Most mobile apps have encryption flaws
Encryption is not all it’s cracked up to be according to a recent security report, with coding flaws introducing a number of vulnerabilities into smartphones and their software.
Seven in eight Android apps and 80 percent of all iOS apps have encryption flaws, claims Veracode’s State of Software Security report.
Spotify lets you create your year in music
As the year winds down it becomes time for retrospective thoughts. There will be a lot to look back on 2015, some of it pleasant, some sad, some just plain scary. Moments are sometimes defined by music -- you remember what was popular when you were in high school, for instance.
Now Spotify would like to provide you with some reminders of the year that's almost gone. This is your year in music and it's tailored to each individual user.
New solution helps businesses offer single sign ons
As businesses grow and expand their online presence, they can end up with customers needing lots of different logins for blogs, support portals, forums and more. This can lead to frustration among users and mean that businesses lose sight of their system interactions.
Software company Inversoft is launching a solution to this problem in the form of Passport. This not only allows a single sign-on between applications, games, forums, help desks, user accounts and other offerings, but also gives companies a comprehensive view of user activity.
CleanMyDrive 2 for Mac makes cleaning external drives as easy as one click
Ukranian software developer MacPaw has unveiled CleanMyDrive 2 for Macs running OS X 10.10 or later. It’s a free tool designed to help users monitor their hard drives and quickly clean unspecified junk files from external drives.
Version 2 debuts a completely redesigned user interface, plus adds a number of new tools and features, including the ability to set custom icons for drives via additional in-app purchases.
MapR launches global streaming for big data
The growth of the Internet of Things is providing businesses with ever larger volumes of data, that in turn places ever greater demands on the technology needed to process it.
Big data specialist MapR is launching its MapR Streams solution which connects data producers and data consumers across shared topics of information and across the globe.
Apple releases official battery case for iPhone 6s, iPhone 6
Battery cases have proven to be very popular with iPhone users, as they protect the device and greatly improve battery life without having to sacrifice much in terms of usability. Even though there are lots of options to choose from, even for Plus-sized models, Apple is now adding its own interpretation to the fold.
Unlike other accessory makers which focus on both the standard and the Plus models, with its first iPhone battery case, called Smart Battery Case, Apple is now only targeting iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s users. Is it worth considering?
Businesses are in the dark on cloud costs and usage
Whilst there are increasing levels of trust in running critical applications in the public cloud, many organizations struggle when it comes to providing details of their cloud costs and consumption.
This is according to a survey for analytics specialist Cloud Cruiser, carried out by Dimensional Research, which interviewed almost 350 IT professionals who attended the Amazon Web Services re:Invent shows in 2014 and 2015.
Opera 34 revamps Turbo Mode to deliver more data savings, faster browsing speeds
Opera Software has unveiled Opera 34 FINAL, a major new release of its desktop web browser, with a separate mobile release due shortly.
The new desktop build's primary focus is on delivering an improved Opera Turbo experience, but it also adds a handful of new features, including a number of improvements to its download engine as well as support for MSE Audio.
Tabr is a RAM-saving Chrome tab manager
Chrome's a great browser, but open too many tabs and it can turn into a real resource hog, grabbing vast amounts of RAM and maybe impacting your system's performance.
Tabr is a new Chrome tab manager which helps you deal with this, by providing new ways to browse, archive and control your browser tabs.
As well as closing US borders to Muslims, Donald Trump wants to talk to Bill Gates about 'closing up the internet'
People who support freedom of speech are "foolish people" in Donald Trump's book. This is just the latest in a seemingly endless stream of sweeping generalizations and misguided utterances to fall from the mouth of the Republican presidential candidate.
Positioning himself as the spokesman for the "noisy majority", Trump yesterday appealed to the xenophobic electorate in suggesting "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States". This is the statement that has, understandably, grabbed the headlines, but Trump also wants to exert control over the technology we use every day. Specifically, he is interested in "closing up the internet in some way", and he wants to speak to Bill Gates about it.
Microsoft releases new Office 365 SMB plans
After announcing the subscription-based service in 2014, Microsoft has now made available three new Office 365 small/mid-size business plans to its existing business customers.
The three plans -- Office 365 Business Essentials, Office 365 Business and Office 365 Business Premium -- are replacing the current Office 365 Small Business, Small Business Premium and Midsize Business plans.
TuneIn Radio lands on Windows 10 with lots of content
TuneIn Radio has made some news recently, most notably with its inclusion of radio broadcasts for all NFL games. Granted, this requires the customer to pony up $7.99 per month for a premium subscription and there is no video, but it's a heck of a lot cheaper than NFL Sunday Ticket and radio broadcasts are pretty descriptive about plays.
Now the service is arriving on Windows 10, the latest operating system from Microsoft. This is a Universal App and brings the full content of the service to the platform.
Google makes Android a little less dangerous with 'Safe Browsing' update
When I switched from Android to iOS earlier this year, it had nothing to do with being a fanboy, hating Google, or loving Apple. Truth be told, I have never ever owned a Mac -- although I have played around with Hackintosh -- and I continue to use many Google services like YouTube and Gmail. The reason I switched was simple -- security. Too many Android devices get abandoned by manufacturers, meaning users are expected to use devices with known vulnerabilities -- unacceptable. With iOS, I can be confident that I will get a steady stream of updates.
While Android continues to be a dangerous Wild-West-like experience when it comes to updates and vulnerabilities -- except for Nexus devices -- today, Google is making it a bit safer to use. As long as you use Chrome as your web browser on the mobile Linux-based operating system, the search giant will try to protect you from potentially dangerous websites. Yes, Android is becoming, arguably, a little less dangerous.
Is HTC's A9 the One? [review]
So you bought iPhone 6. You love the understated styling of the aluminum enclosure and how the device feels in your hands. But iOS is a dog brain. It's loyal and friendly, but you want more than a tail-wagger that needs to be let out to pee. HTC has your back, with the shockingly similar-looking One A9. The imitator gives you close-enough design benefits with the extra bang of the freshest Android (Marshmallow).
Over the Black-Friday-to-Cyber-Monday weekend, one in ten A9 buyers moved up from iPhone 6 or 6s series devices, according to HTC. The manufacturer has a holiday special ending Jan. 7, 2016 that allures some switchers. Trade-in one of the Apples for full discount off the A9's purchase price (HTC mails a $499.99 check after receiving the old device). Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge traders get $200 and LG3 and LG4 owners $100.
At last! Google Calendar gains to-do lists with Reminders
When it comes to keeping on top of appointments, Google Calendar is certainly a useful tool -- but it's a long way from perfect. It's very capable at helping you to keep track of what you have to do and when, but there's one area in which it has always fallen short: to-do lists.
Today (or at least this week) this changes. Google is adding Reminders to the iOS and Android version of the Calendar app, with the promise that the same feature will make its way to the web soon. The name might not be quite right, but Reminders is the to-do list support users have been waiting for.
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