Create your own PC forensics toolkit with AChoir

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Need to know what someone’s been doing on a PC? Running some of NirSoft's forensic freeware on a USB key could help you collect enough data to figure it out.

LastActivityView lists recent computer actions, OpenSaveFilesView reports on recently opened and saved files, ExecutedProgramsListdetails the programs they’ve launched, WifiHistoryView shows recent network connections, and the list goes on.

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Google 'Science Journal' Android app is a digital notebook for STEM education

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While all jobs and careers are important to society, scientists are arguably the greatest drivers of change. These professionals are responsible for curing diseases, improving our quality of life, and advancing our knowledge of the world.

In order to keep a steady crop of quality scientists coming out of universities, it is important to create ways to foster interest in STEM -- science, technology, engineering and mathematics -- at a young age. With this in mind, Google releases an Android app, called Science Journal, aimed at helping young students record and trend scientific experiment results.

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Microsoft opens up the Windows 10 Feedback Hub to everyone, not just Insiders

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Ever hungry for more user feedback, Microsoft has decided to make the Feedback Hub available for anyone to use. Previously only open to Windows Insiders, the tool gives Windows 10 users the opportunity to tell Microsoft exactly what they think about the company's latest operating system.

The Feedback Hub has been built into preview builds of Windows 10 for some time, but now the app is available to download from the Windows Store. With the launch of Windows 10 Anniversary Update just around the corner, it's clear that Microsoft is keen to gather as many comments and as much reaction as possible.

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VisionTek USB 3.0 512GB Pocket SSD [Review]

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When USB flash drives first hit the market, they felt like magic. Don't forget, at that time, we weren't far removed from floppy disks. Flash drives were brilliant for students, businesses, and general home use. Over time, these USB drives became faster, while gaining greater capacities.

While the explosion of cloud storage has made flash drives less necessary, the USB devices are still very useful. Even if you do choose to store your data in the cloud, making a local backup is very wise -- redundancy, folks! Today, I am looking at one of the most intriguing such USB drives -- the VisionTek USB 3.0 512GB Pocket SSD. That's right -- a half terabyte!

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Microsoft updates policies to tackle terrorism on the internet

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Microsoft has outlined its latest plans to crack down on terrorist and extremist content online. Recognizing that the "internet can be used for the worst reasons imaginable" the company has set out its approach for ensuring that content promoting terrorism does not make it online through its services.

As well as updating its terms of use to make it explicitly clear that terrorist content is not permitted, Microsoft is also planning to up its game in seeking out and removing offending content. To help with this task, the company is forging new partnerships with experts in the field, as well as employing new technology to help to automatically identify and remove terrorist material.

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Google launches Safe Browsing API version 4

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The world wide web used to be like the wild west (and still sort of is). Visiting the wrong site would often mean an infection with malware or other nastiness, such as getting taken by scams. While that can still happen today, web surfers are much more protected. Some security suites don't only scan for and remove viruses on your hard drive, but prevent the download entirely. Not to mention, users are often better trained to recognize a scam.

Unfortunately, no web browser or security software package is infallible -- nor is any user. Thankfully, Google is working around the clock to keep the world protected. Its Safe Browsing API is available to developers, allowing software -- such as Chrome -- to warn a user before they visit a dangerous site. Today, the search giant launches the fourth version of the API.

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Why is Google bringing Android apps to Chromebook?

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Answer: Your kids. Chromebook leads laptop and desktop sales through U.S. commercial channels to schools, according to NPD. Education is overwhelmingly the primary market for the computers. The institutions can't buy enough of the thangs, for their utility and low-cost compared to notebooks running either OS X or Windows. That cost is as much about extended webapps and services from Google (or its developer partners), available for free or comparatively next-to-nothing, set against software for the other platforms.

Wrinkle in the Google firmament: iPhone and Chromebook are like water and dirt. The sediment settles unless shaken up. Sure youngsters can do all their Googly things—Docs, Gmail, Maps, Photos, YouTube, etc. -- on iOS but the experience is smoother and more homogenous when mixed Android and Chrome OS. What the kiddies lack, and their educators, is a swath of useful apps like the Apple kids get.

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Consumers don't trust companies with their data, but they're willing to share personal info

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Consumers in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, Africa) are fairly skeptical about companies keeping their data safe, but are willing to share personal information to get something in return anyway.

Those are the results of a new and extensive research by F5 Networks, which had asked more than 7,000 consumers in UK, Germany, France, Bene, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Poland about their online shopping habits, and data attitudes.

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Microsoft bringing Minecraft to China

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Minecraft is insanely popular, and for good reason. Not only is it fun, but light on resources. In other words, it can run on many desktop and laptop computers, not to mention smartphones and tablets. There is even a special Windows 10 edition in Microsoft's app store.

Today, Microsoft announces that it is bringing Minecraft to China. While that news is great, the way they are announcing it is a bit disappointing. You see, the company has produced a video showing creative designer of Minecraft, Jens Bergensten, playfully mocking old-school dubbed martial arts videos. While I am sure it was not the intention, it feels a bit culturally insensitive. Surely the people of China are more than these tired stereotypes, right?

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Own your category -- 7 ways to set your app apart from the competition

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Whenever a new platform emerges there are always a handful of first movers who become huge success stories. In the early days of the PC, those first movers were Microsoft, Visicalc, Lotus, Broderbund, 3D Realms and others that -- while nostalgic -- are largely left to the annals of computer history. Nearly anyone has at least a statistical chance of "hitting it out of the park" when there are few competitors and little industry knowledge has transferred into the broader marketplace. The difference between the long term winners and losers is that the winners understand that as an industry evolves, consumers don’t simply all gravitate to the better mousetrap. Creating great software is as much about running a business as it is developing the product.

That means thinking about what problem your product is really solving upfront, identifying who your customers are and having a solid marketing plan. Below we reveal 7 ways that any developer can set their app apart from the competition in the App Store and Google Play!

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Android N's seamless updates may not support existing devices

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Android N is coming later this year and it will introduce some pretty interesting new features. One of them is seamless updates, which makes it possible for software upgrades to be performed in the background without interruptions in the user's flow. As you may know by now, this feature is already implemented in Chrome OS with good results. However, it may not be available on existing devices after users upgrade to Android N.

Naturally, many of you will want to experience it on your devices after they get Android N support, but technical limitations are getting in the way. How the feature is designed, for seamless updates to work on existing smartphones and tablets, some serious modifications would need to be performed beforehand.

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European IT departments want to invest in cloud and security

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Another confirmation of the heading IT departments are taking this year comes to us from tech giants Toshiba. After an extensive research into business practices in IT departments across Europe, it was found that cloud-based solutions (56 percent) and data security (50 percent) remain the biggest areas of investment for IT departments in the country this year.

The research shows results of a poll of 400 senior IT decision makers in the UK, France and Germany.

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Samsung's next Android flagships may have 6GB of RAM

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Each new generation of Android flagships seems to push the limits of what we consider high-end hardware specifications. A few years ago we were looking at sub-5-inch displays with 720p resolutions and dual-core processors with 2 GB of RAM, and nowadays larger, 2K displays backed by octa-core chips and 4 GB of RAM appear to be the norm.

While the bump in resolution and processor speed may not be as noticeable when moving to a new-generation flagship, the extra RAM is certainly a welcome addition. Of course, for some companies not even 4 GB is enough in this department, as Samsung just unveiled a larger module, which should be available in its next flagships.

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European workers still find fax machines 'essential'

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Europe is considered an old continent by many standards, but when it comes to what workers there find essential, that’s where the oldness really kicks in.

Apparently, workers in the EU still find fax machines "essential" to office life. As a matter of fact, they find it more important than tablets, or smartwatches. Those are the results of a survey done by business communications technology provider Fuze. It asked 5,000 employees about the technologies still used in the office.

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Celebrity threesome injunction sees Twitter send warning emails to those who name PJS and YMA online

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People who have named the celebrities known by the initials PJS and YMA have received warning emails from Twitter.

A superinjuntion is in place that prevents the naming of the couple, one of whom is said to have been involved in a threesome with two other people known as AB and CD.

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