Latest News - Page 2745

Even with cybercriminals using sophisticated attack methods to compromise companies, business leaders must deal with employees recklessly clicking links and installing unknown software, according to the "2015 State of the Endpoint" study.

Seventy-eight percent of surveyed IT professionals believe careless employees are the biggest threat, 68 percent blame personal devices in the workplace, and 66 percent cite commercial cloud apps used at work.

"Respondents in this year's study have shifted their thinking and are now also attributing endpoint risk to human behavior in addition to particular device vulnerabilities," said Chris Merritt, director of solution marketing at Lumension. "This is a significant cultural shift to note because it illustrates how IT is starting to look at cybersecurity holistically. In addition to technology solutions, in 2015 IT must also take into account company policies and control processes, user awareness and overall employee education."

The Nintendo New 3DS XL will finally be released in the United States on February 13 with a $200 price tag, and includes a number of hardware improvements for gamers. The new gaming unit has better face-tracking 3D, a more powerful processor, additional shoulder buttons, built-in NFC and a second analog mini-stick for gamers.

Nintendo also decided not to include an AC adapter with the New 3DS XL, so owners will get home and find they don't have a bundled charger. All new units will have a 4GB micro SD card, as Nintendo moved from standard SD to micro SD, due to changes in the internal layout of the new 3DS XL's hardware.

Unfortunately, Nintendo isn't releasing the New Nintendo 3DS in the United States, despite it launching in Japan and Australia.

ShotSpotter technology is being used in areas with high levels of crime and gun violence, which helps law enforcement respond faster to gun shots. Using microphones located around "problem areas" of cities, the ShotSpotter system is able to provide instant locations of gunshots within 10 feet.

The use of the system allows police to investigate shootings that often times aren't reported after they occur. However, it is rather expensive to deploy, with costs ranging from $60,000 up to $100,000 per year per square mile.

"It helps us catching guys and it helps us with officer safety," said Orlando Cuevas, Camden County police chief, in a statement to CBS News. "Now these officers are not traveling blindly into an area where a gunshot is."

Facebook and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children have teamed up to bring Amber Alert messages to the No. 1 social networking website. The new alert system will post images to users in the same geographic targeted area, with users unable to opt out of the alerts - though they can be deleted.

"These alerts, which include photographs and other details about the missing child, are shown on mobile and desktop," a Facebook press release states. "People can share the alert with friends and link directly to the National Center's missing child poster, which always has the most up-to-date information about the case."

Amber Alerts were created as a method for law enforcement, wireless carriers, transportation agencies and broadcasters to share data on missing children.

Google is looking for partners in the auto industry to lend a hand with self-driving and fully autonomous vehicle technology. Potential partners range from General Motors and Ford to Toyota, Volkswagen and Daimler, as fully autonomous vehicles could be production-ready in less than five years. The Silicon Valley tech giant already is working with LG Electronics, Continental AG and Robert Bosch, with its self-driving prototype cars also using NVIDIA hardware.

"We'd be remiss not to talk to... the biggest auto manufacturers," said Chris Urmson, director of the Google self-driving car project, in an interview with Reuters. "They've got a lot to offer. For us to jump in and say that we can do this better, that's arrogant."

It's possible a lack of government regulations regarding self-driving cars could push back mass production until 2022 or 2023, but companies want to make sure they are on top of the technology.

Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden recently said he went through the "channels" to inquire about oversight and compliance regarding NSA activities, but was shut down by big bureaucracy.

However, the NSA said they conducted an investigation and "have not found any evidence to support Mr. Snowden's contention that he brought these matters to anyone's attention," the NSA noted.

"The email, provided to the committee by the NSA on April 10, 2014, poses a question about the relative authority of laws and executive orders - it does not register concerns about NSA's intelligence activities, as was suggested by Snowden in an NBC interview this week," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D - Calif), chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, in a statement.

President Obama has been covering some of the issues he intends to address in the coming year in the build-up to his State of the Union speech. The White House posted a video of President Obama announcing new executive actions that will allow easier local investment, that in the end will provide every American access to 1000Mbps internet speeds.

For us in the tech world it is widely known how badly American internet speeds lag behind other countries. The US is ranked 24th in the world for average broadband speeds according to Webindex. However, average citizens aren't as aware of how woefully inadequate our internet speeds are, especially considering the much higher prices we pay. For instance, Seoul has an average cost of $30 per month for the fastest internet, which would cost $300 a month in the U.S.

Obama used a tablet to highlight the difference between American internet speeds in several cities to the speed of other cities around the world. With the exception of a few key cities, such as Kansas City (which has Google Fiber), the overall US trails far behind competing countries. Obama did not outline the details of the plan, but mentioned that through executive actions he can take steps to encourage and enhance investment. Obama has wide latitude with executive actions, which do not require congressional approval.

Featuring a dual-core processor and a compact design, Synology's new DiskStation DS115 is designed for use in any come environment or small business. Giving you the ability to centralize your data storage without a full server in use, this NAS box features border-less file sharing, cloud synchronization, multimedia streaming, home surveillance and more.

With the ability to transfer files at speeds exceeding 111 MB/s read and 104 MB/s write, this product claims to give you a 36% increase in writing speeds when compared to its predecessor. Synology's built-in floating-port unit comes with a USB 3.0 port, giving you the ability to connect it to external hard drives or other similar devices.

Said to consume only 5.44W during hibernation and 10.21W when in full use, the DiskStation DS115 is a nice addition to any growing file storage needs.

We've recently talked about some crazy modifications in the pipeline for "the game that never stops evolving", including the 4K resolution texture pack mod alongside this crazy fan-made addition that basically adds a game within the game, named Enderal.

Taking a quick look at Nexus Mods, it gives you somewhat of an idea as to how extensive and vast Skyrim mods really are. You can see hundreds of mods here with thousands of downloads in total, seeing many of these fan-made game modifications hitting 1,000 plus downloads of their own.

This massive online community goes to show that if a developer can open up their game for modding, a whole new world of repeat-customers can emerge. How many people do you know that were heavily into playing things like Battlefield 2's Point of Existence mod or similar? Unfortunately these days, many games are released without a console, let alone being open to mods - meaning many games suffer majorly as eSport titles and also require constant developer interaction and support to grow and evolve.

Cybercrime is maturing while those interested in launching attacks are better organized and skilled with their ability to breach networks. There are a growing number of paid cyberattack tools available on the black market, which can be custom scripted for additional payments, broadening the scope of these attacks.

Following its success of dropping the Microsoft Xbox Live and Sony PlayStation Network on Christmas, the Lizard Squad hacker group showed off its distributed denial of service (DDoS) tool. The DDoS-for-hire attack service, dubbed Lizard Stresser, put the for-pay cyberattack market in front of a larger audience - and it appears people are interested.

"I really feel Lizard Squad has upped the ante on the DDoS for hire market," said Terrence Gareau, Chief Scientist at NexusGuard, in a statement to SiliconANGLE. "They have taken an approach much like Silicon Valley startups that focuses on marketing and media to push a product and make their stresser appear better than competitors."

Duke University researchers have grown human skeletal muscles in a research lab, with the manufactured creation able to contract and respond like native tissue. It's possible the lab-created muscles can help with drug research and so researchers are better able to study diseases.

Researchers used human cells that progressed past stem cells but didn't reach full muscle tissue yet - and the myogenic precursors were allowed to form into muscle fibers located in a custom 3D scaffolding.

"One of our goals is to use this method to provide personalized medicine to patients," said Nenad Bursac, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Duke University, in a press statement. "We can take a biopsy from each patient, grow many new muscles to use as test samples and experiment to see which drugs would work best for each person."

Following on from yesterdays awesome Cooler Master build by Stuart Tonks from GGF LAN, we've come across a 'Rig of the Day' post by the Ocaholic Facebook page.

Featured here is an incredible system completed by Malik Customs, featuring a full EK Water Block setup all wrapped up in a Phanteks Enthoo Primo Ultimate and stuffed full of goodies by ASUS, including a GTX 970 Strix and a Z97-AR motherboard.

The full feature list of this impressive build includes:

It's hard to predict what will happen as robotics technology matures, and artificial intelligence software advances, but there is growing concern that robots could end up taking jobs from humans. In Germany and other European Union (EU) nations look to solve political problems, there is growing concern that robots - and not immigrants from other nations - could lead to a shrinking work force.

"What's fundamentally different is that (these advances) have the ability to affect a broader set of workers," said Jeremy Bowles, a researcher at the Bruegel Institute in Brussels, Belgium. Bowles believes humanoid robots will be able to carry out human tasks that could one day impact white-collar employees.

However, a counter-argument is that the rise of robotics will help spur the economy, as there will be additional opportunities for businesses. "Robotics is seen as a pivotal technology, which is not only going into robotics per se but into so many other branches and technologies," said Uwe Haas, secretary general of the European Union's robotics program. "It will create new jobs because [it will make] new businesses possible."

We've been covering some sweet modded systems recently here at TweakTown, with a Cooler Master build by Stuart Tonks featuring in our headlines only just yesterday.

Cooler Master are committed to the mods, opening up their "Case Mod World Series by inviting all modders to show-off their creativity and push the limits of PC case design," as written in their recently issued press release. There is over $20,000 worth of cash and prizes available for entrants, supplied with the help of Dremel, Intel, ASUS, OCZ and GeiL.

The two categories include 'Tower Mod' and 'Scratch Build' with judging to be completed by the Cooler Master panel, including the following members: Richard 'Darthbeavis' Surroz, Peter 'L3P' Brands, Brian 'BOD MODS' Carter, Ronnie Hara, Mathieu 'Sassanou' Heredia, Richard Kiers, Antony Leather and the sponsors. Cooler Master have also added a new 'Rising Star' award, said to be given to a future star to watch in the modding scene - this is alongside a peoples choice award, with the winner chosen through public voting.

NZXT have just announced their DOKO - a PC streaming device that connects to your network, allowing you to use the PC in your living room or other places around your home. The DOKO gives you the ability to complete any function that your PC would usually do, no matter where you are - thanks to its lack of limitations.

According to their recently issued press release, "the current problem with modern PC streaming technologies and set-top boxes is that they all come with their own pre-defined limitations," further explaining that "TV boxes are restricted to their own set of media channels, file formats and limited applications. PC game streaming and screen mirroring devices are all restricted by their own platforms, proprietary technologies or latency issues."

Using a gigabit Ethernet connection, the DOKO offers low latency, 50-80ms, high definition, 1080p @ 30fps, services. Complete with four USB ports containing USBoverIP technology, users gain the ability to plug a device into the DOKO and it will mirror these actions just as if you plugged it in to your home PC.

For the last few years, 'Star Wars' fans have been under the impression that they have Disney to thank for purchasing the franchise and therefore making sequel episodes 7, 8 and 9. Now, according to creator George Lucas that wasn't accurate.

Speaking to USA Today on the publicity trail for Lucasfilm and Disney (via the subsidiary Touchstone label) animated feature 'Strange Magic', Lucas has revealed that he was planning on not only making, but directing 'Episode VII' on his own for a 2015 release, before selling the franchise off. He later relented, selling the franchise to Disney outright for $4 billion dollars in cash and Disney stocks, saying "It's better for me to get out at the beginning of a new thing and I can just remove myself".

'Star Wars: The Force Awakens', which was based on Lucas' originals plans for his own version of 'Episode VII' opens worldwide on December 18th this year.

In their latest 8-k filing form, AMD have listed their top executives and some major changes have been noted. Three of the 'top dogs' have missed the grade, seeing John Bryne, GM of Computing and Graphics Business Group; Colette LaForce, Chief Marketing Officer; and Raj Naik, Chief Strategy Officer no longer on the list.

Some are calling this the "biggest corporate shakeup in the ailing company's history," with AMD now no longer having some of their biggest brainpower members listed, with Bryne being one of the most notable - seeing his promotion from Chief Sales Officer to the GM of Computing and Graphics Business Group position just a mere seven months prior.

With the changing of the guard, AMD have announced that "these changes, including the additions of Forrest Norrod and James Clifford to our management team last quarter, collectively are part of implementing an optimal organization design and leadership team to further sharpen our execution and position AMD for growth."

As seen in their Twitter description, Telltale Games has been working on "games based on Game Of Thrones, Minecraft, Borderlands, The Walking Dead & more!" But now it's time for them to produce something completely of their own, as according to their new CEO, Telltale has an "upcoming original IP" in production.

Kevin Bruner has been promoted within the company from president to CEO, in a statement to GamesIndustry he said that "we're thrilled to continue our growth and bring our unique style of scripted entertainment to the next generation of digital media, and do that across thousands of different devices. Our top priority is to continue fostering an environment where the most talented and creative storytellers in the industry are working side by side with the world's biggest creative partners. We're already working on some of the biggest franchises in entertainment, and when you add our unannounced partnerships and upcoming original IP, it's clear the most exciting time to be at Telltale is now, and there will continue to be more and more opportunity to innovate ahead of us."

Telltale's self described "eater of marshmallows, Community & PR Specialist" Laura Perusco has been promoting their The Wolf Among Us release over the last few days crazily, so expect to see this new game teased on her Twitter page when the time comes.

One of the biggest downfalls of the Galaxy range of handsets and devices from Samsung is its user interface: TouchWiz. It's bloated, slow, and just complete crap (for me, and many others). There are fans, but they've probably never used a stock Android handset and come to appreciate the stock feel of Google's mobile OS... until the Galaxy S6, it seems.

According to the latest reports, it looks like Samsung is preparing to unveil the new Galaxy S6 smartphone at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2015 in Barcelona, Spain in March. An industry source has said "We are aiming to get rid of unnecessary functions and simplify our UI at the level of Google's Nexus 6". Since Samsung is running Android underneath, it won't be hard to remove (hopefully) most of the elements of TouchWiz UI and go give users a stock Android feel.

We should see more at MWC 2015, which kicks off in March.

Far Cry 4 was probably the most successful launch for Ubisoft last year, and now we're seeing the very first DLC for it in the form of "Escape from Durgesh Prison".

The Escape From Durgesh Prison missions is a downloadable piece of content for the first-person shooter, where Ubisoft explains it as "In this new piece of downloadable content for Far Cry 4, Ajay and Hurk find themselves defenseless in the dangerous northern region of Kyrat after being captured, tortured and stripped of their weapons in Yuma's prison". The developer continues "On their way to the extraction point, they will be able to complete a series of challenges kicked off by the tyrannical Pagan Min to acquire weapons and upgrade their gear before a final stand-off against Yuma's forces".

Better yet, you can play Escape From Durgesh Prison by yourself, or with a friend in cooperative mode. It ups the ante by making the mission a time trial, which sees players pushing to be at the top of the online leaderboard. But, if players are killed or die throughout the mission, they are forced to restart the entire mission.