Latest Technology News

Logitech launches G815 LIGHTSYNC and G915 LIGHTSPEED low-profile mechanical gaming keyboards

While mechanical keyboards are undeniably great for gaming, they aren't necessarily the best for typing. Sure, some folks are fine to type on a traditional mechanical keyboard, but others -- like me -- prefer chiclet style keyboards, such as Apple's excellent wired and wireless variants. Why? Well, key travel and height are big issues -- I type fairly fast, and my fingers can keep up better with less effort. For some people, big clunky keys lead to typos, and even worse, joint pain.

Low-profile mechanical keyboards are a great way to merge both keyboard styles, giving you the benefits of mechanical switches but with shorter keys/switches. Today, Logitech unveils two such low-profile keyboards -- the wired G815 LIGHTSYNC and wireless G915 LIGHTSPEED. Both models feature LIGHTSYNC RGB lighting, actually -- yes, even the wireless G915. While it will cause battery life to take a hit on that model, Logitech promises 12 days of usage between charges with RGB lighting enabled -- more than acceptable. They are both super-thin and feature aluminum bodies.

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Executives believe AI will help businesses cope with changing environments

Artificial intelligence

A new study by management consultancy AT Kearney reveals that confidence is growing among C-suite executives that technology will help businesses navigate a complex and rapidly changing environment.

In an age of increasing automation and artificial intelligence (AI), leaders recognize the differentiating role of non-technical and interpersonal skills such as creativity and leadership -- skills that are not only difficult to find but also expected to become even more important. 42 percent for example say that creativity and innovation skills are hard to find.

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Chromium-based Microsoft Edge has more natural-sounding Read Aloud voices thanks to the cloud

Microsoft Edge Read Aloud

Having your browser read web pages to you is a great accessibility feature, and it also allows for multi-tasking. There's just one problem -- the computerized voices used are little short of terrible... often to the point of being distracting.

With the Dev and Canary builds of Chromium-based versions of Microsoft Edge, however, this changes. Embracing the power of the cloud, Edge now features 24 more natural-sounding voices driven by Microsoft Cognitive Services.

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AI is great at tasks, but what about jobs?

AI

There's been a fear of automation in the workforce as far back as work has existed. Machines taking jobs away from the people who need them has been and will continue to be a source of anxiety for many.

Though it may seem like a reasonable fear, it's far from reality. Yes, machines are capable of a growing number of increasingly complex tasks, but not every job is at risk of disappearing. Machines can handle menial labor and difficult calculations, but work that requires critical thinking skills is impossible to automate. Things might be different in the movies, but the machines that exist in real life learn through patterns and repetition. There are some jobs where automation doesn't enter the picture at all. So where's the line?

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C-Suite in the hot seat -- Execs' responsibility regarding digital security

Are you killing your numbers? Crushing your targets? Growing your team? Leading with authenticity and building a loyal following? What a shame it is that your tenure may already be over.

While you were busy winning and shredding the competition, a cybercriminal breached your network. Don’t be too embarrassed, it happens to almost everyone these days. The average "dwell time" of an intruder is more than 100 days, so it’s hard to know exactly when that bucket of ice water was tossed on your dreams. Unfortunately, even if you’re doing everything right, recent examples illustrate that our jobs are on the line when hackers come a knockin’.

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60 percent of UK consumers not happy with their data being used for analytics

personal data

Customers are more worried than ever about the way their data is used and shared by companies, particularly for analytics, according to a new report.

The Customer State of Mind survey from data protection specialist Trūata shows 60 percent of UK customers are uneasy with companies using their personal data for analytics. Recent high-profile data leaks have also added to this negative perception of the way personal data is managed by brands.

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Norman the Cryptominer uses sophisticated techniques to avoid discovery

cryptocurrency mining

Researchers at Varonis have released information on a new cryptominer variant, which the team has dubbed 'Norman', that uses various techniques to hide and avoid discovery.

Norman was discovered during investigations of an ongoing cryptomining infection that had spread to nearly every device at a midsize company.

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Education is top target for cyberattacks

teacher and students

The education sector has become one of the most sought after targets for cybercriminals, according to the latest report from Malwarebytes Labs.

In the first half of 2019, the top three largest categories of threats identified among education institutions' devices are adware (43 percent), Trojans (25 percent) and backdoors (three percent). However, ransomware dropped to less than one percent in this period -- though it was higher both before and after the study.

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Facebook has been paying people to listen to your Messenger conversations

Facebook Messenger

It probably comes as absolutely no surprise to anyone, but Facebook is just the same as Google, Amazon and Apple when it comes to listening in on your conversations -- the ones you thought (or at least hoped) were private.

Following a report from Bloomberg News, Facebook has confirmed that paid contractors have been listening to audio of conversations. The company says, however, that it has put the brakes on the practice -- for now, at least.

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Personal data breaches and securing IoT devices

IoT devices

The Internet of Things (IoT) is taking the world by storm as interconnected devices fill workplaces and homes across the US. While the intention of these devices is always to make our lives easier, their ability to connect to the internet turns them into ticking time bombs, lying in wait until their weaknesses can be exploited by opportunistic hackers.

Personal data breaches are skyrocketing in America, increasing by 60% in the last year and by 157 percent since 2015. As our interconnectivity grows, so do the opportunities that our technology will be hacked. Since every IoT device is connected to the internet, each one is vulnerable to external access if not secured properly. In the rush to manufacture these devices and get them onto the market, security has been an afterthought which needs to be urgently addressed if the number of yearly data breaches is to be tackled.

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Americans would rather get food poisoning on vacation than not have internet access

I'm a big fan of raw clams and oysters on the half shell. For the most part, I have had a good experience eating them. True, eating raw mollusks is sort of like playing a game of Russian Roulette, but I have historically been very lucky. One time, however, I got violently sick -- the day before I was to take a plane from New York to Florida. Believe it or not, I still took the trip, but having intestinal distress when flying is absolutely horrid. Flight aside, I spent a good portion of my time in Florida in the fetal position, sweating and swearing off raw clams (I have since eaten them again).

Since I know how horrific food poisoning can be, I am quite perplexed by a new study commissioned by Roku. Apparently, Americans would rather get food poisoning while on vacation than not have internet access. Think about that for a second -- people would rather get violently ill while vacationing than not have access to Instagram and email. Really, America?

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Parallels Desktop 15 ramps up graphics performance with Apple Metal support, unveils new integration features

Parallels IP Holdings GmbH has released Parallels Desktop 15.0, the latest major update of its popular Mac virtualization tool.

Parallels Desktop 15 adds support for the forthcoming MacOS Catalina (10.15) release, plus taps into the Apple Metal framework in macOS 10.14 or later to deliver major graphics improvements alongside other performance tweaks and a smattering of new integration features.

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Free VPN apps pose a privacy risk on both Android and iOS

VPN tiles

Both Apple and Google are allowing numerous potentially unsafe free VPN apps to remain in their app stores, despite being aware of privacy risks according to research from Top10VPN.com.

Among the string of serious privacy issues uncovered but not acted upon is the discovery that nearly 60 percent of the most popular free VPN apps are secretly Chinese-owned.

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British Airways e-ticketing leaves passengers' sensitive data at risk

BA plane

Less than a year on from a breach which exposed the details of hundreds of thousands of customers, British Airways systems are still leaving passengers' personal information at risk.

New research from mobile security provider Wandera has discovered an e-ticketing system vulnerability that leaves passengers' personally identifiable information (PII) exposed.

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Microsoft cancels major Super Duper Graphics Pack update for Minecraft

Minecraft

It is now two years since Microsoft announced the Super Duper Graphics Pack for Minecraft, a major upgrade and new look for the game, but now the update has been canceled.

The company says that the "ambitious initiative" has "proved too technically demanding to implement as planned".  Performance is cited as a reason for ditching the update, but Microsoft promises that it will work on developing a new look for Minecraft in other ways.

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