What Are UVC Wands and Do They Work?
In the fight against COVID-19 (and as made famous by U.S. President Trump’s comments about UV light) UVC wands may kill viruses and pathogens, but are they really a safe or effective tool in the fight against COVID-19?
What Are UVC Wands?
UVC…
Lockdown Love Scams
Details emerged this week of a scam whereby a man claiming to be on a top-secret military mission contacted a lady on a dating site and encouraged her to switch to an encrypted message service in order to steal money and personal details.
Hooked
In…
Can Wearable Devices Spot Early Symptoms of COVID?
As wearable devices such as fitness wristbands and watches track signs such as body temperature, could they be used to help detect the early signs of COVID-19 infection and thereby help public health responses?
Testing
There are now many…
Record Broadband Compensation Pay-Outs
Ofcom's annual report shows that a record-breaking £20.7m in compensation was paid to broadband customers under the new automatic compensation scheme in the last six months of 2019.
The Automatic Compensation Scheme
Back in November…
Tech Tips – One-Click Fix For Accessibility
If you are using Word (or any Office app) in Windows 10, there is a one-click way to make sure that your messages and documents can be read by people of all abilities. Here’s how:
With your chosen document open click on ‘Review’…
Back To Work ! (at the office)
For those whose workplace would normally be the office, going 'back to work' after remote working during the pandemic has its own challenges, so here is a brief reminder and checklist for moving back to the office to work.
New Rules To Protect…
Toyota To Upload Driver’s Data To Amazon
Toyota will use Amazon’s (AWS) cloud services for a Mobility Services Platform that will upload data from Toyota cars globally that could be used for monetised services.
Data Gathering From Fleet
Toyota’s platform in Amazon’s cloud…
AI-Faked Photos and Videos Concerns
Social media analytics company Graphika has reported identifying images of faces for social media profiles that appear to have been faked using machine learning for the purpose of China-based anti-U.S. government campaigns.
Graphika Detects
Graphika,…
Ritz Roasted
Some diners with bookings at the Ritz Hotel were reportedly targeted by phone scammers who posed as hotel staff to steal credit card details.
What Happened?
The ID spoofing attack involved the fraudsters pretending to be hotel staff,…
Tech Tips – Use The Timeline
If you’re using Windows 10 and you need to quickly find a document that you’ve worked on in the past using the Timeline can help you to find it and start working where you left off.
To find files using the timeline:
Either select…
Remote Working and Office 365
Remote working during the pandemic has made businesses look more closely at what IT tools are best for the job. Here is a look at what Microsoft’s Office 365 has to offer.
Remote Working
ONS figures show that 53 per cent of those…
Trump Terminates TikTok
The Trump administration’s next high-profile target in its Chinese trade-war is the hugely popular video-sharing mobile app TikTok, which has been slapped with a 45-day ban in the U.S. from 20 September 2020.
Executive Orders
Chinese…
No More Laptops From Toshiba
Tokyo-based Toshiba Corporation has announced that it has now transferred the remaining 19.9 per cent of its outstanding shares in its PC business (re-branded as Dynabook Inc.) to Sharp Corporation.
Helped By Foxconn
Back in June 2018,…
Starling … an Example of Challenger Bank Boosted During Pandemic
A statement to investors from Anne Boden, CEO of Starling, gives an example of how and why starter banks and Fintech have seen a rise in popularity over the period of the pandemic.
Starling
Starling is a London-based, digital, mobile-only…
Tech Tips – Translate Text On The Fly
If you are using Word in Windows 10 and you would like a really fast and easy way to translate text into another language and include it in your document, here’s how.
Highlight the text in your Word document that you would like to translate.Right-mouse…
Try Using Microsoft ‘Surveys’ Function
With surveys, quizzes and polls providing some valuable insights that can be used for marketing and content creation, we look at and compare the survey solutions that Microsoft and others offer.
Surveys, Quizzes and Polls
Surveys, quizzes…
Apple Wants Rent Cuts With UK Landlords
It has been reported that due to the effects of the pandemic on the UK high street, even tech giant Apple is trying to negotiate a 50 per cent rent cut with its retail landlords.
Reports
The reports, which appeared in the UK’s Sunday…
The Start of Google and Facebook Paying For News Content?
At a time when smaller news outlets have been forced to close and big tech companies dominate distribution, the Australian Government may make the likes of Google and Facebook pay for their news content.
What’s The Problem?
The pandemic…
AI, Data Protection & The ICO
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published guidelines to help clarify how data protection principles apply to AI projects.
The Document
The guidance document (now a pdf available online on the ICO website) was produced…
Tech Tips – Dictation
If you’d like to give your hands a rest, if you need to quickly capture notes, or even if you’d like to take an easy written record of the information given in a phone call, try using the dictation feature in Windows 10. Here’s…