In other words, standard internet security protocols are no longer enough to stop the vast majority of malicious software — something that everyone with an internet connection needs to make sure they understand. The study, out today from security company WatchGuard Technologies, also pinpointed a few additional big trends in cyber threats: Network attacks and the ever-popular ransomware threat. Here are the biggest takeaways. HTTPS Encryption Won’t Save You If you’re on the internet, you likely recognize “HTTPS” from the start of most links you’ve visited....

Create Good Content In the past, a lot of people used spinning software or simply didn’t take their time when creating content for their websites. A few years ago, it was possible for a site to rank really high on the search engine rankings even if it didn’t have good content as long as the keywords were used in the right places, but this is no longer the case. Google search engine spiders can tell if your site is filled with garbage content, and your readers won’t like it, either....

Google Nose: Search for objects like freshly baked cookies or a new car, and smell them right from your computer. WaggingWire: The newest offering from WeddingWire, this site helps pets shop for the perfect wedding collar, find pet-friendly venues, and tie the knot in style. YouTube announces that the site’s eight-year tenure was actually a contest for the best video. The site plans to shut down at midnight and pick the winner....

Since 2010 the company has remained somewhat quiet with regard to their expansion efforts. But today the CEO of About.me Tony Conrad announced that his company has raised $11 million in it’s second round of funding. Participating groups include Bullpen Capital, Foundry Group, CrunchFund, True Ventures, and SoftTech VC. In addition to the funding Brad Feld, a partner at Foundry Group, will join the board at About.me per their funding agreement....

According to Adobe, they are responding to an executive order from the Trump administration that effectively bans transactions between the US and Venezuela. Here’s how it happened and who’s affected. Why has Adobe Withdrawn from Venezuela? The U.S. Government’s Executive Order 13884 was issued back on August 5, 2019. It bars US companies from doing business with “property of the government of Venezuela.” Adobe notes that the order doesn’t come with an expiration date, so they have no plans to reinstate Adobe services in Venezuela currently, but they’ll “continue to monitor developments closely” and “will make every effort” to reverse the decision when legal....

As stated in the announcement, Google is looking to give AdWords an update to make it easier for marketers to manage their advertising in an increasingly “mobile first” market. They write: This change will be able to provide advertisers with the tools to transition easier into digital marketing. AdWorks will move from being a text-only platform to encompassing image and video media that can be bought by other platforms such as YouTube....

Here they are, listed with their 2013 compensation: Equilar loked at companies with market values of $1 billion or more. And, as far as women are concerned, the results are typical – Catalyst found that women hold 5 percent of Fortune 500 CEO positions and 4.9 percent of Fortune 1000 CEO positions. The New York Times article “An Elusive Jackpot” searched for explanations to this phenomenon, and came up with the usual ones....

The ultimate aim of the virus is to steal victims’ bank account details and perform unauthorized transactions. Even your Google Authenticator multi-factor authentication codes aren’t safe from this threat, with the latest edition containing a range of malicious features that have been designed to record audio, take photos, and swipe authentication codes. While this type of trojan is technically nothing new, the next generation contains some pretty alarming features that have been sparking concerns among the tech community....

At the moment, the companies are testing beta versions of their respective mobile operating systems with groups of enthusiastic users, who are willing to put up with some teething problems. But, which operating system is actually doing the most to push the game forward? Is Apple driving forward with its close control over hardware and software? Or is Android’s ubiquity giving it a wider range of devices to try new things ?...

Fellow Chicago Cubs fan and Sphere CEO, Tony Sphere had this to say of the acquisition: Congrats to the Sphere team of Tony Conrad, Martin Remy, Steve Nieker and Toni Schneider and welcome to AOL. Om Malik and Michael Arrington also offer some additional perspective on AOL’s most recent startup acquisition.

Today Apple revealed a new Netflix-for-magazines subscription service, a new Netflix-for-games service, a service that’s basically just another Netflix, and, on top of all that, their very own Apple credit card. You already know and rely on plenty of huge Apple services: Siri, Calendar, Find my iPhone, Podcasts, Apple News, and, perhaps most importantly, Google Maps. Here’s how they’re adding more as Apple charges ahead on its pivot to services....

The issue, which appears to only affect the Air 3, can cause a screen failure, Apple stated in a message on its website. If you have one of the models that is affected, Apple are offering a repair for free. What is the Apple Air 3 issue? In a statement posted to Apple’s website at the weekend, the company informed owners of the iPad Air 3 that it has identified an issue whereby the display may fail....

App-Based Birth Control Almost 12 million women in the United States take the pill. Nevertheless, many women, particularly those who live in rural areas, or in states where access to birth control is impeded by legislature, find it difficult to get hold of. That’s where a whole host of new digital ventures – including Lemonaid, Prjkt Ruby and Nurx – come in handy. These now provide women all over the US with prescriptions, following an online or video consultation....

Huffington signed a deal last June with the online publication that effectively kept her at the company until 2019. The deal allowed her to focus her energy elsewhere, leading to a Series A funding round for her newest startup venture, Thrive Global. As the startup wheels began to turn, it became obvious to her that there was no way to do both while giving 100 percent. And so she decided to move on....

According to data from CB Insights, investments in artificial intelligence have been through the roof in recent years. While investments hovered around $700 million in 2013, they have reached astronomical levels at nearly $2.4 billion in just a few short years. For those of you not great at math, that is almost exactly triple the amount of funding for artificial intelligence in less than half a decade. Not too shabby for a field that has been the bad guy in more 80s movies than I can count....

The free events, which will be coming to other major cities in 2013, include networking, community presentations, and talks – and, of course, free food and beer. They take place on the last Friday of every month. For example, newcomers are encouraged to introduce themselves and explain what they need help with. Then, community members jump in and offer suggestions or assistance. This can be a huge relief to entrepreneurs who felt like they were going at it alone, especially in communities outside Silicon Valley....

(Image source: University of Southern California) Everybody has different opinions about which technologies are more useful than others. The internet, smartphones, and tablets are all widely favored. But what about autonomous (self-driving) vehicles? Wearable devices? Drones? Cost-benefit analysis of creating an automobile that drives itself results in some pretty polarizing conclusions. How cool! How convenient! Wait—is it really even that convenient? Why would we need that? Many people become skeptical, going on suspicious, when considering the usefulness of these inventions....

Password security remains the best way to protect yourself online. Unfortunately, the average user doesn’t take it seriously, with 85% people admitting that they use the same password on more than one account. If you want to protect your business from password-related security breaches, you’re going to need a few tips and tricks, and this list of questionable password categories is a good place to start. Here are the top 20 most commonly hacked password categories, paired with the number of breached passwords that include the top 20 words/phrases in that category: Still, avoiding certain categories and adding nonsensical characters and numbers to your passwords can only do so much....

However, many people don’t trust the strangers they meet online. A recent study by Pew Research Center in Washington found that 30 percent of online daters search for information about their possible dates before meeting them. This figure rises to 41 percent among 18- to 29-year olds. The number of people scoping out potential love interests on social and search engines has more than doubled since 2008. While the majority of these people are just curious about past relationships and other relevant dating information, many seek out more details about their potential dates to screen for criminal offenses or court appearances....

Prime the Pump Retail giant J.C. Penney has already started a campaign to encourage customers to sign up for texts and emails about their Black Friday deals. But this method isn’t just for big retail — in fact, USA Today recently reported that a Hubspot survey showed that 52 percent of small business marketers found leads through Facebook, all without paying for any expensive advertising campaign. The goal is to get your potential customers excited and encourage them to opt in to your email and text lists....