Cougar has just launched Conquer 2
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Monday, December 9, 2019
A Cougar Compay just launched the Conquer 2 chassis, and it’s a next level beast plese check this out...
Cougar has just launched Conquer 2
Friday, June 29, 2018
Thursday, June 28, 2018
Does Facebook know when you'll die?
Facebook holds a huge amount of your personal data - perhaps even enough to tell when you'll get married, have children and die.
To find out how much the site can extrapolate about its users' lives, the New York Times plunged into the hundreds of patent applications Facebook has filed since it went public in 2012.
One of its most alarming - and fascinating - discoveries was the patent Predicting Life Changes of Members of a Social Networking System, which would use your recent online activity to forecast major personal events.
According to the patent, "A life change event, for example, may be a change in marital status, a birthday, a new job, a birth of a child, a graduation, or a death of a person associated with the user, just to name a few."
The patent refers to communication data, including wall posts, instant messages and text messages, which could be scanned for key words indicating that something big is about to happen in your life.
The circle of ads
This information could then be used to target advertising more effectively. For example, if the algorithm determined that you were about to become a parent, it could shower you with ads for nurseries and diapers.
Although Facebook users update their profile when something important happens, like an engagement or a marriage, it's not very helpful to advertisers if that happens after the event has taken place. There's no point trying to sell a wedding dress to a woman who's already on her honeymoon.
Although the potential might be there, a patent isn't the same as a plan, and few of the documents the NYT pored over have borne fruit.
“Most of the technology outlined in these patents has not been included in any of our products, and never will be,” Allen Lo, a Facebook vice president and deputy general counsel, and the company’s head of intellectual property, told the newspaper.
Still, it's a poignant reminder to take a look at your privacy settings if you haven't done so recently, and make sure you aren't sharing any more data than you want to with the site and its advertisers.
from TechRadar - Internet news https://ift.tt/2KpwaUS
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
10 free online cybersecurity courses you should take
Knowledge is power, but it’s also expensive. In a day and age where it’s essentially required that everyone have a college education, you have to be able to either afford the experience or the coursework.
Of course, time is money and if you have any to spare, it’s oftentimes just as valuable to certain course administrators.
A quick Google search will tell you that there are thousands of cybersecurity classes that you can take online for free. While that may be the case, however, there are only a handful that you should take, and we’ve picked out 10 resources that provide complimentary education to all the aspiring Kasperskys out there.
- Check out our list of the best VPN services in the world
These lessons vary in their levels of formality and professionalism. The US Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity official training and exercises, for instance, are bound to be rather more dense than, say, Udemy’s level-one cybersecurity course for beginners (see slide 5).
Nevertheless, the end goal remains the same: learning more about the digital defense protocols of the modern era in an attempt to surpass college students shelling out more than they need to for their academic redundancies.
Some of the options you’ll find here can lead to paid formal education opportunities, whereas others are completely free introductions to the world of cybersecurity. Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at some of the choices.
It’s undeniably basic, and yet Sans Cyber Aces isn't far off the mark when it says that it offers the best free online cybersecurity classes on the web.
After reading through a series of comprehensive entries about operating systems, networking and system administration, you can register for a quiz that puts your expertise to the test. Should highlighted talking points such as installing Linux virtual machine software or basic PHP, Bash and PowerShell web scripting pique your interest, you’ll be in for an engaging lecture.
As the name suggests, Cybrary is an online library for cybersecurity, IT and other InfoSec-related study materials. After creating a free account, you get access to almost 500 courses, each ranked by their difficulty and all of them free.
You can filter classes by level – Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced – or by vendors like Cisco, (ISC)2 and Microsoft. Whether you want to learn the fundamentals of malware or the art of the Jedi mind trick, both of those curriculums are given equal prominence in Cybrary’s extensive course catalog.
The US Department of Homeland Security is an obvious source of cybersecurity expertise, but you may not have been aware that you don’t have to travel all the way to the United States to benefit from the vast experience of US government security experts, or that you can do so for free.
The DHS has a calendar full of training events you can attend in Idaho Falls, but for everyone who doesn’t live in the midwestern US there’s an entire portal of online courses available to those involved in the security of industrial control systems.
Its website looks like what you'd get if you took all the slideshows and teaching materials from a university cybersecurity department and uploaded them to a domain sporting the most minimalist user interface of all time, but Open Security Training is host to a range of intermediate and advanced classes, along with a swath of beginner lessons that any newbie would be a fool to pass up.
There’s a whole rundown on the x86 and x64 architectures wielded by Intel processors, along with introductions to topics along the lines of cellular security, network forensics and vulnerability assessment.
Typically, courses on Udemy cost money, but we’ve found a few worth checking out that won’t put a dent in your bank account. There’s a Cybersecurity law primer, for example, that we think could be beneficial to anyone wanting to know the ins and outs of cybersecurity ethics. The Cybersecurity course for beginners – level one could also be advantageous to take, not only for cybersecurity enthusiasts but for anyone who want to learn more about the subject.
The Introduction to Cyber Security course from Future Learn, owned by the UK-based Open University, is available to take at any time on any schedule, and is accredited by UK Government intelligence organization GCHQ, global accreditation and examination institute APMG International, and The Institute of Information Security Professionals.
Future Learn also offers a free three-week online course called Cyber Security: Safety at Home, Online, in Life, designed to teach the essentials of maintaining security and privacy online and at home.
It’s not exactly a class or an educational institute, at least by conventional standards. What The Daily Security Tip is, though, is an email-based learning tool produced by Heimdal Security that sends you a nugget of cybersecurity-related advice every day, with the ultimate goal of making you safer both online and off.
It’s completely free to sign up, and the creators of The Daily Security Tip claim that “there’s a 96% chance you’ll enjoy it”.
From the same firm that brought you The Daily Security tip comes Heimdal Security’s Cyber Security Course for Beginners. Although this, too, is email-based, its syllabus is significantly more extensive than that of The Daily Security Tip.
The Cyber Security Course for Beginners delivers a new lesson every two days for five weeks, and all without the need to pay back any tuition loans. In terms of content, it aims to give you step-by-step advice for keeping your personal data out of nefarious hands.
More of a free trial than a free class, Coursera’s cybersecurity specialization was created by the University of Maryland to bring the underlying concepts of the construction of secure systems directly to your web browser.
It consists of five courses in total, each of which can take several weeks to complete. These range from Usable Security to a Cybersecurity Capstone Project, so it’s safe to say that they'll require you to already have some intermediate cybersecurity know-how under your belt.
Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) is a hot buzzword these days. A MOOC is a university-taught class that's completely free of charge to anyone with the free time to spare, and there are a lot of cybersecurity MOOCs to choose from, from a wide variety of schools.
Notably, Excelsior College has an introduction to cybersecurity class that lasts eight weeks and is suitable for both educators and professionals. Elsewhere, Cornell University has a MOOC called Privacy and Surveillance In the Age of Interconnection, studies the evolution of privacy concerns and user rights.
from TechRadar - Internet news https://ift.tt/2p5ZqDE
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Monday, June 25, 2018
Why big data could mean you never miss a train again
What projects are you and Trainline’s data science team currently working on?
We work with vast quantities of travel data (127,000 journeys are taken by our customers every day) to enhance the travel experience with new, smart innovations. These innovations are designed to help customers in many ways, from saving them money to helping them find the best ticket for their journey in a quick and easy way.
One of the projects my team has been working on recently is enhanced disruption notifications for our customers. Soon to launch in beta in our voice app, enhanced disruption notifications use machine learning and natural language processing to ‘read’ the rail operators’ Twitter feeds, analyse them and share relevant contextual journey updates matched to the individual traveller. It’s a first for the rail industry in the UK and we’re really excited to launch it.
'Big Data’ has become a buzzword, but what does it mean to you?
The tech industry is no stranger to buzzwords, but it sometimes needs to do a better job of explaining them. I think when we talk of ‘big data’ a lot of people simply imagine huge spreadsheets, a lot of numbers, or simply don’t know what it refers to at all.
‘Big data’ is slightly misleading in that it suggests only volume is involved. Early definitions suggested big data refers to three Vs: ‘Volume, Velocity and Variety’. That definition is over a decade old but it remains useful in some respects. The speed at which data is gathered, where it’s being stored and for how long, as well as the variety of the data – the different sources it comes from, its uniformity or lack of - these traits and facets all play a part in ‘big’ data.
Ultimately, as data science becomes ingrained in every industry, we need to keep people educated on what it is, rather than use it as a catch-all phrase that does little to explain the work behind it.
How does big-data or artificial intelligence apply to the travel industry?
The rail and coach industry is a very interesting space to be working in data science. With rail, we have a centuries-old system, fundamental to our daily lives, that we are working to modernise. Recent innovations, such as the introduction of mobile tickets, which we’re working closely with the rail industry to roll out nationwide, have revolutionised the travel experience.
Now we’re focused on enhancing the customer experience even more through cutting-edge tech. For example, we recently launched a voice app, built for the Google Assistant, which operates at 12+ levels of conversation depth. It’s designed to make journeys even smarter and easier, helping customers enquire about their journey hands-free, whether at home or on the go.
What distinguishes the work you are doing at Trainline from other travel apps?
We are Europe’s leading rail and coach app. We work with 181 rail and coach companies and we sell tickets to customers in 173 countries. We’re completely committed to using our tech expertise to create an experience that hugely benefits every customer. For example, we recently launched the UK’s first predictive pricing AI for rail tickets, which predicts when Advance fares are likely to increase. Since launching Price Prediction, over 2 million customers have engaged with the AI, resulting in a total saving of nearly £9 million.
What has gone well over the last year, and what has proved challenging?
We’ve continued to grow our team – it’s now made up of almost 50 people with incredible talent. This means we have enhanced capabilities to work on even more exciting projects in the coming weeks and months.
As with any team that’s moving at pace and growing rapidly, there has been a learning curve - for me in particular. I’ve had to adapt how I work with the team to keep the pace while making sure everyone’s talents are being used effectively and that each member of the team is given the space to grow.
- It's not just trains - big data has also predicted who will win the World Cup 2018!
How do you think the travel industry could improve its relationship with technology?
Every industry is becoming inseparable from tech and travel is no exception. Travel operators and tech companies, such as Trainline, need to work closely with one another to set industry standards that can future-proof the needs of our customers. A big part of this, especially in rail, is implementing international data standards to ensure that as more and more geographies are brought together by tech platforms, one seamless, global experience is offered to the customer.
In your opinion, what will be the next big breakthrough for data science?
It’s likely we’ll see a series of smaller steps, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, rather than a giant leap when it comes to data science. It will result in apps that can analyse even greater amounts of data and present them in a straightforward way at increasing speed.
A little further down the line we could see a tipping point, when machine learning and AI advances to a level at which it is learning of its own accord with minimal human management – but it’s still uncertain just when such an advance will take place.
For now, I see data science’s role as answering the little, but important every day questions - those that require a tremendous amount of data to answer but have a big impact on the quality of our daily life – questions like, “Which train should I take?”.
Fergus Weldon is director of data science at Trainline
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Get giga-fast WiFi speeds with the devolo GigaGate network booster
There are few things as vital as air to breathe, water to drink and food to eat. But, today, if you want to enjoy the groundbreaking benefits of the hyperconnected world we now live in, you can count a reliable, high-speed internet connection alongside those everyday necessities.
But too often something gets in the way. How many times have you sat down to enjoy an episode of your favourite show, only to find your broadband isn’t fast enough to pull down the frames, or moved to work in a quiet corner of the house to be thwarted by a signal that just can’t penetrate the walls of your home?
Devolo’s GigaGate kit aims to fix that. Whether you’re downloading the latest battle royale video game or simply surfing the web, the GigaGate with its WiFi bridging tech ensure you get the fastest speeds and most reliable connection wherever you are in the house.
Plug-and-play mesh comfort
It’s as easy to set up as it is to enjoy. A base unit plugs into the wall and hooks up to your regular router. This then connects wirelessly to a satellite unit which plugs into the wall in the room where your connectivity is proving problematic, boosting the signal so that you’re getting exactly the speeds you deserve.
With five multimedia ports per satellite for plugging in games consoles, streaming devices and Hi-Fi kit, and with the WiFi bridge supporting eight simultaneous satellite units to run alongside the GigaGate base station, you’ll be looking at maximum speeds of 2Gbps in every room of the house. With plug and play simplicity, you’ll have a high-speed WiFi mesh network wherever and whenever you need it most.
Click here for more on the devolo GigaGate starter kit, and head over to Amazon to pick one up for yourself and unleash super-fast broadband around your home.
from TechRadar - Internet news https://ift.tt/2trXb0i
Saturday, June 23, 2018
Facebook wants to tell you how much time you're wasting on Facebook
Tech companies are apparently a lot more interested in our digital well-being these days, with both Android P and iOS 12 showing off features that tell you how much time you're spending glued to your smartphone's screen. Now it would appear that Facebook is getting in on the act too.
TechCrunch discovered a page hidden away in the Facebook app for Android called "Your Time on Facebook" – as the name suggests, it tells you how much time you're spending each day scrolling through updates from your friends.
There's also the option to set daily usage reminders, so if you don't want to use up too many hours liking and commenting, Facebook will step in with an alert. Again, this is similar to the app time limit features that Apple and Google are readying for the updates to their mobile OSes later in the year.
There's an app for that
Facebook confirmed to TechCrunch that it is working on the feature, but there's no guarantee it will ever appear to users – Facebook likes to experiment with changes and tweaks to its apps, but if they don't sit well with the people testing them out, they can quickly get removed from the roadmap.
The timing would certainly be right if Facebook did introduce something like this. Instagram, which is of course owned by Facebook, is also busy working on a similar feature to highlight just how much scrolling and liking you're doing.
Ultimately the likes of Apple, Google and Facebook want you using their products as much as possible – but they also want that time to be enjoyable and positive. If you're not getting anything good back from your apps, that's a problem for everyone.
from TechRadar - Internet news https://ift.tt/2lvFF72