Android users can help map mobile coverage in the UK: iPhone owners need not apply
Looking to paint a more accurate picture of what mobile coverage is like across the country, UK communications regulator Ofcom has released an app that can pull in data from millions of Android users.
The app, called Ofcom Mobile Research, is only available for Android and has been designed to measure not only mobile broadband performance, but also voice call quality. While building up a mass of data from participating Android users, iPhone owners are locked out of contributing because of the way iOS works.
Customers lose trust in hacked businesses
If your business gets hacked, expect to lose a significant portion of your customers -- for good. This is according to a new report released by Alertsec, the cloud-based encryption company. Its Brand Perception Study, based on a poll of 1,200 Americans, says 17 percent of women and 11 percent of men would permanently lose trust in a hacked company.
Almost a third (29 percent) would need months to return while a further 22 percent would need only one. Men are also more likely (16 percent) to switch brands after a hack than women (6 percent). For more than a third (35 percent), a hack means the company was sloppy. Another third (32 percent) says it is the result of a lack of professionalism, while 26 percent say the company would become a great target for lawsuits.
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EFF slams HP's printer DRM that forces the use of official ink cartridges
A few days ago, HP upset printer owners by issuing a software update to block the use of third-party cartridges. The beauty of third-party ink cartridges is, of course, that they cost a fraction of official ones, but HP didn’t like the idea of missing out on income and decided to implement DRM to block them.
The company has described the move as a way "to protect HP's innovations and intellectual property" but printer owners see it as little more than a money grab. Digital rights group EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) is similarly irked and has written to HP president and CEO Dion Weisler to express its alarm. There is particular concern that "HP abused its security update mechanism to trick its customers".
The CW Network is now streaming for free on Roku
When you put together all of the shows one person watches, the list can cover a staggering amount of channels. It seems like we're always flipping from one to another when we have nothing particular on. That gave rise to today's channel packages, which can provide hundreds of networks to choose from.
One channel that does provide content viewed by a wide range of people is CW, and now it's coming to Roku. The tiny set-top box maker announces the network is available beginning right now and it's free -- no login or subscription needed.
Amy Schumer and Justin Bieber top the 2016 McAfee 'Most Dangerous Celebrities' list
When people think of online malware, they sometimes think infections only come from 'bad' websites, such as pornography and warez. Yeah, those types of sites can definitely house malware, but so can any site. In fact, bad guys will often target users through seemingly wholesome places, where a person may let their guard down.
Today, McAfee announces its annual 'Most Dangerous Celebrities' list. No, the celebrities themselves are not a danger to the public -- as far as I know, at least. Actually, these are people that, when their names are entered as search terms, can cause an increased chance of leading to malware. For 2016, McAfee lists Amy Schumer as the most dangerous in this regard.
Toshiba unveils OCZ TL100 SATA SSD
Another day, another SATA SSD. Yeah, these SATA solid state drives are no longer exciting, since for the most part, they all have similar performance. As PC enthusiasts and gamers look to faster PCI-e NVMe SSDs, there is still a market for SATA drives.
Today, Toshiba announces the OCZ TL100 SATA SSD series, and it is rather lackluster. The drive features TLC NAND and relatively low capacities of 120GB and 240GB. This is not designed for performance, nor is it ideal for those looking to store a lot of files. Who is it for? Consumers that are still using mechanical hard drives and want a performance boost without breaking the bank.
The Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump presidential debate set a YouTube record
Last night was the big debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Many people expected it to be very exciting. Unfortunately, it wasn't. Both candidates played it safe, and overall, it was sort of a snooze-fest. Still, I stayed with it for the entire 90+ minutes, just in case something did happen at the last minute.
Apparently, I was not the only one watching the debate and staying tuned-in. On YouTube in particular, the election event was wildly popular, where it set a new viewing record. While not the most-watched live stream overall, it was the most-watched political live stream in the site's history.
Why Salesforce wants to buy Twitter
Salesforce is reportedly considering purchasing Twitter in a move that would give the software company access to the huge amount of data generated by the social network and could help fuel its push to develop artificial intelligence.
Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce.com, has grown his 17-year-old company to compete against Microsoft, Oracle and other big players in the field. Lately, the company has acquired a number of startups working in e-commerce and artificial intelligence. Talks between Twitter and Salesforce are said to be at an early stage but an acquisition could end up helping both companies.
Microsoft teams up with Adobe in the cloud
At the Microsoft Ignite event, the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant announced a new cloud partnership with none other than Adobe. This one works both ways. On one side, Microsoft "will make Adobe Marketing Cloud its preferred marketing service for Dynamics 365 Enterprise edition", and, on the other side, Adobe will "make Microsoft Azure its preferred cloud platform for the Adobe Marketing Cloud, Adobe Creative Cloud and Adobe Document Cloud".
Interestingly enough, Adobe has so far used Amazon Web Services, but it was left unclear if this means Amazon is getting the boot or not.
How to send secret messages in Facebook
There are lots of different messaging apps available, including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Google’s latest offering, Allo. Which you use will likely depend on what apps your friends prefer, but privacy might also be a big factor. Google Allo, for example, is a bit of a privacy nightmare, unless you use the Incognito mode.
You probably don’t want Facebook snooping on your private conversations, so may have steered clear of Messenger previously, but the good news is the social network now lets you send private messages to friends which can only be read on the device of the person you're communicating with -- and not by Facebook itself.
The security risks of migrating legacy applications to the cloud [Q&A]
Enterprise use of the public cloud is taking off in a big way and it's estimated that by 2018, half of the applications running in public cloud environments will be considered mission-critical by the organizations that use them.
But migrating legacy applications to the cloud can lead to new security risks as how the application is used and hosted could differ from the original deployment.
Yahoo is still vulnerable
The first thing you should do after getting your home or apartment robbed is, obviously, change the lock. Yahoo doesn’t seem to think so, as the same practices that were in place when it got breached are still being used according to a new report by Venafi.
What’s more, its practices have for years been known as unsecure. Venafi puts it simply: if you’re a Yahoo user, you should be worried about this. Here’s what it did (or, didn’t do): most importantly, 27 percent of certificates on external Yahoo sites haven’t been changed since January 2015.
New cloud services aim to increase adoption of Skype for Business
Cloud-based unified communications are an attractive option for businesses, but a lack of effective management and monitoring tools is holding back many from deploying the technology.
Managed cloud services company Unify Square is addressing this with the launch of an extended lineup of Skype for Business (SfB) cloud and hybrid services to help enterprises transition from on premise, to hybrid or full cloud deployments.
Xiaomi unveils Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus flagships
Xiaomi has beefed up its flagship Android line, announcing an updated Mi 5 and introducing a Plus version at a launch event today in China. Its new smartphones should allow it to better compete against Apple's new iPhone 7 and Samsung's popular Galaxy S7.
The Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus pack the latest and greatest mobile processor from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 821, new cameras, different fingerprint sensor, bigger battery, and more. Prices start at $299, for the Mi 5s, and go up to $389, for the Mi 5s Plus, making them very competitive against their main rivals.
If you rip your music from YouTube, we've got some bad news for you
In the eighties and nineties, MTV was the place to go to watch music videos. That’s all changed now of course. If you want to watch a music video, YouTube is the number one destination.
If you like a song, it’s really easy to rip the music from the video, using one of the many free online services. Just paste in the URL and hey presto it comes out as an MP3. Some sites even let you specify the audio quality, and add tags. However, the music labels understandably aren’t keen on this "stream ripping", and plan to put a stop to it.