Google Chrome is one of the more commonly used web browsers. Over the years, though, Chrome has gained a reputation for utilizing a large portion of a computer’s memory. This can be a problem if you’re running other resource-intensive tasks and don’t want to slow things down.

With the latest update for Chrome on desktop, users can experience two new features that reduce memory usage and extend their laptop’s battery life.

Memory Saver

Memory saver is designed to reduce the amount of memory Chrome’s tabs use. It does this by freeing up memory from inactive tabs. When the user visits the inactive tabs, the tabs will reload. By freeing up memory from inactive tabs, Chrome will consume up to 30% less memory. Not only will it allow the device to operate more efficiently, but it also prolongs the device’s battery when running low.

Energy Saver

Energy saver mode is designed to help a laptop’s battery last longer. When a battery reaches 20%, Chrome will try to help prolong the battery life. Chrome will limit website videos and visual effects to reduce the amount of background activity.

Both new features can be customized to the users’ liking, as well as being able to mark certain websites as exempt in Chrome’s settings.

Users can find the memory savor features in Chrome’s three-dot menu at the top right of the browser. When Memory Saver mode is activated, it will appear as a notification on the right side of the address bar. However, Energy Saver mode displays a leaf icon in a menu to the right of the address bar.

Google is dedicated to providing a safe and efficient web browser for users. Energy and memory saver features are two great addition to the newly released search feature for Google Chrome users. It is important to update web browsers for security purposes and take advantage of new or enhanced features to streamline your day.

A new version of Microsoft Edge is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. While the update is relatively small, it contains two feature upgrades and significant security fixes, including one for the Chromium engine’s “Type confusing in V8” vulnerability.

Vulnerability Fix

Unsurprisingly, one of the most significant improvements in this version addresses CVE-2022-4262. The flaw in the Chromium engine has been exploited by cybercriminals already. According to Google, the “Type Confusion in V8” in Google Chrome’s previous versions to 108.0.5359.94 could enable a remote attacker to exploit memory corruption through a forged HTML page.

Upgrades

Two noteworthy additions to Microsoft Edge 108.0.1462.42 are the new Graph APIs and the improved Defender SmartScreen library.

Administrators gain more control with Graph APIs for Cloud Site Lists Management. For example, administrators may build, maintain, and post site lists for “Internet Explorer Mode” in the cloud.

Microsoft Edge for Linux will have a significant upgrade to the Microsoft Defender SmartScreen library, which is already available on Windows and Mac.

Microsoft claims there is a higher level of security now due to rewriting the Defender integration for the browser. In addition, the improved Defender integration brings better proxy handling and several associated bug fixes. The Defender SmartScreen library also utilizes the built-in network stack of Microsoft Edge.

Microsoft Edge aims to optimize the user’s online experience in several ways. The latest update brings users a more secure and reliable web browser, providing an exceptional browsing experience.

Whether you’re a student or an employee, digital documents are now essential for the future of work. While there are different types of digital documents, one of the most often used document formats is PDF. Today, millions of PDF files are exchanged between users worldwide.

Those who have collaborated with a team in an office setting or worked on a project that required the participation of other users are aware that PDFs frequently require many stages of review by team members and other external parties. It’s a hassle sending emails back and forth to offer context for this document. In addition, the various logins, program switching, and user interfaces frequently cause us to fall behind and reduce productivity. The goal of Adobe Acrobat is to make this process as seamless as possible.

To address these problems, Adobe unveiled recent advances in Acrobat for Teams at Microsoft Build earlier this year. For companies who want to deal with their PDFs using Adobe Acrobat, this new experience helps reduce the hassle of jumping between programs. In addition, this new connection might lead to increased productivity, better security, and lower expenses.

Managing PDFs

The new integration enables Teams to select Acrobat as the preferred PDF app. By securely viewing and working on PDFs from within the Teams Acrobat Viewer, users can maintain the rhythm of their work. This includes sharing and reviewing PDFs, working together in real-time with comments and annotations, receiving comment alerts, and having quick access to PDFs kept in Microsoft SharePoint and OneDrive.

Security is Priority

Adobe indicated that it recognizes digital security as a top concern for businesses. They expanded by explaining that shared or collaboratively created PDFs are transmitted to the Adobe Document Cloud servers for temporary processing before being removed after 24 hours. Throughout this procedure, the documents will continue to be encrypted both in transit and at rest. The updated documents are eventually saved in the original OneDrive or SharePoint location.

Set-Up

Your IT administrator must configure Acrobat as the default PDF app in the Teams admin center before you can use this new integration. All PDF files from chat will open immediately in the Acrobat app inside Teams after the app has been configured. Although viewing PDF files doesn’t require an Adobe ID or subscription, access to premium features does require an Acrobat Standard or Pro account.

Moving forward

This integration is just one of many ways that Microsoft and Adobe collaborate to boost productivity throughout all enterprises. Everyone can conduct business and interact more efficiently in their preferred Microsoft 365 apps with Adobe products and services integrated into Microsoft 365.

According to a post on Google’s official blog site, the company is making it even more straightforward to share files with coworkers by making new suggested contacts available directly from the share sheet.

Google Workspace has introduced a new row of suggested contacts underneath the area you typically use to write a contact’s name or email address. These suggested contacts are scheduled to update dynamically based on who you share with the most.

Tips for Sharing Google Drive

The firm has already started the upgrade rollout; however, it could take approximately two weeks for certain users to observe the improvements in their experience. And that’s if they’re even able to, since the new suggestions bar will only be available for Workspace and legacy G Suite accounts. However, individual accounts will not include the new suggested contacts function.

In addition to this change, Google has been hard at work over the past few weeks making adjustments to its share sheet.

At the beginning of November 2022, Google added the ability to set an expiration date when sharing a file. In the past, users had to share a file, then go back to the sharing window to change the rights. Employees will have an easier time establishing permissions now that the feature has been released to selected Workspace business users.

In addition to Google, other companies are looking for ways to streamline how users share content with others. Technology is evolving rapidly, and companies are always looking for ways to help employees be more efficient.

Apple released several new security features on December 7th, 2022, designed to keep users’ sensitive data and communications secure. Advanced Data Protection for iCloud is one of the most notable features for Apple users. In order to protect sensitive data stored in iCloud, such as voice memos, photos, notes, and more, Apple’s new Advanced Data Protection feature uses end-to-end encryption. With Advanced Data Protection, Apple is expanding the number of data categories to 23 from the current 14.

Advanced Data Protection is designed to protect the majority of iCloud data. Advanced Data Protection encrypts the cloud data and ensures only users’ trusted devices can decrypt it.

If Advanced Data Protection is enabled, users will be required to choose an alternative recovery method. Apple requires customers to provide an alternative recovery method if they lose access to their accounts. It is possible to recover data using a passcode, a recovery contact, or a personal recovery key. Apple does not maintain decryption keys for data recovery purposes.

Many data types can be protected with end-to-end encryption, including iCloud Drive, Safari bookmarks, Siri shortcuts, and many others. However, Advanced Data Protection cannot encrypt data from Contacts, Calendars, or iCloud Mail since it needs to communicate with other contact and email systems.

The user can also turn off encryption at any time. When the user turns off encryption, the keys will be securely uploaded to Apple’s servers, and the account will automatically revert to standard encryption.

The Advanced Data Protection feature is currently available only to customers enrolled in Apple’s Beta Software Program in the United States. It will be made available to everyone in the United States later this month. The service will be rolled out worldwide for users beginning in the summer of 2023.

With hundreds of thousands of users daily, Microsoft continuously develops new and innovative ideas to simplify business, school, and everyday tasks. It was a busy month for Microsoft in November as the company added a wide variety of new and exciting features to its Microsoft Teams platform. This resulted in added features for devices, meetings, collaboration, and more for Microsoft Teams users.

Devices

To optimize the meeting experience, Microsoft improved the companion device experience. By using proximity join, team members’ companion devices will suppress the video streams of in-room participants on the front of the meeting display. Additionally, if a user joins an existing Teams meeting with a personal laptop, the video galleries on Teams Rooms and in-room laptops will display only video streams from remote attendees.

In addition to supporting hotdesking in portrait mode on Teams displays, it also allows for the reservation and location of flexible workspaces. Hotdesks enables users to find and reserve workspaces in a more efficient manner. It is now possible to secure hotdesks, extend reservations and decide when a hotdesk session ends. After signing in, users are redirected to an ambient user experience. Users will automatically be signed out at the end of the hotdesk session.

Collaboration

Teams users now have the option to accept or reject a group chat invitation from an unmanaged user. The ability to accept or reject a one-to-one chat with an unmanaged user is already available for Teams users.

The increase in remote or flexible working hours and the location of workplaces across the globe means that sending a message can prove challenging. Teams chat now allows users to delay messages, just like emails, so they don’t disturb colleagues during off-time. By right-clicking the send button, users can choose the time and date of delivery.

Regardless of the age of the message, users can now see the entire message thread by clicking on the chat message in the search function. As a result of this update, Microsoft hopes to increase efficiency at work by providing all the context the user needs.

Meetings

Android users have seen significant improvements with the addition of transcription for one-on-one and group calls. Teams users can also now view 49 videos simultaneously, with the Large Gallery view automatically selected. Prior to the new features, users had to manually select the Large Gallery view for meetings with more than nine video participants. In addition, for quick check-ins during meetings, a 1-click instant poll was added.

While these aren’t all the new features Teams received in November, it is evident that Microsoft has worked diligently behind the scenes to increase efficiency and productivity for all the people using Teams each month. As a result, teams have become popular for video calls, chats and meetings. Undoubtedly, Microsoft will continue improving Teams to streamline processes and increase user efficiency.

On December 5th, 2022, Google announced on Twitter that it is bringing continuous scrolling to the United States desktop users.

Traditionally, while searching on Google, users could wander through pages to find the information they need. With continuous scrolling, desktop users can see up to six pages of search results at once by scrolling down to the bottom. Once users reach the bottom of the search, a “see more” button will show more results.

Google implemented the continuous scrolling feature on mobile devices in October 2021. On mobile, the continuous scrolling feature is limited to four pages. However, the feature allows more results to load automatically as the user reaches the bottom of the page.

In addition to helping users find information faster, the continuous scrolling feature will increase visibility for sites not ranked within the first page or two on Google. Users had to click the “next page” button to view more results, which limited some websites’ visibility.

Continuous scrolling isn’t a revolutionary concept. It is widely used throughout most social media platforms, such as Twitter and Instagram. While continuous scrolling can create a simpler and quicker way to browse the internet, some users may miss the older search engine results page (SERP). The pages were a natural break for users to consider if they had all the necessary information.

Google is dedicated to providing all internet users with a seamless and enjoyable search experience. It is certain that the latest feature, continuous scrolling, will be available in all languages and devices worldwide over time.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software allows marketing teams to manage customer interactions better, track customer relationships, and monitor customer activity. It also will enable businesses to collect detailed profiles of their customers, allowing companies to target future products and offers to specific users.

As technology becomes more sophisticated and affordable, it’s more important than ever for companies to implement a CRM system to help boost their revenues.

Main reasons why CRM systems are necessary:

Managing customers is expensive. Businesses spend a lot of time and money trying to retain top-selling clients and bring new leads into the fold. Having a system to track what makes customers want to purchase your products can drastically reduce customer retention and acquisition expenses.

With a CRM system, marketers gain valuable insights into how individual customers behave and how those patterns change over time. They can use those findings to improve overall sales. If you aren’t currently tracking how well individuals perform in relation to similar demographics and interests, chances are you’re leaving money on the table.

CRM systems also make it easier for businesses to reach past traditional sales channels. With modern platforms, sales representatives can interact directly with customers via email, online chat, social media sites, or phone calls. Many CRM solutions also integrate with mobile apps and websites, allowing seamless interaction between the company’s core platform and its customers.

CRM implementations provide the foundation to streamline all communication between marketing agents, customer care representatives, sales reps, and executives. With a CRM, marketers never miss a step when dealing with clients or attempting to convert them.

Which CRM Solution Should You Choose?

There are many available options on the market for choosing a CRM solution, and there is no standard CRM software that is perfect for everyone. Additionally, it is hard to find a one-size-fits-all solution. To choose which CRM will be the right fit for your business, you need to review both your business and your client’s needs so you can compare and select the right product.

Choosing Features

When picking out your ideal CRM software product for your business, you’ll see that different applications will cater to specific industries better than others. For instance, business owners who run small or medium-sized operations won’t be as concerned about the advanced analytics or features offered by robust application suites compared to large enterprises running multi-million dollar marketing campaigns.

There are many reasons why a CRM system is necessary for businesses. It can help boost sales, reduce customer retention and acquisition expenses, and provide valuable insights into how customers behave. A CRM system allows businesses to reach past traditional sales channels and interact directly with customers. When choosing a CRM solution, businesses should review their and clients’ needs to select the right product. Utilizing CRM software has proven to increase conversions by 15-35%. Therefore, using a CRM to manage your clients is essential for business growth.

A somewhat concerning flaw has been fixed by SiriusXM that would allow unauthorized individuals to unlock doors remotely and start engines by only having the vehicle identification number (VIN).

Sam Curry, a researcher at Yuga Labs, published a Twitter thread explaining the details of the discovered security flaw.

The security bug affected vehicles using SiriusXM’s Connect Vehicle Services, including Honda, Nissan, Acura, and others.

The VIN of a vehicle is all a threat actor needs to authorize actions and gain access to a user’s profile. For example, the VIN is often located on the windshield of a vehicle, which an attacker can gather by walking by it.

When an attacker has access to a VIN, they are able to send requests that allow them to unlock, start, locate, flash the lights, and honk the horns on connected vehicles.

As a result of the security flaw being reported to SiriusXM through the company’s bug-hunting bounty program, a solution was available within 24 hours of receiving notification of the vulnerability.

SiriusXM confirmed that no previous or current SiriusXM subscriber data was compromised. SiriusXM takes the security of its customers’ accounts seriously, which is why the bug bounty program is in place. The program helps identify and correct potential security flaws that impact their platforms.

This isn’t the first time there has been a security flaw that could lead to criminal mischief. Earlier this year, researchers discovered Honda Civics manufactured between 2016 and 2020 were susceptible to being remotely unlocked and started.

Criminals are always looking for clever ways to take advantage of unsuspecting consumers. So this holiday season, don’t make your vehicle look enticing to criminals by leaving valuables in it.