Weakening encryption severely affects our privacy
When Apple recently refused to comply with a federal court order issued by the FBI to help it break into an iPhone 5c, belonging to one of the shooters in the San Bernardino incident, a US House Judiciary Committee hearing was held.
If a ruling is made in favor of the FBI, Apple will have to weaken the encryption of its iPhone operating system, allowing the FBI to gain access to data on any iPhone. Apple’s chief executive, Tim Cook described this as the "software equivalent of cancer".
Surface Hub isn't vaporware! Microsoft starts shipping it to business customers
When a product is announced, but then never released, it is often referred to as vaporware. This can be both hardware and software. While some of this perceived vaporware fades into the annals of tech history, sometimes it becomes an actual product, thus shaking its "vaporware" moniker.
Microsoft's Surface Hub was beginning to enter into the vaporware category, and for a while, I feared it would never see release. After delays and price-hikes, Microsoft's product is finally shipping to business clients. This is particularly great news, as it is one of the company's most exciting products in years.
Instagram is taking advantage of Twitter's weakness
A new report on the global state of social media confirms what everyone’s been talking about lately -- Twitter is struggling and Instagram is taking full advantage of it.
The report, entitled simply "Social", is the product of GlobalWebIndex, and it is a compilation of the latest trends in social networking.
Microsoft releases boring Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14295 for PC and Mobile
If you are going to use Windows, you might as well use Windows 10 -- why not? If you use Windows 10, and you are fairly tech-savvy, enrolling in Microsoft's Insider program can be quite rewarding. It allows you to get early access to beta builds for the newest version of the operating system.
While being an unpaid beta tester for a billion dollar company is not an attractive prospect for everyone, many people find value in trying new features before the general public. Today -- the same day Canonical releases a new beta of Ubuntu -- Microsoft announces Build 14295 for PC and Mobile. Unfortunately, it is quite the boring release, mostly featuring bug fixes. Yawn.
Microsoft says sorry for AI bot Tay's 'offensive and hurtful tweets'
Microsoft's first tentative steps into the world of artificial intelligence outside of China did not go well. Less than 24 hours after being unleashed on Twitter, the AI chatbot Tay was pulled offline after people quickly learned that it was possible to train the bot to post racist, sexist, and otherwise offensive material. Great fun was had by all!
All except Microsoft, that is. The company was not only forced to pull the plug on Tay, but today was compelled to issue an apology for "unintended offensive" caused. Twitter users treated Tay as some people would treat an infant -- taking great pleasure in teaching it swearwords and other inappropriate things to say. Maybe it was when Tay was talked into becoming a Trump supporter, but Microsoft is now seeking to distance itself from tweets sent out by the bot that "conflict with our principles and values".
Microsoft expands transparency report to include details of revenge porn removal requests
Today on its Transparency Hub, Microsoft published the latest of its transparency reports. This time around the report has been expanded to include details of revenge porn removal requests, in addition to the usual information about FISA orders, and other content removal requests from law enforcement agencies.
In keeping with previous reports, this one shows that the United States, United Kingdom, Turkey, France and Germany are collectively responsible for the vast majority (76.8 percent) of content removal requests. While Microsoft is still not able to report exact figures when it comes to FISA requests and National Security Letters, the USA Freedom Act means that the numbers can be revealed "in narrower ranges of bands of 500 versus 1,000".
Canonical releases Ubuntu Linux 16.04 LTS 'Xenial Xerus' Final Beta
If you are a Linux desktop user, there is a good chance you have used Ubuntu at some point in your life. The distribution is one of the best, offering stability, many available packages, and an overall great user experience. Unfortunately, the last few releases have been rather ho-hum -- boring and evolutionary. Don't get me wrong, Canonical shouldn't fix what isn't broken (as Microsoft often does with Windows), but some users expect a bit more from operating system upgrades.
The upcoming 16.04 release looks to remedy this, finally delivering a meaty upgrade to Ubuntu fans. Two major changes are a much improved Unity with the ability to move the dock (woo-hoo!), and a refreshed software store. Today, Canonical releases the final beta, signaling that the true non-beta final version, due April 21, is right around the corner.
Google's gift to photographers -- Nik Collection now available for free
Google is making its collection of image-editing plugins -- the Nik Collection -- available free of charge. Previously sold for $149, the Nik Collection came into Google's hands when it acquired Nik Software three years ago. If you recently shelled out on the plugins, you needn't feel like you're getting a bad deal; Google says that anyone who purchased the collection this year is eligible for a full refund.
Comprising seven plugins -- Analog Efex Pro, Color Efex Pro, Silver Efex Pro, Viveza, HDR Efex Pro, Sharpener Pro and Dfine -- Google says that the Nik Collection brings "powerful photo editing tools once only used by professionals to even more people".
Netflix admits throttling Verizon and AT&T customers
Despite accusation to the contrary, AT&T and Verizon have not been throttling the connections of Netflix customers -- but Netflix has. The streaming video service has admitted that it has limited the video quality that can be accessed by AT&T and Verizon customers for over five years.
In an astonishing revelation to the Wall Street Journal, Netflix -- a long-standing and vocal supporter of net neutrality -- fessed up to limiting mobile streams for some users to just 600 kbps. The reason provided for this is that the throttling prevents users from exceeding their monthly data limits... but the same throttling is not applied to Sprint and T-Mobile.
Software vulnerabilities are up -- but it's not Microsoft's fault
The number of software vulnerabilities has increased over the last year, but the majority of them are in non-Microsoft products.
This is a key finding of the latest Vulnerability Review from Flexera Software, which in 2015 recorded 6,081 vulnerabilities in 2,484 products from 263 vendors. This compares to 2014's figures of 15,698 vulnerabilities in 3,907 products from 514 vendors.
PETYA ransomware targets enterprise users via the cloud and overwrites MBRs
Crypto-ransomware is the malware du jour, and the likes of TelsaCrypt 4 and KeRanger are just some of the names to hit the headlines recently. One of the latest examples of ransomware, PETYA, is taking a slightly different and more worrying approach -- it not only targets enterprise users, but also encrypts entire hard drives rather than just a selection of files.
PETYA -- also known as RANSOM_PETYA.A -- goes to some lengths to make sure that victims know that their computers are infected, overwriting the MBR (Master Boot Record) to display a ransom note during the boot process. The malware uses a "military grade encryption algorithm" to lock users out of their files, and victims are directed to venture onto the dark web using the Tor browser to make a Bitcoin ransom payment.
UK start up seeks to make online software research easier
According to Google's Consumer Barometer Report 53 percent of people compare products, prices and features online before buying.
This is even more true of B2B buyers, with 89 percent saying they use the web as part of their research process.
China praises hacker who tried to steal US military secrets
Tensions could be set to mount between the US and China after the Communist government's Global Times newspaper praised Su Bin, the Chinese "government soldier" who pled guilty to trying to steal military secrets from US defense contractors.
Despite the Chinese government having previously said that it does not support cybercrime or online espionage, the state newspaper used an editorial to say "Su Bin deserves respect whether guilty or innocent". The hack was designed to gather data about, amongst other things, the F-22 and F-35 fighter jets and C-17 military transport aircraft.
Best Windows apps this week
One-hundred and seventy-three in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps and games released for Windows 8.x and Windows 10 in the past seven days.
The Spring Sale is currently underway offering discounts on dozens of popular Windows 10 games, as well as movies and TV shows. You find links to it when you open the Windows Store games and movies & TV categories.
Best practices for securing your website
The web seems like a dangerous place lately, doesn’t it? We’re constantly hearing about some new piece of malware, or a website that was hacked and defaced, or a new vulnerability in what was once thought to be a secure protocol. I wouldn’t blame you for being paranoid -- after all, to hear the media tell it, your site’s under attack by criminals and ne’erdowells from all sides.
Here’s the thing -- if you’ve taken all the necessary steps to keep your site safe, you actually don’t have a whole lot to worry about. And that’s where we come in. Today, we’re going to talk about some best practices for securing your site, and protecting it against everything from infected clients to ignorant users. Let’s get started.
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