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• 

  What can businesses do after Safe Harbor's dismissal?

  Publié: novembre 10, 2015, 7:07pm CET par Patrick Salyer

  

  October 6 was quite an interesting day for consumer privacy. After 15 years in place, the Safe Harbor agreement was declared invalid by Europe’s highest court, the Court of Justice of the European Union.

  Driven by data localization trends and consumer privacy concerns in the wake of the "Snowden Effect", the ruling empowers each country in the European Union to set its own consumer privacy rules and regulations. The court’s decision has complicated implications for U.S. organizations conducting business overseas. In light of Safe Harbor’s invalidation, can international businesses continue to operate as usual?

  The Way We Were, and How the Future Is Shaping Up

  Back in 2000, Safe Harbor was enacted to expedite the transfer of digital data between companies and international networks. Under the framework, U.S. companies conducting business in the European Union followed one uniform set of E.U. privacy standards, and could transfer data from E.U.-based consumers (like on-site activities and purchase histories) back to U.S. servers.

  For example, a Parisian could update his or her Facebook profile, and the data could be transferred to one of Facebook’s data centers in the United States.

  In recent years, consumer privacy issues have really hit the spotlight. In a post-Snowden world, there is fear that the U.S. government is accessing consumers’ private data, leading to a push for global data localization.

  For example, Russia requires data about Russian users to be stored within the country’s borders, and now with the Safe Harbor decision, localization regulations could apply to data about residents of the European Union as well.

  As the Court of Justice explains, the 28 countries in the European Union will have individual oversight regarding how companies collect and manage their respective citizens’ data. To add even more complexity, countries in the European Union have widely varying attitudes about privacy. With the invalidation of the Safe Harbor framework, these countries can now create their own privacy rules and regulations.

  The Cloud: Holy Grail of Customer Data Management?

  This ruling is a potential hit to enterprises conducting business overseas. Why? Global brands will now be required to manage their customers’ data in multiple geographies and navigate a patchwork of rules and interpretations of how consumer data should be stored, managed and used.

  This could mean building out, securing and managing expensive data centers in multiple countries. For smaller and non-tech companies, on-premises storage and management of consumer data in several regions will be either not feasible or extremely cost-prohibitive.

  But it doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. Now faced with the difficulty and cost of navigating and complying with several potential new privacy rules and regulations overseas, consumer-facing enterprises with international user bases could migrate their customer data from owned and operated on-premises data centers to cloud vendors that already have in place international infrastructures for customer identity data management.

  This migration could make it easier for these consumer-facing enterprises to comply with new and evolving regulations that may arise following the ruling. Cloud technology is already being adopted rapidly because of its scalability, faster time-to-market and lower costs, and the Safe Harbor ruling will only accelerate that adoption.

  Consumer privacy is an incredibly important issue in our post-Snowden era, and we are likely still in the early stages of geographically dispersed regulation. The next iteration of Safe Harbor is already in the works, with E.U. and U.S. officials re-negotiating the details to make it more consumer privacy-friendly.

  Importantly, this increased emphasis on privacy doesn’t have to be a win for consumers at the loss of businesses, but in order for that to be a reality, organizations will need to rethink how they’ve been approaching customer data management and consider the cloud.

  Patrick Salyer, CEO of Gigya.

  Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

  Photo Credit: Giordano Aita/Shutterstock

  
• 

  HP AMD-powered t730 is first thin client with native 4K -- offers Windows or Linux

  Publié: novembre 10, 2015, 7:05pm CET par Brian Fagioli

  Business workstations and thin clients are often boring affairs; however, they do not have to be. There is no reason why such a computer cannot have some sweet technology inside of it.

  Today, HP announces the t730 thin client -- an exciting thin client. This svelte machine features a quad-core AMD APU and up to 16GB of RAM. The truly impressive aspect, however, is that it can natively support 4K video out -- HP claims it is the world's first thin client to do so. It features an impressive four full-size DisplayPort connectors. You can even add an AMD Fire Pro W2100 for a total of six Display Ports.

  "The new performance leader in the HP Thin Client lineup empowers businesses to work in the content-hungry environment they want, without add-ons, extras or options. The HP t730 excels in this emerging market for customers in high-performance sectors, like financial services, oil/gas, digital media, and engineering, with an easy and secure solution to drive their heavy content needs", says HP.

  The manufacturer further says, "supporting more displays than the average desktop PC, the HP t730 natively drives four displays at the new UHD/4K resolution standard, and six displays with an optional AMD FirePro discrete graphics card. Multimedia is presented in eye-popping detail that translates to a staggering 8,294,400 total pixels. The AMD R-Series quad-core APU with Turbo Core technology accelerates CPU performance up to 3.6 GHz to run the most demanding workstation-class apps, and render high-frame rate video to connected displays".

  

   

  HP lists the following notable specs.

  • CPU: AMDRX-427BB APU with Radeon HD9000 graphics (2.7GHz up to 3.6GHz, 4MB cache, 4cores)
  • Storage: 8, 16, 32, 64 or 128GB MLC flash memory 
  • Graphics: AMD Fire Pro W2100; AMD Radeon GPU
  • System Memory: Up to 16GBDDR3L-1600 SDRAM

  What I really love is that both Linux and Windows are available. If you want a Microsoft OS, you can opt for Windows 10 IoT Enterprise for Thin Clients or Windows Embedded Standard 7P. Linux lovers can choose either the HP Thin Pro or HP Smart Zero Core operating systems.

  If you are a decision maker in your company, the $599 starting price should be very attractive. If you are a lower-level IT worker, the low-price and impressive features should make this an easy sale to management.

  If you are interested in buying, it will be available in December. In the interim, you should contact your existing HP business contact for more info. If you are not currently under contract with HP, or any other company, you can contact its general business sales line to establish a relationship.

  
• 

  The bumpy road to IT transformation -- How enterprises can smooth it out

  Publié: novembre 10, 2015, 6:43pm CET par Vishal Bhatnagar

  

  The past five years has seen businesses enter a period of breakneck digital transformation with IT departments undergoing rapid change. Most large enterprises are either executing an IT transformation program or are about to embark on one.

  When doing this, businesses need to ensure that it doesn’t turn out to be "Yet another IT transformation initiative" but one that actually delivers substantive value to the organization.

  What is involved in IT transformation?

  This is big stuff. Enterprise-level change programs span applications, infrastructure and business processes. Despite cost-effective cloud computing and constantly falling hardware prices, a lot of the IT budget is spent just standing still. It’s not surprising to see high spending levels, with an average of 60 percent of IT budgets going on applications. This means the 'innovation' or change budget, if it exists, is likely to be limited.

  Applications are of course just one piece to the transformation puzzle, key business priorities include enhancing customer experience, reducing time to market for new functionality, monetizing the opportunities with digital channels, and changing the business operating model to substantially reduce costs.

  IT transformation often brings up discussions of who should lead, whether the business or IT. In reality it needs to be a partnership between the two. The business knows the competition and should have a long term vision of what it needs to achieve, whereas marketers, operations and sales leaders often don’t know what’s possible in a technology-enabled business.

  The IT team therefore needs to think beyond the requirements and collaborate with business stakeholders to show how technology can lead the way. In order to be able to achieve that, the IT team needs to work ahead of the business, so that new IT solutions are ready and tested before the transformation goes live.

  What are the challenges of IT transformation?

  A business can’t measure IT transformation success without considering the risk the business is being exposed to. If too many elements in the software change at once, it can be hard to prevent disruption or erratic system behavior, which could potentially lead to a glitch or system failure.

  To measure IT transformation success we can focus on business metrics such as lower time to market, increased responsiveness, lower cost and the ability to manage more initiatives. However, these are all hard elements to measure directly. So a set of IT analytics that can measure some of the key IT-business outcomes are useful.

  What are the key measurements?

  As many CIOs go through the process of IT transformation, they will measure the key characteristics which indicate a stable application. Such measures enable a CIO to understand their application software quality. They include:

  Adaptability -- The overall adaptability of the product portfolio tells a business how bloated and complex the portfolio is and to what extent the IT landscape impedes the business’ ability to be responsive. Being able to benchmark and improve the application landscape complexity can be a key metric to transformation effectiveness, particularly if one of the business goals is to increase overall business agility.

  Software Risk -- Measuring the probability of adverse events due to software and the potential loss incurred by such events, can be achieved by evaluating the violations of industry-based best practices within the code, components and architecture of applications.

  Robustness -- This indicates the likelihood an application will incur defects, corrupt data or completely fail in production. Such measures are based on industry best practices around algorithmic and control flow complexity and controlled data access at an architectural level.

  Changeability -- This is core to transforming the most important and differentiating business processes. The more changeable the application, the easier it is to add a new interface, or a new portal, or new functionality to support platforms such as mobile. Increasing the changeability is a fundamental, transformational step towards digital business.

  Having good risk controls and the ability to measure and assess software risk ahead of the release, allows the business to move quickly with greater confidence. Even if IT transformation runs smoothly at first, the right software quality measures can reduce the risk to the business over the longer term.

  Measuring risk along the way is critical to IT transformation success and success breeds success. A business which can make an IT transformation work well, is one who is ready for the next.

  Image Credit: Ollyy / Shutterstock

  Vishal Bhatnagar is SVP & Country Manager at CAST Software and is responsible for the CAST business in the UK & Ireland. Based on his IT services and consulting expertise, Vishal brings diverse and valuable software analytics experience to CAST customers.

  
• 

  The three don'ts when choosing an IT security budget

  Publié: novembre 10, 2015, 6:42pm CET par Ryan Berg

  

  With high-profile data breaches continuing to make headlines with disturbing regularity, the general consensus on the cyber security front is that we need to be doing more. Of course, if you’re sitting down to discuss your company’s IT security budget, you’re going to need to get more specific than that.

  Determining the right cyber security budget can be a challenge, especially for companies that are looking into security seriously for the first time and unsure where to start. While one approach is to look to industry benchmarks -- averages by vertical, percentage of overall IT spending, etc. -- the truth is there is no universal right answer to determining your security budget.

  You’ll need to determine what the top needs are for your company, specifically, as well as establish your tolerance for risk. The sooner you get key stakeholders involved in that discussion, the better, but to make sure the conversation is actually productive and leads to real buy-in, here are three common mistakes you should absolutely avoid.

  1. Don't Try to Make Do Without a Dedicated Budget

  Budget discussions around cyber security are rarely easy, in part because it’s so notoriously difficult to measure and demonstrate ROI. Many compare it with investing in insurance -- increasing your spending doesn’t inherently make you safer, it simply reduces your risk and helps you prepare for if and when things go wrong.

  That means unless you’re actively dealing with a hack or a breach, security spending is likely something that’s hard to get excited about. Too often, it’s an afterthought, or money that gets assigned after everyone else has grabbed their piece of the pie.

  You need to establish that security is a budgetary item that needs dedicated dollars assigned to it. It shouldn’t be money that’s coming from another place or that can be reassigned if marketing needs to do a new advertising campaign. Step one in securing buy-in is agreeing that security is important to the business, it has a purpose, and it needs funding.

  After all, when it comes to security spending, the only wrong answer is zero.

  2. Don't Ask for Money Before Agreeing on Needs and Goals

  Before you even think about asking for money you need to sit down with key stakeholders and come to a universal agreement on why security is a necessary investment for your organization in the first place. There needs to be a clear understanding of what the priorities are, and how achieving those relates back to the primary business goals. Think of it as achieving buy-in and setting your bar.

  The key to a productive “buy-in” conversation is to start out not with how the business can improve its security, but how security can improve the business. To get to that, here are three simple questions to help you drill down into what better security actually enable you to achieve and/or avoid:

  • Why do we need better security?
  • What are we trying to secure?
  • What will happen if we don’t get this right?

  Remember, your leadership team doesn’t have to understand how security works, but they do need to understand why you’re doing what you’re doing, and be on board with what you’re ultimately trying to achieve.

  3. Don't Base Your Budget on What Everyone Else Is Doing

  Be careful not to base your security planning and budgeting entirely on what others are doing. Just because a competitor has a security information and event management (SIEM) solution doesn’t mean you need to have one, and just because you spend 15 percent of your total IT budget on security and they only spend 10 percent doesn’t mean you’re inherently more secure.

  Don’t waste your money and political capital trying to keep up with the Joneses. Spending isn’t what makes you secure.

  There’s a big difference between using competitor research and industry benchmarks to inform your decisions and allowing those things to make your decisions for you.

  The point isn’t to find a killer game plan to steal. You’ll still need to develop a custom blueprint that addresses your own unique needs. But by getting a sense of what constitutes good, better, and best practices for other companies you may have an easier job determining where you’re strong, where you’re weak, where it’s okay for you to be weak, and where you need to invest.

  The Best Way to Handle Budget Disagreements

  In an ideal world, once you’ve set your bar with your leadership team, a budget discussion should flow naturally. As long as you have a universal agreement that your goals are important to the business, then you should be able to come back to leadership with a list of things you need to execute in order to hit those goals.

  There is bound to be push and pull when it comes to spending, however, and there may be times when you’re told the money you need simply isn’t there. When that happens you need to bring the conversation back to the shared priorities you established with the leadership team. You should be able to say, “Remember the things we agreed were important? These are the activities and investments we’ve identified in order to hit our bar.”

  You can still disagree on specific requirements, and you may have to make concessions or get creative to cut down on costs, but as long as you have that common ground to fall back on you should be able to have an intelligent discussion around the trade-offs between coverage and risk.

  Ryan Berg is Chief Scientist at Barkly.

  Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

  Photo Credit: fotoscool/Shutterstock

  
• 

  One in 10 Brits believe AI is evil

  Publié: novembre 10, 2015, 5:41pm CET par Ian Barker

  

  Most people in Britain believe that artificial intelligence is a force for good according to a new survey, with only one in 10 thinking that it’s evil.

  This is one of the findings of research by marketing technology company Rocket Fuel which finds broad public optimism about AI across the UK.

  A large majority (92 percent) claim some understanding of what AI is and almost half (48 percent) believe AI is a force for good or mostly good. 42 percent of Brits are excited by AI or think it will solve big world problems. However, 21 percent see AI as a threat or are scared by it.

  There is a greater awareness of the uses of AI in everyday life among men than women, with women more likely to perceive AI as a thing of science fiction or limited to laboratories (21 percent), compared to men (13 percent).

  When it comes to the workplace 45 percent don't believe AI will impact their job, 10 percent think it will have a positive effect and nine percent believe their job will be under threat. Interestingly those on the lowest incomes are more likely to see AI as changing their job for the better.

  Perhaps surprisingly it's younger age groups who are most suspicious of the technology, with 20 percent of 18-24 year olds citing AI as a force for evil, double the percentage of any other age group. Also 18 percent of 18-24 year olds believe that AI will threaten their jobs, again double the number of any other age group.

  "Artificial intelligence continues to hit the headlines and there has been a lot of discussion about the negative impact this technology could have on our lives. As a company that uses AI to power our business and drive better, more efficient outcomes for our clients' marketing campaigns, we were interested to understand just what the British public’s perception of AI is," says Dominic Trigg, Rocket Fuel’s SVP and MD Europe and emerging markets. "We were pleasantly surprised by the findings, with the overall sentiment towards AI being very positive amongst a well-informed British public. We believe AI is already making a positive impact in a number of industries and we believe that it is more likely to continue to offer practical improvements, innovation and efficiency to the UK, rather than any danger".

  More information about AI and its role in marketing can be found on the Rocket Fuel website.

  Image Credit: Mopic / Shutterstock

  
• 

  Smartphone theft affects most organizations

  Publié: novembre 10, 2015, 5:39pm CET par Sead Fadilpašić

  

  Did you ever consider that keeping sensitive business files on your mobile device could be risky, as your device could be lost or stolen? Did you consider protecting those files, or the mobile device in general, with a password?

  A new research by Imation looked into this idea and the results are quite disappointing. According to the study, 44 percent of organizations believe a member of their senior management has lost a mobile device in the last year, whilst 39 percent say senior management had a device stolen.

  The numbers are no better among non-executives: 54 percent of organizations say a non-senior management employee lost a device, while 49 percent reported a device stolen within the past year.

  Vanson Bourne conducted the survey of 500 IT decision makers in the UK and Germany.

  A vast majority (93 percent) of these devices contained work related data, including confidential emails (49 percent), confidential files or documents (38 percent), customer data (24 percent) and financial data (15 percent), yet basic security rules are not being implemented.

  Nearly a third (32 percent) of organizations do not specify that devices taken outside the office must be protected with either encryption or passwords, and a quarter (25 percent) does not specify that digital files taken outside the office must be protected with either encryption or passwords.

  Companies are failing to control how data leaves the office, with nearly half (48 percent) admitting that they cannot keep track of how employees take data with them, and 54 percent saying that data could be more adequately secured.

  Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

  Photo Credit: Antonio Guillem/Shutterstock

  
• 

  Looker makes Google BigQuery available across the enterprise

  Publié: novembre 10, 2015, 5:11pm CET par Ian Barker

  

  Whilst most organizations recognize the importance of big data, the tools needed to obtain value from it are often complex and unweildy.

  To make it easy for companies to build an organization-wide data analytics platform, business analytics specialist Looker is launching Looker Blocks for the Google BigQuery cloud analytics service.

  BigQuery, unlike other databases, never runs out of storage and never gets slow, Looker claims its offering is the only tool that lets users harness the power of the underlying database with its unique in-database architecture. Looker operates on the data directly in BigQuery, never extracting subsets of data, making for incredibly fast queries against all of the data available to everyone.

  "Looker and BigQuery are compatible because both technologies are, at the core, architected to scale. Whether you have 250GB or Petabytes of data, Looker makes data exploration easy and accessible to everyone at a company." says Frank Bien, CEO of Looker. "We aren't just a visualization tool that only analyzes subsets of the data, we are a reliable data platform for organization-wide analytics and business metrics".

  Specific Looker Blocks and additional features to connect with the Google Cloud include Table Date Range Analytics which makes BigQuery's unique approach to data partitioning seamless for end users and optimizes query performance, making it easy to understand event data over time, and gain insight into every aspect of consumer behavior.

  A Query Size Estimator lets data analysts determine the size of a query directly within Looker’s data platform -- before it's run -- giving data analysts greater insight for database management. The Google Analytics Premium Looker Block comes pre-built with a full suite of web analytics metrics such as funnels, bounce rates, and attribution analysis. Once up and running with the GA Premium Block, users can then layer on additional custom analysis to understand the metrics that drive their business.

  More information on using Looker with Google BigQuery can be found on the company's website.

  Photo Credit: Sergey Nivens / Shutterstock

  
• 

  BullGuard Internet Security ships with Dropbox-compatible backup

  Publié: novembre 10, 2015, 4:39pm CET par Mike Williams

  

  BullGuard has shipped the latest version of its comprehensive security suite, BullGuard Internet Security.

  The online backup tool now offers direct backup to your Dropbox account, great news if you don’t want to spread your files across multiple cloud accounts.

  A significantly improved PC Tune Up module includes new duplicate and junk file detectors, safely freeing up even more hard drive space.

  BullGuard’s new Boot Manager doesn’t just list your Windows startup programs, like most of the competition: it monitors your boots, displays a detailed chart showing the performance impact of each startup process, and allows you to disable or delay them as required.

  Enhanced Parental Controls do a better job of keeping parents informed, with more detailed reports, and notifications to keep you in touch with what’s happening.

  Browsing protection now keeps you safe from more exploits, can quarantine threats without user intervention, and has less impact on your system performance.

  Meanwhile the core antivirus engine features improved protection against threats which launch before Windows, another welcome step in keeping rootkits and ransomware at bay.

  BullGuard Internet Security is priced from $59.95 for a 3 PC, 1 year license, and a 60-day trial build is available now.

  
• 

  RoboForm boosts security with two-factor authentication

  Publié: novembre 10, 2015, 4:36pm CET par Ian Barker

  

  Two-factor authentication is increasingly common as a way of verifying logins to websites so that you’re not relying on just a password.

  Now Siber Systems maker of the popular RoboForm password manager is adding 2FA to allow users to receive a password via text message to verify trusted desktop, laptop and mobile devices for repeat use with the software.

  "People are rightly concerned about the security of their sensitive personal information and financial accounts," says Bill Carey, Siber Systems VP of Marketing. "Hackers are becoming more sophisticated all the time, causing a record number of data breaches that can affect hundreds of millions of people. Our multifactor authentication option improves security by ensuring that only registered computers and mobile devices can access a user's RoboForm Everywhere account. By limiting the possibility of outside access to a user's account, we've created one of the strongest security solutions on the market today".

  RoboForm Everywhere subscribers can use multifactor authentication protection for free on an opt-in basis. This enables them to expand the trusted environment for their passwords by verifying their personal laptops, PCs and mobile devices before accessing their RoboForm information.

  Once a user has opted in, the feature will send a one-time password either via text message or to the user's registered email account the first time they log on from an unregistered computer or mobile device. The message will contain a code the subscriber can use to verify the device. Once the device is registered, it's approved for repeat use with the user name and log-in password. Users can also delete devices from the approved list any time.

  For more information on using the software and 2FA you can visit the RoboForm site.

  Photo Credit: JMiks/Shutterstock

  
• 

  Moving legacy apps to the cloud: Why and how you should do it

  Publié: novembre 10, 2015, 4:33pm CET par Vivek Vahie

  

  With shrinking IT budgets it is crucial that businesses ensure they are spending their IT budget wisely. As a result, organizations are already taking advantage of the economies of scale that cloud computing offers.

  However, despite the benefits being clear, businesses still have applications running on legacy environments. Moving legacy applications to the cloud is one way to reduce operating costs and relieve staff from managing tasks that are better served in the cloud, freeing them to focus on tasks that contribute to business growth.

  The Key Drivers for Moving Legacy Apps to the Cloud:

  • The high cost -- maintaining legacy applications is eating into a huge chunk of IT budgets
  • Accessibility and availability -- businesses need applications to be accessible from anywhere and anytime, many legacy systems do not support this
  • Internal support -- it is becoming increasingly difficult for staff to support applications using outdated technology
  • Flexibility and scalability -- businesses need to be able to adapt quickly to keep up with customer demands which will ultimately impact its business growth

  Moving legacy applications to the cloud is a great alternative for many organizations due to the flexible nature of the cloud and its potential to reduce operational costs. Migration isn’t painless and can be complicated, costly and lengthy depending on the applications and the approach taken. However, most find that this investment of time and resources is worth it when the long term gains are considered.

  Key Considerations When Planning

  • Understand the complexities involved in the current legacy system and identify the features that are required or that need to be enhanced
  • Understand the cost, time and resource constraints -- this can help you to decide the number of components of the existing application that will be transferred to the cloud
  • Plan for testing the application -- this is a critical part of the process, moving the application to the cloud has multiple parameters that need to be tested before it can go live

  Evaluate and ensure that the upgrade doesn’t interfere with existing SLAs or compliance and security needs
  Identify the applications that would make the best fit to be transferred to the cloud. Although some applications can seem to be a good fit they still might require tweaking and multiple testing cycles

  Ways of Moving to the Cloud

  There are multiple ways to move to the cloud and a number of other considerations to think about before embarking on a big project like cloud migration. Here are a few of the available options:

  • Completely re-engineering the identified application making it cloud enabled and in the process enhancing the application features to better meet the needs of the business
  • Hybrid model -- making subtle changes to the identified application architecture and porting elements of the application onto the cloud
  • Moving to a SaaS model -- replacing the identified application with something that is already available on the cloud, sometimes it is prudent to replace in-house apps as opposed to re-engineering them

  You will also have to decide whether to choose a Private, Public or Hybrid cloud model for hosting your applications. This decision should be based upon your security requirements and the level of control the application requires.

  One of the most critical parts of the process when moving the applications to the cloud is choosing the right vendor to work with, as the migration can have a high overhead from a cost, time and skill perspective.

  It requires engineering skills, application expertise, technology knowhow and the ability to stay within budget and the right vendor partner should help you make well informed decisions around the approach to migration and assist in some of the complexities that this involves.

  It is also important to ensure that the vendor you choose has the capabilities to manage and host your cloud enabled applications whilst helping you to control the levels of cost, SLAs and security that your business needs.

  Once you have evaluated, planned and deployed applications in the cloud you will soon be able to realize the benefits of the migration through IT budgets being freed up and staff able to be deployed on value add projects.

  Vivek Vahie is senior director at NaviSite India.

  Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

  Image Credit: Khakimullin Aleksandr/Shutterstock

  
• 

  Twistlock strengthens container security for enterprises on Google Cloud

  Publié: novembre 10, 2015, 3:40pm CET par Ian Barker

  

  More and more businesses are adopting a container strategy but this leads to problems for operations and security staff seeking to maintain control and visibility.

  Container security specialist Twistock released its Container Security Suite in beta back in May and has now announced general availability of the product along with its participation in the Google Cloud Platform partner program.

  "Containers bring unprecedented speed and agility that allow DevOps to quickly respond to changing business needs. But organizations are concerned about the robustness of policy management and the ability to support organizational compliance needs," says Ben Bernstein, CEO and co-founder of Twistlock. "This integration is significant because Google Cloud Platform users can use Twistlock technologies to have the visibility and controls they need to maximize business efficiency and potential for innovations".

  Integration with Google Cloud Platform (GCP) provides container image scanning, access control functions, and the ability to enforce runtime security policies to protect containerized applications running on GCP.

  Twistlock allows users to scan images in Google Container Registry for CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) and for policy compliance. They can also detect anomalies in a running container engine cluster and take automated corrective actions, such as raising an alert or disconnecting the container’s network access. In addition it can generate reports of policy violations in both Container Registry and Container Engine.

  For users there are three parts to Twistlock for GCP, a Registry Scanner that performs vulnerability scanning for container registries, and the Twistlock Console which is both a policy configuration portal and a central dashboard for all Twistlock tasks. Plus there's Twistlock Defender which runs on the same host as protected container workloads and monitors container health, applies configuration policies, and reports container information back to the console.

  More information is available on the Twistlock blog and users can request a free trial of the platform on the company's site.

  Image Credit: VERSUSstudio / Shutterstock

  
• 

  Offline navigation comes to Google Maps

  Publié: novembre 10, 2015, 3:34pm CET par Mark Wilson

  

  One of the biggest problems with Google Maps on your smartphone is that you need an internet or data connection. At least that used to be the case. Today Google announces that navigation is now possible in offline mode.

  In a move that has the potential to kill off the likes of TomTom and Garmin, Google is making it possible to download maps to your phone so turn-by-turn directions can be initiated even when there is no connection. It's a feature that people have been waiting for for some time, but Google has more to offer.

  In addition to offline navigation -- which is an absolute boon, it must be said -- Google Maps can also be used without a connection to search for information about the area. As well as searching for towns, cities, and streets, you can also search for shops, businesses and restaurants, and view useful information such as opening hours and contact details.

  Of course, using the feature does require a degree of forward planning; it is not possible to get directions to an area of the map that you have not yet downloaded. You can download a map for a city you are visiting, a county if you plan on covering a larger area, or an entire country if you want to cut through any limitations.

  Google explains that downloading maps is simple:

  You can download an area by searching for a city, county or country, for instance, and tapping "Download" on the resulting place sheet, or by going to "Offline Areas" in the Google Maps menu and tapping on the "+" button. Once downloaded, Google Maps will move into offline mode automatically when it recognizes you’re in a location with spotty service or no connectivity at all. When a connection is found, it will switch back online so you can easily access the full version of Maps, including live traffic conditions for your current route.

  Android users are first to get access to the feature, but it is coming to iOS soon too.

  Photo credit: Roman Pyshchyk / Shutterstock

  
• 

  Best Buy reveals its Black Friday deals and sales start now

  Publié: novembre 10, 2015, 3:26pm CET par Alan Buckingham

  The holiday shopping season is right around the corner or, in some cases, here now. We've already seen Amazon launch its store which contains the "Lightning Deals" it offers each year as an incentive to keep customers coming back frequently.

  Not to be outdone, Best Buy is kicking off its festivities now as well. The company announces today that deals will be available immediately both in stores and online.

  Included in the offerings is the iPad Air 2 for "up to $125 off", a Toshiba 55 inch LED TV for $349.99, Insignia 40 inch LED TV for $159.99 and more.

  As for the actual holiday itself, the store will open at 5pm on Thanksgiving Day. "Nearly all stores will remain open until 1 a.m. local time on Friday, Nov. 27, and re-open for a second round of 'doorbuster' deals at 8am", the company states.

  That offering will contain such deals as a Samsung 60 inch LED UHD TV  for $799.99, effectively cutting the price in half. Also promised are Best Buy gift cards if you purchase certain products such as the Galaxy S6 or a GoPro camera.

  Other deals will be available on Black Friday as well as throughout the weekend. More information will be available via the store's website.

  
• 

  ARM's new IoT mbed products could bring 8-week battery life to wearables

  Publié: novembre 10, 2015, 3:22pm CET par Mark Wilson

  

  At ARM TechCon 2015, ARM is unveiling a number of new mbed IoT Device Platform products. Designed to make it easier to deploy IoT devices on a large scale, developers will be able to use mbed Device Connector to build cloud-integrated web apps.

  There's also a new build of the mbed OS Technology Preview and together these technologies can be used to connect and securely manage IoT devices. Two new reference designs for industry and wearables have also been released.

  Key to speeding up IoT uptake is the decision to make mbed Device Connector available free of charge. Developers can work with up to 100 devices and 10,000 events per hour without having to pay a penny. ARM says that this will be enough for businesses to try out IoT options with minimal costs before considering how to go about scaling things up.

  Krisztian Flautner, general manager of IoT business at ARM said:

  ARM mbed partners now have access to the fundamental building blocks to develop and securely deploy IoT devices at any scale. Since the launch of the mbed IoT Device Platform last year, we have focused our efforts on providing the mbed Partnership with the tools to scale deployments from a single cloud-connected sensor to a host of more intricate devices that enterprise-grade IoT solutions demand.

  ARM also has two new design reference platforms for developers to try out. While the mbed Smart City Reference Design uses Sub-GHz 6LoWPAN & CoAP mesh network protocols for industrial apps and infrastructure monitoring, the average consumer will likely be more interested in the potential of the mbed Wearable Reference Design. ARM says that this has been used to drive an "efficient wrist-based connected device capable of delivering a fully interactive user-experience while achieving a battery life of around eight weeks".

  
• 

  New compliance solution helps developers tackle software piracy

  Publié: novembre 10, 2015, 3:07pm CET par Ian Barker

  

  A recent study by the Business Software Alliance estimated that 43 percent of software installed today is not properly licensed, which equates to more than $63 billion in lost revenue.

  SmartFlow Compliance Solutions is launching an innovative solution designed to help companies combat intellectual property theft and establish effective in-house compliance programs.

  "Software piracy is becoming a rampant global epidemic with significant impacts on businesses and the economy," says Ted Miracco, CEO of SmartFlow. "We've developed a turnkey solution that allows businesses to start seeing ROI immediately. Armed with SmartFlow, our clients proactively take charge of the situation by tracking down pirated versions of their software and compiling the data to take necessary action against IP theft. We streamline the compliance enforcement process, so it’s simple and effective for companies to recover this valuable source of revenue, while protecting their paying customers from unfair competition".

  SmartFlow is built in at the development stage and works a bit like an 'Easter egg' in an application, allowing the developer to determine where it's being used and whether it's properly licensed.

  

  SmartFlow's data collection capabilities can be fine-tuned to comply with specific information regulations across the globe. This makes for comprehensive data reporting, so developers can build a stronger case against blatant IP thieves as well as alerting companies that may be unintentionally non-compliant.

  Available now, the SmartFlow product suite includes a SmartFlow Software Development Kit (SDK), which monitors applications to ensure they are being used in compliance with licensing terms, and SmartFlow Professional or SmartFlow Enterprise programs, which provide everything a company needs to establish an in-house compliance program.

  For more information and pricing you can visit the SmartFlow website.

  Image Credit: Feng Yu / Shutterstock

  
• 

  Twitch flips the switch on two-factor authentication

  Publié: novembre 10, 2015, 2:22pm CET par Mihaita Bamburic

  

  Enabling two-factor authentication is a simple and effective way to beef up the security of your online accounts. Also known as 2FA, it introduces an additional step in the log in process, which typically requires the user to enter a code received via SMS or retrieved from an app, after their password is validated.

  To take advantage of two-factor authentication the services that you use have to offer this feature, which is not always the case. But, as far as Twitch is concerned, two-factor authentication is no longer missing from the options.

  The popular video streaming service has announced, on its blog, the arrival of two-factor authentication, encouraging users to turn the feature on. The implementation is similar to other services, meaning that the security code will be sent via SMS.

  Alternatively, users who have Authy accounts can also use this app to get security codes. This method is better suited for cases when users are roaming or they don't wish to use such information via SMS. The security code is delivered in a push notification from Authy, which means that a data connection is still required.

  The feature can be enabled by accessing the Security menu under Twitch Settings, and selecting the "Enable Two-Factor Authentication" option. Users are required to enter their password prior to it being enabled, and a phone number.

  
• 

  Microsoft to offer cloud services from the UK

  Publié: novembre 10, 2015, 1:58pm CET par Wayne Williams

  

  At the Future Decoded event, which kicked off today at London’s ExCel Center, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella took to the stage to talk about his firm’s mobile first, cloud first strategy.

  During his speech he announced that Microsoft plans to offer commercial cloud services from the UK. Azure and Office 365 will be available from local data centers in late 2016, followed by Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online shortly afterwards.

  The company also announced the completion of the expansion of its data center facilities in Ireland and the Netherlands, which serve as cloud computing hubs for Europe and beyond.

  "At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more", Nadella said. "By expanding our data center regions in the UK, Netherlands and Ireland we aim to give local businesses and organizations of all sizes the transformative technology they need to seize new global growth".

  Expanding on the plans, Michel Van der Bel, area vice president and general manager of Microsoft UK, said: "With a cloud adoption rate of 84 percent, the UK is a global leader in embracing the benefits of cloud-based solutions. Our commitment to offer Microsoft Azure, Dynamics CRM Online and Office 365 from local data centers will help meet such demand, especially for those organizations looking for solutions delivered from data centers based in the UK. This will open opportunity for customers and partners alike to innovate, compete and grow their business using the power of the cloud while adhering to strict standards and regulations like those found in banking, financial services and the public sector".

  Image Credit: Chaiyapop Bhumiwat / Shutterstock

  
• 

  Secretly record desktop activity with Hidden Capture

  Publié: novembre 10, 2015, 12:33pm CET par Mike Williams

  

  Finding out what others are doing on your PC can be difficult. You might spend an age exploring various histories -- browsers, applications launched, documents opened -- and still not be entirely sure.

  Hidden Capture is a free tool which can help by automatically taking screenshots of your desktop at regular intervals.

  As you’ll guess from the name, the program is semi-stealthy, running in the background without a system tray icon or other user interface, so others won’t immediately spot what’s happening.

  But the program is visible in Task Manager, your installed programs list, and (by default) the Start Menu, and we wouldn’t expect it to fool technical users for very long.

  Still, you don’t have to use Hidden Capture as a surveillance tool. It’s extreme configurability means it could come in useful for anyone who needs to grab a series of screenshots.

  Basic operations are simple enough. Launch HC.EXE as an administrator, click "Start Capture", and the program displays a reminder of its hotkeys. Click OK and recording begins.

  Now carry out a few actions, just to test the recording. After 30 seconds or so, press Ctrl + * (on your numeric keypad) to stop captures.

  A dialog will ask you for your name, but that’s actually a sneaky password request. There’s no password right now, so hit enter, recording will stop, and you’re able to review any images in Hidden Capture’s application folder (probably C:\Program Files (x86)\Hidden Capture\Sessions\).

  That’s nothing too unusual, but Hidden Capture gets more interesting when you look at its settings.

  You’re not restricted to capturing the desktop, for instance -- the program can grab the active window, whatever element is under the cursor, a defined area around the cursor, or a fixed area of the screen.

  You’re able to define the interval between captures (2500 milliseconds by default), the file name pattern and format (JPG or BMP), and the destination folder.

  If you’re intending to use the program stealthily, you can have it automatically launch when Windows starts, and set up a custom password to prevent others tweaking your settings. (They can still just close the program from Task Manager, though, so don’t expect too much.)

  If you’re more interested in just using Hidden Capture as an automated screenshot tool, you can also run it manually, and apply various other tweaks, such as copying the last capture to the clipboard.

  What you don’t get is any documentation. This isn’t critical -- you’ll figure out the basics very quickly -- but there are plenty of settings and options which aren’t clear at all. Expect to spend quite some time experimenting before you understand every detail.

  Still, if you’ve an experienced user with time to spare then Hidden Capture’s configurability makes it worth a try.

  Hidden Capture is a freeware screen capture tool for Windows XP and later.

  
• 

  Addressing the mobile app trust gap

  Publié: novembre 10, 2015, 12:02pm CET par Ian Barker

  

  According to a new survey 80 percent of consumers would stop being a customer if there were a security breach in a company's mobile app. But app developers admit in the same study that many apps are not secure due to pressure to release them to market before they are ready.

  These findings come from mobile security and analytics company Bluebox Security which talked to over 400 consumers and approximately 300 developers.

  The results reveal that 69 percent of consumers are somewhat to very confident that the apps they use are safe from hackers. However, this confidence is misplaced as the developers of those apps confess they are not secure. In fact, 74 percent of developers believe most mobile apps are moderately vulnerable and 24 percent say they are highly vulnerable.

  Almost half of all developers admit that they have rushed an app to market, despite it not being completely ready. Also 53 percent of developers admit that they have taken shortcuts or put temporary solutions in place in order to get their app out on time. Developers are using unsecured third party frameworks too, 96 percent say they use third party frameworks that may or may not be safe to build their apps. Only 32 percent said that they would prefer to develop their own code.

  To address these issues Bluebox is launching a new solution for enterprises to secure their consumer-facing apps and fight back against mobile threats that are placing consumers and businesses at risk. Bluebox for Consumer Apps allows enterprises to turn their consumer mobile apps -- those available on the Apple App and Google Play stores -- into self-defending apps that secure, detect and respond to mobile threats, and provide mobile threat intelligence data with a single click.

  "Companies have underinvested in mobile security in a rush to become mobile first, and now the bill is due. With mobile threats being discovered almost daily, and enterprises losing control over consumer devices, it's only a matter of time before a mobile hack is the root of the next major breach," says Pam Kostka, CEO of Bluebox. "Our goal is to enable businesses to have confidence in the security posture of the apps that they build and distribute. Our security and threat analytics are easily embedded with the click of a button, transforming any app into a self-protecting island that can intelligently defend itself in real-time when it is in a hostile environment or actively under attack".

  The complete survey findings are available on the Bluebox blog and Bluebox for Mobile Apps will be available in December.

  Image Credit: LovePHY / Shutterstock

  
• 

  A quarter of all websites run WordPress

  Publié: novembre 10, 2015, 11:53am CET par Sead Fadilpašić

  

  Out of all websites on the entire internet that have any sort of content management system (CMS), WordPress powers more than half.

  Considering the fact that half of the internet doesn’t use any recognizable CMS system, it brings us to the conclusion that WordPress, the open-source content management platform, powers 25 percent of the entire Internet

  Let that sink in for a moment.

  The information was brought by W3Techs, a company that measures both usage and market share: "WordPress is used by 58.7 percent of all the websites whose content management system we know. This is 25.0 percent of all websites". While these numbers naturally fluctuate over the course of the month, the general trend for WordPress has been slow but steady growth.

  "We should be comfortably past 25 percent by the end of the year", Automattic founder Matt Mullenweg declared. "The big opportunity is still the 57 percent of websites that don’t use any identifiable CMS yet, and that’s where I think there is still a ton of growth for us (and I’m also rooting for all the other open source CMSes)".

  Even though the figures are impressive, there’s still half of the entire internet to conquer, so there’s room for growth.

  However, the methodology used by W3Techs is also worth mentioning. It examines websites and not individual pages, but if a technology is on any of a website’s pages, it is considered to be used by the website.

  Also, the company doesn’t scan the entire WWW, but the top 10 million websites, based on Alexa’s ratings. It also excludes subdomains and redirected domains, so the actual number is somewhat fewer than 10 million.

  Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

  Photo credit: Ingvar Bjork / Shutterstock

  
• 

  The next target for surveillance: the dark web

  Publié: novembre 10, 2015, 10:59am CET par Mark Wilson

  

  The surveillance activities of the NSA and GCHQ are well known, and many people hoping to slip under the radar have taken to the 'dark web'. Famous for sites such as Silk Road, as well as being home to illegal content such as child pornography, the dark web may not be a safe haven for much longer.

  Joint Operations Cell (JOC) is a new venture in the UK which sees the National Crime Agency (NCA) and GCHQ joining forces. Described as a "genuinely innovative development", the operation aims to home in on online criminals, with a particular focus on crimes involving child exploitation.

  JOC is Prime Minister David Cameron's vision of the web personified. He famously said that the dark web would offer "nowhere for you to hide", and the joint taskforce sees GCHQ moving away from a focus on national security and terrorism. It comes almost a year after the announcement of plans to create JOC at 2014's We Protect Children Online Global Summit.

  GCHQ Director Robert Hannigan, said:

  The Joint Operations Cell will increase our ability to identify and stop serious criminals, as well as those involved in child sexual exploitation and abuse online. This is a challenging task as we must detect them while they attempt to hide in the mass of data. We are committed to ensuring no part of the internet, including the dark web, can be used with impunity by criminals to conduct their illegal acts.

  Echoing this, Keith Bristow -- Director General of the NCA -- said that JOC would use "the best of our respective agencies' skills to tackle the most complex cases and the most dangerous offenders online".

  Photo credit: mikser45 / Shutterstock

  
• 

  New machine learning solution delivers insight into VMware environments

  Publié: novembre 10, 2015, 10:49am CET par Ian Barker

  

  As many businesses have shifted their systems to VMware environments they have a need for real-time insights into application and server performance, efficiency, and reliability.

  To meet this need SIOS Technology is announcing the latest release of its SIOS iQ machine learning analytics software. This offers new features to deliver accuracy and precision in performance analysis for VMware environments.

  "By putting all key information about an organization's infrastructure at their fingertips, SIOS iQ enables IT managers to ensure their applications are operating efficiently, that issues are identified and resolved quickly, and that VMware resources are not being wasted," says Jerry Melnick, president and CEO at SIOS Technology. "These newest enhancements further simplify the understanding of IT operations and help resolve issues in dynamic virtual environments".

  Highlights of SIOS iQ 3.3 include a best practice analysis feature which enables SIOS iQ to provide insights on performance, efficiency, reliability, and capacity utilization immediately after implementation. Using event injection it enables VMware vRealize Operations Manager 6.0 (vROps) to display high availability cluster health, host-based caching configuration recommendations, undersized VMs, idle resources and more, making it easier to stop and fix performance issues.

  Version 3.4 will include a Topology Impact Analysis View -- a visual map of the VMware infrastructure showing interrelated objects (VMs, network, storage, and applications) and their relationships, highlighting current status and anomalous behavior. Drill down screens will enable IT staff to explore the detailed root causes of performance issues and recommendations for improvement.

  IT staff will be able to augment SIOS iQ's understanding of both normal and anomalous infrastructure behavior by adding extra parameters for increased precision and accuracy. It will also offer a SIOS PERC Dashboard reliability indicator, showing the number of host failures that a cluster has sustained over time and indicating when there are not enough hosts to sustain future failures.

  SIOS iQ 3.3 is available now, version 3.4 will be released by the end of the year, for more information and pricing visit the SIOS website.

  Image Credit: art4all / Shutterstock

  
• 

  Windows 10 'Redstone' branch showing up for some Windows Insiders

  Publié: novembre 10, 2015, 9:52am CET par Wayne Williams

  

  The major Threshold 2 update for Windows 10 was released to Fast ring Insiders last week, and moved on to the Slow ring yesterday in preparation for pushing to all users of the new OS in a couple of days' time.

  With that branch of development done and dusted, Microsoft has switched its attention to the next big update, codenamed Redstone. This will bring some much needed improvements to Windows 10 -- including extensions in Microsoft Edge -- when it arrives sometime in 2016.

  That Microsoft is working on Redstone is well known, but some Windows Insiders have reported on Twitter that they are being offered the chance to switch between th2_release (Threshold 2) and rs1_release (Redstone).

  This option is only available to a very, very small portion of Windows Insiders and you can check to see if that includes you by going to Settings, Update & Security and clicking on Advanced options. If you see a drop down box under the Fast/Slow ring slider you’ll be able to switch to rs1_release.

  There’s no benefit to doing so at the moment, obviously, but it’s interesting to see this new branch popping up now.

  Let us know if you see the option to switch to rs1_release.

  @GabeAul I just noticed that I can now choose between rs1_release and th2_release but what is rs1_release? #WindowsInsiders

  — Rob Riley (@rob_riley_73) November 9, 2015

  
• 

  Hello Apple TV 4th Gen, goodbye Xbox One! [Review]

  Publié: novembre 10, 2015, 2:49am CET par Brian Fagioli

  

  People have different needs. This is why saying one piece of technology is better than another is subjective. The Xbox One, for instance is a more powerful device than the new Apple TV. It has, by far, superior hardware and can do more things. And yet, if you do not need that raw processing power, and prefer casual games to expensive console-grade games, Microsoft's console may be too much. In other words, it doesn't make sense to spend the money on Xbox One if you only need it for streaming media. Sure, it can run Halo 5 and play Blu-ray movies, but I really don't want those things and I am sure there are others like me too.

  Enter the Apple TV. I bought this little 4th generation box for $200 despite owning plenty of devices that can already handle streaming media. Why? because of its potential. You see, with access to Apple's App Store, the future will be really bright for it as a media machine, but more importantly, a gaming console. Yes, the Apple TV is a Trojan horse in a sense -- it comes into your home disguised as a run-of-the-mill media streamer, but becomes the future of gaming too.

  Specs

  • Processor: A8 chip with 64-bit architecture
  • Storage: 32GB or 64GB
  • HDMI 1.4
  • 802.11ac Wi‑Fi with MIMO
  • 10/100BASE-T Ethernet
  • Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology
  • IR receiver
  • USB‑C for service and support
  • Built‑in power supply

  Unboxing

  Impressions

  Taking it out of the box, I was surprised by its small size. From the pictures I saw online, sitting next to the old model, it looked very tall -- not so. It is still amazingly tiny despite its increase in stature. It is still black, plastic and unassuming. The front is home to an IR receiver, while the rear has a power connector, Ethernet, HDMI and USB Type-C. The USB port is only for service as of today, but Apple could open it up in the future.

  Unfortunately, there is no HDMI cable in the box, but that was OK -- I literally have dozens. Sadly, there is also no USB power brick, so you must use an existing one to charge the included Siri remote. A lightning cable is included, but not a Type-C variant, so you cannot charge the remote from the Apple TV.

  Using one of my existing HDMI cables, I hooked up the Apple TV to my bedroom LG TV. I then plugged it into the power outlet and was off to the races. Don't ask me how, but the Siri remote instantly controlled the power and volume on my LG TV. Is LG maybe the default preset manufacturer? Who knows, but it was like magic.

  The real magic, however, was setting up the Wi-Fi. Rather than go through a clunky interface, the on-screen instructions told me to hold an iOS device near the Apple TV. I picked up my iPad mini 4, placed it near the box, and bam! Like that, using low-power Bluetooth, a connection was made. I approved everything on my iPad, and the Wi-Fi settings were transitioned to the Apple TV. It was literally the easiest setup -- the company obviously put much thought into this.

  Once setup, the first thing I did was go to the App Store. I downloaded some games such as Beach Buggy Blitz, Rayman Adventures, Mr. Crab, and Crossy Road. All of the games looked wonderful and loaded quickly. Best of all, they all worked well with the included Siri Remote. It supports clicking, swiping and even motion controls like Nintendo's Wii If you prefer, however, you can buy a more conventional gamepad -- something I plan to do.

  All of the aforementioned games are the casual, pick-up-and-play variants, and this is exactly what I want. Is a game like Halo 5 or Fallout 4 more impressive graphically? Sure, but many people, such as myself, do not want to spend $50 or $60 for one video game. Even if we did buy the game, we do not have time to commit to finish it. Apple has created a gaming console for those of that have too many responsibilities and work too much to play a games for hours upon hours. Apple TV is the console for the rest of us. Most importantly, the games are fun.

  While the Siri Remote works well with games, it truly shines with navigation and media. The top, you see, is a large clickable trackpad. To navigate, you just glide your finger in the direction you want. When you want to select, you click the trackpad. Want to go back? Hit the menu. Want to go home? Hit the home button. It is extremely easy and intuitive. You can even use voice (Siri) to search for content. You can ask Siri for things like weather too.

  Even fast-forward and rewind is a breeze. When watching a YouTube video, for instance, you can click to bring up the seek bar and then swipe back or forward. Again, it is very intuitive -- something Apple is well known for. Beside YouTube, you can apps for popular services such as Netflix and Hulu. Sports fans will have plenty of content to add too -- I particularly like the NFL app. Hell, I even saw a QVC app for you shoppers!

  As an Apple Music subscriber, I was very happy to see an app for that too -- yes, the interface is wonderful. You can even use it to play music in the background. If you have an HDMI stereo receiver, you can definitely use the pass-through to the TV for optimal quality. If your TV has analog or optical out, you can listen to music this way too. In my case, I just use my TV speakers, as it is mounted on the wall without any added audio equipment. This works perfectly fine for when I am getting ready for work in the morning, but I wouldn't use it to host a party.

  So, am I planning to say goodbye to my Xbox One? I am undecided, but probably. Microsoft's console is wonderful, but I just don't have time for the hardcore games and I am not buying Blu-ray movies anymore. Not to mention, it is huge -- the gaming console is a bit of an eyesore. My bedroom TV is mounted on the wall and I have a little shelf under it with my cable box. Xbox One on top of the cable box is not only ugly, but blocks vents too. Apple TV is just cute and adorable, fitting in with my bedroom decor.

  Overall, Apple TV is a joy for both Apple users and non-Apple-users alike. If you need a device to stream media to your TV, this is the one to get. The 1080p video looks beautiful, while the interface is a dream. At $149 for 32GB and $199 for 64GB is is more expensive than a Roku or Fire TV. With that said, you get what you pay for. The Siri Remote and overall experience trumps competitors, while the App Store brings it to another level -- the sky is the limit. Highly recommended.

  
• 

  Enhance your home automation with the Mivatek Smart Plug [Review]

  Publié: novembre 10, 2015, 12:56am CET par Alan Buckingham

  Turning lights on and off remotely may seem lazy, and honestly it is, but it's also strangely satisfying. Not moving from the couch while things in your home are turned on and off is a priceless feeling and there is an increasing number of products on the market that aim to provide that satisfaction.

  The problem is the lack of cohesion in the market, as different lines are proprietary, at least to a certain extent. That's slowly changing, but we'd like to see the process sped up a bit.

  Now Mivatak arrives on the market and comes along with a pretty stellar line of products. The one we're taking a look at today is the Smart Plug. As the name implies, it can control various appliances and other things remotely. It's only one of a line devices and we'll explore more as we go.

  Setting it Up

  The plug is not all you'll need, there's also a hub that needs to be up and running to make this work. You'll need a wired connection as there is no WiFi available for it. It's pretty straight-forward. Plug in the cable and power cord and you should be off.

  

  Next you'll need to download the app, which is out for both Android and iOS -- sorry Windows Phones users. This is mostly basic -- there are four tiles on the main screen. Each controls a different thing. Simply swipe right to get the menu. Click Device Management and then add a device, in this case the Smart Plug, which obviously needs to be plugged into an outlet during the process. The app should pick it up and identify it by Mac Address.

  You're now ready to plug in a device. In the case of this test it was a lamp. You may initially need to click the green button on the plug to get things started. This should be the one and only time you do so.

  Usage

  Now that you're up and running this is pretty straightforward. Fire up the app and tap the Automation tile. This will show the Smart Plug along with a button to the right. Grey means the device is off while red indicates on.

  Conclusion

  Setup could not get much simpler. It's much less confusing than some of the other products on the market. That doesn't mean it's dead-simple, but we're getting there with this genre.

  As for how it works, well, all that can be said is the light comes on and off each time, so there really isn't much else required.

  You can find more information here. Bear in mind that you will also need to purchase the hub.

  
• 

  Windows 10 Build 10586 (Threshold 2) released to Slow Ring Windows Insiders

  Publié: novembre 10, 2015, 12:49am CET par Mark Wilson

  

  Threshold 2 is now available to Windows Insiders on the Slow Ring. Users on the Fast Ring received Windows 10 Build 10586 last week and now more cautious fans of the preview get to try out the November Update, Fall Update, Threshold 2, Windows 10 Build 10586 -- call it what you will.

  With the official rollout of Windows 10's biggest update since launch is widely expected to take place tomorrow, 10 November, Slow Ring users may not be given much of a head start, but it does still -- just about -- qualify as an early glimpse.

  As this is exactly the same build that Fast Ring users are already running, there are no surprises. All of the same updates and tweaks are present, and the desktop watermark has been ditched -- a sure fire indicator that this is indeed the final build.

  As ever, it was Gabe Aul who announced the availability of the new build on Twitter:

  PC build 10586 is now available to #WindowsInsiders in the Slow ring! [https:]

  — Gabriel Aul (@GabeAul) November 9, 2015

  While for Windows Insiders this particular build may be nothing major, the same cannot be said for regular users who will be receiving it in the next day or so. Windows 10's slow and steady evolution continues...

  Photo credit: Stanislaw Mikulski / Shutterstock