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A test of seven OEM laptops running Windows has shown consistent privacy and security issues, including an interesting revelation that the McAfee Antivirus running on six of them is using web beacons to serve ads and possibly even track users online. The seven laptops – Lenovo Flex 3, Lenovo G50-80 (UK version), HP Envy, HP Stream x360 (Microsoft Signature Edition), HP Stream (UK version), Acer Aspire F15 (UK version), and Dell Inspiron 14 (Canada version) – have been tested by the security research team of Duo Security by simply sniffing the traffic sent from and to them once they have...

It feels like Microsoft has been dangling the "Windows will come to Xbox" carrot for the longest time, but now it appears the company isn't too far away from actually delivering. Speaking with Business Insider at GDC 2016, Xbox product manager Jason Ronald revealed that the company will begin opening its PC and gaming ecosystems to over the course of the year, with Windows 10 apps coming to the Xbox One in the summer. Microsoft's plan is to merge the Xbox Store and Windows Store, which will host apps that can be run on a smartphone, tablet, PC or console....

Samsung’s new Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge flagship phones are now six days old. Apple’s iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are six months old. Is it fair to pit these two smartphones against each other in performance tests? After all, things progress so quickly in the tech world that the passing of six months can seem like six years… unless of course you’re talking about battery technology, in which case progress comes at a snail’s pace. Regardless of age, a new video published on YouTube offers what is likely the best real-world performance testing we’ve seen so...

Despite significant user outcry that the Windows 10 upgrade mechanism has gone rogue, installing on customers' Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 machines when their backs turned or otherwise away from the computer, Microsoft is pleading innocent. We first brought you news of the automatic Windows 10 upgrades over the weekend, and in nearly every case, Windows 10 installed without user intervention — something that is clearly not supposed to happen based on previous commentary from Windows chief Terry Myerson. Microsoft issued the following statement regarding the “unplanned” upgrades: We shared in late October on the Windows Blog, we are committed...

We’ve discovered a new family of iOS malware that successfully infected non-jailbroken devices we’ve named “AceDeceiver”. What makes AceDeceiver different from previous iOS malware is that instead of abusing enterprise certificates as some iOS malware has over the past two years, AceDeceiver manages to install itself without any enterprise certificate at all. It does so by exploiting design flaws in Apple’s DRM mechanism, and even as Apple has removed AceDeceiver from App Store, it may still spread thanks to a novel attack vector. AceDeceiver is the first iOS malware we’ve seen that abuses certain design flaws in Apple’s DRM protection...

The numbers of the dead on Facebook are growing fast. By 2012, just eight years after the platform was launched, 30 million users with Facebook accounts had died. That number has only gone up since. Some estimates claim more than 8,000 users die each day. At some point in time, there will be more dead Facebook users than living ones. Facebook is a growing and unstoppable digital graveyard.

A new kind of fuel cell that can turn urine into electricity could revolutionize the way we produce bioenergy, particularly in developing countries. The research, published in Electrochimica Acta, describes a new design of microbial fuel cell that's smaller, cheaper and more powerful than traditional ones. The world's supply of fossil fuels is being depleted, and there is increasing pressure to develop new renewable sources of energy. Bioenergy is one such source, and microbial fuel cells can produce it. In their study, researchers from University of Bath, Queen Mary University of London and the Bristol Robotics Laboratory describe a new...

Wow. Overnight, Microsoft forced updated a "Security Setting" on my computer without my permission. I had updates turned OFF on purpose and NEVER turn it on. I use my own anti-virus protection and it works beautifully. How do I turn off Microsoft's Anti-virus protection (Windows XP)?

A man has been charged with hacking the Apple iCloud and Gmail accounts of celebrities and stealing nude photos and videos from them.The US authorities say Ryan Collins has agreed to plead guilty to the offence. Prosecutors have recommended that he face a jail term of 18 months, although a judge could extend that to five years.The 36-year-old is alleged to have stolen usernames and passwords via a phishing scam.The Department of Justice said that the Pennsylvania-based Collins had admitted to breaking into more than 100 accounts between November 2012 and September 2014. < He is said to have achieved...

Gadget owner called 999 after watch told him his heart rate was dangerously high Dennis Anselmo with the Apple Watch that saved his life Dennis Anselmo A BUILDER who was suffering a heart attack had his life saved by his Apple Watch. When Dennis Anselmo started to "feel terrible" he thought it was because he was coming down with a fever. But when the 62-year-old glanced down at his Apple gadget he saw that his heart rate was more than 210 beats a minute. Doctors who later cleared the blockage in his arteries told him if he had gone home...

Some Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users have begun to howl over Microsoft's practice of automatically upgrading their PCs to Windows 10, saying that they were never given a chance to decline the upgrade before it installed itself. That was contrary to how Microsoft has described its aggressive strategy of pushing Windows 10 to devices running older versions of its operating system. strategy chess How creating an alumni strategy closes the skills gap Smart companies are looking to their past employees to help drive future success and are actively READ NOW It stuck to that today. "Customers continue to be...

It was an intense competition between man and machine, and in the end, the machine took home the title. On Tuesday, Google's AlphaGo artificial intelligence program won the fifth and final round game of Go in a bout with Lee Sedol, one of the greatest Go players in the world. AlphaGo took four out of the five games in a contest that marked a noteworthy leap forward for computer smarts. That's not to say the computer was perfect. After losing the fourth game, AlphaGo hit a rough patch in game five, but continued on to defeat Lee, who resigned 280...

The 911 calls and arrest video from February's massacre in Kalamazoo depict the horror and chaos as a gunman struck again and again, leaving six people dead. Jason Dalton had his family dog in the car with him when he allegedly began his shooting rampage. Dalton apparently was working as an Uber driver and taking fares during his shooting spree. He blames the Uber app he was using for the violence, telling police after he was arrested Feb. 20 that the app took him over "like artificial intelligence that can tap into you body," according to a police document. More...

Here is my dilemma. My brother Jimmy worked for a small tech and robotics integrator for two years. His employer notified him in one day that it would be his last. Jimmy lives in U.S. and his employer lives in French Canada. The next 24hrs the bank trustee shut all things down and has recently put the up for sale. Meanwhile I have a very nice computer they own but have yet to mention they would like it returned. also, the still owe Jimmy $15,00 The question: It has information on my laptop that they already have on the main...

As Microsoft auto-upgrades more PCs to Windows 10, some users are complaining that they weren’t adequately notified. Reports of unwanted Windows 10 upgrades have been circulating for the past few days on Reddit and Twitter, after the last Patch Tuesday. These users say they never approved or initiated the upgrade, and were dragged away from their Windows 7 (or perhaps Windows 8) installs anyway. This is all part of Microsoft’s plan, of course. Last October, the company announced that it would reclassify Windows 10 as a “Recommended” update from older versions starting in early 2016, at which point many more...

With Apple set to unveil a new iPhone (and more) next week ahead of its court hearing with the FBI over the encryption battle, John Oliver has a smart take on the whole tangled issue. The host of HBO's 'Last Week Tonight,' who has become increasingly relevant in debates on national issues, Oliver has come out in defense of Apple on the encryption issue, but noted the company could be more forthcoming with its ads, saying it could talk more about how hard it is to stay ahead of hackers. Oliver noted the issue has been brought up on the...

Apple’s March 21st special event invitation (below) features the message: “Let us loop you in.” What could this cryptic sentence mean?Well, Apple does offer the stainless steel (silver) Milanese Loop for Apple Watch and there are rumblings of a new black Milanese Loop coming at the event, but it that really enough to warrant being the marquee on the special event’s invitation?What if the phrase refers to Apple Smart Bands? Or “Smart Loops?” Think Apple Watch bands loops that add extra functionality (GPS, for just one example) to the Apple Watch.Wouldn’t such a Smart Loop or a line of Smart...

The FBI could demand that Apple turns over its source code and private key to the iPhone's operating system, the Justice Dept. implied in its latest filing against the tech giant. The government's response aims to target a critical argument made by Apple -- that compelling the company to rewrite its iOS software to remove security features in order to allow federal agents to bypass the passcode on the San Bernardino shooter's phone would be overly "burdensome." "The government did not seek to compel Apple to turn those over because it believed such a request would be less palatable to...

Giving out a paper business card is so 1960s. Giving out a PCB business card, well that gets you up to the early 2010s. If you really want to stand out these days, give them a fully-functional EKG in a business card. (Note: works best if you’re leading an open-source electrocardiography project.) Looking through the schematics (PDF), there’s not much to the card. At the center of everything is an ADuC7061, which is an ARM microprocessor equipped with 24-bit ADCs that also has an internal DAC-driven voltage reference connected to one of the user’s thumbs

A number of Windows 7 users were taken by surprise this weekend when their operating systems started to automatically upgrade to Windows 10, causing hardware and software issues for some. Problems reported by users included hardware drivers no longer working after the upgrade, software incompatibilites, and users getting large bills for using several gigabytes of cellular data. Microsoft copped flak last September for quietly downloading Windows 10 components onto users' computers in preparation for a later upgrade, taking up storage space and eating into data caps. The company has since published instructions for users who want to opt out of...