DigiTech Geeks

UK SMEs using technology to overcome their fears UK SMEs feel positive about the economy and their strategies for the future despite facing a host of challenges in 2019 according to a new study from American Express conducted by Oxford Economics. The research, which is conducted annually among senior executives and decision-makers in SMEs across 15 countries, shows that UK SMES are remaining resilient even when faced with old and new business challenges. Of those surveyed, over two thirds (64%) forecast policy, legal and regulatory changes as the greatest threat to SMEs in 2019 followed by economic uncertainty surrounding Brexit and trade relationships . Cyber and data security is an emerging treat to UK businesses and 31 percent ranked it in their top three external business threats this year compared to only 11 percent last year. Revenue growth may be the most important long-term objective for UK SMEs but organisations have scaled down their profit projections for the year ahead...

Best secure drives 2019: top USB drives to protect your data Whenever you carry important data around with you on a USB stick or external hard drive, you're running the risk of other people getting hold of it, either through physically stealing the drives, or leaving it somewhere public. In this guide to the best secure drives of 2019, we look at the top data storage devices that will allow you carry private data around with you, safe in the knowledge that if the device itself becomes compromised, your data will remain safe. The best secure drives will use either software or hardware encryption (or best of all, a combination of both), to stop other people accessing and viewing your data. Many of the best secure drives on this list will have ways to prevent access, such as a physical keypad, and will also come with rugged, tamper-proof, cases that can further protect your files. We don't often get Indiegogo projects on our list but we're making an exception for the Eye...

One in five email attacks uses compromised accounts Account takeover-based (ATO) attacks now comprise 20 percent of all advanced email attacks according to new research from the email security and protection company Agari. The firm's recently published Q1 2018 Email Fraud & Identity Deception Trends report found that ATO attacks are rising in popularity among cybercriminals because they are more difficult to detect than traditional attacks and can bypass email filters since they are sent from a real sender's email account. Senior Director of Threat Research at Agari, Crane Hassold provided further insight on the treat posed by ATO attacks, saying: “Credential phishing was already a huge risk for organizations because of the potential for data breach, but now there is a new wave of account takeover attacks leveraging compromised accounts to commit additional fraud, which evade traditional email security controls. Business email compromise attacks are still very active,...

Final Fantasy 7 remake: trailers, release date, news and features First released in 1997, Final Fantasy 7 immediately cemented its place as one of the best JRPG titles around and introduced an entire genre to millions of gamers globally. Due to the success of Final Fantasy 7 over 20 years ago (and the pleads from die hard fans), Square Enix is releasing a remake. Not only because that seems to be the done thing these days but also because it’s something fans genuinely seemed to want – when the Final Fantasy 7 remake was announced as being in the works at E3 2015, the news was raced straight to our nostalgia organ like a chocobo released from the stables. The path to release hasn’t been smooth for this game, though. After two years in development we’re still not entirely sure when we’ll see the Final Fantasy 7 Remake released.  With news and rumors still churning around the great wide web but official information still pretty thin on the ground, we’ve gathered up everything we k...

Intel releases its monstrous 28-core processor for $2,999 After talking about its 28-core processor for what we feel like was forever, Intel is finally releasing the Xeon W-3175X.  The new workstation processor packs 28-cores, 56-threads and a whopping $2,999 (about £2,280, AU$4,120) price tag. That’s quite the cost even compared to the most expensive HEDT chips, including the $1,979 (£1,919, AU$2,999) Intel Core i9-9980XE and $1,799 (£1,639, AU$2,679) AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX Of course, this is a much hardier enterprise-level CPU designed to take on the biggest workloads, such as creating and rendering media, film editing and 3D graphics rendering. Not only will the Intel Xeon W-3175X do the work, it’ll work faster than other chips, thanks to its 3.1GHz base frequency, 4.3GHz single-core Turbo clock and 38.5MB of L3 cache. Likewise, this chip's supporting Intel C621 chipset is meant for production system builds. The chipset brings support for up to 68 PCIe lanes (44 PCie...

Today-only Amazon sale: Save up to 70% on Logitech PC and gaming accessories If you're in the market for gaming accessories, then today is your lucky day. Amazon is having a one-day sale on Logitech's top-rated PC gaming accessories and speakers. You can save up to 70% on gaming keyboards, headsets, mice and more, and save $200 on a Logitech surround sound speaker system.   Today's highlighted deals include the Logitech MX Master wireless mouse for 50% off, Amazon's Choice G430 Headset for $29.99, and the best-selling MK270 wireless keyboard and mouse for only $14.51. Amazon's top Logitech deal of the day is the Z906 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System that's on sale for $199.99. That's a $199 price drop and the lowest price we've seen for this top-rated speaker system.  The Logitech Z906 delivers 500W of powerful sound and includes digital and analog inputs, a stack control console and a wireless remote. You'll experience true cinema-quality ...

US and China take worldwide AI lead New research from the U.N. World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has revealed that China and the US are well ahead of the global competition in the race for AI dominance. According to the study, which analysed international patent filings, scientific publications and acquisitions, IBM has the largest AI patent portfolio with 8,920 patents putting the US tech giant ahead of Microsoft with 5,930 patents and a group of mostly Japanese tech conglomerates. China meanwhile accounted for 17 of the top 20 academic institutions working on patenting AI with a strong focus on deep learning. WIPO's Director General Francis Gurry explained how both countries have made significant progress in terms of AI development at a news conference, saying “The U.S. and China obviously have stolen a lead. They’re out in front in this area, in terms of numbers of applications, and in scientific publications.”  Patents galore Despite continued accusations t...

Best free Android apps of 2019: 100 you must download It's been ten years since Android was first outed by Google, and back then it was hard to imagine the sheer number of apps we'd have today. There are apps for everything, and many of them are completely free, meaning you're just a few downloads away from supercharging your smartphone at no extra cost. What's the best phone of 2019? Admittedly, the huge quantity of apps doesn't mean they're all quality - far from it in fact, and finding the good ones can be tough.  There are tools and techniques to help, with various lists in the Play Store providing you with Editor's Picks across a range of categories, new releases and even apps that are specifically recommended for you based on your previous installs. You can also hunt out apps that are similar to your favorites by searching for an app you have and seeing what else comes up. And checking out user reviews and ratings can save you from downloadin...