Cloud storage providers could be breaching the Consumer Rights’ Act
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is to launch an investigation into whether cloud storage users are paying the right amount for their data storage service amidst concerns that cloud providers are hiking prices and are locking customers into pricey contracts.
The issue has arisen at a time when cloud storage is becoming ever more popular with consumers and businesses. The Office for National Statistics has estimated that 40 percent of UK adults now use cloud storage. Consumers often chose to store their photos and music on the cloud whilst businesses frequently depend on cloud application services, including as Software as a Service (SaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS).
95 percent of US consumers share their passwords
It seems that convenience trumps security when it comes to passwords. Although 73 percent of US consumers believe sharing login details is risky, 95 percent do share between one and six of their passwords with other people.
A new survey by LastPass also reveals that only 19 percent of respondents say they don't share passwords that would jeopardize their identity or financial information, leaving a scary 81 percent of people who would share them.
Windows clone ReactOS hits version 0.4.0
It’s been ten long years since the last major release, but open source Windows clone ReactOS is still very much alive, and the latest release shows just what’s been achieved since 2006.
There’s finally support for NTFS read and ext2 read/ write, out of the box.
Are you Digitally Enlightened or an Online Nudist?
According to the results of a new survey, while two thirds of US respondents say they would like extra layers of online privacy and security, their actions prove otherwise as few even use currently available tools.
The study by VPN provider Hide My Ass! has been used to categorize people into five different approaches to online life:
New research suggests alarm system SimpliSafe simply isn't safe
If you watch TV at all, at least in the US, you've likely seen the ads for the latest technologies being pushed to market. While many folks like to be early adopters, there's something to be said for ignoring that pie-in-the-sky pitch and waiting until something has had time on the market and been thoroughly tested.
We recently saw this with the Ring doorbell, a product that continues to run endless TV commercials, perhaps just banking on appealing to the average person who doesn't look into things too carefully. Another one taking up your screen time these days is a new alarm system calling itself SimpliSafe. The problem is, research indicates it may not be living up to its impressive moniker.
IT professionals' bad security habits exposed
Many IT personnel don't follow the same security protocols they’re expected to enforce according to the results of a new survey of over 500 professionals working in IT security roles.
The study by Absolute Software Corporation shows that 45 percent of IT professionals admitted to knowingly circumventing their own organization's security policies. In addition 33 percent of respondents admitted to successfully hacking their own or another organization.
Microsoft offers Red Hat Enterprise Linux in Azure Marketplace
Azure already supports a number of major Linux distributions, like CentOS and openSUSE, but Microsoft is now taking things one step further by offering Red Hat Enterprise Linux instances through the cloud platform's Marketplace.
This comes as a direct result of Microsoft's partnership with Red Hat, which, among other things, is meant to "help customers embrace hybrid cloud computing by providing greater choice and flexibility deploying Red Hat solutions" on the software giant's cloud platform.
Linux was not meant to be open source
The Linux community has a lot to shout about. In addition to a seemingly endless choice of distros to suit every taste and need, there's also the highly-prized security. This is helped to a large extent by the open source nature of Linux, but Linus Torvalds has revealed that being open source was not part of the original plan.
Torvalds made the revelation in a rare interview at the TED conference in Vancouver saying that Linux started off as a personal project that he intended to keep to himself. The computing landscape certainly would have panned out into something very different to that which we see today had he not made that crucial decision.
Microsoft's Surface Book goes on sale in the UK
Surface Book, Microsoft’s hybrid laptop/tablet combo, officially launches in the UK from today.
If you're not familiar with it, the device has a detachable screen, a hinge that divides opinion (some people think it looks great, others hate it), and enough power to suit most users’ needs. It has a 13.5-inch PixelSense touchscreen display with a 3:2 aspect ratio that makes it great for getting "real work" done.
Cisco announces Firepower Next-Generation Firewall
Cisco has released a new firewall solution which aims to completely change how security services tackle cyber-threats.
The new product, Cisco Firepower Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW), is built to detect threats on a system, and not keep the system on a lockdown. Here’s how Cisco explains the new product
Scan your PC for unsigned files with SigcheckGUI
Your PC is misbehaving. Is it malware? Faulty software, maybe? Scanning for PC for digitally signed files can help to pick out trustworthy executables, and highlight unsigned files for more investigation.
Sysinternals’ Sigcheck provides a vast amount of information and options, but it’s also a console tool, maybe inconvenient if you don’t use it enough to learn the various switches.
Linksys EA7500 MAX-STREAM AC1900 MU-MIMO 802.11ac gigabit router now available
When friends or family ask me to help with their Wi-Fi woes, I often discover the same thing -- low-cost and aging routers. Understandably, people are always looking to save a buck, but a router is not the place to do so. A quality router is worth the money -- dropped connections and necessary reboots are a scourge.
Today, Linksys announces that its EA7500 MAX-STREAM AC1900 MU-MIMO 802.11ac gigabit router is available for pre-order. Not only is it fast and chock-full of features, but it is reasonably priced too.
New drivers and firmware fix Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book power management problems
Both the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book have been well-received devices on the whole, but there have been complaints from some users about power management. A failure to properly enter sleep mode has been causing not only battery drain, but also heat issues -- now Microsoft have issued fixes.
Starting today, new drivers and firmware updates are rolling out that address these problems as Microsoft says it continues to listen to user feedback.
Twitter makes it easier to annoy your followers with GIFs
GIFs are, sadly, here to stay. We've come a (relatively) long way since the days of animated GIF adverts that adorned countless web pages through the 90s, but the animated image format is still highly divisive -- and I'm not just talking about whether it is pronounced with a hard or soft G sound.
Some people loathe GIFs with a passion that knows no bounds, while for others they are the perfect means of communication. If you fall into the latter camp, Twitter has some good news for you -- a 'GIF search' button is making its way to the web, as well as the iOS and Android apps.
The role of collaboration in GDPR compliance
As the European Union reaches an agreement on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which will require companies to comply with state-of-the-art cybersecurity requirements, security firm Palo Alto Networks has surveyed businesses to see how much they know about cyber-security and where the responsibility lies.
The survey suggests much work still needs to be done, particularly in areas of collaboration and responsibility sharing.
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