Latest Technology News

It’s been a while since Microsoft rolled out a new Windows 10 preview build for Insiders on the Fast ring. The software company has been busy putting together future plans for the new OS, and promises we’ll see the results of these endeavors in the coming months.

Today, however, Microsoft rolls out new Build 14915 for PC and Mobile, with the primary focus being on improving app and update downloads.

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How much money do you think it needs to kickstart a business in UK? A couple of thousands? Maybe go straight into five figures? Wrong. According to a new report by cloud accounting software provider FreeAgent, you probably don't need any money.

The company surveyed micro-business owners and freelancers in the UK, and according to the results 44 percent of business starters required no funds at all. Almost the exact same percentage (43 percent) used their personal savings, and that was enough. Four percent borrowed money from friends or family, two percent used either credit card or bank loan, while just one percent used government assistance.

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Smartwatches are curious products. Consumers are not flocking to the segment as they did for smartphones and tablets. Why? Some would say it is because the wearables duplicate the functionality of their existing devices. Fitness aside, many consumers seem to be awaiting some sort of "must have" aspect before jumping into the smartwatch waters. With that said, the Apple Watch seems to have the brightest future with its focus on medical conditions and overall well-being. It is not clear if health can drive segment growth, however.

Today, Samsung announces its latest smartwatches -- the S3 Classic (top right) and Frontier (top left). These Tizen-powered wearables feature a 1.3 inch circular Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 360 x 360. The exciting aspect, however, is the always-on nature of the screen. Lifting your arm to see a blank screen is no longer a thing -- it will always display the time. The question becomes, which of the two will you pick? Keep in mind, the differences are not just skin deep.

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The Galaxy Note7 has received some extremely positive reviews. The Guardian described it "as without doubt, the best phablet going" and Engadget declared it "Samsung’s best phone yet". High praise indeed.

If you were hoping to get your hands on the new smartphone there’s some bad news. Shipments of the new devices are being delayed while Samsung conducts additional quality control testing.

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Multiport USB chargers are great for topping up the battery on a couple of mobile devices at the same time when you are on the go. They do not take much space in a bag, only require a single wall socket, and support a wide range of smartphones and tablets. Some are better than others though.

Syncwire's four-port USB charger is designed with travelers in mind. The main benefits, over many other multiport USB chargers that you can find, are the included travel adapters that allow it to be used with US, UK, and EU sockets and its cord-free design that allows it to be plugged right in and take up even less space.

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DNS tunneling is a significant security threat that can enable cybercriminals to insert malware or pass stolen information into DNS queries, creating a covert communication channel that bypasses most firewalls.

A new report released by network control company Infoblox reveals that 40 percent of the enterprise files it tested in the second quarter of this year show evidence of DNS tunneling.

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A lot of pundits like to put down the Linux-based Chrome OS for being deficient compared to more mature desktop operating systems. True, both Windows 10 and macOS are far more useful and powerful -- for now -- but the beauty of Chrome OS is its simplicity. It is arguably the most secure platform too, least likely to experience malware and vulnerabilities. Chromebooks rock, y'all!

With all of that said, Android app support is slowly being rolled-out to some Chromebooks, potentially making them much more useful. Hopefully this does not impact security, however. Today, Acer announces a 13.3-inch touchscreen convertible called 'Chromebook R 13'. While it will not have Google Play support out of the box, Android app support is being promised by the end of 2016.

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Google's seemingly relentless expansion into just about every field of business looks set to continue as the company prepares to enter the ride-sharing arena. The likes of Lyft and Uber have already proved that there is a strong demand for such car-pooling services.

Following on from a pilot program in San Francisco, Google is set to make use of its Waze app to put commuters in touch with each other. Come the end of 2016, the program will be opened up to anyone in the Bay Area, with the possibility of a wider expansion later.

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Ransomware is a powerful cyberthreat that can bring any organization to its knees. It’s a popular tactic among hackers looking for financial gain, or to take down an organization for political or moral reasons -- and it works. In 2015, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 2,453 complaints identified as ransomware, resulting in more than $1.6 million in company losses.

While some think ransomware is only a threat to large enterprises or government organizations, recent activity shows that it doesn’t discriminate based on the size or significance of an organization. According to a warning from the FBI earlier this year: "Hospitals, school districts, state and local governments, law enforcement agencies, small businesses, large businesses—these are just some of the entities impacted recently by ransomware, an insidious type of malware that encrypts, or locks, valuable digital files and demands a ransom to release them".

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Nowadays, running more than one operating system on your computer is a breeze. Modern Linux-based operating system installers, for instance, take most of the hard work out of setting things up -- it used to be a much more difficult affair. It is not uncommon for people to dual-boot, say, Windows and Ubuntu. Heck, some folks even tri-boot with OS X.

A problem with running multiple operating systems on one machine is Bluetooth pairing. If you own a Bluetooth mouse, for instance, every time you switch the OS, you have to pair again. This becomes extremely tedious. Today, Logitech announces a product that alleviates that pain-point. Called the M720 Triathlon Multi-Device Mouse, it allows easy switching between up to three computers and/or operating systems.

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Google has announced an update to the search function on Android devices. Helpfully named In Apps, the new search mode makes it possible to not only search online for information, but to scour the apps you have installed.

The update means that it's now easier than ever to find particular messages, files, videos and contacts. There's no need to have a data connection to make use of the new search mode, meaning that Android search now operates far more like searching from the Start menu in Windows 10.

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Glogg is an open-source tool for viewing and searching even the largest and most complex log files.

The program opens files very quickly, because it reads data directly from disk and doesn’t try to load it entirely into memory. It’s a smart move which also means there’s no limit on the size of files you can view.

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There's a new calculator online which will tell you exactly how much your digital data is worth. This tool, created by Totally Money, asks you to name the price for 13 different data types, including email address, health condition, or credit rating. After giving your price, the calculator then tells you the real price.

The whole project was basically designed to show people just how easy and cheap it is for companies to buy your personal data. Following the release of the calculator, the company also did a survey of 1,000 UK adult consumers. Forty percent of Facebook users, for example, didn’t know the social media giant sold their data to third parties.

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Twitter is to start sharing ad revenue generated by videos with the people who create those videos. The monetization model will start in the US for now, but it opens up a platform that was previously only available to big names such as the NFL and CBS.

All of the key players in social media are focusing their efforts on video, and in giving users the opportunity to make money through their footage, Twitter is really upping the ante. It's a move that pits the company against the likes of YouTube, and one that will be seen as a desperate bid to attract more users.

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Can’t remember some obscure HTML tag detail, Apache directive or C++ function? There’s endless technical documentation on the web, so entering a few keywords at Google will probably tell you all you need.

Web-based solutions aren’t always the best, though. You’ll need to be online. Sites may be slow and unresponsive. Documentation quality will vary, and every site works differently.

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