North Korea's Red Star OS leaves the government in control of computers
Based on Fedora Linux, you might expect North Korea's Red Star OS to be a secure operating system. It's not -- at least not by most people's standards. Like China, the socialist state is keen to embrace the power of the internet, but wants to retain control over is citizens. This s exactly what Red Star OS enables the government to do.
Germany researchers from the security company ERNW have probed Red Star OS, examined the code and determined that it is a home grown operating system that leaves the government in control of many aspects of its use, including encryption. It has been suggested that North Korea is paranoid that the west will try to infiltrate through software, but it is North Korean citizens that should be more worried.
China passes law requiring tech firms to hand over encryption keys
Apple may have said that it opposes the idea of weakening encryption and providing governments with backdoors into products, but things are rather different in China. The Chinese parliament has just passed a law that requires technology companies to comply with government requests for information, including handing over encryption keys.
Under the guise of counter-terrorism, the controversial law is the Chinese government's attempt to curtail the activities of militants and political activists. China already faces criticism from around the world not only for the infamous Great Firewall of China, but also the blatant online surveillance and censorship that takes place. This latest move is one that will be view very suspiciously by foreign companies operating within China, or looking to do so.
Sunday's super deal -- get Watchdog Anti-Malware for FREE at Downloadcrew Giveaway!
Antivirus protection can be expensive -- but not today. We’re giving away free licenses for Watchdog Anti-Malware, a cloud-based second-opinion scanner which uses multiple antivirus engines to catch the threats that other packages miss.
A 1-year, 1-PC license normally retails at $24.99, but for 24 hours only from 12pm EST Sunday (27th December) to 12pm EST Monday, you can get your system protected for FREE!
Electronics can be dangerous -- man falls to his death while staring at device
Electronics have become a major distraction in modern society and there's no shortage of stories about accidents caused by cell phones and many people have a story of, at the very least, a near miss. We've likely all been there with distracted drivers.
No question modern devices can be hazardous to one's health and worse, the health of others who have loved ones at home waiting for them.
Twitter says it is beating the trolls
Social networks were designed for people, and people mean problems. In particular, the likes of Facebook and Twitter have become havens for bullies and trolls, eager to prey on others online. Twitter has launched tools and education programs to combat trolling, and now the site says that it is winning the battle.
After making it easier to report abusive tweets and increasing the size of its anti-troll team, Twitter believes it is getting 'bad behavior' under control. As well as bullying of acquaintances and work colleagues, Twitter has also been used to attack celebrities, the gay community, religious groups, and more, with many people feeling driven from the site. It seems that the decision to take a very hands-on approach to troll tackling is starting to pay off.
How to stop Windows 10 asking you to give feedback
If you've signed up to the Windows Insider program, you're enjoying preview builds of Windows 10 before the vast majority of people. Whether you are on the Fast or the Slow Ring, getting hold of Insider preview builds is a great way to stay on the cutting edge -- but it comes with its drawbacks.
One of these -- aside from the need to download gigantic updates from time to time -- is that Windows 10 will constantly pester you for feedback. While it could be argued that this is very much the point of the preview program, some of you will almost certainly just want to get on with using Windows 10 without being asked 'Would you recommend this build to a friend?' or 'What do you think of the latest features of Windows 10?'. If you want to kill the feedback popups, here's how to do it.
All I want for Christmas is porn (a little bit NSFW)
Christmas can be -- scratch that, it is -- a very stressful time of year, and people seek solace in a variety of things... one of them being porn. But when it comes to self-administered stress relief, just what are people around the world using as visual aids to assist stagnant imaginations?
If this is a question that has been bothering you over the festive period, wonder no more for Pornhub has the answers! There is huge scope for sexing up Christmas, and the porn site's latest report into festive shows that XXX fans just can’t get enough of Santa's naughty elves, dirty helpers, and imagining Mr and Mrs Claus engaging in all manner of sexy shenanigans. Forget Happy Christmas, this is more like fappy Christmas... or XXXmas. Spoiler: there's no Jesus porn.
This Saturday, get WebSite X5 Home 12, worth $19.95, for FREE at Downloadcrew Giveaway!
Need a great-looking website, fast? Our latest giveaway, WebSite X5 Home 12, makes it easy to build attractive multimedia sites -- no experience required.
The package normally retails at $19.95, but for 24 hours from 12pm EST Saturday (26 December), you can get a single PC licence for FREE!
Santa brought you a 4th generation Apple TV? Here's what to do first
As far as I'm concerned, Apple won 2015 -- feel free to disagree. According to yours truly, the privacy-focused company holds the crowns for best smartphone (iPhone 6s Plus), best tablets (iPad mini 4, Air 2, Pro), best smartwatch (Apple Watch) and, of course, the best streaming media box of the year. Yes, I am talking about the amazing 4th gen Apple TV.
Did Santa bring you one for Christmas this year? Well, you must have been good, because it is a wonderful steaming media box. Actually, it is much more than that; it is also an incredible gaming console -- the Siri remote doubles as a passable gamepad. Ready to use the Apple TV? Here is what you need to do first.
Best Windows apps this week
One-hundred and sixty 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.
Game of the week is the great looking fighting game Gods of Rome in which you fight as gods, demigods and mythical heroes both against the computer and other human opponents.
Santa brought you a Windows 10 PC or tablet? Here’s what to do first
If you were fortunate enough to unwrap a new Windows device this Christmas the chances are it will be running Windows 10.
The new operating system has much to recommend it, as well as a few features that you might not be so keen on (the spying aspect for example). Getting Windows 10 set up exactly how you want it will -- like all versions of Windows -- take a while, but follow this guide and you’ll soon be sorted.
Get Serif PagePlus X4, worth $99.99, for FREE this Christmas Day at Downloadcrew Giveaway!
If you thought Christmas Eve’s giveaway was a slam dunk, then how about this? For 24 hours from midday December 25, we’re giving you Serif PagePlus X4, a full-blown DTP package worth $99.99, for free!
Serif PagePlus manages to combine a collection of powerful features -- including an excellent in-app photo editing tool -- with wizards, templates and a user-friendly interface that make it suitable for novices and DTP magicians alike.
Uncover your PCs speed issues with WhySoSlow
Resplendence Software has unveiled the first public beta of WhySoSlow, a smart Windows tool which analyses CPU and memory usage, power settings, devices, drivers, BIOS responsiveness and more for performance issues.
The program opens as a system monitor, displaying CPU usage, RAM load, hard page faults and other low-level indicators in real time.
Bitcoin set to boom in 2016
The price of Bitcoin may surge in 2016 due to the slower growth in the cryptocurrency’s supply, according to new predictions.
Daniel Masters, co-founder of Jersey-based Global Advisors’ multi-million dollar bitcoin hedge fund, said that the price of bitcoin could make it above $1,100 next year and then pick up speed to rise to $4,400 by the end of 2017.
Rootkit detector SanityCheck adds Windows 10 support
While there used to be a wide range of specialist rootkit detectors available, most of the projects have been abandoned in recent years, with even apps like Bitdefender’s Rootkit Remover quietly forgotten.
But if you need some extra help in detecting stealthy malware, don’t give up -- Resplendence Software’s SanityCheck is still alive, and last week added support for Windows 10.
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