The Latest in Computer News

[Poke]

Hacker leaks contact info of 22,175 FBI employees thanks to apparent DoJ incompetence

http://www.neowin.net/news/hacker-l...employees-thanks-to-apparent-doj-incompetence

The FBI has found itself in a world of hurt today, the names, job titles and contact details of over 22,000 of its employees have been leaked online.

The news comes from the Telegraph that has obtained confirmation that the names and details that have been posted online are indeed genuine. The interesting part is that this data dump was preempted by one of the actual hackers who talked about his intentions with Motherboard days before the data was released.

And to make matters worse, according to the hacker, there wasn’t even that much hacking involved. Instead he or she relied on sheer incompetence on the part of the Department of Justice, which provided the person with a code to access the DOJ’s intranet, after the hacker got hold of a DoJ e-mail address.

The hacker also got hold of the contact details of 9000 Department of Homeland Security employees, which were also made public yesterday, along with 200GB of data that contain much more important information like credit card numbers and military e-mails.

The Department of Justice and Homeland Security said they were investigating the breaches, but that no personally identifiable information was leaked, while the FBI did not comment.

Source: The Telegraph, Motherboard | Image via 3Dprint

 

[Poke]

Google once again offering 2GB of free Drive storage for securing your account

Can't beat this I did it the last time they offered it more space for free.

http://www.androidcentral.com/googl...-2gb-free-drive-storage-securing-your-account

To celebrate Safer Internet Day 2016, Google is once again offering free 2GB of Drive storage for reviewing your account's security settings. The Security Checkup gives you an overview of the devices connected to your Google account, recent login activity, your recovery email address and phone numbers, account permissions across websites and services, app passwords, and two-factor authentication settings.

Google rolled out a similar promotion last year. The free storage is immediately credited to your Google account once you perform the Security Checkup, and you have until February 11 to claim the additional storage. Head to the link below to get started.

 

[Poke]

Huawei may announce Windows 10 2-in-1 laptop at Mobile World Congress

http://www.neowin.net/news/huawei-may-announce-windows-10-2-in-1-laptop-at-mobile-world-congress

In January, at CES, Huawei debuted the Mate 8, a pair of new smartwatches and also a new color of their Google handset, the Nexus 6P. Continuing the momentum, they also made the G8X and Honor 5x available to those in the United States. Now, it looks as though Huawei has something new to unveil in February at Mobile World Congress (MWC), that will most likely involve a stylus.

The hint arrived courtesy of Huawei via their official MWC invitation that was distributed to press. While a handset might arrive at the event, many are speculating that Huawei will unveil the long rumored Windows hybrid laptop dubbed the 'Matebook'. This 2-in-1 hybrid is similar to products we have seen from the likes of HP and Samsung. The hybrid unit is speculated to offer a 12.9-inch detachable display, stylus and will run Windows 10.

Huawei will hold their press event a day prior to the official opening of MWC, that will be held in Barcelona.

Source: Weibo via GizChina | image via Weibo

 

[Poke]

Google's fresh food delivery service becomes a reality

http://www.engadget.com/2016/02/17/google-express-groceries/

Google Express, the search engine's home delivery service, will begin shipping fresh grocery items to its customers. According to the Wall Street Journal, the offering is starting small and is only available to select areas of SF and LA. The move puts the firm toe-to-toe with other grocery delivery outfits like Amazon and Instacart, although it's teaming up with local retailers like Costco and Whole Foods. As the report says, there are some drawbacks (for users), with Express' two-hour delivery window being stretched out to four hours. In addition, the minimum charge has increased from $15 to $35, plus a $3 per-order surcharge for members.

Google's been testing its food delivery service in San Francisco since last fall, although the move to bringing the service to the mainstream was a little surprising. The company believes that it's been able to make deliveries work by effectively making itself a middleman between retailers and consumers. Rather than setting up logistics centers itself, the firm will simply drive a van to a partner supermarket, pick up your stuff and drop it off at your place. It's good that Google is now letting us order fresh fruit and vegetables via its service, because we were beginning to worry it just wanted us to constantly eat takeout.

Update: There are now some more details of the trial, courtesy of Google. The areas of LA that'll be covered by the project include the Pacific Palisades, Westwood and Marina Del Rey. In San Francisco, users who are based in the Financial District, Mission and Potrero Hill can all sign up.

 

[Poke]

Microsoft's Chromecast competitor shrinks in size and price

http://www.theverge.com/2016/2/17/11033934/microsoft-wireless-display-adapter

Microsoft first unveiled its own Chromecast competitor back in September, 2014. Designed to support Android and Windows, the Miracast-powered HDMI dongle is a simple competitor to let you stream anything from your smartphone, tablet, or laptop to a TV screen. Microsoft is updating its Wireless Display Adapter today, shrinking its size and price.

The new version will debut for $49.95 ($10 less than the original) and Microsoft has improved its latency alongside making it a little smaller. If you had any issues plugging this into HDMI ports on certain TVs, then this new version should fit a little better.


Other than the price and size, nothing else has changed. Microsoft is using Miracast, which means that individual apps don't have to be updated to support the protocol. There's also no need for an internet connection, so you can stream local files from your device up to a TV, thanks to the Wi-Fi Direct connection. You can pre-order the new Wireless Display Adapter today in the US and Canada, and it will be available on March 1st.

 

[Poke]

Samsung releases 15TB enterprise SSD

http://www.neowin.net/news/samsung-releases-15tb-enterprise-ssd

Meet the world's largest solid state drive, the Samsung 'PM1633a'. Packing in 15.36TB of storage space, the specs of the new enterprise drive makes our retail options look both tiny and slow.

The new drive is based on a 12Gb/s Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) interface, supported by "advanced controller units" and 16GB of DRAM. Remarkably, Samsung have been able to fit all that storage into a slim 2.5-inch form factor.

Samsung explains how it created was able to make the impressive drive by stacking its new 3rd generation of V-NAND memory chips:

"[The] SSD is enabled by combining 512 of Samsung’s 256Gb V-NAND memory chips. The 256Gb dies are stacked in 16 layers to form a single 512GB package, with a total of 32NAND flash packages in the 15.36TB drive. Utilizing Samsung’s 3rd generation, 256-gigabit (Gb) V-NAND technology which stacks cell-arrays in 48 layers, the PM1633a line-up provides significant performance and reliability upgrades from its predecessor, the PM1633, which used Samsung’s 2nd generation, 32-layer, 128Gb V-NAND memory.

The company also claims the drive can perform random read and write speeds of up to 200,000 and 32,000 IOPS. Furthermore, it clocked sequential read and write speeds of up to 1,200MB/s.

The new generation of V-NAND chip technology won't only be available in the likely cost-prohibitive 15.36TB size. Businesses will be able to purchase smaller drives as they become available throughout the year. They will range from a still impressive 7.68TB capacity, to 3.84TB, 1.92TB, 960-gigabyte (GB) and finally a 480GB drive.

Samsung did not detail any pricing for the new 15.36TB enterprise SSD, however it is expected to be multiple-thousands of dollars.

 

[Poke]

Microsoft launches Surface Dock bundle with Dell 27 Monitor for $348.99

http://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-launches-surface-dock-bundle-with-dell-27-monitor-for-34899

Not to bad of a deal.

 

[Poke]

Email inventor Ray Tomlinson dies

http://www.engadget.com/2016/03/06/email-inventor-ray-tomlinson-dies/

You got mail..

 

[Poke]

Microsoft reportedly considered buying Slack for $8bn

http://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-reportedly-considered-buying-slack-for-8bn

Be interesting to see what they do with it..

 

[KE4EST]

Microsoft reportedly considered buying Slack for $8bn

http://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-reportedly-considered-buying-slack-for-8bn

Be interesting to see what they do with it..

Nothing since they didn't buy it.

 

[Poke]

Nothing since they didn't buy it.

Well if they do is all was all I was saying..

 

[KE4EST]

Ok gotcha.

 

[Poke]

Seagate will launch the 'fastest-ever' SSD this summer

http://www.engadget.com/2016/03/08/seagate-fastest-ever-ssd/

Faster is better..

 

[Ramy]

Seagate will launch the 'fastest-ever' SSD this summer

http://www.engadget.com/2016/03/08/seagate-fastest-ever-ssd/

Faster is better..

What is so surprising about this? Would they ever get slower? LOL!

 

[Poke]

What is so surprising about this? Would they ever get slower? LOL!

No just glad to see them keep improving things and hopefully the price of SSD will continue to go down

 

[Poke]

Microsoft testing app that unlocks Windows 10 PCs over Bluetooth

http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/9/11184590/microsoft-unlock-windows-10-pcs-phone-bluetooth-app

Microsoft is currently testing a new version of its Authenticator app for Windows 10. Twitter user WalkingCat discovered the app, named "phone sign-in beta." It appears the updated app will allow Windows 10 users to unlock their machines over Bluetooth, simply tapping the machine from a list to unlock it.

Microsoft has been introducing new ways to sign into Windows 10 PCs without a password, including Windows Hello support through fingerprint readers and cameras. This latest Authenticator app is currently in internal beta testing at Microsoft, and it appears to be limited to Windows 10 Mobile devices. Microsoft doesn't currently offer its own authenticator app for iOS or Android, so it's unlikely we'll see a similar version across all platforms.

 

[Poke]

Intel Buying Replay Technology in Bid to Up Its Sports Game

http://recode.net/2016/03/08/intel-buying-israels-replay-technology-in-bid-to-up-its-sports-game/

Intel said late Tuesday that it is buying Replay Technologies, an Israeli company that helps sports broadcasters show a panoramic view of the action.

Financial terms were not disclosed. Intel also wouldn’t say how many employees Replay has, but said the team will continue to be led by current CEO Oren Yogev.

The two companies worked together on a project for the recent NBA All-Star game, and Intel CEO Brian Krzanich has been talking up the coming intersection between the worlds of sports and technology.

 

[Poke]

Stolen USB stick reveals personal information on thousands of ISIS members

http://www.neowin.net/news/stolen-u...onal-information-on-thousands-of-isis-members

We regularly report on governments and agencies suffering massive data leaks, with a large number of them being prompted by human failure, or a complete lack of security features. Many of these leaks prove dangerous - or, at the very least, annoying - for a large number of users, but one leak may actually lead to a safer world.

The UK's Sky News reports that it is in possession of tens of thousands of documents that contain names, addresses, phone numbers and further identification of ISIS members. Sky has shared this data with the authorities.

The info was received thanks to a disillusioned former ISIS member who stole the data on a USB key and defected. The names and personal details of members were collected when originally joining the terror group, when recruits had to fill out a questionnaire.

If this data proves accurate, and early reports seem to suggest that it is, it could be a veritable gold mine of information for authorities across Europe, Africa and North America. The files reportedly even contained a document with the names and personal information of ISIS members willing to commit suicide attacks.

ISIS has been mentioned numerous times as a terrorist organization that uses cutting edge technology and social media to spread its propaganda and perform attacks. However, those paying closer attention to their actions have deemed ISIS to be technologically unsophisticated, a characterization that seems to have been proven true, considering even a well configured version of Microsoft Office might have prevented this data leak.

Source: Sky News | USB Flash Drive image via Shutterstock

 

[Poke]

Microsoft Sharepoint Server 2016 RTM version is released

http://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-sharepoint-server-2016-rtm-version-is-released

Microsoft has launched the 'Release to Manufacturing' (RTM) version of its update to its website creator Sharepoint Server. In its final stage in perfecting the software before being released to the public, Sharepoint Server features several improvements, including wider searches via the cloud across several devices and programs. The RTM version also enhances the security and utility of the program.

The general manager of the Sharepoint Product Management Team, Seth Patton said his team is striving to make Sharepoint easier to use, commenting that "This year, we will release significant new innovations spanning user experiences, document collaboration, mobile enhancements and platform improvements that will redefine modern content collaboration.”

 

[Poke]

AMD's most powerful GPU yet is built for VR

http://www.engadget.com/2016/03/15/amd-s-most-powerful-gpu-yet-is-made-for-making-vr/

AMD has just launched the liquid-cooled Radeon Pro Duo, a graphics card that boasts a lot of superlatives. With 16 teraflops of computing power, it's the fastest single-slot graphics graphics card available, according to the company. At $1,500, it's also the company's most expensive Radeon card ever and consumes 350 watts (via three eight-pin power connectors), meaning it could add $10 a month to your electric bill if you game every day. Despite the high-end specs, however, AMD is not going after gamers, but VR content creators.

"With its LiquidVR SDK ... [the] platform is aimed at most all aspects of VR content creation: from entertainment to education, journalism, medicine and cinema," according to the company. At the same time, it says that the board's power and DirectX 12 support will let you game "at maximum fidelity while off work." The card will be particularly well suited to stereoscopic VR, since the two GPUs (each with 4GB of VRAM for 8GB total) can be efficiently mapped to each eye with LiquidVR and other tech.

On the other hand, that makes the card an odd duck, since AMD says its FireGL cards -- which can run up to $4,000 -- are the choice for professional use. Like the FireGL, the Pro Duo's drivers will be validated for content creation applications like Adobe's After Effects and Premiere Pro CC (assuming you're okay with OpenCL rather than NVIDIA's Cuda). At the same time, a single GPU card like AMD's $650 R9 Fury X -- which has 8 teraflops of power -- might be a better choice for gaming. That's because dual GPU and SLI cards have performed worse than expected in recent AAA titles.

AMD also announced its "Radeon VR Ready" GPU certification program, aimed at helping consumers select graphics cards for virtual reality PCs. The program, which HP has already pledged to support, will allow PC manufacturers to guarantee systems for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive VRheadsets. The Radeon Pro Duo is AMD's first graphics card certified for the program.

The product is competing against not only high-end gaming GPUs, but also workstation-class cards like the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 or AMD's ownFirePro W9100. As such, it may be ideal machine for building and then testing VR titles. At $1,500 it's a tough sell for gamers against some formidable single-GPU gaming cards like NVIDIA's Titan X or (two) R9 Fury X cards, though. We should see how it stacks up in the real world soon, as the Radeon Pro Duo will arrive early next quarter.