Best Windows apps this week
One-hundred and sixty-eight in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps and games released for Windows 8.x and Windows 10 in the past seven days.
This week saw some great releases and application updates. Facebook's official application is available to all users for instance, and updates to Twitter, Hulu or Todoist improved these apps significantly.
Poll: Should Apple help the FBI unlock the San Bernardino iPhone?
The US courts say Apple should help the FBI access the contents of an iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters, but Apple is refusing, on the grounds that it doesn’t want to erode the security of Apple customers.
I’m personally on Apple’s side, as is my colleague Joe Wilcox, but Donald Trump wants Apple to use "common sense" and open its phone up, while John McAfee is claiming he can help the FBI unlock Apple’s device within "three weeks", primarily through the use of social engineering. The FBI for its part says it doesn’t want Apple to create a backdoor in all iPhones, just unlock the one belonging to the killer.
10 reasons why I don't use Microsoft Edge, and one why I do
Microsoft Edge is the default system browser on Windows 10. Microsoft ships the operating system with Internet Explorer as well, and it is easy enough to use either one of the browsers to download Firefox, Chrome, Opera or any of the other browsers available for Windows.
When Windows 10 came out, I was interested in Microsoft Edge for a number of reasons. It is a new browser by Microsoft that did away with old dependencies that held Internet Explorer back. That should make it sleeker, faster and less prone to attacks.
Opera claims you're using 30 percent of your mobile data on background apps
Mobile data these days comes at a premium. Carriers charge what could be considered ridiculous amounts for it and many customers burn through it. Unless you're predominantly on Wi-Fi then you're likely wondering where all of that data is going.
The answer, of course, is background apps -- programs that run all the time without the user realizing it. These can eat up tremendous amounts of a monthly allotment.
Mobile operator Three to block ads at the network level
Ad blocking has been going on for years, but it’s risen in popularity a lot lately, thanks in part to Apple allowing ad blockers into the App Store. Popular content blocker Adblock Plus has been having conversations with advertisers recently too and is looking to discover just why people block ads on the web.
In an interesting move, mobile network operator Three has announced that it will be using ad blocking technology created by Israeli startup Shine to block adverts on a network level.
Facebook launches Suicide Prevention tool in the UK
Facebook has teamed up with charity the Samaritans to bring its Suicide Prevention tool to the UK. It's the same tool that was launched in the US a little over a year ago, and it gives users the opportunity to report content they feel might be indicative of someone struggling with suicidal thoughts.
While Facebook itself is not involved in seeking out suicide-related posts, it has a team in place ready to handle any content that is reported. The team is able to analyze and prioritize cases, and reach out to individuals to see what sort of support can be offered -- this might be as simple as having a chat, or it could involve a referral to specialist organizations.
Streamlining home network security [Q&A]
Whilst businesses can call on expert resources to secure their systems, for many home users protecting a home network and the devices attached to it can be something of a dark art.
Finnish security company F-Secure is aiming to make securing systems simple even for the non-technical with its forthcoming SENSE product. We spoke to Mika Majapuro, F-Secure's director of product management, to find about more.
Mendix products now available on Microsoft Azure
Platform-as-a-service provider Mendix and Microsoft today announced a partnership which will bring Mendix services on the Azure cloud platform.
Mendix says the new partnership will allow Azure customers to seamlessly access Mendix’s rapid application development capabilities, adding that two versions are available -- free and commercial.
Gozi Banking Trojan is now fully compatible with the Edge browser in Windows 10
Banking trojans, like ransomware, have become big business today. And the people behind all of these malicious products are always moving forward, innovating with the times in an effort to keep up with technology and victims.
There is a virtual smorgasbord of malware out there just looking for ripe pickings. One is the Gozi Banking Trojan, which injects its code into the operating system via the browser. With Windows 10 being offered (pushed) for free, malware makers are scrambling to cover the adoption rate by updating their products.
Microsoft wants to make Windows 10 and Office 365 more accessible
Making its products accessible to as many people as possible is clearly in Microsoft's best interests. Today the company outlined how it plans to improve accessibility in Windows 10 and Office 365, setting out a roadmap built on three key principles.
Transparency, accountability and being inclusive will be the company's cornerstones for 2016. Microsoft wants to "to think about all of our customers and all of the ways we can empower them with technology". But what does this actually mean.
Apple says sorry for iPhone Error 53 and issues iOS 9.2.1 update to fix it
Apple has a lot of support at the moment for its stance on encryption and refusing the FBI access to an iPhone's contents, but it's only a couple of weeks since the company was seen in a less favorable light. There was quite a backlash when users found that installing an update to iOS resulted in Error 53 and a bricked iPhone.
Apple initially said that Error 53 was caused 'for security reasons' following speculation that it was a bid to stop people from using third party repair shops. iFixit suggested that the problem was a result of a failure of parts to correctly sync, and Apple has been rounding criticized for failing to come up with a fix. Today the company has issued an apology, along with an update that ensures Error 53 won't happen again. But there's more good news.
Automation will take away more than 100,000 jobs within 20 years in the UK
You shouldn’t fear immigrants taking your job, you should fear robots. A new study by jobs search engine Adzuna suggests that more than 100,000 of current job vacancies will be fully automated within the next 20 years.
The results are based on the study of Oxford University researchers, looking at which jobs would basically be given to robots before 2035.
Samsung bringing Gear S2 classic 3G/4G smartwatch to Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile
Modern smartwatches are hardly must-have devices. Most are simply extensions of smartphones, serving as nothing more than expensive accessories. In other words, many smartwatches aren't very useful on their own.
Some of these watches, however, have cellular radios, making them useful as a standalone experience. Heck, they could even replace smartphones for those with limited needs. Today, Samsung announces that it is bringing its standalone-ready Gear S2 classic 3G/4G smartwatch to Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile.
The majority of IT pros view email as a major security threat
Sixty-five percent of IT professionals don’t feel equipped to defend against email-based cyber attacks, according to the findings of a report carried out by email security and archiving company Mimecast.
The global study of 600 IT security professionals -- Mimecast Business Email Threat Report 2016, Email Security Uncovered -- also found that 64 percent of respondents regard email as a major security threat and one third believe email is more vulnerable today than it was five years ago.
Windows 10 Insider Preview Redstone Build 14267 arrives on the Fast ring -- and brings welcome improvements
After a flurry of new builds, Insiders on the Fast ring have had to wait a whole two weeks for the latest Windows 10 update to arrive.
Unlike previous Fast ring releases, which focused on updates to OneCore (the core that Windows 10 shares across devices) and preparing the ground work for future additions, like extensions, Build 14267 actually has some improvements worthy of note, including several usability enhancements to Microsoft Edge.
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