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Increasingly high profile one-off events like sports tournaments and elections are becoming the target of hackers.

Protecting these is tough because even if the hosts have a sound security infrastructure for day-to-day operations, they often don't have the resources necessary to lock down a large scale, high-profile event which requires additional physical and cybersecurity to protect against disruption, revenue loss or other irreversible damage.

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Just as the biggest problem with a car is often the nut holding the wheel, many IT support issues are down to the user rather than the equipment.

UK-based support company Probrand has compiled a list of some of the oddest support calls it has received over the past year.

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The end of Skype Classic (or Skype 7, if you prefer) has been on the cards for a while now, much to the annoyance of legions of users. Microsoft has been keen to encourage Classic users to migrate to Skype 8, but many have held out. Now Microsoft is forcing their hands.

When the company announced that support for Skype 7 and below was terminating at the beginning of November, Microsoft said that "you may be able to use older versions for a little while". Three months down the line, Skype Classic users are being forced into upgrading to Skype 8.

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You cannot miss the signs of technological advancement in travel today. From mobile ticketing to biometric scanning at amusement parks, today’s business trips and family vacations look vastly different than in years past. Innovation has come just in time for the crowds -- Expedia Group reported a 40 percent increase in the number of people traveling for business and leisure since 2016, and this number is on track to grow in the coming years.

Behind the scenes, one of the quiet workhorses of hospitality innovation has been the Internet of Things (IoT). Broad and flexible IoT coverage has already enabled major changes in the traveler experience and the hospitality industry, through innovations such as luggage tracking to parking and trash management. Largely in part to communication networks that enable the travel industry to implement a variety of innovative solutions, cheaply.

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Every business by now is familiar with the term 'digital transformation', and for good reason. When done right, digital transformation has the potential to revolutionize the customer experience; drive data-based insights; encourage collaboration across departments; increase agility and innovation; update skillsets and knowledge; consolidate processes and operations; and create incredible returns on investment.

So why aren’t more people concerned about it?

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Facebook has been no stranger to controversy and scandal over the years, but things have been particularly bad over the last twelve months. The latest troubles find Mozilla complaining to the European Commission about the social network's lack of transparency, particularly when it comes to political advertising.

Mozilla's Chief Operating Officer, Denelle Dixon, has penned a missive to Mariya Gabriel, the European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society. She bemoans the fact that Facebook makes it impossible to conduct analysis of ads, and this in turn prevents Mozilla from offering full transparency to European citizens -- something it sees as important in light of the impending EU elections.

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Over the past year, business email compromise (BEC) scams have jumped by 60 percent. In addition more than 90 percent of organizations report being hit by targeted email attacks, with 23 percent suffering financial damage as a result.

These findings come from the Q1 2019 Email Fraud and Identity Deception Trends report by secure email specialist Agari.

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The Logitech Harmony remote is one of my favorite devices. It can control home theater equipment, and some can control home automation items like Nest products, lights and more.

Sometimes though, the remote can experience funny problems, which can be annoying. Don’t let it scare you away, it’s generally not serious and it doesn’t happen very often. You can fix it, it's just a matter of troubleshooting. The most common problem tends to be that you accidentally screwed things up by hitting a wrong button, so that’s what we’re going to look to fix here.

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Chief information security officers (CISOs) are now involved in 90 percent of significant business decisions, but just 25 percent of business executives see CISOs as proactively enabling digital transformation -- which is a key goal for 89 percent of organizations.

These are among the findings of a new study by IDC sponsored by Capgemini  but which also shows 15 percent still believe information security is a blocker of innovation.

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Mozilla has launched a test version of a new mobile web browser -- sort of, anyway. Known as Reference Browser, Mozilla stresses that "this is NOT a new end product, it is a collection of parts".

Described as a "technology preview", Reference Browser sees the company seeking feedback about various components which may or may not be used together in the future. It is looking for Android users to provide "input, telemetry and feedback and bug reports" to shape the future of mobile web browsing.

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Fans of Nintendo's Italian plumber and his racing antics have been keenly waiting for the launch of Mario Kart Tour, the mobile version of Mario Kart. There's some bad news though: you're going to have to wait a little longer than expected.

The game was previously planned for a March launch, but things have been very quiet from Nintendo. In its Q3 earnings report, the company revealed that the game has been pushed back to summer.

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The Windows 10 19H1 update may not yet have been released to the masses, but Microsoft is already hard at work on the update that will follow it, predictably codenamed Windows 10 19H2.

If you're an eager beaver, you probably want to get your hands on this update as soon as possible, and Microsoft is giving you a way to do so. The company has opened up the Skip Ahead ring for Windows Insiders, and by signing up for this you can be among the first to try out Windows 10 19H2.

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We've known for several weeks now that Google+ is to close down, and Google has even brought forward the shutdown date. Now the company has revealed details of the timeline for the closure.

As of next week -- February 4 specifically -- it will no longer be possible to create a Google+ account, and commenting options will be removed in March. When April rolls around, Google+ will not only close down, but data associated with consumer accounts will start to be deleted.

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If you don't have an account with a streaming music service these days, you simply aren't living your life right. Look, I don't care which service you choose -- Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, or something else -- it is foolish to buy and download songs. If you are still buying CDs, you are probably beyond hope, but I digress. Streaming music is simply the best value in entertainment. For a small monthly fee, you get access to more music than you can possibly listen to in a single lifetime.

YouTube Music is yet another streaming music service, although it is not as popular as, say, Spotify. Google seems intent on growing this eventual Play Music successor, and today, the company announces a huge new feature -- Sonos support. Yes, if you have both a paid YouTube Music account and a Sonos speaker, you can finally use them with each other.

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While it’s essential that employees consistently avoid taking risks that could lead to a data breach, even top-performing employees don’t necessarily have top-notch cybersecurity knowledge. Thus, organizations are in charge of bridging the cybersecurity skill gap to keep employees from damaging the company’s network by accidentally uploading of a malicious program or sharing confidential documents with the wrong people.

Though it’s easy for IT and leadership teams to put systems in place that defend their network from external threats, well-intentioned internal users can be a hackers easy way in. The only way for organizations to counter this is with education and training.

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