Unpacking the influence of the IoT in travel

You cannot miss the signs of technological advancement in travel today. From mobile ticketing to biometric scanning at amusement parks, today’s business trips and family vacations look vastly different than in years past. Innovation has come just in time for the crowds -- Expedia Group reported a 40 percent increase in the number of people traveling for business and leisure since 2016, and this number is on track to grow in the coming years. Behind the scenes, one of the quiet workhorses of hospitality innovation has been the Internet of Things (IoT). Broad and flexible IoT coverage has already enabled… [Continue Reading]

4 reasons private equity firms should be concerned about digital transformation

Every business by now is familiar with the term 'digital transformation', and for good reason. When done right, digital transformation has the potential to revolutionize the customer experience; drive data-based insights; encourage collaboration across departments; increase agility and innovation; update skillsets and knowledge; consolidate processes and operations; and create incredible returns on investment. So why aren’t more people concerned about it? CapGemini found that only a quarter of executives rated digital transformation as a matter of survival, and a Forrester survey of 1,600 North American and European enterprises revealed that a quarter of companies are still investigating digital transformation --… [Continue Reading]

Mozilla COO contacts European Commission voicing concerns about Facebook's lack of ad transparency

Facebook has been no stranger to controversy and scandal over the years, but things have been particularly bad over the last twelve months. The latest troubles find Mozilla complaining to the European Commission about the social network's lack of transparency, particularly when it comes to political advertising. Mozilla's Chief Operating Officer, Denelle Dixon, has penned a missive to Mariya Gabriel, the European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society. She bemoans the fact that Facebook makes it impossible to conduct analysis of ads, and this in turn prevents Mozilla from offering full transparency to European citizens -- something it sees as… [Continue Reading]

Over 90 percent of organizations hit by targeted email attacks

Over the past year, business email compromise (BEC) scams have jumped by 60 percent. In addition more than 90 percent of organizations report being hit by targeted email attacks, with 23 percent suffering financial damage as a result. These findings come from the Q1 2019 Email Fraud and Identity Deception Trends report by secure email specialist Agari. The report shows that 96 percent of successful data breaches now begin with an email, and 20 percent of attacks come from compromised accounts. Brand impersonation remains the most common attack vector, used in 50 percent of advanced email attacks in the fourth… [Continue Reading]

Has your Harmony remote stopped working? Let's fix it

The Logitech Harmony remote is one of my favorite devices. It can control home theater equipment, and some can control home automation items like Nest products, lights and more. Sometimes though, the remote can experience funny problems, which can be annoying. Don’t let it scare you away, it’s generally not serious and it doesn’t happen very often. You can fix it, it's just a matter of troubleshooting. The most common problem tends to be that you accidentally screwed things up by hitting a wrong button, so that’s what we’re going to look to fix here. If the remote isn’t controlling… [Continue Reading]

CISOs must change their outlook or lose their jobs

Chief information security officers (CISOs) are now involved in 90 percent of significant business decisions, but just 25 percent of business executives see CISOs as proactively enabling digital transformation -- which is a key goal for 89 percent of organizations. These are among the findings of a new study by IDC sponsored by Capgemini  but which also shows 15 percent still believe information security is a blocker of innovation. At present, less than 25 percent of business executives think CISOs proactively enable digital transformation. To stay relevant, CISOs must become business enablers. They need to adopt business mindsets and push… [Continue Reading]

Mozilla has a new mobile web browsing experience for you to test: Reference Browser

Mozilla has launched a test version of a new mobile web browser -- sort of, anyway. Known as Reference Browser, Mozilla stresses that "this is NOT a new end product, it is a collection of parts". Described as a "technology preview", Reference Browser sees the company seeking feedback about various components which may or may not be used together in the future. It is looking for Android users to provide "input, telemetry and feedback and bug reports" to shape the future of mobile web browsing. See also: Mozilla confirms Firefox Screenshots is here to stay, although one key feature will… [Continue Reading]

Nintendo delays the launch of Mario Kart Tour for mobiles

Fans of Nintendo's Italian plumber and his racing antics have been keenly waiting for the launch of Mario Kart Tour, the mobile version of Mario Kart. There's some bad news: you're going to have to wait a little longer than expected. The game was previously planned for a March launch, but things have been very quiet from Nintendo. In its Q3 earnings report, the company revealed that the game has been pushed back to summer. Thankfully, Nintendo is talking about this summer, so there's still not too long to wait, but it will come as frustrating news to eager racers… [Continue Reading]

Microsoft opens up Skip Ahead so you can try early builds of Windows 10 19H2

The Windows 10 19H1 update may not yet have been released to the masses, but Microsoft is already hard at work on the update that will follow it, predictably codenamed Windows 10 19H2. If you're an eager beaver, you probably want to get your hands on this update as soon as possible, and Microsoft is giving you a way to do so. The company has opened up the Skip Ahead ring for Windows Insiders, and by signing up for this you can be among the first to try out Windows 10 19H2. See also: Most people are still avoiding the… [Continue Reading]

Google reveals the shutdown date for Google+ and when your data will be deleted

We've known for several weeks now that Google+ is to close down, and Google has even brought forward the shutdown date. Now the company has revealed details of the timeline for the closure. As of next week -- February 4 specifically -- it will no longer be possible to create a Google+ account, and commenting options will be removed in March. When April rolls around, Google+ will not only close down, but data associated with consumer accounts will start to be deleted. See also: Google+ to close down earlier than planned after another data leak is discovered After failing to… [Continue Reading]

Google brings YouTube Music to Sonos

If you don't have an account with a streaming music service these days, you simply aren't living your life right. Look, I don't care which service you choose -- Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, or something else -- it is foolish to buy and download songs. If you are still buying CDs, you are probably beyond hope, but I digress. Streaming music is simply the best value in entertainment. For a small monthly fee, you get access to more music than you can possibly listen to in a single lifetime. YouTube Music is yet another streaming music service, although it is… [Continue Reading]

The elements of cybersecurity hygiene and secure networks - Part 3

While it’s essential that employees consistently avoid taking risks that could lead to a data breach, even top-performing employees don’t necessarily have top-notch cybersecurity knowledge. Thus, organizations are in charge of bridging the cybersecurity skill gap to keep employees from damaging the company’s network by accidentally uploading of a malicious program or sharing confidential documents with the wrong people. Though it’s easy for IT and leadership teams to put systems in place that defend their network from external threats, well-intentioned internal users can be a hackers easy way in. The only way for organizations to counter this is with education… [Continue Reading]

Bluetooth 5.1 knows where you are -- down to the centimeter -- and which way you're facing

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has revealed some new features of Bluetooth 5.1, and there's a lot to get excited about. While Bluetooth is perhaps most readily associated with connecting peripherals, there is so much more to it than that thanks to the addition of a direction-finding feature. Used in conjunction with real-time locating systems (RTLS) and indoor positioning systems (IPS), Bluetooth 5.1 promises, among other things, improved tracking of devices, and better indoor navigation tools. See also: Jaybird announces durable RUN XT True Wireless Bluetooth Sport Headphones Fortnite update brings support for external controllers to iOS and Android… [Continue Reading]

New context sensitive tool helps businesses comply with data protection

The introduction of new regulatory and privacy laws around the world is forcing companies to become more aware of the personal customer info they are holding, but it can be hard to identify sensitive information. AI-based compliance platform Cognigo is launching a new data protection capability that can differentiate between sensitive and non-sensitive data based on language context. NLP Contextualization collects, extracts, and labels data across all data storage silos whether stored on premises or in the cloud. It then analyzes the context of terms that may relate to specific persons in the sentence to determine whether or not sensitive… [Continue Reading]

Time's up! Microsoft is flipping the IE 10 kill switch in 2020

Microsoft has been trying to encourage users away from Windows 7 for a while now, with support officially ending next year. But it's not just the operating system that is reaching the end of the line; Microsoft is also warning the remaining Internet Explorer 10 users that support ends in 2020, advising that it is time to migrate to Internet Explorer 11. In a warning posted on its IT Pro Blog, Microsoft says that after January 2020, Internet Explorer 10 will no longer be supported. The company states, quite definitively, that it will "not release any security or non-security updates,… [Continue Reading]

Facebook has been paying people to install a VPN that harvests data about them

An investigation has revealed that Facebook has been paying people aged between 13 and 35 to install a data harvesting VPN tool. The "Facebook Research" VPN was offered to iOS and Android users who were paid up to $20 per month -- plus referral commissions -- to provide the social network with near-unfettered access to phone, app and web usage data (a Root Certificate is installed to give a terrifying level of access). As news of the activity came to light, Facebook has announced that the program (sometimes referred to as Project Atlas) is being terminated on iOS, but it… [Continue Reading]

Jaybird announces durable RUN XT True Wireless Bluetooth Sport Headphones

Exercising sucks. I mean, it is great for physical fitness, but let's be honest -- it can be a real chore. If it wasn't, there'd be far fewer overweight people in the world. Sure, laziness is part of it, but also, people are working more and more hours each week nowadays, making it hard to find the energy needed to get in shape. Of course, a great way to forget about the tediousness of exercise is a helpful distraction -- music. Yes, whether walking, running, or using a piece of equipment, listening to you favorite tunes can make working out… [Continue Reading]