Flash drives are less popular nowadays thanks to cloud storage. While the cloud offers convenience, there is extra control and security when local storage is used. Remember folks, when you leverage the cloud, you open yourself up to deficiencies of a third-party company -- a mass data breach could expose your secret files. For a business in particular, this could mean the loss of important information, or the leak of confidential information. Your company's reputation could be tarnished as a result. If you are more comfortable using USB flash drives for storing and transmitting data, encryption is a must --… [Continue Reading]
The fact that people are afraid to use more apps because of security reasons is costing the UK economy billions. To be more precise, £2.5 billion this year, £3.2 billion the next. This is according to a new report by Rackspace, which says that 36 percent of consumers are reluctant to use more apps for security reasons. Privacy is also a huge issue for 33 percent of consumers in general -- rising up to 37 percent among the older population. More than a quarter (26 percent) said a failure in an app prevented them from doing something important. "Our research… [Continue Reading]
You may not have heard of Workplace by Facebook, and that could be for one of two reasons. Firstly, it used to be known as Facebook at Work but, more importantly, it has been in closed beta for nearly two years. Today, Facebook announces that Workplace is now available all over the world, giving enterprise users a way to stay connected with co-workers. Promising "the best of Facebook plus new features", Workplace can be used by any company or organization that feels a personalized, internal social network with messaging capabilities could be beneficial. Facebook says that 1,000 test organizations have… [Continue Reading]
One of the main reasons why hackers and other malicious actors are so hard to locate is not the fact they're really good at hiding their location -- it is because they're exceptional when it comes to faking things. They fake their locations, their working hours, language, infrastructure, toolkits -- even their own groups. Hackers are going extreme lengths to make sure people looking for them are actually in for a wild goose chase. These conclusions were released by security researchers at Kaspersky Lab who tried to tackle the issue of misleading both victims and security researchers. "The attribution of… [Continue Reading]
Windows 10 Mobile is a virtually dead platform. True, Microsoft is still developing it, but there are so few active users, that it is totally irrelevant. It isn't a bad mobile operating system, but a lack of apps makes it a non-starter for many. Ultimately, there is no compelling reason to choose a device running it over, say, an iPhone 7. Today, what looks to be the best Windows 10 Mobile smartphone ever -- the HP Elite x3 -- becomes available for purchase. It is only being sold directly from Microsoft in its retail locations or its online store. The… [Continue Reading]
A new study has revealed that many consumers are suffering from "security fatigue" as a result of relentless cybersecurity warnings which have led to many of them failing to protect themselves online. The study was conducted by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), by conducting in-depth interviews with a wide cross-section of Americans between the ages of 20 and 60 living in rural and urban areas in both low and high-paying jobs. A large number of participants ignored the warnings they received from a variety of sources when it came to staying safe online. Many were also… [Continue Reading]
Size matters. Well, when it comes to computers, at least. Look, long gone are the days of having dedicated computer rooms where a family shares a single monstrous tower. With so many adults moving back home with their parents, houses and apartments are much more cramped, meaning fewer vacant rooms. True, a laptop can alleviate this, but so can a diminutive desktop. By taking up less space (some can even be VESA mounted to the rear of a monitor), a compact PC can allow a desk or table to serve other purposes than simply being home to a tower. There… [Continue Reading]
Milton is a simple and straightforward painting tool which does its best to stay out of your way, but still has some unusual tricks of its own. The core drawing tools are basic. Just one round brush, with color, size and opacity settings, and an eraser (or infinite undo) if you’ve made a mistake. We’re not going to continue listing drawing or editing features here, because there aren’t any. No Fill, no geometric shapes, no text tool, no bundled library of clipart: Milton is just about painting. Where Milton starts to win out is in its underlying technology: you’re painting… [Continue Reading]
The UK's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has today published new social media guidelines that set out online offenses for which people could be prosecuted. Launched as part of Hate Crime Awareness Week, the guidance will be used to decide whether criminal proceedings should be brought against individuals. Among the offenses outlined in the document is 'virtual mobbing' -- encouraging others to engage in online hate campaigns. The CPS points out that anyone doing this could face charges under the Serious Crime Act 2007. Also published today is the Public Policy Statements on Hate Crime which is due to be put… [Continue Reading]
According to the Communications Fraud Control Association (CFCA), network operators around the world lose around $38 billion annually to fraud and uncollected revenues. Currently the biggest threat to telecommunications service providers comes from loss of termination revenues. Termination revenues come from when a network handles someone else’s call -- for example when someone on one network contacts someone on another -- or when you dial abroad. Telecommunications service providers naturally want to have a reward for handing on the call to the final recipient. Annual declines in revenue from termination in many countries are 10 percent or more. Reduction in… [Continue Reading]
Google Chrome has received plenty of updates to make it lighter on resources, but it can still be a bit of a hog in certain areas. Its higher memory consumption remains a weak point, as you can easily notice on systems with a lower amount of RAM. However, an upcoming update is touted to greatly lower its footprint. Google Chrome 55, which is expected to arrive in December, should improve the average memory consumption by up to 50 percent compared to the current release, version 53. This average reduction in RAM usage has been observed on a number of major websites, including Facebook, Reddit… [Continue Reading]
With Windows 10, Microsoft has encouraged users away from the Control Panel in favour of the newer Settings. This is fine for many things, but there are still times when the Control Panel is needed. In recent builds of Windows 10, the Control Panel shortcut has vanished from the Win + X menu (which can also be accessed by right clicking the Start button), leaving some people perplexed about how to change certain settings. Thankfully, there is a way to get the shortcut back in the latest Insider builds. As noted by ghacks, there are in fact two ways to… [Continue Reading]
You may not have heard of the tofu problem, but you have almost certainly experienced it. If you visit a website or open a document that can't display a particular character, you'll see a white box symbol resembling a cube of tofu. Now Google has a solution. The Noto font project (it's a mashup of 'NO more TOfu') has been something of a labor of love, taking five years to reach its conclusion. But the result is an open source Noto font family which Google says includes "every symbol in the Unicode standard, covering more than 800 languages and 110,000… [Continue Reading]
It's reckoned that by 2020 three-quarters of new cars shipped globally will have some form of internet connectivity. But while this brings benefits in terms of practicality and ease of use it also adds cars to the list of IoT devices that are vulnerable to attack. We've already seen Fiat Chrysler recalling cars to fix a vulnerability and this could be just the tip of the iceberg. Mobile protection specialist Arxan has put together an infographic highlighting some of the ways connected cars could be attacked. These include intercepting communication between mobile apps used to unlock or immobilize the vehicle.… [Continue Reading]
S-Ultra PNG Compressor is a $14.95 Windows application for lossless compression of PNG files. The program’s interface won’t win any design awards. It’s all very basic: click an "Add" button to select your files, check a couple of boxes to set compression levels and click "Start" to kick the process off. Compression can be very slow, especially if you’ve chosen the maximum level 2 and level 3 options -- several seconds per file. Try it out with a small number of files, first. There are more issues. The demo only works with small images under 70KB, and it automatically overwrites… [Continue Reading]
Just about all of the key players in social media have turned to algorithms to control the order in which posts appear in users' timelines. Google has already introduced algorithmic sorting for Google+, and now it is rolling out to Communities. Just as with Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, the decision to move towards algorithms rather than a simple chronological timeline is one that will be divisive. But Google has made it easy to toggle the setting, helping to keep everyone happy. The new approach to timelines in Communities brings the group section of Google+ in line with how users' timeline… [Continue Reading]
While Windows 10 introduced massive changes, some things have remained constant -- such as the bundled Paint app. After years of minor tweaks, Paint is finally in line for a major upgrade. In recent days, details of the overhauled Paint have appeared online, including introductory videos that show the app will deal with 3D work as well as regular 2D drawing. Now the app has leaked online so you can try it out for yourself. Also read: How to uninstall Windows 10's built-in apps If you can't wait for Microsoft to finish the app and officially release it, you might… [Continue Reading]
A class action lawsuit has been filed against Google accusing the company of discriminating against older job seekers and employees. The case against the company has been certified by the Northern California District Court, which is allowing aggrieved applicants aged 40 and older to join together to file a single suit. Now that the case has been certified, the court has given plaintiffs the right to challenge Google in court as opposed to individually which will make it easier to deal with the company's expert legal team. This move by the court also increases the chances of the company offering… [Continue Reading]
The Galaxy Note7 has been nothing short of an unmitigated disaster for Samsung. Problems with exploding batteries wiped billions off the value of the company and led to a recall, but it soon transpired that even replacement handsets were problematic, with a number of reports of replacement handsets overheating, catching fire, or exploding. Now South Korean news agency Yonhap reports that Samsung has temporarily suspended production of the flagship Android smartphone. It's a move that will unnerve investors, but one that is being carried out in conjunction with safety regulators from South Korea, the United States and China. The Yonhap News Agency… [Continue Reading]