Microsoft raises dividend, launches $40 billion share buyback program
Microsoft has authorized a share buyback program that will see the company reacquiring $40 billion of its own shares, just over nine percent of the company.
This is the fourth $40 billion buyback program launched by the company, which said that it will complete the first round by the end of this year. Microsoft's most recent buyback was first announced in 2013 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2016.
Enterprises are learning from cyber attacks but bad habits persist
A majority of enterprises (79 percent) say they have taken action to improve their security in response to major cyber attacks. However, 40 percent of organizations still store privileged and admin passwords in a Word document or spreadsheet, while 28 percent use a shared server or USB stick.
This is among the findings of the 10th annual Global Advanced Threat Landscape Survey from cyber security company CyberArk which looks at whether organizations are learning lessons from cyber attacks.
Consumer rights group strongly criticizes Microsoft over Windows 10
The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) has already ripped into Microsoft and Windows 10 for "blatantly disregarding user choice and privacy", and now consumer group Which? says Microsoft "must act over Windows 10 woes" and "do better".
Which? says it has received well over 1,000 complaints about Windows 10, with PC users claiming the new OS has brought them nothing but problems.
Homes are getting smarter, but not more secure
Smart homes aren’t something that’s going to happen in "the near future" -- smart homes are happening today. They’re no longer reserved for the early adopters or geeks, too. In some places, they’ve reached the "tipping point" -- they’re basically mainstream now.
This is according to a new and fairly extensive research by the non-profit prpl Foundation. In its study, The prpl Foundation Smart Home Security Report, it surveyed 1,200 people in the UK, US, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, and concluded that people should be more careful with their home routers.
Number of data breaches rises by 15 percent
The number of breaches and their severity are both growing, a new report by digital security company Gemalto is saying. Titled Breach Level Index, it says there has been 15 percent more data breaches in the first half of 2016, compared to the last six months of 2015.
A total of 974 data breaches were reported worldwide, amassing 554 million compromised data records, in the first half of 2016. It is also interesting that in more than half of cases (52 percent), the number of compromised records were not disclosed at the time of reporting. Looking specifically at the UK, there have been 61 breaches, most of which happened at the government sector (14). Finance and healthcare sectors were close second and third.
Bitdefender 2017 brings anti-ransomware, Wi-Fi vulnerability checker
Bitdefender has unveiled its 2017 consumer security range, including Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2017 ($39.99-), Bitdefender Internet Security 2017 ($59.99-) and Bitdefender Total Security Multi-Device 2017 ($89.99-).
New features include the Wi-Fi Security Scanner, a one-click tool which lists local wireless networks and quickly highlights any vulnerabilities.
Logitech unveils 'Z337 Bold Sound with Bluetooth' for Windows, Mac, and iPhone 7
When you buy a desktop computer, it will sometimes come with speakers for audio. When they are included, however, they are often terrible -- replacing them is probably a good idea. If you are a system builder, you must buy some for your rig -- if you don't already own some, that is. Laptops have integrated speakers, but they don't always produce great sound. I state all of these things to make a point -- dedicated quality speakers are almost always a smart buy.
Most computer speakers come with a 3.5mm audio plug, and sometimes RCA connectors too. This is perfect for connecting to, say, a Windows desktop, or an Apple MacBook. But wait -- Apple just got rid of the headphone jack on the iPhone 7. What if you want a speaker system that will work with both your PC and your smartphone? Today, Logitech unveils a 2.1 speaker system that will meet your needs. The 'Z337 Bold Sound with Bluetooth' offers 3.5mm for connecting to Windows 10, Linux, and macOS machines, but in addition, it has Bluetooth for connecting to an iPhone 7 or other smartphone or tablet. Nice!
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14931 for PC arrives on the Fast ring
A week ago, Microsoft rolled out its first really big new Windows 10 Insider Preview build since the Anniversary Update. As well as fixing a lot of problems, Build 14926 introduced some experimental new features, including the ability to "snooze" a tab in Microsoft Edge.
Today, Microsoft releases Build 14931 to the Fast ring, but unlike recent builds it’s only available for PC. Build 14926 introduced a couple of big problems for Mobile last week, so Microsoft has decided to hold off issuing a new build until they are fixed.
Samsung unveils 960 PRO and EVO M.2 NVMe SSDs with up to 2TB storage capacity
Solid state drives have dramatically changed the PC market. Long gone are the need for slow mechanical hard drives that create irritating noise. SSDs are silent, not to mention both faster and more energy efficient too.
NVMe-based M.2 SSDs are the latest and greatest, as they overcome the SATA speed limitations. Not to mention, since they are smaller than a 2.5 inch drive, computer manufacturers can create even thinner machines. Samsung's 950 line of SSDs were extremely popular, as they offered tremendous speed and reliability. Today, the company launches the next generation -- the 960 EVO and PRO -- which are only available in M.2 NVMe.
The best new features in macOS Sierra
Apple has officially released macOS Sierra, the latest version of its Mac operating system. Just like its recent predecessors, it is available for free. But, unlike any of the major releases introduced since 2001, it no longer bears the OS X name, as Apple wants to bring it in line with its other consumer-facing operating systems.
So, it is called macOS Sierra, and not OS X 10.12 Sierra. Does that mean it is a completely new operating system underneath? No. What Apple has done is improve upon OS X 10.11 El Capitan by adding a significant number of changes that should keep Mac users happy for one more year. The user experience has not been changed dramatically, though there are some pretty exciting things in macOS Sierra.
Google's new chat app Allo is a privacy nightmare
Four months ago, Google announced two new communication apps: Duo, for video calling, and Allo, for traditional WhatsApp-style messaging. Duo arrived for Android and iOS a month ago, while Allo is available from today.
While Allo is a good looking app, it has some big privacy issues that users need to be aware of.
Data lake management solution helps stop companies drowning in big data
While businesses are keen to get the benefits of big data, analysts find it hard to harness information across the enterprise and find relationships between data sets.
This can result in labor-intensive manual processes and a pool of unmanageable data that soaks up more and more resources in the quest for something useful.
Adaptiva launches serverless software distribution from the Azure cloud
Deploying software and updates to computers across a global enterprise from the cloud can be slow and expensive using traditional methods.
Systems management specialist Adaptiva is launching OneSite 6.0, a serverless option for distributing software from the cloud using Microsoft System Center Configuration (ConfigMgr) and Microsoft Azure.
Malware attacks are declining but getting cleverer
In the first six months of 2016 users were twenty percent less likely to encounter malware than in the same period last year. But although attacks are decreasing they’re getting more sophisticated and often disappear within hours having achieved their aims.
These are the key findings of the latest Webroot Quarterly Threat Report, based on information collected from millions of endpoints, released today.
Postbox 5 adds dynamic content support, anti-tracking features
Postbox, Inc has released Postbox 5.0, a major update to its Windows and Mac email client. Version 5 showcases a new look with high-DPI support in Windows, plus adds dynamic data support to responses and templates.
Other highlights include a new anti-tracking feature, Quick Post tool, new per-image scaling tool to help keep message sizes down, and global filters. There’s also 25 professionally designed email signatures and 70 business templates.
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