Is your computer bugging you? [Q&A]
Data leaks due to security flaws and hacker activity constantly make the news, but they're not the only ones that businesses have to worry about. Leaks can stem from employee or industrial espionage activity too and of course there's always government snooping.
Whilst larger businesses with sensitive data or intellectual property to protect often check for old-style surveillance they may not be as aware of the potential for PCs and other gadgets to gather intelligence as well as leak data. We spoke to Andre Ross, Director of Australian digital forensics and information security company Elvidence to find out how businesses may be at risk and what they can do to combat it.
Samsung Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge pre-orders kick off March 27
Samsung today announced that its Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge flagships will go up for pre-order in US on March 27. The two smartphones will be offered through all major carriers in the country, and will be officially available on April 10.
Both smartphones will be available in US with 32 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB of internal storage, in Black Sapphire, Gold Platinum and White Pearl. So far, AT&T and T-Mobile are the only major carriers to have have revealed pricing information for Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge.
HTC One M9 goes on sale March 27
HTC today announced that its latest flagship, One M9, will be available in the US starting March 27. The smartphone will first go on sale online (as early as midnight), only hitting brick and mortar stores next month, on April 10.
One M9 faces stiff competition from Samsung's Galaxy S6. Coincidentally or not, that goes up for pre-order in the US starting tomorrow, and will be available in the country also on April 10. At the time of writing this article, AT&T and T-Mobile are the only major carriers to have revealed pricing information for One M9.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak warns of the dangers of artificial intelligence
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has warned the dangers of artificial intelligence could seep into jobs and our life, potentially creating robot leaders and CEOs capable of running a country or company more efficiently than humans.
Wozniak shares the opinion of Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk and scientist Stephen Hawking that unregulated artificial intelligence could have catastrophic consequences for humanity.
Amazon Prime Now expands yet again, this time encompassing Dallas
Just recently we saw Amazon update its Prime Now service, adding the metropolitan areas of Baltimore and Miami. The retailer isn't resting though, it wants to bring this service to as many people as it possibly can. If you aren't familiar, Prime Now offers "one hour delivery", though "same day" alone is good enough for most people.
The latest city is Dallas, Texas where Amazon recently opened two new fulfillment centers, making this option fairly simple. You'll need to live within a certain range for this to work, for pretty obvious reasons -- we don't want delivery people to be a danger on the roads. To accomplish this, customers will need to reside within certain zip codes.
Troubleshoot DLL problems with DLL Hijack Detect
Run a Windows program and it’ll often try to access functions or data in a Dynamic Link Library (a DLL file). If the program has provided a copy of the DLL then Windows will load that, otherwise it’ll search various folders on your system to find a copy.
Sounds great, in theory, but there can be problems. If you have multiple copies of a DLL scattered around your system, applications won’t always get the versions they expect. And if malware copies a DLL to a preferential point in the Windows search order – so-called “DLL hijacking” – then you could be running malicious code whenever it’s requested.
New solution makes cloud-based storage and recovery accessible to SMBs
Enterprise standard data storage and recovery can be beyond the reach of smaller businesses with the result that they end up using compromise solutions often based on consumer products.
UK-based managed services provider ITS is launching two new services -- BlackCloud and BlackVault -- to offer affordable off-site data backup and disaster-recovery-as-a-service on its private cloud platform in the company's dedicated, secure data center.
ZTE Blade L2: An affordable 5 inch quad-core Android smartphone [Review]
Smartphones have become such an important part of our lives that it makes sense to get the best make and model you can. However, not everyone can afford an iPhone 6 or Samsung Galaxy S6. Fortunately, there are plenty of great budget smartphones to choose from, and these days a budget price doesn’t have to mean a budget experience.
The Blade L2, from Chinese firm ZTE, is a great example. It’s priced at just £89.99 off contract, and for that you get a handset with a quad-core processor and a 5-inch screen.
Fitbit Surge gains cycling and multi-device support
Fitbit has announced new cycling features will be added in the next major update, alongside multi-device support. It is the first major update for the Fitbit Surge, the watch-styled fitness band launched earlier this year.
The new cycling support offers better metrics when on a bicycle, allowing the user to track distance, duration, calories burned, average speed, heart-rate (using the heart-rate monitor) and other stats -- all synced up to a companion smartphone.
GNOME 3.16 is here -- the best Linux desktop environment gets better
Linux-based operating systems are a staple in my computing life. With that said, as much as I love the kernel and associated distributions, my true love is the GNOME 3 desktop environment. While version 3 has historically been a rather polarizing desktop, its subsequent point releases have greatly improved its reputation.
Today, the desktop environment reaches version 3.16. With its new features, it is undoubtedly the best version yet.
Harmony Home Hub gets voice control with Ivee and Ubi
It seems that every day there are new ways to make us more lazy...ahh...automate our homes. Controlling devices by a smartphone or tablet has become old school. Now options exist that allow for voice commands. Harmony, which is a top choice in universal remotes, is getting in on the act with new partnerships.
Logitech, which controls the Harmony brand, is announcing deals with both Ivee and Ubi. Both allow you to speak the commands and they, hopefully, happen. As Harmony points out it's simply "OK Ubi, watch Netflix".
I paid for Starbucks with Microsoft Band and so can you -- here's how
Microsoft's Band wearable has been a life-changer for me, as it has inspired me to lose weight and eat healthier. Since I bought in on a whim, I didn't educate myself on all of its capabilities before making the plunge. This proved to be an interesting experience; it was fun and refreshing to learn about the product as I went along.
One of the most interesting and unexpected features of the Microsoft Band is the ability to pay for things at Starbucks. As a tech geek, I am often looking for free Wi-Fi and a comfortable place to use my laptop, and Starbucks is the perfect place for this. On my most recent visit, I decided to use the Band to pay for my beverage. Here's how I did it and how it went.
LibreOffice moves to the cloud to take on Office Online and Google Docs
Four years in the making, LibreOffice is working towards moving online. LibreOffice Online is due to spring from a partnership between IceWarp and Collabora with the aim of competing directly with Google Docs and Office 365. Upon launch, it will be the first cloud-based office suite to offer support for the Open Document Format (ODF) standard.
Based on HTML 5, there's not currently a launch date for LibreOffice Online but IceWarp and Collabora hope to drive competition and innovation by entering the market. The suite is already available for just about every mobile and desktop platform, so the move to the cloud was all but inevitable.
What could you buy for the price of Apple Watch?
As Apple Watch hype increases and the preorder date (April 10) approaches, a question gnaws me: Why would anyone spend so much money on the device? Our BetaNews buying poll now exceeds 1,000 responses, which is large enough sample-size to get some sense of the readership's intentions. Fourteen (2 percent) of you plan to buy the Edition model, which price ranges from $10,000 to $17,000. No disrespect, but talk about money to burn! Forty-five percent of respondents plan to purchase any Apple Watch, while another 5 percent of you are undecided.
So I wonder: What could you buy instead of Apple Watch? I intentionally single out the big spenders, settling on $13,000 as mean between $10K and $17K, being it's such a lucky number and Apple looks to make lots of luck—eh, money—from the smartwatch. Before continuing, an important reminder: Functionally, there is no difference between the cheapo timepiece ($349) and its massively-expensive sibling. The price difference is all bling.
DDoS attacks are up -- and getting more sophisticated
Yes, I know, on Tuesday we reported on a study showing that DDoS attacks were down in frequency, though increasing in severity. But another report from Corero Network Security now suggests that they've actually increased in numbers.
Measuring the number of DDoS attacks is beginning to look like asking how long a piece of string is. Anyway, Corero says that attacks are up with its customers experiencing attack 3.9 attempts per day.
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