New Kodi 18 Leia preview build arrives, download it now!

The Kodi Foundation is hard at work polishing up the next version of its hugely popular home theater software -- Kodi 18 'Leia'.

The updated software introduces a huge number of changes (you can view the full changelog here) and you can try it out now.

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Warning: DO NOT install the latest version of CCleaner [Updated]

A month ago, I wrote about how I felt Avast was ruining CCleaner, the excellent system cleaning software it took over when it acquired Piriform last year.

In Avast's short tenure, we've already seen CCleaner suffer from malware, bundled software, and pop-up ads. In my article headline I asked "what’s next?" Well, with a new version of CCleaner available to download, we now have the answer. Inevitably, it's not good.

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Fortnite is coming to Android -- is your phone supported and will the game ever hit Google Play?

Fortnite for Android setup

Fortnite quickly became a gaming sensation, and the wait for the battle royale game to come to Android has felt like a long one. While Fortnite for iOS is already a reality, Fortnite for Android remains somewhere on the horizon.

But that's not to say there is no news about the Android version of the game. A list recently came to light that seems to reveal the handsets that will support Fortnite, and there is a persistent rumor that the game will initially launch as an exclusive title for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 9. Now it seems as though Fortnite may never make it to Google Play, with Epic Games seemingly looking to avoid paying Google a share of Fortnite-related income.

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Hate phone notches? Google says Android handsets can never have more than two

Smartphone notches

Phones with notches are incredibly divisive, but since Apple launched the iPhone X complete with a little screen cutout, there have been endless copies from other handset manufacturers. But is one notch enough? How about two or more?

If you fall into the "hate" camp when it comes to notches and cutouts it may be hard to convince you to buy such a phone, but for everyone else, Google has set out some new ground rules stating how many a phone can have, and where they can be located.

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OnePlus is bigger than Samsung in India -- oh, and OnePlus 3/3T owners everywhere are getting Android P

OnePlus 6 and box

OnePlus keeps on going from strength to strength, and nowhere is this truer than in India. New analysis shows that the company is now bigger than Samsung in the region in the premium smartphone market.

The company is now the market leader in India -- quite an achievement considering OnePlus only started participating in there fours ago. The rise to first place was helped by the success of the OnePlus 6, but it's also helped by the fact that the company does not abandon its users when it comes to software updates. In seperate news, it has been revealed that both the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T will be getting Android P -- skipping Android 8.1 Oreo completely.

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Logitech buying Blue Microphones

cash handshake

When one company acquires another, the deal it is often judged by how much financial sense it makes. For instance, when Microsoft bought LinkedIn for $26 billion, many pundits thought it was a colossal waste of money. I suppose time will tell if the Windows-maker made a mistake or not. On the flip side, Amazon's acquisition of Twitch for nearly $1 billion is now looking quite brilliant -- the video platform is getting more popular every day.

Today, Logitech announces it is acquiring Blue Microphones for $117 million. While obviously not as big as the two aforementioned acquisitions, it is still very intriguing. Actually, Logitech's purchase of Blue makes a ton of sense, as the microphone-maker's portfolio fits in perfectly with its new owner's products. Logitech is known for producing high-quality accessories, and while it does make headsets, it doesn't really produce high-end microphones -- the acquisition fills a void. And so, the deal seems like it could be a match made in heaven.

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Microsoft releases Windows 10 Redstone 5 Build 17728, teases new Your Phone app

The second Windows 10 Redstone 5 Bug Bash is currently underway, but that hasn’t stopped Microsoft rolling out Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17728 (RS5) to Insiders in the Fast ring.

This new build introduces a number of changes, improvements and fixes, and Microsoft also used this new flight to detail the forthcoming Your Phone app which will soon allow iOS and Android users to sync content from their phones to a Windows 10 PC.

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Businesses overestimate consumers' level of 'digital trust'

Broken trust

How much do you trust businesses with your data? A new report from CA Technologies reveals 48 percent of consumers have stopped using the services of an organization because of a data breach.

Yet the study, conducted by analysts Frost & Sullivan shows varying attitudes to data stewardship among businesses, with nearly half admitting to selling customer data, while claiming that data protection is paramount.

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These are all the websites Windows 10 connects to after a clean install

Windows 10 has always had a bad reputation for snooping on users. While that was a valid issue at the start, each new feature update has made changes to the privacy side of the operating system, and users now have much greater control over things.

When you perform a clean install of Windows 10, the operating system connects to a large number of sites for different purposes, including -- naturally enough -- to send and receive email, download apps and security updates, and so on. The sheer number of endpoints that the operating system connects to might surprise you however. It's a very, very long list.

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Managed detection and response supports internal security teams

data threat

Companies are facing a constant battle against cyber threats, add to this a growing skills gap and security teams don't always have the staff or knowledge to effectively monitor and respond to threats.

Automated detection and response company Fidelis Cybersecurity is launching a new managed detection and response (MDR) service to supplement in-house security resources.

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FireEye uses machine learning to guard endpoints

machine learning AI

Traditional signature-based security solutions find it hard to keep up with the fast pace of malware development, so security companies are turning to other solutions.

FireEye is launching a new version of its Endpoint Security product with the addition of a machine learning engine called MalwareGuard.

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Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) 3 'Cindy' BETA available for download

Back in June, we reported that Linux Mint Debian Edition 3 BETA would be released in July. Well, LMDE 3 did make the deadline, albeit barely. Yes, today, on the final day of the month, the BETA version of the rolling release operating system becomes available.

Unlike the traditional Linux Mint operating system which is based on Ubuntu, LMDE is based on Debian. To be more precise, LMDE 3 BETA is based on Debian Stretch. While this Debian version of Mint is perfectly usable as a daily driver, its real focus is as a contingency plan in case development of Ubuntu ever ceases in the future.

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How automation can address the challenge of an aging workforce [Q&A]

older worker

A trend that's already started and will continue for at least the next decade is the loss of skilled workers as older employees start to retire.

The effects are being felt across industries, with Gartner reporting the aging workforce as one of the biggest challenges to the utilities industry. What's more, the skills gap resulting from retiring employees leaving and entry-level employees entering the workforce is causing all industries to look at new solutions to solve the need for experienced and highly skilled workers.

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Ubuntu Linux-based Lubuntu no longer focusing on old hardware after move to LXQt

Ubuntu is a great Linux distribution, but understandably, the GNOME desktop environment isn't for everyone. Thankfully, there are many flavors of the operating system with alternative DEs, such as Xubuntu with XFCe and Kubuntu with KDE. Ultimately, with so much choice, you should have no problem finding a version of Ubuntu that best meets your needs and wants.

One popular Ubuntu flavor is Lubuntu. If you aren't familiar, it uses the lightweight LXDE desktop environment which makes it a good choice for older hardware. In fact, one of the focuses of the Lubuntu developers is to support aging computers. When Lubunu 18.10 is released in October 2018, it will ditch LXDE for the newer LXQt. Despite it also being a desktop environment that is easy on resources, the Lubuntu developers are planning to drop their focus on old hardware after the transition.

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93 percent are worried about online privacy

Data privacy

Compared to a year ago 93 percent of people have the same amount or more concern about their online privacy.

This is according to a survey of of 1,000 people across the US by VPN comparison site TheBestVPN. It finds 51 percent are worried about their information being stolen by hackers, and 26 percent about companies collecting and sharing data.

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