Computer Software

By capturing videos from your screen on a Windows 10 PC, you could accomplish a lot of different things. Aside from creating guides or demonstrations, you could also save any content – including video calls, online streaming videos, or other content.

Of course if you want to do all that you’ll first need a screen recorder for Windows 10. While there are several options that you could choose from, if you’re looking for something that is easy to use and yet has powerful features then you should try out Movavi Screen Capture Studio.

Actually capturing video footage from your Windows 10 PC screen will be a piece of cake with Movavi Screen Capture Studio. If you’d like to try, just launch it and select the ‘Record screen’ option in the menu that appears then draw a frame encompassing the area you want to record using your mouse cursor.

Aside from drawing a frame, you could select a program window to record by clicking on it, or choose one of the presets in the list under the ‘Capture Area’ section of the interface that will appear. Additionally Movavi Screen Capture Studio’s interface will make it easy for you to choose the audio sources that you want to record by clicking to highlight the appropriate icons, or adjust the volume levels using the sliders that are beside them.

Within Movavi Screen Capture Studio there are numerous other parameters that you could set up for your recording. Its features will let you record keyboard and mouse actions, set the frame rate, or automate the recording itself. If and when you’re satisfied with the parameters you’ve set up, you can click ‘REC’ to start recording then control it using the options on the interface too.

When you click ‘Stop’, Movavi Screen Capture Studio will save your video as an MKV file and open a ‘Preview’ window. In that window you can opt to save it in a different format, or open it in the built-in editor that is available if you want to make any alterations.

The built-in editor in Movavi Screen Capture Studio can help immensely if your goal is to create video content, or improve the footage that you’ve recorded. It has numerous features, some of which will allow you to cut and join video segments, apply special effects or filters, add customizable text, insert captions, include audio tracks, enhance the video quality, and more.

In a nutshell Movavi Screen Capture Studio will provide you with an all-in-one studio that will let you record, edit, and produce videos to your exact specifications. Regardless of whether you want to save online streaming videos, video calls, or even create your very own content – it has everything you need. More importantly as you should be able to clearly see, it is designed to be easy to use and will let you make the most of its features regardless of whether or not you have any prior experience.

A few days ago, I wrote about the malware that piggybacked on the latest version of CCleaner, a free software that helps optimize performance on personal computers. At the time, not much was known about the targets, or about what the hackers intended to do with the information they were trying to collect. While we still don’t have much information about who was behind the attack, or where they hail from, some information has surfaced that allows us to know that the malware was specifically aimed at several tech companies, including Samsung, HTC and Sony,  telecommunication companies Singtel, Vodafone and O2, and tech firms Cisco, Intel, VMware, Google and Microsoft. Avast also confirmed that companies were targeted in various parts of the world, including Japan, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States.

According to Cisco Talos, whose team is investigating the hack, “During the compromise, the malware would periodically contact the C2 server and transmit reconnaissance information about infected systems. This information included IP addresses, online time, hostname, domain name, process listings, and more. It’s quite likely this information was used by the attackers to determine which machines they should target during the final stages of the campaign”.

Because yes, there was a second wave, the one that would do the real damage.

While Avast is being optimistic, it also allows that “At this stage, we cannot state that the corporate machines could not be compromised, even though the attack was highly targeted” and is still recommending that all users who were running the compromised version of the software upgrade to the latest version (currently version 5.35), paired with a “quality anti-virus product”. Cisco Talos is more guarded, stated that users with a compromised computer “should not simply remove the affected version of CCleaner or update to the latest version but should restore from backups or reimage systems to ensure that they completely remove not only the backdoored version of CCleaner but also any other malware that may be resident on the system”.

The investigation is still underway as law enforcement is actively trying to find out and arrest whoever was behind the attack. Avast is also actively investigating the hack and fully cooperating with law enforcement efforts. I will be monitoring the investigation and write further posts as more information is made available.

CCleaner is a free tool that is meant to optimize system performance on Windows computers and Android devices. This morning, Piriform, the maker of CCleaner, announced that hackers had compromised some versions of the software, unleashing malicious software meant to collect personal data. The number of affected users is thought to be just under 4 million – or about 3 percent of users. The infected versions of the tool are CCleaner 5.33.6162 and CCleaner Cloud 1.07.3191.

The good news is that Piriform found out and reacted quickly to the crisis. Working with law enforcement, it shut down the United States server to which all user information was being sent on September 15, explaining that it had not made the threat known to the public in order not to impede with investigation and potentially spooking the hackers. Once they were satisfied that the threat had been taken care of, they made the information public in a blog post published this morning and that the action was taken “before any known harm was done”. The attacks were noticed by Piriform on September 12, and the infected versions of CCleaner released in August.

While this information is, to say the least, unsettling, Piriform assured its users that their information was now safe, and are urging every affected users who haven’t yet upgraded to the latest version of the software to do so without delay. They also stated that “…and we’re moving all existing CCleaner v5.33.6162 users to the latest version. Users of CCleaner Cloud version 1.07.3191 have received an automatic update.”

It isn’t yet known what the hackers were intending to do with the information – computer names, IP addresses, installed and active software, in short, non-sensitive information. Avast isn’t releasing any information, if it has any, because, as CTO Ondrej Vlcek told Tech Crunch, a law enforcement investigation is currently underway. He believes that the hacker(s) must have used a computer that had been used to create CCleaner to launch the attack, andn that Piriform is moving its entire build environment to a more secure infrastructure that will be provided by Avast. Hopefully, Piriform will be able to ensure that such events do not happen again in the future.

Many professionals have grown accustomed to using financial software over the years—especially accountants and those who work in financial services. While financial software may be effective at handling certain tasks, it simply cannot compete with enterprise resource planning (ERP) software as a full package. There’s plenty of overlap between the two, but ERP and financial software actually differ quite a bit from one another.

Trying to choose between ERP and financial software, yet don’t know where to start? Here are a handful of differences between the two that will help you formulate a decision.

Functionality

At the core of every type of software should be strong aspects of functionality. With accounting software, the focus is on accounting-related processes—think financial data, invoicing etc. ERP finance software, on the other hand, takes these features and builds upon them, incorporating functions like human resources, sales & distribution management, inventory overview and more to create a full-fledged suite that can be used at the enterprise level. The functionality associated with ERP software is hands-down more robust than what most people are used to from using accounting software—ERP software is a more versatile solution in every way.

Scalability

One of the most obvious benefits of ERP software is just how scalable it is. If you’re operating with a staff of just a few people (or even just yourself!), you may be able to get by with basic financial software. Once the business begins to grow, however, scalability becomes one of the most important things you can focus on having as part of a software suite. ERP software is extremely scalable, as it grows across all verticals (marketing, HR etc.) instead of placing focus only on financial-related aspects of daily business. If scalability matters to you (and it should), ERP software is going to be a much better option than generic financial software.

Ability to Analyze Trends

Financial software can certainly be useful when it comes to analyzing trends in data, and useful information can be gleaned from this process. That being said, you’ll only be getting a small piece of the picture if all you’re seeing is finance-related data. This doesn’t take into consideration trends that can be found in customer relationships, inventory management or other factors that certainly shouldn’t go overlooked. On the other hand, ERP software offers the user a high-level glimpse of all these things and more, thus allowing for a much more thorough approach to analytics.

Cloud Access & Collaboration

Many companies that utilize financial software to address day-to-day responsibilities find themselves tethered to localized access. If staff members aren’t in the office, chances are they won’t be able to access and edit data on the fly. Cloud computing, of course, is the solution to this almost antiquated problem, and ERP software makes great usage of the cloud to offer accessibility from anywhere with an Internet connection. Naturally, this creates a wealth of opportunities for collaboration, which can help to create great new ideas, improve productivity and more.

As you can see, ERP software solutions tend to be much more effective than financial software for businesses both small and large. After all, ERPs aren’t just for manufacturing companies looking to manage supply chains—they can be extremely beneficial for companies across every industry. If you’re interested in making the transition from financial software to a robust ERP, there’s no better time than right now to get started.