IT Executive news

• BrandPost: Data Security—What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You

  26-08-2016 20:45
  In today’s ever expanding IT ecosystem, how do you know whether your data is really secure? It’s a critical question. The numbers tell us so:Over 169 million personal records were exposed in 2015, stemming from 781 publicized breaches across the financial, business, education, government and healthcare sectors.1In 2015, there were 38 percent more security incidents detected than in 2014.2The average global cost per each lost or stolen record containing confidential and sensitive dat
  
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• BrandPost: Networking's Ugly Truth

  26-08-2016 20:39
  If digital transformation, what IDC calls DX, is in your future—and IT IS—then the ugly truth is that your network infrastructure will have to change radically. Most of today’s networks are based on technology that hasn’t changed much over the last 30 years. But that technology is woefully inadequate for addressing all the new and emerging requirements of big data, analytics, mobility, Internet of Things (IoT), social media, security, and cloud.Just over half of the resp
  
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• BrandPost: Protect Yourself with a Cyber Security Assessment

  26-08-2016 20:34
  The ugly truth is that your organization has either been the victim of a recent cyber security breach, or it will be. Despite spending billions on cyber security—$75 billion last year, growing to $170 billion by 2020—the bad guys appear to be winning. “Breach is the new normal,” said Christina Richmond, program director for security services at IDC.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• Got big data? Check out these 100 best practices for keeping it secure

  26-08-2016 20:31
  
  Big data is best known for its volume, variety, and velocity -- collectively referred to as the "3 Vs" -- and all three of those traits make security an elusive goal. Targeting companies grappling with that challenge, the Cloud Security Alliance on Friday released a new report offering 100 best practices.As its name would suggest, the CSA focuses on promoting the use of security best practices within the cloud computing world; corporate members include VMware, Microsoft, AWS, and Red Hat. In an
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Linus Torvalds says first Linux release wasn't public

  26-08-2016 19:55
  
  Keeping up with tradition, Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, and Dirk Hohndel, vice president and chief of open source at VMware, sat down to talk about Linux at LinuxCon NA. Here is an edited version of the conversation, in which they talked about the email Torvalds sent out 25 years ago to announce Linux.What's the right date?Linux celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary on August 25, but there is some confusion. "What is the correct date to celebrate? Is it really August twenty-fift
  
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• iPhones are much more likely to 'fail' than Androids

  26-08-2016 19:40
  
  Apple's once glittering reputation for quality took quite a few hits during the last few years, especially when it comes to iOS, the software that runs on iPhones. In some cases, recurrent software bugs have plagued users with issues such as the inability to use Wi-Fi, frequent crashes, and ridiculously short battery life. This week reports surfaced about a hardware flaw that makes some iPhone 6 screens inoperable. (Apple hasn't confirmed any related problems.)It's hard to tell ho
  
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• iOS 10 dev beta 8/Public Beta 7 now available

  26-08-2016 19:23
  We’re starting to sense a pattern here. Last week, Apple released an iOS 10 beta. On Friday, Apple updated the beta again, so maybe we’re in for Friday updates. In any case, iOS dev beta 8 and Public Beta 7 is available for download.
  Before installing any OS update, back up you data first. To get the update, go to the Settings app and run Software Update on your iOS device. If you’re not a developer, the only way you can get the beta is to join the Apple Public Beta Program.To
  
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• Android device updates: Nougat factory images are ready, LG V10 gets AT&T Wi-Fi calling

  26-08-2016 19:15
  
  Android Nougat dominated the news this week, as the software came first to Google’s line of Nexus phones. Yet there were some other updates worth paying attention to, such as AT&T expanding the Wi-Fi calling lineup and a minor bump to the OnePlus 3.
  Each week, we compile all the major software updates to hit the ecosystem, including phones and tablets on U.S. carriers, unlocked phones, Android Wear smartwatches, and Android TV devices. Making sure your device is running the latest ava
  
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• Google is nixing the Device Assist app for Nexus phones

  26-08-2016 18:16
  
  Google giveth, and then it taketh away. The latest casualty to undergo the Mountain View culling is the Device Assist app, which was built to offer quick tips, troubleshooting suggestions, and quick access to Google support.
  Now when you fire up the app you’ll see a notice that it’s going away under the Detected Issues section. Touch the card and you’ll get a link for more information. That’ll send you over to an official Google tips page, where ironically the current fe
  
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• Quantum encryption gets off the ground with China’s Micius satellite

  26-08-2016 18:10
  
  Quantum computers of the future will be so powerful that many believe they will be used to crack the powerful encryption used today to defend government secrets and protect sensitive corporate data like bank transactions.
  In reaction, researchers are developing methods to bolster encryption that also rely on quantum physics.One approach is Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), the use of photons (minute particles of light) in laser light for encrypted quantum communications that primarily travel over
  
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• Cloud player Rackspace goes private in $4.3B deal

  26-08-2016 17:42
  
  A private equity firm has signed an agreement to buy major cloud player Rackspace for $4.3 billion.
  Rackspace announced today that Apollo Global Management, aU.S.-based investment manager, will acquire the company in a deal that will give Rackspace shareholders $32 per share.
  "Our board, with the assistance of independent advisors, determined that this transaction, upon closing, will deliver immediate, significant and certain cash value to our stockholders," said Graham Weston, co-founder and c
  
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• 10 cool tech tools for heading back to school

  26-08-2016 17:42
  
  Back-to-school tech 2016Image by ThinkstockThis month, parents and students are making lists and racking their brains to make sure students go back to school with everything they need for a successful year. As we do every August, we’ve scoured the latest offerings from top tech companies to find a lineup suitable for the modern student. We’ve also kept in mind the constraints of a student budget. The most expensive item on this list is $140, and several of them cost $30 or less.To re
  
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• Autonomic offerings set to transform IT, but outsourcing customers beware

  26-08-2016 17:28
  
  Wipro has Holmes, Tata Consultancy Services introduced Ignio, Syntel is selling Synbots. HCL Systems calls its Dry Ice. And Infosys is promoting Mana. With traditional IT outsourcing revenue streams at risk to automation, a number of IT service providers are responding by developing their own homegrown systems which are designed to perform routine tasks and operations otherwise performed by humans.The good news is that CIOs now have a number of automation options to choose from. The bad news? Th
  
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• 5 security practices hackers say make their lives harder

  26-08-2016 17:22
  
  Whether they identify as white hats, black hats or something in-between, a majority of hackers agree that no password is safe from them — or the government for that matter. Regardless of where they sit with respect to the law, hackers mostly agree that five key security measures can make it a lot harder to penetrate enterprise networks.
  At the Black Hat USA 2016 conference in Las Vegas earlier this month, Thycotic, a specialist in privileged account management (PAM) solutions, surveyed mo
  
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• 31% off Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Slim 2TB Portable External Hard Drive - Deal Post

  26-08-2016 17:18
  
  The Backup Plus Ultra Slim Portable Drive is one of Seagate's thinnest and most eye-catching portable hard drives. Available in stunning gold and platinum colors- style meets storage- and easily slips into your backpack along with your other essentials. At 9.6mm thin, capacity is not sacrificed with 1TB and 2TB options-bring your most important files and head out the door. Back up and manage your favorite files from your computer, tablet and mobile devices using the Seagate Dashboard. Run a
  
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• Mozilla launches free website security scanning service

  26-08-2016 17:14
  In order to help webmasters better protect their websites and users, Mozilla has built an online scanner that can check if web servers have the best security settings in place.Dubbed Observatory, the tool was initially built for in-house use by Mozilla security engineer April King, who was then encouraged to expand it and make it available to the whole world.She took inspiration from the SSL Server Test from Qualys' SSL Labs, a widely appreciated scanner that rates a website's SSL/TLS configurat
  
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• Now you can play Solitaire and more in Google search

  26-08-2016 17:06
  Google just decided to add a little more fun to search—as if “do a barrel roll” and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe references weren’t already enough. The company recently announced that you can now play solitaire, tic-tac-toe, and flip a coin right inside your search results.
  On top of that you can entertain young children (or childish co-workers) with animal sounds that playback in your browser. The new features are available now on the web and within
  
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• BrandPost: Clouds on the Horizon: Keys to Choosing the Right Cloud Vendor

  26-08-2016 16:45
  
  From “born in the cloud” startups to leading technology organizations, Cloud has become a powerful, disruptive force across industries and throughout the marketplace. The reasons are clear: On the one hand, Cloud quickens the pace of time to value; on the other, it increases business agility to react to changing market demands and emerging opportunities.However, deploying successful cloud services is an arduous challenge for most IT organizations, as they struggle to deal with issues
  
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• Common hardware causes Windows 10 Anniversary Update crashes, again

  26-08-2016 16:16
  Microsoft’s Anniversary Update is causing headaches yet again, this time for owners of Kindle e-readers. Some Kindle Paperwhite and Voyager devices are causing PCs running the Anniversary update to lock up and display the dreaded blue screen of death (BSOD) whenever the e-readers are connected via USB, as first reported by The Guardian.
  The reason for this odd behavior is unclear, but Microsoft says it’s working on it.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click
  
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• Google Apps training courses help IT pros build skills

  26-08-2016 16:08
  
  Ten years ago, less than three years after Google upended the email space with Gmail, the company took on Microsoft and other business software vendors and launched Google Apps, its own flavor of cloud-based tools for productivity, collaboration and communication. Today more than five million businesses use its Google for Work business apps, including Google Drive, Docs, Sheets and Slides. A wide range of related training tools are available for Google Apps users and IT professionals intere
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Big data analytics and NLP: How health plans can make more money -- and keep it

  26-08-2016 16:05
  
  Big data analytics in healthcare has largely been about looking at claims, electronic health records (EHR) and other forms of structured data. Natural language processing (NLP) is an emerging area that can help unlock value from the vast amounts of unstructured data that are pervasive in healthcare. In the emerging era of value-based payments, risk adjustments may well determine the difference between profit and loss for the health insurance industry.UPMC Health Plan, the health insurance arm of
  
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• The Week in iPhone Cases: Waterfield Designs' bike-friendly pouch is ready for a ride

  26-08-2016 16:00
  New iPhone cases of the weekThis week’s roundup of new iPhone cases includes the Club Cycling Pouch, Waterfield Designs’s latest sleeve that’s bike-friendly and ready to roll. Plus, your usual assortment of shells, bumpers, and screen protectors. Read on!BelkinThe ScreenForce (iPhone SE; $25 MSRP) is a tempered-glass screen protector that is, of course, compatible with your iPhone’s touchscreen. It sports a smooth surface, and delivers a crystal-clear image that lets
  
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• 8 cool “habitable” planets

  26-08-2016 15:50
  
  Goldilocks?Image by NASAWith the discovery of a possibly habitable Earth-sized orbiting around our own nearest star some four light-years in the distance, we thought we’d take a look at some of the other potential Goldilocks planets discovered over the past years. Have a look…To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• Best Deals of the Week, August 22-26 - Deal Alert

  26-08-2016 15:20
  Best Deals of the Week, August 22-26 - Deal AlertCheck out this roundup of the best deals on gadgets, gear and other cool stuff we have found this week, the week of August 15th. All items are highly rated, and dramatically discounted!72% off Cambridge SoundWorks OontZ Angle 3 Wireless Bluetooth SpeakerThe Cambridge SoundWorks OontZ Angle 3 Next Generation Ultra Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker currently averages 4.5 out of 5 stars from over 8,300 people on Amazon (read reviews).  It
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Why today’s marketers need data

  26-08-2016 15:13
  
  The pace of doing business in today’s ultraconnected world has changed everything. From the way advertisements are bought, sold and displayed, to the way businesses market to their buyers, we’ve entered an entirely new era.Although some get a bit weepy and nostalgic wishing for “the good old days,” these are exciting times for today’s leading companies. They’re even more thrilling for today’s disruptors.In today’s marketing organizations, there&rsq
  
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• AMD rockets past 100 FreeSync displays as Lenovo jumps on board

  26-08-2016 14:33
  
  AMD’s game-smoothing FreeSync monitors launched a full year after Nvidia’s rival G-Sync displays, but they’ve been coming fast and furious ever since. Late Thursday, the company revealed that its technology surpassed not one, but two major milestones with the launch of the 27-inch Y27f ($400 on Amazon) earlier this month. This curved, 144Hz 1080p display is both Lenovo’s first-ever FreeSync display, as well as the 101st FreeSync display released overall.To read this arti
  
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• Why Apple Watch 2 doesn't need cellular anyway

  26-08-2016 14:27
  Many garments were rended and much hair torn last week over a report in Bloomberg that the next version of the Apple Watch would not arrived with cellular networking.
  Setting aside some of the questions about the reporting of that story and Apple’s development timelines, allow me to share with you my nuanced, carefully considered, and thoughtful reaction to that news: meh.
  Look, I get it: the ability to have your Apple Watch connected no matter where you are and let it function untethered
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Should you buy an iPad mini if you own an iPhone 6s Plus?

  26-08-2016 14:00
  When Apple finally started selling larger iPhones it came as a relief to folks who were tired of the tiny screens on previous versions of the iPhone. But big screen iPhones also caused some consternation among those who considered buying an iPad mini.
  In a nutshell, some folks have been wondering if they should buy an iPad mini if they already own an iPhone 6s Plus. This topic came up in a discussion thread in the Apple subreddit recently.
  I’ll share my own thoughts below, but here’
  
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• How marketing skills drive success at HP Inc.

  26-08-2016 14:00
  
  HP Inc.’s earning announcement earlier this week impressively beat many estimates on third quarter results, though the forecast was likely overly conservative so shares fell on the news. Largely existing astride two markets that are in decline, PCs and printers, you’d think the road to success would be a near-impossible one. Now, in looking under the financials, there are three elements that stand out. They have a relatively experienced, loyal and stable executive team; this limitati
  
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• How checkout woes sabotage mobile commerce

  26-08-2016 14:00
  
  Mobile commerce shows no signs of slowing its furious pace of growth, as consumers get comfortable using their smartphones and tablets to shop anytime and anywhere they want: In a report titled “U.S. Mobile Phone and Tablet Commerce Forecast, 2015 to 2020,” Forrester Research estimates that mobile commerce sales will reach $142 billion this year, up from $115 billion last year.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• Privacy Shield data transfer agreement now shelters 200 companies

  26-08-2016 13:56
  
  There are now 200 companies standing behind Privacy Shield, the framework agreement allowing businesses to process the personal information of European Union citizens on servers in the U.S.Companies must register with the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce to be covered. It's a self-certification process, so the ITA is only checking that the forms are filled in correctly, not that companies are necessarily complying with all 13,894 words of the rules. The Priva
  
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• Red Hat CEO: Open-source innovation is always user-led

  26-08-2016 13:05
  
  According to Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst, the prevailing narrative about the growth and spread of Linux is only half-true.
  The idea that a doughty community of coding geniuses, led by an irascible commissar in Linus Torvalds, quietly created a technological asset that eventually spread to the biggest users in the land is actually a little misleading, he told Network World at LinuxCon North America 2016 in Toronto.
  +ALSO ON NETWORK WORLD: Linux at 25: A retrospective + Linux at 25: Linus Torvalds
  
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• NASA CIO allows HPE contract to expire, refuses to sign-off on authority to operate

  26-08-2016 13:00
  
  In the wake of continued security problems, NASA's CIO is sending a no-confidence signal to Hewlett Packard Enterprise, which received a $2.5 billion contract in 2011 to address problems with the agency's outdated and insecure information technology infrastructure.
  In late July, CIO Renee Wynn, who took over the job last fall, took the unprecedented step of not signing off on the contract's "authority to operate," which expired on July 24.
  "I have to applaud Renee for stepping up here," said go
  
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• Real-life examples test whether you are prepared for a cyberattack

  26-08-2016 12:53
  
  Are you ready?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Women in technology #WomenEqualityDay

  26-08-2016 12:35
  
  I’ve been blessed to have worked with many outstanding female IT professionals in my life. In fact, my first “IT” boss was a great woman leader -- Bobbi Mooney, who led the mechanical engineering computer lab at Purdue University, where I consulted during my undergraduate studies. Bobbi went on to have a great career in IT at Shell Oil. Early in my career at GE Lighting, I met another great female IT leader named Karen Zielke. We are now married, and she continues to help me gr
  
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• Seagate Barracuda Pro 10TB hard drive review: Vast and amazingly fast (for a hard drive)

  26-08-2016 12:30
  
  I’ve used “Vast and fast” to describe previous hard drives I’ve reviewed, but I’m not sure that it’s ever been this spectacularly well-deserved. Seagate’s 3.5-inch, 7,200rpm, SATA 6Gbps Barracuda Pro not only delivers a stunning 10TB of storage, it laid down some rather astounding transfer rates: 240MBps in both directions of our 20GB copy tests. At first, we didn’t quite believe what we were seeing, but several repeats and throwing even larg
  
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• At HP, baby boomers allege age discrimination

  26-08-2016 12:01
  
  Four former Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) employees, all of them over 50 years of age, allege in a lawsuit that the firm pushed older workers out so it could increase the number ofyounger employees -- millennials in particular.
  The federal age-discrimination lawsuit, which marshalled statistical evidence, job ads and internal memorandum to support its claims, will also cite public statements by HPE CEO Meg Whitman in its case.
  For instance, in a CNBC interview last November, Whitman was aske
  
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• Why distributed networks and smart sensors won’t survive in self-driving cars

  26-08-2016 12:00
  
  As autonomous driving technology allows vehicles to become more independent of their human drivers, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) will not be able to rely on today's distributed processors and smart sensors, according to a new report.
  The report, from ABI Research, forecasts that 13 million vehicles with centralized ADAS platforms will ship in 2025.
  As more vehicle systems -- such as acceleration, braking and steering -- are taken over by computers, and as more sensors and machine v
  
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• Microsoft reveals new features in C# 7.0

  26-08-2016 12:00
  
  Microsoft is fleshing out details this week of C# 7.0, a planned upgrade to its object-oriented language for the .Net Framework, emphasizing performance and code simplification.
  Although C# 7.0 is still in development, most of the new features noted by Microsoft this week have been enabled in Visual Studio 15 Preview 4, released this week, said Mads Torgersen, Microsoft program manager for C#. "Perhaps the biggest features are tuples, which make it easy to have multiple results, and pattern mat
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Stop undervaluing the CIO’s role in shaping business growth

  26-08-2016 12:00
  
  Several recent surveys of chief information officers (CIOs) showed less than 33 percent play an active role in directly shaping business strategies in their organizations. A survey of CIOs by Forbes, Harvey Nash/KPMG, Deloitte, McKinsey and others indicate business leaders understand and appreciate the benefits of IT and collaboration with the CIO. But, only a third of CIOs surveyed played a role in shaping their organization’s business strategy. The Deloitte study suggests that two-
  
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• 10 games to bring on your next trip

  26-08-2016 12:00
  On the road againI’ve been out of town the past few weeks, which is always an interesting challenge. By that I mean gaming on vacation. Away from your main computer, maybe in a place where the Internet’s not so great—what do you play? It got me thinking......and then thinking some more. This time about games related to travel in some way. What better time to play games about the wandering life than while wandering? Here, you’ll find 10 games about travel, which also happe
  
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• Neem je mobiliteitsstrategie eens onder de loep

  26-08-2016 09:39
  Door Michael Maas – Mobiel werken heeft vele voordelen: je kunt beter en sneller informatie delen, je productiviteit gaat omhoog en je werkt een stuk flexibeler. Hier staat echter tegenover dat organisaties veel meer toestellen, maatwerk-apps en data moeten beheren, en tegelijkertijd grip moeten houden op de... lees meer
  
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• ​HP finds a new hero in premium PCs as market turns 'volatile'

  26-08-2016 09:29
  
  “Challenging and somewhat volatile” - four words that perhaps best summarise HP Inc’s first foray into single life after 76 years.
  With the ink on the divorce papers barely dry, as Hewlett Packard Enterprise also goes it alone, the tech giant is fighting back following twelve months of strife, repositioning its focus in light of increased market pressures.
  As HP CEO, Dion Weisler, explained during the vendor’s third quarter financials, on the whole, the company has &ldqu
  
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• Dropbox prompts certain users to change their passwords

  26-08-2016 08:39
  
  Dropbox is asking users who signed up before mid-2012 to change their passwords if they haven’t done so since then.The cloud storage service said it was asking users to change their passwords as a preventive measure, and not because there is any indication that their accounts were improperly accessed.Dropbox said it was taking the measure because its security teams learned about an old set of Dropbox user credentials, consisting of email addresses and hashed and salted passwords, which it
  
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• Hardcore Hardware: The CyberPower Pro Streaming I300 is made for Twitch stardom

  26-08-2016 01:17
  
  The CyberPower Pro Streaming I300 is the PC you buy when you finally commit to your new career as a Twitch star. And because Twitch stars can never, ever stop streaming, one PC isn’t enough. You need two: one for gameplay, one for Twitch.
  The bottom PC is where you run your game—and run it will, with its 6-core Broadwell-E core i7 6800K, 32GB of RAM, EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 FTW, and a 480GB Intel 540 series SSD. The top PC handles Twitch video streaming with its quad-core Skylake
  
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• U.S. convicts Russian hacker in credit card theft scheme

  26-08-2016 00:17
  
  Jurors in a U.S. federal court have convicted a Russian hacker of stealing and selling more than 2 million credit card numbers.On Thursday, the jury in Seattle found Roman Valerevich Seleznev guilty of charges related to his hacking of point-of-sale systems.Seleznev was arrested in 2014 after U.S. authorities accused him of installing malicious software on point-of-sale systems in U.S. restaurants .From 2009 to 2013, Seleznev used this scheme to steal credit card data from businesses and send it
  
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