Latest Technology News

With Google/Alphabet having search so deeply ingrained in its DNA, it is somewhat surprising that the search capabilities found in Drive have been so limited. Now that changes. The cloud storage service, at long last, has a search tool that's worth using.

As well as rolling out to the web, Google Drive's new search options are also making their way to iOS and Android devices. Apple users in particular have something to look forward to thank to support for 3D Touch and deeplinking.

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For the first time in five years, humans were the ones responsible for the majority (51.5 percent) of all online traffic, up from just 38.5 percent in 2013.

This is according to the latest Imperva Incapsula Bot Traffic Report which shows that good bot traffic decreased, from 31 percent in 2013 to 19.5 percent in 2015, while bad bot traffic remained static, at around 30 percent.

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UK webhosting company Easily has emailed its customers to inform them that it has fallen victim to a malware attack. COO Edwina McDowall says that the assailant is, as yet, unknown but steps have been taken to eliminate the malware.

The company warns that all customers should change their passwords as a precautionary measure, but seeks to assure people that credit card details have not been compromised.

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A high percentage of Americans would change their shopping habits if their favorite retailer was hit by a data breach according to a new study.

Data security specialist Vormetric commissioned the survey over 1000 US adults from Wakefield Research which found that for 85 percent of respondents the significant personal consequences that can result from a breach would cause them to find a new place to shop.

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Microsoft’s blog editor Windows Live Writer has been revived with an independent open-source fork, Open Live Writer.

OLW’s first release allows you to create blog posts, add photos, videos, maps or more, and publish them to your website.

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Yahoo has decided against selling off its $32 billion stake in the Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba. Instead the company will shift its focus towards creating deals centered around its core business.

Originally the company had planned to place its 15 percent share of Alibaba into a separate company named Aabaco. Yahoo’s desire to spin-off its stake in Alibaba stemmed from the idea that this move would unlock shareholder value and increase the company’s business. Uncertainty over a possibly massive tax bill might have also influenced Yahoo’s decision to abandon its former plan.

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Perhaps it never really caught on, or at least didn't go big, but Windows Live Writer is a solid tool for blogging. This isn't Word, which is what many writers use, but it's still a capable weapon in the arsenal of any author.

The new program is called, quite simply, Open Live Writer and it's being released now. It has also been contributed to the .NET Foundation. It allows writers to edit and publish stories directly from within it.

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European legislators have reached an important agreement, as they sign first cyber-security rules for the Union.

The rules, comprised in the Network and Information Security Directive have, among other things, asked tech giants such as Google and Amazon to be more open and transparent about their security, as that will help protect EU’s essential infrastructure, such as air and road traffic control systems and the electricity grid, from cyberattacks.

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When people choose a Linux distribution, there are many factors to consider. Of course, you want to look at included software, the package manager, and the philosophies of the team behind the operating system. Arguably more important -- at least to home users -- is the desktop environment. For someone using Linux on the desktop, the user experience could be paramount.

One such Linux-based operating system that puts a priority on design and user experience is the fabulous elementary OS. Luckily, it is not form over function, as its stability and usefulness matches the beauty on the surface, thanks to its Ubuntu base. Today, a new version of the popular distro, Freya 0.3.2, becomes available for download. Will you download it?

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A new report has revealed that around 52 percent of global companies expect to be fined for non-compliance with the upcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a new ruling within the European Union.

The study commissioned by SaaS provider Intralinks and conducted by analyst firm Ovum showed that, this, too, is the average response among top nations such as UK, US, and Germany, where, 53 percent, 58 percent and 62 percent respectively may face a fine.

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Stack Overflow has published a report that found nearly half of developers (44 percent) value the opportunity to work remotely. It’s well known that developers value the perk of remote working, but these days geographically disparate teams can be found in all sectors.

Companies with a remote workforce are among some of the most successful in the world -- WordPress, AirBnB, and Buzzfeed allow at least 50 percent of their workforce to operate remotely. For a decade or so, remote working has been for most an aspiration rather than a reality, and despite the availability of fast internet, laptops and smartphones, it’s never become the norm for most businesses and employees.

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Just a few days ago, we heard about the potential for the web-enabled Hello Barbie to provide hackers with personal data. Numerous vulnerabilities open up the potential for data to be stolen, but this could be the start of a worrying trend. If you thought the surveillance activities of the NSA and GCHQ are disturbing, things could be about to get much worse.

There is a movement underway that sees every conceivable device being transformed into a connected device. This is more than just the Internet of Things -- security experts are warning that not only could any devices connected to the internet (including web-enabled toys) could be used to spy on users, placing children at risk.

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Music is one of the most important parts of my life. Listening to it is much more than a hobby -- it is with me throughout the day. Whether relaxing, working, or even napping, I often have some music playing in the background. Streaming services, such as the wonderful Spotify, have been a godsend for me, as I can consume all I want for a paltry monthly fee.

If you have a family, however, the subscription fees can really add up. The rise of family sharing plans should greatly alleviate this pain point. Today, Google announces that its previously announced family option is finally available. As much as I love Spotify, this deal may be too good to pass up.

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Extracting useful information from business data used to mean waiting for the IT department to run reports. Increasingly though there's demand for users to be able to extract information themselves.

The latest company to join this trend is Israel-based Anodot which is aiming to disrupt the static nature of today's BI using patented machine learning algorithms for big data.

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While the browser is likely to remain the most-popular and convenient way of managing a WordPress site from a PC, Automattic, the company behind the hugely-successful content management system, also wants to give users a more focused tool for the job. So, in late-November, it announced dedicated apps for Windows, OS X and Linux.

The idea behind the PC apps is to make it easier for users to focus on their content, by getting rid of the distractions that come with working inside a tabbed browser environment. The OS X app launched first, arriving at the time of the announcement, and now it is Windows users turn to get a dedicated WordPress.com app.

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