Saturday, April 4, 2020

18 best Animal Crossing: New Horizons tips for Nintendo Switch to learn now - CNET

Where to find Bunny Day eggs, how to find foreign fruit and when to sell turnips on your island in New Horizons, the latest installation of Animal Crossing.

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Best identity theft protection and monitoring services in 2020 - CNET

Is someone applying for a mortgage in your name? Ruining your credit? The best identity theft protection and monitoring service can help you find out -- and fight back.

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Coronavirus updates: Fauci says social distancing is helping, Europe sees shifts - CNET

Plus: The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says people in the states should wear nonmedical cloth face masks when venturing out.

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Coronavirus tips: 13 ways to help stay safe when you leave the house - CNET

Start practicing these practical tips for grocery shopping, opening doors and signing your name when you're out in public.

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Latest Tech News

Skype has brought in a new type of video call whereby no one has to sign up for an account to join the chat, in a similar convenient vein to Zoom – except in the case of Skype, not even the host needs to sign up for the service, or install anything.

Skype describes the new Meet Now feature as a “hassle-free way to connect” with other folks that doesn’t require signing up to any account, or downloading any software. You can simply head over to a web page and start a meeting in a few clicks directly from there, inviting anyone you wish, who can then subsequently join just as easily.

For those who do have the Skype client already installed, you can start the meeting from within the software if you prefer, and obviously easily invite your existing Skype contacts, or equally those who don’t have the program installed.

The meeting link doesn’t expire, and the video call isn’t limited in terms of the functionality available. You get in-line chat and reactions, and the ability to blur the background (if you haven’t had time to tidy up your study at home before a meeting, for example). You can also share your screen for work or instructional purposes, and even record the call if you wish (recordings are stored for a period of 30 days).

If you want to fire up a Meet Now session in your browser, head here, or in your Skype client, click the Meet Now button (next to New Chat) in the left-hand sidebar.

Zoom and gloom

As you’ve doubtless seen, Zoom has experienced a massive surge in user numbers due to the coronavirus lockdown, and folks staying – or working – from home taking advantage of how easy it is to set up meetings with the video conferencing service.

However, this spike in usage has cast a harsh spotlight on Zoom’s security, with a lot of worries and question marks over how tight it may be, with various flaws in Mac and Windows security having recently been highlighted.

For its part, Zoom has said it’s freezing any product development to focus on tightening up security, with a comprehensive review planned – and its entire engineering team will be working on this.

To compound Zoom’s misery, however, it seems like the service’s infrastructure is groaning under the weight of all these new users too, as we have recently seen outages in Europe and the US.

So Zoom is struggling to juggle a lot of balls in terms of maintaining service right now, perhaps while applying updates as per the engineering team’s instructions, and it seems that Skype wants to capitalize on this by trying to tempt users away from its rival with a similarly easy-to-use and convenient video call offering.

Via Engadget



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The number of available food delivery slots in the UK has increased in the last week. On Wednesday, Tesco announced it had made an extra 120,000 food delivery and click-and-collect slots available, taking its total food delivery capacity to around 780,000 - and the supermarket has promised it will add another 100,000 in the coming weeks. 

Yesterday, too, Sainsbury's released a statement announcing that by Easter it will have almost doubled its grocery delivery and click-and-collect slots in three weeks, taking the number of available slots from 370,000 to 600,000 online food delivery and click-and-collect slots available by Easter. "[We] will continue to add more capacity over the coming weeks," said Sainsbury's chief executive Mike Coupe. 

Online supermarket Ocado, Co-Op and Iceland claim to be making new food delivery slots available throughout the day as well. And if you can get through the online queue, Morrisons has increased its limit of three items per customers to four, so that customers can continue to donate to food banks. 

Despite this, demand for ordering food online remains extremely high. And with increased calls from the government to stay at home this weekend, booking a food delivery slot still won't be easy. So which supermarkets have slots? And which other services are still running? 

Read on for our round-up of which food delivery services are delivering this weekend - plus our best tips for how to get a food delivery slot if you need one as well...

Food delivery: quick links

Grocery delivery

Recipe box and meal delivery

Pizza delivery

Takeaway delivery

Alcohol delivery

How to get a food delivery slot

Most supermarkets are requesting that you visit stores in person, if you can, so they can prioritise food delivery slots for elderly or vulnerable customers. Some, such as Waitrose, have closed their websites to new customers to help them do this. Others, including Sainsbury's, have been in touch with loyalty card holders who are aged over 70.

If you're a vulnerable person - or you know someone who is - you can register for support on the government's website. Tesco is prioritising orders for people on the government's vulnerable list, and will be in touch with anyone who is by email.

Our best advice, if you need to order food online, is to keep checking the website of your local supermarket throughout the day. If you can sign up for an account, do: this will make it easier for you to find a delivery slot in future. And book your delivery slot first - once you have one, most supermarkets give you around an hour to place your order.

Finally, if you can't get hold of a grocery delivery slot, don't forget that some meal delivery services are still operating too. Recipe box services like Mindful Chef deliver fresh ingredients to your door for you to cook, while meal delivery companies such as Allplants will drop off meals that have been cooked by their chefs. 

Morrisons' £35 food box delivery

Two weeks ago Morrisons launched a food box delivery service that aimed to supply customers who can't get to the shops with essential items. "A Morrisons Food Box could be a real help if you can’t currently get to a store to stock up on essentials," says the site. "We will deliver a box of selected food and household items straight to your door.

Unfortunately, Morrisons' food box delivery service doesn't currently have any available delivery slots. The company says it is "doing everything we can to increase capacity" - and we'll let you know as soon as we find any new delivery slots.

When will more online grocery delivery slots become available? The short answer is that no one knows for sure. However, the major supermarkets are working around the clock to speed up the supply chain, and while it currently looks like it'll be mid-April before many new food delivery slots are opened up, we are seeing slots appear at supermarkets across the country throughout the day. 

We're assessing the situation daily, and we'll tell you which supermarkets are offering food delivery slots, below, as soon as we see them. 

Please remember to use all food delivery services responsibly. Only order what you need to preserve stocks for others who might be in need. 

Grocery delivery: our process

We signed up to all the major supermarkets below, and created a shopping basket full of popular goods. We then compared five different locations to provide a sense of what stock is available in each area and whether delivery slots are currently offered. 

Your situation may differ, but the locations we covered were: London, Leeds, Portsmouth, Manchester and Bath. Here's the latest on which supermarkets are offering online grocery delivery today...

Tesco

Next delivery slot: none currently available (last updated 02/04/20)

Update (02/04/20): Tesco has expanded its food delivery and click-and-collect capacity to around 780,000 delivery slots. However, while we saw a couple of Tesco food delivery slots pop up a few days ago for April 3, we're now not finding any in the areas we're testing. We have heard from people who checked back regularly throughout the day and managed to book a slot though.  

Tesco CEO Dave Lewis has reached out to customers in a new message this week: "We know that it's difficult right now to get a delivery slot for online shopping. We are at full capacity for the next few weeks and we ask those who are able to safely come to stores to do so, instead of shopping online, so that we can start to free up more slots for the more vulnerable."

Tesco has a decent selection of food items online, but getting hold of them at the moment can be tricky. Most brands are in stock, but eggs, hand soap, pasta, milk and bread are the exception, with some items sold out. 

According to Tesco, new food delivery slots are offered up as and when they're available each day.

How to sign up for an account 

Enter a valid email address and password, and confirm whether you have a Clubcard or not. You’ll receive one automatically upon registering if you don't. Fill in your personal details, including your phone number and UK Postcode. You can then select if you’d like to receive offers and vouchers from Tesco or not. 

Benefits and perks

Online shoppers can collect Clubcard points and Tesco has begun price matching Aldi on both its own-brand and branded products. A Delivery Saver pass is also available for regular customers, and comes with the added benefit of priority delivery slots during the busy Christmas and Easter periods. 

Coronavirus measures and policies

Customers who shop online are encouraged to shop in-store where possible to help free up delivery slots for the elderly customers and those who are self-isolating. 

Due to increased demand, Tesco isn’t accepting any new Delivery Saver customers right now either. A restriction of only three items per customer on every product line is in place, and multi-buy promotions have also been removed.

An 80 items limit is now in place for all online orders. 

Sainsbury's

Next delivery slot: none currently available (last updated 01/04/20)

Unless you’re already registered as a Sainsbury’s online customer, Sainsbury’s has paused all new online registrations. 

Update (01/04/20): If you have an existing account, we found some food delivery slots for March 31 and April 1 earlier in the week, but the elderly and vulnerable are being prioritised. The amount available will vary depending on your area, but it's a positive sign that Sainsbury's are beginning to cope with the unprecedented demand. The company offers a click & collect service but this is still unavailable. 

In a message to customers, Sainsbury's Chief Executive Mike Coupe has provided more insight into how the company is delivering to the elderly or vulnerable: "Many of you have written to me to tell me you are elderly or vulnerable and are struggling to book online delivery slots. We are doing our absolute best to offer online delivery slots to elderly, disabled and vulnerable customers. These customers have priority over all slots."

Sainsbury's revealed that their customer Careline has had "one year's worth of contacts in two weeks". Mike Coupe went on to add, "I apologise to our regular online customers, who I know are feeling very frustrated at not being able to book slots. Please bear with us and I hope you can understand why we feel the need to prioritise elderly and vulnerable customers at the moment."

How to sign up for an account

Due to the huge increase in online orders, new registrations have been paused for the time being. To sign up for a Sainsbury’s online account, enter your email address and fill in your details on the following page. Once you’ve finished, you can start shopping. 

Benefits and perks

You can collect and spend Nectar Points with each online food shop. A Delivery Pass is also available, which can help you save up to £156 per year.

Coronavirus measures and policies

Elderly customers and those deemed as vulnerable will be offered priority delivery slots.

Asda

Next delivery slot: none currently available (last updated 01/04/20)

Update (01/04/20): Asda will still let you register as new online customer, but online delivery slots are not available up until April 19. Click & Collect slots are also unavailable. 

Similar to Ocado, Asda has now implemented a queue system to deal with the high volumes of traffic its website is receiving. There's no estimate as to where you are in the queue, though, or how long you'll have to wait. Items such as pasta, hand soap and toilet roll are also in high demand. 

In an email to customers, Asda CEO Roger Burnley has shared some information regarding how the company is working to deliver online shopping: "We're providing our drivers with hand sanitiser and gloves, and making as many online shopping slots available as we can. We're encouraging those that are able to safely shop in person to do so - this allows us to deliver to the highly vunerable."

Roger Burnely went on to add "If you are self-isolating or have additional needs, please advise us in the 'other information' section when placing your order."

How to sign up for an account

Registering is quick and easy with Asda (it says as much on its website), simply enter your email, a password and then enter your delivery postcode and you’re good to go. You can choose whether to receive exclusive offers and the latest info from Asda too if you’d like. 

Benefits and perks

Competitively priced and with a Delivery Pass available, Asda online shoppers can save up to £80 and £100 by choosing a 6-month or 12-month pass. Offers are clearly highlighted on the Asda website, so you’re never likely to miss a cracking deal. 

Coronavirus measures and policies

Customers are limited to a three item maximum on all food, toiletries and cleaning products when ordering online.

When placing an online delivery order, anyone who is self-isolating is advised to fill in the ‘Other information’ section to advise where their order should be left, i.e. on the doorstep.

Ocado

Ocado

Next delivery date: none currently available (last updated 01/04/20)

Update (01/04/20): No more slots are available, according to Ocado's website. The company has seemingly ditched its queuing system in favour of a daily update that states whether or not delivery slots are available. 

The company is also bringing order cut-off times forward, so customers are encouraged to complete their order in one session to avoid disappointment later. If you visit the Ocado website you’ll be placed in a virtual queue, which can take up to four hours (the brand has paused the app due to high demand). 

In an email to existing customers on 25 March, Ocado Retail CEO Melanie Smith has said that "no matter how hard we work, we will not have enough capacity to serve the unprecedented levels of demand".

She went on to say that "new delivery slots will be released every day for the coming week, as and when we have capacity". 

It's currently unclear whether Ocado is allowing new customers. If you do not have a delivery booked already, Ocado's website notes that there is "limited availability over the next few days".

How to sign up for an account

You can sign up to Ocado using a Facebook and PayPal account, or simply fill in your details such as your email address and postcode to register.Tick the box if you’d like to opt out of Ocado’s offers, vouchers and gifts before you hit ‘Register’.

Benefits and perks 

New customers can enjoy three months free delivery with Smart Pass, and Ocado also offers one-hour delivery windows. 

Coronavirus measures and policies

Ocado had to temporarily suspend its service due to high demand, but is now its back online. Customers can only book one delivery slot every seven days to free up more slots for other customers.

Some products are limited to one or two per order, and a small number of bulky items have been removed from sale to make more room in each delivery van. The company has shared how stockpiling has affected its service during the coronavirus outbreak.

Anytime Smart Pass members who joined before 2020 will be placed in a temporary priority queue so they can book a delivery slot each week. Ocado will send an email and text message between the hours of 09:00 and 17:00 to give members access to the queue. 

Morrisons

Morrisons

Next delivery slot: none currently available (last updated 01/04/20)


The Morrisons website has recovered after being down for a few days, but there are still no delivery slots available at this time. There is also a very small selection of pasta. 

How to sign up for an account

To sign up for a Morrisons online account, firstly enter your postcode to check if Morrisons deliver in your area. Once you’re given the all clear, enter your details and a password to register. You can also receive tailored offers, coupons and communications from Morrisons.

Benefits and perks

You can use a Facebook account to sign in, and Morrisons Quick Shop fills your trolley with the top things you might be wanting to buy with a single click. A Delivery Pass is also available with regular choices for those looking to do their weekly shop online. 

Coronavirus measures and policies 

Orders must be finalised 48 hours before delivery. Morrisons are working on introducing a number of measures to help reduce the amount of substitutes and missing items that some customers are encountering with their online food shops:

Waitrose

Waitrose

Next delivery slot: none currently available (last updated 01/04/20)


Waitrose is still accepting new customer registrations - however, all delivery and click & collect slots are unfortunately unavailable right now. You can still amend or cancel existing orders, though. 

Update 01/04/20: Waitrose has updated its website to inform customers its supporting the vulnerable and elderly by giving them priority access to its home delivery and Click & Collect slots.

It doesn't look like many will open up in the near future either, as the brand isn't confirming any new slots at the moment - but that could well just be a lack of communication to the social media team:

How to sign up for an account

Signing up to Waitrose is simple - just fill in your details, such as your address and contact number, then click ‘next’ and you can start shopping straight away.

Benefits and perks

Waitrose has a number of attractive introductory offers, including a £30 saving on your first three online grocery shops. The website also includes hundreds of recipes and lists the ingredients so you can quickly add them to your basket. 

Coronavirus measures and policies

The company has paused its online voucher codes along with any offer incentives until further notice. Some products have are restricted for a limited time, with customers only allowed to buy a maximum of two packets of toilet roll and three of any specific grocery item. 

Entertainment products are also no longer available to order online for the foreseeable future. Substitutions for online orders cannot be returned to your driver if they have been handled, and drivers will not enter homes. 

All online deliveries will be bagged as well to make them easier to collect quickly.



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Friday, April 3, 2020

Latest Gadgets News

CEO Pete Lau reportedly says that the high OnePlus 8 series cost is due to technical challenges that 5G brings along. "Prices across the supply chain, from raw materials to 5G chips, are all rising generally in the industry,” Lau said.

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Best workout headphones in 2020: Apple, Beats, Bose and more compared - CNET

An assortment of the best headphones for working out and running.

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The best LED light bulb for every room in your house in 2020 - CNET

The right light for the right room matters. Here are our top tips.

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Latest Tech News

We have been hearing about conspiracy theories that the outbreak of Coronavirus (Covid-19) is linked to the roll-out of 5G networks.

Even celebrities such as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent Amanda Holden, singer Anne Marie and American actor and playwright Woody Harrelson had warned public about the dangers of the broadband networks on social media while Facebook has removed an anti-5G group in which users were being encouraged to post footage of them destroying network equipment.

Some dailies have circulated video footage of a 20-metre base station in Birmingham on fire, targeted by anti-5G protesters.

Almost every “G” of the cellular technology had attracted theories about health risks and 5G is no different in raising concerns about the possible health effects of radio-frequency (RF) energy transmitted by 5G base stations and devices.

Many groups have previously claimed that 4G and 5G mobile signals can cause cancer.

Are 5G a culprit and what the lobbyists have to say about Iran, India and many other countries where 5G is not on the horizon and, at the same time, has been reporting a rise in new pandemic cases?

The overall electromagnetic spectrum consists of static electricity and magnetic fields, RF, microwaves, infrared, ultraviolet, X-ray and Gamma Rays.

RF is in the middle part of the spectrum and is used for radio communications, mobile phone networks, mobile base stations and mobile phones and to deliver 3G, 4G, 5G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technologies.

Non-ionising radiation (static field to infrared) does not carry enough energy to break molecular bonds. Ionising radiation (ultraviolet to Gamma rays) carries enough energy to break bonds between molecules and ionise atoms.

5G systems operate in several frequency bands, low, mid and in millimetre waves (24.25GHz to 86GHz).

Millimetre-wave is one area which has raised concerns apart from the multitude of small cells mounted on utility poles along public streets and close to subscribers but this spectrum has been used in many other applications such as airport security scanners and anti-collision radars for automobiles but now the millimetre wave is used for cellular communications by many countries.

Experts said that current evidence does not confirm the existence of any health consequences from exposure to low level (under the current international exposure guidelines developed by ICNIRP and IEEE-ICES) electromagnetic fields (EMFs).

They emphasised, based on many experiments and studies, that there is no negative impact of modern technology on health.

Who sets EMF exposure standards?

ICNIRP (International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection) and International Committee on Electromagnetic Safety (IEEE-ICES) set guidelines for protecting people from non-ionising radiation, including that due to exposure of 5G technologies.

Countries typically adopt one of these and either recommended or legally require adherence to the guidelines. Safety standards already have large safety margins.

Dr. Chung Kwang Chou, Chairman of International Committee on Electromagnetic Safety (IEEE), said that common understanding is that radiation can cause cancer and other diseases but the biological effects of RF exposure have been studied for about 70 years and the research shows that the only established adverse health effect of RF energy (above 100KHz) is the thermal effect.

Dr. Jafar Keshwari, Adj Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Aalto University, Helsinki, and Corporate Product Regulations and Standards Management at Intel Corporation and Chairman of International Committee on Electromagnetic Safety (IEEE-ICES), said that EMF exposure of a mobile device is much lower than other devices.

“During RF exposure, biological effects always exist but adverse health effect depends on the exposure level. Thermal effects continue to be the appropriate basis for protection against RF exposure health effects at frequencies above 100KHz,” he said.

As long as the product complies with the exposure limit, he said that it is safe. 

Safety factor

For mobile phones, 2Watt per kilogram is the limit and the adverse effects are observed when it reaches 100Watt per kilogram.

“So there is a large safety factor in the exposure limits. It is the regulator’s responsibility to check that every product put into the market, device or a base station, complies with the limits. The manufacturer has to assess the exposure based on the limits,” he said.

Moreover, he said the main safety concerns of 5G mmWaves is heating of the skin and eyes.

“Skin constitutes 95% of the human body surface while eye cornea constitutes 75% of freshwater and a thickness of 0.5mm. Millimetre waves are absorbed within about 0.5 mm of the skin surface, unlike RF energy at lower frequencies that can penetrate deeper into the tissue,” he said.

Whatever frequency you are at, Professor Rodney Croft, Commissioner at ICNIRP, said that the safety depends on how intensity the field is or how much energy is absorbed into the body per second.

“If we have a lot of energy per second, then you heat up and your body cannot remove that heat. The body can remove a small amount of energy as the blood supply takes the heat and distributes it and the blood flow exchanges the heat with the environment. This happens with all the frequencies and only if you at get much higher frequency, then it gets to ionising radiation and at that point, we have a very different story,” he said.

Community fears hinder 5G implementation

Below the optical radiation (non-ionising) levels, Croft said the frequency is not important for health, expect it tells you how deep the penetration is going to be.

So, when listening or not-listening to FM radio or music, he said that radio signals are going around and they are in low frequency (100MHz) all the time.

“That goes deep into your body. As the frequency gets higher, because the wavelength is much shorter, it gets absorbed in the superphysical part of the body. When it comes to 5G, almost all of the energy is absorbed in the skin. So, instead of a rise in temperature deep inside the body, it is now at the surface of the skin,” he said.

Even the worst-case effect of exposure will not cause cancer or any other diseases; he said and added that the local temperature increases to less than 0.5 degrees but no detectable increase to core body temperature.

“Even if you keep a block of wood or a toy close to the ears for some time, the skin temperature near the ears rise and it is not due to RF exposure but due to lack of air circulation.

However, if you are close to the base station, he said the body absorbs more heat but the guidelines take that into account and you have a boundary limit, a safe distance from the base station.

“It all depends on the power of the base station. In reality, you can go above the limits but you still won’t be hurt but it is better for us to have a very conservative limit than to get too close to a level where someone could be harmed,” he said.

Furthermore, he said that community fears hinder 5G implementation but guidelines are needed to ensure unambiguous safety to the community.

 “5G exposures will be far lower than the guidelines allow and there is no detectable increase to core body temperature or local temperature increase from towers or handsets.” 



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Latest Gadgets News

Apple will include a security feature that disconnects hardware microphones on iPad Pro 2020 to prevent it from hacking.

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Latest Gadgets News

Google has announced a new 'Art Transfer' feature in its Google Arts & Culture app which uses Google AI to let you apply characteristics of popular paintings to your own images, the official blog notes.

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Coronavirus $1,200 stimulus check: Find out if you're eligible, how to get your IRS money - CNET

The government's coronavirus economic relief package includes cash payments to a majority of US taxpayers. Here's what you need to know.

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Latest Tech News

The ongoing pandemic has brought about the world’s largest remote working experiment, with tens of millions forced to participate worldwide – and its outcome will likely have repercussions that will reverberate long after the last quarantine restrictions are lifted.

Companies of all sizes – and with varying degrees of preparedness – have ordered employees to work from home in a bid to delay the spread of Covid-19, classified a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The duration of this mandated period of remote working varies business by business, but the rate at which the virus is spreading – especially in Europe and the US – and the severity of lockdown measures suggest current isolation periods could be extended for much longer than originally thought.

The remote working experience will be entirely new for some, while others will be well versed in the art of working from home on occasion. However, the extended period of social isolation many of us have embarked upon is bound to place significant strain on established ways of working - and some employees might be unwilling to go back to the status quo ante.

Are we equipped to go virtual?

The foremost concern for many businesses – especially smaller companies without extensive resources – is whether employees are properly equipped to go virtual-only. The lack of either hardware or software may be a significant stumbling block for workers asked suddenly to abandon their office workstations.

Recognizing this issue (or opportunity), many software and SaaS vendors have granted businesses limited-time access to premium offerings free of charge, hoping that a fraction of those clients will morph into long-term – and, most importantly, paying – customers.

LogMeIn was the first to offer free ‘Emergency Remote Work Kits’ to government, education, healthcare and non-profit organizations, followed swiftly by Cisco and Microsoft, who have opened up their collaboration products to all businesses.

VPN and cybersecurity vendors have followed suit with time-limited arrangements of their own, designed to safeguard businesses whose security perimeters have grown by magnitudes overnight.

“Regrettably, the spread of Covid-19 has made organizations reevaluate remote working policies and the technology in place to support them,” Mark Strassman, SVP & GM of Unified Communications & Collaboration at LogMeIn, told TechRadar Pro.

“This is accelerating the pace at which many organizations are being pushed to embrace remote work, despite the fact many of these organizations are not yet equipped to get the most productivity out of their remote workforce.”

Maintaining productivity, however, is perhaps too lofty an ambition in the circumstances, when even basic functioning is by no means guaranteed. Businesses are more precariously positioned than ever, wholly reliant on the performance of cloud-based tools and services.

Is infrastructure up to the task?

While there will be no shortage of tools to facilitate communication between remote workers, it remains to be seen whether infrastructure can cope with sustained periods of high traffic in the long term.

It is feared networks could falter under an extended surge in content streaming, online gaming and video conferencing. With many schools closed and millions working remotely under quarantine, peak periods now account for the majority of the waking day, leaving less time than usual for network upkeep and maintenance.

According to Scott Petty, CTO at UK telecoms firm Vodafone, peak traffic is no longer confined to the evenings, but now extends from midday to 9pm. The implications of this sudden change could be significant, with service providers forced to shoulder a far greater burden than is normal.

Microsoft Teams was the first video conferencing solution to take a nosedive, with major outages reported across the US and Europe on consecutive Mondays (March 23 and 30), just as millions of workers logged on. While the cause of the outages is unconfirmed, the timing appears more than coincidental.

Meanwhile, Netflix and YouTube have agreed to cap their services for 30 days to ease the burden on broadband networks. Netflix will cap its bitrate, which it says will reduce data consumption by 25%, and YouTube will only be available in standard definition - as opposed to high definition or 4K. Disney, Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Instagram have also pledged to cut video streaming quality.

According to Verizon, online gaming also increased by 75% between March 9 and 16, during which period both Xbox Live and Nintendo’s online services were taken down by traffic surges. 

Although rumours that online gaming represents the most severe threat to internet services are overblown (online games use a third of the data consumed by streaming Netflix in standard definition), increased activity will certainly contribute to choking networks.

For now, providers are insisting networks can cope, but early incidences of downtime suggest not all communications infrastructure boasts the resilience necessary to support a world population reliant on connection for work, communication, entertainment, and socialization.

Are we jeopardising security?

While the generosity of technology vendors might go a long way to equipping small businesses to work from home, the immediacy with which social distancing policies were introduced gave many firms little time to consider another crucial factor: security.

According to a number of cybersecurity experts, the sudden surge in remote working will open up all manner of attack vectors for opportunist cybercriminals. 

“We’re seeing unprecedented numbers of people connecting remotely to corporate networks, putting additional pressure on already strained IT and security infrastructure,” says David Emm, Principal Security Researcher at Kaspersky.

“Many organizations are also not geared up for people to work from home and are thus trying to understand the challenges in real time, under exceptional circumstances...Once a device is taken outside of an organization’s network infrastructure and is connected to new networks, the risks broaden and increase.”

Cybercriminals are also capitalising on panic surrounding the novel disease to sow all manner of malware. Recent weeks have seen ransomware and DDoS attacks on healthcare institutions, already under strain as a result of the virus - and even an attack on the WHO itself. 

Numerous coronavirus-related phishing scams have also entered circulation, using false claims about the disease to lure unwitting victims and infect their machines. One scam even claimed it could prevent users falling physically ill with the virus.

“It is crucial that organizations implement a multi-layered approach to security in order to safeguard against phishing attacks, such as implementing multi-factor authentication methods,” Will LaSala, Senior Director of Global Solutions at security firm OneSpan, told TechRadar Pro.

“Attackers regularly take advantage of spikes in communication or activity to launch attacks. While it shouldn’t take a global pandemic to trigger businesses into action, it’s more important than ever to make sure the right security infrastructure is in place across all channels to keep your business and customers safe,” he added.

The advice from security experts is to exercise particular caution under quarantine, ensuring devices are protected with effective security software and multi-factor authentication, and VPN services are used to preserve online privacy.

Users of free video conferencing solutions should also remain alert, because privacy and security pledges are not always upheld. For example, it was discovered Zoom calls are not end-to-end encrypted, despite claims from the firm, whose app has been downloaded more than 50 million times on Google Play Store alone.

Could the pandemic spell the end for the mega-conference?

The events sector is another that will likely emerge from the coronavirus crisis utterly transformed, with the outbreak causing the cancellation or deferral of many eminent technology conferences.

Mobile World Congress, the world’s largest mobile technology show, became the first domino to fall. The organiser (the GSMA) was forced to cancel the event, set to take place in Barcelona at the end of February, after a series of high-profile attendees (such as Nokia, Sony, BT and Ericsson) pulled out over coronavirus concerns.

Since then, a raft of technology events have been postponed or cancelled over fears crowded environments create the perfect conditions for the rapid transmission of coronavirus.

Others - including Apple’s WWDC and Microsoft MVP - have gone ‘digital-only’ instead, and it’s no exaggeration to suggest the success or failure of these virtual events could define the event industry’s future.

Andrew Johnson, an executive at online meeting provider PowWowNow, says the coronavirus pandemic could herald the demise of traditional, in-person conferences.

“This could absolutely be the start of a trend that sees the world’s largest conferences take a different shape going forward. We are now lucky enough to have workplace apps and online services that allow people to connect regardless of location, so large scale conferences are more feasible than ever before,” he said over email.

The impact of large-scale events on the environment has also been called into question in recent years. For example, accusations of hypocrisy were leveled at attendees of this year’s World Economic Forum summit in Davos, many of whom travelled to the climate-centric conference via private jet.

Immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR) have waited patiently in the wings for an opportunity to seize the enterprise stage. Attending conferences via VR headsets could solve a host of challenges associated with public health, but also with travel costs, the environment and engagement.

However, while technically and logistically feasible, virtual events at scale are yet to have passed the litmus test only practice can administer. Questions over the ability to effectively engage an online audience en masse, to ensure key messages aren’t lost over poor connection and to replicate the networking opportunity afforded by physical events remain.

The benefits of virtual only events must also be balanced with the collateral damage inflicted on orbiting businesses, which include marketing and PR, hospitality, transport and more - a group that doubtless comprises millions worldwide.

Were we already headed in that direction?

The coronavirus outbreak has forced far greater numbers into remote working than otherwise would have been the case. However, it's possible the pandemic has only served to accelerate a transition that was already underway on a global scale.

The rise of flexible and remote working in recent years has been meteoric, with businesses turning to these policies in a bid to attract and retain talent, and cut down on real estate square footage.

According to figures from Flexjobs and Global Workplace Analytics, the number of US employees working remotely is up 44% in the past five years, and up 91% in the past ten. Globally, meanwhile, 52% of staff work from home at least once per week.

Julien Codorniou, VP at enterprise connectivity platform Workplace by Facebook, sees the ability to sustain a remote workforce as crucial to the longevity of any business, irrespective of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Outside of Covid-19, dispersed workforces are becoming more of a reality for businesses around the world, whether they want to offer more flexibility to workers or hire the next generation of talent regardless of location,” he said in an email to TechRadar Pro.

“Tools that can extend remote working capabilities beyond your workforce, to all the partners and customers you work with, will be critical to maintaining communication in the long term.”

The current circumstances, millennial sensibilities and drastic improvements to cloud-based services combine to create the perfect storm. Companies must take measures to insulate themselves from the potential rise of the office-less business, which will see employees work together each day without ever meeting in the flesh. 

The multitude of variables at play - from the technological capability of the businesses themselves, to the savviness of individual users, the capacity of infrastructure and the progress of the disease - means no one can predict how this unfortunate remote working experiment will pan out.

It is certain, however, that businesses will emerge from the brighter end of this global crisis far better able to support employees that would prefer to work from home, which figures indicate could be the majority. And, preference aside, others might find themselves unwilling to go back.



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