sincity

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/Watches/Pebble/pebble_watch3-470-75.jpgWith the long-awaited Apple Watch now expected in April and pretty much everyone else in the tech business throwing out new smartwatch models like T-shirt cannons at a sporting event, the company that helped start the craze appears to be gearing up for phase three. The official Pebble website has been taken over by a timer on Thursday morning, which is gradually counting down until the calendar flips a page to Tuesday, February 24 at exactly 10AM Eastern standard time (EST). So what should Pebble fans expect? A recent interview with Pebble CEO Eric Migicovsky earlier this month teased both new hardware and software this year, complete with a new framework to better interact with smartphones. The countdown teaser displays a happy face on a first-generation blue Pebble display, which doesn't offer many clues, unless you jump to the conclusion that existing devices may wind up receiving a few cool new features. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/Watches/Pebble/Pebble_coundtdown_timer-420-90.jpg Time will tellAccording to little birdies singing in the ears of 9to5Mac today, there could be any number of items on Pebble's roadmap, including a new watch said to be "slightly wider" with a "color, e-paper-like display... encased in an overall thinner design." While the rumored new model will reportedly offer similar battery life to the current Pebble and Pebble Steel models, the company could integrate a microphone and possibly even sensors for a heart rate monitor, an option that's increasingly popular with competitors. One thing not expected to arrive on the next model is a touchscreen, although Pebble may make up for that by offering a "dramatically different" operating system said to be redesigned from the ground up. It's hard to know for sure how much (or how little) of these leaks Pebble plans to announce come next Tuesday, but we'll be sure to bring you all of the news as it happens. http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/43907fbc/sc/5/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218612012322/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/43907fbc/sc/5/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218612012322/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/43907fbc/sc/5/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218612012322/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/43907fbc/sc/5/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218612012322/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/43907fbc/sc/5/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/218612012322/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/43907fbc/sc/5/a2t.img

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/software/Windows/windows-xp-cracked-470-75.jpgLast year there was a great deal of focus on Windows XP, as businesses sought ways to move away from the ageing operating system before the April end-of-support deadline. Stories of long, overrunning migration projects were commonplace. What's more, businesses faced significant cost penalties if they failed to migrate before the deadline. The NHS alone was forced to spend an eye-watering £5.5 million (around $8.5 million, AU$10.9 million) to extend its support for another year. Yet despite the clear need for rapid migration, two months after the April 2014 deadline, over one-third of UK and US organisations either hadn't started migrating or were still in the process of doing so (according to research our company commissioned last year). Many businesses simply couldn't make the deadline. We're still facing the same problemNow the next big deadline, the end of Custom Support in April 2015, is looming close on the horizon. This poses a problem for many organisations as our research shows that an operating system migration takes, on average, five months (with many taking longer). In other words, you likely need to have started before now… The simple truth is that businesses must find a way to radically cut down their migration time. There is also a need to find a way to deal with the accelerating pace of OS migrations in general. Windows 10 was announced at a time when most businesses had not even migrated to Windows 7 or 8 and this trend is likely to continue, making migration a 'business as usual' consideration, rather than a one-off project. What's the problem with current migration methods?Put simply, most enterprises simply aren't set up to handle migrations as effectively as they could be. Many issues occur right at the beginning of the process. Too many businesses fail to take stock of the applications they have, which ones they need, and which ones can be removed. They therefore spend an undue amount of time migrating redundant applications as part of the process, leading to unnecessary timescale and budget overruns. Another problem is an excessive reliance on manual intervention during the migration process itself. Many businesses still adhere to lengthy manual OS migration approaches, sending workers to computers with install disks in hand. Others rely on physical mail-outs of install disks (which can take months to coordinate), or even shipping machines elsewhere to be upgraded. Even in cases where the intention has been to handle migration and distribution over-the-network, businesses have run into 'gotchas', often around build processes, that have eaten up time and budget through an unacceptable number of manual interventions. What's more, these processes are often disruptive to 'business as usual', committing the cardinal sin of disrupting the user. The benefits of zero-touchZero-touch is a deployment approach that has been proven to accelerate, automate and reduce risks for large-scale Windows migrations. It places emphasis on high-level automation and optimisation of software distribution. Typically, in a zero-touch migration, full automation of migration on 90% of machines is aimed for. This can bring cost and timescales down by an order of magnitude. The process also focuses on causing minimum disruption to the user and organisation. Migrations with some of the UK's largest companies have shown this approach is more than four times faster than competing methods. In fact, it has proven to be the fastest migration process in the industry, having overseen the migration of as many as 30,000 PCs in a single month. Another benefit of zero-touch comes in terms of staff utilisation. Even in the 10% of cases where PCs require a desk-side visit, it's unlikely that a technician will have to walk through the entire installation process. Most of the time only partial manual processes need to be implemented, freeing up the IT team for more useful tasks. As a process, zero-touch can also help users. Rather than being forced to adhere to the IT department's schedule, users can schedule upgrades themselves at a time which suits them (with upgrades often scheduled to apply themselves automatically outside of working hours). If users feel the IT team considers the potential impact on their working day, and that their needs are acknowledged, they'll be more sold on the migration process. But the ultimate argument comes down to cost. Gartner has previously stated that the cost of migrating a single XP machine will generally be between $1,205 (around £780, AU$1,550) and $2,069 (around £1,340, AU$2,660). Zero-touch migration brings this down to only $8.50 (around £5.50, AU$10.90). Eight steps to ensure your business is successful with a late-stage OS migrationWhat should you do?Before embarking on a zero-touch migration, the business will obviously need to establish objectives, budgets and timeframes, and run basic hygiene tests on infrastructure. You'll also benefit from engaging with a specialist. Generally, the amount of time and money a clean migration will save will more than pay for itself. In practical terms, the pieces you'll need in place for a highly automated migration are SCCM, as well as an app survey tool that is fully automated and does not use agents. The business will also need a system for mapping legacy apps to more recent equivalent app versions, and a method of efficient network deployment. Critically, establishing a process for zero-touch migration should not be seen as a one-off reaction to individual migration projects. Rather, it should be viewed as a way to create best practice going forward, future-proofing against rapidly accelerating OS releases and providing a highly effective route to continually review and optimise the way that you manage applications, software and systems. Ambareesh Kulkarni is Vice President of Professional Services at 1Ehttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/438fa4c9/sc/4/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218612027668/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438fa4c9/sc/4/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218612027668/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438fa4c9/sc/4/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218612027668/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438fa4c9/sc/4/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218612027668/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438fa4c9/sc/4/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/218612027668/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438fa4c9/sc/4/a2t.img

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/logos/lenovo-fish-470-75.JPGIntroductionLenovo hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons this week: the world's biggest PC manufacturer has been accused of installing malware on its PCs. The software, called Superfish, appears to be intercepting internet traffic to inject third-party advertising – and in doing so, it makes affected laptops vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks, even if the software has been uninstalled. That isn't just dangerous to users – it's dangerous to Lenovo's reputation too. Lenovo has now acted and suspended installations of Superfish on new PCs, but it's been shipping affected hardware for months. What is bloatware, and why should you care?Bloatware used to mean software that was poorly made or designed, but it has also come to mean unnecessary software that's been pre-installed by the hardware manufacturer. A device driver or a manufacturer-branded utility for controlling a graphics card isn't usually bloatware, but a price checking toolbar or a "visual search engine" usually is. The Lenovo case is unusual because bloatware is not normally malicious. The most common kind of bloatware is a trial or a "lite" version of a paid-for product, which is installed in the hope that consumers will then upgrade. However, some bloatware is adware (software that adds advertising to your web browsing or everyday computing) or spyware (software that monitors what you do and sends details to a third-party, such as a marketer). Even if the unwanted software is entirely benign it takes up space and can make a significant difference to your PC's performance. Don't just take our word for it: take Microsoft's. To promote its $99 (around £64, AU$127) bloat-free PC service, Signature, it said that the six Signature PCs it tested entered sleep 23.1% faster, started up 39.6% faster, and resumed 51.3% faster than otherwise identical "cluttered, trialware-filled, slower-than-should-be" laptops. Microsoft has since removed those claims from the web, presumably because it made its bloatware-bundling OEM customers unhappy. Why bloatware is bad for businessThis week we discovered that Sony is considering hiving off its smartphone business. Bloatware is partly to blame: Sony made excellent hardware, stuffed it with bloatware and watched rival firms snap up most of the market. One of those rivals is Apple, whose computers are also famously free of bloatware, and the other is Samsung, whose imminent Galaxy S6 smartphones will apparently ship without the relatively innocuous bloatware that has nevertheless been implicated in the less than stellar sales of the Galaxy S5. Given that consumers hate it, and it makes otherwise speedy PCs sluggish, bloatware is clearly a bad idea. So why on Earth do manufacturers persist in installing bloatware? The answer, of course, is money. It's all about the cashCritics of bloatware often point to Apple's bloatware-free and sticker-free PCs, but it's easy to keep your PCs pure when you have a gross margin of 39.9%. That's inflated somewhat by the massive margins on smartphones and tablets, but analysts suggest the margin on Macs is still somewhere around 18.9%. Windows PCs sell for much less money and with much lower margins: according to The Guardian, the weighted per-PC profit of the five biggest PC manufacturers (HP, Dell, Lenovo, Acer and Asus) fell from $15.71 (around £10.20, AU$20.20) in 2010 to $14.87 (around £9.60, AU$19.10) in 2013, and the same report notes that Acer may have made a loss on almost every PC it sold from late 2011 to late 2013, with its best ever profit margin raking in a massive $1.13 (around £0.75, AU$1.45) per PC. In the same period, Apple's per-PC profit was between $230 and $240 (around £155, AU$310). The problem is particularly pronounced with consumer products. Firms such as Dell can operate with low margins because they have other products and services to sell to businesses, usually at much higher margins. That doesn't happen in the consumer market, which is almost entirely price driven. There's every chance the person you're selling to today bought from a different firm last time and will buy from a different firm next time. In those circumstances, a software firm offering to double your profit margin if you pre-install their program sounds like the kind of offer you can't refuse, and many manufacturers don't. They call it adding value, but that's just marketing nonsense: with very few exceptions the only value bloatware really adds is to the manufacturer's profit and loss account. If apps such as Superfish were so valuable, we'd seek them out and install them ourselves. Beat the bloatwareBloatware is likely to be around for the foreseeable future, but that doesn't mean you have to put up with it. If you don't buy solely on price and you look for business-oriented machines you're likely to avoid the worst excesses (and of course many business users will roll out images to their computers containing only the applications they want). Furthermore, if time is money then you might consider shelling out the extra dough for the Signature edition of your chosen device (if there's one available) or buying a Surface, because Microsoft doesn't put bloatware on its own machines. Failing that, tools such as the PC Decrapifier do exactly what the name suggests, automating something that's relatively simple but fairly time consuming, or you could reinstall Windows from scratch (a full installation, not a reset or refresh: OEMs can customise the images Windows uses for those in Windows 8). In the long-term we'd like to see Microsoft do with Windows what Google has done with Android – that is, crack down on what OEMs can do to change the default experience. It could do so via the OEM license agreement and financial incentives: for example, Windows 8.1 licenses are currently discounted for OEMs who agree to set Bing as the default search engine, and free if the devices are also below a certain size and price. The same approach could work perfectly well with Microsoft offering discounts dependent on a no-bloatware clause, or by adding such a clause to the existing criteria. Windows of opportunityThat may happen with Windows 10, which is widely expected to adopt a freemium business model. That could mean ultra-cheap Windows machines running free Windows, possibly with all the unpleasantness we're familiar with, and slightly more expensive paid-Windows machines that are blissfully free of bloatware and which run as their engineers, not their accountants, intended. Satya Nadella says Microsoft wants users to love Windows 10. Banishing the bloatware would certainly make that a lot more likely. http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/438f2e83/sc/4/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611916189/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438f2e83/sc/4/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611916189/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438f2e83/sc/4/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611916189/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438f2e83/sc/4/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611916189/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438f2e83/sc/4/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/218611916189/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438f2e83/sc/4/a2t.img

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/TRBCNews/Office365-branded-signin-470-75.jpgOffice 365 users have been spoiled lately and Microsoft has kept up the steady flurry of enhancements by adding three new identity and access management features. A blog post first explained that company branding can now be added to the sign in page and access panel where they were originally only available for customers with an Azure Active Directory (AD) Basic, AD Premium, or Enterprise Mobility Suite subscription. Users logging in to select a software as a service (SaaS) will now be met by customised branding on both the Office 365 and Access Panel sign in pages with enterprises able to personalise the text, colour and images. Once logged in there is also the chance to continue this branding with custom text, colour and images. Microsoft taking enterprise seriouslyThe third new feature adds self-service password resets for cloud users and it does exactly what it says on the tin by utilising preconfigured personal information to allow users to recover their password without involving the system administrator. Microsoft is taking its enterprise cloud commitments very seriously as part of its roadmap for the future and the latest enhancements come just a day after it adopted an international standard for protecting personal data stored in the cloud. Via: Microsoft Why Microsoft has a tall order with Windows 10 in the enterprise spacehttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/438f2e8b/sc/4/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611916188/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438f2e8b/sc/4/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611916188/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438f2e8b/sc/4/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611916188/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438f2e8b/sc/4/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611916188/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438f2e8b/sc/4/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/218611916188/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438f2e8b/sc/4/a2t.img

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/TRBC/Software/cms-470-75.jpgLargely driven by the rise of cloud computing, data security issues are now a definite concern when it comes to business executives. Conversations about firewalls, disaster recovery plans and resilient infrastructures have become commonplace for the C-suite, but what many organisations do not realise is that there is a bigger threat to their data security: the insider data breach. From disgruntled ex-employees to a forgetful executive leaving a memory stick in a hotel room, research shows that there are now more concerns about protecting data from inside the firewall than from outside. So what can be done to ward against these impending challenges? Securing the perimeterMuch of the conversation about data security, particularly with the rise of cloud computing, is focused on 'perimeter security'. This type of security involves making sure that intruders cannot get into any IT infrastructure and how to recover if such a breach does occur. Hardware vendors do a fantastic job of delivering secure routers, firewalls and the like to cover these risks and, from a software perspective, antivirus and malware detection tools add a secondary level of protection against such intrusions. But all of these options consider the threat to be coming from outside of the organisational boundaries – what happens if the threat is already inside the building? The real issueResearch from the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) highlights that only 34% of organisations see external hacking and malware/viruses as the most likely source of a security breach. The main concern is now coming from inside the business, with over half (53%) viewing unauthorised access by staff as the biggest issue. On a positive note, this stat suggests that perimeter security is working well. However, it also serves as a sobering notice that something needs to be done to manage internal security. Excusing the inadvertent or accidental loss of data by staff (which AIIM claims is the major concern for just 5% of organisations), the issue is predominantly that employees can gain unauthorised access to enterprise content. Simply put, they are getting into something or someplace they should not be. The rise of using a network shared drive to store content may well be contributing toward this concern with users unaware that other staff members can access their files via this route. So what can an organisation do to stop users from accessing things they should not? Inside coverageTo complement perimeter security, a measured approach to managing internal information security is required. This is an area that enterprise content management (ECM) tools and techniques, increasingly known collectively as information governance, can help with. An ECM solution is designed to manage an organisation's information and business processing assets – storing, indexing and serving content to users, but it's also responsible for securing that same content. Within an ECM solution, all content is governed by access controls – all documents, folders, views, or whatever mechanism is used to group content will have permission levels for each user, user group, and user role. This serves as the basic level of information governance and control. In simple terms, unless you have the key to the filing cabinet, you cannot get in. However, sometimes users leave those virtual keys on their desk, by forgetting to log themselves out of their PC, for example – how can any system protect against that? Modern ECM solutions include advanced capabilities that go beyond basic document permissions management. Using comprehensive audit trails and proactive reporting techniques, organisations can track things like irregular usage patterns, out-of-hours access, or anything that could constitute dubious activity. For example, a user remotely downloading several documents at 11pm on a Friday night could be seen as a potential breach. By utilising automated workflow tools (another key feature of a good ECM solution), the system can lock that user account – immediately protecting the corporate assets without any human interaction at all. Of course, the user would be alerted to why they have been locked out, and could contact an administrator to unlock their account if a genuine reason exists. This combination of simple audit trail technology and reporting capabilities enables a significant level of proactive analysis and security control, providing the organisation with a strong degree of confidence that their content is secure. Total security?Will any organisation ever be able to completely stop insider data breaches? Not in my opinion, but perimeter controls are never 100% guaranteed either. However, being able to spot issues and potential breaches as soon as possible, even while they are happening in some instances, is a major weapon in the security arsenal of any modern business. Proactive inside security should be a topic of discussion for the C-suite today, before a problem exists, and not tomorrow when it could be too late. ECM solutions deliver a proven mechanism to achieve this much-needed internal control, enabling organisations to focus on getting the best out of their employees and content, not peering over their shoulders wondering if they are looking at something they should not. David Jones is cloud solution marketing manager of Hyland, creator of OnBasehttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/438d318c/sc/4/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218612027103/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438d318c/sc/4/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218612027103/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438d318c/sc/4/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218612027103/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438d318c/sc/4/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218612027103/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438d318c/sc/4/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/218612027103/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438d318c/sc/4/a2t.img

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/TRBC/office_365-470-75.jpgMicrosoft has released a new set of guidelines to its Office 365 customers on how they can configure encryption to protect sensitive data as well as updates on when they will be available to mobile customers. A blog post explained that Office 365 encryption is used in two major ways by Microsoft with one implemented in the service itself and the second way giving Office 365 customers control over how it works. Customer have three primary encryption controls that are Office 365 Message Encryption, Information Rights Management (IRM) and S/MIME, which can all be adapted to meet the requirements of specific companies. Office 365 Message Encryption allows messages sent to external recipients to be protected and they require a Microsoft account of unique password to open the file, and Microsoft also confirmed that there are now apps in the Google Play and iOS App Store to allow them to be viewed on mobile devices. Shipping with Windows 10Companies using IRM can encrypt information within the organisation so that only specific people can read certain messages or access information. S/MIME, meanwhile, is a peer-to-peer encryption control that means only the two people involved in the exchange can view the data. Microsoft plans to deliver enhancements to Message Encryption in Q2 2015 with message expiration, message renovation and user triggered encryption all on the way. IRM will also be expanded to other platforms with Office for iOS, Mac, and Android all seeing it arrive this year, and it will be a part of Windows 10 straight out of the box. Via: Microsoft Microsoft Office 365 reviewhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/438d3197/sc/4/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218612027102/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438d3197/sc/4/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218612027102/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438d3197/sc/4/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218612027102/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438d3197/sc/4/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218612027102/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438d3197/sc/4/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/218612027102/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438d3197/sc/4/a2t.img

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/software/Windows/windows_logo-470-75.jpgEnterprises that want to continue using Windows XP face a hike in the price of support as Microsoft continues to try to persuade companies to leave it behind in favour of a newer model. A licensing expert, who spoke to Computerworld on the condition of anonymity, explained that the per-PC price for Microsoft's custom support agreements (CSAs) for XP will rocket to $400 (around £259, or AU$511) for any enterprise looking to carry on with support. Companies that sign CSAs benefit from critical security updates for the OS that was officially retired on April 8, 2014 and the agreements are devised on a firm-by-firm basis. It's also a stipulation that any company signing up must take out the top-tier support plan known as Premier Support. XP remains on 15 percent of PCsThe original Windows XP CSAs cost $200 (around £129, or AU$255) per PC with a $250,000 (around £161,899, or AU$319,715) cap and the same expert reports firms that have slashed the OS usage in half in the first year will continue to enjoy support at the same price. Many organisations, including the UK government, still rely on Windows XP and figures from IT security company Secunia showed that around 15.17 percent of the world's computers are still running Windows XP. Via: Computerworld End of support for Windows XP: what are the options?http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/438c9a14/sc/15/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611905954/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438c9a14/sc/15/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611905954/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438c9a14/sc/15/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611905954/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438c9a14/sc/15/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611905954/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438c9a14/sc/15/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/218611905954/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438c9a14/sc/15/a2t.img

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/logos/lenovo-fish-470-75.JPGLenovo will be feeling green around the gills following reports of fishy activity taking place on its consumer laptops. According to posts by users on the company's forum, adware called Superfish has been caught hijacking browsers to inject third-party ads on Google searches and websites without permission. It apparently does so using self-signed certificates to fool browsers into displaying them. One forum user claimed that the program had intercepted a web connection to their bank, potentially allowing Superfish to collect data without question. Another, who pledged to return his lurgy-riggen laptop after discovering the adware, described it as, "A blatant man-in-the-middle attack breaking any privacy laws." Scaling backIn reply to the growing number of posts from disgruntled users, Lenovo administrator Mark Hopkins replied in a separate thread to confirm that Lenovo has removed Superfish from its consumer laptops. The company has also requested that the developer issues a patch to plug the security snafu. He wrote: "Due to some issues (browser pop up behavior for example), with the Superfish Visual Discovery browser add-on, we have temporarily removed Superfish from our consumer systems until such time as Superfish is able to provide a software build that addresses these issues. "As for units already in market, we have requested that Superfish auto-update a fix that addresses these issues." It's unknown how many Lenovo laptops containing the software are still on the market. In a statement to TechRadar, Lenovo confirmed that it is still investigating cases related to Superfish. It said: "Lenovo removed Superfish from the preloads of new consumer systems in January 2015. At the same time Superfish disabled existing Lenovo machines in market from activating Superfish. Superfish was preloaded onto a select number of consumer models only. Lenovo is thoroughly investigating all and any new concerns raised regarding Superfish." What's the best antivirus software in 2015?http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/438c250e/sc/4/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/219133250990/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438c250e/sc/4/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/219133250990/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438c250e/sc/4/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/219133250990/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438c250e/sc/4/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/219133250990/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438c250e/sc/4/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/219133250990/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438c250e/sc/4/a2t.img

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/TRBC/bitdefender-people-working-470-75.jpgTechRadar Pro has partnered with security outfit, Bitdefender, to offer free 9-month licenses of its award winning Total Security 2015 security package to all our readers, regardless of their location. The deal, which has been struck exclusively with Bitdefender, is worth up to £45 (about $70/AU$90) and can be used on up to three computers. You can decide to stick to Bitdefender or upgrade after your trial version has ended at a discount. To get your hands on that license, you need to answer three simple multiple choice questions and subscribe to the TechRadar Pro newsletter. The offer will end on the 23rd of February 2015 at 23:59. If you fill in the form after that cut-off time, you won't get your free license unfortunately. Your email will only be used to disseminate the trial version of the software and for the TechRadar Pro newsletter registration. Bitdefender might ask you to provide with more details separately and it's up to you to decide whether or not you would like to do so. To get your license, please complete the survey here. You should get a code before the end of the month. Note that existing TechRadar Pro newsletter subscribers can also apply for a code. http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4388e064/sc/4/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611978518/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4388e064/sc/4/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611978518/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4388e064/sc/4/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611978518/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4388e064/sc/4/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611978518/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4388e064/sc/4/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/218611978518/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4388e064/sc/4/a2t.img

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/car%20tech/Apple%20car/car_going_fast-470-75.jpgIn case you haven't heard, Apple may or may not toiling away on a smart electric car - but at least one industry executive thinks it could wind up being a fool's errand, and is offering some free advice on the subject. Bloomberg today added fuel to ongoing rumors that Apple may be secretly working on its own electric automobile, with a retired industry veteran weighing in on some of the challenges the iPhone maker could face. Former General Motors Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson cited the "low-margin, heavy-manufacturing" aspect of the auto business as a key reason for Apple shareholders to be wary of such plans, despite a spike in the company's shares yesterday after the news first broke. "They'd better think carefully if they want to get into the hard-core manufacturing. We take steel, raw steel, and turn it into car. They have no idea what they're getting into if they get into that," Akerson remarked. Stick to the dashboardThe former CEO sounds envious of Apple's lucrative profit margins after selling 74.5 million iPhones during the last quarter alone, but cautions the company's long-term prospects for success should give shareholders pause. "A lot of people who don't ever operate in it don't understand and have a tendency to underestimate" the regulatory and safety requirements imposed upon the automotive industry, Akerson added. Akerson feels Apple would have a far better chance partnering with existing automakers with products like CarPlay, citing infotainment systems as one area the executive would have gladly turned over to Apple during his days at GM. The 66-year-old GM veteran stepped down from the Detroit automaker last year, but during his four-year tenure, he expanded the company's electric car offerings, while focusing more on in-car technology like wireless broadband. http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4386e887/sc/1/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611990087/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4386e887/sc/1/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611990087/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4386e887/sc/1/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611990087/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4386e887/sc/1/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611990087/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4386e887/sc/1/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/218611990087/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4386e887/sc/1/a2t.img

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/TRBC/officeforipad-470-75.jpgMicrosoft has opened up the back-end of its Office for iOS and Office Online apps to allow third-party cloud storage providers to integrate their services with the productivity suite. Box, Citrix and Salesforce are inaugural members of the Microsoft Cloud Storage Partner Program meaning Office for iPhone and iPad users can open, edit and save previously created documents to the respective cloud storage services right away with support for Office Online to follow. Apple's iCloud storage service was added to the Office for iOS apps just yesterday and it means there are other options beyond OneDrive available to users, however, newly created documents can still only be saved to OneDrive, OneDrive for Business and DropBox. Office to remain number oneKirk Koenigsbauer, corporate vice president for the Office team, explained that the decision has been made as they "want Office to be the preferred way to work with documents no matter where they're stored". It means that Office for iOS and Office Online users can both save and edit documents for free by creating a new Microsoft account with a range of transactions within the app itself allowing you to upgrade to a full Office 365 subscription that starts at £5.99 ($6.99, or AU$9.00) per month for one PC, one tablet and one smartphone plus 1TB of storage. Via: Microsoft Hands on: Office for iPad reviewhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/438655f9/sc/15/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611880058/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438655f9/sc/15/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611880058/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438655f9/sc/15/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611880058/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438655f9/sc/15/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611880058/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438655f9/sc/15/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/218611880058/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/438655f9/sc/15/a2t.img

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/TRBC/Buildings/IBM/IBMhq-470-75.jpgSoftware licencing jargon used by the different software vendors makes up some of the most complex and potentially confusing terminology to have emerged from the technology industry. As one of the biggest vendors of all, IBM creates more than its fair share of confusion amongst enterprises and has developed some of the most complex software licencing metrics and compliance requirements. It is essential to be on top of IBM's licencing jargon because its software is so prevalent in the data centre (and everywhere else). So what are the key terms and acronyms that anyone charged with managing IBM software needs to know about? 1. PVU – Processor Value UnitThis metric underpins IBM's licencing methodology and gives a 'weight' to the underlying processor technology where IBM software is installed. PVU values are published in IBM's PVU table and range from 30 to 120 PVUs per Core, which then need to be multiplied with the number of Processor Cores available to the application being licenced. Essentially the more powerful the processor technology in use, the higher the licencing costs become. PVU calculations can be done in both full-capacity and sub-capacity conditions. Here, full-capacity relates to the available Processor Cores in the physical environment and sub-capacity licencing relates to the Virtual Cores available to the product, provided that the sum of the sub-capacity PVU values do not exceed the corresponding full-capacity calculation per machine. For sub-capacity licencing to be an option, it requires an eligible product, eligible virtualisation technology and eligible processor technology; but most importantly the deployment of the IBM Licence Metric Tool (or TAD4D – Tivoli Asset Discovery for Distributed). 2. ILMT – IBM Licence Metric ToolThis is a software discovery tool, designed specifically by IBM for sub-capacity pricing purposes, because it is an IBM requirement to be sub-capacity eligible (exceptions exist but typically don't apply). Through agent installs, ILMT is able to collect hardware and software details of installed IBM PVU (Processor Value Unit) and RVU (Resource Value Unit) products in order to calculate the corresponding licence requirements. IBM customers are required to generate ILMT reports at least once per quarter for a period of not less than two years. According to IBM, ILMT needs to be installed and configured within 90 days of the first eligible sub-capacity product deployment. Using a SAM platform it is possible to automatically import PVU values from ILMT into the licence management console. ILMT reports can be automatically generated and the PVU values associated to respective machines, per product and per version. PVU deployments across the data centre can be mapped to IBM licence entitlements to quickly identify compliance risks and opportunities to save costs. 3. LPAR – Logical PartitionThis is IBM's version of virtual machines. A logical partition (LPAR) is the division of a computer's processors, memory and storage into multiple sets of resources, so that each set of resources can be operated independently with its own operating system instance and applications. Each partition can communicate with the other partitions as if the other partition is in a separate machine. Logical partitioning was first studied by IBM in 1976. From a licencing perspective LPARs bring an additional level of complexity since they can have dedicated or shared resources and are often grouped into Shared Pools. This brings an additional level of licence capping into play and has an impact on the licence calculation methodology for many IBM and Oracle products. 4. IPAA – International Passport Advantage AgreementPassport Advantage is IBM's program for combined software licence acquisition, Software Subscription and Support, IBM Appliances and IBM SaaS subscriptions. It is designed for larger enterprises that may have multiple sites and relates to the RSVP level (Relationship Suggested Volume Price). It also entails the different obligations and rights that are agreed, impacting the purchased software and relating conditions, restrictions, exceptions and obligations. For smaller organisations, IBM offers Passport Advantage Express. 5. IPLA – International Program Licence AgreementThis is the standard agreement that IBM customers accept when they download, install, or purchase any IBM product, and applies to warranted IBM programs. A list of IBM's IPLA family of licence agreements and program licence information documents can be found here. This page contains the Licence Information for virtually every IBM product and the many specifics that deviate per version. It is regarded as a 'Bible' for any Software Asset Manager requiring insight into specific IBM product licencing conditions. A SAM platform will enable an organisation to identify both the exact flavour and version of installed IBM products as well as recognise bundles and highlight potential upgrade and downgrade paths. In addition, virtually all existing IBM metrics and products can be tailored through custom compare values in order to ensure that the IBM software portfolio is fully managed as a single solution and compared against software entitlements. Although IBM's software licencing may appear complex initially, the principles are not too difficult to grasp. The real challenge lies in applying IBM's licencing theory into a real-world scenario, where you need to understand the exact PVU of a given device and calculate the licencing requirement (and cost) for a particular application. This requires high levels of skill and manual calculation. Using a SAM platform simplifies the task by offering the ability to import PVU values (plus other audit metrics) from the ILMT solution (see above). In turn, managing licence requirements for IBM sub-capacity speeds up the process of calculating the Effective Licensing Position (ELP) and also consolidates the SAM process into a single console, so that IBM licensing can be managed alongside other major vendors like Microsoft, Adobe, Oracle and so forth. Ruben Claes is a SAM Consultant at Snow Software and specialises in IBM software licensinghttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/43865604/sc/46/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611880057/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/43865604/sc/46/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611880057/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/43865604/sc/46/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611880057/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/43865604/sc/46/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611880057/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/43865604/sc/46/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/218611880057/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/43865604/sc/46/a2t.img

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/DOWNLOADS/video/Kodi/Kodi-1-470-75.jpgManaging all of your media files alongside online sources for easy access is tricky at the best of times, but thanks to Kodi that never has to be a problem again. Why you need itWhile you might be happy enough to flit between Windows Media Player and sites such as BBC iPlayer it is a lot more helpful to have it all under one roof, which is where Kodi comes into its own. Known as XBMC up until last year, Kodi has an easy-on-the-eye interface that categorises your content as either pictures, video, audio, programs and can even be loaded with a PVR to record live TV. It doesn't end there, with various add-ons available to allow users to customise the program by adding news feeds from their favourite sites, weather from different locations and even sports scores for favourite teams. Searching online also reveals hundreds of video repositories for online video sites such as YouTube, the Guardian, Vimeo, ITV Player, 4oD, and more are added on an almost hourly basis. Anyone worried that quality will be lost by using a third-party service need not be concerned as any pictures will be the same as when they were taken, songs come in at the exact bitrate they were ripped at and videos retain their quality. You can go even further than simply using it as a media centre on your PC by hooking your machine up to a TV through the HDMI port and then using Kodi as your home's central media source. Put simply Kodi is probably the only media player you'll ever need for your PC and entire home. Key FeaturesWorks on: PC and OS X. Versions: Free Organise your favourites: Whether it's pictures from your latest holiday, videos on YouTube or a selection of tunes from your hard drive, they can all be displayed on the home screen by using the add to home screen button in skin settings. HD quality streaming: Online streams are offered at the exact the same level as on the website that hosts them meaning that episodes of EastEnders or Match of the Day will be in crystal-clear HD at all times. Add-ons: Kodi comes into its own in the add-ons department with plenty of ways to watch content from the world's biggest media producers in addition to hundreds of user created add-ons offering absolutely anything you can possibly think of. The best media player for performance 2014http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4384ed62/sc/4/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611963933/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4384ed62/sc/4/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611963933/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4384ed62/sc/4/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611963933/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4384ed62/sc/4/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611963933/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4384ed62/sc/4/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/218611963933/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4384ed62/sc/4/a2t.img

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/gaming_accessories/Samsung%20GearVR/Gear%20VR%20review/DSCF6808-470-75.jpgVirtual reality products continue to make headlines, but it's anyone's guess who will eventually dominate the market - but armed with a stack of new patents, Apple is showing a renewed interest in this space. Patently Apple reported Tuesday that Apple has been granted another 41 patents published today by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and one of them in particular appears targeted directly at virtual reality (VR) rivals Google and Samsung. First filed in 2008 and credited to inventor Quin Hoellwarth, patent number 8,957,835 describes a "video headset frame" which works in tandem with an iPhone or iPod to supply video and audio content. It's probably not much of a coincidence this headset sounds a lot like the Samsung Gear VR, which uses a compatible Galaxy smartphone attached to the front and beams virtual reality entertainment to the wearer. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/gaming_accessories/Apple/Apple_VR_patent_iPhone-420-90.jpg Line of sightIn addition to just broadcasting iOS-based picture and sound to the headset, Apple's patent also describes a picture-in-picture (PIP) feature, which can be used to keep an eye on the real world around you while wearing the device. Judging from the patent details, Apple plans to incorporate some amount of tactile physical controls on the headset itself, but is also leaving the door open for other options, such as Siri voice control. The headset patent also elaborates on "advanced haptics" located within the earplugs, which can be used to enhance sound effects and music from the movie content being viewed. Apple's video headset ambitions date back to at least 2008, but the iPhone maker has been relatively quite of late on VR-related patents, with the last batch having turned up nearly four years ago - and recent job postings related to the technology having been mysteriously scrubbed from existence. http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/437f210e/sc/5/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611954140/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/437f210e/sc/5/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611954140/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/437f210e/sc/5/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611954140/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/437f210e/sc/5/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611954140/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/437f210e/sc/5/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/218611954140/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/437f210e/sc/5/a2t.img

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/laptops/Apple/2015_macbook_pro-470-75.jpgWith all the feature sharing going on between Mac and iOS, it's not hard to imagine Apple might one day allow Touch ID to unlock notebooks or even desktop systems, but could it be coming sooner than we think? An Apple-centric blog out of Taiwan called AppleCorner (via AppleInsider) seems to think so, and today cited sources straight out of Cupertino's Asian supply chain as potential evidence. Already widely considered a modern convenience by iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2 owners, Touch ID is the biometric security option that allows access to late-model devices simply by placing the proper finger over a home button equipped with the proper sensor. The feature, first introduced with the iPhone 5S back in 2013, is a crucial component of Apple Pay, the contactless payment method that shipped with an update to iOS 8.1 last fall - and one many Mac owners are hoping will eventually make its way to the desktop as well. Touch of a fingerAccording to Tuesday's report from Taiwan, Touch ID could first make a splash on Apple's long-rumored 12-inch MacBook Air, a notebook pundits expect to ditch most of the traditional hardware ports, while adding Retina Display to the mix. The svelte laptop is also said to include a Touch ID sensor placed conveniently above the trackpad, not unlike the SecurePad biometric functionality Synaptics plans to implement into PC notebooks with the backing of an alliance that includes Visa, MasterCard and PayPal. Not in the market for a new MacBook Air? The same report also claims Apple is planning to equip its popular Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad peripherals with Touch ID as well, bringing the functionality to desktop systems like iMac, Mac mini and Mac Pro. Until we see further evidence that suggests Touch ID on the Mac will become a reality, we'll keep this report squarely in the "grain of salt" rumor category, although it's worth noting AppleCorner accurately leaked parts for the iPad Air 2 ahead of Apple's official unveiling last year. http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/437db437/sc/4/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/219133188894/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/437db437/sc/4/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/219133188894/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/437db437/sc/4/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/219133188894/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/437db437/sc/4/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/219133188894/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/437db437/sc/4/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/219133188894/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/437db437/sc/4/a2t.img

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/TRBCNews/Office%20for%20iOS/office-for-ios-icloud-470-75.jpgOffice for iOS users can now benefit from Apple iCloud integration after a new update added the ability to use another storage option with the popular productivity apps. The decision is a big one for Apple users as it eliminates the need for an Office 365 subscription to access the most basic features with the more advanced features still only accessible for users that have a subscription including OneDrive storage. Before it was only possible to use either OneDrive or DropBox, although as you might expect it's nowhere near as easy to actually find the option to save to iCloud as it is hidden within the More tab that appears once you click to open or save a file. Office and iWork go head-to-headMicrosoft's decision to add iCloud to its iOS productivity suite comes a matter of days after Apple took its cross-platform aspirations to the next level by opening up iWork, which includes Pages, Numbers and Keynote, to everyone. Right now Office for iOS users can both create and edit documents for free by creating a new account with transactions within the app itself allowing you to upgrade to an Office 365 subscription that starts at £5.99 ($6.99, or AU$9.00) per month for one PC of Mac, one tablet and one smartphone plus 1TB of OneDrive storage. Hands on: Office for iPad reviewhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/437ec9c3/sc/4/mf.gif

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/internet/Hacking/hacking-usethisone-470-75.jpgRemote access and security worries go hand in hand, and last year, we saw the likes of the Backoff malware targeting point-of-sale terminals, and updated Citadel malware, both leveraging unsecured remote access systems to gain access to networks. For security professionals, the temptation to switch off remote access must be high. However, remote access technology is an essential tool for IT departments and third-party service providers to manage, update and troubleshoot remote systems. The issue isn't remote access technology itself, it's that these technologies are often not managed closely, if at all. When implemented and managed properly, remote access can be secure. However, as IT professionals, it's important to look at how to govern it. Are the right policies in place when it comes to remote access by IT or third-party providers? The right rules for everyoneTo start with, let's review some best practices. These apply whether the person accessing your network is an internal employee, an outsourced service provider, or third-party vendor. First, consolidate remote access tools so you can centrally manage and monitor all insider and external remote access. Once you have everyone using a single, sanctioned remote access solution you can categorically block all unsanctioned tools so they can't be used on your network. Multi-factor authentication is a must. But in order to implement MFA, each individual must be using unique login credentials. Often IT teams or vendors share generic logins to save money on licenses, making it easy for attackers to use brute force methods to successfully guess the password. Not only does sharing passwords undermine access security, it makes it impossible to audit who is doing what on your systems. Speaking of weak passwords – complexity of passwords, password length and enforcing regular changes in credentials can all help to decrease the potential of an attack. Finally, limit access to only the specific systems and timeframes required while capturing full audit trails of all remote access activity. This way you can review what occurs during each remote session, and what actions were taken by the technician. This allows you to know exactly who accessed what systems and what they did. How your business can enable secure and effective remote workingBuilding the case for secure remote accessLast year, we all saw the impact that unsecured remote access implementations can have on businesses. One of the reasons that attacks are successful is that there are rules in place for employees using remote access technologies, yet these same rules may not be applied to external parties providing IT services. For many companies, outsourcing and third party access to their network is a given. 88% of companies have at least one third party with access to their IT networks, according to research by Ovum. One of the respondents had more than 100 service providers using remote access to enter the corporate IT network. Whether you have one outside supplier or 100, how do you monitor and manage their access? If they are using old or legacy remote support tools, they may be leaving unnecessary vulnerabilities or backdoors on your network that are easy for attackers to compromise. Alongside centralising and prescribing remote access tools, shutting these backdoors should be a given. Managing policiesOver and above the physical remote access connection, it's also important to consider the rules and policies that people have to follow. This may include setting up a separate set of rules for outside providers that they have to follow as part of working with the organisation. For example, an IT outsourcer should be allowed to access your systems from his computer on his company network, but not from his iPad at home or outside standard business hours. Security has many layers, and no one solution is going to fully protect you from a data breach. But if you can lock down the initial entry pathway just a bit more, you can significantly up your chances of keeping hackers out and your sensitive data in. With the right mix of tools and processes, threats and malware targeting your company network can be kept at bay. Boatner Blankenstein is Senior Director of Solutions Engineering for Bomgarhttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/437b1cd1/sc/4/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611946837/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/437b1cd1/sc/4/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611946837/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/437b1cd1/sc/4/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611946837/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/437b1cd1/sc/4/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611946837/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/437b1cd1/sc/4/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/218611946837/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/437b1cd1/sc/4/a2t.img

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/techradar/TechRadar%20Deals/17th%20Feb%2015/6deals-470-75.jpg We're back with more deals and today we've found a fantastic deal on a brilliant Panasonic compact camera, so let's drive straight in with that... TODAY'S HOT DEALShttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/techradar/TechRadar%20Deals/17th%20Feb%2015/1panny-420-90.jpg Compact camera: The brilliant Panasonic TZ60 is a versatile camera that's ideal for taking on trips either for business or pleasure, and its huge zoom and focal range will appeal to both beginners and more experienced photographers. With a 30x optical zoom, built-in EVF and an 18.1MP sensor, it's Panasonic's flagship compact camera and TechRadar gave it a near perfect review score last year. So what's the deal? Normally it goes for £329.99 but it's available for just £194 on Amazon.co.uk - but only for the rest of the day! That's a saving of £135.99. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/techradar/TechRadar%20Deals/17th%20Feb%2015/2klippy-420-90.jpg Headphones: Next up today we've found a super deal on the Klipsch Image ONE on-ear headphones. The original price was £129.99 but today you can get them for just £34.99 at Amazon.co.uk. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/techradar/TechRadar%20Deals/17th%20Feb%2015/3teccy-420-90.jpg Wireless speaker: And how about this wireless Bluetooth speaker from the audio gurus at Altec Lansing? It's a rugged speaker as home outside as inside, it's shockprood and waterproof, has NFC and it's currently down to just £59.99 on Amazon.co.uk - down from £129.99. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/techradar/TechRadar%20Deals/17th%20Feb%2015/4garmy-420-90.jpg Action cam: If you're after a new action cam to capture your skateboarding. skiiing, driving or cycling antics, how about the Garmin Virb Elite? With a built-in display, it's wifi-equipped and has a large battery! It was £350, but it's now £139 at Amazon.co.uk http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/techradar/TechRadar%20Deals/17th%20Feb%2015/5eary-420-90.jpg Earphones: And finally, if you're after some new in-ear headphones, check out the SoundMAGIC E10. Down to just £26.99 at Amazon.co.uk, they're available in several different colours! MORE HOT DEALSGaming headset: Turtle Beach DPX11 PS4 Wired Headset - For as little as £39.99 at argos.co.uk Fitness: Fitbit Charge HR Large Heart Rate Monitor Wristband - Reduced down to £95.99 (With code FIT20) at Argos.co.uk Home wi-fi: NETGEAR EX6200-100UKS Dual Band Gigabit Wi-Fi Range Extender - Now only £67.99 at Amazon.co.uk Soundbar: Philips HTL2101A 40W 2.0 Channel Soundbar (Black) - Now only £49.99 at ebay.co.uk (Co-operative electrical) Headphones: Parrot Zik 2.0 Philippe Starck Wireless Headphones - Reduced down to £199.99 Mouse: Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Mouse - Down to £22.99 at Amazon.co.uk Gaming: Nintendo Handheld Console 3DS - For as little as £69 at Amazon.co.uk Bluetooth headset: Jabra Rox Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Headset - Black - Reduced down to £63.95 at Amazon.co.uk Games DealsFinal Fantasy Type-0 HD - PS4 - Pre-Order for as little as £35 from gameseek.co.uk MASS EFFECT 3 - SPECIAL EDITION (WII U) - Reduced down to £4.95 at thegamecollection.net Far Cry 4 Xbox One - Now only £27.98 at Zaavi.com inFAMOUS: Second Son - Now only £18 at Amazon.co.uk Murdered: Soul Suspect - For as little as £9 at Amazon.co.uk Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed - Reduced down to £9.99 at Amazon.co.uk Assassin's Creed Black Flag Full Game Download Xbox Live - Now only £3.99 at simplycdkeys.com http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4380c22f/sc/15/mf.gif

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/TRBC/Abstract/Apps%20on%20tablet/iStock_000019925348Small-scanrail-470-75.jpgWhat more can organisations do to embrace applications that are built specifically with the enterprise in mind? Are recent trends, such as the Apple/IBM partnership, pointing to the fact that the use of consumer applications in the workplace is in decline? We spoke to Claire Galbois-Alcaix, Cloud Solutions Director at Accellion, about these and other issues pertaining to BYOD and BYOA. TechRadar Pro: To what extent has BYOD, for all that it has enabled workers to be more productive 'on the go', also made enterprises a far less secure environment? Claire Galbois-Alcaix: Today, employees all over the world have become far more technologically savvy than ever before, and are now demanding the types of mobile solutions from their office that they use in their personal lives. This includes the ability to use their device of choice, and to utilise productivity enhancing apps to get more done faster. Organisations that don't provide these kinds of solutions for their workers increasingly find themselves falling behind the competition, as their employees will be unable to keep up with the pace of daily activity, and choose to go elsewhere where they can use these tools, impacting the company's bottom line. The upshot of this is that, along with an increase in the number of consumer devices in the workplace, we've also seen a sharp rise in the number of consumer-focused applications being used within the enterprise. Let's be clear about this – for the average user, the security of the applications they are using is not a primary consideration. The vast majority either believe that the devices and the applications they use are secure enough for their needs, or that the IT department will step in to prevent them from doing anything that could potentially put sensitive data at risk. There are even some who are completely ignorant to data security risks, and don't even consider that the use of consumer devices and applications could result in a security breach. For all of these reasons, many of today's enterprises are a far less secure environment, with some only learning the error of their ways and implementing a sensible mobile security policy when it's too late. TRP: What are the security risks of employees using consumer-focused applications in the workplace instead of those specifically designed for use in the enterprise? CG: A security system is only as strong as its weakest link, and there's no doubt that public cloud file-sharing services that are aimed at consumers pose a big security risk. There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, many of these applications, such as Dropbox, typically co-mingle data from different customers. While this provides the storage vendor with economies it also reduces the control a customer has on where their data is stored and who has access to that information. Additionally, public cloud providers own the encryption keys to the data housed on their servers, rather than the customer, further increasing the risk of data exposure. For most enterprise organisations these risks are too great, and they lead corporations and government agencies to select private cloud file-sharing for the additional data protection. Compliance is also a major issue, and users sharing confidential data, such as financial records, outside the approved and monitored processes defined by the IT department, put the enterprise out of compliance with regulations such as SOX. Users at healthcare organisations can violate HIPAA by improperly sharing patient health information. Because applications like Dropbox do not integrate with most DLP solutions, it also limits the ability of enterprises to monitor the content of individual files, which can cause them to be non-compliant. TRP: To what extent could awareness of these risks be forcing the hand of those who have, traditionally, had more of a consumer focus, such as Dropbox, to move into the enterprise space? CG: Apple's decision to move its iCloud services away from applications and further towards collaborative services with the introduction of iCloud Drive is a great example of how cloud storage providers with a traditional focus on consumers are now setting their sights on the enterprise. Whether or not their hand has been forced by an increased awareness of the fallibilities of their own security protocols as far as secure use in the enterprise is concerned is, however, another question entirely. The likelihood is that the likes of Apple and Dropbox have primarily identified this market as a lucrative means of expanding their revenues, rather than having any alternative, altruistic motives. Nonetheless, it does demonstrate that these consumer cloud vendors are at the very least beginning to acknowledge that enterprises need tools that have been specifically designed for use within their environment. It also demonstrates that they realise the importance of striking a balance between providing robust security controls that can ensure data integrity, while also providing the ease of use that means their employees don't have to rely on freemium, consumer versions of the same products. For enterprises, this can only be good news, although the question remains as to whether or not they would rather invest in and deploy solutions that come from vendors who are completely enterprise-focused, as opposed to those that see it as an extra way to drive revenue. TRP: What are the other reasons why consumer hardware and software vendors are taking an increased interest in the enterprise space, and what could be the potential impact of this sector becoming increasingly crowded? CG: As the world slowly recovers its financial footing following the global economic difficulties, so have consumers found that they have more disposable income to spend. What the consumer technology industry has done well is to provide innovative 'added value' hardware and software solutions that help customers to part with this newfound income. It's proven to be a clever approach, as the focus on providing value-added services has had a profound impact on the way we not only live our personal lives, but also the way we work. With these consumer devices now also safely ensconced within organisations, enterprises have, as a direct result, been forced to wake up to the fact that they also need to invest in solutions that will ensure that the devices and the applications that are used within their ecosystem are able to operate securely. From this perspective, the decision made by consumer technology firms to move into the enterprise space, as evidenced by the partnership between Apple and IBM, makes a lot of sense. However, the potential danger of this approach is that, as this space becomes increasingly crowded, and the push to differentiate services through extra value-added features continues, there's a real prospect of the security of data becoming less of a focus in the stampede to provide the best user experience. In a sense it comes down to the age old question of whether or not you need to compromise security in order to make a solution that is user-friendly and vice versa. Although this isn't quite as black and white as it sounds, and there's not necessarily a need to make an either/or choice between the two, it's nonetheless clear that only the solutions which refuse to compromise security will be effective within the enterprise. The question is whether or not consumer technology vendors are better placed to be able to deliver this than those who are more established in the enterprise sector. In the end, it could come down to who can be trusted more. TRP: What are the risks associated with partnerships like the one between Apple and IBM, that are designed to allow consumer-focused businesses a smooth passage into the enterprise space? Could they muddy the waters between consumer and business applications further and result in an even greater risk? CG: I don't actually see this as a risk, as I think that more vendors need to marry ease of use for end users with strict enterprise security. Since Apple focuses on the first, and IBM on the latter, I believe that their partnership is going to up the ante in enterprise mobile applications and solutions. End users are going to choose the types of devices they prefer, and Apple dominates a large part of that market. By working with IBM to improve security capabilities, they are ensuring that IT departments will be happy to choose their hardware and software solutions for use within the enterprise. In this way, data stays secure as workers share content and collaborate, but enterprise workers don't lose any productivity through clunky, unmanageable solutions. TRP: What can those who develop enterprise-class productivity solutions do to mitigate these risks and ensure that organisations remain secure? CG: There are a number of things that those who develop solutions with the enterprise in mind can do to ensure data security. When it comes to developing critical business applications, ease of use is an absolute must, for example. There's no way around it. Even if IT is thrilled with the promised features and functionality, if an app is clunky, frustrates employees or eats up valuable time, users will abandon ship and find a suitable workaround. We see this all of the time in the world of mobile file-sharing. Employees are drawn to consumer-based applications such as Dropbox and Google Drive because of the user-friendly interface and the ability to quickly get a file out the door. The problem is that, in many cases, employees are using such applications without the IT department's knowledge – putting enterprise data at risk. The job of IT professionals is to make sure that confidential files remain confidential, and those providing enterprise solutions share the same burden of responsibility. Put simply, they need to ensure that enterprise-class applications not only have the same ease-of-use as those they become accustomed to as consumers, but that they also have to provide the level of security that these same individuals have come to expect in their working lives. The ability to marry up these two disparate aspects within solutions is the key to keeping data secure within the enterprise, and ensuring that users do not venture outside of the ecosystem to use other technology that could cause problems further down the road. TRP: How much education do businesses need concerning the danger of workers bringing their own applications into the workplace, and the potential consequences of getting it wrong? CG: It's an area that organisations are increasingly waking up to, and several high-profile data breaches have played an important role in reinforcing this message. The fact that iCloud and Dropbox accounts have been so publicly breached in recent times underlines the fact that if you, as an IT professional, are serious about the security and integrity of your data, then you need to be using a serious, enterprise-grade solution. Having said that, there will always be those who continue to treat security as an afterthought, and for these people, education is particularly important. Many small or emerging businesses, for example, tend to de-prioritise security, as they are short on resources, and feel that they are better investing what little they have in other areas. However, this mind-set misses the point that, in the long run, failure to address security concerns could prove to be a much more costly expense. TRP: How can enterprise-specific applications help to free up restrictive MDM policies within organisations, and ensure that workers have access to the data they need, where and when they need it, without compromising security? CG: Some organisations believe that the best way to approach device management is to restrict the freedom of employees in terms of what they use, and how they use it. This, of course, can result not only in reduced productivity, but also an unhappy workforce, which can be hugely unproductive. Although BYOD poses a number of security concerns, there's no reason why MDM policies should be restrictive, as long as a number of steps are observed. The key to a secure BYOD-enabled enterprise is having well-managed content, but there are obviously a number of ways to go about this. There are three key security concerns that companies should consider as they navigate BYOD territory… 1. Where data sits and for how long:When data is in motion it's at a higher risk of being hacked, no matter how strong the encryption levels are. Many public cloud solutions constantly sync content between all devices, putting sensitive corporate information at a higher risk of a breach. Also at higher risk for data leakage is public cloud storage, which many companies choose to utilise for mobile access. Before choosing a solution to support a BYOD program, companies should consider looking at private cloud architecture, so that data is only synced when an employee chooses to sync, and when data is at rest it remains inside of the corporate network. 2. Access permissions: A crucial element of implementing a BYOD policy is establishing how users can access your network from their personal devices. Many companies integrate their LDAP or Active Directories into this process to ensure that only authorised employees are accessing data. For instance, just because a marketing employee can access the network from a mobile phone, doesn't mean they should be able to open HR documentation – all established information access protocols need to be left in place, no matter the device. 3. Authentication methods: Approving any number of new devices to access a network requires updated authentication methods. Whether this is done through a protocol like Kerberos or through password-authenticated key agreements is up to each individual enterprise. Businesses that are especially serious about their security are creating triple-layer architectures so that the web, app and data layers all have their own authentication tokens, dramatically decreasing the risk of data loss, no matter how many devices are accessing the network. http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/437b0882/sc/46/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611936948/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/437b0882/sc/46/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611936948/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/437b0882/sc/46/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611936948/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/437b0882/sc/46/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611936948/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/437b0882/sc/46/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/218611936948/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/437b0882/sc/46/a2t.img

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/DOWNLOADS/roundups/2015-Feb/Backup-storage/backup_main-470-75.jpgThe importance of backing up can't be overstated, but choosing the right tool for the job can be tricky at the best of times. In this roundup, we've not simply looked at 10 tools that do similar things, but dug deep to find a selection of programs that back up different parts of your system, whether it's protecting your email and browser settings or taking an exact byte-for-byte copy of everything on your hard drive. Whatever you need to back up, we've got the perfect tool for you. COMODO BackupThe most comprehensive file-based backup tool out there File-based backups are ten a penny, but what lifts COMODO Backup above the opposition is the sheer amount of control you have over your backups. For starters, it'll back up just about anywhere (untick 'Install cCloud' during installation if you don't want to use its paid-for cloud storage). http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/DOWNLOADS/roundups/2015-Feb/Backup-storage/backup_comodo-420-90.jpg Then there's the choice of what to back up: files and folders (use Smart Profiles to quickly target specific file types), disks or partitions, selected email, internet and instant messaging data and even Registry files and entries are all supported. Schedule your backups, choose between full, differential and incremental backup types COMODO Backup has it all for those who want full control over protecting their data. Macrium Reflect FreeTake an exact copy of your hard drive for maximum protection Drive-imaging tools take an exact byte-for-byte copy of a hard drive or partition for backup purposes. They're essential in protecting your main system drive from failure, and when it comes to complete drive backups, Macrium Reflect Free is by far the daddy of free imaging tools. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/DOWNLOADS/roundups/2015-Feb/Backup-storage/backup_macrium-420-90.jpg Not only can you image partitions or drives – including an option to automatically select the key partitions required to back up Windows – Macrium also lets you browse your backups to retrieve individual files. It also allows you to verify your images to make sure they won't let you down should you need them, and provides an essential rescue disc creation tool to cover you in a crisis. Toucan PortableBack up, sync or encrypt data from any Windows PC If you need to sync, backup or even encrypt your data from anywhere, you need Toucan Portable. Add it to your portable USB toolkit and it'll cover you on any Windows PC. Set up jobs for each of your tasks, then use rules to determine what to include or exclude from your backup. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/DOWNLOADS/roundups/2015-Feb/Backup-storage/backup_toucan-420-90.jpg Compress your backups to save space (critical if you're backing up to your USB flash drive) and make sure you tick 'Test After Creation' to ensure your backup isn't corrupt. Finally, visit Settings and click Help for access to the program's documentation. BuddyBackupCreate your own personal secure cloud with friends and family Cloud services offer a secure, remote place for your data, but they can be expensive. If you and some friends have lots of spare drive space to hand, why not swap it so you can store each other's backups far away from your original files? http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/DOWNLOADS/roundups/2015-Feb/Backup-storage/backup_buddy-420-90.jpg BuddyBackup allows you to set aside unused drive space for others to back up to, which in turn allows you to store that amount of data remotely with your "buddies". It's simple to set up and use, encrypts your data for security and allows you to back up locally too, for those times when your buddies aren't switched on and connected. FreeFileSyncKeep two folders up to date and synced with FreeFileSync FreeFileSync's main use is – as its title suggests – keeping a pair of folders in sync. It's especially suited for syncing files between an internal drive and an external one, such as a USB flash drive, but by switching the sync setting to Mirror or Update, you can also use it to quickly back up a select folder too. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/DOWNLOADS/roundups/2015-Feb/Backup-storage/backup_freefilesync-420-90.jpg The Overview pane is a nice extra too, giving you an at-a-glance view of how much data needs to be copied, as well as breaking it down by type. FreeNASTurn a second PC into a dedicated backup tool for your entire network This solution will appeal to those who want to convert a 64-bit PC with lots of RAM into an industrial-strength NAS. FreeNAS is a complete OS, and one key advantage over simply using Windows or Linux is that it's designed to be 'headless', meaning you can administer it remotely via your browser. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/DOWNLOADS/roundups/2015-Feb/Backup-storage/backup_freenas-420-90.jpg FreeNAS's big selling point for backups is that it uses ZFS Snapshots to take regular system backups – so long as space permits, you can then roll back your PC or access older files quickly and easily. You can even upload media files like movies to your NAS and it will serve as a home entertainment centre, allowing anyone on the network to connect and watch films from any room in the house. FavBackupBack up all your browser data and settings effortlessly and easily While web browsers are adding sync tools to their armoury, there's still no substitute for a good old-fashioned backup and restore tool for your browser. And why limit yourself to a platform-specific tool when FavBackup can handle all major browsers – including the big three of Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Chrome – at once? http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/DOWNLOADS/roundups/2015-Feb/Backup-storage/backup_favbackup-420-90.jpg It's a little old now, but still works out of the box with IE and Firefox; Chrome users may need to manually select their profile location (get this info by typing chrome://version into your browser and checking the Profile Path entry). Sadly, the Opera option only works with Opera 12 or earlier (but see KLS Mail Backup, below). ERUNTBack up your Registry every time you start your PC There was a time when a corrupt Registry would render your PC unbootable – these days Windows is more robust, but there are still occasions when a screwed up Registry could spell disaster. ERUNT is a small and simple program that can back up the Registry every time Windows starts successfully to ensure you have a working version you can roll back should you need to. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/DOWNLOADS/roundups/2015-Feb/Backup-storage/backup_erunt-420-90.jpg Some caveats to consider: ERUNT should be left to save the backup in your Windows folder; this allows ease of access to the ERDNT restore utility from the command line if necessary. Second, its age means it's not optimised to work with User Account Control by default: before running it for the first time, right-click the program shortcut and choose Properties > Compatibility Mode, then tick 'Run this program as an administrator' before clicking OK. It should now function properly, but you'll see the UAC prompt appear every time Windows starts if you've configured it to back up automatically. Dust Signs File CopierBack up and potentially recover corrupt files Backup tools are great if they're able to access a pristine copy of your files, but if you discover certain files have become corrupt before you're able to back them up, Dust Signs File Copier could be your saviour. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/DOWNLOADS/roundups/2015-Feb/Backup-storage/backup_dustsigns-420-90.jpg After launching, switch to the Settings tab and experiment with the 'Error concealment' options before attempting to recover files – you may find one setting works better than others. While there's no guarantee it'll be able to recover all your corrupt files, you may be pleasantly surprised at what it is able to back up. KLS Mail BackupEmail backup is a cinch with KLS Mail Backup If you're looking for a tool to back up your offline email accounts, settings, contacts and messages, this is the one for you. KLS Mail Backup handles all the popular email programs – including Thunderbird, Windows Mail/Outlook Express, Windows Live Mail and Opera – and even supports selected browsers (IE, Firefox and Opera) as well as general folders and files. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/DOWNLOADS/roundups/2015-Feb/Backup-storage/backup_klsmail-420-90.jpg Everything's handled in a user-friendly interface and, crucially, it's as easy to restore your backups as take them in the first place. http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/437b0888/sc/4/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611936947/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/437b0888/sc/4/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611936947/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/437b0888/sc/4/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611936947/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/437b0888/sc/4/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611936947/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/437b0888/sc/4/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/218611936947/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/437b0888/sc/4/a2t.img

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/laptops/Synaptics/securepad-cropped-470-75.jpgWindows 10 will support third-party devices that use the latest biometric authentication standards devised by the FIDO alliance. Microsoft will support the latest biometric authentication methods as an alternative to passwords in Windows 10 in a move that will put a smile on the face of both enterprise customers and consumers alike. The move means that Windows 10 will support the next version of the Fast Identification Online (FIDO) specification thus letting laptops and other devices running Windows 10 use any one of a wealth of biometric readers instead of a regular password. Microsoft has been part of the alliance behind FIDO since 2013 and the group also includes Google, PayPal, Bank of America and various other leaders from the worlds of banking and technology. The Pathway to Success?A blog post accompanying the news, written by Dustin Ingalis, explained that Microsoft believes the FIDO authentication being discussed at the White House Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection Summit taking place at Stanford University "is the pathway to success". Business users already have access to fingerprint scanners on a number of laptops such as the Fujitsu Lifebook U904 and Lenovo T440 and consumer interest in the technology has been cemented by the launch of Apple TouchID and Apple Pay. The most popular passwords of 2014 prove we're still moronshttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/437ec9c7/sc/4/mf.gif

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/TRBC/google%20headquarters-470-75.jpgGoogle has moved to relax the tight 90-day disclosure deadline its Project Zero team applies to security vulnerabilities after getting a fair amount of slack following an incident with Microsoft. A blog post from the team announced that there is a new 14-day grace period for vulnerabilities, deadlines that fall on weekends will automatically be pushed forward to the next working day, and the assignment of CVEs has been adjusted. The grace period means that any company notified by Project Zero of a vulnerability will have up to 104 days to actually release a fix, just so long as the firm involved acknowledges that a fix will be released in that timeframe. How does it compare?It comes after Google's crack team of security engineers that work under the Project Zero moniker came in for a raft of criticism after details of a Microsoft vulnerability were disclosed just a couple of days before Patch Tuesday, when the latter was planning to roll out a patch to fix it. The blog went on defend the 90-day disclosure rule by explaining that they compare well to CERT's 45-day disclosure policy and Yahoo's 90-day rule. Project Zero started working to crack down on "zero day" vulnerabilities in July 2014 and to date of the 154 bugs it has identified, 85 percent were fixed within the 90-day time period. Via: Google Protect your PC by downloading and installing a program from our list of the best free antivirus software 2015.http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4373b02d/sc/36/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611885118/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4373b02d/sc/36/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611885118/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4373b02d/sc/36/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611885118/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4373b02d/sc/36/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611885118/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4373b02d/sc/36/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/218611885118/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4373b02d/sc/36/a2t.img

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/internet/Firefox/firefox_browser_logo-470-75.jpgYet another service removing support for Adobe Flash after Mozilla began implementing a tool in its Firefox browser that allows sites to run Flash videos without the need for the plugin. Adobe Flash's days were already numbered before Shumway was included as a part of the latest Firefox nightly build and, although it currently only works for amazon.com product tour videos on Windows and Mac OS X, there are plans to roll it out further in future. 2015 has not been kind to Flash so far with YouTube, by far Flash's biggest video customer, delivering a potentially fatal blow a little over two weeks ago by opting to use HTML 5 for all videos on the site, however, it does still fall back on Flash when required. Flash still has a placeEver since Apple decided that Flash had no place on its iOS mobile devices, there has been a growing shift towards HTML 5, yet popular browsers such as Google Chrome still maintain a built-in version of Flash. Flash will still have its place on the internet for some time yet given the sheer volumes of sites built on it and the fact that plugins, such as one that got around Flash in Internet Explorer for Windows, regularly open up more security holes that make removing it a complex conundrum. Via: Cnet Mozilla wants to put Firefox on your iPhonehttp://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/4373b034/sc/4/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611885116/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4373b034/sc/4/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611885116/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4373b034/sc/4/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611885116/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4373b034/sc/4/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611885116/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4373b034/sc/4/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/218611885116/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/4373b034/sc/4/a2t.img

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/software/Windows/windows-xp-cracked-470-75.jpgEven though the deadline for any type of support for Windows XP was up last April, many organisations are still using the venerable operating system to power their PCs and the applications that run on them. But XP was never a truly secure OS to begin with and despite numerous patches over the years, new vulnerabilities have been found. Of course, since April 2014, no more updates have been provided by Microsoft on general release and this has left anyone still running XP very much exposed to hacking and security breaches. According to figures from IT security firm Secunia taken from scans by its Personal Software Inspector, around 15.17% of computers around the world are still using Windows XP. Nearly 18% of users are still running with an old version of Internet Explorer. Data protectionKasper Lindgaard, Secunia's Director of Research and Security, advises that small businesses should definitely migrate away from Windows XP if they want to protect their data. "Generally speaking, newly discovered vulnerabilities in XP are unpatchable for private users. XP users are 'free-for-all' to hackers, who can create and use exploits at will," he says. "Additionally, patches to the other Windows operating systems are likely to be reverse engineered by hackers, to discover which vulnerabilities were fixed by Microsoft, and can be modified to work against Windows XP." Hype and noiseThe hype around the XP deadline was similar to that of Y2K, says Sergio Galindo, general manager at GFI Software, and while the date came and went, nothing blew up. Galindo notes: "XP attacks do continue, but all the other operating systems remain under attack as well. Although continuing to use Windows XP and older versions of Internet Explorer is unsafe and not recommended, ultimately the question businesses must ask themselves is: how much risk are we willing to take, and how does it compare to the cost of an upgrade?" Keep on runningBut why do firms still insist on running the software? While reasons can range from anything to do with their familiarity with the system, to training requirements or anticipated costs attached to upgrading, the big issue is compatibility as many companies have an aged estate of apps with either OS or IE dependencies, according to HP's Chief Technologist James Morrish. Microsoft does offer emulation modes, but most companies don't trust this, and the process can be complex to setup and test. "The challenge is that most businesses have thousands of applications, and typically a Windows 7 migration will also include either extensive application testing or rationalisation and modernisation which would be a huge amount of work," says Morrish. "Many businesses have been avoiding the changeover because they fear the lack of compatibility and loss of productivity during the transition." "So also, to a certain extent the issue is wrapped up in the cost equation. For the most part, it isn't just that companies can't afford to refresh their hardware, it is that they don't also have the budget and time to test the compatibility of the thousands of applications that the company runs." Is it possible to safely use XP and IE now there is no more support? It is possible, says Andrew Avanessian, EVP of consultancy and technology services at endpoint security firm Avecto, but he doesn't recommend it. He says firms that are forced to keep using legacy operating systems can significantly reduce the chance of a cyber-attack by adopting a proactive defence in depth approach to security. "The default for these old systems is that users are given administrative rights, but removing admin privileges and dealing with the challenge areas with privilege management solutions has been found to mitigate 92% of critical Microsoft vulnerabilities, and can therefore significantly reduce the attack vector," says Avanessian. "Layering other defences on top of that, such as application whitelisting, will mitigate most targeted cyber-attacks." Breaking awayCost appears to be the main issue in moving away from XP, so how can organisations migrate from the platform in a cost-effective manner? Galindo suggests organisations isolate the XP machines from the internet or the network if possible, then purchase low-cost replacements to fill in the functionality that is not achieved on XP. "In some instances, it may be viable to run XP and any applications that need it in a virtual machine on a modern Windows or Mac computer, allowing the organisation to decommission the older hardware, whilst still allowing legacy software to work," he observes. But Daniel Simmons, Technical Architect at Trustmarque, says that while replacing non-compatible applications or hardware with a new version is certainly the most reliable method, unfortunately, it's the most expensive as well. If the application is mission-critical or otherwise strategic to operations, then if possible, this is the preferred route. Otherwise, there are a number of tools that can be used together to fix some compatibility problems when migrating operating systems, such as group policy and shims. "This is the more cost-effective route, and might be the only option if the application vendor is no longer around. There are also a number of third-party tools, such as AppZero, that can help bridge compatibility issues and can be very useful in migration strategy," says Simmons. Stuck on youWe can talk about moving away, but will organisations ever truly move away from XP and IE? Morrish thinks it will eventually happen but will take time. "Pockets of XP will remain, but proportionally they'll become fewer and more niche." Galindo says that as long as Windows XP and older Internet Explorer versions keep working, there will be businesses out there that will carry on using them. "It wouldn't be a surprise if we still see XP in use at a business for at least the next five years," he says. Will Windows 10 be the catalyst for the remaining Windows XP users to upgrade?http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/415085/s/436af566/sc/4/mf.gif http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611761927/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/436af566/sc/4/rc/1/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611761927/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/436af566/sc/4/rc/2/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611761927/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/436af566/sc/4/rc/3/rc.img http://da.feedsportal.com/r/218611761927/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/436af566/sc/4/a2.imghttp://pi.feedsportal.com/r/218611761927/u/49/f/415085/c/669/s/436af566/sc/4/a2t.img

http://cdn.mos.techradar.com/art/techradar/TechRadar%20Deals/13th%20Feb%2015/6dealas-470-75.jpg Each day TechRadar brings you great deals on tech products from around the web and today we've got some excellent bargains for you. Let's start today with some bargains on next-gen console games. Firstly, you can currently pick up the fantastic shooter Titanfall on Xbox One for just £19.85 at Amazon.co.uk - that's actually slightly cheaper than the Xbox 360 version. Meanwhile, inFAMOUS: Second Son can be had on PS4 now for just £21.39 at Amazon.co.uk and if you still haven't played the Tomb Raider reboot, now could be the time to pick up a copy. It's a brilliant game and now available for just £16.95. TODAY'S HOT DEALShttp://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/techradar/TechRadar%20Deals/13th%20Feb%2015/3tv-580-100.jpg Smart TV: Today's first hot deal comes in the form of the brilliant 50-inch Sony KDL-50W829 smart TV. This was one of our absolute favourite TVs of 2014, and at the time represented the best value high-end TV out there. You can now get it even cheaper, it's down to £679 at Currys. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/techradar/TechRadar%20Deals/13th%20Feb%2015/1speaker-580-100.jpg Power bank: Need to charge your phone but don't have access to a socket? Carry a portable power pack in your bag. This 2800mAh one is tiny and convenient and costs just £16.92. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/techradar/TechRadar%20Deals/13th%20Feb%2015/2band-580-100.jpg Activity tracker: Want an activity tracker for keeping track of your exercise and sleep cycles? The Jawbone UP24 is one of the best gadgets out there and is currently available for just £77 at Amazon.co.uk - down from £124.99. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/techradar/TechRadar%20Deals/13th%20Feb%2015/4jam-580-100.jpg Speakers: Want a portable battery-powered Bluetooth speaker for taking away with you at the weekend or just for sitting in your kitchen? This one is down to just £16 from £59.99. http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/art/techradar/TechRadar%20Deals/13th%20Feb%2015/5sandisk-580-100.jpg USB stick: Need a new USB stick to clip on to your keyring. This SanDisk model has 16GB capacity and costs just £4.14! MORE HOT TECH DEALSSamsung Galaxy 2 7 Inch Wifi Tablet 8GB (White) - Only £79.99 from ebay.co.uk (Argos) G.Skill 16GB DDR3 1866MHz RipjawsX Memory - Now just £100.30 at Ebuyer.com SanDisk 16GB Cruzer Orbit USB 2.0 Flash Drive - Just £4.14 from Ebuyer.com 500GB Toshiba STOR.E Steel S Portable Hard Drive - Only £31.98 from Ebuyer.com TP-LINK TL-WPA4226KIT AV500 Powerline 300M Wi-Fi Extender - Reduced down to £44.99 at Amazon.co.uk Nikon COOLPIX S9300 Compact Digital Camera (Silver) - Only £151.97 from Amazon.co.uk Asus 16GB Google Nexus 7 1st Gen Tablet - Black (Refurbished with 12 month warranty) - £69.99 from the ebay.co.uk (Argos) Asus X551CA-SX130H 15.6-inch HD LED Notebook - For as little as £279.99 at Amazon.co.uk Ion Audio Pure LP USB Conversion Turntable (White) - Now just £54.99 at Amazon.co.uk Games DealsDark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin - Only £31.99 at Amazon.co.uk TOMB RAIDER - DEFINITIVE EDITION (PS4) - Reduced down to £16.95 from thegamecollection.net Far Cry 4 (Kyrat Edition) - Only £39.99 from Amazon.co.uk Game and Wario Wii U Game - Reduced down to £14.99 at argos.co.uk Dead or Alive 5 Last Round (PS4) - Only £20 at gameseek.co.uk Need for Speed Rivals PS4 - From only £24.85 at shopto.net inFAMOUS: Second Son - Now just £21.39 at Amazon.co.uk Titanfall - For as little as £19.85 at Amazon.co.uk