Malicious spam levels hit two year high
A new report from Kaspersky Lab reveals that its products blocked 73,066,751 attempts to attack users with malicious attachments during the third quarter of this year.
This represents the largest amount of malicious spam since the beginning of 2014 and is a 37 percent increase compared to the previous quarter. The majority of the blocked attachments were ransomware trojan downloaders.
Microsoft patches Windows flaw reported by Google
Microsoft has kept its promise and delivered a vulnerability patch for its Windows operating system, for a flaw, revealed by Google, which allowed attackers to gain full control of a targeted system.
Releasing the details in a security bulletin, Microsoft says the flaw in the Windows kernel "could allow elevation of privilege if an attack logs onto an affected system and runs a specially crafted application that could exploit the vulnerabilities".
How social media bubbles are driving political anger
How could Donald Trump be elected president? Judging by Facebook and Twitter a lot of people are asking that question this week. The same thing happened in the UK back in June when many people struggled to understand how the country could have voted for Brexit.
When everyone you're friends with online reinforces your world view it's easy to convince yourself that most of the world thinks as you do. It comes as a bit of an awakening therefore to discover it isn't the case and that -- shock! -- there may be people who vote that aren't even on social media at all.
Bitcoin price surges after Trump's victory
The world is still reeling from the outcome of the US elections, where Donald Trump came out on top against Hillary Clinton to become the 45th President of America.
Financial markets around the world have been affected by the shocking and unexpected news and the notoriously unpredictable digital currency Bitcoin is no exception, with prices close to hitting a 35-month high against the pound amidst investor uncertainty.
Google fails to patch Chrome browser bug -- Microsoft Windows users at risk of scams
Many people use Google Chrome, and rightfully so. The cross-platform web browser works brilliantly, and is super-fast. Plus, the search-giant's browser is very secure too, right? Not so fast...
Today, Sophos drops a bombshell by revealing that scammers are actively targeting Chrome users by leveraging a bug. These bad guys pose as Microsoft tech support and display an in-browser message that says the user's computer is infected with "Virus Trojan.worm! 055BCCAC9FEC". To make matters worse, Google has apparently known about the exploit for more than two years and simply failed to patch it.
Google's new Safe Browsing site is home to malicious site reporting, transparency reports, and policies
Google today launches a revamped version of its Safe Browsing site, bringing a number of tools and services under one roof. The tag line for the site is "Making the world's information safely accessible," and Google makes much of fact that it now keeps more than two billion devices safe online -- desktop and Android, as well as devices running Google tools such as Chrome and Gmail.
One of the main purposes of the site is to make it easier for people to report malicious sites they encounter, so other internet users can be warned and protected. But the updated site is also home to additional information from Google, such as its Transparency Reports and company policies.
Facebook Messenger is now able to pump ads into your eyeballs
Facebook, like Google, is all about the ads. Not content with filling newsfeeds with advertising, Facebook Messenger -- already something of a privacy nightmare -- is about to become home to 'sponsored messages'. Ads by another name.
The new ad formats follow on from newsfeed data designed to direct Facebook users to Messenger, and from there the idea is to drive brand awareness and increase sales. But as with other advertising on Facebook, ads are targeted, meaning there is more than a slight degree of concern when it comes to privacy.
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14965 for PC and Mobile arrives on the Fast ring
We’ve already started to see the beginnings of the next big version of Windows 10 appearing in new builds for Windows Insiders. Termed the Creators Update it has a heavy focus on 3D, but there’s more to it than just that.
The previous new Insider Build, released last week, didn’t have much in terms of new features on show, but the latest offering, Build 14965, is thankfully much more exciting.
What you need to know about enterprise connectivity
Connectivity is vital for all businesses. Whether you need to communicate with customers, clients or employees, or simply rely on it to deliver your service, the importance of connectivity cannot be overstated.
What’s more, this importance is clearly growing. In the always-on, cloud-based, mobile-first digital world that we inhabit, enterprise connectivity is not merely desirable -- it is expected at all times.
Google is closing down Map Maker
Google has announced that Map Maker -- the tool which can be used to make and suggest changes to Google Maps -- is to close down.
The closure is scheduled for March 2017, and Google says that the editing features will be gradually integrated into Google Maps itself as part of a streamlining process. It's not clear just how long it will take for all of the editing features to roll out to Google Maps, but some features will be missing for a while, if not permanently.
A closer look at the OpenStack platform
Providing an open source platform for cloud computing, OpenStack allows the use of multi-vendor commodity hardware in a data center to process and store data, and deliver networking resources. It’s managed through a dashboard or an API and is used by many major companies around the world to manage their IT infrastructure.
OpenStack grew out of a joint project between NASA and Rackspace Hosting and launched in 2010. It’s currently managed by the not-for-profit OpenStack Foundation created in 2012. More than 500 companies are now members of the OpenStack project. OpenStack has a six-month release cycle with each release planned at a design summit. The software is modular with components focusing on different services.
Google unveils 'Code-in 2016' open source mentor organizations
Open source software and ideology is critical to the future of technology. As more and more people demand transparency in the programs and applications they use, companies will have to take notice.
To keep the open source movement going, it must be handed down to incoming developers. In other words, the children are our future, and education is key. Google's "Code-In" contest is a great program that invites teen students to directly contribute to quality open source projects. Now, the search giant finally announces the projects that will be participating as "mentors".
SMBs find cash increasingly expensive to manage
Businesses are moving faster towards a cashless society because it's cheaper than handling "real" money. This is according to a new report by Sage, integrated accounting, payroll and payment software provider. The company’s latest report says small and medium-sized businesses are losing £9.4bn each year through cash payments.
A quarter (24 percent) say that staff members stole some cash, a third (34 percent) believe human error had them losing money, and more than half (56 percent) claim they spend at least an hour every week counting and sending money to the bank.
Car hacking: Imminent threat or farfetched fear?
According to a recent report from cyber-security experts at RSA, in today’s increasingly computerized world, cyber-crime issues "comprise a threat horizon that continues to accelerate and expand with no end in sight".
Since much the same can be said about the growth of computing power in today’s vehicles -- which rely on technology for everything from 3D navigation graphics to semi-autonomous driving capabilities -- the risks for having your car or truck hacked would seem to be on the rise as well. But should current drivers be worried about the issue right now, or is it time to pump the brakes on the car-hacking panic?
IBM launches experimental platform to embed Watson into any device
IBM's Watson project has been a leader in cognitive computing, enabling machines to understand the world in a similar way to humans.
Today the company is unveiling the experimental release of Project Intu, a new, system-agnostic platform designed to allow developers to embed Watson functions into various end-user device form factors, offering a next generation architecture for building cognitive-enabled experiences.
Most Commented Stories
Windows 12.1 is everything Windows 11 should be -- and the Microsoft operating system we need!
Apple Intelligence will launch in beta and that’s unacceptable for a trillion-dollar company
© 1998-2024 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.