Anonymous browser Tor is coming to iOS 9 to boost privacy

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The release of iOS 9 meant a lot of things to a lot a people. For Tor it means that the privacy-focused browser will finally be able to make its way to iPhones around the world. No particular timetable has been set out, but an iOS version of the anonymizing browser is on the cards.

In fact, it is more than just the Tor browser that's on the way -- "there are a bunch of pieces in the works", according to developer Nathan Freitas. Bringing Tor tools to iOS 9 will bring Apple's mobile devices in line with Android, and it's all thanks to new capabilities in the latest version of the operating system.

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There has never been a better time to tweak your Facebook privacy settings

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Facebook and privacy are not words you tend to find together in the same sentence -- at least not in a positive sense. Just a few days ago, the social network announced that all public posts were to be made searchable -- although it wasn't really billed as such.

You might not be entirely happy with this. While you may now be careful that you only share posts with your friends, a huge number of historic posts have now been made searchable. If you'd prefer to keep your content private, now is the time to act.

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Number of data breaches prove businesses are over-confident about security

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A new piece of research has raised further worries about data breaches, and specifically, the perception gap between the number of businesses who believe they’ve experienced a breach, and the actual numbers of data breaches occurring.

The research in question is the new Breach Confidence Index from Ilex International, an identity and access management company, which is based on a survey by YouGov that questioned just over 500 IT decision-makers in the UK.

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Optimize your mouse movements for a dual display PC

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Set up Windows for a dual-monitor system and your mouse cursor should move smoothly from one display to the next.

This brings real advantages, but you may also notice a few issues, because the cursor doesn’t just stop at the edge of the screen any more. It’s all too easy to move to a scroll bar, or some other control at the far side of one display, and find your mouse cursor overshoots to the other screen.

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Tech specialists make 35 percent more money than other employees

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If you want to earn more money than your friends, consider a career in tech. Median gross annual earnings for tech specialists in 2014 were £36,600, new figures published this week by Tech Partnership show.

This is more than one third (35 percent) higher than the level for all full-time employees, a follow-up press release reads.

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At last! Microsoft brings OpenSSH to Windows

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It is a few months since Microsoft announced that SSH support was on its way to Windows. The absence of this feature has baffled and frustrated many users for years, and Microsoft admitted that it was one of the most frequently requested features of the PowerShell team.

The project comes after Microsoft decided to get involved in the OpenSSH community. Based on a previous NoMachine port, the Windows port is now in sync with OpenSSH 7.1. It means that secure, remote management of Linux machines from Windows is much easier.

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UK and China sign cyber-attack agreement -- but will it be honored?

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Chinese president Xi Jinping, and the British prime minister David Cameron, signed an agreement saying the two countries won’t hack and steal each other’s secrets.

A similar agreement was signed between China and the US, just a day before a Chinese cyber-attack against the States.

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Facebook says bad app coding caused iOS battery drain, not location settings

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Many iPhone users were upset to find that battery life was rather shorter than expected. Fingers of suspicion started to point to the iOS Facebook app, and now the social network has released a fix as well as revealing that poor coding was to blame.

The latest version of the Facebook app goes some way to putting things right, but it is unlikely to be a complete fix. Facebook says it "found a few key issues and have identified additional improvements" in the app, but only "some of which" made it into the latest update. Something the company is keen to stress is that the Location History feature is not responsible, and provides details about two other factors contributing to battery drain.

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5 great reasons why you should buy Microsoft Surface Book

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If you are the sort of person who can't see the forest for the trees then Microsoft's new Surface Book is not for you. This much is clear after reading Brian Fagioli's article on why you shouldn't get the device. My colleague pays so much attention to certain details that he fails to see how Surface Book can be a great option for plenty of shoppers in the premium segment -- because those are the folks Microsoft is targeting, not the average Joe who takes issue with the $1,499 starting price.

Yes, Surface Book is a costly affair. But, it is also a unique proposition in today's market, which offers plenty of value for the money, something that cannot be said about most of its apparent rivals. So, without further ado, if you can afford Surface Book, here are five great reasons why you should get it.

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How spam and botnets have become big business [Q&A]

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Botnets are not a new problem, but they remain a key part of the cyber criminal's armoury. The Messaging, Malware and Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group (M3AAWG), a global industry forum dedicated to promoting best practices in cyber security, has issued its first report looking at the level of botnet infection. Based on information provided by ISPs covering over 43 million subscribers in the US and Europe it concludes that around one percent of consumers are infected by a bot. The good news is that notification rates are high with between 94 and 99.82 percent of those infected being notified of the problem by their ISP.

Even on those numbers botnets are a major problem. We spoke to Ken Simpson CEO of outbound traffic security company MailChannels and co-chair of M3AAWG's Botnet Subcommittee to find out about how botnets and spam have become big business.

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Lumia sales are in the toilet, Surface revenue is down

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Microsoft has just released its Q1 FY2016 (Q3 CY2015) earnings report, posting revenue of $20.4 billion, operating income of $5.8 billion, net income of $4.6 billion and earnings per share of $0.57 (all GAAP figures). The software giant's numbers beat analysts' expectations, which has added around 10 percent to its stock price in after-hours trading. Here are the highlights of the software giant's quarter.

Microsoft has divided its earnings in three categories, namely Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing. The good news comes from Intelligent Cloud, where revenue is up by eight percent, while the bad news is in More Personal Computing, where the poor performance of Lumia and Surface devices lead to a 17 percent decrease in revenue, year-over-year.

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How to fix Windows 10's worst problems -- Part 2

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Let’s be honest here, Windows 10 was released a little prematurely. There are inconsistencies throughout, Microsoft Edge is an unfinished mess, and then there are the bugs…

Microsoft has been issuing updates on a fairly regular basis to try and fix various problems with the operating system, but we know from the enduring popularity of troubleshooting articles we’ve published previously, that there are plenty of Windows 10 users who are still having problems with the new OS. With that in mind, here are some more solutions to common problems.

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Best Windows apps this week

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One-hundred and fifty-one in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps and games released for Windows 8.x/10 in the past seven days.

Microsoft will launch the first major update for its Windows 10 operating system in the beginning of November to all users featuring improvements, fixes and new features alike.

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Technology and you: Staying protected while always connected

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We live in a connected world. We wake up and the first thing we do is check our social media feeds and the weather. If we take the bus to work, we can pull out our tablets to read the news, or pick up where we left off with our favorite Netflix show. If we drive to work, we have Bluetooth enabled so that we can listen to a podcast or two during the commute. The first thing we do when we get into our office is boot up our laptop and check emails. Gone are the days where smartphones, tablets and laptops act independently of each other.

Today’s devices talk to and interact with one another, all with the intention of delivering a personalized experience. Our online self is an extension of our physical self. However, with more devices, comes more risk. According to a Consumer Reports survey, 34 percent of all smartphone owners do nothing to protect their device. Since we are constantly connected, it is important that all of us become educated on cybersecurity and have a strong understanding of how to keep our devices and data safe.

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TalkTalk breach puts details of four million customers at risk

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UK telecoms provider TalkTalk says it's been hit by a "significant and sustained" cyber attack which could have exposed the personal information of its four million customers.

In an official statement the company says that data including names, addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers and payment details may have been accessed.

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