Win a free Xbox One and custom controller from Microsoft in the comfort of your PJs
The Xbox One is a marvelous game console and media player. In my living room, it has replaced both my Roku and Blu-ray player, lessening the number of unsightly wires. Best of all, of course, are the high-quality games, providing many hours of entertainment.
Understandably, not everyone can afford such a costly piece of tech. If this game console is not in your budget, I have some good news; Microsoft is giving one away at Pax East 2016. As an added bonus, the company is including a custom controller. Don't worry, if you aren't going to Pax, you can participate from home in your pajamas -- aka PJs -- too.
China wants Apple's source code, but Apple refuses to hand over the goods
Apple has revealed that Chinese authorities have asked for access to the company's source code in the last couple of years. The revelation was made by Apple general counsel Bruce Sewell as he tried to deflect accusations that have sprung up in the wake of the San Bernardino iPhone case.
The battle between Apple and the FBI rumbled on for a while as authorities asked the iPhone manufacturer to crack encryption or provide a backdoor into the phone at the center of the case. Apple refused to help the FBI, leading to accusations that the company was failing to help US authorities whilst assisting those abroad. Apple categorically denies handing over information to the Chinese authorities.
Google's second annual Android security report shows how app and device scanning keep you safe
As Apple releases its transparency report, Google today releases its second Android Security Annual report. The report covers all things Android, from the security of the operating system itself, to the security of Google Play and the apps it provides access to. Of course, Google is keen to highlight everything it does to improve security for its users.
As such, the report shows how the company performs more than 400 million automatic security scans per day on devices with Google Mobile Services. Aided by machine learning, these scans help to home in on what are referred to as Potentially Harmful Applications (PHAs). Google points out that just 0.5 percent of scanned devices feature PHAs, and this dropped to 0.15 percent for devices that only installed apps from Google Play.
ISPs offer inadequate DDoS protection
A new report from Corero Network Security, which provides security solutions against distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, shows that 85 percent of enterprise end users want their Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to offer better protection against DDoS attacks.
To compile its research, the security company polled more than 100 ISPs and 75 enterprise customers in regards to their DDoS mitigation strategies. Corero found that a high number of ISPs still rely on outdated technologies to protect their customers from these attacks.
Apple transparency report sheds some light on government data requests
Reinvigorated interest in privacy, security and surveillance means that the transparency reports published by tech companies are always greeted with some enthusiasm. How much data are governments around the world asking for from companies? How much user data are companies handing over to the authorities?
Apple's latest transparency report reveals that the iPhone manufacturer has complied with an increased number of requests for data -- including 80 percent of requests in North America, and 97 percent in Latin America. But while the report makes for interesting reading, it also highlights a problem that Microsoft recently sued the Department of Justice over: even if companies want to be transparent about data requests, when it comes to National Security Requests it is not even possible to report the precise number of requests that have been received.
PC Internet usage is dropping
ComScore, an online measurement specialist, has released new data that shows that less users are using desktop devices to access the Internet and are instead browsing on their smartphones and tablets.
The company has noticed a steep decline in the overall time people have spent online in the US using both desktop PCs and laptops.
77 percent of companies don't have the capability to respond to cyber attacks
Only 23 percent of organizations are capable of responding effectively to a cyber incident. This leaves the remaining 77 percent often having to purchase support services after an incident has occurred.
This is among the findings of the latest Global Threat Intelligence Report from security company Solutionary. The report is made up of information from 24 security operations centers, seven R&D centers, 3.5 trillion logs, 6.2 billion attacks and nearly 8,000 security clients across six continents.
Internet of Things will extend to running shoes
Your next running shoes will probably be connected to the internet, IoT-style.
Footwear branding, labeling and RFID solutions firm Avery Dennison Retail Branding and Information Solutions (RBIS) and IoT firm EVRYTHNG announced today they’re teaming up to give more than 10 billion apparel and footwear products a "unique digital identity".
Apple's MacBook now offers better performance, longer battery life
Apple has announced the first MacBook refresh, a year after the introduction of its thinnest and lightest laptop. The device gets the latest Intel processors, better graphics performance, faster SSD storage and longer battery life. Also new is a rose gold finish, on top of the existing gold, silver and space gray.
The 2016 refresh for the 12-inch MacBook brings sixth-generation dual-core Intel Core M processors with speeds of up to 1.3 GHz and Turbo Boost of up to 3.1 GHz, 1866 MHz RAM and HD Graphics 515, which is said to be 25 percent faster than in the original model.
US hosts more malicious websites than any other country
According to a new report from German security company G DATA, more malicious websites were hosted in the US in 2015 than in any other country, originating around 57 percent of recorded attacks.
China, Hong Kong, Russia and Canada are also major hosts of malware, though Europe is little in evidence, only Germany and Italy making the top seven and accounting for just six percent between them.
Viber introduces end to end encryption
The major messaging services are now placing a greater emphasis on their users' privacy and security, following the heated encryption debate started by Apple and the FBI. Viber has just announced end-to-end encryption support, making it the second leading player this month to introduce this feature after WhatsApp.
Viber has over 700 million users across the globe, but its end to end encryption feature will not be available everywhere right away. The company is focusing on Belarus, Brazil, Israel and Thailand first, with other markets to get the same treatment in the weeks that follow.
Telegram giving bot developers $1 million
If you need a great cross-platform chat solution, Telegram is one of the best. Not only does it work on Windows, iOS, and Android, but Linux-based desktop operating systems too, such as Ubuntu. Not to mention it offers encryption, but not for all messages by default, sadly.
Besides being available on many platforms, the company is constantly adding features, always making it better. In fact, Telegram is now putting up a million dollars for developers, in an effort to bolster its bot offerings. After all, bots are all the rage nowadays.
Hain is a search tool, launcher and desktop assistant for x64 Windows
Hain is an open-source keyboard-oriented launcher, desktop search and productivity tool for 64-bit Windows.
The program is convenient to use. Unzip the download, run Hain.exe, it adds an icon to your system tray and pressing Alt+Space (customizable) launches the interface when required.
How the cyber crime business model is changing
Cyber crime is an increasingly serious business and a new report released today by Trustwave looks at the top trends from the past year based on real-world data from data breach investigations.
Key findings from the report include that 97 percent of applications tested by Trustwave in 2015 had at least one vulnerability. In addition 10 percent of the vulnerabilities discovered were rated as critical or high risk.
Google facing antitrust charges in Europe over Android
Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission’s antitrust commissioner, is continuing to put pressure on Google in regard to its Android operating system.
Vestager gave a speech at a conference in the Netherlands today in which she stressed how her department has now begun a close examination of the contracts Google has with mobile device manufacturers and mobile carriers. The European Commission is objecting to the requirements the company puts on its mobile partners to pre-load Google apps on devices.
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