This fantastic VPN deal ends Tuesday – 69% off and 250GB cloud storage free

You haven't got long left to claim one of the very best VPN deals on the market right now. One of our favorite services – IPVanish – has just unleashed a doozy of a discount, but it ends on Tuesday, May 26.

Sign up to IPVanish now, and you'll get two years of its outstanding VPN protection and 250GB of secure cloud storage for the equivalent of only $ 3.70 per month.

When it comes to VPN goodness, we rank IPVanish extremely highly – the provider (deep breath…) has 24/7 customer support, unblocks Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, keeps no traffic logs, allows unlimited bandwidth, features an excellent Windows kill switch, and lets you connect up to 10 devices simultaneously. It really is one of the very best around.

Meanwhile, the free SugarSync cloud storage add-on gets you a full 250GB of secure data storage. This means that all your photos, videos and personal documents (whatever you choose to store) will remain safeguarded from outsiders. So for the next 24 months your VPN and storage needs are completely covered.

Still unsure if this is the deal for you? Scroll down to see this offer in full, or why not also check out our best VPN deals guide for all of the very best offers on cyber privacy.

IPVanish's limited time VPN deal in full:

IPVanish for mobile, tablet and desktop

How good is IPVanish?

As well as unblocking Netflix (hello streaming!) and being one of the best value for money VPNs, it also has a 30-day money-back guarantee and servers in over 75 countries. 

Plus, it boasts incredible download speeds so you don't need to worry about the VPN slowing down your device, and it's got plenty of powerful, configurable apps. So whether privacy, streaming or cost is your reason for getting a VPN, IPVanish ticks all the boxes. 

Still undecided? Check out our IPVanish review.

  • Not sure this provider is the one for you? Check out our best VPN guide
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  • Or pay nothing at all! These are the best free VPNs

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Microsoft strengthens 5G cloud offering with Metaswitch Networks purchase

Microsoft has strengthened the 5G credentials of its Azure public cloud platform through the acquisition of Metaswitch Networks.

Metaswitch Networks is a specialist in virtualised network software and voice, data and communications services for operators. Its technology and expertise will be used to expand Microsoft Azure’s telecoms portfolio as demand for cloud-based 5G core services increases.

5G promises ultrafast speeds, enhanced capacity and ultra-low latency that will enable a whole host of new business, consumer and government applications. This is a significant opportunity for mobile operators to increase and diversify revenue streams.

Microsoft 5G

However 5G requires operators to rearchitect networks away from centralised, legacy core infrastructure and towards the cloud. By virtualising network functions, operators can rollout new services more rapidly, dynamically allocate resources to where they are most needed, and bring processing capabilities closer to the point of collection.

The cloud also helps operators reduce their operating costs and lower capital expenditure. In addition to the potential new revenue streams on offer, 5G will also lower the cost-per-bit of transmission.

Microsoft says the acquisition of Metaswitch Networks, along with the earlier purchase of Affirmed Networks, will help it better serve operator customers and partner with telecoms equipment manufacturers.

“The convergence of cloud and communication networks presents a unique opportunity for Microsoft to serve operators globally via continued investment in Azure, adding additional depth to our hyperscale cloud infrastructure with the specialized software required to run virtualized communication functions, applications and networks,” explained Yoused Kahalidi, head of Azure Networking at Microsoft.

“As the industry moves to 5G, operators will have opportunities to advance the virtualization of their core networks and move forward on a path to an increasingly cloud-native future. Microsoft will continue to meet customers where they are, working together with the industry as operators and network equipment providers evolve their own operations.”

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Here’s the biggest free cloud storage right now, 200GB exclusive to TechRadar readers

Cloud storage company Degoo may not be a household name, but it has managed to carve out a niche in the competitive cloud storage market, with its offerings attracting more than 15 million users over the past eight years.

The Swedish company has teamed up with TechRadar to deliver an even better package than usual – get 200GB free cloud storage for a year with no strings attached.

After 12 months, this will revert back to the regular 100GB package, which is still plenty for most.

One of the cheapest cloud storage offers

You can also get a staggering 10TB for two years at just $ 99.99, exclusive to TechRadar. That’s 58% off the standard price of $ 9.99 per month – blowing the cloud storage competition out of the water.

Unlike some rival services, there are no file size limits and you don’t need another Degoo account to receive files. 

Uploaded files are encrypted in chunks (zero knowledge encryption) and spread out to data centres on four continents to eliminate the risk of account compromise.

Carl Hasselkog, CEO of Degoo, told TechRadar its infrastructure is five times more efficient than Dropbox per stored byte.

It's worth noting the free version has basic storage replication and no zero knowledge encryption, plus a 90-day account inactivity limit. It also carries adverts in the feed on Android.

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Google Cloud wants to help you detect security threats

As part of its efforts to better cater to enterprise customers, Google Cloud has announced a number of new security capabilities including a new way to utilize Chronicle's security analytics platform to detect threats.

The cybersecurity company Chronicle may have started out as part of Alphabet's moonshot X unit but last year it was folded into Google Cloud. Now customers will be able to use the company's security analytics platform to detect threats using a new rules language called YARA-L which has been built specifically for modern threats and behaviors.

YARA is a popular, open source language used for writing rules to detect malware and the Chronicle team created a new version of it to apply to security logs and other telemetry such as EDR data and network traffic. 

YARA-L provides security analysts with the ability to write rules which are better suited for detecting modern threats and according to Google, it allows for scalable, real-time and retroactive rule execution.

New data structure

Google Cloud also revealed that Chronicle is introducing a new data structure which combines a new data model with the ability to automatically link multiple events into a single timeline. This will certainly make things easier for security analysts who will no longer have to manically collect logs following a security incident.

Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR will be the first Google Cloud partner to integrate with this new structure and the firm's VP of Product Strategy, Rishi Bhargava explained how Chronicle's new detection capabilities have enhanced its response in a blog post, saying:

“Cortex XSOAR offers automated enrichment, response and case management to enterprise-wide threats. The integration with Chronicle’s new detection capabilities and event timelines, across months or years of data, enhances that response and enables comprehensive threat management for our mutual customers.”

Additionally, Google is making its Web Risk API and reCAPTCHA Enterprise services generally available in an effort to help organizations protect user accounts from fraudulent activities online. The reCAPTCHA Enterprise service helps protect against scraping, credential misuse and automated account creation while the Web Risk API helps organizations identify known bad sites, warns users when they click on a bad link and prevents users from posting links to known malicious pages.

  • Keep your devices protected with our top picks for the best antivirus software

Via ZDNet

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Digital transformation drives public cloud spend in Middle East and North Africa

The move by large organisations and small- and mid-sized enterprises to transform their businesses digitally is driving public cloud spend in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena).

Sid Nag, research vice-president at Gartner, said that government initiatives such as Smart Dubai, Smart Abu Dhabi, Bahrain’s Cloud First Policy of 2019 have bolstered cloud adoption among large organisations in the region.

Organisations are also increasingly moving their applications and workloads to the public cloud as concerns around security and governance dissipate further as many global tech companies have opened data centres in the region for data residency regulations.

Big tech companies have shown interest in the UAE to open data centres. Amazon Web Services has a cluster of data centres in Bahrain and the UAE.

Oracle already opened its first data centre in the UAE last year in Abu Dhabi and plans to open one more in Dubai this year, and two in Saudi Arabia this year, one had already opened in Jeddah, while Microsoft opened its data centres in Dubai and Abu Dhabi last year.

Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, has already invested in one data centre in the UAE while SAP opened its data centres in UAE and Saudi Arabia last year.

IBM opened two data centres – one each in Dubai and Abu Dhabi – this year.

Big cloud providers need to have local data centres to cater to governments, financial and banking sectors for data residency regulations.

Necip Ozyucel, Cloud and Enterprise Group Lead at Microsoft UAE, that the cloud adoption was strong in the UAE but the challenge was finance and government industries because of data redundancy and latency was also another challenge for other industries as well.

After the opening of data centres in the UAE, he said there is a strong adoption of cloud services across industries and it has also unlocked all the problems of the governments.

“Governments and financial sectors are moving mission-critical apps onto the cloud and many customers in retail, construction, airlines, and small- and medium-sized companies are migrating,” he said.

Arun Khehar, senior vice-president for East-Central Europe, Middle East, Africa and India at Oracle, said that that the data centre is a huge catalyst for on-premises customers to move to the cloud as they can expand beyond their geographies and it can be done only through the internet and cloud.

“Government sector is not an issue as we have been selling to them three years back. The issue is with the sensitive part of the government such as the department of finance. This happened because of the Abu Dhabi data centre. Data sovereignty is a key issue. HR and payroll are crucial and sensitive in this part of the world,” he said.

Security and privacy issues have been taken care of because of the local data centre, he said and added that the cost of running a cloud is cheaper as there is no infrastructure cost, skills are not needed as Oracle own the skills and upgrades.

Growth drivers: CRM and ERP

Khehar said that business issues have become critical and digital transformation has become a much bigger issue than where the data is going to reside.

Nag said that the collective economic goal of the region to become more technology- and data-centric has been a cornerstone to this rapid acceptance of both the private and public cloud.

The regional market is expected to increase 21% year on year to $ 3b this year compared to $ 2.5b a year ago and this figure is expected to increase to $ 3.6b in 2021.

Nag said that SMEs in the region are focusing their investments in cloud deployments that will enable faster business analytics and artificial intelligence, both of which are key growth drivers for public cloud in the region.

In the public cloud space, software as a service (SaaS) is expected to account for 53% of the total public cloud service revenue to $ 1.6b this year compared to $ 1.3b a year ago.

“SaaS products are typically sold via subscription, allowing companies to avoid large up-front licensing fees and capital costs. The cost-effectiveness of SaaS is one of the motivations for organisations to increase their spending in the segment,” Nag said.

Customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) remain the top two segments driving the growth of SaaS and will continue to go up as businesses keep enhancing their customer experience.

Nag said that ERP will accounts for 12% of the overall public cloud service revenue forecast this year and this is because most independent software vendors have converted their ERP applications from on-premises, license-based offerings to cloud-based SaaS offerings.

While business intelligence (BI) applications are currently low in the region, he said that it is the fastest-growing segment among SaaS offerings and on pace to total $ 29 million in 2020, an increase of 37% from 2019.

“BI revenue is expected to achieve 30% growth over the next three years as local businesses leverage BI-based analytics to make smarter decisions and optimize their business operations,” he said.

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