Ethical web scraping and data rights [Q&A]
Web scraping, automatically harvesting and extracting data from websites, can be a useful tool for businesses to learn about their customers.
But it's easy to fall into the trap of harvesting data just because it's there, leading to information overload not to mention privacy concerns for the consumer. To find out more about web scraping and how it can be used in an ethical way we spoke to founder and CEO of Rayobyte, Neil Emeigh.
You may soon have Microsoft Defender installed on your computer whether you want it or not
Microsoft has started to inform subscribers to Microsoft 365 that installing Windows 365 software will soon mean you end up with Microsoft Defender as well. Additionally, a planned automatic update for Microsoft 365 means that if you already have installed the apps you need, Defender will be added anyway.
An email sent out to people signed up for Microsoft 365 Personal and Microsoft 365 Family says that for users of Windows 10 and Windows 11 "the Defender app will soon be automatically added" to their devices. A precise date for this has not been revealed, but Microsoft says it will start in "late February".
Data protection in the cloud: 3 best practices
The "Global DataSphere" is exploding in size. IDC predicts that by 2026, the amount of data in the world will have doubled again. While most enterprises have digitized their operations, they continue to add more strategic workloads and create more and more data. So, as the amount of data enterprises have to deal with grows exponentially, moving to the cloud based on an elaborated strategy offers significant benefits like scalability, flexibility and cost-effective storage.
But can this go on forever? Gartner expects total worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services will reach a record $592 billion this year, a 21 percent increase from 2022. This rapid level of growth and migration raises some concerns at an enterprise level, with fast "lift and shift" migrations meaning best-practices for modern data protection aren’t followed. The Cloud security alliance (CSA) reported that 96 percent of companies say they have insufficient security for sensitive cloud data -- so across the board we have a long way to go on this journey. Here are three best practices for enterprises to protect their data in the cloud.
Microsoft acknowledges offering free Windows 11 upgrades to incompatible Windows 10 PCs, but fails to apologize
Earlier this week, a number of Windows 10 users were surprised to be offered a free upgrade to Windows 11 despite the fact that their hardware did not meet the minimum system requirements set out by Microsoft.
Upon trying to take advantage of the upgrade offer -- which even appeared in virtual machines running Windows 10 -- users were unable to complete the installation. Microsoft has now acknowledged the issue, but has neither apologized nor offered an explanation.
End-user experience management delivers on cost-saving and Net Zero targets
CIOs are under constant pressure to cut costs, reduce tech waste, and increase productivity, but never more so than this year with the looming threat of recession. Rather than concerning themselves with the issues a weakened economy may bring, savvy CIOs should consider the opportunity 2023 brings to meet longstanding efficiency and sustainability goals.
By gaining observability to the health of their IT infrastructure -- specifically, the end-user experience -- executives can gain insights, software and hardware performance analysis to find critical cost reductions. An IT infrastructure review could improve efficiency and, in turn, make business more productive, profitable, and sustainable.
Soon there will be a PastePlain PowerToys utility to paste what you have copied as plain text without formatting
PowerToys developers are currently working on a new utility that will make it possible to use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Win + V to paste text and strip away formatting.
Users of Microsoft Word -- and, indeed, other word processors -- will be familiar with the ability to copy and paste text either with or without the original formatting being retained. But this is not something that is supported by all apps, hence the need for the PastePlain PowerToys module.
Why the economic downturn is the perfect time to simplify your identity data
As we begin a new year, things look bleak for the global economy. In January, the World Bank predicted global GDP to hit just 1.7 percent growth, the worst since 1993 outside of recessionary periods.
Organizations around the world are tightening their belts in preparation for lean times. Hiring freezes and reduced spending on facilities and IT are usually the natural reaction to economic uncertainty.
TurboLock launches affordable TS-200 Biometric Handgun Safe
Gun ownership can be an essential part of being a homeowner. After all, you want to protect your home and family from intruders, right? While you should obviously call the police in such a situation, you and your family could be dead before the authorities actually arrive. And so, owning a gun could be the difference between life and death.
With all of that said, owning a gun can be dangerous too -- especially if you have children in your home. That is why it is imperative you properly secure the gun and keep it out of reach of children. Of course, you don't want the gun to be so securely locked away that you can’t easily get to it when needed. What can be done to solve this dilemma?
Optimizing hybrid cloud application delivery
For digital businesses, success depends on application performance. Organizations must deliver the best possible experiences for employees and customers while driving innovation and ensuring security. To do this, enterprises are increasingly migrating application delivery to hybrid/multi-cloud environments to achieve increased agility and resiliency.
But are businesses achieving these benefits? A10 Networks and Gatepoint Research surveyed senior technology decision-makers around the globe, revealing key insights into their experiences delivering applications in the cloud and their priorities around application delivery controllers (ADC).
61 percent of Americans rely on free antivirus programs
A new report on the antivirus market from Security.org reveals that almost three-quarters of Americans still strongly believe computers need antivirus to protect their devices and 61 percent are relying on free options like Microsoft Defender.
The number relying on free solutions has held steady, down only one point since 2021. Interestingly, only eight percent of free antivirus users have experienced a breakthrough virus in the past year, compared to 10 percent of paid users.
Best Windows apps this week
Five-hundred-and-thirty-one in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 and 11 on the Microsoft Store and elsewhere in the past seven days.
The next Moments update for Windows 11 is just around the corner. It is expected to be released in March 2023, and to include new features such as Energy Recommendations, a touch-optimized taskbar mode, and visual changes.
Why SBOMs have become a vital element of supply chain risk management [Q&A]
In recent years, the software bill of materials (SBOM) has become a key element of software security and software supply chain risk management.
We spoke to Tim Mackey, head of software supply chain risk strategy at Synopsys to find out more about the benefits and challenges of SBOMs.
The NSA has some tips about how to secure your home network -- sensible, blindingly obvious and paranoid in equal measure
Being a government agency concerned with security, it is perhaps not particularly surprising that the NSA has some advice for locking down networks. The National Security Agency has issued a series of tips designed to help secure home networks, and while home workers and remote workers are mentioned, the tips apply to just about everyone.
While much of the advice is fairly obvious, the list of "best practices" serves as a helpful reminder about the steps that need to be taken to avoid cyber-attacks. Some advice, however, suggests a level of paranoia that is not necessarily appropriate for most people.
QIAN QMC-VA30-01 is a very affordable curved 30-inch ultrawide monitor
We recently told you about two new Philips monitors that featured OLED screens. While those displays are very impressive, they are also rather expensive -- both cost well over $1,000. With the economy being in the toilet, many consumers simply cannot afford to spend so much money on a computer display.
Well, folks, if you are in the market for a new monitor, but you also need to adhere to a strict budget, a new ultrawide offering from QIAN may be exactly what you are looking for. Carrying the model number of QMC-VA30-01, this 30-inch curved (1500R) monitor has a respectable 100Hz refresh rate, 2560x1080 resolution, 21:9 aspect ratio, frameless bezel, and support for both AMD FreeSync and NVIDIA G-Sync. Best of all, it is priced extremely low!
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