Latest Technology News

As more and more computer users sour on Windows 10, they are increasingly turning to Linux as an alternative. They aren't just choosing traditional desktop Linux distributions like Ubuntu and Manjaro, but Chrome OS too. Yes, folks, Chromebooks run a Linux-based operating system. Make no mistake, Linux is a threat to Microsoft's desktop stranglehold.

Unfortunately, there are way too many Linux distributions nowadays, making it hard for curious Windows users to pick one. My advice to Linux newbies is to start with Ubuntu -- or a variant of it -- such as Mint or Pop!_OS. As you get more comfortable, you can then begin distro-hopping, starting a quest to find the best Linux-based operating system to meet your needs.

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With Gartner estimating that the average cost of network downtime is $5,600 per minute or $336,000 per hour, few would argue that regular testing of a robust disaster recovery (DR) plan is essential for organizations. Even if you omit the financial implications, the lost productivity, missed opportunities, brand damage and potential data loss and SLA pay-outs associated with system downtime should be enough to keep even the most hardened IT professional up at night.

So, why are fewer organizations than you may think doing it? In recent research we conducted, which surveyed 150 technical and business decision makers from organizations drawn from a wide cross section of UK enterprises, we found that DR testing frequency is remarkably low. In fact, 57 percent are only testing annually or at less frequent intervals. Whilst 6 percent didn’t test their DR at all. Moreover, of the organizations testing less frequently, the results of their last test led 44 percent of them to believe that their DR may be inadequate, while 22 percent encountered issues that would have led to sustained downtime.

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It’s been a while since Microsoft last released a new Windows 10 Insider Preview build to the Dev Channel, and with the weekend looming you’d be forgiven for thinking there might be an even longer wait ahead.

Today, however, the software giant rolls out Build 21313 and it’s worth the wait.

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Four-hundred-twenty-five in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on the Microsoft Store in the past seven days.

Windows 10 version 2004 is now ready for broad deployment according to Microsoft, and that means that nearly all devices running earlier versions can be upgraded to the version using Windows Update.

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If you’re not familiar, Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is an open source C development environment from Microsoft. It is available for Windows, macOS and x64 Linux, and now you can run it on Raspberry Pi too.

The tool supports text editing, full web development (with JavaScript, TypeScript and Node.js) and git source code control. It supports extensions too (although not all of them), so you can further expand its capabilities.

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Among the main beneficiaries of the pandemic-related shift to remote working have been suppliers of workplace collaboration and conferencing software.

New research from digital experience management platform Aternity shows that Microsoft has been a big winner with Teams usage increased nearly 3,900 percent since the beginning of pandemic.

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Many of us will at some point have attached the wrong file to an email or sent an attachment to the wrong person.

This is more than an inconvenience as it could end up exposing sensitive data. But thanks to a new feature from Tessian you may never make an attachment error again.

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Despite a sharp decrease of 19.2 percent observed earlier in the year, vulnerability disclosures in 2020 are expected to exceed 2019's level according to Risk Based Security.

The company's VulnDB team aggregated 23,269 vulnerabilities disclosed during 2020. Despite the initial disruption from COVID-19, the trend of total number of vulnerabilities suggests that business operations and routines have normalized as the gap has closed to 0.98 percent.

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A survey of over 120 developers and IT leaders from Reveal shows a 41 percent increase in demand for business intelligence solutions last year and 38 percent seeing increased revenue as the tech market shifted.

But while many took advantage of opportunities, 50 percent reported having to make do with less in 2020. Of those, 23 percent saw projects canceled or postponed, with some respondents indicating lost funding (14 percent) and staff reductions (14 percent).

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Twitter has confirmed that, even if he is re-elected as US president in 2024, Donald Trump will not be allowed to use the platform ever again.

The former president was unceremoniously kicked off Twitter towards the end of his leadership after concerns that his tweets were an incitement to violence. The company hit Trump with permanent suspension back in January, and has now made it clear that permanent really does mean permanent.

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Back in the day, computer builders would often buy sound cards for their rigs. This was because on-board audio used to be terrible. Going even further back, some motherboards did not even offer integrated sound, making a sound card a must.

Nowadays, however, most computers have on-board audio that isn't just passable, but quite good. Sure, there are still dedicated sound cards on the market, but they are usually reserved for audiophiles and/or gamers. These days, most computer users would be better served by a USB DAC -- a digital to analog converter. These offer superior audio for both laptops and desktops, and can reduce electrical interference and noise too.

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Windows 10 is actually a really great operating system. The problem? It is actually quite expensive at its normal retail price. Amazon sells Windows 10 Home for a whopping $130! Not to mention, Microsoft's desktop OS is quite resource intensive, making it a bad choice for those with aging hardware. For those with older computers, Linux-based operating systems are often a better option.

While many people associate Linux distributions with "free," the truth is, some can actually cost money. There is nothing wrong with paying for a Linux distro either -- it is a fine way to support the development. One such operating system, Linspire (formerly known as "Lindows") recently hit a major milestone -- version 10. Starting at just $29.99, the Ubuntu-based operating system is far cheaper than the expensive Windows 10.

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A serious vulnerability was recently discovered in the sudo tool which could be used to gain root access on Linux-based systems. It soon transpired that the very same issue also affects macOS.

The security vulnerability -- known as Baron Samedit and tracked as CVE-2021-3156 -- is a years-old heap-based buffer overflow bug, and Apple has now issued a patch that fixes the problem for users of Big Sur, Catalina and Mojave flavors of macOS.

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A new study from cybersecurity company Deep Instinct, finds that last year malware increased by 358 percent overall and ransomware increased by 435 percent as compared with 2019.

The report which analyzes millions of attacks taking place across the year finds distribution of the Emotet malware skyrocketed by 4,000 percent, while malware threats attacking Android phones increased by 263 percent.

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It's an unfortunate fact of life that over time all laptop batteries become less efficient. The machine that once got your through the day will eventually only last a couple of hours -- perhaps even less.

Age is one thing, but sometimes there can be a hardware or software problem that exacerbates the issue. And this is case for some MacBook Pro owners. But there's good news. Apple may replace your battery free of charge.

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