Tech news you may have missed: August 18 – 25

Too busy this week to catch all of the latest tech news? Have no fear: We’ve compiled and summarized TechRepublic’s top stories for Aug. 18 – 25.

Apple users urged to install latest updates to combat hacking

Only a few weeks before the fall Apple event, the tech company announced security patches that would keep hackers from gaining control of an affected device. The vulnerability could be found on iPhone, Mac, iPad and Safari.

TL;DR: Users were instructed to remain calm and update iOS to version 15.6.1 and the latest versions of Monterey, Big Sur and Catalina. It’s unclear whether beta testers of iOS 16 are affected.

Cookie theft threat: When multi-factor authentication is not enough

Sophos recently released a report on a threat that could bypass multi-factor authentication called “pass the cookie.” The new threat is perpetrated by malware that duplicates session cookies used to validate authentication and passing those duplicates on to bad actors who can use them to open new sessions.

TL;DR: Bad actors can use the stolen cookie until the session expires, and session cookies can last up to several months. Cedric Pernet provides several ways that companies and individuals can protect themselves against these increasingly-prevalent attacks.

5 basic tech tips every computer user needs

From what (not) to do when something goes wrong to protection against malware and scams, Jack Wallen covers the five most important tips that everyone who uses a computer should know. Share these at your next all-hands meeting for calmer IT interactions.

TL;DR: While many of these tips could feel elementary to digital natives, Jack also details the reasons these tips work. Knowledge is power!

108 Excel tips every user should master

Pivot tables, writing formulas, styling tables and working with time values are all included in this compilation of Excel tips. Browse for the most-asked questions to include in your wiki or internal documentation, or just to learn some new spreadsheet magic tricks.

TL;DR: Another great resource to pass around in the next company newsletter, this sheet has all the basic tutorials and more. Bookmark, share and never have to troubleshoot a VLOOKUP again.

5G networks: A comprehensive cheat sheet

The 5G mobile network standard has been used to boost computing at the edge and help us stream cat videos with lower latency. But, it’s still not widely understood. This cheat sheet breaks down all of the essential 5G knowledge, including the best mobile network for 5G.

TL;DR: There’s a lot more to 5G than faster speeds, including the complicating factors of moving from 4G to 5G networks, latency issues and adoption woes.