By Zoe Kleinman for BBC Message platforms Signal and Telegram have both seen a huge surge in downloads around the world following a controversial update to WhatsApp’s terms and conditions. WhatsApp has told its two billion users they must allow it to share data...
TECH NEWS
WhatsApp users flock to rival message platforms amid privacy concerns
Cell C starts migrating customers off its network to MTN infrastructure
By Yasmine Jacobs for IOL Cell C has started the migration of its 16 million subscribers to MTN’s cellphone tower infrastructure. This comes as the company prepares to switch off its own radio access network. “From mid-December, our contract and broadband customers...
All of SA’s biggest banks are in breach of ‘impossible’ new disaster rules
By Phillip de Wet for Business Insider SA All of South Africa’s biggest retail-network banks are now in breach of national disaster regulations aimed at curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus. On Tuesday, co-operative governance and traditional affairs...
Number of new malicious files grew 5.2% a day in 2020
Source: ITWeb In 2020, Kaspersky detected a global average of 360 000 new malicious files each day, an increase of 5.2%, or 18 000 more, compared to the year before. According to the security giant, this was influenced largely by a significant growth in the number of...
Vodacom tower switched off due to unpaid electricity bills
By Hanno Labuschagne for MyBroadband Vodacom customers in the Free State farming town of Frankfort were left without cellular connectivity for several days after the operator’s tower in the area was turned off. A resident of the neighbouring town of Reitz contacted...
Google reveals trending searches of 2020
By Yasmine Jacobs for IOL It goes without saying that 2020 has been pretty eventful – and that is putting it mildly. The world has shifted to a digital space as work and studies all went online. The internet has become almost like a lifeline as we use it to keep...
Minister ordered to cut mobile data prices in half
By Simnikiwe Mzekandaba for ITWeb Communications and digital technologies minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has agreed to ensure 80% of the South African population has access to the Internet by 2024. On Tuesday, the performance agreements signed by president Cyril...
Pandemic protection for your IT infrastructure
By Johan Scheepers, country head at Commvault South Africa The Covid-19 pandemic forced many businesses to swiftly adapt to a digital world. Working from home is set to become the ‘new normal’ for many workers who previously went into a corporate office environment....
Credit analyst responsible for Absa data breach
Source: MyBroadband The person behind the recent Absa data breach was a credit analyst at the bank who had access to risk modelling systems and sensitive client information. The employee, who Absa said they trusted, leaked the client data to an external platform and...
Small businesses get 46% Black Friday boost
Source: Gadget.co.za In proprietary data released by South African payments provider, Yoco, small businesses experienced a 46% increase in card transaction volume on Black Friday, compared to the average volume processed on a Friday after payday. In the build-up to...
Dell, HP report sales boost on pandemic PC surge
By Nico Grant for IOL Dell Technologies and HP reported quarterly revenue that topped Wall Street estimates, lifted by customer upgrades of personal computers for remote work and school during the pandemic. Dell’s sales climbed 2.8% to $23.5 billion in the...
Online sales boom expected on Black Friday
By Estelle Sinkins for The Witness Online retailers are expecting a boom on Black Friday after health experts appealed to shoppers to avoid crowds at shopping centres. Nicolet Pienaar, the head of market insights at trends analysts GfK South Africa, said retail chains...