Google is bringing virtual desktops to Chrome OS
Chromebooks have fared far better than many people would have first thought when they first appeared on the market, and Google's Chrome OS is going from strength to strength. While not yet ready to topple either Windows or macOS, the operating system continues to gain features that make it increasingly appealing.
One addition that is on the horizon and likely to please many users and potential users alike is virtual desktops. This is something we have heard about before in relation to Chrome OS, but a recent commit to the Chromium Gerrit shows that "virtual desks" are being worked on -- and there's even a video showing off the feature.
Roses are red, violets are blue, Valentine scammers are out to trick you
A Nigeria-based gang of scam artists, known as Scarlet Widow, have been using romance scams to trick victims out of large amounts of cash.
Secure email company Agari has uncovered the scam which involves posting fake personas on the largest dating websites like Match, eHarmony, and OKCupid.
AmpliFi will pay you $100 to switch from a competitor's mesh networking system
When Amazon announced it was buying eero, some people panicked. After all, home networking equipment is a very personal thing -- it can be worrying when a multi-billion dollar firm becomes the new owner. It is totally warranted to be concerned about the privacy implications. With that said, it is not a given that Amazon will be nefarious in this regard.
AmpliFi -- Ubiquiti Networks' home brand -- understands that people are concerned, so it wants to help eero owners that are looking to abandon ship. You see, AmpliFi will pay you $100 if you switch to its HD Wi-Fi system and ditch eero. Actually, AmpliFi is extending this offer to those that ditch any of its competitors' mesh products -- not just eero. Scoring this deal is as easy as using social media. Don't like using social platforms? Don't worry, you can enter by sending an email too.
Forget Linux -- Here's how to install Windows 10 on Raspberry Pi 3
The official way to install a version of Microsoft’s latest operating system on a Raspberry Pi is to use Windows 10 IoT, but that’s a stripped down version and a far cry from the Windows 10 we know and love/hate (delete as applicable).
Microsoft makes a version of Windows 10 that runs on ARM processors, and there’s now an unofficial Windows On ARM tool that lets you install that OS on the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B or B+.
Final text of new EU Copyright Directive retains controversial content blocking of Article 13
In an attempt to bring aging copyright laws up to date for the digital age, the European Parliament and European Commission have agreed the final text of the EU Copyright Directive.
After several rounds of intense negotiations, it was decided to retain the controversial Article 13 which can be used to block the uploading of content, and Article 11 which has been described as the "link tax". The directive will place the onus on the likes of Google and Facebook to ensure that users do not upload copyrighted content, leading to fears that this could mean the introduction of restrictive upload filters and make life difficult for smaller companies.
Mobile marketers increase their focus on data
Data has become an increasingly popular resource for marketers, new research from marketing platform YouAppi reveals that 98 percent of respondents say they have increased their organizational investment in data.
What's more that investment is paying off, 97 percent say they have seen improvement, with more than half of those calling the improvements ‘significant.’
Only one in three organizations is confident of avoiding a data breach
A majority of organizations are not confident in their ability to avoid major data breaches according to a new study.
The report for breach avoidance company Balbix, based on research from the Ponemon Institute, shows that 68 percent feel their staffing is not adequate for a strong cybersecurity posture and only 15 percent say their patching efforts are highly effective.
Plugable launches tool-free NVMe SSD USB-C enclosure for Windows, macOS, and Linux
NVMe solid states are insanely fast and getting more affordable every day. It is for this reason that most consumers should opt for them when possible -- they put SATA variants to shame. Even if you don't need the extra performance of an NVMe SSD, the ever-lowering prices make them a no-brainer.
While most people probably think of NVMe SSDs as something to go inside a computer, they also make exceptional external drives -- when paired with an enclosure, that is. Today, Plugable launches such a new product, and it has a very cool feature -- it is tool-free. In other words, you won't need a screwdriver to open the USB-C enclosure or secure the drive. Instead, it uses a clever unlock button to open up, and a rubber peg holds the SSD down. I've been testing this USB 3.1 gen 2 enclosure with a 250GB Samsung 970 EVO and it has proven quite speedy and solidly built.
Dirty_Sock vulnerability in Canonical's snapd could give root access on Linux machines
A security researcher has discovered a vulnerability in Canonical's snapd package which could be exploited to gain administrator privileges and root access to affected Linux systems. The security issue has been dubbed Dirty_Sock and assigned the code CVE-2019-7304.
Chris Moberly found a privilege escalation vulnerability in the snapd API. This is installed by default in Ubuntu -- under which proofs of concept have been tested and found to work "100% of the time on fresh, default installations of Ubuntu Server and Desktop" -- but may also be present in numerous other Linux distros.
User data exposed in 500px security breach... that happened in the middle of last year
The photo sharing site 500px has revealed details of a security breach that took place in mid-2018.
The company says that its engineering team only became aware of the breach -- which is thought to have taken place around July 5, 2018 -- a few days ago. 500px launched an investigation in conjunction with a third party and police, and says that "an unauthorized party gained access to our systems and acquired partial user data".
Google pivots Android Things to focus solely on smart speakers and displays
Google has announced that it is dramatically narrowing the focus of Android Things, originally conceived as the company's wide-ranging IoT platform.
Now rather than being an OEM tool that can be used to produce just about anything for the Internet of Things, Android Things will instead be focused on just two product lines: smart speakers and smart displays.
Security worries hold back second-hand mobile device market
According to the results of a new study, 58 percent of global consumers have yet to trade in an old mobile device, though 64 percent report they would be willing to do so if more stringent data management processes were in place.
The research by data erasure specialist Blancco shows 66 percent of respondents have some concern that data on their old devices might be accessed or compromised after trade-in.
VFEmail hack wipes out all of the email provider's US servers
Email provider VFEmail has been hit by a huge attack that resulted in all of the data it stores in the US being wiped out.
Describing the attack as "catastrophic", VFEmail revealed that a hacker had breached its security and succeeded in deleted not only primary data systems, but also the backups. The attacker was caught in the act, and it was possible to intervene before damage was caused to servers in other countries. But for VFEmail users whose data was stored in the US, the news is far from good.
5 industries being revolutionized by 3D Printing
Ever since its conception, 3D printing has represented a significant leap forward in technology. Granted, many people believe there was an excessive amount of hype around 3D printing when the tech first hit markets.
While there were some kinks to work out, however, no one can deny the revolution that swept over almost every industry in the world. The simple idea of creating anything from nearly any material in the comfort of your home or warehouse has meant that suddenly, a lot of middlemen are getting cut out of a job. Yet, for the businesses themselves, 3D printing has been a game-changer and a massive boon to their revenue. The technology managed to affect a lot of industries very differently, but here are a few of them.
What's the role of colo in the era of Multicloud and Hybrid IT?
The year is 2010. Cloud adoption is growing by leaps and bounds. Soon, everything will be in the cloud, and why wouldn’t it be?
But here in 2019, we know now that the narrative has shifted a bit. Our recent survey, The State of IT Infrastructure Management, only proves that the story is a little more complex than 100 percent cloud: Among organizations moving some of their on-prem infrastructure off-prem within the next three years, nearly four in 10 plan to move to a colocation environment.