Latest Technology News

One in three Brits uses someone else's streaming login

According to a new study from F-Secure, 36 percent of Brits are willing to use someone else’s details to access streaming services if given the chance.

Also 42 percent of Brits share their login details to their favourite streaming services with between one and three other people and 70 percent feel no guilt when using someone else’s login for Netflix or Amazon.

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Deploying facial recognition in retail stores: How tech benefits consumers and brands

Facial recognition mesh

2020 has been nothing short of challenging for businesses and people alike across the globe. Although nearly every company has felt a blow to economic forecasts, they are now pivoting strategies in order to return profitability to the bottom line.

But there is a shining light for retail at the end of the year. The upcoming holiday shopping season has traditionally been a huge source of revenue as consumers have historically spent, individually, upwards of $1,000 each year -- summing up to a total of billions of dollars spent each week from Thanksgiving through Christmas. However, with the pandemic continuing to change traditional consumer shopping behaviors, and local legislation differing across the country as to when stores can have any or full capacity, this year’s holiday shopping season will also look drastically different. In order to turn a profit, retailers need to adapt to the new reality and ensure that the in-store experience is as safe and efficient as possible.

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2020-21 is the asterisk academic year

A few weeks ago I wrote a column about helping our children cope with distance learning as we hide from COVID-19. Since then I’ve watched the progress of my own children -- Cole (16) and Fallon (14) are still at home -- and I’ve spoken to friends and teachers all over the world. It isn’t going well. In fact, the whole distance learning experience has been a disaster that will ultimately result in this academic year being forever assigned an asterisk to separate it from every other academic year, before or after.

I hope your experience is better, but I doubt that is the case. And the fact that people aren’t generally saying what I am here is because there’s lag in the system and the teachers and school administrators, frankly, don’t want to admit just how bad things are. But shit will shortly hit fans all over the world, I assure you, and the impact will last for years to come.

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Zoom 5.4.0 rolls out end-to-end encryption to improve messaging tool’s security

Zoom on a tablet

Lockdown has benefited relatively few companies, but one of those is undoubtedly Zoom, the video-conferencing service. It’s just unveiled Zoom 5.4.0 for desktop and mobile, with a host of new and improved features.

There’s the much-anticipated rollout of end-to-end encryption for secure messaging, plus additional improvements to the app’s meetings, chat and phone features.

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The challenge of effectively securing collaboration tools [Q&A]

remote work

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many more organizations to adopt remote working. This in turn has led to a boom in the use of tools like Teams and Zoom to help employees communicate.

Securing those tools though presents some serious challenges ensuring that, for example, they aren't used, inadvertently or on purpose, to leak sensitive information.

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TCL 10 5G UW is an affordable next-gen Verizon Android smartphone

5G is no longer the future -- it is the present. There are plenty of phones with 5G radios (including the new iPhone 12 series), and all major cell providers offer this next generation of connectivity. The thing is, not all 5G is created equally. For instance, T-Mobile offers the best 5G coverage, while Verizon's ultra wideband is the fastest. Unfortunately, when it comes to the latter, it can be hard to find an UW tower. So while Verizon has the best speed, it can be hard to achieve it.

With all of that said, Verizon has some hardcore fans that swear by its service, and if that is you, you are probably itching to get a new 5G ultra wideband phone. Sure, you could go with an iPhone 12, but Apple's offerings are quite pricey. Thankfully, up-and-coming phone-maker TCL has a new smartphone that works with Verizon's 5G and is very affordable.

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IT security pros still struggle with remote work basics

Working late at home

While a vast majority of organizations have transitioned to remote work during the COVID-19 outbreak, only a third of IT security professionals described that transition as 'smooth' in a new survey.

The study from OneIdentity shows 62 percent of respondents say that cloud infrastructure is more important now than 12 months ago and 31 percent attribute this shift directly to COVID-19.

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PNY releases XLR8 Gaming EPIC-X RGB DDR4 3600MHz Desktop Memory

For those of you that build your own desktop computers, you know damn well that brands matter. For instance, if you opt for an unknown company for your RAM, power supply, or storage, there is a very good chance you will run into problems. This is why I always recommend sticking with reputable brands -- saving a few bucks is never worth it if you end up troubleshooting crashes.

PNY is a company that has been around for a long time, and its products are generally very reliable. Today, it launches a beautiful new memory product that enthusiasts and gamers should both absolutely love. Called "XLR8 Gaming EPIC-X RGB," it is a 16GB kit (8GB x2) of DDR4 RAM that can run at 3600MHz. As the product name implies, the sticks also feature RGB lighting so your PC can look super rad.

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How to view all Edge browser tabs when you press Alt-Tab

Multiple Edge logos

The Alt-Tab keyboard shortcut is one of the most well-known and most useful in Windows. The shortcut has long made it possible to quickly switch between running programs and open windows, and in Windows 10 October 2020 Update (20H2) it has gained a useful new option.

With the latest feature update for Windows 10 installed, you can not only Alt-Tab your way between programs and windows, but also the tabs you have open in Microsoft Edge. Here's what you need to know.

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Linux 5.10 is a bigger kernel release than expected and sees the removal of setf_fs()

Linux

With first release candidate of version 5.10 of the Linux kernel now available, Linus Torvalds says that it "looks to be a bigger release" than he expected.

Linux kernel 5.10-rc1 includes 14-15,000 merge commits -- depending on how you count them -- Torvalds notes in his weekly update to the Linux community. He shares the news that, for him, the most interesting change in this release is the removal of the setf_fs() addressing tool.

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How to access the System Control Panel in Windows 10 October 2020 Update (20H2)

Windows 10 desktop background

Since the arrival of Windows 10, Microsoft has made no secret of its desire to kill off the Control Panel. In moving everyone over to the Settings app, the company has been gradually chipping away, and the latest casualty in Windows 10 October 2020 Update (20H2) is the System applet.

Strangely, if you open the Control Panel, you will see that System is still present -- but when you open it you will be taken instead to the About section of Settings. But all is not lost; if you still want to access the classic System applet, here's how to do just that.

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Businesses fail to grasp the complexity of cloud optimization

Cloud fail

Public cloud use has soared in the past year, but enterprises may not be using the cloud in the most efficient way.

A new survey from AI-driven cloud optimization specialist Opsani reveals that 91 percent of respondents are confident that their cloud applications are running efficiently, meaning they felt they are getting the best performance for the lowest cost.

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Declining emphasis on security training puts businesses at risk

training key

While companies are getting better at protecting their customers’ personal and sensitive information, their focus on security training has declined in the last year according to a new report.

The study from information security service Shred-it shows that 83 percent of consumers say they prefer to do business with companies who prioritize protecting their physical and digital data, so the decline in training risks losing custom as well as security breaches.

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Emergency update for Kodi 18 'Leia' fixes internet access issue and more

While the Kodi Foundation's focus is squarely on Kodi 19 'Matrix', a technical change from Cloudflare has caused problems with its predecessor, Kodi 18 'Leia', and result is a new update which fixes this and a number of other problems.

Cloudflare’s change causes significant issues with HTTP access to any site using them, such as metadata sources and streaming add-ons. Kodi 18.9 offers a workaround for this problem.

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System76's Pop!_OS 20.10 Ubuntu-based Linux distro now available for download

Just yesterday, we told you Ubuntu 20.10 was finally available for download. This was exciting, as it is the most well-known Linux-based desktop operating system on the planet (other than Chrome OS, maybe).

Of course, having the most recognizable name does not make Ubuntu the best Linux distro. In fact, I can confidently say it is definitely not the best. And that is because Pop!_OS exists.

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