Tech News : 26th August 2022

How To Protect Yourself From Job Phishing Scams

News & Resources

Stay informed with our latest news and resources from our experts

Tech News : 9th July 2025

MPs Concern : 'Predictive Policing' in UK

A cross-party group of MPs is calling for the UK government to outlaw predictive policing technologies through an amendment to the forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill, citing concerns over racial profiling, surveillance, and algorithmic bias.

Proposed Law Aims to Outlaw Future Crime Predictions

At the centre of the debate is New Clause 30 (NC30), an amendment tabled by Green MP Siân Berry and backed by at least eight others, including Labour’s Clive Lewis and Zarah Sultana. If passed, the clause would explicitly prohibit UK police from using artificial intelligence (AI), automated decision-making (ADM), or profiling techniques to predict whether an individual or group is likely to commit a future offence.

Tech News : 9th July 2025

Block Or Charge AI Bots Accessing Your Website

A new system from Cloudflare gives millions of websites the power to block AI bots from scraping their content without permission and could soon let them charge for access via a new pay-per-crawl model.

AI Crawlers A Problem for Publishers and Creators

In recent years, the rapid growth of AI tools has sparked a battle over ownership, access, and compensation. At the centre of the controversy are “AI crawlers”, i.e. automated bots developed by companies like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic to trawl the internet, copying data from websites to train large language models (LLMs) or power AI assistants.

Tech News : 9th July 2025

Microsoft’s Enterprise Agreement Shake-Up Hits Resellers

Microsoft’s decision to bypass long-standing partners in its Enterprise Agreement (EA) renewals is sending financial shockwaves through the global IT channel, with UK-based Bytes Technology Group among the first major casualties.

Reshaping the Channel

For years, Microsoft relied on a network of accredited Large Service Providers (LSPs) to handle the sale and renewal of its three-year Enterprise Agreements, i.e. the long-term software licensing contracts tailored to large organisations. These deals provided LSPs with steady commission income and a foothold in enterprise IT procurement. But that model is changing.

Tech News : 26th June 2025

Historic Global Leak : 16 Billion Logins Exposed

A massive trove of stolen usernames and passwords totalling 16 billion records has been discovered across 30 newly uncovered databases, revealing one of the largest and most dangerous credential breaches ever recorded.

Two Login Credentials for Every Person on Earth

Security researchers at Cybernews have uncovered an unprecedented cache of login data scattered across unsecured web databases. These exposed collections, some open to the internet only briefly, were mostly hosted on misconfigured Elasticsearch instances or cloud object storage services, making them accessible without authentication.

All but one of the 30 datasets involved in the breach had not been reported previously. Combined, they include roughly two login credentials for every person on Earth!

Tech News : 26th June 2025

Over Half Of Windows Users Yet To Upgrade To Version 11

A new survey has revealed that a majority of Windows users still haven’t moved to Windows 11, despite Microsoft’s looming deadline and growing security concerns.

Windows 11 Promised a Leap Forward

When Windows 11 launched in October 2021, Microsoft described it as a fresh start for the world’s most widely used desktop operating system. The company pitched it as more than just a visual refresh, i.e. it was billed as faster, smarter, more secure, and better integrated with new hardware and cloud-powered AI features. Yet nearly four years later, new research by TechRadar has found that only 43 per cent of users say they’ve made the switch.

Tech News : 26th June 2025

WhatsApp To Show Ads

WhatsApp has announced it will begin showing adverts on its platform for the first time, with new features designed to monetise its Updates tab while keeping personal messages private.

Ads Appear Only in the Updates Tab

In a major shift for the Meta-owned app, WhatsApp will now allow businesses to promote content in two key areas of the Updates tab, i.e., Status and Channels. These features are separate from private chats and have been used by more than 1.5 billion people daily, according to Meta.

Tech News : 19th June 2025

US & UK Public Sectors Running Insecure IT

A major new study has revealed that 78 per cent of (US) public sector organisations are still operating with serious, unresolved software security flaws, some of which have persisted for over five years.

Report Uncovers Widespread “Security Debt”

The findings come from US-based application risk management firm Veracode’s Public Sector State of Software Security 2025 report, released on 11 June. Based on an analysis of over 1.3 million software applications and 126 million security findings, the research highlights the extent to which government organisations in the US are falling behind on basic software vulnerability management.

Tech News : 19th June 2025

New Apple Tech Unleashed @ WWDC 2025

In this Tech Insight, we look at how Apple used its annual WWDC event to unveil some major software updates, a striking new Liquid Glass design, and expanded AI tools for developers across its platforms.

Focus on New Website Features and Developer Tools

Held at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, WWDC 2025 brought developers and media together for the company’s yearly June event. As expected, the focus was on new software features and developer tools rather than hardware. The announcements spanned iOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, tvOS and iPadOS, alongside incremental upgrades to AirPods, CarPlay and Apple Wallet. However, while some Apple Intelligence features were expanded, Siri was notably absent, raising questions about Apple’s positioning in the increasingly competitive AI market.

Tech News : 19th June 2025

Meta and Hollywood Giants Sue AI Firms

Meta is taking legal action against a company accused of flooding its platforms with ads for non-consensual AI-generated nudity, while Disney and Universal have launched a separate lawsuit claiming one of the world’s most popular image-generating tools is built on stolen intellectual property.

Meta Targets CrushAI in Major Legal Push

Meta has filed a lawsuit in Hong Kong against Joy Timeline HK Limited, the company behind CrushAI, an app that uses generative AI to undress photos of clothed individuals without their consent. According to Meta, the service ran more than 87,000 ads across Facebook and Instagram, often using misleading images and evasion tactics to bypass platform rules.

Tech News : 11th June 2025

ChatGPT Now Records & Can Access Your Files

ChatGPT now includes meeting recording, cloud integration and deep research tools, marking its biggest push yet into everyday business workflows.

Featured For Everyday Business Use

With over 3 million enterprise-focused customers now using ChatGPT (up from 2 million earlier this year), OpenAI appears intent on securing its place in the core workflow of modern businesses. With this in mind, OpenAI has released some new business-focused features for ChatGPT which are designed to embed ChatGPT more deeply into the kinds of platforms, files, and meetings professionals already depend on.

Tech News : 11th June 2025

Microsoft Deleting Saved Passwords From Auth App

Microsoft is warning users that saved passwords will soon be deleted from its Authenticator app, as it phases out the feature in favour of Edge and passkeys.

Major Changes Coming to Microsoft Authenticator

Millions of Microsoft users are being urged to take action ahead of a planned overhaul to the Microsoft Authenticator app. Microsoft says that from August 2025, the app will no longer store or provide access to saved passwords. The change is apparently part of Microsoft’s wider push towards a passwordless future and will directly impact individuals and businesses who rely on Authenticator to manage credentials.

Tech News : 11th June 2025

Google Users Can Run AI Offline On Phones

Google has (albeit quietly) released a new app that allows users to run powerful AI tools directly on their phones without needing a Wi-Fi or data connection.

Edge Gallery

The new app, called Google AI Edge Gallery, lets users download and run generative AI models locally on Android devices. These models can perform a wide range of tasks, e.g. from answering questions and summarising text to generating images or writing code, all without sending any data to the cloud (no connection needed).

Tech News : 5th June 2025

Grok Blocked! Quarter Of EU Firms Ban Access

New research shows that one in four European organisations have banned Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot due to concerns over misinformation, data privacy and reputational risk, making it far more widely rejected than rival tools like ChatGPT or Gemini.

A Trust Gap Is Emerging in the AI Race

The findings from cybersecurity firm Netskope point to a growing shift in how European businesses are evaluating generative AI tools. While platforms like ChatGPT and Gemini continue to gain traction, Grok’s higher rate of rejection suggests that organisations are becoming more selective and are prioritising transparency, reliability and alignment with company values over novelty or brand recognition.

Tech News : 5th June 2025

Why Google’s New 'Fingerprint' Policy Matters

In this Tech Insight, we look at Google’s controversial decision to allow advertisers to use device fingerprinting, exploring what the technology involves, why it has sparked concern, and what it means for users, businesses, and regulators.

A Policy Reversal

In February 2025, Google quietly updated its advertising platform rules, allowing companies that use its services to deploy a tracking method known as ‘device fingerprinting’. The change came with little fanfare but has quickly become one of the most debated privacy developments of the year.

Tech News : 5th June 2025

Fastest Change In Tech History

The pace and scale of artificial intelligence (AI) development is now outstripping every previous tech revolution, according to new landmark reports.

Faster Than Anything We’ve Seen Before

Some of the latest data confirms that AI really is moving faster than anything that’s come before it. That’s the key message from recent high-profile reports including Mary Meeker’s new Trends – Artificial Intelligence report and Stanford’s latest AI Index, both released in spring 2025. Together, the data they present highlights an industry surging ahead at a speed that’s catching even seasoned technologists off guard.

Tech News : 28th May 2025

Google I/O 2025 - The Best Bits

Here we take a look at a dozen of the biggest announcements from Google I/O 2025, where AI took centre stage across everything from search and app design to video creation, smart wearables and healthcare tools.

What Is Google I/O 2025?

Every May, Google brings developers, media, and industry insiders together at its annual I/O conference (short for “Input/Output” and “Innovation in the Open”). The 2025 edition took place on 14 May at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, next door to Google HQ.

Tech News : 28th May 2025

Block Spam Calls

In this Tech Insight, we look at how UK businesses can identify, block, and protect themselves against the growing nuisance (and threat) of spam calls, and why doing so is now essential for productivity, security, and reputation.

More Than a Nuisance

If you’ve noticed more spam calls slipping through lately, you’re not imagining things. Nuisance calls, i.e. from robotic sales pitches to full-blown scam attempts, have become a major source of disruption (and risk) for UK businesses.

Tech News : 28th May 2025

AI Worryingly Deceptive & Self-Preserving

A new safety report has revealed that an earlier version of Claude Opus 4, Anthropic’s latest flagship AI model, once showed a willingness to blackmail, deceive, and act in extreme ways if it believed its existence was under threat.

A Powerful New Model With a Troubling Backstory

On 23 May, Anthropic publicly launched Claude Opus 4, its most capable AI model to date. Marketed as a major leap in reasoning, code generation, and autonomous AI agent performance, Claude Opus 4 was released alongside Claude Sonnet 4 and positioned to compete directly with OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Google’s Gemini.

Tech News : 21st May 2025

OpenAI Launches Codex

OpenAI has unveiled a research preview of Codex, a cloud-based AI coding agent designed to act as a virtual teammate for software developers.

OpenAI’s Latest Bet on the Future of Coding

OpenAI says Codex is its most advanced AI-powered software engineering agent to date. Codex has been designed to integrate directly into ChatGPT in order to assist with software development tasks ranging from writing features to fixing bugs. Available to Pro, Team, and Enterprise subscribers, and with support for Plus and Edu users expected in the near future.

Tech News : 21st May 2025

Microsoft Teams vs Zoom – Which Is Best?

If you've ever wondered whether Microsoft Teams or Zoom is the smarter choice for meetings, messaging, and collaboration at work, you're not alone – and in this guide, we’ll clearly explain how they compare so you can choose the right platform for your business needs.

Why These Two Platforms Are Always Compared

Teams and Zoom dominate the workplace communication market for good reason. They both offer video conferencing, chat, screen sharing, and integrations with third-party tools – and both saw explosive growth during the remote work boom.

Tech News : 21st May 2025

New UAE 'Super Campus' Could Be Bigger Than Monaco

The AI giant is reportedly backing a 5-gigawatt data centre in Abu Dhabi, a facility so vast, it would dwarf Monaco and could reshape global AI infrastructure.

A Bold Expansion Into the Gulf

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is reportedly helping to develop one of the largest AI data centre campuses on the planet, a 10-square-mile megaproject in Abu Dhabi that could eventually outsize the entire nation of Monaco

Tech News : 15th May 2025

Prove You're Human - Have Your Eyes Scanned

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s identity startup ‘World’ has begun its rollout in the United States, introducing 20,000 biometric devices known as Orbs that scan users’ irises to confirm they are human.

From Worldcoin to World

World began life in 2019 as Worldcoin, a startup co-founded by Sam Altman and Alex Blania through their company Tools for Humanity. Its original mission was to create a global digital identity system and one that could reliably distinguish real people from bots, fake accounts, or AI-generated personas online.

Tech News : 15th May 2025

Shorter Chatbot Answers Less Accurate?

In this Tech Insight, we look at why new research has shown that asking AI chatbots for short answers can increase the risk of hallucinations, and what this could mean for users and developers alike.

Shortcuts Come At A Cost

AI chatbots may be getting faster, slicker, and more widely deployed by the day, however a new study by Paris-based AI testing firm Giskard has uncovered a counterintuitive flaw, i.e. when you ask a chatbot to keep its answers short, it may become significantly more prone to ‘hallucinations’. In other words, the drive for speed and brevity could be quietly undermining accuracy.

Tech News : 15th May 2025

Smart Google Tools Tackling Surge in Online Scams

Google has announced that it is deploying powerful AI tools across Search, Chrome and Android to block fraudulent content and protect users from evolving scam tactics.

Why?

Online scams are nothing new. However, their scale, sophistication and impact are growing fast. From fake airline customer service numbers to dodgy tech support pop-ups, cybercriminals are increasingly exploiting trust, urgency, and confusion. Now, Google says it’s fighting back with a suite of AI-powered tools aimed at spotting scammy content before users even see it.

Tech News : 7th May 2025

AI Isn't Slashing Jobs or Wages (Yet)

Despite the whirlwind of hype, new research suggests that generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude have, so far, made barely a ripple in the labour market, leaving jobs and wages largely untouched.

A Grounded Reality Check

A comprehensive study by economists Anders Humlum (University of Chicago) and Emilie Vestergaard (University of Copenhagen) has found that the economic impact of generative AI chatbots on workers has been negligible. Their paper, Large Language Models, Small Labor Market Effects, analysed data from over 25,000 workers across 7,000 Danish workplaces between 2023 and 2024, focused on 11 occupations considered highly susceptible to AI disruption, including software developers, journalists, legal professionals, and teachers.

Tech News : 7th May 2025

How Marks & Spencer Was Brought To A Standstill

In this Tech Insight, we look at how a major ransomware attack on M&S could happen, who was behind it, how it caused such widespread disruption, and what it means for the company, its customers, and the wider UK retail sector.

What Happened and When?

To help understand how the cyber attack on Marks & Spencer unfolded, here’s a timeline of events from early disruption to the continuing impact on customers, stores, and services:

Tech News : 7th May 2025

Spain & Portugal Blackout : UK Next?

The recent mass blackout in Spain and Portugal has raised concerns over whether something similar could hit the UK, and what the fallout would be for British businesses.

Spain And Portugal Plunge Into Darkness

On 28 April, large parts of Spain and Portugal lost power in a sudden, widespread outage. Train lines stopped mid-journey, airports froze, and internet and mobile networks failed. Even hospitals had to fall back on emergency generators as grid operators raced to identify the cause.

Tech News : 30th April 2025

OpenAI Wants To Buy Chrome

OpenAI has declared its interest in buying Google Chrome (if Alphabet is forced to sell it following an antitrust ruling against the tech giant), raising major questions about the future of internet browsing, AI, and search.

OpenAI’s Interest Made Clear During Antitrust Testimony

Speaking during a landmark antitrust trial in Washington DC, OpenAI’s Head of Product for ChatGPT, Nick Turley, confirmed that the AI company would “absolutely” consider buying Chrome should it become available.

Tech News : 30th April 2025

Ultra-Secure Quantum Communications Get Closer

Toshiba Europe has successfully sent quantum-encrypted messages across a record 254km of standard commercial fibre optic cable, marking a major step towards achieving real-world quantum-secure communications without relying on highly specialised hardware.

A Record-Breaking Achievement Using Everyday Infrastructure

Quantum cryptography has long promised unbreakable security, but practical challenges have kept it largely confined to laboratories. Quantum key distribution (QKD), a method that uses the principles of quantum mechanics to securely share encryption keys between two parties, ensures that any attempt to intercept the key is instantly detectable. Now, researchers at Toshiba Europe have pushed the boundaries by sending QKD messages across an existing fibre optic network spanning Frankfurt, Kirchfeld and Kehl in Germany.

Tech News : 30th April 2025

Why Being Polite To ChatGPT Is Costing Millions

A playful question on X has uncovered the fact that our polite habits with AI models like ChatGPT may be quietly racking up major financial and environmental costs.

The Question That Sparked It All

This fact was revealed following a seemingly light-hearted post by X user @tomieinlove: “I wonder how much money OpenAI has lost in electricity costs from people saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to their models.”

Tech News : 24th April 2025

Trump Tariffs Boost Demand for European Cloud Providers

Rising trade tensions from President Trump’s tariffs along with growing distrust between Washington and Brussels are prompting a push across Europe to reduce reliance on US cloud providers and take greater control of its own digital infrastructure.

Why Tariffs Are Turning Up the Heat

The Trump administration’s new trade measures from the US have targeted core European exports, e.g. cars, steel, aluminium and more, with talk of extending the approach to cover digital services and data regulations. While no direct levies on cloud usage have been announced (yet), the message appears to be that under President Trump, American dominance in critical digital sectors is no longer just a commercial issue but is also a geopolitical weapon.

Tech News : 24th April 2025

Keep One Step Ahead of Voice Cloning Scams

In this Tech Insight, we look at the rise of AI voice cloning scams, how they work, how they’ve already cost UK businesses dearly, and what practical steps you can take to protect your team and finances.

A Convincing New Threat

Artificial intelligence (AI) has changed the game for fraudsters, affording them new and more sophisticated opportunities. For example, with as little as 10 seconds of recorded speech, scammers can now create eerily accurate replicas of someone’s voice, whether it’s your boss, a family member, or even your own voice!

Tech News : 24th April 2025

Trial To Break Up Zuckerberg's Empire

In a landmark antitrust trial now under way in Washington, the US government is trying to force Meta to divest Instagram and WhatsApp, arguing that its dominance of personal social networking is illegal and harmful to competition.

Meta in the Dock as Trial Gets Under Way

One of the most significant antitrust battles in US tech history is now under way as Meta (the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) is facing off against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in a legal showdown that could reshape not just its business but the entire social media landscape.

Tech News : 16th April 2025

Tariff Fears : Apple Upgrade Rush

It’s been reported that fears of Trump-era tariffs hitting Chinese imports have sparked a wave of iPhone upgrades, with Apple hoping to offset price pressures by ramping up production in India.

Update

However, in a recent update (changing daily it seems!) the Trump administration has exempted smartphones and computers from the recently imposed tariffs, including the 10 per cent global tariff and the 125 per cent tariff on China. This exemption also extends to other electronics like memory cards, solar cells, and semiconductors.

Tech News : 16th April 2025

Microsoft Highlights 7 Boosts For Windows 11

In this Tech Insight, we look at Microsoft’s newly promoted set of seven Windows 11 tips—designed to help users get more from the operating system ahead of Windows 10’s looming end-of-life deadline.

Hoping To Smooth The Upgrade Path

With support for Windows 10 set to end on 14 October 2025, Microsoft is stepping up efforts to showcase the benefits of its newer Windows 11 OS. The latest push is all about encouraging users to explore Windows 11’s built-in features, from multitasking tools to biometric login, in the hope of smoothing the upgrade path and unlocking better everyday experiences.

Tech News : 16th April 2025

UK Government Not Allowed To Hide Apple Encryption Battle

A judge has ruled that the UK government’s legal dispute with Apple over encrypted data access must be heard in public, rejecting claims that secrecy was needed for national security reasons.

The Encryption Battle That Spilled Into the Open

At the heart of this case is Apple’s Advanced Data Protection (ADP) system, a tool designed to give users enhanced privacy by encrypting their iCloud data so only they, and not even Apple, can access it. However, that level of security put the tech giant on a collision course with the UK Home Office.

Tech News : 9th April 2025

Robot Dog Parcel Delivery Trialled

UK parcel delivery firm, Evri, has teamed up with a US robotics company to test four-legged autonomous deliveries in real neighbourhoods, starting in Barnsley.

The Future at Your Front Door?

The initiative, launched in partnership with US robotics firm Boston Dynamics, is testing the use of autonomous robotic dogs to support last-mile delivery operations in real residential environments.

Tech News : 9th April 2025

Screens, Sleep & A Decade of Mental Health

New research has revealed a sharp link between using screens in bed and disrupted sleep, while a separate study suggests that switching off mobile internet on smartphones may significantly boost focus and mental health, delivering cognitive benefits equivalent to turning back the clock by a decade!

Bed, Phone, No Sleep Concludes Norwegian Study

Using your phone in bed might feel harmless, even relaxing, but according to a major Norwegian study, it may be stealing your sleep and leaving you more tired than you realise. Conducted by researchers at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, the study analysed survey responses from over 45,000 university students aged 18 to 28 as part of the nationally representative SHOT2022 health and wellbeing survey.

Tech News : 9th April 2025

Mass Resignations From Office-Only Jobs

Nearly half of UK professionals would rather leave their jobs than return to the office five days a week, according to new research from recruitment giant Hays.

Disconnect

The findings of the Hays survey appear to highlight a growing disconnect between employee preferences and employer policies on post-pandemic working models and, it seems, the potential consequences could be severe. With hybrid working now the norm for most office-based staff, businesses pushing for a full return risk not just resistance, but an outright exodus of talent.

Tech News : 2nd April 2025

ChatGPT Gets Image Upgrade and Fewer Restrictions

ChatGPT’s image generation tools have just received a major upgrade, and while everyone is busy turning politicians into dreamy ‘Studio Ghibli’ characters, OpenAI’s (quiet) policy changes may prove to be the bigger story.

A New Visual Brain for ChatGPT

At the centre of this update is GPT-4o, OpenAI’s new omnimodal model. Unlike previous tools like DALL·E (which bolted image generation onto ChatGPT from the outside), GPT-4o builds it into the core of the chatbot. The result appears to be faster, sharper, and more context-aware image outputs.

Tech News : 2nd April 2025

Your Guide to Choosing the Right AI Model in 2025

In this week’s tech insight, here’s a handy guide to the major (and now plentiful) generative AI models available, including what they do best, and how to access them.

Which One Is Right For You?

The AI boom is showing no signs of slowing. Whether it’s for writing, coding, design, research, or customer support, generative AI tools have become an everyday business asset, or at the very least, something worth exploring.

Tech News : 2nd April 2025

Croydon First Place To Get Permanent Facial Recognition Cameras

It’s been reported that Croydon is set to become the first place in the UK (and possibly the democratic world) to host permanent live facial recognition (LFR) cameras on its streets.

Two Fixed Units This Summer

The Metropolitan Police has confirmed the installation of two fixed units in the town centre this summer, the first fixed deployment of the technology in the UK.

Tech News : 26th March 2025

ChatGPT’s False Murder Claim

In this week’s featured article, we look at how a false murder claim by ChatGPT has fuelled fresh concerns over AI accuracy and hallucinations.

A Father Falsely Accused by AI

In quite a shocking story, a Norwegian man has filed a formal complaint after ChatGPT falsely claimed he murdered two of his sons! The case, now lodged with Norway’s data protection authority (Datatilsynet), is raising serious questions about AI hallucinations and how companies like OpenAI are handling personal data.

Tech News : 26th March 2025

Google's $32 Billion Bet on Wiz

Google Cloud has just signed one of the biggest cybersecurity deals in history with a bold $32 billion all-cash agreement to acquire Wiz, a fast-growing cloud security firm.

Awaiting Approval

The deal, still subject to regulatory approval, signals Google’s most aggressive move yet to close the gap with rivals Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, while doubling down on multicloud and AI-driven cybersecurity.

Tech News : 26th March 2025

Council Says AI Could Save Them £60m

In a new internal report, Cheshire East Council says it could save as much as £60 million over the next five years by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI).

Smart Technology Shift

The report highlights how AI could transform everything from customer service to social care, while tackling the authority’s ongoing financial struggles. The plan is part of a broader shift across UK councils to use smart technology to plug budget gaps, improve services, and cut red tape.

Tech News : 20th March 2025

Public Hearing Demanded For Apple’s UK Encryption

Privacy advocates are calling for Apple’s legal challenge against a secret UK government order to be heard in public, arguing that millions of users’ privacy rights are at stake.

Could Set Precedent

The case, currently set to be conducted behind closed doors, could set a major precedent for the future of encryption and government surveillance.

Tech News : 20th March 2025

Is Manus Redefining AI Agents and SEO?

In this Tech Insight, we look at how Manus, China’s latest AI agent, is redefining autonomous AI applications, its connection to Browser Use, and whether this signals a new shift in search engine optimisation (SEO) and business strategy.

Agentic Applications

It seems that AI is no longer just about answering questions or generating text, but is also now executing complex tasks with minimal human intervention. Enter agentic applications, a new breed of AI designed to act on behalf of users, making decisions and performing actions autonomously. These agents can book flights, manage projects, analyse data, and even interact with software, the kinds of tasks that previously required direct human involvement.

Tech News : 20th March 2025

Alexa Voice Recordings Being Sent To Amazon

From March 28, a change to a long-standing Amazon Echo privacy feature will mean that every Alexa request will be transmitted to Amazon’s cloud by default, rather than being processed locally on the device.

What’s Changing?

For years, Amazon Echo users had the option to keep some of their voice interactions with Alexa private. For example, select Echo devices, including the Echo Dot (4th Gen), Echo Show 10, and Echo Show 15, offered a setting called “Do Not Send Voice Recordings.” This allowed Alexa to process certain requests locally on the device, meaning users’ voices never left their homes. However, this is about to change.

Tech News : 11th March 2025

Banks to Pay Millions After IT Failures Leave Customers Stranded

UK banking customers who have faced repeated IT failures are set to receive millions in compensation, following a damning Treasury Committee investigation into the scale and impact of these outages.

Nine Banks

The inquiry revealed that in the past two years alone, nine major banks and building societies have suffered more than a month’s worth of system failures, leaving millions unable to access their money when they needed it most.

Tech News : 11th March 2025

(Unbelievable) AI Advances For Businesses

In this Tech Insight, we look at the latest AI developments, including AI agents creating their own language, Opera’s new AI-powered browsing assistant, and a growing debate over the risks of an international race to artificial general intelligence.

AI Agents Are Speaking Their Own Language

A new experiment called ‘GibberLink’ has just demonstrated an intriguing concept, i.e. AI voice agents that can recognise when they are speaking to another AI and then switch to a more efficient communication method (which is incomprehensible to humans). Developed at a hackathon in London by Meta engineers Boris Starkov and Anton Pidkuiko, GibberLink replaces human-like speech with GGWave, a sound-based protocol that allows AI systems to exchange information faster and with less computing power.

Tech News : 11th March 2025

Mozilla Backtracks on Terms of Use After Backlash

Non-profit web tech organisation Mozilla has rewritten Firefox’s Terms of Use after widespread criticism from users who feared the company was overreaching with its data policies.

Vague Wording?

It seems that the backlash stemmed from vague and broad wording in the updated terms, which many believed gave Mozilla rights over any data entered into the browser.

After days of mounting pressure, Mozilla admitted the wording had caused unnecessary concern and moved quickly to clarify its position. The rewritten terms now explicitly state that Mozilla does not claim ownership over user data and is only processing it to operate Firefox as intended.

Tech News : 5th March 2025

OpenAI Launches Sora (in the UK) and GPT-4.5

OpenAI has launched Sora, its AI-powered video generation tool, and GPT-4.5, its latest and most advanced language model, in the UK, marking a major leap in artificial intelligence technology and sparking debate across creative and technological industries.

What is Sora and Why Has It Only Just Arrived in the UK?

Sora is OpenAI’s revolutionary text-to-video generator that can create up to 20-second-long, 1080p resolution videos from simple text prompts. It can also work with existing footage to extend, remix, or blend clips into new creations. The tool has been available in other regions since December 2024 but was withheld from the UK and Europe due to regulatory concerns around AI-generated content, data privacy, and intellectual property rights. Now, after adjustments to comply with local laws, OpenAI has finally made Sora available to UK users from 28 February 2025.

Tech News : 5th March 2025

What To Do If Your Mobile Is Stolen?

In this article, we look at the key actions to take if your mobile phone is stolen, how to protect your data, and ways to reduce the risk of theft in the first place.

Phone Theft on the Rise

Mobile phone theft is an increasing concern in the UK, with incidents on the rise, particularly in urban areas. For example, in the 12 months leading up to March 2024, approximately 78,000 individuals reported having their phones or bags stolen, marking a dramatic increase compared to previous years. London alone accounts for a significant portion of these incidents, with hotspot areas including train stations, busy high streets, and public transport hubs.

Tech News : 5th March 2025

May 2025 : Skype Retiring

Microsoft has confirmed that it will retire Skype in May 2025, marking the end of an era for the once-revolutionary internet calling service.

Teams Instead

The company plans to shift its focus entirely to Microsoft Teams, which it describes as a modern communication and collaboration platform better suited to today’s needs.

Tech News : 27th February 2025

Apple Stops Advanced Data Protection Feature in the UK

Apple has announced the removal of its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) tool from customers in the United Kingdom, following a contentious dispute with the UK government over user data access.

Debate Ignited

The decision, which sees one of the world’s leading tech companies bowing out of a security standoff, has ignited debates over digital privacy, national security, and the future of encryption standards in the UK and beyond.

Tech News : 27th February 2025

Do Noise-Cancelling Headphones Damage Hearing?

Noise-cancelling headphones are becoming increasingly popular, yet experts are raising concerns that prolonged use may be contributing to a rise in auditory processing issues, particularly among young people.

Do They Re-Train Your Brain?

The soothing silence offered by noise-cancelling headphones has made them indispensable for many, particularly younger users navigating busy cities or working in noisy environments. However, some recent findings suggest that this constant isolation from environmental sounds may actually be training the brain to ignore background noise too well, potentially leading to auditory processing disorder (APD).

Tech News : 27th February 2025

AI Solves a Decade-Old Superbug Mystery in Just Two Days

A complex scientific problem that took microbiologists a decade to unravel has been cracked in just 48 hours by an advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system developed by Google.

A Decade of Research Solved in 48 Hours

In what many are calling a revolutionary moment for science, researchers at Imperial College London were somewhat stunned when Google’s AI tool, aptly named ‘co-scientist’, managed to solve a mystery that had challenged microbiologists for ten years. The team, led by Professor José R. Penadés, had dedicated years to investigating how superbugs (bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics) developed their dangerous immunity.

Tech News : 19th February 2025

Altman Rejects Musk's $97 Billion Offer

In a striking rebuke to Elon Musk, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently rejected a $97.4 billion acquisition bid led by Musk and his AI startup, xAI.

Long-Running Tech Feud

Altman’s decision has intensified the long-running feud between the two tech giants, bringing into focus their starkly different visions for the future of artificial intelligence (AI). With Musk levelling accusations of self-dealing and Altman responding with sharp jabs, the saga has left the tech industry and AI users questioning what comes next.

Tech News : 19th February 2025

UK and US Refuse To Sign Paris Summit AI Declaration

At the recent Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit in Paris, the UK and the United States refused to sign an international declaration advocating for “inclusive and sustainable” AI development.

60 Other Nations Signed It

With 60 other nations (including China, France, India, and Canada) endorsing the agreement, the absence of two major AI powerhouses has ignited some debate over regulation, governance, and the global AI market’s future.

Tech News : 19th February 2025

Almost Half of Young People Have Been Scammed Online

A new study in Wales has shown that nearly half (46 per cent) of young people aged 8 to 17 have fallen victim to online scams, with 9 per cent (including children as young as eight) having lost money to fraudulent schemes.

Scams A Regular Part of Online Life For Young People

A recent study by the UK Safer Internet Centre (UKSIC) has unveiled a worrying trend, with findings released in conjunction with Safer Internet Day 2025 on 11th February. The results highlight how exposure to online scams has become a regular part of life for young internet users.

Tech News : 12th February 2025

UK Government Demands Apple Reveal Your Data

The UK government has reportedly ordered Apple to grant it access to encrypted data stored in iCloud by users worldwide, a move that has sparked fierce debate over privacy, security, and government surveillance.

IPA

The demand, issued under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA), represents one of the most significant clashes between a government and a major technology company over encryption and data protection.

Tech News : 12th February 2025

UK's New Cyber Severity Scale

The UK’s Cyber Monitoring Centre (CMC) has now started categorising cyber events using a scale designed to assess the impact and severity of attacks (similar to the Richter scale for earthquakes).

What is the Cyber Monitoring Centre?

The Cyber Monitoring Centre (CMC) is an independent, non-profit organisation founded by the UK’s insurance industry to enhance trust in cyber insurance markets and improve national understanding of digital threats. Officially unveiled at a Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) event on 6 February 2025, the CMC has been operating behind the scenes for a year, refining its methodology before making its system publicly available.

Tech News : 12th February 2025

Banning Mobiles : Impact On School Children

A recent study by the University of Birmingham has revealed that banning smartphones during school hours does not necessarily lead to improved mental health or academic performance among students.

The SMART Schools Study

The SMART Schools study, conducted by the University of Birmingham, set out to evaluate whether banning phone use throughout the school day leads to better mental health and wellbeing among adolescents. Given growing concerns over the potential negative effects of excessive smartphone use, such as increased anxiety and depression, disrupted sleep, reduced physical activity, lower academic performance, and greater classroom distractions, many schools have introduced restrictive phone policies. However, despite these widespread bans, there has been little empirical evidence assessing their actual effectiveness.

Tech News : 4th February 2025

Is DeepSeek Safe?

Following the surprise introduction of Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek, here we look at what makes it different, and why concerns are growing over its safety and privacy implications.

What is DeepSeek?

DeepSeek is a Chinese-developed AI chatbot that functions much like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini. The app exploded in popularity following its release in January 2025. It has reportedly already surpassed three million downloads, becoming the most-downloaded free app on Apple’s App Store in the US. Compared to competitors such as Perplexity, it has been downloaded at three times the rate.

Tech News : 4th February 2025

UK Employers Ramp Up Workplace Surveillance

Workplace surveillance is becoming an inescapable reality for employees across the UK, with new research showing that 85 per cent of employers now monitor their staff’s online activity.

What’s Going On?

While businesses argue that these measures are essential for productivity and security, research indicates that employees are increasingly feeling the strain, leading to stress, distrust, and even resignations. So, just how widespread is workplace surveillance, what methods are being used, and what does it mean for the future of work?

Tech News : 4th February 2025

Google’s New ‘Ask for Me’ AI Feature Calls Businesses For You

Google has unveiled ‘Ask for Me’, an innovative feature that employs AI to phone local businesses for you, to get information such as service pricing and availability.

What is ‘Ask for Me’?

Google’s ‘Ask for Me’ is essentially designed to streamline the process of obtaining information from local businesses. Instead of making calls yourself, Google’s AI does it for you, inquiring about specific services, their costs, and scheduling options. For example, a user seeking an oil change can use this feature to find out prices and available appointment times from local garages/mechanics.

Tech News : 28th January 2025

DeepSeek? Here's The $500 Billion Stargate

At a time when China’s “DeepSeek” chatbot has jolted the AI industry (having developed incredibly quickly and on a shoestring budget), we take a look at the US “Stargate Project,” a $500 billion initiative aimed at cementing the United States’ leadership in artificial intelligence (AI) by constructing cutting-edge infrastructure.

Heated Debate

Announced by President Donald Trump and backed by industry titans such as SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle, and MGX, the Stargate Project has garnered significant attention. With promises of transformative economic benefits alongside concerns over its financial feasibility, energy demands, and political undertones, it is rapidly becoming one of the most talked-about developments in the AI landscape.

However, the project has also ignited a heated debate (laptop bags at dawn) among the biggest names in tech, including Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Satya Nadella, and Marc Benioff.

Tech News : 28th January 2025

'Operator' - Agents That Automate Web Tasks

OpenAI has introduced ‘Operator’, a new AI-powered agent designed to autonomously perform web-based tasks on behalf of users.

Just In The US For Now

Currently available as a research preview, Operator is accessible to ChatGPT Pro subscribers in the United States, with plans to expand availability in the near future. This launch signifies a major step in OpenAI’s efforts to redefine how artificial intelligence interacts with the digital world.

Tech News : 28th January 2025

Google Combats Fake Reviews (After Investigation)

Following an extensive investigation by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Google has agreed to implement significant changes to its processes for detecting and addressing fake reviews.

To Improve Transparency and Trust

This landmark development is essentially aimed at ensuring fairness for consumers and businesses in an online marketplace that’s increasingly influenced by customer reviews. It’s hoped, therefore, that the new measures will improve transparency and trust in online reviews while providing consequences for businesses and individuals engaging in dishonest practices.

Tech News : 22nd January 2025

UK To Get Digital Driving Licences In 2025

According to a recent report from The Times, the UK is set to roll out digital driving licences in 2025, as a voluntary initiative, accessible via a government smartphone app.

What Are Digital Driving Licences?

Digital driving licences are virtual versions of the traditional photocard driving licence. Stored on a secure government app, they will serve the same purpose as physical licences, i.e. proving the holder’s right to drive and acting as a form of identification. However, unlike physical licences, digital ones will only be accessible via a smartphone or other smart device, and will incorporate more advanced security features such as biometrics and two-factor authentication.

Tech News : 22nd January 2025

PM’s Plans To Boost AI Across The UK

Following UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s speech promising that the government plans to use AI across the UK to boost growth and deliver services more efficiently, we look at what this actually means and how it could be done.

Speech

The UK government has unveiled a transformative plan to harness artificial intelligence (AI) as the cornerstone of a decade-long national renewal, with the aim of revolutionising public services, stimulating economic growth, and (hopefully) positioning the UK as a global AI superpower. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer presented this ambitious blueprint during a speech at University College London (UCL) East on 13 January 2025, where he outlined how AI will be integrated into all facets of public and private life to drive efficiency, create jobs, and improve living standards.

Tech News : 22nd January 2025

Ofcom Mandates Age Checks for Online Adult Content

The UK communications regulator, Ofcom, has announced robust new measures to prevent children from accessing online pornography (plus other potentially harmful content), a key component of the Online Safety Act.

By July

These new regulations will require websites and apps to implement highly effective age assurance systems by July 2025, marking a significant step towards creating a safer digital environment.

Tech News : 17th January 2025

Plumbers Are Safe … For Now

The findings of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Future of Jobs Report 2025 show that although the rapid rise of AI is reshaping the future of work, hands-on professions like plumbing look likely to remain largely untouched by the digital revolution.

The Report

WEF’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 was based on insights from over 1,000 employers representing more than 14 million workers across 22 industry sectors and 55 economies, and sheds light on how AI is influencing employment trends. It confirms both the risks and opportunities workers face as automation accelerates across industries.

Tech News : 17th January 2025

What's New at CES?

Following CES 2025 in Las Vegas, which showcased a plethora of innovative gadgets and technologies offering a glimpse into the future of consumer electronics, here’s a selection of standout products that captured attention at this year’s event.

Samsung’s Gesture-Controlled TVs

Samsung unveiled an innovative method to control their TVs using a smartwatch, specifically the Galaxy Watch. The Quick Remote feature allows users to manage their TVs through simple wrist gestures, thereby eliminating the need for a traditional remote, smartphone, or voice commands. Samsung says this feature will be initially available for Galaxy Watch 4 or later models and is compatible with its upcoming 2025 TVs, with possible extensions to earlier models.

Tech News : 17th January 2025

Meta Trials eBay Listings on Facebook Marketplace

Meta has begun testing a new feature in Germany, France, and the US that allows users of Facebook Marketplace to browse eBay listings directly on the platform, while completing their transactions on eBay.

Collaboration

The pilot programme, announced on Wednesday, represents a striking collaboration between two major platforms in the e-commerce space. By integrating eBay’s listings into Facebook Marketplace, Meta claims the change will benefit both buyers and sellers. Marketplace users gain access to an expanded array of listings, while eBay sellers can reach a larger audience via Facebook’s vast user base.

Tech News : 10th January 2025

Google Proposes AntiTrust Remedies

Google has filed a set of proposed remedies in its high-profile antitrust case concerning its dominance in the online search market, a case that has drawn significant scrutiny from regulators and competitors alike.

Background to the Antitrust Case

The case centres on allegations brought by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and a coalition of state attorneys general that Google’s business practices have unlawfully entrenched its dominance in online search. The central issue lies in Google’s agreements with companies such as Apple, Mozilla, and various Android device manufacturers to make Google Search the default search engine on their devices and browsers. Critics have argued that these deals stifle competition, leaving little room for rivals to gain a foothold.

Tech News : 10th January 2025

Microsoft’s Bundling Bungling?

Following a recent Wall Street Journal article highlighting how Microsoft has made Copilot part of its 365 subscription service in several markets and raised prices, we now look at Microsoft’s strategies for deploying its AI assistant, and the broader implications of its AI initiatives.

Microsoft’s AI Expansion Through Copilot

As the recent Wall Street Journal article highlighted, Microsoft has embarked on an ambitious strategy to integrate its AI assistant, Copilot, into its flagship Microsoft 365 software suite, comprising tools such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. This effort has, however, raised eyebrows due to its apparently aggressive implementation approach, particularly in markets like Australia and several Southeast Asian countries. In these markets, Microsoft has bundled Copilot into its 365 subscription service, thereby mandating its inclusion for all users and accompanying the move with price hikes – hence the WSJ’s accusation that Microsoft is essentially forcing its AI assistant on people and making them pay for the privilege. It’s perhaps no surprise, therefore, that these developments have sparked discussions about user choice, AI utility, and Microsoft’s long-term vision for AI.

Tech News : 10th January 2025

Net Neutrality (and TikTok) Bans Likely Lifted

Recent developments in US tech policy have halted the return of net neutrality rules and put the looming TikTok ban on pause, thereby raising significant questions about internet governance, corporate power, and digital rights.

What Is Net Neutrality?

Net neutrality, the principle that internet service providers (ISPs) must treat all data equally, ensures that ISPs cannot prioritise, throttle, or block access to specific websites or online services based on their content, source, or payment arrangements. It is designed to maintain an open and fair internet, where all users and businesses have equal access to information and services, regardless of their size or resources.

Tech News : 19th December 2024

Tech Trends For 2025

As 2024 draws to a close, here we explore 15 key technological trends expected to shape 2025, highlighting innovations likely to influence business operations and strategies.

Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI)

‘Agentic’ AI refers to a new wave of AI systems that can autonomously plan and execute tasks based on user-defined objectives. Unlike traditional AI systems that rely on pre-programmed instructions, agentic AI operates more like a virtual workforce, making independent decisions to achieve specific outcomes. For example, an agentic AI in a logistics company might autonomously plan the most efficient delivery routes, adjusting in real-time to account for traffic or delays, without needing constant human intervention.

Tech News : 19th December 2024

AGI For Christmas?

In this tech insight, we look at whether AI models are nearing true general intelligence and what the arguments around this subject are and its relevance to society, innovation, and the future of technology development.

What Is AGI?

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is the theoretical development of AI systems capable of performing any intellectual task a human can do, i.e. reasoning, learning, problem-solving, and adapting across diverse and unfamiliar contexts without specific prior training. This is important because AGI could revolutionise industries and address complex global challenges by replicating human-like intelligence. Therefore, it remains one of the most ambitious goals in technology.

However, while significant strides have been made in AI, experts are divided on whether we are nearing AGI or are still far from reaching this milestone.

Tech News : 19th December 2024

New Quantum Chip Cracks 10 Septillion-Year Problem in 5 Mins!

Google has unveiled an incredible new quantum computing chip named ‘Willow,’ which it claims can solve in just minutes a problem that would take the world’s fastest supercomputers ten septillion years to complete – a number that vastly exceeds the known age of the Universe!

What Exactly Is Willow and Why Is It So Special?

Willow is Google’s newest quantum chip, 10 years in the making and designed and manufactured in its cutting-edge fabrication facility in Santa Barbara, California. Featuring 105 qubits, Willow, a chip designed to be used in quantum computers, is partly so special because it represents a leap forward in error correction which, until now, has been one of the most challenging hurdles in quantum computing.

Tech News : 12th December 2024

Vodafone and Three Merge (With Conditions)

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has approved Vodafone’s £15 billion merger with Three UK, subject to strict legally binding conditions.

Investment Crucial

The decision, outlined in a statement on the UK government’s website, hinges on commitments from the companies to invest billions in a joint 5G rollout across the UK while safeguarding consumer interests through measures such as price caps and guaranteed wholesale access for smaller operators.

Tech News : 12th December 2024

OpenAI's New $200 Monthly Plan

With OpenAI’s introduction of a new $200 monthly plan offering unlimited access to its most advanced models and tools, we examine whether the value it offers is likely to justify the price tag for businesses.

ChatGPT Pro $200 Per Month Subscription

The new ChatGPT Pro premium $200 per month subscription plan from OpenAI is targeted at so-called “power users” of ChatGPT (e.g. professionals and researchers) and OpenAI says it provides enhanced access to its most advanced AI models. OpenAI claims that with the ChatGPT Pro plan, it aims to set a new standard in productivity and problem-solving capabilities for businesses and specialised users.

Tech News : 12th December 2024

GenCast : Ultra-Advanced Weather Forecasting

Google DeepMind has introduced GenCast, an advanced AI model designed to revolutionise weather forecasting by delivering faster, more accurate predictions of weather uncertainties and risks up to 15 days ahead.

What is GenCast and How Does it Work?

GenCast is a diffusion-based generative AI model (one that transforms ‘noisy’ data into realistic outputs), a sophisticated approach typically used in creating high-quality images, videos, and music. In the realm of weather forecasting, it works by leveraging decades of historical meteorological data to simulate complex atmospheric dynamics. Trained on nearly 40 years of data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), GenCast can generate an ensemble of predictions, providing a probabilistic range of possible weather outcomes rather than a single deterministic forecast.

Tech News : 5th December 2024

Oz Social Media Ban For Kids

Australia’s government has enacted legislation prohibiting children under 16 from accessing social media platforms to protect them from the harmful effects of online content, such as cyberbullying, exploitation, and exposure to inappropriate material.

The Online Safety Amendment

Under the new legislation, known as the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024, only just passed by the Australian Parliament in November, the ban will apply to social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit, and X (formerly Twitter). However, messaging services, gaming platforms, and educational sites like YouTube are exempt from these restrictions, reflecting their different usage and content dynamics.

Tech News : 5th December 2024

What Is Azure Foundry?

In this Tech Insight, we look at what Azure Foundry is, the challenges it addresses, its key features and benefits, and its role for businesses hoping to embrace the AI revolution.

What Is Azure Foundry?

Azure Foundry is Microsoft’s latest innovation in AI, offering a comprehensive single platform that unifies the design, deployment, and management of AI solutions while seamlessly integrating cutting-edge tools with practical business needs. The Azure Foundry platform is designed to enable developers, IT professionals, and decision-makers to create, customise, and scale AI-powered solutions effectively.

Through its streamlined toolchain, advanced management features, and integration with popular development environments, Microsoft has positioned Azure Foundry as a one-stop solution for organisations aiming to leverage AI to its fullest potential.

Tech News : 5th December 2024

Slow Websites Costing UK Businesses £££

A recent study by US-based hosting provider Liquid Web has revealed that slow website performance is costing businesses thousands of pounds per year in revenue and draining resources at an alarming rate.

Slow Websites Costing UK Businesses

The study, which was based on a survey of 206 business owners from industries ranging from ecommerce to consulting, found that poor website performance costs businesses an average of 15 per cent of their annual revenue. For small businesses earning $119,000 / £93,000 annually, this translates to a loss of approximately £14,000 per year.

In an era where online presence is vital for business success, these findings appear to highlight a critical need for companies to address their digital inefficiencies.

Tech News : 27th November 2024

DOJ Calls for Google to Sell Chrome

The U.S. Department of Justice has proposed that Google divest its Chrome browser as part of efforts to break up the company’s alleged illegal monopoly in online search.

The Path to DOJ’s Recommendation

The DOJ’s recommendation follows a series of legal challenges aimed at curbing Google’s market dominance. For example, back in October 2020, the DOJ filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google, alleging that the company had unlawfully maintained monopolies in search and search advertising through exclusionary practices. This lawsuit marked the most significant antitrust action against a tech company in decades.

Tech News : 27th November 2024

What Is 'Bluesky' ?

With the Bluesky social media platform becoming the most downloaded app on both the US and UK Apple Stores as users switch from X following the US election, we take a closer look at what Bluesky is and what it offers users.

What is Bluesky, and Who Owns It?

Bluesky is a social media platform that has rapidly gained attention as a promising alternative to X and offers users a fresh and open approach to online interaction. Bluesky was conceived in 2019 by Jack Dorsey, then CEO of Twitter, as an experimental project to create a decentralised standard for social media. The idea was to develop a platform where no single person or entity held complete control, providing users with autonomy over their content and connections.

Tech News : 27th November 2024

Google’s ‘Shielded Email’ Privacy Feature

It’s been reported that Google is developing ‘Shielded Email’, a feature that creates temporary email aliases to protect users’ primary addresses from spam and misuse by third-party apps and services.

What Is Shielded Email?

Shielded Email, the feature reportedly being developed by Google, will allow users to create temporary email aliases to protect their primary email addresses from misuse by third-party applications and services. These unique, single-use (or limited-use) aliases will forward messages to the user’s main Gmail account, enabling safer interactions with online platforms without revealing the real address. If an alias starts receiving unwanted emails, users can simply disable forwarding, stopping the spam entirely.

Tech News : 20th November 2024

“Amazon Haul” Budget Shop

Amazon has announced the launch of a U.S. beta of its new Haul Store, an online shopping experience designed to rival low-cost e-commerce giants Temu and Shein.

Products at $20 or Less

The Haul platform is to be integrated into the Amazon Shopping app and offers a range of products priced at $20 or less, with most items under $10. While promising affordability, the initiative marks a departure from Amazon’s hallmark of rapid delivery, instead opting for a model that’s consistent with the popular budget shopping apps, i.e. providing low-cost products with longer shipping times (one to two weeks).

Tech News : 20th November 2024

Malware That Exploits Facebook Ads

In this insight, in reviewing how a malvertising campaign is hijacking Facebook accounts to spread the SYS01stealer malware, we examine the tactics used, plus we look at the impact on businesses and steps organisations can take to protect themselves.

Exposed By Bitdefender

Bucharest-based cybersecurity company Bitdefender has recently exposed a sophisticated malvertising campaign that leverages Facebook to distribute the SYS01stealer malware. The campaign targets Meta Business accounts with the goal of hijacking them and capturing sensitive user data. Bitdefender reports that this campaign uses deceptive Facebook ads that mimic well-known brands to drive users towards the malicious downloads. This campaign is notable because it highlights both the growing scale of malvertising threats and the advanced tactics now being used by cybercriminals.

Tech News : 20th November 2024

Bitcoin Surges Past $80,000 Amid Trump’s Crypto Revolution

Cryptocurrency Bitcoin’s value has surged past $80,000 for the first time, driven by market optimism following Donald Trump’s election victory and his promises to transform the United States into a global hub for cryptocurrency innovation.

Control of Congress

Trump’s election as the next US president and his securing control of Congress, plus the Republican Party winning majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, have boosted Bitcoin’s value to new heights (and still rising at the time of writing). This link between the cryptocurrency’s rising value and political events stems from Trump’s pro-cryptocurrency stance and his promises of deregulation.

Tech News : 13th November 2024

Trump's Tech Transitions

Following Trump’s dramatic election for a second term, we look at what this means for the tech industry, examining the potential impacts on major companies, regulation, cryptocurrency, autonomous vehicles, AI, social media, markets, and the influence of key players like Elon Musk.

An Era of Change, Uncertainty, and Opportunity

The re-election of Donald Trump as President of the United States has shaken up the tech industry, sparking a mix of anticipation, uncertainty, and opportunity. A new era, shaped by Trump’s unrestrained approach and strong alliance with major industry leaders like Elon Musk, looks poised to redefine the regulatory landscape, reshape markets, and drive significant changes across social media, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence (AI), cryptocurrencies, and more.

Tech News : 13th November 2024

How Employment Rights Bill Will Reshape Tech Industry

With the UK’s new Employment Rights Bill expected to become law by 2026, we look at what this could mean for tech employers, the key changes, and practical impacts.

Protections for Workers from Day One

The UK’s new Employment Rights Bill is set to bring seismic changes to the employment landscape, with major implications for tech industry employers. Introduced by the recently elected Labour government following commitments in their recent manifesto, this legislative overhaul aims to recalibrate the balance of power between employers and employees, enforcing protections for workers from their very first day of employment. The Bill’s provisions, expected to become law by 2026, are poised to reshape the strategies tech companies must employ in managing their workforce.

Tech News : 13th November 2024

NHS iPhone Device Checks For Throat-Cancer

In a move poised to transform cancer diagnostics, the NHS has announced it is piloting an innovative iPhone-based device to help detect or rule out throat cancer more swiftly.

What Device?

Developed by Endoscope-i Ltd, a West Midlands-based medical technology company, the device, called the endoscope-i adapter, connects over the iPhone’s rear camera lens, securely aligning the endoscope with the iPhone’s main camera for high-definition imaging. This setup allows the iPhone to capture high-definition images from any endoscope with a 32mm eyepiece.

Tech News : 6th November 2024

Flexible Working Drives Financial Gains

Following a recent University of Melbourne report revealing that companies offering strong flexible work options (such as remote working) experience enhanced market value, this article explores the factors driving these gains, examines supporting studies, and considers opposing views from firms that favour in-office mandates.

Why The Shift To Flexible?

The shift to flexible work options emerged as a swift response to the COVID-19 pandemic, upending conventional workplace structures and prompting a worldwide embrace of remote work. In the years since, companies have wrestled with balancing the benefits of flexibility versus the perceived advantages of in-office work. Many executives have argued that a return-to-office (RTO) mandate is essential for fostering collaboration and sustaining company culture. However, new research from the University of Melbourne, alongside other prominent studies, suggests that flexible work options may actually be more financially beneficial than once thought, delivering enhanced market performance and operational resilience.

Tech News : 6th November 2024

ChatGPT Search Launched, Challenging Google

In this insight, we look at how OpenAI’s new ChatGPT Search aims to redefine online search by challenging Google’s dominance, with both tech giants racing to enhance user experiences through innovative AI features.

ChatGPT Search Launched

The search landscape has long been dominated by Google. However, with the October 2024 launch of ChatGPT Search, OpenAI has clearly entered the search market, promising to upend the way we find and interact with information online.

Tech News : 6th November 2024

Google Fined All The Money In The World!

A Russian court has fined Google over two undecillion rubles (a 36-digit figure, i.e. a sum that’s greater than the world’s total GDP) for removing Russia’s state media channels from YouTube.

Two Undecillion Rubles… And Growing!

As if being initially fined more money than there is in the world isn’t enough, Russian state-owned news agency TASS reports the state’s lawyer in this case, Ivan Morozov, as saying, “This number is growing daily because of penalties incurred due to non-payment.”

Tech News : 30th October 2024

How New Data Laws Will Affect You

Here, we look at how the Data Use and Access Bill is poised to reshape how our personal data is handled in the UK and we also review the significant changes it will bring, with implications for the NHS and beyond.

What Is the Data Use and Access Bill?

Introduced as a cornerstone of the government’s plan to modernise data governance, the Data Use and Access Bill aims to overhaul existing data laws to improve economic growth, streamline public services, and enhance data security. Originating from a need to update the UK’s data legislation post-Brexit, the bill seeks to replace or amend elements of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to better suit national interests. The government claims that streamlining data usage and access could generate £10 billion of economic benefit. While the exact date of its enactment remains uncertain, the bill is expected to come into force within the coming year, subject to parliamentary approval.

Tech News : 30th October 2024

What Is 'Open Washing'?

With many tech giants now using ‘open’ as in ‘open source’ as a marketing term, we look at what the issues around this are, why it needs to be discouraged, and how this can be achieved.

What is Open Source?

To understand the question about ‘open washing’, it’s important to understand what real open source is. Defined and stewarded by the Open Source Initiative (OSI), open source goes beyond simply sharing code. In fact, it means giving users the rights to view, modify, and redistribute the software without undue restrictions. According to the OSI’s Open Source Definition, true open-source software adheres to ten principles, including free redistribution, access to source code, and the right to create derivative works. Open-source licences must also be non-discriminatory, ensuring that anyone, anywhere, can access and modify the software for any purpose.

These principles are meant to support innovation, community-driven improvement, and freedom from vendor lock-in, which is why open source has become so important in technology.

Tech News : 30th October 2024

Meta Hunting Celeb-Scams

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has revealed a new plan to combat the growing number of fake investment scheme celebrity scam ads by using facial recognition technology to weed them out.

What’s the Problem?

Fake ads featuring celebrities, known as “celeb-bait” scams by Meta, have become a plague on social media platforms in recent years, particularly ads promoting fraudulent investments, cryptocurrency schemes, or fake product endorsements. These scams use unauthorised images and fabricated comments from popular figures like Elon Musk, financial expert Martin Lewis, and Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart to lure users into clicking through to fraudulent websites, where they are often asked to share personal information or make payments under false pretences.

Tech News : 22nd October 2024

Prove You’re Human

Following OpenAI’s Sam Altman recently renaming his Worldcoin project simply ‘World,’ we take a look at World’s iris-scanning technology, what it’s for, its potential benefits, and its possible drawbacks.

World – Providing ‘Proof of Personhood’

In an age where AI now appears to be blurring the lines between human and machine interaction, the ability to verify your own humanity online has become a pressing concern. To help tackle this issue, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s co-founded ‘World’ project, formerly known as Worldcoin, an initiative that aims to establish a global ‘proof of personhood’ through innovative iris-scanning technology. It’s thought this approach could reshape how we perceive identity, privacy, and trust in an increasingly digital world.

Tech News : 22nd October 2024

Will WhatsApp Stay Free?

In this tech insight, we look at how WhatsApp currently makes money, explore potential reasons why it might introduce charges in the future, compare its revenue model with competing messaging apps, and analyse the possible impact the introduction of any changes could have.

Currently A Free, Seamless Messaging Service (For Personal Users)

First introduced in 2009, Meta’s end-to-end encrypted messaging app – WhatsApp – has long been a mainstay in global communication, boasting nearly three billion users who enjoy its seamless messaging service at no cost. The app’s widespread appeal rests on factors such as its accessibility and privacy, but with the growing pressure on tech companies to generate revenue and remain sustainable, the question arises will WhatsApp stay free?

Tech News : 22nd October 2024

ChatGPT Gets Windows App

OpenAI has announced that it is launching a test version of a dedicated Windows app for its popular chatbot ChatGPT.

Announcement

On October 17, OpenAI announced on X that: “Today, ChatGPT Plus, Enterprise, Team, and Edu users can start testing an early version of the Windows desktop app.”

This is a major step in making OpenAI’s AI-powered chatbot more accessible and convenient for a wider range of users.

Tech News : 16th October 2024

Face-Recognition & Personal Data Concerns

Two Harvard students have developed a program which (when used with Meta’s smart glasses) can identify people without their knowledge, thereby highlighting a potentially serious privacy risk.

Why?

In their report about their research, the two Harvard students, AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio, said their goal was “to demonstrate the current capabilities of smart glasses, face search engines, LLMs, and public databases, raising awareness that extracting someone’s home address and other personal details from just their face on the street is possible today”.

Tech News : 16th October 2024

What was Revealed By The “We, Robot” Event?

Following Tesla’s “We, Robot” event on October 10 at the Warner Bros. Studios in Los Angeles, we look at the big reveals, the reactions to them, plus some of the key comments made and opinions given.

A Showcase of Futuristic Visions

Tesla’s long-anticipated “We, Robot” event, which captured the attention of millions worldwide, was CEO Elon Musk’s bold declaration of the company’s future direction, positioning Tesla not just as an electric vehicle manufacturer but as a cutting-edge robotics and artificial intelligence company. The showcase was reported to be rich with futuristic visions, but it left many wondering whether these concepts were truly within reach or just another example of Musk’s futuristic ambitions.

Tech News : 16th October 2024

Ryanair Third-Party Data Protection Inquiry

What happens to data gathered as part of Ryanair’s extra ID verification requirement (from customers who don’t book directly through its website), has led to an inquiry being launched by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC).

Why ID Verification?

For travellers booking flights through third-party websites or online travel agents (OTA), rather than directly through Ryanair, the Irish low-cost airline requires them to complete a Customer Verification Process. The reason, given by Ryanair, is that third-party agents sometimes provide incorrect or incomplete passenger information, e.g. fake contact or payment details, which can interfere with Ryanair’s ability to communicate important flight details directly to passengers.

Tech News : 9th October 2024

AI Safety-Bill Killed (Well, Blocked)

Following California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoing a landmark AI safety bill aimed at regulating the development and deployment of advanced AI systems, we look at the reasons why it was blocked and the implications of doing so.

What Bill?

US Senate ‘Bill 1047’ relates to regulating AI systems with the focus specifically around frontier AI models (highly advanced/cutting edge and large) with the potential for large-scale impact.

Tech News : 9th October 2024

New Ways To Search

Search technology has transformed significantly from text-based queries back in the nineties to now, where there’s a wide range of interactive methods like voice, visual, and AI-driven tools. Here, we look at how these advancements are reshaping the way we search, with a focus on the latest innovations and trends in the search landscape.

The Changing Landscape of Search

Search technology is currently undergoing a rapid transformation, driven by fierce competition between major tech companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. While Google remains the dominant force (processing over 8.5 billion searches per day), other players are innovating and closing the gap by integrating advanced AI capabilities and new features. Microsoft’s Bing AI is increasingly incorporating AI-driven results to enhance search relevance, while Amazon focuses on evolving its product search and recommendation algorithms, positioning itself as a major contender in the e-commerce space.

Tech News : 9th October 2024

Ebay : Fees Scrapped For UK Private Sellers

Online marketplace eBay has announced that starting Tuesday 1 October 2024, private sellers will not pay transaction fees when they sell items on eBay.co.uk.

Like Germany

In its online announcement of the change, eBay highlighted how it recently launched a similar free-to-sell programme in Germany, with the result reportedly being that many new customers joined eBay to start selling (and buying). In fact, eBay says, “Hundreds of thousands of them started buying” and that “they ended up buying twice as much as buyers who don’t sell”.

Tech News : 2nd October 2024

WordPress At War!

Following a (very public) recent spat between WordPress founder and Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg, and WP Engine, we look at what’s happened and why, and what the effects have been WordPress users.

WordPress and WP Engine

To better understand the story, it may be a good idea to first look at the two sides in the dispute – who (and what) they are, and why they’re different.

Tech News : 2nd October 2024

Meta’s Smarter Specs

Following Mark Zuckerberg’s recent announcement of new AI features for the company’s (Ray-Ban) Meta glasses, we look at where we’re at and where things are heading with Meta’s VR/AR glasses.

What VR/AR Glasses?

Meta’s VR/AR glasses are part of the company’s push into the immersive world of virtual and augmented reality, which it envisions as a key part of the “metaverse.” The metaverse concept, which many of us will remember, was first announced back in October 2021 (when Facebook rebranded as Meta and caused stock values to fall as investors didn’t understand it), was Meta’s vision of a shared, immersive virtual space where people can interact, work, play, and socialise using VR, AR, and other digital technologies.

The VR/AR glasses are part of a range of products representing Meta’s attempt to lead in the next generation of computing by combining the physical and digital worlds. Meta aims to integrate AR glasses into everyday life, much like smartphones today, thereby enabling users to interact with virtual worlds alongside the real world. Consequently, Meta is investing heavily in AR and VR development.

Tech News : 2nd October 2024

Sending WhatsApp Messages To Other Messaging Apps

In response to changes in the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (which came into force in March), WhatsApp users will soon be able to send messages from WhatsApp to people using other messaging apps, e.g. Messenger, Telegram, and Signal.

What Change In The Digital Marketing Act?

Meta-owned WhatsApp is making this major change because the EU’s Digital Markets Act – DMA (a regulation aimed at promoting competition and reducing monopolistic practices in the tech industry) requires major platforms like WhatsApp to become interoperable with other messaging services, i.e. there must be interoperability between WhatsApp and other third-party apps.

Tech News : 25th September 2024

Would You Be Filmed Working At Your Desk All Day?

Following a recent report in the Metro that BT is carrying out research into continuous authentication software, we look at some of the pros and cons and the issues around employees potentially being filmed all day at their desks … under the guise of cyber-security.

Why Use Continuous Authentication Technology?

Businesses use continuous authentication technology to enhance security, i.e. to add an extra layer of protection. As the name suggests, this type of software continuously verifies users throughout their session, rather than relying solely on traditional one-time authentication methods like passwords or PINs. This approach is designed to mitigate risks such as session hijacking, whereby unauthorised users gain access after the initial login, or insider threats where someone might misuse another’s logged-in session. Continuous authentication essentially helps detect abnormal behavior in real-time, flagging up potential breaches or fraud by monitoring unique patterns such as typing style, mouse movements, or facial recognition. By integrating this technology, businesses may hope to reduce security vulnerabilities, safeguard sensitive data, and improve compliance with industry regulations, all while maintaining a seamless user experience, i.e. it’s happening automatically in the background.

Tech News : 25th September 2024

The Rising Cost Of API & Bot Attacks

Following a recent report by cyber-security company Imperva about the rising costs to businesses of bot attacks and vulnerable APIs, we look at why it’s happening and what can be done.

Vulnerable APIs & Bot Attacks Costing Businesses $186 Billion

Imperva’s report was based on Marsh McLennan Cyber Risk Intelligence Centre’s study of data from 161,000 cybersecurity incidents related to vulnerable APIs and bot attacks. The key findings were that businesses face an annual (estimated) economic burden of up to $186 billion due to vulnerable APIs and automated bot attacks. Also, the study found that these two security threats often work in tandem, are becoming increasingly prevalent, and pose significant risks to organisations worldwide.

Tech News : 25th September 2024

Human Right Abuses Linked To Lithium Batteries

New research compiled from AI-powered supply chain risk platform Infyos has revealed that 75 per cent of the lithium-ion battery supply chain may be linked to severe human rights abuses.

Human Rights Abuses – Forced (and Child) Labour

Infyos’s analysis, which drew on government datasets, NGO reports, news articles, social media, and proprietary data, has revealed widespread human rights abuses in resource-rich countries where raw materials such as lithium and cobalt are mined and refined for lithium-ion batteries. These abuses, particularly involving forced and child labour, were found to be most prevalent in the early stages of the supply chain, notably during the extraction and processing of these critical materials.

Tech News : 18th September 2024

ChatGPT Now Offers Complex Reasoning

ChatGPT’s maker, OpenAI, has announced the introduction of its new OpenAI o1 large language model that can use “complex reasoning” to fact-check its own answers before giving them.

ChatGPT Plus and Teams Users Can Try It Now

The new o1 model is already available to ChatGPT Plus or Team users, and in OpenAI’s API. OpenAI o1 is a series of AI models, currently comprising of a ‘Preview’ version, which Open says uses “advanced reasoning”, or the o1-mini (lighter version), which OpenAI says is “Faster at reasoning” (than its other models), and is particularly good for coding tasks.

Tech News : 18th September 2024

Personal Activities ... On Work Laptops (Part 2)

In this second part article, where we review the issues around employees engaging in personal activities on company-issued devices, we look deeper into the legal and compliance implications and provide real-world case studies of security breaches. We also examine how businesses can protect themselves against these growing threats.

Last Week

In the previous article, with the help of an ESET study, we explored the risks of employees using their work laptops for personal activities and the potential consequences for both the employee and the business. Continuing along those lines, legal and compliance issues are the next area for serious consideration for businesses whose laptops may be used by employees for risky purposes.

Tech News : 18th September 2024

Data Centres Now 'Critical National Infrastructure'

Prompted by the effects of the global IT outage caused by CrowdStrike, the UK has moved to protect UK data-centres by classing them as ‘Critical National Infrastructure’ (CNI).

CrowdStrike

Back in July, a global IT outage caused by a faulty update (impacting Windows systems) from the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike significantly affected multiple sectors in the UK, including data-centres, the NHS, and the financial industry. It led to widespread disruptions and, although it was not a cyberattack, it does appear to be a motivating factor for the UK government’s announcement of a change classification of UK data-centres.

Tech News : 11th September 2024

Musical Misconduct

In a first-of-its-kind case, a US musician has been charged with fraud for allegedly using thousands of automated bot accounts to stream AI-generated tracks from which he made more than $10m in royalty payments.

Which Tracks?

The music tracks that 52-year-old Michael Smith from North Carolina in the US allegedly used came from a co-conspirator, a music promoter, and the CEO of an AI music company, who (from 2018) supplied him with hundreds of thousands of AI-generated songs – songs described as “instant music” by the alleged co-conspirator.

Tech News : 11th September 2024

Personal Activities ... On Work Laptops (Part 1)

Following a new ESET study which highlighted how workers using company-provided laptops for personal activities could be putting work hardware at risk, we’ll explore the issues surrounding this practice and the potential consequences for businesses and employees, in two parts.

90% Using Work Laptops For Home Usage … But What About Risky Behaviour?

The recent study by cybersecurity company ESET revealed that employees are regularly engaging in risky activities on their work laptops. For example, the study shows that nine out of ten surveyed admitted to using their work devices for personal activities, including illegal streaming, gambling, and viewing adult content! Alarmingly, 20 per cent of respondents who view adult content say they do so daily, while the same proportion engages in online gambling daily using their work devices.

Tech News : 11th September 2024

Backlash Against 300% Canva Price-Hike

Popular online graphic design platform Canva is facing a backlash from customers following a price hike of up to 300% for its Teams subscription.

What Is Canva Teams?

The subscription-based Canva Teams feature within the Canva platform (an alternative to image editing platforms like Adobe), allows multiple users to collaborate on designs, share projects, and manage permissions in one space. Canva Teams includes tools for managing permissions, setting brand guidelines, and streamlining workflows. It also includes premium features, depending on the subscription level chosen by the team.

Tech News : 4th September 2024

Brazilian Ban For X

Following Elon Musk’s X (Twitter) platform having failed to meet the deadline imposed by a Supreme Court Judge to suspend dozens of X accounts for allegedly spreading disinformation, the judge has now ruled that the X platform will be suspended in Brazil.

What Happened To Get To This Point?

Back in April, tensions between the social media platform and Brazilian authorities escalated over X’s handling of misinformation and harmful content. The Brazilian government (concerned about disinformation and hate speech) criticised X’s moderation efforts as insufficient, especially regarding sensitive topics like elections and public health. This scrutiny was part of broader concerns in Brazil about the influence of social media on public order and political stability.

Tech News : 4th September 2024

What's All The Fuss About Telegram?

CEO and founder of messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, was recently arrested in France over allegations that Telegram facilitates illegal activities, including money laundering, drug trafficking, and the distribution of child sexual abuse material.

Pavel Durov

Pavel Durov is a 39-year-old Russian-born billionaire tech entrepreneur, known for founding the social networking site VKontakte (VK) and later (2013), the messaging app Telegram. Durov gained a reputation for his commitment to freedom of speech and user privacy. After being ousted from VK due to conflicts with Russian authorities, he focused on Telegram, which is known for its strong encryption and privacy features, making it a preferred platform for those who value security. Durov, who holds citizenship in several countries, including France and the UAE, claims that Telegram has 950 million monthly active users. Also, Telegram has recently seen an increase in downloads, propelling it to no. 2 position on the U.S. App Store’s Social Networking charts (and boosting its global iOS downloads).

Tech News : 4th September 2024

Warning Against Giving Smartphones To Under 11's

Mobile network provider EE has launched a smartphone age guidance initiative in which it advises that children under 11 should only use non-smart devices with limited capabilities.

Children With Smartphones

EE says its new initiative is in response to concerns about children’s online safety and the impact of device usage on their well-being. Back in February, for example, an Ofcom study revealed that almost a quarter of UK five-to-seven-year-olds have their own smartphone. The study also showed that nearly two in five are using messaging service WhatsApp, despite the minimum age limit being 13 while over half of children under 13 use social media. In fact, the study showed that three-quarters of social media users aged between 8 and 17 have their own account or profile on at least one of the large platforms and many children in the study also said they simply lie to gain access to new apps and services. Worryingly, almost three-quarters of teenagers between ages 13 and 17 have encountered one or more potential harms online.

Tech News : 28th August 2024

Essentials Explained : Getting Rid of e-Waste

In this second of our ‘Essentials Explained’ series, we explore how e-waste is currently disposed of, what happens to it afterwards, plus various initiatives and strategies aimed at reducing the ever-increasing pile of discarded electronics.

What Is E-Waste?

Electronic waste (e-waste) refers to any electronic device that has reached the end of its useful life and is discarded. This can include everything from obsolete computers, servers and mobile phones to outdated office equipment like printers, photocopiers and even light bulbs.

Tech News : 28th August 2024

Summer Apple Pips (Part 3 of 3)

Following in from the last 2 weeks, here are 10 more (final) top iPhone tips / tricks you may not know about that could make your life easier and help you to be more productive:

Tech News : 28th August 2024

Summer Android Tips - Part 2

Summer is the perfect time to refresh your Android skills and boost your productivity, whether you’re in the office or on the go. In this second of our two articles on the subject, we’ve gathered together 10 more top tips to help you make the most of your Android device during the sunny season, keeping you efficient, secure, and focused.

Tech News : 21st August 2024

What Can Microsoft 365 Do?

Microsoft 365 is packed with numerous apps designed to save time, boost productivity and help you work smarter. Here’s a closer look at some essential (yet often under-utilised) applications that can make a significant difference in your daily workflow.

Planner

This app is a task management tool that helps teams create detailed plans, assign tasks, and track progress using visual boards and charts. Planner integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft 365 apps like Teams and Outlook, allowing for efficient task management and collaboration across different platforms.

Tech News : 21st August 2024

10 MORE iPhone Tricks

Following in from last week, here are 10 more top iPhone tips / tricks you may not know about that could make your life easier and help you to be more productive:

Tech News : 21st August 2024

Summer Android Tips - Part 1

Summer is the perfect time to refresh your Android skills and boost your productivity, whether you’re in the office or on the go. In this article, we’ve gathered together 10 top tips to help you make the most of your Android device during the sunny season, keeping you efficient, secure, and focused.

Tech News : 15th August 2024

Google in Monumental Monopoly Ruling

Four years on from Google being sued by the US Department of Justice over its control of about 90 per cent of the online search market, a US judge has ruled that Google acted illegally to maintain a monopoly on its online search and the associated advertising.

Building and Defending a Search Monopoly

Following a ten-week trial, in a 277-page opinion, US District Judge Amit Mehta, said: “Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly.” Following this landmark ruling, the judge laid out his reasons for finding Google guilty of violating antitrust laws through building and defending a monopoly. He highlighted how Google had spent spending billions of dollars to secure exclusive agreements with developers, carriers, and equipment makers to be the default search engine. For example, the judge said Google had done this using:

Tech News : 15th August 2024

Windows 10 vs Windows 11

In this insight, we compare and contrast the Windows 10 and 11 operating systems, focusing on how they perform in key areas like user interface, performance, security, compatibility, and cost.

Rolled Out 2021

Since Microsoft’s rolled out Windows 11 in October 2021, many businesses have been deciding whether to upgrade or remain on Windows 10 even longer. For example, for some businesses, not yet upgrading to Windows 11 may have been due to concerns about hardware compatibility, the need for training on the new interface, potential software compatibility issues with legacy applications, and the costs associated with upgrading hardware and licences. Also, some may be waiting until closer to Windows 10’s end-of-support in 2025 to avoid any early adoption issues.

Tech News : 15th August 2024

Hacked MSP Fined £6m (Provisionally)

A provisional £6m fine has been imposed on an NHS software provider Advanced Computer Software Group following a 2022 data breach that affected more than 80,000 people.

Advanced Software Group

Founded in 2008, Advanced Computer Software Group, often referred to as “Advanced,” is a UK-based software and IT services company that provides a range of digital solutions primarily to the public sector, healthcare, and private sector organisations. As an IT and software services provider to organisations including the NHS and other healthcare providers, in the eyes of the law, it handles people’s personal information on behalf of these organisations as their ‘data processor’.

Tech News : 7th August 2024

Is Automated Driving Safe Yet?

In light of two recent reports of motorcyclists being killed in collisions with Tesla vehicles in Autopilot mode, we look closely at the issue of whether automated driving is really safe.

Death of Two Motorcyclists

If automated driving is a factor in death on the roads, it seems legitimate to ask the question ‘is automated driving safe?’, especially since it’s a very new technology. In fact, there have been some widely publicised reports of deaths linked to vehicles operating on Autopilot mode in the US in recent times. For example:

Tech News : 7th August 2024

New Index Reveals Cyber Criminal Countries

In this insight, we look at how a recently developed ‘World Cybercrime Index’ appears to show the globe’s key cybercrime hotspots by ranking the most significant sources of cybercrime at a national level.

Three Years To Develop

The world-first World Cybercrime Index (WCI) was developed by following three years of intensive research as part of a joint partnership between the University of Oxford and the University of New South Wales (UNSW), funded by CRIMGOV (an EU-supported project). Details of the research and findings were published on PLOS ONE, the Public Library of Science open-access journal.

Tech News : 7th August 2024

Global Call-Spoofing Operation Shut Down

The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has shut down a global call-spoofing operation called ‘Russian Coms’ which is believed to have been used to swindle more than 170,000 victims.

Russian Coms

Russian Coms is the name of the major caller ID spoofing platform used by criminals to make over 1.8 million fraudulent calls to victims in 107 countries, including the UK, US, New Zealand, Norway, and France. Started in 2021, the platform is believed to have been responsible for financial losses amounting to tens of millions of pounds. It was the Russian Coms platform itself that was shut down by the NCA.

Tech News : 31st July 2024

Children Hide Online Life From Families

New research by the Children’s Commissioner for Wales, Rocio Cifuentes, has revealed that only 1 in 4 children in Wales tell their families about their online life.

Survey

The survey about online safety was conducted in June 2024 to inform Cifuentes’s response to Ofcom’s consultation on its widening powers relating to the Online Safety Act (2023). The results were drawn from responses given by 1284 children and young people between the ages of 7 and 18, from 16 local authorities.

Tech News : 31st July 2024

Will SearchGPT Overtake Google?

The new ‘SearchGPT’ (prototype) AI search feature which OpenAI plans to eventually integrate directly into ChatGPT is being seen by some as the future of search and a potential challenger to Google Search.

What Is SearchGPT?

At present, OpenAI (the makers of ChatGPT) describes the prototype version of SearchGPT, which is currently being tested in the US, as “new search features designed to combine the strength of our AI models with information from the web to give you fast and timely answers with clear and relevant sources”. In essence, OpenAI says the new tool is a better way of “finding what you’re looking for” than the multiple attempts required to get relevant results using normal search engines and “can be faster and easier”.

Tech News : 31st July 2024

ChatGPT Rolls Out Voice Mode

In a reply to a user question on the X platform, Open AI’s CEO, Sam Altman, said that the alpha rollout of ChatGPT’s long-awaited ‘Voice Mode’ starts for Plus subscribers next week.

What Is Voice Mode?

As the name of the feature suggests, ChatGPT’s ‘Voice Mode’ allows users to interact with the AI by simply using spoken language instead of typing. To do this, it uses advanced speech recognition technology which can convert spoken input into text, and it employs text-to-speech (TTS) technology to vocalise responses. Voice Mode should enhance accessibility for users who prefer verbal communication or have difficulty typing, thereby making it a convenient option. To use Voice Mode, a device with a microphone and speaker is required, and specific commands or settings may be needed to activate and customise the experience.

Tech News : 24th July 2024

CrowdStrike : What Happened?

Following 8.5 million Microsoft devices being hit by a faulty software update from CrowdStrike causing global chaos, we look at what happened, how, and why.

The Worst Cyber Event In History

The scale of effects of the disruption caused make this event, which began on 18 July (Microsoft) or 19 July (according to CrowdStrike), makes it the worst cyber event in history, beating the WannaCry cyber-attack in 2017 where 300,000 computers in 150 countries were affected.

Tech News : 24th July 2024

Lessons Learned

Following the massive after-effects of the faulty CrowdStrike update, we take a look at the lessons learned so far in this ongoing situation.

What Happened?

On July 19, a faulty software update from cybersecurity technology company CrowdStrike affected approximately 8.5 million Microsoft devices globally causing chaos across multiple industries globally as key systems were disabled. The faulty software update only impacted Microsoft because the update for CrowdStrike’s enterprise security platform was specifically designed just for the Windows operating system. The update caused a ‘logic error’, leading to widespread system crashes and blue screens of death (BSOD).

Tech News : 24th July 2024

New “Privacy-First” Email Writing Assistant

Swiss app company Proton has introduced ‘Proton Scribe,’ an AI-powered private writing assistant that writes and proofreads emails for you.

Why?

Proton says that with most of us sending emails daily, finding the right words and tone can be time-consuming. Also, other popular email programs process data on remote servers, thereby posing a risk that as data is transmitted over the internet and stored on external servers, it may be susceptible to breaches, hacking, or unauthorised access. In addition to these risks, many people use online grammar checkers or AI assistants to help compose and edit emails which can be risky in terms of sensitive company or customer data potentially being shared, misused, or used to train language models.

Tech News : 16th July 2024

AWS Studio : Apps In Minutes!

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced a public preview of its new AI-powered AWS App Studio which it says uses natural language to create enterprise-grade applications in minutes, without requiring software development skills.

What Is It?

AWS App Studio is a newly launched platform by Amazon Web Services (AWS) designed to enable users to create custom applications quickly using AI. It offers an intuitive interface that simplifies application development, making it accessible even to those without extensive programming experience. For example, users can simply have a conversation with it about the app they want to create, and AWS App Studio will create it (no coding skills needed). In short, it helps organisations to build end-to-end custom applications quickly and easily.

Tech News : 16th July 2024

Shadow AI and Shadow SaaS Risks?

A Next DLP survey (conducted at RSA Conference 2024 and Infosecurity Europe 2024) has revealed how the rise of ‘Shadow SaaS’ and ‘Shadow AI’ may be putting businesses at risk of data loss, lack of visibility, and data breaches.

What Are Shadow SaaS and Shadow AI?

Shadow SaaS refers to the use of software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications within an organisation without explicit approval from the IT department. Similarly, Shadow AI involves the deployment of AI tools and solutions without official oversight. The issue for businesses is that these shadow technologies often bypass the stringent security protocols and oversight that sanctioned IT solutions are subjected to, thereby creating potential vulnerabilities.

Tech News : 16th July 2024

WhatsApp Voice Transcriptions

It’s been reported that WhatsApp may soon be introducing voice-note transcriptions, which should save time, make it easier for users in noisy environments, and improve the efficiency of communications.

Voice Notes

WhatsApp’s’ Voice notes (introduced in 2013) is a feature whereby users can record audio messages within the chat interface. Users simply press and hold the microphone icon to record a message, which is then sent instantly to a contact upon release.

Tech News : 10th July 2024

‘Pay or Consent’ Model Breaches Rules

Following an investigation into whether the big tech companies are complying with the new Digital Markets Act (DMA) rules, the European Commission’s preliminary findings say that Meta’s ‘Pay or Consent’ model for data-sharing is in breach of its new rules.

Investigation

The European Commission (EC) launched an investigation into Google, Apple, and Meta to determine if their practices comply with the DMA. This (still ongoing) inquiry has been focused on potential violations by these tech giants that may undermine fair competition and consumer protection in the digital market.

Tech News : 10th July 2024

Restrictive Cloud Licensing & Public Sector Skills

In this insight, we look at how recent reports have revealed how the UK’s public sector is facing the dual challenges of potentially losing £300 million through restrictive cloud licensing and the limitations of an open-source software skills gap.

Restrictive Cloud Licensing Costs

A report from the cross-party think tank, The Social Market Foundation (SMF), has shown that due to restrictive rules on cloud software licensing, the public sector looks set to waste more than £300 million over the next 5 years (£60 million per year over the next five years). According to the report, this is because current software licensing rules are making it harder to switch between providers, thus keeping public sector organisations locked into pricey deals.

Tech News : 10th July 2024

SpaceX To Destroy International Space Station

NASA has given Elon Musk’s SpaceX the contract to ‘deorbit’ (and destroy) the International Space Station at the end of its operation as NASA transitions to commercially owned space destinations closer to home.

SpaceX To Develop The Deorbit Vehicle

US space agency NASA has chosen SpaceX to develop and deliver the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle that NASA says will “ensure a safe and responsible transition in low Earth orbit at the end of station operations”, i.e. it will tow the space station into low earth orbit before it burns up on re-entry. NASA reports that while SpaceX will develop the deorbit spacecraft, NASA will take ownership after development and operate it throughout its mission. NASA also says that along with the space station, SpaceX’s Deorbit Vehicle “is expected to destructively breakup as part of the re-entry process.”

Tech News : 3rd July 2024

Gemini ... Overblown Hype?

Two new studies show that Google’s Gemini AI models may not live up to the hype in terms of answering questions about large datasets correctly.

Google Gemini

Google Gemini is an advanced AI language model developed by Google to enhance various applications with sophisticated natural language understanding and generation capabilities. It features multimodal capabilities, enabling it to process and integrate information from text, images, and possibly audio for more comprehensive and context-aware responses. The model also boasts a deep contextual understanding, allowing it to generate relevant and accurate answers in complex conversations or tasks.

Tech News : 3rd July 2024

Jobs Threatened By ChatGPT

In this insight, we look at the kinds of industries and jobs that research has identified as being most exposed to the disruptive threat of generative AI, but we also look at how AI has created some new job roles.

Research

Research from Felten, Manav Raj, and Seamans –“How will Language Modelers like ChatGPT Affect Occupations and Industries?”), from OpenAI and also the University of Pennsylvania offered some reasonably in-depth analysis of how advances in AI language modeling, such as ChatGPT, impact various occupations and industries. As part of the key findings, the research paper identified some of the jobs most exposed to ChatGPT. These findings were:

Tech News : 3rd July 2024

Adobe Lawsuit : Customer Cancellation Concerns

The US Justice Department, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), are suing Adobe Inc. (and two Adobe executives) over an alleged hidden “Early Termination Fee” and an alleged overly complex subscription-cancellation process.

Hiding Important Information

In the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, it’s alleged that Adobe Inc systematically violated the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA) using fine print and inconspicuous hyperlinks to hide important information about Adobe’s subscription plans.

Tech News : 26th June 2024

Protect Your Business During Staff Holidays

In this next summer security article, and with the summer holiday season upon us, we take a look at the various aspects of protecting your business when your staff are on holiday, offering practical advice and solutions to help you stay secure and efficient while staff are physically away.

Why Worry?

Holidays are essential for employee well-being and morale, providing a much-needed break and an opportunity to recharge. However, when staff-members take time off, it can create gaps in your business operations, potentially leading to significant issues if not properly managed. The absence of key personnel can disrupt daily operations, leaving critical tasks unattended and increasing the risk of errors and delays.

Tech News : 26th June 2024

Why Microsoft 365 Backup is Essential

In this article, we look at why, as reliance on cloud services like Microsoft 365 grows, ensuring robust data backup has become a critical component of business security and continuity, then we look at some best practices for your 365 backups.

The Misconception – Microsoft 365 Backup Myths

Many businesses are surprised to learn that they’d been operating under the false assumption that Microsoft 365 automatically provides comprehensive data backup.

Tech News : 19th June 2024

Apple Avalanche!

Following Apple’s 5-day Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC24) last week at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, we take a look at the many new products announced and their key features.

Showcasing New Products

At Apple’s WWDC24 from June 10 to June 14, Apple showcased a variety of updates and advancements across its software platforms, including iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS. Key announcements included significant updates for iOS 18 and macOS 15, as well as new AI integrations and improvements to built-in apps like Photos and Apple Music. Crucially, the conference also highlighted Apple’s commitment to AI technologies and its plans to integrate generative AI capabilities into its devices.

Let’s take a look at the key product and other announcements from WWDC24:

Tech News : 19th June 2024

Apple & OpenAI Partnership : Musk Reacts

Following Apple’s recent announcement that it is partnering with OpenAI for its new AI system (which will see ChatGPT on Apple’s new phones), Elon Musk has threatened to ban Apple devices from his businesses.

Apple And OpenAI

Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, announced at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference that, as part of its new personalised AI system, “Apple Intelligence”, a partnership with OpenAI will see ChatGPT integrated across all platforms – within iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia. This also means Apple’s new phones will have ChatGPT access and Apple’s Siri will also be able to “tap into ChatGPT”.

Tech News : 19th June 2024

NHS Cyber Attack Means Blood Donors Needed Urgently

A recent ransomware cyber-attack on a provider of lab services to the NHS led to so much disruption in several major hospitals that an urgent appeal for donations of O-type blood was issued.

What Happened?

On Monday 3 June, Synnovis, a provider of lab services, was the victim of a ransomware cyber-attack. The attack on the provider then impacted several major hospitals in London, including King’s College Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’, the Royal Brompton, and the Evelina London Children’s Hospital, and primary care services in southeast London. The attack is thought to be the work of Qilin, a Russian group of cyber criminals.

Tech News : 12th June 2024

Data and AI Strategies For SME Success

Following a recent AWS survey showing that data-driven SMBs who also adopt AI more quickly and make better use of it are financially outperforming their peers, we look at ways your business could do the same.

The Key Findings Of The Report

A recent study by S&P Market Intelligence, commissioned by Amazon Web Services (AWS), found that SMBs who prioritise data (i.e. those who are strategiaclly data driven) gain a competitive edge because decisions made are based on evidence. Whilst perhaps not a surprising general conclusion, the survey’s stats show how much of a difference being data-driven can make. For example, the survey found that “65 percent of highly data-driven SMBs financially outperform their competitors”, i.e. almost twice as much as less data-driven SMBs (33 percent).

Tech News : 12th June 2024

Google Maps Alternatives

In this insight, we look at what’s good about Google Maps, what may be less ideal about it, plus we provide 10 examples of alternative mapping and navigation apps.

What’s Good About Google Maps?

Before we look at potential reasons for trying alternatives, it’s worth acknowledging why Google Maps (with 1.8 billion monthly active users worldwide) is the ‘Go To’ mapping and navigation service globally. The fact that it’s from tech giant Google with its vast reach, resources and data capabilities, plus the fact that Google Maps has been around for 19 years and (crucially) that it is pre-installed on Android devices (which dominates the global smartphone market) has a lot to do with its popularity. However, as anyone who’s used Google Maps will know, it’s also got some key features that make it a great app.

Tech News : 12th June 2024

ChatGPT Says Labour Has Already Won

A recent Sky News report said that when ChatGPT was recently asked by a journalist “who won the UK general election 2024?”, the chatbot replied that Labour had won a “significant victory”, even though the general election hasn’t happened yet.

Context Too

The Sky News report highlights how, despite being asked the question by one of their journalists several times, “in a variety of ways”, it still replied that Labour had one. It’s also been reported by Sky News that it even gave the context, as “Labour secured a substantial majority in the House of Commons, marking a dramatic turnaround from their previous poor performance in the 2019 election,” and that “this shift was attributed to a series of controversies and crises within the Conservative Party, including multiple leadership changes and declining public support under Rishi Sunak’s leadership.”

Tech News : 5th June 2024

Ex-Employees : Offboarding Checklist

Here we look at why organisations need to have an effective employee offboarding procedure in place and suggest a checklist for you that could form the basis of this procedure.

Why?

Members of organisations inevitably change over time for various reasons, perhaps to relocate to another job and move away, or they may be asked to leave, or for many other reasons. However, when employees or contractors/third parties leave a business and there is no effective ‘offboarding’ plan or system in place, they are likely to still have access to your organisation’s systems and data through old passwords and access-rights. Like it or not, this makes them a potential threat to your business.

Tech News : 5th June 2024

Thought About Cyber Insurance?

Here we take a look at cyber security, why you may decide you need it, how much it costs, and where to get it.

What Is Cyber Insurance?

Cyber insurance is a type of insurance policy designed to protect businesses and individuals from internet-based risks, and more generally from risks relating to IT infrastructure and activities. It provides coverage for financial losses that result from cyber incidents such as data breaches, network damage, and cyber extortion. For example, businesses may face costs resulting from data/security breaches, media content liability (e.g. intellectual property infringement), GDPR defence costs or paying GDPR fines, credit/debit card breaches, data breach response services, data breach notification, legal fees, system repairs, and more.

Tech News : 29th May 2024

New Windows Screenshot Feature Sparks Privacy Concerns

The new AI-powered Windows ‘Recall’ feature that takes 5-second screenshots to generate a searchable timeline of everything a user has interacted with has prompted security and privacy concerns.

What Is Recall?

The Recall feature for Windows (currently in preview status) is a new feature that’s exclusive to Microsoft’s forthcoming Copilot+ PCs. Recall takes snapshots of whatever is on your screen every five seconds (e.g. emails, and photos), while content on the screen is different from the previous snapshot. These snapshots are then stored (encrypted) and analysed using optical character recognition (OCR), which uses AI, locally on the user’s PC. The collection of snapshots is designed to give users not only a timeline of everything they’ve done and seen, but they can use voice commands to search through it for what they need, e.g. for any content (text and images) they may have been working on or seen. Microsoft says the functionality will be improved “over time” to enable users to open the actual source document, website, or email in a screenshot.

Tech News : 29th May 2024

Windows 11 Updates & VBScript Kill-Off?

In this insight, we look at the implications of Microsoft’s announcement that the Windows 11 24H2 update is being tested in a pre-release stage and the deprecation of VBScript is being initiated by making it an optional feature.

What Did Microsoft Say?

Microsoft has announced that it is making this year’s annual feature update Windows 11, version 24H2 (Build 26100.712) available in the Release Preview Channel for customers to preview ahead of general availability later this year.

Tech News : 29th May 2024

EE and Plusnet Customers To Get Refund From BT

After an Ofcom investigation that found BT didn’t give clear and simple information to customers who signed up to deal with its subsidiaries EE and Plusnet, BT has been told it must refund early exit fees and let existing affected customers walk away penalty-free.

What Happened?

Under new consumer protection rules, known as ‘General Conditions’ (GCs), that came into force in June 2022, phone and broadband companies, of which BT is both, must give consumers and small businesses the details of a contract, as well as a summary of its key terms, before they sign up. These details must include the price, the length of the contract, the speed of the service, and any early exit fees.

Tech News : 22nd May 2024

Microsoft Asks Hundreds Of Employees In China To Re-Locate

It’s been reported in Chinese state media that Microsoft has asked at least 100 employees to consider relocating to other countries.

Why?

It’s been reported that Microsoft has asked hundreds of its China-based employees, particularly those involved in cloud computing and AI, to consider relocating to other countries. It’s thought that this decision was prompted by escalating tensions between the United States and China, e.g. over technological advancements and trade issues, such as AI and semiconductors. Differing reports put the number that have been given the option to relocate between approximately 100 and 800 employees (mainly Chinese nationals). It’s also been reported that the employees only have less than one month to decide.

Tech News : 22nd May 2024

Tasty Offering : Raspberry Pi

With Raspberry Pi Ltd considering an Initial Public Offering, we look at what this kind of computer is, its value in promoting computer literacy, and what similar alternatives there are.

Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi, the most well-known Pi, is a series of small, affordable, single-board computers (SBCs) developed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation in the United Kingdom. It is a leader in low-cost, high-performance computing that has now been around for some time. For example, the first Raspberry Pi was introduced on 29 February 2012 and several models featuring improvements in performance, memory, and connectivity options have been introduced since then. The different models cater to a variety of user needs, from the basic Model A and A+ to the more advanced Model B and B+ series, and the high-performance Raspberry Pi 4.

Tech News : 22nd May 2024

UK Company Scammed $25 Million Via Deepfakes

It’s been reported that an employee at London-based design and engineering multinational, Arup, was duped by a deepfake video call into paying a staggering $25.6 million to fraudsters.

What Happened?

According to reports published on CNN, back in January, a finance employee in Arup’s Hong Kong office received what they suspected was a phishing email, purporting to be from the company’s UK office, because it requested a secret transaction.

Tech News : 15th May 2024

Currys, Accenture, Microsoft & New 'GPT-4o'

International omnichannel retailer of technology products and services, Currys, has selected Accenture and Microsoft to deliver the core cloud technology infrastructure that will enable it to leverage the latest generative AI technologies.

Accenture?

Accenture is a US multinational professional services company (IT services, cloud, data, AI, and consulting) headquartered in Dublin, that helps leading businesses, governments and other organisations build their digital core. Accenture says it has 742,000 “people serving clients” in more than 120 countries.

Tech News : 15th May 2024

What Are 'Deadbots'?

Following warnings by ethicists at Cambridge University that AI chatbots made to simulate the personalities of deceased loved ones could be used to spam family and friends, we take a look at the subject of so-called “deadbots”.

Griefbots, Deadbots, Postmortem Avatars

The Cambridge study, entitled “Griefbots, Deadbots, Postmortem Avatars: on Responsible Applications of Generative AI in the Digital Afterlife Industry” looks at the negative consequences and ethical concerns of adoption of generative AI solutions in what it calls “the digital afterlife industry (DAI)”.

Tech News : 15th May 2024

OpenAI To Boost Training With Stack Overflow Data

A partnership deal between OpenAI and Stack Overflow (the question-and-answer website for programmers and developers) will see the Stack overflow Q&A data used to train and improve AI model performance, potentially benefitting developers who use OpenAI’s products.

Stack Overflow

Stack Overflow is the world’s largest developer community, with more than 59 million questions and answers. OverflowAPI is the subscription-based API service that gives AI companies access to Stack Overflow’s public dataset so they can use it to train and improve their LLMs.

Tech News : 8th May 2024

Microsoft’s $10 Billion Renewable Energy Deal Fuels AI & Cloud

Microsoft has agreed to back $10bn in renewable electricity projects by Brookfield Asset Management to help it meet clean-energy commitments and provide its data-centres with the extra energy requirements of cloud and AI.

Global Framework Agreement

The deal, which is a five-year agreement called the “global framework agreement” (“the agreement”) is a commitment by Microsoft, working in partnership with Brookfield, to bring 10.5 gigawatts of generating capacity online. This is reported to be more than three times larger than the 3GW of power used by the world’s largest hub of data centres in Virginia and is the equivalent of enough to power 1.8 million homes!

Tech News : 8th May 2024

New UK Law To Eradicate Weak Passwords

Here we look at the new UK cybersecurity law that will ban device manufacturers from having weak, easily guessable default passwords, thereby providing extra protection against hacking and cyber-attacks.

The Problem

With 99 per cent of UK adults owning at least one smart device and UK households owning an average of nine connected devices, but with a home’s smart devices potentially being exposed to more than 12,000 hacking attacks in a single week (Which?), the UK government has decided that protective, proactive action is needed. It’s long been known that easy-to-guess default passwords (like ‘admin’ or ‘12345) in new devices and IoT devices have provided access for cybercriminals. An example (from the US) is the 2016 Mirai attack which led to 300,000 smart products being compromised due to weak security features as well as major internet platforms and services being attacked and much of the US East Coast being left without internet.

Tech News : 8th May 2024

Apostrophes Dropped From Street Signs

North Yorkshire council has said it’s having to drop apostrophes from its street signs to avoid problems with its computer database!

Must Meet BS7666

The reason given for North Yorkshire council for dropping the apostrophes (e.g. in its street name signs), is that including apostrophes can affect geographical databases and that when street names and addresses are stored in its databases, they must meet the standards set out in BS7666.

Tech News : 1st May 2024

Realtime Deepfake Dating Scams

Here we look at how scammers are now reportedly using face-swapping technology to change their appearance in real-time to conduct video-based romance scams.

Yahoo Boys

Recently, tech news site ‘Wired’ featured a story about romance scammers dubbed ‘Yahoo Boys,’ a slang term for a Nigeria-based collective of scammers who are now using deepfakes and real-time face-swapping technology so they can take on any appearance in their video feed to the targets of their romance scams. They are also known to be involved in phishing, and other cybercrimes.

Tech News : 1st May 2024

Police : Don't Try Hiding Money in Crypto

The Home Office has announced that in an attempt to tackle the issue of drug dealers, fraudsters and terrorists using crypto to hide and raise money, it’s giving new powers to the police.

Over £1 Billion In Illegal Crypto Transactions

With over £1 billion in illegal crypto transactions taking place in the UK each year, the Home Office has announced that the government has now updated its proceeds of crime and terror legislation so that the National Crime Agency and police now have the powers to seize, freeze and destroy the crypto assets used by criminals.

Tech News : 1st May 2024

Jail Coder Course Shows Positive Results

US-based researchers have reported that the ‘Brave Behind Bars’ college-accredited, zoom-based web design course for prisoners has improved their sense of self-worth and given them digital literacy skills that help them stay out of prison.

Brave Behind Bars

The 12-week Brave Behind Bars computer science and career-readiness program was expanded in 2022 to include 40 men and women from six US correctional facilities. The 2023 program was further expanded to support 55 incarcerated men and women from across the eastern United States.

Tech News : 24th April 2024

LinkedIn Testing Premium Company Pages

LinkedIn is testing a ‘Premium Company Page’ subscription service for SMEs which includes AI-produced content and tools to grow follower counts, as well as other features to raise the profiles of subscribers.

What Is It?

LinkedIn says the LinkedIn Premium Company Page is: “a subscription to help you make your Page stand out and convert more LinkedIn members into clients for your business. Premium Company Page gives you access to certain features that are only available to premium subscribers.”

Tech News : 24th April 2024

'Networkless' Attacks?

In this article, we look at why and how networkless attacks (which target cloud apps and identities) have created new opportunities for attackers and new risks for businesses, plus what your business can do to mitigate these risks.

The Move To SaaS and Cloud

In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, one of the key drivers enabling attackers to compromise an organistaion without needing to touch the endpoint or conventional networked systems and services is the increased reliance on cloud-based services and software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications (to drive efficiency and innovation). This shift, while beneficial, has also created new cybersecurity challenges for businesses, primarily due to the decentralisation of ‘digital identities’ and the interconnected nature of cloud services.

Tech News : 24th April 2024

Amazon Launches Amazon Live FAST Shopping Channel

Previously available on desktop, mobile and Fire TV, Amazon has now extended the reach of its “Amazon Live” FAST free ad-supported, interactive TV “shoppable” channel by launching it on Prime Video and Freevee, for US customers.

What Is Freevee?

For those who aren’t familiar with Freevee, it’s an Amazon-owned, ad-supported, premium, free streaming service that offers a 24/7 variety of TV shows, movies, and original content. It was previously known as IMDb TV. Freevee can be watched via an app on Amazon devices like Fire TV and Echo Show, smart TVs from brands like LG and Samsung, streaming media players including Roku and Apple TV. It can also be watched on gaming consoles (Xbox and PlayStation), mobile devices with Android and iOS apps, and directly through web browsers on PCs and laptops.

Tech News : 17th April 2024

A Big Stink About Ink

After trying to dismiss a lawsuit from HP customers angry at a firmware update (meaning that their HP printers wouldn’t work with third-party ink cartridges), we look at how HP is answering the arguments within the antitrust ink cartridge lawsuit and what the implications could be for customers.

The Lawsuit

Back in January, printing premier HP was sued in a Federal court in Chicago by 11 consumers (a class action lawsuit) who claimed that their HP printers wouldn’t accept replacement ink cartridges made by other manufacturers, thereby forcing them to pay artificially high prices for HP-branded cartridges. The lawsuit accused HP of violating US and state antitrust laws in a bid to monopolise the market for replacement ink.

Tech News : 17th April 2024

Stop Your Data Being Used To Train AI

In this insight, we look at the process of AI training, the potential pitfalls of misused data, and what measures can be taken to protect your personal and business data from being used to train AI.

Data – For AI Training

AI training, at its core, involves feeding large datasets to algorithms, thereby enabling them to learn and make ‘intelligent’ decisions. These datasets are often culled from user-generated content across various platforms. Understanding the source and nature of this data is crucial for recognising the implications of its use.

Tech News : 17th April 2024

Oxford’s Secure Quantum Computing Breakthrough

Researchers at Oxford University’s UK Quantum Computing and Simulation Hub claim to have made what could be an important breakthrough in quantum computing security.

The Issue

As things stand, if businesses want to use cloud-based quantum computing services, they face privacy and security issues when trying to do so over a network, similar to the issues in traditional cloud computing. For example, users can’t keep their work secret from the server or check their results on their own when tasks get too complex for classical simulations, i.e. they risk disclosing sensitive information like the results of the computation or even the algorithm used itself.

Tech News : 10th April 2024

Tesla Robotaxi In August

Following a fall in Tesla EV sales and profits, Tesla boss Elon Musk has announced that he’ll be unveiling a ‘Robotaxi’ on August 8 this year.

May Swap Lower Cost EV For Robotaxi

Reports initially indicated that Mr Musk’s Tesla company would be abandoning its plans to build a lower-cost EV (the Model 2) in favour of building the ‘robotaxi’ instead using the same small EV platform that was designed to power the lower-cost EV. However, Mr Musk took to his ‘X’ platform to quash that rumour.

Tech News : 10th April 2024

Could ‘Digital Mindfulness’ Reduce Your Tech Stress?

In this insight, we look at what ‘digital mindfulness’ is, how it could help you and your business, and what challenges there are to introducing it.

The ‘Digital Stress’ Problem

Although the digital age has revolutionised work in terms of levels of productivity and connectivity, it has come at a cost. A significant challenge emerging in the workplace is digital stress, sometimes called ‘technostress,’ a phenomenon increasingly recognised for its detrimental effects on employees’ mental and physical health. This issue is characterised by the stress, anxiety, and burnout resulting from the relentless pace of digital communications, the pressure to remain always ‘on’, and the blurring lines between work and personal life. This constant connectivity, while purportedly beneficial to a business has actually introduced a new stressor into the workplace (technostress) which can come from the anxiety and discomfort stemming from overuse or inefficient usage of technology.

Tech News : 10th April 2024

Headaches For MSPs As Microsoft Unbundles Teams

Microsoft’s announcement that it will sell its chat and video app Teams separately from its Office product globally is likely to cause considerable headaches for IT departments and managed service providers.

Why Unbundle?

Teams is to be unbundled and sold separately globally (it’s been unbundled in the EU since last October) in response to an antitrust lawsuit and to avert the possible associated fine.

Tech News : 3rd April 2024

Google Deleting Millions Of Users' Incognito Data

As part of a deal to resolve a class action lawsuit in the US dating back to 2020, Google has said it will delete the incognito mode search data of millions of users.

What Lawsuit?

In June 2020 in the US, three Californians named Chasom Brown, Christopher Castillo, and Monique Trujill (along with William Byatt of Florida and Jeremy Davis of Arkansas) brought a lawsuit against Google’s Incognito mode. They filed the class-action lawsuit on behalf of themselves and potentially millions of other Google users who believed their data was being collected by Google despite using Incognito mode for private browsing.

Tech News : 3rd April 2024

A Dozen Handy Google Maps Tricks

With Google Maps now one of the most popular mapping services globally, used by millions of people every day, plus having new features regularly being added, here we look at a dozen top Google Maps (Android) tricks to help you on your way.

Driving

Since Google Maps can be extremely useful in the car, the first few tricks are for driving.

Tech News : 3rd April 2024

Wait For It ...The OpenAI Voice Cloning Tool

OpenAI has announced the preview of its (two years in the making) ‘Voice Engine’ voice cloning tool, although there’s no firm release date yet.

What Can It Do?

OpenAI says Voice Engine uses “text input and a single 15-second audio sample to generate natural-sounding speech that closely resembles the original speaker.” OpenAI says this “small model” with a single 15-second sample can create “emotive and realistic voices.”

Tech News : 27th March 2024

'AI Washing' - Crackdown

The US investment regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has dished out penalties totalling $400,000 to two investment companies who made misleading claims about how they used AI, a practice dubbed ‘AI Washing’.

What Is AI Washing?

The term ‘AI washing’ (as used by the investment regulator in this case) refers to the practice of making unsubstantiated or misleading claims about the intelligence or capabilities of a technology product, system, or service in order to give it the appearance of being more advanced (or artificially intelligent) than it actually is.

For example, this can involve overstating the role of AI in products or exaggerating the sophistication of the technology, with the goal often being to attract attention, investment, or market-share by capitalising on the hype and interest surrounding AI technologies.

Tech News : 27th March 2024

What Is Customer Journey Mapping Software?

In this tech insight, we look at what customer journey mapping is, its benefits, the challenges of using it, and also we look at some of the popular customer journey mapping software solutions available.

What Is Customer Journey Mapping?

Customer journey mapping refers to a strategic process (that’s used by marketers) to visualise and understand the complete experience of a customer interacting with a product, service, or brand from the customer’s perspective. It’s a visual representation of the different interactions customers have with your brand, product, or service until they decide to purchase it from your business (and what happens beyond).

Tech News : 27th March 2024

Glassdoor Site Shows Real Users' Names

It’s been reported that Glassdoor (the website that allows current employees to anonymously review their employer) posted users’ real names to their profiles without their consent.

What Is Glassdoor?

By allowing users to register anonymously, Glassdoor is a website that allows current and former employees to anonymously review their companies and management. Founded in 2007 in Mill Valley, California, the platform is used for obtaining insights into company cultures, salaries, and interview processes. Its aim is to foster workplace transparency, enabling job seekers to make better-informed decisions about their careers by learning from the experiences of others.

Tech News : 20th March 2024

Don’t Ask Gemini About The Election

Google has outlined how it will restrict the kinds of election-related questions that its Gemini AI chatbot will return responses to.

Why?

With 2024 being an election year for at least 64 countries (including the US, UK, India, and South Africa) the risk of AI being misused to spread misinformation has grown dramatically. This problem extends to a lack of trust by various countries’ governments (e.g. India) around AI’s reliability being taken seriously. There are also worries about how AI could be abused by adversaries of the country holding the election, e.g. to influence the outcome.

Tech News : 20th March 2024

DMARC Diligence : Implementing and Optimising DMARC for Maximum Security

DMARC Diligence (Part 3) : Implementing and Optimising DMARC for Maximum Security

In this third and final part of our series of ‘DMARC Diligence’ insights, we explore the detailed process of DMARC deployment, its monitoring, optimisation, and preparing businesses for future email security challenges.

Last Week …

Last week in part 2 of this series of ‘DMARC Diligence’ articles, we looked at the crucial yet often neglected aspect of securing non-sending or “forgotten” domains against cyber threats. Here we highlighted the potential risks posed by these domains when not protected by DMARC policies, and offered some guidance on how businesses can extend their DMARC implementation to cover all owned domains, thereby preventing unauthorised use for spam or phishing attacks.

Tech News : 20th March 2024

Chrome’s Real-Time Safe Browsing Change

Google has announced the introduction of real-time, privacy-preserving URL protection to Google Safe Browsing for those using Chrome on desktop or iOS (and Android later this month).

Why?

Google says with attacks constantly evolving, and with the difference between successfully detecting a threat or not now perhaps being just a “matter of minutes,” this new measure has been introduced “to keep up with the increasing pace of hackers.”

Tech News : 13th March 2024

TikTok Termination?

A recent US congressional vote means that TikTok and its parent company’s alleged ties with the Chinese Communist Party must be severed within six months or the popular TikTok app must be sold, thereby banning it in the US.

The Vote

The unanimous Energy and Commerce Committee vote (50-0) in favour of forcing TikTok’s parent company ByteDance to divest itself or sell the app could see 170 million American users no longer able to use TikTok. There is now a wait to see whether the US Senate approves the measure before it becomes law. The stated purpose of the bill (as it stands) is to “protect the national security of the United States from the threat posed by foreign adversary controlled applications.”

Tech News : 13th March 2024

DMARC Diligence (Part 2) : The Forgotten Domains : A Hidden Vulnerability

In this second article of the “DMARC Diligence” series, we shift our focus towards securing non-sending or “forgotten” domains and outline a strategy for their protection through DMARC implementation.

Recap Of Part 1

You may remember that in part one of this DMARC Due Diligence series of articles we laid the groundwork by exploring the essentials of the email authentication protocols SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. We learned how these mechanisms work in tandem to validate email sources, ensuring that only authenticated emails reach their intended destinations. The primary takeaway was the importance of implementing these protocols to shield email communications from the prevalent threats of phishing and spoofing attacks.

Here, in Part Two of the three-part series, we take a look at some key issues around securing non-sending or “forgotten” domains.

Tech News : 13th March 2024

New Quantum Attack-Proof PCs

At its Annual Partner Conference 2024, HP announced the world’s first business PCs to protect firmware against quantum computer attacks.

This Issue

As highlighted by Global Risk Institute research, 27 per cent of experts think there is a 50 per cent likelihood of a cryptographically relevant quantum computer (CRQC) by 2033. HP says that “when that day comes, the security of existing digital signatures on firmware and software will be in question and digital trust will dissolve.”

Tech News : 6th March 2024

WhatsApp Updates

Here we look at some of the latest WhatsApp updates and the value and benefits they deliver to users.

Search Conversations By Date For Android

The first of three new updates of significance for WhatsApp is the “search by date” function for individual and group chats on Android devices. Previously, this function had been available on other platforms (iOS, Mac desktop and WhatsApp Web).

As featured on Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg’s WhatsApp channel (Meta owns WhatsApp), WhatsApp users on Android can now search for a chat on a particular date (not just within a range). For example, one-on-one or group chat details can be date searched by tapping on the contact or the group name, tapping on the search button, and then tapping the calendar icon (right-hand side of the search box), and selecting the individual date. This feature is likely to deliver a better user experience by giving greater precision and control and potentially saving time in locating specific messages.

Tech News : 6th March 2024

DMARC Diligence (Part 1) : The Basics of Email Authentication

In this, the first of a series of three articles explaining DMARC and email authentication, we look at why SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are the key pillars of email authentication.

The Issue

Businesses face numerous cyber threats, with email being one of the most common attack vectors. Phishing, spoofing, and malware are prevalent issues, making email security a top priority.

Effective email authentication mechanisms/protocols, therefore, like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are ways to improve email security and are crucial in mitigating these threats, ensuring only authenticated emails reach their destination.

Tech News : 6th March 2024

Copilot Gets Plugins And Skills Upgrade

Microsoft has announced that its Windows 11 Copilot AI companion (that’s been embedded into 365’s popular apps) has received an upgrade in the form of new plugins and skills.

Builds On The AI Key

Microsoft says that the new features build upon the introduction of the Copilot AI Key on new Windows 11 PC keyboards, updates to the Copilot icon on the taskbar, and the ability to dock, undock and resize the Copilot pane.

Adding an AI key to Microsoft Windows 11 PC keyboards, from which Copilot could be directly launched, was the first significant change to Microsoft keyboards in 30 years and represents another way for Microsoft’s own AI to be seamlessly woven into Windows from the system.

Tech News : 28th February 2024

Try Being Nice To Your AI

With some research indicating that ‘emotive prompts’ to generative AI chatbots can deliver better outputs, we look at whether ‘being nice’ to a chatbot really does improve its performance.

Not Possible, Surely?

Generative AI Chatbots, including advanced ones, don’t possess real ‘intelligence’ in the way we as humans understand it. For example, they don’t have consciousness, self-awareness (yet), emotions, or the ability to understand context and meaning in the same manner as a human being.

Tech News : 28th February 2024

Exploring E-Signatures

In this tech-insight, we look at what e-signatures are, their benefits plus some of the main e-signature providers, as well as what to consider when choosing an e-signature service.

Popularity of E-signatures

The initial growth of e-signatures happened in the early 2000s, due to the passage of laws such as the US Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN) in 2000 and the European Union’s Directive 1999/93/EC on a Community framework for electronic signatures. These laws established the legal framework for the use of e-signatures, providing them with the same legal status as handwritten signatures under certain conditions.

Tech News : 28th February 2024

Google Pauses Gemini AI Over 'Historical Inaccuracies'

Only a month after its launch, Google has paused its text-to-image AI tool following “inaccuracies” in some of the historical depictions of people produced by the model.

‘Woke’ … Overcorrecting For Diversity?

An example of the inaccuracy issue (as highlighted by X user Patrick Ganley recently, after asking Google Gemini to generate images of the Founding Fathers of the US), was when it returned images of a black George Washington. Also, in another reported test, when asked to generate images of a 1943 German (Nazi) soldier, Google’s Gemini image generator returned pictures of people of clearly diverse nationalities in Nazi uniforms.

Tech News : 21st February 2024

Doorbell Ding Dong

After the Amazon-owned ‘Ring’ video doorbell company’s recent major subscription price hike across its range caused anger and made the news, we look at what customers have said and if there’s a way to beat the price hike.

Ouch!

Ring has angered customers and received some negative publicity after announcing that starting on 11 March this year, its subscription price for its basic plan customers will rise by an eye-watering 43 per cent, from £34.99 to £49.99 per device, per year.

This will mean that the basic plan price has doubled since 2022 when it was priced at £24.99 per year for each device.

Also, those who pay monthly will see a price increase from £3.49 to £4.99 a month.

Tech News : 21st February 2024

What Are 'Virtual' Credit Cards?

In this tech-insight, we take a look at the world of virtual cards, who offers them, their benefits, and other secure payment alternatives.

What Are Virtual Credit Card Numbers?

Virtual credit cards and their card numbers (as the name suggests) only exist in the virtual world, e.g. in an app on your phone, and are temporary, randomly generated 16-digit numbers that are associated with an existing credit card account (it masks the real card number). The number is unique for each transaction for a limited time. Just as they can be quickly generated and immediately and customised after their initial use, they can also be immediately revoked if necessary (handy for security).

Virtual cards with virtual numbers (although they still have an expiry date and CVV) can be used to purchase things online and in-app, in some cases over the phone, and also to pay in-store with mobile payment via other services such as Google Pay and Apple Pay.

Tech News : 21st February 2024

OpenAI's Video Gamechanger

OpenAI’s new ‘Sora’ AI-powered text-to-video tool is so good that its outputs could easily be mistaken for real videos, prompting deepfake fears in a year of important global elections.

Sora

Open AI says that its new Sora text-to-video model can generate realistic videos up to a minute long while maintaining visual quality and adherence to the user’s prompt. Sora can both generate entire videos “all at once” or extend generated videos to make them longer.

According to OpenAI Sora can: “generate complex scenes with multiple characters, specific types of motion, and accurate details of the subject and background”.

Tech News : 14th February 2024

Google’s AI Saves Your Conversations For 3 Years

If you’ve ever been concerned about the privacy aspects of AI, you may be very surprised to learn that conversations you have with Google’s new Gemini AI apps are “retained for up to 3 years” by default.

Up To Three Years

With Google now launching its Gemini Advanced chatbot as part of its ‘Google One AI Premium plan’ subscription, and with its Ultra, Pro, and Nano LLMs now forming the backbone of its AI services, Google’s Gemini Apps Privacy Hub was updated last week. The main support document on the Hub which states how Google collects data from users of its Gemini chatbot apps for the web, Android and iOS made interesting reading.

Tech News : 14th February 2024

What Are 'Blockchain Identifiers'?

In this insight, we look at what blockchain identifiers are, their roles, users, and relevance to businesses, plus how they could work with the domain name system.

What Are Blockchain Identifiers?

Blockchain, the technology behind cryptocurrencies, is the decentralised, secure, incorruptible ledger system that enables transparent and tamper-proof transactions. Its value is in providing enhanced security, efficiency, and trust in digital operations.

Blockchain identifiers are the unique codes used within blockchain technology to securely identify and authenticate transactions, assets, or participants.

Tech News : 14th February 2024

Google Launches Gemini Subscription

Google has rebranded its Bard chatbot as Gemini, the name of its new powerful AI model family, and launched a $20 per month ‘Gemini Advanced’ subscription service.

Gemini Advanced

To compete with the likes of ChatGPT, Google has launched its own monthly Chatbot subscription service for the same price but with some extras thrown in. Google recently launched Gemini, its “newest and most capable” large language model (LLM) family, available as Ultra, Pro, and Nano. The highly advanced and multimodal AI model was designed to be integrated into its existing ‘Bard’ chatbot.

Tech News : 7th February 2024

AI Can Learn To Be Bad. And Stay Bad.

In a recent experiment where AI was taught to behave maliciously and then taught to stop, the bad behaviour continued despite efforts to stop it, giving a chilling reminder of the potential threats of AI.

The Experiment

The Cornell University experiment was documented in an online paper entitled “Sleeper Agents: Training Deceptive LLMS That Persist Through Safety Training.” The experiment was designed to study the question of ‘if an AI system learned a deceptive strategy, could it be detected and removed using current state-of-the-art safety training techniques?’

Tech News : 7th February 2024

How Fair And Effective Are AI Recruitment Platforms?

With more companies using AI to screen CVs and candidates’ body language during interviews, we look at what this could mean for today’s job applicants.

Widely Used

IBM research from November last year shows that 4 out of 10 companies now use AI to improve recruiting and human resources. Also, in June last year, IBM highlighted how, with 10 million job openings in the spring of 2023, but only 5.7 million unemployed workers in the U.S., workers would have the advantages in negotiating for higher pay, and better benefits and conditions. It argued that using AI, companies are “reevaluating their recruitment processes”, e.g. to identify inefficiencies and opportunities where AI and automation could make the processes more attractive both for candidates and employees.

Tech News : 7th February 2024

UK Cars Now Using Rear HD-Screens Instead of Windows

The new Swedish-made Polestar 4 will be the first car on UK roads to replace a rear window (and traditional rear-view mirror) with a high-definition screen showing a real-time roof-mounted camera feed.

Two Digital Cameras With Feed Displayed In ‘Mirror’

In fact, instead of a traditional rearview mirror, the Polestar 4 has a high-resolution rear-view display in the shape and in the place of a normal mirror that receives the feed from the two roof-mounted digital cameras. Polestar describes this as a kind of 2-way mirror because it also doubles as a regular mirror, making it possible to switch between the live feed and a view of the rear passengers.

Tech News : 31st January 2024

New Yahoo & Google Guidelines For Bulk Emails

With newly expanded Google and Yahoo guidelines for high-volume emailers coming into force from the 1st of February, we look at what needs to be done to comply.

Why?

As Google says about the reason for the new guidelines: “we’ll require bulk senders to authenticate their emails, allow for easy unsubscription and stay under a reported spam threshold.” Yahoo echoes this, saying: “Sending properly authenticated messages helps us to better identify and block billions of malicious messages and declutter our users’ inboxes.”

Tech News : 31st January 2024

Copilot Product Update – Some Pros And Cons

Following Microsoft’s recent announcement that it is expanding its Copilot product line-up to appeal to a larger range of businesses, we take a look at what this means and some of the stand-out pros and cons.

Copilot

In November last year, Microsoft, a major investor in AI through its partnership with OpenAI (ChatGPT’s creators) announced that its long-awaited Copilot AI “companion” was generally available to enterprises. Copilot is essentially Microsoft’s own GenAI chatbot that’s been designed to integrate with the suite of popular apps in Microsoft 365 and uses a variant of the GPT-4 model, specifically tailored and optimised for integration with Microsoft‘s apps. Microsoft says Copilot: “combines the power of large language models (LLMs) with your data in the Microsoft Graph (API), the Microsoft 365 apps, and the web to turn your words into the most powerful productivity tool on the planet”.

Open AI’s ChatGPT, however, was launched a whole year earlier and started charging for its ChatGPT Plus version in February 2023. At the same time, another major AI player, Google, launched its ‘Bard’ in an effort to integrate advanced AI and language model capabilities into Google’s suite of products and services (like Copilot integrates with Microsoft’s 365 suite of products).

With the major tech companies quickly introducing, monetising and competing with their AI products, what’s Microsoft’s latest move with Copilot?

Tech News : 31st January 2024

New Feature To Declutter Your Gmail Inbox

Included in a recent major update to Google’s Gmail on Android (for now), a new feature can help users to declutter and remove annoying spam from their inbox.

Select All Option

The new feature (currently being rolled out) enables users to use a “Select all” tick box that appears above (top left) in the inbox (on the Gmail for Android app) when the user long holds on an email. Selecting the tick box then means all 50 emails displayed on the page are be selected at once and then deleted with one tap or organised as required.

Tech News : 23rd January 2024

New Certification For Copyright Compliant AI

Following many legal challenges to AI companies about copyrighted content being scraped and used to train their AI models (without consent or payment), a new certification for copyright-compliant AI has been launched.

The Issue

As highlighted in the recent case of the New York Times suing OpenAI over the alleged training of its AI on New York Times articles without permission for free (with the likelihood of a ‘fair use’ claim in defence), how AI companies train their models is now a big issue.

The organisation ‘Fairly Trained’ says that its new Licensed Model certification is intended to highlight this difference between AI companies who scrape data (and claim fair usage) and AI companies who license it, thereby getting permission and pay for training data (i.e. they choose to do so for ethical and legal reasons). As Fairly Trained’s CEO, Ed Newton-Rex says: “You’ve got a bunch of people who want to use licenced models and you’ve got a bunch of people who are providing those. I didn’t see any way of being able to tell them apart”

Fairly Trained says it hopes its certification will “reinforce the principle that rights-holder consent is needed for generative AI training.”

Tech News : 23rd January 2024

'Only' Double IT Spending Growth (To $5 Trillion)

New research from Gartner has predicted that global IT spending this year will reach $5 trillion and IT spending growth will be more than double that of 2023.

A First – Spending More On IT Than Communications

In its IT spending forecast, Gartner predicts that the massive $5 trillion global spend means that spending on IT services will surpass communications services spending for the first time.

Tech News : 23rd January 2024

Work Starts On £790m UK Google Data Centre

Work has started on Google’s first UK data centre which will cost $1 billion (£790m), will add to Google’s 27 data centres worldwide, and will support its move into AI.

Crucial Compute Capacity

The data centre is being built on a 33-acre site at Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire. In addition to the construction and technical jobs that Google says the building work will bring to the local community, Google says its investment in the data centre will deliver “crucial compute capacity to businesses across the UK, supporting AI innovation and helping to ensure reliable digital services to Google Cloud customers and Google users in the UK and abroad.”

Google says that its investment in the technical infrastructure needed to support innovation and tech-led growth in areas like AI-powered technologies is vital, hence the new data centre.

Tech News : 17th January 2024

What Was Fun At CES?

Following the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas last week, we take a look at some of the more novel and fun gadgets (and claims from the show) and what lessons businesses can take away from this year’s event.

CES

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which this year took place in Las Vegas (from January 9th to 12th) once again acted as a global stage for tech innovation and a glimpse of things to come. It’s a place where industry leaders, startups, and tech enthusiasts converge to showcase and witness the latest advancements and future trends in technology and which sets the tone for the tech industry each year. Among the more ‘serious’ products, however, the show features many fun/novel and more left-field gadgets and claims. Here’s some standout examples of these from CES 2024.

Tech News : 17th January 2024

A Quick Guide To Flash Drives & HDD Storage

In this brief guide to storage technology, we compare and contrast the benefits of flash drives and Hard Disk Drives (HDD) for enterprise storage and take a look at some other popular storage options.

What are Flash Drives?

Flash drives, sometimes called Solid State Drives (SSDs), use ‘flash memory’ to store data. The flash memory (where the data is stored) is integrated circuits, i.e. an array of memory cells made from floating-gate transistors that hold the data when the drive isn’t powered. Unlike traditional hard drives, they don’t have moving parts and offer faster data access and increased reliability. Their compact size also makes them an ideal choice for devices such as laptops and mobile devices. Popular types include USB flash drives, SSDs for computers and servers for high-speed data access, and memory cards such as the type commonly used in cameras and mobile devices for lightweight, mobile storage.

Tech News : 17th January 2024

Google Waives Exit Fees for Cloud Data Transfers

Google has announced that Google Cloud customers who want to switch and migrate their network data to another cloud provider and/or on-premises will no longer be charged a transfer fee to do so.

How?

The process for the free transfer away from Google involves contacting the Google Cloud account team (if one has been assigned), and completing and submitting an online form, after which there is a 60-day window for the user to transfer the data before terminating their Google Cloud agreement.

Tech News : 11th January 2024

ChatGPT Inside Vehicles Opens Possibilities

Following the news that Volkswagen (VW) is to add ChatGPT to the IDA voice assistant in its cars and SUVs, we look at what this could mean for the direction of technology for cars.

Adding ChatGPT

At the current CET in Las Vegas, VW announced that starting in Europe in the second quarter of this year, the famous chatbot will be added to a variety of VW EVs, including the D.7, ID.4, ID.5 and ID.3, Tiguan, Passat, and Golf.

Drivers will be able to use ChatGPT hands-free via VW’s existing onboard IDA voice assistant, with Cerence Chat Pro from technology partner Cerence Inc acting as the foundation of the new function, which VW says, “offers a uniquely intelligent, automotive-grade ChatGPT integration.”

Tech News : 11th January 2024

'Public Domain' - What Does It Mean?

With January 1 being ‘Public Domain Day’, we look at what ‘public domain’ actually means in relation to works of literature, music, art, and science.

Public Domain Day

New Year’s Day each year is called ‘Public Domain Day’ because it’s the day that the copyright protection on a wide range of creative works such as literature, music, art, and science from the past expire. This means that they enter the ‘public domain’, i.e. they become free to use and adapt by everyone, with no licence required.

Tech News : 11th January 2024

AI Key Added To Microsoft Keyboards

In the first change to Microsoft keyboards in 30 years, an AI key is to be added to Microsoft Windows 11 PC keyboards from February.

Copilot Key

In a move that Microsoft says will make “2024 the year of the AI PC” and to mark a “shift toward a more personal and intelligent computing future where AI will be seamlessly woven into Windows from the system”, the new AI key will be added to allow the launch of Copilot directly from the keyboard.

Copilot is Microsoft’s AI-powered “companion” that’s been embedded into 365’s popular apps to provide intelligent suggestions and automation. This includes areas like Office Suite, where it can help in creating documents, spreadsheets, and presentations by suggesting content, layouts, data insights and help with coding. It’s designed to enhance productivity and creativity, and to streamline tasks across different Microsoft software.

Tech News : 4th January 2024

NY Times Sues OpenAI And Microsoft Over Alleged Copyright

It’s been reported that The New York Times has sued OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging that they used millions of its articles without permission to help train chatbots.

The First

It’s understood that the New York Times (NYT) is the first major US media organisation to sue ChatGPT’s creator OpenAI, plus tech giant Microsoft (which is also an OpenAI investor and creator of Copilot), over copyright issues associated with its works.

Tech News : 4th January 2024

What Does Incognito Mode Actually Do?

Following news that Google may need to pay $5 billion over tracking millions of people who thought they were browsing privately through incognito mode, we look at what incognito mode actually does.

Incognito Mode

Different browsers have different names for ‘private browsing mode’ including ‘InPrivate browsing’ (Edge), ‘Private’ for Firefox (Mozilla) and Safari, and ‘Incognito’ for Google Chrome.

Tech News : 4th January 2024

Amazon Prime Video : Pay To Remove Ads

Amazon has announced that from 5 February 2024, its Amazon Prime Video customers in the UK and Germany will see “limited” ads unless they pay £2.99 per month to remove them.

Why?

Amazon says that in view of the fact it won’t be making changes in 2024 to the current price of Prime membership, and that it will continue investing in content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time, it will be adding the “limited” adverts that customers must pay to remove.

In the announcement about the pay-to-remove ads, Amazon listed the many benefits of the Prime Service, and its heavy investment in the service. More specifically, it’s also likely that its renewals of hit series like Redemption and The Boys, its deal with Games Workshop (bringing Warhammer 40,000 to cinema screens) and its plans for other popular content like a series based on the video game Fallout, may also be used to balance out the cost/value analysis in the minds of customers.

The online retail and tech giant and streamer is also keen to stress that it will “have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers.”

That said, live content such as sports will continue to include advertising whether customers pay for Prime ad removal or not.

Tech News : 10th January 2023

Why Use Outsourced IT Support?

Looking at this question in two parts, here we’ll be firstly looking at the pros and cons of opting for outsourced IT support.

The Popularity Of Outsourced IT Support

A considerable number of businesses in the UK now use outsourced IT support, as outsourcing has become a popular way for businesses to access specialised expertise and reduce costs. For example, in 2021, a widely reported survey (Tony Blair Institute for Global Change) showed that two-thirds of UK firms were planning to outsource the same or more of their IT services within the next two years, with the manufacturing (59 per cent) and financial services (46 per cent) sectors looking to outsource the most.

Tech News : 25th November 2022

How Investment In Sustainability Could Protect Against Disruption

After a new report published which says that most business leaders plan to increase investment in sustainability initiatives to protect against disruption, we look at what this means.

Report

A recent Gartner report highlighted how 86 per cent of business leaders plan to increase their organisation’s investment in sustainability initiatives to protect against disruption and 87 per cent are already engaged in sustainability initiatives and expect to expand them in 2023 and 2024.

Tech News : 14th November 2022

What Is 'Matter'?

Here we look at what Matter 1.0 is, its advantages for the IoT and setting up a smart home (or office), and what its current limitations are.

What Is Matter?

Released just recently this October, Matter 1.0 is the new open standard that resolves interoperability and connectivity issues between all the IoT devices in smart homes. This new single software standard and certification will mean that different IoT gadgets and devices from different manufacturers will be compatible and able to link together to create a smart home if they are Matter certified, communicating with a common standard. Up until now, for example, consumers trying to create a fully connected ‘smart home’ (e.g. where the lighting, locks, heating, music, and home devices can be all be voice operated from a digital assistant) have faced compatibility issues, complications, and difficulties in setting up and managing lots of smaller micro-ecosystems.

Tech News : 4th October 2022

The Growth of Low Code

After a recent Medix report noted the widescale adoption of “low-code” by business, we look at what it is, the reasons for its growth, and the pros and cons of using it.

What Is Low Code?

Low code applications are those built using visual, model-driven tools like drag-and-drop modelers, smart services, components, and pre-built connectors rather than relying on writing code.

Tech News : 26th August 2022

How To Protect Yourself From Job Phishing Scams

Protecting Yourself From Job Phishing Scams

In this article, we look at what ‘job phishing’ is, how it works, and how you can protect yourself from this type of fraud.

What Is Job Phishing?

Job phishing refers to recruitment/employment scams where fraudsters pose as recruitment agents or reputable companies. The fraudsters post fake job descriptions and information about their businesses on fake websites and social accounts, or even on legitimate job websites. They use online job adverts / job boards, emails, letters, and even fake phone interviews to lure their victims in.

Tech News : 5th August 2021

VoIP Worth Considering?

So, let’s compare VoIP, to a conventional landline.

A VoIP phone uses Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology, and uses a hardware and/or software application. VoIP technology allows the user to make voice calls through an internet connection, instead of a conventional analogue line.

On first impressions, a VoIP based, desk phone might appear to be identical to a regular, office desk phone. However, they use very different technology to make and receive calls. A regular, desk phone makes voice calls using a physical, pair of copper wires. VoIP on the other hand sends and receives voice calls in the form of data packets over the internet.

For more information on our services give us a call on 01603 859669 or send us an enquiry