Parents worry about children falling for online scams but fail to monitor usage
A new study of over 1,000 US parents with children at home between the ages of two and 20 finds that 35 percent of families have experienced a phishing scam via text, email or chat, and 25 percent have had a game or social media account hacked.
The report from Bitwarden finds that children as young as three to five are already using the internet, and 42 percent of parents in this age group say their child has unintentionally shared personal information. Nearly 80 percent of kids ages three to 12 have their own tablet, making device access nearly universal by early elementary school.
AI readiness helps companies gain an edge over their competition
The latest AI Readiness Index from Cisco is based on a study of over 8,000 AI leaders across 30 markets and 26 industries. It finds that what it calls ‘Pacesetters,’ about 13 percent of organizations for the last three years, outperform their peers across every measure of AI value.
Of these Pacesetters 98 percent are designing their networks for the growth, scale and complexity of AI compared to 46 percent overall.
Opera's mindful browser Opera Air gains an interactive cat companion
Today, October 14, is most notable for being the day when Windows 10 reaches its end of life, but it’s also Global Cat Day. One of those may leave you feeling sad, while the other feline great (sorry).
To mark the cat day, Opera has introduced a playful feline companion within the interface of Opera Air, the company’s mindfulness-focused browser, and also launched a project to help street cats in Istanbul, often (and for good reason -- they're everywhere) called the cat capital of the world.
Organizations face more AI-powered fraud attacks but privacy tools make detection harder
A new study from fraud prevention specialist Fingerprint finds 41 percent of over 300 fraud and technology leaders surveyed say their organizations are already facing AI-powered attacks.
These sophisticated threats, which range from generative AI phishing schemes to automated bot attacks, are creating a significant operational crisis. According to the report, 93 percent of fraud teams have seen noticeable operational impacts, with 38 percent of organizations citing higher costs from manual review and triage as a top business concern.
IObit Advanced SystemCare 19 improves Windows performance and security -- here's what’s new
IObit has launched Advanced SystemCare 19, the latest version of its popular all-in-one PC optimization software. The new release promises faster performance, improved cleaning, and stronger protection for Windows users.
There have been a number of big changes made, starting with Junk File Clean which can now detect and remove a greater range of obsolete data types, including leftovers from Microsoft Store apps.
Lack of fiber infrastructure delays UK data center projects
A new study finds that 82 percent of UK data center operators say they have delayed site builds or expansion due to optical fiber availability. 95 percent of these operators say that access to new high-capacity fiber networks will now influence their expansion plans.
The survey, carried out by Censuswide for B2B connectivity company Neos Networks, included data center operators, enterprise IT leaders and local government stakeholders -- 100 of each. Across all three groups, there’s an overwhelming consensus that core fibre networks are the foundation of the UK’s AI infrastructure.
UK regulators hit 4chan with paltry fine for failure to comply with the Online Safety Act
Following an investigation that started back in June, UK regulator Ofcom has issued 4chan with a fine for failure to comply with two requests for information under the controversial Online Safety Act.
Ofcom’s investigation had multiple threads, including looking into whether the site was protecting users from illegal content. After several months, only concerns about failing to respond to information requests were upheld. The fine? Just £20,000 – or a little over $26,500.
Google slips Nano Banana AI image generator into Search
Not content with giving users new control over sponsored results in its search engine, Google has also started the rollout of its AI visual model – known as Nano Banana – into Search.
Accessible from Google Lens and AI Mode, Nano Banana provides easy access to artificial intelligence powered image editing and transformation. We are not talking about boring “remove the background from this photo” type stuff (although this is possible), but rather more creative ideas.
Microsoft restrains IE Mode access in Edge because of abuse
The impact of Internet Explorer is still being felt years after the world moved on from the web browser. Microsoft has announced that it is “Restraining IE Mode Access” in Microsoft Edge, citing concerns about exploitation of 0day vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer’s JavaScript engine.
That Internet Explorer continues to live on in Edge remains astonishing to many, but it has been retained for compatibility issues. Nonetheless, Microsoft is now taking steps to plug holes that have enabled threat actors to gain access to devices.
Google Search now lets you hide sponsored results
Anyone who has used Google Search will have at some point been frustrated by the appearance of “sponsored results” which are rarely of help. Google has apparently come to the sudden realization that tainting search results in this way is irritating, and is providing a way to quickly hide them.
The problem with “sponsored results” is that they are, essentially, advertisements. While much of Google’s money comes from advertising, inserting paid-for entries in search results has long felt disingenuous and misleading for users. Here is how things are changing.
Google adds new AI features to Search and Discover to help users find fresh content
Google has introduced two AI-powered features to help users stay connected with new and trending content across the web. The updates, available in Google Search and Discover, focus on giving people quick ways to explore stories, sports updates, and links from a wide range of sources.
The first feature expands Discover’s ability to show timely and relevant topics. Users will now see short previews that summarize trending subjects related to their interests that can be expanded to reveal more information and links.
Privacy-focused email provider Fastmail launches desktop app for Windows, macOS, and Linux
Fastmail users can now access their email inboxes, calendars, and contacts directly from the desktop. The privacy-focused email provider has released its first dedicated desktop app for Windows, macOS, and Linux, delivering the familiar Fastmail experience in a standalone format that works even when offline.
The app looks and feels like the web version but behaves like a true desktop client. It can be pinned to the dock or taskbar, opened from the app switcher, and set as the default email handler so that clicking an email link automatically launches a new message in Fastmail.
Who’s paying the price of cybercrime?
Cybercrime has become a global epidemic, with costs soaring across sectors and borders. But who’s paying the price and how has that changed since the turn of the century?
Researchers from vpnMentor have analyzed 25 years of FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) data along with a review of major global incidents to discover the cost of cybercrime and how it’s evolving.
RIP Windows 10 -- Winux 'W10EOL' is the Windows 11 clone that runs on Linux and makes your old PC feel new again
Windows 10 meets its end of life tomorrow, and from then anyone still using the hugely popular OS will have to accept that -- unless they pay Microsoft for extended support -- they will no longer receive security updates, putting their computers and data at risk.
Microsoft would like Windows 10 users to switch to Windows 11, but for many older laptops and desktops, Windows 11 is simply not an option. This is where Winux comes in. Winux 11.25.10 “W10EOL” is the latest version of the Windows-style Linux distribution that offers a familiar environment and runs much faster on aging machines.
Infrastructure is having a moment -- why it’s finally getting the spotlight [Q&A]
AI, automation, seamless collaboration. These are the technologies that dominate headlines and drive business strategy. But beneath all the buzz, there’s a quiet but powerful shift happening: infrastructure is back in the spotlight.
Just look at Alphabet -- Google’s parent company -- which recently surprised investors by announcing it’s planning to spend a jaw-dropping $85 billion in 2025. That’s $10 billion more than they originally expected. And what’s fueling that massive investment? Nearly two-thirds of it is going toward the nuts and bolts of tech infrastructure like data centers, servers, and everything needed to power AI, the cloud, and our increasingly real-time digital world.
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