Google Project Shield introduces free DDoS protection

Google announced a new project designed to help organizations protect their sites against Distributed Denial of Service attacks. Project Shield is invite-only at the moment and available to “trusted testers.”

The service leverages a firm’s infrastructure to protect the sites. It is meant to guard free expression on the internet and invites webmasters of human rights websites, elections-related sites, and independent news outfits to sign up.  Project Shield is currently free and Google will inform users through a 30-day notice if there are any pricing changes.

BlackBerry Messenger now available for iOS and Android, for real

#BBM4all is finally a reality, as anyone with an iPhone or an Android smartphone can head on to their respective app stores and download BlackBerry from BlackBerry Limited (don't be fooled by fake apps on Android, there are many). This is a big day for BlackBerry as it opens its free BBM platform to millions of users in competing platforms (although, no love for Windows Phone). For more info, head on to BBM.com

Google's Chromecast App now available in Canadian App Store and Google Play

This may be an indicator that the Chromecast is soon on its way to Canada for real. The supporting apps for smartphones and tablets are now avallable on the Apple App Store as well as Google's Play Store. These apps enable interaction with the Chromecast device and allow users to wirelessly  push YouTube, NetFlix and in the case of Android, Google Play TV and Movie content to any connected HDTV. Canadians who wanted to use their US-bought Chromecast devices could download a .apk file from the Internet to get it to work. Chrome browsers on Macs, PCs and mobile devices can also push content to Chromecast by way of a browser plugin. Check out our full review of the Chromecast here.

Source: MaximeJohnson/techno

Facebook rolls out official Windows 8.1 app

Facebook has unveiled its official Windows 8.1 application in time for the recent release of the operating system upgrade. It has all the features you’d expect from a Facebook app but with a few Windows functionalities. It has Share Charm support, letting you attach the photo you’re viewing on Facebook as an email attachment. It also has search support and Snap Views but only up to 40 percent of the app window.