The makers of a Barbie-branded fliphone say it could help overcome smartphone addiction in young people. If nothing else, it could be a test case of form vs function. The handset is as overwhelmingly pink as you might expect, but is closer to a late ... 90s handset than a modern smartphone. It's made from HMD, which is the company that makes Nokia branded handsets. The device has virtually no modern features and doesn't allow app installation. It supports voice calls and basic texting but has no web browser or touchscreen. It has a single game, a Barbie-themed version of Snake. A Plethora Of Pink ... (view more)
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A notorious ransomware group has engaged in a "triple threat" attack. As well as locking files and threatening to expose data, the Qilin group has been spotted trying to steal saved passwords from Chrome. The Qilin group appears to have been ... operating for at least two years but came to wider attention in 2022 when it attacked British hospitals. The group's origins and membership aren't known for certain, but it has communicated in Russian. As is becoming more common, Qilin doesn't simply restrict itself to encrypting files and systems and then demanding a ransom payment to restore access. It ... (view more)
A useful web feature could be a serious phishing risk according to security researchers. They say scammers are using "progressive web apps" to bypass Android and iOS security features. In simple terms, a progressive web app is a mix of a website and ... a standalone application. It's technically a website and uses web technologies, allowing for instant updates. However, it looks and feels more like a standalone app and can often access more of a device's resources than a web browser. Security firm ESET says scammers are using progressive web apps as a way to overcome a major limitation in scams ... (view more)
Google has warned Android users to disable 2G connectivity. It says scammers are taking advantage of the outdated tech to send phishing messages and other spam that gets past all filters. 2G cellphone service was commonplace in the 1990s before ... being followed by 3G in the 2000s. 2G was the beginning of digital mobile phone connections and allowed for SMS text messaging, though it wasn't fast enough to support reliable mobile Internet services. While most US carriers have disabled their 2G networks, many handsets still support it. It can be useful as a last resort in places with either limited ... (view more)
Chrome on Android may soon automatically blur out sensitive data when screen sharing or recording. It's a potentially useful feature that brings some big questions. The feature was spotted as an optional "flag" in Chrome Canary, which means it's at ... the very earliest stage of public testing. Canary is a version of Chrome for people happy to be the first to try new features or update, the name referring to the literal "canary in the mine" whose death would warn miners of a problem such as a gas leak. Making a flag means it's not enabled by default even in Canary. That means it's very possible ... (view more)
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has made it illegal to buy or sell fake reviews in return for payment. The new rule also outlaws lying about who wrote a review and includes several other measures designed to make reviews more trustworthy. The ... "Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials" was approved unanimously by the FTC and, once formally published, will take effect after 60 days. It follows a consultation and review spanning nearly two years. Threats Outlawed The rule is wide-ranging, banning the following actions based on creating, buying or selling a fake ... (view more)
Google staff have been accused of exploiting a loophole to target ads at children. The workaround reportedly broke company policy but not any existing laws. According to the Financial Times, the workaround was done in partnership with Meta, which ... wanted a way to advertise Instagram on YouTube and target 13 to 17 year olds. (Source: ft.com ) Normally that would be impossible under Google's rules for targeting, which don't let advertisers specify ages under 18 when selecting who does and doesn't see an ad. Known Unknowns However, the Financial Times claims Google staff not only knew Meta wanted ... (view more)
iPhones and iPads could soon let users permanently hide parts of web pages including pop-up windows. The move has proven controversial with suggestions it could also be used as an ad-blocker. The new feature is called Distraction Control and is in ... the development beta stages (i.e. test version) of the Safari web browser in the upcoming iOS 18 update. It also appears to be on the way in Safari for Mac computers. The feature lets users tap a page menu button marked "Hide Distracting Items". That will bring up a list of elements on a web page such as pop-up windows, autoplay videos and banners ... (view more)
Google has acted unlawfully to maintain its monopoly in the search market, according to a US court ruling. Whether it will face any practical consequences remains to be seen. The ruling was in a case brought by the Department of Justice alleging ... violations of the Sherman Act. That makes it a felony to intentionally act or conspire to have or maintain a monopoly in a particular market. Previous cases have established that this isn't simply about market share but rather the ability to exploit monopoly power. The judge in the case did not mince his words, stating that "Google is a monopolist, ... (view more)
Two studies both say Google's search rankings help only the company itself. One says the ranking algorithm worsens the experience for users, while the other says paid placements in the rankings doesn't even benefit businesses. The first study is ... from WalletHub, which looked specifically at searches for 48 terms related to credit cards and banking. It claims that in more than a third of searches it carried out, the entire top 10 results were from pages that didn't have any editorial content and were simply promoting financial services for paid advertisers. (Source: wallethub.com ) (While some ... (view more)
Five rogue Android apps remained in the Google Play store for more than two years. They hosted notorious malware called Mandrake that was hidden through some creative means. According to SecureList, the apps were titled AirFS, Amber, Astro Explorer, ... Brain Matrix and CryptoPulsing. The good news is that the apps had hardly any downloads, one of the reasons they attracted little attention. The real concern is whether malware distributors are using the same tactics with other apps. (Source: securelist.com ) Mandrake has been known about since 2020, though appears to have been in circulation ... (view more)
Two proposed laws to boost online privacy and security for children have received widespread backing in the Senate. Whether the measures will make it into law remains unclear. The laws are the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and ... Teen's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0). They've now been combined into a single package for administrative and voting purposes. 86 Senators agreed the laws should be considered by the Senate while just one voted against. That means they will go to a final approval vote after further discussion. (Source: ctmirror.org ) Greater Parental Controls ... (view more)
What's one of the best one-stop video/image quality enhancement and editing software available for Windows? Answer: Digiarty's VideoProc Converter AI! From the makers of WinX DVD Ripper and WinX Video Converter comes VideoProc Converter: a ... multi-award winning software program that is a one-stop video/image processing program that allows you to restore and enhance video image quality in 1 click, convert video/audio, rip DVDs, edit video, download videos, video to GIF maker ... plus much more! The latest version of VideoProc Converter AI includes the ability to upscale old pictures and video ... (view more)
Almost one in six Chrome extensions could stop working this summer thanks to a major Google update. They include one of the most prominent ad-blocking tools. An extension is a third party tool that integrates with Chrome to improve the user's ... experience when accessing websites. They can include tools as diverse as password managers, page translators and video downloaders, though ad blockers are perhaps the best known. Extensions are able to integrate with Chrome and access its data thanks for a platform called Manifest. Google has developed a Version 3 of Manifest and is phasing out support ... (view more)
Major tech companies say spyware victims should be able to sue attackers in the US even if the attack physically happens outside the country. They say its particularly important for highly targeted attacks. The companies have put out their position ... by filing an amicus brief in an ongoing case involving Israeli cyber intelligence firm NSO Group, makers of the infamous Pegasus spyware . An amicus brief is where people not directly involved in a case, usually subject matter experts, provide an opinion or information to help the court. The case was brought by a news organization based in El ... (view more)
Apple has launched a privacy-focused ad campaign for the iPhone. It's billed as a promotion of its Safari browser but is clearly an attack on Google's Chrome. The ad is loosely based on The Birds but with the creatures replaced by flying ... surveillance cameras that follow and attack phone users with an onscreen graphic reading "Your browsing is being watched." It then ends with users opening the Safari browser, at which point the flying cameras explode, with a new graphic reading "Safari. A browser that's actually private." Incognito Mode Dubiously Named Apple has previously highlighted ... (view more)
Infopackets Reader Calli P. writes: " Dear Dennis, We are running one of our virtual machines on Virtualbox, but the performance is extremely lackluster and is very slow to respond, especially over a remote desktop session. I have read reports ... online that suggest VMware Workstation has nearly double the performance of Virtualbox and would like to migrate. After reading a few articles online, I tried exporting the Virtualbox VM to .OVA format (open virtualization format) in hopes of importing the single .OVA file into VMware Workstation, however, I get an error on VMware Workstation that says ... (view more)
Google has ditched plans to block third-party cookies in the Chrome browser. It says it will instead let users "make an informed choice" - a change that's upset privacy campaigners. A cookie is a text file placed by a website on a user's computer. ... The site can then retrieve information from the file the next time the user visits, for example to log them into an account or to provide a personalized website experience such as a localized weather forecast. Many cookies are "first party," meaning they only collect and store data about a user's activity on the site which issued the cookies. ... (view more)
Quantum computers could be practical in just three years from now according to a manufacturer. The technology could transform the speed and capability of computers. Oxford Ionics says it has not only produced a quantum computer chip with twice the ... performance of any existing chip, but that it could mass-produce its new design without needing specialist facilities. The idea of quantum computing has been explored for many years and aims to overcome one of the biggest limitations of traditional computing. Ultimately existing computers simply store data as either a 0 or a 1 (a bit), usually ... (view more)
Google has significantly scaled back its use of AI-generated "answers" on its search results page. It's also sourcing less of the "facts" from discussion forums such as Reddit. The changes are to the "AI Overview" feature, which replaced a similar ... feature called "Search Generative Experience". In both cases, it meant Google creating text that appeared at the top of the search results page, ahead of the normal list of links to relevant websites. The feature is primarily designed to answer questions without the need for the user to visit a website. The "answers" are a summary of information on ... (view more)
Reports that hackers have got their hands on 10 billion passwords have been slightly overblown. The file includes passwords up to 20 years old and many may never have been used at all. The "leak" involves an online post of a text file dubbed ... "RockYou 2024" which is said to contain 9,948,575,739 unique passwords, all stored in plain text. It appears to be an update from a similar file published in 2021, with "only" 1.5 billion of the passwords added since that time. Cybernews estimates it contains passwords compiled from around 4,000 databases over the past 20 years. (Source: cybernews.com ) ... (view more)
Infopackets Reader William B. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am running a server virtual machine inside of Virtualbox and it's been quite slow. I've read that VMware Workstation has twice the performance (roughly). Out of curiosity, I tried to export my ... current virtual machine in Virtualbox using the Open Virtualization Format (.OVF or .OVA) but I get an error every time I try to export: ' Could not create the exported medium Server-disk001.vmdk (VERR_IO_CRC) .' I am not sure what to do and would like to export this virtual machine off of Virtualbox so I can give VMware Workstation a try. " My ... (view more)
Microsoft has competition in the market for extending Windows 10 after its scheduled end of life. An independent company is promising simple-to-use security updates - with a cost. Officially, Microsoft will stop issuing free security updates for ... Windows 10 after October 14, 2025, just over 10 years after the system was released. That's not got a great reaction given Microsoft heavily implied there would be no new version after 10, and that it has arguably made Windows 11 an unnecessarily difficult upgrade through new hardware security requirements. If all goes to plan, anyone wanting to keep ... (view more)
Microsoft says Russian hackers accessed its customers' emails during an attack earlier this year. It had previously only said Microsoft's own staff were victims. The company has not yet said how many customers are affected but says it has contacted ... them with details of the attack. Microsoft was breached by a group called Midnight Blizzard, believed to operate from Russia. The government there has not commented on the claims. The new revelations follow a Microsoft announcement in January that a small proportion of its corporate email accounts had been accessed by Midnight Blizzard. The attacks ... (view more)
Infopackets Reader Jack L. writes: " Dear Dennis, For the last 4-5 months when I try to do a Windows 10 update to download and install ' 2024-01 Security Update for Windows 10 Version 22H2 for x64 based Systems ' ( KB5034441 ) the update downloads, ... but when it starts to install (before I restart the computer) it constantly gives the following error code ( 0x80070643 ). Are you able to remedy this problem? " My response: I asked Jack if he would like to use my remote desktop service , and he agreed. Below I will discuss my findings. How to Fix: 2024-01 Security Update for Windows 10 Fails to ... (view more)
Infopackets Reader Drew W. writes: " Dear Dennis, I was randomly added by a female on Snapchat and she asked me what I looked like. We hit it off, and then she asked for some inappropriate photos of myself. A few minutes later, she showed me ... pictures of my Instagram follower and said if I didn't pay, they would be sent to my followers. I have already sent $400 and was provided video proof of my photos being deleted. However, she is now demanding another $100 to 'delete for good', whatever that means. I already received SMS text messages from 4 other phone numbers demanding higher amounts. ... (view more)
The next version of Android will make it easier to diagnose performance and hardware issues. It will remove the need to use hidden codes. The changes are coming to Android 15, which is expected to roll out in finished form in August. Google has just ... released the third beta testing version of the update and testers have noticed a new feature in the System section of the Settings app. Labeled "Device diagnostics", the feature has two elements. The first, "Evaluation Mode" reportedly lets users "use one device to assess another device", which sounds more useful for dedicated tech enthusiasts or ... (view more)
Facebook and Instagram's attempts to avoid users being misled by AI-generated photos have backfired. Several users report photographs they took themselves as being falsely labeled as made by AI tools. Meta, which owns both sites plus social ... discussion tool Threads, has started adding a "Made with AI" label to images. In some cases it's there because the users has ticked a box to say they used AI to make the image. In other cases, it's because Meta's detection tools have flagged the image. The site has felt pressure to clearly indicate AI-generated images that could be designed to fool and ... (view more)
A particularly embarrassing bug makes it easy to send emails that appear to be from Microsoft employees. It's bad news for the public as it could make phishing scams appear more credible. The good news is that it only works if the recipient is using ... Outlook, though "good" is a comparative term because there are over 400 million Outlook users worldwide. (Source: cyberdaily.au ) Users Asked to Remain Vigilant Exactly how the bug works and where its found still isn't known, as the security researcher says they do not want to give details that could help potential attackers exploit the bug on a ... (view more)
The makers of a low-tech phone say they want people to use it as little as possible. But they've added a "proper" screen that brings the price up to $399. The third incarnation of the Light Phone continues to raise questions about exactly who the ... intended users are, though the makers say sales have topped 100,000. (Source: techcrunch.com ) Previous versions had virtually no features: the Light Phone 2 made phone calls and accepted text messages, but had no Internet browser or installable apps. Instead it simply performed a few basic built-in tasks such as playing music files, giving driving ... (view more)
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My name is Dennis Faas and I am a senior systems administrator and IT technical analyst specializing in cyber crimes (sextortion / blackmail / tech support scams) with over 20 years experience; I also run this website! If you need technical assistance , I can help. Click here to email me now; optionally, you can review my resume here. You can also read how I can fix your computer over the Internet (also includes user reviews).
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My name is Dennis Faas and I am a senior systems administrator and IT technical analyst specializing in cyber crimes (sextortion / blackmail / tech support scams) with over 20 years experience; I also run this website! If you need technical assistance , I can help. Click here to email me now; optionally, you can review my resume here. You can also read how I can fix your computer over the Internet (also includes user reviews).
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