ships in shipping lanes. Older weapons aren’t going anywhere, though — just getting more efficient.