7 of the Top Memorial Day Deals You Need to Shop Today - CNET

Snag big savings on these popular items while the sales are sizzling hot.

from CNET https://ift.tt/hQu6IAi

'Top Gun: Maverick' Review: Tom Cruise Sequel Is More Fun Than You'd Expect - CNET

You'll feel the need for speed in this sightly silly but high-flying sequel to the '80s classic, in theaters now.

from CNET https://ift.tt/SdWgZbF

'Obi-Wan Kenobi' Review: Gripping Star Wars Series Is a Force To Be Reckoned With - CNET

Ewan McGregor and Vivien Lyra Blair form a fun double act as a broken Jedi faces a pacey new adventure on Disney Plus.

from CNET https://ift.tt/qsobIQH

15-Year Mortgage Rates for June 2022 - CNET

15-year mortgage rates are usually lower than 30-year mortgage rates. Securing a low rate can save you money on your home loan.

from CNET https://ift.tt/DCz2e4c

Best Free VPN: Try These Services for Up to 30 Days, Risk-Free - CNET

Avoid the malware, ad tracking and slow connections that come with free VPNs -- by using free versions of safer providers.

from CNET https://ift.tt/MlKSVoA

Latest Tech News

Google has announced a wide range of cybersecurity updates for Chrome OS, the operating system that powers Chromebook devices.

The selection of updates covers everything from new partner security integrations and data controls to hardware security updates.

Google says the latest set of measures have been introduced with the aim of helping companies work towards a zero trust model.

 New partner security integrations

The new integrations, dubbed the Chrome Enterprise Connectors Framework, will include tie-ups with Netskope Security Cloud, as well as Okta Identity Engine policy support for Chrome OS, which will help businesses meet their identity management needs.

The newest set of integrations will also cover endpoint management and will include tighter collaboration with BlackBerry UEM and Samsung Knox Manager, as well as an update to Google’s existing integration with VMware Workspace ONE.

In addition, Google has added integrations for security Insights and reporting, including one with the Splunk Cloud Platform.

Google also says integrations with Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike will soon be available through our Chrome Enterprise Trusted Tester Program.

What else?

As well as a tighter set of third party integrations, Google also announced Chrome OS Data Controls, which it says will give users endpoint protection, preventing data leakage by allowing IT to define rules within Chrome OS on when to trigger controls for different actions. These will include copy and paste, screen capture, printing, and other activities that could lead to data loss.

Read More:

> Google releases yet another emergency Chrome security update

> Google Cloud has revealed a significant security upgrade

> Google Cloud apparently has a security issue even firewalls can't stop

Google has also announced several security focused hardware updates.

P Elite Dragonfly Chromebook, the first Chrome OS device with Intel vPro Enterprise, will allow users to work with features like HP Privacy Camera, Fingerprint Sensor, and optional HP Sure View privacy screen.

Google also introduced Intel vPro Enterprise for Chrome OS, which it says provides comprehensive hardware-based security via two key features: Key Locker, which can protect disk encryption keys and prevent leaks, and Intel Total Memory Encryption (Intel TME), which helps ensure data leaving the chip to system memory is encrypted.

• Interested in keeping your business safe from cyberthreat? Check out out guide to the best antivirus software

from TechRadar - All the latest technology news https://ift.tt/5T0t3mU

Pokemon Go Events for June 2022: Go Fest, Community Day and More - CNET

Here's what's happening in Pokemon Go next month.

from CNET https://ift.tt/631yzRG

Latest Tech News

As inflation soars and the cost of living crisis bites, startups and enterprises alike are having to tighten their belts, cut back on costs and dig in. You might think that global technology behemoths would be exempt from these external forces, but not so.

In an email to Microsoft employees, executive VP Rajesh Jha and his leadership team delivered a memo, reported by Bloomberg, outlining hiring cuts at several core teams. 

According to Jha, the hiring slowdown applies to teams working on Windows, Office, and Teams, despite the strong performance of the company's productivity and collaboration software since the transition to remote and hybrid working.

The company stressed that the hiring limits apply only to those teams, not the whole company, and Microsoft will continue to hire new people. A spokesperson told Bloomberg that Microsoft is eager to make sure it is hiring the right people. 

"As Microsoft gets ready for the new fiscal year, it is making sure the right resources are aligned to the right opportunity,” Microsoft added in a statement.

“Microsoft will continue to grow headcount in the year ahead and it will add additional focus to where those resources go."

The new normal 

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has kicked off something of a crisis within the global economy, coming off two years of the pandemic new normal. 

Technology companies and startups were initially the big winners from the pandemic, providing tools to keep everyone safe, fed and connected, but growth must eventually come to an end.

READ MORE

> DuckDuckGo in hot water over hidden tracking agreement with Microsoft

> One of the most eagerly awaited Microsoft Teams features is almost here

> Huge Windows 11 update is finally done, but release date remains a mystery

Companies as big as Meta, Snap, and Salesforce have announced measures to counteract the economic downturn, which has affected ad budgets at other companies and the willingness to spend on services. 

Startups are increasingly resorting to layoffs, especially those that hired quickly to accelerate growth during the boom times. 

For its part, Microsoft recently announced that it will double its budget for salary increases and stock grants in order to retain key employees. However, the latest move will raise questions over its eagerness to continue investing so heavily in properties like Teams and Office.

• Increase productivity with the best free Microsoft Office alternatives

from TechRadar - All the latest technology news https://ift.tt/PG5eOwn

'Stranger Things' Episode Release Schedule: Here's When Volume 2 Drops - CNET

Volume 1 of Stranger Things season 4 is out today. Here's when you'll be able to watch the second part.

from CNET https://ift.tt/3nFSraU

Latest Tech News

Valve is rolling out SteamOS 3.2 to the Steam Deck, adding new controls for some settings and, most notably, quieting the gaming device's loud fan.

The full patch notes are available on Steam’s website where you'll see that the Steam Client is also getting some updates. The most notable being Remote Play Together now working properly, according to Valve. The Client is also getting some quality-of-life changes such as notifying you when the SSD is almost full and improving the performance of the Night Shift keyboard theme.

New SteamOS changes

Fans have been complaining about the Steam Deck’s loud and annoying fan for a while. YouTube videos uploaded by Deck owners show that even with a low-performing configuration, the fan sounds like a turbine. With the new update, the fan is much quieter. A video uploaded to Twitter shows the drastic change before the Deck gets the update and after while playing Vampire Survivors.

Another big change comes in the form of new refresh rate controls. You'll be able to scale down a game’s default refresh rate from 60Hz to 40Hz or any number in-between. Under 40Hz, the new frame limits will be at 10, 20, and 40fps. Valve states that adjusting the refresh rate is a great way to find that sweet spot between a stable game and longer battery life. And each game you own can have its own saved refresh rate configuration.

Other changes include more screen resolution options. Valve didn’t list out what the new options are and never got back to us when we asked for more details. The Deck’s gain staging has been adjusted to remove static coming through the 3.5mm jack that some players have experienced and increase the speaker volume cap. We reached out to Valve about the new speaker limit but also didn’t get a response.

Client-side changes

Apart from SteamOS are the changes to Steam Client; namely Remote Play Together. Players in the past have complained that, for instance, the feature's hard-to-read text made it difficult to use.

Valve claims Remote Play Together is now “completely functional” and the company even threw in the ability to host and join remote sessions. Be aware that not every game supports Remote Play Together. Valve has a list of the ones that do.

In addition to the SSD notifications mentioned earlier, the Client is adding new icons for gamepad and mouse commands that appear in-game, plus having greater accuracy in connecting to hidden wireless networks.

Players seem to be pretty happy with the changes as seen in the Steam Deck subreddit. If only Valve can figure something about the battery life or the Deck’s bulkiness, that would be great.

from TechRadar - All the latest technology news https://ift.tt/elOcabs

Latest Tech News

Inside of hard disk drives are platters which hold all your data; these are all manufactured by one company in Japan called Showa Denko which has announced it expects to “realize near-line HDD having storage capacity of more than 30TB" by the end of 2023.

Deciphering that statement, we’d assume it will provide platters with a storage capacity of more than 3TB, sometime in 2023, to partners such as Toshiba, Seagate and Western Digital, who will then produce the hard disk drives, targeting hyperscalers and data centers operators. 

We’d expect some of them to end up in NAS and 3.5-inch external hard drives, but that won’t be the main target markets, as performance is likely to be optimized for nearline usage.

 Race to 30TB

Showa Denko has now started shipment of the platters that will go into new 26TB Ultrastar DC HC670 UltraSMR hard disk drives announced by Western Digital only a few days ago.

 A 2.6TB platter - which uses energy-assisted magnetic recording and shingled magnetic recording - also marks an important milestone as it hits the symbolic 1TB/in^2 density. 

Showa Denko’s announcement comes as a surprise as Toshiba recently suggested 30TB drives (rather than higher capacities) would not come until 2024. A 30TB model would comprise of 11 platters with 2.73TB capacities each, a slight improvement on the 2.6TB capacity that are on the way. 

Given the fact that 26TB HDDs have now been announced in the first half of 2022, there’s a remote chance that we could see 30TB drives before the end of the year or (as the saying goes), depending on market conditions.

Read More

> Samsung, Western Digital join forces on next-gen SSD technology

> Western Digital plots to squeeze the tape market with massive archive HDDs

> Western Digital customers urged to update to latest version of My Cloud OS

20TB drives were the storage industry's previous "big target" with plans to launch hard disk drives of this capacity first dating from 2017. Back then, Seagate said it wanted one out by 2019; but we had to wait until the following year for a release, with mass production entering full swing in 2021.

Seagate has remained quiet about its 30TB plan since September 2021, but we know it will be based on HAMR technology, which is different from EAMR, as it uses heat to increase the amount of data being written. 

The company also has ambitions to launch a 50TB HDD in 2025, so for now, watch this space.

• Tackle even the most demanding computing tasks with one of the best workstations

from TechRadar - All the latest technology news https://ift.tt/JfxmnoP

'Stranger Things' Stars Then and Now: Wow, They've Really Grown Up - CNET

You might barely recognize Millie Bobby Brown and friends these days.

from CNET https://ift.tt/f9BkFIw

Latest Tech News

A major (but seemingly old) database filled with personal information has been dumped in a Telegram group, for free, for anyone who would care to look.

Cybersecurity researchers from vpnMentor discovered the 8.7GB file dump earlier this week, finding it contained data on at least 30 million people. 

The data seems to have been picked up from MGM Resorts, a hotel and casino chain whose endpoints were compromised three years ago.

Share your thoughts on Cybersecurity and get a free copy of the Hacker's Manual 2022. Help us find how businesses are preparing for the post-Covid world and the implications of these activities on their cybersecurity plans. Enter your email at the end of this survey to get the bookazine, worth $10.99/£10.99.

Same targets, new tricks

If indeed this is the same database, as some media suggest, then it contains data on more than 140 million MGM Resorts users. The data includes full names, postal addresses, more than 24 million unique email addresses, more than 30 million unique phone numbers, and dates of birth. Luckily enough, no payment data appears to have been included, but users may still be at risk of identity theft.

So far, MGM Resorts are keeping quiet on the matter, but its 2019 data breach, which included personal data on high-profile individuals such as former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and pop star Justin Bieber, saw data being sold on the dark web for $3,000. 

Now, as the data is freely available for all, vpnMentor says it has become "much more accessible for even the least tech-savvy people." 

While it’s hard to determine why someone decided to simply dump such a database online with no previous warning, BleepingComputer has two possible explanations - either it’s old and worthless, or it was dumped as the result of the recent takedowns of RaidForums and Hydra, dark web forums where stolen data was frequently traded. 

Read more

> Details of 10 million MGM hotel guests leaked online

> MGM data breach was far worse than originally thought

> Stolen UK consumer data up for sale on sale online

Regardless of if someone believes the data is worthless, researchers are still urging everyone to stay frosty. "Bad actors could send phishing messages and scams to exposed users via SMS and email, using the victims' full names and home or business addresses to build trust,” they say. 

The elderly may be particularly targeted, as they’re usually easier to defraud, they added. Dates of birth found in the database can help with picking the targets more easily.

• Keep track of all incoming and outgoing data with the best firewalls around

Via: The Register

from TechRadar - All the latest technology news https://ift.tt/ljhvF67

Latest Tech News

Good news for Chrome users: Google is rolling out a new version of its browser that fixes 32 security flaws -- and adds a few new features.

A stable version of Chrome 102 will arrive on Windows, Mac, and Linux computers in the coming weeks if you haven’t gotten it already. The security fixes were all reported by users and range across different degrees of severity, from critical to low.

Critical severity

The critical flaw is listed as “CVE-2022-1853: Use after free in Indexed DB.” Unfortunately, Google doesn’t state what this means, but the cybersecurity firm MalwareBytes has supplied some explanations.

According to MalwareBytes, IndexedDB is an interface that stores a lot of user data for the browser. There was a bug in Chrome that could have given a bad actor access to loads of personal information. MalwareBytes surmises someone could potentially create a malicious website to manipulate IndexedDB and take over a person’s browser.

The firm goes on to briefly give examples of the other flaws. High severity may have allowed bad actors the ability to “execute [malicious] code” and gain access, Medium severity gave the ability to manipulate a limited amount of information, and Low severity refers to random bugs that didn’t do much but were still a security problem.

New Chrome features

The strange thing about Chrome’s new features is that none of them are in the May 24 patch notes. To even be aware of them, you had to scour Google developer blogs or the random Reddit thread.

We were able to confirm three new features:

• You can now move Chrome tabs by holding CTRL and Shift on your keyboard, and then moving with either the Page Up or Page Down keys.
• New presentation controls allow you to control a presentation from a separate tab. The developers launched a demo website for people to try.
• A Resume your journey button will appear for past search entries that takes you to a history of that particular entry

There are potentially other new features coming out. According to a Chromium blog post from late April, Chrome 102 is slated to have a control overlay for desktop apps.

It is strongly recommended that you download the latest version of Chrome so you'll have the security fixes in place.

To do this, click on the three dots in the upper right-hand corner of your Chrome browser and then select Help.

From there, select About Google Chrome, which will take you to the browser’s Settings where version 102 is ready for download.

How to use Google Chrome's password manager

from TechRadar - All the latest technology news https://ift.tt/9dv3ZOV

Best Online Glasses and Contacts Deals: Save Big With Memorial Day Sales - CNET

These offers won't stick around for long, so grab them while you can.

from CNET https://ift.tt/gjU8IEe