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Google adds virtual assistant to Android Wear watches

Google has revealed a new version of its smartwatch operating system Android Wear – its first major upgrade since 2014. The BBC’s Chris Foxx asked Google’s David Singleton whether the new features, which include a voice-activated assistant, would convince more people to adopt wearable gadgets.   Source link …

Spear-phishing scammer demanded sex show

  Image copyright Getty Images Six weeks ago, a young woman called Zed (not her real name) was in a meeting at work when a message popped up on Facebook Messenger from a distant friend. “Hey babe,” it began. The friend asked Zed to vote for her in an online modelling competition, which she agreed to do. But then – disaster. Adding her email address to the competition register had caused a tech…

Kenya Revenue Authority ‘lost $39m to hacker’

  Image copyright Daily Nation An IT expert has been charged with hacking into Kenya’s Revenue Authority and stealing $39m (£31m). Alex Mutungi Mutuku, 28, is accused of electronic fraud but he denies any wrongdoing. The prosecution says he is part of an international network stealing money from several state bodies. The government says there is a ring involving expatriates from the United States…

How to Use Active and Passive Virus Protection

When using your computer there are active and passive ways to ensure your home PC is being protected against unwanted virus, trojan, and malware attacks. The active means is activities you participate in to protect and maintain your computer. The passive means is usually setting up a software program making some settings and then being able to forget it and let it perform its operation when it is…

Sony plans to let PC owners play PS4 games

  Image copyright Sony – Image caption Many gamers are keen to play PlayStation exclusives such as Horizon: Zero DawnSony has announced plans to let PC owners play PlayStation4 (PS4) games on their home computer. It announced the extension to its PlayStation Now streaming service in a blog but gave no date for when the games would be available. It said it would start small-scale trials with some…

Premier League gets Kodi piracy court order

  Image copyright EPA The Premier League has secured a court order to help tackle rights-infringing video streams of football matches via so-called Kodi set-top boxes. The order gives the league the means to have computer servers used to power the streams blocked. Until now, it could only go after individual video streams which were relatively easy to re-establish at different links. A spokesman…

Child porn case dropped to prevent FBI disclosure

  Image copyright Thinkstock US prosecutors have dropped a case against a man accused of using a child porn site because the government refused to divulge how it revealed his identity. The Playpen site was located on the Tor network which is used to anonymize web-browsing activity. The FBI found a way around this to reveal the users’ real IP addresses and led to 200 prosecutions. But it refused…

Separation from your phone ‘makes you stressed within minutes’

  How long could you survive without your phone? Psychologists have found that the answer is probably only a few minutes – at least among people aged 18 to 26. In a study, people whose phones were taken away from them were more likely to show “stress behavior” than those who had their phones on them. Participants who were given another mobile showed less signs of stress too, even though it wasn’t…

Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong arrested in South Korea

  Image copyright Samsung’s heir apparent Lee Jae-yong has been placed under arrest in South Korea, accused of bribery and other charges. The case is linked to a scandal that led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. Samsung is accused of giving donations to non-profit foundations operated by Choi Soon-sil, a friend of Ms Park, in exchange for government favors. Mr Lee and the Samsung…

Cybersecurity: Queen opens centre to protect against attacks

  Image copyright PA The Queen was shown how hackers could target the UK’s electricity supply as she opened a center to protect the nation from cyber attacks. The National Cyber Security Center – part of intelligence agency GCHQ – started work in October as part of a £1.9bn five-year strategy. Staff in Victoria, central London, will be joined by experts from the private sector to help identify…

Google adds virtual assistant to Android Wear watches

Google has revealed a new version of its smartwatch operating system Android Wear – its first major upgrade since 2014. The BBC’s Chris Foxx asked Google’s David Singleton whether the new features, which include a voice-activated assistant, would convince more people to adopt wearable gadgets.   Source link

Swipe right for new ‘mum friends’

  Image copyright Thinkstock Image caption Parenting can be lonely, say the app’s creators A new app aimed at mothers has launched in London and New York, aimed at helping mums build friendships. Peanut adopts the format of dating apps such as Tinder where mothers upload profiles and pictures and “swipe” to register their interest in each other. Co-founder Michelle Kennedy was deputy CEO of…

Long jail terms for sewer net fraud gang

  Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The firm used as the vehicle for the fraud ran fiber cables through sewer pipes A gang that tricked banks into lending them £160m to route fast net services through sewers has been jailed for a total of 44 years. The four men were involved with a company called H2O that had access to sewers to route high-speed cables. The four filed inflated and bogus…

Cheating Frenchman sues Uber for tipping off wife about affair

  Image copyright AFP Image caption The app continued to send notifications to the man’s wife’s phone A businessman in southern France is suing ride-hailing company Uber over his wife’s discovery of rides he took to see his lover, his lawyer said. The man says he once requested an Uber driver from his wife’s phone. Despite logging off, the application continued to send notifications to her iPhone…

Online dating con men ‘using love letter templates’

  Image copyright Thinkstock People looking for love online are being urged to do a search of phrases in the messages they receive to help them spot sweet-talking con men. A new UK campaign, starting on Sunday, aims to raise awareness about the growing problem of online dating fraud. The campaign, Date Safe, suggests criminals are using love letter templates and an online search could flag up…

Survey Lasers – The Advantages and Disadvantages of Laser Scanning

CC BY by norfolkdistrict Advantage: Laser Surveying Can Provide Exhaustive Data One of the greatest drawbacks to manual surveys is their inability to provide exhaustive survey data. For example, if an engineering firm or manufacturing company needs to identify minuscule defects in parts or objects, laser scanning can reveal the problem areas using color mapping, which shows design inaccuracies in…

My Shop: How YouTube saved one shopkeeper but nearly broke her

  When Lucy Myatt’s dream comic shop hit hard times, she turned to video platform YouTube and found more customers by vlogging. But unexpected attention took a heavy personal toll on her. She runs Level Up, a “geek’s paradise” selling comics and retro computer games, in Liverpool’s Quiggins mall for independent shops. Video journalist Dougal Shaw went to meet her there. This video is part of a…