New challenger takes on US inter-carrier mobile messaging duopoly
In the US a duopoly exists between SAP and Syniverse for inter-carrier mobile messaging. Carriers and other communication service providers are forced to choose between these two vendors to exchange messages across networks.
This makes the carriers vulnerable to price hikes and sub-par quality of service. New provider tyntec is seeking to disrupt the market and create more competition with its new Inter Carrier Messaging Service (ICMS).
Optimizing costs is top priority among corporate cloud users
Cloud management company RightScale has released the results of its sixth annual State of the Cloud Survey, the largest survey of corporate cloud users.
Among the findings are that optimizing cloud costs is the top initiative across all cloud users (53 percent) and especially among mature cloud users (64 percent). Respondents estimate 30 percent of cloud spend is wasted, while RightScale has measured actual waste at between 30 and 45 percent.
The most secure messaging apps
IT security has never been more prominent at the forefront of people's minds than it is currently. With a sadly regular supply of hacking horror tales, Internet users are now exercising a great deal of care with the information they share through their networks. Stronger passwords and a reluctance to add personal details are among the more common measures to have become widely implemented.
Another option which people are leaning towards is that of secure messaging apps, a selection of which are profiled in the infographic below by ERS IT Solutions. There doesn’t yet exist a messaging app that is completely impenetrable to hackers, but there are those which distinguish themselves for their encryption of messages so that even if they are intercepted, the messages can’t be deciphered by unsolicited parties.
Businesses are being held back by enterprise software
Businesses and IT executives are frustrated by their current software and more than 80 percent of executives have had to change a part of their daily operations to match the way their software works according to a new report.
The survey of over 500 executives carried out by development platform provider TrackVia finds that integration or compatibility with other software and applications is cited as the top priority by 32 percent, yet also the biggest challenge (31 percent) for executives.
89 percent of consumers don't pay for mobile malware protection
A new survey reveals that a large majority of mobile users do not currently pay for malware protection. However, 61 percent say they do want, and are willing to pay for, protection services from their service provider.
The study from security solutions company Allot Communications shows that rather than independently seek out, evaluate and download security apps for each of their mobile devices, consumers would like a one-stop-shop for online protection for themselves and their families. This presents communication service providers (CSPs) with an opportunity to sell an extra service, which many of them are not taking advantage of.
Safely eject almost any drive type with HotSwap!
Finished with that USB key? Unplugging it risks losing data, so in theory you should click the Windows "Safely remove hardware" icon, choose the drive, and wait to be told it’s safe to unplug.
Unfortunately, the Safely Remove Hardware system is very strict about the drive types it supports. SATA or eSATA drives, fixed drives with a USB connections, even some USB keys won’t appear on the list, and the only guaranteed safe way to swap them out is to grind your way through Device Manager.
European businesses are not prepared to handle a cyber attack
More than half of companies in the UK, US and Germany (53 percent) are not prepared to face a cyber-attack. This is according to a new report by specialist insurer Hiscox, which has polled more than 3,000 companies for the report.
The Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report 2017 looks at four areas -- strategy, resourcing, technology and process -- and ranks companies based on such criteria. Most companies score fairly well for technology, but less than a third (30 percent) reach the "expert" score in their overall cyber-readiness.
View, hash, split, join and wipe files with PeaUtils
PeaUtils is a simple suite of file processing tools from Giorgio Tani, the developer of PeaZip.
The program can create hashes, process checksums, analyze and report on files, split and join files, display files in a hex view, securely delete confidential data, wipe drive free space, and more.
Facebook Video gets big changes, but they aren't all good
While YouTube is probably the biggest destination for online video, more and more people are sharing videos on Facebook nowadays too. In fact, with the introduction of Facebook Live, many users have also streamed themselves live on the social network. For example, "Chewbacca Mom" went viral with her Facebook video last year.
Today, Facebook announces that it is enhancing the video-watching experience on its platform, thanks to several new features. The social network is improving the way vertical videos look on mobile, but that is no excuse to shoot them this way, folks -- landscape is still the best way to record! Facebook is even enabling a special picture-in-picture mode so you can simultaneously watch a video while scrolling through your feed. Amazingly, that is not all.
Brits will spend €27bn on mobile devices in 2017
This year, the UK will spend more than £27 billion on mobile devices, new figures from VoucherCodes.co.uk and the Center for Retail Research show. This means there will be a 26 percent jump compared to last year.
Consequently, online retail sales will also grow, by 11.5 percent compared to 2016. British shoppers are expected to be quite the spenders this year, spending a total of £1.428.39 per head online. That’s a third higher than the EU average of £1,003.54.
IT decisions makers and executives don't agree on cyber security responsibility
There’s a severe disconnect between IT decision makers and C-suite executives when it comes to handling cyber attacks. Namely, both believe the other one is responsible for keeping a company safe.
This is according to a new and extensive research by BAE Systems. A total of 221 C-suite executives, and 984 IT decision makers were polled or the report.
Linux Foundation is offering training and certification discounts for Valentine's Day
Happy Valentine's Day, dear BetaNews readers! Please know that I love you all very much. On this day of romance, restaurants will be crowded with couples celebrating the holiday. If you have a significant other, I hope you have already purchased a gift or at least a greeting card by now. If not, you might be fighting over slim-pickings at the store this evening!
If you haven't yet picked up a gift, and that someone special is a bit of a computer nerd, I have some good news. The Linux Foundation is offering special training and certification discounts for Valentine's Day. Chocolate and flowers are fleeting -- education can last a lifetime. Using this special discount code, you can surprise your lover with the gift of Linux -- how cool is that?
Microsoft officially debuts Outlook.com Premium -- but who is it for?
While most of us are perfectly fine using a free email service, like Gmail or Outlook.com, Microsoft believes that there is an audience for its new Outlook.com Premium tier that offers an ad-free experience and access to extra features for $19.95 per year.
Outlook.com Premium can be considered the replacement for the Ad-free plan, the latter of which cost the same but only dropped the ads in exchange -- a high price to pay for what you can do for free with a simple browser plug-in. Outlook.com Premium, on the other hand, is way better value for money, and here's why.
'Refugee' Julian Assange arrives on Twitter
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has activated his Twitter account. His profile gives his location as the Ecuadorian embassy in London, and describes him as "refugee" who is "picking the lock to the chain that enslaves mankind -- ignorance."
Within minutes of activating the account, Assange managed to amass thousands of followers, and this is a number that is sure to skyrocket in the coming days now that the account is actually being used. So what did the reclusive man have to say with his first tweet?
[Updated] PayPal very sneakily increases its charges and adds weird non-discouragement clause for sellers
Nobody likes to share bad news, and PayPal is no different. Price increases certainly fall into the category of bad news, and PayPal has decided to publish the details as "Policy Updates". But it's not just the price hike that's included in this misleadingly-titled document -- there's also something rather weird.
If you are a seller -- such as on eBay or other shopping sites -- you will soon be subject to a "non-discouragement clause". What does this mean? In short it means that sellers are not permitted to encourage shoppers to use another payment method instead of PayPal. Let's drill into the detail.
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