Retailers will lose $71bn due to payment fraud

Credit card hand

Retailers are facing losses of up to $71 billion globally as the number of fraudulent card-not-present (CNP) transactions rises hugely within the next five years.

A new report from Juniper Research has revealed that a number of different factors are driving the increase in fraud, including the US shifting towards EMV cards, delays in 3DS 2.0 and click-and collect fraud methods.

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Microsoft releases monster Windows 10 Fall Creators Update Build 16226 to the Fast ring, and it's packed with new features

Two weeks ago, Microsoft released Build 16215 to Windows 10 Insiders on the Fast ring. This introduced a wealth of new features including major UI improvements to Start and Action Center, and updates to the Edge browser, Cortana, My People, Night Light, and more.

Today, the software giant rolls out Build 16226 and this one is similarly jam-packed with new features and improvements.

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Amazon and Microsoft lead IaaS market

IaaS

Market analyst Gartner has released a new magic quadrant that visualizes how cloud companies are currently sitting in the market. According to the report, Amazon and Microsoft are the sole leaders of the market, with the rest far, far behind.

Amazon Web Services is leading the charge. Microsoft is (sort of) trailing, but it is still considered a leader in the IaaS market.

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If anyone still cares, there's a new Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview Fast Ring Build out today

Do people still use Windows Phones? Yeah, believe it or not, these gluttons for punishment are still out there. Why do they still use Windows 10 Mobile? Who really knows -- I am sure a psychologist would have a field day with these people.

Despite the almost non-existent market share, Microsoft is still stringing these loyal users along, providing periodic updates through the Insider program. I actually think it is sort of cool that the Windows-maker still throws these folks a bone every once in a while. Today, Dona Sarkar pushes her magic release button and sends Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview Build 15226 to the Fast ring. Huzzah!

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AMD reveals EPYC 7000 server processor series

AMD has revealed its re-entry into the server market with a new family of super-powered data centre processors.

The US chipmaker has taken the wraps off its highly-anticipated EPYC 7000 series of  products at an event in Austin, Texas today. Formerly known as Naples, the new EPYC chips will target the entire range of the server market as AMD takes aim at Intel’s current dominance.

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Connectivity issues hurt productivity the most

Network security

More than two thirds (67 percent) of small and medium-sized business in the UK see internet problems as their biggest productivity roadblock, new research has found.

According to a new report by Storey that surveyed 500 SME decision-makers across the UK, more than three quarters (76 percent) of businesses see productivity as a top priority in their office, while 69 percent are certain that improving office layout and design can do wonders on their productivity.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will reportedly be revealed in August

Samsung logo building

The Galaxy Note brand is alive and well, as Samsung will be officially unveiling the new, hopefully non-exploding addition to the premium large-size smartphone line near the end of August.

That report comes from Reuters, which cited "a person familiar with the matter," as saying the official reveal will happen at a typical New York City Samsung event later this summer.

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Virgin Mobile USA becomes iPhone-exclusive carrier, offers a year of unlimited service for $1

Goodness gracious, Virgin Mobile USA has made quite the bold moves today. The cellular service provider has become the world's first iPhone-exclusive carrier. In other words, it will no longer offer Android at all. Crazy, right? This is through a partnership with Apple, and Virgin will offer many versions of the device, including iPhone 6, 6S, 7, and SE.

The craziness doesn't stop there, however, as there is even something much more exciting -- Virgin Mobile USA is offering unlimited talk, text and data for a dollar. No, that is not a typo -- a single buck will get you unlimited everything for up to a year! This is through a new scheme called "Inner Circle."

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Colour Contrast Analyser is a versatile accessibility checker

Colour Contrast Analyser is an unusual accessibility tool with a couple of useful but very different functions.

The first allows checking text foreground and background colors to determine its legibility. No need to judge by eye any more: the program gives you an objective pass/fail assessment using WCAG 2.0 color contrast success criteria.

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Do autonomous cars mean insurance is obsolete?

According to Business Insider, fully autonomous vehicles -- those that can drive from point A to point B without driver interaction -- will debut as soon as 2019. And these autos will be only a fraction of the 10 million self-driving cars BI Intelligence estimates will hit the road by 2020.

According to Elon Musk, "in the distant future, people may outlaw driven cars because it’s too dangerous." This might sound outlandish, but it does line up with car safety statistics. With more than 90 percent of accidents caused by driver error, "there is every reason to believe that self-driving cars will reduce frequency and severity of accidents," says Professor Robert W. Peterson of Santa Clara University’s Center for Insurance Law and Regulation.

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4 surprising (and preventable) mistakes that will fry your computer

Whether you’re an office worker or a busy person at home managing bills and scheduling, you likely rely on a computer to get things done. Even in the "age of mobile", computers are essential, and many people are put in a bind if their computer suddenly dies.

To protect these devices, it’s important to understand some of the common (yet surprising) ways you can fry your computer:

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CyberTeam claims to have shut down Microsoft Skype, targeting Steam next

Skype has been having problems this week as a result of a DDoS attack which began on Monday. The Skype team acknowledged the problem, confirming that "some users will either lose connectivity to the application or may be unable to send or receive messages" as a result.

In order to mitigate the impact, Microsoft made some configuration changes which seems to have helped. A group called CyberTeam has claimed responsibility for the attack, and says it plans to target gaming platform Steam next.

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Google Play fails to catch trojan-injected apps (again)

Getting your Android apps through Google Play is considered safe, but there are times when even the search giant's store is dangerous. Case in point, Kaspersky uncovered two more trojan-infected apps that weren't removed until they had over 60,000 installs.

Kaspersky security researcher Roman Unuchek reports that, since September 2016, he has discovered "several dozen new malicious apps" on Google Play, all of which "were rooting malware that used exploits to gain root rights on the infected device." Obviously, Google failed to catch any of those in time either.

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Charmin Van-GO is an on-demand mobile toilet service -- the Uber of poop and pee

Look, it isn't exactly a pleasant topic, but we all need to use the potty (toilet, loo, etc.). As much as we humans want to think we are somehow above the rest of the animals on Earth, we have to pee and poop just like bears, dogs, and other creatures. It is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, there is even a very popular children's book called "Everybody Poops."

Believe it or not, it is not easy to go to the bathroom in NYC. Many store restrooms have keypads, requiring you to buy something to get the access code on a receipt. Don't have any money? Tough luck! I have seen people rooting through garbage cans for receipts just to find a receipt and code. Even when you finally gain access, it isn't always clean -- yuck! Thanks to toilet paper-maker Charmin, there is finally a solution. Called "Van-GO," it is an on-demand mobile toilet service that is sort of like Uber -- but for poop and pee.

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Mobile employees are willing to place security above privacy

tablet worker

Given the recent increase of violent incidents around the world, in addition to everyday risks and natural disasters, businesses are naturally concerned about protecting their staff.

New research by enterprise safety application company Everbridge  shows that mobile workers expect that their companies will be able to provide safety information to them should something happen or should they be in the proximity of a serious event. It also shows staff are willing to sacrifice privacy to achieve this.

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