If you would like a quick and easy way to bring all relevant files from different drives into one virtual folder that you can search at one time, use the Windows 10 ‘Libraries’ feature. Here’s how:

– Go to/open File Explorer.

– If ‘Libraries’ isn’t listed e.g., under ‘This PC’, right mouse click in the navigation pane and click ‘Show Libraries’.

– To create your own library, double click on ‘Libraries’ and right mouse click > New > Library. There are also four default libraries that are already in user account.

– Click on the new Library folder you’ve created and, top left, click on the ‘Manage Library’ folder icon.

– You can then click on the ‘Add’ and ‘Remove’ buttons to organise your virtual Libraries.

With ‘audio-only’, social media app Clubhouse starting to hit the news after its launch one year ago, we take a look at exactly what it is and why you might consider using it.

What Is It?

Clubhouse is an invitation-only iPhone app where users can set-up their own (or join other users’) virtual public or private chat rooms.  Everything is live and in real-time and only a certain number of people are allowed to speak while others listen and have the opportunity to raise their hand (virtually) to ask to be allowed to speak.

The Hype

Some commentators have pointed out that Clubhouse’s rise has been extremely fast and surrounded by some hype.  For example, the app was only launched in April 2020 by Paul Davison and Rohan Seth of Alpha Exploration Co. and by May 2020 was valued at nearly $100 million, a total which had risen to a staggering $1 billion by January 21, 2021! Clubhouse only has around only two million active users but has already proven to be very popular in the US, China, Brazil, and Turkey.

Part of the Hype, which has been increased by the exclusivity of ‘invite only’ (users can only invite two other people) has been boosted by some of the big business names and CEOs who are reported to be using the app (e.g. Elon Musk and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg).

Strengths and Opportunities

Some of the strengths and opportunities of Clubhouse as a user include:

– Users can have the kind of direct access to and an audience with influential people and industry leaders from around the world that it would be very difficult, costly, and time-consuming to get normally.

– The real-time conversations mean that time is saved – issues, ideas and plans can be addressed and discussed instantaneously.

– The app can help save the cost, hassle (and now the risk) of having to travel to meetings and conferences with users being able to get similar or perhaps better results. This is also a way of safely beating global lockdown restrictions.

– Users have a fair amount of control.  For example, they can move between groups and discussions, set up their own groups, and talk privately or publicly.

– The discussions and the other users of the app could provide new business ideas and opportunities. For example, users can easily find groups relating to their industry, thereby finding a new, authentic way to boost their brand.  Also, conversations can be very interesting and diverse, and journalists have now start hosting their own weekly rooms discussing trends that could represent new publicity opportunities.

– Although now banned in China, the app provides a way to avoid the government restrictions that some states have placed on other social media platforms.

Weaknesses and Threats – Mainly Security and Privacy Concerns

Many of the possible weaknesses and threats are based around security and privacy concerns about the app. Some of the main weaknesses and threats include:

– There does not appear to be end-to-end encryption on Clubhouse (unlike competitors like WhatsApp).

– Some commentators have pointed to the app’s China connection. For example, Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO) has recently suggested that user data is routed through Chinese servers and by implication, the Chinese state. This means that data could technically be intercepted, transcribed, and possibly used against people.

– The app has been designed so that all conversations are not recorded/and no playbacks of conversations are made available, and the app’s terms and conditions stipulate that there should be no recording or streaming without the explicit permission of the speaker.  However, individual users could choose to record the audio as it happens. This could result in recordings being shared without permission, constituting a privacy breach, accidental and/or deliberate disclosure. Making any real privacy promises is, therefore, likely to be very difficult and the onus is on users to be very careful what they discuss using the app.

– Recently, it was reported that a Clubhouse user (now banned) found a way to stream multiple rooms from their own feed to a website in what has been downplayed as a data ‘spill’. After realising that it was possible to be in multiple rooms at once, the rogue user reportedly connected a Clubhouse API to his website, thereby sharing his login remotely with anyone who wanted to listen to audio chats from the app.

– The app is audio-only.  Although this does provide the benefit of a podcast feel, other apps allow more media such as text, pictures, and videos.

– Having the app on a work device could expose the network to another security threat.

– There is concern over the requirement on sign-up that users must upload their device address books, thereby sharing other peoples’ contact details without consent.

– The app’s apparent privacy weaknesses may mean that it isn’t taking account of data protection laws like GDPR.  For example, the app has already fallen foul of German data protection authorities for possible breaches of GDPR.

– Discussing work/business matters on the app could technically constitute breaching an employment contract and company policies (privacy).

Looking Ahead

Clubhouse has risen fast with the help of some hype and is currently burning brightly which has led some commentators to suggest that it has the appearance of something that may be short-lived.  Others, however, have suggested that it looks a little like the pattern that Zoom took when it started out.  Clearly, the app offers many unique opportunities for business users in terms of access to other important contacts and finding new opportunities.

There are clearly many security and privacy concerns for the app to address before it gets better press, although it is still early days for Clubhouse, and the company says it is reviewing cyber-security.

The popularity of the app means that it now faces the threat of big social media players quickly launching their own versions (e.g. Twitter’s ‘Spaces’).

For users, it may simply be a case of weighing up the known risks against the possible benefits, accepting that this is simply an exclusive space to meet and chat but that it comes with potential privacy and security risks at this stage in the app’s life.

Twitter has announced that it will soon launch a ‘Super Follow’ feature where account holders can charge their followers for access to exclusive content such as newsletters, videos and deals.

What is ‘Super Follow’?

The Super Follow feature, which was announced in an investor presentation last week, will allow Popular Twitter users to charge a monthly subscription to their followers who would like access to extra content that other followers will not be able to see.

Twitter used an example of $4.99 as a monthly subscription fee, although there will most likely be a range of prices set to a number of parameters. There has been speculation that one qualifying factor to use the feature could be a follower number threshold and Twitter also suggested that the feature could incorporate a one-off ‘tipping’ option.  It is likely that Super Follow will be introduced at some point this summer.

Twitter Spaces and Revue

Other features that Twitter is going to introduce include:

– Twitter Spaces, which has been described by some commentators as a competitor to the audio-only, real-time, virtual-room app ‘Clubhouse’ which has become very popular in the US, China, Brazil and Turkey. Spaces, which is currently in beta testing, and not available to the Twitter audience, will enable Twitter users to participate in audio chats.

– The ‘Revue’ feature, which allows Twitter users to publish paid or free newsletters to their audience.  Twitter says, “Revue makes it easy for writers and publishers to send editorial newsletters — and get paid”. Revue appears to be Twitter’s own competitor to Patreon, the US-based membership platform which “provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service” and “helps creators and artists earn a monthly income by providing rewards and perks to their subscribers”.  Patreon says that it has “200000+ creators earning salaries from over 4 million monthly” and that it “makes it easy for creators to get paid”.

Why?

The ‘Super Follow’ feature should provide a revenue stream, other than advertising, for the social media giant, and provide a way for Twitter to offer more value to its really popular users while keeping them loyal (i.e. stopping the temptation to leave for other platforms like Clubhouse).

The success of platforms like Patreon, Substack and OnlyFans which has been fuelled by the demands of whole new industries and segments for influencers and those who want to make money from their own popularity, while at the same time publishing content that keeps fuelling their popularity is something that Twitter (and Twitter’s very popular users) have been eyeing.  Twitter’s investors have also been hoping that Twitter would use its brand power to get a piece of this market and make money from its own competitor to the likes of Patreon.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

With Twitter Spaces (and Revue), Twitter is appealing and offering value to its really popular users and those who are likely to be using the platform for professional purposes (e.g. influencers, celebrities, music artists and similar). Real fans and followers of these users are more likely to want to pay extra for exclusive content through ‘Spaces’ or to sign up for more content through ‘Revue’. Most average users may not perceive any new, realistic revenue-generating opportunities for themselves in offering their few followers the features.

For Twitter, now that it has seen how these markets (and the competition) have grown, this is a way to take advantage of new business opportunities, create new non-advertising-based revenue streams, use its brand power to seriously compete against the likes of Clubhouse, Patreon, and others, keep its most popular users loyal, and boost its own image as a company that is moving forward and being more innovative.  It is also a way for Twitter to please (and show that it’s listening to) its investors and users.

It has been reported that hackers have been able to spread malware using fake news stories via the Google Alerts service.

Google Alerts

Launched in 2003, Google Alerts is Google’s content change detection and notification service which sends emails to a user when it finds new results (e.g. web pages, newspaper articles, blogs) that match the search terms that a user has set up an alert for.

The Scam

Recent reports indicate that fraudsters are using fake news stories based around popular keywords to create malicious pages.  When the pages are indexed by Google’s search and appear in users’ Google alerts, users may be tempted to click on them because they trust Google Alerts, and the stories look as though they may be relevant.

The Trap

Clicking on the stories, however, delivers users to the malicious pages/sites which are loaded with malware, browser notification spam, unwanted extensions, and fake giveaways.

Fake Updates For Adobe Flash

Most recently, it has been reported that fraudsters have been using Google alerts to direct users to pages which then re-direct them to a page warning them that their Adobe Flash Players need updating.  Clicking on the fake update link/button delivers malware.

Flaw

One important flaw in this latest scam is that many people may know that Adobe Flash reached its end of life on 31 December 2020 so there can’t be any updates.

Same Thing Last Summer

This is not the first time that fraudsters have tried to ride the coattails of Google’s credibility and use Google Alerts to spread malware.  For example, there were reports in June 2020 that fraudsters were using Google Alerts to spread fake news about data breach notifications, purporting to be from companies like EA, Dropbox, Hulu, and PayPal, to distribute malware and drive users to scams.

What Does This Mean To Your Business?

The basic premise of this latest scam is similar to phishing in that users are being re-directed to fake/malicious pages after clicking on what appears to be a relevant link from (what appears to be) a legitimate company.  The difference, in this case, is that it is more personalised to users because they have set their own Google Alerts, users may be far more trusting of Google alert links (and less suspicious as they may have been if the link had arrived in an email) and Google Alert links may get around some of the protections that normal emails offer. Individuals and businesses should, however, always be vigilant and careful, even with what appear to be trusted links. Keeping anti-virus and software patches up to date can help but if a user ends up at a page that appears suspicious or where there are unwanted pop-ups or downloads, the procedure should be to close the browser window and alert the company IT security team/the person who oversees IT security to make sure that no malicious software has been downloaded.

New research from O2 (conducted online by YouGov) shows that more remote workers are switching to mobile data to stay online and avoid connectivity issues.

Switching

The survey, involving more than 4,000 adults (1,351 of whom were working from home) showed that nearly half (47 per cent) were experiencing stress from connectivity issues and that over a third (36 per cent) were regularly switching to mobile data to stay online.

Especially The Important Stuff

The research showed that more than a quarter of respondents (28 per cent) considered switching to mobile data for an important business call.  Also, with children still out of school and home study online being of particular importance, younger people (61 per cent) and those with children in the household (65 per cent) were most reliant on mobile data to keep them connected.

Connectivity Issues?

The kinds of connectivity issues that have made people switch to mobile data for at least some of the time or for really important tasks include:

– Many more people now at home and sharing their broadband.

– Disadvantaged families, with school-age children not having adequate/not affording broadband connections.  This has led to all major operators signing up to the UK government’s “Get help with technology” programme where data allowances are increased on mobile devices to support disadvantaged children, thereby allowing them to access remote education.  Also, a recent Citizens Advice survey found that more than one in six people are struggling to afford their broadband during the third lockdown and that only three of the largest 13 broadband companies offer affordable tariffs to people on low-income benefits.

– So-called “Zoom fatigue”, whereby those getting fed up with just using the Zoom video-conferencing platform revert to the familiarity of the phone call.  For example, O2 figures show a significant increase in phone traffic as the third national lockdown was announced, and that the duration of phone calls during lockdown has increased by an average of 30 seconds.

Connectivity Influence on Where To Live

Interestingly, the O2 survey also found that with more people working remotely, 67 per cent of respondents agreed that access to mobile data would be an important factor when choosing where to live. This opinion was particularly prevalent among younger people with 76 per cent of 18 to 34 year-olds saying that access to mobile data would be important to them when choosing where to live in the future.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

It being an O2 survey, it’s an opportunity for them to promote their network and their mobile data, but it also raises the important point of how connectivity (whether it be a good broadband connection, mobile data or both) has become vital for remote workers and their families during the lockdowns in order to stay in work and access education. This has also exposed issues such as pricing of broadband and mobile data, affordability, inequality and how help is needed for disadvantaged families with technology and connectivity, and how, after a period of digital transformation for businesses, connectivity is going to remain an important issue as economies and businesses (which now rely more on online sales) move forward.

If you’re a Microsoft Windows user and you’d like to avoid the hassle of remembering and typing your passwords across devices and platforms, Autofill can do it for you as it is now being rolled out with the Microsoft Authenticator app, and as an Autofill extension on Google Chrome. Here’s how to use it:
Autofill will store your passwords under your Microsoft account. To use it:

– Open the Microsoft Authenticator app.

– Sign-in on the Passwords tab with your Microsoft account. Your passwords stored on Edge will then sync to the Authenticator app.

– To have a secure way to your Microsoft Edge passwords when you’re browsing on Google Chrome, go to the Chrome Webstore and get the Microsoft Autofill Extension.

– The Authenticator app also lets you import passwords as a .csv file.