monitoring tools

Tech Optimizer
July 5, 2025
Manufacturers are increasingly integrating IT systems with operational technology (OT), leading to heightened cyber threats such as ransomware, supply chain breaches, and attacks from nation-state actors. To enhance cyber resilience, it is crucial to segment IT and OT networks to prevent breaches on the IT side from affecting critical OT systems. Effective segmentation involves placing OT systems behind firewalls, restricting protocols, and using unidirectional gateways. Many manufacturing plants struggle with aging and undocumented devices, making security and monitoring challenging. Asset visibility tools can help map connected devices, enabling better inventory management and risk assessment. Attackers often use "living-off-the-land" techniques to navigate networks undetected, necessitating defenses that include behavioral analytics and application whitelisting. Incident response plans tailored for OT environments are essential, as production interruptions can have severe consequences. These plans should include scenarios like ransomware attacks and require regular testing and backups. For legacy systems that cannot be patched, isolation and monitoring are critical, along with virtual patching to block known exploits. Weak credentials pose a significant risk, so implementing role-based access control and multi-factor authentication is necessary. Security monitoring tools like SIEM and XDR should be used to consolidate data from IT and OT environments, providing alerts for potential attacks. Overall, cyber resilience in manufacturing focuses on minimizing risks and ensuring recovery without disrupting operations.
AppWizard
June 20, 2025
Dexcom has warned that users of its G6 continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) app should avoid downloading the Android 16 operating system update, as it may disrupt app functionality. Users of the Dexcom G7 will not be affected by this update. The Android 16 update is currently available for select Android smartphones, and ignoring the warning could lead to issues with app performance critical for diabetes management.
Tech Optimizer
June 17, 2025
EnterpriseDB has introduced new features for its EDB Postgres AI platform, including a low-code/no-code environment for application development and enhanced data observability across various databases. The platform, launched in May 2024, integrates relational and non-relational data, automates data pipelines, and supports multiple workloads. The new capabilities aim to improve the success rate of AI projects, which face an estimated 80% failure rate in transitioning from development to production. The updates include tools for managing PostgreSQL databases in hybrid cloud and on-premises environments, Transparent Data Encryption for security, and an analytics engine optimized for AI workloads. EnterpriseDB's enhancements were influenced by customer feedback, focusing on maximizing the value of existing data and supporting GenAI workflows. The company plans to expand its AI ecosystem and enhance its competitive position within the PostgreSQL community.
Tech Optimizer
June 10, 2025
Norton 360 Deluxe is a comprehensive antivirus solution that offers extensive security features, including protection against botnets, brute force attacks, and vulnerabilities related to file and print sharing. It provides webcam protection, secure application sandboxing, and a Safe Search feature for risky websites. Users can create a rescue disk for emergencies. Scanning capabilities include quick scans, full scans, targeted folder scans, and a pre-boot deep scan, with the full scan completing in about four minutes. Parental controls allow management of screen time and website access across devices, while the included VPN can disable internet access if a compromised site is visited. Performance testing showed that Norton 360 Deluxe efficiently processed 927,000 files in about four minutes on various devices, significantly outperforming competitors like Bitdefender and McAfee. The Startup Scan feature is thorough but takes longer. The VPN maintained download speeds without noticeable degradation. Additional features include privacy monitoring tools, performance checks for outdated software, junk file removal, and limited cloud backup support for Windows devices. The user-friendly interface highlights key features and includes a search function for easy navigation. Norton provides 24/7 support through online chat and phone, with no email support available. The initial interaction with the virtual agent was efficient, followed by prompt human support.
Tech Optimizer
June 2, 2025
Alexey has developed the pgpro-otel-collector, an OpenTelemetry collector by PostgresPro, designed to gather metrics and logs from PostgreSQL databases. It collects PostgreSQL metrics using an internal metrics library, OS-level metrics such as CPU and memory usage, and PostgreSQL logs in CSV and JSON formats. The collector includes internal processors for batch processing and supports exporting to OTLP-compatible backends like Elasticsearch and Prometheus. Installation is straightforward, requiring configuration of the Postgres connection and data destination. The collector can gather a range of PostgreSQL statistics and supports advanced features like CFS and pg_wait_sampling. Future enhancements include support for additional system views, integration with Shardman and BiHA, collection of custom query-based metrics, and a Grafana dashboard. Alexey's background includes experience with various monitoring tools and a focus on PostgreSQL, leading to the creation of this collector.
Tech Optimizer
May 27, 2025
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has enhanced its managed Aurora PostgreSQL Limitless service by integrating observability support through CloudWatch Database Insights, allowing enterprises to monitor the health of their database ecosystems. This feature assists in monitoring and troubleshooting various AWS databases, including Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL, Amazon Aurora MySQL, Amazon RDS for SQL Server, RDS for Oracle, and RDS for MariaDB.
Tech Optimizer
May 12, 2025
pgpro_pwr is a database workload monitoring tool for database administrators (DBAs) to identify resource-demanding operations. It was launched in 2017 as pg_profile by Andrey Zubkov, who moved from being a DBA to an engineer at Postgres Professional. pg_profile is compatible with open-source PostgreSQL and has been integrated into PostgreSQL 17 as of 2024, while pgpro_pwr offers advanced statistical insights and is included in Postgres Pro releases. Both tools monitor database workload metrics through continuously incrementing counters, capturing values at intervals and archiving differences. They do not provide alerting capabilities but are useful for assessing system stability, analyzing load testing outcomes, and identifying system-intensive activities. The tools consist of repository tables, data collection functions, reporting functions, and service tables. To use them, one must install the extension, configure roles, and set up parameters. Reports can be generated for workload statistics over time and comparisons between different time intervals. Examples of report types include wait event statistics and advanced vacuum statistics. Future plans include submitting a patch to introduce vacuum statistics to vanilla PostgreSQL.
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