Facebook outlines its advertising policies, begging users to believe their privacy is respected

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Facebook is accustomed to criticism, and it's no different when it comes to advertising. There's been a lot of talk about advertising on the social network recently, not least because of concerns about Russian ads being used to influence the outcome of the US election.

In its latest attempt to calm fears that may have built up around its advertising platform, Facebook has today set out its advertising principles. This sees the company explaining the ethics behind ads, as well as seeking to reassure users that their privacy is protected and respected at all times.

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New solution automates container security

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Businesses are increasingly turning to technology to speed up application development and delivery, but this has placed additional pressure on making sure they’re secure.

Cloud security specialist CloudPassage is launching a new set of automated compliance and security controls for containers designed to protect container images, running containers and the container engine/host.

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Bitcoin mining and transactions use more electricity than Ireland and 19 other European countries

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When Bitcoin hits the headlines, it tends to be because its value is rocketing, or because there has been a token theft. Now, however, the financial cost of mining the cryptocurrency has been revealed.

The energy consumption of Bitcoin has been investigated by Digiconomist, and the cost is staggering. Using more power per year than Ireland, the mining of Bitcoin as well as performing checks gobbles up 30.14TWh every year.

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Technology killed my imaginary friend

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The use of technology is harming children's imagination and leading to a reduction in the numbers of imaginary friends according to new research.

The study by face paint company Snazaroo finds only 17 percent of children have imaginary friends, a steep drop from 2001 when nearly half of British kids had invented an invisible playmate.

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New drone laws will require owners to take tests, and give police new powers of seizure

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The UK government is planning to introduce new laws to control the use of drones. Under the new legislation, drone owners may be forced to take safety awareness tests before they can take to the air.

The draft Drone Bill also sets out new powers for police, granting them the authority to seize drones believed to have been used in criminal activity. The bill also places restrictions on where drones can be used, and requires larger drones to be registered.

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Microsoft Office is now available for all Chromebooks

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A key piece of software that has been missing from Chromebooks is now available to everyone -- Microsoft Office. Microsoft has made its office suite available for a range of platforms over the years, but Chromebook support has been notable by its absence. Now, without announcement from the company, this changes.

It's great news for anyone who has been put off by the idea of using a Chromebook because they couldn't use their favorite software. The arrival of Office is partly thanks to the appearance of the Play Store on Chromebooks.

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Oreo arrives on the OnePlus 5 through OxygenOS open beta

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The OnePlus 5T may have just rolled out, but the Chinese smartphone maker has not forgotten its older handsets. Having rolled out a beta version of Android Oreo to the OnePlus 3 and 3T, now the OnePlus 5 is getting the same treatment.

Making good on the promise it made at the launch of the OnePlus 5T, the company has launch the first OxygenOS Oreo open beta for the OnePlus 5. It is available for anyone to download and install, and the full, stable release of Oreo is due early next year.

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Time to change your password: Imgur was hacked in 2014

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While much of the US was celebrating Thanksgiving, social image hosting site Imgur was made aware of a security breach that took place back in 2014. Around 1.7 million user accounts were affected.

This is a relatively small percentage of Imgur users, and COO Roy Sehgal points out that the site has never asked for "personally-identifying information." Nevertheless, the company is contacting the owners of affected accounts, advising them to change their passwords.

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G.SKILL announces CL17 Trident Z RGB 32GB DDR4-4266MHz memory kit

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When consumers buy RAM for their computers, they often look at the rated speed. That is a smart thing to do, although it is only part of the picture. Actually, CAS latency timings are just as important, if not sometimes more so. You see, it is sometimes possible to get better performance out of slower RAM with a lower CAS rating. In other words, throwing money at MHz and ignoring CAS is a big mistake. Here is a great video to learn more about RAM timings.

Today, G.SKILL announces a 32GB CL17 Trident Z RGB DDR4-4266MHz memory kit, which the company claims is the only RAM at that speed with a CAS latency of 17. In addition, there are CL17 Trident Z RGB kits at 4000MHz and 4133MHz too. To prove stability, G.SKILL has successfully tested the kits using an impressive machine -- an Intel Core i7-8700K CPU and ASUS ROG MAXIMUS X HERO motherboard running Windows 10. The memory easily ran at both claimed speeds and latency without errors using Intel XMP 2.0.

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OnePlus 5T update will improve camera quality

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The OnePlus 5T is undeniably the best flagship killer yet. It's got a gorgeous display, superb performance, premium build, a lovely dual camera and, to top it all off, it undercuts many of its high-end rivals by hundreds of dollars.

However, if there is one area of the OnePlus 5T that could use some improvement it is the main camera. While overall it is very good, as noted in our review, in low-light the quality could be better. OnePlus is well aware of this, as it just promised that an upcoming update for OxygenOS will address this.

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After a brief absence, CBS returns to DISH

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For those who have cable or a satellite TV service, you may be used to the occasional channel, or a few of them, disappearing. This is most frequently due to contract disputes as large conglomerate networks attempt to prop up channels that aren't doing so well. It's usually worked out, though it can take some time.

That scenario recently played out between CBS and DISH. The former yanked its channel package off of the satellite provider's service in an effort to extort more money.

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Twitter is working on a 'save for later' feature called, uninspiringly, Bookmarks

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Twitter is one of the more divisive social media platforms out there, managing to attract passionate love and hate in just about equal measure. But even people who use and like Twitter freely admit that it has its problem, one of which is the lack of a bookmarking feature.

There is the option to "like" tweets, but this can be an awkward way to save something you're interested in reading later. Recognizing that users need something rather more robust and useful, Twitter is working on a feature called Bookmarks.

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UK broadband companies banned from advertising misleading top speeds

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The advertising of broadband services has long been fraught with complaints and controversy, but a new rule change should help to bring this to an end.

Following an investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), ISPs will no longer be able to advertise high "up to" speeds. Instead they will have to advertise the average speed achieved by at least 50 percent of customers at peak times. Previously, the rules permitted the advertising of headline speeds enjoyed by just 10 percent of people, and the ASA found that many broadband customers were disappointed with their connection speed.

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Microsoft Black Friday 2017 sale -- score amazing deals on Surface, Xbox, and Windows 10 devices!

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If there is someone in your life that loves technology, and you want to get them a really great Christmas gift, look no further than the Microsoft Store. Seriously folks, if you want to delight someone special, just get them an Xbox One or Surface. If Microsoft's Surface-branded computers are too expensive, there are plenty of other Windows 10 devices from which to choose too.

Understandably, buying such extravagant gifts might be a hardship financially, so if you have been waiting for the best time to make that purchase, please know that now is when you should finally pull the trigger. You see, Microsoft's Black Friday 2017 has gone live a day early! Yes, you can score a great deal on Surface, Xbox, and Windows 10 devices right now. Here's the details, y'all.

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AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard 6.6 adds support for exFAT, improves bootable media support

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Everyone needs a partition management tool. Windows ships with its own limited tool, accessible under Disk Management, but it’s restricted in a number of key areas, not least its inability to move files to help with the repartitioning process.

AOMEI has just released a major update to its free partitioning tool: Partition Assistant Standard 6.6. It’s become our go-to partition editor, and version 6.6 makes it even more compelling than ever.

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