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Vaccine Passports?
With the news that the UK government said that businesses are free to pursue vaccination ID tech, how likely are vaccine passports? Vaccine Passports The phrase ‘vaccine passports’ refers to people (who have been vaccinated) being able to show proof of vaccination in...
Featured Article: AI and Automation in Recruitment
With AI already revolutionising recruitment, we take a look at the benefits (and challenges) and the future direction of AI for both recruiters and applicants. Attracting the Best Talent One of the big challenges facing the recruitment industry today is not only...
Condemnation For Facebook After Blocking News
Facebook faced condemnation and challenges in other countries after blocking ‘news’ content from its platform in Australia and although a last-minute turnaround will mean the return of news to its Australian site, this may not be without damage to the social media...
Post Office Biometric Authentication
The Post Office has announced that its new, free app will include the latest biometric-face matching and liveness biometric authentication. Partnership With Yoti As a result of a partnership with London-based digital identity company, Yoti, Post Office customers will...
Tech Tip – Continuing Where You Left Off With Edge
If you would like to preserve all your browser tabs and reopen them the next time you restart Microsoft Edge e.g. if you’ve had to restart your machine while browsing, here’s how: - Open Edge, click on the 3 dots (top right) and select ‘Settings’. - Click “On startup”...
Important: Email Retirement 31/08/2021
The Discus Systems Hosted Email Service (cluster.mail-info.co.uk) will be retired from service on 31/08/2021 (approximately 6 months’) We’ve made this decision as there are much better services available to our customers. Whilst the hardware and software we run on...
Man Sued For Leaving a Bad Review
Consumer review website Trustpilot has expressed concerns over freedom of speech after a firm of London solicitors sued someone over a bad review. What Happened? Philip James Waymouth, who had sought legal advice (online) from London-based Summerfield Browne...
Coronavirus Lockdown Increases ‘Romance Fraud’
UK Finance and Action Fraud have both reported increases in fraud related to romance scams over the lockdown period. What Is Romance Fraud? Romance fraud/romance scams refers to fraudsters adopting fake personas online in order to fool a victim into thinking they are...
Featured Article: Energy – Consumption & Carbon From Bitcoin and Other Tech
With the news that mining Bitcoin uses more electricity annually than the whole of Argentina, we take a closer look at the carbon footprint of technology today. Cambridge Researchers from Cambridge recently highlighted how power-hungry “mining" for the Bitcoin...
Scotland Shames The Rest of UK for Free Electronic Car Charging
Zap-Map figures show that Scotland has the largest number of free electronic vehicle (EV) charging points in the UK. More Than A Quarter of the UK’s Free Chargers The latest figures from EV charging infrastructure trackers Zap-Maps show that of the 21,000 charging...
Tech Tip – Restoring Previous Versions Using File History
If you’d like to restore a previous version of a file in Windows 10 you can do this using File History. Here’s how: Firstly, to enable File History: -Go to ‘Settings’ and select ‘Update & Security’ and in the left-hand-side menu, click on ‘Backup’. -Under ‘Add a...
Featured Article: Emotnet: A Million Bucks per Incident
In the light of a reported recent victory by Europol in trying to stop the particularly dangerous Emotet malware, we look at what it is, how it is spread, and how to try and guard against it. What Is Emotet? Emotet is a computer malware program, believed to be Russian...
Google’s Record Advertising and Cloud Sales Due To Pandemic
Alphabet Inc’s (Google’s) quarterly sales for its advertising and cloud businesses exceeded expectations to hit record levels, helped by the pandemic driving retail and clients online. Figures Google’s advertising business, which includes YouTube, made up 81 per cent...
Amazon AI Cameras Prompt “Mobile Surveillance” Privacy Row
The fact that Amazon has started using AI-powered cameras in delivery vans that constantly record footage of drivers has led to accusations of mobile corporate surveillance. Cameras The Driveri combined video recording and AI cameras have been introduced to the cab of...
‘Custom Neural Voice’ Available From Microsoft
Microsoft has announced the general availability of a one-of-a-kind customised, synthetic voice for brands, generated using Custom Neural Voice, the Text-to-Speech (TTS) feature of Speech in Azure Cognitive Services. What Is It? The Custom Neural Voice from Microsoft...
Tech Tip – PDFs From Almost Anything
PDFs are really useful files for sharing and printing and one good thing about Windows 10 is that it enables you to make a pdf out of almost anything. Here’s how: - From any Windows 10 app, use the Print command. - In the Print dialogue box, select Microsoft Print to...
Featured Article: ‘Robinhood’ … What’s all this fuss about ‘Robinhood’?
In the light of the recent controversy over GameStop shares, we take a look at the growing trend for casual, amateur investing and how the Robinhood app has enabled this. Robinhood Robinhood is a free-trading app that lets any investor trade stocks, options,...
Grindr in Norway Fined £8.5M
The LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr in Norway was issued an £8.5m penalty for the alleged sharing of users’ sensitive personal data with third-party advertisers without obtaining appropriate consent. Complaint The fine is the result of a legal complaint by the Norwegian...
Contactless Payment Limit Could Be Raised to £100
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has asked the UK Treasury to consider increasing the maximum contactless payment to £100. Changing Payment Behaviour The move away from handling cash due to its potential infection-passing risk, and the lockdowns making consumers...
Poorest People Excluded By Broadband Prices
A survey by Citizens Advice has found that more than one in six people are struggling to afford their broadband during the third lockdown and that poorer people are locked out altogether. Certain Groups Worst Hit Citizens Advice, which also conducted a similar survey...
Tech Tip – Colour Filters
If you're having trouble seeing what's on the screen, Windows 10 allows you to apply a colour filter which changes the screen's colour palette and can help you distinguish between things that differ only by colour. Here's how to use it: - Select Start > Settings ...
Do Not Take The Bait
To further enhance your cyber defences, we want to highlight a common cyber-attack that everyone should be aware of - Phishing. Phishing is the most common type of cyber-attack that affects all organisations. Phishing attacks can take many forms, but they all...
Google Going in Oz
Australia’s intention to introduce a new law to make tech companies like Google and Facebook pay publishers for news content has prompted Google to threaten to withdraw its search engine from Australia. What Law? The proposed law is currently a Bill for an Act to...
Featured Article – What is Zero Trust?
With mobile computing, software-as-a-service (SaaS), and now remote working moving the focus of IT security away from the traditional perimeter, this article looks at what a Zero Trust approach is and how it can help. More Complex Demands The belief among many IT...
Google Mobile Search Re-Design
Google has announced that to make it faster and easier for users to find what they are looking for, a major visual redesign of Google’s mobile search results is to be rolled out shortly. Challenges Some of the challenges that Google has tried to address with the new...
Musk Offers $100 Million To Best Carbon Capture Inventor
Billionaire Tesla founder and SpaceX boss, Elon Musk, has pledged to give a $100 (£73 million) prize to whomever comes up with the best technology to remove carbon dioxide (which are generated from fossil fuels) from the air. Jan 21st Tweet In a Tweet on January 21,...
Tech Tip – Steps Recorder
If you would like a fast and easy way to describe to someone else (with pictures and steps) how you do something on your Windows 10 computer, the ‘Steps Recorder’ will record what you do and produce a file or slideshow showing those steps. To record your steps: - Go...
Electric Cars Allowed in Bus Lanes (Pilot)
Cambridgeshire County Council’s pilot scheme to allow electric vehicles to use bus lanes from December 2020 has caused safety concerns among cyclists, who also use the bus lanes. December Decision Under an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO), a pilot scheme...
Featured Article – Data About You Held By UK Government
In this article, we look at not just the story of how a staggering 400,000 police records were accidentally deleted but also at the wider picture of what information is held about us UK citizens by the authorities, and what powers we have over that data. Deleted After...
Signal Crashes Due To Millions of Sign-Ups
With more than 30 million people joining the non-profit, end-to-end encrypted communications app ‘Signal’ in just a few days, users of the app have (understandably) been experiencing a few technical issues. Mass Sign-Ups The announcement that WhatsApp would be...