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Dublin Tech Summit Speakers: Who To See in 2018

Marty

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15th April 2018

Dublin Tech Summit Speakers: Who To See in 2018

After an impressive launch year in 2017, Dublin Tech Summit returns for 2018; and it’s bigger than ever. You can check out the wide range of talks and the great speakers on show through the Dublin Tech Summit website. As you can see, the Summit is great for businesses looking to peek into the future, but if you’re looking for some talks that’ll appeal to your consumer side, here are five to look out for.

The Future of Global Travel

Have you used Airbnb yet? I used it last year for the first time. It’s an incredible service that lets you rent the home of a complete stranger when you’re travelling. You might have heard people using the term ‘disruptive tech’ and Airbnb is the perfect example of this. Disruptive tech is a new way of doing things that completely change a long-standing norm. Remember there used to be taxi offices for phoning cabs? Well, now we have MyTaxi. Over the UK, Uber lets the general public replace taxis altogether. And hotels? Well, they’re making way for Airbnb.

These are all examples of disruptive tech. Travel is going to change massively in the coming years from digital passports to Elon Musk’s Hyperloop. Aisling Hassell, Airbnb’s Global Head of Customer Experience will take to the INNOVATIONxTECH stage at 10am Wednesday.

VISA and Payments Innovation

I’ve been blown away by how payments have changed in just a few short years. Laser cards used to be a real thing and at the time were somewhat groundbreaking. Now, they’re a distant memory as we tap cards, shop online and even use our smartphones and smartwatches to pay for stuff. The EU is chugging along with the creation of a Digital Single Market and paving the way for new technology to help how we buy stuff and pay bills with PSD2 being one of the first examples.

Paul Walsh from VISA will be on the INNOVATIONxTECH stage at 12.10pm on Wednesday to show what VISA has in the pipeline.

Banking in 2028: The State of the Industry

You’d be forgiven for thinking Goosed is turning into a finance news site lately, but it’s really because consumer technology and banking are enjoying a great run right now. Traditional banks are under fire from modern alternatives. Just like travel, disruptive tech is rampant in banking. I ran through Irish banks recently and showed just how diverse the landscape is with banks ranging from offering very little innovation to completely modern online banks.

This talk takes place on the FUTURExTECH stage at 3.30pm on Wednesday and brings leaders from companies who are really challenging norms in the banking sector. Check this talk out to see how the banking frustrations of 2018 will be the Laser cards of 2028.

Policing the Web: Who’s Responsibility Should It Be?

The latest season of Silicon Valley is all about the Pied Piper guys building a ‘new internet’. It’s a cool thought. Will everything that’s gone on in recent years, we’ve learned so much. Should we start over with the internet we’d definitely have done it differently and better. Unfortunately, that’ll never happen, so what do we do with the internet we have? Chances are we police it.

Who should be in control of the internet? Governments have proven to be an unpopular choice for this task given the example of China where Google and Facebook are forbidden. Should the government have that kind of control? If not, then who should? On the surface, you might not think this to be the most consumer-friendly talk in the world, but everyone really needs to start paying attention to the online world and how we’re positioned within it.

This talk, kicking off at 10.55am on Thursday over at the FUTURExTECH stage should provide a great insight into what lies ahead for online regulation.

Voice Control and Audio Recognition

Desktop computers used to be all the rage. We’d book flights on them, browse the web either shopping or just wasting time and managed things like the music on our iPods using iTunes. That life is not so long ago, yet the smartphone has replaced nearly all of this craic leaving our dependency on desktop computing as a distant memory. Would you believe the days of the smartphone might already be numbered too?

Voice has been touted as the next major change in how with interact with technology. Desktop was keyboard. Mobile is touchscreen. The future will be voice control. This talk should give you an idea how what this revolution looks like and kicks off over on the MUSICxTECH stage on Thursday at 4.35pm. I’m not entirely sure what the following talk is on the same stage, but they definitely win the award for best title with “Audio Recognition: Voice Control to Major Tom”.

We’ll be covering the two days of Dublin Tech Summit which also features the one and only Casey Neistat. We didn’t include him in this list because he’s talking about brands connecting with people and stuff but it should be really interesting nonetheless. The real win is if you go check out Casey’s YouTube page where he’s making simply incredible videos.

Dublin Tech Summit takes place on Wednesday and Thursday this week. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest craic, live from the conference centre.

Fraud Protection 101: Don’t Get Caught Out Banking

Eamon

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10th April 2018

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Fraud Protection 101: Don’t Get Caught Out Banking

Cyber Security is an area of huge growth right now. You’ll have seen Martin talk about Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal and Boards.ie being targetted with DDoS attacks (Distributed Denial of Service). Just last week, Napoli fell foul to a scam, transferring funds for a player purchase to fraudsters instead of another football club.

You can be sure that governments, banks, tech companies and anyone else who stores anything of value are spending big in order to protect their assets. But let’s be honest, which of these is really likely to affect you personally? Which of these is going to take cash out of your pocket or funds from your accounts? Really, what we are looking at here is your financial data. How do the bad guys get their hands on it, what can they do with it and what can you do to protect yourself? Let’s start by looking at “card not present” fraud.

What is Card Not Present Fraud?

By a long way, the biggest type of fraud being carried out against the individual is what is called “card not present” fraud. Even with the wealth of payment methods we have at our disposal these days, the good old card fraud is unfortunately popular. This basically means that somebody has gotten their hands on your credit or debit card details and is using them to buy stuff over the phone or online. Scammers are selling card details to each other for dollars right now, depending on how recently they have been sourced. There is a sliding scale of cost depending on age and quality, a new number with the PIN, name and address, CVV etc. will command more than just a number that’s been out there for a few days.

So how are the fraudsters getting your details in the first place? There are lots and lots of ways, many of which we could be doing more to prevent. They range from the incredibly sophisticated to the incredibly simple. In some cases, we don’t know that our details are being taken at all, in others we are unwittingly handing them over. It may be through our reliance on our online devices or it may be our simple naivety. I don’t intend to call them all out here (we would both be here far too long for that) but I will mention one or two.

How Fraudsters Get Your Details: Viruses and Malware

One source that will spring to most minds is through a virus or malware on a PC which is used for online shopping. Someone buys something on Amazon or eBay or wherever and some malicious piece of code picks up the details and sends them off to a scammer, who immediately uses them to buy loads of stuff for themselves. Well yes, but it is often a little more complex than that. Some of the malware that is out there is built to be so much smarter.

For example, there are variants of the ZeuS Trojan virus that are particularly nasty. They will obviously steal your card details but they will also hang around until you log into your online banking. They will steal your login details, but they will also mask any fraudulent transactions that have been carried out on your account, so when you log in you just don’t see them and your balance is altered to be what you would expect. This means that detection can take much longer and so the cards remain active for the fraudster. And it’s not just PC’s that are vulnerable, Android phones and tablets are also widely targeted. The restrictions placed by Apple make their devices significantly more secure but never say never!

How Fraudsters Get Your Details: Phishing, Smishing, Vishing

Of course, if you are reading this, you are probably up to speed enough to never be caught out by Phishing, Smishing, Vishing and the likes. These are all variants of the same thing, fraudsters acting like someone you can trust and asking for your bank or card details.

Phishing: fraudulent attempts to get your details through email, instant messaging etc.
Smishing: fraudulent attempts to get your details through SMS messages
Vishing: fraudulent attempts to get your details through a phone call

These are still very prevalent for two simple reasons. Firstly, they are very cheap to operate and secondly, they still work! It may be hard to believe but so many people still fall for this kind of scam. In fairness, the fraudsters are smart. They can be hugely convincing and there is usually some form of implied threat included like ‘you won’t be able to access your funds unless you answer’ or ‘your laptop will be disabled’.

Ransomware is not a million miles from this, but with ransomware, the threat has usually already been acted upon and you are paying to get it removed.

Fraudsters will also play on your over-confidence. There are cases of fraudsters sending out numerous phishing emails that are obviously bad so the victim thinks that they know what a phishing mail looks like. They then send out one which looks perfect. It’ll have the right logo, be carefully crafted sentences with no spelling mistakes, use the correct tone and voice etc. All of this leads to the victim thinking that it must be real. They may also phone claiming to be from your bank saying that they are aware of fraudulent calls and wanting make sure that you have not been compromised. Sneaky, but very easy to fall for.

How Fraudsters Get Your Details: Card Skimming

Then there is the physical card itself. Card skimming is certainly an issue, both at ATMs and in store. Recently many banks have updated their ATM’s to make it much more difficult to attach skimming devices; you may have seen the machines with the round flashing green card slot. It wasn’t long before the fraudsters adapted. Many of you will have seen the below video from Vienna, but maybe you haven’t seen the photograph. It’s happening here as well.

Image credit: bedharak / Flickr, ASSOCIATED PRESS, Shutterstock / Oliver Hoffmann, Brian Krebs / krebsecurity.com

Using our cards in-store can also bring a share of risk. You may remember how one of the country’s largest retailers unknowingly allowed fraudsters to alter the point of sale machines in one of its largest branches to capture and send customer data. The fraudsters disguised themselves as service agents looking to check the machines, but instead, they fitted card readers along with SMS capabilities so the card details were sent to the scammers in real time. This was an extremely rare example, what is more, usual is a rogue person who is working at a till holding your card over a hidden camera, or attaching a second card reader to the genuine one.

So basically whatever you do, there are bad guys out there trying to get your hard-earned cash. So what can you do about it? Well, it’s mostly common sense but there are some very simple things that you could and should be doing to protect yourself. I don’t want to come across all preachy, but these really are simple and no one will look after your own data, money and cybersecurity better than yourself.

Protect Yourself From Payment Fraudsters

Cover Your Hand

When using an ATM or a card machine in a shop, cover your hand when you are entering your PIN. The value of your card number is massively reduced if the bad guys don’t have your PIN as well. That’s why you often see the handguards broken off ATMs. Hidden cameras or shoulder surfers may be trying to see what you are entering, so don’t let them!

Physically Protect Your Card

The technology that lets you tap your card is called RFID. Some scammers have RFID readers and can run this alongside your bag or pocket, nabbing details. Some banks are wise to this and offer RFID protection sleeves. If you don’t have that option, pick yourself up a Secrid Wallet. These protect your card and looks lovely to boot.

Never Let Your Card Leave Your Hand

When you are buying stuff in a shop and especially in pubs, don’t hand over your card. The point of sale machine should be accessible for you to either tap or put your card into. There is no reason to give it to the person working in the shop to do it for you. Go on, imagine the last time you handed over your card for a few pints and the barman vanished for a few minutes.

Use Google Pay or Apple Pay

Ok, so you’d expect members of team Goosed to be biased towards tech, but both Google Pay and Apple Pay have added protection for shoppers. When you tap your phone, the payment app cloaks your actual card number with a virtual number. If someone is on the lookout for your card number, the one they get will be useless.

Also, store assistants and bartenders are a lot less likely to grab phones than they are cards. Which brings me to my next point…

Seriously, It’s Your Card: Stop Being So Polite

It’s not easy for us but stop being so polite. We often don’t want to seem rude by asking to shop assistant to give the point of sale machine to us. Or even worse, we don’t want them to think that we don’t trust them, so we openly enter the PIN in front of them. They would do it themselves so deep down they’ll understand.

Could You Be Talking To A Fraudster?

Unless you have instigated the conversation and know who you are talking to, don’t give anyone your passwords or login details. Simple as. If someone contacts you and asks for your details, just say no. If you think that it might be genuine, you are wrong. If they insist, ask them to put it in writing (a proper written letter) to the address that they should have on file for you. Then hang up, go and find the number for their complaints department and tell them about the poor business standards.

Use Anti-Virus and Anti-Malware Software

What we have all been told since we started using computers. Use anti-virus and anti-malware software and keep it up to date. It’s not a guarantee but it will certainly help. It is also in your terms and conditions of use for online and mobile banking, so if you do suffer fraud because your software was not effective, you may not have any come back.

If you’re on the lookout for some free options, both AVG and Avast offer free anti-virus protection that will suit most users. Malwarebytes is another critical piece of software with a really effective free tier that’ll both protect you from malicious software and help your remove existing gunk on your laptop.

The bottom line is that fraud is here to stay. Scammers will continue to try and find ways to get at our money. They will always be one step ahead and they only need to be successful once. We will always be playing catch up and we need to stop them every time. At the same time, there is no reason for us to make it easy for them. Noone cares about protecting your money and data more than you do, so take a few simply steps and make yourself a moving target for fraudsters.

Drop Scale Review: The Smart Way to Easier Cooking

Marty

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6th April 2018

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Drop Scale Review: The Smart Way to Easier Cooking

I really enjoy cooking. I used to be a super fussy eater and compared to many, I still am. But cooking opens up a world of foods to me. When you put in the effort to cook things, tasting it as you go and investing time in the creation of a meal, you’re much more likely to actually eat it or taste new things. There’s one other problem though. I said I really enjoy cooking but I never said anything about being good at cooking. I tend to fall apart following some of the simplest recipes, so naturally, I assumed there’s some sort of gadget out there to help with this problem. This is my review of the Drop Kitchen Scale.

What is Drop?

I almost never wait this long to nationality drop but, this incredible gadget is Irish born and bred. In a strange turn of events, perfectly demonstrating just how local they are, I was delighted to hear that one of the judging teams at a recent Story Slam in Dublin was, in fact, the Drop team. While interesting, I digress.

So Drop is an Irish startup, but what the hell do they do? Well, it’s actually quite simple. Nearly every home has a kitchen scale. You put a bowl on top, measure in ingredients using a black and white display to tell you how much you’re adding before cooking away to your heart’s content. Generally speaking, you’re either following a recipe in your head or something you’ve found online or in a book.

The Drop Kitchen Scale works in a similar manner. You put a bowl or plate on top to hold your ingredients, but then things get a little cooler. There’s no display built into the Drop Scale, instead, the red device connects to your iPhone, iPad or Android device. With the Drop Recipes app, you connect to the scales and can see the weight or volume of the ingredient you’re dealing with.

Then it gets even cooler!

The Drop Recipes app, as you might expect, has recipes programmed into it. When you select the meal you want to make, simply pick it and Drop will hold your hand as you go. So if the recipe asks for 100 grams of butter, the scales will show you how much you’re adding and once you hit 100 grams it’ll move on, prompting you to get the next ingredient ready.

Drop Review: Cooking With Drop for the First Time

Ok, so on paper, the Drop Kitchen Scale is awesome but is it actually any good? Like I said earlier, I enjoy cooking and trying new ingredients. I’m often compelled to rummage around some of Dublin’s more hipster food stores like Dunnes Rathmines (seriously) or Fallon and Byrne. After a quick rummage, I decided to head home and make some mussels. Now, I’ve made mussels once before and couldn’t for the life of me remember what recipe I used. Then it occurred to me; that Drop scales I bought before Christmas still hasn’t had any use.

What’s For Dinner?

I opened up the Drop Recipes app and searched for mussels. I was a little disappointed to see only one option there, but still – the ingredients sounded tasty enough. I wandered around Dunners picking up everything I needed to get cooking and headed home.

Getting Started With The Drop Scale

Drop works with both Android and Apple devices but to be completely honest, Android isn’t quite as good as Apple just yet. For example, Android recipes don’t progress automatically though the company did tell me that this is a feature they hope to roll out in 2018. Regardless, I hooked up my Drop to an old iPhone 5c and got cooking.

The First Snag

It didn’t take long to find a snag. I had bought a massive bag of mussels; twice the weight of the recipe. This is honestly one of the coolest features of Drop. As you start the recipe it asks how many people you are trying to feed with your meal. I bumped the number of mouths from two to three and suddenly I had the perfect amount of mussels. Better still, the app automatically adjusted all the ingredients to match the bigger portions. That’s incredibly smart.

Nobody’s Perfect

As I worked my way through the recipe, I couldn’t believe how simple it was making the process. Sure, because there’s a Drop Creator process which means anyone can submit recipes, some of the instructions might not be perfect or be open to interpretation. For example, it would be nice to get the heads up for head the pan with butter a couple of steps before you need it. That’s me really nitpicking and to be fair, it’s not Drop’s fault a Drop Creator submitted a recipe that was only slightly short of perfect.

With that absolute first world problem aside, the whole process of cooking with Drop is incredibly straightforward. Another fantastic feature is how Drop doesn’t care if is solids or liquids your mixing. I was lobbing butter and chopped shallots into a bowl one minute and pouring double cream all over wine in the next. The smart kitchen scale tracked it all, letting me know when the perfect amount was poured before telling me what was next on the menu.

The Perfect Ingredients Make the Perfect Recipe

This has to be one of my favourite reviews of all time. I’m usually reviewing something that’s pure tech related, you know? Like a smartphone or something. Kitchen scales and cooking are far from being my forte so this was a very genuine review of someone with little clue trying out something for the first time, and boy was I impressed with Drop.

As a startup, I can’t help but feel they might be stretched a bit, but Drop are far from lacking in support. They’ve been in the official Apple store online for quite some time and recently announced a partnership with Kenwood, a huge kitchen appliance manufacturer. They will now integrate Drop’s technology into their kCook Multi Smart food processor.

Drop is clearly a plucky Irish company leading the way in connected kitchen technology. You might not have heard of them before now, but I assure you; Drop will be in every kitchen before long whether you know they’re there or not.

Oh and here. Would you look at the dish I ended up making – it was only bleedin’ delish man.

PlayStation Now: Everything You Need to Know

Jon

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5th April 2018

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So what is PlayStation Now?

PlayStation Now

Sony’s PlayStation Now is essentially the gaming equivalent to Netflix. PSNow hints at a future beyond purchasing video game consoles to get the latest releases. It’s a subscription based service that makes playing all your favourite hits from years gone just as easy as watching television shows on Netflix.

Initially PlayStation Now was created as a way for PS4 gamers to play old PS3 games without the need for the old console. The system basically works by connecting to a ghost PS3 within Sony’s network, that way when playing a game you’re not doing it on the piece of hardware in your living room. Technically. Your PS4 is simply providing video and controller input, if you’ve ever streamed music or watched video online; the premise is pretty much the same. The content – in this case, the game – isn’t on your smartphone, tablet or video game console. It’s on a server somewhere. You’re just renting access to it.

With PlayStation Now you will even be able to play both single and multiplayer games. Your saved data is even stored on the server, so regardless of whether its a PC or PS4 you connect to you can just pick up exactly where you left off. Oh and you still get trophies, just like any game you buy online or through a shop.

What games can you play?

The list of games is actually pretty impressive. Thanks to the Netflix styled model, PlayStation Now allows gamers to pay a monthly subscription in order to access a library of over 500 PlayStation 3 or PS4 games on their PlayStation consoles or a compatible PC.

The catalogue of games includes some proper heavy hitters like Red Dead Redemption, Batman: Arkham City (great game by the way) as well as PlayStation exclusives like God of War and The Uncharted series. You can even get some classics like Street Fighter!

Similar to Netflix, the games are not downloaded to the PS4 or PC, but are instead streamed over the internet. This way there is now installing updates, patches or better yet, no waiting for your game to download. Just plug and play, the way gaming was always meant to be done. Better yet, game progress is saved online, so you can start playing on your PC and then switch to your PS4 or back again and just pick up where you left off. A full list of titles is available on the PlayStation Now website. New games are added at regular intervals to keep the service fresh.

How much does it cost?

For a service that has over 500 games at your fingertips, PlayStation Now is available for the relatively decent price of €14.99 a month. Just think about it, a standard PlayStation game costs about €69.99 for a game you will complete in a couple of weeks. So for a small monthly price you get an awful lot more bang for your buck, plus the list of games is pretty cool.

You can also sign up for a free 7 day trial, which should give you enough time to get well and truly hooked. The 7 day trial will give you access to the full catalogue, just be aware this trial automatically renews into a monthly subscription at the end of the trial period. Similar to your PlayStation Plus subscription you need to link a credit card or your PayPal account when you sign up for a trial so that it can automatically renew. However you can cancel your subscription at anytime you wish, so if you think PlayStation Now isn’t for you make sure you cancel at least 24 hours before your wallet gets charged.

What you need to get started

Thankfully Sony have made it easy to get started. Simply turn on the PlayStation, find the PlayStation Now icon and off you pop.

Well that is pretty much it. You will also need a steady broadband connection with a minimum speed requirement of 5Mbps. You will also need an adult PSN account (so the kids don’t get access to unwanted information), an acceptable payment method and a DualShock controller.

Getting started with PlayStation Now is incredibly simple, and you can use it on your PC of PS4.

If you’re into gaming at all we highly recommend giving the 7 day free trial a blast, if nothing else there is something nice about playing Saints Row or Street Fighter all over again!

Payment Methods: A Wealth of Options to Spend

Eamon

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4th April 2018

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Payment Methods: A Wealth of Options to Spend

Recently I opened a new current account with a bank which offers Apple Pay as one of their payment methods. Being a bit of a technologist, I have an Apple watch (albeit a Series 1) to go alongside my Apple iPhone SE, but I also have a Kerv Payment ring.

For those who don’t know about the Kerv ring, it is a contactless payment device built into a wearable, in this case, a ring. Basically, it is a wearable pre-paid Mastercard, you go to the Kerv website and top your account up and then you can use your Kerv ring offers at all contactless points of sale. I invested back in the Kickstarter phase, but they now retail for about £90 sterling. You can find out more at Kerv.com.

Anyway, I basically find myself with six payment methods on me at any one time. I feel like it’s good time to have a look at these various payment methods and weigh up the pros and cons of each. Obviously I am not trying to pick a favourite, the ring is obviously my favourite, I am just trying to be objective…

Cash: Cold Hard Moolah

It’s still here and will be for a long time yet. Generally I like to get €40 from the ATM until it dwindles away. It still feels like the go-to payment method in pubs and non-chain stores. I keep the paper stuff in my wallet and the metal stuff mainly in my pocket. Like many people I also have a mug on my desk where I throw the coppers.

Convenience

Back in the days when we all got paid in little brown envelopes, cash was great. Now, we have to go out of our way to get it. Nobody (or virtually nobody) uses cashback despite Alan Partridge extolling it’s virtues.

However, it is the easiest way to pay our way with family or friends.

Acceptance

This is where Cash is King. Merchants might be happier not to, but everywhere takes cash. Maybe not so great when shopping online though!

Novelty

It’s been around a fair while now so… not really.

Cash: The Verdict – 5/10

Pros: Universally accepted

Cons: Not particularly convenient, especially when travelling (even to our nearest neighbours).

Debit Card: Laser No More

Many of us still call it the Laser card despite Laser being something of the distant past. Now the Debit schemes that we all use are run by Visa or Mastercard depending on who you bank with. The introduction of contactless has been huge for Debit cards, Tap for anything up to €30 is just great. €30 feels about right too. Any more and I’d want the higher sense of security that only a PIN can offer! Again I keep mine in my wallet but I have to confess – I have a soft spot for my permanent tsb card. Being able to put my own picture on the card might be a gimmick, but it does increase my loyalty to the card.

Convenience

Reverting to the PIN after every three uses is a bit of a pain for low-level transactions but overall it is easy to use. Not great for paying out pocket money, although nothing other than cash is.

Acceptance

Just about anywhere and everywhere takes Debit cards. You do come across the odd place that doesn’t (like the student shops in Trinity) but it is the exception rather than the rule. Also great for the online retailers where it is increasingly replacing the credit card as the payment method of choice.

Novelty

Unless you have yours personalised with a picture of your favourite cat, nothing much here to excite.

Debit Card: The Verdict – 7/10

Pros: Wide acceptance, pretty convenient

Cons: Still calls for the use of a PIN

Credit Card: Like the Debit Card But With Someone Else’s Money

The Credit Card has its place. For example, you can’t hire a car without one. It is also a good source of short-term credit but generally, it is a really bad idea. With interest rates running at around 20% it is an expensive way to pay for stuff. We all have great intentions of paying it off as soon as we get paid but which of us ever do?

There is a reason why Visa and Mastercard are hugely profitable and why legislation such as PSD2 is trying to lessen their grip on the payment economy. I keep mine in my wallet (as much as possible!).

Convenience

The Irish banks will all be rolling out contactless Credit Cards over the next year or so, but in the meantime, it’s another PIN to remember. Unless you’ve got it attached to your Apple or Google Pay digital wallet. To be fair, it is convenient to be able to pay for larger purchases up front and pay it off when you can, but it can be a dangerous game…

Acceptance

Again, just about anywhere: on or offline. Still not great for paying pocket money.

Novelty

What there is can wear off pretty quickly once the bills start to come in.

Credit Cards: The Verdict – 6/10

Pros: Wide acceptance and easy access to credit

Cons: Expensive and reliant on the PIN

Apple Pay by Phone: Who Needs a Wallet?

OK, so it sits in your virtual wallet, but you know what I mean. In essence, Apple Pay is a way to use your normal bank Debit Card through your phone. It is a digital version of that card which sits in your real wallet. Yes, we could go into tokenisation and how Apple is eating into the interchange rates (bank speak) but what really matters to most of us is that instead of tapping our card, we will be tapping our phone. The payment still comes from the same bank account.

The big win here is that sometimes we all forget our wallet or purse but we never forget our phone. To be fair, I was a bit of a cynic until I started to use Apple Pay. It does pain me to say it, but it is so much handier than the card. Double tap on the home button and it is ready to go, it takes your fingerprint for authorisation. It might only be saving a few seconds but it feels so much quicker.

Convenience

Almost perfect. Is there a more convenient way to pay? (Spoiler: see below).

Acceptance

Accepted wherever they take contactless. It also makes online purchases that much easier.

Novelty

Up there for the moment but will become more and more mainstream as time goes on.

Apple Pay by Phone: The Verdict – 9/10

Pros: Wide acceptance and fingerprint authorisation

Cons: Double pressing on the home button happens more than you think when you are opening your phone. Apple pay popping up can be an annoyance.

Apple Pay by Apple Watch. Still Rooting in your Pocket for Your Phone?

All that’s good about the phone, just on the watch. Double press your button and you are ready to go. I wear my watch all the time, except when it is charging, and this really is exceptionally easy to use. How long does it take to press the side of your watch twice?

Convenience

Even better than the Apple Pay on your iPhone

Acceptance

Exactly the same as Apple Pay on the iPhone.

Novelty

Still raises the odd eyebrow and it’s hard to get tired of that.

Apple Pay by Apple Watch: The Verdict – 10/10

Pros: Wide acceptance and ease of use

Cons: Not so many people have the watch

Kerv Payment Ring: Still Bending Your Wrist and Pushing Buttons?

OK, so I have to go to the website every couple of weeks to top-up my account. It takes about 10 minutes to register and then a few days for Mastercard UK to authorise for use in Ireland. But once it is up and running my Kerv Ring is the easiest, most convenient and coolest way to pay for stuff. It’s on my finger. I fist bump the payment terminal. Done.

To be fair, I use it mostly for low-value payments: coffees and that kind of thing. I have used it here and abroad, it usually gets noticed and makes a great icebreaker. I have had it now for about 6 months and I use it every day. It comes in a range of colours and sizes, mine is black on the outside and red on the inside or ‘Black Fire’ as it is called on the website.

Convenience

The easiest way to pay at a point of sale. It’s not for online shopping or pocket money, but it is brilliant for what it is meant for.

Acceptance

More or less everywhere that takes contactless.

Novelty

Always starts a conversation. Wherever I use it without fail. It’s the most fun of all the payment methods I’ve mentioned here.

Kerv Ring: The Verdict – 10/10

Pros: Quickest payment method, very easy to use.

Cons: Set up required and at £90, a bit of an extravagance.

So what should you take out of this? Probably not much. Like so much else in life, your preferences around how you pay will remain yours. You will use whichever suits you the most. The real call out here is that the range of options is widening and will continue to do so. Back in the early 90s, I would have sworn that we would all be using our retinas to pay for stuff by now. For the time being, I’ll use my ring.

iD Mobile and Charity Numbers: A Prepaid Pity

Marty

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4th April 2018

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iD Mobile and Charity Numbers: A Prepaid Pity

We’ve been covering the unfortunate liquidation of Carphone Warehouse’s network, iD Mobile in recent weeks. It’s a massive shake-up to the Irish mobile landscape and to date we’ve been focused on what this means for bill pay customers. Any company shutting down sucks and there are real repercussions for the iD Mobile staff. There are also repercussions for their customers including those on prepay plans.

iD Mobile Prepaid Customers Stuck With Credit

We had an iD Mobile customer get in touch with us on Facebook outlining the conundrum that faced him. As a prepaid customer, he had regularly topped up his phone with prepaid credit and had accrued over €150 in credit. He was then given thirty days notice that iD Mobile would cease to exist on 6 April 2018 and he should move his number or risk losing it forever. The problem is that when you move your prepaid number to another network, you lose your credit; that’s €150 worth of service this customer had paid for they would never get.

To be fair, customers who chose to change network in a Carphone Warehouse store were being offered €20 store credit which might cover a single top up, a pair of headphones or a phone case. Personally, when I moved from iD I went for the Chromecast; I’m a sucker for gadgets but am very aware I ended up falling into that lovely trap of doing exactly what they hoped would happen – spending more than the €20 voucher!

Look, I’m happy enough getting a new Chromecast for €20 and it sure beats paying twice that for a second hand one in CeX!

Our Facebook Community Has A Plan

Ok, so back to that customer with €150 worth of credit. Before the announcement of the liquidation, they would have thought they had years to use up that credit. Now, faced with 30 days to burn it up, they got in touch with us on Facebook. Another Goosed reader had a great suggestion; rather than lose the credit, donate it all to charity. Most Irish charities will let you donate by texting a word to 50300. For example, you can text DAFF to 50300 and donate €4 to the Irish Cancer Society.

While this would leave the customer out of pocket and they would have to sit down for the evening sending a few texts to their charity of choice, few would argue against this being a better idea than letting the credit go to waste. We’ve seen plenty of people sharing charities on Twitter and Facebook pages asking iD mobile customers to donate their leftover credit to worthy causes.

ID Mobile will be no more this Friday April 6th, make this an opportunity to put any outstanding credit towards supporting Ireland’s national listening service for children and young people this week. Support @ISPCCChildline. pic.twitter.com/mgbGhxDUMB

— Danielle Loftus (@Lilliwhiterose) April 4, 2018

Unfortunately, this plan wouldn’t work.

50300 Charity Numbers Don’t Work On iD Mobile

I personally tested out a few charities on my iD Mobile bill pay plan before I moved network and noticed I wasn’t getting any confirmation messages about my donation. During testing, I noticed that nearly every charity uses the same phone number, 50300, but requires a different word. The word decides which charity your donation goes to. I was left with two thoughts as to what could be causing this

MVNOs can’t contact premium numbers like 50300
iD Mobile never set up 50300 to process donations

Can MVNOs Use Premium Numbers?

I assumed the best and starting with the thought that iD Mobile, as an MVNO, simply couldn’t process premium numbers like 50300. At first, this appeared to be possible with Lycamobile informing us that they didn’t support premium numbers at all. Then Virgin Media threw a cat amongst the pigeons with one of the Virgin Media customer care guys informing us they have no problem at all in process charitable donations through 50300.

Hi Martin, I can confirm that donations through this number can be made on our mobile network. 🙂 ^BrianR

— Virgin Media Ireland (@VirginMediaIE) March 23, 2018

Crap.

Was iD Mobile Setup To Use Charity Numbers?

I got in touch with the company that provides this service to Irish charities: LIKECHARITY. I asked them if iD mobile customers were able to donate via text message or if they could offer some alternative. LIKECHARITY told us that “iD Mobile never asked to set up on [their] service” and “there is no way to process donations from iD mobile” phone numbers.

Which all seems a little unfair. First of all, it’s unfair that customers will not be refunded their credit. They’ve paid for a service they won’t get and iD Mobile, or Dixons Carphone or Carphone Warehouse, whoever it is, is shortchanging them. I got in touch with ComReg who confirmed that it’s impossible to refund prepaid credit and iD Mobile was within their rights to simply let existing credit expire. Frustrating as that is, I can accept it.

What I think is a real shame for the network and indeed is a shame for Lycamobile too, is a lack of support for LIKECHARITY in what seems to be sheer laziness. While I understand LIKECHARITY is a business in itself, they do generate vast sums of money for charity; over €7 million since 2012 according to a spokesperson from the company.

iD Mobile had around 40k customers. That’s 40k customers who were unable to donate to worthy charities through a very popular method; SMS. We were in touch with iD Mobile Ireland and some of their team on Twitter, Carphone Warehouse and the PR company who managed Dixons Carphone’s public handling of the liquidation. While I appreciate everyone taking the time to help us with our questions, the result was negative. Those prepay customers won’t be able to donate their leftover credit to charity.

iD Mobile: The Prepaid Pity

Right now, it kind of makes sense that no one can get this set up. The network is in liquidation and technically not even owned by Dixons Carphone anymore, the parent group for Carphone Warehouse and iD Mobile. The network is now owned by the liquidator and they’ll hardly want to see payments owed to LIKECHARITY heading out of the iD Mobile coffers. However, the question remains why the network never made the effort to get charitable donation numbers setup for customers to avail. It also begs the question how many customers think they’ve made donations over the years and didn’t receive a confirmation or error message.

If you’re a Lycamobile customer, it’s worth noting you cannot donate to charities through 50300.

Sorry Martin, I’m afraid we don’t. We don’t support text payments in general 😑

— Lycamobile Ireland (@LycamobileIE) March 23, 2018

If you’re an iD Mobile customer, the clock is ticking and really time is up. If you haven’t moved yet, you need to move before April 6th or you’ll risk losing your number. I’m afraid it doesn’t look like you’re getting your credit back nor will you be able to spend it. And that’s the prepaid pity.

MyFitnessPal Hack: What Are Hashed Passwords?

Marty

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31st March 2018

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MyFitnessPal Hack: What Are Hashed Passwords?

I know I’ve tried many times to get fit and that journey usually starts with getting back into MyFitnessPal. The app helps you track your calorie intake and exercise to maintain a healthy balance of food and fitness. So popular is the app, in 2015 sports giant Under Armour bought it. They might be regretting that a little bit as they’ve just been hacked

What Happened With MyFitnessPal?

In short, the app has suffered a data breach. On the surface, that sounds awfully scary as some hackers now know I’m over weight. As do the dogs in the street though to be fair.

In the breach, hackers obtained emails, names and hashed passwords; hashed is an incredibly important word here.

What Are Hashed Passwords?

Some of the news coverage around the hack describe hashed passwords as making it harder to obtain a user’s actual password. To be completely honest, hashing can provide a level of security that makes uncovering a users password nigh on impossible.

Wired magazine provide my favourite comparison:

the difference between a Three Mile Island and a Hiroshima sometimes comes down to an arcane branch of cryptography: hashing

Hashing is a relatively simple method of encrypting information by running a computation. The best known use is hashing passwords. When you select your password for a website, it’s often hashed which means it’s run through a mathematical process and converted into a jumbled collection of numbers and letters.

When you try to log in to the same site again, the password your type is in run to this process again and checked to see it matches the jumbled numbers and letters created by the original hashing of your password.

Sure Isn’t Hashing Only Great So?

It’s really important to note that not all levels of hashing are created equal. You might remember a couple of years ago we showed you a website called “Have I Been Pwned” which lets you check if your data was compromised any of the all to regular data breaches that have taken place. One data set included in this was a LinkedIn hack from 2012 which used hashing known as SHA1.

The Problem With Hashing

SHA1 is actually realtively simple to reverse engineer. This meant when hackers got hold of this data, they could uncover the passwords and, combined with the email adresses also acquired, try accessing various other websites. This is why its recommended you don’t use the same password for all your logins.

The MyFitnessPal hack saw 150 million users’ data taken. Fortunately, the passwords taken were hashed. It’s not all good news though. While some of the passwords taken were encrypted using bcrypt, a really secure form of hashing, six years after the LinkedIn hack some of the data was remarkably only using SHA1.

What Should MyFitnessPal Users Do Now?

Stop for a moment and think: how often do you use your MyFitnessPal email address and password for other services.

You should certainly consider changing them across all services and possibly look to changing how you manage your own passwords. Password managers like Last Pass let you create unique passwords for every account you create. When creating a Last Pass accout, I’d strongly recommend using a pass phrase instead of a password. Pass phrases are sentences which you can easily remember and should contain capitals, numbers and symbols.

Finally, where possible, use 2 step verification. This security feature requires you to input a code either sent my SMS, phone call or through an authentication app after you attempt to log into your account. Google recently announced just 10% of Gmail users are using 2 step verification.

Be Responsible For Own Data

Data breaches arent going to stop. Simply put, no company will ever care for your data as much as you will and Facebook has made it abundantly clear many companies can’t be trusted. The MyFitnessPal hack may not have massive reprocussions thanks to password hashing while some users might receive unsolicited emails or be targetted through ads for having and interest in fitness.

But it’s a matter of when you’re involved in a data breach, not if, and when you’re involved, having taken the right steps to protect your own data could br crucial

You Can Now Stream Netflix When You Travel

Marty

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29th March 2018

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You Can Now Stream Netflix When You Travel

Portability of digital content services. Christ that sounds like the most boring thing ever. Let me sexy that up a little bit. Going to be out of the country for the All Ireland Hurling final? No problem, you’ll be able to watch RTÉ Player in every European country from now on. I think that’s sexied it up a bit, right?

The EU Digital Single Market

The EU is all over online right now. Simply put, the EU has recognised that there’s a massive hunger for the people of Ireland to shop online in Germany, the people of Italy to shop online in Spain etc. Unfortunately, there are massive barriers to cross-border trade which the EU hopes to stamp out with the creation and encouragement of a Digital Single Market. Recently, PSD2 was announced which will go some way towards driving progress in this project along with more transparent international shipping charges.

Portability of Online Content Services

The next stage of the EU Digital Single Market is making your subscriptions from home work when you’re on the road. This portability of digital services initiative focus on Europeans subscribing to the likes of Netflix and SkyGo and making these more available when travelling. Providers of free services like RTÉ Player will have to option of opting into the agreement, but the mandatory inclusion would appear to be premium services only. So yeah, fingers crossed my All Ireland final example rings true. The important thing is that if you’re going on summer holidays in the EU this year you’ll be able to ignore your family just like you do at home; buried into an episode of Designated Survivor.

Any Setbacks?

Ok, so let’s take Netflix. Netflix Ireland and Netflix Germany have different catalogues of movies and TV shows. I’ll actually be in Germany when this new regulation lands but I’ll still only be able to access the content that’s available to me when I’m in Ireland. I don’t necessarily get access to the local catalogue of the area I’m visiting.

The regulation does only provide international access to your home subscriptions for a temporary period of time, but they don’t specify what a temporary period of time is.

The regulation comes into force on April 1st and the EU has stated it seems that all service providers are on track to deliver access to there platforms when travelling from launch day.

Phone Insurance, Cases and Glass: Protecting Your Smartphone

Marty

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25th March 2018

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Phone Insurance, Cases and Glass: Protecting Your Smartphone

I still remember when seeing people with the first iPhone. It was weird because I knew those iPhones were worth a small fortune while I’d barely bat an eyelid should my Samsung Tocco have gone missing. Today, that’s changed dramatically as few people leave the house any more without a phone in their pocket worth anywhere up to a grand. Even so, some people go it alone and opt to live life on the edge without phone insurance, cases or screen protectors. So the question is, is phone insurance worth it?

Should You Get Phone Insurance?

Phone insurance or gadget insurance is available from a range of insurance providers in Ireland. Just like any other insurance, phone insurance will protect you from paying out full whack should your phone be lost or stolen while also covered out of most out of warranty damage and liquid damage. When choosing a mobile phone insurance provider, always check the fine print on their insurance policies, read through the boring terms of business and understand the process involved in making a claim. You might find one insurance company that covers theft but not loss while another insurance policy will provide cover for damage but not water damage.

Pay attention to the details of the terms and conditions; don’t get caught out.

Benefits of Phone Insurance

With that said, you also shouldn’t be scared of paying for phone insurance because the peace of mind that comes with it is incredible. Once your insurance policy is in place and you understand exactly what’s covered, you can really enjoy that €1000 mobile phone sitting in your pocket. I’ve had gadget insurance now ever since I bought the HTC One about four years ago. I’ve insured by Galaxy S7 Edge and my Note8 since then. Sure enough, I’ve only ever claimed once when I lost my HTC One and actually got it replaced by an HTC One M8.

At the time, that phone was worth around €600 and there simply would have been no way I could have replaced it without phone insurance. Now, in the four years, I’ve had phone insurance I’ve paid over €700 for the peace of mind that should that happen again, I’m covered. It’s also really important to remember I did have to pay an excess fee as is standard enough when making a smartphone insurance claim. I think it was about €50 but again, with one more phone loss, broken screen or fall down the toilet and that phone insurance is money well spent.

Now, you could ask whether or not I really need phone insurance. Without even a cracked screen in my lifetime I must be fairly careful right? Not exactly…

Phone Insurance Versus Cases and Screen Protectors

Over the years, I’ve had plenty of close calls. My Galaxy S7 Edge and Note8 have been soaked quite a few times only to be saved by the phone’s IP67 water resistant rating. I’ve dropped my phones countless times and back when I worked in the phone shop I used to deliberately fire it around the shop to show how unlikely I was to break my phone. Obviously, I had an ace up my sleeve that gave me some additional confidence.

Otterbox: King of the Phone Cases

Right, well, of course, I had phone insurance for a start so I had that to fall back to but I also had no intention of making an insurance claim. I’ve used Otterbox cases for years only swapping over to the official Samsung case for my Note8 because Otterbox couldn’t be got in Dublin on launch day. That’s how uncomfortable I am using a smartphone without a case.

Curved screens meant I stopped using screen protectors for a few years too. To be fair, Guerilla Glass has come a long way since my first contract and the HTC One. Screens are less likely to get scratched and less likely to crack than ever before but it did happen to my Galaxy S7 Edge. Nothing major, but the screen was scratched. It’s funny how your eye can be drawn to that one, tiny little scratch.

Screen Protectors

Anyway, nothing major happened because the Otterbox case has a raised lip. If the phone hits the floor, the screen usually has a little bit of space and is less likely to break, but my advice doesn’t end there.

First Generation Screen Protectors

While I have a case, phone insurance and am more careful than many with my smartphone, screen protectors are also incredibly important to use. Years ago, Zagg were some of the best protectors on the market. I’m not sure what material they were made from but they felt great. The material was a tacky plastic, almost like a transparent vinyl that reduced the likelihood of annoying smudges on the screen along with the chances of smashing it all together. Then tempered glass joined the party.

Tempered Glass Screen Protectors

Tempered glass, as you might have guessed, are glass screen protectors. They literally feel like a second layer of glass over your screen, or just like feel like the screen itself. The massive difference is that when you crack a tempered glass screen protector, it costs about €20 to €30 replace for the iPhone 8. If you crack your screen, Fonfix, an Irish repair company recognised by all major manufacturers, will charge you €410 to fix that screen.

Insurance, Phone Cases and Tempered Glass: The Dream Team

I recently went along to the Irish launch of the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+. In a wonderful moment of convenience, I had an iPhone 6s protected with an Otterbox Symmetry case and a Screen Hero tempered glass screen protector. The phone wasn’t insured but the guys in Fix My I had sent it to me, literally to beat around the place. So in a roundabout way, the peace of mind insurance brings was just achieved by knowing I could break the phone and not be affected by it.

Disclaimer: you’ll have heard plenty about dodgy bloggers blagging freebies and not declaring ads etc. Neither myself or Goosed took payment to do this. I needed a disposable phone and the lads wanted their logic put to the test. At worst it was bartering. Now, back to the fun.

At the Samsung launch, there were various rooms set up to show off the features of Samsung’s new camera. My personal favourite was the slow motion room with trampolines. Cue Martin having some fun with an iPhone and trampolines:

The phone survived the lot and the gathering crowd were being entertained by the crazy man bouncing an iPhone 6s off a trampoline. In short, that meant I couldn’t really stop myself. I must have bounced that iPhone off the trampolines at least ten times. The important thing to take away from all that bouncing is that the phone survived.

Honestly, that picture at the end of the video was taken in the trampoline room immediately after hopping the iPhone off the trampolines and the ground. I’ll admit that shortly afterwards while messing around and stamping on the iPhone (come on, I was at a Samsung event) I did manage to crack the screen protector:

Ok, so I destroyed the screen protector and while that phone wasn’t really mine, imagine that was my iPhone 6s. I would have just created a €375 bill to fix my screen. Instead, it played out like this:

The Otterbox case took the brunt of the repeated impacts
When the Otterbox could do no more, the Screen Hero put its life on the line
Should that have failed, phone insurance would have saved me from a €375 bill

The trifecta. I get uneasy when I see people with no case, glass or insurance. If you have a flagship smartphone, you really should consider getting one of these as they are likely to pay for themselves over their lifetime. I also recommend not hopping your phone off a trampoline.

Cambridge Analytica: What the Zuck is Going On?

Marty

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22nd March 2018

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Cambridge Analytica: What the Zuck is Going On?

While it’s hard to feel sympathy for the social media giant, Facebook has had a hellish week. To be honest, Facebook has had a start to 2018 they’d rather forget though I’m sure their CEO Mark Zuckerberg wishes he could go back to discussing algorithm changes. Heading towards the end of March, Facebook has already faced into:

research showing Facebook is bad for mental health
backlash over fake news battling algorithm changes
Cambridge Analytica

As the news broke about Cambridge Analytica, many expected to see the social media giant’s CEO emerge with a strong statement. Instead, Mark Zuckerberg was silent for five days and only today broke his silence.

Cambridge Analytica: The Latest Scandal for Facebook

At this stage, it’s unlikely that Cambridge Analytica is a new news story for you as we’ve had days of reporting and news stories breaking in papers, online and on TV. Cambridge Analytica is a data company who infamously played a major part in getting Trump into the White House. Exploting how Facebook provided access to user data through Facebook apps, Trump’s campaign planners were able to pinpoint specific users with tailored messages in order to influence their voting behaviour. This wasn’t any small operation either with Cambridge Analytica having access to over 50 million sets of Facebook user data. While Facebook didn’t leak data as such, they didn’t do a whole lot to fix the problem when it was highlighted to the and have since come under massive pressure.

A Lack of Trust in Facebook

Since news of Cambridge Analytica broke, Facebook has seen a massive drop in their share price to the tune of 7%. In total, during the first two days of the scandal breaking, Facebook’s value dropped $50 billion. This came as a result of reduced trust in the platform from the public; a drop in trust felt by the whole tech industry with the likes of Amazon and Apple also seeing stock price drops.

With his company reeling, shareholders grabbing pitchforks and #DeleteFacebook movements gathering momentum, Zuckerberg showed he true colours and remained completely silent. Nadda. Zip. Five days passed before Zuckerberg broke silence and made a statement from his own Facebook profile.

So Mark, What the Zuck is Going On?

Zuckerberg set the tone with his statement pretty quickly. Highlight that Facebooks has taken action, continues to act and really cares about the privacy of its users. While his initial post suggested Facebook has no intention of apologising for not protecting the data of users which would eventually fall into the hands of Cambridge Analytica, Zuckerberg did apologise in a CNN interview:

I’m really sorry this happened, our responsibility now is to make sure this doesn’t happen again

The statements reads like a plea to the public as the Facebook CEO tugs on heart strings, stating Facebook has “a responsibility to protect your data, and if [they] can’t then [they] don’t deserve to serve you”. However, the statement descends into the ludicrious when, upon learning that Cambridge Analytica had huge volumes of data Facebook effectively asked the company to promise they would delete data they acquired while violating the platform’s terms of service. But Cambridge Analytica obviously had their fingers crossed when they made that promise as they then went on to use massive volumes of data to influence American voters.

What Is Facebook Doing to Improve Privacy?

Zuckerberg’s statement also outlined plans to improve Facebook’s ability to protect the public’s privacy.

First of all, there’s going to be loads of audits and bans for developers who are taking the piss with people’s data. Next up, as should have always been the case really, Facebook will start limiting the data apps can access, only providing access when it’s really needed. If you stop using apps too, that access will be revoked. Finally, Zuckerberg outlined plans to introduce a timeline feature which will help users understand exactly which apps can access their data and make revoking access from these apps much easier.

In a later CNN interview, Zuckerberg also stated Facebook would be informing everyone whose data was affected by this breach. As it may be difficult to pinpoint who was involved he went further to include users that even might have had their data compromised.

On regulation, Zuckerberg also said he wasn’t sure Facebook shouldn’t be regulated and that he may answer government requests to speak if he is the right person to speak on the topic.

Should You Delete Your Facebook?

If you’re really concerned about all of this, deleting your Facebook is a really bad idea. All those apps will retain access to your data and it will become much harder to revoke their access to your data. If you really do want to delete your Facebook account, I strongly recommend getting your apps tidied up before you do anything else.

If you’re more concerned about seeing poorly informed content and ill-researched articles, install this Chrome Extension: Who Targets Me. Ahead of our Eighth Amendment vote, I strongly recommend you install this extension to better understand who is targeting you with messages.

Bonus: Podcast

We discuss the Cambridge Analytica scandal on Episode 5 of Tech Yurt

Updated 22/03/2018: Includes further information from CNN interview