Colour Contrast Analyser is a versatile accessibility checker
Colour Contrast Analyser is an unusual accessibility tool with a couple of useful but very different functions.
The first allows checking text foreground and background colors to determine its legibility. No need to judge by eye any more: the program gives you an objective pass/fail assessment using WCAG 2.0 color contrast success criteria.
Do autonomous cars mean insurance is obsolete?
According to Business Insider, fully autonomous vehicles -- those that can drive from point A to point B without driver interaction -- will debut as soon as 2019. And these autos will be only a fraction of the 10 million self-driving cars BI Intelligence estimates will hit the road by 2020.
According to Elon Musk, "in the distant future, people may outlaw driven cars because it’s too dangerous." This might sound outlandish, but it does line up with car safety statistics. With more than 90 percent of accidents caused by driver error, "there is every reason to believe that self-driving cars will reduce frequency and severity of accidents," says Professor Robert W. Peterson of Santa Clara University’s Center for Insurance Law and Regulation.
4 surprising (and preventable) mistakes that will fry your computer
Whether you’re an office worker or a busy person at home managing bills and scheduling, you likely rely on a computer to get things done. Even in the "age of mobile", computers are essential, and many people are put in a bind if their computer suddenly dies.
To protect these devices, it’s important to understand some of the common (yet surprising) ways you can fry your computer:
CyberTeam claims to have shut down Microsoft Skype, targeting Steam next
Skype has been having problems this week as a result of a DDoS attack which began on Monday. The Skype team acknowledged the problem, confirming that "some users will either lose connectivity to the application or may be unable to send or receive messages" as a result.
In order to mitigate the impact, Microsoft made some configuration changes which seems to have helped. A group called CyberTeam has claimed responsibility for the attack, and says it plans to target gaming platform Steam next.
Google Play fails to catch trojan-injected apps (again)
Getting your Android apps through Google Play is considered safe, but there are times when even the search giant's store is dangerous. Case in point, Kaspersky uncovered two more trojan-infected apps that weren't removed until they had over 60,000 installs.
Kaspersky security researcher Roman Unuchek reports that, since September 2016, he has discovered "several dozen new malicious apps" on Google Play, all of which "were rooting malware that used exploits to gain root rights on the infected device." Obviously, Google failed to catch any of those in time either.
Charmin Van-GO is an on-demand mobile toilet service -- the Uber of poop and pee
Look, it isn't exactly a pleasant topic, but we all need to use the potty (toilet, loo, etc.). As much as we humans want to think we are somehow above the rest of the animals on Earth, we have to pee and poop just like bears, dogs, and other creatures. It is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, there is even a very popular children's book called "Everybody Poops."
Believe it or not, it is not easy to go to the bathroom in NYC. Many store restrooms have keypads, requiring you to buy something to get the access code on a receipt. Don't have any money? Tough luck! I have seen people rooting through garbage cans for receipts just to find a receipt and code. Even when you finally gain access, it isn't always clean -- yuck! Thanks to toilet paper-maker Charmin, there is finally a solution. Called "Van-GO," it is an on-demand mobile toilet service that is sort of like Uber -- but for poop and pee.
Mobile employees are willing to place security above privacy
Given the recent increase of violent incidents around the world, in addition to everyday risks and natural disasters, businesses are naturally concerned about protecting their staff.
New research by enterprise safety application company Everbridge shows that mobile workers expect that their companies will be able to provide safety information to them should something happen or should they be in the proximity of a serious event. It also shows staff are willing to sacrifice privacy to achieve this.
India will regulate Bitcoin
Many analysts argue that cryptocurrencies need to be formally recognized by major governments in order to gain credibility. Well, for Bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency around, things are moving in the right direction.
The Indian government has decided to regulate the local Bitcoin market, just a few months after it was revealed that the Inter-Disciplinary Committee under the Ministry of Finance was assessing the legality of Bitcoin.
Top websites struggle to guard against sophisticated bot attacks
A report released today shows that, while an average of 16 percent of websites across all industries can thwart simple bot attacks, only five percent are able to properly protect against sophisticated attacks.
The study from bot detection specialist Distil Networks, in conjunction with the Online Trust Alliance (OTA), evaluated the top 1,000 websites in retail, banking, consumer services, government, news media, internet service providers and OTA members.
Dropbox plans to expand its network to improve speed and cut costs
Following its decision to no longer use Amazon Web Services (AWS) last year, Dropbox just announced that it would be expanding its global network in an effort to cut costs and increase the syncing speed for its users.
The company intends to move to the edge of the network with the aim of providing services as close to its users as possible. Dropbox began this endeavor by expanding its network across 14 cities in seven countries on three continents.
Personalization can add up to six percent to ecommerce revenues
Effective personalization of marketing messages can have a significant effect on generating sales according to a new report.
The study by marketing technology specialist Qubit shows that ecommerce businesses could add six percent to their revenues by focusing on the most effective optimization and personalization techniques.
Subpoenas mean owners of TVAddons and ZemTV Kodi add-on could be revealed
In recent weeks numerous Kodi add-ons have disappeared, and the popular site TVAddons also suffered the same fate. It had been presumed that the disappearances were related to a lawsuit taken out by Dish Network, and now the broadcaster has been granted subpoenas to help identify those developing the ZemTV Kodi addon and running the TVAddons website.
The subpoenas relate to a number of online services including Facebook and Twitter, and successfully identifying defendants will be key to the success with any lawsuits relating to copyright infringement.
OnePlus 5 cheats in benchmarks for a performance boost
At the start of the year it was discovered that the OnePlus 3T was cheating in benchmarks, artificially boosting performance when testing tools were detected. The OnePlus 5 was only officially launched yesterday but the same accusation is already being leveled at the latest version of the flagship killer.
As with the OnePlus 3T, the benchmark trickery of the OnePlus 5 was discovered in tests carried out by XDA Developers. The site says that its review unit "manipulates benchmarks to maximize scores" and issues a stark warning in an article entitled: "Do NOT Trust OnePlus 5 Benchmarks in Reviews -- How our Review Unit is Grossly Cheating at Benchmarks."
Legacy backup vs cloud data management
For a long, long time, backup and recovery had a reputation... and it wasn’t a positive one.
It was an extremely stilted and stagnant market, full of the same old companies selling the same old solutions... solutions which restricted users, making the management and protection of company and personal data a long, arduous task, dreaded by IT teams and individuals alike.
OnePlus 5 vs. Essential Phone -- which Android flagship smartphone should you buy?
If you like iOS, you buy an iPhone -- easy enough. If you prefer Android, well, picking a smartphone can be quite the confusing affair. Even if you select a phone you like at first, it is quite possible that the manufacturer could abandon it from an update perspective. In other words, you could end up with a vulnerable phone which, quite frankly, can be dangerous to use. This can happen even with well-known companies, such as Samsung and LG. Frustrating, right?
Of course, you can always opt for Google's own Pixel phones, as they are sure to get updates for a couple of years. What if you don't want to go that route? Well, there are two upcoming flagship smartphones that should be well supported both by the manufacturers and Android hacking communities. The phones to which I am referring are the OnePlus 5 and the Essential Phone. These devices are the "it" smartphones of the moment, and choosing between them won't be easy. So, which one will you be buying?
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