• Poll

Ransomware continues to be the most lucrative business model for cyber crime, and a new study indicates that existing endpoint protection methods may not be enough to guard against it.

The survey from security awareness training organization KnowBe4 questioned more than 500 organizations about the current state of their ransomware protection, whether they were a victim of ransomware, the impact of a successful breach and their remediation tactics.

Continue reading →

The US courts say Apple should help the FBI access the contents of an iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters, but Apple is refusing, on the grounds that it doesn’t want to erode the security of Apple customers.

I’m personally on Apple’s side, as is my colleague Joe Wilcox, but Donald Trump wants Apple to use "common sense" and open its phone up, while John McAfee is claiming he can help the FBI unlock Apple’s device within "three weeks", primarily through the use of social engineering. The FBI for its part says it doesn’t want Apple to create a backdoor in all iPhones, just unlock the one belonging to the killer.

Continue reading →

If you haven't responded to either of our most-recent buying polls—Apple Watch and Chromebook Pixel—it's not too late. Preorders for the timepiece start April 10. The laptop is available now, but with long-wait ship times. I purchased the higher-end Pixel, which review is underway. Whether or not one of our writers will test the smartwatch is uncertain.

Polls of this nature are meant to gauge what a specific audience, BetaNews readers, plan to do. Often what respondents would like to buy isn't what they do. For lots of reasons: Budget; spousal or partner objections; availability; competitive pricing; early product reviews; and more. Results better reflect your intentions as the sample size increases. So, please, take a few seconds to answer each poll, if you haven't already.

Continue reading →

Google Glass is available to purchase in both the US and UK now, although the high asking price ($1,500/£1,000) will certainly put off many potential buyers, as will the news that if Google decides to make a change to the specs’ specs in the future (as it did this week, doubling the memory to improve performance), existing users will have to pay full price to get their hands on the latest model.

But price and lack of future proofing may not be the wearable’s biggest problems. A friend of mine who tried Glass out said the device made him feel like a futuristic cyborg, but look like a massive geek. And that could be a huge stumbling block. In June, mobile App Performance Management (mAPM) firm Crittercism commissioned an online Harris Poll survey among over 2,000 US adults aged 18+ and found that of those who were interested in wearable technology twice as many (54 percent) said they would opt for a smartwatch rather than computing glasses (26 percent).

Continue reading →

So Samsung has taken the wraps off its new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S5. It's a good looking device, that refines and improves on last year's model and borrows elements from Apple's similarly named device, most notably the fingerprint scanner used to unlock the phone and make mobile purchases. Even the choice of colors on offer is similar -- there's black, white and gold available, although Samsung includes a smart "electric" blue shade too.

It doesn't just copy from Apple though, it has some welcome additions of its own. Highlights include dust and water resistance, a Download Booster, which speeds up downloads by bonding Wi-Fi and LTE simultaneously, a built-in heart rate monitor, an improved 16 megapixel camera, and an Ultra Power Saving Mode that shuts down all non-essential features to allow you to eke out the last remaining drops of battery life.

Continue reading →

Preordering has just started on the colorful iPhone 5c, but anyone interested in getting their hands (and fingertips) on the "forward thinking" flagship iPhone 5s will have to wait until Friday, September 20, when ordering officially begins.

The iPhone 5s is available in three colors -- space gray, silver and gold -- and three capacities -- 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. It also boasts a new A7 processor which is currently the world's only 64-bit chip in a smartphone.

Continue reading →

Although Microsoft created Windows 8 with touch devices in mind, there weren’t actually all that many Windows friendly touch screen PCs and tablets available at launch.

Since then of course, every manufacturer -- including Microsoft -- has rolled out devices designed to take advantage of the touch features built into the OS. We’ve seen regular PCs with touch screens, tablets, hybrids, and all manner of weird and wonderful variations.

Continue reading →

On June 26 Microsoft will release a preview of Windows 8.1. The OS refresh is designed to make the operating system easier to use, address some of the concerns that users have, and persuade doubters to finally make the switch.

Windows 8.1 fixes issues and introduces some welcome new features, including the return of the Start button, boot to desktop, the option to have multiple apps on screen at once, Internet Explorer 11, the ability to turn the lockscreen into a photoframe, as well as various Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and security enhancements.

Continue reading →

Today, Microsoft Store started taking pre-orders for the Lumia 900, Nokia's flagship Windows Phone. There's a $25 reservere for the handset, which, according to my local shop will be available some time in March. Microsoft Store had no official launch date to give.

My question: Will you buy the Lumia 900? Nobody is saying how much the smartphone will cost. That $25 is blind faith the final price will be reasonable enough. Who knows? Given Microsoft's and its partners' marketing commitment, the faithful might see a serious discount for their leap to pre-order. Will you be among them? You can answer the question(s) and give your reasons why or why not in comments below and answer the poll below. Lumia 900 will be available in the United States on AT&T.

Continue reading →

Perhaps if you live outside the United States or are a US-based hard-core phone geek, you already bought Galaxy S II. But for the majority of us, the big chance to score one of these big-screen beauts will be September 16 or 18, when they go on sale at Sprint and AT&T, respectively.

The United States is one of the last countries where the Galaxy S II launched -- Tuesday night. Heck, even China got the smartphone before us. But it's coming. Are you itching to get your grubby hands on one?

Continue reading →

"Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came
You wanna be where you can see, our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows Your name"
-- Theme song from TV show "Cheers"

Google+ real names policy continues to generate controversy. Last month I strongly urged Google to resist calls for pseudonyms or to allow people to be anonymous. The policy of using real names is sensible and the best approach long term. But, clearly, not everyone agrees. So it's time for a poll and to ask for more reader reaction.

Continue reading →

The hosting of software and services in leased, private clouds is already a reality for many businesses worldwide. But the synchronization of confidential data is the next big step, and while technologists declare "the cloud" as something that is happening, like climate change, CIOs aren't always ready to take the plunge.

But services such as Microsoft Exchange synchronization are already among us. Is that a cloud app? Recently, Microsoft has been saying yes, as it rolls out its own leased Exchange hosting services to many classes of business, including SMBs. The difference between hosted Exchange and Exchange Server is that it's Microsoft that's doing the hosting. And in synchronization services such as those being constructed by Google and others, employees' data could follow them wherever they go, from their PCs to their Android phones and on the road. Almost like Eeyore, users wouldn't be able to escape the cloud over their heads.

Continue reading →

We exit 2009 with what appears to be the first sign of a plate-tectonic shift in both consumer and business technology -- specifically, a shift in interest and focus. It's a broader world out there, full of new and old companies with different names and real technology agendas that suddenly seem very realistic. Could we really be emerging into that competitive playing field that so many technologists had been seeking for so long?

It's not that we're emerging into a world without Microsoft (some of us technology journalists wouldn't be able to continue breathing). But even Microsoft's successes in 2009, Windows 7 being the biggest among them, have helped take the focus away from Vista as a roadblock to evolution. And Microsoft's biggest failure in 2009 -- the lack of a new Windows Mobile -- has helped turn consumers' attention toward Google as the biggest perceived threat to Apple's iPhone in the mobile space.

Continue reading →

Last week's change to Facebook's privacy policy resulted in tens of thousands of users being directly confronted with a choice over how Facebook should change its stance. The initial result was confusion, but as folks worked out what the question really meant, they came to a discovery that they were not only being asked, but encouraged, to turn off their privacy settings altogether as a benefit to "Everyone" -- Facebook's new default class.

Now, the group that helped focus the US Federal Trade Commission's attention on Google has turned its sights on Facebook, initiating a complaint action yesterday that could lead to a federal investigation of the subject. Expect Congress to follow suit at some point, perhaps calling Facebook executives to the witness stand. In advance of the coming debate, where do you stand on the subject? That's Betanews Live Poll for this Friday.

Continue reading →

In January, a new European Commissioner for Competition takes his post: Joachín Almunia. His position on the global economy and Europe's role in it is crystal clear, but his take on the role individual companies -- including American firms such as Intel, Microsoft, and Google -- play in that economy, is an absolute blank slate at this point. Reliable news sources all over the European press (including those that don't publish centerfolds) openly state they are clueless as to which way Almunia will lean.

While the active pursuit of charges against Microsoft may at this point be closed, the investigation of the company by the European Commission -- and thus the case itself, at least on the books -- remains open. Given what we've seen before, what do you believe will be the next headline in this ongoing story, assuming there is one? This time around, you can add your own alternative and let others vote on it.

Continue reading →