This week on Tech News of The Week, Ned and Chris cross their fingers that the latest version of Teams will actually work, “celebrate” the career (and retirement) of Azure Service Manager, sneak past the security flaws of Microsoft MacOS apps, and banter about the now-banned FTC non-compete ban.  Links: Microsoft Releases New Version of Teams App That Might Actually WorkAfter Almost A Decade Azure Service Manager Is Finally Being RetiredMany Microsoft MacOS Applications Have Major Security...

The guys explore SMTP fixes, quantum mechanics, and how quantum computing might disrupt encryption, plus IBM’s free quantum resources. Bits, Quits, and Quantum Fits: The Mysteries of SMTP and Superposition Ned and Chris dive back into the nightmare disaster hellscape that is SMTP and explore the band-aid solutions of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Then, they take on quantum mechanics and computing. After all, who doesn’t love a good brain-melting challenge? The guys also explore the wild world of...

This week on Tech News of The Week, Ned and Chris sit in the audience for Crowdstrike’s award acceptance speech, empathize with FAT32 as it packs on the pounds, take a front-row seat to the newest, largest data breach ever, and use quantum technology to tease ahead to this week’s episode of Chaos Lever. Links: Quantum Encryption Standards Emerge From NISTCrowdstrike President Accepts Most Epic Fail Award in PersonLike Many 30 Year Olds FAT32 Gets A Little BiggerWe Have a New Contender For The...

Ned and Chris explore a newly discovered flaw in UEFI Secure Boot that’s led to a critical OEM blunder that allows rootkit attacks, and the only fix is a potentially daunting firmware update. Secure Boot’s Achilles’ Heel Ned and Chris dive into a freshly uncovered flaw in the Secure Boot process of PCs using UEFI firmware. They trace the evolution of boot processes from ENIAC’s manual grind to today’s automated systems, highlighting the crucial role of cryptographic keys in blocking...

This week on Tech News of The Week, Ned and Chris release their frustrations on OpenAI’s decision to withhold a ChatGPT cheat-detecting tool, lay into Intel for laying off thousands of employees amid financial chaos, time travel with hackers who are reverting Windows updates, and grab their gardening tools for the latest North Korean laptop farm arrest. Links: OpenAI Has A Tool To Help Stop ChatGPT Based Cheating But Won’t Release ItIntel Isn’t Having The Best Week EverA Flaw In Windows...

The guys discuss Google Chrome’s decision to stop trusting new Entrust certificates. Entrust Distrusted by Google Chrome Ned and Chris take a deep dive into the juicy tidbit about Google Chrome throwing Entrust under the bus. They dissect Chrome's decision to cut off new Entrust certificates starting October 31, 2024, all thanks to Entrust’s persistent screw-ups. Their chat covers how digital certificates are supposed to keep our online world secure and how modern tools like ACME and Certbot...

This week on Tech News of The Week, Ned and Chris watch Microsoft Azure continue to miss the mark amid a DDoS attack, turn up the heat on Intels’ CPU meltdown, pour water onto the AI bonfire, and look at how easy it is to prompt a hack of ChatGPT. Links: Microsoft Fiddles While Azure BurnsTwo Generations of Intel CPUs Affected by Chip-Destroying Voltage BugAI Isn’t A Pancea? Say It Ain’t So!OpenAI Releases Safety Update To ChatGPT Intended To Stop Some Prompt Hacks

Ned and Chris explore the chaotic fallout from a CrowdStrike Falcon sensor update that crashed Windows systems across various sectors. Where Were You the Day the Screens Turned Blue? The tech industry is a house of cards propped up by a mishmash of redundant systems and safety nets. In this episode, Ned and Chris dive into CrowdStrike’s Falcon sensor update on July 19, 2024. This blunder sent Windows systems crashing, causing chaos across airlines, retail stores, and hospitals. They dissect...

This week on Tech News of The Week, Ned and Chris scold Google for getting their hand caught in the cookie jar, give their two cents on another CentOS getting off the ground, and list 1,800 reasons why Intuit’s new AI direction is a horrible decision. Links: Advertising Company Google Chooses Not To Harm Their Ad BusinessIntuit Drinks The AI KoolAidYet Another Initiative To Maintain CentOS Gets Off The Ground

Ned and Chris discuss Amazon’s claim that their energy use is 100% renewable. Wind Turbines Don’t Kill Birds and Amazon Doesn’t Use 100% Renewable Energy Amazon claimed to be 100% renewable, but Amazon Employees for Climate Justice argues that the company hasn't met its climate pledges, and even threatened a walkout. In this episode, Ned and Chris discuss the growing energy demands of data centers, noting that despite efficiency improvements, their power consumption is set to double by 2026....

This week on Tech News of The Week, Ned and Chris mourn the privacy of millions of AT&T customers after the company quietly announced a massive data breach, lament the failings of SAP security, celebrate the arrival of Markdown in Google Docs, and discuss NVIDIA opening up to open-source kernel modules. Links: AT&T Believes That Sharing Is CaringSAP AI Product, and the Environment its Running On, BreachedMarkdown In Google Docs! At Least Two People Are Thrilled!NVIDIA Open-Sourcing...

Ned and Chris talk to Doug Madory about changes in BGP since the mid-1990s. The More Things Change, the More BGP Changes a Little Bit Ned and Chris dive into the evolving landscape of BGP with Doug Madory, the Director of Internet Analysis at Kentik. Despite the rapid transformation of the internet since the mid-1990s, BGP remains largely unchanged, leading to a rise in routing hijacks and user errors. Doug discusses how automated filters and cryptographic tools like RPKI ROV are mitigating...

This week on Tech News of The Week, Ned and Chris unpack Microsoft’s decision to suddenly add new features to Notepad, why the Japanese government is flip-flopping on floppy disks, try to understand OpenAI’s lack of understanding of their own products, and explain how Cloudflare is using AI to fight... AI. Links: Microsoft Adding Spellcheck Features To Notepad For… Reasons?The War On Floppy Disks Concluded For JapanOpenAI To Add Accountability By.. Removing Microsoft And Apple From The...

In this reissued episode (AKA the over-overhyped edition), Ned is pedantic about the term Supercloud, Chris is pedantic about everything, and we both think Halo Rise is a terrible, horrible, no good idea. Supercloud is as Supercloud Does Ned is no longer a stickler for language, but he still can't stand the term “supercloud.” In this reissued episode, we break down this term that’s been kicking around since 2016 in various guises. Ned regales us with tales from his analyst days and the...

Ned shares his AI-focused experience at the DC AWS Summit, discussing AWS's AI portfolio and GenAI tools, but remains skeptical. Mainlining AI in Washington DC Ned shares his experience attending the DC AWS Summit, which was heavily focused on AI. This gave him the opportunity to put cognitive behavioral therapy into practice and confront his aversion to AI by attending nothing but AI-centric sessions. In this episode, Ned tells what he learned about AWS's AI portfolio, noting its key...

This week on Tech News of The Week, Ned and Chris announce that NBC has gone creatively bankrupt with an AL Michaels AI, speculate on the speculative bubble of AI, have a far-out conversation about Datacenters in Space, and discuss how the power of kindness can lead to nefarious ends.  Links:  AL Al Will Enable NBC To Continue To Have No Idea How To Be CreativeIs The AI Bubble About To Pop?A Datacenter - In SPAAAAAAAAAACE!All You Had To Do Was Ask Nicely

The UN named 2025 the Year of Quantum Science, so Ned and Chris attempt to cram 2,450 years of quantum history into one episode. A Gambol Through Space and Time The United Nations has designated 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. To add to the confusion, Ned and Chris are trying to cover the history of quantum mechanics in this episode. They don’t succeed, but they still manage to cram a good 2,450 years in there, which is pretty good. They starting with ancient...

This week on Tech News of The Week, Ned and Chris rejoice that Voyager 1 is fully operational, remind you to update vCenter Security, ignore Dell’s demand for in-person attendance, and discuss Claude 3.5 Sonnet.  Links:  Interstellar Voyager 1 Fully Operational AgainCritical vCenter Security Patches Released - You Know What To DoDell’s Demand For In Person Attendance IgnoredAnthropic releases Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Gradually Improving On 3.0

Ned and Chris give a very brief overview of BGP, its place in the history of the internet, and how it works today. It’s a Confusing Day in the Neighborship Sure, Kim Kardashian broke the internet that one time, but she’s not the only one capable of such a feat. In this episode, Ned and Chris recount the tale of how Verizon and a BGP optimizer took large swaths of the internet offline in 2019. This leads them into the intricacies of border gateway protocols, tracing its evolution from a...

This week on Tech News of The Week, Ned and Chris discuss how Apple is paying OpenAI in “Exposure,” ten years of Kubernetes, Sherlocking, and Raspberry Pi’s IPO.  Links:  Apple Is Paying OpenAI In… ExposureKubernetes Turns TenStop Trying To Make Sherlocking Happen. It’s Not Going To Happen!Raspberry Pi Pops in IPO

A review of a core keynote presentation at the 2024 Gartner Security and Risk Management Summit and what it means for the IT industry. One of the Good Ones: The 2024 Gartner Security and Risk Management Summit Sometimes it's worth putting pants on. In this case, it's for the 2024 Gartner Security and Risk Management Summit. Despite previous criticisms of Gartner, Chris found the conference surprisingly enjoyable. In this episode, he provides an overview of the event, which featured over 150...

This week on Tech News of The Week, Ned and Chris discuss the Snowflake Hack, some BREAKING NEWS regarding the Microsoft Spyware Enablement Tool "Recall", Luna AI’s results (evaluated using AI), and Intel’s Lunar Lake.  Links:  Snowflake Hack Hits TicketMaster and SantanderMicrosoft Spyware Enablement Tool Recall Compromised By Many People ImmediatelyBREAKING NEWS!Luna Evaluates AI Results Using… AIIntel Releases Lunar Lake - Next Gen CPU With An Emphasis On [SIGH] AI

Learn how Chris Williams used ChatGPT to create a custom AI agent that answers questions, completes certain tasks, and Rickrolls its users. There Can Be Only One (Rickrolling AI Mentor) Chris Williams joins Ned and Chris this week to discuss the AI agent he recently created using ChatGPT. Ned kicks things off by filling us in on the history of AI from the early 20th century to today. This includes how early AI systems functioned, the role of deep learning models, and the impact of...

This week on Tech News of The Week, Ned and Chris get some feedback from a listener, cover NIST’s new release, dispel some rumors about the death of tape, opine on the massive botnet takedown, and talk about an Apache project exploit.  Links:  NIST Releases new version of SP 800-171The News Of Tape’s Death Is Much ExaggeratedMassive Botnet Taken Down By The Treasury Department For Some ReasonSome Apache Project With A Weird Name Is Being Actively Exploited

A review of the core keynote speeches at the 2024 RSA Conference and what they mean for IT defenders. I Didn’t Go To The RSA Conference So You Don’t Have To Didn’t make it to the 2024 RSA Conference? Well neither did Ned and Chris, but that’s not going to stop them from talking about it. This year’s theme was “The Art Of The Possible,” highlighting tech’s potential and the threats it faces. AI was a big topic with lots of talk about how both attackers and defenders are using it. The "Secure...