IT News
Paratus Namibia Signs First ‘Fibre Open Access’ Infrastructure Agreement
Image sourced from Patriot Paratus Namibia has signed its first ‘fibre open access’ agreement with Africa Online. As part of the deal, Paratus will share its infrastructure with licensed operators in delivering fibre connections to the broader business and domestic market in Namibia. By removing the main barrier to enter the market, Open Access allows multiple operators to share the same fibre infrastructure and deliver services to their respective customers without the need to duplicate the costly development of that infrastructure. “This is really a market disruptor because we are sharing our infrastructure in a way that has never been done before in our country. By breaking with tradition, we are launching a truly commercial initiative and giving a leg-up to the ICT industry by creating...
WhatsApp’s Introduces Voice and Video Calling for the Desktop App
WhatsApp has announced that private and secure one-to-one voice and video calls are now available its desktop app. The calls are end-to-end encrypted which means that WhatsApp can’t hear or see them, whether you call from your phone or your computer. “With so many people still apart from their loved ones, and adjusting to new ways of working, we want conversations on WhatsApp to feel as close to in-person as possible, regardless of where you are in the world or the tech you’re using,” says the messaging platform. “We’re starting with one-to-one calls on the WhatsApp desktop app so we make sure we can give you a reliable and high-quality experience.” /* custom css */ .tdi_3_b63.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_b63.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } To make desktop calling more u...
Hellopay to Roll Out Mastercard’s ‘Tap on Phone’ Tech in South Africa
Hellopay and Mastercard have partnered to roll out SoftPOS – a contactless acceptance solution that turns any NFC-enabled Android device into a physical point of sale. This move is expected to boost digital payment acceptance at small informal enterprises in South Africa, while supporting consumers’ preference for touch-free payments amidst social distancing. SoftPOS leverages Mastercard Tap on Phone technology developed for micro and small businesses like spaza shops, independent retailers, market stall traders, mobile servicemen and tradesmen who tend to operate in a cash economy due to the costs and complexity of obtaining traditional point of sale devices. “The SMME market represents 98% of businesses in South Africa and has been deeply impacted by the pandemic. We recognise the o...
Nintendo to Launch New Switch with a 7-Inch Samsung OLED Display
Image sourced from The Verge Nintendo is expected to unveil a new Switch fitted with a 7-inch Samsung OLED display. According to Bloomberg, this touchscreen gaming console is expected to “prop up demand in time for the holidays”. Production of the Switch will start in June and shipment to assemblers is scheduled for around July. “The OLED panel will consume less battery, offer higher contrast and possibly faster response time when compared to the Switch’s current liquid-crystal display,” says Yoshio Tamura, co-founder of display consultancy DSCC. “Nintendo seeks to sustain a Switch lineup that continues to sell well against the Xbox and PlayStation, thanks to pandemic-era breakout hits like Animal Crossing and a chip crunch that’s plagued supply of rival devices.” /* custom css */ .tdi_3_6...
Telkom Offers Free Data to New Subscribers in Kenya
Telkom Kenya will give new Telkom Line subscribers 1.5 GB of data over three months. The telco says that prepaid customers simply need to activate their SIM with a KES 20 top-up. According to TechWeez, customers will also benefit from cross-network calls at KES 2 valid for the first three months. “We welcome new subscribers to the Telkom family, to experience our voice and data propositions at an introductory offer, before they make an informed decision of their long-term bundle of choice,” says Telkom’s Director of Marketing, Eric Achola. Airtel Africa and Telkom Under Investigation by the Communications Authority of Kenya Airtel Africa and Telkom have been placed under scrutiny after allegedly violating the quality of services across their networks. According to Gadgets Africa, The ...
Scammers are Selling Fake COVID-19 Vaccines for up to $1,200
Underground scammers are selling fake COVID-19 vaccines. The majority of sellers originated in France, Germany, the UK, and the USA, and the prices per dose range from $250 to $1,200, with an average cost of about $500. Scammers and buyers usually get in contact via encrypted messaging apps like Wickr and Telegram, while payments are requested in the form of cryptocurrency, primarily Bitcoin. The majority of these underground sellers have made between 100-500 transactions. With the information available to Kaspersky experts, it’s impossible to tell how many doses of the vaccine being advertised online are actual doses (many medical facilities have found themselves with leftover doses) and how many advertisements are a scam. “You can find just about anything on the Darknet, so it’s not surp...
In the Eye of the Storm: New Record is Set by Ten Million DDoS Attacks in One Year
Not all record-breaking numbers are feats or achievements towards which we all aspire. For example, in 2006, American teenager Matt Suter was destined to become the holder of the record for the ‘farthest distance thrown by a tornado and survived’, when he was flung, in an unconscious state, for a distance of almost 400 metres (398.37 metres) by an F2 tornado (meaning wind speeds of 181 to 253 kilometres per hour), yet later regained consciousness almost without a scratch. “We’ve recently had a very thought-provoking record-breaking number released for 2020 in the cybersecurity arena, and it’s not pretty,” says Risna Steenkamp, General Manager: ESM Division at value-added distributor Networks Unlimited. “Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks have crossed the 10 million mark dur...
Telkom Announces New ‘Closer Calling’ Plans
Telkom has introduced new closer calling plans for customers looking to ‘get more value for their money. The telco says that, starting in March 2021, copper landline customers will be able to align their calling plans to its SmartVoice plans. The new Closer Calling plans are available to new and existing customers and can be provisioned on Copper, Fibre and as a bolt-on to IPVoice (Internet Protocol Voice); replacing the stand-alone fixed-line as well as the old Closer Calling plans known as Weekend and Evening, Anytime, Anytime Extra, Anytime Plus and Unlimited Fixed Line. New Telkom Closer Calling plans: Closer Basic @ R199 Closer 100 @ R299 Closer 300 @ R399 Closer Unlimited @ R599 Closer Basic Bolt-on @ R40 Closer 100 Bolt-on @ R70 Closer 300 Bolt-on @ R130 Closer Unlimited Bolt-on @ R...
Microsoft to Enable End-to-End Encryption for Teams
Microsoft is set to enable end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for Teams by the first half of this year. Jared Spataro, Corporate VP for Microsoft 365, says that this will address users’ security and compliance requirements. “Teams will support E2EE for one-to-one Microsoft Teams calls, providing an additional option for conducting sensitive online conversations.” He goes on to say that IT will have full discretion over who can use E2EE in the organization. E2EE for Microsoft Teams one-to-one ad hoc VoIP calls will be available to commercial customers. Microsoft Word to Introduce New Text Predictions Feature Microsoft is set to introduce text predictions for Word. This new feature is expected to help users write “more efficiently” by reducing spelling and grammar errors. /* custom css *...
WeThinkCode Expands Footprint in South Africa
Image sourced from WeThinkCode WeThinkCode is planning to expand its footprint across South Africa with the launch of a new campus in Durban. This is expected to give more South Africans the opportunity to join the digital world and help build the country’s technology skills capability. “We know that South Africa has a vast pool of untapped talent with the aptitude to be trained in technology. At the same time, our youth unemployment is among the highest in the world,” says WeThinkCode’s CEO, Nyari Samushonga. “Like any successful business, WeThinkCode is evolving and continually improving its operating model and this includes making our programmes accessible to more people. Geography plays an important role here as many candidates are unable to access our existing campuses. Hence ou...
Kaspersky Updates VPN Solution for Mac’s
Image sourced from Kaspersky Kaspersky has released its VPN Secure Connection to run natively on Macs powered by M1. This comes at a time when the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) has significantly grown due to an increase in remote working. Understanding the need for privacy when exploring the web, Kaspersky says it is constantly updating its solutions to work smoothly with the most innovative platforms, by developing native support for the newest hardware. Apple’s powerful M1 system on chip (SoC) delivers improved performance and efficiency to Mac users. And with the VPN Secure Connection, users can enjoy best-in-class speed while transferring data over a secure VPN tunnel, keeping their online activity private, and hiding their IP address and location. They can conn...
Nigeria has the Least Affordable Internet, Global Report Shows
Nigeria has the least affordable internet in the world, according to the Digital Quality of Life Index by Surfshark which takes in to account the quality of digital wellbeing in 85 countries (essentially 81% of the global population). In Nigeria, people have to work for 27 minutes 55 seconds to afford 1GB of mobile internet while the global average is 10 minutes. To pay for the cheapest broadband Internet, Nigerians have to work for 33 hours 42 minutes. The overall affordability is measured by combining the affordability of the cheapest mobile and broadband plans available in Nigeria. And essentially, people in 75% of the researched countries have to work more than the global average to afford the Internet. “Any country’s digital advancement has a tangible relation to its economic pot...
