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Voice Control Your Printer
Amazon has announced its new ?Printing With Alexa? service that allows owners of Echo devices to operate their printer using voice commands.
Print What?
Printing Wit...
Amazon Review Fraud
An FT investigation appears to have uncovered an estimated 20,000 Amazon reviews where the reviewers were suspected of being paid to give a five-star rating.
Reviews
Influencers Paid To Promote NHS Test and Trace
In a bid to raise awareness of responsible behaviour concerning COVID-19 among the younger age groups, the UK government is reported to be paying freelance social media influencers and reality TV stars ...
Featured Article - Just What Is The IoT?
With a vast and growing number of business, industry, consumer and civic IoT devices and systems now being used, we look at their advantages, the threats to the IoT and how we move forward in a way that...
Tech Tip - Sync Sticky Notes Across Devices
If you are using Windows 10 and need some simple, handy reminders about work, appointments, calls and more, synced across all your devices and other apps, Microsoft?s Sticky Notes app can help. Here?s h...
Featured Article - Ensure What You See Is Real
With the internet and particularly social media awash with pictures, videos, news, and other content which may not be all that it seems, here is a guide to spotting fake news and content.
Virtual London Tech Week
The successful move to virtual presentations for London Tech Week Connects back in June has inspired September’s London Tech Week to go ahead as a fully virtual event.
June<...
Brexit Border IT Systems Behind Schedule
A leaked government memo reportedly suggests that critical IT systems needed to avoid border disruption post-Brexit are behind schedule, raising the threat of border chaos for hauliers.
Microsoft Ending Support For Flash
Microsoft has announced that it is ending support for the Adobe Flash Player on Microsoft Edge (new and legacy) and Internet Explorer 11 at the end of 2020.
Flash
In...
Tech Tip - Space and Speed
On your PC, if you would like to be able to monitor how much space your apps are taking up and keep your machine running quickly by getting rid of the ones you do not need, here’s how:
T...
Featured Article - Making Your Router Secure
With your router in charge of all incoming and outgoing Internet traffic and controlling the Wi-Fi network for your devices, it makes sense to make it as secure as possible.
Routers
Elon Musk Demonstrates Neuralink Using Live Pigs
Tesla-founder and SpaceX boss Elon Musk gave an update on the progress of his Neuralink project using live pigs with the device implanted.
What Is Neuralink?
The Neu...
Delivery Drones Get Go Ahead
Amazon’s Prime Air drone parcel delivery service has been approved by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to test autonomous delivery drones.
Prime Air
...
Zoom Zooms Thanks to COVID
Zoom Video Communications Inc has raised its annual revenue forecast by more than 30 per cent as it converts many of its vast free user base to paid subscriptions.
Pandemic Growth
Tech Tip - Turn Your Phone/iPad Into A HD Webcam
Whilst availability of peripheral-hardware for remote-working may be less of an issue now that it was a just a couple of short months ago (when Covid-19 took off and caused a shortage of equipment) reme...
Featured Article - What Are UVC Wands and Do They Work?
In the fight against COVID-19 (and as made famous by U.S. President Trump’s comments about UV light) UVC wands may kill viruses and pathogens, but are they really a safe or effective tool in the f...
Lockdown Love Scams
Details emerged this week of a scam whereby a man claiming to be on a top-secret military mission contacted a lady on a dating site and encouraged her to switch to an encrypted message service in order ...
Can Wearable Devices Spot Early Symptoms of COVID?
As wearable devices such as fitness wristbands and watches track signs such as body temperature, could they be used to help detect the early signs of COVID-19 infection and thereby help public health re...
Record Broadband Compensation Pay-Outs
Ofcom's annual report shows that a record-breaking £20.7m in compensation was paid to broadband customers under the new automatic compensation scheme in the last six months of 2019.
...
Tech Tip - One-Click Fix For Accessibility
If you are using Word (or any Office app) in Windows 10, there is a one-click way to make sure that your messages and documents can be read by people of all abilities. Here’s how:
...
Featured Article - Back to Work! (well, back to the office)
For those whose workplace would normally be the office, going 'back to work' after remote working during the pandemic has its own challenges, so here is a brief reminder and checklist for moving...
Toyota To Upload Drivers' Data To Amazon
Toyota will use Amazon’s (AWS) cloud services for a Mobility Services Platform that will upload data from Toyota cars globally that could be used for monetised services.
Data Gat...
AI-Faked Photos and Videos Concerns
Social media analytics company Graphika has reported identifying images of faces for social media profiles that appear to have been faked using machine learning for the purpose of China-based anti-U.S. ...
Ritz Roasted
Some diners with bookings at the Ritz Hotel were reportedly targeted by phone scammers who posed as hotel staff to steal credit card details.
What Happened?
The ID s...
Tech Tip - Use The Timeline
If you’re using Windows 10 and you need to quickly find a document that you’ve worked on in the past using the Timeline can help you to find it and start working where you left off.
<...
Featured Article - Remote Working and Office 365
Remote working during the pandemic has made businesses look more closely at what IT tools are best for the job. Here is a look at what Microsoft’s Office 365 has to offer.
...
Trump Terminates TikTok
The Trump administration’s next high-profile target in its Chinese trade-war is the hugely popular video-sharing mobile app TikTok, which has been slapped with a 45-day ban in the U.S. from 20 Sep...
No More Laptops From Toshiba
Tokyo-based Toshiba Corporation has announced that it has now transferred the remaining 19.9 per cent of its outstanding shares in its PC business (re-branded as Dynabook Inc.) to Sharp Corporation.
...
Starling: an Example of Challenger Bank Boosted During Pandemic
A statement to investors from Anne Boden, CEO of Starling, gives an example of how and why starter banks and Fintech have seen a rise in popularity over the period of the pandemic.
Sta...
Tech Tip - Translate Text On The Fly
If you are using Word in Windows 10 and you would like a really fast and easy way to translate text into another language and include it in your document, here’s how.
- Highlight the tex...
Featured Article - Try Using Microsoft 'Surveys' Function
With surveys, quizzes and polls providing some valuable insights that can be used for marketing and content creation, we look at and compare the survey solutions that Microsoft and others offer.
...
Apple Wants Rent Cuts With UK Landlords
It has been reported that due to the effects of the pandemic on the UK high street, even tech giant Apple is trying to negotiate a 50 per cent rent cut with its retail landlords.
Repor...
The Start of Google and Facebook Paying For News Content?
At a time when smaller news outlets have been forced to close and big tech companies dominate distribution, the Australian Government may make the likes of Google and Facebook pay for their news content...
AI, Data Protection & The ICO
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published guidelines to help clarify how data protection principles apply to AI projects.
The Document
The guid...
Tech Tip - Dictation
If you’d like to give your hands a rest, if you need to quickly capture notes, or even if you’d like to take an easy written record of the information given in a phone call, try using the di...
Featured Article - Antitrust and Big-Tech
With U.S. Congress members grilling the bosses of the big tech companies this week with a view to deciding if their companies have become too big and powerful, in this article we take a look at the Anti...
Face Masks Beat Facial Recognition
New research has shown that even the most advanced facial recognition algorithms can only identify as little as 50 per cent of faces when masks are worn.
Test
Althou...
Remote Working Means Public Cloud and DaaS Spend Increase
Gartner has forecast continued spending on the public cloud and particularly desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) through 2020, fuelled by remote working during the pandemic.
Growth
Free Delivery of Amazon Groceries
Amazon is now taking on the supermarkets and Ocado in the UK with free grocery deliveries from its Amazon Fresh service.
Amazon Fresh
The Amazon Fresh grocery servic...
Tech Tip - Getting Organised Using Microsoft Edge
If you are using Microsoft Edge in Windows 10, here’s a way that you can organise multiple browser tabs that you need to have open for a job or project into a ‘Collection’ that you can...
Featured Article - 1,000% More Gold In E-Waste Than Gold-Ore
With 50 million tonnes of electronic waste produced each year and enterprises having policies in place for its disposal, there is still the problem in many countries of too much of it ending up in landf...
Test and Trace Breaks GDPR Say Campaigners
The Open Rights Group (ORG) has said that England’s COVID-19 Test and Trace programme is in breach of GDPR.
Test and Trace
The COVID-19 test and trace system r...
Celebrity Twitter Accounts Hacked For Bitcoin
Twitter accounts of celebrities including Barack Obama and Bill Gates were hacked and used to operate a scam, asking people to donate bitcoin.
What Happened?
Hackers...
Lockdown Has Promoted Digital Learning Among Adults
Research by techUK with Ipsos MORI and Cisco has revealed that almost 60 per cent of UK adults are interested in developing their digital skills following lockdown.
A Thirst For More
Tech Tip - Lock Your Work Device
If you’re using Windows 10 and you’d like to prevent others from seeing what you’re working on if you need to walk away from your device, here’s how to quickly and easily lock yo...
LinkedIn Sued Over Clipboard-Reading Allegations
An Apple iPhone user in the U.S. has sued LinkedIn over allegations that its app was reading the contents of an Apple device user’s clipboard without their knowledge.
Spying Comp...
UK Rejects Huawei Equipment For 5G Infrastructure
The UK government has gone back on its original decision to use some Huawei equipment in non-core parts of the UK’s 5G network and has opted to remove all Huawei kit by 2027.
The...
Free Cyber Security Testing Module For Remote Workers
A new penetration testing module as part of the National Cyber Security Centre’s Exercise in a Box toolkit will help remote workers of SME’s to improve their cybersecurity.
Featured Article - Digital Addiction
Making software and platforms that have engaging (but addictive) elements to them have become popular. However, is this really the route that businesses want to go down with their software?
Tech Tip - Slide To Shutdown
If you’d like to create a fast, easy, and decorative way to shut down your Windows 10 PC, creating a ‘slide to shutdown’ shortcut allows you to simply pull down an on-screen picture bl...
Featured Article - UK Government Rejects Huawei Equipment For 5G Infrastructure
The UK government has gone back on its original decision to use some Huawei equipment in non-core parts of the UK’s 5G network and has opted to remove all Huawei kit by 2027.
The...
Twitter to Replace "Master", "Slave" and "Blacklist"
Twitter has announced that it will be replacing programming language terms such as “master”, “slave” and “blacklist” with more inclusive ones.
Progr...
Police Crack Encrypted Network To Reach Crime Gangs
An international law enforcement operation has led to the cracking of the EncroChat Android phone network and the arrest of criminal gangs.
The Network
The France-ba...
Competing Against Huawei
President Trump’s administration is reported to have met with major US communications networking companies in a bid to address the need for improved competition with Huawei globally.
Tech Tip - Open A Link In A New Browser Tab With Just One Click
If you would like to know how to save time and easily open a link in an online document in its own new browser tab using one just click, here?s how:
- If you are browsing an online document th...
Featured Article - Why Big Brands Are Boycotting Social Media
Large, mainly U.S.-based companies (many of which are household names) have said that they will be boycotting Facebook and Instagram in terms of paid advertising in July over concerns about the moderati...
New Edge Browser To All Windows 10 Users
The new, improved version of Microsoft’s Edge browser has been launched in an update to all Windows 10 users in a move that will give Google’s Chrome some competition.
Avai...
New "Watch Party" Feature For Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime subscribers can be part of 100-viewer "Watch Party" groups and enjoy access to thousands of movies and films as well as chat between group members.
Watch Party
New Windows File Recovery Tool Resurrects Deleted Files
Microsoft’s own Windows File Recovery tool allows users to use a command-line app to bring back a variety of file-types that may have been mistakenly deleted, formatted, or have become corrupt.
Tech Tip - How To Keep Your Wi-Fi Connection Secure
A good, secure Wi-Fi connection is often the backbone of many peoples' day-to-day online business and is a key component of data security, so, here are a few tips for making sure that your wireless ...
Featured Article - Medical Apps For Smart Devices
The global pandemic and news about tracking apps have put health and technology in the spotlight. With this in mind, here are some examples of medical apps for smart devices and smart health produ...
Big Tech Supporting Black-Owned Businesses
Big companies such as Google, Facebook and Netflix have committed to considerable financial support for black-owned businesses as Black Lives Matter gains momentum.
Custom Backgrounds and Live Captions in Microsoft Teams
Microsoft’s latest move in the battle between video conferencing and collaborative working online platforms is to add custom background effects and enable live captions.
New Feat...
After Pressure, Zoom Offers End-To-End Encryption for Everyone
Pressure from privacy group The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Mozilla has led to Zoom offering end-to-end encryption to all its users, not just paying customers.
A U-Tu...
Tech Tip - Start Menu Folders
Windows 10 users can help users to get organised with their current work by creating named Start menu folders that have a group of relevant live app Tiles in them.? Here?s how to create your Start menu ...
Featured Article - Facial Recognition Backlash
The recent killing of George Floyd by U.S. police appears to have been the catalyst for a backlash by tech companies such as Amazon and Microsoft who are banning the police from using facial recognition...
COVID-19 Advances Move To Cashless Society
A survey has shown how the need for most people to pay using a contactless card in shops, digital/ mobile and online means for purchases during lockdown may have sped up the move towards a cashless futu...
Voice and Contactless Technologies For a Safer Workplace
With businesses looking to ensure COVID-safe working conditions, the use of voice and contactless interfaces could help provide safer ways of carrying out daily work tasks.
Report
NatWest's Extra Layer of Behavioural Biometrics Security
In partnership with Visa, NatWest has added an invisible layer of behavioural biometrics as part of an authentication process that will enable compliance with a new EU regulation.
Whic...
Tech Tip - Save Time With Aero Shake
If you’ve got a screen full of windows open on Windows 10 and you need to unclutter your screen so you can concentrate on just the one you’re working on, the old ‘Aero Shake’ tri...
Featured Article - Electric Vehicles, Batteries & Renewables
With 7 million electric vehicles already on the world’s roads and with predictions that 31 per cent of the overall car fleet will be electric by 2040 (i.e. 58% of all vehicles sold), how these veh...
COVID Alerts From Google Maps
Google Maps is now issuing COVID-19 related alerts to those looking for public transport directions in cities, looking for medical facilities and testing centres, and for those crossing borders.
...
Facial Recognition, Photo Identity and Privacy Protection
With phone cameras, surveillance cameras with facial recognition seemingly everywhere and the world entering a new phase of social change, many people are looking at how they can take simple steps to re...
Flying Taxis - Major Tesla Shareholder Funding
German vertical take-off air taxi start-up company Lilium has just received a major funding boost from Baillie Gifford, the second-biggest shareholder in Tesla.
Additional Funding...
Tech Tip - Better Video Chats
If you would like to improve your video conference calls in terms of how things look, sound and operate, here are a few tips:
- Consider using a webcam rather than the built-in laptop cam.&nbs...
Featured Article - A Look At Cookies
Cookies perform functions and provide information that helps website users, businesses, publishers, and advertisers. This article looks at what cookies are, what they do, and the legislation that affect...
Beware Fake Contact Tracer Messages
Just as you thought that cybercriminals had exploited every aspect of the pandemic with phishing, vishing, smishing and more, there are now warnings to beware of fake contact tracer messages.
...
Google Store Takes Down App That Removes Chinese Software
Google has removed an app from its Play Store that was designed to help users to detect and delete apps that were made in China.
More Than 1 Million Downloads
The Re...
New Tool Allows You To Bulk-Delete/Hide Old Facebook Posts
Facebook has announced the introduction of the ?Manage Activity? tool that allows users to archive or bulk-delete old Facebook posts based on a variety of filters.
Change
...
Tech Tip - Stop Background Apps
If you have apps running in the background on Windows 10, they can use up more of your battery power and data.? Here?s an easy way to stop background apps from running:
Go to: Settings > Pr...
Featured Article - Vishing and How to Guard Against It
‘Vishing’, or ‘phishing over the phone’ is on the rise and in this article, we look at vishing techniques and examples, and how to prevent them.
Vishing
NHS Immunity "Passport" App
Andrew Bud, chief executive of iProov, the company behind the NHS app, has floated the idea of using facial recognition for Covid-19 "immunity passports".
App
...
eBay Port Scanning Causes Alarm
Reports that eBay has been running port scans against the computers of visitors to the platform have caused alarm over potential security issues.
Port Scans
Port sca...
Internet Speed Record
Researchers from Australia’s Monash, Swinburne, and RMIT universities claim to have set a new Internet speed record of 44.2 Tbps.
Fibre Connection
The claim, w...
Tech Tip ? Background Change in Zoom
If you or anyone you know has used Zoom recently, perhaps to communicate during the lockdown, here is a way to change the background view to something a little more interesting than an overcrowded books...
Featured Article - Does Your Phone Have A Virus?
Phones are essentially powerful mobile computers that contain vast amounts of valuable personal information. This article looks at how to tell if your phone has a virus, what to do if you think it has, ...
Fuel Engine Car Sales Fall Faster Than Electric Cars
A Bloomberg NEF (BNEF) report forecasts that sales of combustion engine cars will drop 23 per cent in 2020, whereas worldwide electric car registrations are set to fall by only 18 per cent.
Virtual Restart For Housing Market
The housing secretary, Robert Jenrick, has said in a speech about safely restarting the housing market that technology such as virtual viewings looks set to play an important part.
Har...
Are Masks A Challenge To Facial Recognition Technology?
In addition to questions about the continued use of potentially unreliable and unregulated live facial recognition (LFR) technology, masks to protect against the spread of coronavirus may be presenting ...
Tech Tip: 3 Ways to help speed up your Windows 10 PC
Here are 3 tips to help speed up a Windows 10 PC:
1. Change Power Settings
If you are using a power saver plan, you can change your power settings to 'Higher Performance'&nbs...
Bluetooth Contact Tracing App releases for iOS & Andriod
Google and Apple have released their COVID-19 contact tracing apps to the public on their most recent software updates to their relevant handsets. The software integrates with Bluetooth on the handset w...
Microsoft Ends Support for Windows 7
Microsoft has ended support for Windows 7
Microsoft have recently announced that Windows 7 is to become ?end of life? with effect from 14th Januar...
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