Using proxies to access blocked or region-locked content is nothing new. It's a technique that's often associated with piracy, such as using tools to bypass restrictions placed on torrent sites, but it's far from being the only use. Step outside of the US and it's surprising how many well-known services are no longer available.

HBO Now is an example of a service that is not supposed to be available outside of the US, but with the right tool it is. And this is not a case of people freeloading -- people are willing to pay to view the likes of Game of Thrones. Despite coughing up the cash, non-US HBO Now users are being threatened with having their viewing curtailed.

Continue reading →

If you own a Windows Phone, I feel sorry for you. Why? Microsoft is showing a lot of love to Android and iOS lately, while neglecting its own mobile operating system. Hell, the company even seems to be embracing Apple Watch very strongly! True, Microsoft did release Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 10051 for the phones, but it was only for certain devices, and worse than that, it is an absolute train wreck. While it is a fun look to the future, it isn't something to be used as a daily driver.

If you did choose to install Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 10051 on your only smartphone, you may be regretting it. Before you move back to Windows Phone 8.1, you should try out the all-new Build 10052, which was released today. It is a bug-fix release that may solve your woes. Other than fixes, it appears to be a rather ho-hum affair.

Continue reading →

What do we want? Windows 10! When do we want it? Probably sooner than the development cycle permits! With Windows 10, Microsoft has painted itself to be a benevolent god, ready to bestow gifts from the future on those willing to put up with the 'quirks' of the preview testing process. But the fact that something is free, does not mean that people are not going to complain -- far from it, in fact.

Aside from complaints about the features of Windows 10 itself, one thing that Windows Insiders (an 'exclusive' club has to have a name, after all) cite as a major bugbear is the speed at which new builds are pumped out. Despite the existence of a fast ring, builds are still trickling out painfully slowly. The new 'all-ears' Microsoft listens to its customers. As such the latest email from Gabe Aul promising -- yet again -- that "we're going to send out builds more frequently" comes as little surprise, but is pressure from the Windows 10 fanboys causing Microsoft to rush, and what effect will this have on the final product?

Continue reading →

Online ads are a serious pain in the ass, and lots of people turn to the likes of AdBlock Plus to clean up their browsing experience. Ad blockers are not universally liked, however; many website owners despise the tools. So hated is AdBlock Plus, in fact, that a case was brought against the tool to try to prove that it is illegal.

Now a court in Hamburg has come to a decision, and ruled that AdBlock Plus -- in case there was ever any doubt -- is entirely legal. The plaintiffs in the case alleged that AdBlock Plus should not be permitted to block ads on the websites it owns. The judge presiding over the case disagreed.

Continue reading →

Some people on the Internet are really sick. No, I do not mean physically, but mentally deranged. A normal-looking sane person can become a hate-spewing monster once they are anonymous online. Hell, some people are abusive bullies even with their real identities! Sadly, social media is a place where bullying runs rampant -- if you are fat, gay, handicapped or in any way different, people will remind you of this with nasty tweets. Women are subject to sexually-charged harassment too.

Luckily, one such social media site, Twitter, has been putting a strong focus on curtailing bullying and offensive tweets. Today, the company is stepping up its efforts, but it seems to be going too far. What can only be described as heavy-handed censorship, Twitter will be deciding what is offensive and even forcing users to delete tweets. In other words, the company is attempting to unring a bell, by making users erase language that has already been communicated.

Continue reading →

Last week we reported on IBM's decision to open up its threat intelligence data in X-Force Exchange to help fend off cyber attacks.

Today the company is making its threat intelligence system QRadar available as a cloud service, giving companies the ability to quickly prioritize real threats and free up critical resources to fight cyber attacks.

Continue reading →

Recent security breaches like that at Sony Pictures highlight the difficulty of protecting unstructured information that's held in things like emails and documents.

Security company TITUS is offering a solution with a new version of its TITUS Classification Suite that uses a blend of content and context to automatically classify and protect information as it's handled by users.

Continue reading →

Fedora is an awesome Linux distribution. Not only is this my distro of choice, and the favorite of many other users, but more importantly, it is the operating system that Linus Torvalds uses. Yes, the father of Linux and overall open source champion uses Fedora. The OS is notable for being the foundation and testing grounds of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) too. No matter how you slice it, Fedora is both important and popular.

Today is finally the day, fellow Fedora lovers; after a long wait, the first beta of version 22 is here. Not only does this signal that the final release is getting closer, but it means we get to play with the latest beta too. So what are you waiting for? It's time to download!

Continue reading →

The Loch Ness Monster is right up there with Bigfoot and the Abominable Snowman, and many lesser known legends as well. We're not here to tell you what to believe, that's entirely up to you. Either way, Loch Ness is one of the most famous locations in Scotland and you can now visit it from the comfort of your home or office.

Google Maps has gone to the trouble of putting the famous lake into Street View -- no monsters involved. It conjures up images of the famous Surgeon's Photo, the most enduring, iconic and fraudulent image of Nessie. Still, the location is beautiful, and for those not able to make the trip this is the next best thing.

Continue reading →

YouTube has stopped supporting devices that make use of the second version of its Data API. In practice the move, which was announced more than a year ago, is forcing users to look into alternative ways of watching YouTube videos, and likely also taking many by surprise.

For those who are not familiar with it, YouTube's Data API allows developers to implement YouTube functionality into their apps. The second version is mostly used on older devices, with the list including TVs, smartphones, tablets, Blu-Ray disc players and more. Here's what you should do, if you're affected.

Continue reading →

With the rapid pace of change in today’s digital world, it is easy to dismiss, or certainly forget, that the technology we take for granted today, such as personal computers and smartphones, only exist as the result of years and years of pioneering work. Moore’s Law, the observation that semiconductor density is rising at an exponential rate, was uttered 50 years ago but continues to be as relevant today as it was in 1965, perhaps more so.

The future of the smartphone industry, wearables and the Internet of Things all depend on the technology industry developing, faster, smaller, more efficient and cheaper processors. For now, at least, chipmakers like Intel are managing to maintain Moore’s Law, but it is becoming increasingly difficult.

Continue reading →

Increased use of the cloud and hybrid systems is bringing new challenges for businesses needing to ensure their systems are secure and compliant.

A new Cloud Agent Platform (CAP) from cloud security specialist Qualys provides organizations with a flexible solution to assess the security and compliance of their IT assets in real time, whether they're on-site, cloud-based or mobile endpoints.

Continue reading →

Microsoft Sysinternals has just announced its round of updates for April, this time including updates for Sysmon, Autoruns, Regjump and Process Monitor.

Background monitor Sysmon 3.0 now reports remote thread creation events, perhaps improving the chance of detecting code injection attempts. Process names have been added to process terminate events, and filters are more flexible and easier to use.

Continue reading →

Microsoft has been quick on the ball when it comes to supporting other platforms, adding OneNote with an experimental keyboard to Android Wear a few weeks after the launch, and now OneDrive on Apple Watch before the device even launches.

It is part of the new Microsoft goals, to have services on all platforms to keep customers loyal. Microsoft doesn’t have a lot of mobile market share, meaning it needs to focus on iOS and Android in order to keep Office and other services relevant against competition.

Continue reading →

A visit to the Microsoft Store can be a very fun experience. If you're like me, playing with laptops, tablets and Xbox is like going to an amusement park. Unfortunately, the closest Microsoft store to my home is about an hour away at a mall. This means I cannot go as often as I want. If you think an hour commute is bad, however, imagine the poor people of Australia -- they have to board an airplane to visit one!

Luckily for the Australian people, this will soon change. You see, a Microsoft Store is opening in Australia for the first time ever. In other words, Microsoft is going Down Under.

Continue reading →