PayPal is ready to get into traditional banking with debit cards, loans and more

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PayPal is looking to expand its services and gain a foothold in more traditional banking services, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

The company has been testing a number of offerings in the US over the last few months, including debit cards, ATM cards, and services such as check depositing via photo. PayPal has teamed up with small banks to offer different services as it tries to lure in more business.

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Facebook launches Data Abuse Bounty with rewards of up to $40,000

Facebook on three smartphones

With at least 87 million Facebook users affected by the data abuse by Cambridge Analytica, the social network is now on a mission to clean up its image. After rolling out tools, issuing notifications, and testifying in front of Congress, Facebook is launching a new bounty program that rewards people who report instances of data abuse.

The Data Abuse Bounty is a new program that offers from $500 to $40,000, and it aims to clamp down on the misuse of data by app developers. Launched just before Mark Zuckerberg's testimonies this week, it's a clear attempt by Facebook to curry favor.

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LIVE: Watch Mark Zuckerberg testify before Senate about Facebook privacy at 2:15PM ET

Mark Zuckerberg's CNN interview

After keeping something of a low profile for a while, Mark Zuckerberg has eventually started to address the Cambridge Analytica scandal. He was asked to testify before Congressional committees, and ultimately agreed to do so. Today is the first of two appearances he will make this week.

At 2:15PM ET, Zuckerberg will speak about Facebook user data and privacy in front of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and the Senate Committee on the Judiciary at the "Facebook, Social Media Privacy, and the Use and Abuse of Data" hearing. You can watch his testimony right here.

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How to check if your Facebook data was shared with Cambridge Analytica

Facebook and Cambridge Analytica

The Cambridge Analytica data scandal has rocked Facebook, and users have been left wondering whether or not their personal data was involved. The social network said that it would be notifying people if they had been affected, but it is also possible to manually check.

Facebook has set up a help page that can be used to determine whether your personal data was shared with Cambridge Analytica, and you can check this if you have not yet seen a notification in your news feed.

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YouTube hackers take down and deface videos from the likes of Taylor Swift and Drake

YouTube logo

YouTube was today hit by hackers, with the attackers managing to deface or delist a number of big name videos. Despacito by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankeee -- the most popular video of all time -- was among those that were temporarily inaccessible.

While little is known for certain about the source of the attack, it seems that Vevo was possibly the intended target as the videos that were attacked were in Vevo accounts. The ease with which the attack appears to have been carried out -- and the number of high-profile videos affected -- will be of major concern to YouTube and its users.

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Large organizations think SaaS is outpacing security

cloud padlock

A new report finds that 64 percent of IT decision makers believe the pace of software as a service (SaaS) application adoption is outpacing their cybersecurity capabilities.

The survey from cloud-based web security company iboss shows that 91 percent of IT decision makers agree they need to update security policies to operate in a cloud-first environment.

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How to spend like a cyber criminal

gangsters with car and cash

We all know that there's money to be made from cyber crime, with even entry level hackers being able to make as much as $42,000 a year. But what do they do with that money?

An 11 month study by virtualization-based security specialist Bromium looks at what cyber criminals are earning, and what they spend it on.

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IBM launches cloud ready 'skinny' mainframe

IBM logo

Despite changes brought about by the cloud, edge computing and distributed systems, the mainframe remains for many businesses, the most stable, secure and mature environment to support IT initiatives including the proliferation of blockchains.

IBM is launching its newest cloud ready mainframe -- the IBM z14 Model ZR1 and IBM LinuxONE Rockhopper II, the latest additions to its family of z14 mainframe technology announced in 2017.

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New standard brings stronger authentication to browsers

web authentication

In a move to bring simpler yet stronger web authentication to internet users, the FIDO Alliance and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) are launching a new standard called Web Authentication (WebAuthn).

WebAuthn enables online service providers to offer FIDO Authentication through web browsers. FIDO Authentication makes web access more secure because it uses unique encrypted credentials for each site, eliminating the risk that a password stolen from one site can be used on another.

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Mobile phishing click rate increases 85 percent

Phishing

A new report from mobile security specialist Lookout exposes the growing risk from phishing attacks on mobile devices, with an increase in the number of users clicking on URLs that bypass security controls.

The mobile phishing URL click rate has increased 85 percent year-on-year. 56 percent of Lookout users received and clicked on their mobile device a phishing URL that bypassed existing layers of phishing defense.

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Handbrake 1.1.0 revamps user interface, adds Vimeo, YouTube and 4K presets

Handbrake 110

Popular cross-platform, open-source video transcoder Handbrake 1.1.0 has been released, and despite the version number increment is actually a major update. Handbrake allows users to convert video from a wide variety of formats -- including DVD and Blu-ray -- into MP4 or MKV files with support for a wide range of codecs, including x264, x265, VP8/9 and both MPEG-2 and MPEG-4.

Handbrake 1.1.0 provides a major update to its user interface to provide a more logical and easy to follow workflow. It also adds new presets, filters and improves 4K and x265 support.

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LaCie launches Rugged Raid Pro external drive with 4TB of storage

LaCie Rugged Raid Pro

The new Rugged Raid Pro is a highly versatile portable storage device. Just unveiled by LaCie, it is designed to withstand the rough conditions of working in the field, featuring a durable shell and the option for automatic backups, but it can also be quite fast when the user wants to speed up data transfers.

How has LaCie managed it? Well, the Rugged Raid Pro, as its name suggests, can be set up in a Raid 1 or Raid 0 configuration, with the former duplicating data on a second internal drive and the latter boosting speeds at up to 240MB/s. The total capacity of the Rugged Raid Pro is 4TB, most likely achieved in a non-Raid 1 setup.

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Congress releases Mark Zuckerberg's prepared testimony ahead of Wednesday's hearing

Mark Zuckerberg on Forbes website

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is due to testify before Congress on Wednesday, and ahead of this the House Energy and Commerce Committee has released his prepared statement. He talks about the Cambridge Analytica data scandal as well as Russian interference in elections.

In the statement, Zuckerberg acknowledges that Facebook did not do enough to prevent the misuse of the social network's tools. He also personally accepts responsibility for recent failings at the company, saying: "It was my mistake, and I'm sorry. I started Facebook, I run it, and I'm responsible for what happens here."

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The HP Chromebook x2 with detachable screen is ready to take on the iPad Pro and Surface Pro

HP Chromebook x2

There's a new Chromebook on the block -- or there will be soon -- and this HP offering is determined to stand out from the crowd... and give both the Surface Pro and iPad Pro a run for their money.

Running Chrome OS, the HP Chromebook x2 supports Android apps, features a stylus, and -- importantly -- has a detachable screen so it can be used as a tablet or a laptop. The 12.3-inch device comes in at a shade under $600, and the hardware specs are impressive... for the price, at least.

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Apple launches iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus (PRODUCT)RED Special Edition to raise money for HIV/AIDS

iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus (PRODUCT)RED Special Edition

Apple has announced the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus (PRODUCT)RED Special Edition which will be available to order from tomorrow, April 10.

Like last year's iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus (PRODUCT)RED, the new handsets feature a red finish and proceeds from sales will help to raise money for Global Fund HIV/AIDS grants. In addition to the phone, Apple has also announced a new $99 (PRODUCT)RED iPhone X Leather Folio case.

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