Tag Archive for: nice
PC Clean at a Nice Price
Why does everything slow down as it gets older?
Me, for example. Every day, basic tasks become more arduous. Some mornings, even the distance between the bed and the floor seems insurmountable… and that’s gravity assisted – well, apart from the actual standing-up bit obviously.
There was a time when I could remember every item on a list without having to actually look at the list. Now I’m lucky if I can remember there’s a list at all.
As for sleep; why can’t I ever seem to get enough? When did it become the most important thing in my life? Did I always need this much sleep to function?
The more I think about it, the more I’m like a PC. As time goes on, memory fails, I slow down, I can’t think straight and a take forever to get started. In fact, if I was a computer, you’d definitely be looking to upgrade me by now. I don’t even think you’d get much for a trade anymore.
Sadly, unlike a PC, I can’t just download an app to get me going again…
Norton Utilities Ultimate is a suite of computer tuning tools packaged together by NortonLifeLock – the renowned cyber-security specialists. Utilities Ultimate is not really about security though – instead, it lets you access a wide selection of settings, tweaks and protocols that can keep your PC running more smoothly, more efficiently and above all else, faster.
I’ve used products like this in the past because, when you like to fiddle around your computer’s setup the way I do, it’s not unusual to end up making things worse rather than better. Adjusting the wrong start-up behaviour or installing a program that uses up more of your PC’s resources than it should is easy to do, yet can be a real challenge to identify – let alone rectify.
That’s why I’ve really appreciated the stripped-back, easy-on-the-eye Norton Utilities Ultimate interface. When you open the app, a simple dashboard appears, offering you the option to analyse your PC to see if there are any issues that need dealing with. This only takes a few seconds, after which you’re presented with a list of things that can be fixed up. These vary from broken registry entries, to unnecessary startup items, to misconfigured internet settings.
It’s a pretty…
So nice of China to put all of its network zero-day vulns in one giant database no one will think to break into • The Register
Chinese makers of network software and hardware must alert Beijing within two days of learning of a security vulnerability in their products under rules coming into force in China this year.
Details of holes cannot be publicized until the bugs are fixed. Malicious exploit code cannot be released. There are restrictions on disclosing details of flaws to foreign organizations. And vendors will be under pressure to address these vulnerabilities as soon as they can and set up bounty programs to reward researchers.
The regulations are intended to tighten up the nation’s cyber-security defenses, crack down on the handling and dissemination of bugs, and keep China’s elite up to speed on exploitable flaws present in Chinese-made communications systems, wherever in the world that technology may be deployed.
It appears these rules ensure Beijing will be among the first to know of security weaknesses in equipment and software potentially present in foreign infrastructure and networks as well as domestic deployments. The rules were issued on Tuesday, come into effect on September 1, and apply to people and organizations operating within China. The following articles stuck out to us:
Though the rules are a little ambiguous in places, judging from the spirit of them, they throw a spanner in the works for Chinese researchers who work with, or hope to work with, zero-day vulnerability brokers. These sorts of regulations matter a lot: infosec experts in the Middle Kingdom earlier pulled out of exploit contests like Pwn2Own due to changes to the law within China.
“Chinese teams stopped participating in Pwn2Own after 2017 when there were regulatory changes that no longer allowed for participation in global exploit contests,” Brian Gorenc, head of ZDI and Pwn2Own at Trend Micro, told The Register on Wednesday.
It will also complicate matters for those hoping to engage with foreign bug bounty programs, which may or may not follow…
Next Biometrics and OneSpan forecast modest revenue growth, Nice sees bigger gains in 2021 outlook
Next Biometrics has recorded 15 design wins since the fourth quarter of 2019 and rejuvenated its PC fingerprint sensor business, according to the company’s latest business update.
The company also sees traction in the payment and fintech market through its partnerships with Ngrave, Newland and Pagaria. Roughly 60 percent of the design wins are for FAP20 fingerprint biometric scanners.
In Q4 2020, Next Biometrics reports revenues of NOK 8.8 million (approximately US$1.04 million), down 5 percent from the same quarter in the previous year, but gross margins improved from negative 2 percent to 16 percent.
The cost-cutting and efficiency program carried out by the company resulted in an OPEX reduction of 73 percent, compared to a year earlier.
EBITDA excluding options was a loss of NOK 8 million ($.95 million), significantly reduced from a loss of NOK 44.3 million ($5.27 million) in Q4 2019.
“With a successful private placement completed a week ago, we are now in a strong financial position,” states Next Biometrics CEO Peter Heuman. “We expect to continue to report new design-wins and purchase orders as we go forward. Especially we have a strong belief in the future success of our FBI certified FAP20 sensor, which will enable us to disrupt a 1.5 billion USD market.”
For the full year, Next revenue fell to NOK 58.1 million ($6.92 million) from NOK 84.4 million ($10.05 million) in 2019, and gross margin fell from 24 percent to 15 percent.
In 2021 Next expects revenue and gross margin growth, and the company is part of bids on multiple tenders and contracts in India.
Nice reports record cash flow in 2020, strong demand for biometric fraud prevention
Nice has reported revenues of $435 million in the fourth quarter and $1,648 million for full-year 2020, growth of 1 percent and 5 percent respectively on a year-over-year basis.
Operating margins for Nice were down both in the quarter and the year, and diluted EPS fell during Q4, but grew by 3 percent for the year to $2.98. Non-GAAP fully-diluted earnings per share were $5.73 for the full year, up from $5.31 the previous year.
The company experienced growth in its cloud services, which exceeded 50 percent of…