The biggest high-profile password blunders of 2016
Weak or reused passwords are one of the main causes of security breaches and nobody is immune from the problem.
Password manager company Dashlane is seeking to raise awareness of the issue with the release of what it calls its P@ssholes List, highlighting the celebrities and high profile organizations that have fallen victim to poor password habits in the past year.
Registry Finder gets regular expression support
Freeware Registry editor and search tool Registry Finder has been updated with regular expression support.
You’re now able to use regex in both the Find and Replace dialog. Just check "Use regular expressions" and go to work.
Google signs a deal with Cuba to grant Cubans faster access to Google content
Cuba's state-run Etecsa telecoms company has signed a deal with Google. It means that Cuban citizens will be able to more quickly access content provided by the monopolistic internet company.
By providing Cuba with access to the Google Global Cache, content will be delivered to internet users via servers which are physically closer, helping to speed up things. The deal will do nothing to speed up general internet access, but it will ensure that Cubans have faster access to Google services such as YouTube.
Office 365 adoption surges ahead across the EMEA region
Microsoft's Office 365 suite and Google's G Suite are deployed in 66 percent of organizations in the EMEA (Europe Middle East and Africa) region, but Office 365 on 44 percent is outpacing G Suite on 22 percent.
This is one of the findings of a new EMEA cloud report from data protection company Bitglass which shows that adoption of cloud suites is higher than in any other region. In Europe, France and the Netherlands have the highest rates of cloud adoption at 82 percent and 78 percent.
Google brings Gboard keyboard to Android
You would think that Google would concentrate on bringing its apps and tools to its own Android operating system before rivals, but this is not always the case. In fact the company has only just got around to launching the Android version of Gboard, months after it debuted on iOS.
Gboard is an updated version of the Google keyboard, and it comes with a raft of new features that make it well worth considering. Among the new additions are a dedicated number row, GIF and emoticon search, and the ability to perform Google searches from any app.
It's time to put passwords out to pasture
Once again, the world has woken up to news of another huge data breach and another reason that the current password security system for business applications and websites is flawed. This time it was 412 million reasons, this being the number of accounts and user credentials that were exposed following the breach of FriendFinder Networks.
Despite this becoming such a common occurrence, so common that headlines can be saved for "Business name suffers data breach and X number of details have been hacked", the cybersecurity world has not woken up to the real problem or implemented a solution that actually works.
Popcorn Time ransomware asks victims to infect other computers to decrypt their own files
Ransomware is the malware du jour and those seeking to extract money from victims have started to use a pyramid scheme system to increase the rate of infection. Not content with encrypting a victim's files and holding them to ransom, the Popcorn Time ransomware encourages those who have been struck to pass on the infection.
As is the norm with ransomware, Popcorn Time gives the victim the chance to pay a Bitcoin ransom to decrypt their files, but it also offers a self-described "nasty way" to unlock files for free. Think of it as a ransomware referral scheme.
Google brings Android Pay to Japan
Mobile payments could one day be the death of cash. While many people will surely be anxious regarding the disappearance of paper money, it is really not the question of "if", but "when". True, that takes away privacy, but it also limits the possibilities of secret transactions for things like illegal drugs or unregistered handguns. Not to mention, it is very convenient!
Android Pay is Google's smartphone-based mobile payment system, and it has been growing in popularity in the USA. Today, Android Pay comes to yet another country -- Japan.
Five IT predictions for 2017
Technological innovation drives every business, industry and sector -- mostly positively, but not always. 2016 was no exception -- from the first long-haul driverless cargo delivery to automated retail locations to the stiffening competition among ‘smart assistants’ we’re seeing big technological leaps at a breakneck pace.
At the same time, many of the enterprise trends of the last few years are continuing, such as traditional businesses leading big digital transformation and the move to public clouds, with the continued market dominance of Amazon’s $13B AWS business.
Google makes 'Embedding Projector' an open source project
Data can be highly valuable, and no company knows that more than Google. It is constantly collecting a massive amount of it -- it is pretty much how the company butters its bread. Data only has value when it can be used, however, meaning it must ultimately tell a story. In other words, collecting it is only the beginning.
One of the best ways to digest and present data is with visualizations and dashboards. Not everyone is a data scientist, so how you tell a story matters. Today, Google is making a rather nifty data visualization tool an open source project. Called "Embedding Projector", it can show what the search giant calls "high-dimensional data".
What's the difference between deep learning and machine learning?
2016 has been the year of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and more specifically, the breakout of machine learning and deep learning becoming the big buzz words in technology. While both have gained a lot of attention this year, these techniques have been around for quite some time, but no more so than now, has it felt so promising.
Over the past few years, there has been a monumental shift in technology and how it’s being applied to everyday life. From robots to search engines, deep learning and machine learning are being raved about as the tech fueling our new innovations, but many are left wondering what truly differentiates these two models.
Dropbox comes to Xbox One
Dropbox is one of my favorite services -- something I am happy to pay for monthly. There are many cloud storage solutions out there, but I chose it for a very specific reason -- cross-platform compatibility. On a daily basis, I use iOS, Fedora, and Windows 10. Heck, I just ordered one of those fancy new MacBook Pro laptops too. Regardless of the operating system I choose, I know Dropbox will work for me.
Today, Dropbox comes to another platform and it is rather exciting. The Xbox One gets an app for the storage platform, letting you view photos and videos. If you own Microsoft's console, and back up your family photos to Dropbox (as I do), you can now easily view them on your big TV screen. How cool is that?
Microsoft: Surface just enjoyed its most successful month ever, thanks to the new Apple MacBook Pro
Microsoft likes to compare its Surface range with the MacBook Pro at any given opportunity, even though the two products are very different.
November, according to Microsoft, was the best month ever for consumer Surface sales, and the software giant is gleefully claiming that disappointment with the new MacBook Pro is part of the reason behind the surge. But is it? Really?
QOwnNotes is a versatile notepad and to-do list manager
At first glance, QOwnNotes doesn’t seem like the most interesting of apps. An "open source plain-text file notepad"? Aren’t there enough of those already?
Download and try the program, though, and you might be surprised at how much more it can do.
Fighting ransomware in the cloud
A recent survey of 500 businesses revealed that nearly half were brought to a standstill by a ransomware attack within the last 12 months. Ransomware is malware that installs covertly on a victim's computer, executes a crypto-virology attack that adversely affects it, and demands a ransom payment to decrypt it or to not publish it.
There has been more and more documented evidence that ransomware is on the rise, particularly in the UK. It's being used as a sort of testing ground to the point whereby ransomware has become the number one threat facing British organizations in 2016.
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