Reddit blocked in China, Wayback Machine blocked in Russia
It is becoming increasingly common for governments around the world to block access to websites they don’t approve of for one reason or another. The most frequent censor is China, and the latest site to fall victim to the Great Firewall of China is Reddit. If you're not able to pop over to China to check whether the site is blocked, you can use Blocked In China to test whether any site is accessible from within the country.
This is not the only site which people are having trouble accessing. Over in Russia, the Internet Archive -- responsible for the nostalgia-inducing Wayback Machine -- is also blocked. While the blocking of Reddit in China has probably been done on purpose, the same may not necessarily be true in Russia.
ARCHOS PC Stick is a tiny $99 Windows 10 computer
The 'Stick' computing form-factor may have a big future. As many consumers move to tablets and smartphones for the majority of their computing, the need for a full-fledged PC dwindles. Being able to buy an affordable Windows PC the size of a flash drive can fill in the gaps that mobile devices leave.
Both Intel and Lenovo have released their versions of the diminutive PC, and now it is ARCHOS' turn. At first I yawned, but then I saw the price -- $99. This greatly undercuts pricing on both of the aforementioned manufacturers offerings and looks to be an amazing value.
Google car cuts off rival self-driving vehicle [Updated]
A case of autonomous road rage nearly broke out on Thursday, after two competing self-driving cars barely avoided colliding with one another on a California roadway. It's being called the first incident of its kind.
As Reuters reports, one of Google's driverless car prototypes -- a modified Lexus RX400h crossover -- was cruising along San Antonia Rd in Palo Alto, CA. By happenstance, another driverless car powered by automotive company Delphi, was driving on the same road. Google's corporate headquarters and Delphi's self-driving research facility are both located nearby in Mountain View, CA.
Ubuntu Linux 15.10 'Wily Werewolf' Alpha 1 now available
Ubuntu is one of the most popular Linux distributions -- arguably the most popular -- which is very much deserved. Canonical has taken the complicated and intimidating world of Linux and transformed it into an inviting operating system for the masses. While not as user-friendly as Windows or OS X, Ubuntu is certainly easier to use than Fedora or the dreaded Arch.
Today, Canonical announces that the next version of Ubuntu -- 15.10 'Wily Werewolf' -- reaches Alpha status. If you are a fan of the Unity desktop environment, however, you are not in luck. Alpha releases only represent the other flavors of the distro. Sadly, Ubuntu GNOME (my favorite) and Xubuntu are not yet available.
BBC reveals links censored by Google's Right To Be Forgotten
Google's Right To Be Forgotten gives people the chance to request the removal of search results linking to pages that contain information they believe to be "inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant". Google says it rejects more requests than it complies with, but there is still concern that the company is not providing enough detail about what it is doing. There have been calls for greater transparency from the company about the censorship that is taking place.
The BBC has published a list of all of the stories from its own site that have been removed from Google search results. The corporation announced that it wanted to be clear with people about which links has been deleted and plans to update the list each month. It already extends to nearly 200 entries and the BBC explains that while the stories may no longer be shown by Google, they are still available uncensored on the BBC site.
Java installer is making changes, but don't get excited just yet
Security problems aside, Java has been a thorn in people's sides for other reasons. When installed or updated, the app breezes you right past the part where it installs the Ask Toolbar. Sure it does put it on the screen, but it's set to opt in and many people are too busy clicking OK to notice. So when Ask's inclusion was canceled it seemed like good news.
Not really. Instead, Oracle has opted to move on and will now start changing the default search for its customers. If you aren't careful, then you can expect to find Yahoo as your new default. Are you excited yet?
Google introduces Cloud Source Repositories -- new GitHub rival
Google closed its own project hosting site, named Google Code, earlier this year, in a move that allowed GitHub and Bitbucket to become the dominant platforms. The move away from project hosting only lasted a few months, with a new place called Cloud Source Repositories now available on the Google Cloud Platform.
Part of Google’s ever growing line of services on the cloud platform, Cloud Source Repositories allows users and teams to upload, build and deploy applications for the web and mobile.
Most IT pros will deploy Windows 10 in the next two years
A total of 73 percent of IT professionals will deploy Windows 10 within the first two years, a new report by Spiceworks shows.
The report, called Windows 10: Will it Soar? found that 96 percent of IT decision-makers are interested in Windows 10, and 60 percent of IT departments have tested or are actively testing the new operating system. The survey also found that 40 percent of companies plan to begin rolling out Windows 10 within the first year and an additional 33 percent expect to begin deploying Windows 10 within two years.
Investigate suspect files with Exeinfo PE
If you find a suspect executable file on your system then you’ll probably start by running an antivirus scan, but that may not tell you very much. Even a "clean" verdict only means "clean right now", and it tells you nothing about the file itself, where it’s from, or what it might be trying to do.
Exeinfo PE is a free tool which analyses executable and other types of files, and tells you more about them. It can’t directly detect malware, but might be able to help you better understand a mystery file.
VoIP done right: 11 best practices for moving to cloud-hosted PBX
Too often, cloud hosted VoIP gets a bad rap on the internet. People bashing provider A because call quality stunk. Or giving provider B a tough time because staff constantly had "fishbowl effect" issues with the service. I've read many of the reviews out there, and I'm here to set the record straight about cloud VoIP: the majority of these negative reviews are pointing fingers the wrong direction.
Much of what people see online about cloud hosted VoIP negativity is FUD -- partially being peddled by customers with poor networks, and partially by some nefarious traditional premise-based VoIP telco providers trying to stem the wave of customers moving to the technology.
Almost half of leading websites fail security and privacy tests
In an audit of 1,000 websites, including those of leading retailers, banks, social media, news and government bodies, 46 percent were found vulnerable to known online security threats.
According to the non-profit Online Trust Alliance, which conducted the study, sites belonging to Internet of Things companies are most at risk. The audit included the websites of 50 leading Internet of Things device makers, focused on wearable technologies and connected home products. 76 percent of these sites failed the assessment, while only 20 percent scored highly enough to qualify for the OTA's Online Trust Honor Roll.
Lenovo, if you make this retro ThinkPad, I'll give up my MacBook Air
It would take quite a laptop to bring me back to the Windows fold after using and enjoying a 13-inch Apple MacBook Air for nearly two years. I love the versatility Apple's device provides: it is light and portable, offers amazing battery life, has an awesome keyboard and trackpad, performs well, can run Windows and Linux alongside OS X and, on top of it all, looks quite nice as well. To be perfectly honest, there is nothing that I miss that could push me towards another laptop.
However, I am not exactly a normal person. I'll be the first to admit it. When I saw Lenovo's retro-inspired ThinkPad the first thing that crossed my mind was: "This ThinkPad is awesome. I have to have this". It just so happens that old-school-looking ThinkPads are like kryptonite to me. Imagine how I feel about this modern interpretation. There is only one problem -- this is a concept. But, Lenovo, if you make it and I can buy it, I will give up my MacBook Air to have it!
Best Windows apps this week
One-hundred and thirty-five in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps and games released for Windows in the past seven days.
The week has been filled with confusion as to who is getting a free copy of Windows 10 when it gets released. If you are still not sure if you are eligible, try Wayne's article as he sheds light on the current situation.
Click fraud provides the gateway to ransomware
Just as drug dealers try to get people hooked on progressively more addictive substances, it seems that the hijacking of a device to perform simple click fraud can quickly lead to the distribution of nastier malware.
According to the latest State of Infections report from threat protection specialists Damballa, a compromised device, originally exploited for the relatively low-level purpose of committing of click fraud -- a scam to defraud pay-per-click advertisers -- became part of a chain of infections, which led within two hours to the introduction of the toxic ransomware CryptoWall.
Android is the biggest target for mobile malware
Most of the malicious software for mobile devices targets Google’s Android operating system, a new report by Pulse Secure says.
Last year, almost one million individual malicious apps for Android were released, according to Pulse Secure’s Mobile Threat Report. That means the number of threats quadrupled in comparison to the year before.
BetaNews, your source for breaking tech news, reviews, and in-depth reporting since 1998.
Regional iGaming Content
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. About Us - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy - Sitemap.