2020 Thoughts: I want browser extension security taken seriously & I will cover more desktop virt

What I want to see from EUC in 2020

Take browser extension security seriously
After covering browser extension news for nearly two years, I would like to see it taken more seriously. We still regularly see headlines touting how some browser extension was going beyond what it advertised, resulting in exploits and viruses or stolen data. This all happens despite extensions often being only downloadable via official app stores—not a good thing when Apple and Google regularly get duped and allowing sketchy extensions, especially as the latter has shown it takes media coverage before they’ll actually do anything. That said, Google has offered simpler ways to manage extensions. Security vendors have largely been quiet on this front, too. Only product we’re aware of is Duo’s free-to-use tool called CRXcavator, which automates the extension vetting process for admins. I’d like to see more solutions hitting the market that factor in extensions more.

Continued movement around passwordless experience
While I’ll impatiently wait for the time when we can truly abandon passwords (I’m going to be waiting for a while), I would like to see more companies hop on what we’ve taken to calling the “passwordless experience.” The less I have to use a password, the happier I’ll be. Ditching passwords completely will not be a short process, so I’ll take any signs as ones of progress.

Retool Google Stadia
This one is less focused on the technology itself and more around the business model and business performance of Stadia. Google Stadia came out to little fanfare this fall. Most of the skepticism is due to Google tripping over itself. The actual release felt more like a beta than an actual release—a lot of the features were pushed to early 2020, not all founder’s kits arrived on release date, and the pricing scheme is pretty bad (you pay full price for a game that’s a year or older on top of the monthly subscription fee and you don’t really own the game). All of that is a shame given that they actually debuted a cloud gaming service that worked!

Google needs to work on aligning the business side with the tech. We have an actual working cloud gaming product. However, the business side of Stadia is letting us down and could very well be its undoing. I want to see Google make changes to Stadia quick: fix the pricing, release all the promised features, and prove they won’t drop it as quickly as they drop everything else. This latter concern is fresh on my mind given that Google reportedly considered doing that to their cloud business, and still might if it doesn’t start edging out AWS and Microsoft. 

If all else fails, least we have Microsoft xCloud as a possible cloud gaming option, and they’re a company well-versed in VDI.

What I hope to do

Cover more desktop virtualization
Despite being a large part of BrianMadden.com historically, I haven’t covered much here. But have made some progress, touching upon it briefly for articles around containers, cloud gaming, and virtualized applications. For 2020, I want to dive deeper into desktop virt—or at the very least cover it a little more often.

Cover more general security news
As security remains my biggest topic of interest, I am looking into covering more general security stories for some of the other TechTarget websites. BrianMadden.com’s focus can be somewhat restrictive when it comes to the bigger security stories and this is could be a nice middle ground that lets me do a little of both!

Attend more conferences
In 2018, I went to several of the more well-known EUC conferences, like Citrix Synergy, Google Cloud NEXT, and VMworld. In 2019, I added RSA and Black Hat. For 2020, I hope to increase conference attendance even further. Not everything is planned out just yet, but I am looking to attend DEFCON alongside Black Hat—a less corporate security show (before that changes, anyway).

Firm up knowledge
With over a year and a half on the job, I’ve developed my own expertise in areas, enough that when news comes out relating to it, it’s immediately tossed to me by Jack. In 2020, my hopes are to continue that and branch out, while also solidifying my knowledge in some areas.

More community participation
Lastly, I’m looking to engage more with the community. I’m more comfortable now speaking about what I’ve learned and having discussions with knowledge experts, so I’m going to work on putting myself out there more. I’m working on speaking with more end users, customers, and experts to learn more, while also looking into possible presentation opportunities.

We’ll see if any of the above even happens. Here’s to 2020!