Google agrees to pay £130m back tax in the UK
Following an audit of its accounts, Google has agreed to pay £130m ($185m) in back taxes in the UK. The company says that it wants to make sure that it pays the right amount of tax after it faced criticism for not paying its fair share and for having a complicated tax structure.
HMRC (Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) has been investigating Google for six years. It is one of many large companies to have been criticized for using offshore operations to funnel funds and reduce tax bills. The £130m covers ten years' of underpayment, and Google says it will continue to pay more tax in the UK.
A major snowstorm is heading up the US east coast, what should you do?
Unless you are living under a rock then you likely know that there is a major winter storm moving up the US eastern seaboard. There are the usual dire predictions of doom and gloom, though we've heard those before, only to have them not turn out quite true.
The worst case scenario is fairly bad, with blizzard warnings posted across several states and dire claims of possible power outages. So what do you plan to do if you live in the path of this possible super storm?
Privacy ombudsman could handle European complaints about US surveillance
The importance and awareness of online privacy issues have been brought into sharp focus in the 21st century. It's not entirely down to Edward Snowden, but the revelations from the former NSA contractor are a constant reference point for those concerned with privacy, security and freedom of speech.
One of the greatest problems facing anyone trying to tackle the problem of privacy on the web is dealing with the ideologies of different countries, and how this affects data sharing. A level of surveillance that is deemed acceptable in the US, for instance, may be considered completely objectionable in another. The latest suggestion to help overcome this seemingly insurmountable problem is to set up a privacy ombudsman that would be able to handle European complaints and queries about US surveillance.
AppRiver reveals the malware and spam trends in 2015
American email and web security firm AppRiver has released its end-of-the-year report, where it showcased a detailed analysis of malware and spam trends in 2015.
The report, entitled Global Security Report, says that the number of email messages containing malware doubled, year-on-year. From January to November, AppRiver quarantined 944 million messages, and in December alone, another 705 million.
PC users, get rid of Adobe Flash end of life versions
Secunia Research at Flexera Software has published a report covering the fourth quarter of 2015 for 14 countries, regarding vulnerable software, applications and PCs.
Turns out we’re not really good at keeping our computers safe, and our software up to date.
Netflix starts to block proxy and VPN access
Just last week Netflix announced plans to clamp down on VPNs and proxy tools. In what appears to be a move to please license holders the company has already started to impose new restrictions.
Some Netflix customers in Autralia who are using the uFlix VPN have noticed that their access to Netflix has been denied. Attempting to access Netflix using the tool results in an error message being displayed: "You seem to be using an unblocker or proxy. Please turn off any of these services and try again". But this is not the end of the story.
Developer: Windows Store is a disaster
One of the features that an app store must absolutely get right is search. Users have to be able to find what they are looking for and discover titles that meet their needs. At the same time, developers who spend time creating apps need to have their titles easily available to potential customers. If one, or both, of these requirements is not met, that creates a serious problem.
Windows Store is in this exact situation, according to multiple developer reports. Microsoft has been unable, or, worse, unwilling, to make the search functionality as useful as users and developers might like, at a time when Windows Store is already being penalized by its pitiful selection of top-tier and quality apps.
Virgin Media says it's not right to advertise broadband speeds that most people cannot get
The 'misleading' nature of ads for broadband services has been the subject of debate for some time. The 'up to' figures put forward in relation to speed are often so open to interpretation as to render them meaningless. Customers have had enough, and now Virgin Media is ready to fight on their behalf.
Current rules enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) permit UK ISPs to make claims about broadband speeds, even if just 10 percent of customers could receive these speeds. Virgin thinks this is unfair and is calling on the ASA to update its guidelines so customers will have an easier time comparing deals.
Humans get frozen out of frontline security
A new report from application delivery and cyber security specialist Radware suggests that the human element will increasingly be excluded from security as 2016 brings a 'battle of the bots'.
It finds that throughout 2015, no industry was immune to cyber attacks, and few were prepared for them. In 2016, attacks are predicted to become even more aggressive with the arrival of Advanced Persistent Denial of Service (APDoS) attacks and an increase in volume and scope of sophisticated bot-generated assaults against web application infrastructure.
Majority of consumers expect their data to be compromised in 2016
The series of high-profile data breaches we witnessed last year has left a mark on the way consumers perceive online business, a new research from NCC Group and IDG Research Services shows.
According to the research, entitled Trust in the Internet 2016, 63 percent of consumers expect their data to be compromised this year, and 60 percent are now worried, more than ever, about protecting their data on the Internet.
Microsoft debuts more powerful models of Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book… and a new gold pen too
If you’re thinking of buying either Surface Pro 4 or Surface Book, there’s quite a few variations in the range to consider, with different capacities for different budgets.
Today Microsoft launches the most powerful versions yet of both devices, and also introduces a new Gold Surface Pen for people looking to make a "bold statement" (Microsoft’s words, not ours).
You won't believe how many subscribers iHeartRadio has
iHeartRadio, a leading provider of streaming music, has numerous stations customers can listen to either on the web or through mobile apps. It's a popular service in a crowded streaming market. In fact, it even sponsors a major music festival each year in Las Vegas, the most recent taking place back in September.
What sort of follower-base does putting on a show with big name artists take? Obviously there's a lot behind it, aside from followers -- contracts with artists and radio stations, for example.
Microsoft is finally hiding Skype users' IP addresses by default -- better late than never
Microsoft is a curious company sometimes. Quite often, it offers wonderful products, but then fails to truly focus on the details. A great example is Skype. On paper, it sounds great -- a cross-platform communication solution. Sadly, the Windows clients are quite ugly, and overall, it can feel half-baked. The company really needs to dedicate some resources to improving the user experience, but I digress.
The largest oversight with Skype, however, is that it can expose your IP address. Sure, there may be situations where you might want to share this, but for many users, it is simply a security and privacy faux pas. Today, Microsoft finally rights this terrible wrong, and will be hiding the IP by default. Better late than never, eh?
Google paid $1 billion to Apple so its search would stay on iPhones
In the smartphone arena, Apple and Google are rivals -- but that doesn't mean they can't have a symbiotic relationship. Longstanding rivalry in mind, many people have questioned why Apple has retained Google as the default search choice on iPhones. The reason is that money talks.
Transcript of a copyright case involving Google and Oracle show that the search giant paid Apple $1 billion in 2014. An agreement is in place that sees Google paying Apple a percentage of the revenue it generates through iOS devices. This is something that has been rumored for some time, but neither Apple nor Google has commented on.
Best Windows apps this week
One-hundred and sixty-four 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.
As has been the case in the past two weeks, no "best app of the week" award was given out due to a lack of notable additions to the Windows Store lineup.
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