The Phoenix is back as The Pirate Bay rises from its ashes and sails again
When The Pirate Bay was raided (again) nobody really thought the government had won. Countless people, myself included, predicted the return of the notorious Torrent site. After all, it's never really been dead -- just down for a bit or forced to change domains. But down and out? Not yet. This time around proves no different.
The fact that some people think these types of sites can be blocked, legislated or even raided out of existence is almost laughable. We knew The Pirate Bay was coming back. Rumor had the rebirth set for February 1st, but the site has made an early appearance.
Windows 10 for enterprise will not be free, splits into two upgrade branches
There aren't many people who don’t like the sound of "free", and this was one of the keywords taken away from Microsoft's Windows 10 event earlier in the month. As build 9926 was unleashed on eager upgraders, Microsoft revealed that it will be free to upgrade to Windows 10 in the first year.
At least this is the case for the average consumer; it's something of a different story for enterprise customers. Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 7 Enterprise and Windows 8/8.1 Enterprise are not versions that will be eligible for a free upgrade -- this is the personification of Windows as a service.
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Control access to folders with Anvi Folder Locker Free
There are many ways to keep your PCs confidential files safe from snoopers. You could encrypt them individually. Store them in a password-protected archive. Maybe just bury them deep in some unexpected area of your file system.
Anvisoft’s Anvi Folder Locker Free aims to simplify the process by applying protection at the folder level. In just a few seconds it can hide a folder, add password protection, maybe just make it read-only – whatever suits your needs.
British army's 77th Brigade to wage psychological war on Facebook
The British army is creating a new battalion of online soldiers in the form of the 77th Brigade. Hundreds of recruits will make up the division and will engage in "non-lethal warfare" on Mark Zuckerberg's social network from April.
The 77th Brigade will engage in psyops (psychological operations) to try to influence the opinions of civilians in certain parts of the world, as well looking to change the behavior of those engaged in various forms of warfare. The activities of groups such as ISIS (Islamic State) have shown the importance of the internet in general, but social networks in particular, to spreading ideas, messages and propaganda, and this is what the army is looking to manage.
Google Now for Android becomes more useful, now feeds information from third-party apps
Google has long been devising new ways to boost engagement on its services. In its latest move, the Mountain View-based technology giant updates Google Now, its contextual search trump card, to add support for third-party apps.
In a blog post, the company notes that it has partnered with more than 40 popular apps including Ebay, Pandora, Runtastic, Ford, ICICI Bank, Shazam, and others to feed information from them on to the Google Now dashboard. You can check the full-list of apps and services here.
The cost for Google Earth Pro is now zero -- get your free license key now!
There is an old adage that a fool and his money are easily parted. This is a motto that I follow in my life. I don't mind paying for quality, but I won't open my wallet for nonsense.
With that said, you should always be wary when something is free; another adage is that there is no such thing as a free lunch. That's not to say that free things can't exist, but there may be strings attached. Today, Google Earth Pro becomes free -- are there strings attached?
Jay Z to buy HD music streaming service Tidal
Rapper Jay Z is spreading his wings outside of the world of hip hop, and venturing into music streaming territory. The musician's company, Project Panther Bidco Ltd is buying the Swedish company Aspiro, the owner of HD streaming music service Tidal for $56m.
The purchase will also see Jay Z acquiring Aspiro's other streaming service WiMP, but it is the quality-focused Tidal that is of particular interest. It will pit Jay Z against the Apple-owned Beats as well as the likes of Spotify.
Motorola begins to rollout Android 5.0 Lollipop for Moto G in India
Motorola has started to seed out the Android 5.0 Lollipop update -- the latest iteration of the Google’s mobile operating system -- for both the first and second generation Moto G handsets in India. In a blog post, the Lenovo-owned smartphone manufacturer noted that users who purchased the affordable handset from Flipkart or Airtel store will be able to snag the update.
Announced in October, Android 5.0 Lollipop is one of the biggest updates to Google’s mobile operating system since its inception in 2008. The update brings in a range of features including improved notifications, revamped user interface, support for ART runtime by default, and advanced security features, among others.
Sorry Apple, Dell's laptop is better -- Precision M3800 destroys MacBook Pro
Apple makes wonderful computers. Hell, they are more than just computers, they are art as well. Much like a high-end premium automobile, the MacBook Pro demands attention, portraying the message that the owner is a success. Even if you want to run Windows, an Apple computer may be the best choice from a hardware perspective.
Well, at least it was. Unfortunately for Tim Cook and crew, the MacBook Pro has lost a bit of its luster, especially in the professional world. Why, you ask? Dell's Precision M3800 is a better machine from a performance standpoint, and arguably just as attractive. Don't just take my word for it, Dell commissioned a study to back it up.
Is LibreOffice 4.4 the 'most beautiful' ever?
The Document Foundation has unveiled LibreOffice 4.4, describing it as "the most beautiful LibreOffice ever".
But while there are plenty of visual tweaks (an enhanced Sifr monochrome icon theme is now the default on OS X), most of the UI improvements are about usability.
Windows 10 updates -- new Surface Pro graphic driver, new Windows Phone Windows Insider App
We're gradually moving towards the official release of Windows 10, but in the meantime we have the Technical Preview to work with -- Build 9926 specifically. As we're only at the preview stage, it is to be expected that there will be a few issues here and there.
The good news is that Microsoft is working on fixing these problems, not just for the eventual RTM release of Windows 10, but also the preview builds. Surface Pro 2 and Surface Pro 3 owners complained about problems with stability when watching videos, and this has been addressed with a driver update.
Best Windows apps this week
One-hundred and sixteen in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps and games released for Windows in the past seven days.
Microsoft released its Q2 FY2015 this week and additional information on Windows 10, the fate of Windows RT and its cloud file hosting service OneDrive. If you are running Windows 10 already on a system you may have noticed that it ships with two stores: the old store that is also available on Windows 8.1 and a new beta store which the company plans to switch to when Windows 10 gets released.
EFF prevails in legal battle over government spying
Ever since the Edward Snowden revelations began pouring out to the media and creating quite a stir of panic, government spying has been in the forefront of people's minds. One group that doesn't take these things lightly is the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a group that tirelessly fights for and against all sorts of causes. Spying was certainly one of the big ones.
Now the EFF is announcing it has won a major battle, though certainly not the war. This legal fight began long before the Snowden information leak -- four years ago to be precise. The group filed suit over secret legal opinions regarding the Patriot Act, another controversial item in the eyes of many citizens.
Google proves once again it is terrible at selling smartphones
Getting the latest Nexus smartphone from Google in the first few months of availability can prove to be a real adventure. You know how it goes, as the same thing has happened before with its predecessor. You have to be either extremely lucky to get one early on or extremely committed to the brand to put up with the perennially insufficient stock by waiting your turn at finally getting one. It's insane.
Because of these issues, I have long given up on the thought of buying the latest Nexus smartphone while it's hot -- including the Nexus 6 phablet, as much as I would love to grab one. The fault lies consistently with Google. The search giant is terrible at selling smartphones. Even worse, it comes up with a crappy excuse to justify it.
Doxing: what it is, and how to avoid it happening to you [infographic]
![Doxing: what it is, and how to avoid it happening to you [infographic]](http://betanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/what_is_doxing-150x150.jpg)
There are many potential dangers to using the internet, and most people are familiar with the idea of identity theft, unauthorized access to online accounts and the like. But there's another hazard which has come to prominence recently: doxing. The idea is not new, having its roots back in the 90s, but there have been numerous high profile cases of celebrities who have fallen victim to "document dropping".
This involves releasing personal information about someone to the internet -- information that could be embarrassing, personally revealing, or something that the victim would just rather keep to themselves. Interestingly, doxing is not necessarily illegal, but that doesn't mean that the ramifications are not far-reaching.