Author: Mike

Providing IT support and solution to small and medium businesses. Servicing Edinburgh, Livingston, Fife and surrounding areas. Responsive, Flexible, Professional and friendly local support.

Opting Out of People Reviewing Your Alexa Recordings

Amazon has now added an opt-out option for manual review of voice recordings and their associated transcripts taken through Amazon’s Alexa but it has not stopped the practice of taking voice recordings to help develop new Alexa features. Opt-Out Toggle The opt-out toggle can be found in the ‘Manage How Your Data Improves Alexa’ section…
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A.I. Powered Bar-staff. Who’s Next?

In what’s been called the world’s first ‘A.I. Bar’ (developed by British data science product company DataSparQ) ordering a drink at a busy bar has been made easier, faster and fairer by using facial recognition technology to place customers in an “intelligently virtual” queue. Solving Old Problems Information and statistics (DataSparQ) show that pub-goers in…
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Google Plugs Incognito Mode Detection Loophole With Chrome 76

Google has announced that with the introduction of Chrome 76 it has plugged a loophole that enabled websites to tell when you were browsing in Incognito mode. Incognito Incognito mode in Chrome (private browsing) is really designed to protect privacy for those using shared or borrowed devices, and exclude certain activities from being recorded in…
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Goodbye Skype for Business, Hello Teams

Microsoft has announced that Skype for Business Online will be giving way to ‘Teams’, with support for Skype for Business already ended on 31 July 2021, and all new Microsoft 365 customers due to get Microsoft Teams by default from 1 September 2019. What Is Teams? Introduced back in November 2016, ‘Teams’ is a platform…
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One-Third of Major VPNs Owned By Chinese

A recent survey by VPNpro has revealed that almost one-third of the most popular VPN services are secretly owned by Chinese companies that may be subject to weak privacy laws. VPN A ‘Virtual Private Network’ (VPN) is used to keep internet activity private, evade censorship / maintain net neutrality and use public Wi-Fi securely e.g.…
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Free Ransomware Killers Save £88M in Ransoms

Free downloadable ransomware tools launched by Europol in association with several cybersecurity firms as part of the ‘No More Ransom’ initiative are estimated to have saved businesses £87.6 million. Who / What Is Europol? Europol is the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation. No More Ransom ‘No More Ransom’ is the name given to the…
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Vulnerability in Contactless Card Allows Bypassing of £30 Limit

Researchers from security company Positive Technologies have reported found a vulnerability in Visa contactless cards that could lead to your bank account being drained if your card fell into the wrong hands. Device The researchers developed a ‘skimming’ device which was able to intercept communications between a contactless card and payment terminal, thereby allowing the…
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UKCIS Offers Online Safety For All

The government has announced that the UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCIS), which is the successor to the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS), has had its scope expanded to improve online safety for all in the UK. Part of Government Commitment The introduction of The UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCIS) is part of the…
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Commercial Release of BlueKeep Malware Causes Concern

Tech and security commentators have expressed their fears that a version of the BlueKeep malware (that’s been included in a commercial penetration testing toolkit) could prove to be dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands. What Is BlueKeep? BlueKeep is a kind of malware that can be deployed to exploit a vulnerability in older…
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5G At No Extra Cost Says Three

Mobile operator Three has announced that new and existing customers with compatible handsets will be able to get 5G at no extra cost(s) when its 5G service is launched later this year. 5G Offer Three says that when its 5G service goes live later this year, starting with 25 UK towns and cities, it will…
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