5 fun, budget-friendly New Year's Eve party ideas to ring in 2022 - CNET

Don't splurge on an expensive party for 2022. Instead, celebrate New Year's Eve on a budget with these five affordable ideas.

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Google Doodle for New Year's Eve pops with confetti - CNET

The search giant is ready to ring in the new year.

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Latest Tech News

Google and Microsoft have turned to a new strategy which has seen both companies make big investments in other businesses in an effort to bolster their cloud market share and better compete with AWS.

After replacing Diane Greene as the CEO of Google Cloud back in 2019, Thomas Kurian hasn't been afraid to tap the company's $142bn cash reserves to attract more customers to the service. In fact, Google has made sizeable investments in the business security system provider ADT ($450m), the Spanish-language media company Univision, the healthtech startup Tempus Labs and the futures-exchange firm CME Group ($1bn).

These investments are part of Google Cloud's larger strategy to bring more customers to its platform and so far, they have already started to pay off with many companies making multiyear commitments to use its cloud services which are worth as much as $1bn or more according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal.

However, Google isn't the only cloud computing provider trying to grow its market share through investments as Microsoft has taken stakes in several startups in deals that would see them use its cloud while Oracle's planned $28.3bn acquisition of the medical-records company Cerner has led to a significant boost in its own cloud business.

Investments to gain cloud market share

This new strategy of making strategic investments to bring businesses to its cloud seem to be working for Google as it now has six percent of the cloud market (up by one percent last year) though the company is still far behind Microsoft with a 20 percent share and the leader in the space, Amazon with a 41 percent market share.

In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, a Google Cloud spokesperson admitted that investments and partnerships in other businesses are one of the ways the company is trying to bring more customers to its cloud though it has attracted many on its capabilities alone.

Microsoft is employing a similar strategy and one of its biggest investments so far has been a stake in General Motors' driverless-car startup Cruise which will use Microsoft Azure to roll out its autonomous vehicle services. Not to be outdone, Google then took part in a $200m investment round for the startup Tempus which uses AI to improve patient care.

Even as both Google and Microsoft try to gain ground in the cloud wars, recent AWS outages have shown that more competition in the space can benefit businesses, governments and even consumers.

We've also featured the best cloud hosting, best dedicated server hosting and best bare metal hosting

Via Wall Street Journal

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Boiler or furnace? Find out which one is right for you - CNET

Learn the key differences between these two heating methods.

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Best blue light blocking glasses of 2022 - CNET

Protect your eyes and look good while doing it.

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Best credit cards without foreign transaction fees for January 2022 - CNET

Planning to get back to travel in 2022? Avoid unnecessary fees when you go overseas.

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Best external hard drive and SSD for 2022: Mac, PC, PS4 and Xbox - CNET

Need a backup option or just more space? Here are our top picks for external storage options.

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Best Alexa devices for 2022 - CNET

The Alexa landscape is vast and overwhelming, so here's a simple breakdown of the top Alexa devices to buy now.

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Best Nintendo Switch controller for 2022 - CNET

Save some cash while upping your stats with these Nintendo Switch gamepads.

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Best Fitbit deals: $103 off Sense, $50 off Versa 2 and more - CNET

Grab a Fitbit smart fitness tracker on sale to help start your New Year's resolutions off right.

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Latest Tech News

Thousands of new domains are registered everyday so that businesses and individuals can build websites but new research from Palo Alto Networks has revealed that cybercriminals often register malicious domains years before they intend to actually use them.

The cybersecurity firm's Unit 42 first began its research into dormant malicious domains after it was revealed that the threat actors behind 2019's SolarWinds hack used them in their attack. To identify strategically aged domains and monitor their activity, Palo Alto Networks launched a cloud-based detector in September of 2021.

According to the findings of the firm's researchers, 22.3 percent of strategically aged domains pose some form of danger with a small portion being straight-out malicious (3.8%), a majority being suspicious (19%) and some being unsafe for work environments (2%).

The reason cybercriminals and other threat actors let a domain is age is to create a “clean record” so that their domain will be less likely to be blocked. Newly registered domains (NRDs) on the other hand are more likely to be malicious and for this reason, security systems often flag them as suspicious. However, according to Palo Alto Networks, strategically aged domains are three times more likely to be malicious than NRDs.

Detecting malicious domains lying dormant

When a sudden spike in traffic is detected, it's often the case that a strategically aged domain is actually malicious. This is because normal websites typically see their traffic grow gradually from when they're created as more people visit a site after learning about it through word of mouth or advertising.

At the same time, domains that aren't intended for legitimate purposes often have incomplete, cloned or questionable content and usually lack WHOIS registrant details as well. Another sign that a domain was registered and intended to be used at a later time in malicious campaigns is DGA subdomain generation.

For those unfamiliar, DGA or domain generation algorithm is a method used to generate domain names and IP addresses that will serve as command and control (C2) communication points used to evade detection and block lists. Just by examining sites using DGA, Palo Alto Networks' cloud-based detector was able to identify two suspicious domains each day.

During its investigation, the cybersecurity firm discovered a Pegasus spying campaign that used two C2 domains registered in 2019 that finally became active two years later in July of 2021. Palo Alto Networks' researchers also found phishing campaigns that used DGA subdomains as well as wildcard DNS abuse.

We've also highlighted the best web hosting, best endpoint protection software and best malware removal software

Via Bleeping Computer

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Best emergency kits for cars in 2022 - Roadshow

Don't ruin the road trip! We review the best roadside emergency kits to help get you going again quickly, or to wait comfortably until you do.

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Latest Tech News

Tesla issued recalls for 475,318 Model 3 and Model S all-electric vehicles on December 21 to address two separate safety-related issues.

While Tesla hasn't commented publicly, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) posted the recalls this week. 

Tesla, which has an NHTSA  5-star overall safety rating from the NHTSA for the Model 3 and Model S, is recalling virtually all Model 3 cars made between 2017 and 2020 for a rearview camera issue. According to the NHTSA report, the rearview backup camera may not function properly because a cable harness connecting it can be damaged by opening and closing the trunk lid.

Model S owners face a more worrisome issue. According to the NHTSA report, the car's front hood may open unexpectedly. As electric vehicles, there's no motor under that hood, just trunk space. The good news is that there isn't just one latch to fail here. The report describes a situation where the hood would open unexpectedly when the primary latch is released only if the secondary latch is not engaged. This recall affects all Model S vehicles made between 2014 and 2021.

In both cases, Tesla will inspect, replace, and repair all the Model 3 and Model S vehicles free of charge.

There haven't been widespread reports of drivers with these issues but there are scattered reports on Reddit of trunks flying open and backup cameras failing.

It's unclear if Tesla has already contacted car owners electronically, but the company is expected to contact the owners of the 119,009 Model S and 356,309 Model 3 cars by mail on February 18, 2022. TechRadar has contacted Tesla for comment and will update this story with their response.

These aren't the first recalls for either model (each has six), and they may not be the last. According to Motortrend, tens of millions of cars are recalled each year. And while ignoring these repairs could result in serious safety issues, Teslas still have an excellent safety track record with the NHTSA.

• Read our Tesla Model 3 review

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CES 2022: Mercedes, AMD, OnePlus are latest to drop out amid COVID surge - CNET

The big consumer electronics show in Las Vegas set for early January will still take place, though dozens of exhibitors have canceled in-person appearances.

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Best adjustable dumbbells of 2022 - CNET

With options that range from 10 to 90 pounds, these versatile sets can replace an entire weight rack.

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