Smiley

How to access your iPhone's secret emoticon keyboard

Before emojis took over the world, people who wanted to add some tone or feelings to text messages or emails would use emoticons (or smileys) -- faces made up of punctuation characters.

They’re still in use today, but people prefer to send emojis, or -- if you’re an iPhone user -- you might enjoy using Apple’s new face-tracking Animoji instead. But if you want to go old school, there’s a special emoticon keyboard hidden inside iOS.

By Wayne Williams -
Sony_PS_Classic-01

Sony announces the full PlayStation Classic game list, and it is insanely impressive

When Nintendo experienced huge success with its NES Classic Edition, many people in the video game industry were caught off guard. It shouldn't have been a surprise, however, as nostalgia sells. People simply love reliving their youth. We are all guilty of fondly remembering the commercialism of our childhood, and putting certain things -- like a video game console -- on a pedestal.

Sony was wise to follow Nintendo's lead with the upcoming mini PlayStation Classic, as many consumers that had the console as children are now adults with disposable income. Unfortunately, Sony did not share the full list of pre-loaded games, only revealing a fraction of the 20 promised titles. Today this changes, as the PlayStation-maker reveals the full list. And quite frankly, the list looks incredible.

By Brian Fagioli -
BA plane

Analysis of British Airways breach uncovers sophisticated techniques

The British Airways breach earlier this year affected around 380,000 customers and resulted in the theft of data including personal and financial details.

The threat research team at Securonix has taken an in-depth look at the breach and the Magecart threat actor behind it, to uncover how it was carried out and offer tips to mitigate and prevent future attacks.

By Ian Barker -
Win10-1990s-6

Windows 10 -- 1990s edition is the retro operating system we want

Windows 10 is a great operating system, but it’s not without its problems from time to time. That said, it’s still a huge leap forward from past Microsoft offerings, like Windows 95 and 98.

If you’ve ever wondered what Windows 10 would be like if it had been released at the end of the last century, then take a look at Windows 10 -- 1990s Edition. Who needs Cortana when you can have Clippy helping you out?

By Wayne Williams -
Shocked

IBM gobbles up open source and Linux darling Red Hat in $34 billion deal

Red Hat Inc. is a great example of how a company can be successful with open source. Hell, Red hat is a billion dollar company -- yes, billion with a "B." Its contributions to the Linux community are invaluable -- RHEL, CentOS, and Fedora are important and indispensable.

That's why I'm a bit scared today. You see, International Business Machines has acquired the open source darling, Red Hat. I suppose IBM could be a great Red Hat owner from a financial standpoint, but IBM's leadership has been questionable over the years. I'm sure I am not alone is fearing that IBM could ultimately ruin Red Hat and its offerings. With that said, IBM has long been an open source proponent, so maybe it will work out well.

By Brian Fagioli -
chrome-200x175

Multiple ways to recover lost tabs in Chrome

While Firefox, Opera and even Internet Explorer and Edge have their fans, many of us stick to Chrome as our primary browser. There are good reasons for that -- features like built in translations, autofill, and syncing across computers and other devices, all work really well.

One of the browser's biggest faults, however, is losing tabs. You’ve likely experienced this annoying problem. Let’s take a look at the easiest ways to get that missing site back in your browser.

By Alan Buckingham -
X.Org logo

Linux systems vulnerable to privilege escalation and file overwrite exploit in X.Org server

An "incorrect command-line parameter validation" vulnerability in X.Org server makes it possible to escalate privileges as well as overwrite files. The problem affects Linux and BSD distributions using the open source X Window System implementation.

The vulnerability has been present for a couple of years, but has been brought to light by security researcher Narendra Shinde. Unpatched system can be exploited by non-root users if X server is running with elevated privileges.

By Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson -
Gmail on smartphone

Google brags about Gmail's 1.5 billion users

You're probably well aware that Gmail is popular... but have you ever thought about just how popular it is? If this is the sort of thing that keeps you awake at night, Google has provided an answer.

Apparently around a fifth of the world's population has a Gmail account -- 1.5 billion in total. Of course, there are many people who have more than one Gmail email address, but the number is pretty impressive nonetheless.

By Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson -
Soldier using laptop

Microsoft defends its JEDI cloud project bid

Google may have pulled out of the Pentagon's $10 billion JEDI cloud project, but Microsoft has no intention of following suit. Company president Brad Smith has used a blog post to defend the decision to bid for military contracts, despite pressure from its employees.

Smith recognizes that there are ethical concerns about getting involved in military projects, particularly when artificial intelligence technology is involved. However, he says: "we believe in the strong defense of the United States and we want the people who defend it to have access to the nation's best technology, including from Microsoft".

By Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson -
System76_Thelio04

Linux-friendly company System76 shares more open source Thelio computer details

System76 has been making big news in the Linux community lately with its upcoming open source Thelio computer. Many Linux users have been clamoring for System76 to make its own hardware, and that dream will soon be a reality.

Unfortunately, not much is known about Thelio hardware other than it is definitely a desktop computer that is built with open source ideology. Today, however, System76 shares new details and images about the computer with those that signed up for its email list. Probably the most exciting is the promise of an open source "daughter board" that will apparently strip the proprietary aspects from a typical motherboard -- this has me seriously intrigued.

By Brian Fagioli -
mainframe

The role of the mainframe in digital transformation [Q&A]

When many enterprises think of mainframes, they think of reliable, workhorse technology and legacy applications.

Mobile, windows-based applications are rarely top of mind. However, mainframes still power much of today's digital economy, from mobile banking to online ticket reservations, and still have a place in the enterprise IT stack.

By Ian Barker -
Corsair_KB_20181

Corsair launches K70 RGB MK.2 LOW PROFILE mechanical gaming keyboards

I'm a huge fan of mechanical keyboards. While they are great for gaming, I find they are quite brilliant for general use too. Nothing makes me happier than typing away on a quality keyboard, and mechanical keyswitches often feel very premium.

My one complaint about mechanical keyboards is the height. It can be hard to get my arms/shoulders comfortable when the keyboard ands its keys are too high/thick -- a problem I don't have with Apple's non-mechanical -- yet very slim -- desktop keyboard. Today, Corsair announces two new keyboards that aim to help with this issue. You see, as the name implies, the new K70 RGB MK.2 LOW PROFILE mechanical gaming keyboards have -- you guessed it -- low profile switches and RGB lighting!

By Brian Fagioli -
WD15TB

Western Digital unveils 15TB Ultrastar DC HC620 SMR HDD for data centers

For home computer users, it is crazy not to use a solid state drive -- especially when coupled with a good cloud backup plan. With that said, data centers are an entirely different beast. When you are looking to maximize storage on a budget -- and with physical constraints -- a hard disk drive still reigns supreme. That's why its so important for companies to continue to innovate when it comes to mechanical hard drives.

For example, last year, Western Digital released an impressive 14TB SMR HDD for data centers, and today, the company kicks it up a notch. The 3.5-inch Ultrastar DC HC620, as it is called, gets a slight 1TB bump. In other words, this new data center drive features a very spacious 15TB of storage. And yes, as the SMR in the name implies, the drive uses the innovative shingled magnetic recording.

By Brian Fagioli -
Security breach

Majority of CISOs believe security breaches are inevitable

According to research from Kaspersky Lab, 86 percent of CISOs believe that breaches are inevitable, but too many are stuck in a vicious circle of risk.

Financially motivated criminal gangs (40 percent) and malicious insider attacks (29 percent) are the biggest risks to their businesses, and these are the threats that are extremely difficult to prevent, either because they are launched by 'professional' cybercriminals or because they are assisted by employees who are expected to be on the right side.

By Ian Barker -
Access management

Identity and access management a major concern for cloud deployments

According to a new report, 71.5 percent of violations on AWS occur around identity and access management (IAM).

The study from cloud security company Netskope analyzed the Center for Internet Security's Benchmarks for AWS. Many of the IAM violations found involve instance rules, role-based access controls, and access to resources or password policy requirements -- things that enterprises can easily address even without an external security solution.

By Ian Barker -
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