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What you need to know about smart cities

Publié: novembre 2, 2016, 9:29pm CET par Barclay Ballard

Imagine living somewhere where traffic jams were a thing of the past, where ambulance crews started on-route to an emergency before anyone had dialed 911 and where critical infrastructure operated at maximum efficiency. This utopian city may not currently be possible, but the Internet of things could change that in the not too distant future. By connecting various aspects of the urban landscape to the Internet, local administrators will gain access to countless extra data sets that could help them provide better services for their citizens. These smart cities not only promise to improve the lives of their inhabitants, but… [Continue Reading]
Adblock Plus gets its panties in a bunch over 'crazy accusations'

Publié: novembre 2, 2016, 8:07pm CET par Mark Wilson

Online advertising is a divisive issue, and one that sees many people turning to ad blockers to improve their online experience. The biggest name in the business is Adblock Plus which has come under fire in recent months for its Acceptable Ads program that allows certain ads to be whitelisted. The company behind Adblock Plus, Eyeo, today published an extraordinary blog post in which it attacks "crazy accusations" made about it and its program. Introduced in the format of an election-style fact checker, the post from Ben Williams drips with barely disguised fury at what are described as "slants, spins… [Continue Reading]
What you need to know about deep learning

Publié: novembre 2, 2016, 7:12pm CET par Ian Barker

The concept of machine learning has been around for some time. Deep learning is an area of research aimed at taking things further still and getting closer to an artificial intelligence system by using neural networks in a way that imitates the human brain. Sometimes also referred to as hierarchical learning or deep structured learning, it seeks to model data in order to solve problems like object and facial recognition, natural language processing and speech recognition. It’s called deep learning because the data is processed through a number of layers, usually in a neural network, the output from one layer… [Continue Reading]
How to rename Cortana in Windows 10 (you can call her 'Siri' if you like!)

Publié: novembre 2, 2016, 5:57pm CET par Wayne Williams

One of Windows 10’s biggest new features is the inclusion of Microsoft’s personal assistant, Cortana. She can do all sorts of things for you, from searching the web, to setting reminders, and even looking up songs as they play. You can summon Cortana at any time simply by saying "Hey, Cortana", but if you’d rather call her something different -- "Siri", perhaps, or "Darling", or "Ava" -- it’s possible to give her a name change. This is how. First you need the portable MyCortana, which you can download from here. It’s a tiny 353KB download. Launch it and click 'Settings'… [Continue Reading]
Need personalized #Election2016 voting information? Direct message @Gov on Twitter

Publié: novembre 2, 2016, 5:44pm CET par Brian Fagioli

November 8, 2016 is Election Day, and I am excited. While neither of the two major presidential candidates are exceptional in my eyes, I have decided on one of them. It is my responsibility and duty as an American to vote, and when I cast my ballot for her/him, I will do so proudly -- not holding my nose as I pull the lever. If you are still undecided about choosing a candidate, or simply don't know where to go to vote, I have good news. Twitter is making it all very easy. Simply direct message the @Gov account, and… [Continue Reading]
Microsoft launches Teams -- and Slack is worried

Publié: novembre 2, 2016, 5:30pm CET par Mihăiță Bamburic

It is no secret that Microsoft has been working on a Slack rival, but it is not until today that we get to take a proper look at the new collaboration tool. Called Microsoft Teams, it will officially launch in the first quarter of 2017, though the software giant is making it available as a public preview starting today. Should you give it a try? The benefit to Microsoft Teams, as the software giant explains it, is the integration with some of its most important products and services, like Office 365 and Skype, to help users collaborate more easily on different… [Continue Reading]
Datto launches new ransomware protection for SMBs

Publié: novembre 2, 2016, 5:18pm CET par Ian Barker

We already know that ransomware is a lucrative business for the attackers. But for the victims, especially smaller businesses, it can prove devastating. A new solution offering enterprise-class ransomware protection for small and mid sized companies is being launched by data protection specialist Datto. In the event of an attack it aims to shorten downtime, save money and reduce the impact to business, giving companies an effective and reliable alternative to paying hackers' ransoms. The software guards against malicious encryption in the company's Backupify, Datto NAS and Datto Drive offerings, as well as providing ransomware detection within its flagship SIRIS… [Continue Reading]
Developers prefer open source tools

Publié: novembre 2, 2016, 3:53pm CET par Ian Barker

New research shows that 98 percent of developers use open source tools at work, with 56 percent revealing that more than half of their development tools are open source, and 18 percent using only open source tools. The study from code collaboration platform GitLab also shows that more than half of developers (55 percent) are able to choose the tools they work with. When asked about the tools and techniques that are most important to them, 92 percent say distributed version control systems (Git repositories) are very or extremely important for their everyday work followed by continuous integration (77 percent),… [Continue Reading]
Microsoft Surface Book i7 vs Apple MacBook Pro 2016: Which new laptop should you choose?

Publié: novembre 2, 2016, 3:00pm CET par Wayne Williams

Last Wednesday, Microsoft revealed, among other things, an updated Surface Book. The following day, Apple introduced a new MacBook Pro. Both devices look great, sport powerful innards and come with a suitably high price tag. Which you go for will likely depend on whether you’re a fan of Microsoft or Apple, but if you’re not firmly entrenched in either camp, and need a little guidance to decide which laptop to go for, here are all the details you need. Obviously, the Surface Book i7 and MacBook Pro 2016 aren’t exactly like for like. The Surface Book’s display detaches, for one… [Continue Reading]
New platform aims to deliver personalized communications to any device

Publié: novembre 2, 2016, 2:53pm CET par Ian Barker

In order to retain customers businesses need to be responsive to their needs and send them relevant communications. Mobile growth platform company Urban Airship is making it easier for marketers to do this with a service that lets them deliver individualized messaging to any platform, device or marketing channel and use real-time customer data from any system. It uses a two-pronged approach with what it calls Open Channels and Open Profiles. Open Channels, allows companies to reach customers with rich notification-style messaging on any channel -- from chat messaging services and email, to intelligent personal assistants and in-car information systems.… [Continue Reading]
Explore malicious executables with Adlice PEViewer

Publié: novembre 2, 2016, 2:51pm CET par Mike Williams

Adlice PEViewer -- aka RogueKillerPE -- is a free tool for analyzing and exploring Windows executables. The results can help you troubleshoot programs, find out more about what they’re doing, and perhaps identify malware that your regular antivirus tool has missed. It’s the free version of a commercial tool and a nag screen appears occasionally, but not enough to be annoying and there are no other major restrictions. Launch PeViewer and you’re able to open an EXE disk image, handy for performing a PeStudio-like static analysis of the file. Usefully, you can also select a target from your running processes,… [Continue Reading]
What you need to know about automation

Publié: novembre 2, 2016, 2:27pm CET par Barclay Ballard

When businesses think of automation, they probably conjure up images of simplicity, efficiency, lower costs and increased productivity. Of course, this is something of an oversimplification and there are certainly challenges to adopting workplace automation. However, it is not hard to see why more and more industries are automating their business processes. Whether it’s via robots or software, automation can eliminate the repetitive, manual tasks that, while essential, are a huge drain on employee time. Automation lets members of staff direct their energies into more productive areas, such as coming up with innovative new ideas. Before embracing automation, however, organizations… [Continue Reading]
New platform improves accuracy of behavioral attack detection

Publié: novembre 2, 2016, 1:15pm CET par Ian Barker

As cyber attacks get more sophisticated, so being able to spot them requires a different approach from simply looking for signatures. Behavioral detection company LightCyber is launching a new version of its Magna platform that increases the precision and speed of detecting an in-progress attack from either a malicious insider or external bad actor. "Detecting and thwarting an active attack requires highly precise detection of the attacker’s operational activities," says Jason Matlof, executive vice president of LightCyber. "The historic problem endemic to security has been the inability to parse out the most relevant attacker signals, which has resulted in overwhelming… [Continue Reading]
Mozilla pulls Battery Status API from Firefox over privacy concerns

Publié: novembre 2, 2016, 12:35pm CET par Mark Wilson

It was supposed to be a feature that allowed more efficient versions of websites to be delivered to people running out of battery power. But the Battery Status API built into Firefox was also found to be problematic from a privacy point of view after it was discovered that visitors' battery levels could be used to track them online. In response to this the API is being pulled from Firefox. The potential for the Battery Status API to be misused has been known for some time -- it is possible to track users even when they are using VPNs or… [Continue Reading]
Five reasons why VDI is a good match for Windows 10

Publié: novembre 2, 2016, 11:44am CET par Patrick Brennan

The first anniversary of the launch of Windows 10 was marked by Microsoft revealing that the operating system enjoyed one of the fastest adoption rates in the history of Windows. The software giant announced that over 300 million devices are now using Windows 10. Adoption rates for its latest operating system are 145 percent higher than for Windows 7 and 400 percent better than for Windows 8. But however popular Windows 10 might be in terms of user adoption, it still brings a lot of the baggage of its predecessors for IT professionals to deal with, including painful migrations, time-consuming… [Continue Reading]
Microsoft: Russian hackers are exploiting Windows flaw exposed by Google

Publié: novembre 2, 2016, 11:29am CET par Mark Wilson

Microsoft says that a vulnerability in Windows made public by Google has been exploited by a hacking group with links to Russia. The group -- known variously as Strontium, Fancy Bear, and APT 28 -- has executed several spear phishing attacks, the company says. Google was criticized for publicizing the vulnerability before Microsoft has released a patch. A fix for the security hole is not due to be released until Tuesday, 8 November -- voting day in the US election. The hacking group is one that has been linked to the Russian government, and is thought to have been behind… [Continue Reading]
Admiral Insurance to use algorithms to set insurance prices based on customers' Facebook posts

Publié: novembre 2, 2016, 10:44am CET par Mark Wilson

Facebook, it is said -- much like Big Brother -- is watching you. Privacy groups have long warned about the potential for information shared on the social network to be misused, and now an insurance company is planning to make use of the status updates customers post to determine the type of drivers they are. The controversial move finds Admiral Insurance using an algorithm to analyze the posts of new drivers in a bid to determine the type of people they are. By linking 'likes', writing style and other factors, Admiral believes the system -- called firstcarquote -- can be… [Continue Reading]
RealVNC rebrands as VNC Connect 6.0, switches to subscription-based model

Publié: novembre 2, 2016, 9:56am CET par Nick Peers

RealVNC Ltd has unveiled RealVNC VNC Connect 6.0, the newly rebadged and updated version of its VNC server and client package for Windows, Mac and Linux. There’s a shift from a perpetual license keys to a subscription-based model, plus a large number of new features, including cloud connections, team-based remote access and sharing, and support for improving remote access. The name change from RealVNC to VNC Connect reflects some of the major changes implemented in version 6. There’s no longer any permanent licenses for sale -- instead, users have a choice of three subscription tiers: Enterprise, Professional and a free… [Continue Reading]
Belkin 6,700 mAh 'Valet Charger Power Pack' charges both iPhone and Apple Watch

Publié: novembre 2, 2016, 1:36am CET par Brian Fagioli

Having a removable battery in a smartphone can be convenient, but portable USB battery packs have made that concept obsolete. Investing in extra batteries which are designed for only one specific device can be costly and wasteful when you change phones. A USB pack can be used with many devices, making it a good investment. Today, Belkin announces one of the most elegant such products -- especially for Apple device owners. You see, the 6,700 mAh 'Valet Charger Power Pack' can charge both iPhone and Apple Watch. In addition to a USB port, it offers wireless charging for Apple's wearable, making this an indispensable… [Continue Reading]
Meet Master & Dynamic MW50 Wireless on-ear headphones

Publié: novembre 2, 2016, 12:18am CET par Joe Wilcox

I am a big fan of on-ear headphones, which attitude bucks the noise-cancellation trend. The design is a nice compromise between over-ear and open-back styles—the latter of which can present the best soundstage. Cans that rest on the ears, rather than cover them, tend to be lighter and confer airier, more natural sound. However, they also leak noise both ways, which makes them less appealing for commuter trains or air travel. Since I reviewed MW60 Wireless last week, I simply must point out that Master & Dynamic launched MW50 on-ear Bluetooth headphones today. Yes, I plan to review them in the near future. The company… [Continue Reading]
Alcatel IDOL 4S is a VR-ready Windows 10 Mobile smartphone you might actually want

Publié: novembre 2, 2016, 12:04am CET par Brian Fagioli

Windows 10 Mobile is a solid smartphone operating system with two big flaws -- lack of both apps and developers. This has lead to such low market share, that many consider Microsoft's mobile operating system to be irrelevant. With that said, not everyone needs a lot of apps. If you mostly do things like text messaging, surfing the web, and accessing email on the go, a Windows 10 device is a brilliantly secure way to do so. Today, Alcatel officially announces the previously leaked IDOL 4S with Windows 10 (there is an Android version too). Not only is the inexpensive device beautiful, but chocked full of… [Continue Reading]