Google explains how Chrome's new ad filtering feature works -- and why it's not your new ad blocker
Despite the fact that Google has a vested interest in online advertising, the company is about to enable its own built-in ad blocker (of sorts) in Chrome. Starting tomorrow, 15 February, the Chrome browser across all platforms will feature ad filtering to cut out those advertisements that fail to comply with the Better Ads Standards.
This is something that Google has talked about before, but ahead of the ribbon-cutting, the company has revealed how the feature works and what it means for Chrome users. The first thing to note is that it does not mean you should ditch your current ad blocker.
Cryptomining malware tops January's 'most wanted' list
Malware seeking to steal processor time for crypto currency mining continues to be a problem, with 23 percent of organizations globally affected by a Coinhive variant in January.
These findings come from a study by Check Point which discovered three different variants of cryptomining malware in its top 10 most prevalent listing, with Coinhive ranking first.
NTT Security and ThreatQuotient partner to deliver threat intelligence
With a wider threat landscape presented by cloud and digital transformation strategies, accurate and up to date threat intelligence is more important than ever to protect against attacks.
To meet this need, NTT Security, the specialized security company of NTT Group, has partnered with ThreatQuotient to offer an improved threat intelligence capability.
TunnelBear 3.2 improves and refines its VPN service, rebuilds VigilantBear component
Canadian VPN provider TunnelBear Inc has released TunnelBear 3.2 for Windows. TunnelBear, also available on Mac, provides users with both free (500MB/month) and paid-for VPN plans.
Version 3.2 features a completely rebuilt VigilantBear component and comes with the promise of improved reliability when switching networks as well as some other tweaks and bug fixes.
Amazon offers refunds to people who paid to remove ads from Prime Exclusive Phones
For anyone looking to bag a bargain-priced handset, Amazon Prime Exclusive Phones were a great idea. There was just one drawback: lockscreen ads. Of course, there was the option to pay to hide the advertising, but that sort of negated the benefit of the initial low price.
Last week, Amazon announced it was going to get rid of these ads. This is great news for owners of Prime Exclusive Phones, but it irked people who had paid for ad removal. Now Amazon has announced that it will be offering refunds to anyone who parted with money to hide ads.
Microsoft gives sysadmins Meltdown and Spectre detection in Windows Analytics
Microsoft has released an update to its free Windows Analytics tool, giving system administrators a new way to check for the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities.
The update not only makes it possible to see whether firmware patches are already installed or if they are needed, but also helps sysadmins to determine whether the patches are causing problems of their own. The checking tool is available for fully updated versions of Windows 7 through Windows 10.
Official Amazon Music app for Windows 10 lands in the Microsoft Store
Part of the reason why Windows 10 S failed was because it only allowed software from the Microsoft Store and the Store is famously lacking in quality apps.
It’s always news when a big name app arrives in the Store, and today Amazon Music debuts there for users in the US, UK, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Spain and Japan.
Google Pixel sales still no match for iPhone, Galaxy S series
Google has high hopes for the Pixel line. Its smartphones compete against the best the market has to offer, featuring cutting-edge hardware, vanilla Android and, unlike many of its droid-toting siblings, three years of support. But consumers aren't (yet) enamored with them.
According to IDC, Google shipped 3.9 million Pixel smartphones last year, which is not a whole lot when you consider just how many tens of million of units the big players ship in a single quarter.
Judge refuses to quash arrest warrant for Julian Assange
A UK judge has refused to cancel a warrant for Julian Assange, meaning that the WikiLeaks founder still faces arrest if he leaves the Ecuadorian embassy in London where he has taken up residence. The judge said that Assange "appears to consider himself above the normal rules of law and wants justice only if it goes in his favor."
Assange skipped bail back in 2012, fearing extradition to Sweden where he faced rape charges, and further fearing being handed over to the US where he believes he faces charges of revealing state secrets. Although Sweden has since dropped charges, he could still be arrested in the UK for breaking his bail conditions.
Cloud adoption is up but 35 percent of spend is wasted
The dash to move data and applications to the cloud shows no signs of slowing down, but while the adoption of cloud solutions is up there are still major challenges.
A new report from cloud delivery specialist RightScale shows that 26 percent of enterprises (with more than 1,000 employees) are spending over $6 million a year on public cloud.
Google is bringing AMP to Gmail, promising dynamic emails with interactive content
Google has launched a developer preview of AMP for Email, bringing its Accelerated Mobile Pages feature to Gmail. The aim is modernize email, allowing for the creation of messages with interactive, dynamic content.
In practice what this means is that emails could be updated with new information if details change, and that it will be possible to fill out forms and so on without leaving your inbox. There are already a number of big names getting involved -- including Pinterest and Booking.com -- and more will use the open source tool.
Business data is getting bigger
It probably comes as no surprise that we're all storing more data. But just how much of an impact is this having for businesses.
Enterprise file sharing specialist Egnyte says 82 percent of businesses are hybrid-enabled, keeping their data both physically backed up and in put into cloud storage. This is up from 76 percent in 2016.
Despite challenges, mainframe use is still central to large enterprises
Mainframes are still vital to many larger businesses and a new report from Syncsort highlights some key trends including the mainframe’s role in strategic projects.
The results show the mainframe remains strategic to businesses, with 57 percent of respondents saying it will continue to be the main hub for business-critical applications this year. It will run revenue-generating services for 43 percent. Cost control is a priority though, 51 percent say they plan to cut IT costs by optimizing mainframe resources.
Lara Croft explores Windows 10 alternatives -- Rise of the Tomb Raider coming to Linux and macOS
While Windows remains the dominant platform for PC gaming, Microsoft’s stranglehold is slowly eroding. True, Linux and macOS won’t overtake Windows 10 on the desktop anytime soon, but as developers are learning, you can make money by supporting alternative operating systems. With Linux in particular, users are very loyal -- many won’t dual boot with Windows for gaming. The only way to get their dollars is to embrace the penguin.
Developer Feral Interactive has seemingly gotten the message, as it is bringing one of its top-tier titles to both Linux and macOS. The game to which I’m referring is Rise of the Tomb Raider, featuring the iconic cave-explorer Lara Croft.
The UK government reveals AI software that automatically blocks extremist content online
Continuing its drive to take control of the internet, the UK government has unveiled a new tool that it says can block extremist content "on any platform" with astonishing accuracy. The system -- as yet unnamed -- was unveiled by Home Secretary Amber Rudd and cost £600,000, paid for with public funds, and has been designed to detect jihadist content.
The government says that the algorithms can automatically detect "94 percent of Daesh propaganda with 99.995 percent accuracy." Speaking to reporters in London, Rudd said that "we're not going to rule out taking legislative action if we need to do it," opening up the possibility that the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Google could be forced to use the system.
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