Bitcoin exchange abandons Poland even as the government invites it to a working group

In a delightful bit of irony BitBay, a Central European exchange, has shut down operations in Poland even as it received an invitation by the Polish government to participate in a national blockchain working group. The news, which appeared in a Tweet, states that the group will assess regulations for cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and ICOs.

“Our exchange has received an invitation from the PFSA to participate in the Blockchain Working Group. As we have recently said, we do not want to abandon crypto activity in the Polish community,” wrote BitBay.

Nasza giełda otrzymała zaproszenie z KNF do udziału w pracach Grupy roboczej ds. Blockchain. Jak zapewnialiśmy ostatnio, nie porzucamy aktywności na rzecz polskiej społeczności krypto. @k_wysota @Bitcoin_org_pl @comparic @bithub @Marta_Bellon @MichWasowski @_ZajacPiotr @macdac pic.twitter.com/bxhu4EGWvJ

— BitBay (@BitBayPolska) May 30, 2018

Poland has had an odd relationship with Bitcoin. First, some of the central banks funded a YouTube propaganda video that showed a person losing plenty of cash in crypto. Further, the community is fighting back but releasing counter-propaganda to the central bank’s policies.

After being shut out by Polish banks, BitBay moved its headquarters to Malta and stopped serving Polish customers.

 

Photo by freestocks.org on Unsplash

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Steam had a decade-old security flaw that could allow someone to take over your PC

Sometimes, vulnerabilities can hang around for years and years without being discovered, and a remote code execution flaw found in Steam has reportedly been a gaping hole in the side of Valve’s gaming service for no less than a decade – although it has now been patched.

As Motherboard reports, Tom Court, a security expert at Context, believes that the exploit had been present in Steam for at least 10 years, and every user of the service could potentially have had this leveraged against them during that period.

However, as we mentioned, the good news is that the exploit has already been patched by Valve, and in fact this particular vulnerability was fixed back in March.

How serious was the problem? Court describes the bug as ‘simple’ and ‘straightforward to exploit’, worryingly, and the vulnerability could potentially have allowed a malicious party to execute code on the target PC running Steam, subsequently letting them take control of the machine.

So, yeah. It was pretty serious, then.

Speedy response

On the positive side for Valve, this vulnerability was made harder to exploit last July when the firm implemented a new security measure: ASLR (address space layout randomization).

But it was still a potential hole until Court reported the problem to Valve, with the company also being quick to respond – he praised the firm for the fact that within eight hours of receiving his email, it had applied a fixed to the beta version of the Steam client.

Court concludes that the code in which the vulnerability resided was likely very old, and the developers probably hadn’t been anywhere near it in a long time as a result.

The lesson? Software developers should take the time to review old chunks of code in the light of contemporary security standards, probing for issues such as this which may have been hanging around for ages.

Generally speaking, there are probably a host of these sort of flaws scattered about the world of PC software, when you consider the sheer amount of apps and services out there. The worry is that if developers or a friendly white hat security researcher don’t find them first, they could be actively exploited against an entire user base.

• So what’s the best gaming PC you can buy right now?

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Best database software in 2018

Buy Windows 10: the cheapest deals in June 2018

The deadline to get a free upgrade to Windows 10 has sadly now passed. Not to worry though as you can rely on TechRadar to help you buy Windows 10 for the best price. Windows 10 is generally seen as an improvement over Windows 8 - yes, the Start button is back!

So, if you're building a brand new system or want to upgrade to Windows 10 on an older device, you're going to need to buy a copy. Don't worry though, because we check the prices of Windows 10 every day to make sure you get the best deals.

Buy Windows 10 Home deals

The perfect version of Windows for home users

Windows 10 Home is the version that most people will need. It's for home use and includes game streaming from Xbox One and other consumer features like Cortana, as well as Windows Hello for logging into your PC via a fingerprint scanner or your face. If Windows 8 was the steepest learning curve imaginable, Windows 10 is like meeting a great friend you once knew again - it's just that they've bought some new clothes of which you really do approve.

Buy Windows 10 Pro deals

Go Pro if you think it's worth paying more for the Pro features

Windows 10 Pro comes with security and management improvements over the Home version above. It includes Hyper-V for virtualisation, BitLocker whole disk encryption, enterprise mode IE, Remote Desktop, a version of the Windows Store for your own business and assigned access (which locks a PC to running only one modern application, to use like a kiosk). Network admins can also schedule updates so they don't happen at important times.

Buy Windows 7 deals

Windows 7 - because we fear change

What's this? Windows 7 deals on a page that advertises Windows 10? We understand some of you really want to stick with Windows 7, maybe even on a new machine. Don't worry, we totally get it. Maybe it's because you have some hardware/software that works better on the old OS or it just feels better. Or maybe it's because you've no time for the ridiculousness of the tiles format. Windows 7, the classic choice of the PC connoisseur?

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Windows 10’s latest preview streamlines Sets and boasts wireless projection tricks

Preview builds for Windows 10 Redstone 5 (the update due to land later this year) are starting to come through more regularly now, and another one has just been released by Microsoft to ‘skip ahead’ testers and those on the fast ring.

Build 17682 features more work on Sets, which brings the concept of tabs from the web browser to the broader Windows 10 UI. Microsoft has made it so that when you click the ‘plus’ icon in a Sets window, apps are now more clearly highlighted, with applications included in your list of Frequent Destinations.

To back that up, the All Apps list has been integrated into the new tab page, meaning you can visually see and browse through all your applications (that support Sets functionality), rather than having to use the search box to find them.

Essentially, it’s now easier to see which apps you can launch within Sets, and Microsoft apparently implemented this following user feedback that suggested this was a necessary feature.

Wireless wonder

So what else is new for testers? A big change has been made to wireless projection, as folks have been complaining that it’s difficult to know when you’re actually engaged in this – and how to stop your session in some cases.

So, to make everything clearer, Microsoft has introduced a control banner at the top of the screen to let you know when you’re wirelessly projecting, in a similar manner to when operating a remote desktop session.

The banner shows the state of the connection, and offers options to swiftly disconnect or reconnect to a session, plus there are settings to fine-tune the wireless connection depending on exactly what you’re doing.

There’s a mode specifically for playing video, and a game mode which minimizes screen-to-screen latency in order to be able to facilitate a smooth gaming connection.

Productivity mode is a middle road, with a level of screen latency pitched between the two aforementioned modes, using a latency low enough so that typing doesn’t lag, but not so much that video playback glitches or stutters. This is the default setting.

These are some very useful adjustments indeed for those who partake of wireless projection with their Windows 10 PC, and more improvements on this front are promised.

The Edge browser is another area Microsoft is constantly working on, and it gets another fresh feature this time around, with the introduction of unprefixed support for the new Web Authentication API. This allows for the use of hardware authentication in the browser, rather than simple typed passwords, including Windows Hello logins via biometrics.

A load of other minor tweaks have been made, and as ever, you can see the full exhaustive list in Microsoft’s blog post outlining the content of the new build.

One last thing to know about is that you may see the Windows 10 post-upgrade setup screen after you’ve installed build 17682. Don’t worry: your PC hasn’t reset and lost all your stuff, or anything like that, Microsoft reassures.

This is simply an opportunity to check out the new setup questions which users may have missed if they set up and configured their device ages ago. If you’re not interested in seeing any of that, just click skip and forget about the whole shebang.

• Some of the best laptops of 2018 run Windows 10

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The best BT Sport deals and packages in June 2018

Looking for a clear answer on the best way to bag a cheap BT Sport deal? If you're here, chances are you been asking yourself how much is BT Sport going to cost? Can I get BT Sport on Sky or Virgin Media instead? You've asked and we're here to answer.

On this page we'll tell you about the best offers direct from BT (for new and existing customers) and also how to get a BT Sport package if you already have Sky TV or Virgin Media. With so many options available from each provider, we've simplified the listings as much as possible so you can weigh up the best option for you without the pushy up-selling you'd get in stores, shopping center booths or on the phone. Alternatively, if you'd prefer a bit of Sky Sports, we've also extensively covered the latest Sky TV deals available.

What's on BT Sport?

The BT Sport Pack includes BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2, BT Sport 3, BT Sport ESPN and Box Nation. Across these channels you'll find every Champions League match live, so no more asking the pub landlord to swap over to the match you actually want to watch and upsetting those Man United supporting Southerners. There's also a selection of Premier League matches every week.

BT Sport is also the only place to enjoy Ashes cricket this year as BT has nabbed the exclusive rights to broadcast it this winter. Elsewhere on BT Sport you can enjoy the Rugby Aviva Premiership, UFC, NBA, Moto GP and much more. Sound good? Then let's check out the latest BT Sport packages.

How to get BT Sport deals direct from BT

BT Sport deals are available as an add-on to a BT TV package and also as an extra to BT broadband. Let's have have a look at all the options and how much they'll cost you each month. Prices direct from BT rather than going through third parties like Sky and Virgin Media are the cheapest options available.

BT Sport deals if you're not a BT customer yet

If you already get your TV or broadband from Sky or Virgin and your contract isn't up for a while, you can skip this section and scroll down to the heading 'How much is BT Sport on Sky?' or 'How to get BT Sport on Virgin Media.' 

I'm already an existing BT customer

If you already have BT broadband or a BT TV deal, good news. You can get BT Sport for less than anyone else on Sky or Virgin, maybe even for free. Take a look at the latest options for current BT customers below.

How much is BT Sport on Sky?

Rather than put up a wall between their customers, BT and Sky have reached an agreement allowing existing Sky customers access to BT Sport too. That means they'll have the most comprehensive sports coverage in the UK. Sky customers will have to set this up through BT though rather than Sky. 

The options are simple though and BT's website will walk you through the steps, We've included links below and we'll talk you through the various options and how much they cost too.

How to get BT Sport on Virgin Media

You don't have to go with BT broadband to get BT Sport. BT is keen to let its rivals pay them to let you in on the action too. New Virgin broadband customers can take advantage of Virgin's superfast fibre broadband and enjoy BT Sport.

There are a few Virgin broadband with BT Sport packages to choose from, sadly they don't include the cheapest Virgin deals. On the plus side you're getting the shiny HD versions of the BT Sports channels in all of them. There are three main deals to choose from, although as you're going through the transaction you might be offered extras or modest upgrades along the way.

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Get 50% off Kaspersky antivirus: half price on its strongest premium security software

Safety in numbers is fine when you're out and about, but when it comes to computing you want to keep those numbers after that pound sign low. That's why computer security expert Kaspersky Labs has slashed the price of its internet security software with a new offer.

For a limited time, June 1 to August 28, you'll be able to save a whopping 50% off Kaspersky Lab UK antivirus products. This includes two of its strongest products - Kaspersky Total Security 2018 and Kaspersky Internet Security 2018.

Head over to the Kaspersky website and when you get to the check-out stage use this coupon code to slash the price by half: SUMMER50

Kaspersky antivirus discount

As we say, these are two of the company's premium virus protection products:

Kaspersky Internet Security 2018 protects against ransomware, attacks and boosts banking security and privacy with protection for up to five devices. The £34.99 RRP comes down to £17.49 with the promotional code.

Kaspersky Total Security 2018 guards passwords, files and photos while also defending against hackers and ransomware attacks with cover for the entire family of up to five devices registered at once. The starting price for one device for a year is £39.99, so the discount code brings it down to £19.99. Or protect up to five devices for only £29.99 after you apply the SUMMER50 coupon.

• Discover the very best antivirus software

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