Should geo-blocking be an option for DDoS prevention?
2016 should have reinforced what security experts have been telling us over the years. Cyberattacks are not a matter of "if" anymore but "when."
Last year, there was no such thing as "too big to fail" as top tech firms like Yahoo!, Dropbox, and LinkedIn all reported data breaches. Internet services provider Dyn, which is used by Twitter and Spotify, was also hit with traffic-based attacks, affecting uptime of these popular sites. Banks and government institutions also fell victim to attacks that compromised information of millions of users -- a bank in Sri Lanka even lost billions of dollars to spoofed international transactions.
Bot traffic takes back the web
Just over a year ago we reported that, for the first time in five years, human web traffic had overtaken bot traffic.
It seems, however, that human dominance was short lived. The latest Imperva Incapsula Bot Traffic Report shows that in 2016 the bots were back on top with 51.8 percent of online activity, although it's an increase in good bot activity that has driven the trend.
Customize and convert icons with Axialis IconGenerator
Axialis Software has unveiled Axialis IconGenerator, a free tool for customizing and generating icons from a database of icon sets.
The program is mainly aimed at professional developers and designers, who might use it to purchase one of Axialis’ commercial icon sets and adapt it to suit their needs.
Mobile ad-blocking will get out of control in 2017
It wasn’t just the news of Trump and Brexit that dominated headlines in 2016 -- adblocking also remained high on the news agenda after experiencing a roller-coaster year. Murmurs among the industry claimed that 2016 would represent a possible adblocking Armageddon, while the IAB’s CEO and president, Randall Rothenberg, spewed the words of Adblock Plus (ABP) as "extortionists, internet killers, an unethical, immoral, mendacious coven of techie wannabes."
But that wasn’t all. In August, an epic back-and-forth battle between ABP and Facebook kicked-off as we successfully circumvented each new update made by the social media giant to uphold the users’ rights of blocking ads on the desktop version of the site. And if that wasn’t enough, in late November we once again proved that adblocking is 100 percent legal after a sixth court win, this time over German publisher Spiegel Online.
Cock-a-doodle-doo! Google celebrates the rooster for Lunar New Year
Chinese New Year (or Lunar New Year to encompass all of Asia), is literally a celebration of the beginning of a new year. One thing that makes the Lunar calendar more exciting than the Gregorian, is the use of representative animals. For instance, last year was the year of the monkey, while the upcoming year will represent the rooster.
To celebrate the new year and the animal that says "cock-a-doodle-doo," Google will be hosting a special website with an interactive calendar. The site is designed to respect Lunar New Year traditions and customs, while also educating those that are unfamiliar with them. While the actual start of the "Year of the Rooster" is January 28th, the worldwide festivities begin the day prior and last until February 2nd.
New platform brings enterprise-grade eCommerce to smaller businesses
Doing business on the internet is deceptively simple, but for start-ups and smaller businesses, having the resources to do it well can prove elusive.
UK-based website conversion and digital advertising company Ve Interactive is launching a new self-service platform aimed at giving smaller companies full control of their online marketing and generate more online sales.
Apple to allow developers to respond to App Store reviews
For far too many years the process of providing feedback in the App Store has been a one-way dialog. At long last Apple is opening things up so developers will be able to respond to reviews that are left by customers.
References to the new option is to be found in the documentation for iOS 10.3 beta, and Apple says that it will be available to developers when the final version of iOS 10.3 is released; it will also be available in the Mac App Store. Importantly, just as with Google Play, responses that are left will be visible to all and a new API will make it possible to leave feedback from within apps.
Lloyds bank hit by DDoS attack
The Lloyds Banking Group fell victim to a massive cyberattack this week, that was responsible for temporarily disrupting its services.
The attack is being attributed to an international hacking group. It launched a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack against the company's online services that lasted for two days. During this time, customers were reportedly unable to make payments online or check their account balances.
WhatsApp beta shows message editing and recalling options
Two features that are requested of messaging apps -- but found in very few -- are the ability to delete messages, and the ability to edit them. There could be good news on the horizon for WhatsApp users as the latest beta of the app includes references to precisely these two features.
While controversial to some, many users would welcome the option to edit messages that include typos, or to recall messages that were fired off in haste. Although references to both options have been found in WhatsApp beta 2.17.25, neither are currently active.
Analyze active network connections with Process Network Monitor
Process Network Monitor is a free tool which highlights the network activity of the processes running on your PC.
The program opens with a table telling you more about any running process which has a network connection open: process name, description and file details, PID, session ID, TCP count, UDP count and the total number of connections.
No, America, you can't just demand customer data from anywhere in the world
The US government has lost its bid to overturn a previous ruling which stated it could not force companies to hand over customer data that is stored on servers outside the US.
The government's appeal stems from a ruling back in July when it lost a case in which it was trying to obtain customer data from Microsoft. It was seen as a win for privacy at the time, but the government thought the ruling could stand in the way of law enforcement. A vote by the second US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan means that an appeal will not be heard.
Google Home gains Belkin WeMo support
As the proud owner of an Amazon Echo (and Echo Dot), I often like to show it off. My favorite demonstration is using the internet-connected voice assistant to control a lamp in my home. Like a giddy kid, I tell guests to prepare to witness magic. Then, I say "Alexa, turn on the lamp." Guess what happens? The lamp turns on! This is thanks to Alexa's connection with my Belkin WeMo outlet device. Guests are seemingly never as impressed as I am, but I digress.
If you also own Belkin WeMo devices, but opted instead for a Google Home rather than Amazon Echo, you were out of luck. Today this changes, however, as the search-giant's voice assistant can now control WeMo home devices. This includes Wemo Mini, Wemo Switch, Wemo Insight Switch, and Wemo Light Switch.
Most UK businesses still unaware of GDPR
Despite the fact that the media has dulled its teeth and worn out its keyboards, talking and reporting about the General Data Protection regulation (GDPR), less than half (47 percent) of businesses in the UK are aware of it. What’s more, just four in ten (40 percent) are fully aware of the NIS Directive.
Both documents will be coming into effect in 2018, and will significantly change how we do business online.
Acer unveils 360-degree convertible Chromebook Spin 11 (R751T) for education
Just yesterday, Acer unveiled a beautiful new Windows 10 360-degree convertible laptop for the education market. For many, Microsoft's operating system makes the most sense for preparing a student for the business world. After all, being well versed in things like Windows, Office, and Sharepoint look good on a resume.
Still, Windows is not the best operating system for all cases. Actually, the very secure Linux-based Chrome OS is a smart choice where learning is done entirely through the web or web portal. Today, Acer announces another 11.6-inch laptop for education, but this time, it is a Chromebook. The Spin 11 (R751T) can double as a tablet thanks to the 360-degree dual-torque hinge.
Almost half of UK CEOs not assessing AI's impact
UK CEOs aren’t giving artificial intelligence (AI) and automation the right attention, and that’s putting the entire country’s economy at risk.
This is according to a new report by PwC, which was published at the World Economic Forum in Davos. It says that almost half (47 percent) of UK’s CEOs are not addressing the impact AI and automation can have on their organisation.
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