January 11, 2022

Zoom Virtual Backgrounds and Chromebooks

I have been communicating with the folks at Zoom for quite some time regarding the lack of the virtual background feature when using a Chromebook. Today I was informed that "Chromebooks do not satisfy the hardware requirements to enable virtual background." 

Apparently Zoom requires way more processing power to provide either the virtual background or the blur background features than the very lean Chrome OS needs to provide a fast, efficient computer experience.

This, of course, is very disappointing information. Maybe someday some programmer at Zoom will figure out how to do this using minimal resources.

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Richard L. Kuper

The Kuper Report

http://TheKuperReport.com

October 21, 2021

Now Google Is the Big Target

Once upon a time, Microsoft was the big and only real target. Bad actors created viruses and other problems that caused grief to users of Microsoft products. Apple users were lulled into a false sense of security, because that environment was mostly ignored due to it's smaller user base.

Then Apple got bigger and branched out into more than just computers. The bad actors noticed that their user base was growing and started going after them. Apple users were shocked, because they thought, wrongly, that Apple products were more secure than Microsoft. Bad actors regularly go after Apple products and even apps in the Apple app store.

Now Google is the big player, with a majority of users on Microsoft and Apple devices choosing Google Chrome as their browser of choice; android phones being the majority of cell phones that are purchased; and an ever growing number of folks switching from Microsoft and even Apple computers to easier to use Chromebooks. On many of these devices, Google Chrome is the default browser and the most used product on the devices, so the bad actors are now targeting Google Chrome more regularly, along with apps in the Google app store.

So here, basically, is what is recommended:

Make sure your Google or Edge or whatever browser you use is always up-to-date. Most browsers have an "About" page where it tells you what the current version is and either automatically checks at that point for updates or offers a "check for update" option.

Make sure you regularly check for operating system updates on Microsoft, Apple, Google and Android based devices, including phones and computers and tablets and such.

Make sure you regularly check for software updates as well.

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Richard L. Kuper

The Kuper Report

http://TheKuperReport.com

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