Latest Technology News

While you may be friends with someone on Facebook, it doesn't mean that they're not going to annoy you. Stoking the fires of annoyance is, after all, one of the (albeit probably unintentional) functions of social media.

If a friend upsets you, you might consider unfriending them. It's a somewhat extreme reaction, but it's something that happens regularly. Should you feel that this is indeed something of an over-reaction, Facebook's testing of a Snooze function may appeal to you, as it lets you put your irritating friends on a timeout.

Facebook has been forced to amend its ad targeting policies after an investigation by ProPublica found that the social network was permitting advertisers to target individuals with anti-Semitic beliefs.

The New York-based news organization found that advertisers were able to use a number of categories such as "Jew hater," "How to burn Jews," "History of 'why jews ruin the world,'" and "Hitler did nothing wrong." All of these categories were created by users -- rather than Facebook or advertisers -- as they self-reported their education and employment history with offensive terms and labels.

Virtual reality is hardly new, but the technology is finally getting to a point where it is fairly affordable and easy to use. It still has a long way to go before it can truly be considered mainstream, as for now, it is largely just for enthusiasts and gamers. There will need to be some truly great non-gaming uses to propel VR to the next level.

Google Earth VR is the type of application that could get people excited about virtual reality, and today, it gains an amazing new feature -- Street View. Yes, with the help of either an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive, you can experience Street View in a more immersive way.

VMware has called for greater links between itself and developers in a major show of support for open source software.

Speaking at the company’s VMworld Europe 2017 event in Barcelona, CTO Ray O’Farrell highlighted the "powerful" world of open source software.

Chrome will stop trusting any security certificates issued by Symantec, Google has confirmed.

In a blog post, Chrome Security's Devon O’Brien, Ryan Sleevi and Andrew Whalley say that certificates from the security firm will be "distrusted," starting with version Chrome 66. This affects all certificates issued before June 1, 2016.

"Your Windows Has Been Banned" is a nasty piece of malware that first surfaced in 2016. It locks your computer screen and displays a message stating "This PC has been banned for terms of use violations."

It doesn’t go into specifics for the ban -- because, obviously, it’s not a real ban -- but simply says that your PC has been locked in order to "protect the Windows service and its members," adding "Microsoft does not provide details about specific PC bans."

VMware has emphasised its strength and independence almost a year since its parent company was acquired.

Speaking at the VMworld Europe 2017 event in Barcelona, VMware COO Sanjay Poonen noted that the relationship between the firm and parent company Dell EMC was benefitting both parties equally.

In the United States, there are four major cell carriers -- Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint. They are not the only game in town, however, as there are regional carriers too. Not to mention, there are many MVNO offerings that piggyback off of the towers belonging to the aforementioned "big four."

One interesting new player in the MVNO space is Comcast with its affordable and unlimited "Xfinity Mobile" offering. Limited to subscribers of Xfinity home service, it uses a combination of Verizon's excellent LTE network plus Xfinity's 18 million hotspots to maximize coverage. Today, Comcast announces that the the budget-friendly service will soon be getting Apple iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus.

President Trump has blocked a Chinese investment firm from buying US company Lattice Semiconductor. The acquisition was stopped because of national security concerns.

Following a recommendation by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the Trump administration said that the potential buyer, Canyon Bridge, "might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States."

Oracle is reportedly planning major job cuts across Europe as it readies for a company-wide reorganization.

According to The Register, Oracle is looking to shift its hardware support division into Romania. Confirmed by 'multiple insiders' the report states the process has already begun, although the deadline for migration differs from country to country.

From the moment Apple started to talk about Face ID, there were concerns voiced about privacy and security. It's not just security experts and potential users who have these worries; Senator Al Franken has written to Tim Cook asking for details about the safeguards Apple has put in place to protect users.

On top of this, Franken wants to know more about how Apple trained the Face ID algorithm, and seeks assurances that third parties will not be able to access or be granted access to Face ID data.

Businesses are more keen than ever to unlock the power of their data, but often struggle to come up with a strategic approach.

Cloud data management company Informatica is launching its latest Intelligent Data Platform driven by the CLAIRE engine which uses metadata-driven AI to deliver faster insights.

The cryptocurrency market is now in a massive correction which has wiped out over $50 billion from its market cap high reached at the beginning of the month. The downward pressure seems to center on rumors that China wants to ban Bitcoin, the most valuable cryptocurrency.

I say rumors because there seems to be no official information from China that a ban is, indeed, in the cards. That has not stopped various websites from giving them too much credence, which adds to the instability that we have seen recently.

Facebook has today launched Crisis Response, a central hub that provides access to its various crisis response tools such as Safety Check. Over the years, the social network has gradually added more and more tools that serve to help those caught up in a disaster, and those who know them, and the new center pulls all of these into one place.

As well as serving as a central hub, Crisis Response on Facebook is also being bolstered by links to articles and videos posted on the site so users can be kept better informed about a given crisis.

Cyber criminals supplementing their income by mining cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin is nothing new. Usually this has been done by installing malware or PUPs on the machines of unsuspecting users.

But now researchers at ESET have discovered a new method of mining cryptocurrencies, which can be done directly within your web browser, using JavaScript. This gives attackers the potential to reach a greater number of victims, by infecting websites, rather than by targeting individual machines.