Google lets developers exclude app support for rooted Android devices
Netflix is the first big name on Google Play to block Android devices that are rooted or have an unlocked bootloader from downloading its app. And it looks like it may not be the last, as now Google is officially giving all developers the option to do the same.
Developers on Google Play can enforce support exclusions based on a device's SafetyNet status, which is also what Netflix has used to restrict access. Out of the box, rooted devices or devices with an unlocked bootloader are supported, but developers have two options that they can choose to change that.
Microsoft blocking Linux on Windows 10 S
When the education-focused Windows 10 S was announced, many people were dubious that it could be a success. Limiting the operating system to apps from the Windows Store seems like a recipe for disaster. That opinion is understandable, as we have sort of been down this road before with Windows RT -- which failed. The concept can confuse users.
I was sort of hopeful for Windows 10 S when Microsoft made a shocking announcement at Build 2017 that it is bringing Linux distributions to the Windows Store. This gave the impression that students using the S variant of the OS would be able to tinker with Linux. Unfortunately, this is not the case as Microsoft will be blocking Linux on the new OS. In other words, not all apps in the store will be available for Windows 10 S.
WannaCry: How to recover encrypted files
The WannaCry ransomware has made a huge mess across the globe, affecting hundreds of thousands of PCs, including critical devices in the healthcare sector. It is so dangerous that Microsoft released a public patch for Windows XP, after it dropped support three years ago.
Of course, the patch did not stop Windows XP users from getting infected, but, thankfully, a decryption tool, called WannaKey, is now available and should help recover your locked files. And the good news is that it works on other operating systems too, including Windows 7 (the x86 version, anyway) and Windows Server 2008!
Digital assistants set to outnumber people by 2021
The number of digital assistants installed is on track to exceed 7.5 billion by 2012, which is more than the world population.
According to technology research company Ovum, Google Assistant will dominate the voice AI–capable device market with 23.3 percent market share, followed by Samsung's Bixby (14.5 percent), Apple's Siri (13.1 percent), Amazon's Alexa (3.9 percent), and Microsoft's Cortana (2.3 percent).
Stop users copying PDF text with PDF Anti-Copy
PDF Anti-Copy is a free tool which protects PDF content by preventing users selecting or copying its text. There are similar programs available, but they typically work by applying the standard PDF security restrictions. This can easily removed with the right software.
PDF Anti-Copy takes a more unusual approach, using GhostScript and its -dNoOutputFonts switch to essentially replace the text with vector graphics. The page looks the same, but the text selection options stop working because the text has gone.
Best Windows 10 apps this week
Two-hundred-and-thirty-one in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on the Windows Store in the past seven days.
This week saw several strong releases including the new Microsoft application Send to OneNote, the excellent vector graphics designer Gravit Designer, and the popular game Survival Arena.
Facebook is finally doing something to make Messenger less of an unusable mess
The Facebook Messenger app for iOS and Android is an utter mess of ideas at the moment. The confused interface is all over the place and decidedly user unfriendly. All that is set to change, though, thanks to an update that rolls out this week.
The update brings a slightly updated look which makes navigation a little easier. Tabs help to keep things better organized so you can jump to where you want to be more easily. The changes do not go as far as letting you kill the endlessly irritating Messenger Day/Stories feature, but it does go some way to improving things.
Cyber crime is a $6 trillion a year industry
Last week's WannaCrypt attack infected over 200,000 devices and is estimated to have made its perpetrators $72,000.
Increasingly scammers and criminals are seeing the internet as a means of making financial returns. Cyber crime has become a serious business and no business or information is safe from attack.
Leaked images show off Microsoft's upcoming Surface Pro
Panos Panay may have said that the Surface Pro 5 does not exist, but that certainly does not mean there's not a Surface Pro 4 successor. Microsoft has an event scheduled for Monday in Shanghai, and Panay himself has already indicated that it is Surface-related.
Ahead of the event, writer and serial leaker Evan Blass has revealed a number of images of the upcoming device which drops the numbering and is to be known simply as the Surface Pro.
ASUS ZenFone AR Android smartphone with Tango and Daydream is a Verizon exclusive
Both augmented and virtual reality show no sign of slowing down -- these are certainly technologies to keep an eye on over the next several years. Microsoft and Google have been very public with their projects, while there are rumors that Apple is secretly working on both AR and VR too.
Google's Tango is one of the most ambitious such projects, bringing augmented reality capabilities to Android devices. Earlier today at Google I/O, ASUS announced that the upcoming ZenFone AR smartphone -- compatible with both Tango and Daydream -- will be a Verizon exclusive.
Panasonic unveils Toughbook 33 2-in-1 detachable rugged laptop
While some people may feel that their office job is stressful -- and maybe it is -- there are workers in the world that do physically hard work that is much more strenuous. They may work in dangerous and dirty conditions where not only is their health at risk, but so too is their computer. For instance, they may work in a location with tremendous dust, risk of flooding, and falling debris. For these jobs, an extremely rugged laptop or tablet could be needed.
When it comes to rugged computers, Panasonic's legendary Toughbook laptops are always a wise choice. These computers have a reputation for surviving really rough conditions. Today, the company announces its latest bad-ass notebook -- the Toughbook 33. Not only is it a laptop, but a detachable tablet too.
Enterprise IT is back
There is no doubt that public clouds like Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google constitute rapidly growing and attractive alternatives to traditional on premise IT operations leading many organizations to conclude that they are "not IT companies" and/or "do not want to be in the IT business."
But few companies can escape the mandate to be present online, to conduct business online, and to deal with partners, suppliers, customers, and employees online. This mandate is causing companies to embark upon initiatives to "digitize" their businesses, which means to implement these crucial business functions in software.
IT leaders want to adopt unified communications systems
Enterprise communications are set to see a major overhaul within the next five years, according to a new report. Research from Fuze found that almost six in ten (59 percent) of companies have prioritized adopting new communication technology.
Based on a survey of 900 IT leaders, the report says 64 percent are looking to cut the number of communications apps to remove complexity. Two thirds (64 percent) are also looking to move their communications completely into the cloud. Sixty-three percent will have adopted a unified communications system by 2022, and 62 percent think video will replace voice-based comms by 2022.
Many senior executives do not know GDPR is coming
More than four fifths (84 percent) of small business owners in the UK, and almost half (43 percent) of senior executives in large companies have no idea what GDPR is and that it’s coming.
That's according to Shred-it’s Security Tracker research, which also found that roughly one in seven (14 percent) of small business owners, and 31 percent of senior executives know what the fines of not complying with the GDPR are.
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