REVIEW: BIO-key’s plug-in fingerprint readers for Windows 10 computers

A biometric fingerprint reader makes it convenient to sign into your computer, by just pressing or swiping your finger on the reader which scans your fingerprint. It bypasses the need for entering a password while increasing the level of security for the computer -- anyone can enter your password if they get it somehow, but not your finger, after all. It can also be a convenient and secure system to set up on a computer at work that should be accessed by only a specific person or persons.In late September, BIO-key launched three fingerprint reader devices for the business and everyday computer user. Each sells for $40: the EcoID, the SideSwipe, and the SideTouch. You plug these readers into an USB port on your computer. They’re meant to be used with Windows 10 and this OS’ biometric sign-in feature, Windows Hello. (The EcoID and SideSwipe also run on Windows 7.)To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The best tips and tricks to get the most out of your Pixel phone

The ultimate Google phoneImage by Derek WalterEven if you’re a longtime devotee of Android, there’s nothing out there quite like the Pixel. It’s the most advanced and thoughtful synthesis of Android with smartphone hardware, and enhances how Google’s services can be the driving force for the way you use a smartphone.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How much does ‘Free Wi-Fi’ cost your business?

Everywhere you go, you see signs for "Free Wi-Fi." And oftentimes, that free Wi-Fi is useless. The problem is that the free Wi-Fi in the airport or Starbucks often isn't very good, especially if you have a lot of data to download. It's usually so slow you can't get anything done. So you either turn to a 4G connection, if you are so fortunate, or pay for a premium Wi-Fi service. Usually this comes in the form of a $10 per night fee in your hotel.The cost of that, plus other intangibles, costs businesses in Europe and North America at least $2.91 billion every year according to a report from iPass, a provider of global mobile connectivity, and Rethink Technology Research, a wireless technology research firm.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cybersecurity staffing issues may be putting you at risk

A study from Spiceworks found that even though 80 percent of organizations experienced a "security incident" in 2015, only 29 percent of companies have a cybersecurity expert working in their IT department and only 7 percent have a cybersecurity expert on their executive team. And a majority -- 55 percent to be exact - said that their business didn't have "regular access" to any IT security experts at all, internal or third-party, with the majority of companies also reporting they had no plans to hire or contract one within the next year.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cybersecurity staffing issues may be putting you at risk

A study from Spiceworks found that even though 80 percent of organizations experienced a "security incident" in 2015, only 29 percent of companies have a cybersecurity expert working in their IT department and only 7 percent have a cybersecurity expert on their executive team. And a majority -- 55 percent to be exact - said that their business didn't have "regular access" to any IT security experts at all, internal or third-party, with the majority of companies also reporting they had no plans to hire or contract one within the next year.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Platforms in the cloud take heavy lifting out of architecture tasks

For six years, Watchfinder, a U.K.-based global buyer and seller of pre-owned luxury watches, split the role of DevOps between application development and management of a virtual infrastructure environment. But the company's ambitious growth plans, which included expansion to the U.S. earlier this year and an expected doubling of monthly watch sales, required IT director Jonathan Gill to think differently.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

IDG Contributor Network: Accelerating business innovation: Don’t let networks get in the way

Nothing slows down a project more than waiting for the IT and network teams to get it deployed. Right? What most of us want is for the network to just get out of our way so we can make progress on the things that really matter. Networks don’t matter. Customers matter. Revenue matters. Competitive advantage matters.+ Also on Network World: The network effect on wealth creation + In previous blog posts, I’ve made the case that networks are a strategic element for rapid innovation and the critical foundation for a competitive digital business. But aren’t networks just plumbing? Aren’t they just the dumb connections between machines that only need to be fast, cheap and invisible? Don’t we already have networks that are good enough? After all, Google, Amazon and Pokémon Go all seem to work just fine, right? We certainly don’t want to invest more in our networks. In fact, we want to invest less.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Wireless LAN Models

IDG Contributor Network: Accelerating business innovation: Don’t let networks get in the way

Nothing slows down a project more than waiting for the IT and network teams to get it deployed. Right? What most of us want is for the network to just get out of our way so we can make progress on the things that really matter. Networks don’t matter. Customers matter. Revenue matters. Competitive advantage matters.+ Also on Network World: The network effect on wealth creation + In previous blog posts, I’ve made the case that networks are a strategic element for rapid innovation and the critical foundation for a competitive digital business. But aren’t networks just plumbing? Aren’t they just the dumb connections between machines that only need to be fast, cheap and invisible? Don’t we already have networks that are good enough? After all, Google, Amazon and Pokémon Go all seem to work just fine, right? We certainly don’t want to invest more in our networks. In fact, we want to invest less.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

New Webinar: Networks, Buffers and Drops

Do you need large buffers in data center switches or not? If you’re a vendor your take obviously depends on whether you have them or not, and then there are people saying “it’s bullshit” (mostly agree) and “look, I have a shinier toy” (get lost).

Unfortunately, it’s really hard to get someone who would know what he’s talking about, and be relatively unbiased.

How robots will teach each other with data

Stefanie Tellex, assistant professor of computer science at Brown University, is solving a thorny robotics problem: robotic grasp. She has built a machine learning model so that robots can automatically learn to manipulate objects and can produce much-needed sample data with which other researchers can use to train robots to pick up objects, she explained at the MIT Technology Review’s EmTech conference.  Video Credit: MIT Technology ReviewTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How robots will teach eachother with data

Stefanie Tellex, assistant professor of computer science at Brown University, is solving a thorny robotics problem: robotic grasp. She has built a machine learning model so that robots can automatically learn to manipulate objects and can produce much-needed sample data with which other researchers can use to train robots to pick up objects, she explained at the MIT Technology Review’s EmTech conference.  Video Credit: MIT Technology ReviewTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

London is next in line for Google-backed gigabit Wi-Fi

London is next in line to receive the Link high-speed Wi-Fi service that briefly brought high-speed porn to the streets of New York.Intersection, the company behind LinkNYC, is partnering with British telecommunications operator BT and outdoor advertising company Primesight to deliver the service in London. Intersection is partly funded by Sidewalk Labs, a subsidiary of Google's parent Alphabet.Next year, BT will replace 100 of its phone booths with the LinkUK pillars, delivering gigabit Wi-Fi, free phone calls, and local information services on built-in Android tablets. The companies aim to install up to 750 of the hotspots across the UK in the coming years.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Microsoft Graveyard: What Microsoft has killed in 2016

RIPMicrosoft has rolled out plenty of new things in 2016, including the latest edition of Windows Server, additions to its Azure cloud platform and increased availability of its futuristic HoloLens mixed reality technology. But as always, the company has had to make room for the new by ditching some of the old. Here’s a roundup of products, services and more that Microsoft rid itself of in 2016. (Here’s our broader 2016 Tech Industry Graveyard and our 2016 Google Graveyard)To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

US transport agency guidance on vehicle cybersecurity irks lawmakers

Guidance from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for improving motor vehicle cybersecurity has attracted criticism from lawmakers who said that mandatory security standards were required.“This new cybersecurity guidance from the Department of Transportation is like giving a take-home exam on the honor code to failing students,” said Senators Edward J. Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, and Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, who are both members of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.“In this new Internet of Things era, we cannot let safety, cybersecurity, and privacy be an afterthought,” the senators added.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

US transport agency guidance on vehicle cybersecurity irks lawmakers

Guidance from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for improving motor vehicle cybersecurity has attracted criticism from lawmakers who said that mandatory security standards were required.“This new cybersecurity guidance from the Department of Transportation is like giving a take-home exam on the honor code to failing students,” said Senators Edward J. Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, and Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, who are both members of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.“In this new Internet of Things era, we cannot let safety, cybersecurity, and privacy be an afterthought,” the senators added.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Lamers: the problem with bounties

Twitter said to plan 300 more job cuts this week

Twitter may trim its staff again by about 300 people or 8 percent of its workforce, as the company tries to cut costs in trying times.The widespread job cuts could come before the company releases its third-quarter earnings on Thursday, according to Bloomberg, which cited people familiar with the matter. It cautioned that the precise number of jobs affected could change.A Twitter spokeswoman said in an email that the company doesn’t comment on rumor or speculation.Twitter announced in October last year that it was laying off 336 employees.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Lyft customers face potential hack from recycled phone numbers

Giving up an old cell phone number for a new one may seem harmless. But for Lyft customers, it can potentially expose their accounts to complete strangers.That's what happened to Lara Miller, a media relations specialist living in California. Earlier this month, she discovered two credit card charges made in Las Vegas, over 400 miles away."I thought it was legit fraud on my debit card," Miller said.  But in reality, another woman had accidentally taken over her old Lyft account. It happened because the phone company had recycled the cell phone number Miller had canceled back in April -- opening the door to the hack.The problem involves Lyft's login process. The ride-hailing app does away with the hassle of usernames and passwords, and instead signs up customers with their smartphone's cell number.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Lyft customers face potential hack from recycled phone numbers

Giving up an old cell phone number for a new one may seem harmless. But for Lyft customers, it can potentially expose their accounts to complete strangers.That's what happened to Lara Miller, a media relations specialist living in California. Earlier this month, she discovered two credit card charges made in Las Vegas, over 400 miles away."I thought it was legit fraud on my debit card," Miller said.  But in reality, another woman had accidentally taken over her old Lyft account. It happened because the phone company had recycled the cell phone number Miller had canceled back in April -- opening the door to the hack.The problem involves Lyft's login process. The ride-hailing app does away with the hassle of usernames and passwords, and instead signs up customers with their smartphone's cell number.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here