Latest Technology News

Big data has been something of a buzz word in IT and in enterprises in recent years, but while many people are enthusiastic about its potential there are fewer examples of its tangible benefits.

Canadian printing company Colourfast has produced an infographic looking at what benefits big data is actually bringing to companies.

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This year, the cyber-security focus is shifting from prevention only, into detection and response territory. This is according to a new Gartner report, which also says cyber-security spending will hit the $90 billion mark this year.

That’s actually a 7.6 percent increase year-on-year. Spending will keep on growing, Gartner says, up to $113 billion in 2020.

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News that multiple access points at the RSA security show may have been hacked made for great headlines, and that’s about it. The attack poses little actual risk to most corporate users, but it does underscore the importance the cloud can play in corporate VPNs.

Security researchers at Pwnie Express discovered the attack when scanning the conference floor. They found a rogue access point posing as a known, trusted network -- what’s called an EvilAP attack. In an EvilAP attack, the attacker impersonates a known wireless network by intercepting the SSID a user’s device discloses when searching for a WLAN. The attack is available from several hacking tools, including KARMA.

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Pakistan is seeking help from Facebook and Twitter to help execute its incredibly strict blasphemy laws. Anyone found guilty of insulting the Prophet Muhammed, or Islam in general, risks being sentenced to death, and the country is keen to track down offenders both at home and abroad.

The two social networks have only been asked to identify Pakistanis, but the move is likely to raise concerns about privacy. Of equal concern will be not only what is deemed to be blasphemous, but who makes that judgement -- particularly when Pakistan is seeking to identify offenders in other countries.

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Earlier this week, Storm Stella not only left parts of the North East US with up to three feet of snow, it led to an increase in malware infections too.

According to data released by Enigma Software, the company behind SpyHunter, infections jumped by between 15 and 90 percent in some areas hit hard by the storm.

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Two-hundred-and-twenty-three 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 only a handful releases. It was a rather slow week all in all when it comes to app and game releases.

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Yesterday, the Guardian withdrew advertising from Google and YouTube after its ads were placed next to extremist content. The British newspaper was not alone -- broadcaster Channel 4, and even the British government soon followed suit.

Now Google is scrabbling to calm down the situation. Advertisers are unhappy that their ads have been placed next to extremist content and hate speech, and Google says it will improve the controls advertisers have over ad placement. At the same time, the company says: "we believe strongly in the freedom of speech and expression on the web -- even when that means we don't agree with the views expressed."

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Advanced technology and flexible work environments have changed the face of the workplace in recent years. Businesses that seek to empower teams with collaborative tools and environments are not only proving to be more productive, but are better attracting and retaining talent, too.

We at Oblong Industries recently set out to better understand how business people feel about the state of their current workplace collaboration and technology. We developed and conducted a survey of attendees at the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) conference in mid-February, one of the largest AV and systems integration shows in the world with over 73,000 attendees this year. The survey found that most employees want a more interactive approach to solving business problems. Respondents also revealed challenges with existing meeting room collaboration tools but saw potential for greater engagement and productivity through more immersive technology.

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The overall cloud adoption rate in the UK now stands at 88 percent, according to a new report by the Cloud Industry Forum. The report also states that there has been a five percent increase year-on-year, and an 83 percent increase since 2010, when the first stats were taken.

What’s also interesting in this report is that two thirds (67 percent) of users expect to increase their cloud service adoption over the coming year. A "vast majority," the report claims, will maintain a hybrid IT estate for some time.

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Google is one of the biggest champions of open source. Not only does the search giant use open source software in its products, but it contributes to the community too. There are many projects made open source by the company, which helps the greater good.

Today, Google releases yet another open source project. Called "Guetzli," it is a JPEG encoder that aims to produce even smaller image file sizes. In fact, the search giant claims a whopping 35 percent improvement over existing JPEG compression. If you are wondering why smaller file sizes are important, it is quite simple -- the web. If websites can embed smaller images, users can experience faster load times while using less data.

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Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15058 for PC rolled out just two days ago, and we knew then that it wasn’t going to be the last new build of the week.

Today’s release, Build 15060, is -- like its predecessor --  for PC only and there’s no word on when a Mobile build is expected.

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A year ago, Microsoft revealed that Windows 10 would be the only Windows platform to support nextgen processors like Intel's Kaby Lake, AMD's Bristol Ridge, and Qualcomm’s 8996. The message then -- as now -- was clear: If you want to run a nextgen processor, you'll need Windows 10.

Last week, Microsoft published KB 4012982, with the title "'Your PC uses a processor that isn’t supported on this version of Windows' error when you scan or download Windows updates", suggesting that the restriction was now being enforced.

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A new report by Tata Consultancy Services has shown just how profound of an effect artificial intelligence already has, and will have, on businesses everywhere.

The "Getting Smarter by the Day: How AI is Elevating the Performance of Global Companies" study says 84 percent of companies worldwide see AI as "essential" to being competitive. Another half (50 percent) see the technology as "transformative."

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The Guardian has pulled all of its ads from both Google and YouTube. The British newspaper was unhappy to discover that advertisements for its membership scheme were placed next to extremist material.

It is understood that the positioning was accidental, but the Guardian's chief executive described the situation as "completely unacceptable". Ads appeared next to videos for a "hate preacher", American white nationalists, and other controversial content. Google's AdX, DoubleClick Ad Exchange Service, algorithms are thought to be to blame and, in a letter to Google, the Guardian seeks assurances that the problem will not happen again.

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Following a ruling by a Pennsylvania court that Google would have to turn over emails stored overseas, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Cisco have come together to file an amicus brief in support of the company.

Filing an amicus brief is a way in which companies or people not directly involved in a case can show their interest in it to a court. In this situation, it is in the best interest of the companies that filed the brief that US law enforcement remains unable to access customer data that is currently stored outside of the US.

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