Today’s Tech Sightings: APAC Bore Brunt of Cyberattacks in 2016 The Asia-Pacific region took the lion’s share of cyberattacks in 2016, according to security firm Trend Micro. The region attracted three times more malware infections than North America and six times more than of Latin America. APAC experienced up to 500,000 unknown threats each day, […]
Asia Takes Brunt of 2016 Hacks; High-profile Twitter Accounts Hijacked
More Ads Stray Into Windows 10; Backup Files Before Next iOS Update
Today’s Tech Sightings: Microsoft Ads Invade Windows 10’s File Explorer Microsoft is spamming Windows 10 systems with ads that are appearing in the file system. Some users report an ad about Office 365 hidden in an offer to expand cloud storage. Writer Ian Paul shares a tip to turn these ads off if you are […]
Jury Out on Online Suicide-prevention Tools; ‘TorrentLocker’ Is Back
Today’s Tech Sightings: Big Questions Surround Facebook’s Suicide-Prevention Tools Facebook has been ramping up its suicide-prevention tools to include ways to encourage users to report people whose Facebook streams contain signs of self-injury. The person with the perceived suicidal tendencies then sees a message that provides resources for help. Writer Rachel Metz says experts see […]
Uber’s Harassment Reality Check; Slack Bug Puts User Accounts at Risk
Today’s Tech Sightings: Uber Case Could Be Watershed for Women in Tech The recent allegations of Uber’s culture of sexism and sexual harassment have put the tech sector and its diversity problems in the spotlight – again. But writer Farhad Manjoo argues the Uber case feels like a watershed that could trigger innovation and new […]
Digital Assistants Explored to Aid the Elderly; Hacking for Dementia
Today’s Tech Sightings: Home Digital Assistants Could Be Boon for Assisted Living Voice-activated devices and digital assistants are quickly spreading and Elliptic Labs, which uses ultrasound technology to detect motion, wants to use the technology to help the elderly. The company is launching new software that can be added to digital assistants like Amazon’s Echo. […]
Twitter Restricts Abusive Users; IBM, VISA Team Up for IoT
Today’s Tech Sightings: Twitter Starts Temporarily Restricting Abusive Accounts Twitter will now temporarily restrict users who engage in abuse and sexual harassment online so that only their followers are able to see their tweets. The move also prevents these tweets from being retweeted to non-followers. This is the latest in a series of measures Twitter […]
Suspected Russian Hackers Target Macs; a Visor for the Legally Blind
Today’s Tech Sightings: Russian Cyberspies Blamed for US Election Hacks Now Targeting Macs Bitdefender cybersecurity researchers have uncovered a Mac OS Trojan that probably was used by the Russian hackers blamed for breaching the U.S. Democratic National Committee last year. The program, called Sofacy or X-Agent, has been around for other operating systems, but researchers […]
Feb. 7 Is Safer Internet Day; Some iOS Apps Put User Data at Risk
Today’s Tech Sightings: On Safer Internet Day, Here’s How to Get Your Online Life Secured February 7, 2017 is Safer Internet Day, which shines a light on unhealthy online habits and promotes better privacy and safety practices. Your Google searches – and trips to various ad-funded websites – tip off advertising companies to all sorts […]
The Dilemma of Defining ‘Electronic Persons’; Facebook Turns 13
Today’s Tech Sightings: Should Robots Be Treated Like Pets or People? If a robot makes a mistake, who is accountable for any resulting harm or damage? The answer may appear simple, but experts are still divided on the matter. Some argue robot owners are accountable in the same way pet owners are accountable for the […]