UK and China sign cyber-attack agreement -- but will it be honored?
Chinese president Xi Jinping, and the British prime minister David Cameron, signed an agreement saying the two countries won’t hack and steal each other’s secrets.
A similar agreement was signed between China and the US, just a day before a Chinese cyber-attack against the States.
Facebook says bad app coding caused iOS battery drain, not location settings
Many iPhone users were upset to find that battery life was rather shorter than expected. Fingers of suspicion started to point to the iOS Facebook app, and now the social network has released a fix as well as revealing that poor coding was to blame.
The latest version of the Facebook app goes some way to putting things right, but it is unlikely to be a complete fix. Facebook says it "found a few key issues and have identified additional improvements" in the app, but only "some of which" made it into the latest update. Something the company is keen to stress is that the Location History feature is not responsible, and provides details about two other factors contributing to battery drain.
5 great reasons why you should buy Microsoft Surface Book
If you are the sort of person who can't see the forest for the trees then Microsoft's new Surface Book is not for you. This much is clear after reading Brian Fagioli's article on why you shouldn't get the device. My colleague pays so much attention to certain details that he fails to see how Surface Book can be a great option for plenty of shoppers in the premium segment -- because those are the folks Microsoft is targeting, not the average Joe who takes issue with the $1,499 starting price.
Yes, Surface Book is a costly affair. But, it is also a unique proposition in today's market, which offers plenty of value for the money, something that cannot be said about most of its apparent rivals. So, without further ado, if you can afford Surface Book, here are five great reasons why you should get it.
How spam and botnets have become big business [Q&A]
Botnets are not a new problem, but they remain a key part of the cyber criminal's armoury. The Messaging, Malware and Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group (M3AAWG), a global industry forum dedicated to promoting best practices in cyber security, has issued its first report looking at the level of botnet infection. Based on information provided by ISPs covering over 43 million subscribers in the US and Europe it concludes that around one percent of consumers are infected by a bot. The good news is that notification rates are high with between 94 and 99.82 percent of those infected being notified of the problem by their ISP.
Even on those numbers botnets are a major problem. We spoke to Ken Simpson CEO of outbound traffic security company MailChannels and co-chair of M3AAWG's Botnet Subcommittee to find out about how botnets and spam have become big business.
Lumia sales are in the toilet, Surface revenue is down
Microsoft has just released its Q1 FY2016 (Q3 CY2015) earnings report, posting revenue of $20.4 billion, operating income of $5.8 billion, net income of $4.6 billion and earnings per share of $0.57 (all GAAP figures). The software giant's numbers beat analysts' expectations, which has added around 10 percent to its stock price in after-hours trading. Here are the highlights of the software giant's quarter.
Microsoft has divided its earnings in three categories, namely Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing. The good news comes from Intelligent Cloud, where revenue is up by eight percent, while the bad news is in More Personal Computing, where the poor performance of Lumia and Surface devices lead to a 17 percent decrease in revenue, year-over-year.
How to fix Windows 10's worst problems -- Part 2
Let’s be honest here, Windows 10 was released a little prematurely. There are inconsistencies throughout, Microsoft Edge is an unfinished mess, and then there are the bugs…
Microsoft has been issuing updates on a fairly regular basis to try and fix various problems with the operating system, but we know from the enduring popularity of troubleshooting articles we’ve published previously, that there are plenty of Windows 10 users who are still having problems with the new OS. With that in mind, here are some more solutions to common problems.
Best Windows apps this week
One-hundred and fifty-one in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps and games released for Windows 8.x/10 in the past seven days.
Microsoft will launch the first major update for its Windows 10 operating system in the beginning of November to all users featuring improvements, fixes and new features alike.
Technology and you: Staying protected while always connected
We live in a connected world. We wake up and the first thing we do is check our social media feeds and the weather. If we take the bus to work, we can pull out our tablets to read the news, or pick up where we left off with our favorite Netflix show. If we drive to work, we have Bluetooth enabled so that we can listen to a podcast or two during the commute. The first thing we do when we get into our office is boot up our laptop and check emails. Gone are the days where smartphones, tablets and laptops act independently of each other.
Today’s devices talk to and interact with one another, all with the intention of delivering a personalized experience. Our online self is an extension of our physical self. However, with more devices, comes more risk. According to a Consumer Reports survey, 34 percent of all smartphone owners do nothing to protect their device. Since we are constantly connected, it is important that all of us become educated on cybersecurity and have a strong understanding of how to keep our devices and data safe.
TalkTalk breach puts details of four million customers at risk
UK telecoms provider TalkTalk says it's been hit by a "significant and sustained" cyber attack which could have exposed the personal information of its four million customers.
In an official statement the company says that data including names, addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers and payment details may have been accessed.
HP to 'sunset' Helion Public Cloud in 2016
HP is going to shut down its cloud business, and this time it means it. Seriously. The company’s executive, Bill Hilf, wrote a post on the HP blog, where he announced that the Helion service will be put out of its misery next year.
"We will sunset our HP Helion Public Cloud offering on January 31, 2016", he writes. Instead, the company will focus on turning its hardware gear into the building blocks for private enterprise clouds.
Giveaway: Get 6 months of ransomware protection for free with Bitdefender Internet Security 2016
Bitdefender Internet Security 2016 was only released recently but it’s already received multiple awards, such as Product of the Year (AV-Comparatives), Editor’s Choice (PC Magazine), and Best Protection for four years straight (AV-Test).
The software usually retails for $51.97, but why pay when you can get it for free?
Google just made Chrome for iOS much better -- Split View and Autofill are here
As soon as I come home every day, the first thing I do is grab my iPad. My iPhone gets connected to the charger and then it is tablet time. While I use a lot of apps, the one I use most is Safari. Yes, on the device with the best apps, I spend a lot of time surfing the web.
While I am totally satisfied with Safari, I am open to trying an alternative. On both Ubuntu and Windows 10 I use Chrome, so maybe I should use Google's browser on my iPad too. Well, today, the search giant makes its browser much more attractive to iOS users. The iPad version now offers Split View for compatible devices, while all iOS devices gain Autofill.
Best Buy shares hottest tech gifts for the 2015 holiday season -- Apple takes top spot
The fourth quarter of each year is my favorite. Why? Well, besides wearing hoodies and drinking pumpkin spice lattes, I love the holidays. Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are three of the best. Christmas is great for the religious aspect, but regardless of your beliefs, it can be great for spending time with family and exchanging gifts.
As a tech guy, I love getting new gadget gifts (this year I want an Apple Watch), but I have more fun giving them. Presenting a family member with their first computer or tablet just warms my heart. If you are not sure what tech to buy for your friends and family this year, don't panic. Best Buy, the popular electronics retailer, has conducted a survey and determined the hottest tech for the 2015 holidays. If you stick to this list, you cannot go wrong. Do you agree?
Ubuntu 15.10 is howling at the moon -- 'Wily Werewolf' is finally here
Halloween is growing nearer every day. Soon, the streets will be full of children dressed like Frankenstein, Dracula and the Werewolf. More importantly, there will be much candy to eat.
Ubuntu users do not have to wait until October 31st for frightful fun, however, as today the Wily Werewolf starts howling at the moon. Yes, Ubuntu 15.10 is finally here, ready to transform your computer into a powerful monster!
Facebook takes on Google by making searching social and personal
Facebook is much more than just a social network; for many people it is the internet. For others, it is a source of news, and this is something that Facebook is quite happy to play upon. But what a lot of people are now looking for is not just news, but the reaction to news.
This is something that Facebook is well-positioned to provide a conduit for, and now the social network is looking to take on Google by giving more accurate and personal search results -- including tailoring search results according to what is currently happening in the world.
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