Latest Technology News

The keyboard on my beloved Asus C206 died recently. I gave it life support, but it didn’t last long. For the past couple of weeks I’ve been using my Windows 10 laptop, and I like it. I use it regularly for tasks Chrome OS can’t do -- some programs just require Windows.

Now I’ve received a new Chromebook (new to me that is), the Lenovo 100E, and have been using it a little while. Let me tell you what I think of this iteration. Obviously, this is my opinion, yours may vary.

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Solid state drives are exploding in popularity thanks to their performance benefits and ever-increasing affordability. If you are still using a mechanical hard disk drive, there is probably no better upgrade you can make than moving to an SSD. You won't only see a boost in artificial benchmarks, but in actual usage too -- it is an upgrade you can truly feel.

Micron has two new solid state drives that are aimed towards consumers. Called "2210" and "2300," the former uses QLC flash, while the latter uses TLC. So while both are M.2 NVMe PCIe SSDs, the 2300 will be faster, while the 2210 should be cheaper. Both can be had in capacities of 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB, but the 2210 is also offered in 256GB.

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Today, 80 percent of digital marketers feel growing pressure to meet customer acquisition and revenue goals, saying they feel like they are "running on a never-ending hamster wheel."

And that’s true: You may be overstretching your marketing muscle to get your customers to find you through organic search -- but it’s something you have little control over and is reactive. Traditional advertising media is becoming more obsolete, but the problem is that many businesses still don’t realize how technology can reverse that. Take the example of the automotive industry, where customer acquisition is still very reactive. The majority of customers still find the auto dealer and brand, and not the other way round. A recent study found that car dealers' first point of contact with more than half of their buyers is when they physically walk into the dealership, essentially leaving it to chance that their dealership or brand gets picked for a walk-in. There’s no doubt that companies across the board are rapidly experimenting with adopting artificial intelligence (AI) in various departments, including business performance and automating the human tasks, the low-hanging fruits. But it’s time you thought about bringing it in to enhance your customer acquisition strategy.

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Web accessibility platform accessiBe announced that it has secured funding from global investment firm K1 Investment Management, LLC. The $12 million capital will be used to help the company grow its market in North America and improve its services for its customers and partners.

The internet remains largely inaccessible to people with disabilities. Up to 98 percent of websites fail to fully apply the necessary standards to ensure that those afflicted by impairments are still able to use and navigate websites. This is despite the fact that the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act have already been around for more than a decade, both of which identify what websites need to become accessible.

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Three-hundred-and-eighty-six 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.

The next Windows 10 feature update has been released to developers and OEMs already; Microsoft plans to release it to the public at the end of May 2020. OEMs are no longer allowed to install 32-bit versions of Windows 10 on devices starting with Windows 10 version 2004.

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As we wrote about yesterday, with build 19628 Microsoft has added support for DNS over HTTPS to Windows 10. DoH is a great way to increase privacy and security online, and its arrival in Windows 10 has been widely welcomed.

At the moment the feature is only available to Windows Insiders, but it won't be long before it rolls out to everyone. But when you have it up and running, how do you know if DNS over HTTPS is working? Here's how to find out.

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More than half of companies questioned in a new survey are spending 40 percent or more of their IT security budgets on compliance.

The research from Coalfire, a provider of cybersecurity advisory and assessment services, in conjunction with consulting firm Omida, also reveals that nearly 60 percent of companies view compliance as a barrier to enter new markets and prepare news services to meet compliance requirements.

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M.2 solid state drives often look the same. This shouldn’t be surprising, as there really aren’t many ways to customize them. You are pretty much limited to offering a unique heatsink to make the drive stand out.

ADATA has a new such drive that looks pretty cool and even has a neat name. Called “Falcon,” this PCIe Gen3x4 M.2 SSD has a golden heatsink, making it look quite attractive and unique. Hell, you could probably bring it to a jeweler, have it mounted to a chain, and then wear it around your neck — like a boss! Best of all, it is very fast too, with up to 3,100MB/s read and up to 1,500MB/s write.

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Cybersecurity Essentials provides a comprehensive introduction to the field, with expert coverage of essential topics required for entry-level cybersecurity certifications. An effective defense consists of four distinct challenges: securing the infrastructure, securing devices, securing local networks, and securing the perimeter. Overcoming these challenges requires a detailed understanding of the concepts and practices within each realm.

This book covers each challenge individually for greater depth of information, with real-world scenarios that show what vulnerabilities look like in everyday computing scenarios. Each part concludes with a summary of key concepts, review questions, and hands-on exercises, allowing you to test your understanding while exercising your new critical skills.

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Despite everything going on currently, the world hasn’t stopped, just changed -- a lot. My daughter works from home, my son and girlfriend are doing their college classes from her family’s home.

While sports are at a dead stop Genealogy research can move on. Yes, the archives and historical societies may be closed but there’s nothing to keep you from cemeteries and online research in places like Ancestry and FamilySearch.

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Distributed cloud service company Volterra is launching a new service to encrypt and share public data without the need for passwords and public keys.

VoltShare is available as downloadable software (or an API and SDK) that operates locally on a PC or mobile device to easily encrypt sensitive data for sharing with target recipients through email or via existing collaboration platforms such as Slack, Teams and Dropbox.

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According to a new survey, 79 percent of organizations have experienced an identity-related breach in the last two years, while 94 percent report having had one at some point.

The study from the The Identity Defined Security Alliance (IDSA), based on a survey of over 500 IT security and identity decision makers conducted by Dimensional Research, finds that 66 percent say phishing is the most common cause of identity-related breaches, while 99 percent believe their breaches were preventable.

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Android smartphones are more affordable than Apple's iPhone, right? Not always. In fact, in 2020, there has been a bit of a shift. There are Android flagships that are well over $1,000, while the very capable iPhone SE can be had for a mere $399. Of course, the top iPhone models are expensive too, but still, it isn't black and white anymore. Those looking for an affordable smartphone can now go with iOS or Android.

The problem, of course, is that affordable Android phones are often of dubious quality from no-name makers. Sure, some big-name makers, such as Samsung, also make lower-cost models, but they are usually quite neutered and lame. For whatever reason, it can be hard to find an Android phone that properly balances quality and affordability.

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While preview builds of Windows 10 do have a tendency to be a little on the buggy side, they offer an opportunity to try out new features and options way before the official release. For anyone concerned about privacy and security an exciting addition to the latest Insider build is DNS over HTTPS (DoH).

The feature keeps web traffic more private by performing DNS lookups over an encrypted HTTPS connection so they are far less susceptible to interception. If you've been keen to try this out, now you can. Here's what you need to do.

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A growing number of Linux distributions no longer offer 32-bit versions, and that’s a trend that’s very much set to continue.

If you’re a Windows user running older hardware, then you’ll be pleased that Microsoft has yet to follow suit, but starting with the next version of Windows 10, the May 2020 Update (or 2004 if you prefer), the software developer is finally beginning the process of killing off support for non-64-bit systems.

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