Latest Technology News

Niantic Labs faces lawsuit in Germany over Pokémon Go privacy concerns

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Pokémon Go has proved almost unbelievably popular, and like any app that gains a huge following, malicious versions of the app soon appeared. The game has been in the headlines after hackers knocked gaming servers offline, but there have also been major privacy concerns.

Now there could be a nightmare brewing for developer Niantic Labs in Germany, where consumer advocates say the game violates the country's consumer and privacy laws. Federation of German Consumer Organizations (VZBV) says the company needs to make sweeping changes to a raft of clauses in the app's terms of use in order to avoid further action.

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KickassTorrents is back

Revival

Even though US authorities have taken down KickassTorrents and managed to get owner Artem Vaulin arrested in Poland, the most popular BitTorrent website in the world is now back in the game.

KickassTorrents is alive and well through two working mirrors which have been set up by supporters to ensure that fans can continue to enjoy the content distributed through the website. In the wake of these events, it would seem that it's business as usual in BitTorrent land.

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View and extract files from Inno Setup installers with InnoEx

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Run a "setup.exe" on your PC and there’s no way to tell what might happen next. Will it install adware, hundreds of system files, maybe just a single executable? Who knows?

InnoEx is a free portable tool which can display the contents of some setup files, without having to install them first.

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Apple patches Stagefright-like vulnerability on iOS, OS X

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An equivalent to Android’s Stagefright vulnerability has recently been spotted on iOS and OS X devices. It has since been patched, and security experts from Sophos are urging all Apple users to patch up as fast as they can to protect themselves from the serious flaw.

For those who are unfamiliar with it, Stagefright (in its multiple version) allowed a hacker to take over a victim’s Android smartphone by sending a message with an image or a video file. Long story short, it had something to do with the way Android managed images, and pretty much every Android version you can think of was vulnerable (many of them may still be).

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Consumer online storage has an Achilles Heel (and an opportunity)

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The last several years have revealed enormous opportunity in consumer online storage -- numerous companies, led by Dropbox, have shown tremendous growth and opportunity in the consumer market. Unfortunately, the most recent few years have seen many, if not all, of those companies pivot their focus from consumer to enterprise.

The main players that remain focused on consumer online storage are the big boys: Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Apple. These companies do this via incredible low pricing with little apparent concern for profit (which is easy when you make lots of money via other products and services). Considering massive pent-up demand in the consumer world, why has this happened?

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7 information security trends currently dominating the market

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Protecting your information, especially if it’s information you’ve collected about your customers that includes things like their address or their credit card number, is absolutely vital to your business. Even if the information you lose isn’t customer-related, it can still lead to the loss of thousands, even millions, of dollars if it’s related to a trademark or other intellectual property.

If you’re concerned about your company’s information security, you may be interested in learning about these seven different information security trends that are currently dominating the market.

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Best Windows apps this week

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One-hundred and ninety in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 8.x and Windows 10 in the past seven days.

Lots of updates this week for established apps such as Windows Camera and Uber, but only a few new releases worth mentioning.

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Fighting the threat of social hacking [Q&A]

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Often the weakest link in an enterprise’s cyber security is the person behind the endpoint. Although technology solutions can offer a high degree of protection, there’s no substitute for making users aware of the potential threats.

Social engineering attacks are increasingly used to try and catch out employees. Education on cyber security is therefore something that's being taken seriously by businesses of all sizes. We spoke to Scott Youngs, CIO of infrastructure solutions and managed services company Key Information Systems to find out more about the threat and how education can help beat it.

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Most EMEA businesses are happy with Windows 10

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Windows 10 is now used in 39 percent of businesses in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) region, according to a new report by Spiceworks.

Titled "Windows 10 Adoption: Sprinting out of the Gate", it reveals that the highest adoption rate is among companies with more than 250 employees -- 51 percent. Software, manufacturing and energy industries are where Windows 10 is most used.

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Spotify sells your personal and playlist data to advertisers making you the product

spotify_logos

Much like Google, streaming music service Spotify is increasingly turning its attention to advertising. Announcing what it refers to as "programmatic buying", the company reveals that it is launching a targeted advertising program.

Advertisers -- or "buyers" in Spotify's nomenclature -- will be granted access to not only demographic data about users, but also access to information about playlists.

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Facebook's solar-powered 'Aquila' internet airplane completes first flight

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When I find myself without internet access for even just a short period of time -- say, less than an hour -- I feel like I am having withdrawal symptoms. I get anxious, irritable, and frustrated. First world problems, am I right?

Sadly, according to Facebook, there are 4 billion people on the Earth with no access at all -- makes a short outage seem rather insignificant. Mark Zuckerberg and company are looking to change this with an unlikely tool -- solar-powered airplanes that beam the internet to the ground. Today, Facebook announces that its experimental aircraft successfully completed its first flight last month in Arizona.

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KAPOW! Bubble Zoom in Google Play Books means better support for comics

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If you use your Android smartphone or tablet to read comics, your reading experience is about to get a whole lot more enjoyable. An update to Google Play Books sees the introduction of Bubble Zoom, a feature announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2016.

It uses image recognition technology to identify speech bubbles and automatically enlarge the text of each, one at time as you tap. To celebrate, Google is offering 50 percent off certain DC Comics and Marvel comics.

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Brexit will not make GDPR mandatory in UK

Brexit flags

Another day, another Brexit story. It’s going to be years before we stop hearing the various implications and results of the recently held UK referendum on leaving the European Union.

This time, it’s about private data and its sharing to third-parties, by private companies, without users’ consent.

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Twitter Food Council celebrates cooking and eating

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As an American, I have an obsession with food -- it is a big part of our culture. As my last name implies, I also have some Italian heritage, meaning the act of eating is not only a means of staying alive, but a way to celebrate pretty much everything. Heck, I even love watching cooking shows and competitions -- Chopped is my favorite.

As a tech-guy who loves social media, I also share pictures of my meals with friends and family on Facebook and Twitter. Speaking of the latter, there is an all-new 'Twitter Food Council' and associated hashtag (#FoodFlock). This new initiative is a way for lovers of food -- chefs, bakers, eaters, etc. -- to share their love of culinary arts on the social network.

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BBC iPlayer Radio app launches in the US for iOS and Android

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The BBC pumps out a great deal of fabulous content, but there's one problem -- an awful lot of it can only be accessed in the UK. With the launch of the iPlayer Radio app for iOS and Android, this changes.

As well as giving listeners the chance to tune in to live radio broadcasts, the app also provides access to podcasts, and boasts a catch-up feature for shows you may have missed. The iPlayer Radio app is available free of charge, and has already received rave reviews in the Google and Apple stores.

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