commerce Archives

Tech Optimizer

February 10, 2026

Why Should Small Businesses Invest In Antivirus Protection?

53% of UK businesses experience cybercrime attempts at least once a month, and 70% of business owners anticipate a cyber attack in the near future, yet only 35% feel adequately prepared. 43% of cyberattacks are directed at small businesses, with over half potentially closing due to the damage. Antivirus software is a cost-effective solution that can prevent data breaches, reduce the likelihood of ransomware, and protect devices of remote workers.

Tech Optimizer

February 10, 2026

Why Should Small Businesses Invest In Antivirus Protection?

53% of UK businesses experience cybercrime attempts at least once a month. 70% of business owners anticipate a cyber attack in the near future, but only about 35% feel prepared. 43% of cyberattacks are directed at small businesses, and over half of these may face closure due to the damage. Antivirus software can prevent data breaches, is cost-effective, reduces the likelihood of ransomware, and protects devices of remote workers.

AppWizard

January 13, 2026

Get a lifetime of PC game cheat codes for $49.99 instead of $99.99

Cheat Happens Premium Lifetime Subscription is currently priced at .99, reduced from its regular price of .99. It provides unlimited access to over 27,000 game trainers for more than 6,000 PC games, allowing players to modify health, resources, and progression in real time. The subscription includes additional tools like the Trainer Manager and CoSMOS Memory Scanner/Hacker, with approximately 170 new or updated trainers added each month. The library features popular titles such as Battlefield 1 and Cris Tales, catering to various gaming styles and accessibility needs. Cheat Happens also has an active community forum for discussions and support.

AppWizard

January 12, 2026

Google’s latest move brings AI shopping a lot closer to reality

Google has introduced the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), which enables AI agents to manage product searches, checkout processes, and payments for users. UCP standardizes communication between AI agents and various retailers and payment platforms, including Shopify, Walmart, and Visa. The AI-driven checkout feature will be available in Google Search's AI Mode and the Gemini app, using data from Google Pay and Google Wallet. Google is also launching Business Agents and Direct Offers to enhance customer engagement within AI shopping environments. UCP allows AI agents to perform the entire shopping process with a single command, simplifying online shopping. Google has partnered with companies like Etsy, Target, American Express, Best Buy, Flipkart, Mastercard, Stripe, and Visa to implement this protocol. Users in the U.S. will benefit from features like automatic shipping information usage and upcoming support for PayPal. The Business Agent acts as a virtual sales assistant, and Direct Offers provide exclusive coupons to shoppers. Google aims to make AI-driven shopping experiences standard, allowing seamless retailer interactions.

AppWizard

January 7, 2026

January’s Humble Choice Lineup Is Live, Featuring Sonic Frontiers, Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered and More

The Humble Bundle has announced its January 2026 lineup, featuring eight games including Sonic Frontiers, Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered, and Hunt: Showdown 1896, available for a monthly fee of .99 through a Humble Choice membership. Subscribers receive a discount of up to 20% on select titles in the Humble Store, and 5% of the membership fee is donated to Gamers Outreach. Sonic Frontiers received a score of 7/10, Hunt: Showdown 1896 scored 7.5, and Metal Slug Tactics was rated 8/10. Membership also includes a complimentary month of IGN Plus, which offers an ad-free experience and access to free games.

Tech Optimizer

December 24, 2025

Animated Malware Lures Evolve, Threatening Users’ Cybersecurity

Small businesses are increasingly targeted by cybercriminals, who are using sophisticated tactics such as animated lures to entice users into downloading malware. The HP Threat Insights Report highlights that small businesses, often perceived as easier targets due to limited resources, are particularly vulnerable. The rise of purchasable malware services allows inexperienced criminals to engage in cybercrime, broadening the range of potential threats. To combat these risks, small business owners are advised to invest in employee training on phishing tactics, implement robust cybersecurity measures, conduct regular security audits, and develop incident response plans. However, challenges such as limited budgets and lack of dedicated IT staff hinder their ability to enhance cybersecurity. Keeping informed about evolving threats is essential for protecting their operations.

Tech Optimizer

December 22, 2025

Biscuit PostgreSQL Extension Accelerates LIKE Queries with Roaring Bitmaps

Biscuit is an open-source project developed by CrystallineCore, available on GitHub, that introduces a specialized index access method for PostgreSQL to enhance query speed for pattern matching in LIKE queries. It addresses limitations of traditional indexing methods like B-tree and GIN indexes, particularly in complex LIKE or ILIKE operations and multi-column searches. Biscuit uses in-memory bitmap structures to reduce query times by precomputing bitmap representations of string patterns, allowing for rapid filtering without scanning entire rows. The project has a vibrant community contributing to its optimization and performance improvements, especially for ARM architectures. Independent tests show that Biscuit can outperform PostgreSQL's pg_trgm by factors of 5-10x on wildcard-heavy workloads. Real-world applications include significant reductions in query latencies for e-commerce and log processing pipelines, with a reported 40% reduction in ETL job times for error pattern detection in server logs. Biscuit faces challenges such as the initial time required to build indexes on large tables and limited compatibility with older PostgreSQL versions, but the maintainers are actively addressing these issues. The design of Biscuit encourages integration with other open-source tools, and community feedback is shaping its future development.

AppWizard

December 20, 2025

X Launches Standalone Chat App on Desktop

X is developing a standalone messaging application called X Chat, with a desktop version already available for managing direct messages (DMs) more efficiently. A mobile app for X Chat is also in the works to compete with messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Messenger. Elon Musk's vision for X is inspired by China's WeChat, aiming to create an "everything app" that integrates messaging and various transactions. The project includes plans for payment functionalities to facilitate financial activities within the app, but X has not yet secured the necessary licenses for money transfers in the U.S. or the EU. There are concerns about user trust in Musk's leadership and the feasibility of successfully transforming X into a super app, leading to skepticism about the necessity of a separate messaging app.

AppWizard

December 20, 2025

Winter PC Game Sales Are Live, Featuring Big Discounts on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Silent Hill f, and More

Winter PC game sales have begun on major platforms like Steam, Fanatical, GOG, Humble Bundle, and the Epic Games Store, featuring significant discounts. Notable deals include Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 at a 28% discount for .99 at Fanatical, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 at a 50% discount for .99 on Steam, and Silent Hill f at a 53% discount for .89 at Fanatical.

Tech Optimizer

December 18, 2025

Improve Aurora PostgreSQL throughput by up to 165% and price-performance ratio by up to 120% using Optimized Reads on AWS Graviton4-based R8gd instances

AWS has introduced Graviton4-based R8gd instances for Amazon Aurora, which offer significant performance enhancements over Graviton2-based db.r6g instances. Users can expect up to 165% higher throughput, a 120% improvement in price-performance ratio, and an 80% enhancement in application response time. The integration of an Optimized Reads-enabled tiered cache allows for expanded database caching capacity, minimizing network storage access and improving query response times. Organizations like Mindbody and Claroty have reported substantial performance improvements and cost savings after implementing these features. Aurora PostgreSQL 17 has introduced smarter storage batching algorithms and optimized writes, further enhancing performance for I/O-intensive applications. The db.r8gd instances allow for scaling up to 48xl, providing 192 vCPUs, 50 Gigabits of network bandwidth, and 10.4 TiB of local NVMe capacity. The benchmark testing using HammerDB demonstrated significant improvements in throughput, price-performance ratio, and response times when upgrading from db.r6g to db.r8gd instances. The Aurora Optimized Reads-enabled tiered cache is available for Aurora PostgreSQL versions 17.4 and higher, among others.