FileHippo News

The latest software and tech news

Deepfake Safety: Five Things You Can Do Today

The generation of images, videos, and voices through artificial intelligence is evolving at a pace that demands we establish clear criteria and good habits to defend ourselves from the dangers of abusing these technologies. Deepfakes are already part of our everyday online life, so it is a very good idea…

Top Online Scams to Be Aware of in 2025

The internet is undoubtedly full of great content, hobbies, information, offers, products, and people, but there’s also a darker side to it. We might not realise it, but every day we’re exposed to threats and scams as we navigate the online world. Curiosity and trust can be exploited to lure…

Meet the new features for Avast Free AV and Avast Premium Security

With millions of active users worldwide, Avast stands as a benchmark in cybersecurity. Why? Because of the quality of its solutions, the reach of its tools and because it is a platform in continuous evolution. A platform that today, once again, places our security at the forefront by reinforcing every…

TVAddons: When Fighting Piracy Goes Too Far
Canadian telecom companies launch combined counter-attack. Tech users seem to be a fairly divided bunch when it comes to the “grey area” they associate with internet piracy. On the one hand, the software, videos, music, ebooks, and other media are decidedly the property of the content creator, and therefore... Read more
DNA Can Carry Malicious Code, Infecting Networks
Any sci-fi fans who just read that headline will be disappointed to find out this is not the next film adaptation of a Hugo-winning novel. Instead, it’s the subject of a very different kind of writing: a research paper by a team from University of Washington in Seattle. The... Read more
Fears Raised Over Microsoft Surface Reliability
Report claims 25 per cent of Microsoft Surface devices have problems after 24 months. Consumer Reports, the non-profit organization providing unbiased product ratings and reviews since 1936, has said it is removing its “recommended” status for Microsoft Surface products. The company has said that the breakage rate for Microsoft... Read more
Body Hack: IoT Medical Devices Are Vulnerable
DefCon highlights weaknesses in life-saving tech. Hackers and “killing spree” aren’t usually used in the same sentence, but that correlation is exactly what biomedical researchers and cybersecurity experts came together to discuss at the recent DefCon event. It’s no secret that IoT and connected medical implants have had more... Read more
Artist Protests Twitter With Offline Hate Tweets
‘Not just plain insults or jokes, but absolutely serious threats of violence’. A German-Israeli satirical artist who claims that Twitter has steadfastly failed to deal with hate tweets has taken to stencilling the offensive tweets onto the street directly in front of the company’s Hamburg headquarters. Shahak Shapira posted a... Read more
Solar Energy Vulnerabilities Can Lead To Grid Shutdown
Dutch researcher finds weakness within inverters. With the current global focus on renewable and green energy, innovations are being made almost daily to make alternative energy sources readily available, affordable, and most of all, actually workable. Currently, a lot of forms of green energy are either cost-prohibitive for individual... Read more
Google Fires Anti-Diversity Memo Author 
Male engineer at the centre of current diversity uproar in Silicon Valley. The news comes a little over a week after Google engineer, James Damore, authored an internal memo in which he stated that there were innate biological differences behind the gender inequalities that are rampant in the tech... Read more
Another Week, Another Record Bitcoin High
Value of digital cryptocurrency Bitcoin hits record high after month of turmoil. According to the Coindesk Bitcoin Price Index, the price of bitcoin reached a new high average of $3,525 across global exchanges in the first few days of this week. The surge followed the creation of a spin-off cryptocurrency,... Read more
Anthem Announces Second Data Breach After Settling For $115M
New blow for massive health insurance company. The largest healthcare coverage provider in the US has a little bit of a security problem, as evidenced by their announcement this week. Those not directly connected to the company might have heard the name in the news recently, as Anthem Inc., reached... Read more
Hacker Who Stopped WannaCry Faces Prison
WannaCry hero Marcus Hutchins awaits court appearance on malware charges. No good deed goes unpunished, apparently, as news circulated late last week of hacker Marcus Hutchins’ arrest and detainment in Las Vegas. For those unfamiliar with the name, Hutchins is the young hacker who stumbled upon the solution for... Read more
Oops. Apple Leaks iPhone 8 While Testing A Firmware Update
Image adds weight to facial-recognition unlock rumours.  The internet is a-buzz right now with news garnered from a very uncharacteristic Apple foible, one that is so unlike the company that it smells intentional. It seems that months of speculation about the features and upgrades to the anticipated iPhone 8 (name... Read more
5-in-1 Bundle From Stellar Phoenix
Hurry, this great software deal ends August 15. For some people, back to school shopping obviously means backpacks, pens, paper, and the like. For others, though, it means scoring great deals on technology. That’s why notable tech companies will offer special pricing, financing deals, and other incentives at this... Read more
Cryptocurrency Gold Rush Miners Hire Boeing 747s To Deliver GPUs
As the price of Bitcoin and Ethereum continue to explode, miners of cryptocurrency have found themselves in a Cold War style technological arms race to outdo the other side. In this latest round of cryptocurrency competition, the weapons used are the latest graphics processors from AMD, and at the... Read more
Game Of Thrones Scripts Leaked After Major HBO Hack
HBO, the production company behind the hugely popular Game of Thrones TV series has become the latest in a long line of high profile companies who have found their IT systems the subject of an attack by determined hackers. Among some of the alleged 1.5 terabytes stolen are episodes... Read more
Microsoft’s Biometric Keyboard Meets Consumer Demand
New ‘Modern Keyboard’ launched in response to user security concerns. Earlier this summer, Microsoft unveiled a new keyboard designed specifically to complement its new privacy security features in Windows 10. Simply called the Modern Keyboard, it contains one handy feature: a biometric fingerprint reader embedded in one of the... Read more
Putin Set To Ban VPNs In Russia To ‘Protect’ Citizens
Vladimir Putin has reportedly signed a law into Russian legislation that will prohibit the use of Virtual Private Network (VPN) software within Russia’s borders. Citizens of Russia routinely use VPN and ‘anonymiser’ technology to access government-restricted sites, and hide their identities from snooping government authorities, news agency Reuters has... Read more
Ebook Lending Hitting Record Numbers
When the digital book revolution first took off, naysayers argued that ebooks were nothing more than a flash in the pan. Hardline devotees to paper and ink vowed to never let go of their death grip on “real” books, even as publishers scrambled to figure out how to monetize... Read more
Spoofing Gets Serious With Entire Fake Website
Most tech users have received more than their fair share of scam emails. From deposed (and stranded) Nigerian princes to widows who somehow seem confused as to how to spend the millions of dollars their husbands left them, the stories are almost laughable. Unfortunately, what makes the scam email... Read more