Microsoft Support Termination Alerts, Russian-Malware Infects US Routers, and Rain & Shine Solar Panels

Published on: May 31st, 2018

IF you’re still running Windows 7, and/or are using Microsoft Office 2010, then today’s support termination alerts are for you. Although 2020 seems far away, funding multiple machine upgrades can take time, so the time to start planning and budgeting for the required upgrades is now.

Thought you’d heard enough about Russia hacking into American computer systems? Russian hacking is now brought home to you, by “VPN Filter” malware infecting computer routers. Read below for a simple fix.

Cloudy, rainy and foggy conditions really put a damper on solar panel power generation. Wouldn’t it be nice if a rainy day could somehow be productive too? It can – there is power in those raindrops hitting the solar panels, and a new emerging technology, “TENG,” is able to convert that motion into electricity.

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MICROSOFT SUPPORT TERMINATION ALERTS

Microsoft will be terminating all support for:
Windows 7 on January 14, 2020
Microsoft Office 2010 on October 13, 2020.

Microsoft Office 2019 will be launched in late 2018.

Why should you care?
     > There will be no more security patches/updates issued, but hackers and scammers will continue to find ways to breach the software. You will be on your own with Windows 7 after January 14, 2020.
> If you have any issues and need support for Windows 7 or Office 2010 after the termination dates, no one will be able to help you.
> Because Microsoft Office 2019 will require Windows 10 Operating System, you won’t be able to upgrade your Office software until you have first upgraded to Windows 10.

2020 seems like a long way off, but if you have many computers to upgrade, budgeting for that should start soon so that you don’t get caught short. Now’s a good time to come up with a plan for upgrading all of your machines. Please give us a call – we can help!

Learn all about Windows 7 end-of-life issues here
Learn all about Office 2010 end-of-life issues here

Source:
Karen Marcus, lifewire.com

 

Your Router Could Be Infected by Russian Malware

Malware called “VPN Filter,” allegedly the work of “Fancy Bear,” a Russian hacking group also responsible for the infiltration of the Democratic National Convention and Hillary Clinton Campaign in 2016, could be infecting your home or office wi-fi router.

The article below provides details of the FBI investigation and how the malware works, but the upshot is this: reboot your router now. Any infected routers will reach out to the FBI instead of to the Russians, thereby preventing your secure wi-fi from getting hosed by the malware.

Don’t know how to reboot? Unplug your router for 10 seconds, and plug it back in. Done!

Send Fancy Bear packing!

Source:
Onaje McDowelle, dailydot.com

 

Hybrid Solar Cells to Harvest Electricity from Raindrops

I’ve always preferred a sunny day over a rainy one, but since having solar panels installed on our roof, rainy days just seem like time wasted that could have been spent generating electricity. Enter an emerging technology, the hybrid solar panel that is designed to convert the motion of raindrops hitting the panels into electricity. Click into the article below to learn all about TENG, or “triboelectric nanogenerator,” “a device which creates electric charge from the friction of two materials rubbing together, as with static electricity.”

Rain and Shine Solar Panels Here!

Source:
David Nield, sciencealert.com

 

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