Machine Learning Archives

Tech Optimizer

June 17, 2025

Databricks Unveils Lakebase Database for AI Applications

Databricks acquired the serverless Postgres startup Neon for approximately billion and integrated this technology into its offerings, launching Databricks Lakebase, a new operational database designed for intelligent applications. Lakebase is a fully-managed Postgres database aimed at addressing the integration of operational and analytical data for AI workloads. It operates on PostgreSQL and allows developers to manage data applications without server infrastructure concerns. Databricks also introduced additional products, including Lakeflow Designer, a no-code ETL tool, Databricks One for easy access to data and AI capabilities, and Agent Bricks for automating the creation of customized AI agents.

Tech Optimizer

June 13, 2025

Microsoft Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Tips to Protect Your Business Following the Latest Outage

Microsoft attributed a recent global outage affecting various digital infrastructures to a "CrowdStrike update," which disrupted multiple applications including OneDrive, OneNote, Outlook, PowerBI, Microsoft Teams, and others. Users experienced issues such as synchronization failures and access difficulties. The incident highlights vulnerabilities in supply chains that organizations rely on for managing sensitive data, which can be targeted by cyber threats. Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is a feature within Microsoft Purview designed to protect sensitive information from unauthorized disclosure. DLP policies can monitor user activity and take protective actions like alerting users about inappropriate sharing, blocking sharing attempts, or relocating data to secure locations. DLP can be applied across various platforms, including Office 365 applications and Windows endpoints. The DLP lifecycle includes planning and deployment phases, where organizations assess data to be monitored and ensure policies do not disrupt workflows. Monitoring and reporting tools provide insights into policy matches and incidents, helping organizations refine their DLP efforts. However, DLP has limitations, including false positives, user resistance, and challenges in detecting data leakages through new communication channels.

Tech Optimizer

June 12, 2025

Striim Announces Neon Serverless Postgres Support to Broaden Agentic AI Use Cases with Databricks

The demand for real-time data in artificial intelligence is increasing, but integrating data from legacy systems poses challenges due to traditional ETL pipelines that can introduce latency. Open-source Postgres is favored for operational needs, and Neon offers a new approach to database creation using AI agents. Databricks has launched Lakebase, a managed Postgres database for AI applications, after acquiring Neon. Striim has expanded its Postgres offerings to enable high-throughput data ingestion from Neon into Databricks for real-time analytics and supports rapid data delivery from legacy systems into Neon. Striim's platform allows real-time replication of operational data from various traditional systems to Neon, real-time ingestion into Databricks, and enhances generative AI applications with inline data enrichment. Alok Pareek from Striim highlighted the importance of this expansion for Postgres-native teams to build real-time AI architectures. Striim also supports Databricks Delta Lake and SQL2Fabric-X for real-time SQL Server data access. Striim's platform processes over 100 billion daily events with sub-second latency, aiding proactive decision-making.

Tech Optimizer

June 12, 2025

Databricks launches Lakebase Postgres database for AI era

Databricks has launched Lakebase, a fully managed Postgres database designed for AI applications, currently in Public Preview. It integrates an operational database layer into Databricks' Data Intelligence Platform, facilitating the development of data applications and AI agents in a multi-cloud environment. Lakebase uses Neon technology within a lakehouse architecture, allowing for efficient real-time data processing and scalable operations. Key features include independent scaling of compute and storage, low latency under 10 milliseconds, high concurrency over 10,000 queries per second, rapid launch times under a second, and a consumption-based payment model. It also offers data synchronization with lakehouse tables, an online feature store for machine learning, and is managed entirely by Databricks with built-in security features. During its Private Preview, Lakebase attracted participation from hundreds of enterprises across various sectors. It is supported by a partner network including Accenture, Deloitte, and others, and will receive further enhancements in the coming months.

Tech Optimizer

June 10, 2025

Why Instacart Moved to Postgres & pgvector to Boost Semantic Search

Instacart serves 14 million daily users and manages billions of products, necessitating advanced search capabilities that go beyond keyword matching to understand user intent. The search system must reflect real-time inventory changes, leading to significant workloads on the database. Instacart transitioned from Elasticsearch and FAISS to a hybrid architecture using Postgres and pgvector, improving search performance and reducing write workloads by tenfold. This normalization allowed for better storage of machine learning features and improved flexibility. Moving compute closer to storage with NVMe resulted in a twofold increase in search performance. Instacart's migration to pgvector eliminated data duplication and operational complexity, enhancing search quality and user satisfaction, evidenced by a 6% decrease in searches with zero results.

Tech Optimizer

June 4, 2025

Snowflake to Acquire Crunchy Data for AI-Ready Postgres

Snowflake intends to acquire Crunchy Data, a provider of open-source PostgreSQL technology, to enhance its AI Data Cloud by integrating Crunchy Data's enterprise-grade Postgres offerings. The new product, "Snowflake Postgres," will be a developer-friendly, AI-ready database for mission-critical applications. Snowflake plans to invest approximately 0 million in this acquisition, which aims to support complex AI applications at scale and bring a team experienced in Postgres. This move comes amid a competitive cloud data market, with Snowflake's stock trading near its 52-week high. The acquisition is expected to influence how enterprises approach AI and data integration, potentially setting a new benchmark for cloud platforms.

Tech Optimizer

June 4, 2025

I put McAfee and Norton head-to-head in an antivirus showdown, and the results were quite surprising

McAfee and Norton are two leading antivirus providers known for their robust online safety solutions. Both offer essential security features such as real-time threat detection, firewall protection, identity theft protection, VPN services, password management, and parental controls, but they differ in implementation. McAfee uses advanced machine learning for real-time threat detection but has a higher rate of false positives and shows room for improvement against ransomware and phishing. Norton excels in malware detection and has a strong performance against ransomware, blocking 95% of phishing links in tests. McAfee's firewall monitors incoming threats and protects connected devices, while Norton’s firewall prevents untrusted applications from accessing the internet with extensive configuration options. In identity theft protection, McAfee offers comprehensive features with live agent support, whereas Norton partners with LifeLock for enhanced services, including credit monitoring and up to one million dollars in compensation for identity theft losses. McAfee provides unlimited VPN access with basic functionality, while Norton’s VPN includes advanced features like split tunneling and a kill switch. Both include password managers, but McAfee's lacks some functionalities, whereas Norton’s is user-friendly and supports data import from other managers. For parental controls, McAfee allows website blocking and app restrictions, while Norton offers detailed content filtering and monitoring of online activities. In system performance, both have received high marks, with McAfee showing a superior impact score in tests. User experience varies, with McAfee being more accessible for non-technical users and Norton catering to more experienced individuals. Recent testing indicates both effectively blocked nearly all threats, but McAfee had more false positives. Both brands received high ratings from SE Labs for protection and accuracy. The choice between them depends on individual needs, with McAfee being user-friendly and Norton offering advanced features and enhanced identity protection.

Tech Optimizer

June 3, 2025

I tested Bitdefender and McAfee in an antivirus software showdown, and here’s what I found

Bitdefender and McAfee are two leading antivirus software options known for robust malware protection and additional security features. Bitdefender achieves 98% effectiveness in real-time threat detection, while McAfee uses machine learning for threat identification but may produce false positives. Bitdefender offers a basic firewall, not available for macOS, whereas McAfee provides a more advanced firewall with device monitoring. Bitdefender has a standalone Digital Identity Protection service, while McAfee offers comprehensive identity theft protections in its Premium subscription. Bitdefender includes a VPN with a 200MB daily data cap, while McAfee provides unlimited VPN access but with fewer countries and features. Both offer password managers, but Bitdefender lacks two-factor authentication, while McAfee's True Key includes multi-factor authentication. Bitdefender’s parental controls are basic, while McAfee’s Safe Family includes location tracking. Bitdefender is known for lightweight performance, but recent tests suggest McAfee may have better system optimization. Both have user-friendly interfaces, with Bitdefender organizing features into tabs and McAfee offering a simpler design. In terms of protection, Bitdefender has a 98.7% detection rate, while McAfee excels online with 99.6% but struggles offline. Bitdefender's pricing starts at .99 for the first year, while McAfee's Basic plan starts at .99. Overall, Bitdefender is more budget-friendly, while McAfee offers advanced identity theft protection.

Tech Optimizer

June 2, 2025

Hackers Allegedly Selling Windows Crypter Claims Bypass of All Antiviruses

Underground cybercriminal forums are seeing an increase in advanced malware tools, including a Windows crypter that claims to bypass major antivirus solutions. This crypter is marketed as fully activated and capable of achieving Full Undetectable (FUD) status against contemporary antivirus engines. It employs advanced obfuscation techniques to evade detection, including code injection methods, entropy manipulation, and anti-debugging features. The tool allows for granular control over obfuscation parameters, enabling customization for specific target environments. The rise of such sophisticated evasion tools poses challenges for traditional endpoint security, making organizations vulnerable if they rely solely on signature-based antivirus solutions. To defend against these threats, organizations should adopt multi-layered security architectures, including behavioral analysis and endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions.

Tech Optimizer

May 27, 2025

Immuta Deepens AWS Integration with Native Support for PostgreSQL on Amazon RDS and Aurora

Immuta has introduced native support for PostgreSQL on Amazon RDS and Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL-Compatible Edition, now available in public preview. This integration aims to streamline access to PostgreSQL data on AWS through automated policy enforcement and a centralized data marketplace. Key features include automated access provisioning, dynamic policy enforcement, and marketplace integration for PostgreSQL datasets. This support facilitates faster data access, enhances compliance with privacy regulations, and empowers organizations to manage PostgreSQL data effectively in cloud-native environments. The capability is available globally starting today, and the Immuta Platform can be accessed on the AWS Marketplace.