Latest News - Page 2710

TV5Monde in France suffered a major cyberattack that led to hijacked websites and social media accounts, along with causing a three-hour broadcast blackout. The Cyber Caliphate, a pro-ISIS hacker group, didn't take public responsibility for the attack - but pro-ISIS images and "hacked by an Islamist group" markings were left on compromised accounts.

"We are no longer able to broadcast any of our channels. Our websites and social media sites are no longer under our control and are all displaying claims of responsibility by Islamic State," said Yves Bigot, TV5Monde director general, told the AFP.

France's culture minister will host an emergency meeting with major French media groups so they are able to study their cybersecurity protocols. A terrorism investigation has been opened by the Paris prosecutor's office following the cyberattack, which is the most sophisticated shown by the Islamic State.

The original Bioshock was created by Ken Levine, who teased that he was working on a new first-person shooter back in January, has just said that his upcoming project is using Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4 technology.

Levine has been quiet on his next project, with random tweets mentioning that his new protect will be "smaller, more entrepreneurial". The news came from Levine revealing that his titel would be using Unreal Engine 4 when a fan tweeted him asking which graphics engine he would be using for his new game.

Considering the entire Bioshock series was powered by Unreal Engine, Levine is most likely very familiar with it, and wants to continue to use Epic Games' proven technology. We should hear more about Levine's mystery project at E3 2015, hopefully.

The first shots of the purported XFX Radeon R9 390 Double Dissipation have arrived, featuring a dual-slot cooler with two 100mm spinners, and a large aluminum fin-stack heat sink.

The card rocks a 6-pin + 8-pin PCIe power configuration, and a bridgeless Crossfire system, just like the Radeon R9 290 series. We should see this card, if it's real, positioned below the R9 390X with its "Fiji XT" core, with the R9 390 featuring the "Fiji" GPU. We don't know what the GPU itself will be, but we should see 4096 stream processors, a 4096-bit HBM memory interface with between 4GB and 8GB of RAM that provides a huge 640GB/sec of memory bandwidth.

Ransomware infections tend to be a frightening scenario for businesses often caught off-guard when an employee mistakenly compromises a workplace machine.

Cybersecurity experts are increasingly worried about ransomware, one of the fastest rising hacker-related crimes, which demands a ransom payment in exchange for files held hostage. The traditional method of infection is a malicious file attached to an email, but criminals are finding ways to point victims to hijacked websites.

Unless home users or companies have data backed up, and are careful of emails opened and websites visited, ransomware can prove especially catastrophic. Even though US government and private sector cybersecurity experts warn against paying ransoms, many companies choose to pay the ransom and move on.

A few technology journalists have gotten some wrist-on time with the Apple Watch, throwing out their reviews on Apple's first wearable: Watch. It looks like most say it's the best smartwatch out there, but it's not all sunshine and rainbows for Watch.

The New York Times has said "unlike previous breakthrough Apple products, the Watch's software requires a learning curve that may deter some people. There's a good chance it will not work perfectly for most consumers right out of the box, because it is best after you fiddle with various software settings to personalize use. Indeed, to a degree unusual for a new Apple device, the Watch is not suited for tech novices".

The Verge was more than happy with Apple Watch, with a snippet of their review teasing: "There's no question that the Apple Watch is the most capable smartwatch available today. It is one of the most ambitious products I've ever seen; it wants to do and change so much about how we interact with technology. But that ambition robs it of focus: it can do tiny bits of everything, instead of a few things extraordinarily well. For all of its technological marvel, the Apple Watch is still a smartwatch, and it's not clear that anyone's yet figured out what smartwatches are actually for".

Eidos-Montreal has shown off the official CGI trailer of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, something you can watch below, but the studio has also teased that the sequel to Human Revolution will have some nice tricks up its sleeve in the graphics department.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided uses the latest version of the impressive Dawn Engine, which was specificially built for Xbox One, PS4 and PC. AMD has been working closely with the studio under its Gaming Evolved program, which means we'll see full support for Windows 10 and DirectX 12, as well as TressFX 3.0.

According to an e-mail sent out to Google partners today, the Mountain View-based search giant will soon be offering a monthly subscription service to YouTube, which would offer an ad-free experience.

The e-mail says: "Your fans want choices. Not only do they want to watch what they want, whenever they want, anywhere, and on any device they choose, they want YouTube features built specifically with their needs in mind. Over the past several months, we've taken bold new steps to bring these experiences to life. Since inviting hundreds of thousands of fans into our YouTube Music Key Beta, we've seen tremendous engagement. And we've seen an equally enthusiastic response for our new YouTube Kids app, designed to give families a simpler and safer video-viewing experience- it's already crossed 2 million installations in less than one month.

We're excited to build on this momentum by taking another big step in favor of choice: offering fans an ads-free version of YouTube for a monthly fee. By creating a new paid offering, we'll generate a new source of revenue that will supplement your fast growing advertising revenue".

The Technical Director on Frostbite, EA and DICE's incredible engine that powers Battlefield and Dragon's Age: Inquisition to name a few games, has taken to Twitter to tease the next-gen Frostbite engine.

Johan Andersson has said that he wants to see the minimum specification for Frostbite-powered games in 2016 to be Windows 10, DirectX 12 and WDDM 2.0. He said that this would "a bit aggressive" but we would see "major benefits". He said in a reply to EVGA's Product Manager, Jacob Freeman, "get rid of the Windows legacy and reap the benefits of a modern graphics API & memory management (WDDM 2.0)".

With Microsoft offering some users an upgrade to Windows 10 for free, next-gen gaming is going to be in for a big surprise on PC. But, the big question is: will EA see the install base significant enough to make DX12 and thus, Windows 10, the minimum spec for games? I would say definitely not, but we could see things shift as we move into 2016 with DX12, Windows 10, the big push into VR, and so much more.

The Russian government is being blamed for hacking into a computer system used by the White House, and the hackers were able to view classified information. It's possible the cyber intrusion, with alleged ties to the US State Department breach, was in retaliation for sanctions against Russia.

However, White House officials didn't specifically single out Russia for launching the cyberattack - but there is an active investigation by the Secret Service, FBI and US intelligence agencies. "In this case, as we made clear at the time, we took immediate measures to evaluate and mitigate the activity," said Mark Stroh, National Security Council spokesman. "As has been our position, we are not going to comment on [this] article's attribution to specific actors."

Not surprisingly, the Kremlin has issued a statement saying Russia is a constant scapegoat for organized cyberattacks: "In regard to CNN's sources, I don't know who their sources are," said Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a statement published by RT. "We know that blaming everything on Russia has already turned into some sort of sport."

ZOTAC has just unveiled its latest ZBOX mini-PCs which feature Intel's latest Broadwell processors, with two new models in the ZBOX MI522 nano and the ZBOX MI542 nano.

The new ZOTAC MI522 nano features a Broadwell-based Core i3 processor, making it an easy upgrade path for those who are looking for desktop class performance in a small footprint. The MI542 nano bumps the Broadwell goodness up to the Core i5, with both of the new ZBOX mini-PCs being dual-core parts.

Both of the new ZBOX mini-PCs have HDMI 1.4a and DisplayPort 1.2 out with DisplayPort enabling 4K at 60Hz output. We have dual gigabit Ethernet and 802.11ac Wi-Fi for network connectivity. Both of the new ZBOX mini-PCs also come with two DIMMs providing dual-channel memory support. Both of the new Broadwell-powered ZBOX mini-PCs include 4GB of memory and 500GB of storage out of the box.

Would you be surprised to know that 92 percent of staff love meetings? According to a Verizon study, they really do! Meetings are seen as a chance to participate and contribute, and have face to face time with other participants. It's when meetings disrupt the workflow of individual staffers and departments that things can get dicey. As much as people love meetings, they can be stressful, too, with work backing up and schedules upended because anyone who needs a soapbox feels the need to call a meeting.

Making your meetings a part of the workflow instead of a big rock thrown into the middle of it can also help to decrease a trend toward staff disengagement. A Gallup poll reported that some of the most experienced and highly educated workers feel "not engaged" or even actively disengaged from their workplace and co-workers. These workers tend to be age 30 to 64 and have high levels of education, and often years of experience and know-how. Re-engaging these workers is a soft cost that savvy business owners and managers will reckon against the cost of finding and hiring a new candidate and filling the position anew, or letting the situation sit and fester with a resentful, disengaged worker playing Candy Crush on their iPad during meetings.

Making meetings work in the real-world takes some thought and ingenuity, and there are times when a conference call is all it takes to put things right. However, to pull out an old cliché, there are times when you need to think outside the box on how to engage with everyone, face to face in the best and most effective way. Using modern technology such as the cloud-based Blue Jeans Network for video conferencing can help bring back that engagement gained from a stimulating face to face meeting without the stress, expense, and work disruptions caused by calling meetings in a single location.

With Microsoft not even releasing Windows 10 to the public yet, we're hearing about "Redstone" which is the codename for Microsoft's updates for Windows 10, due in both June and October 2016.

Redstone will be a series of updates that will reach Windows Insiders before the public, which will give enthusiasts some time to play around with the updated operating system. Microsoft isn't saying much about what Redstone will offer, but with the company hard at work polishing Windows 10 before its release, Redstone will most likely include whatever misses the RTM version of Windows 10.

Don't confuse Redstone with Windows 11 (or whatever Microsoft call the next version of its OS after Windows 10), as Redstone will be what Windows 8.1 was to Windows 8.

LG sent out an email earlier today, something that seemed a bit odd with "G4" in the headline. As we clicked into it, we found out that the South Korean giant is giving away 4000 of its next-gen G4 handsets to consumers in 15 countries to "test drive" its new handset. We knew it was coming, with LG planning a media event for April 28 - but now the company is giving away a bunch of its next-gen handsets for select consumers to play with.

Starting today, LG is sending out consumers in South Korea - with 14 other markets to follow - its new G4 handset. These countries include: Turkey, Indonesia, Singapore, United States, China, India, Brazil, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Mexico, Japan and Hong Kong. In order to be in the running to get the G4 handset, "participants will be selected from applicants based on their entry responses", says LG. If you want to get in on this G4 test, you'll need to keep an eye out on LG's website and various social media pages.

These lucky people will have 30 days with the G4 smartphone to experience its "unique design and features, including its personalized UX, high performance camera and impressive display for sharing online. Participants will be given various assignments to carry out over the course of their experience with prizes awarded".

Senator Rand Paul has announced that he is intending to run for the position of the President of the United States in 2016, but the video of his announcement has been removed from YouTube because it contained a song that had a copyright claim filed on it.

Between now and then, Rand supporters can get behind the Senator with the usual yard signs, bumper stickers and more, but he has something that has never been seen before: an "NSA spy cam blocker". The NSA spy cam blocker is a $15 device with a huge "RAND" logo on it, with the listing on it explaining it as "That little front-facing camera on your laptop or tablet can be a window for the world to see you-whether you know it or not!"

The NSA spy cam blocker is 1.5mm thick, and is "made with high-grade plastic" and is designed for anything with a front-facing camera on it such as a laptop, smart TV and Xbox Kinect. It sports a plastic slider that will block the camera from working on your laptop for example, and then when you need it back, you slide the NSA spy cam blocker to the right to use your webcam once again.

We only reported on Sunday that CD Projekt Red were going to provide an insane 200 hours plus worth of content in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, but now we're hearing about some future DLC that will add over 30 hours of more adventures for gamers.

CD Projekt Red has started talking about two new expansions, with the first, Hearts of Stone, dropping in October. Hearts of Stone will see players traversing the wilds of No Man's Land, as well as the city of Oxenfurt in order to secure a contract from Man of Glass. The second expansion, Blood and Wine, will be released in Q1 2016. Blood and Wine will see a new in-game region for the game called Toussaint, which the developer explains as "a land untainted by war, where an atmosphere of carefree indulgence and knightly ritual masks an ancient, bloody secret".

The studio will be offering gamers an Expansion Pass for $24.99, which will include all DLC, but these two expansions can be purchased separately for $9.99 and $19.99 for the Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, respectively. If you were to buy The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and the Expansion Pass together, it will cost $84.99 for the Xbox One and PS4, while PC gamers save $5, costing $79.99.

LG is set to unveil the G4 smartphone to the world at its media event on April 28, but before then the South Korean electronics giant has teased us to "See the Great and Feel the Great" with a new video, below.

As you can see, the G4 is set to feature a new rear-facing shooter with an f1.8 aperture, but we don't know how many megapixels it will rock. We're sure that we can expect a 16-megapixel rear-facing camera at a minimum, and as for the display we are expecting a 5.5-inch QHD 2560x1440 panel, and a six-core Snapdragon 808 processor from Qualcomm.

Details on the sequel to Deus Ex: Human Revolution have been released, with Square Enix preparing Deus Ex: Mankind Divided for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

Russian website Kanobu is reporting on the new title, with the site reporting that Deus Ex: Mankind Divided will have Adam Jensen continue his path in the series, where he will have new augmentations and new technology to play with. Screenshots from the game are shaping up absolutely beautifully, so let's hope that we don't get a massively watered down version of the game once it gets closer to release.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided reportedly takes place two years after the events of Human Revolution, where Jensen is now a part of an Interpol-backed team that hunts down augmented terrorists. We should expect a full reveal on April 8 at 9am PT.

With Netflix making a very big splash Down Under, launching in Australia and New Zealand recently, it shouldn't come as a big surprise that the streaming content giant has updated its Terms of Use, adding that the use of a VPN could have your account terminated.

Redder user 'CrypticCraig' posted to /r/technology with Article 6C of Netflix's new Terms of Use, which states: "You may view a movie or TV show through the Netflix service primarily within the country in which you have established your account and only in geographic locations where we offer our service and have licensed such movie or TV show. The content that may be available to watch will vary by geographic location. Netflix will use technologies to verify your geographic location".

It continues, with Article 6H, stating: "We may terminate or restrict your use of our service, without compensation or notice if you are, or if we suspect that you are (i) in violation of any of these Terms of Use or (ii) engaged in illegal or improper use of the service". So there you have it in black and white, Netflix can and will terminate your account if you are in violation of these Terms of Use (using a VPN in short).

The South Korean government has said that the country will begin producing and selling products using graphene by as early as 2017, making it one of the first countries in the world to commercialize the exciting new advanced material.

Graphene, is as thin as an atom and when spread out onto a sheet of carbon, can transmit electric currents up to 1 million times faster than current conductors like copper. Additionally, it has twice the strength of diamonds. Graphene-based products will include flexible display panels and touchscreen panels. South Korea has been at the forefront of graphene research, with the company hoping to become one of the world's first nations to commercialize graphene production, with research starting 10 years ago. The "government named six consortia made up of 45 private firms and research institutes in 2013 to develop related technologies", reports The Korea Times.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a press release: "The country believes it can create a new global market for graphene under its leadership as the country has developed leading technologies through over 10 years of research while it also has enough demand for the material in the mobile phone, display and secondary cell battery sectors".

Scientists at Stanford University have come up with what could be the future of battery technology, with an early prototype using aluminum capable of charging up in just one minute.

The aluminum-based battery is also safe from the worries of catching fire, somethign that plagues the current lithium-ion batteries. Stanford chemistry professor Dai Hongjie explains: "Our new battery won't catch fire, even if you drill through it". Previous attempts to use aluminum in batteries failed after just 100 recharge cycles, but Stanford's new prototype is capable of over 7500 recharges without any capacity loss.

Right now, the aluminum-ion cell can only pump out 2V, which is far less than the lithium-ion and its 3.6V. Aluminum cells also only carry 40W of electricity per kilogram, versus lithium-ion which is capable of delivering 100-206W per kilogram. Dai added: "Improving the cathode material could eventually increase the voltage and energy density. Otherwise, our battery has everything else you'd dream that a battery should have: inexpensive electrodes, good safety, high-speed charging, flexibility and long cycle life. I see this as a new battery in its early days. It's quite exciting".