My name is Jason Kingdon, social media addict and Founder and CEO of BOLDFISH. I've been Facebook free for three years now, but I can't seem to separate it from my life. Wherever I go, there it is. Sign in with Facebook or follow us for more. At networking events, new contacts are incredulous and offended when I state my lack of social media. He lies, their eyes read. 

Some of my friends have acclimated to just texting me, but others have fallen out of touch. I've become accustomed to the "OMG! How are you!? I haven't seen you in forever! Are you still in China?" It’s as though time had frozen since the last time we made contact. There are amazing memories from pictures and status updates, yet they assume that what they consume is all that there ever was or will be.

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Payday should be a pleasurable time of the month, but thanks to a new spear phishing campaign, some employees are losing their pay checks to cybercriminals.

Email defense specialist Vade Secure uncovered the attack in which criminals initiate an email conversation with HR staff to get them to change bank details for receiving direct payroll payments.

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A vulnerability that could allow man-in-the-middle attacks and the injection of malicious code has been found in a pre-installed app on devices manufactured by Xiaomi, one of the biggest mobile vendors.

The flaw, uncovered by researchers at Check Point is -- somewhat ironically -- in the pre-installed security app, 'Guard Provider', which is meant to protect the phone from malware.

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Facebook is hardly renowned for respecting privacy, but with WhatsApp the company is taking a small step to give users greater control.

A change to privacy settings for groups means that it is now possible -- at last -- to avoid being added to a group chat you don't to be involved in. WhatsApp has announced that "we're introducing a new privacy setting and invite system to help you decide who can add you to groups".

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Bug bounty programs are a popular way for tech companies to track down problems with their products without having to spend large sums of money on dedicated research teams. Microsoft is one of the big names with such a program, and it has just announced that it is increasing the payouts it makes.

As well as offering people more money for finding issues with its products, Microsoft also says that it will pay people faster.

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It is only a couple of weeks since we learned that Facebook has been storing user passwords in searchable plain text, and now there is -- yet another -- privacy scandal. This time, the private data of over half a billion Facebook users was left exposed on publicly-accessible Amazon servers.

Security firm UpGuard discovered that the private data of 540 million Facebook users was exposed in Amazon Web Services S3 buckets. Now removed, the data included identification numbers, comments, reactions and account names. In some instances, names, passwords and email addresses were also exposed.

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Beats by Dr Dre has revealed details of its soon-to-be-released Powerbeats Pro wireless earphones. Scheduled for release in May, the earphones combine the engineering talents of Apple and Beats to create AirPod alternatives for music lovers and athletes alike.

Smaller and lighter than its predecessor, Powerbeats Pro provide both audio quality and comfort, and have been designed to withstand rigorous workouts. Available in four colors -- Black, Ivory, Moss and Navy -- the earphones deliver "powerful, balanced sound with dynamic range and noise isolation for a premium listening experience".

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With 155 million corporate users, the highly popular Microsoft Office 365 has become a target-rich environment for sophisticated phishing attacks. On top of all the standard phishing and spear phishing threats, Office 365 presents a number of unique attack techniques for hackers looking to compromise the platform.

Microsoft is the number one phished brand for the third straight quarter -- thanks to Office 365. A multisystem platform, Office 365 combines email, file storage, collaboration, and productivity applications, including OneDrive and SharePoint. Together, they represent a honeypot of sensitive data and files that phishers are looking to exploit.

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USB-C friggin' rules, y'all. Everybody loves the new connector type, as unlike the classic USB-A, Type-C is reversible. Quite frankly, the ports and connectors even look better too -- symmetry for the win! Even if your computer doesn't have a USB-C port, you can always interface with a Type-C device using a dongle or USB-C to USB-A cable. In other words, you can buy a USB-C device today and use it without worry as long as your computer has a USB port.

Remember, folks, USB-C does not indicate speed -- it is merely a connector type. With that said, USB-C (and USB-A) devices that use the USB 3.1 gen 2 interface are very fast. Today, Lexar announces a very speedy external solid state drive that the company claims is the world's fastest portable USB SSD with a Type-C port. Obviously, this claim does not include Thunderbolt 3 drives. Called "SL100," it offers up to 950 MB/s read, and 900 MB/s write. Regardless of whether it is or isn't the world's fastest, one thing is for sure -- those speeds are very impressive.

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There's strong interest in and high expectations of AI from B2B marketing and sales professionals, with 84 percent of participants in a new study currently planning, evaluating, implementing or using it.

Account-based marketing company Demandbase has revealed the results of the survey conducted in conjunction with Salesforce Pardot and global research firm, Demand Metric.

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We all know that cybersecurity is a major issue, but it can sometimes be hard to grasp the scale of the problem and who is at risk.

Software reviews site TechJury has created an infographic to vizualize what is happening in the cybersecurity field as well as the top threats to look out for.

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As promised, Google has now closed down Google+, the social networking experiment that just never really took off. If you try to access the site -- or use the mobile app -- you'll be advised that "Google+ is no longer available for consumer (personal) and brand accounts".

Google gave fair warning of the impending closure, telling users to take advantage of the option to download their data before it was deleted forever -- although the Internet Archive said it would try to backup as much as possible. Now the closure has actually happened, it seems that there is still time to download your Google+ content... but you'll have to be quick.

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If you have been using the Microsoft Store as your point of purchase for ebooks, you're going to have to start shopping elsewhere. Microsoft has ditched the Books category from the store, and this means that not only will it not be possible to buy books from the Microsoft Store, but also that previous purchases will not be accessible after July.

For anyone who has built up a library of ebooks via Microsoft, this will come as bad news -- but there is a slight silver lining. The company says that it will provide full refunds for all book purchases.

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Ever since the release of the first-ever iPad in 2010, people have been trying to convert Apple's tablet into a laptop with add-on keyboards. You know what? It actually isn't too bad. True, lack of mouse/trackpad support in iOS can turn this makeshift laptop configuration into a frustrating experience, but in some situations, it is totally passable. If you are a writer, for instance, an iPad with a keyboard can remove distractions and focus your attention. If you do hardcore multitasking, however, a traditional laptop with Windows, macOS, Chrome OS, or Ubuntu is probably a wiser choice.

If you are OK with the limitations of iOS, and you still think an iPad or iPad Pro would be your ideal portable computer, than you should definitely check out Logitech keyboard cases. The company's iPad keyboard offerings have been consistently excellent and should last a long time. Now, Logitech is back again with a new keyboard case. Called "SLIM FOLIO PRO," it is designed for use with the third generation iPad Pro. And yes, both the 11- and 12.9-inch variants are supported -- there is a model for each.

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Many organizations work with hundreds of third parties, creating new risks that must be actively managed. The financial industry, in particular, has a massive business ecosystem made up of legal organizations, accounting and human resources firms, management consulting and outsourcing firms, and information technology and software providers.

A new study into the financial services sector from security ratings company BitSight finds that 97 percent of respondents say cyber risk affecting third parties is a major issue.

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