The Wi-Fi router's role in today's homes
We’ve come a long way since dial-up internet. Thankfully, we are no longer subjected to its ear-piercing dial tone and instead enjoy the freedom of roaming about in our homes receiving our Internet connection cord-free or going to our local café and surfing with unattached ease. Revolutionizing this advancement is, of course, Wi-Fi.
So much of what we take for granted in our homes -- whether it be bingeing on (Netflix) box-sets, online gaming with an opponent who resides in another country, or even everyday practicalities like ordering dinner or communicating with friends and family -- is dependent on the Wi-Fi router, that little box in the corner with its row of blinking lights.
Transform any photo into a work of art with AKVIS AirBrush 3.0
AKVIS has announced AKVIS AirBrush 3.0 ($49 -- $89), its powerful applications for transforming digital photos into airbrushed works of art.
Unlike many similar tools, the program preserves a lot of detail from the original photos, while still giving it a very stylized look.
Why LinkedIn is hacker heaven
Professional social networking site LinkedIn has proven to be a valuable business tool, bringing together professionals from all over the world.
But few corporations grasp the security risk injudicious use of LinkedIn represents. The main problem is not with the LinkedIn website’s own digital security but with a widespread corporate ignorance of the way the organized criminal gangs (OCGs) who make billions, sometimes tens of billions, of dollars from cyber crime.
iOS 9 adoption tops 50 percent in just 3 days
In an announcement that is mostly meant to remind us that its new iPhones go on sale on September 25 -- like we did not already know that -- Apple today reveals that iOS 9 has been installed on more than 50 percent of all iPhones, iPads and iPod touch devices currently in use.
That is a remarkable achievement, but it is even more impressive that iOS 9 reached this milestone just three days after its release on September 16. Apple says it is the "fastest iOS adoption ever".
Two months in: Living with Amazon Echo
It's been two months since I acquired Amazon Echo, the voice controlled device that can do a surprising amount of things. That feature list is always growing as well, with an increasing amount of partnerships and developers writing "skills".
Has the novelty worn off? Well, somewhat, but I still use it every day. It has become a tool that works for me and there are many features that come in handy.
Prelert improves insight into problems and threats
Finding anomalies in data sets is an effective way of identifying performance issues or indicators of compromise before they impact a business.
Being able to link those anomalies together by identifying common traits among them would be even more effective and that's what a new Anomaly Detective tool from behavioral analytics specialist Prelert does.
Google loses Right to Be Forgotten appeal in France
France has rejected an appeal from Google about last year's Right to Be Forgotten ruling. A previous ruling said that when Google received requests from European citizens to remove search results linking to stories deemed "inadequate, irrelevant, or no longer relevant", the removals should be applied worldwide.
Google disagreed, saying that removals should be limited to country-specific Google domains like Google.co.uk and Google.fr, leading to the appeal. But the president of the Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés, Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, said that rather than amounting to censorship, imposing global removals would help to prevent circumventions of the ruling.
Inateck USB hub and Ethernet adapter improves ultrabooks' usability [Review]
More and more devices now either connect through, or are powered by, USB connections which means you can easily find yourself running out of ports. This is especially true of the latest slimline ultrabook type systems.
Adding a USB hub is an easy way of expanding your number of ports and these latest offerings from Inateck give you a choice of solutions as well as a handy way of accessing wired networks.
Can't access a file, folder, or Registry key? MicEnum shows why (maybe)
Windows integrity levels are a key element of your PC’s security, often manipulated by malware, and one reason why you sometimes can’t access files, folders or Registry keys. But most users don’t even know they exist, because there’s no standard graphical interface for viewing them.
MicEnum is a free portable tool which makes it easy to browse the integrity levels for files, folders and Registry keys, scan for anomalies, and -- in some situations -- even change them.
Who you gonna call? Ghost Push Android virus infects 600,000 people a day
If you frequent Android forums you'll probably have seen references to 'Monkey Test' and 'Time Service' as users report that it's hard to get rid of these apps.
Researchers at Cheetah Mobile's CM Security Research Lab have discovered that the source of these apps is a virus called 'Ghost Push'. This installs unwanted and annoying apps on the device and can't be removed easily even by doing a factory reset or using normal antivirus software.
New solution helps avoid account lockouts
Being locked out of your account because you mistyped your password is not only frustrating, it takes up valuable IT staff time as it has to be treated as a genuine security threat and investigated before resetting.
Behavior analytics specialist Exabeam has produced a solution to the account lockout problem that uses machine learning to model lockout behavior and apply that logic and related rules to its latest release.
Apple cleans up the App Store after serious malware attack
Apple has started a clean-up operation of the Chinese version of its App Store after it was flooded with apps infected with XcodeGhost malware. The problem was not detected by Apple, but a number of security firms who discovered various malicious iPhone and iPad apps littering the Store.
The apps made their way past Apple's usually-rigorous vetting process after developers were tricked into using a counterfeit version of the Xcode tool to create them. The attack has been described as "a pretty big deal" although at this stage there are no reported instances of data theft or attacks on victims.
Worried about Windows 10 privacy? Use Linux
Windows 10 is a wonderful operating system. Every day, I boot a computer running Microsoft's latest operating system to get work done. On the surface, everything is peachy-keen. Sadly, under the hood, there are some legitimate privacy concerns. There is a bunch of information being sent to Microsoft, and you may not even know it. This has caused programs like the wonderful O&O ShutUp10 to be created.
Luckily, Windows is not the only game in town, folks. Actually, there are many wonderful operating systems available to you at no charge. Unlike Windows 10, where it is only free with a prior licence, most Linux-based operating systems are entirely free. Period. If you want to try one of these open-source operating systems, you may be confused as to where to start. Don't worry, I am here to help. Here are the distributions and software you should use.
Pebble site is down, app may be as well
The smartwatch is the latest technology darling these days with Pebble, Android Wear and, most recently, Apple. But technology can fail, sometimes badly. Just this morning my home automation left me sitting in the dark (again). Worse Amazon, who's Echo device controls it, was down making a reset impossible and leaving the only option as switching to manual control and using that old-fashioned switch thing on the wall.
According to the Register, Amazon wasn't the only one out of luck, as it's own AWS service took it down, as well as Netflix, IMDB and others.
Leaked Microsoft Band 2 pictures show off new design
In the world of wearables it is really a battle between the Apple Watch and the various Android smartwatches like the Moto 360. But Microsoft would like you to remember that it also has something to offer. The original Microsoft Band may not have generated a great deal of interest, but the company is not ready to give up.
Leaked images show that Band 2 is shaping up to be better looking than the first generation. Spanish website Microsoft Insider has published renders of the upcoming wearable which currently bears the codename Envoy.
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