One of the technological highlights of 2015 so far has been the official announcement of the much anticipated Apple Watch, almost two years after Samsung’s first Galaxy Gear smartwatch. The iPhone compatible smartwatch is initially priced from $349 for the entry-level Sport model to around $17,000 for an 18-carat gold version. Some of the manufacturers, like Samsung, LG, SONY and Motorola, are already presenting the 3rd generation of their smartwatches.

While opinion is divided about how successful Apple Watch will prove to be, it’s clear that smartwatches and other wearable technologies are a great way to collect and display contextual data quickly and easily. However, because this is a technology boom that is still in its infancy, there are several questions that remain to be answered when it comes to data security and recovery. There are four things you might like to consider when protecting data accessed via a smartwatch.

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Microsoft is now a services and devices company, meaning it is delivering its services and apps to all platforms -- not only its own. Heck, I bought the Microsoft Band over the weekend, and not only does it work with Windows Phone, but iOS and Android. In other words, the company is delivering on its services and devices mantra.

Having cross-platform apps is great, but you have to convince consumers to install them. With that said, it is much more preferable to have apps pre-installed on devices, which can make the consumer more likely to use them. Microsoft convinced Samsung to install some of its apps on the upcoming Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge; a major score for the company. Today, it announces that the partnership is expanding to even more of Samsung's Android devices.

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As more and more transactions are carried out electronically, point of sale systems become an ever more tempting target for cyber criminals. Security researchers at networking company Cisco have identified a new strain of PoS malware that seeks to extract credit card data from memory and send it to remote servers.

Named PoSeidon it has a more sophisticated design than other PoS malware and has some resemblance to ZeuS. It's written to evade detection, can communicate directly with C&C servers, self-update to execute new code and has self-protection mechanisms to guard against reverse engineering.

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The target audience of wearable tech has always been the everyday consumer. However, wearables can benefit businesses too, especially in sectors where workers need to be hands-free.

From construction and manufacturing to dining services, wearables can elevate several industries in the near future by utilizing push notification on wearable tech.

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The online community has been living under the threat of ransomware for sometime now -- it feels like dwelling near Mordor. While many of you reading this are likely too savvy to fall for these tricks, there are people who do, which is why scammers stay in business. Now a new threat arises to go after people's hard earned money.

Security firm Doctor Web reports that a mass of spam emails have recently been detected. This latest threat comes in the guise of "Incoming fax report". The so-called report contains a ZIP file which disguises an SCR, or Windows executable file. It's been tagged as Trojan.DownLoader11.32458.

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The hugely popular Sony PlayStation 4 gaming console has finally arrived to China, but the Chinese still have very little reason to rejoice.

There are a total of six games which can, at this moment, be played in China, and those are Knack, Dynasty Warriors 8, Trials Fusion, Rayman Legends, King of WuShu and Mr. Pumpkin’s Adventure.

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Vertical-scrolling 2D space shooters have been entertaining gamers for more than 30 years, so it’s no surprise that some people see them as very dated. But the genre has some a long way since the empty repetitive arcade games of the 1980s.

The free X-Bomber for Windows doesn’t just repeat the same levels at higher speeds or with more enemies -- you get 17 missions, with multiple objectives, a back story based on the Japanese sci-fi TV series Star Fleet, and dynamic in-game dialog from the characters.

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Anyone interested in technology will know that the mobile boom has brought with it new considerations for businesses in the form or BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). Despite still being a concept that many companies are yet to fully grasp, it is about to be overtaken by a new mobile trend.

WYOD (Wear Your Own Device) is hot on its heels, as wearables and smartwatches continue to gain traction. To shed some light on the growth of WYOD and what businesses need to do to stay ahead of the curve, I spoke to Paula Skokowski from mobile file sharing provider Accellion.

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It's March Madness, which is an awful time of the year for those of us who no longer subscribe to cable or satellite -- at least not for TV.  The brackets are getting smaller and big games are pending, including my own team's matchup later tonight. Enter Sling TV to save the day. The service provides live TV and ample amounts of sports for any fanatic. That's why today I opted into the free seven day trial, or at least tried to.

Things didn't go smoothly, though it should, in theory, be an easy process. There was a major stumbling block and it came right in step one. I entered my Gmail address and was told I couldn't use it. A second try resulted in the same outcome. I clicked Contact, found that online chat with customer service was closed, but the phone variety was good to go.

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Yesterday, my colleague Manish wrote about Microsoft's "desperation" with its Band fitness wearable. While I disagree with his sentiment about the promotion -- I do not think it is a desperate move -- I was intrigued by the free Starbucks gift cards. Since I was heading to the mall anyway, I decided to go to the Microsoft store under the guise of actually wanting the Band, even though I didn't, so I could get free gift cards. Hell, I even told my wife to try one on so we could get two cards!

Something crazy happened while I was there -- I bought one. Microsoft's promotion was a success. They got me into the store, and I ended up getting hooked. The salesperson, Christy, was very high on it, and when she showed me all of the features, I just had to have one. Truth be told, I am very much out of shape, and I really want to lose weight and be healthy -- I'm scared of dying. After many unsuccessful attempts to drop pounds, I am hoping the Microsoft Band will help me to be successful. In other words, I am depending on the wearable to help save my life.

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Although Microsoft released a new build of the Windows 10 Technical Preview earlier in the week, it only made it available to Windows Insiders on the Fast ring, and through Windows Update. It’s not officially available as an ISO image yet (Microsoft currently only offers downloads for Build 9926).

However, it is possible to grab an ISO of the new build through unofficial channels.

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Before Apple begins to sell its Watch in April, rival smartwatch and activity tracking device makers are trying to use the remaining days to remind you about their wearable gadgets. Google earlier this week posted an extended trailer of its Android Wear wearable operating system, and now Microsoft is taking its turn on the podium to talk about its fitness tracker Band. The company is running two enticing deals to lure in users to test drive the Microsoft Band.

Microsoft is so keen to see you try the Band that the company is giving away $5 Starbucks cards to anyone in the United States who bothers to visit the Microsoft Store and checks out the Band. That’s it -- you aren't obligated to purchase the tracker. In addition, the Redmond, Washington-based company is also running a contest valid until March 22nd, wherein users from the US can participate and stand a chance to win $200. You can visit the Store here for more info and to participate.

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NirSoft has updated TCPLogView 1.15 and TCPLogView (64-bit) 1.15 to automatically log TCP connections as they're opened and closed on Windows 2000-8.

Details recorded include the event type (Open, Close, Listen), time, local and remote addresses, local and remote ports, and the initiating process name and ID.

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For many of us, connecting to the Internet is life. While technically not as important as drinking water or breathing oxygen, being connected can feel that way sometimes. It is for this reason that I am often perplexed that people choose to skimp on their router. Look, I like a good deal just as much as the next guy, but why wouldn't you go for the best you can get when it comes to something you do every day, such as connect the Internet? Is it really worth saving $20 if your connection is constantly dropping?

For the past year or so, I have been enjoying Apple's Airport Extreme router, and for the most part, it has been a success. Unfortunately, it has some negatives. Lately, the 5GHz band has become flaky, causing me to disconnect and reconnect; a pain in the butt to the say the least. The biggest deal-breaker? It requires an Apple device or Windows computer to manage. Unlike most routers that can be accessed though a web browser, Apple requires a special program. As a Linux user, this meant not having the ability to change router settings without booting into Windows or grabbing my iPad. To solve this dilemma, I swapped it for the 802.11AC Netgear AC2350 Nighthawk X4 Smart WiFi Router. Did it outperform Apple's Airport Extreme?

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This week Google announced its move into the car industry with Android Auto. The company describes it as "designed with safety in mind". The interface aims to be simple, controls will be present right on the steering wheel, everything can be launched by voice and Google Maps will guide the way.

A number of automobile makers are on board, including Ford, Subaru, Chrysler and many more. Now it's up to app makers to round things out and TuneIn Radio is among the early adopters racing to the platform.

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