Pandora goes dark on Apple iPhone and iPad

I've never been much of a fan of dark mode -- especially on a desktop operating system. White text on a black background tends to annoy me. With Windows 10, for instance, I didn't really enjoy using the operating system until the light theme was introduced in the May 2019 update. Believe it or not, I use Apple Music instead of Spotify because I hate the latter's always-on dark interface. And yet, on iOS 13, I actually like Apple's implementation of dark mode -- in the evening, I have my iPhone and iPad switch to it. Now that I am… [Continue Reading]

YouTube TV now on Amazon Fire TV

Back in July, the YouTube app finally returned to the Amazon Fire TV platform. This was great news for both Google and Amazon, but more importantly, consumers were the big winners. Owners of Fire TV devices finally had an official app for watching YouTube. Google and Amazon had promised that YouTube TV -- the search giant's live television service -- would come to Fire TV too, but for whatever reason, it did not debut with the return of the regular YouTube app. Thankfully, starting today, Fire TV owners can finally access YouTube TV on their devices -- as long as… [Continue Reading]

ExpressVPN to be pre-installed on HP consumer PCs

Consumer VPN specialist ExpressVPN has announced a tie up with HP to have its software pre-installed on the company's consumer PCs. As part of the deal selected machines will come with ExpressVPN's Windows app pre-installed to help protect customers' privacy and security on public Wi-Fi networks. HP consumer customers will also receive an exclusive free 30-day trial of the VPN service. The Spectre x360 13 will be the first of HP's consumer PCs to have ExpressVPN pre-installed, so customers can encrypt network data and secure their internet browsing experience with a single click. "Our customers connect to a variety of… [Continue Reading]

Gambling with cyber risk -- the odds are not on your side

A new report from secure collaboration platform Wire, produced in collaboration with a global poker champion, looks at the risks businesses run with cyber security and comparing them to other everyday occurrences, with some startling findings. Among them are that an employee is three times more likely to infect a colleague with a malicious email than they are to spread the flu to their partner, and that an employee's chances of spotting a phishing email are as slim as hitting a specific number on the roulette wheel. In addition the chances of your business avoiding a malware attack are as… [Continue Reading]

HyperX Pulsefire Dart wireless gaming mouse has Qi charging and RGB lighting

There are many gaming mice on the market these days, so it can be hard for a single model to stand out. I mean, look, there are only so many ways to make a mouse unique. And yet, today, HyperX launches such a product, and it is actually quite special. Called "Pulsefire Dart," this looks like an ordinary wireless gaming mouse, but it has a pretty cool feature -- Qi charging. Yes, you can charge the mouse using one of those cool wireless charging mats -- the same ones used for Android devices and iPhones. In addition, it features RGB… [Continue Reading]

Workplace errors increase risk of data breaches

Around two thirds of businesses have experienced a data breach in the last year and seemingly innocent workplace mistakes could be one of the main causes. A new report produced by the Ponemon Institute for document security specialist Shred-it reveals that 71 percent of managers have seen or picked up confidential documents left on a printer. This seemingly innocent workplace mistake isn't the only thing threatening information security, over three quarters (77 percent) of managers admit they have accidentally sent an email containing sensitive information to the wrong person. What's more, 88 percent have received an email containing sensitive information… [Continue Reading]

If it's Wednesday you're probably on the internet

New research from the UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals that average daily internet traffic is highest on Wednesdays, while evening traffic peaks on a Tuesday. The ONS used data from the London Internet Exchange (LINX) network statistics portal to analyze usage trends across the country. Among other findings are that internet activity drops off around an hour earlier in the summer, compared to the winter, suggesting that we’re ditching work earlier during the summer months to make the most of the lighter evenings. A drop in internet traffic between 4pm and 6pm coincides with the commuting period. On… [Continue Reading]

Leaked Microsoft images show the new Surface lineup will be 'anything but ordinary'

It's only a couple of days until Microsoft's hardware event at which it is going unveil the latest Surface devices. But no reveal would be complete without a leak or two. True to form, serial Microsoft leaker Walking Cat has shared four marketing images for the latest additions to the Surface range. From the ads, it seems we can expect to see at least a new Surface Laptop, and a Surface Pro tablet later this week. See also: You can watch a live stream of Microsoft's Surface event Game audio problems in Windows 10? Microsoft has a fix for that… [Continue Reading]

Google forces YouTube Music on Android users

I am a big fan of YouTube. Not only do I watch videos on the site daily, I am also a paid subscriber to YouTube TV -- I love the service and happily part with my $50 each month. YouTube Music, however, is an entirely different story -- I kind of hate it. When testing it against Spotify and Apple Music, YouTube Music failed miserably. The user interface is just unnecessarily confusing. Quite frankly, I am not sure how Google got it so wrong. Sigh. That's why I was rather bummed out by the news that Google will be pre-loading… [Continue Reading]

Think you can spot a phishing email? Think again

People may not be as good as they think they are at spotting phishing scams, according to researchers at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. Dr Casey Canfield, Missouri S&T assistant professor of engineering management and systems engineering, worked with Carnegie Mellon University colleagues Baruch Fischhoff and Ales Davis on the study, which measures how well people’s confidence in their ability to detect phishing matches with reality. Study participants were shown a series of legitimate and phishing emails and then asked questions to determine if they could identify the two types. Researchers then asked how confident they were about… [Continue Reading]

Ubuntu Linux 19.10 'Eoan Ermine' Beta available for download

Happy Friday, dear BetaNews readers! The weekend is nearly here, meaning you can take some time to do the things you want to do, rather than the tasks your boss assigns. For some, that means spending time with family, watching movies, or simply catching up on some rest. For others, it is the prime time to test a Linux distribution! Today, Canonical releases the official beta for the upcoming Ubuntu Linux 19.10. Code-named "Eoan Ermine," it features Linux kernel 5.3. There are several great desktop environments from which to choose too, such as KDE Plasma, Budgie, and the default GNOME. Ubuntu… [Continue Reading]

Best Windows 10 apps this week

Three-hundred-and-fifty-four 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. Microsoft plans to integrate cloud download recovery functionality in the first Windows 10 feature update of 2020 to improve the recovery process further. The company announced this week that Windows 10 is now on more than 900 million devices. As always, if I've missed an app or game that has been released this week that you believe is particularly good, let me know in the comments below or notify me via… [Continue Reading]

One year on from the Facebook data breach -- what has changed? [Q&A]

One year ago this week Facebook suffered a massive data breach that prompted the company to reset access for around 90 million accounts. A year on from this event what has been done to make users' data more secure and are people becoming more aware of the risks to their privacy from using social networks and other sites? We spoke to Fouad Khalil VP of compliance at SecurityScorecard to discuss these things and more. BN: What has Facebook done in the last year to stop a similar breach happening? FK: I've yet to see anything that made me say, "Ah-ha,… [Continue Reading]

Google turns 21: How two Stanford University whiz kids accidentally built a tech empire

Google is everywhere. It's behind the world's most popular mobile operating system and map, one of the most successful email services ever, and has even expanded into the finance, wearables and transport sectors. What's more, it probably still serves as your browser home page (or just a means of finding out whether you're connected to the Internet or not). The still-relatively-young company, which turns 21 today, has come a hell of a long way since its inception in the late 90s, and looks well capable of dominating each and every avenue it decides to enter. However, the company had very… [Continue Reading]

Windows 10 version 1903 is now ready for broad deployment

Microsoft has announced that the Windows 10 version 1903 (Windows 10 May 2019 Update) has been designated "ready for broad deployment". This means that all Windows 10 users can now download the update from Windows Update. Despite the change in status, there are still a handful of issues with the release, some of which are still being investigated, and other which have only been mitigated against rather than fixed. See also: Game audio problems in Windows 10? Microsoft has a fix for that How to use Windows 10's Cloud Download recovery feature Microsoft releases Windows 10 20H1 Build 18990 with… [Continue Reading]

Game audio problems in Windows 10? Microsoft has a fix for that

There's no denying that recent updates for Windows 10 have cause more problems than usual. In the last few weeks, updates have led variously to issues with the Start menu, screenshots, high CPU usage and more. Gamers found that the KB4515384 update for Windows 10 version 1903 was causing problems with in-game audio. The company was fairly swift to suggest some workarounds, but it is only now that a proper fix has been released to address the issue. See also: The KB4515384 update for Windows 10 1903 is causing sound problems in games Microsoft suggests fixes for Windows 10 1903… [Continue Reading]

DoorDash hacked!

Food delivery services are all the rage these days. Apparently, people are so averse to leaving their home, that they are willing to pay a premium to get meals driven to them. But wait, is that really a new trend? Pizzerias, for instance, have been delivering pies for years. Yeah, but that was driven by an employee of the restaurant. These days, services like Grubhub and DoorDash allow pretty much anyone with a car to be the go-between -- there is no vetting by the restaurant. Your delivery driver could be a psychopath -- lord knows what he/she is doing… [Continue Reading]