• Article

Computer security touches every part of our daily lives, from our computers and connected devices, to the wireless signals around us, and breaches often have real and immediate financial, privacy, and safety consequences.

Written for professionals and college students (but accessible to all), the Computer Security Handbook from Wiley provides comprehensive best guidance about how to minimize hacking, fraud, human error, the effects of natural disasters, and more. It usually retails for $130, but BetaNews readers can get it entirely for free.

Continue reading →

The app-economy competition is fierce. Facebook owns four out of the five most downloaded apps worldwide, but startups are still leaping into the fight to claim new and old markets. For these startups, Facebook is often the least of their worries as, according to research from Gartner, we only actually use between six and ten apps on average and end up neglecting or deleting the rest. It’s tough for app developers to break through the noise, let alone get into that top ten.

So what does this mean for startups trying to break into the space? You have to put your best foot forward to make sure users will not only find your app, but keep it.

Continue reading →

Today Facebook publishes its Global Government Requests Report, revealing just how many data requests the social network has received from governments around the world. This time around, the report covers the second half of 2016, and it shows a mixed-bag of figures.

While the number of items that had to be restricted due to contravention of local laws dropped, the number of government data requests increased by 9 percent compared to the previous six months. Facebook is well-aware that it faces scrutiny and criticism for its willingness to comply with data requests, and the company tries to allay fears by saying: "We do not provide governments with "back doors" or direct access to people's information."

Continue reading →

PC gamers have many decisions to make when buying peripherals. Price and brands aside, there are various technologies and style choices. For instance, if you buy a mechanical keyboard, what types of switches should you get? The toughest decision is probably when selecting a mouse -- do you want wired or wireless? While a cordless variant may look nicer, a wired mouse doesn't need a battery and can have less lag.

Today, Razer announces a new product that might make choosing a mouse even tougher. The Lancehead wireless gaming mouse is chock full of cool features, including a super-high 16,000 DPI optical sensor. It charges using USB, and the cable can double as a receiver extender. If you are dead-set against a wireless mouse, do not worry -- the company is launching a wired "Tournament Edition" of the Lancehead with a laser sensor.

Continue reading →

WeWork wants to make sure you never leave it, and it's trying to keep you as a customer by releasing its own tools store. Called Services Store, the new offering gives users simple access to a wide variety of tools and apps, and sometimes even exclusives.

Once logged in, users can search, purchase and download a wide variety of enterprise apps. They can also leave reviews for different products, to help others find the perfect app for their business.

Continue reading →

It's always a good idea to use a dash cam when you get behind the wheel. In case you have a close call or get into an accident, you'll have a video that you can show to the authorities or your insurance company. But there's also an entertaining side to it as well, which is just as important to some folks, as you can also record a spirited drive on a fun road or some interesting things that you stumble upon on your daily commute.

Pretty much all dash cams let you do those things, but some do it better than others. Thinkware's X550 is among the best premium options on the market, featuring a solid camera with an effective "super night vision" mode, GPS info, driver assistance, speed and red light camera database, LCD display on the back, and dedicated software for PC and Mac as its standout features.

Continue reading →

According to a new report from systems security specialist Thales e-Security and 451 Research, US federal agencies are facing threats caused by legacy systems, spending and staffing issues.

65 percent have experienced a data breach at some stage in the past with 34 percent having one in the last year. Almost all agencies (96 percent) consider themselves 'vulnerable', with half (48 percent) stating they are 'very' or 'extremely' vulnerable. This number is higher than any other US sector polled for the 2017 Data Threat Report.

Continue reading →

Up to now the security model for protecting IoT devices has been similar to that used for PCs, relying on patches which need to be installed by the user.

Now though internet security and performance company Cloudflare is launching a new service called Orbit which streamlines patching and adds an additional layer of security thanks to the use of a secure global network.

Continue reading →

Businesses will move to Windows 10 faster than they have moved to previous operating systems, according to a new report by Gartner. Surveying businesses everywhere, Gartner believes 85 percent of businesses will have migrated to Windows 10 before the year ends.

First of all, Gartner’s research director Ranjit Atwal says the time to evaluate and deploy Windows 10 has come down, from 23 months to 21 months. Large businesses that are yet to start the migration, are delaying because of legacy applications.

Continue reading →

I walked away impressed after reviewing the Chuwi LapBook 14.1. There's something charming about a laptop that gets the basics right at an affordable price point. The new LapBook 12.3 is shaping up to be even more impressive, featuring more attractive hardware at a still-competitive price.

The LapBook 12.3 is designed for consumers in the market for a more portable laptop, featuring a 12.3-inch display with a 3:2 aspect ratio and a resolution of 2,736 by 1,824. That's pretty impressive for a budget offering, considering that there are premium laptops that ship with lesser screens.

Continue reading →

I recently bought the all-new iPad 2017 and love it very much. The problem? There aren't many cases for it. While some first-gen iPad Air cases may work with it, that is not a guarantee. Sure, there are some universal cases that leverage elastic straps to accommodate many models, but those are often a poor experience.

Today, Logitech announces an all-new universal keyboard case that actually looks good. Rather than use cheap elastic, the company has come up with some brilliant 4-point adjustable grips. This looks to be a very elegant product that solves a common problem. Of course, it will not work with all tablets, just some models that range from 8.9 to 10 inches. Best of all? The clever case is compatible with iOS, Android, and Windows 10.

Continue reading →

Cyber attack methods are becoming more sophisticated in order to bypass traditional file-scanning protection systems according to a new study.

Endpoint protection specialist SentinelOne has used filtered data from more than one million SentinelOne Enterprise Platform agents deployed worldwide to carry out behavioral analysis of malware programs that bypassed firewalls and network controls to infect devices.

Continue reading →

Desktop recorders are common on the PC and we’ve regularly covered them here, but does Icecream Screen Recorder have enough to stand out from the crowd?

A handy set of capture types doesn’t stop with full screen, window and freehand rectangles. The program can also capture a fixed-size rectangle around your mouse cursor, very useful when you need to focus on a particular area of the screen.

Continue reading →

Correct handling of corporate data is important not just to guard against security threats and data breaches, but to avoid the risk of regulatory fines and lawsuits too.

But a new report from secure erasing specialist Blancco Technology Group shows the two weakest links in a company's data governance program are uncontrolled user access to data (53 percent) and managing where data is stored (43 percent).

Continue reading →

It was 15 years ago this week that my son Chase Cringely died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) at age 74 days. I wrote about it at the time and there was a great outpouring of support from readers. Back then, before the advent of social media, parents didn’t get a chance to grieve in print the way Mary Alyce and I did. We shed a light on SIDS and, for a couple years, even led to some progress in combating the condition, which still kills about 4,000 American babies each year.

When you lose a child, especially one who dies in your lap, as Chase did with me, you can just curl up and die yourself or you can try to fix the problem. With the help of readers all over the world I tried and failed to build a practical SIDS warning device with the idea of not curing SIDS, but avoiding it. You see the syndrome only lasts for about 11 months, from age 1 month to one year. And while events such as Chase’s can’t be made not to happen, with proper detection and the simplest of alarms the baby can be literally roused out of death.

Continue reading →