Google's Two Pixel Problems

Like unwanted mushrooms popping up after rain, Pixel 3/XL rumors are everywhere. Google gets gravy from all the free fan- and blog-post hype. Am I imagining, or is there even more buzz than for the next iPhone(s), which presumably comes soon (Apple sent out invites yesterday for a September 12 product event). Buzz is the measure of interest—and while iPhone has commanding market share, Pixel's mindshare is formidable. Someone tell me: Is Google's new device really going to be that good? The leaked photos aren't that inspiring with respect to design (little is different). Or perhaps expectations about iPhone X… [Continue Reading]

Spend Labor Day Weekend installing Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) 3 'Cindy'

Linux Mint Debian Edition isn’t a very popular operating system. As you can imagine, the normal Linux Mint variant — which is based on Ubuntu — is used by far more people. It’s not hard to see why this is — the Linux Mint developers don’t really consider LMDE to be anything more than an experiment. You see, it serves as a contingency plan just in case Ubuntu development ever ceases. With all of that said, there’s no reason why users shouldn’t give Linux Mint Debian Edition a try. Today, just in time for Labor Day Weekend, LMDE 3 “Cindy”… [Continue Reading]

Microsoft releases Windows 10 October 2018 Update Build 17751... and the watermark has gone!

Earlier today, Microsoft confirmed what most people already knew -- that Windows 10 Redstone 5 would be called the October 2018 Update. That means that the OS update will start rolling out to users at some point in October, and as we’re only at the end of August now, Microsoft still has some time to spend on polishing the update and hopefully removing as many bugs as possible. SEE ALSO: Microsoft confirms the upcoming Windows 10 Redstone 5 release will be called the October 2018 Update You may soon be able to sign into Windows 10 with a Google account… [Continue Reading]

Kai-Fu Lee's new book says Artificial Intelligence will be Google vs China and will kill half the world's jobs

Kai-Fu Lee was born in Taiwan but grew up in Tennessee, which is nothing -- nothing -- like Taiwan or China. His PhD is from Carnegie-Mellon and for the first half of his career Lee was "that voice recognition guy" first at Apple, then Microsoft, then Google. Lee took Google to China the first time (a new Google China effort is starting just now). Today Lee is an Artificial Intelligence expert who runs a $1 billion venture fund with offices in Taipei and Beijing and, according to Anina (the pretty girl in the picture with me on my site who… [Continue Reading]

Microsoft confirms the upcoming Windows 10 Redstone 5 release will be called the October 2018 Update

Speaking at the IFA 2018 keynote in Berlin, Roanne Sones, corporate vice president, Microsoft, has confirmed what most of us already knew -- the next big feature update of Windows 10, codenamed Redstone 5, will be the Windows 10 October 2018 Update. Don't all yawn at once. The name is no surprise given that it was expected to begin its rollout in October, and its predecessor was the April 2018 Update released in April. SEE ALSO: You may soon be able to sign into Windows 10 with a Google account Microsoft's Your Phone Android app now available for Windows 10… [Continue Reading]

Developers must give their apps a privacy policy or Apple will kick them out of the App Store

Apple has announced that all apps submitted to the App Store must have a privacy policy, including those apps which are undergoing beta testing. The change is due to come into force on October 3, and after this date any app lacking a privacy policy that lets users know how their data is being used faces ejection from the App Store. See also: Leaked! Photos show iPhone XS and Apple Watch 4 ahead of September launch Report: Apple to launch three iPhones later this year Privacy: Apple denies listening in on iPhone conversations and sharing recorded audio with third parties… [Continue Reading]

Microsoft to scrap install limits for Office 365 Home and Office 365 Personal

Starting in October, anyone with an Office 365 Home or Office 365 Personal subscription will be able to install Office on as many devices as they like -- at no extra cost. This represents a massive change from current position where Home users can install the software on 10 devices, and the Personal limit of one computer and one tablet. The change does not mean, however, that you'll be able to share your copy of Office with everyone you know; Microsoft is limiting the number of people that can be signed into accounts at the same time. See also: 0patch… [Continue Reading]

Leaked! Photos show iPhone XS and Apple Watch 4 ahead of September launch

Apple has confirmed that it is to hold an event (with the tag line "gather round") on September 12 at the Steve Jobs Theater, but this news has been rather overshadowed by a leak which shows off the yet-to-be-announced iPhone XS and the Apple Watch 4 that are likely to be revealed there. One leaked photo shows off two phones, believed to be the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Plus (5.8-inch and 6.5-inch handsets respectively). Another leak shows the Apple Watch Series 4 complete with a larger, near-bezel-free display. See also: Report: Apple to launch three iPhones later this year… [Continue Reading]

NETGEAR announces XR700 Nighthawk Pro Gaming 802.11ad AD7200 10G Wi-Fi Router

  Nowadays, to get a quality wireless router, you do not need to spend a lot of money. There are several models from brands such as TP-Link which offer great specs and features for under $100. If money isn't an issue, however, there are certainly superior routers on the market for much higher prices. NETGEAR, for instance, sells some drool-worthy models under its Nighthawk branding that can be expensive. Speaking of NETGEAR, that company has a new gaming-focused router which is sure to excite some consumers. The "XR700 Nighthawk Pro," as it is called, is tuned for gaming and features… [Continue Reading]

Best Windows 10 apps this week

Two-hundred-and-ninety-eight in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on the Windows Store in the past seven days. The Your Phone app which Microsoft released by accident to all Windows 10 users before it pulled it again is now again available for Release Preview Insiders. 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 email. Discounts this week The following list is a selection of the… [Continue Reading]

NordVPN finally launches a dedicated Linux app -- here's how to install and use it

A VPN is pretty much essential these days if you want to protect your privacy and beat annoying geographic restrictions put in place by websites and services. There are plenty to choose from, including some very good -- but usually limited -- free options. NordVPN is one of the best paid VPNs, with apps for all of the major platforms. The one platform it hasn’t directly supported up until now is Linux, but that changes today. NordVPN's new dedicated Linux app is easy to setup and includes many of the same features found in the company's other apps, including a… [Continue Reading]

Botnet distribution of remote access Trojans doubles

Since the beginning of 2017, the number of remote access Trojan (RAT) files found among the malware distributed by botnets has almost doubled, according to a new report. The botnet activity report from Kaspersky Lab analyzed more than 150 malware families and their modifications circulating through 60,000 botnets around the world. The growth of multifunctional malware, like RATs, provides almost unlimited opportunities for attackers to exploit the infected PC. Njrat, DarkComet, and Nanocore topped the list of the most widespread RATs. Due to their relatively simple structure, these three backdoors can be modified by experienced or inexperienced threat actors. This… [Continue Reading]

Ultimate Ears unveils BOOM 3 and MEGABOOM 3 Bluetooth speakers

When it comes to Bluetooth speakers, the market is absolutely saturated with them -- some great, many terrible. Quite frankly, it can be a daunting task for consumers to pick one that best meets their needs. My advice? Stick with Ultimate Ears and you will be fine. The company offers many models from which to choose -- with various price points and differing specifications. None of its Bluetooth speakers are bad -- they are all exceptional. Today, Ultimate Ears unveils its latest and greatest Bluetooth speakers -- the BOOM 3 and MEGABOOM 3. These third generation speakers retain the same… [Continue Reading]

CCleaner update offers improved privacy controls, renames elements to stop users freaking out, adds bundleware

It’s fair to say, CCleaner has experienced a lot of problems since Avast acquired it last year. We’ve seen issues with malware, bundled software, and popup ads, and most recently the company was embroiled in a privacy controversy, which led to it pulling the last update. Today, Avast rolls out a new update to CCleaner which adds a number of privacy settings, and sees certain monitoring features being renamed. Avast also takes the opportunity to once again try to install its antivirus software on your PC. Yes, seriously. SEE ALSO: Avast is ruining CCleaner -- malware, bundled software, popup ads...… [Continue Reading]

0patch beats Microsoft to patching Windows 10 task scheduler 0-day vulnerability

Just 24 hours after a zero-day bug in Windows task scheduler was revealed by @SandboxExplorer on Twitter, the vulnerability has been patched. While Microsoft said it would "proactively update impacted advices as soon as possible" the patch has not come from the Windows-maker. Instead, it was left to micro-patching specialists 0patch to produce a fix for the Task Scheduler ALPC Local Privilege Execution (VU#906424) security flaw -- one that is a mere 13 bytes in size. See also: Microsoft Windows task scheduler 0-day outed on Twitter While the severity of the security flaw was limited by the fact that a… [Continue Reading]

80 percent of enterprises struggle to protect machine identities

  The protection of human identities tends to be high on the agenda for organizations, but what about machine identities? Recent increases in the number of machines on enterprise networks, shifts in technology, IoT devices and new computing capabilities have created a set of challenges that require increased focus on protecting machine identities. A new study carried out by Forrester for identity protection specialist Venafi shows 96 percent of companies believe that effective protection of both machine and human identities is equally important to the long-term security and viability of their companies. However, 80 percent of respondents admit to struggling with… [Continue Reading]

New technology moves AIOps out to the edge

Artificial intelligence for operations (AIOps) is gaining ground, allowing businesses to use AI and machine learning on big data from their devices and IT tools to find and address problems in real time. Pioneer in the field Moogsoft is launching a new tool that extends its core AIOps platform capabilities from centralized analytics outwards to the data source. Moogsoft Observe takes time-series and metrics data in real-time and applies AI to detect incidents at the source of the problem rather than exporting them to a central location for analysis. Observe stores only anomalous and contextual data, giving IT teams highly-advanced,… [Continue Reading]