Slow websites risk retailers losing Black Friday sales
Poor page load speeds could be losing retailers business over the Black Friday period according to a new report.
The study by eCommerce agency Visualsoft looked at the UK's top 240 online retailers -- including major supermarkets -- and finds that 54 percent have poor page load speeds, taking over nine seconds.
Flo announces its sophisticated new water leak sensor
Water seems an innocuous element; we bathe in it, swim in it, wash things with it, and drink it. We even use it to generate power. But water is not a friend to your home. It can cause damages that can run into a lot of money, and it's not just rain water that undermines your foundation, but leaks as well. If you've ever had a pipe burst then you know what it can do.
Today home automation company Flo Technologies announces its latest offering to help protect consumers. Flo is a comprehensive water monitoring and shut-off system that has some noticeable improvements over the technology we have been using.
MediaProjection vulnerability leaves 77 percent of Android phones open to screen and audio recording attacks
More than three quarters of Android phones are vulnerable to screen and audio recording by attackers. By exploiting the MediaProjection service, an attacker can easily trick a user into granting the relevant rights to a malicious app.
Although the vulnerability has been fixed in Android 8 Oreo, users running Lollipop, Marshmallow or Nougat remain at risk. MediaProjection is -- by design -- able to capture screen activity and audio, and it does have legitimate uses, but by using a technique known as tap-jacking permission can be given for it to be used for more nefarious things.
Authorities serve Apple with a warrant to access the Texas shooter's iPhone SE
Following the shooting in a Texas church a couple of weeks ago, it quickly emerged that the FBI was having trouble accessing data stored on the shooter's encrypted phone. While authorities refused to disclose the make and model of the device, when Apple said that it had contacted the FBI to offer help, it all but confirmed early reports that an iPhone was at the center of the case.
Now Apple has been served with a warrant to help local law enforcement officers to access messages, photos and other data stored on gunman Devin Patrick Kelley's iPhone SE.
Google donates £1 million worth of computer training to U.K. teachers
It is imperative that students learn about computing in school -- the earlier the better. The problem? Sometimes teachers aren't very knowledgeable about computers. In other words, some of these educators simply aren't qualified to teach young people about computing. In order for these people to teach future generations about computing, they must first learn about it themselves.
Today, Google announces that it is donating £1 million worth of computer training to U.K. teachers. Don't misunderstand -- the search giant is not just throwing money at the situation. Instead, Google will be having some of its employees provide actual time and assistance to these educators -- how cool is that?
Privacy: Germany bans kids' 'spying' smartwatches
Regulators in Germany have introduced a ban on children's smartwatches citing privacy concerns. Telecoms regulator the Federal Network Agency (FNA) describes the wearables as "spying devices" and advises parents to destroy them.
The FNA said that parents had been using such smartwatches to listen in on their children at school, and warned teachers to be on the lookout for them. But a lack of regulation of the devices means that many have poor security, meaning they could be used by others to spy on wearers.
Voice-activated Siri could be coming to iMac Pro thanks to A10 Fusion chip
It seems as though Apple's upcoming iMac Pro will feature an A10 Fusion chip as a co-processor. The inclusion of the chip -- the same one used in the iPhone 7 -- has led to speculation that "Hey, Siri" support could be making its way to macOS.
A couple of developers cracked open Apple's BridgeOS 2.0 software package, and the code shows that the chip appears to be used to handle security and the boot process. But it's the prospect of always-on "Hey, Siri" support that will interest many people.
Was the PC's death fake news? More consumers want laptops than smartphones on Black Friday 2017
Next week is one of my favorite holidays -- Thanksgiving! I'm not gonna lie, I like to eat, and since this is a day dedicated to chowing down on some good food, I am beyond excited! Oh yeah, it is also a day in which we spend time with family and reflect on all the things for which we are thankful.
Once the eating is done, the shopping begins. What used to just be "Black Friday" now begins the night before on Thanksgiving -- sacrilege to some. Yeah, while still digesting turkey and stuffing, consumers will queue up in front of stores such as Best Buy, Target, and Kohl's to take advantage of some deep discounts. Surprisingly, according to a new survey, technology devices are not the most wanted products. Actually, clothing seems to be what many people want most. Make no mistake, however -- products like televisions, laptops, and smartphones will be very popular on Black Friday too.
Windows 8 onwards incorrectly implements ASLR security feature, but you can fix it
Since Vista, Windows has included a security feature known as ASLR. Address Space Layout Randomization uses a random memory address to execute code, but in Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 the feature is not always applied properly.
A security analyst discovered that in the last three versions of Windows, ASLR was in fact not using random memory addresses, essentially rendering it useless. The good news is that there is a fix -- but you will have to apply it manually.
SmartThings introduces Lock Codes to help friends and family
Smart locks have become another popular product in the market commonly known as the Internet of Things, or IoT. It's designed to make a home safer, but also more accessible. It has its limitations though, and companies are constantly working to overcome those.
Now SmartThings has a solution which utilizes Lock Codes. These allow the user to create temporary codes for friends and family, which will give the owner more control of comings and goings from their abode, hopefully leading to more peace of mind.
Wal-Mart commits to the new Tesla Semi
You certainly know Tesla, the car brand launched by Space X's Elon Musk. It's an electric car that has had its ups and downs in its relatively short life. Musk is always looking to the future, though, so each of his current major companies continues to innovate in an effort to stay ahead of the market.
This week the company announced its latest offering, simply called the Semi. The product -- as the name implies -- is an 18 wheeler which looks similar to those you see on roads every day, but perhaps a bit more sleek.
No HomePod for Christmas as Apple delays launch of smart speaker until 2018
The launch of the eagerly anticipated Apple HomePod has been delayed until next year. The iPhone maker had planned to release its answer to Google Home and Amazon Echo in December, but now admits that more development is needed.
The delay means that anyone hoping to get a HomePod for Christmas is going to be disappointed. Apple has not elaborated on the exact cause of the delay, but with a "premium" price tag of $350 -- and this being a product coming from the Apple stable -- customers are not going to be happy with something that is less than perfect.
DisplayFusion 9.1 arrives, tweaks multi-monitor display tool for Windows
Binary Fortress Software has released DisplayFusion 9.1, a minor update of its multi-monitor management tool for Windows. It follows a month on from the major release of version 9.0, which added a single new feature (monitor fading) alongside compatibility improvements and a host of tweaks and fixes.
Version 9.1’s most notable change is the use of a new code-signing certificate. Users are warned they may receive a Smart Screen warning from Windows -- although this didn’t appear on our test PC.
Want a Logitech Harmony Hub? Right now it comes with an Amazon Echo Dot
If you haven't used a Harmony product and you have a home theater system then you may be missing out. The Logitech devices can control all manner of things from receivers, TVs, Blu-ray players, and so on, to many Internet of Things products in your home, such as light bulbs like LIFX and thermostats such as Nest.
If you have an Amazon Echo, better known as Alexa, then you can already do a bit of that, turning your recliner into a throne from which you can oversee your kingdom.
Adblock Plus tries to entice UC Browser users to Adblock Browser
Adblock Plus is using the disappearance of the popular Android app UC Browser from Google Play to promote its own mobile web browser.
An open letter to people looking for the currently-unavailable UC Browser calls on mobile web users to give Adblock Browser a try. The privacy-focused browser includes, obviously, an adblocker and, as Adblock Plus cheekily points out, "we haven't been kicked out of the store."
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