Ubuntu-maker Canonical's GitHub account hacked
Canonical -- the company behind the Ubuntu Linux distro -- is investigating an attack on its GitHub account over the weekend.
On Saturday, hackers were able to break into Canonical's GitHub account and create a number of new repositories. Named CAN_GOT_HAXXD, the eleven repositories were empty and have now been removed. Canonical says that no source code was accessed, but it is not yet known who carried out the attack.
Seven out of 10 Brits want tougher penalties for breaching privacy rules
According to a new survey carried out by YouGov for data privacy company myGaru 71 percent of of UK adults want to see tougher action in penalizing companies that abuse data privacy by misusing third party data.
Around a third of the public (34 percent) have already made changes to the privacy settings of one or more of their social media accounts since the Cambridge Analytica Facebook scandal and 19 percent say they would make more or new changes in the future.
System76's USA-made and Ubuntu Linux-powered Thelio desktop now available with 3rd gen AMD Ryzen processors
Fans of Linux have long coveted System76 computers, as they come with Ubuntu pre-installed rather than Windows. After all, buying one of these computers is a great way to support the Linux community. Nowadays, in addition to Ubuntu, the company also offers its own Ubuntu-based operating system called Pop!_OS.
With the System76 "Thelio" desktop PC, even more people became interested in the company -- beyond Linux enthusiasts. Why? Because it is made right here in the good ol' USA. People that take pride in being an American often look for USA-made products (something that is getting increasingly harder to find), and System76 began filling that need.
Debian 10 'Buster' Linux-based operating system finally available for download
Debian is one of the most important operating systems, as so many other Linux distributions (such as Ubuntu) are based on it. In other words, it is part of the foundation that holds up many distros. With that said, it is a great operating system in its own right -- many folks depend on it daily.
Today, Debian reaches a significant milestone -- version 10. Yes, Debian is finally in the double digits. Believe it or not, development of Debian 10 (code-named "Buster") took more than two years! In fact, more than 60 percent of all packages have been updated since its predecessor. Probably the most significant update, however, is Wayland finally being the new default display server for the GNOME desktop environment.
Hands on with Windows 1.11, the Stranger Things tie-in you didn't know you needed (minor spoilers)
This week Microsoft has been teasing users across the web with a series of Windows 1.0 announcements. That operating system originally came out in 1985, and the latest season of Netflix’s Stranger Things is set in the same year, so there was never any doubt that the teasers and the show were linked in some way. But how?
On Friday Microsoft revealed we’d know the answer on Monday, but we now know exactly what’s coming -- Windows 1.11.
Microsoft's Windows 1.0/Stranger Things tie-in just got stranger
Microsoft has been running an amusing series of tweets on its Windows social accounts. It announced Windows 1.0 back on July 1, and then followed up it across the week with additional Windows 1.0 images and videos.
While some people, and some news sites, were seemingly confused by the move, it was clear from the start for a lot of us that it was a Stranger Things 3 tie in, seeing as the new season is set in 1985, the same year that Windows 1.0 arrived. But although each new tweet has made the link clearer, today’s one also includes an intriguing twist.
Mozilla set to offer ad-free browsing in Firefox for $5
Advertising is the lifeblood of many websites, but at the same time it is something that few people are fans of. To stave off income-killing ad-blockers, an increasing number of sites offer per-article or per-month subscriptions that give people the chance to enjoy content free of ads while still supporting the sites they love.
Mozilla has a different idea -- "Ad-free internet by Firefox". The result of a partnerships with multiple online publishers, the idea is that a single, low subscription fee gives you access to a number of sites with the ads removed.
Apple ditching the wonderful MacBook butterfly keyboard is a huge mistake
Apple has been making a lot of money despite making many mistakes in the design department. Thankfully, the once brilliant Jony Ive -- now seemingly washed up -- has left the company; we should hopefully see some fresh ideas that focus on substance rather than flash.
One of the most polarizing Apple design choices in recent years is the controversial MacBook butterfly keyboard. The scissor keys have very little movement, are fairly loud, and worst of all, are prone to breakage by something as simple as a piece of dust. And yet, I love that damn keyboard.
Companies turn to instant messaging in response to rising email threats
In a new study of IT decision makers by Barracuda Network, 94 percent of participants admit that email is still the most vulnerable part of their organization's cyber security.
The survey of 280 decision makers focused on the email threat landscape and email security practises. It discovered that 75 percent have been hit with brand impersonation emails, the largest threat as identified in the survey with ransomware coming in second on 47 percent.
Chinese border officers are gathering data from tourists' phones with a secret spy app
China's track record with privacy violations, control of the internet and control of its citizens is well known. But now anyone who has ever visited the country has cause for concern.
Enter China via the border crossing between Xinjiang and Kyrgyzstan, and you're required to hand over your phone -- unlocked. This would obviously lead the owner to expect a little rooting around by officials, but an investigation has found that border officials are actually installing secret spy apps on iPhones and Android phones to scour emails, texts and other data stored on devices.
Compatibility issues stand in the way of installing Windows 10 May 2019 Update on some Macs
Some Mac users -- who, thanks to Boot Camp, are running Windows 10 on their Apple machine -- are encountering a problem upgrading to Windows 10 May 2019 Update (version 1903).
A compatibility issue with the Mac HAL Driver (machaldriver.sys) is blocking the installation. The problem remains more than two months after the May 2019 Update was released, and Microsoft is still working away on a solution.
Microsoft releases Windows 10 20H1 Build 18932 with notification improvements
When it’s not crowing about the cutting edge abilities of Windows 1.0, Microsoft is busy working on the next big feature update for Windows 10, due out next year.
Today it rolls out Build 18932 which introduces some eye control improvements, and refined notification settings, among other changes.
Poor management of data harms businesses' ability to gain value from it
Less than 40 percent of companies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) are confident they can manage, secure and gain insight from data, and use it responsibly according to new research from Oracle.
The study finds that on average 42 percent of respondents do not have a data management strategy in place. Only 35 percent are highly confident they can manage data to generate meaningful insights, and key departments are still not accepting both accountability and responsibility for data management. In addition data security protocols are often not understood, or followed.
Second screens could be dragging down corporate networks
Having a second monitor is a great way of improving your productivity, but new research from network solutions company Gigamon suggests this could also be driving higher bandwidth consumption.
Of the 200+ IT professionals surveyed, 59 percent believe that second screens are, or could be, being used for non-work-related activity, like streaming music or watching videos.
AOMEI Backupper Standard 5.0 unveils major design refresh and improved file sync performance
AOMEI has released AOMEI Backupper Standard 5.0, the first major update of its freeware Windows backup, imaging, sync and cloning tool since December 2016.
Version 5 unveils a long-overdue design refresh, attempting with some success to provide a flatter, more modern interface in keeping with Windows 10. There’s also the promise of faster file sync, but in the main the program’s functionality remains identical to earlier versions, providing file- and image-based backup, sync and cloning.
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