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You know the score. You’re in the middle of cooking dinner and realize you’re missing a vital ingredient, but home alone. Do you have enough time to jump in the car and fetch it or can you leave it out?
If only there was a social network which enabled you to reach out to other people and ask them if they could pick the item for you, dropping it off on their way home.
Malware infections drop during World Cup matches -- Result!
Even if you’re not a soccer/football fan, it probably hasn't escaped your notice that there's a World Cup going on in Russia at the moment.
We expect big sporting events to be exploited to launch phishing and malware campaigns but researchers at Enigma Software have spotted an interesting new phenomenon -- malware infections actually drop on match days.
Cybersecurity: It's about time
The sprawling and complex set of subjects we call cyber security can all be tied to one fundamental concept -- time. The time it takes a cyberattack to penetrate, the time from initial compromise to lateral movement across the network, the time it takes for an attack to be detected, to be analyzed, to be responded to and remediated.
Time is one of seven base quantities in the International System of Units upon which all other measures are constructed. No surprise then that it’s the single most important factor in cybersecurity program success.
Football is not only 'coming home' -- it's coming to the office too
It’s been 28 years since England reached the semi-finals of The World Cup, and England fans across the nation have been glued to pub and living room screens, anxiously watching their team beat a path to success.
This year’s summer of sport has been an epic one for fans of England who have seen them win against Costa Rica 2-0, thrash Panama with a historic 6-1 score and beat Sweden 2-0. Not only that, but sports fans have also been tuning in with strawberries and cream to watch Djokovic and Federer return to the tennis courts at Wimbledon -- and strapping themselves in to watch Lewis Hamilton take on Sebastian Vettel on the Silverstone Circuit during Formula 1. But whilst action-packed summers are great for sports fans, they can create a dilemma for businesses: should they carry on with 'business as usual' or let their employees watch as the drama unfolds?
From discrimination to invasions of privacy: The dangers of social media background checks
Social media background checks are slowly becoming the norm. According to CareerBuilder, 70 percent of employers use social media in some way to vet their employees. In most cases, these checks are innocent -- or at least well-intentioned. Employers want to make sure the people they hire are conducting themselves online appropriately and respectfully. No brand wants one of their employees sending out offensive tweets on a regular basis or badmouthing his or her boss on Facebook.
Intention is not the only thing that matters with social media background checks. In fact, employers can, and do, stumble into a mess of legal and ethical implications by looking at a job candidate’s Facebook page or Twitter account. Here are some of the biggest dangers of social media background checks.
New Kodi tool lets you configure new devices and download add-ons directly from developers on the fly
The XBMC/Kodi Foundation is still working hard on the next big update to its popular home theater software, Kodi 18 "Leia", but whether you’re running the alpha, or are still on Kodi 17, we’ve some great news for you.
Unofficial add-on repository TVAddons has released a new tool for Kodi called Batch Installer which allows users to create their own custom "templates" for configuring Kodi to new devices in seconds.
Canonical releases new infographic to show how Ubuntu Linux 'connects everything'
Microsoft owns the desktop with Windows -- it is undeniable. You know what? That's fine. But the success of Windows is not a failure for Linux. What I mean to say is, the open source kernel is omnipresent, whether you know it or not.
To highlight the ubiquitous nature of Ubuntu in particular, Canonical today releases an all-new infographic showing how this distribution "connects everything." I urge you to give it a look, as it will open your eyes to just how important Ubuntu -- and Linux overall -- really is. Apparently, this is an update to a previous infographic released in 2016, refreshed for 2018 following the release of Ubuntu 18.04 Bionic Beaver.
Hide your viewing and search history with YouTube Incognito Mode
Chrome's Incognito Mode is handy for those times you want to hide your browsing history from others on a shared system -- whether it's because you want to keep a birthday gift secret, or there are just sites you visit that you’d rather keep private.
Now the same feature is coming to YouTube. Having already undergone a period of testing, Incognito Mode is rolling out to Android users around the world, making it easy to hide evidence of the videos you have been watching, or the type of content you have been searching for.
Apple releases iOS 11.4.1 with passcode cracking blocker -- that can be easily bypassed with an accessory it sells
Apple is working away on iOS 12 at the moment, but it's still pushing out updates for iOS 11. As promised just a few weeks ago, a new update aims to block the use of iPhone passcode cracking tools, such as those used by law enforcement. But the patch has already been found to be flawed.
The latest update to iOS introduces a new USB Restricted Mode which is supposed to prevent the Lightning port of an iPhone or iPad being used to transfer data an hour after the device is locked. However, security researchers discovered that it is possible to bypass this security feature by plugging in an "untrusted USB accessory" -- and Apple sells such a device for just $39.
Microsoft Surface Go now available to pre-order
There might be interest in a Surface Phone, but for now there's the Surface Go to enjoy. Revealed late yesterday, the Surface Go is described as Microsoft's "smallest, lightest Surface yet" -- and it's available to pre-order right now.
Unfortunately, there's no discount for jumping on a pre-order, but if you're quick, you should be able to guarantee that you'll get one when it launches on August 2. The tablet will cost you $399, but you'll need to purchase a Signature Type Cover separately if you want to type rather than using the on-screen keyboard, and a Surface Pen if you like the idea of stylus operation.
100 percent of corporate networks vulnerable to insider attacks
Penetration testing company Positive Technologies has released some alarming figures surrounding the vulnerability of corporate networks to insider attacks.
During testing performed as an internal attacker, the company's researchers were able to obtain full control of infrastructure on all the corporate networks they attempted to compromise. Only seven percent of systems were assessed as having 'moderate' difficulty of accessing critical resources.
Google Pay gains support for tickets and boarding cards, friend and family payments, and a web app
Google continues to expand the capabilities of Google Pay, and today the company launched a new series of updates. Catching up with the likes of Apple Pay, Google's own digital wallet can now be used to store boarding cards and tickets.
While this is something that is already catered for by other apps -- such as those from airlines and box offices -- Google is clearly hoping that its "everything under one roof" approach will attract users. In addition to the new ticketing option, Google Pay is also combining the Google Pay and Google Pay Send apps.
Shutterstock celebrates 15th birthday by sharing posters of important events -- iPhone, Facebook, Pokémon Go, and more
If you are a regular reader of BetaNews, you may have noticed that many of our licensed images come from Shutterstock. That online service is wildly popular, thanks to its massive collection of images and other media. Quite frankly, it is a joy to use -- both its website and mobile apps are top notch.
Today, the company reaches an incredible milestone -- a 15th birthday! Yes, the site was founded on this day way back in 2003. To celebrate, Shutterstock has released 15 digital posters -- one for each year the company has been in business. Each poster commemorates an important event that happened in that year. This includes some important tech-related moments, such as the launch of Facebook and the release of the first-ever iPhone. Not to mention, who can forget Pokémon Go -- a game that made augmented reality mainstream.
How much does Google know about you?
We all know that Google collects data and uses it to sell adverts. But just how well does Google know you?
VPN service comparison site TheBestVPN has created a full guide to how the corporation tracks you and what it does with the information.
Two out of three IT pros don't comply with all data laws
According to a new study, 68 percent of IT professionals believe their organizations are failing to carry out all procedures in line with data protection laws.
The report from digital security specialist Gemalto also shows 65 percent of companies are unable to analyze all the data they collect and only just over half (54 percent) know where all of their sensitive data is stored.
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