Privacy: Hotspot Shield, PureVPN, and ZenMate found to leak sensitive data
VPN tools have been in the headlines recently. Firstly, Facebook's Onavo VPN was found to be gathering user data, and then McAfee snapped up VPN firm TunnelBear. Now for users of Hotspot Shield, PureVPN and ZenMate, there's a warning: sensitive data such as your real IP address may be leaked.
A VPN company with a strong interest in privacy, vpnMentor, commissioned research into the three well-known tools, and problems were found in all of them. The developers were notified, but only HotSpot Shield has addressed the problems that were found.
Google opens up Maps API to game developers
Google is giving developers the chance to build games based on real-world maps by opening up the Maps APIs to them. On top of this, Google is bring Maps to the Unity game engine so developers can make use of real-time map data.
Titles such as Jurassic World Alive, The Walking Dead: Our World and Ghostbusters World will make use of augmented reality to create truly immersive gaming experiences. Developers have access to over 100 million 3D buildings, roads, landmarks, and parks from over 200 countries, allowing for great flexibility.
Wikipedia didn't know about YouTube's plans to show its content next to conspiracy videos
YouTube's announcement that it plans to display content from Wikipedia next to conspiracy videos in the name of balance and providing the "right information" caught many people by surprise -- none more so than Wikipedia itself.
Wikimedia Foundation -- the organization behind Wikipedia -- has issued a statement saying that "we were not given advance notice of this announcement." While the organization does not object to YouTube's decision, it does seem a little strange that there has been no discussion between the two parties.
Warning for RSS fans -- Digg Reader is closing in under two weeks
For some people RSS is already a dead technology, and over the last few years numerous RSS readers -- including Google Reader -- shut up shop. But for others, accessing newsfeeds is an essential way to keep up to date with what's going on.
Following the closure of Google Reader, RSS fans flocked to the likes of Feedly, The Old Reader, Digg Reader and Inoreader. Now Digg Reader has announced that it is to close, and users are being advised to export their feeds so they can be imported into an alternative service.
Microsoft removes AV compatibility requirements for Windows 10 security updates
In the fallout from the revelations about the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities -- and the ensuing chaos relating to patches for the security problems -- Microsoft blocked security updates for Windows 10 users with antivirus software whose compatibility with patches was not known.
Two months after making this decision, Microsoft has changed course and said that updates can roll out to everyone once again. The company says this is a result of working with antivirus partners and patches should no longer lead to problems in most cases.
Google Maps gains wheelchair accessibility info in several cities
Google is adding some important accessibility information to Maps, letting users see whether or not routes are navigable by wheelchair. The company says the extra data will be useful not only to wheelchair users, but anyone with mobility issues -- as well as parents pushing kids in a stroller.
Starting in London, Tokyo, Mexico City, Boston and Sydney, wheelchair accessible routes are being added, and more will follow as Google working with transport companies to gather the necessary information.
ViewSonic announces NMP660 Chromebox
When you hear the name "ViewSonic," your mind probably thinks of monitors, and rightfully so. After all, that company has been making quality displays for many years.
But what if I told you ViewSonic is announcing an all-new Chromebox? It's true! The unimaginatively named "NMP660," as it is called, is a mini-desktop computer from the company that runs Google's Linux-based Chrome OS. You know what? It looks quite nice and is priced rather competitively. And yes, it has Google Play support for Android apps!
Coinbase receives e-money license in EU, will offer faster payments to UK customers
The cryptocurrency market is going through a tough period right now. The cap is down significantly from the record high reached in January, Google is following Facebook in banning crypto ads and regulators are investigating ICOs, just to name a few of the problems that it's facing. However, there is some good news to report as well.
Coinbase, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, today announces that it's received an e-money license in the UK, which allows it to provide payment services to its local users and, by extension, other EU customers as well.
LibreELEC (Krypton) 8.2.4 Kodi-focused Linux distro is ready for Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+
If you want a convenient solution for playing media, Kodi should be at the top of your list. The free and open source media center is cross-platform, meaning it can run on most operating systems.
The best way to experience Kodi, however, is when it is the focus of a Linux-based operating system. For example, LibreELEC exists solely to run Kodi. Its lightweight nature allows it to run on fairly meager hardware, including Raspberry Pi. Today, a new version of LibreELEC is released. The main reason for this update is to add support for the newly released Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+.
Stephen Hawking and me
I only met Stephen Hawking twice, both times in the same day. Hawking, who died a few hours ago, was one of the great physicists of any era. He wrote books, was the subject of a major movie about his early life, and of course survived longer than any other amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) sufferer, passing away at 76 while Lou Gehrig didn't even make it to 40. We’re about to be awash in Hawking tributes, so I want to share with you my short experience of the man and maybe give more depth to his character than we might take away from the evening news.
Several years ago I was booked to speak at a (pre-Intel) Window River Systems event at the Claremont Hotel in Oakland. The Claremont, like the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, is a huge old hotel built entirely of wood. Creaky old elevators and creaky old staircases connect all the floors but stairs are faster and I was in a hurry to give my speech because Jerry Fiddler was waiting. So I took the stairs two at a time then burst through a set of double doors and straight into…
SAP CRM servers vulnerable to online attack
Researchers at cyber security platform ERPScan have disclosed details of two vulnerabilities that allow compromise of the widely used SAP CRM system.
CRM is considered as a most critical asset by businesses. A data breach into CRM can be disastrous as it can destroy trust in the business and severely tarnish the brand as well as raising compliance issues.
GNOME 3.28 'Chongqing' Linux and BSD desktop environment is here
For Linux desktop users -- you know, people that just use a Linux-based operating system as a tool -- the desktop environment largely is the operating system. In other words, what's under the hood is sort of inconsequential. Hell, the distro might not even matter to the user as long as it is running their favorite DE. This is totally fine, as not everyone is a developer that is passionate about Linux or open source ideology.
For me -- and many others -- GNOME is the preferred desktop environment for Linux or BSD. It has an excellent support community, the most productive user interface, and comes with many useful native apps. Today, GNOME 3.28 becomes available, and it is full of improvements to make it the best version yet. It has the code-name 'Chongqing' because the 2017 Gnome.Asia conference was held in that Chinese city.
Facebook bans far-right group Britain First and its leaders for hate speech
In the latest part of its clean-up exercise, Facebook has removed pages of the far-right, anti-Islamic group Britain First. The social network has also closed down the pages of the leaders of the group -- well-known in the UK, and also brought to US attention after Donald Trump shared its tweets.
The ban is such that Britain First will not be able to create any pages in the future. Facebook says that the group has repeatedly violated rules against hate speech, and denies that the bans are an infringement of free speech.
Misconfigured security measure leads DDoS amplification attacks to soar at end of 2017
DDoS attacks using domain name server (DNS) amplification increased more than 357 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to the previous year.
A new report by protection specialist Nexusguard attributes the rise to the use of Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC), a technology that's intended to add integrity and security to the DNS protocol.
Roundup: The best Windows 10 tweaking and customization tools
Unless you're a fan of using a computer that looks and feels the same as everyone else, you probably want to spend some time tweaking Windows so it works the way you want it to. Broadly speaking, tweaks fall into three categories -- those that change appearance, those that boost performance, and those that change the way things work.
Windows 10 does -- through Settings and the Control Panel -- afford you a decent degree of control over how the operating system looks and works, but if you want to get serious about things you have two options: head into the registry, or turn to a dedicated tweaking and customization tool. Now there are endless apps to help make life easier, so here's a roundup of the best Windows 10 tweaking and customization tools.
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