Majority of IT pros support Apple in legal fight with FBI
Encryption is a must-have in today’s digital communications, IT pros agree, adding that what the government is (trying to) achieve with surveillance could mean the death of privacy altogether.
Those are the results of a new survey conducted by security firm AlienVault. It surveyed the attitudes of more than 1,500 IT (including security) professionals about today’s privacy, and came up with interesting results -- 34 percent believe the government should be able to eavesdrop on communications for the purposes of national security.
Nest beefs up its Android Wear app with new features
We've talked plenty about Nest around here. The company makes a smart thermostat and other devices that hope to improve your home and your life. Whether they succeed or not is individual opinion. However, a thermostat that can detect your location and adjust the temperature accordingly can certainly be a money saver.
You can control things right from the app on your smartphone, and do so from anywhere in the world. But what about your wrist? Well, Nest has an app for that and now it's gaining some new features.
Samsung Gear S2 by de GRISOGONO is a Tizen smartwatch with real diamonds and gold
Other than Apple Watch, smartwatches can't be luxurious and stylish, right? Wrong. Sure, Apple may be the leader in tech fashion, but other manufacturers are getting in on the game too. Just yesterday, I wrote about some really fancy-looking Fossil watches that are totally chic.
Today, however, what may be the most luxurious smartwatch of all time makes its debut. Samsung is partnering with watch and jewelry-maker, de GRISOGONO, for a special version of the Tizen-powered Gear S2. It is so fancy, that even Jony Ive of Apple may be jealous.
MSI Vortex mini gaming PC has up to 64GB DDR4, Intel Core i7 Skylake, dual NVIDIA GPU
When it comes to gaming PCs, I prefer to build my own. Selecting the components, piece by piece, can be very rewarding. If you are on a budget, it is often more affordable than buying a pre-built machine too.
While many hardcore PC gamers would pooh-pooh buying an already-assembled computer, sometimes a tower comes along that is so special, that all rules go out the window. Today, such a special PC begins shipping to consumers. The MSI Vortex is a tiny gaming PC in a cylinder-shaped chassis. It is sort of like Apple's Mac Pro in outward appearance, but the comparisons stop there.
Third-party encryption renders iPhone backdoor useless
Let’s assume for a minute that the FBI got its way. It coerces Apple into disabling the self-destruct function on the San Bernardino terrorist’s iPhone, allowing it to brute force the password. Effectively, the FBI and Apple create a backdoor that theoretically works the same across all iPhones. Police even uses the same tactic on the dozens of other iPhones that are currently involved in active investigations. People across the world sacrifice their privacy, while the police has a new tool to fight terrorists.
Except they don’t, really. Sure, iMessage and other iCloud services could be decrypted without a password, but what Apple critics often fail to realize is the abundance of third-party encryption tools widely available. Free, open-source alternatives exist to encrypt chats, phone calls, files, and even entire hard drives. That pesky self-destruct function the FBI is so eager to remove? Alternatives for that exist as well, and they are all easily accessible with nothing more than a Google search. By removing the default encryption built in iPhones, the FBI isn’t stopping terrorists. It’s merely inconveniencing them.
Symantec introduces website encryption service
Symantec today announced the global release of a new product which will help companies encrypt user data on their websites.
The new product is called Encryption Everywhere, and it will be offered through hosting providers. According to a press release following the announcement, there will be a couple of levels of encryption and general protection the new service will offer, but Symantec would love to see every "legitimate" website in the world have at least the basic level of encryption by 2018.
Dropbox moves away from AWS, now stores 90 percent of user data
Look at Dropbox, all grown up and moving away from home. The company has announced that it is now using, almost entirely, its own custom-built infrastructure to hold data.
Dropbox says this is an important milestone, as it moves away from Amazon Web Services it relied on before. Still, it will continue to partner with Amazon, when "it makes sense for our users", Dropbox says.
Microsoft scores rare Windows 10 Mobile win with all-new official Twitter app
While financial pundits are constantly discussing the profitability of Twitter and its stock, tech geeks such as me just enjoy using the damn thing. It is without a doubt my favorite social network -- it helps me stay on top of news and trends in a no-nonsense way.
Unfortunately for Windows 10 Mobile users (yes, they exist), a proper Twitter app was not available. Today, this changes, as an official app comes to Microsoft's struggling mobile platform. Yes, the Windows-maker is experiencing a rare win with its mobile OS. This is great news, as only yesterday the popular Here Maps defected from the platform.
Microsoft is farming your data, but it isn't what you think
If you reside in the US state of Maryland then you can find plenty to be proud of -- the Chesapeake Bay is home to great seafood, including the famous Maryland Blue Crab. Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner from a ship during a battle in Baltimore Harbor. Of course, there's the sports teams like the Ravens and Orioles.
But one thing the state tries not to neglect is its history of farming. A vast majority of the state is rural and is home to agriculture, horses and cattle. The state has instituted a Farm Preservation policy to preserve these lands for future generations and even car license plates have been dedicated to the cause.
Ads are eating your mobile data allowance
A new study has revealed that ads on smartphones account for between 18 and 79 percent of downloaded data. The astonishing statistic gives mobile users another reason to despise ads on top of the annoyance, security and privacy concerns they already bring about.
With most mobile users having to stick to a monthly allowance, the suggestion is that it's time for mobile pages to go on a diet. The research carried out by Ender Analysis also found that JavaScript accounted for between 6 and 68 percent of downloaded data.
IT teams choose between performance and security
Although security breach stories regularly make the headlines, a new survey shows that the biggest worry IT teams have with current security solutions is that they slow down the system.
The study from endpoint security specialist Barkly also reveals that while only half of respondents are confident in their current endpoint solution, 80 percent believe that effective endpoint security is possible.
Create and search file lists with File List Maker
Windows Search is great at locating files on the current PC, but what if you also want to check CDs, DVDs, USB keys, even other computers?
File List Maker is a free tool which offers probably the simplest and most lightweight solution available.
Microsoft: 'Exciting update' coming for Windows 10 Maps app
There is no doubt that HERE's decision to leave Windows 10 in its rear view mirror is a serious blow to the platform, as it leaves users with fewer options in terms of top-notch navigation apps. Microsoft is well aware of this though, promising an "exciting update" to beef up its own offering, Windows Maps.
As Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile users may be well aware of, HERE apps and Windows Maps share the same maps -- created by HERE -- but their functionality is currently different, with the former offering a more mature feature set. Question is, what will that hyped update bring new to the table?
Most IT professionals believe current privacy and consent tools are inadequate
The regulatory environment for data is in a state of change at the moment with many countries introducing legislation to control the flow of information. This combined with growth of the IoT and digital economy is posing major challenges for business.
A new survey by identity management company ForgeRock finds 96 percent of surveyed IT professionals agree that there is an increasing need for dynamic and flexible privacy tools. And that these need to be adaptable to future borderless regulatory requirements and consumer expectations.
Malvertising campaign targets Americans through major websites including BBC and New York Times
Top news websites including the BBC, the New York Times and MSN were hit over the weekend by a co-ordinated malware campaign. Delivered through the advertising networks used by the sites, the malvertising attack aimed to install ransomware on victims' computers.
On-site ads are far from loved, hence the prevalence of ad-blocking tools. But as well as being an annoyance, online ads can also pose a serious security risk -- something highlighted by this attack. The infected ads redirected people to servers hosting the Angler exploit kit and was engineered to target US-based web users.
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