Calculate file hashes instantly with fHash
It wasn’t easy to work up much enthusiasm for fHash, at least initially. It's only an MD5, SHA1, SHA256 and CRC32 hash calculator, after all -- how interesting can it be?
But then we tried it, and… Okay, fHash is "only" a file hash calculator, but nicely implemented, with a lightweight, easy-to-use interface that makes it well worth a few minutes of your time.
The FBI peddles child porn to catch predators at the cost of the kids
As a parent you worry excessively about your children. Are you raising them right? Do they understand the concepts of what is good and bad? And of course you want nothing evil to befall them. Criminals and predators are a constant worry, the latter being particularly scary. If something bad happens you wish to fix it as quickly as possible, though the trauma to the child may linger.
But what if the government ran a child porn site? There's the problem and it's one with multiple answers. There's the obvious knee-jerk reaction of entrapment, though those being captured deserve little sympathy. It's akin to the TV show To Catch a Predator which did little real good, but garnered ratings because it sensationalized the people involved.
Okay, Google, give us Drone Street View
There is no shortage of online blabbers making predictions about the future or bloggers pining pageviews with rumors about the next thing (usually from Apple). I rarely join the chorus of new year prognosticators—and won't now. Instead I make a wishful what-if aimed squarely at Google. Watching the blizzard blast the Washington, D.C. metro area, once my home and for most of my adult life, I got to thinking: Wouldn't a live feed, something like Google Drone Street View, be fantastic way to experience the storm?
Why shouldn't this be the next wave in drone deployments? If not from Google, then from newscasters? The low-flyers could go where snow would stop motorized vehicles; and, connected in real-time to Google Maps, provide contextual viewing experience. You can be there, too, even if living one-thousand kilometers distant. Newscasters could use drones to give a more immersive watching experience.
Live365 is set to call it quits very soon
Streaming services come and go, and some remain popular or even grow over time. Giving the users the ability to create and manage stations is a great idea, allowing anyone to become the radio DJ, perhaps a fantasy of many people, is an even bigger ambition.
The greatest option for this has been Live365, a service started back in 1999, in the early days of streaming. It brought the world of online radio to the masses and made it easy to create your own station.
With Windows 7 in its death throes, Microsoft reveals the Skylake systems that retain support
Windows 8.1 is old, Windows 7 is all but decrepit, and Microsoft is now all about Windows 10. The somewhat aggressive pushing of Windows 10 to consumers has been criticized, and this reached something of a head last week when Microsoft announced that nextgen CPUs will only support Windows 10.
Building on this announcement, Microsoft has published a list of more than 100 Skylake systems that will offer Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 support -- until July 17, 2017, that is. In spite of Microsoft's eagerness to push consumers and businesses to Windows 10, there are still dozens of systems from Dell, HP, Lenovo, and NEC that can be configured with the older operating systems.
Google agrees to pay £130m back tax in the UK
Following an audit of its accounts, Google has agreed to pay £130m ($185m) in back taxes in the UK. The company says that it wants to make sure that it pays the right amount of tax after it faced criticism for not paying its fair share and for having a complicated tax structure.
HMRC (Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) has been investigating Google for six years. It is one of many large companies to have been criticized for using offshore operations to funnel funds and reduce tax bills. The £130m covers ten years' of underpayment, and Google says it will continue to pay more tax in the UK.
A major snowstorm is heading up the US east coast, what should you do?
Unless you are living under a rock then you likely know that there is a major winter storm moving up the US eastern seaboard. There are the usual dire predictions of doom and gloom, though we've heard those before, only to have them not turn out quite true.
The worst case scenario is fairly bad, with blizzard warnings posted across several states and dire claims of possible power outages. So what do you plan to do if you live in the path of this possible super storm?
Privacy ombudsman could handle European complaints about US surveillance
The importance and awareness of online privacy issues have been brought into sharp focus in the 21st century. It's not entirely down to Edward Snowden, but the revelations from the former NSA contractor are a constant reference point for those concerned with privacy, security and freedom of speech.
One of the greatest problems facing anyone trying to tackle the problem of privacy on the web is dealing with the ideologies of different countries, and how this affects data sharing. A level of surveillance that is deemed acceptable in the US, for instance, may be considered completely objectionable in another. The latest suggestion to help overcome this seemingly insurmountable problem is to set up a privacy ombudsman that would be able to handle European complaints and queries about US surveillance.
AppRiver reveals the malware and spam trends in 2015
American email and web security firm AppRiver has released its end-of-the-year report, where it showcased a detailed analysis of malware and spam trends in 2015.
The report, entitled Global Security Report, says that the number of email messages containing malware doubled, year-on-year. From January to November, AppRiver quarantined 944 million messages, and in December alone, another 705 million.
PC users, get rid of Adobe Flash end of life versions
Secunia Research at Flexera Software has published a report covering the fourth quarter of 2015 for 14 countries, regarding vulnerable software, applications and PCs.
Turns out we’re not really good at keeping our computers safe, and our software up to date.
Netflix starts to block proxy and VPN access
Just last week Netflix announced plans to clamp down on VPNs and proxy tools. In what appears to be a move to please license holders the company has already started to impose new restrictions.
Some Netflix customers in Autralia who are using the uFlix VPN have noticed that their access to Netflix has been denied. Attempting to access Netflix using the tool results in an error message being displayed: "You seem to be using an unblocker or proxy. Please turn off any of these services and try again". But this is not the end of the story.
Developer: Windows Store is a disaster
One of the features that an app store must absolutely get right is search. Users have to be able to find what they are looking for and discover titles that meet their needs. At the same time, developers who spend time creating apps need to have their titles easily available to potential customers. If one, or both, of these requirements is not met, that creates a serious problem.
Windows Store is in this exact situation, according to multiple developer reports. Microsoft has been unable, or, worse, unwilling, to make the search functionality as useful as users and developers might like, at a time when Windows Store is already being penalized by its pitiful selection of top-tier and quality apps.
Virgin Media says it's not right to advertise broadband speeds that most people cannot get
The 'misleading' nature of ads for broadband services has been the subject of debate for some time. The 'up to' figures put forward in relation to speed are often so open to interpretation as to render them meaningless. Customers have had enough, and now Virgin Media is ready to fight on their behalf.
Current rules enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) permit UK ISPs to make claims about broadband speeds, even if just 10 percent of customers could receive these speeds. Virgin thinks this is unfair and is calling on the ASA to update its guidelines so customers will have an easier time comparing deals.
Humans get frozen out of frontline security
A new report from application delivery and cyber security specialist Radware suggests that the human element will increasingly be excluded from security as 2016 brings a 'battle of the bots'.
It finds that throughout 2015, no industry was immune to cyber attacks, and few were prepared for them. In 2016, attacks are predicted to become even more aggressive with the arrival of Advanced Persistent Denial of Service (APDoS) attacks and an increase in volume and scope of sophisticated bot-generated assaults against web application infrastructure.
Majority of consumers expect their data to be compromised in 2016
The series of high-profile data breaches we witnessed last year has left a mark on the way consumers perceive online business, a new research from NCC Group and IDG Research Services shows.
According to the research, entitled Trust in the Internet 2016, 63 percent of consumers expect their data to be compromised this year, and 60 percent are now worried, more than ever, about protecting their data on the Internet.
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