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As companies continue to beat the Internet of Things drum, promoting a world when every device is smart, and anything electronic is network connected, we have some news that shows just what a horrible idea this really is. A security firm has found that a Linux kernel driver called NetUSB contains an amateurish error that can be exploited by hackers to remotely compromise any device running the driver. The driver is commonly found in home routers, and while some offer the ability to disable it, others do not appear to do so. NetUSB is developed by Taiwanese company KCodes. The purpose of the driver is to allow PCs and Macs to connect to USB devices over a network, so that these devices can be shared just by plugging them into a Wi-Fi router or similar. To do this, a driver is needed at each end; a client driver on the PC or Mac, and a server driver on the router itself. This router-side driver listens to connections on TCP port 20005, and it's this driver that

    Microsoft officially unveiled Windows 10 this morning, and the company is planning to distribute a Technical Preview of the new operating system tomorrow. At Microsoft's event today there were a number of machines running the Windows 10 Technical Preview, and I got an opportunity to briefly explore the new OS. While Microsoft pushed hard with touch on Windows 8, Windows 10 is the complete opposite. If you mouse into the corners to find the tricky Charms Bar they no longer trigger and frustrate. Instead, you're greeted with the familiar Windows desktop and Start Menu from the moment you use Windows 10. It's Windows 7 right now and very early in its development, but it has some interesting improvements waiting inside. The Start Menu returns to focus Windows on the desktop The Start Menu is the most obvious addition. Just like in Windows 7 and other versions before it, the Start Menu largely acts in the same way. Microsoft has done a u-turn here,

Google's latest experiment might be the coolest Chrome extension we've seen yet. Tone, the company's newest homegrown browser add-on, uses sound to quickly share URLs with anyone nearby. The extension is available now in Chrome's web store and can be used by any Chrome user, regardless of what type of computer they have. In order for the extension to work, it must be installed on at least two computers that are close enough to be "within earshot" of each other and each machine must have its volume turned on. Once the tab you want to share with your neighbors is open, click on the extension in your browser's toolbar, wait for the series of beeps, and the link will be shared to all nearby computers via a Chrome notification. The browser add-on was created in a single afternoon, Google's Alex Kauffman and Boris Smus write on the company's research blog. "Tone grew out of the idea that while digital communication methods

Google already allows you to see which tabs in Chrome are playing audio thanks to the tiny speaker icon, but it's now possible to quickly mute those tabs with just a click. The new feature, which is actually an experiment nestled inside Chrome according to The Next Web , now lets you click on the tiny speaker icon to mute individual tabs. Here's what it looks like in action.   Enabling the experimental feature is easy.       First, you'll need to type " chrome://flags/" into the URL address bar at the top of Google Chrome (without the quotes), which will take you to Google's experimental features page — which looks like this.                                                                    Next, simply search for "Enable tab audio muting" in the list and click "Enable" to turn the feature on. Google You'll need to shut down Chrome for the change to take effect, but you'll now fi

Most Chrome users can relate to this: you have a bunch of important tabs open, your laptop’s fans start to sound like a rocket taking off, your computer slows to a crawl, and finally it crashes, losing everything. When Chrome debuted for the first time in 2008 it was the fastest browser on the block. It was light, nimble, extensible and easy to use compared to Firefox, which had become slow and cumbersome. In the past few years, I’ve stuck with it, even as it became a memory hog, unstable and a major drain on battery life. I was in denial. But now I have to admit it – the stable, snappy Chrome is a distant memory. As it has grown in popularity, it’s steadily got worse.   Using Google Trends to compare searches for “Chrome slow” with other browsers shows interesting results. Searches for major competitors like Internet Explorer, Safari and Firefox all saw a drop over the last four years, but searches relating to Chrome performance problems are steadily increasing.

denisyegon Blogging is like work, but without coworkers thwarting you at every turn.” – Scott Adams Why start a blog? There are many reasons to start a blog, but here are a few: 1. Working on your blog is working on your life. 2. Blogging is a way to learn how to ship ideas and incremental value (to yourself and others.) 3. Blogging is also a way to grow and share your expertise. 4. Blogging is also a way to build your personal platform for impact. 5. Blogging is a way to spend more time doing what makes you come alive.