Could online voting be on its way to the UK?

Voting is a ritual that has remained unchanged for decades. Despite the on-going digitalisation of our lives, it is one of the few systems that has escaped untouched, and every move to modernise it has thus far been met by powerful resistance. A concerned public have cited fears over security and fraud, stubbornly clinging to …

Past, present and future: what next for virtual currency?

The chances are you may not have heard of instant messaging service provider Tencent, but if it weren’t for CQ coins then virtual currency wouldn’t be the big business it is today. CQ coins were intended to pay for Tencent services but rapidly became an alternative currency, traded on the black market and of enough …

USA handing over to ICANN internet naming system

The US government has overseen the internet’s naming system for the past 20 years, but it has now ceded that power to the newly-independent Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) a non-profit organisation based in Los Angeles. Domain naming, the pairing of easy-to-remember web addresses with their associated servers has been an important …

Pokemon GO, revolution or disaster?

Niantic’s Pokemon GO game for iOS and Android devices has swept the world, luring tens of millions of players into its clutches. Adults and children are searching high and low for the pocket monsters, training them up, fighting and evolving them into new forms. The game idea itself is nothing new, Novarama’s Invizimals was using …

What impact will Brexit have on hosting and data?

After the recent results of the referendum held in the United Kingdom regarding membership of the European Union, we have seen instability in the markets and the make-up of government itself which has led, understandably, to economic uncertainty and in some respects a degree of panic. In many areas, it is unclear how the decision …

What is a private cloud?

When a company decides to move company applications and data to a cloud system, it is important to first decide which model to use in order for it to be hosted and distributed. A private cloud is a secure type of cloud computing which can only be operated by a single company, unlike public clouds, …

Keeping your website safe and secure

With so much business done online nowadays, virtually all companies are at risk of cyber crime. While it’s universally accepted that you should keep your money locked away in a bank or safe, it’s also just as important to ensure your website is secure and protected at all times. Here are a few tips on …

Internet security a £61 billion a year industry

Global internet security is now a £61 billion a year industry according to Den Sullivan, Cisco’s head of architecture and engineering for emerging markets. The new Cisco Security outfit is targeted at internet security on a corporate and national level and the market is set to grow exponentially. Sullivan revealed this number at One Africa …

What the new Google SEO changes mean for you

Today Google has launched its latest changes to the SEO algorithm, which decides where your website will appear in search rankings. The latest update is a response to the increasing popularity of web browsing from mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets, and for e-commerce hosting sites this traffic can have a huge impact …

Load testing websites and why it is important

One of the most important (and perhaps one of the most overlooked) aspects of web development is the ability to load test a site. Load testing used to be a straightforward exercise to make certain that a site or web app could handle multiple loads of users, and has since evolved to become a vital …