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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently published a blog entitled "Aiming for truth, fairness, and equity in your company's use of AI" that should serve as a shot across the bow for the large number of companies regulated by the FTC. 

Signaling a stronger regulatory stance on deployed algorithms, the FTC highlights some of the issues with AI bias and unfair treatment and states that existing FTC regulations -- such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and the FTC ACT -- all still apply and will be enforced with algorithmic decision-making.

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Audio company Sonos is well known for its speakers and soundbars, and last year the company filed a patent that showed it had wireless headphones in development too.

That's not the only product in the pipeline though as Sonos is also reportedly working on earbuds. Development is in early stages however, so things could change or perhaps the product never sees the light of day.

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Here's the deal, folks; Bluetooth speakers are very convenient, but for the most part, they don't sound very good. Don't get me wrong, some Bluetooth speakers will impress in the sound quality department, but those models are few and far between. Audiophiles and other lovers of music will often instead opt for wired speakers and stereo receivers -- convenience be damned.

Apple's AirPlay 2 is far superior to Bluetooth, as it often provides better sound quality while operating over Wi-Fi. Yes, you can easily transmit to an AirPlay speaker as long as it is connected to the same network. The problem? AirPlay 2 speakers are rather rare. Thankfully, a new product from Belkin will transform your existing stereo receiver or speaker system into a makeshift AirPlay 2 device.

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Earlier in the week, Microsoft began to roll out the Windows 10 May 2021 Update (21H1) to all, although there are some known issues with it to be aware of.

Although that feature update is now out in the wild, work continues apace on future updates of the operating system, and today the software giant brings Build 21387 to Insiders in the Dev Channel.

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More than half of companies in India, Austria and the US experienced ransomware attacks in the past year, compared to a global average of 37 percent.

Data from Atlas VPN, based on research by Sophos, shows that out of 300 interviewees from India, 68 percent suffered from a ransomware attack, while 57 out of 100 respondents from Austria did so.

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For those of you that build your own desktop computers, you know that choosing the right brand really matters. For instance, if you opt for an unknown company for your RAM, power supply, or storage, there is a very good chance you will run into problems. This is why I always recommend sticking with reputable brands -- saving a few bucks is never worth it if you end up troubleshooting crashes.

BIOSTAR is a trustworthy company that has been around for a long time, and its motherboards, in particular, are very popular with system builders. Today, it launches beautiful new DDR4 memory that enthusiasts and gamers should both absolutely love. Called "Gaming X," the RAM comes equipped with beautiful RGB heat spreaders.

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Conventional encryption methods rely on the exchange of keys. This can leave them vulnerable, particularly when they're used on public cloud services.

One way around this is to use homomorphic encryption, this permits third party service providers to perform some types of operations on a user's data without needing to decrypt it.

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Microsoft has released a new update for Windows 10 version 1909, around a week-and-a-half after this edition of the operating system reached end of service.

KB5003212 is a preview version of a cumulative update that's currently available as an optional install ahead of a wider release. Although a non-security patch, this is still a key update that includes a number of important fixes.

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Google is opening a retail store in New York City, and I couldn't be more excited. No, I don't plan on shopping there, but instead, I'll use it for a place to sit down and cool off in the summertime. You see, that is what many New Yorkers use the Apple Store for -- a place to hang out and charge their phone while enjoying the free air conditioning. I expect the Google Store to become a similar destination.

Some people will go to this new Chelsea Google Store to actually shop too, I suppose. Customers can expect to see many Google products like Chromebooks, Pixel phones, Nest smart home devices, and more. By visiting a physical store, consumers can be assisted by actual people -- a nice change to the coldness of online shopping. The search giant will even offer workshops to teach customers more about the Google products they already own.

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The median attacker dwell time before detection is 11 days or 256 hours, according to data from Sophos. That's time in which they're free to conduct malicious activity, such as lateral movement, reconnaissance, credential dumping, data exfiltration, and more.

The company has released an 'Active Adversary Playbook' detailing attacker behaviors and the tools, techniques and procedures (TTPs) that Sophos' frontline threat hunters and incident responders saw in the wild in 2020.

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Yes, you can learn the skills to effectively lead people, organizations, and employees. With the right motivation and knowledge, you can be a leader who knows what it takes to succeed.

Throughout his extensive experience in training leaders, author Alain Hunkins discovered that many leaders shared a common trait. They were mainly focused on what they were doing but not so focused on how they were doing it, especially when it came to working with other people. By strengthening their leadership capabilities, they could become trusted leaders within their organization, improve employee communications, and build bridges across hierarchies. Cracking the Leadership Code shares the valuable principles and practices that Hunkins developed and refined during the 20+ years he’s worked with leaders.

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Nearly half (49 percent) of US employees create their own tricks and shortcuts for managing logins, leaving business systems open to attack.

A new report from password manager company Dashlane, created in conjunction with Datalands and based on a survey of 1,000 people, identifies four different employee personas, and the potential barriers these employees may cause to security culture.

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The Windows 10 May 2021 Update is here! Microsoft has started rolling out the update via its Windows Update tool, plus made the latest Windows 10 ISO available to download for system builders and those looking to take advantage of the update to reinstall a clean, pristine version of the operating system.

What’s new in the May 2021 Update, codenamed Windows 10, version 21H1? It’s not as major as past spring updates, which is highlighted by how quickly it installs on those updating from either last year’s 2004 or 20H2 updates.

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Are you in the market for a new copy of Windows 10? Perhaps you’re building a new PC from scratch or looking to move up from an older version of Windows. Maybe you’re looking to run a version of Windows alongside macOS or Linux? Whatever your reasons, a Windows 10 OEM license is a great choice.

OEM licenses are cheaper than full retail versions -- while they’re tied to a single PC and non-transferrable, they’re a great fit for many. Read on to discover why you should consider Windows 10 OEM and how to get a great deal on both Windows 10 Home OEM and Windows 10 Pro OEM.

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Internet Explorer may be a stalwart of the world of web browsers, but it has also been an object of ridicule and derision for pretty much its entire life. Since the emergence of the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge, the writing has been on the wall for the browser just about everyone loves to hate, but IE has been lingering for longer than many people would have expected.

But now Microsoft is finally ready to pull the plug. Sort of. The company has announced that "the Internet Explorer 11 desktop application will be retired and go out of support on June 15, 2022, for certain versions of Windows 10". But what does this mean in practice, and will you be affected?

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