Category Archives: Blog

Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Chrome Soon Releasing Feature To Always Use Secure Connections

Recently, Google announced another change to its Chrome browser designed with user security in mind.

The company will soon be rolling out an “HTTPS-Only” mode that will help make surfing a safer and more secure experience. The new feature is currently available for preview in the Canary build, Chrome 93, for Windows, Linux, Mac, Chrome OS, and Android systems.

Although the company has not officially announced a go live date for the new feature, the buzz is that it will likely be August 31st, which Chrome 93 is expected to reach “stable” status.

If you want to play around with the new feature, your first step is to enable the HTTPS-Only Mode Setting by opening Chrome and typing the following into the address bar:

Chrome://flags/#https-only-mode-setting.

Doing this adds the “always use secure connections” option to the security settings page of the browser, and that’s your next stop. Head to the settings page and click the option that now appears. Once enabled, the browser will automatically upgrade all website navigations to HTTPS, or, if it encounters a site that doesn’t support it, give you a warning box before actually navigating to the page in question.

While Google is certainly not the first or the only browser company to introduce an HTTPS mode, this latest change certainly takes the idea farther than anyone else has to this point. It’s a good change that will help protect users from man in the middle attacks, and make online shoppers safer as they don’t have to worry about or wonder if their data is as safe as it could be. Using the HTTPS-Only mode, the answer to that question is yes.

Kudos to Google for the coming change, and for continuing to do their part to make the web a safer place for all of us.

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Microsoft Windows Is Working On Windows 11 Update Release

Later this year, the Windows 10 era will officially come to an end with the release of Windows 11.

The latest version of the OS promises a raft of new features that will offer a “Next Gen” experience.

Here’s a quick overview of what you can expect to see in Windows 11 when it is rolled out:

A Totally Redesigned Start Menu and Taskbar

Unlike all prior versions of Windows, Windows 11 will feature a centered Start Menu and taskbar, making it aesthetically similar to ChromeOS. In addition to that, the Start Menu on the new OS won’t come with the live tiles you’re accustomed to. Instead, it will use static icons for Microsoft Store apps.

If you decide you don’t want your Start Menu centered, you can revert to more traditional Windows Left Aligned menu quickly and easily, and you’ll also be able to choose from among three different Start Menu sizes.

File Explorer Improvements

Windows 11 will include the same File Explorer that you’re used to, but it’s getting a much needed facelift and a variety of improvements. Most of these are aesthetic in nature and designed to give File Explorer a sleeker and more modern look, with new icons and rounded corners.

Snap and Widgets

Windows 11 sports four different Snap layouts, allowing you to choose between them, or switch from one to another at will. In addition to that, Microsoft is also introducing Widgets, which appears to be the successor to Window’s 10’s “News and Interests” feature. It utilizes your browsing history to create a customized news feed for you that updates constantly.

In addition to those things, you’ll find virtual desktop support, HDR support for color-managed, apps, a modernized, redesigned device manager, and a whole lot more.

Although there are bound to be kinks and growing pains when Windows 11 is initially released, we’re looking forward to seeing all this in action. Change is coming.

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Security Issue Found In Dell’s SupportAssist Software

Do you have a Dell PC? If so, be aware that recently, security researchers at Eclypsium have discovered a major security flaw in the company’s SupportAssist software that comes pre-installed on most of the Dell machines running Windows on the market today.

The flaw is rated a hefty 8.3 severity (out of a possible 10), and enables remote attackers to impersonate Dell’s website and take total control of the target machine, using the boot process to break OS-level security protocols.

The researchers who discovered the flaw had this to say about the matter:

“The issue affects 129 Dell models of consumer and business laptops, desktops, and tablets, including devices protected by Secure Boot and Dell Secured-core PCs, with roughly 30 million individual devices exposed to attacks.”

Needless to say, this is a serious issue for all Dell users. If there’s a silver lining though, it lies in the fact that Dell responded quickly and there’s already a fix for the issue. Unfortunately, you’ll have to update your BIOS to get the fix and due to the nature of the flaw, the researchers who discovered it recommend against using Dell’s BIOSConnect to get the latest.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time Dell customers have faced issues like this. Back in May of 2019, Dell patched another high severity flaw with their SupportAssist software that allowed an attacker to remotely execute code and take full control of a target machine. The software was patched again in February of 2020 to address a different security flaw that also allowed for remote code execution.

If the past is any guide then, there are likely to be additional flaws in the code. So if you’re a Dell customer, just to be safe, you’ll probably want to bookmark the company’s site and check in regularly just to make sure you’re not missing a critical update that could leave you vulnerable.

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Update Windows If Your PC Is Making High Pitched Sounds

Ever since the March 2021 release of Windows 10, 2004 , a small fraction of users have been reporting a mysterious issue with the OS that causes the PC to emit a high pitched sound when using certain apps. Given the intermittent nature of the issue, it proved notoriously difficult to track down, but if it’s been driving you mad in recent months, there’s good news. Microsoft has isolated the bug and fixed it, so it won’t impact you further.

The company had this to say about the issue:

“After installing KB5000842 or later updates, 5.1 Dolby Digital audio may play containing a high-pitched noise or squeak in certain apps when using certain audio devices and Windows settings.”

If you’re sick to death of hearing “that sound,” then just grab Windows 10 Update KB5003690 and install it, and the issue should plague you no further. Note, however, that this is an optional update, so you won’t get it automatically. You’ll need to manually perform a “Check for Updates” to install the fix.

If you’d rather not jump though those hoops, then you don’t have to do anything, as the fix will be rolled into the July 2021 Patch Tuesday update. So if you can live with it or work around it until then, just know that help is on the way.

Kudos to Microsoft for digging through their mountains of code and finding this notoriously annoying bug. It may not have impacted legions of users, but for those who did hear the squelch, it was maddening indeed.

Also, be aware that in May (2020), Microsoft removed the final compatibility holds that prevented customers from upgrading to Windows 10 2004 20H2 and 21H1. The company had placed a hold related to Conexant and Synaptics audio driver issues that were causing problems for the Windows 10 update process. Those issues have now been resolved!

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Google Drive Users Should Be Aware Of Upcoming Update

Does your business utilize Google Workspace? If so, be advised that the company recently issued an alert for Workspace admins. The alert warns that a planned update designed to improve security relating to Google Drive link sharing could actually cause some of the links to break, which in turn, could overwhelm your company’s IT support line with incoming calls about broken links.

The company had this to say about the planned update:

“The update will add a resource key to sharing links. Once the update has been applied to a file, users who haven’t viewed the file before will have to use a URL containing the resource key to gain access, and those who have viewed the file before or have direct access will not need the resource key to access the file.”

If you’re a smaller company and you don’t have thousands of files on your Google Drive, any problems arising from the update may be manageable. On the other hand, the more heavily you rely on Google Drive for mass file storage and link sharing for collaboration, the bigger a problem it’s apt to be.

Given this, Google is allowing admins to opt out of the update, or to only selectively apply it, but there’s a catch. If you don’t do anything, it will be applied to your organization. You have until September 13th, 2021 to assess the coming change and its impact to your organization and determine how the update should be applied to your users if you don’t want the default, wholesale application, and communicate that information to Google.

Note that post update, the owners of files that are impacted by the change will receive an email notification, flagging the impacted files. Admins who have opted to allow it can give those users the option to remove the security update from the impacted files, thus sidestepping the issue.

If it sounds messy and complicated, it is, or at least it can be. If you use Google Workspace, you’ll definitely want to stay on top of this coming change.

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