Gregarius » BetaNews.Com » mars 25, 2016

BetaNews.Com (16 non lus)

Microsoft releases boring Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14295 for PC and Mobile

Publié: mars 25, 2016, 11:32pm CET par Brian Fagioli

yawnboringman

If you are going to use Windows, you might as well use Windows 10 -- why not? If you use Windows 10, and you are fairly tech-savvy, enrolling in Microsoft's Insider program can be quite rewarding. It allows you to get early access to beta builds for the newest version of the operating system.

While being an unpaid beta tester for a billion dollar company is not an attractive prospect for everyone, many people find value in trying new features before the general public. Today -- the same day Canonical releases a new beta of Ubuntu -- Microsoft announces Build 14295 for PC and Mobile. Unfortunately, it is quite the boring release, mostly featuring bug fixes. Yawn.

Gabe Aul, Corporate Vice President at Microsoft explains that this is not a feature-full release, as it closely follows the last build from March 17th. Instead, it exists for bug fixes, and he shares them below.

Desktop bug fixes

We fixed the issue that was causing PCs to freeze when plugging in an Xbox One or Xbox 360 controller and other gamepads.

We fixed an issue where Microsoft Edge would refresh the tab if you pressed caps lock in a password field.

We fixed an issue preventing the Xbox app and other Xbox Live enabled apps and games from signing in.

We have fixed the driver bug that prevents Kaspersky Anti-Virus, Internet Security, or the Kaspersky Total Security Suite installed from working as expected in builds from the Development Branch.

Mobile bug fixes

We fixed the issue where if you reset your phone on Build 14291 and restore your phone from a backup, restore will fail to install apps from your backup’s apps list leaving blank grey titles on Start.

You should be able to reset your phone on this build, do a restore from a backup, and have your apps installed and restored appropriately.

We fixed an issue where new languages and keyboards were not downloading. However, there is an issue where the “reboot” UX doesn’t appear in the Settings app after downloading a new language or keyboard. You will need to go to Update & security > Phone update and restart your phone manually from there for the new language and keyboard to go into effect.

In addition to bug fixes, Microsoft reveals known issues for both desktop and mobile -- some requiring scary registry edits -- so this build is a bit of a mixed bag. Of course, that is the nature of the beta-testing game.

Clearly, these are worthwhile bug fixes, so if you are already on an Insider build, upgrading is a no-brainer. With that said, Microsoft should throw testers a bone with every build, offering something exciting -- even if it is minimal. After all, they are doing the testing as a favor.

Will you try this new build? Tell me in the comments.

Photo credit: pathdoc / Shutterstock

Microsoft says sorry for AI bot Tay's 'offensive and hurtful tweets'

Publié: mars 25, 2016, 10:31pm CET par Mark Wilson

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Microsoft's first tentative steps into the world of artificial intelligence outside of China did not go well. Less than 24 hours after being unleashed on Twitter, the AI chatbot Tay was pulled offline after people quickly learned that it was possible to train the bot to post racist, sexist, and otherwise offensive material. Great fun was had by all!

All except Microsoft, that is. The company was not only forced to pull the plug on Tay, but today was compelled to issue an apology for "unintended offensive" caused. Twitter users treated Tay as some people would treat an infant -- taking great pleasure in teaching it swearwords and other inappropriate things to say. Maybe it was when Tay was talked into becoming a Trump supporter, but Microsoft is now seeking to distance itself from tweets sent out by the bot that "conflict with our principles and values".

The chatbot ended up tweeting messages which Microsoft says "do not represent who we are or what we stand for, nor how we designed Tay". As well as issuing an apology, Microsoft also says that it has learned a great deal from the experience and will use this knowledge to build a better Tay. It's not clear when she'll make a reappearance, but it will be "only when we are confident we can better anticipate malicious intent that conflicts with our principles and values".

Microsoft was not stupid enough to think that people wouldn’t try to manipulate Tay and turn her to the dark side. The company conducted tests and implemented safeguards that were supposed to protect against what ended up happening. But even with a dedicated team of testers, the only way to really put Tay throw her paces was with a wider audience... and Microsoft had massively underestimated the lengths people would go to to pervert the bot.

Writing on the Microsoft blog, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Research Peter Lee said:

As we developed Tay, we planned and implemented a lot of filtering and conducted extensive user studies with diverse user groups. We stress-tested Tay under a variety of conditions, specifically to make interacting with Tay a positive experience. Once we got comfortable with how Tay was interacting with users, we wanted to invite a broader group of people to engage with her. It’s through increased interaction where we expected to learn more and for the AI to get better and better.

The logical place for us to engage with a massive group of users was Twitter. Unfortunately, in the first 24 hours of coming online, a coordinated attack by a subset of people exploited a vulnerability in Tay. Although we had prepared for many types of abuses of the system, we had made a critical oversight for this specific attack. As a result, Tay tweeted wildly inappropriate and reprehensible words and images. We take full responsibility for not seeing this possibility ahead of time. We will take this lesson forward as well as those from our experiences in China, Japan and the US. Right now, we are hard at work addressing the specific vulnerability that was exposed by the attack on Tay.

Photo credit: Pavel Ignatov / Shutterstock

Microsoft expands transparency report to include details of revenge porn removal requests

Publié: mars 25, 2016, 10:03pm CET par Mark Wilson

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Today on its Transparency Hub, Microsoft published the latest of its transparency reports. This time around the report has been expanded to include details of revenge porn removal requests, in addition to the usual information about FISA orders, and other content removal requests from law enforcement agencies.

In keeping with previous reports, this one shows that the United States, United Kingdom, Turkey, France and Germany are collectively responsible for the vast majority (76.8 percent) of content removal requests. While Microsoft is still not able to report exact figures when it comes to FISA requests and National Security Letters, the USA Freedom Act means that the numbers can be revealed "in narrower ranges of bands of 500 versus 1,000".

The report covers the second half of 2015, and shows an increase in the number of data requests from the previous six months -- up from 35,228 to 39,083. Despite the seemingly high number of requests, Microsoft reiterates that it never hands over customer information without a warrant or court order, pointing out that only 2 percent of requests result in data being handed over.

Announcing the availability of the new reports, Microsoft's Director of Corporate Responsibility, Steve Lippman said:

We believe transparency is an important part of building trust in technology. The information contained in these reports and the detailed FAQ that we publish on our processes is intended to help our customers and stakeholders understand more about what we do, and the kind of information governments around the world request. We hope this transparency can contribute to the broader public discussion around the world on the kind of laws that should govern modern technology. Just as we've added additional data to today's reports, we'll continue to look for other ways to increase transparency.

The banding used for reporting FISA requests yields the following data:

There were 0-499 FISA Orders seeking disclosure of content impacting 15,500-15,999 accounts. In the previous period these figures were 0-999 FISA Orders about 18,000-18,999 accounts.
There were 0-499 National Security Letters, compared to 0-999 in the previous period.

You can check out the full transparency report at Microsoft's Transparency Hub.

Photo credit: Gil C / Shutterstock.com

Canonical releases Ubuntu Linux 16.04 LTS 'Xenial Xerus' Final Beta

Publié: mars 25, 2016, 6:11pm CET par Brian Fagioli

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If you are a Linux desktop user, there is a good chance you have used Ubuntu at some point in your life. The distribution is one of the best, offering stability, many available packages, and an overall great user experience. Unfortunately, the last few releases have been rather ho-hum -- boring and evolutionary. Don't get me wrong, Canonical shouldn't fix what isn't broken (as Microsoft often does with Windows), but some users expect a bit more from operating system upgrades.

The upcoming 16.04 release looks to remedy this, finally delivering a meaty upgrade to Ubuntu fans. Two major changes are a much improved Unity with the ability to move the dock (woo-hoo!), and a refreshed software store. Today, Canonical releases the final beta, signaling that the true non-beta final version, due April 21, is right around the corner.

"Codenamed 'Xenial Xerus', 16.04 LTS continues Ubuntu's proud tradition of integrating the latest and greatest open source technologies into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution. The team has been hard at work through this cycle, introducing new features and fixing bugs. This beta release includes images from not only the Ubuntu Desktop, Server, Cloud, and Core products, but also the Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Mythbuntu, Ubuntu GNOME, Ubuntu Kylin, Ubuntu MATE, Ubuntu Studio, and Xubuntu flavours", says Adam Conrad, Software Engineer at Canonical.

Amazingly, there is only one known major bug in the release. Conrad explains, "in some cases, attempts to install to a hard drive that already contains a swap partition may fail in the partitioning phase. If you encounter this, the simplest workaround is to boot to the live session, start a terminal (Ctrl-Alt-T) and type 'sudo swapoff -a'. You can then start the installation from the icon on the desktop and it should proceed successfully".

Even though this final beta should be rather stable and complete, it is still not recommended for use on production machines. If you want to try it out, I would advise doing so in a VM, separate partition, or even better, a dedicated drive.

If you want to try the final beta of Ubuntu, you can use the links below.

Will you download it? Tell me in the comments.

Photo credit: Dean Drobot / Shutterstock

Google's gift to photographers -- Nik Collection now available for free

Publié: mars 25, 2016, 6:01pm CET par Mark Wilson

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Google is making its collection of image-editing plugins -- the Nik Collection -- available free of charge. Previously sold for $149, the Nik Collection came into Google's hands when it acquired Nik Software three years ago. If you recently shelled out on the plugins, you needn't feel like you're getting a bad deal; Google says that anyone who purchased the collection this year is eligible for a full refund.

Comprising seven plugins -- Analog Efex Pro, Color Efex Pro, Silver Efex Pro, Viveza, HDR Efex Pro, Sharpener Pro and Dfine -- Google says that the Nik Collection brings "powerful photo editing tools once only used by professionals to even more people".

The plugins include a range of filters and customizable controls, but the ditching of the price tag has worried some users. It is some time since Google issued any updates to the collection, and some people have voiced fears that making it available for free is an indication that it is being cut loose and may not be updated again. Even if this is the case, there's nothing to lose in taking the plugins for a test drive.

Announcing the free availability of the collection, Google says:

Photo enthusiasts all over the world use the Nik Collection to get the best out of their images every day. As we continue to focus our long-term investments in building incredible photo editing tools for mobile, including Google Photos and Snapseed, we’ve decided to make the Nik Collection desktop suite available for free, so that now anyone can use it.

The Nik Collection is comprised of seven desktop plug-ins that provide a powerful range of photo editing capabilities -- from filter applications that improve color correction, to retouching and creative effects, to image sharpening that brings out all the hidden details, to the ability to make adjustments to the color and tonality of images.

You can download the Nik Collection free of charge right now. If you purchased it this year, you don’t need to do anything to obtain your refund as Google will issue it automatically in the next few days.

Photo credit: Aha-Soft / Shutterstock

Netflix admits throttling Verizon and AT&T customers

Publié: mars 25, 2016, 4:55pm CET par Mark Wilson

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Despite accusation to the contrary, AT&T and Verizon have not been throttling the connections of Netflix customers -- but Netflix has. The streaming video service has admitted that it has limited the video quality that can be accessed by AT&T and Verizon customers for over five years.

In an astonishing revelation to the Wall Street Journal, Netflix -- a long-standing and vocal supporter of net neutrality -- fessed up to limiting mobile streams for some users to just 600 kbps. The reason provided for this is that the throttling prevents users from exceeding their monthly data limits... but the same throttling is not applied to Sprint and T-Mobile.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Netflix said that it was to blame for Verizon and AT&T customers being unable to access higher quality video stream, placing the two networks in the clear. The limit of 600 kbps is noticeably slower than the speeds that can be enjoyed on Sprint and T-Mobile, but does Netflix's reasoning make sense?

On the one hand the company says that it is looking out for its customers because Verizon and AT&T both charge users who exceed their monthly allowances. On the other, the company also has financial motives. If people find that using Netflix is taking them over their data limits, there's a very real danger that they might cancel their subscription.

AT&T senior executive vice president, Jim Cicconi, is far from happy with the news, saying: “We're outraged to learn that Netflix is apparently throttling video for their AT&T customers without their knowledge or consent".

But why is there a different deal for Sprint and T-Mobile? Why is the same throttling system not used? Netflix explains that this is because rather than charging money when data allowances are exceeded, customers connected to either of these networks simply have their connections slowed down.

Clearly the admission of throttling does not look good for Netflix -- and the irony that the company says it is in favor of net neutrality cannot be ignored -- so what's the solution? Netflix says a new "data saver" feature will be enabled in May, and this will give users the ability to choose between high and low video quality settings as they see fit.

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Software vulnerabilities are up -- but it's not Microsoft's fault

Publié: mars 25, 2016, 3:28pm CET par Ian Barker

cyber security

The number of software vulnerabilities has increased over the last year, but the majority of them are in non-Microsoft products.

This is a key finding of the latest Vulnerability Review from Flexera Software, which in 2015 recorded 6,081 vulnerabilities in 2,484 products from 263 vendors. This compares to 2014's figures of 15,698 vulnerabilities in 3,907 products from 514 vendors.

"The substantial 36 percent drop in number of products and 49 percent drop in vendors primarily reflects an adjustment in focus from Secunia Research to only monitor the systems and applications in use in the environments of customers of Flexera Software's Software Vulnerability Management product line", says Kasper Lindgaard, director of Secunia Research at Flexera Software. "This change is caused by a continuous rise in the number of vulnerabilities reported in recent years, and we are currently seeing other research houses choosing similar strategies -- CVE Mitre, for example".

Looking at the 50 most popular applications on private PCs -- identified using Flexera's Personal Software Inspector -- the split between vulnerabilities in Microsoft and non-Microsoft products shows 21 percent for Microsoft and 79 percent for other vendors. This is despite Microsoft products making up 67 percent of the top 50.

In 2015, 1,114 vulnerabilities were discovered in the five most popular browsers: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera and Safari. That represents a four percent increase from 2014.

Over the same period 147 vulnerabilities were discovered in the five most popular PDF readers: Adobe Reader, Foxit Reader, PDF-XChange Viewer, Sumatra PDF and Nitro PDF Reader.

There's some good news in the fact that 84 percent of vulnerabilities in all products had patches available on the day of disclosure in 2015. The number of zero day vulnerabilities at 25 was the same as in 2014.

For more detail and to download a copy of the full report you can visit the Flexera website.

Photo Credit: Sergey Nivens/Shutterstock

PETYA ransomware targets enterprise users via the cloud and overwrites MBRs

Publié: mars 25, 2016, 1:49pm CET par Mark Wilson

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Crypto-ransomware is the malware du jour, and the likes of TelsaCrypt 4 and KeRanger are just some of the names to hit the headlines recently. One of the latest examples of ransomware, PETYA, is taking a slightly different and more worrying approach -- it not only targets enterprise users, but also encrypts entire hard drives rather than just a selection of files.

PETYA -- also known as RANSOM_PETYA.A -- goes to some lengths to make sure that victims know that their computers are infected, overwriting the MBR (Master Boot Record) to display a ransom note during the boot process. The malware uses a "military grade encryption algorithm" to lock users out of their files, and victims are directed to venture onto the dark web using the Tor browser to make a Bitcoin ransom payment.

Security experts at Trend Micro have shard details of PETYA, highlighting the eye-catching skull and crossbones warnings that victims are faced with. The ransomware is spread using a combination of email and the cloud, targeting enterprise users by emailing fake job applications to targets. The victim is encouraged to click a link to download a file from Dropbox -- this is an executable which installs PETYA and causes a BSoD.

Once infection has taken place, the victim is completely locked out of their computer thanks to the fact that the MBR has been overwritten. As Trend Micro points out, the attack vector means that booting into safe mode is not possible meaning users are left with a choice between paying the ransom or losing access to their files -- although, presumably, enterprise users will have backups in place.

The ransom price starts at 0.99 Bitcoins (around $431), but a countdown timer on the Onion site used to accept payment warns that unless money is handed over quickly, the price will go up. This scare tactic is used to encourage victims to cough up the cash.

With no removal tool available, the advice is -- once again -- to take care when opening attachments or following links.

UK start up seeks to make online software research easier

Publié: mars 25, 2016, 1:37pm CET par Ian Barker

Software analyst testing

According to Google's Consumer Barometer Report 53 percent of people compare products, prices and features online before buying.

This is even more true of B2B buyers, with 89 percent saying they use the web as part of their research process.

When it comes to buying business software it isn't surprising that it can take days if not weeks to shortlist software options. Even then information regarding different product choices is fragmented across multiple locations -- emails, spreadsheets, PDF proposals, online meetings and many more.

This is bad news for software vendors too, as due to the slow and fragmented nature of the research process, they have to wait a long time to understand purchase decisions. Since most research is done online the space is dominated by a few large software companies. Most smaller software vendors have to rely on traditional marketing channels which drive up cost of customer discovery and customer acquisition.

London based start-up Comparesoft is looking to solve this problem. Using a data-driven algorithm, Comparesoft provides unbiased and vendor neutral software comparisons. Users can review usability, implementation, pricing and case studies within minutes and get an immediate practical software comparison. They can then chat online with prospective vendors and book instant meetings with their favorites. All of the information related to their software selection is in one convenient place.

John de Robeck, marketing manager at asset management specialist FMIS says, "Comparesoft is exactly what FMIS was looking for. Unlike other providers we use, Comparesoft is specifically geared to the UK market and so covers a key sector in our target market".

Currently in beta, you can discover more and try out the software comparison tool from the Comparesoft website.

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China praises hacker who tried to steal US military secrets

Publié: mars 25, 2016, 12:16pm CET par Mark Wilson

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Tensions could be set to mount between the US and China after the Communist government's Global Times newspaper praised Su Bin, the Chinese "government soldier" who pled guilty to trying to steal military secrets from US defense contractors.

Despite the Chinese government having previously said that it does not support cybercrime or online espionage, the state newspaper used an editorial to say "Su Bin deserves respect whether guilty or innocent". The hack was designed to gather data about, amongst other things, the F-22 and F-35 fighter jets and C-17 military transport aircraft.

The Chinese government has denied any connection to Su's case in which he was accused of working with two accomplices. The Chinese millionaire had been residing in Canada, fought extradition to the US, and then struck a deal whereby a guilty plea would limit his sentence to no more than five years imprisonment.

The editorial made no attempt to disguise the support the Global Times -- and by extension, the Chinese government -- has for Su and the hack. It also questions whether Su is actually guilty:

We have no reliable source to identify whether Su has stolen these secrets and transferred them to the Chinese government. If he has, we are willing to show our gratitude and respect for his service to our country. On the secret battlefield without gunpowder, China needs special agents to gather secrets from the US. As for Su, be he recruited by the Chinese government or driven by economic benefits, we should give him credit for what he is doing for the country.

If Su was wronged and forced to plead guilty, he should have our sympathy. As the "war of information" between China and the US continues, there will probably be more Chinese framed as spies and jailed in the US. This is a tragedy of the times, and we hope the Chinese working in sensitive professions in the US can protect themselves.

The reference to a "war of information between China and the US" is interesting, particularly as the Chinese government has said time and time again that it does not engage in hacking or spying. But the editorial concedes that every country is involved in data collection from other countries:

Every country is gathering intelligence. The largest and most well-known information-collecting agencies are the CIA and FBI in the US. The FBI has even listed China as their top target. Recent years have seen the FBI arresting quite a few "Chinese spies," but most of them proved to be innocent. In the meantime, China has kept a low profile in reporting the exposure of US spies out of various considerations.

In most cases, governments won't acknowledge these spies after they have been caught. For example, whenever China intercepted spies from Western countries, the governments they served routinely denied any connection and even mobilized the Western media to attack China's human rights and win over sympathy.

The US is currently on something of a charm offensive, seeking to improve its relationship with China. President Obama is due to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week to address "areas of disagreement" and find common ground on which to co-operate. But whatever political spin is used in front of the cameras, the Global Times' editorial seems to be saying what China really thinks while at the same time downplaying the county's capabilities in an apparent attempt to play the bullying card:

China lags behind the US in technology. The existence of US cyberspace military forces is openly known to the public, and its capability is way higher than Chinese "hackers". But it doesn't mean that China cannot fight back in the face of ill-founded US accusations of Chinese spies. China should uncover Washington's brazen hypocrisy with concrete evidence.

Photo credit: Aquir / Shutterstock

Best Windows apps this week

Publié: mars 25, 2016, 11:59am CET par Martin Brinkmann

One-hundred and seventy-three in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps and games released for Windows 8.x and Windows 10 in the past seven days.

The Spring Sale is currently underway offering discounts on dozens of popular Windows 10 games, as well as movies and TV shows. You find links to it when you open the Windows Store games and movies & TV categories.

As always, if I missed an app or game that has been released this week that you believe is particularly good, let me know in the comments below or notify me via email instead.

Discounts This Week

The following discounts are provided by Red Stripe Deals, a weekly changing list of offers, and the Deals Hub application.

The following is this week's selection:

Hand of Fate - Official Windows 10 edition, a deckbuilding game for $12.49
Photo Editor Pro | Polarr, for $9.99
Drift Mania Championship 2, a drift racing game for $0.99
Chaos Control, a getting things done task manager, for $12.49
Sago Mini Babies, a game for young children, for $1.49
The Surprising Adventures of Munchhausen (full), an adventure game for $0.99
Snap-Link Mobile for Windows, turn Windows 10 into a remote control, for $15.99
WiFi Commander: 3D Analyze, discover Wi-fi networks, for $3.99
Neuro Sequencer Pro, sound generation system, for $1.99
Transcoder, convert audio and video files, free for the next 6 days.

App of the week

none this week

Other applications

Ridiculous Marathon

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This is a running game that works with touch or mouse and keyboard. Basically, what you do is use the controls to avoid collisions with oncoming obstacles and vehicles while collecting coins and doing your best to keep on running.

You earn coins while you are running which you can invest in power ups like double jumps or unlocks. Some of the items are only available for real money though in the built-in store.

Word Teaser

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Word Teaser is a simple spelling game in which you need to combine letters on a grid to find a specific word.

Each word you create in the grid that is not the target word helps you find it by hinting at letters that are included in the target word and those that are not.

Survivors: the Quest

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You find yourself stranded on an island after a plane crash in the adventure game.

Apart from trying to find a way to escape the island, you need to ensure survival by finding enough food, monitoring other values such as stamina or comfort, and making sure the three survivors get along.

Explore the island, solve puzzles and collect items that you require for your survival.

2000 AD Comics

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2000 AD Comics is a comic shop that features some free content (you need to register to access it), and paid comics.

It concentrates on 2000AD, the Judge Dredd magazine, and some graphic novels that you can purchase in the store.

Monster Go

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Monster Go looks like another endless runner game on first glance and while it falls into the category, it has more to offer than the usual running game.

First of all, it includes fighting. You use your sword to hit enemies before they hit you, and may use special powers such as shields to avoid taking damage.

You control your character either with the mouse, keyboard or touch.

The second difference is that the developers have added character progression to the game. Your character levels up while you play the game, gets skill points for that which you can invest in new features such as improving the overall health or unlocking new special powers.

You may spend gold that you collect in the built-in shop to improve your weapons, get new accessories or specials.

The third and final difference is that you can select stages while the game progresses.

Notable updates

Cover Comic Reader is a universal application now.

Infinity for reddit, formerly known as Reddit8, features a new user interface, support for Windows 10 Continuum, and is universal now.

Netflix supports casting now.

Best practices for securing your website

Publié: mars 25, 2016, 11:09am CET par Maxim Emelianov

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The web seems like a dangerous place lately, doesn’t it? We’re constantly hearing about some new piece of malware, or a website that was hacked and defaced, or a new vulnerability in what was once thought to be a secure protocol. I wouldn’t blame you for being paranoid -- after all, to hear the media tell it, your site’s under attack by criminals and ne’erdowells from all sides.

Here’s the thing -- if you’ve taken all the necessary steps to keep your site safe, you actually don’t have a whole lot to worry about. And that’s where we come in. Today, we’re going to talk about some best practices for securing your site, and protecting it against everything from infected clients to ignorant users. Let’s get started.

If You Use HTTPS, Keep Your Security Certificates Up to Date

First thing’s first, if you’re still using SSL 3.0 or an older version of TLS, do me a favor and smack yourself upside the head -- then update. They’re obsolete and riddled with vulnerabilities like BEAST, POODLE, and CRIME. What’s more, with Google pushing for SSL certificate transparency, it seems quite likely that whether or not you’re using a current certificate will soon become a ranking factor, alongside whether or not you use HTTPS at all.

Make Sure Your Web Design/Development Tools Are Properly Patched

Keeping with the theme of up-to-date applications, make sure any tools, frameworks, and platforms you use in the design, development, and management of your site are kept updated with the most current security patches. Otherwise, you’re subjecting your site -- and the information on it -- to a ton of unnecessary security holes. And if you’re targeted by a hacker, that’s bad news for your business.

Strong Passwords: Use Them

It sort of floors me how many people still use simple passwords like "12345" or "password" on the admin accounts of their websites. It’s no secret, after all, that the web is rife with brute force tools designed to seek out and break into sites with weak passwords. Not using a strong, difficult-to-guess password is just asking for trouble.

When developing your password, create something that’s easy for you to remember -- a string of unrelated words, for example. Once you’ve come up with something, run it through a tool like Password Meter. Oh, and one last word of advice -- if you’re using a CMS like WordPress, change the default admin username to something other than "admin".

Use Security Applications

Do you use an antivirus application on your computer? Does your router come with a firewall? Then why wouldn’t your website have the same security features? Installing tools and plugins like spam protection, malware scanners, and web application firewalls is something every webmaster needs to do, regardless of how large their site is.

Address Your Ad Network

I understand that not everyone has control over the ads that display on their site -- but if you’re one of those webmasters that do, then it falls on you to police them. Ad networks remain one of the most frequent delivery mediums for malware, and the rate of ad-based malware tripled between January 2014 and February 2015. That’s one of the reasons people have started using ad blockers.

Back It Up

Even if you do everything right, your website may fall prey to malware -- and in such situations, it’s vital that you’ve a current backup you can revert to. Ideally, you want to back your site up multiple times a day, including creating backups every time a user changes a file or updates a page.

Obfuscate Your Admin Directories

We’ve covered the obvious stuff -- now let’s talk about something a little less obvious. How have you named the admin directories on your website? If they’ve got identifiers like "admin" or "login", then you may be putting your website at risk, since a lot of hackers use scripts that scan website directories for certain words or phrases.

At the end of the day, security isn’t about making your website completely impenetrable. That’s impossible. Instead, it’s about layering on enough protection that, when a hacker assesses it, they conclude that it’d be too much effort to crack, and give up on attacking you in favour of someone with weaker protections.

Maxim Emelianov, vice president at HostforWeb.

Photo credit: jijomathaidesigners / Shutterstock

TCL announces 4K Roku TV models

Publié: mars 25, 2016, 10:41am CET par Alan Buckingham

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With the release of the Roku 4, 4K arrived on the tiny set-top boxes. The company has also announced partnerships with set makers to create smart TVs using the Roku platform to power them. The new standard isn't prevalent, but it's coming around as more and more content becomes available.

This partnership was announced back in January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Now it is coming to fruition, six new models are set to begin shipping.

Roku states "4K TCL Roku TV models that bring together the latest in TV design and technology, advanced connectivity and available 4K content to deliver on customer demands for both the highest quality and largest selection of streaming entertainment. You can order one of the new TVs starting today on Amazon.com".

The models available include a 55-inch selling for $599 and a 65-inch that retails for $999. In addition, there is the P130 series that ranges from 43-inches up to 65-inches and you can expect to pay anywhere from $499 to $1,099 for these.

All models feature a quad-core processor and boast eight million pixels of resolution for good UHD quality viewing. There's also TCL upscaling that it claims will take HD to "near 4K resolution". Plus, the company claims "for any expert picture calibrators out there, we have a new unique feature accessible in the Roku mobile app for Android and iOS that allows you to modify your picture settings to your liking".

The content is starting to seep out, though it's still not prevalent. However, Roku has a spotlight channel that will let you know what's available. The company plans more content for the future.

A different take on what DevOps is

Publié: mars 25, 2016, 5:44am CET par Peter Brookes-Smith

developer laptop

For the last couple of years I’ve been struggling a bit with the idea of DevOps. At the root of it was my own lack of clarity about what it is. My question remained unanswered and it wasn’t for the want of trying.

I went to conferences, attended talks, read articles and met with people in our business. I gathered logically inconsistent lists of things that it was and wasn’t. In the end, I concluded that there isn’t a consensus, so I had to work out what DevOps means to me.

Well, I’m pretty sure it’s about development and operations being closer together! Not too many people will dispute that (he said confidently!). But I’m not sure it’s really helpful. The context can vary wildly and getting closer can look really different in different situations.

On one hand consider a five supplier global program of work lasting three years in a highly regulated industry and on the other think about a two team program delivering value for an autonomous product owner. Context matters.

I was at the Gartner conference in Barcelona last year and I listened to a presentation by Yve Morieux from Boston Consulting. He reminded me of a story I’d heard before. A car company had problems with high servicing costs (no focus on repairability). They compared two methods of resolving the problem:

Put your money where your mouth is and create a bonus scheme to encourage higher repairability
Tell the design team that once their vehicle moves into production, they will all move into the warranty department.

The bonus scheme was bolted onto the existing framework, percentages compounded together and in the end, a massive improvement in repairability generated a 0.6 percent increase in pay. People could legitimately choose to ignore it and they did.

By contrast, warranty department costs are massively driven by repairability and the prospect of picking up responsibility for a money pit was truly terrifying. To avoid the terror, small, but thoughtful changes now could create huge savings and they would soon be living in the land of milk and honey.

I’m not sure if the story is true, but in many ways, it doesn’t matter. The point is well made. End to end responsibility makes people care more. When we care more, we try to make things better and we do it much more effectively.

I’ve come to believe that caring about the end to end process is the most important ingredient for DevOps to work. And caring is important for the teams, the management and the client. As soon as smart people care, if they have the appropriate resources, they can collaborate and do all the things that are appropriate in their context. Of course they have to trust each other and believe that no one is trying to screw them over. Of course they have to be empowered and able to self organize. But they can learn any new concepts and choose the best ones to apply. If they care, they can review what they’ve done and check how well it works.

Management must take care to set the priorities correctly and ensure enough resources (people and cash in general) are allocated. Development teams have to care that their application is going live, and know it will need to be looked after and that it will serve real customers. They have to care that it will perform and if it falls over, they have to care about that and care about the people who will need to fix it and build instrumentation to help them. They need to care about the future teams that will add and remove features. Operations teams have to care about the development process, and all of the environments needed from dev through to disaster recovery. They have to care about the ease of initiation and migration through those environments to live. They have to care about all the stakeholders and be hungry to engage and act as one team to make everyone’s life better: customers, development teams and of course operations. All collaborating to break down the silos and get the job done in the best way.

In some contexts, the lines between dev and ops can be blurred to the point of removal. The same people can take responsibility for application development and the design, deployment, operation and support of the live environments. In other contexts, there still needs to be some separation with teams responsible for the live operation of a huge estate.

In my opinion the DevOps journey starts with smart, responsible people who care about all the stakeholders, are empowered and have the resources to make a difference. Everything else will follow.

Peter Brookes-Smith, group managing director, Objectivity.

Image Credit: alphaspirit / Shutterstock

Google Maps for iOS adds taxi services to route options

Publié: mars 25, 2016, 3:43am CET par Nick Peers

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Less than a month after its last update, Google has rolled out Google Maps for iOS 4.17. The big news here is the addition of taxi services when comparing route options for six countries, including the US, UK and India.

Supported taxi services include Uber, plus 99Taxis (Brazil), Ola Cabs (India), Hailo (UK and Spain), mytaxi (Germany and Spain), and Gett (UK).

The service requires the taxi provider’s app be installed and configured on the user’s phone or tablet -- once done, should nearby taxi services from that provider be available, they’ll appear on a new tab, providing users with estimated arrival times and fares. Users then simply tap a fare to switch to the provider’s app to complete the booking.

The update also makes it possible to save driving, walking and biking route options for future use. This feature is enabled by default -- to switch this off (and tweak the available options), click the ≡ button next to the From box and choose "Route Options".

One final improvement sees Google Maps make saved and recently accessed maps available to Spotlight searches. Tapping the result whisks users off to the location in the app.

The update is rounded off with the usual unspecified bug fixes. Google Maps for iOS 4.17.0 is available now for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch running iOS 7.0 or later, plus the Apple Watch.

Tech industry sides with Apple in San Bernadino iPhone case

Publié: mars 25, 2016, 1:44am CET par Sead Fadilpašić

iPhone Passcode

The tech industry is on Apple’s side when it comes to the dispute with FBI over the unlocking of the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone.

This was, once again, confirmed through a research done by security vendor AlienVault. According to the company’s survey, which polled 1,500 IT security professionals, 33 percent support FBI, while the rest think unlocking the phone will do nothing but weaken overall product security.

Almost two thirds (63 percent) believes Apple should not give in to FBI’s demands.

But the opinion the surveyed have on overall security is what’s dismal here -- almost two thirds believe the government is already so intrusive and pervasive in its surveillance that it’s impossible to have a private conversation on any device.

Moreover, 34 percent believe the government should monitor mass communications for national security purposes.

"We are clearly at a turning point in the history of Internet surveillance and suspicions among those in the know are running high. IT and security professionals can see straight through the public arguments being made about the Apple case", said Javvad Malik, security advocate at AlienVault.

"Many seem to view it as a power grab by the FBI, and an attempt to gain significant new powers that could undermine the communications infrastructure used by us all. But whatever the underlying motives may be, the outcome of this case will clearly have broader implications on future government attempts to access encrypted information, and the development of legal frameworks for state surveillance powers, such as the Investigatory Powers Bill in the UK".

The FBI recently uncovered an iPhone 5c belonging to the San Bernardino shooter. The iPhone is locked and the authorities have no way of unlocking it to see if the phone has any leads on potential accomplices or future plans.

The government asked Apple to help them unlock the iPhone, and has even gone as far as to ask phone makers to build special backdoors so that law enforcement agencies could have access to the devices.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock/ymgerman