Tuesday 29 March 2016

Some #tech #jargon to get to know with the new range of TV's coming out this year!

"Consumers will this year face a choice of Ultra HD Premium, Dolby Vision, or 4K HDR televisions, in addition to OLED or LED-backlit LCD televisions, and Ultra High-Definition or full high-definition screens.
New TV buyers will also have to find a source of HDR content to make the most of the televisions, with only streaming TV service Netflix offering it so far.
Australian TV buyers are already choosing big screens with Ultra High-Definition resolution, however, with LG reporting UHD screens made up 42 per cent of television value last year, up from 25 per cent in 2014."

Read the full story here: http://www.news.com.au/technology/home-entertainment/tv-buyers-prepare-to-be-confused-as-television-makers-introduce-new-jargon-to-new-screens/news-story/6ae71f189f15763e36277c63be2b0c98

Friday 25 March 2016

Ransomware is now infecting #Mac users! Be very careful and make sure you have a strong #iCloud password!

"First and foremost, make sure that your iCloud account has a very secure password. Longer is better. As long as your password is long, and is not a quote from a book, movie, song or other media, and it’s not a common expression, and it’s not something that could be guessed with a little cyberstalking, it does not need to be horribly complex.
A password like “horse airplane rutabaga flashlight” is far more secure than a complex but shorter password like “h@c|<me.”
Second, DO NOT use the same password on any other site!
Ideally, every online account should have a different password, and you should be using a password manager (like 1Password or LastPass) to keep track of all of them. This prevents situations where a server gets compromised and leaks your password, and then the hacker is able to use that password to access all your other accounts."

Read the full story here: https://blog.malwarebytes.org/mac/2016/03/an-icloud-scam-that-may-be-worse-than-ransomware/

Tuesday 22 March 2016

#Telstra went down again Australia wide last week, and are offering another data free day. Make sure you make the most of it!

"The outage caused Telstra CEO Andrew Penn to issue a grovelling apology, saying he accepted full responsibility for the problem and offered customers another data free day on April 3.
Thousands took to social media after being unable to access their services around 6pm last Thursday.
While services were restored within four hours, some customers complained of ongoing problems into the next day.
At the same time, other Telstra users complained of poor internet speeds, broken landlines and failure to access various websites with the finger being pointed straight at the Telco."

Read the full story here: http://www.news.com.au/technology/gadgets/mobile-phones/customers-complain-of-another-telstra-outage/news-story/5bf14ad81101d463ccef2bb97af6ee47

Friday 18 March 2016

#Google, #Facebook and other major tech compaines are increasing their data security, which is pleasing news to all

Google is investigating whether the encryption used for emails as part of its End-To-End project can be applied to other products. Snapchat, the photo- and video-sharing service, is also at work on a more secure messaging system, The Guardian added.
Encryption has been a hot-button topic lately because of Apple's battle with the US Department of Justice. The DOJ has been trying to force the company to unlock an iPhone 5C used by one of the shooters who killed 14 people in the San Bernardino, California, massacre in December. But the renewed encryption efforts by Facebook and the other tech companies started before Apple's fight with the DOJ, The Guardian said.

Read the full story here:  http://www.cnet.com/au/news/facebook-google-whatsapp-to-beef-up-data-encryption/

Tuesday 15 March 2016

To all those who close your background apps to save battery life on your ‪#‎iPhone‬, you dont have too, as confirmed by the CEO of ‪#‎Apple‬

IPhone users, desperate to extend the battery life of their phone, have long believed that closing the background apps was the best way.
But now Apple’s senior vice president for software engineering, Craig Federighi, has confirmed it is not true.
A member at 9to5mac.com, emailed Apple’s CEO Tim Cook to ask if quitting apps was necessary for battery life.
Instead, he received a response from Federighi who said it was not necessary.

Friday 11 March 2016

Hopefully you haven't been subscribed to #DickSmith newsletters or bought anything from their online store - as your customer details are now up for sale.

"After attempting to find an interested buyer to keep the business afloat, receivers Ferrier Hodgson announced in late February there was no white knight on the horizon and that the Dick Smith would have to be closed for good. The announcement was grim news for roughly 3,000 staff working in Dick Smith's 363 stores across Australia and New Zealand, who were told their stores would be shuttered by late April.
As part of the closure process, Ferrier Hodgson announced a fire sale to clear excess stock, fixtures and essentially anything that wasn't bolted down, all in order to raise money for creditors.
Now, it seems, there's more up for grabs.
The receivers placed an advertisement in a New Zealand newspaper on Wednesday, seeking urgent expressions of interest for Dick Smith's digital business, including its brands and trademarks, and website and domain names."

Read the full story here: http://www.cnet.com/au/news/dick-smith-receivers-ferrier-hodgson-advertise-sale-of-customer-database/

Tuesday 8 March 2016

#Ransomware is now infecting #Mac users. Be very careful downloading software available for free on the internet.

"According to Xiao, the Transmission app – a BitTorrent client – was infected to include this ransomware. The infected app was distributed from the official Transmission website, but with a different code signature than the normal one previously used to sign the Transmission app, implying that the app itself had been modified and re-signed by the attacker (although this has not yet been confirmed).
The modified copy of Transmission includes a file named General.rtf, which is actually an executable file rather than the rich-text document it pretends to be. When the app is launched, this file is copied to a file named kernel_service in the user Library folder (which is hidden by default on recent versions of OS X)."

Read the full story here: https://blog.malwarebytes.org/mac/2016/03/first-mac-ransomware-spotted/

Friday 4 March 2016

UPDATED - The next generation #5G mobile network could be here in Aus by 2018 from #Telstra !

"In addition to raw speed, Telstra will be improving video and media broadcast capabilities, with LTE-Broadcast technology. Initially this means better live video and match updates in sporting stadiums and other arenas, but with the rollout of the related Media Optimised Network (MON) you could see easier access to software updates and even something Telstra is calling "content prepositioning": Pre-loading content on your phone so it's already there if you decide to access it.
High-quality video calling over LTE (ViLTE) is also on the cards, joining the already-launched Voice over LTE (VoLTE) for compatible devices. Voice over WiFi is coming in the first half of 2016, with customers using VoLTE soon able to have voice calls swap seamlessly from mobile data to home fixed broadband."

Read the full story here: http://www.cnet.com/au/news/telstra-5g-2018-1gbps-4g-upgrade/

Tuesday 1 March 2016

"Following the Netflix business model, YouTube Red will attempt to attract customers by offering original content, such as film, TV shows and documentaries unavailable elsewhere.
YouTube chief business officer Robert Kyncl said the service — which launched in the US in late October for $US9.99 a month — hoped to rival Netflix, Stan and Presto."

Read the full story here: http://www.news.com.au/technology/home-entertainment/tv/australian-launch-of-youtube-red-on-track-for-release-later-this-year/news-story/add4db0a214878554c93d59975919b6d