CNN and MSNBC embracing Microsoft Pulse for President Obama's final State of the Union
Tonight is President Barack Obama's final State of the Union address. Regardless of your opinion of the man, or his policies, it is certainly monumental. After all, his being elected broke racial barriers; inspiring countless people of various backgrounds. More importantly, however, he has done many arguably positive things. While he has many more months in office, it is still a farewell of sorts.
Hopefully you will tune in for the historic broadcast, and if you do, you might consider choosing CNN or MSNBC. If you are Spanish-speaking, you should consider NBC Universo, and Telemundo too. Am I endorsing specific networks? Not really. I only suggest them because they will be leveraging Microsoft Pulse; something BetaNews readers should appreciate and enjoy.
Juniper gets rid of 'NSA-developed' security code
Juniper Networks has stated that it will no longer be using a segment of security code purported to have been developed by the National Security Agency (NSA) for the purpose of eavesdropping on clients’ VPN connections.
The code in question is based on Dual Elliptic Curve technology, and Juniper has stressed it will be replaced during the first quarter of 2016 for a version that is considerably more secure. The Silicon valley based company claims the new secure code will rely on greater numbers than those generated through the flawed Dual Elliptic Curve technology.
Apple Watch has 52 percent share of smartwatch market
If you need any more proof that Apple Watch is the smartwatch to beat, Juniper Research has just released a report on smartwatch shipments in 2015 which puts Apple's device at the top of the list with a whopping 52 percent share.
Apple Watch only went on sale in April, so its 52 percent market share was reached in just over eight months. Meanwhile, Android Wear shipments came in at "less than 10 percent" in 2015. Other rivals did not fare well either.
IaaS and PaaS see 51 percent revenue growth
The cloud sector’s revenues, both IaaS (Infrastructure as a service) and PaaS (platform as a service) have grown 51 percent in the last year, a new research by Synergy says. It has had the strongest growth out of all cloud services.
Private and hybrid cloud infrastructure services grew 45 percent, while operator and vendor revenues grew 28 percent.
Data breaches and cyber-attacks are often caused by failing to patch known (and fixable) vulnerabilities
Data breaches were rarely out of the news last year, with the likes of VTech, OPM, Experian/T-Mobile, Ashley Madison and even Hello Kitty all admitting to data leaks.
While you might expect attackers to be using sophisticated methods to get at user data, a new survey from software solutions firm BMC and Forbes Insights reveals that in many cases, it’s known but unpatched vulnerabilities that are being exploited.
Is Apple really building an iOS to Android migration tool?
Apple is rumored to be working on a tool that will make it easier for iOS users to migrate to Android, following pressure from major European mobile operators. The carriers apparently believe that it is too difficult for their iPhone-toting customers to switch to a device running the more popular operating system, which severely limits their options come upgrade time.
Apple actually has a similar tool, but it is there to help Android users migrate to iOS, and not the other way around. Developing a tool that would basically enable it to (more quickly) lose customers to major rivals, like Samsung, sounds like Apple agreeing to shooting itself in the foot. But is the iPhone maker actually building it?
A look ahead at the state of the database in 2016
With security breaches and controversies over encryption, thinking about securing the data inside organizations is in the spotlight. How best to store and manage data is on the minds of most CIOs as they head further into the New Year.
Here’s what to watch for in 2016
Create and share your CV in minutes with Kickresume
Did you wake up on January 1st full of plans to change your life, get a new job, maybe a whole new career? Only to find that, somehow, your enthusiasm has faded and you’re back to work, as usual?
The key is to start small, with simple steps that’ll take you in the right direction, but won’t leave you feeling overwhelmed. Like creating and sharing your CV with the Chrome extension Kickresume.
Apps are far less secure than you imagine
Protection solutions specialist Arxan Technologies has just released its fifth annual State of Application Security report which takes an in-depth look into the security of some of the most popular mobile apps available.
The company found a huge discrepancy between consumers’ beliefs regarding the level of security built into the apps, and the degree to which developers of these apps actually address known application vulnerabilities. Worryingly, 90 percent of the applications tested were vulnerable to at least two of the OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project) Mobile Top 10 Risks. These are the most critical risks facing apps.
Intel Skylake-based PCs freeze during complex workloads
A bug in Intel’s Skylake architecture was discovered by a team of mathematicians called the Mersenne Community. The group has been using Intel systems to search for prime numbers for the past 20 years and had yet to encounter any problems until now.
According to the Mersenne community, they experienced system freezes while running GIMPS (Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search) Prime95 software. By employing tens of thousands of machines to run hand-coded assembly language 24 hours a day, this group has found all of the record prime numbers during the last 20 years.
Warning! Windows 8 will no longer receive security updates from today
If you’re still using Windows 8 it’s now time to upgrade because that operating system is about to get a whole lot less secure.
From today, January 12 2016, Microsoft will stop issuing security patches for its 3-year-old tiled OS, which will mean users will no longer be safe from newer threats.
Apple previews upcoming iOS 9.3 features for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch
If you want a very secure and feature-rich Unix-like mobile operating system, Apple's iOS is incredible. In fact, many forward thinking folks, like myself, envision a day where it becomes a desktop OS too, potentially replacing OS X. While iPad Pro is a good first step, the iOS operating system still has a long way to go in that regard.
Today, Apple announces the features for the upcoming iOS 9.3 -- currently in beta. While hardly revolutionary, this evolutionary upgrade is packed full of some really cool new things. It may even be able to help you sleep better. No, really; iOS 9.3 could improve your overall health and well-being.
Amazon may release a new Echo, but here's what I really want
The Amazon Echo is a great device and I've made no secret of the fact that I use it a lot and like it very much. It's capable of doing quite a bit and more features come along all the time. We've witnessed, just recently, the addition of the game Jeopardy! as well as minor updates that didn't always go in favor of the users, but still improved the overall product.
A new report, well really a rumor because Amazon hasn't confirmed it (and I tried asking), claims the company has plans for a portable version of the digital assistant.
Police could tap into router data to verify digital alibis
Law enforcement agencies are missing out on a vast amount of valuable data that could be used to convict criminals, or prove innocence. Dan Blackman from Edith Cowan University, Australia says that police are missing out on swathes of data that could be gathered from Wi-Fi devices.
For privacy advocates it's a suggestion that is likely to make the gag reflex kick in, but Blackman says that router data could be a valuable tool in fighting crime. Information such as device MAC addresses, coupled with data about connections to routers can be used to place individuals at the scene of a crime -- or away from it -- but timeliness is the key to success.
The pros and cons of implementing a bug bounty program
A recent incident with the Facebook Bug Bounty program has led to many different reactions supporting both Facebook and the security researcher. Regardless of who is right in that whole story, the one fact is clear: the researcher went far beyond what the social media site had initially expected, and got access to the sensitive data the company didn’t really want to share with anybody, including the researchers’ community.
These days bug bounties have become very popular, raising more and more questions about their efficiency and effectiveness. We will try to understand how and if bug bounties can be used to test your corporate web applications. I intentionally omit bug bounties for stand-alone software (e.g. Chrome or various IoT applications) as it’s a different topic.
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