Enterprises have the wrong priorities on security spending

Security

A new survey reveals a disconnect between the security solutions organizations spend money on and the ability of those solutions to protect sensitive data.

The study from security solutions company Thales e-Security and 451 Research finds that while 30 percent of respondents classify their organizations as 'very vulnerable' or 'extremely vulnerable' to data attacks the two top spending priorities are network (62 percent) and endpoint (56 percent) protection solutions.

Continue reading

Facebook makes its privacy settings much clearer

Facebook privacy

Facebook has made lots of changes to its privacy settings over the years, usually in a bid to make them simpler to understand and use, yet many people just stick with the defaults.

Facebook’s new Privacy Basics aims to make it much easier for people to find the tools they need to control their information on the social network.

Continue reading

Microsoft set to introduce new gaming features to Windows 10 this week

Game Mode

The last three Windows 10 Insider Preview builds have offered a wealth of new features, and the next build, which is expected in a day or so, won’t be any different.

This week’s update will include some big new additions for PC gamers, including Game Mode and Beam video game streaming.

Continue reading

Net neutrality repeal? Bad idea, say IT pros

business man hand up refusal no

The vast majority of IT professionals (82 percent) that manage computer systems and Internet services of US-based businesses are in support of net neutrality.

This is the conclusion of a recently released report by Spiceworks, which tackles the topic of net neutrality and how its abolishment might affect businesses.

Continue reading

Wine 2.0 is here -- run Windows software on Linux and macOS

penguingun

One of the big hurdles for people looking to switch from Windows to Linux or macOS is a dependence of software that requires Microsoft's operating system. This is becoming less of an issue, however, as more and more programs become cross-platform. Not to mention, a lot of software solutions are web-based nowadays, meaning they can run on any operating system with compatible web browser.

If you are someone that depends on software that only runs on Microsoft's operating system, you should probably stick with Windows. I mean, why deal with headaches? But OK, if for whatever reason you would rather use macOS or a Linux-based operating system like Ubuntu, there is a solution -- Wine. This is a compatibility layer that can be used to run Windows software on other operating systems. With that said, it is not perfect -- it can be a frustrating experience.

Continue reading

Worried about your online privacy? Download Linux distro Tails 2.10

online_privacy_sign

Donald Trump is US president now, and maybe you are happy about that. More power to you. Some folks, however, are terrified of the man. True, he only just started the job, but he has already declared war on the truth by lying about both inaugural crowd size and voter fraud. He has even publicly attacked the press for doing its job. Heck, Trump's FCC appointee, Ajit Pai, is a known opponent of net neutrality. With all of that said, it can be hard to feel that your privacy will be safe with such a curious administration.

If you are fearful that your online privacy could soon be under attack, you are not helpless. With the help of Linux, you can take steps to safeguard yourself. Edward Snowden famously used the Tails operating system to protect himself, and that could be a very good option for honest citizens looking to protect themselves from "Big Brother." Thankfully, a new version of the Linux distribution, 2.10, is now available for download.

Continue reading

Wearable adoption is low in US and Europe

wearable watch

Consumers in US and Europe haven't quite warmed up to wearables, according to a new report from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. Smartwatch adoption in both markets remains below the five percent mark, despite multiple models being available for a few years now.

This isn't exactly a surprising finding, because smartwatch sales are pretty bad. Depending on who you choose to believe, they were between 2.7 and 6.1 million units in the third quarter of last year (we're still waiting on the numbers for 2016 from the likes of IDC and Canalys). Apple Watch rules this space, but it is hardly a major market as you can see.

Continue reading

OnePlus 3T shipping right away, Open Beta releases paused temporarily

OnePlus 3T

OnePlus has been busy lately, rolling out the Android Nougat update for its 3T flagship killer just hours before passing into 2017 and working hard to make the smartphone more readily available to ship to potential buyers in major markets.

The OnePlus 3T is available to consumers without an invite, but not everyone has been able to get their hands on the smartphone. OnePlus did not always have it in stock, but that is about to change from now on.

Continue reading

View Chrome, Firefox, Edge log-ons with SterJo Browser Passwords

SterJoBrowserPasswords.200.175

Freeware developer SterJo Software has released SterJo Browser Passwords, a simple tool which finds and displays passwords stored locally by Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge and Opera.

There’s no configuration required. Simply launch the program and your logins are displayed with details including the browser, URL, user name and password.

Continue reading

Mysterious Windows 10 update has users scratching their heads in confusion [Update]

Digital amnesia

Earlier today, Microsoft pushed out a new update for Windows 10. Since updates are mandatory in the new OS, it’s likely you already have it installed.

So what does it do? Microsoft isn’t saying. There’s no detailed information on its purpose, and the vague descriptions that do exist are conflicting.

Continue reading

4 big security threats facing your small business

endpoint security

You no longer have to be a large corporation to draw the attention of cybercriminals. In fact, your small business could be appealing to hackers, simply because you don’t have the same level of security that a big firm can bring to bear.

Learning more about the most common risks can help you protect your organization and ensure you don’t fall victim to a scammer.

Continue reading

Should geo-blocking be an option for DDoS prevention?

DDoS attacks

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.

Continue reading

Bot traffic takes back the web

Bot net

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.

Continue reading

Customize and convert icons with Axialis IconGenerator

IconGenerator.200.175

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.

Continue reading

Mobile ad-blocking will get out of control in 2017

block_ads

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.

Continue reading

Load More Articles