Microsoft says Office 2019 previews are coming mid-2018

office-2019

At Microsoft Ignite in Orlando, Microsoft today announced Office 2019. The next version of the office suite is scheduled for release sometime in the second half of 2018, with preview builds being made available in the middle of the year.

Despite Microsoft's love of the cloud, the company recognizes that not all customers are quite ready to go all-in. With this in mind, Office 2019 includes numerous new features that are not cloud-specific, and the suite is described as "a valuable upgrade for customers who feel that they need to keep some or all of their apps and servers on-premises."

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Comodo launches IoT security platform

Internet of things

We all know we need to protect our computer systems when they're connected to the internet, but there’s generally less awareness of the threat posed by the latest generation of Internet of Things devices.

Cyber security company Comodo wants to make these devices more secure with the launch of a new IoT Security Platform that will allow device manufacturers and network providers to issue and manage PKI and SSL certificates for private ecosystems.

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Stuck for where to visit next? The Hopper app will help!

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Going on holiday is supposed to be relaxing (for the most part), but planning and preparing to go away can be a real headache. Do you want a beach, mountains, skiing or adventure holiday? Once you’ve settled on where to go, for most people, the price will be another issue. Flight costs will fluctuate and its very difficult to determine when to buy your tickets.

Hopper is an app which will help you save money on flights. Its algorithm tracks your selected dates and will let you know based on historical data whether it expects prices to drop further or go up. It will also notify you if either of these situations occurs, or tell you based on previous data if you should buy right now.

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Keep your system drivers up-to-date using the latest Driver Booster 5

DriverBooster200-175

You’re busy using your PC and it’s suddenly 2004 again. Your system is running slowly and your drivers are to blame.

Should you keep your drivers updated? Usually, the rule is "if it’s not broken, don’t try and fix it." It’s simply not true that out-of-date drivers will slow or your hinder your computer. Usually, Windows itself will make sure you have the most relevant drivers for your system and, if you have Windows 10, you’ll usually have the latest drivers. And even if you’re using Vista, and there are newer drivers, it doesn’t necessarily mean your system will be enhanced by installing them.

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Bill Gates switches to Android, because who wants to use Windows 10 Mobile anymore?

Bill Gates

I have to admit that when I wrote the April Fools piece Bill Gates loves his new iPhone 5s, can now beat Bono at Candy Crush a few years ago, I did not expect the former Microsoft CEO to actually abandon Windows Phone for a rival platform. But, it happened -- though I was only half right.

Bill Gates did not switch to the iPhone (although the new iPhone line is pretty cool), going with an Android smartphone "with a lot of Microsoft software" instead. This is huge, if you think about it, as Gates basically acknowledged that Windows 10 Mobile just isn't good enough for him.

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Healthcare sector accounts for most cyber security incidents

Healthcare tablet

The healthcare industry accounted for 26 percent of security incidents in the second quarter of 2017 according to a new report.

The study from McAfee Labs sees healthcare surpass the public sector to report the greatest number of security incidents in Q2. The health, public, and education sectors combined comprised more than 50 percent of total incidents in 2016-2017 worldwide.

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Dirty COW Linux vulnerability reappears as ZNIU malware threat to Android users

dirty-cow

It has been quite some time -- nearly a year in fact -- since we were talking about the Dirty COW vulnerability affecting the Linux kernel. Now the vulnerability is back, but this time it is Android users who need to be concerned.

The privilege escalation vulnerability has been exploited by a piece of malware by the name of ZNIU, or AndroidOS_ZNIU. The malware uses the Dirty COW exploit to root devices and install a backdoor which can then be used to collect data and also generate profit for the attackers through a premium rate phone number.

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Apple now collects data from Safari using differential privacy to identify problem websites

macbook-pro-safari

With the launch of macOS High Sierra, Apple is making some changes to Safari. One of the key changes is the introduction of differential privacy technology which gathers data about the websites users visit in order to identify those that are problematic because of high memory usage or crashes.

As the name of the technology implies, as well as gathering useful data from users, one of the key features of differential privacy is that it respects the privacy of individuals. The AI-powered technology keeps, according to Apple's Craig Federighi, "the information of each individual user completely private" while still collecting data that will enable Apple to decide the priority with which it should tackle problematic sites.

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macOS High Sierra launch blighted by password-stealing keychain 0-day vulnerability

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Apple has only just released macOS High Sierra, but before the update was even out of the door, a 0-day vulnerability had been discovered. A flaw in the Mac keychain makes it possible for malicious applications to steal the contents of the keychain, including plaintext passwords. It affects not only High Sierra, but also older version of macOS.

The way keychain works means that it should not be possible for the keychain to be accessed without providing the master password, but the vulnerability bypasses this requirement. The problem was discovered and demonstrated by security researcher Patrick Wardle from Synack, who is also a former NSA hacker.

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Why hasn't Twitter banned Trump or deleted his provocative tweets about North Korea?

us-north-korea-flag-trump-twitter

Donald Trump has been a divisive character for many years, and this trend that has continued with his presidency. On Twitter, his unique approach to dealing with world issues and global leaders has caused, to varying degrees, amusement, disgust and horror. In particular, his recent handling of North Korea has raised concern.

His continual references to Kim Jong-un as Little Rocket Man, and his suggestion that the leader and Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho "won't be around much longer" and that the US may have "no choice but to totally destroy" North Korea has been seen by the Asian country as "a clear declaration of war". People are asking why Twitter has not taken action against such naked threats on its platform. Now the company has spoken out, explaining that the "newsworthiness" of Trump's tweets is why they have been left untouched.

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Building a progressive web app: 5 key things to consider

progressive web app design mobile pc

Welcome to the exciting world of Progressive Web Apps. You're likely reading this because you've been converted to the PWA cause: a best-of-both-worlds fusion of website reliability and app functionality. Finally, we have a mobile friendly way to combine the speed and directness of websites (no downloads required) with the functionality of apps, like offline browsing, home screen installation and push notifications.

With brands from Twitter to the Washington Post and Lancôme (more on that later) embracing the possibilities of PWAs, the question is no longer "Should you have a PWA?" but "What are the implications for my business?"

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Apple releases macOS 10.13 High Sierra, and it is gloriously boring

mbprphs

Today, Apple releases macOS 10.13 High Sierra to the public after a series of beta releases. It has some cool new aspects, but for the most part, its is a very boring release. Don't get me wrong, the new APFS file system and the ability to use an eGPU, for instance, are both very big deals, but let's be honest -- the average user probably won't care.

Overall, the apparent differences are few and far between -- mostly in applications such as Safari and Photos -- and you know what? That is a good thing. The fact that High Sierra is largely uneventful for end users just shows how mature and refined Apple's Unix-like operating system is. Heck, this is probably why the operating system barely got a new name, only going from Sierra to High Sierra.

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Google introduces zero-touch enrollment tool for Android devices

Google Zero Touch Android enrollment

Employees given one of the most popular choices of Android smartphones can now expect their devices to arrive preconfigured, meaning they can use them out of the box without the typical tedious -- albeit necessary -- setup process.

A new tool rolled out by Google, called zero-touch enrolment, aims to result in less work for both administrators and end-users. Admins will be sure all corporate policies are always in place, and end users only need to log in to start using their new smartphone.

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Hawkeye Firefly 8S is an awesome 4K action camera that won't break the bank [Review]

Hawkeye Firefly 8S waterproof case

GoPro started a trend when it launched the Hero4 line with 4K video recording. Today, it is pretty much impossible to find a new action camera that does not advertise this feature -- even when, in reality, most are not actually capable of it.

The Hawkeye Firefly 8S is different. It is the first action camera that I have tested that offers true 4K video recording. It is also among the most affordable options on the market, which, on paper, makes it great value for money. But how good is it in the real world? I've tested it to find out.

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Download latest Linux-based LibreELEC Krypton -- Kodi addons like Exodus and Covenant will work

kodi-logo

The Kodi media center is facing a lot of scrutiny in the media lately. Some people feel that the negative coverage is "fake news." It is important to remember that Kodi is not illegal. With that said, it can be made so with piracy-related addons. Since Kodi is open source, even if the developers removed the ability to install addons, other people could easily fork the code to add it back. Pandora's box cannot be closed.

Many people that use Kodi do so with a dedicated Linux-based operating system, such as the excellent LibreELEC. You see, these distros exist only to run the open source media center, meaning there are no resources wasted on unnecessary things. Today, LibreELEC (Krypton) v8.1.2 BETA sees release. You can install it immediately, and don't worry -- your addons like Exodus and Covenant will work fine.

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