#cloud security market share

[cybersecurityict]

Cloud Data Security Market Size, Share, Industry Outlook & Forecast to 2032

The Cloud Data Security Market size was valued at USD 33.39 Billion in 2023 and is expected to reach USD 117.62 Billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 15.04% over the forecast period 2024-2032.

The global cloud data security market is undergoing a transformative shift as organizations accelerate digital transformation and embrace hybrid cloud architectures. As cyber threats become increasingly sophisticated, enterprises are investing in cloud-native security solutions to safeguard sensitive data and ensure regulatory compliance. With the expansion of remote work, the demand for scalable and agile data protection strategies has intensified, propelling growth across industries such as banking, healthcare, and retail.

Cloud Data Security Market Poised for Strategic Advancements Rapid innovations in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and encryption technologies are fueling a new era in cloud data security. Enterprises are transitioning from traditional perimeter-based defenses to dynamic, identity-centric models that offer greater resilience and adaptability. This evolution is supported by the proliferation of multi-cloud environments, which require robust security frameworks capable of managing complex data flows and access points without compromising performance or user experience.

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Market Keyplayers:

Cloud Passage Inc. (Halo, Halo for AWS)

Intel Corporation (Intel Security, Intel vPro)

Sophos Ltd. (Sophos Cloud Optix, Sophos XG Firewall)

Fortinet, Inc. (FortiGate, FortiCloud)

IBM Corporation (IBM Cloud Security, IBM QRadar)

Cisco Systems, Inc. (Cisco Umbrella, Cisco Cloudlock)

Symantec Corporation (Symantec Data Loss Prevention, Symantec Cloud Security)

Trend Micro, Inc. (Trend Micro Cloud One, Trend Micro Deep Security)

Panda Security (Panda Adaptive Defense, Panda Cloud Office Protection)

CA Technologies, Inc. (CA Privileged Access Manager, CA Security Event Manager)

McAfee (McAfee MVISION Cloud, McAfee Cloud Workload Security)

Microsoft (Microsoft Defender for Identity, Microsoft Azure Security Center)

Vormetric (a Thales company) (Vormetric Data Security Platform, Vormetric Transparent Encryption)

Check Point Software Technologies (CloudGuard, Check Point Threat Emulation)

Forcepoint (Forcepoint Data Loss Prevention, Forcepoint Cloud Security)

Palo Alto Networks (Prisma Cloud, Cortex XSOAR)

Zscaler (Zscaler Internet Access, Zscaler Private Access)

Okta (Okta Identity Cloud, Okta Adaptive MFA)

Rapid7 (InsightCloudSec, InsightIDR)

Imperva (Cloud WAF, Imperva Data Security)

Market Analysis

The cloud data security market is characterized by a highly competitive landscape featuring both established cybersecurity providers and emerging startups. Strategic alliances, mergers, and acquisitions are shaping the trajectory of the market, as companies seek to integrate advanced security features such as automated threat detection, behavioral analytics, and zero-trust architecture. The increasing stringency of global data protection laws is compelling organizations to invest in compliance-driven security solutions tailored to regional regulatory frameworks.

As businesses adopt Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) models, cloud security is no longer an optional component but a critical enabler of trust and operational continuity. The integration of DevSecOps practices further emphasizes security as a core part of the software development lifecycle, fostering a proactive rather than reactive security posture.

Market Trends

Surge in demand for cloud-native security solutions to secure hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructures

Rising adoption of Zero Trust security frameworks for identity and access management

Growth in AI- and ML-powered threat detection and automated response mechanisms

Emphasis on data sovereignty and localized cloud security compliance measures

Expansion of DevSecOps practices integrating security at every stage of development

Increased focus on Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) to unify networking and security

Rapid evolution of encryption standards for data-at-rest, in-transit, and in-use

Greater investment in secure collaboration tools for remote workforce protection

Market Scope

The scope of the cloud data security market extends across a wide array of sectors including finance, healthcare, IT, telecommunications, manufacturing, and government. Enterprises are seeking end-to-end encryption, secure access control, and continuous monitoring solutions that align with their digital maturity. As cloud adoption reaches new heights, vendors are scaling offerings to support diverse workloads, APIs, and third-party integrations. The market also encompasses cloud security posture management (CSPM), data loss prevention (DLP), and cloud access security broker (CASB) technologies, collectively fortifying organizational resilience in an increasingly hostile cyber landscape.

Market Forecast

Over the forecast period, the cloud data security market is expected to maintain robust momentum, driven by technological innovations and the global push toward data-centric digital ecosystems. Cloud security will increasingly become embedded within broader digital transformation strategies, with providers focusing on intuitive, automated, and scalable platforms. Organizations will continue prioritizing investments in user behavior analytics, micro-segmentation, and unified threat management to preempt breaches and maintain trust. With the convergence of networking and security under cloud-native frameworks, the market is poised to evolve beyond traditional paradigms into a new standard of digital trust infrastructure.

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Conclusion

The future of cloud data security is not just about protecting data—it’s about enabling digital confidence in a rapidly evolving business landscape. As enterprises redefine their digital blueprints, security leaders are called to align protection with innovation, ensuring that cloud adoption drives growth without compromising integrity. This dynamic market offers not only challenges but also immense opportunities for vendors and enterprises ready to invest in resilient, intelligent, and future-forward security architectures.

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Cyber Security Market - Forecast(2024 - 2030)

Cyber Security Market Overview

Cyber Security Marketsize is forecast to reach $360 billion by 2030, estimated to grow at a CAGR of 9.5% during 2024-2030. The increasing use of technology such as artificial intelligence, IoT, machine learning and so on are significantly driving the cybersecurity market. Furthermore, the increasing demand for cloud-based cybersecurity systems in order to reduce data loss are also enhancing the growth of the market. The rising demand for network and endpoint security, information technology security mobile security, behavioral detection is fueling the growth of the market during the forecast period. The telecom organizations are adopting advanced cyber security solutions such as real-time security monitoring, instant cyber posture visibility, and rapid threat resolution to prevent the cyber-attack on telecom networks. Along with the telecom sector, the aerospace industry is considered to be another key end-users to cyber security market. The aerospace and defense industry are prone to cyber-attack due to its continuous exposure to non-A&D, OT-based technologies.

Thus, this industry is adopting advanced cybersecurity solution to enhance protection against cybercrime. The rising need for solutions ranging from antivirus software, unified threat management system, next-generation firewalls, DNS filtering, malware protection and threat intelligence will drive the demand for cyber security. One prominent trend in the cyber security market is the increasing adoption of Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA). This approach challenges the traditional perimeter-based security model by assuming that threats can originate from both inside and outside the network. ZTA emphasizes strict identity verification and access controls, requiring continuous authentication and authorization for every user and device attempting to access resources. With the proliferation of cloud services, remote work, and mobile devices, organizations are realizing the limitations of perimeter defenses alone. As a result, they are turning to ZTA to bolster their defenses and mitigate the risks associated with insider threats, unauthorized access, and advanced persistent threats. 

The growing recognition of ZTA's effectiveness in enhancing security posture is driving significant investment in Zero Trust solutions across various industries. Another key trend shaping the cyber security market is the increasing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies for threat detection and response. As cyber threats become more sophisticated and prevalent, organizations are turning to AI-driven solutions to augment their security operations. AI and ML algorithms can analyze vast amounts of data in real-time, enabling early detection of anomalies, unusual patterns, and potential security breaches. These technologies empower security teams to identify and respond to threats more efficiently, reducing detection and response times. Moreover, AI-driven security solutions can automate repetitive tasks, freeing up security personnel to focus on more strategic initiatives. With the continuous evolution of cyber threats, the demand for AI-powered security tools and platforms is expected to grow, driving innovation and investment in the development of advanced threat detection and response capabilities.

Cyber Security Market Report Coverage

The report: “Cyber Security Market Forecast (2024-2030)”, by IndustryARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the Cyber Security System Market.

By Component: Cyber Security Software, Cyber Security Hardware, Cyber Security Services.

By Deployment: On-Premise and Cloud.

By Security Type: Network & Endpoint Security, Internet of Things/Industrial Internet of Things Security, Threat Intelligence, Mobile Security, Behavioral Detection, Cloud Security, Deception Security and Others.

By Organization Size: SME, Large Enterprise.

By Solution: Antivirus, UTM, SIEM, DDOS Mitigation, Disaster Recovery, Firewall, DLP, Web Filtering, Threat Intelligence, IAM, Risk and Compliance Management, IDS, Encryption and Others.

By Industry Vertical: Aerospace, Government, Financial Services, Healthcare, Telecommunications, Automobile, Information Technology sector and others

By Geography: North America (U.S, Canada, Mexico), Europe(Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Netherlands, Denmark and Others), APAC(China, Japan India, South Korea, Australia, Taiwan, Malaysia and Others), South America(Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Costa Rica and others), and RoW (Middle east and Africa)

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Key Takeaways

• In 2023, the Cyber Security market was dominated by North America owing to the increasing use of prevalent technology which has raised the risk of cyber threat leading to the need for cybersecurity solutions.

• The rising demand for cloud-based cybersecurity solutions in order to store and secure data during data loss or data breaches has driven the growth of the market

• The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence leading to the introduction of technologies such as machine learning and deep learning which will enhance the growth of the market.

• The rising security threats due to the increasing use of Blockchain systems and IoT threats are making difficult to detect cyber-attacks which is hampering the market growth.

Cyber Security Market Segment Analysis – By Deployment

Cloud segment held the largest market share of 53.1% in the Cybersecurity market in 2023. The growing of massive store applications in order to store and secure data with advanced security methods are driving the need for cloud-based security solutions. As cloud-based cybersecurity solutions offers social networking privacy, online storage, system optimization and so on. Furthermore, the rising demand for online cloud storage leads to provide backup and restorations of data caused due to data breaches or data loss. These significant advantages of cloud technology will lead to surge the growth of the market.

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Cyber Security Market Segment Analysis - By Industry Vertical

The telecom sector is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 10.2% during the forecast period 2023-2030. The GSM Association (GSMA) predicted that quantum computing will be a destabilizer for the telecom sector, making Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) obsolete in the near future. Telecommunication companies are in plans of implementing quantum-safe cryptography algorithms to mitigate cyber-attacks. In order to control cyber-attacks, the European Union (EU) has introduced many regulations such as the Network and Information Security Directive (NISD) and the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). NISD is yet to be implemented which requires core digital infrastructure operators and certain digital service providers to ensure that their network and information systems meet minimum standards of cybersecurity. These regulations are implemented to achieve and maintain high network security, and ensure obligatory reporting during any incidents.

Cyber Security Market Segment Analysis – By Geography

In 2023, North America dominated the Cyber Security market with a share of more than 40.2%, followed by Europe and APAC. The growing use of technology and data has led to the rise of most vulnerable cyber threats and crimes which is leading to the growth of this market in this region. Also, the financial stability in this region has allowed organization to invest in cybersecurity for providing security of data and software. These developments are propelling the growth of cybersecurity market in North America.

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Cyber Security Market Drivers

Rising importance Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The rising advancement in artificial intelligence is leading to the introduction of machine learning technologies into products which includes cybersecurity. Moreover, technologies such as deep learning are being used for face detection, natural language processing, threat detection, and others concepts. Also, the acceleration of artificial intelligence (AI) has led to the identification of new threats and helps in responding and block cyber-attacks in an organization. Hence, the deployment of artificial intelligence technologies will further drive the growth of the cybersecurity market.

Increasing need for Cybersecurity in Aerospace

Aerospace industry is widely developing with the integration of new technology such as advanced navigation and guidance systems. This system are used in airplanes which are highly vulnerable to cyber-attacks, which have irrevocable repercussions. So, the rising risk of cyber-attacks and the increasing need to protect the computer networks in the air are leading to the rise of investment in the security infrastructure. Thus, the rising investment by aerospace industry in the security infrastructure has led to the requirement of cybersecurity further boosting the growth of the market.

Cyber Security Market Challenges

Revolution of Blockchain and IoT Threats

The rising demand for Blockchain systems has made it difficult to predict the rising cyber threats which is hindering the cybersecurity market. Furthermore, the increasing usage of IoT has led to the growing number of IoT threats, as IoT includes the connection of physical devices which have a unique identifier (UID). These devices has the ability to transfer data over a network without any human interference and human to computer interaction. Thus, the software and firmware which are required to run these IoT devices make the user more susceptible to cyber-attacks further hindering the growth of the market.

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Cyber Security Market Landscape

Technology launches, acquisitions and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in the Cyber Security market. In 2023, the market of Cyber Security has been consolidated by the major players – AWS, Check Point Software Technologies, NTT Security, Cisco Systems, CyberArk, FireEye, IBM Corporation, Oracle, Microsoft and Juniper Networks.

Acquisitions/Technology Launches

In December 2023, Multinational conglomerate Honeywell has agreed to buy Carrier’s Global Access Solutions business for $4.95 billion in cash. The acquisition will strengthen Honeywell’s core security offerings with the addition of hardware and software properties

In Nov 2023, US-based data security company Rubrik has launched Ruby, its generative AI extension for Rubrik Security Cloud, which will speed up cyber threat detection, recovery and resilience. In response to data risk alerts generated in Rubrik Security Cloud, users can interact with Ruby, the company's AI assistant, ask follow-up questions including whether any sensitive data was impacted, or what needs to be done to restore the environment. 

[futuretonext]

The UAE Cloud Security Market is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 13.26% during the forecast period, i.e., 2022-27. The factors responsible for the market growth are the rapid investments by the global & regional cloud services providers in the country, proactive government measures towards strengthening cybersecurity, increasing adoption of cloud services by enterprises for achieving scalability & cost-effectiveness, and mitigating cyberattacks, among others, have driven the demand for cloud security solutions during the historical periods. Moreover, the UAE has been at the forefront of implementing cloud services, both in government entities & private companies. Thus, the deepening cloud cluster in the country has bolstered the need for stronger cybersecurity, which has prompted a marked increase in cloud security demand.

[sinkovia]

Black Market

Hitman Simon Riley x Doctor Fem!Reader

In desperate need of money to clear a million-dollar debt, you accept Simon's offer to become his personal doctor, earning twenty percent of each contract he completes. But as you plunge back into the black market, ghosts from your past emerge, threatening to unravel everything you've worked so hard to run away from.

Mention of Kidnapping.

Masterlist - Black Market Masterlist

Simon sat in his dimly lit house, the dim glow of his computer screen casting shadows across his face. He leaned back in his chair, fingers tapping impatiently on the keyboard as he navigated through the depths of the black market.

His eyes scanned the screen, brows furrowing in frustration as he scrolled through the listings, weighing the risks against the potential rewards. Contract after contract flashed before him, each promising a hefty sum of money in exchange for services rendered.

But to Simon, they were all the same—assassinations, espionage, sabotage. The thrill of danger had lost its appeal long ago, replaced by a sense of weariness and disillusionment.

Cursing under his breath, Simon scrolled through the listings for hire, his frustration growing with each passing moment. There were no personal black market doctors available for hire—every reputable one was already taken. It seemed like luck was against him today.

With a heavy sigh, he closed the browser window and turned his attention to the stack of mail sitting on his desk. Among the bills and junk mail, there it was – a jury duty summons.

He groaned aloud, rubbing his temples in frustration. Spending hours in a stuffy courtroom was the last thing he needed right now. It meant taking time away from his work, time that could be spent securing lucrative contracts and staying ahead of the game.

But there was no avoiding it. He knew he'd have to fulfill his civic duty, no matter how inconvenient it might be. With a resigned shake of his head, he tucked the summons into his pocket, another burden to add to the weight on his shoulders.

You find yourself slumping down on the hard concrete steps in front of the courthouse, the weight of defeat heavy upon you. Having lost your case and now facing a million dollars in debt, the world seems to close in around you. With a resigned sigh, you reach for your pack of cigarettes, seeking solace in the familiar routine.

"Mind sharing your pack?" A deep, coarse voice breaks through your thoughts, and you glance over to see a tall man dressed in black leaning against the railing beside you. Without hesitation, you extend your pack to him, and he takes one before returning the pack to you.

Simon curses to himself, realizing he's forgotten his lighter, confiscated earlier by a courthouse officer. "Mind lighting me? Fuckers at the courthouse took my light," he grumbles, frustration evident in his voice.

You smiled and handed him your lighter, the flame casting a warm glow on his face as he lit his cigarette. "Jury duty?" you asked casually, observing him take a deep drag before exhaling a cloud of smoke.

"Yeah, you?" he replied, his tone resigned but with a hint of intrigue.

You laughed wryly and took another drag, the bitter taste of nicotine mingling with the heavy weight of your circumstances. "Just got sued for a million fucking dollars."

"Bloody fuck, what did you do?" Simon's eyebrows shot up in surprise, his interest immediately piqued.

You couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. "I replaced a man’s heart with a pig heart," you confessed, fully aware of how crazy it sounded.

Simon's eyes widened in intrigue, and without hesitation, he walked over and sat down next to you, his curiosity now fully ignited. Knowing how to perform a heart transplant suggested a level of medical expertise that interested him. 

"And how the bloody hell did you do that?" he asked, his curiosity evident in his voice.

“I was just sitting at the intersection for ages waiting for the light to change, when I noticed a guy getting mugged. Without thinking, I grabbed my emergency kit from the car and rushed over. Since I have O negative blood, I used my own blood for a transfusion to stabilize him. Then, I spotted a truck nearby loaded with pigs. I didn't waste a second - I hopped in, grabbed a pig, and performed an open heart surgery right there on the sidewalk. Sure, the guy ended up with a pig heart, but he's alive because of it. And now he's suing me? Unbelievable. Should've left that fuck to die.”

Simon couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all, but beneath the laughter, a plan began to form in his mind.

"So he was standing in the courtroom with a pig's heart?" 

You shook your head, a wry smile playing on your lips. "No, he ended up getting a proper heart transplant. One that would never have happened if I hadn't stepped in. The bastard would've bled out and wasted all my blood before the paramedics even arrived."

"Are you a licensed doctor?” 

Open heart surgery on a sidewalk and having O-negative blood? You were better than any doctor he could hire on the black market.

You shrugged nonchalantly. "No, I had my license revoked a few years back. They said my practice and way of thinking were unconventional, that I should be working in a lab making more Frankenstein’s than helping people. I took it as a compliment though. Those doctors were just scared of what I could do, of how far I would go to save someone." 

Simon smiled and took another drag before smashing the cigarette on the floor under his boot.

"So you're looking for jobs?"

You sighed, mirroring his action with your own cigarette. "In desperate need for a job."

"I think we could help each other," Simon suggested, his tone shifting slightly.

You slowly side-eyed him, then awkwardly laughed as you leaned away. "I'm not looking for jobs like that."

Simon's eyebrow quirked up before he realized how he sounded, and he shook his head with a smile. "Not like that, love. I meant that you could work for me, and I'd pay you."

You relaxed a bit and leaned back, intrigued. "What do you do?"

"Let's just say, you stay with me as my personal doctor, and I pay you twenty percent after each job I complete. You'll have your money in a couple of months," 

"A million dollars in a couple of months? What kind of jobs are giving you that type of money-" realization dawned on you, and a chill ran down your spine. Simon was involved in something much darker than you anticipated, and memories of your own past involvements in the black market came flooding back, making your palms sweat with unease.

"I'm sorry, but I can't take your offer," you said, your voice firm but polite. Simon furrowed his brows in confusion and frustration. He had just given you an opportunity of a lifetime, one you so desperately needed, and you turned him down?

Internally sighing, Simon knew he'd have to resort to more extreme measures now.

You got up and dusted off your butt before looking down at him. "Thank you for the offer, but I'm going to head out," you said, offering a weak smile before turning and heading to your car.

That night, Simon tracked down where you lived and noted your home address. He packed his duffle bag and got into his car, making his way over to your house. With careful precision, he snuck into your backyard and opened your back window before silently slipping inside.

Meanwhile, you were sitting at your desk, scrolling through job offerings in your pajamas, feeling the weight of impending debt pressing down on you. With a heavy sigh, you turned off your monitor, resigned to your fate. That's when you noticed it—the faint outline of a man in the dark reflection of your monitor screen.

Simon attempted to cover your mouth with a rag, but you reacted swiftly, elbowing him hard and knocking the wind out of him. Turning around, you landed a solid punch to his jaw, leaving Simon in disbelief. He had underestimated you.

As you ran, trying to reach your room, Simon quickly pinned you to the floor. Despite your resistance, he managed to overpower you, but you fought back fiercely, headbutting him in the face. Simon grunted, trying his best not to harm you.

You nearly reached your nightstand where you kept your gun, but Simon pinned you down again, this time on your stomach. Desperately, you struggled against him, but Simon pressed a rag against your mouth and nose, forcing you to inhale its contents. Despite your efforts to resist, you eventually succumbed to the effects, your body going limp in a matter of seconds.

Simon breathed deeply as he stood up, his chest heaving with exertion. Opening your nightstand, he retrieved your gun with a heavy sigh. "Bloody hell, love," 

Simon headed to the bathroom in search of your medical supplies. Finding what he needed, he grabbed a trash bag and hastily gathered a few of your clothes and essential items. With a sense of urgency, he tied up the bag and threw it over his shoulder, carefully picking you up and carrying you to his car.

Tag list: @shinchanboi @talooolaaloolla

[kccinstitutes]

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[winxanity-ii]

⌜I Love, Robot | Chapter 02 Chapter 02 | history. . . loading⌟

╰ ⌞🇨‌🇭‌🇦‌🇵‌🇹‌🇪‌🇷‌ 🇮‌🇳‌🇩‌🇪‌🇽‌⌝

❘ prev. chapter ❘༻✦༺❘ next chapter ❘

Over the next few years, things began to change. You noticed the distance between you and Rain growing, the once-strong bond you shared slowly fraying like the worn-out edges of an old blanket.

It wasn't something you could put your finger on at first, just a creeping sense of separation that settled in your chest whenever you caught sight of her from across the room.

You'd see her more often now with the colony kids, laughing and chatting, a bright spark among the worn and weary.

At first, you were happy to see her connecting with others, but then you realized she was spending more time with them than she was with you.

It hurt, but you understood. She needed friends her own age, a distraction from the hardships that seemed to hover over all of your lives like a dark cloud.

You were about 19, maybe 20, when everything took a darker turn. You'd been freelancing for a while—small jobs that kept you under the radar, nothing too flashy.

That was until a desperate small business, teetering on the edge of collapse, sought your skills.

You were hesitant, but the pay was decent, and the work seemed straightforward enough: hacking into some old systems, unlocking what was needed to keep them afloat.

And it was a success. Or at least, you thought it was.

But success came with consequences. You didn't realize you’d been tracked, not until someone with far more power than you could fathom found you.

They came to you with an ultimatum, their voice smooth but with an undercurrent of steel that sent a chill down your spine: work for them, take on any job they needed, or they’d turn you over to Weyland-Yutani.

You knew what that meant. You'd seen enough to understand the company didn’t tolerate dissent, especially from a former prodigy with a name they hadn't forgotten.

That's when your life took a dangerous path. You agreed to their terms, the fear of what could happen if you didn't outweighing any hesitation.

The jobs started simple but quickly escalated. Hacking turned into more complex coding, cracking into secure systems, sometimes even building or reprogramming androids and bots—a skill you honed under Marcus's watchful eye.

The pay was good, better than anything you could have made in the colony, and for a while, it seemed worth it.

But it wasn't just the money that kept you going. The promise of protection from other dangerous groups, black-market dealers who might see your skills as a threat, was a lifeline you couldn’t ignore.

To protect Rain and her family, your small, adopted family, you began staying out later, sometimes disappearing for days at a time. At first, Marcus and his wife were upset, worried about your well-being and what could be keeping you away.

Rain, especially, couldn't understand why you'd suddenly become so distant, why you weren't around as much. Her confusion and hurt were plain to see, and it tore at you in ways you couldn't explain.

Marcus eventually eased up on the questioning after he found you one night in the throes of a particularly bad meltdown. You'd come home after a job went sideways—something you hadn't anticipated, a system you couldn't crack in time, and the fallout had been brutal.

You couldn't tell Marcus what had happened, not exactly, but he didn’t push. He simply sat with you in the dim light of the kitchen, his presence a steady, calming force as you tried to pull yourself back together.

"If you ever need to talk," he'd said softly, his voice thick with the kind of understanding only someone who’d lived through hardship could have, "I'm here. You know that, right?"

You nodded, though you knew you'd never burden him with the weight of what you were involved in. This was a part of your life you'd chosen to keep to yourself, a dark secret that had become a necessary evil. And even though you trusted Marcus, you couldn't bring yourself to let him in on this one truth.

But life has a cruel way of taking away the things you hold dear, doesn't it?

Just a few weeks after your 21st birthday, Marcus and his wife fell ill. The colony's cold, damp air had always been harsh, but the pneumonia they caught from the mines was unlike anything they'd faced before.

You watched helplessly as the sickness took hold, their bodies weakened by years of toil in the toxic conditions of Jackson Star. It was like watching your own parents waste away all over again—a slow, painful decline that left you feeling powerless and lost.

Rain was a mess, her normally bright, fiery spirit dulled by the looming reality of losing her parents. She tried to stay strong, but you could see the cracks forming in her armor.

You did everything you could to help, taking over the household duties, scrounging for medicine, anything to ease their suffering, but deep down, you knew there was nothing that could be done.

The disease had sunk its claws in too deep.

One night, as you sat by Marcus's bedside, his breathing ragged and shallow, he reached out, his hand weak but insistent. You took it, holding on tightly, just like you had with your own father all those years ago. The weight of his grip was lighter than you remembered, his strength all but gone.

"Y/N…" he rasped, his voice barely audible over the sound of his labored breaths. "Take care of her… take care of Rain…"

Tears welled in your eyes as you nodded, unable to speak. "I will..." you whispered, your voice breaking. "...I promise."

He smiled faintly, a shadow of his old, warm smile. "Good… that's… good…"

You stayed with him until the end, just as you had with your parents. And when the time came, when the house fell silent except for the soft sobs of Rain and the hollow echo of your own grief, you knew that once again, you were left holding onto the pieces of a shattered life.

And this time, you would do whatever it took to keep Rain safe.

No matter what.

☆

☆

Three years had passed since your adoptive parents' death, and in that time, life had only grown more complicated. You returned from your latest job—a grueling five-day ordeal that left you exhausted and hollow inside.

This time, you'd been tasked with hacking into Weyland-Yutani's high-security network, retrieving files that exposed a chilling directive: in moments of crisis, their synthetics were programmed to prioritize the company's assets over human lives, all under the guise of logical probability.

The job paid well, enough to secure you and Rain's needs for the next six months, but the price was high.

The screams and pleas of employees who’d been betrayed by the very machines meant to protect them echoed in your mind, refusing to let go. You tried to shake the images away as you made your way through the dim, narrow corridors of the small home you shared with Rain.

Entering the room, you found her curled up on your bed, her small frame wrapped around your pillow, her face buried into the soft fabric as she slept. You approached quietly, the soft sound of your footsteps barely audible over the hum of the heating unit.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, you reached out and gently brushed your fingers through her hair. Rain instinctively leaned into your touch, a small sigh escaping her lips as she snuggled deeper into your pillow.

A soft smile tugged at your lips, though your heart felt heavy. Watching her sleep so peacefully, so unaware of the horrors you'd just witnessed, was both a comfort and a curse.

You knelt beside her, continuing to stroke her hair, trying to silence the panicked screams still echoing in your mind. Just as you began to lose yourself in the motion, Rain stirred.

Groggily, she opened her eyes, blinking away the remnants of sleep. She gave you a tired smile. "Hey," she mumbled, her voice thick with sleep.

"Hey," you replied softly, your smile widening despite the weight on your chest.

Rain's brow furrowed slightly as she looked up at you, sensing that something was off. "What's wrong?" she asked, her voice a little clearer, more alert.

You shook your head, stilling your hand. "Nothing," you murmured, trying to keep your voice steady. "Just go back to sleep, Rain. It's late."

She hesitated but nodded, a yawn escaping her lips as she turned over, curling up again. "Okay... But could you look over Andy?” she asked sleepily, her voice trailing off. "His eyes... something's wrong with them. He's already in the workshop, in sleep mode, waiting."

"Sure, I'll take care of him," you promised, leaning down to press a gentle kiss to her forehead. She mumbled a thank you, already drifting back to sleep as you stood up and quietly made your way out of the room.

You moved through the darkened house, your steps light and measured to avoid waking Rain. Despite the pitch-black surroundings, you knew every inch of this place—every loose floorboard, every creaky door hinge.

It wasn't hard to navigate to the small workshop in the back, a space that had become both a sanctuary and a battlefield for your mind.

Without turning on the main lights, you reached for the small lamp on your workbench, flicking it on and casting a soft, warm glow over the room.

In the corner, covered by a sheet, was Andy. You pulled a rolling stool behind you as you approached, removing the sheet with a practiced motion to reveal the android beneath.

Andy's face was serene, almost peaceful in the dim light. The shadows cast by the lamp danced across his features, highlighting the sharp lines of his cheekbones and the soft curve of his lips.

Despite knowing he was a machine, you couldn't help but admire the craftsmanship—the subtle blend of human and synthetic, the way his face seemed almost too real.

You reached out, gently cupping the side of his face, your fingers tracing the contours of his jaw. His synthetic skin was cool to the touch, but familiar. Your hand moved to the side of his neck, pressing the small port to awaken him.

The change was immediate. Andy's body tensed, his right hand shooting up to grab your wrist with surprising speed and strength. His eyes flickered to life, emitting a soft glow in the darkness. "Shh, it's okay," you whispered softly, not pulling away. "Sorry to startle you."

At the sound of your voice, Andy's grip loosened, his eyes quickly focusing on you. "Y/N," he said, his voice calm and even. "You're back."

You offered him a small smile before turning to grab your diagnostics tablet. "I've only been gone for five days," you said, connecting the tablet to the port in his neck and starting the diagnostic test.

Andy blinked as if you'd made the dumbest statement ever. "Five days is more than enough time for someone to be missed."

You giggled softly at his matter-of-fact tone. "Thanks, Dee." You glanced at the screen, focusing on the data streaming in. "Rain mentioned you've been having issues with your eyes. Can you tell me more about that?"

Andy's eyes flickered for a moment before he answered. "I... I can still see, but my vision sometimes become foggy. It affecting my ability to accurately assess situations and objects."

You nodded thoughtfully, continuing to run the diagnostics as you chatted with him, your fingers moving deftly across the tablet. "I see... We'll get it sorted. So, how have things been while I was gone?"

Andy remained still, his gaze fixed on you. "Rain and I have missed you."

A warm smile tugged at your lips. "I've missed you both too." You paused, reflecting on how much had changed since the day you found Andy in that scrapyard.

Your perception of synthetics had shifted over the years.

You'd never treated them as mere machines, but having one as a constant companion had blurred the lines between man and machine.

Despite knowing he wasn't human, Andy's human-like qualities were something you cherished. They made him unique, almost... alive in a way that was hard to define.

The soft beep from the tablet pulled you back to the present. You looked down, seeing the source of the issue on the screen. "Ahh," you sighed, turning the tablet to show Andy.

The screen was filled with lines of code, complex and unintelligible to most. To anyone else, or even to an android whose primary function wasn’t related to programming, this would have been complete nonsense. But since bringing Andy back online, you'd made it your mission to always explain everything you did to him, guiding him through each process.

Part of you believed he deserved to know, a small gesture of respect for the android who had become so much more than just a machine.

But there was another reason, a darker thought that lingered in the back of your mind: the possibility that one day, you might not be around to help him.

You wanted Andy to understand his own systems and the intricacies of his coding—not just to function but to ensure he could take care of himself if the worst were ever to happen.

Andy studied the code intently, his synthetic mind processing the information with an almost human-like concentration. "There is an error in the environmental calibration subroutine," he noted, identifying part of the issue correctly.

You chuckled, impressed. "Close, Dee. But, you got most of it right." You pointed to a specific line of code. "This here—it needs an update. The last patch didn't account for the increased levels of smog and soot in the colony's air. It's affecting your visual processors."

Routine set in as you continued to work. "What is your directive, Andy?" you asked out of habit, fingers moving swiftly to implement the necessary changes.

Andy responded almost instantly. "To do what's best for Rain."

A second passed, and then he spoke again, his voice softer. "Do you ever think about changing the directive?"

You paused, fingers hovering over the screen as you looked up at him, puzzled. "What are you talking about, Dee?"

Andy hesitated for a moment, his eyes studying you with a strange intensity. "The day Marcus uploaded my directive, I remember asking him if the girl standing above me when I first came back online was Rain. He to me it was you, Y/N."

You laughed lightly, trying to lighten the mood. "Did you ask him if I was a great hacker too?"

Andy's expression remained serious, his voice steady. "No. I asked him, 'But what about what's best for Y/N?'"

Your fingers stilled on the tablet, and for a moment, you didn't know what to say. You looked up at Andy, his face soft with an expression you couldn't quite place.

A small, self-deprecating laugh escaped your lips. "What's best for me? Ha, I've never been too good at figuring that out. If I had a directive for myself, it'd probably be something like 'make everything harder than it needs to be.'"

Andy let out a low hum, his gaze unwavering. "Even if it's not my directive, just know, I'll still want what's best for you."

You blinked back the tears welling in your eyes, quickly turning your focus back to the tablet. "Thanks, Andy," you whispered, your voice barely audible. You continued your work in silence, the weight of his words settling over you like a heavy blanket.

Andy's head tilted slightly, his eyes zeroing in on your face as if committing this moment to memory. "Of course, Y/N... anytime."

The remainder of the time was spent in a comfortable silence as you finished updating his code. You leaned back with a sigh, setting your tablet down beside you. "How are you feeling now, Andy?"

The android paused for a moment, then said, "Well, it's better than before. But if my vision gets any worse, I guess you could say... my future won't be looking 'too bright'."

You just blinked at him, taken aback by the unexpected joke, before laughter bubbled out of your lips. "Was that a 'dad joke'? Where did you learn that from?"

Andy's eyes seemed to brighten, and he sat up a little straighter. "I learned it while walking Rain to work the other day," he explained. "I like them."

You chuckled, warmth spreading through your chest at the thought of Andy picking up on humor. "Well, I'll be sure to learn some more and tell you. We can make it a little hobby between the two of us."

Andy nodded earnestly, his expression softening. "I'd like that. Sharing experiences can strengthens bonds."

You couldn't help but smile at his earnestness. "You're right about that, Dee. We can even start a collection of the worst jokes we can find."

For a moment, the room felt lighter, the shadows less heavy. Andy's presence, his attempts at humor, made the grim reality outside these walls feel a little less suffocating.

It was moments like this that reminded you why you fought so hard to keep your small world safe, even when everything else seemed so uncertain.

A/N: Ahhhh! sorry for things moving thigns so fast with all the time skips, but if you're confused, by the end of this chapter You're like 24-ish and Rain is 21, i'm following fandom ages instead of rain's confirmed 25 age. also, sorry for the long 2 intro chapters, i know most would like to just jump right into the story, but my mind wont let the good stuff happen until it at least lay down the lil backstory 😭💀💀 man, i really need to learn to get over that, but anywhoooo, hope you guys like this enough, thoguh it isn't obvious, i want this to be a sort of a slow-burn, well, on the reader's end at least, lolol, Andy's gonna go full speed tbh, but then again, that's why he's a yandere here.... hope i dont bore you guys too much, but dont fret, next chapter will start immediately with the plot! also, someone asked me to make a tag list so i'll just put that down below:

Tag List: @dreamsarenicer

[wintersongstress]

— mornings ;

In the time of spring when the bark of trees and the flat of pavements were washed with rain, Simon liked to visit the farmer’s market after his morning run. He had left you today in your shared bed, doubtlessly still dreaming as the sun dithered behind the veil of clouds, and shrugged on a hoodie, getting his trainers out from a rack in the closet. His route was dewy with a gentle mist, not enough to keep people from going about their day, but it was the good kind that cleaned the city air and sweetened the long brooms of blossoms hanging over the sidewalks.

The canopy over a flower stall dripped onto his hood as Simon stepped underneath it. Bundles of flowers were arranged in buckets with chalkboard plates sticking out, the signs advertising 3 for ��10, and he browsed for a bit, thinking of you.

There was a time when all Simon knew about flowers was the memory of a window box in his childhood kitchen. Long gone, he remembers his mother potting red and pink flowers and relishing the process—the fulfilling feeling of dirt beneath her fingernails and the satisfaction of roots tenderly planted. One day a hummingbird flitted to the window while he ate his toast before school, and it was a still moment of wonder as the tiny bird prodded the ruby petals before zipping on, quick as light.

Now he was in love with his own hummingbird. A love rare and fleeting, one that, when you don’t catch it in your hands and earn every moment of keeping it, would flutter away and never return. Love could speak in flowers, he decided, when he first began to visit your flat and admire the fresh bouquet you kept on your table every time he came. I like them, you had said simply, and he smoothed a petal between his two fingers. And though he saw himself as a brute with hands better suited for violence than caresses, he wanted to learn about the gentler things in life he once thought could never be part of his.

Simon frees his nose from his face mask to smell a strange spire of green, bell-shaped flowers he had never seen before.

“Those are called Bells of Ireland,” the aproned shop lady pipes up from behind her booth. He glances over and finds she isn’t put off by his tall, dark, and out-of-place presence in the least.

“I’ll take them,” he replies. Their scent was light and earthy, like mint and lavender mingled, and their bells resemble leaves with their vein-like texture. Rare and exquisite, and perfectly you. He also picks out a cluster of mauve roses and peachy ranunculus, thinking about the way you smiled with your eyes closed when you smell his bouquets, your lips still curved when you kiss him afterwards, and lays them all on the counter.

“What a lucky girl,” the woman comments, gathering his selections and bundling them in wax paper secured with a rubber band. Simon wasn’t so sure. He always thought you could do better than him, but you would never let him catch himself thinking like that out loud. No matter what he believed of his nature, he vowed to fight like hell to be the kind of man you did deserve. So he pays the woman and bids her good day, heading on to the next stall with you on his mind as he picks out fresh strawberries and bread for the beginning ingredients of a wholesome breakfast. 

At home, Simon fills a vase with the tap and trims the flower stems, arranging each fragrant bloom in harmony with the other. He brews one of your favorite teas and sets out the honey, tending to a sizzling pan in between, then decides to open your bedroom window to gently wake you.

A warm and pleasant wind sways the curtains. Amidst their wispy movements you lay on your back, breathing deep and slow, until the song of church bells and finches twittering from the chimney tops flutters your lashes to take in the tranquil morning. Simon draws his knuckles across your forehead and follows your cheek. With sleep soft in your pretty eyes, this was his favorite view of you.

“There she is, my everything,” he murmurs.

“Hmm. I was dreaming.” With a brush of his thumb over your smiling lips, you open your eyes and gaze at him warmly, happily, holding his hand there.

Funny…he muses.

You kiss his caressing hand. “You smell like oranges.”

“I made breakfast.”

And with that you’re throwing the comforter back, springing to your feet and wrapping a sweater around your nightgown-clad form.

“It’s not going anywhere, love,” he chuckles. These mornings were you had the whole day together were his favorite. You sat out on the balcony, taking in the trees with their sprouting green tips and cutting into your French toast, planning your day together with your bare foot resting over his socked one. The sunshine of your presence fills the depths of his chest to the brim with contentment, and he wants it to last forever.

[theweightofakiteofdreamsingold]

Promise (1) – J. Kiszka

Warnings: Explicit sexual content, mature themes, virgin reader, teary-eyed Josh, fluff, unprotected sex (almost), oral sex (fem receiving) (almost), language, MINORS DNI

A/N: All these posts circulating about Josh leaning into people’s hands while they held him in Detroit inspired this fic. It’s gonna be some softie, first-time-ever smut with Josh, the V-card thief. 🥹

Bajabule,

-Han

“Is that thunder?” you asked, pausing to listen for the faint grumbling in the distance.

Josh paused to listen as well, his deep brown eyes fixed on the ever-darkening clouds above you. “I think so, but I didn’t see any lightning.”

The wind had started to pick up along the river where you and Josh had been kayaking with Jake, Sam, and Danny. You watched Josh as he paddled over to a big rock that was close to the bank, taking hold of it to still himself against the tugging current of the river. He looked up at the sky again, his brows furrowed in concentration.

After a moment, he paddled back out to you and the rest of the boys. “Looks like whatever this is is moving this way toward us. We should probably head out.”

The boys all muttered in agreement, and you all began to paddle downstream to look for a place to get out of the water. You’d been out on the river for at least half the day, but you were still bummed to have to go. Being with Josh and his brothers always lightened your mood.

You’d been seeing Josh for a few months now, and things seemed to be moving in a good direction. You spent a lot of time with him doing mundane things; going shopping at more farmer’s markets than you’d ever been to, visiting more record shops than you knew existed, and just keeping each other company when you had nothing else to do.

Josh was also a huge film enthusiast, so the two of you spent an abundant amount of time curled up on his couch watching movies of so many genres while Josh shared his thoughts on each one in real-time. You loved hearing him share how his mind worked, and you felt lucky to be able to have a peek at how he processed information. He was the most intelligent man you’d ever met, but it never felt intimidating to you. His brain and his heart ran on the same track, and everything he did and said was coming from a place filled with love.

Josh was tentative and understanding. He was soft. He had moments where you definitely questioned his thought processes, and he could be extremely impulsive and wild, but if the situation ever called for maturity, all of his antics disappeared in the blink of an eye.

“Y/N,” Josh called, “you okay?”

Your brain caught up to your surroundings, and you never realized how far behind you’d fallen. You looked around you, and all the boys were a solid ten yards ahead of you.

“Yep, I’m- I’m good,” you called back, hastening the pace of your strides until you made up a little ground. Danny and Sam shared a tandem kayak, while you and the twins each had your own sit-ons, freeing up a set of hands to carry Josh’s kayak while he carried yours. You watched him as he shifted the weight of it over his head as he walked, watching the taut muscles of his arms as he did so.

Once you had all made it to where the cars were parked, the boys began securing everyone’s kayaks and paddles for the trip back home. Just as soon as they started on the first one though, you heard a monotonous rustling of the leaves in the woods around you. As the sound grew louder, you realized that it was rain, and that it was moving in a lot quicker than any of you had anticipated.

When it reached the lot of you, it was falling from the sky in a steady, but extremely heavy downpour. They boys made quick work of the rest of the kayaks, and before you knew it, you were all in your cars waving goodbye to each other behind tinted glass.

You were in Josh’s Jeep truck, shivering in the passenger seat as his hands moved swiftly over the temperature controls, doing his best to warm you up as quickly as he could.

As the shock of the cold rain wore off, you looked over at him and had to fight to keep your jaw from hanging slack. The usually puffy curls of his mullet sat closer to his head now in dripping ringlets. The water from his hair dripped onto his forehead and you watched the droplets make paths down the bridge of his nose to its tip before collecting together and dropping off, only to be caught by the pointed crests of his lips. The rest of his face glistened from being directly hit by the rain outside. You let your eyes travel down his neck which also glistened in what was left of the dim daylight to his shirt that was completely soaked through. You’d never thought anything of the fact that he practically lived in white shirts until now, and you couldn’t say you were disappointed in his color choice. You could see the curves of the muscles in his chest, more prominent now because of the cotton fabric that clung to his chilled skin. You wanted nothing more than to peel off his shirt and run your hands over his body; just to bask in him.

The thoughts running through your mind sent pangs of anxiety straight to your stomach. You’d never felt a yearning this strong for anyone you’d been with, but the fear of what he would say or how he would react to the fact that you were still a virgin overpowered your need for him.

You sat in the passenger side of his truck fighting an internal battle between reality and what you wanted with every fiber of your being. Your mind talked itself in circles the majority of the way back to his house. As he pulled into the driveway, you wondered what sort of thoughts were running through his mind.

At some point on the drive to his house, the rain had stopped, but you didn’t notice until the truck was shifted into park. Josh got out and came around to open your door for you. After he opened it, he paused, a grin spreading across his still-shiny face; his teeth shining in the light of the moon while the darkness hid most of the rest of his features.

“Come on, mama. Let’s get you warm and dry, huh?”

He offered his hand to you, and you took it, following him up the front steps to the door. As soon as the two of you were inside, Josh went on a hunt for towels and washcloths. He emerged from the hall with bath linens in one arm and a sweatshirt and a pair of boxer shorts in the other. His hair had started to dry, but the same couldn’t be said for his clothes.

“Here. I thought you might wanna take a hot shower to warm up, and I can dry your clothes for you if you want.” His brown eyes were sap-sweet and sparkling at you, his lips tilting up and a small smile.

“I’d love that so much,” you said quietly. “You’re the sweetest.” He handed you the towels and clothes, and you padded off to the bathroom.

Once you’d stripped off your wet clothes, you turned the water as hot as it would go, and you stepped inside. The air immediately felt thick from the dense moisture of the scalding water, and you welcomed it into your lungs, letting the water consume you entirely.

You heard the door of the bathroom creak, and you froze, naked and hot, under the shower head. Your breath caught in your throat as you watched Josh’s shadow through the thick plastic and second decorative shower curtains. His figure paused for a moment before picking up your pile of wet clothes and leaving the bathroom to toss them in the dryer.

Your heart beat faster the more you thought about the way he paused a moment before. You let your mind drift into what could have happened. He could have waited there. Waiting for you. You could have opened the shower curtain, wordlessly inviting him in. You could have had him right there if you had just done it. Just ripped off the band aid and opened that shower curtain. But you couldn’t. You were scared. Of what, you had no idea.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

After your shower, you towel-dried your hair and ran your fingers through it to get out the tangles. You slipped on the sweatshirt and boxer shorts he gave you, feeling apprehensive about not having any underwear while they tumbled in the dryer with the rest of your clothes. A heavy scent of sandalwood and patchouli wafted into your nose and made your chest feel warm. You took a deep breath, pushing your nerves as far down as possible before exiting the bathroom and walking up the hall to find Josh flipping through movies on TV.

“How do you feel?” he asked, “Warmer?”

You nodded, giving him a small smile before plopping yourself down beside him on the couch. He leaned back, one hand resting on the top of your thigh while he looked at you.

You watched his fingertips gently draw circles on your freshly warmed skin while his eyes trailed over your entire body, his lips turning up into another soft grin.

“What?” you asked, a smile spreading across your own lips in return.

His dark eyes flicked up to your face and he huffed a bit of air through his nose before he spoke, “I just really like the way you look in my underwear.”

You both giggled and you replied, “Well I didn’t have much of a choice, did I?”

He gave your thigh a little squeeze before moving his hand further up your leg. “I mean, there��s always another option,” he said, giving you an exaggerated look.

You rolled your eyes and grinned as he shifted next to you.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” he asked, focusing back on your leg.

“Mhm.”

“What were you thinking about on the way home?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, you’re usually never quiet like that. I figured something was going on. Just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

You paused, wanting to tell him that your were fine, but the images of him sitting soaking wet beside you in the truck and standing in the bathroom, coupled with figmented images of him between your legs and pressed against your chest flashed through your mind, and you found yourself speaking without realizing what you were saying.

You noticed that your breath felt heavy as you tried to stop the river of words that flowed from your mouth.

“I just want- I- I don’t know how to-.” You stumbled and tripped through fragments of thoughts.

You immediately felt his hands gently holding the sides of your face, his eyes warm and welcoming to you as he spoke, coaxing you to speak through your fear. “Tell me, sweet baby,” he purred, “What do you want?”

You swallowed hard. “You.”

His thumbs swept across the crests of your cheekbones. “You’ve already got me, baby.”

“No. Not- not like that,” you said, your voice moving into a whisper.

His lips sat parted as he processed what you were telling him. After a moment, he spoke. “How come you didn’t say anything before?”

“Because I’m fucking scared,” you said, an unintentional chuckle escaping mid-word.

“Of me?”

“No,” you started, the word a little more exaggerated than you meant for it to be, “not like you’d do something to me, I was just nervous to tell you that-.” You watched his brow furrow as he tilted his head, anxiously waiting for you to finish your sentence. “That I’ve never- I’m-.”

Every single feature of his face softened and you could have sworn you could see a tear or two in his eyes. His hands slid up your cheeks as he rested his thumbs against your temples with his other fingers in your hair, and he pulled you to his mouth in a needy kiss. He completely enveloped your bottom lip, lightly sucking it further into his mouth before he ran his tongue along its edge. His hands slightly tightened in your hair, gently pulling on the roots, making you shift against him, wanting more.

You slipped your arms around his neck and moved to sit in his lap, a knee on either side of his hips. He pulled you closer, taking a hand from your hair and smoothing it over your back as he artfully slipped his tongue between your parted lips. He continued with his tongue until you broke the kiss, pulling back from his mouth and taking a big breath.

His eyes stayed trained on you the entire time as you heaved against him. He leaned back up into you and touched the tip of his nose to yours.

“You’re sure you want this?” he panted, his voice thick and raspy.

“Yes,” you breathed back, your hands resting on the waistband of his sweatpants.

You felt his arms wrap around you and scoop you up, walking you down the hall to the master bedroom.

He carefully sat you on the end of the bed, and you quickly found his waistband again. You could see the bulge in his sweatpants from where his cock was pressed against the thick fabric. You swallowed hard as you hooked your fingers around the band and pulled down, watching the tip of his solid cock hit his lower stomach.

You felt a warm sensation spread between your legs as you marveled at him, noting the pronounced indentations of his hips and the length and girth of his cock. You squeezed your legs together as thoughts of how deep inside you he would be able to reach filled your head, making your pussy throb just by the sight of him. “Fuck,” you muttered, barely audible.

He gingerly tilted your head up to look at him. “What’s wrong, mama?”

“Nothing,” you said, swallowing hard again, “you’re j-just really f-fucking big. What- what do we do if it doesn’t fit?”

He pulled his bottom lip between his teeth and but down on it softly, unsuccessfully hiding a smug grin. “It’ll fit. I promise.”

You raised your eyebrows at him, dramatically glancing from his face, down to his cock, and back up again.

His hands reached down and held your hips, swiftly lifting them up, laying you out on your back. You yelped at the quick movement and propped yourself up on your elbows. Josh hooked his fingers into the waistband of the boxer shorts you were wearing, his eyes trained on yours, waiting.

Your eyes widened, not sure of what was happening. He bent down and placed an open-mouthed kiss on your lower stomach before lifting his head just enough to be able to look up at you. You moaned at the sight of his soft brown eyes looking at you from between your legs; a sight that had been plaguing your mind for some time. He looked even more beautiful doing it in real life than you could have ever imagined.

“Lemme get you ready, mama. Let you cum in my mouth so you can get a taste for it? Hm? Lemme get a taste for you at the same time?” He punctuated his last question with a series of sloppy kisses to the insides of your thighs.

“Oh my God, Josh,” you breathed.

“Can I take that as a ‘yes?’”

“Yes.”

He immediately tugged the boxers down your legs and tossed them into the floor. He stooped down to stand on his knees in front of you, pulling you closer to the edge of the bed again. He gently laid your legs over his shoulders and leaned in close enough for you to feel his breath on your heat. He paused there, his big brown eyes locking with yours again. “Listen close,” he started, “You want me to stop at any time, you stop me, okay?”

You nodded, your eyes wide again.

“Promise me, mama.”

“I promise.”

[pejite]

Despite the numerous challenges they faced on the farm, Wilhelmina was making a concerted effort to spend more time with her daughters. She felt a deep sense of guilt for having neglected them during those dark weeks when she had been confined to her bedroom, overwhelmed by grief. Now, she was determined to make up for lost time.

On this particular day, they were preparing to leave the house when a letter arrived from Mary Elizabeth. In it, she offered her heartfelt condolences and shared the sobering news that things in the city were just as dire, if not worse, than in the countryside. In London, she explained, it had become increasingly difficult to find good food due to the famine brought on by the unrelenting rains and the subsequent plagues.

Wilhelmina sighed as she set the letter down on the side table near the writing desk. She felt a wave of concern wash over her as she thought about the hardships her dear friend was enduring. But there was little she could do from afar, and so, trying to shake off the heaviness that threatened to settle in her heart, she gathered her daughters and stepped outside. They were headed to the church and the market, hoping to find something worthwhile to buy, though their expectations were low.

As they approached the church, they encountered Cora and her daughters walking in the opposite direction. Cora greeted her warmly and expressed her condolences with genuine sympathy. However, she quickly shifted the conversation, not wanting to dwell on the sadness that had been clouding Wilhelmina’s life. "We’ve just been to see the new school, they’ve finally finished building it. Have you had a chance to take a look yet?" she asked, her tone brightening.

Wilhelmina shook her head, feeling a pang of surprise. She hadn’t even realised that the construction had begun, let alone that it was already complete. “But… surely the fees will be expensive, won’t they? With everything being so uncertain right now, I’m not sure we could manage the cost of enrolling the children” she said, her voice tinged with anxiety. The thought of another expense, especially in these troubled times, felt overwhelming.

Cora, however, seemed unfazed. She waved her hand dismissively, a smile tugging at her lips. “Don’t you remember? I mentioned it’s one of those charity schools, it’s free” she explained with a reassuring nod. As the mothers spoke, their daughters lingered nearby, chatting and playing, their laughter a gentle reminder of the innocence that still existed despite the hardships surrounding them “They say the school will open as soon as they can secure enough teachers. Perhaps by winter” Cora added.

Wilhelmina nodded, trying to absorb this new information. They continued their conversation for a while longer, discussing the usual topics, family, the weather, the latest village news, before parting ways. Yet, throughout the rest of the day, Wilhelmina couldn’t stop her mind from returning to the matter of the school.

As they made their way to the market, Wilhelmina found herself mulling over the possibilities that an education could offer her children. The farm had always been their livelihood, but the recent challenges, the relentless rain, the failed crops, the looming threat of winter, had shaken her confidence in the future. Perhaps, she thought, if her children could gain an education, they might have opportunities beyond the farm, opportunities that were not so dependent on the whims of nature.

But even as the thought took shape, Wilhelmina felt a pang of guilt. The farm had been in Edwin’s family for generations, and there was a strong sense of duty tied to the land. Was it right to consider steering her children away from the life that had sustained their family for so long? And yet, the uncertainty of farming, particularly in these troubled times, made her question whether it was fair to expect her children to follow in their footsteps without giving them the chance to explore other paths.

[monetizeme]

Proton, the secure-minded email and productivity suite, is becoming a nonprofit foundation, but it doesn't want you to think about it in the way you think about other notable privacy and web foundations.

"We believe that if we want to bring about large-scale change, Proton can’t be billionaire-subsidized (like Signal), Google-subsidized (like Mozilla), government-subsidized (like Tor), donation-subsidized (like Wikipedia), or even speculation-subsidized (like the plethora of crypto “foundations”)," Proton CEO Andy Yen wrote in a blog post announcing the transition. "Instead, Proton must have a profitable and healthy business at its core."

The announcement comes exactly 10 years to the day after a crowdfunding campaign saw 10,000 people give more than $500,000 to launch Proton Mail. To make it happen, Yen, along with co-founder Jason Stockman and first employee Dingchao Lu, endowed the Proton Foundation with some of their shares. The Proton Foundation is now the primary shareholder of the business Proton, which Yen states will "make irrevocable our wish that Proton remains in perpetuity an organization that places people ahead of profits." Among other members of the Foundation's board is Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of HTML, HTTP, and almost everything else about the web.

Of particular importance is where Proton and the Proton Foundation are located: Switzerland. As Yen noted, Swiss foundations do not have shareholders and are instead obligated to act "in accordance with the purpose for which they were established." While the for-profit entity Proton AG can still do things like offer stock options to recruits and even raise its own capital on private markets, the Foundation serves as a backstop against moving too far from Proton's founding mission, Yen wrote.

There’s a lot more Proton to protect these days

Proton has gone from a single email offering to a wide range of services, many of which specifically target the often invasive offerings of other companies (read, mostly: Google). You can now take your cloud files, passwords, and calendars over to Proton and use its VPN services, most of which offer end-to-end encryption and open source core software hosted in Switzerland, with its notably strong privacy laws.

None of that guarantees that a Swiss court can't compel some forms of compliance from Proton, as happened in 2021. But compared to most service providers, Proton offers a far clearer and easier-to-grasp privacy model: It can't see your stuff, and it only makes money from subscriptions.

[dhirajmarketresearch]

[eskwander]

Capitalism and Genocide

Mathias Clivaz and Hugues Poltier. October 15, 2024.

1. In 2007, Israeli lawyer Ram Caspi published the following in the Tel Aviv-based financial daily Globes: "Neither ground invasion nor air attack, but strangulation... [...] the Israeli government will take steps to cut Gaza off from essential resources such as fuel, water, electricity, telephone, and will prevent anyone from providing them." (quoted by G. Levy in Haaretz, 10.6.2007) The election of Hamas that year – which Israel supported in order to oust Fatah – provides a ready-made pretext for initiating a blockade of the Gaza Strip. Slowly suffocated, GDP per capita falls by 27% and unemployment rises by 49% between 2007 and 2018.

2. But the stranglehold is only just beginning. There are signs, both rhetorical and institutional, of what is coming. In 2009, B. Netanyahu becomes Prime Minister of Israel, a position he will hold for eleven years, then again from 2022; and on several occasions he aims to make the Palestinians an abject people, for example when he blames them in a speech in 2015 of having suggested the Final Solution to Hitler. But it's really with the election of D. Trump to the White House in 2017 that everything accelerates. In obviously coordinated moves, the USA recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital and transfers its embassy there in May 2018 and, two months later, the Knesset approves a constitutional law that ratifies the settlement process in the West Bank, and declares Jerusalem the "whole and unified" capital of Israel. The two-State solution is buried.

3. The next stage is to secure impunity and consolidate power. A step in this direction is taken with the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020, again under the patronage of D. Trump: peace agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), followed by normalization of diplomatic relations with Morocco and Sudan. Then in 2022, Israel and the UAE sign a free-trade agreement. The stakes are clear: normalization-pacification of Israel's relations with its Arab neighbors, bypassing the Palestinian question. — European companies are not to be outdone. A study by the coalition Don't Buy Into Occupation showed that between January 2020 and August 2023, 776 European financial institutions (including BNP Paribas, HSBC, Deutsche Bank and Société Générale, to name just the top four creditors) had dealings with 51 companies actively involved in Israeli settlements, for a total investment of $164.2 billion, and a stake of $144.7 billion in shares and bonds. This despite the fact that, under international law, such investments in occupied territories are illegal. — The American tech giants are there also. In 2022, Amazon and Google signed lucrative contracts with Tel Aviv for the construction of data centersand with the army to manage their cloud operations, including maintaining surveillance data on most Palestinians living in Gaza, data that is being used by the AI models that determine who should be targeted for attacks[1].

4. A transnational network of capital has thus been set up, whose interest lies in the growth of the Israeli State and its regional supremacy. This in turn involves the arms trade: Israel, whose defense budget is the highest on the planet as a proportion of GDP, is enabling the US military-industrial complex – which supplies 69% of its weapons – to make record profits in 2023 (the conflict in Ukraine being the other major market that year). Germany is not to be outdone, since the country supplies around 30% of Israel’s weapons. The United Kingdom, Italy, France and other countries are also part of this security-capitalist alliance, to which are added all the companies that export "dual-use" and consumer goods to Israel, have industrial, commercial and educational partnerships with Israel — and buy its surveillance systems.

5. In the meantime, the hands have tightened around the victim's neck: walls have been erected between 2017 and 2021 around the entire perimeter of the Gaza Strip, now a hermetically sealed open-air prison. The strangler waits, observing the effects of asphyxiation on his victim. The victim calls for help, but no one comes. Others sound the alarm, but no one listens. So the victim screams and struggles. And Israel will conclude – and with Israel all the countries of the Global North who have a hand in the operation – that Gaza is threatening Israel.

6. On October 7, 2023, 1,139 Israelis are killed by Hamas and other Palestinian groups. These included around 800 civilians. Atrocities were committed, with Hamas guilty of war crimes. Israelis are also killed under the “friendly fire” of the Israeli army, whose military doctrine aims to prevent hostage-taking. Hamas took 252 Israeli hostages captive, with the probable aim of exchanging them for the more than 1,300 Palestinians then being held in administrative detention (imprisoned without charge or trial) in Israeli prisons. But the Israeli scriptwriters have already written the rest of the story: Israel accuses Hamas of posing an "existential threat to Israel" and invokes the right to defend itself. Never mind that Hamas has no means of destroying Israel, and that in its 2017 Charter it declared itself in favor of a two-State solution on the 1967 borders.

7. From October 7, 2023, the declarations of genocidal intent are explicit. B. Netanyahu declared on October 12: “We will fight these savage beasts with all our might, destroy them and wipe them off the face of the earth”. Israel's president, I. Herzog, on October 13: “It is a whole nation that is responsible. The rhetoric about citizens not being involved, not being aware, is absolutely false.” A. Dichter, Minister of Agriculture, on November 12: “We are now carrying out the Gaza Nakba”. And it will continue. B. Smotrich, Minister of Finance, in May 2024: “There is no job half done. Rafah, Deir al-Balah, Nousseirat - total destruction.” The organization Law for Palestine has listed more than 500 instances of calls for genocide during the first months of Israel's war on Gaza[2]. Starting October 2023, there is no doubt that Israel launches a war of annihilation.

8. At the same time, Israel invests millions to circulate propaganda messages on all the channels of the global North, including the most macabre fake news (forty babies beheaded by Hamas, a pregnant woman disembowelled, etc.), picked up on a loop by Germany and the USA. On smartphone screens across the planet, the cognitive war is in full swing: between the selection of the visible by Silicon Valley algorithms and the oligarchy's stranglehold on the mainstream media; between the constant threat of accusations of anti-Semitism against individuals and the editorial offices of independent newspapers, and the more than 100 journalists killed in Gaza by the Israeli army in 6 months. In plain sight, disguising the announced massacre of the Palestinian people as a "fight against terrorism", the "world's most moral army" is strangling Gaza, strangling it with fury, strangling it with the laughter of Israeli soldiers on Tik Tok, strangling it to death.

9. In truth, it's nothing new. As historians know, this is the latest act in an ethnic cleansing that began in 1948, and whose tools are forced displacement (over 6 million Palestinians are refugees in neighboring countries), apartheid of Israel's Arab citizens (kept under 20% of the country's population), the murderous and violent colonization of the West Bank, the destruction of Palestinian land and infrastructure, and the normalization of arbitrary detentions, executions, torture and sexual abuse, including in Israeli camps where 9,700 Palestinians, most of them kidnapped, were being arbitrarily detained in July 2024. Nothing new, and that's the problem.

10. In the year following October 7, 2023, Gaza's Ministry of Health has counted 41,689 Palestinian deaths because of Israel's war, the overwhelming majority of them civilians and, according to the UN, over 15,000 children. That's without counting the number of wounded (at least 96,625) and sick, the chronically ill (around 350,000), the malnourished and starving (100% of the population), the severely mentally harmed (100% of the population), in a situation where hospitals have been systematically bombed by Israel. Schools, places of worship, universities, housing, refugee centers, water management infrastructures, heritage – nothing is spared. In August, the UN satellite agency reported a volume of debris in Gaza 14 times greater than the combined total of all the conflicts of the last 16 years. The body politic of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip has been effectively annihilated. To understand the extent of the massacre and the intent behind it, we need to add up the direct and indirect victims, and multiply these figures (based on the experience of past wars and genocides) by a factor of 3 to 15[3]. that puts Palestinian deaths to date at between 150,000 and 770,000, or 9% to 30% of the Gazan population. But while the countries of the Global South and a few rare voices in the North call for an end to the genocide, the USA and Germany continue to deliver arms, unperturbed.

11. There are several conclusions to be drawn from these events, which will enable us to get to the heart of the problem facing all societies today.

12. First conclusion: the crime of genocide does not exist in a binary yes/no mode. It is a process, beginning with an aim and ending with its implementation by all kinds of means, not just State means. In this respect, when the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concluded that there was a "real and imminent risk of genocide" in January 2024, it established de facto that genocide was underway. By the same reasoning, Russia's abduction of Ukrainian children and their Russification amounts to genocide (Art. II, e), as does China's treatment of the Uighur people. Second conclusion: the alliance between Israel, the USA, Germany and a few others points to the rise of white capitalism, a trans-imperial formation whose supremacism is being exercised here against the Arab populations of the Middle East. As has been demonstrated time and again, capitalist States use racism in their imperialist ventures as much as in the colonization of their own populations. Third conclusion: capitalism, now complete on a planetary scale, is experiencing an acceleration in the frequency of its crises, due to its illimitation in a world of limited resources. The capitalist response to each crisis of capital is the same: to proceed with the fascization of society, with the aim of ensuring the further concentration of capital and the continuity of existing privileges, through the militarization of States, authoritarianism and the transformation of market competition into a war of "us" against "them" (à la Huntington). Low-key fascism has become the norm in "liberal democracies". Fourth conclusion: the war between rival capitalisms (American, Chinese, Russian, Indian, Europeans) is expressed by the intensification of imperialist struggles aimed at securing a greater capacity to mobilize resources, both material and human. The instrumentalization of racism leads to the total degradation of populations of no interest to capital. Understood as waste, they are integrated by capitalism via an economy of destruction that identifies them with the material substratum of their living environment. And so, after Gaza, the bombs rain down on Lebanon. Two lessons here: the imperative of control over the world’s most important oil-producing region remains a priority for US imperialism; the ensuing demand for "regional normalization" authorizes the treatment of hostile populations living there as enemies or waste to be eliminated. The USA and its allies, in any case, are arming this annihilation. There is a clear continuity here between the Nazi holocaust of the Jews and the genocide of the Palestinians by Israel and its allies, insofar as both peoples were/are treated as "obstacles" to a supremacist project, and put to death with capitalist tools. Fifth conclusion: since capitalist rationality is built on the reification of "nature", every non-human being is assimilated to a commodity. In this context, identifying a human being with "nature" is tantamount to degrading them: the Negro slave is historically the figure of the identification of human beings with a commodified nature, transformed into pure labor or merchandise. At the other extreme, this logic implies that the supremacy of one race over another is ipso facto the domination of the "human" over "nature". Capitalism, linked to the techno-scientific project of modernity, cannot be understood outside the interweaving of genocide – the destruction of peoples as raw material – and ecocide. Indeed, it is impossible to defend human rights without also defending the rights of nature.

13. How do capitalism and genocide fit together? First, on the immediate material level, capitalism, because it is defined by growth and because growth is today unrestrained, necessarily leads to the normalization of exclusion in the mobilization of resources. In order to exclude, capitalism engages social and State forces to degrade the target populations so as to dispose of them as pure resources. This zone of organized death is a potential reality anywhere on the planet, for all living beings: whether it's a matter of grabbing a territory rich in raw materials, gentrifying a neighborhood, managing immigration, or building a factory. Capitalism’s dream is to achieve an absolute mobilization of resources, viewing life as matter to be destroyed and shaped at will at the service of profit. Second, capitalism, on the immaterial level, is indexed to the valorization of value, i.e. to the valorization of capital, through constant and unfettered growth, in profit, in size and scale. As a result, capitalism enters a crisis at the first sign of a decline in surplus value. The response to this decline is always the same: for the same quantity produced, reduce human labor by replacing it with dead labor (machines, AI, etc.); and/or increase the quantities produced to at least maintain the level of surplus value. This has a twofold effect: it increases the absolute number of excluded/wastes that can be eliminated without damaging capitalism; and it increases global environmental predation, as shown by N. Machado[4].

14. The Palestinians are the figure of a population relegated to the rank of waste in the capitalist order, since they have been and are kept outside the global logic of value. In truth, they are valued more from being massacred than from being kept alive, since they are much more integrated into the logic of value through the arms market, and later through the market of “reconstruction”. If we shift the focus to other populations kept outside the circuits of valorization and "sitting" on exploitable resources, the conclusion is similar: their extermination is required by the demand to maximize profit; or, at the very least, their forced displacement. Extraction to maintain growth has as its necessary flip side the erasure of the rights of these populations, which happens simply by the signature of business contracts.

15. This dynamic gives rise to what we call, following A. Mbembé, a necropolitics[5]. At the heart of this process is integrated capitalism's ability to play both sides of the public/private, State/entrepreneurial divide, enabling it to pre-empt the legislative capacity of political bodies and the right of populations to self-determination. We can speak with S. Sassen of predatory formations: individual decisions and actions certainly matter, "but they are part of larger assemblages of mutually reinforcing elements, conditions and dynamics" (Expulsions, 2014). On the other side, States in turn attempt to capture these polymorphous flows, giving rise to what G. Deleuze and F. Guattari have called State war machines, which "take war as their object, and form a line of destruction extendable to the limits of the universe" (A Thousand Plateaus, 1980).

16. Confronted with these realities, international institutions are unable to give force to the law of which they are the depositories. As in the case of the ICJ's judgments concerning Israel, they can only observe their powerlessness to compel established powers, whether they be States protected by their military might[6], or transnational corporations that flout borders and rules and surpass most of the world's States in power.

17. The genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza signals the fate of all living beings confronted with the "progress" of capital, which its servants believe and desire to be the ultimate sovereign. At the crossroads of other fetishisms (that of the nation, that of religion, that of technology), effectual death materializes the abstraction of value: it consecrates the supremacy of capital over all other forms of social relations (this is, strictly speaking, the fetishism of value). With no conceivable opposition to stop it, capitalist necropolitics is this power that exists only by putting its destructive capacity to the test, by casting the concrete shadow of a supreme predation.

[1] Y. Abraham, "'Order from Amazon': How tech giants are storing mass data for Israel's war", https://www.972mag.com/cloud-israeli-army-gaza-amazon-google-microsoft/.

[2] https://law4palestine.org/law-for-palestine-releases-database-with-500-instances-of-israeli-incitement-to-genocide-continuously-updated/

[3] This is the methodology of an article published by R. Khatib, M. McKee and S. Yusufin in The Lancet on July 10, 2024, Cf. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01169-3/fulltext.

[4] N. M. C. Machado, La limite écologique du capitalisme, in Jaggernaut n°4, 2022, pp. 26-27.

[5] Published in 2006, https://shs.cairn.info/revue-raisons-politiques-2006-1-page-29.

[6] It seems pointless to hope for any change in this respect until the veto power at the United Nations held by the USA, China, Russia, France and the UK has been abolished.

>> This article and the French original are available here: https://eskwander.nexus/textes/index.html#capitalismeetgenocide

[darkmaga-returns]

They thought cutting off Russia’s tech would cripple innovation.

Pavel Velikhov, Engineering Manager at Yandex, lists 5 ways in which sanctions forced Russia’s IT boom:

Western Exodus = Russian Gold Rush

"Sanctions freed up $74B in market share. Giants like Yandex, T-Bank & Wildberries took over overnight."

When US/EU firms abandoned clients—some even left systems unusable—Russian devs stepped in. Overnight demand.

No Choice But To Innovate

"Before 2022, companies resisted Russian software—'too risky.' Now? 'When can we migrate?!'"

Legacy Western tech was a monopoly. Sanctions broke it.

Now, Russian solutions are the only option.

Data Paranoia = Russian Cloud Boom

"US clouds = weaponized risk. Now, only Russian or 'friendly' tech is trusted."

Post-2022, data security fears killed Western cloud reliance. Russian alternatives exploded.

No More Silicon Valley Worship

"We were colonized by US tech. Now? We know we can compete globally."

Sanctions shattered the myth that only America builds elite software. Russian confidence is sky-high.

The New Playbook: "No Sanctions" = Huge Selling Point

"Now we pitch: 'Our tech won’t vanish over politics.' It’s a massive advantage in Asia, Africa, LATAM."

While US firms chase stock bumps, Ru

[stuarttechnologybob]

What is an open source platform used for?

Open Source Development

An open source platform is a type of software whose source code or the base code is freely available to the public and open in segments. This means anyone can view, use, modify, and share the code. Open source platforms are widely used across industries because they offer flexibility, cost savings, and community-driven innovation. Open source development has become an initial go-to approach and one of the ideal options for building scalable and secure digital solutions.

Common Uses of Open Source Platforms -

1. Web and App Development

Open source platforms like WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla are widely used for building websites. The coders working in open source development department can customize and personalize these platforms to meet specific and unique business needs. Similarly, common frameworks such as React, Angular, and Laravel facilitate the development of dynamic and feature-rich web applications with their implementation and usage.

2. Operating Systems and Servers

Linux is one of the most well-known open-source operating systems. Many companies use Linux-based servers for hosting websites and applications because they are secure, fast, and cost-effective. These platforms are maintained by communities that constantly improve performance and patch vulnerabilities.

3. Cloud Computing

While the additional tools like OpenStack and Kubernetes are open source platforms and mediums that support the cloud infrastructure. They help businesses to manage their storage, networking, and computing resources efficiently while keeping operating costs low through open-source development.

4. Software Testing and DevOps

Open source tool and the common resources such as Selenium (for test automation) and Jenkins (for continuous integration) are essential and most considered in DevOps environments and stiff settings. These tools support the automated testing process, faster deployments, and seamless collaboration.

5. Data Management and Analytics

Platforms like Hadoop, Apache Spark, and PostgreSQL facilitate the processing and management of large datasets. These open-source solutions are widely used and leveraged in industrial sectors such as healthcare, finance with e-commerce for better understanding.

Why Do Businesses Prefer Open Source?

Open source platforms are cost-effective, highly customizable, and backed by active communities. They reduce and lower down the dependency on single vendors and parties and offer a general transparency in security and performance with its adaptation into the system or the infrastructure. Trusted providers and professional experts like Suma Soft, IBM, and Cyntexa specialize in delivering tailored and custom solutions through open source development, helping businesses to stay flexible, secure, and future-ready in this digital age and competitive market.

[wphostzone]

What is Web Hosting? Discover Types, Key Factors, & 2024’s 12 Best Web Hosting Platforms.

Web hosting—the physical presence of your website on the internet—is essential for your online business. Without dependable web hosting, you jeopardize your capacity to run your business and meet your consumers’ expectations.

Understanding web hosting and how it works can be difficult, particularly for people who are unfamiliar with the notion. This article will clearly describe web hosting, explain the many types of web hosting plans available, and outline the essential factors to consider when selecting a hosting company.

What is web hosting?

Web hosting uses internet-facing hardware and software to provide web services to end users. It is where your website and services are stored, processed, and delivered.

At its most fundamental, web hosting consists of secure internet interfaces and communications, computer server hardware and storage, web server software, and content (text, pictures, audio/video).

However, most web hosting solutions also include database servers, content management systems, e-commerce tools, security and authentication, and other applications required for websites to function and remain secure.

The web hosting sector is critical and is expected to increase by more than 20% year between 2024 and 2028.

How much does web hosting cost?

Hosting charges vary, typically based on capabilities. You may pay $10 per month for a simple billboard-style website to market your business online, or much more if you run a successful e-commerce store with thousands of clients.

To successfully select web hosting that works for you, you simply need to understand your goals and how to translate them into hosting requirements.

Types of Web Hosting

Shared hosting.

Dedicated Hosting

VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting

Cloud hosting

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