SteelSeries APEX M500 is an affordable Cherry MX Red mechanical keyboard for eSports
If you are happy with your current keyboard, but it isn't a mechanical variant, you probably could be happier. In other words, you probably don't know what you are missing. Mechanical keyboards offer a very satisfying typing experience, plus potentially better performance when gaming.
Mechanical keyboards are often an expensive affair, however. They are totally worth the investment, but sometimes they have extra features you don't really need or want, which inflates the price. Today, SteelSeries announces the APEX M500 mechanical keyboard with a very reasonable price. It has Cherry MX Red switches, which are ideal for gaming. The eSports-focused keyboard is fairly basic by design, which makes it affordable for many.
Microsoft throws its support behind EU-US Privacy Shield
The transfer of data between the US and Europe has been something of a privacy and security nightmare. In an attempt to improve privacy protection, the European Commission established the EU-US Privacy Shield "to restore trust in transatlantic data flows" post-Edward Snowden's NSA surveillance revelations, replacing the controversial Safe Harbor arrangement.
Today Microsoft has announced its support for the principles the framework says that companies will have to abide by. More than this, Vice President for EU Government Affairs at Microsoft, John Frank, says the company will comply with Data Protection Authorities advice in disputes, and cooperate with them on data transfer processes.
Record everything launched on a PC with Process Logger Service
Process Logger Service is a Windows service which logs every process launched on your PC. It’s a useful tool that can help answer a range of questions. Like, did the email you open launched something? What did that installer do? When was a particular program last run? And more.
The service must be set up manually. It’s not a difficult process, but does involve a little more work than we expected.
New cloud platform streamlines Android app development
Businesses have ever more demand from consumers to deliver services via mobile, so they're looking for ways to produce apps quickly and efficiently.
To address this need, Android solutions provider Genymobile is cloud-based platform that allows enterprises to build, test, show off and service Android applications across the entire application lifecycle while streamlining the development process.
How phone agnostic beacon technology will revolutionize mobile payments
Mobile payments are gaining momentum in the UK. Apply Pay has an initial monopoly, Google recently announced its UK launch and Samsung is planning to follow suit later this year. Countries across the globe are increasingly moving towards cashless societies thanks to advances in contactless payments. The UK is a leader in contactless payments and, thanks to technology such as Oyster cards, mobile payments are catching on quickly.
Instead of carrying a physical wallet with cash and bank cards, mobile wallets are becoming an increasingly popular method of payment.
The Internet of Things in 2016 -- where is it headed and what are your plans?
The Internet of Things, more commonly known as IoT and sometimes referred to as a Connected Home or as Home Automation, is one of the biggest trends in technology these days and 2016 doesn't seem to be slowing down as new products continue to pour onto the market while others get updates and increasingly become compatible across platforms.
Product lines abound, from door locks to shades and from lights to crock pots. Manufacturers like Samsung, Insteon, Cree, GE, Nest, Wink, Sensi, Ecobee and many more are out there waiting for your hard earned money.
Keygen alert: free password generator released for PETYA ransomware
The PETYA ransomware is just one of the recent examples of malware that encrypts victims' hard drives until a fee is paid. The advice from the government is not to pay the ransom -- or at least not expect to get a decryption key if you do -- but a password generator has been created that means you can decrypt your hard drive for free.
While TeslaCrypt 4 boasts 'unbreakable encryption', the same cannot be said of PETYA, although the PETYA ransomware does have the irritating habit of overwriting MBRs. This does mean that there is no way to interact with the drive on the infected computer, but with access to a spare machine to read the drive and access to the online tool created by Leostone, you could have your data back in seconds. As the tool's website proudly proclaims, you can "Get your petya encrypted disk back, WITHOUT paying ransom!!!" -- here's what you need to do.
Celebrity threesome superinjunction shows disparity between law of the land and law of the web
The idea of an injunction to prevent newspapers from publishing certain stories are nothing new, far from it. But in recent years, a new breed of superinjunction has been born. These not only prevent the publishing of stories, but can also block the publishing of the names of those involved. Some superinjunctions are such that even reporting the existence of the superinjunction is prohibited.
In recent weeks, a celebrity couple took out a superinjunction to prevent the press from publishing details of an alleged affair (well, a threesome if we cut to the chase). The gagging order prevented news outlets in the UK referring to the couple as anything other than the initials PJS and YMA (not their actual initials, by the way) and the other participants in the alleged ménage à trois as AB and CD. But today a Scottish newspaper took the decision to reveal the names of the couple -- but it could only do so in its print edition, because of the way laws written for the printed press have been awkwardly applied to the web.
Immigration officials allowed to hack phones of refugees and asylum seekers
The British government secretly rolled out powers that permitted the immigration officials to hack the mobile phones of asylum seekers and refugees, the Observer reveals. The Home Office has confirmed the hacking powers which have sparked outrage from privacy and human rights groups.
Since 2013, immigration officials have not only been permitted to hack into migrants' phones and computers, but also to install surveillance equipment in homes and detention centers. With concern about governmental plans for the snooper's charter and the privacy invasion this entails, claims that the powers are needed to "deal effectively with all immigration crime" are likely to fall on deaf ears.
Zuckerberg's #BLM rant and the dangers of corporate Thought Police
Corporate leaders, especially those considered thought leaders, have a firm right and assumed expectation to voice their opinion on public policy. As such, I've got no inherent issues with Facebook's founder and chief, Mark Zuckerberg, proclaiming his positions publicly -- even if I happen to blatantly disagree with them.
Mark and other leaders of their respective industries have something very intrinsically unique that most others do not. That comes in the form of the power of the pulpit. It places their opinion in a position which bring inherent weight and reach which many could only dream of. Yet, this advantage comes with a social responsibility so as to not abuse or otherwise misuse the privilege.
'Mumblehard' malware turns thousands of Linux servers into spam botnet -- ESET shuts it down
Linux-based operating systems are rock solid -- reliable and secure -- but not infallible. The Mumblehard malware, for instance, targets servers running the open source kernel, installing a backdoor, and then turning them into part of a powerful spam-focused botnet. Surprisingly, Mumblehard was rather widespread, infecting 4,000 Linux-powered servers.
Of course, had administrators patched the systems appropriately, there is a good chance that some of them would have avoided infection. I say this, because ESET found that some machines were infected through known exploits, in things like WordPress. Thankfully, ESET successfully terminated the botnet on February 29th, 2016 by taking control of the home IP.
Draft encryption bill could spell the end of privacy and security as we know it
Apple's battle with the FBI has focused the attention of the technology community on encryption. But while just about all of the big players in the tech world backed Apple's refusal to create a backdoor for the FBI into iOS, Congress has a very different idea about how encryption and governmental access to data should be handled. This is perfectly demonstrated by a new bill.
The draft version of the Compliance with Court Orders Act of 2016 -- penned by Senators Diane Feinstein and Richard Burr -- would essentially force all US companies to decrypt data they may have encrypted, or to provide backdoors when asked. It's a bill described variously as 'dangerous', 'encryption-weakening', and 'anti-security', and it starts off aggressivley in stating that "no person or entity is above the law". In effect, it renders the encryption put in place by the likes of WhatsApp completely pointless as, if the bill is passed, companies would have to decrypt data on demand.
Linux can still beat Windows in the desktop war, and Linus Torvalds is 'working on it'
About a year ago, I declared Windows 10 was "the final nail in the coffin for the Linux desktop". What I meant by this was not that Linux on the desktop was really dead, but that the Linux community had failed to capitalize on the negative sentiment towards Windows 8x. What I didn't expect at the time, however, was Microsoft's privacy faux pas with Windows 10. While there are more than a quarter billion installs of the latest operating system, plenty of folks have serious concerns about spying.
Maybe Linux has a chance on the desktop after all. Ubuntu is being integrated into Windows 10, and Android seems to be headed towards the desktop. In other words, Linux is making significant moves. Heck, even Linus Torvalds is prepared to keep fighting the good fight, and he declares that he is still "working on it".
Windows 10 Anniversary Edition is due for release in July
Microsoft's Windows 10 Roadmap for business users reveals that the eagerly-anticipated Windows 10 Anniversary Edition is due to launch in July this year. At Build 2016 earlier in the month, Microsoft said that the big update was due to launch 'this summer', but did not get any more precise than this for the Redstone branch release.
But digging into roadmap documents, Microsoft makes it clear that it is aiming for a July release. The company has said that the update will bring "significant new features", including taskbar badge notifications and a revamped Start menu, but it is when talking about the new features that are coming to Cortana that the date is revealed.
Thrustmaster announces TMX Force Feedback racing wheel for Xbox One and Windows 10
Illegal street racing is totally dangerous. Quite frankly, not only can you injure or kill yourself, but even worse, you can impact innocent pedestrians. Luckily, if you have the need for speed, video games can give you your racing fix in a safe environment.
Today, Thrustmaster announces the TMX Force Feedback racing wheel for Xbox One and Windows 10 (plus Vista, 7, and 8x). For under $200, you can take your games to the next level with a feedback-focused racing wheel.
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