Generate soothing forest sounds on your desktop with Aura
Aura is an ambient sound generator for Windows which combines soothing forest sounds to create a comfortable, relaxed working atmosphere.
Launch the program and it immediately starts playing its samples in a random pattern: a babbling brook, the wind in the trees, woodpeckers, cuckoos, rooks, crows and more.
Security pros believe an encryption backdoor is open to abuse
The Government wants backdoor access to our devices so that it can protect us from terrorists and defend matters of national security. Even if its intentions are good, there are people out there that would abuse such a feature, security professionals attending the RSA conference agree.
Endpoint protection and response, security and compliance solutions company Tripwire surveyed 198 security professionals at the RSA Conference 2016 in San Francisco. Out of those surveyed, 81 percent said it was certain (or at least very likely) that cyber-criminals would abuse the government’s access to encrypted data via a backdoor.
New platform improves security, governance and performance for big data
Organizations are keen to exploit the power of big data and containerized applications using Docker allow them to do this in a reliable way.
Converged data platform specialist MapR Technologies is launching its latest version which provides a comprehensive data services layer for Docker, offering enhancements to security, data governance and performance.
How Anonymous helps the homeless survive winter
Hacker collective Anonymous mostly gets press for its big campaigns, including fighting Islamic State, and tackling pedophiles and Scientologists, but it also has smaller campaigns that just exist for the greater good.
#OpSafeWinter was launched back in 2013 to help care for the invisible community, providing the homeless with clothing, blankets, food and clean water. Although a global campaign, it is most active in the UK, with teams in all of the major cities.
Hillary Clinton says ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ about Apple-FBI encryption battle
It seems that just about everyone has something to say about the on-going battle over encryption that is raging between Apple and the FBI. While tech firms have rallied behind Apple's decision not to help the FBI bypass the lockscreen of the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone, Donald Trump has taken the opposing view and called for a boycott of Apple products.
Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton is taking a more pragmatic approach. Describing the situation as "the worst dilemma ever", the former First Lady refused to side with either Apple or the FBI, saying "I am not expert in any way to tell you how to do it".
Sharing passwords is a bad idea, yet people still do it
A lot of people like sharing their passwords with others, even though such actions put their data at risk -- and they know it. Those are the results of a new survey commissioned by password management firm LastPass, and conducted by RedShift Research.
According to the survey, more than half (55 percent) of UK’s consumers share passwords with others, jeopardizing their financial information in the process. They know that’s risky -- three quarters (75 percent) have confirmed it -- but still, 96 percent have admitted sharing up to six passwords with others.
Microsoft delays Windows 10 'Redstone 2', now expected spring 2017
Microsoft is currently working on the next version of Windows 10, codenamed Redstone, and we’ve been seeing the results of this labor in the form of new Insider Preview builds arriving on the Fast ring at a rate of around one a week now.
The updated OS will include new features, tweaks and general improvements and should, finally, introduce extension support to the Edge browser. It will also bring the different Windows 10 devices -- PC, Xbox, Mobile -- closer together.
Google kills Project Fi invites and discounts Nexus 5X -- service now open to anyone in USA
Many consumers have a love/hate relationship with their cell providers. On the one hand, these companies provide us with our much-needed data -- allowing us to access the Internet from almost anywhere. On the other hand, where the hate comes in, is high prices and data caps. By limiting data, these companies are arguably impeding technological progress -- users shouldn't have to be mindful of data usage.
It is for this reason that Project Fi has been a godsend for some. Google's cellular service -- piggybacked off of Wi-Fi, T-Mobile, and Sprint -- offers affordable tiered data plans. The big catch, unfortunately, was the invite system. You see, you had to have a special invite to sign up, meaning many of those that wanted to, simply couldn't. Today, this changes as Google kills Project Fi invites, making it available to anyone in the United States. I am very happy to say 'RIP' to the invite system!
Microsoft brings SQL Server to Linux
The new Microsoft has placed an increased importance on the cloud, and with other companies following suit, reliance on server solutions has increased. Today the company announces that it is bringing SQL Server to Linux.
Both cloud and on-premises versions will be available, and the news has been welcomed by the likes of Red Hat and Canonical. Although the Linux port of SQL Server is not due to make an appearance until the middle of next year, a private preview version is being made available to testers from today.
House of Commons embraces electronic voting via Surface Pro to improve speed and transparency
Starting today, every vote that takes place in the House of Commons will be recorded on tablets -- specifically Microsoft Surface Pros. This is an expansion of the program used by UK MPs voting in divisions under the "English votes for English laws" procedure and means that the electronic system will be used in all situations.
It does not mean that each politician is equipped with his or her own tablet, but votes will be recorded by an appointed clerk. As well as improving accuracy internally, electronic voting means that data about votes can be made publicly available more quickly in the name of transparency.
How you use your device might serve as a password
Behavioral biometrics, user authentication and malware detection company BioCatch has announced that it has been granted a patent for a new authentication technology through which devices would actually recognize their users by the way they use them.
The patent has been granted by the US Patent Office. It is called Device, system, and method for detecting user identity based on motor control loop model.
New WordPress plugin lets anyone create Facebook Instant Articles
Facebook's biggest news recently has been the global roll out of Reactions. But bubbling away in the background over recent weeks have been changes to the Instant Article program. Initially made available only to larger publishers, Facebook Instant Articles help to improve user-engagement by providing articles that load internally up to ten times faster than linking to external sites.
Facebook then announced that Instant Articles would be made available to publishers of all sizes, and today a WordPress plugin has been launched that means any blogger can take advantage of the feature. The partnership between Facebook and Automattic opens up Instant Articles to millions of users.
Microsoft acting like Donald Trump by attacking Apple MacBook Pro in new Surface Book videos
This may blow some peoples' minds, but both OS X and Windows 10 are great operating systems. True, Microsoft's latest offering has some major annoyances such as privacy concerns, but overall, it is solid. One major way the two OS experiences differ is with touch screens. Microsoft has embraced touch and drawing with its operating system, while Apple has not. In fact, the fruit-logo company has failed to manufacturer a touch-enabled laptop (some would argue wisely).
If you do not need a touch experience, or stylus, not having those things won't really matter. If you do need those things, however, a Windows 10 computer such as the Surface Book could be the smarter choice. To highlight this, Microsoft is straight-up attacking Apple's MacBook Pro in a series of new videos. Quite frankly, Microsoft seems a bit like a bully -- sort of like Donald Trump -- by attacking Apple in this way. Is the Surface Book truly better than Apple's offering as the videos suggest?
Seagate succumbs to phishing scam: customers should be safe, employees not so much
Companies seem to get compromised on a regular basis and, for the most part, it's security holes in their systems. But user error can also be blamed in some cases -- an errant click on an email attachment can unleash all matter of headaches for an IT department.
Such seems to be the case now with Seagate as reports are emerging of a loss of employee data that came via a phishing scam.
The best customer support is on social media
Email is falling behind social media channels when it comes to customer support, a new survey by Eptica suggests. The multichannel customer interaction management software provider trialled 100 "leading" UK companies, mimicking the behavior of ordinary customers by asking 10 routine questions.
It wanted to see how long it took the companies, and which channels they mostly used, to answer their customers to any questions they might be asking.
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