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Automatic Broadband Compensation Is Nigh

After Ofcom announced back in November 2017 that broadband and landline customers will automatically be able to get compensation from their providers when things go wrong without the need for a claim, it appears that an £8-per-day deal agreement has finally been reached between Openreach and five of the UK’s internet service providers. Agreement The…
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5G Explained

Whereas most carriers use low-band spectrum or LTE, which offers great coverage area and penetration, it is getting very crowded, and peak data speeds only top out at around 100Mbps. 5G, on the other hand, offers 3 different Spectrum bands, which are: Low-band spectrum or LTE. Mid-band spectrum.  This gives faster coverage and better latency…
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Google Chrome’s ‘Incognito’ Mode Not So Incognito

Research by Internet Privacy Company DuckDuckGo is reported to have produced evidence that could show that even in Incognito mode, users of Google Chrome can still be tracked, and searches are still personalised accordingly. Incognito Mode Going incognito (private browsing mode) in Google Chrome means launching a separate ‘Incognito’ browser window by going to top…
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ICO Investigation Into Police Use of Facial Recognition Technology

ICO head Elizabeth Dunham is reported to have launched a formal investigation into how police forces use facial recognition technology (FRT) after high failure rates, misidentifications and worries about legality, bias, and privacy. Concerns Expressed In Blog Post In May In a blog post on the ICO website back in May, Elizabeth Dunham expressed several concerns…
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Hard of Hearing? Skype Offers Live Captions And Subtitles

On 3rd December, Skype announced that it was celebrating United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities by launching its new call captioning with live captions and subtitles feature. Inclusivity & Accessibility Skype says that this latest feature, which uses AI-driven captions, is part of its on-going work to make Skype more inclusive and make…
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Liberty Wins Right To Judicial Review Into Investigatory Powers Act

The fact that Human rights group Liberty has won the right for a judicial review into the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 could mean a legal challenge in the high court as soon as this year. The Investigatory Powers Act The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (also known as the ‘Snooper’s Charter’) became law in the UK…
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Happy New Year

Many thanks to everyone that has worked with us in 2018. For those we are about to meet we look forward to adding you to the Mear Technology family.

70% Increase In DDoS Cyber Attacks On Black Friday Prompts Christmas Warning

Cyber security experts are warning companies with online shops to have adequate protection against DDoS attacks in place after a 70% increase in that kind of cyber-attack was recorded on Black Friday. What Is A DDoS Attack? A denial-of-service attack is a cyber-attack on that is intended to make a computer or network unavailable to…
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SIM Swap Scam Warning

A recent investigation by BBC TV’s Watchdog Live revealed evidence that some mobile phone shop staff are not conducting proper ID checks for replacement SIM requests, thereby enabling some customers to become victims of SIM swap scams. What is a SIM Swap Scam? SIM swap scams are believed to have been in existence for the…
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£385,000 Data Protection Fine For Uber

Ride-hailing (and now bike and scooter-hiring) service Uber has been handed a £385,000 fine by the ICO for data protection failings during a cyber-attack back in 2016. What Happened? The original incident took place in October and November 2016 when hackers accessed a private GitHub coding site that was being used by Uber software engineers.…
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